Life

Anglo-Saxons’ life

When the Anglo-Saxons arrived in Britain they kept clear of roman towns. They preferred to live in small villages, but some Roman towns were never completely abandoned. Some of them built houses inside the roman walls, other in the forests. Their villages included  small groups of houses around a larger hall. Each house had one room with a fire for cooking and light. They put a metal cooking from a chain above the fire.

Anglo-Saxons thought that sons and daughters were equally important.

The girls worked at home. They learned skills such as weaving cloth, cooking, making cheese and ale. Only a few girls learned to read and write. By the age of 10 a girl was considered an adult.  Most girls were married and many became nuns. They wore long dresses, they used sheep and goats’ wool for clothes.

Women did not often marry men of a higher rank than themselves. But sometimes people could choose whom they married, unless the family disapproved. Family ties were very important. Women could leave wills. They could have small libraries of books. A rich woman's possessions might also include furniture, blankets, cups, jewellery, and horses.

 The Boys learned the skills of their fathers. They wore tunics with trousers. They rowed boats on rivers, went fishing, hunted wild animals. Not many boys learned to read and write. The sons of kings or rich thanes could have a private teacher . The only schools were run by the Christian Church, in monasteries.

 Most men had farms and were also soldier. After a battle they went home to look after their animals and crops. The king ordered local officials to unit many men for each land. If the country was invaded, the king called this local bands of man.

The king had a small bodyguard of brave warriors who would die to defend him. The 'warrior-code' of the Anglo-Saxons taught that a warrior must fight and die for his leader.

Their armies were usually small, with only a few hundred men. They wore helmets on their heads and carried wooden shields. Everyone fought on foot during a battle. The most feared Anglo-Saxon weapon was a battle axe, but the most precious weapon was a sword.

Anglo-Saxons liked to do meeting in the lord's great hall. They loved tales about brave warriors and their adventures. Their favourite story told how Beowulf, a heroic prince, kills the man-eating monster Grendel. This story was first written in the 8th-9th centuries. The storyteller played music to accompany the songs and poems, on a small harp or on a lyre. In this meeting they ate roast meats, bread and fruit. They drank ale or mead, a strong drink made from honey. People often drank too much, so feasts were often noisy and sometimes ended in fights.

Anglo-Saxons liked to play with words.  Early Anglo-Saxons wrote using letters called runes. They believed runes had magical powers.

Men enjoyed pastimes  such as wrestling, weight-lifting (using heavy rocks) horse-racing and swimming races . These sports kept them fit, for work and war. They also played ball games.

Anglo-Saxon toys were usually home-made. Children had wooden and rag dolls, carved animals, and toy swords and ships. Children played board games, they had spinning tops, and played tunes on pipes made from reeds or animal bones. They probably practised juggling too.



(from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/anglo_saxons/)