English government There has not been a government of England since 1707 when the Kingdom of England ceased to exist as a sovereign state, as it merged with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. The Kingdom of Great Britain continued from 17 ...

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

Anglo-Saxon kingdoms The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to Ge ...

Kingdom of Wessex The Kingdom of the West Saxons, also known as the Kingdom of Wessex, was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from around 519 until Alfred the Great declared himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 886. The Anglo-Saxons beli ...

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from the late 9th century, when it was unified from various Heptarchy, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland to f ...

ealdormen Ealdorman ( , )"ealdorman"
''

earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...

s) appointed by the king. An ealdormanry was divided into

shire Shire () is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries. It is generally synonymous with county (such as Cheshire and Worcestershire). British counties are among the oldes ...

s. The ealdorman enforced royal orders, presided over the

shire court A shire court or shire moot was an Anglo-Saxon government institution, used to maintain law and order at a local level, and perform various administrative functions, including the collection of taxes for the central government. The system origina ...

, and led the local

fyrd A fyrd was a type of early Anglo-Saxon army that was mobilised from freemen or paid men to defend their Shire's lords estate, or from selected representatives to join a royal expedition. Service in the fyrd was usually of short duration and part ...

(army). A

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

administered each shire as the ealdorman's deputy. Shires were divided into administrative units called hundreds.

Before unification

Anglo-Saxon settlement (300–500)

England was part of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

since the 1st centuryCE.

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of ''Britannia'' after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. Julius Caes ...

was a

civil diocese In the Late Roman Empire, usually dated 284 AD to 641 AD, the regional governance district known as the Roman or civil diocese was made up of a grouping of provinces each headed by a '' Vicarius'', who were the representatives of praet ...

extending from the south coast up to

Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall (, also known as the ''Roman Wall'', Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Aelium'' in Latin) is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Ru ...

and the

Antonine Wall The Antonine Wall () was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some twenty years after Hadrian's Wall to the south ...

. The diocese was divided into four or five

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

and further divided into civitates (a territorial unit roughly the size of a modern county and centred on a town). The period between 375 and 425 saw a "total collapse of

Romano-British The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, ...

civilisation". Britain's security deteriorated as the

Roman army The Roman army () served ancient Rome and the Roman people, enduring through the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), the Roman Republic (509–27 BC), and the Roman Empire (27 BC–AD 1453), including the Western Roman Empire (collapsed Fall of the W ...

was gradually withdrawn and redeployed to other parts of the Empire to defend against

barbarian invasions The Migration Period ( 300 to 600 AD), also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories ...

. After 402, no new

Roman coins Roman currency for most of Roman history consisted of gold, silver, bronze, orichalcum#Numismatics, orichalcum and copper coinage. From its introduction during the Roman Republic, Republic, in the third century BC, through Roman Empire, Imperial ...

were issued in Britain, the military stopped being paid, and the military-based economic system collapsed. Most of the Roman army left Britain in 407 to join the revolt of Constantine III, and the Romano-Britons were forced to defend themselves. In 409, the

Britons British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, w ...

revolted and expelled the Roman authorities, marking the formal end of Roman rule. After Roman rule, Britain experienced widespread anarchy, peasant revolt, and the rise of warlords, such as

Vortigern Vortigern (; , ; ; ; Old Breton: ''Gurdiern'', ''Gurthiern''; ; , , , etc.), also spelled Vortiger, Vortigan, Voertigern and Vortigen, was a 5th-century warlord in Sub-Roman Britain, Britain, known perhaps as a king of the Britons or at least ...

and

Ambrosius Aurelianus Ambrosius Aurelianus (; Anglicised as Ambrose Aurelian and called Aurelius Ambrosius in the ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' and elsewhere) was a war leader of the Romano-British who won an important battle against the Anglo-Saxons in the 5th c ...

. Archaeological evidence for Anglo-Saxon-style jewellery is first found in sites dating to around 430. According to the 6th-century writer

Gildas Gildas (English pronunciation: , Breton language, Breton: ''Gweltaz''; ) — also known as Gildas Badonicus, Gildas fab Caw (in Middle Welsh texts and antiquarian works) and ''Gildas Sapiens'' (Gildas the Wise) — was a 6th-century Britons (h ...

