Anglo Saxon England Flashcards
What was the witan?
The king’s advisors
What did the Witan discuss?
Possible threats from abroad
Land disputes
Religious affairs
Who was gonna be the next king
What could the king use his land for?
He gave out land in return for loyalty and service
For example, giving earldoms to earls
What were the responsibilities of the earls?
Keeping the peace
Raising the army
Collecting the taxes
How much did the king earn through tax?
£6500 a year
How did the king have military power?
He had the responsibility of defending the country
Had a powerful army which he could raise (the fyrd)
How did the king have control of the government?
Made laws
Decided taxes
Controlled production of coins
Responsible for domestic and foreign policies
Led the witan and could choose the members
How did the king have religious power?
He was ‘chosen by God’
Could appoint the archbishops and key bishops
When was the uprising against Tostig?
October 1065
What were the reasons for the uprising against Tostig?
People in the Danelaw were in an area that had been settled in by Vikings so they didn’t trust southerners and hated his high taxes on them
He was Friends with Malcolm III, king of Scotland and so did nothing when the Scottish attacked
He ordered the murder of 2 followers of Gospatric and assassinated Gospatric when he was on his way to go complain to the king about Tostig
When was the Battle of Hastings?
14th October 1066
What are the reasons that William won at the Battle of Hastings?
William was a good leader
Harold was a bad leader
Luck
How was William a good leader during the Battle of Hastings?
William waited for the Fyrd to be sent home before invading
Prepared well with horses, soldiers and even a pre-made castle
Used the feigned retreat to break the Anglo Saxon defence
He motivated his troops by taking off his helmet when a rumour spread that he was dead
How was Harold a bad leader during the Battle of Hastings?
His army was tired from fighting the earlier to battles in the North
The Fyrd were inexperienced
Lack of control over the Fyrd led to them breaking the shield wall because of the feigned retreat
How did luck play a huge role in the Battle of Hastings?
Harald invading caused Harold’s army to be tired
Harold was shot in the eye during the battle which caused the Fyrd to flee
How was Anglo Saxon England wealthy?
Had a system of silver coins traded from Germany
Sheep farming dominated in the West and the cloths woven from the wool were then sold around Europe
England had fertile land and exported its iron, cheese and crops like wheat
What was economy like in Anglo Saxon villages?
Almost everyone farmed and would trade for other things (exchange economy)
What was economy like in Anglo Saxon towns?
These were trading centres
Major towns had mints where coins would be produced by the order of the King
When was the Harrying of the North?
December 1069
What happened during the Harrying of the North?
Burnt and destroyed all food
Murdered any potential rebels
Earth was salted to prevent the growing of crops
Cattle was killed
Villages were burnt
What were the causes of the Harrying of the North?
The 1069 rebellion - Robert Cumin and thousands of Normans killed
Rebels refused to fight and would always scatter when William arrived
For years the North was rebellious
What were the consequences of the Harrying of the North?
Even in the 1086 Doomsday Book it was found that 60% of York was still a wasteland
From 1071 there were no more rebellions
Thousands of people fled North
Cannibilism was big and in the winter of 1069, 100000 people died
When did Edward the Confessor die?
5th January 1066
Who were the 4 contenders for the throne after Edward died?
Harold Godwinson
William of Normandy
Edgar Atheling
Harald Hardrada
Why was Harold Godwinson a contender for the thone?
Was an Anglo Saxon
Was a brother in law to Edward
Claimed Edward promised him the throne on his deathbed
Very good fighter
Had a lot of support
Why was William a contender for the throne?
Second cousin to Edward
Claimed that Harold Godwinson promised to support him in 1064
Had a good army and was a good soldier
Why was Edgar a contender for the throne?
Edward’s nephew
Was only 14 when Edward died so wouldn’t have been a good leader
Didn’t have any supporters
Why was Harald a contender for the throne?
Was the Norweigan king and was distantly related to the old English king Cnut
Promised the throne of England by Magnus Alafsson who took it from Cnut’s son
Fierce and tremendous warrior
When was Harold coronated?
6th January 1066
What happened during the submission of the Earls?
William harried the South and seized the treasury at Winchester, while building castles everywhere else
Why did the Earls surrender?
William seized the treasury so Edgar had no money
William was outnumbered but regardless was a ruthless military leader
Intimidation tactics were effective
Many of England’s best warriors were killed in the battle of Hastings
How did Wiliiam reward his followers while in England?
He set a high Geld Tax to pay his mercenaries
Rewarded followers land that was confiscated from people who dies in the Battle of Hastings
How did William appease the Anglo Saxons while in England?
Edwin and Morcar could keep their earldoms but they were made smaller
Archbishops were kept the same
What were the castles called that William built?
Motte and Bailey castles
Why did William build castles?
To control rebellious/war prone areas
To symbolise Norman power
To house the local lords and earls
What were the marcher Earldoms?
Chester, Shrewsbury, Hereford
Earldoms at the border with Wales to protect from their attacks
What power did the earls of the marcher Earldoms have?
Given independence over Earldom and permission to build castles
They could also create new settlements and establish churches to convince Normans to settle there
They did not have to pay tax and had basically complete power over law and order in their earldoms
What was the population of Anglo Saxon England?
2 million
What were the 5 earldoms?
