The Anglo-Saxons were the people who settled in England after the Romans left. Their society and culture is not only vastly interesting but will also come in handy for GCSE. What were Earls? Peasants? Ceorls? Thegns? And where did they fit into society? How did the hierarchy work? Let's have a look at late Anglo-Saxon society! :)
#GCSEHistory #GCSERevision #AngloSaxons
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PRACTICE QUESTIONS:
- Describe two features of the social system in Anglo-Saxon England (4 marks)
REVISION NOTES:
- Anglo-Saxons were the people who settled in England after the Romans left, coming from parts of what is now Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands
- Population of roughly 2 million
- Low life expectancy and high infant mortality
- Most people farmed the land in order to grow what they needed to live on
- Most of the population were peasant farmers
- Rented small farms, did a certain amount of work for the lord and were allowed to use the rest to support themselves & their family
- If they didn’t do the work for the lord they could risk losing their land rights
- Ceorls were ‘free; peasant farmers who were not tied to their land
- Did work on the land for the lord, however, could go and work for a different lord if they wished to
- Slaves were at the bottom of society
- 10% of the population were slaves
- Could be bought & sold (seen as property)
- Were punished less harshly for committing crimes, in case it affected their ability to work
- Normans thought slave ownership was barbaric
- Thegns were local lords
- Between 4000 and 5000 by 1060
- Held more than 5 hides (roughly 120 acres - a measurement of land) of land
- Lived in a manor with a tower and a separate church
- Were the aristocracy - its warrior class
- Earls were the most important aristocrats
- Second from the King
- Competed with each other, through loyalty, to be the most trusted and relied on by the King
- This was in return for rewards
- Earls would sometimes challenge the King to gain further power
- Ruled over an area known as an Earldom
- In most of Europe, social status depended on ancestry
- Anglo-Saxon society allowed for changing status
- A successful peasant, who fitted the criteria, could become a thegn
- Merchants - made a number of successful trips in their ships could become thegns
- Slaves could be freed by their masters
- Ceorls could sell themselves into slavery as a desperate measure
- Thegns could become Earls, Earls, Kings, Earls could be demoted to thegns
The information used in this video is sourced from the Pearson Edexcel 9-1 GCSE history 'Anglo Saxon and Norman England' textbook
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7 янв 2018