, the Britons hired the Saxons as federate soldiers, but the Saxons eventually seized power from the native Britons. According to

Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...

, writing , the settlers came mainly from three

Germanic tribes The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts ...

: Saxons, Angles, and

Jutes The Jutes ( ) were one of the Germanic people, Germanic tribes who settled in Great Britain after the end of Roman rule in Britain, departure of the Roman Britain, Romans. According to Bede, they were one of the three most powerful Germanic na ...

. 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 Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

: ) who cultivated enough land to provide for a family (a unit called a hide).

Slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, mostly Britons, made up the other half.

Origins of kingship (500–600)

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 The Late Antique Little Ice Age (LALIA) was a long-lasting Northern Hemispheric cooling period in the 6th and 7th centuries AD, during the period known as Late Antiquity. The period coincides with three large volcanic eruptions in 535/536, 539/ ...

and the

Plague of Justinian The plague of Justinian or Justinianic plague (AD 541–549) was an epidemic of Plague (disease), plague that afflicted the entire Mediterranean basin, Mediterranean Basin, Europe, and the Near East, especially the Sasanian Empire and the Byza ...

. 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 ( or ). Grander buildings and burial practices, such as the construction of

burial mounds A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. ...

, also indicate the development of kingship and a social elite.

Germanic kingship Germanic kingship is a thesis regarding the role of kings among the pre-Christianized Germanic tribes of the Migration period (c. 300–700 AD) and Early Middle Ages (c. 700–1000 AD). The thesis holds that the institution of feudal mona ...

provided a model for early Anglo-Saxon kings. Anglo-Saxons inherited the concept of sacred kingship. The Old English word for king was (). 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 Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Emp ...

. After the

Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England The Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England was the process starting in the late 6th century by which population of England formerly adhering to the Anglo-Saxon paganism, Anglo-Saxon, and later Old Nordic religion, Nordic, forms of Germanic pag ...

, royal families linked their origins to biblical genealogies . A Germanic king's power was based on success as a warrior and the collection of land and tribute. A king employed a (armed

retinue A retinue is a body of persons "retained" in the service of a noble, royal personage, or dignitary; a ''suite'' (French "what follows") of retainers. Etymology The word, recorded in English since circa 1375, stems from Old French ''retenue'', ...

) who lived with him in his

hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and the Early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gre ...

. 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 Germanic law is a scholarly term used to describe a series of commonalities between the various law codes (the ''Leges Barbarorum'', 'laws of the barbarians', also called Leges) of the early Germanic peoples. These were compared with statements i ...

and custom. Germanic tribes such as the

Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths () were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Western Roman Empire, drawing upon the large Gothic populatio ...

,

Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...

,

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

, and

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

became

Romanized In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...

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 Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (), to the (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I. Roman law also den ...

only influenced Anglo-Saxon institutions after Christianisation began in the 7th century. Nevertheless, Roman Britain did have an impact on the organisation of early Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. The kingdoms of

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, Lindsey,

Deira Deira ( ; Old Welsh/ or ; or ) was an area of Post-Roman Britain, and a later Anglian kingdom. Etymology The name of the kingdom is of Brythonic origin, and is derived from the Proto-Celtic , meaning 'oak' ( in modern Welsh), in which case ...

, and

Bernicia Bernicia () was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern Scotland and North East England. The Anglian territory of Bernicia was approximately equivalent to the modern English cou ...

were based on old Roman . Royal administration centred on the

royal vill A royal vill, royal ''tun'' or ''villa regalis'' () was the central settlement of a rural territory in Anglo-Saxon England, which would be visited by the King and members of the royal household on regular circuits of their kingdoms. The royal vill ...

(

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ; Old English: ), which was a residence surrounded by dependent settlements. The surrounding population delivered food rent to a royal vill, which would be consumed by the king and his comitatus when they visited on their regular travels through the kingdom.

Early kingdoms (600–871)

According to the

Tribal Hidage Image:Tribal Hidage 2.svg, 400px, alt=insert description of map here, The tribes of the Tribal Hidage. Where an appropriate article exists, it can be found by clicking on the name. rect 275 75 375 100 w:Elmet rect 375 100 450 150 w:Hatfield Ch ...

