'Golden Age' What was England like in 1065?

People
1. King
  1. Owns most land
  2. raises taxes
    1. repairs roads, defends country, build burhs etc
  3. Law & order
  4. church
2. Earls
  1. King's advisors
  2. Formed Witan
  3. no private armies
    1. but led 'fyrd'
  4. held courts
  5. Harold Godwinson = most powerful
  6. 6 Earls in 1065
3. Thegns
  1. land owners
    1. 250 hectares+
  2. ran courts
  3. collect taxes
  4. some had burh-geats
4. Ceorls
  1. Majority of population
  2. mostly farmers
  3. rent land from thegns
    1. Richer ceorls owned land and house
  4. Serve in fyrd (army)
  5. took part in trials
  6. Early democracy? - had some say in local decisions and helped in trials
    1. Much less power by 1065
5. Thralls
  1. slaves
  2. 10% of pop
  3. branded/ castrated
  4. Made slaves by: capture in war, criminals, parents sell children
6. Women
  1. legal right to own property
  2. 'double monasteries' - women in charge
  3. laws against sexual harrasment
  4. Owned 5% of land
  5. female slaves bought, raped & sold
  6. low class women - work in fields
Religion
1. Churches and worship
  1. independent from European church
    1. parts of bible in English
    2. made own saints
    3. Christianity mixed with pagan practices
  2. often worship outside
  3. church teachings ignored
    1. binge eating, drinking & sex
    2. Belief in witchcraft & spells
2. 1. St Dunstan
  1. Archbishop of Canterbury
    1. Good man - devout christian
  2. tries to improve church
    1. End corruption
    2. improve education
    3. rebuild churches, monasteries etc
    4. Made a saint after death BUT: Viking raids disrupted church - never as strong again
      1. reforms not continued
3. 2. King Edward
  1. Brought Norman priests to England
  2. Made Robert of Jumieges Archbishop of Canturbury
  3. English Earls protest - Godwin forces Edward to make Stigand Archbish of Cant.
4. 3. Stigand
  1. Bad man!
    1. Interested in money not religion
    2. No attempt to improve church
  2. Corruption
    1. Simony - selling church jobs
    2. Pluralism - has more than one church job - also Bish of Winchester
      1. Pope tried to force him to give this up - Stigand ignored.
Culture
1. Buildings
  1. most = clay, wood, straw
  2. few = stone, fine buildings
    1. Wilton nunnery
    2. Ed' the Confessor's palace at Westminster
      1. needed Robert of Jumieges' (a Norman) advice
  3. Defensive
    1. Only 3 motte and bailey castles
      1. All built by Ed's Norman friends
    2. burhs
      1. Fortified (defended) villages
    3. burh-geats
      1. little burghs
2. Art
  1. Famous for jewellery /metal work
    1. Alfred Jewel
    2. Fuller Booch
    3. Expensive & rare
  2. Stolen by Viking raiders
  3. Skilled embroiderers/ weavers.
    1. e.g. Bayeux Tapestry
3. Literature
  1. Science
    1. maps
    2. calendars
  2. Poetry
    1. Beowulf
    2. spoken not read
  3. History
    1. Anglo Saxon Chronicles
      1. One sided
      2. gaps
  4. Rude riddles!
    1. The Exeter Book

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'Golden Age' What was England like in 1065?

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	Created by Tom Lea over 6 years ago