Lesson video

Hello, welcome to history here at Oak National Academy.

I'm Mr. Newton and I will be your teacher for today guiding you through the entirety of the lesson.

Right, let's get started.

We'll be thinking about our big inquiry question, who had power in Anglo-Saxon England? This is the question we will use to investigate what England was like before the Normans invaded in 1066.

We know that the Anglo-Saxons were a deeply religious people and had created a wealthy economy.

We know that the king held great powers over the laws, the army and land ownership, and we also saw how the king relied on his earls and there was an effective local government of shires, hundreds, tithings and hides.

This effectiveness also reflected in the Anglo-Saxon economy, which boosted the development in the towns and villages.

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to describe the economy and the role of the church in Anglo-Saxon England.

Before we begin, there are a few keywords that we need to understand.

The economy is the system of trade and industry by which the wealth of a country is made and used.

A burh was an Anglo-Saxon fortified town.

A bishop is a senior member of the Christian Church in charge of an area containing several churches.

An archbishop is a bishop of the highest rank who's in charge of churches and other bishops in a particular large area.

And finally, piety means living in a way that is devoted to religion.

This lesson is split into two parts.

Firstly, we'll look at the economy before moving onto the role of the church in Anglo-Saxon England.

Okay, let's start with the first part of the lesson, the Anglo-Saxon economy.

Anglo-Saxon England was a wealthy nation.

This suggests that England was well-governed and experienced periods of peace, offering a stable foundation, which supported a vibrant economy.

Agriculture had long been a prosperous part of the English economy.

England's temperate climate was ideal for growing crops and farming livestock.

Farmers produced goods which could be sold at the town markets.

This produced an organised agricultural economy, which connected the towns and the countryside.

Agricultural goods were also traded with those in Europe.

English wool and cloth were particularly in demand.

In the late 10th century, there was a huge increase in the number of coins in circulation.

These coins contained a German silver, which suggests Anglo-Saxons were active in trading abroad, exporting English goods in exchange for German silver.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What important factor contributed to a wealthy economy in Anglo-Saxon England? Is it A, increased bronze coinage? B, prosperous agriculture.

C, wealth stolen from other countries.

Pause video.

Have a think and then come right back.

Okay, good.

Welcome back.

Well done if you knew it was a prosperous agriculture underpinning the wealthy economy in Anglo-Saxon England.

Anglo-Saxon prosperity can also be seen in the transformation of towns and villages.

The main town of the shire had been converted into a burh.

Originally, burhs were fortresses designed to house a military which could defend the area from invading Danes, Vikings.

By the middle of the 10th century, burhs began to house more merchants and manufacturers from the countryside, such as tanners, which are leather makers, shield makers, blacksmiths, and butchers.

They all set up shop in the burhs.

Here they were protected from Viking attacks by their strong walls.

Burhs became safe places for people to trade, and that meant their function grew from defence to commerce as well.

The benefits of having commerce centred in a burh was that the king could easily tax all trade above a certain value.

Certain markets emerged around the country and these became major towns due to their extensive trade networks.

People would flock to York or Norwich to trade with Danish merchants from across the North Sea.

Bristol became an essential market for Irish goods while London was a market hub for Germany, France, and Normandy.

The rural economy also experienced some transformation.

Previously, villages in the countryside were more like spread out settlements or hamlets with houses scattered over a wide area.

A few farms might cluster together, but many houses were isolated.

However, some of these scattered settlements developed into new compact villages.

By the late 10th century, some Anglo-Saxon Lords began dividing up their lands into smaller plots.

Farmers began forming village communities as they found themselves closer together.

These villages became an opportunity for cooperation.

For example, a village could put their resources together to buy an extra ox for ploughing the soil.

In many cases, the local thane might instal the latest technology of the day, a watermill, which used natural power to grind grain into flour rather than laboriously doing it by hand.

There were 6,000 mills underpinning the economy of Anglo-Saxon England.

Wealthy thanes also started to build unusually large manor houses on their lands.

Some boasted internal walls, an upstairs floor or even an indoor toilet.

Thanes also built private churches and employed priests who could provide services for their family and the surrounding area.

By building a church, a thane would believe he could earn favour with God and increase his prestige in the community.

