Government in Anglo-Saxon England
covers
English government
during the
Anglo-Saxon period
from the 5th century until the
Norman Conquest
in 1066. See
Government in medieval England
for developments after 1066.
Until the 9th century, England was divided into multiple
Anglo-Saxon kingdoms
. Each kingdom had its own laws and customs, but all shared a common basis in the Germanic legal tradition. In the 9th century, the
Kingdom of Wessex
absorbed the other kingdoms, creating the unified
Kingdom of England
.
The king's primary responsibilities were to defend his people, dispense justice, and maintain order. Kings had extensive powers to make laws, mint coins, levy taxes, raise armies, regulate trade, and conduct diplomacy. The
witan
or royal council advised the king, and the
royal household
provided the administrative machinery of government.
England was divided into ealdormanries led by
ealdormen
(later
earls
) appointed by the king. An ealdormanry was divided into
shires
. The ealdorman enforced royal orders, presided over the
shire court
, and led the local
fyrd
(army). A
sheriff
administered each shire as the ealdorman's deputy. Shires were divided into administrative units called
hundreds
.
Before unification
[
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]
Anglo-Saxon settlement (300?500)
[
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]
Since the 1st century
CE, England was part of the
Roman province of Britain
. In the 4th century, a series of
barbarian invasions
destabilised the
Roman Empire
. In Britain, the size of the
Roman army
decreased, urban populations declined, and the minting of
Roman coins
ceased. The native
Britons
revolted and expelled the Roman authorities in the 5th century. The
end of Roman rule
caused a "period of social and economic collapse".
Germanic people
may have begun settling the island in the late 4th century. The 6th-century monk
Gildas
writes that
Saxons
were originally hired as
federate
soldiers but eventually seized power from the native Britons. According to
Bede
, the settlers came mainly from three Germanic tribes: Saxons,
Angles
, and
Jutes
.
Eastern and southern Britain fragmented into small, independent political communities.
Based on archaeological evidence (such as burials and buildings), these early communities appear to have lacked any social elite. Around half the population were free, independent farmers (
Old English
:
ceorls
) who cultivated enough land to provide for a family (a unit called a
hide
).
Slaves
, mostly Britons, made up the other half.
Origins of kingship (500?600)
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]
By the end of the 6th century, the leaders of Anglo-Saxon political communities were calling themselves kings.
The development of kingdoms can partly be explained by the
Late Antique Little Ice Age
and the
Plague of Justinian
. These caused famine and other societal disruptions that may have increased violence and led previously independent farmers to submit to the rule of strong lords. The Old English word for
lord
is
hlaford
(
'
loaf-guardian
'
or
'
bread-giver
'
).
Grander buildings and burial practices, such as the construction of
burial mounds
, also indicate the development of kingship and a social elite.
Germanic kingship
provided a model for early Anglo-Saxon kings. Anglo-Saxons inherited the concept of
sacred kingship
.
The Old English word for king was
cyning
(
'
son of the kin
'
).
The term implied the king was part of a "specially selected kindred, divinely called to rule over a people". Kingship was passed down through royal dynasties that all claimed descent from a deity, usually
Woden
. After the
Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England
, royal families linked their origins to
biblical genealogies
(see
Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies
)
.
A Germanic king's power was based on success as a warrior and the collection of land and tribute. A king employed a
comitatus
(armed
retinue
) who lived with him in his
hall
. In addition to providing these warriors with a place to live and food, the king also gave his warriors gifts. Generosity was the mark of a good king.
Anglo-Saxon societies were based on
Germanic law
and custom. Germanic tribes such as the
Ostrogoths
,
Visigoths
,
Franks
, and
Lombards
became
Romanized
to varying degrees by the 5th century. Nevertheless, this was not true of the Anglo-Saxons, who originated from northern Germany and Denmark and had no direct contact with the Roman Empire. For this reason,
Roman law
only influenced Anglo-Saxon institutions after Christianisation began in the 7th century.
Early kingdoms (600?871)
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]
The greatest lords became rulers of
petty kingdoms
. The most important were the
Heptarchy
:
Kent
,
Essex
,
Wessex
,
Sussex
,
East Anglia
,
Mercia
, and
Northumbria
.
When the throne became vacant, a kingdom's
witan
(secular and ecclesiastical "wise men") chose the new king from among eligible candidates of the ruling dynasty. A candidate's age, ability, popularity, and the wishes of the previous king were all factors that could influence the succession.
