Presentation on the Anglo-saxons

2. The Anglo-Saxons
• The Romans invaded Britain in
AD43. After that, for 400 years
southern Britain was part of the
Roman world. The last Roman
soldiers left Britain in AD 410,
and then new people came in
ships across the North Sea.
Historians call them Anglo-
Saxons.
• The new settlers were a mixture
of people from north Germany,
Denmark and northern Holland.

3. How they lived
• In their own lands, most Anglo-Saxons
were farmers.
• They lived in family groups in villages,
not cities. Since they lived close to the
sea and big rivers, many Anglo-Saxons
were sailors too. They built wooden
ships with oars and sails, for trade and
to settle in new lands.
• When the Anglo-Saxons arrived in
Britain, most kept clear of
Roman towns.
• Some Saxons built wooden houses
inside the walls of Roman towns.
Others cleared spaces in the forest to
build villages and make new fields.

4. Fun Fact
• York was a Roman army town. People called it the 'Home of the Sixth
Legion' which was based there from AD 122.

5. An Anglo-Saxon home
• In an Anglo-Saxon family,
everyone from babies to old
people shared a home.
• Anglo-Saxon houses were built of
wood and had thatched roofs.
• Each family house had one room,
with a hearth with a fire for
cooking, heating and light. A
metal cooking pot hung from a
chain above the fire.

6. Clothing
• People wore clothes made from
woollen cloth or animal skins.
• Men wore tunics, with tight
trousers or leggings, wrapped
around with strips of cloth or
leather.
• Women wore long dresses.
• Clothing styles varied from region
to region. For instance, an Anglian
woman fastened her dress with a
long brooch. A Saxon woman used a
round brooch.
• Clothing also changed over time.

7. The working life
• Men, women and children helped on
the farm. Men cut down trees to clear
land for ploughing and sowing crops.
• Children with dogs herded cattle and
sheep.
• Some people had special skills. The
smith made iron tools, knives and
swords. Woodworkers made wooden
bowls, furniture, carts and wheels.
Potters made pottery from clay.
• he shoemaker made leather shoes.
Jewellers made metal brooches, beads
and gold ornaments for rich people.

8. Girls
• Anglo-Saxons thought sons and
daughters were equally important, but
girls' work centred on the home.
• They learned housekeeping skills such
as weaving cloth, cooking, making
cheese and brewing ale. Girls and boys
collected sticks for firewood, and
fetched water from a stream or well.
• Only a few girls learned to read and
write.
• By the age of 10 a girl was considered
grown-up. Most girls then married,
though some became Nuns in the
Christian Church.

9. Boys
• Boys learned the skills of their
fathers. They learned to chop down
trees with an axe, how to plough a
field, and how to use a spear in
battle.
• They rowed boats on rivers, went
fishing, collected birds' eggs (to
eat), caught wild duck in nets, and
hunted deer and wild boar with the
men.
• Not many boys learned to read and
write. The sons of kings or rich
thanes might be taught at home by
a private teacher.

10. Marriage
• Women did not often marry men of a
higher rank than themselves. A
slave woman usually married a slave
husband.
• But people were allowed to choose whom
they married, unless the family
disapproved. Family ties were very
important.
• A woman was expected to marry a man of
whom her parents and brothers approved.
A brother would look after his sister if her
husband died.
• Women could own land and leave wills.
• A rich woman's possessions might also
include furniture, blankets, cups and
jewellery, and horses.

11. Fun Fact
• Hunters used trained hawks to catch ducks, pigeons and other wild
birds.

12. King’s and Laws
• Each group of Anglo-Saxon settlers had a
leader or war-chief.
• A strong leader became 'cyning' - Anglo-
Saxon for 'king'. Each king ruled a kingdom
and led a small army.
• There were many quarrels and wars
between kings, to see who was the
strongest.
• By around AD600 there were five
important Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. They
were Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, Kent
and East Anglia.
• From time to time, the strongest king
would claim to be 'bretwalda' - which
meant ruler of all Britain.

13. A King’s burial
• In 1939, an amazing discovery was
made at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk. When
they dug into a large earth mound,
archaeologists found traces of an
Anglo-Saxon ship and many precious
objects. This was the grave of a king,
probably King Redwald of East Anglia.
He died around AD625.
• The treasure buried with the king
included coins (with dates on), the
remains of clothes and armour, a
shield, drinking cups, shoes, a lyre, a
gold belt buckle, a sword and a
helmet. It's clear this was the burial
place of a great leader.

