The Anglo-Saxons

The Anglo-Saxons

• The Romans invaded Britain in AD43. After that, for 400 years southern Britain was part of the Roman world. The last Roman soldiers left Britain in AD 410, and then new people came in ships across the North Sea. Historians call them Anglo-Saxons.• The new settlers were a mixture

of people from north Germany, Denmark and northern Holland.

How they lived

• In their own lands, most Anglo-Saxons were farmers.

• They lived in family groups in villages, not cities. Since they lived close to the sea and big rivers, many Anglo-Saxons were sailors too. They built wooden ships with oars and sails, for trade and to settle in new lands.

• When the Anglo-Saxons arrived in Britain, most kept clear of Roman towns.

• Some Saxons built wooden houses inside the walls of Roman towns. Others cleared spaces in the forest to build villages and make new fields.

Fun Fact

• York was a Roman army town. People called it the 'Home of the Sixth Legion' which was based there from AD 122.

An Anglo-Saxon home

• In an Anglo-Saxon family, everyone from babies to old people shared a home.• Anglo-Saxon houses were built of

wood and had thatched roofs.• Each family house had one room,

with a hearth with a fire for cooking, heating and light. A metal cooking pot hung from a chain above the fire.

Clothing

• People wore clothes made from woollen cloth or animal skins.• Men wore tunics, with tight trousers or

leggings, wrapped around with strips of cloth or leather.• Women wore long dresses.• Clothing styles varied from region to

region. For instance, an Anglian woman fastened her dress with a long brooch. A Saxon woman used a round brooch.• Clothing also changed over time.

The working life

• Men, women and children helped on the farm. Men cut down trees to clear land for ploughing and sowing crops.

• Children with dogs herded cattle and sheep.

• Some people had special skills. The smith made iron tools, knives and swords. Woodworkers made wooden bowls, furniture, carts and wheels. Potters made pottery from clay.

• he shoemaker made leather shoes. Jewellers made metal brooches, beads and gold ornaments for rich people.

Girls

• Anglo-Saxons thought sons and daughters were equally important, but girls' work centred on the home.

• They learned housekeeping skills such as weaving cloth, cooking, making cheese and brewing ale. Girls and boys collected sticks for firewood, and fetched water from a stream or well.

• Only a few girls learned to read and write.• By the age of 10 a girl was considered

grown-up. Most girls then married, though some became Nuns in the Christian Church.

Boys

• Boys learned the skills of their fathers. They learned to chop down trees with an axe, how to plough a field, and how to use a spear in battle.• They rowed boats on rivers, went

fishing, collected birds' eggs (to eat), caught wild duck in nets, and hunted deer and wild boar with the men.• Not many boys learned to read and

write. The sons of kings or rich thanes might be taught at home by a private teacher.

Marriage

• Women did not often marry men of a higher rank than themselves. A slave woman usually married a slave husband.

• But people were allowed to choose whom they married, unless the family disapproved. Family ties were very important.

• A woman was expected to marry a man of whom her parents and brothers approved. A brother would look after his sister if her husband died.

• Women could own land and leave wills.• A rich woman's possessions might also

include furniture, blankets, cups and jewellery, and horses.

Fun Fact

• Hunters used trained hawks to catch ducks, pigeons and other wild birds.

King’s and Laws

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

• A strong leader became 'cyning' - Anglo-Saxon for 'king'. Each king ruled a kingdom and led a small army.

• There were many quarrels and wars between kings, to see who was the strongest.

• By around AD600 there were five important Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. They were Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, Kent and East Anglia.

• From time to time, the strongest king would claim to be 'bretwalda' - which meant ruler of all Britain.

A King’s burial

• In 1939, an amazing discovery was made at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk. When they dug into a large earth mound, archaeologists found traces of an Anglo-Saxon ship and many precious objects. This was the grave of a king, probably King Redwald of East Anglia. He died around AD625.

• The treasure buried with the king included coins (with dates on), the remains of clothes and armour, a shield, drinking cups, shoes, a lyre, a gold belt buckle, a sword and a helmet. It's clear this was the burial place of a great leader.

