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NORMANS > 1. england on the eve of conquest > Flashcards

1. england on the eve of conquest Flashcards

1
Q

how did english kings establish control?

A

land was divided into shires
-most shires had several royal ‘burhs’ (fortified towns that kept the local community safe)

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2
Q

how did kings of england support trade?

A

by setting up royal mints that produced coins with trusted purity & value

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3
Q

why was taxation in england more efficient than in other european states?

A

-the system of shires
-the steady supply of trusted coins

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4
Q

when did viking invaders return to england?

A

1013

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5
Q

between what years where there vikings & did this change anything in england?

A

-between 1014 and 1042

didn’t change much:
-they kept the system of shires, burhs and royal mints as it worked so well
-england was one of the wealthiest and most efficient states in eleventh century europe

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6
Q

the king

A

-owned more land than anyone else
-raised taxes to pay for the nation’s defences, burhs, roads and bridges (which encouraged trade)
-issued new laws
-responsible for justice in all courts of law
-was expected to be a fine warrior
-was responsible for the work of the church

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7
Q

who took the throne after the last of england‘s danish kings?

A

-edward the confessor (anglo-saxon) -never expected to become king -spent 25 years of his early life in france
-was no warrior
-when he became king in 1042, he concentrated his attention on church affairs and left most royal duties to his closest advisers

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8
Q

earls

A

-king’s chief advisers
-formed the witan, a group of advisers
-witan even helped decide who should take the throne when a king died
-couldn’t keep private armies but led the king’s ‘fyrd’ (armed forces) in times of war
-held shire courts twice a year

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9
Q

thegns

A

-roughly 5000
-high status came from land ownership (needed about 250 hectares of land as minimum)
-rhe richest one hundred might have direct contact with the king
-most just lived comfortably on their lands and carried out king’s work for him
-ran the local courts & collected taxes
-expected to fight for the king

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10
Q

ceorls

A

-most of england’s population
-some had special skills (carpenters, blacksmiths)
-most worked on the land (grew crops, kept animals & collected timber for building and firewood)
-richer lived in eastern shires (owned some land and a house of their own)
-most ceorls payed rent & did work for the thegn’s who’s land they lived on
-had to serve in the king’s ‘fyrd’ -expected to repair roads and bridges
-took part in local decision-making

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11
Q

what happened to ceorls by 1065?

A

they were far less independent than they had once been

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12
Q

thralls/slaves

A

-property of a master
-not free to seek work elsewhere
-could be branded or castrated
-10 per cent of the population
-in times of famine, parents might sell a child into slavery
-anyone born into slavery remained a thrall

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13
Q

rights of women

A

-right to own land and property (lost after 1066)
-right to leave a husband who committed adultery
-laws that set out fines for any sexual harassment of women

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14
Q

what do sermons from these times accuse gangs of men of doing?

A

buying women slaves, raping them and selling them on

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15
Q

higher status women =

A

ladies

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16
Q

what do the skeletons of low status anglo-saxon women suggest?

A

they must have done a lot of hard manual work such as churning butter, chopping wood and working in the fields at harvest time

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17
Q

double monasteries

A

-where monks and nuns lived,
worshipped and prayed alongside each other
-the women were in charge
-more or less ended by 1000

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18
Q

how much of land in england was owned by women in 1066?

A

-5%
-almost all these women were related to the earls

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19
Q

how often were cases of divorce in england?

A

very rare

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20
Q

what were women in charge of?

A

-their household stores and money
(did little work in the fields)

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21
Q

weregild

A

-value that depended on their social group
-if someone was killed, the person responsible would not be put to death if they could pay the correct ‘wergild’

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22
Q

values of weregild

A

king = 18,000 shillings
prince = 9,000 shillings
earl = 4,800 shillings
thegn = 1,200 shillings
ceorl = 160 shillings
thrall = no value

(value of a woman was exactly the same as the value of a man who had the same status in society|pregnant woman’s value increased by 50%)

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23
Q

alfred brooch

A

-found in somerset in 1693
-has ‘alfred had me worked’ engraved
-believed to have been attached to a wooden stick used to identify words & images in old manuscripts
-probably belonged to monastery

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24
Q

what does the alfred brooch tell us about the anglo saxons?