Since the king's primary role was as a warrior, he needed to be of age and ability to lead an army, and some kings retired to
monasteries
when they could no longer play a military role. For this reason, succession did not follow strict
primogeniture
, and infant sons were commonly bypassed in favor of adult brothers.
Rites of royal
consecration
developed slowly. In 787,
Ecgfrith
of Mercia became the first Anglo-Saxon king
anointed
with
holy oil
, imitating
Carolingian
and biblical precedents.
Witans could formally depose kings.
Cynewulf
and the West-Saxon witan deposed King
Sigeberht
in 757. Councils formally deposed several Northumbrian kings. In 774, King
Alhred
was deposed and replaced by
Æthelred I
, who was himself ousted in 779. Æthelred was restored as king in 790 and reigned until his murder in 796.
A king had the power to make law and give legal judgment with the advice of his witan. He presided in person as judge of the royal court, which could sentence freemen to death, enslavement, or impose financial penalties.
In some instances, the witan could overturn royal decisions. In 840, for example, the Mercian witan ruled that King
Berhtwulf
had unjustly confiscated land from
Heahbeorht, bishop of Worcester
. The bishop regained his land, and Berhtwulf gave gifts to the church as compensation.
Christianisation resulted in the production of written law codes, the earliest being Kent's
Law of Æthelberht
. These early laws attempted to preserve the peace and prevent
blood feuds
(see
Anglo-Saxon law
)
.
Kings played a crucial part in converting their kingdoms to Christianity. Afterward, kings continued to be involved in church affairs. Kings summoned and presided over
synods
, such as the 664
Synod of Whitby
, where
Oswiu
of Northumbria decided that his kingdom would follow the Roman
date of Easter
instead of the Celtic date.
The church used
canon law
, a legal system based on Roman
civil law
.
All free men had the right to bear arms and a duty to defend the kingdom through service in the
fyrd
(army). The army's core was the king's
comitatus
, which formed part of the
royal household
. Fyrd service was one of the obligations known as the
trinoda necessitas
("three necessities"). The other two were equally related to military preparedness: the repair of
burhs
(fortifications) and the repair of bridges (essential for communications).
Kingdoms had different administrative divisions, such as the
shire
in Wessex,
lathe
in Kent, or
rape
in Sussex.
In the 8th century, the term
ealdorman
first appeared in the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
. In Wessex, these were royal officials tasked with leading the army and administering justice in a shire. In return, an ealdorman received part of the judicial fines owed to the king. He also may have been granted land for his service.
Sometimes, ealdormen were former kings reduced to sub-king status; such was the case in Mercia's absorption of the
Hwicce
.
Before the 8th century, one king was periodically named the
bretwalda
("wide-ruler" or "ruler of Britain").
Bede
wrote that the bretwalda possessed
imperium
over other kingdoms, and
Adamnan
used the term
imperator
. Historian
H. R. Loyn
remarked that "some hazy imperial ideas" were associated with the title, such as influence over the
English church
, military leadership against the native
Britons
, and receiving tribute.
The balance of power among the kingdoms changed over time. Between 654 and 685, Northumbria was the dominant kingdom.
The 8th century was a period of
Mercian supremacy
. Wessex surpassed Mercia in the 820s during the reign of
Ecgberht
.
Consolidation (871?899)
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]
In the 850s, England faced a formidable threat as
Viking
invaders, led by their
Great Heathen Army
, conquered most Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. However, under the leadership of
Alfred the Great
(
r.
871?899
), Wessex successfully resisted the invaders. In a pivotal battle in 878, Alfred emerged victorious against a Viking army led by
Guthrum
. Subsequently, in 886, Alfred and Guthrum negotiated a peace agreement, the
Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum
, which defined the boundaries of the
Danelaw
. Alfred received the submission of all the English, including London, not under the Danelaw.
In response to the Viking invasions, royal government in Wessex became more sophisticated and effective.
Alfred strengthened his kingdom's military organisation, building over 30
burhs
(fortifications), some of which became permanent towns.
Alfred allocated each burh several hides to provide for its maintenance and support, as illustrated in the
Burghal Hidage
.
