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Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, c1060–88

Anglo-Saxon government, economy and society

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 2 booklet B

Overview

The powers of the king, the Witan, the four earldoms, shires and hundreds, trial by oath and ordeal, thegns and peasants, burhs, and what the Church did for people and for government.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What powers made the English monarchy strong by 1060?

Key term

What was the Witan?

Key term

Which four great earldoms divided England in 1060?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What powers made the English monarchy strong by 1060?

    Model answer

    The king led the army, issued the law codes and the coinage, granted land to his nobles and raised the geld tax from the whole kingdom.

  2. 2

    What was the Witan?

    Model answer

    A council of leading earls, thegns and churchmen that advised the king and had a say in choosing his successor.

  3. 3

    Which four great earldoms divided England in 1060?

    Model answer

    Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria and East Anglia.

  4. 4

    How was England governed below the level of the earls?

    Model answer

    Each shire was split into hundreds, both with their own regular courts, and a shire reeve acted for the king in collecting his dues and enforcing his law.

  5. 5

    How did an Anglo-Saxon court decide a case when there was no clear evidence?

    Model answer

    The accused swore his innocence with oath-helpers, and if that failed he faced trial by ordeal, in which God was believed to reveal guilt.

  6. 6

    What was a thegn, and what did he owe for his land?

    Model answer

    A local lord who held land from the king or an earl and owed military service and attendance at his lord’s court in return.

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AThe huge loss of life left England short of workers.
BForeign craftsmen and labourers were wanted.
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