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Anglo Saxons Flashcards

(65 cards)

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1
Q

How could people change their social status?

A

doing more work for the king

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2
Q

Slaves could be freed by their masters to become…

A

peasants

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3
Q

How could people move down a rank?

A

selling themselves into slavery

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4
Q

A peasant who did very well could become a…

A

thegn

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5
Q

From the top, what is the social status pyramid?

A

king, earls, thegns, peasants (free), peasant (not free), slaves

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6
Q

How long did the Anglo Saxons take control of England for?

A

600 years

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7
Q

What was the Danelaw?

A

a kingdom in Anglo-Saxon England which was under the rule of Vikings from late 9th century to early 11th century

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8
Q

Instead of Anglo Saxon laws, what laws were there in England?

A

Danish laws

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9
Q

Why were the Godwins so powerful?

A

they had as much money and land as the king. they also had powerful armies.

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10
Q

Why did the Danelaw limit the King’s power?

A

people didn’t want to follow the king and would rather have laws

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11
Q

Why was the Godwin family intimidating?

A

in 1050, the king asked the Godwins to punish the people of Dover but they refused. to avoid a war, the King gave back their earldom.

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12
Q

What percentage of England’s population were slaves?

A

10%

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13
Q

What was the Witan?

A

a council/the king’s advisors. made of the kingdom’s most important men.

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14
Q

What did the Witan do?

A

advised the King, had a role in choosing the King

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15
Q

How much was a peasant worth?

A

20 shillings

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16
Q

How much was a thegn worth?

A

1200 shillings

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17
Q

How much was an earl or archbishop worth?

A

3600 shillings

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18
Q

When a crime was committed, all members of a ________ had to hunt for the criminal.

A

tithing

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19
Q

What is another name for a tithing?

A

a hue and cry

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20
Q

What is an example of a tithing?

A

if someone from their village refused to join the general fyrd, there would be consequences for everything in the tithing.

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21
Q

Describe one feature of Anglo Saxon society.

A

thegns. to be a thegn, a man needed more than 5 hides of land.

slaves. 10% of the population in Anglo Saxon times were slaves.

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22
Q

Describe one feature of the role of the King.

A

collecting tax. the people paid taxes to fund for weapons.

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23
Q

What is a shire?

A

A shire reeve was the king’s local government official who collected revenues, fines, enforced the law and collected the geld tax (a tax on land).

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24
Q

What was at the base of the whole administrative system?

A

the Hide

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25
What did people expect the King to do?
to settle arguments in a fair way (provide justice)
26
Give an example of a blood feud.
If someone was killed, the victim's family had the right to kill someone from the murderer's family. the murderer then had the right to get revenge. this looped for a while.
27
What did Earls do?
use tax money to improve their earldoms judged crimes and decided punishments kept 1/3 of taxes and collected them for the king
28
What are some of the Earls' limits?
not to upset thegns as he would lose his earldom less powerful than the king earls had to obey the king
29
What are some features of a Shire Reeve (sheriff)?
king's local government officials collect geld tax collect income from king's land collect fines from shire court provide men for fyrd
30
What was the fyrd?
a military service
31
What were the 2 types of fyrd?
select and general
32
What did the select fyrd do?
gathered men to fight anywhere in England
33
What did the general fyrd do?
gathered men to fight inside their land area
34
What are some features of the legal system?
king was the lawmaker people expected King to provide justice
35
What is a fyrd?
an anglo saxon army led by freemen
36
Who won Gate Fulford?
Harald Hardrada
37
Who won Stamford Bridge?
Harold Godwinson
38
Who won the Battle of Hastings?
William the Conqueror (William of Normandy)
39
Give 2 disadvantages of Harold Godwinson in the Battle of Hastings.
Once his shield wall was depleted, it was easy to break. Harald Hardrada was defeated in a previous battle, making Godwinson tired for Hastings.
40
Give 2 advantages of William of Normandy in the Battle of Hastings.
he had 800 knights and 4-6,000 soldiers he arrived before Harold's army which meant he was prepared he had trained cavalry and archers he was very lucky - he sailed across England right after a storm and his fleet wasn't destroyed
41
How long was the Battle of Hastings?
around 8 hours
42
Who was the Battle of Gate Fulford between?
Edwin & Morcar and Harald Hardrada
43
Who was the Battle of Stamford Bridge between?
Harold Godwinson and Harald Hardrada & Tostig
44
Who was the Battle of Hastings between?
William the Conqueror (of Normandy) and Harold Godwinson
45
Who arguably started the Harrying of the North?
William the Conqueror
46
What was the Harrying of the North?
where William destroyed Northern Northumbria
47
Give one feature of a motte and bailey castle.
Palisades. Palisades were strong fences which surrounded the castle.
48
Why were castles important?
They were used as a high base by the local lord. The Marcher earls launched invasions into Wales from castles in South Wales.
49
How was access into the castle controlled?
through the gatehouse
50
Why was William of Normandy scared of the Danes?
they were very good sailors and had castles
51
Give one feature of the revolt of Edwin and Morcar in 1068.
taxes. william's heavy geld tax of 1066 was resented
52
When was the Harrying of the North?
1069-1070
53
Who was Robert Cumin?
the Earl of Northumbria
54
What is guerilla warfare?
where a small group attacks a larger group and then runs away
55
Why did William of Normandy start the Harrying of the North?
he wanted to destroy the Danes and the rebels
56
Give 3 short term impacts of the Harrying of the North.
people starved to death (Normans burned crops and killed livestock) people were homeless, no shelter (Normans burned down houses) reports of cannibalism (no crops or animals to eat)
57
Give 3 long term impacts of the Harrying of the North.
no more uprisings or Danish invasions in Northumbria lost over half their wealth and population since 1066 (60% of Northumbria not farmed in 1086) William replaced Saxons with loyal Normans (didn't trust Anglo Saxon aristocrats) William apologised for the HotN (donated money to church)
58
How did Hardrada die in the battle of Stamford Bridge?
he had an arrow in the neck
59
Who killed Tostig in the battle of Stamford Bridge?
his brother, Harold Godwinson
60
What did Hardrada believe the purpose of meeting the English was?
to exchange hostages
61
Why wasn't Hardrada prepared for the battle of Stamford Bridge?
Harold Godwinson launched a surprise attack on him. They used a small hill nearby and approached Hardrada. his vikings left all of their armour on the ship
62
Who's soldiers attacked Edwin's army in Gate Fulford?
Hardrada's
63
What did some of the Viking reserves do to help Tostig's forces in the Battle of Gate Fulford?
fight back against Morcar
64
Why did Edwin order his army to leave to York?
Hardrada's warriors were much stronger than Edwin's
65
Who was the Harrying of the North between?
William of Normandy and the Danes

History (2 decks)

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