Anglo Saxon monarchy, government and legal system Flashcards
how could you increase your status in AS England?
buy it
who was the most powerful in AS society?
the king
who were ceorls?
freemen who owned small areas of farmland
what % of the population were slaves?
10%
what % of the population were peasants?
70%
what were the four main earldoms in England?
Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia and Wessex
who were the earls?
powerful lords with huge areas of land
who were the thegns?
nobles less powerful than the earls
what was the witan?
those who the king sent for when making a difficult decision
what were tithings?
a group of 10 families who were responsible for maintaining order
what were hundreds?
a group of ten tithings
what were shires?
made up of a collection of hundreds with an earl in charge who payed the king 1/3 of money collected by fines or taxes
what were hundred courts?
local courts in which the king would appoint officials where local criminals were sentenced
what was the wergild?
when relatives of a victim of crime could claim compensation for injury or death
what were shire courts?
larger courts for more serious cases
what was trial by ordeal?
harming the criminal in some way and observing hoe long it took them to recover which proved if God wanted them spared
What was an AS house made of?
wattle (sticks, twigs or pond reed) and daub (a thicker substance to hold it all together)
how many rooms did an AS house usually have?
one large room
what % of people lived in towns with defence walls?
10%
what was the difference in class between those living in rural areas and those living in the city?
those in rural areas were often poorer
what was the difference between a town and a village?
towns were an exchange economy and villages were an agricultural economy
who was at the top of the church?
the archbishop
how many archbishops were there?
2 -one on York and one in Canterbury
how many bishops were in charge of a diocese?
15
why did AS go to church weekly?
to reach heaven and avoid hell
what order was the social hierarchy?
royal family, major nobility, minor nobility, freemen and serfs
who were the Godwins?
the most powerful family in England in 1065
why were the Godwins so powerful?
they were richer than the king himself
how many £ did their land receive each year?
around £8500
how did they connect to the king?
Edith (godwin’s daughter) married the king
what happened when King Edward died?
Harold Godwinson became king
who else had claims to the throne?
edgar the aethling, harald hardrada, william of normandy
what was edgar’s claim and why was it weak?
he was edward’s great nephew so had royal blood but he was only 14 and england needed a strong leader
what was harald hardrada’s claim and why was it weak?
he agreed with king cnut that if he died childless, he could have the throne but when cnut died the throne went to edward so harald tried to use this past claim to get the throne which was unlikely and irrelevant
what was william or normandy’s claim and why was it weak?
he said that edward had previously promised him the throne in 1051- the pope backed this but ultimately it lacked evidence