, possibly created in the time of

Wulfhere of Mercia Wulfhere or Wulfar (died 675) was King of Mercia from 658 until 675 AD. He was the first Christian king of all of Mercia, though it is not known when or how he converted from Anglo-Saxon paganism. His accession marked the end of Oswiu of North ...

(r. 658–675), there were 35 people groups south of the

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Trent, Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms ...

. Many had kings, such as

Wessex The Kingdom of the West Saxons, also known as the Kingdom of Wessex, was an Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from around 519 until Alfred the Great declared himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 886. The Anglo-Sa ...

,

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

,

Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...

,

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, the

Magonsæte Magonsæte was a minor sub- kingdom of the greater Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, thought to be coterminous with the Diocese of Hereford. The former territory of the Cornovii tribe was conquered by Oswiu of Northumbria in 656, while he was ov ...

, Lindsey, the

Hwicce Hwicce () was a kingdom in Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon England. According to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', the kingdom was established in 577, after the Battle of Deorham. After 628, the kingdom became a client or sub-kingdom of Mercia as a result ...

,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, and

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

. Consolidation through war and marriage meant that by the 9th century only four kingdoms remained: East Anglia, Mercia,

Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

, and Wessex. In his ''

Ecclesiastical History of the English People The ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' (), written by Bede in about AD 731, is a history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the growth of Christianity. It was composed in Latin, and ...

'', Bede lists seven kings who achieved or overlordship over England south of the Humber. The first four overlords were Ælle of Sussex (late 5th century),

Ceawlin Ceawlin ( ; also spelled Ceaulin, Caelin, Celin, died ''ca.'' 593) was a King of Wessex. He may have been the son of Cynric of Wessex and the grandson of Cerdic of Wessex, whom the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' represents as the leader of the fi ...

of Wessex (), Æthelberht of Kent (), and Rædwald of East Anglia (). Rædwald was followed by

Edwin The name Edwin means "wealth-friend". It comes from (wealth, good fortune) and (friend). Thus the Old English form is Ēadwine, a name widely attested in early medieval England. Edwina is the feminine form of the name. Notable people and char ...

(),

Oswald Oswald may refer to: People *Oswald (given name), including a list of people with the name * Oswald (surname), including a list of people with the name Fictional characters *Oswald the Reeve, who tells a tale in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbu ...

(), and

Oswiu Oswiu, also known as Oswy or Oswig (; c. 612 – 15 February 670), was King of Bernicia from 642 and of Northumbria from 654 until his death. He is notable for his role at the Synod of Whitby in 664, which ultimately brought the church in Northu ...

() of Northumbria. The 8th century was a period of

Mercian supremacy The Mercian Supremacy was the period of Anglo-Saxon history between c. 716 and c. 825, when the kingdom of Mercia dominated the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy in England. Sir Frank Stenton apparently coined the phrase, arguing that Offa of Mercia, who ru ...

, but Wessex surpassed Mercia in the 820s during the reign of Ecgberht. The ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...

'' referred to Ecgberht as ''

bretwalda ''Bretwalda'' (also ''brytenwalda'' and ''bretenanwealda'', sometimes capitalised) is an Old English word. The first record comes from the late 9th-century ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''. It is given to some of the rulers of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms from ...

'' ( or ) and added his name to Bede's list of overlords. Historian H. R. Loyn remarked that "some hazy imperial ideas" were associated with the bretwaldaship, such as influence over the English church, military leadership against the native Britons, and receiving tribute. Historian

Barbara Yorke Barbara Yorke FRHistS FSA (born 1951, Barbara Anne Elizabeth Troubridge) is a historian of Anglo-Saxon England, specialising in many subtopics, including 19th-century Anglo-Saxonism. She is currently emeritus professor of early Medieval histo ...

defines it as the collection of tribute from other kings.

Electing and deposing kings

Succession did not follow strict

primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn Legitimacy (family law), legitimate child to inheritance, inherit all or most of their parent's estate (law), estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some childre ...