These were actions that would further promote the loyalty of their peasants who worked on their land.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What transformation occurred in the rural economy of Anglo-Saxon England? Was it A, decline of agricultural production? B, emergence of closer village communities.

C, increase in isolated settlements.

Pause video, have a think and come right back.

Great.

Welcome back.

Well done if you knew it was B, emergence of closer village communities, and this allowed for closer cooperation and for resources to be pooled together to build the rural economy up.

Okay, let's move on to task A.

What I want you to do here is working with a partner, describe two features of the Anglo-Saxon economy.

Choose two features of the following: agriculture, development of towns or villages.

You must provide detailed information to support each aspect.

Pause the video and have a go at the task.

Okay.

Welcome back.

Now, there's many ways that you could have answered this question, but have a look what I've got here.

And notice how I offer the detailed supporting information, which gives further description of the feature I'm describing.

One feature of the Anglo-Saxon economy was agriculture.

For example, farmers produced goods like wool, which were sold at town markets.

So you can see here I didn't write a whole essay of further description and extended explanation.

I've just offered a sentence of detailed information which describes agriculture in Anglo-Saxon England.

Okay, let's move on to the next one.

And again, take notice of how I offer supporting information to describe the feature.

One feature of the Anglo-Saxon economy was burhs becoming more commercial.

For example, burhs became a centre of trade after they began to house more merchants and manufacturers from the countryside.

Okay, great.

Let's move on to the second part of the lesson: the role of the church.

The Anglo-Saxons had been Christians since the seventh century.

Having a church and a priest permanently in the village reinforced the connections within the village community.

Previously, church services had been performed by travelling priests.

Religion was an important part of Anglo-Saxon lives.

As far as we can tell, almost everyone believed in God and depended on the church for guidance so that their soul might go to heaven.

The church provided religious services, such as baptisms, marriages, and funerals.

If people took part in these services and followed the teachings of the church, they were promised an eventual reward of paradise in heaven.

Those who did not were warned about an eternity of punishment in hell.

Church reforms had spread through Europe by the 11th century, but had less impact in Anglo-Saxon England.

Most local English churches focused instead on traditional Anglo-Saxon and Celtic saints.

Have a look at the image on the left.

It's a painting of a monk healing a youth with hairs from Saint Cuthbert's head.

This is important because Cuthbert was an Anglo-Saxon saint who became very popular across England.

Another way in which the Anglo-Saxons practised religion, which was different from Europe was that Anglo-Saxon priests were usually ordinary members of the community with small land holdings like peasants and living a married life, very contrary to the European reforms, which required priests to stay celibate, that is unmarried with no sexual relations.

Again, this highlights a significant difference between the Anglo-Saxons and the Normans.

It's important to note these differences as they will help you in understanding the changes that take place once the Normans invade and conquer England.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What distinguished local Anglo-Saxon priests from those influenced by European church reforms? A, they believed in Jesus Christ.

B, they lived in monasteries.

C, they were often married.

Pause the video.

Have a think and come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Well done if you knew it was C, they were often married.

Okay, let's continue.

The church as a whole was a powerful and wealthy institution.

The church owned up to 1/3 of the land in Anglo-Saxon England.

Bishops and archbishops were often included in the Witan and some were as powerful as earls.

If we look at the pyramid of the Anglo-Saxon social hierarchy, we can see that earls were one level below the king.

Having bishops and archbishops on this level of importance shows us how powerful the church was in Anglo-Saxon England.

Anglo-Saxon monarchs desired a close relationship with the church.

If everyone believed that the king had the blessing of God and the church, this would confirm that they were a holy and rightful ruler.

A monarch would make sure the church had all it needed, and in return, the church would tell their congregations or write in their manuscripts how great the monarch was.

King Edward was later known as the Confessor because of his piety.

Edward demonstrated his closeness to God and the church by always attending church services and giving alms to the poor, that's giving charity to the poor.

He was a generous patron of a small abbey in London, eventually rebuilding their church, Westminster Abbey, so that by the time of his death, it was the biggest in Britain.

Almost 100 years later, the pope made him a saint after he concluded that Edward had worked miracles both before and after his death.

Look at this detail from the Bayeuz Tapestry.

