Anglo Saxon monarchy, government and legal system

Question 1

how could you increase your status in AS England?

Answer 1

buy it

Question 2

who was the most powerful in AS society?

Answer 2

the king

Question 3

who were ceorls?

Answer 3

freemen who owned small areas of farmland

Question 4

what % of the population were slaves?

Answer 4

10%

Question 5

what % of the population were peasants?

Answer 5

70%

Question 6

what were the four main earldoms in England?

Answer 6

Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia and Wessex

Question 7

who were the earls?

Answer 7

powerful lords with huge areas of land

Question 8

who were the thegns?

Answer 8

nobles less powerful than the earls

Question 9

what was the witan?

Answer 9

those who the king sent for when making a difficult decision

Question 10

what were tithings?

Answer 10

a group of 10 families who were responsible for maintaining order

Question 11

what were hundreds?

Answer 11

a group of ten tithings

Question 12

what were shires?

Answer 12

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

Question 13

what were hundred courts?

Answer 13

local courts in which the king would appoint officials where local criminals were sentenced

Question 14

what was the wergild?

Answer 14

when relatives of a victim of crime could claim compensation for injury or death

Question 15

what were shire courts?

Answer 15

larger courts for more serious cases

Question 16

what was trial by ordeal?

Answer 16

harming the criminal in some way and observing hoe long it took them to recover which proved if God wanted them spared

Question 17

What was an AS house made of?

Answer 17

wattle (sticks, twigs or pond reed) and daub (a thicker substance to hold it all together)

Question 18

how many rooms did an AS house usually have?

Answer 18

one large room

Question 19

what % of people lived in towns with defence walls?

Answer 19

10%

Question 20

what was the difference in class between those living in rural areas and those living in the city?

Answer 20

those in rural areas were often poorer

Question 21

what was the difference between a town and a village?

Answer 21

towns were an exchange economy and villages were an agricultural economy

Question 22

who was at the top of the church?

Answer 22

the archbishop

Question 23

how many archbishops were there?

Answer 23

2 -one on York and one in Canterbury

Question 24

how many bishops were in charge of a diocese?

Answer 24

15

Question 25

why did AS go to church weekly?

Answer 25

to reach heaven and avoid hell

Question 26

what order was the social hierarchy?

Answer 26

royal family, major nobility, minor nobility, freemen and serfs

Question 27

who were the Godwins?

Answer 27

the most powerful family in England in 1065

Question 28

why were the Godwins so powerful?

Answer 28

they were richer than the king himself

Question 29

how many £ did their land receive each year?

Answer 29

around £8500

Question 30

how did they connect to the king?

Answer 30

Edith (godwin’s daughter) married the king

Question 31

what happened when King Edward died?

Answer 31

Harold Godwinson became king

Question 32

who else had claims to the throne?

Answer 32

edgar the aethling, harald hardrada, william of normandy

Question 33

what was edgar’s claim and why was it weak?

Answer 33

he was edward’s great nephew so had royal blood but he was only 14 and england needed a strong leader

Question 34

what was harald hardrada’s claim and why was it weak?

Answer 34

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

Question 35

what was william or normandy’s claim and why was it weak?

Answer 35

he said that edward had previously promised him the throne in 1051- the pope backed this but ultimately it lacked evidence