Anglo-Saxon Life
Life and Religion. It is difficult to generalize about an
era as lengthy as the Dark Ages, but we'll do it anyway. The Anglo-Saxons
were pagans when they came to Britain. They worshipped gods of nature
and held springs, wells, rocks, and trees in reverence. Religion was
not a source of spiritual revelation, it was a means of ensuring success
in material things. For example, you might pray to a particular goddess
for a successful harvest, or for victory in battle. A few of the main
Anglo-Saxon gods were Tiw, Wodin (Odin), Thor, and Friya, whose names
are remembered in our days of the week Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,
and Friday.
Religious observance consisted of invocations and charms to ensure
the gods' help in securing a desired outcome in the material world,
though the presence of grave goods indicates a belief in an afterlife.
There is a possibility that female slaves may have been sacrificed
on the death of a male owner and included in the grave to accompany
him in the next world.
A Lord's Life. We know little about how most people lived,
for so little remains. The richer lords lived on estates, with a main
rectangular hall surrounded by outlying buildings for various living,
working, and storage purposes. Inside the hall a lord might mark his
prestige by expensive wall hangings or even paintings. The hall was
the scene of feasts for the lord's followers, and a lord was expected
to be a lavish host.
Society was divided into several social classes, which might vary
from place to place. At the top was the king. He was essentially a
war leader.He was expected to provide opportunities for plunder and
glory for his followers.The king who did not provide land, slaves,
or plunder might wake up dead one fine morning.
Below the king there were two levels of freemen, the upper class thanes
and the lower class ceorls (churls). The division between the two
was strictly in terms of land owned. A man could only be a thane if
he owned at least five hides of land (a hide was defined as the amount
of land necessary to provide a living for one family). Aside from
the ownership of land, a ceorl could actually be a richer man than
the thane.
Below the thanes and ceorls were the slaves. Slavery was one of the
biggest commercial enterprises of Dark Age life, and much depended
on this involuntary labour force.
Slavery - the way in... How did one become a slave? You could
have the bad luck to be born a slave, of course. Beyond that, war
was the most frequent source of slaves. Many conquered Celtic Britons
would have become slaves. People could also become slaves if they
were unable to pay a fine. In some cases a family would sell a child
into slavery in time of famine to ensure the child's survival.
...and the way out. Slavery was not necessarily a lifetime
sentence, however. A slave could be ransomed by his or her relatives
or granted freedom in an owner's will. If a person became a slave
because they were unable to pay a debt, they might be freed when the
value of their labour reached the value of the original debt.
Clothing. The robe or tunic gathered at the waist was the common
garment for a man, completed by hose and soft shoes. For a woman the
robe or dress extended to the feet. The usual materials were linen
and woolens, the more expensive outfits being marked by colourful
dyes and exotic borders. Broaches were used to fix clothing by rich
and poor, and amulets of stones were worn for luck.
Weapons. In war the common weapon was the spear made with a
seven foot long ash shaft and an iron head. It was both thrown and
used to jab. Shields were round, made of wood covered with leather,
and had an iron boss in the centre. Only the nobility used swords,
which were about thirty inches long, made of iron with steel edges.
The hilt was often elaborately carved and jewelled, and could be inscribed
with good luck symbols and the names of gods.
The Danish Vikings were more heavily armed than the Anglo-Saxons,
relying on chain mail and helmets, and short stabbing swords which
were useful in close quarters, as well as the fearsome double headed
battle axe.
Leisure. When they weren't fighting (one wonders when that
was) the favourite pastimes of the Dark Ages were dice and board games
such as chess. Elaborate riddles were popular, as was horse racing
and hunting. At feasts the most common entertainment was the harp,
which was also used in church music. In addition to the harp, scenes
of juggling balls and knives have been found illustrating books of
the period.
Traveling. Travel was not uncommon, and the main trade routes,
often along the old Roman roads, were used frequently. However, off
the main routes travel could be a risky business. Travellers were
advised to shout, blow horns, and make lots of noise. Otherwise any
strangers were assumed to be outlaws, and could be killed out of hand.
Administration. The land was divided into shires, mainly according
to the territory of the first tribes. The shire was divided into hundreds,
or in the Danelaw, wapentakes. These were the basic units of administration
and the court system.
To look after the king's interests (see that all the taxes were collected)
and administer justice, were the ealdormen and shire-reeves (sheriffs).
Within the shires were the towns, or burhs, which ranged in size from
5000 people at York to 500 at St. Albans. Initially only some of the
towns were walled, and those often with earthworks reminiscent of
the Bronze Age.
Farming. In the countryside the vast majority of the people
lived by farming. At first most of the farms were owned outright.
The ceorls worked co-operatively, sharing the expense of a team of
oxen to plough the large common fields in narrow strips that were
shared out alternately so that each farmer had an equal share of good
and bad land.
Later much of this land was consolidated into the large estates of
wealthy nobles. Ceorls might work the land in return for service or
produce, or they might work the lord's land a given number of days
per year. As time went on more and more of these large estates were
established as integrated commercial enterprises, complete with water
mill to grind the grain.
Food. The crops most frequently grown were wheat, oats, rye,
and barley (both as a cereal and as the base for beer). Peas, beans,
and lentils were also common. Honey was the only sweetener in use,
and it was used to make the alcoholic beverage mead. Pigs were a major
food animal, as were cattle, goats, and sheep. Horses and oxen were
raised for heavy farm labour and transportation, though the stirrup
had yet to make an appearance from the far east.
(Note: The terms "England", "Scotland",
and "Wales" are used purely to indicate geographic location
relative to modern boundaries - at this time period, these individual
countries did not exist).
Related: Early Anglo-Saxon
Britain
Anglo-Saxon architecture
Anglo-Saxon Towns
Also see "Anglo-Saxon
London" in our "London
History"section.
History
Prehistory - Roman
Britain - Dark Ages - Medieval
Britain - The Tudor Era - The
Stuarts - Georgian Britain -
The Victorian Age
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