Anglo-saxon society pre-1066

Question 1

How was law and order maintained in Anglo-Saxon England?

Answer 1

• If you were over 12 years old you had to take an oath, if you broke the oath;
  
  • you would be regarded as disloyal and dishonourable
  • your family would be held responsible and could be punished as well as could be forced into exile

Question 2

What is the Hierarchy of the courts?

Answer 2

• Tithings:
  
  • Group of ten families
  • Responsible for maintaining order
  • Enforced two laws: murder and theft
• Hundreds:
  
  • Group of ten Tithings
  • Elected a constable
• Shires or counties:
  
  • Made up of a collection of Hundreds
  • The head of the shire was the shire-reeve (sheriff)

Question 3

How was religion in Anglo-Saxon England?

Answer 3

• The monasteries were the main centres of learning. Most of the literate people in England were monks.
• By the 11th century almost every village had a church of some kind. These parish churches performed baptisms at birth, consecrated marriages and prayed for the dead.
• The church was central to people’s lives.
• The church collected ten percent of people’s annual earnings. This large sum of money was used to pay priests, build churches and, most importantly, to support the poor.

Question 4

Who are the Danes and what is the Danelaw?

Answer 4

• After a long period of conflict, the King of Wessex, Alfred the Great, negotiated peace with the Danish leader Guthrum on the condition that he become a Christian.
• The Danes ruled large parts of central and eastern England according to their own laws (known as the Danelaw).
• In Yorkshire, where Danish settlement was high, many place names reflect their influence.
• The Danelaw ended when the majority of Danes were driven out by King Athelstan.
• Not all Danes left though and many of those who had settled remained on their farms and lands in England.