. 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 a king was primarily a war leader, he needed to be able to lead an army. For this reason, infant sons could be bypassed in favor of the king's adult brothers. Some kings retired to

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...

when they could no longer perform a military role. Rites of royal

consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

developed slowly. In 787, Ecgfrith of Mercia became the first Anglo-Saxon king

anointed Anointing is the ritual act of pouring aromatic oil over a person's head or entire body. By extension, the term is also applied to related acts of sprinkling, dousing, or smearing a person or object with any perfumed oil, milk, butter, or oth ...

with holy oil, imitating

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...

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.

Christian kingship

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

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

s, such as the 664

Synod of Whitby The Synod of Whitby was a Christianity, Christian administrative gathering held in Northumbria in 664, wherein King Oswiu ruled that his kingdom would calculate Easter and observe the monastic tonsure according to the customs of Roman Catholic, Ro ...

, where

Oswiu Oswiu, also known as Oswy or Oswig (; c. 612 – 15 February 670), was King of Bernicia from 642 and of Northumbria from 654 until his death. He is notable for his role at the Synod of Whitby in 664, which ultimately brought the church in Northu ...

of Northumbria decided that his kingdom would follow the Roman

date of Easter As a moveable feast, the date of Easter is determined in each year through a calculation known as – often simply ''Computus'' – or as paschalion particularly in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the ...

instead of the Celtic date. Christianisation resulted in the production of written law codes, the earliest being Kent's

Law of Æthelberht The Law of Æthelberht is a set of legal provisions written in Old English, probably dating to the early 7th century. It originates in the kingdom of Kent, and is the first Germanic-language law code. It is also thought to be the earliest exam ...

. These early laws attempted to preserve the peace and prevent

blood feuds A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because ...

. The church itself operated according to

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

, a legal system based on Roman civil law. 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.

Local administration

In the 7th and 8th centuries, kingdoms were divided into administrative units called regiones, which were themselves divided into groups of royal vills. Administrative divisions had different names, such as the

shire Shire () is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries. It is generally synonymous with county (such as Cheshire and Worcestershire). British counties are among the oldes ...

in Wessex,

lathe A lathe () is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, threading and turning, with tools that are applied to the w ...

in Kent, or

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

in Sussex. In the 8th century, the term ''

ealdorman Ealdorman ( , )"ealdorman"
''Collins English Dictionary''. was an office in the Government ...

'' 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 Hwicce () was a kingdom in Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon England. According to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', the kingdom was established in 577, after the Battle of Deorham. After 628, the kingdom became a client or sub-kingdom of Mercia as a result ...

. All free men had the right to bear arms and a duty to defend the kingdom through service in the (army). The army's core was the king's . Fyrd service was one of the obligations known as the ("three necessities"). The other two were equally related to military preparedness: the repair of

burh A burh () or burg was an Anglo-Saxon fortification or fortified settlement. In the 9th century, raids and invasions by Vikings prompted Alfred the Great to develop a network of burhs and roads to use against such attackers. Some were new constru ...

s (fortifications) and the repair of bridges (essential for communications).

Alfred the Great (871–899)

In the 850s, England faced a formidable threat as

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

invaders, led by their

Great Heathen Army The Great Heathen Army, also known as the Viking Great Army,Hadley. "The Winter Camp of the Viking Great Army, AD 872–3, Torksey, Lincolnshire", ''Antiquaries Journal''. 96, pp. 23–67 was a coalition of Scandinavian warriors who invaded ...

, conquered most Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. However, under the leadership of

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfr ...

(), Wessex successfully resisted the invaders. In 886, the

Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum The Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum is a 9th-century peace agreement between Alfred of Wessex and Guthrum, the Viking ruler of East Anglia. It sets out the boundaries between Alfred and Guthrum's territories as well as agreements on peaceful trade, ...

defined the boundaries of the

Danelaw The Danelaw (, ; ; ) was the part of History of Anglo-Saxon England, England between the late ninth century and the Norman Conquest under Anglo-Saxon rule in which Danes (tribe), Danish laws applied. The Danelaw originated in the conquest and oc ...