Under Alfred, there were always nine or ten ealdormen. Each West Saxon shire had one ealdorman, while East and West Kent had two. The ealdormen were entrusted with crucial responsibilities, including the management of the army, fortifications, and tax collection in their respective shires. The king granted them estates and special privileges, such as the "third penny" (a third of the
shire court
's judicial profits). The royal
reeves
(Latin:
praepositi
) supervised royal estates and were responsible for administering finances and manpower.
Alfred's heirs continued the work of reconquest. By 955, the newly forged
Kingdom of England
encompassed Mercia, the Danelaw, and Northumbria. The kingdom's boundaries ran north to the
Firth of Forth
.
Royal government
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Kingship
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The king was answerable to God alone; however, a good king surrounded himself with wise counselors and listened to their advice. The king's inner circle (his family and royal household) helped him to govern.
Kings usually legislated in consultation with a witan
(see
below
)
.
The king's primary responsibility was to protect his people and lead them during wartime. His job was maintaining law, order, and the economy within his kingdom.
Kings had extensive powers to make laws, mint coins, levy taxes, raise armies, regulate trade, and conduct diplomacy.
The king appointed and removed all royal officers as he saw fit. He had the right to construct bridges and burhs. He was also responsible for the safety of foreigners, a responsibility codified in treaties concerning merchants and diplomats.
"The king was the focus of justice within his realm, dealing with hard cases, failures of justice, and problematic judges."
Hundred
and
shire courts
handled most judicial matters, but all freemen had the right to appeal to the king and his witan. By the 10th century, certain offenses were considered "pleas of the king".
There were two kinds of king's pleas: cases in which the king was a party and cases involving severe crimes reserved to the king's jurisdiction. These cases could only be tried in the presence of royal officials in the shire court.
The
laws of Cnut
defined king's pleas as:
- violation of the royal protection (
mund
)
- murder
- treason
- arson
- attacks on houses
- persistent robbery
- counterfeiting
- assault
- harbouring fugitives
- neglect of military service
- fighting
- rape
Succession
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From 899 to 1016, a direct descendant of Alfred the Great of the
House of Wessex
sat on the English throne. From 1016 to 1042, the Danish
House of Knytlinga
possessed the throne.
Edward the Confessor
(
r.
1042?1066
) briefly restored the House of Wessex to power. However, he was succeeded in 1066 by
Harold Godwinson
and then
William the Conqueror
(
r.
1066?1087
), whose Conquest of England marked the end of the Anglo-Saxon era.
Theoretically, an element of election was inherent in kingship. Abbot
Ælfric of Eynsham
expressed this theory in a sermon:
[46]
No man can make himself king, but the people has the choice to select as king whom they please; but after he is consecrated as king, he then has dominion over the people, and they cannot shake his
yoke
from their necks.
In reality, the witan rarely elected kings
(see
§ Witan
, below)
. A king normally designated a successor during his lifetime, and the witan ratified this decision. If there was no apparent heir, the witan chose the most capable member of the ruling dynasty.
Initially, candidates for kingship had to descend from
Cerdic
, the first West Saxon king.
By the 10th century, only sons of kings were considered eligible for kingship and the title of
ætheling
.
Beyond this, there were no strict rules for determining the next king.
Sons usually succeeded their fathers, but older relatives could take precedence over young sons.
Edmund I
(
r.
939?946
) was succeeded by his brother
Eadred
(
r.
946?955
) because his sons were too young. Edmund's son
Eadwig
(
r.
955?959
) became king upon the death of his childless uncle.
The absence of well defined rules led to conflict whenever a king died.
Æthelwold
, son of
Æthelred I
(
r.
865?871
) and Alfred's nephew, challenged
Edward the Elder
's (
r.
899?924
) claim to the throne and allied with the Danes against Edward. Edward's death also sparked a succession crisis, as did the demise of his grandson,
Edgar
(
r.
959?975
). Disputes arose when kings had sons by different wives or when
illegitimate
sons vied for the throne.
Ælfthryth
, Edgar's second wife, is believed to have assassinated
Edward the Martyr
(
r.
975?978
) to pave the way for her son,
Æthelred the Unready
(
r.
978?1016
), to become king.
Coronation
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During their coronations, kings undertook a three-part oath, a solemn vow to protect the church, to punish criminals, and to do justice to all Christian people. This oath, known as the
promissio regis
,
was the foundation for subsequent
coronation charters
and, ultimately,
Magna Carta
. Following these promises, kings were anointed with
holy oil
. Similar to priests, anointing bestowed upon kings a sacred status. An anointed king could not be lawfully deposed; thus, a poor ruler was seen as God's retribution for the kingdom's sins.
