Social Structure of the Anglo-Saxon Period

"Elderman"

Kings

- Good service >> rich gifts, more land, and rarely the promotion to an elderman

- Elderman: highest ranking thegn

- Each group of Anglo Saxon settlers had a king or war chief.

- -King Harold II (Harold Godwinson) was the last Anglo Saxon king of England he was considered a strong ruler and a skilled general.

- He was ruler 9 months in 1066 before he was killed in the Battle of Hastings

Kings

- wore silk garments

- wore brightly colored tunics

- owned and cherished many jewels

- wore the finest armor in battle

Kings

Judicial Role of Thegns

-Kings earned their respect from their warriors (thanes).

-Kings were also known for their courage and extraordinary success in war.

-Kings were war leaders.

-The people expected the king to provide land, slaves, and opportunities for plunder and glory.

Thegns (pronounced "thanes")

- 12 senior thegns >> modern day grand jury

- court cases went off of "oath- swearing" rather than facts

- word of a thegn counted for the word of 6 churls

Kings

Witan

- Kings were top of the social system.

-A king's privileges and responsibilities included: military service and commanding their people.

- The council of leaders was known as the "witan"

- Had the right to choose the best successor from the members of the royal house

- Latin translation is miles which means soldier

- "servant, attendant, retainer"

- performed military service, the work of bridges, and the repair of fortresses

Exact Vengeance

Wessex Family

- relatives of a murdered person were obliged to get revenge for his or her death

- led to bloody and extensive feuds

- Wergild system came along as a solution to the deadly customs

- Held a hereditary right to rule by the mid 9th century

- Recognized as the English Royal Family

Throne succession was not guaranteed...

Wergild

- Wergild : set monetary values on Anglo-Saxon lives based on their social status and wealth

- Value could set the payable fine in result of injury or offense

- Example: Robbing a thegn called for a higher fine than robbing a churl

- Example: A thieving thegn would owe a higher fine than a churl who did likewise

Social Structure of the Anglo-Saxon Period

Kings

Thegns

Churls

Slaves

Churls

Anglo-Saxon Women

Churls

Originally the word churl in Old English was a man, but later on became known as a non-servile peasant

A churl was considered the lowest rank of freedom

2 levels of freemen (upper class thegns and lower class churls)

Very little difference between the 2 classes

All freedom depended on land ownership

All was determined by the number of hide owned

Only people below Churls was slaves

- responsible for keeping up the household

- embroidering, weaving, sewing, and spinning

- owned land, jewelry, and clothing

- could act as principals in legal transactions

- were entitled to the same wergild as men of the same class

- had the right to defend themselves on oath against false accusations/claims

Churls

The Life of an Anglo-Saxon Woman

Churls made up almost the entire Anglo-Saxon society

Sources

Sources

- could own property in her own right

- could and did run a kingdom if widowed

- Marriage required women's consent.

- any personal items (including land) brought into a marriage remained her own property

Widows

David Ross. Britian Express, Passionate about British Hertiage. http://www.britainexpress.com/History/anglo-saxon_life.htm

Christinia Marschall. 2011. The Structure of the Anglo-Saxon Society. http://www.anglistik.uni-muenchen.de/personen/wiss_ma/krischke/gesellschaftangls.pdf

https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrB8qBEHc1Vs0kAB_AunIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTIybDIxaDNlBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZANiOTAzOTI0OTNkNTM1ODgzZTEyZDc5MDI2OTM4NWY4YgRncG9zAzMEaXQDYmluZw--?.origin=&back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fyhs%2Fsearch%3Fp%3Danglo-saxon%2Bkings%26fr%3Dyhs-mozilla-004%26fr2%3Dpiv-web%26hsimp%3Dyhs-004%26hspart%3Dmozilla%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D3&w=313&h=600&imgurl=imageweb-cdn.magnoliasoft.net%2Fbridgeman%2Ffullsize%2Fllm455397.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.magnoliabox.com%2Ftag%2FAnglo-Saxon&size=31.9KB&name=%3Cb%3EAnglo+Saxon%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3EKing%3C%2Fb%3E+Wall+Art+%26+Canvas+Prints+by+Albert+Kretschmer&p=anglo-saxon+kings&oid=b90392493d535883e12d790269385f8b&fr2=piv-web&fr=yhs-mozilla-004&tt=%3Cb%3EAnglo+Saxon%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3EKing%3C%2Fb%3E+Wall+Art+%26+Canvas+Prints+by+Albert+Kretschmer&b=0&ni=21&no=3&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11acm7em2&sigb=14b79j2r6&sigi=11u3brufo&sigt=12c1topl2&sign=12c1topl2&.crumb=jUN0TbJfbji&fr=yhs-mozilla-004&fr2=piv-web&hsimp=yhs-004&hspart=mozilla