, and 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 built over 30

burh A burh () or burg was an Anglo-Saxon fortification or fortified settlement. In the 9th century, raids and invasions by Vikings prompted Alfred the Great to develop a network of burhs and roads to use against such attackers. Some were new constru ...

s (fortifications), some of which became permanent towns. Each burh was allocated several hides for its maintenance and support, as illustrated in the

Burghal Hidage The Burghal Hidage () is an Anglo-Saxon document providing a list of over thirty fortified places (burhs), the majority being in the ancient Kingdom of Wessex, and the taxes (recorded as numbers of hides) assigned for their maintenance.Hill/ Rumb ...

. 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 A shire court or shire moot was an Anglo-Saxon government institution, used to maintain law and order at a local level, and perform various administrative functions, including the collection of taxes for the central government. The system origina ...

's judicial profits). The royal

reeves Reeves may refer to: People * Reeves (surname) * B. Reeves Eason (1886–1956), American director, actor and screenwriter * Reeves Nelson (born 1991), American basketball player Places ;Ireland * Reeves, County Kildare, townland in County Kild ...

(Latin: ) 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 The Kingdom of England was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from the late 9th century, when it was unified from various Heptarchy, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland to f ...

encompassed Mercia, the Danelaw, and Northumbria. The kingdom's boundaries ran north to the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate ...

.

Royal government

Kingship

The king was answerable to God alone; however, a good king surrounded himself with wise counsellors 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 . 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 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

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

From 899 to 1016, a direct descendant of Alfred the Great of the

House of Wessex The House of Wessex, also known as the House of Cerdic, the House of the West Saxons, the House of the Gewisse, the Cerdicings and the West Saxon dynasty, refers to the family, traditionally founded by Cerdic of the Gewisse, that ruled Wessex in ...

sat on the English throne. From 1016 to 1042, the Danish

House of Knýtlinga The Denmark, Danish House of Knýtlinga (English language, English: "House of Cnut's Descendants") was a ruling royal house in Middle Ages, Middle Age Scandinavia and Kingdom of England, England. Its most famous king was Cnut the Great, who gave ...

possessed the throne.

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...

() briefly restored the House of Wessex to power. However, he was succeeded in 1066 by

Harold Godwinson Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, the decisive battle of the Norman ...

and then

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

(), 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 Ælfric of Eynsham (; ; ) was an English abbot and a student of Æthelwold of Winchester, and a consummate, prolific writer in Old English of hagiography, homilies, biblical commentaries, and other genres. He is also known variously as '' ...

expressed this theory in a sermon: quoted in In reality, the witan rarely elected kings . 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 Cerdic ( ; ) is described in the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' as a leader of the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, being the founder and first king of Wessex, reigning from around 519 to 534 AD. Subsequent kings of Wessex were each claimed by the ...

, the first West Saxon king. By the 10th century, only sons of kings were considered eligible for kingship and the title of ''

ætheling Ætheling (; also spelt aetheling, atheling or etheling) was an Old English term (''æþeling'') used in Anglo-Saxon England to designate princes of the royal dynasty who were eligible for the kingship. The term is an Old English and Old Saxon ...

''. 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 Edmund I or Eadmund I (920/921 – 26 May 946) was King of the English from 27 October 939 until his death in 946. He was the elder son of King Edward the Elder and his third wife, Queen Eadgifu, and a grandson of King Alfred the Great. Af ...

() was succeeded by his brother

Eadred Eadred (also Edred, – 23 November 955) was King of the English from 26 May 946 until his death in 955. He was the younger son of Edward the Elder and his third wife Eadgifu of Kent, Eadgifu, and a grandson of Alfred the Great. His elder b ...

() because his sons were too young. Edmund's son

Eadwig Eadwig (also Edwy or Eadwig All-Fair, 1 October 959) was King of England from 23 November 955 until his death in 959. He was the elder son of Edmund I and his first wife Ælfgifu, who died in 944. Eadwig and his brother Edgar were you ...

() 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 () and Alfred's nephew, challenged

Edward the Elder Edward the Elder (870s?17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousi ...

's () 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 Edgar is a commonly used masculine English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Edgar'' (composed of ''wikt:en:ead, ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''Gar (spear), gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the Late Midd ...

