Anglo-Saxons:The Truth about the Boasts
449 - 1066
Homes
Made of timber, central hearth, boat-shaped, louver in ceiling to let out smoke, benches and tapestries
Located in villages, near navigable rivers
Food
Ate meat, kept animals in pens, depended on salt for preservation, used only knives
Health Groomed themselves with bone
combs, bronze tweezers, small shears, etc.
Less than 50% reached age 30 82% dead by 40, 98% dead by 50 No cavities, but much osteoarthritis
from squatting
Subject to frequent plagues and epidemics
Relied on herbal medicine Performed some surgery: amputation
of gangrenous limbs, hernias, hare lips
Dress
Wore wool and linen Headbands, gold brocade, brooches,
wrist clasps, leg bandages, long hair Rings with runic inscriptions, earrings,
buckles, functional jewelry
Entertainment
Hunting, falconry, bear- and bull-baiting Athletic contests to sharpen martial
skills Musical instruments: horns, trumpets,
lyres, pipes POETRY Religious feasting, wakes, harvesting Riddles
Industry
Cottage industries: soap makers, charcoal makers, ice skate makers, products of bone, pottery, metal works
Women
Relatively unimportant in a warrior-based society, BUT some were powerful and were active in running large estates
Spinning, weaving, embroidery, domestic economy
Society
Loyalty to lord came before kin (COMITATUS)
Would not leave battle alive if king were killed
Frequent stubborn blood feuds WERGILD: compensation for
death/injury
Classes: king, nobles (earls), freeman (thanes), bonded peasants (churls), slaves (thralls)
King selected and advised by a council of elders (WITAN)
Trial by ordeal after oathing Believed in marriage, divorce Orphaned sons came of age at age 10
Beliefs
Human sacrifice Scandinavian gods Eventually Christianized
Funerals
Cremation Inhumation
(traditional burial) Ship burial
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