14. Fun Fact
• The body of the Sutton Hoo king was not found in his ship-burial. The
body may have 'dissolved' in the soil.

15. Offa
• Offa was King of Mercia from AD757 to
796.
• Mercia was the strongest kingdom in
Anglo-Saxon England, and Offa was the
most powerful English king. His fame
spread to Europe.
• Offa was treated almost as an equal by
Charlemagne, the greatest ruler in Europe
at the time.
• Offa issued England's first penny coins, in
silver - known as 'Offa's pennies'.
• He built an earth wall and ditch for
defence along the border with Wales.
• This bank is called Offa's Dyke. About 80
miles/129 km of it can still be seen.

16. Crime and Punishment
• The Anglo-Saxons didn't have prisons.
People found guilty of crimes were
either executed or punished with fines.
• If they ran away, they became 'outlaws'
(outside the law), and anyone could
hunt them down - unless they hid in a
church.
• The fine for breaking into someone's
home was 5 shillings (25p), paid to the
home-owner.
• For minor crimes like stealing, a nose or
a hand might be cut off.
• If a person killed someone, they paid
money to the dead person's relatives.
This was ‘wergild’. The idea was to stop
long quarrels or 'blood feuds' between
families.

17. Free or slave?
• Most people in Anglo-Saxon society were
either freemen or slaves.
• A freeman owned land and slaves. A slave
owned nothing.
• A slave might be a prisoner captured in
war, or someone born into slavery.
• The richest and most powerful freemen
were the thanes who helped the king rule
the land.
• While kings and thanes lived in large halls
(big wooden houses), free peasants or
ceorls (churls) lived in small huts.
• Poor slaves were glad of a cowshed or
barn to sleep in at night. Many slaves were
badly treated. They could not leave their
owner unless they were sold or set free.

18. Alfred the Great
• Great Anglo-Saxon kings included Offa of
Mercia (who built Offa's Dyke) and Edwin of
Northumbria (who founded Edinburgh or
'Edwin's burh').
• But the most famous of all is Alfred, the only
king in British history to be called 'Great'.
• Alfred was born in AD849 and died in AD899.
• His father was king of Wessex, but Alfred
became king of all England.
• He fought the Vikings, and then made peace
so that English and Vikings settled down to live
together.
• He encouraged people to learn and he tried to
govern well and fairly.

19. King of the English
• Alfred's capital was Winchester.
In AD886, his army captured
London (which had belonged to
Mercia before the Vikings seized
it). By now Alfred was called 'King
of the English' on his coins. This
shows how important he was.

20. Stories about the Great
• One story says Alfred went to Rome at the
age of 4, to meet the Pope. When he
came home, his mother promised a
handsome book to the first of her sons
who could read it to her. Alfred learned it
by heart, recited it, and got the book.
• Later the young King Alfred had to hide
from the Vikings, on a marshy island called
Athelney in Somerset. A famous story tells
how while sheltering in a cowherd's hut,
the king got a telling-off from the man's
wife. Why? He let her cakes (or bread)
burn. Another story says Alfred went into
the Viking camp disguised as a minstrel, to
find out what the Vikings were planning.

21. How Alfred ruled
• King Alfred was advised by a council of
nobles and Church leaders.
• The council was called the witan. The
witan could also choose the next king.
• Alfred made good laws. He had books
translated from Latin into English, and
translated some himself.
• Alfred built warships to guard the
coast from Viking raiders. He built forts
and walled towns known as burhs.
• He split the fyrd (the part-time army)
into two parts. While half the men
were at home on their farms, the rest
were ready to fight Vikings.

22. Early Anglo-Saxon beliefs
• In Roman Britain, many people had been
Christians. The early Anglo-Saxons were
pagans. Much like the Vikings of Scandinavia,
they believed in many gods.
• The king of the Anglo-Saxon gods, for example,
was Woden - a German version of the
Scandinavian god Odin. From his name comes
our day of the week Wednesday or 'Woden's
day'.
• Other gods were Thunor, god of thunder;
Frige, goddess of love; and Tiw, god of war.
• Anglo-Saxons were superstitious. They
believed in lucky charms. They thought 'magic'
rhymes, potions, stones or jewels would
protect them from evil spirits or sickness.

23. Fun Fact
• People in England saw a comet in 1066. Most thought it meant
something bad was going to happen.