Fun Fact

• The body of the Sutton Hoo king was not found in his ship-burial. The body may have 'dissolved' in the soil.

Offa

• Offa was King of Mercia from AD757 to 796.• Mercia was the strongest kingdom in Anglo-

Saxon England, and Offa was the most powerful English king. His fame spread to Europe.

• Offa was treated almost as an equal by Charlemagne, the greatest ruler in Europe at the time.

• Offa issued England's first penny coins, in silver - known as 'Offa's pennies'.

• He built an earth wall and ditch for defence along the border with Wales.

• This bank is called Offa's Dyke. About 80 miles/129 km of it can still be seen.

Crime and Punishment• The Anglo-Saxons didn't have prisons.

People found guilty of crimes were either executed or punished with fines.

• If they ran away, they became 'outlaws' (outside the law), and anyone could hunt them down - unless they hid in a church.

• The fine for breaking into someone's home was 5 shillings (25p), paid to the home-owner.

• For minor crimes like stealing, a nose or a hand might be cut off.

• If a person killed someone, they paid money to the dead person's relatives. This was ‘wergild’. The idea was to stop long quarrels or 'blood feuds' between families.

Free or slave?

• Most people in Anglo-Saxon society were either freemen or slaves.

• A freeman owned land and slaves. A slave owned nothing.

• A slave might be a prisoner captured in war, or someone born into slavery.

• The richest and most powerful freemen were the thanes who helped the king rule the land.

• While kings and thanes lived in large halls (big wooden houses), free peasants or ceorls (churls) lived in small huts.

• Poor slaves were glad of a cowshed or barn to sleep in at night. Many slaves were badly treated. They could not leave their owner unless they were sold or set free.

Alfred the Great

• Great Anglo-Saxon kings included Offa of Mercia (who built Offa's Dyke) and Edwin of Northumbria (who founded Edinburgh or 'Edwin's burh').

• But the most famous of all is Alfred, the only king in British history to be called 'Great'.

• Alfred was born in AD849 and died in AD899.• His father was king of Wessex, but Alfred

became king of all England. • He fought the Vikings, and then made peace

so that English and Vikings settled down to live together.

• He encouraged people to learn and he tried to govern well and fairly.

King of the English

• Alfred's capital was Winchester. In AD886, his army captured London (which had belonged to Mercia before the Vikings seized it). By now Alfred was called 'King of the English' on his coins. This shows how important he was.

Stories about the Great

• One story says Alfred went to Rome at the age of 4, to meet the Pope. When he came home, his mother promised a handsome book to the first of her sons who could read it to her. Alfred learned it by heart, recited it, and got the book.

• Later the young King Alfred had to hide from the Vikings, on a marshy island called Athelney in Somerset. A famous story tells how while sheltering in a cowherd's hut, the king got a telling-off from the man's wife. Why? He let her cakes (or bread) burn. Another story says Alfred went into the Viking camp disguised as a minstrel, to find out what the Vikings were planning.

How Alfred ruled

• King Alfred was advised by a council of nobles and Church leaders.

• The council was called the witan. The witan could also choose the next king.

• Alfred made good laws. He had books translated from Latin into English, and translated some himself.

• Alfred built warships to guard the coast from Viking raiders. He built forts and walled towns known as burhs.

• He split the fyrd (the part-time army) into two parts. While half the men were at home on their farms, the rest were ready to fight Vikings.

Early Anglo-Saxon beliefs

• In Roman Britain, many people had been Christians. The early Anglo-Saxons were pagans. Much like the Vikings of Scandinavia, they believed in many gods.

• The king of the Anglo-Saxon gods, for example, was Woden - a German version of the Scandinavian god Odin. From his name comes our day of the week Wednesday or 'Woden's day'.

• Other gods were Thunor, god of thunder; Frige, goddess of love; and Tiw, god of war.

• Anglo-Saxons were superstitious. They believed in lucky charms. They thought 'magic' rhymes, potions, stones or jewels would protect them from evil spirits or sickness.

Fun Fact

• People in England saw a comet in 1066. Most thought it meant something bad was going to happen.