In the 10th century, coronations typically took place at
Kingston upon Thames
. Edward the Confessor was crowned at Winchester. In 1066, Harold Godwinson was crowned at the newly consecrated
Westminster Abbey
, which remained the customary place of coronation for future kings.
Royal household
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The royal household included the royal family,
royal favourites
, military personnel, priests, clerks, and domestic servants.
Ealdormen and
thegns
served regularly at court.
Thegns who served in the royal household were called "king's thegns" and enjoyed higher status than regular thegns.
These were also called
stallers
, a Danish title that probably meant "place-holder".
Most noble household members served in rotation. However, a core remained in virtually constant attendance.
While
Winchester
and
London
were major cities, England had no fixed capital. The king's household and
court were itinerant
, with kings constantly traversing southern England (where most royal estates were located) and occasionally venturing north. This mobile court formed the hub of Anglo-Saxon government and performed its executive functions.
Kings delegated public duties to household officers, effectively making them state officers.
Among these officers,
chamberlains
and royal priests played pivotal roles in royal administration.
There were always two or three chamberlains at a time. They were responsible for the royal bedchamber and the king's
wardrobe
or dressing room. The wardrobe was also where kings stored their valuables, such as money. As a result, the chamber and wardrobe functioned as the government's finance department. The chamber received all royal revenue, including taxation, fines, and income from other sources. The chamber then paid this money out for expenses. Kings stored their treasure in multiple places for convenience. By the time of Edward the Confessor, Winchester was a permanent treasury location.
The priests in the
royal chapel
provided for the household's spiritual needs. Within the chapel was a
scriptorium
or writing office dedicated to producing
charters
,
writs
, royal letters, and other official documents.
Charters or "landbooks" were written in Latin and recorded royal grants of
bookland
to the church or individuals. A writ was a brief letter from the king with instructions to an official authenticated with a
seal
hanging from the document like a pendant. It was more efficient than a traditional charter.
By the reign of Edward the Confessor, the writing office had custody of the
great seal
used to authenticate writs. Service in the royal chapel could be a stepping stone towards becoming a bishop.
Priests and clerks of the royal household probably had noble backgrounds.
Witan
[
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]
Kings had to depend on the great men of the realm to maintain authority?ealdormen, thegns, bishops, and
abbots
. Nevertheless, kings could not monitor all of these officials, even with an itinerant court. It was much easier to summon the great men to royal councils?meetings of the witan or "wise men".
According to historian
Bryce Lyon
, the witan "was an
amoebic
sort of organization with no definite composition or function".
The term referred to large gatherings of nobles and small councils of advisers in the royal household.
When English kings claimed overlordship over their Welsh neighbors, the
Welsh kings
might also be in attendance. High-ranking churchmen were influential, but not all witans included churchmen.
Whenever the king asked a large or small group of nobles to advise him and to witness or consent to a royal action, that assembly was a witan.
Witans deliberated on a wide variety of business, including financial and judicial. Discussion occurred in the English language. A person refusing to appear before a witan was liable to heavy fines and even outlawry.
A witan could meet anywhere at any time. London and Winchester were common locations. Christmas, Lent, and Easter were favorite times because many nobles were at the royal court.
The king consulted a witan on significant matters. For example, the king and his advisers drafted laws and submitted them to large witans for consultation and consent. In the words of Lyon, kings "seemed to feel that to consult with men from all parts of the kingdom produced a wider sampling of opinion and gave the law more solid support".
Witans took part in both secular and ecclesiastical legislation. Church law, however, was drafted by the clergy, with
lay
nobles merely giving consent. Witans only consented to extraordinary taxation that would burden the nobility. For example, the witan consented to the
Danegeld
.
Witans discussed decisions related to war, peace, and treaties.
The declaration of a royal
will
occurred at witans. The witan consented to and witnessed the granting of
bookland
by charter. When a king died, the witan nominally elected a new king
(see
§ Succession
, above)
. When a king gained power by conquest, he was careful to gain the witan's assent.
Finances
[
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]
Coinage
[
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]
The English coinage was the best in Europe.