(). Disputes arose when kings had sons by different wives or when

illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...

sons vied for the throne. Ælfthryth, Edgar's second wife, is believed to have assassinated

Edward the Martyr Edward the Martyr ( – 18 March 978) was King of the English from 8 July 975 until he was killed in 978. He was the eldest son of King Edgar (r. 959–975). On Edgar's death, the succession to the throne was contested between Edward's sup ...

() to pave the way for her son,

Æthelred the Unready Æthelred II (,Different spellings of this king's name most commonly found in modern texts are "Ethelred" and "Æthelred" (or "Aethelred"), the latter being closer to the original Old English form . Compare the modern dialect word . ; ; 966 � ...

(), to become king.

Coronation

As part of the coronation ritual, kings swore a three-part oath: This oath, known as the , was the foundation for subsequent coronation charters and, ultimately,

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardin ...

. 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 Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

. Edward the Confessor was crowned at Winchester. In 1066, Harold Godwinson was crowned at the newly consecrated

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

, which remained the customary place of coronation for future kings.

Royal household

The royal household included the royal family, royal favourites, military personnel, priests, clerks, and domestic servants. Ealdormen and

thegn In later Anglo-Saxon England, a thegn or thane (Latin minister) was an aristocrat who ranked at the third level in lay society, below the king and ealdormen. He had to be a substantial landowner. Thanage refers to the tenure by which lands were ...

s 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 Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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 A wardrobe, also called armoire or almirah, is a standing closet used for storing clothes. The earliest wardrobe was a chest, and it was not until some degree of luxury was attained in regal palaces and the castles of powerful nobles that sep ...

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 A scriptorium () was a writing room in medieval European monasteries for the copying and illuminating of manuscripts by scribes. The term has perhaps been over-used—only some monasteries had special rooms set aside for scribes. Often they ...

or writing office dedicated to producing charters,

writ In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrant (legal), Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, and ''certiorari'' are commo ...

s, royal letters, and other official documents. Charters or "landbooks" were written in Latin and recorded royal grants of

bookland "Bookland" is the informal name for the Unique Country Code (UCC) prefix allocated in the 1980s for European Article Number (EAN) identifiers of published books, regardless of country of origin, so that the EAN namespace can catalogue books by ...

to the church or individuals. A writ was a brief letter from the king with instructions to an official authenticated with a

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * 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 A great seal is a seal used by a head of state, or someone authorised to do so on their behalf, to confirm formal documents, such as laws, treaties, appointments and letters of dispatch. It was and is used as a guarantee of the authenticity of ...

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

Kings had to depend on the great men of the realm to maintain authority—ealdormen, thegns, bishops, and

abbots Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

. 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 An amoeba (; less commonly spelled ameba or amœba; : amoebas (less commonly, amebas) or amoebae (amebae) ), often called an amoeboid, is a type of cell or unicellular organism with the ability to alter its shape, primarily by extending and r ...

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 favourite 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 Danegeld (; "Danish tax", literally "Dane yield" or tribute) was a tax raised to pay tribute or Protection racket, protection money to the Viking raiders to save a land from being ravaged. It was called the ''geld'' or ''gafol'' in eleventh-c ...

. Witans discussed decisions related to war, peace, and treaties. The declaration of a royal

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

occurred at witans. The witan consented to and witnessed the granting of

bookland "Bookland" is the informal name for the Unique Country Code (UCC) prefix allocated in the 1980s for European Article Number (EAN) identifiers of published books, regardless of country of origin, so that the EAN namespace can catalogue books by ...

by charter. When a king died, the witan nominally elected a new king . When a king gained power by conquest, he was careful to gain the witan's assent.

Finances

Coinage

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.

Moneyer A moneyer is a private individual who is officially permitted to mint money. Usually the rights to coin money are bestowed as a concession by a state or government. Moneyers have a long tradition, dating back at least to ancient Greece. They bec ...

s were required to use official

coin die Mint (coin), Minting, coining or coinage is the process of manufacturing coins using a kind of stamping (metalworking), stamping, the process used in both hammered coinage and milled coinage. This "stamping" process is different from the method ...

s and faced strict penalties for producing counterfeit money. The dies were cut in London and then distributed to the local mints.

Shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currency, currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 1 ...

s, pounds, and

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks A collective trademark, collective trade mark, or collective mark is a trademark owned by an organization (such ...

were units of account, but the silver

penny A penny is a coin (: pennies) or a unit of currency (: pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. At present, it is ...

was the only coin in circulation. The penny's purchasing power was similar to that of a

half sovereign The half sovereign is a British gold coin face value, denominated at one-half of a pound sterling. First issued in its present form in 1817, it has been struck by the Royal Mint in most years since 1980 as a collector's and bullion coin, bulli ...

before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

.

Royal lands and taxation

The king was the largest landowner having inherited a landed estate from his predecessors called the royal demesne (later called the

Crown Estate The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...

). The demesne generated income through

food render Food render or food rent (Old English: ''foster'') was a form of tax in kind (Old English: ''feorm'') levied in Anglo-Saxon England, consisting of essential foodstuffs provided by territories such as '' regiones'', multiple estates or hundreds to ...

or money rent paid by

tenants A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant has rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a lea ...

. 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 Reeves may refer to: People * Reeves (surname) * B. Reeves Eason (1886–1956), American director, actor and screenwriter * Reeves Nelson (born 1991), American basketball player Places ;Ireland * Reeves, County Kildare, townland in County Kild ...

. 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 Danegeld (; "Danish tax", literally "Dane yield" or tribute) was a tax raised to pay tribute or Protection racket, protection money to the Viking raiders to save a land from being ravaged. It was called the ''geld'' or ''gafol'' in eleventh-c ...

to fund tribute payments until England's conquest by Danish prince

Cnut the Great Cnut ( ; ; – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rul ...

. 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 The confederation of Cinque Ports ( ) is a historic group of coastal towns in south-east England – predominantly in Kent and Sussex, with one outlier (Brightlingsea) in Essex. The name is Old French, meaning "five harbours", and alludes to ...

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 Heriot, from Old English ''heregeat'' ("war-gear"), was originally a death-duty in late Anglo-Saxon England, which required that at death, a nobleman provided to his king a given set of military equipment, often including horses, swords, shields ...

(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 Breach of the peace or disturbing the peace is a legal term used in constitutional law in English-speaking countries and in a public order sense in the United Kingdom. It is a form of disorderly conduct. Public order England, Wales and Norther ...

Local government

Ealdormanries and earldoms

The

ealdorman Ealdorman ( , )"ealdorman"
''Collins English Dictionary''. was an office in the Government ...

was an official appointed by the king to administer a

shire Shire () is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries. It is generally synonymous with county (such as Cheshire and Worcestershire). British counties are among the oldes ...

, and he could be removed at the will of the king. The ealdorman commanded the shire's

fyrd A fyrd was a type of early Anglo-Saxon army that was mobilised from freemen or paid men to defend their Shire's lords estate, or from selected representatives to join a royal expedition. Service in the fyrd was usually of short duration and part ...

(army), co-presided with the

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

over the

shire court A shire court or shire moot was an Anglo-Saxon government institution, used to maintain law and order at a local level, and perform various administrative functions, including the collection of taxes for the central government. The system origina ...

, 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 Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...

(related to Old English and Scandinavian ). Cnut's realm, the

North Sea Empire The North Sea Empire, also known as the Anglo-Scandinavian Empire, was the personal union of the kingdoms of England, Denmark and Norway for most of the period between 1013 and 1042 towards the end of the Viking Age. This ephemeral Norse-ruled ...

, 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 East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

,

Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...

, and

Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

. 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 Siward ( or more recently ; ) or Sigurd (, ) was an important earl of 11th-century northern England. The Old Norse nickname ''Digri'' and its Latin translation ''Grossus'' ("the stout") are given to him by near-contemporary texts. It is possibl ...

. 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

As the ealdorman's jurisdiction expanded, he delegated more responsibility to his

reeves Reeves may refer to: People * Reeves (surname) * B. Reeves Eason (1886–1956), American director, actor and screenwriter * Reeves Nelson (born 1991), American basketball player Places ;Ireland * Reeves, County Kildare, townland in County Kild ...

. The office of

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

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 A shire court or shire moot was an Anglo-Saxon government institution, used to maintain law and order at a local level, and perform various administrative functions, including the collection of taxes for the central government. The system origina ...