It shows Edward the Confessor being buried at Westminster Abbey.

We can see a funeral procession on the right.

The people are carrying Edward's body towards Westminster Abbey on the left, and we can see a hand appearing from the clouds above.

This represents God's blessing upon Edward and his Westminster Abbey.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

How were archbishops and bishops involved in the governance of Anglo-Saxon England? Is it A, they could be part of the Witan and advise the monarch on matters of governance? B, they had limited involvement and solely focused on religious matters.

Or C, they were not allowed to interact with the Witan or the monarch.

Pause the video have a think and come right back.

Okay.

Welcome back.

Well done if you knew it was A, archbishops and bishops could be part of the Witan and advise the monarch on matters of governance.

Okay, let's move on to the first part of task B.

Are the statements below true or false? Reword any false statements to make them correct.

So your three statements are by the 11th century, the English church followed European reforms, focusing on European saints and English priests who remained celibate.

In the second statement, people did not rely on the church for guidance.

Instead, they would read their copy of the Bible to avoid going to hell.

And the last statement is a monarch would make sure the church had all it needed and in return, the church would tell their congregations or write in their manuscripts how great the monarch was.

So some of those statements are true, and hopefully when you heard me read them, you realised that some of them may be false.

So identify those false statements and rewrite them to make them correct.

Pause the video, have a go at the task and then come right back.

Okay, great.

Welcome back.

Okay, let's check those answers.

So the first statement, by the 11th century, the English church followed European reforms, focusing on European saints and English priests who remained celibate.

That was a false statement.

So that statement will need rewording.

And the next statement was people did not rely on the church for guidance.

Instead, they would read their copy of the Bible to avoid going to hell.

Again, that was another false statement.

And the final statement, a monarch would make sure the church had all it needed, and in return, the church would tell their congregations or write in their manuscripts how great the monarch was.

And of course, yes, that was a true statement.

So the first two statements needed rewriting.

Now, you might have rewritten your statements slightly different from what I have here, but have a look what I've got.

By the 11th century, most local English churches focused on traditional Anglo-Saxon and Celtic saints.

Priests were usually ordinary members of the community living a married life, contrary to the European reforms. That's right, so the Anglo-Saxon church stayed with its local traditions and ignored the reforms that were happening in Europe.

And the second statement, people depended on the church for guidance.

If people regularly attended church and followed their teachings, they were promised a reward of paradise in heaven.

Again, underlining Anglo-Saxons were deeply religious, and the role of the church was central to Anglo-Saxon society and government.

Okay, let's move on to the second part of task B.

What I want you to do here is explain why Edward became known as the confessor.

Try to include the following words in your answer: piety, Westminster Abbey and saint.

So try to pack in as much detailed information as you can to explain why Edward became known as the Confessor.

And those words I've given you should hopefully prompt you to provide that detailed information.

Pause the video, have a go at the task and come right back.

Okay, great.

Welcome back.

You could have answered this question in multiple ways.

Compare your answer with what I have here and just take notice of how I've supplied that detailed information to fully answer the question.

Edward became known as the Confessor because of his piety.

So I've started straightaway with a strong point, and I'm now gonna go on to explain my point throughout this paragraph.

He always attended church services and gave generously to the church.

He built Westminster Abbey to be the biggest in Britain.

The Pope made Edward a saint after he concluded that Edward had worked miracles both before and after his death.

So you can see I've included those keywords, those factual details, and I've explained how they helped Edward to become known as the Confessor.

Okay, great, let's summarise the lesson, the Anglo-Saxon economy and the role of the church.

Anglo-Saxon England had a wealthy economy and prosperous agricultural sector.

Scattered rural settlements developed into closer village economies.

Towns and burhs became centres of trade.

The church was an important part of daily life and focused on local Anglo-Saxon saints.

Bishops and archbishops were important, and often wealthy.

Local priests were part of the community and often married.

King Edward became known as the Confessor due to his piety.

Well done on a brilliant lesson.

Thank you for joining me as we unfolded further elements of the Anglo-Saxon economy and the church.

I hope you've learned a lot in this lesson, and I will see you next time when we continue our inquiry into who had power in Anglo-Saxon England.

See you in the next lesson.