Unlike France or Germany where lords and bishops minted their own coins, only the king issued coins, and foreign coins were banned.
Æthelstan ordered every burh to have a mint.
There were 70 mints in the time of Edward the Confessor.
The government kept tight control over the quality and design of the coinage.
Moneyers
were required to use official
coin dies
and faced strict penalties for producing counterfeit money.
The dies were cut in London and then distributed to the local mints.
Shillings
,
pounds
, and
marks
were units of account, but the silver
penny
was the only coin in circulation.
The penny's purchasing power was similar to that of a
half sovereign
before
World War I
.
[note 1]
Royal lands and taxation
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]
The king was the largest landowner having inherited a landed estate from his predecessors called the royal demesne (later called the
Crown Estate
). The demesne generated income through
food render
or money rent paid by
tenants
. The royal demesne was divided into individual estates or
manors
. Some manors were dedicated to providing agricultural produce for the king's household. Other manors were leased to
speculators
in return for money rent. Royal manors were administered for the king by
reeves
. The sheriff "
farmed
" the royal revenues from his county, paid a fixed amount to the royal treasury, and kept the rest for himself.
Kings levied
geld
, a land tax based on hidage. There were different kinds of geld. After Viking attacks resumed in the 980s, English kings used
Danegeld
to fund tribute payments until England's conquest by Danish prince
Cnut the Great
. The heregeld paid soldiers and sailors. The heregeld was abolished in 1049 by Edward the Confessor, who placed responsibility for naval defense on the
Cinque Ports
in return for special privileges. Geld continued to be levied annually at a regular rate of 2 shillings per hide for the rest of the Anglo-Saxon period.
The king could exempt or grant to others the following rights:
- Collection of the
heriot
(inheritance tax)
- Collection of tolls and dues at markets, ports, roads, and waterways
- Right to
treasure troves
and to salvage shipwrecks
- Royal monopoly on mines and saltworks
- Fines paid in criminal and civil cases and for
breach of the peace
Local government
[
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]
Ealdormanries and earldoms
[
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]
The
ealdorman
was an official appointed by the king to administer a
shire
,
and he could be removed at the will of the king. The ealdorman commanded the shire's
fyrd
(army), co-presided with the
bishop
over the
shire court
, and enforced royal orders. He had a right to the "third penny": one-third of the income from the shire court and one-third of the revenue from tolls and dues levied in the boroughs.
Originally, the ealdorman governed a single shire. Starting with Edward the Elder, it became customary for one ealdorman to administer three or four shires together as an ealdormanry.
By 965, there were only two or three ealdormen in Wessex, four or five in Mercia, and one in Northumbria.
The boundaries of the ealdormanries are unknown, and they may not have covered the entire kingdom. It is possible that the king kept some areas under his personal jurisdiction.
During Cnut's reign, the ealdorman's name was changed to
earl
(related to Old English
eorl
and Scandinavian
jarl
).
Cnut's realm, the
North Sea Empire
, extended beyond England, and he was forced to delegate
viceregal
power to his earls.
Cnut kept Wessex for himself and divided the rest of England into three earldoms:
East Anglia
,
Mercia
, and
Northumbria
.
Later, the
earldom of Wessex
was granted to
Godwin
. These four earldoms remained the principal ones through the reign of Edward the Confessor.
During the reign of Edward the Confessor, the earls were still royal officers governing their earldoms in the king's name. However, they were developing more autonomy and becoming a threat to royal power.
Three great aristocratic families emerged: the
Godwins
of Wessex,
Leofric of Mercia
, and
Siward of Northumbria
.
The earldoms of Wessex and Mercia were hereditary by this time.
However, Edward deliberately broke the hereditary succession to Northumbria when Earl Siward died in 1055. He ignored the claims of Siward's son
Waltheof
and appointed
Tostig
as earl.
The earldom of East Anglia appears to have been used as a training ground for new earls.
Shires
[
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]
As the ealdorman's jurisdiction expanded, he delegated more responsibility to his
reeves
. The office of
sheriff
or "shire reeve" developed by the middle of the 10th century. By 1066, the sheriff was in charge of local government. He was the shire's chief military, financial, and judicial officer. The king relied on him to supervise royal estates and collect taxes and other revenue. He presided over the
shire court
, publicized royal pronouncements, enforced royal commands, and pursued criminals. Deputy reeves assisted him. The king appointed and dismissed sheriffs as he pleased.