, 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 Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in many Western Christian liturgical calendars on 29 Se ...

. 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 justice Royal justices were judges in medieval England with the power to hear pleas of the Crown. They were roving officials of the History of the English monarchy, king of England, sent to seek out notorious robbers and murderers and bring them to justic ...

s 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.

Hundreds and boroughs

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 A royal vill, royal ''tun'' or ''villa regalis'' () was the central settlement of a rural territory in Anglo-Saxon England, which would be visited by the King and members of the royal household on regular circuits of their kingdoms. The 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 A tort is a civil wrong, other than breach of contract, that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with cri ...

, 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 A tithing or tything was a historic English legal, administrative or territorial unit, originally ten hides (and hence, one tenth of a hundred). Tithings later came to be seen as subdivisions of a manor or civil parish. The tithing's leader or s ...

. 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 __NOTOC__ The term ''soke'' (; in Old English: ', connected ultimately with ', "to seek"), at the time of the Norman conquest of England, generally denoted "jurisdiction", but its vague usage makes it lack a single, precise definition. Anglo-Saxo ...

("cause and suit"),

toll and team Toll and team (also spelled ''thol and theam'') were related privileges granted by the Crown to landowners under Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman law. First known from a charter of around 1023, the privileges usually appeared as part of a standard for ...

, 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 A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

status in order to facilitate trade. Boroughs had courts (burghmoots, portmanmoots, or

hustings A husting originally referred to a native Germanic governing assembly, the thing. By metonymy, the term may now refer to any event (such as debates or speeches) during an election campaign where one or more of the candidates are present. Devel ...

) 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 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 A portreeve (, sometimes spelt Port-reeve) or port warden is the title of a historical official in England and Wales possessing authority (political, administrative, or fiscal) over a town. The details of the office have fluctuated and evolved co ...

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 The Soke of Peterborough is a historic area of England associated with the City and Anglican Diocese of Peterborough, Diocese of Peterborough. It was part of Northamptonshire, but was administered by Soke of Peterborough County Council, its own ...

, survived into modern times as local authorities.

Church and state

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.

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

s and

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

s 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 In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

or

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...

, 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

In the Anglo-Saxon period, England had no

standing army A standing army is a permanent, often professional, army. It is composed of full-time soldiers who may be either career soldiers or conscripts. It differs from army reserves, who are enrolled for the long term, but activated only during wars ...

. However, kings and nobles kept household bodyguards. Since the time of Æthelred the Unready, these included Scandinavian mercenaries called

housecarl A housecarl (; ) was a non- servile manservant or household bodyguard in medieval Northern Europe. The institution originated amongst the Norsemen of Scandinavia, and was brought to Anglo-Saxon England by the Danish conquest in the 11th centur ...

s. The king's retinue would have also included household thegns and (Old English for "

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

s"). Kings could reinforce these household troops in different ways. Holders of

bookland "Bookland" is the informal name for the Unique Country Code (UCC) prefix allocated in the 1980s for European Article Number (EAN) identifiers of published books, regardless of country of origin, so that the EAN namespace can catalogue books by ...

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

burh A burh () or burg was an Anglo-Saxon fortification or fortified settlement. In the 9th century, raids and invasions by Vikings prompted Alfred the Great to develop a network of burhs and roads to use against such attackers. Some were new constru ...

s or

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

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 The confederation of Cinque Ports ( ) is a historic group of coastal towns in south-east England – predominantly in Kent and Sussex, with one outlier (Brightlingsea) in Essex. The name is Old French, meaning "five harbours", and alludes to ...

provided a certain amount of ships in return for judicial rights.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * 1st edition available at th
Internet Archive
* * * * * * * * *

Before unification

Anglo-Saxon settlement (300–500)

Origins of kingship (500–600)

Early kingdoms (600–871)

Electing and deposing kings

Christian kingship

Local administration

Alfred the Great (871–899)

Royal government

Kingship

Succession

Coronation

Royal household

Witan

Finances

Coinage

Royal lands and taxation

Local government

Ealdormanries and earldoms

Shires

Hundreds and boroughs

Church and state

Military

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

Further reading