2.6.1 Work Flashcards
Anglo-Saxon Work (5)
- Trade only happened within the burhs (small fortified towns).
- Traders and merchants would sell their produce in the burhs and pay taxes on what they sold.
- Peasants lived agricultural lives, working the land and supporting an Earldom or town’s economy.
- Local priests and peasants were of equal status, although priests were usually better educated. In Anglo-Saxon society, both priests and peasants would farm their land.
- Monks and nuns would live and work in the local community.
Where did trade take place in Anglo-Saxon England?
Towns
Trade in Anglo-Saxon England was confined to the ____
burhs
Knight service in Norman England (2)
- Knights were some of the best soldiers in England. Barons and lords (who were tenants-in-chief in the feudal hierarchy) had to provide knights to the king for 1-2 months of the year. This was called ‘knight service’. William relied on tenants-in-chief for knights and tenants-in-chief would call on their under-tenants in a cascading hierarchy.
- Some knights were members of the nobility and some knights lived like peasants.
Tenants in Norman England (2)
- Under the feudal system, tenants effectively worked for their superior, whether it was their local Earl, their tenant-in-chief, or a bishop or abbot from the Church.
- Beneath tenants-in-chief were under-tenants (called vassals).
Peasants in Norman England (3)
- At the bottom came the peasants, who worked in land service to their lord.
- The peasants gained protection from their lord in return for their work.
- Unlike the ceorls under Anglo-Saxon rulers, peasants were now bound to one lord and could not work for another if they chose.
Who did tenants work for under the Norman feudal system?
Their superior
Roles and responsibilities in Norman villages (4)
In addition to the lord and the ordinary peasants there were also several other important roles:
- Reeve: chosen by the lord or by peasant vote. Although more powerful under the Anglo-Saxons, after 1066 their job was to manage the day-to-day running of the manor and ensure the peasants were all working.
- Bailiff: responsible for collecting taxes for the king and ensuring crops were gathered and debts repaid.
- Priest: responsible for marriages and wills, as well as running the local church and conducting services.
- Miller: produced grain to make bread for the whole village.