The shire court met twice a year around Easter and
Michaelmas
.
It was an administrative and judicial body with jurisdiction over criminal, civil, and ecclesiastical cases.
The sheriff (or sometimes the earl)
and the bishop presided, but there was no judge in the modern sense (
royal justices
would not sit in shire courts until the reign of
Henry I
). The local aristocracy controlled the court. The suitors of the court (bishops, earls, and thegns) declared the law and decided what proof of innocence or guilt to accept (such as
ordeal
or
compurgation
). The shire court handled administrative business, such as arrangements for collecting geld.
For information on Anglo-Saxon court procedure, see
Anglo-Saxon law
.
Hundreds and boroughs
[
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]
Sometime in the 10th century, kings divided shires into
hundreds
or wapentakes. Initially, the hundred was an administrative district comprising a hundred hides headquartered at a
royal vill
.
The hundred court met once a month. It handled routine judicial business, civil as well as criminal. It had jurisdiction over land ownership,
tort
, and ecclesiastical cases. People could appeal their cases to the shire court or to the king.
The sheriff presided two or three times a year, and a subordinate reeve presided at other times. Any landowning freeman could attend the hundred court. However, thegns controlled the court. As suitors to the court, the thegns (or their
bailiffs
) were responsible for declaring the law, deciding what form of proof to accept, and assisting with the court's administrative functions.
Kings granted lords, bishops, and monasteries jurisdiction over some hundreds. In these private hundreds, the lord controlled the hundred court and received the profits of justice. The
abbey of Bury St Edmunds
, for example, controlled over eight hundreds in Suffolk.
The sheriff ensured that all men belonged to
tithings
. The tithing was a method of self-policing. The men of a tithing were responsible for bringing an accused person to court. If the accused escaped, the tithing was fined.
Most people in Anglo-Saxon England lived in small agricultural communities under the control of a lord. These communities were called tuns,
townships
,
vills
, or
manors
. The king could grant ecclesiastical and lay lords the right of
sac and soc
("cause and suit"),
toll and team
, and
infangenetheof
over their estates. By the 11th century, most lords possessed these rights.
England experienced a revival of commerce and trade in the 10th and 11th centuries. Kings gave towns
borough
status in order to facilitate trade. Boroughs had courts (burghmoots, portmanmoots, or
hustings
) to provide adequate witnesses for commercial deals. London's
Court of Husting
had the power of a shire court, and the city was subdivided into
wards
. The merchants
(see
Burgess (title)
)
who lived in boroughs gained rights not available to rural peasants. These included freedom of movement, which was necessary for trade, and freedom from service to a lord. An early form of
burgage tenure
already existed.
The
portreeve
was an important town officer.
In addition to the regular divisions of a shire, there also existed special jurisdictions called
liberties
where the sheriff had limited power and where dues owed to the king were granted to local lords. Some of these, such as the
Soke of Peterborough
, survived into modern times as local authorities.
Church and state
[
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]
The English monarchy and the English church were mutually reinforcing institutions. Through coronation, the church provided the king with divine sanction and, in return, the church expected to receive royal protection.
The church exercised significant influence over royal administration. The king relied on literate clergy to staff his household and help him govern.
Bishops
and
abbots
advised the king in the witan and helped shape royal law codes.
Nevertheless, the king exercised significant control over the church. He appointed bishops (or at least approved their nomination by
cathedral chapters
) and abbots, who were as much political figures as they were spiritual leaders. Bishops and abbots controlled large estates belonging to their
dioceses
or
monasteries
, so they were wealthy magnates in their own right. Just like
lay
lords, they were responsible for the administrative, judicial, and military concerns of their lands. Some bishops actively took part in fighting, such as the warrior bishop
Leofgar of Hereford
.
Military
[
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]
In the Anglo-Saxon period, England had no standing army.
However, kings and nobles kept household bodyguards. Since the time of Æthelred the Unready, these included Scandinavian mercenaries called
housecarls
. The king's retinue would have also included household thegns and
cnihtas
(Old English for "
knights
").
Kings could reinforce these household troops in different ways. Holders of
bookland
were obligated to provide a certain number of men based on the number of hides they owned, and all free men were obligated to perform military service in the fyrd.
When called on by the king, shires would supply a certain number of men to the fyrd. It is known that Berkshire owed one soldier for every five hides of land, and it has been estimated that a full national army could have been as large as 14,000 men.
