Anglo-Saxon government, economy and society

In 1060 England was ruled by Edward the Confessor, king from 1042 to 1066. Anglo-Saxon kings were powerful. The king:

• made the laws and was the country's highest judge
• controlled the coinage: silver pennies were made at royal mints, with the king's head on them
• raised taxes, especially the geld, a tax on land
• led the army in war
• sent orders around the kingdom in written letters called writs.

Significance: England was one of the best-organised and richest kingdoms in Europe. That made it a prize worth fighting for in 1066.

Most of England was divided into a few huge earldoms. The biggest were Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria. An earl ruled his earldom for the king: he kept order, led its soldiers and collected some of its taxes. Earls became very rich, and a king needed their loyalty.

The Witan was the king's council of earls, bishops, abbots and other leading men. It advised the king on laws, taxes, defence and disputes. When a king died, it helped choose the next one.

Change and continuity: the king did not have to follow the Witan's advice, but a wise king usually listened, because he needed these men's support.

Each earldom was made up of shires (counties), and each shire was divided into hundreds. Every hundred had a court where local crimes and disputes were dealt with.

In each shire, the king's own official was the sheriff (the 'shire reeve'). The sheriff collected the king's taxes and the money from royal lands, ran the shire court and raised soldiers.

The army had two parts:

• housecarls: professional, well-trained soldiers paid by the king and the earls
• the fyrd: ordinary free men who could be called up to fight for a limited time.

Significance: the fyrd could not be kept together for long, because the men had to get back to their farms. This mattered in 1066.

Most people lived in villages and worked on the land, growing crops and keeping animals. Society was a hierarchy, with each group owing service to the one above:

1. the king
2. the earls
3. thegns: local lords, who held land and fought for the king
4. ceorls: free peasants, who farmed their own land and served in the fyrd
5. peasants who were not free, and at the bottom, slaves.

Towns were growing. London was the largest; York and Winchester were also important. Towns had markets and mints, and traded wool, cloth and other goods with Scandinavia and the rest of Europe.

Significance: rich farmland and busy trade meant the king could raise a lot of money in taxes.

Almost everyone in England was Christian, and the Church was part of everyday life. Villages had priests, and the Church taught that people would go to heaven or hell depending on how they lived.

Bishops and abbots were rich landowners and sat in the Witan, so they helped govern the country. Monasteries were centres of learning, where monks copied books and kept records such as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

A new king was crowned and anointed in a religious ceremony, which showed he had God's approval.

Significance: the Church's support made a king's power seem God-given. That is one reason William of Normandy later wanted the Pope to back his invasion.

Anglo-Saxon law relied on local communities:

• Tithings: groups of about ten men who were responsible for each other's behaviour. If one broke the law, the others had to bring him to court or be fined.
• The hue and cry: anyone who saw a crime had to raise the alarm, and the whole community had to chase the criminal.
• Trial by ordeal: when guilt was unclear, a test such as carrying a red-hot iron was used, in the belief that God would show the truth.
• Wergild: a payment to a victim or their family, which varied with the victim's rank.

Continuity: the Normans kept much of this system. You'll study it again in H3, Crime and punishment.