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-

Ben Levick. March 31, 2003. Anglo-Saxon Social Organization. http://www.regia.org/research/history/Saxons1.htm

Pictures> https://musingwithclio.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/runaway-slaves-on-underground-railroad.jpg , https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR5nn65TmdTPwMPLxyJtl4PnImVmf6qnbvECD7FG8_yLLgPpFfMeA

Sources

Sources

~www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/churl/

`www.anglistik.uni-muenchen.de/personen/wiss_ma/krischke/gesellschaftangls.pdf

`www.anglistik.uni-muenchen.de/personen/wiss_ma/krischke/gesellschaftangls.pdf

`https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thegn

`http://www.regia.org/research/history/Saxons1.htm

`http://kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=WAR5&name=Anglo-Saxon+Thegn+AD+449-1066

`regis.org/research/history/saxons1.htm

`http://public.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/medieval/anglo-saxon.html

`http://www.britainexpress.com/History/anglo-saxon_life.htm

` http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/anglo_saxons/

`http://www.britannica.com/biography/Harold-II

`

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> https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrB8p6aH81VzRcAohgunIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTIzZTBtNGphBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZAM1ZDI0NDQ0OTUxMGU2NGE0ZTg1NDM1MjE0Yzc0YTYwNARncG9zAzgxBGl0A2Jpbmc-?.origin=&back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fyhs%2Fsearch%3Fp%3Danglo-saxon%2Bsocial%2Bstructure%26fr%3Dyhs-mozilla-004%26fr2%3Dpiv-web%26hsimp%3Dyhs-004%26hspart%3Dmozilla%26nost%3D1%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D81&w=387&h=350&imgurl=3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-FwKIk179SZE%2FT6CmnG5xjFI%2FAAAAAAAADwc%2FdM6FzOEL4Xs%2Fs1600%2Fpiramide%2Bsocial.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fatotovive.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F05%2Fel-liberalismo.html&size=30.3KB&name=Los+artesanos+se+encontraban+agrupados+seg%C3%BAn+su+oficio+en+gremios+o+...&p=anglo-saxon+social+structure&oid=5d244449510e64a4e85435214c74a604&fr2=piv-web&fr=yhs-mozilla-004&tt=Los+artesanos+se+encontraban+agrupados+seg%C3%BAn+su+oficio+en+gremios+o+...&b=61&ni=21&no=81&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11pmgfl2q&sigb=14u84tvge&sigi=12scmvcfp&sigt=128ksrd3l&sign=128ksrd3l&.crumb=jUN0TbJfbji&fr=yhs-mozilla-004&fr2=piv-web&hsimp=yhs-004&hspart=mozilla

> http://englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com/2014/03/anglo-saxon-fashion.html

http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/archive/index.php/t-273051.html

- had inheritance rights

- custody of their children

- authority over dependents

-

What do you think it was like being a slave?

Slaves

The lowest rank of the Anglo Saxon period was enslavement.

- Running away

- Being bought for freedom.

(Yes, people could buy you and set you free).

- Or manumission by master.

Even though a slave was free, it did not mean they were not under the lord's control; it just meant that that slave was no longer under the lord's responsibility.

The System of Primogeniture

During the Anglo-Saxon period, you were either a slave or free.

What were the conditions in becoming a slave?

Most common source

- Being sold into slavery during famine

- Born into the condition

- Prisoner of war

- Or not being able to pay their debt

On the bright side, slaves were allowed to own property and earn enough money in their spare time.

* They could buy their freedom with enough money.

- Primogeniture: inheritance by the first born male

- System had not yet been invented in Anglo-Saxon times..... which meant.....

- Anglo-Saxon girls and boys were more equal in terms of status

Times were really hard, of course. Most slaves were prisoners of war and were forced into becoming a slave.

During the war of the Anglo-Saxon period, agriculture was very defective in England due to the war... causing famine.

Unless...

Anglo-Saxon's Social Structure