The
burhs
or
boroughs
played an important role in defending the countryside. Every hide owed one man for burh service, either in maintenance or garrison duty. It is likely that earls and sheriffs would lead troops on campaign, while the bishop would supervise the defence of his diocese.
Edward the Confessor maintained a small fleet manned by foreign mercenaries, probably Vikings. It had 14 ships in 1050. In addition, the
Cinque Ports
provided a certain amount of ships in return for judicial rights.
References
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edit
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Notes
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- ^
This would be worth around £39.09 in 2017 currency.
[81]
Citations
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edit
]
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Baker, John
(2019).
An Introduction to English Legal History
(5th ed.). Oxford University Press.
ISBN
978-0-19-254074-4
.
- Barlow, Frank
(1997).
Edward the Confessor
(New ed.). Yale University Press.
ISBN
978-0-300-07156-6
.
- Green, Judith A.
(2017).
Forging the Kingdom: Power in English Society, 973?1189
. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN
9780521193597
.
- Hudson, John
(2012).
The Oxford History of the Laws of England: 871-1216
. The Oxford History of the Laws of England. Vol. 2. Oxford University Press.
doi
:
10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198260301.001.0001
.
ISBN
9780198260301
.
- Huscroft, Richard (2016).
Ruling England, 1042?1217
(2nd ed.). Routledge.
ISBN
978-1138786554
.
- Jolliffe, J. E. A. (1961).
The Constitutional History of Medieval England from the English Settlement to 1485
(4th ed.). Adams and Charles Black.
- Loyn, H. R.
(1984).
The Governance of Anglo-Saxon England, 500?1087
. Governance of England. Vol. 1. Stanford University Press.
ISBN
9780804712170
.
- Lyon, Bryce
(1980).
A Constitutional and Legal History of Medieval England
(2nd ed.). W. W. Norton & Company.
ISBN
0-393-95132-4
.
1st edition available at the
Internet Archive
.
- Lyon, Ann (2016).
Constitutional History of the UK
(2nd ed.). Routledge.
ISBN
978-1-317-20398-8
.
- Morris, Marc
(2021).
The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England: 400?1066
. Pegasus Books.
ISBN
978-1-64313-312-6
.
- Powell, J. Enoch
; Wallis, Keith (1968). "Witenagemot".
The House of Lords in the Middle Ages: A History of the English House of Lords to 1540
. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. pp. 1?11.
ISBN
0297761056
.
- Richardson, H. G.
;
Sayles, G. O.
(1963).
The Governance of Mediaeval England from the Conquest to Magna Carta
. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
- Thorpe, Benjamin
, ed. (1844).
The Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church. The first part, containing the Sermones Catholici, or Homilies of Ælfric
. Vol. 1. London: Richard and John E. Taylor for the
Aelfric Society
.
- Warren, W. L.
(1987). "The Anglo-Saxon Legacy".
The Governance of Norman and Angevin England, 1086?1272
. The Governance of England. Vol. 2. Stanford, CA, US: Stanford University Press. pp. 25?55.
ISBN
0-8047-1307-3
.
- Yorke, Barbara
(1990).
Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England
. B. A. Seaby.
ISBN
0-415-16639-X
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Campbell, James
(2000).
The Anglo-Saxon State
. London and New York: Hambledon and London.
ISBN
1852851767
.
- Larson, Laurence Marcellus
(1904).
The King's Household in England Before the Norman Conquest
. Madison, Wisconsin, US: University of Wisconsin.
- Roach, Levi (2013).
Kingship and Consent in Anglo-Saxon England, 871?978: Assemblies and the State in the Early Middle Ages
.
Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought
: 4th Series. Vol. 92. Cambridge University Press.
doi
:
10.1017/CBO9781139567756
.
ISBN
978-1316648520
.
- Rabin, Andrew, ed. (2014).
The Political Writings of Archbishop Wulfstan of York
(Annotated ed.). Manchester University Press.
ISBN
978-0719089756
.
- Wallace-Hadrill, J. M.
(1971).
Early Germanic Kingship in England and on the Continent
. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
ISBN
9780198214915
.
- White, Albert Beebe (1925).
The Making of the English Constitution, 449-1485
(2nd revised ed.). New York & London: G. P. Putnam & Sons.