Mercia, Wessex, East Anglia, Kent, Northumbria
What was the legal system like?
Villages had to keep their own law and order
Wergild (compensation if your family was killed)
Community joined together to track down criminals
Who was Godwin?
Earl of Wessex from 1018
How were the Godwins powerful?
Had 4/5 earldoms
Rich
Edward needed them for protection
When was the embassy to Normandy?
1064
What do the Anglo Saxons claim about the embassy to Normandy?
Harold went there to recover hostages
What do the Normans claim about the embassy to Normandy?
Harold went there to make an oath that he would support William in becoming the king of England
When was Fulford Gate?
20th September 1066
What happened during Fulford Gate?
Harald and Tostig invade with 10000 people and fight Edwin and Morcar right outside of York
Edwin and Morcar lose so Harold is forced to go North himself
When was Stamford Bridge?
25th September 1066
What happened during Stamford Bridge?
Harald and Tostig surprised by Harold so they didn’t have all their equipment and people
Harold won because of the surprise attack
Why were there rebellions against William?
Anglo Saxons (e.g. Edwin and Morcar) lost power
Didn’t like the Normans
William raised the geld tax
Building of castles
Odo and Fitzobern stole and looted Anglo Saxon lands
When did Edwin and Morcar rebel?
1068 + 1069
What happened during Edwin and Morcar’s 1068 rebellion?
Both flee North and gather rebels (e.g. Edgar)
William goes North and attacks their earldoms while building castles
Edwin and Morcar surrender while others flee to Scotland
What were the results of the 1068 rebellion?
Edwin and Morcar imprisoned
More castles built
What happened during the 1069 rebellion?
Sweyn (Denmark) sends 240 ships to invade and they join with Edgar, Edwin, Morcar and the Anglo Saxon army
Attack York and kill 3000 Normans
Rebellions spread North but William goes there and the rebels scatter
William pays off the Danish to leave
What were the results of the 1069 rebellion?
Harrying of the North
Last rebellion in the North
When did Hereward (an English thegn) rebel?
1070 - 1071
What happened during the 1070 - 1071 rebellion?
Rebels + Danish set up on Ely
Raid local areas and are later joined by Morcar
William bribed the Danish and they leave
Rebels surrounded and lose
What were the results of the 1070 - 1071 rebellion?
Hereward escaped
Morcar imprisoned
Rebels had hands or feet amputated
Last Anglo Saxon rebellion
How did William change landholding?
Broke up the big earldoms into smaller ones so the earls had less power
People had to pay to inherit land
Less than 5% of land was owned by Anglo Saxons
When was the revolt of the Norman earls?
1075
Why did the Norman earls revolt?
Angry about loss of land and power
What happened during the revolt of the Norman earls?
Lanfranc was told of the plans
Lanfranc and Odo raise a combined Norman and Anglo Saxon army and defeat the rebels
What were the results of the revolt of the Norman earls?
Waltheof was executed
Ralph escaped
Roger was imprisoned
When was the Domesday Book completed?
1086
What were the benefits of the Domesday Book?
Valued England’s land and wealth so William knew how much to tax
Knew how many people he could put into the army
Knew who held the land
What were the changes to society under William?
Slaves free under Norman rule
Number of free peasants (ceorls)
Normans earls replaced Anglo Saxons
How did the jobs of the shire reeves change?
Raised the fyrd
Managed castles
Kept law and order
Managed William’s lands/forests
Took a share of the taxes
What were the different parts of the feudal system (William)?
Tenants in chief
Under tenants
Peasants
Who were tenants in chief?
Earls who were given huge areas of land in return for military service, raising tax, and maintaining law and order
Could keep share of taxes and some were in the witan
Who were under tenants?
Knights who were given land by tenants in chief
Had to do knights service
Collected tax and kept order in their small area
Replaced thegns with there being roughly 6000 of them
What happened to the church?
Archbishop Stigand was replaced by Lanfranc because he was corrupt
Church courts set up
Strict laws for priests e.g. celibacy
Only one bishop was Anglo Saxon by 1070
Every English church replaced by Norman one
New monasteries
Who was Odo?
William’s half brother, bishop of Bayeux in Normandy
Why were there rebellions against Odo?
Earl of Kent
Allowed theft of land and rape of women
Was imprisoned in 1082 for taking church lands and planning to make himself pope
When was Odo released from prison?
In 1087, after William died
Who was Robert?
One of William’s children who he had a very strained relationship with as Robert was weak and lazy
When did Robert rebel against William and why?
1077 because William allowed a prank against him to go unpunished
What happened during Robert’s rebellion?
Captures Roeun castle and gains support from Phillip who was king of France
Beats William in personal battle
What was the aftermath of Robert’s rebellion?
Matilda (William’s wife) organised a reconciliation between William and Robert where William makes Robert the heir to Normandy
How and when did William die?
1087, fell off his horse
Why did William’s death cause a succession crisis?
William did not announce who wanted to be heir
Some people wanted William Rufus, some wanted Robert
When was Odo’s rebellion?
1088
What happened during Odo’s rebellion?
Ended up controlling a lot of Southern England and took refuge in Pevensey Castle where he was eventually captured and surrendered
What was the aftermath of Odo’s rebellion?
Odo is stripped of his titles and land and exiled