A

they were skilled in art

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25
the fuller broach
-named after person who owned it -made of silver -represents the five senses
26
how do we know that anglo saxon england was famous for metalwork & engraving?
-one norman chronicler mentioned how foreign merchants travelled to england to buy works made by English craftsmen: he described english men as 'outstandingly skilful in all the arts'
27
calendar
-written around the year 1000 -contains a map of the world, information about astronomy and a description of far off places called 'marvels of the east'
28
what does the calendar tell us about anglo-saxons?
-they were interested in astrology -they believed in myths & legends
29
beowulf
-poem over 3000 lines long -set in scandinavia -passed down orally -still read today
30
anglo-saxon chronicle
-monks wrote a history of britain, beginning with arrival of julius caesar -monks updated books till 12th century -had many gaps & can be one-sided
31
what does the anglo saxon chronicle tell us about anglo-saxons?
they had a growing sense of identity as a nation
32
most anglo-saxon buildings
-made of wood, clay & straw -rectangular -single storey houses -thatched roofs
33
what houses did thegns live in?
larger houses with two floors
34
how did archaeologists investigate viking houses although they have rotted away?
soil that built up inside usually in towns originally built by the romans was of a different colour from the surrounding area -they show the shape and give some idea of the size of the building
35
how do we know that the anglo-saxons build well with wood?
one eleventh-century writer praised a nunnery at in wiltshire -he compared it with the temple of solomon that is described in the bible
36
royal burhs
built all over england -surrounded by walls to keep the local community safe from attack -few were made from stone -in most cases, the burh was defended by large earthworks of ditches and ramparts, with a strong wooden barrier
37
how many castles were in england by 1065?
3, built by king edwards’s friends from normandy
38
what was the only stone building that most anglo-saxons would ever enter?
churches
39
how did many people still worship rather than going to churches?
they gathered around a stone cross
40
what material were most churches first built in?
timber, then replaced with stone
41
what were towers and church bells for in churches?
towers = place of protection for people, people stood on ground floors of towers for worship church bell = called people to worship or have warnings
42
westminster abbey
-few miles away from river thames -edward payed for it to be built in a popular style from normandy though another abbey was less than 100m away -longer & taller than any other anglo-saxon church -made from carefully cut stone -rounded arches
43
why couldn’t edward attend the official opening of westminster abbey & when was it?
-opening = 28 dec 1065 -he was too sick & died soon the next year
44
how many anglo saxons lived in towns?
10% -usually had higher status & wealth than those in country
45
what was a town?
a place with a defensive wall, a mint & a marketplace
46
townhouses
-made of wattle & daub -built on narrow plots -built near river
47
what was a similarity of towns & villages?
-there were animals inside towns -there was grazing in fields outside walls
48
farming in towns
-crops were grown in fields outside towns -farming provided food for townspeople -townspeople could sell their produce on market day
49
what was sold in markets in towns?
-jewellry -leather items -wine from france -pepper from asia -fine cloth
50
what were houses in villages made of + benefits & disadvantages
-wattle and daub -homes were waterproof but needed frequent repair
51
why were ploughs important for villages,
-they were essential for a making field ready to grow crops -eight ideas were used to pull a plough
52
what happened to villages without an earl’s personal estate within them?
they would be subject to visits and checks from the earl or his men
53
animals in villages
-sheep for wool, meat & milk -pigs, cows, chickens, geese -all needed lots of land for pasture
54
layout of houses in villages (+ animals)
-one large room with a fire in the centre, fire escaped through small hole in roof -different zones for sleeping, cooking and sitting -animals would be brought in in bad weather
55
what did an earls personal estate include?
-a large wooden hall for entertaining & feeding -bare earth floor -walls decorated with tapestries -earls valuable items on display
56
what were landlords who lived near rivers often payed rent in?
eels (delicacy)
57
what buildings did the earl have?
storehouses, guesthouses, workshops, stables, servants houses, bake house or kitchen, chapel, enclosures for animals, training area for soldiers
58
how many houses were usually in villages and who were they owned by?
twelve or fifteen houses, owned by ceorls and peasants
59
how did the roman catholic church grow in england?
-brought in AD597 -anglo saxons who were previously pagans became christian’s & adopted roman catholic traditions
60
which type of christian tradition came in the north of england and who was it spread by?
-forms of worship that preferred to show elaborate patterns made up of interlaced bands -spread by missionaries from ireland
61
what language was the bible written in in england & what did this show about the church in england?
-parts of the Bible were often written in old English -leaders of the Roman Catholic Church insisted that the bible should only ever be written in latin so that its accepted meaning should not get lost in translation -it is a sign of the independence of the english church that monks continued to write bible extracts in the normal language of the people
62
how did worship mostly work before the normans?
-people gathered to worship around large stone crosses, in these place they may have had a simple shelter but they had no permanent church -some important church centres were quite remote and they served as a hub from which priests would visit outlying villages to lead the people in worship
63
how did worship work after normans?
each village had its own stone church
64
why did the pope complain that the english had too many saints?
they were often local people who were highly thought of after their deaths
65
what behaviours of the english do sermons criticise?
-binge- drinking, over-eating and indulging in sex -one sermon said that the success of the vikings' invasion in 1013 was God's punishment for the sins of the people of england -sermons also criticised people for belief in witchcraft and spells
66
who was st dunstan?
-a monk from somerset -became archbishop of canterbury in AD960 -spent hours in prayer but also devoted himself to art -generous and unselfish -once, when a powerful anglo-saxon lady left dunstan a fortune, he spent it all on improving the monasteries of england
67
which high standards did st dunstan set for the english church?
-he worked to end corruption and greed among church leaders -he worked to improve the education and commitment of the priests, monks and nuns -he insisted that priests should not marry -he organised the rebuilding of many churches, abbeys and monasteries, often helped by donations from local thegns or earls who wanted the monks and nuns to pray for their souls
68
what happened after st dunstan died in 988?
-english church leaders declared dunstan to be a saint -they would probably have continued the church reforms of dunstan but, at the start of the eleventh century, england was again suffering from raids by vikings
69
missed opportunity to reform the church during king edward’s reign
-edward brought norman priests to england when he became king -one of these, became archbishop of canterbury in 1051 he set about improving the church, despite resistance from English priests -in 1051-52 there was a power struggle in england -godwin (earl of wessex) objected to the rising power of edward's foreign-born friends and forced the king to replace robert with a new archbishop of canterbury (stigand)
70
stigand’s background
-became a priest as a young man -had efficient administration skills -did little to try to improve the quality of the church or the priests
71
problems with stigand
-accused of simony (selling church posts to highest bidder) -pluralism (was bishop of winchester & archbishop of canterbury | refused to give up one position)
72
why was stigand able to keep his position?
he had the support of harold godwinson, the earl of wessex
73
pope & stigand
-in rome, the popewas deeply upset -he insisted that stigand had to give up his post at winchester and come to rome for an official blessing -stigand ignored him and stayed in england
74
problems with priests
-poorly educated -could marry

NORMANS (5 decks)

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