# Cassell's Illustrated History of England/Volume 1/Chapter 24

CHAPTER XXIV.
Of the Manners, Customs, and Laws of the Saxons.
Illustrations drawn from ancient calendars are among the best documents one can consult for obtaining a knowledge of former manners and customs. The twelve designs which follow, and which may conveniently serve as an introduction to an account of Saxon customs, are taken from an Anglo-Saxon calendar composed some time before the Norman Conquest, and preserved in the Cottonian Library. Some explanatory notes are added.
Anglo-Saxon Calendar.
January.—The heathen Saxons called this month "Wolf-monath," because the wolves were then most ravenous. It was also called "After-Yula," or, after Christmas. In the engraving, four oxen are laboriously drawing the plough. At that time they did not use horses for field labour; and oxen are used, even at the present day, in some localities.
February.—They are cutting down trees for firewood. The Saxons called February "Sprout-kele." Kele meant "kele-wurt;" and was most extensively used at this time for making broth. The well-known custom of making pancakes on Shrove-Tuesday is a remnant of an old superstition, and certainly one of the most pleasing that has come down to us.
March was dedicated by the Saxons to the goddess Rhoeda, and hence called "Rhede-monath." It was called also "Illyd-monath," or the stormy month. In the engraving they are digging, hoeing, and sowing with great ardour. After the introduction of Christianity, March was held in great reverence, as the month in which Lent began.
April was "Oster-monath," because the wind generally blew from the east during this month. The engraving appears to represent three thanes celebrating a feast by quaffing ale from their drinking-horns. On one side is an armed guard with a long spear, and on the other two attendants. The bench on which the three worthy thanes are seated is adorned with two sculptures of formidable-looking animals. The use of chairs or sofas was then entirely unknown. They called the benches placed in the festal halls "mede bene," or "eale bene"—mead or ale benches.
May was called "Trimilki," because then they began to milk the kine three times in the day. Shepherds are watching over the ewes and lambs. May-day was the great rural festival of the Anglo-Saxons, and was celebrated with great pomp and rejoicing. This festival will soon be numbered amongst the things that were.
June.—To June different names were given: "Weyd-monath," according to some, " because then the cattle began to wej-d "—that is, feed in the meadows, which at that time were usually marshes. According to others, it was called "Midsummer month." This was the time of the year at which the Saxons commenced their long voyages, and they are represented in the engraving in the act of cutting down and dressing trees, in order to fit out their ships.
July was called by the Saxons "Heu-monath," or foliage month; also "Hoy-monath," or hay month, being the month in which they mowed and made hay, in which operations they are represented as being engaged in the engraving. They also called it "Lida-aftera," meaning the second lida, or second month after the sun's descent.
August was by the Saxons called "Arn-monath," or "Barn-monath," meaning harvest month. The instruments which appear in the engraving do not seem to differ much from those used at the present day. To the left appears a man sounding a horn with a spear in his right hand. Whether he is superintending the labourers, or is one of a hunting party entering the field, it is hard to decide. The sheaves are being lifted by a fork into a cart, or wagon, of tolerably good construction.
September was called "Gerst-monath"—barley month; so named from the liquor called "beerlegh" made in that month, and nenoe "barley." The subject of the engraving is a boar-hunt.
October was called the "Cold-monath, or "Wyn-monath"—wine month. The vine was extensively cultivated in England at the time of the Saxons. The figures are represented as engaged in hawking.
November was called "Wint-monatb," or wind month, as this was the season of the year when the cold storms commenced, which were generally considered to last till March. It was the custom to light great fires in the open air, in honour of the gods, and as a means of driving away evil spirits. The men are here seen approaching one of these to warn themselves.
December was called "Aerra Geola," because the sun then "turns his glorious course;" and after the introduction of Christianity, "Heilig-monath," or holy moth. December was, among the Anglo-Saxons, above all things, a month of festivity. Before the introduction of Christianity Christmas was the feast of Thor, and the wassail bowl circulated as briskly in honour of the heathen god as it has done since at the Christian festival. The figures are engaged in threshing the corn, winnowing it with a fan, and carrying it away.
The foregoing designs afford, probably, as good an idea as can now be obtained of the occupations and amusements of our Saxon forefathers, and of their daily life in time of peace.
With respect to the Anglo-Saxon form of government in its detail and working, the knowledge which has come down to us is very limited; and it is reasonable to suppose that the government of different states varied considerably, and was changed from time to time during the six centuries of Anglo-Saxon rule.
It appears, however, that at all times, and in all the kingdoms, there was a national council, called a Wittenagemot, or assembly of the wise men, whose consent was requisite for enacting laws and for ratifying the chief acts of public administration. The preambles to all the laws of Ethelbert, Ina, Alfred, Edward the Elder, Athelstan, Edmund, Edgar, Ethehed, and Edward the Confessor, even those to the laws of Canute, though a conqueror, put this matter beyond controversy, and carry proofs everywhere of a limited and legal government. But who were the constituent members of this Wittenagemot has not been determined with certainty by antiquaries. It is agreed that the bishops, abbots, and sometimes abbesses, were admitted—at least, it is supposed so. It is well known that the latter frequently signed the royal charters. The former dignitaries. It is certain, formed a portion of the assembly. It also appears that the aldermen, or governors of counties, who were afterwards styled earls by the Danes, had seats in it. As much dispute has arisen respecting the importance of the office of alderman, it may be as well to examine the authorities upon the subject.
It appears from the ancient translations of the Saxon annals and laws, and from King Alfred's translation of Bede, as well as from all the ancient historians, that comes in Latin, alderman in Saxon, and earl in Dano-Saxon, were quite synonymous. There is only a clause in a law of King Athelstan which has induced some antiquaries to suppose that an earl was superior to an alderman. The weregild, or the price of an earl's blood, is there fixed at 15,000 thrismas, equal to that of an archbishop; whereas, that of a bishop and alderman is only 8,000 thrismas. To solve this difficulty, we must have recourse to Selden's conjecture, that the term "earl" was, in the age of Athelstan, just beginning to be in use in England, and. stood at that time for the atheling, or prince of the blood, heir to the crown. This he confirms by quoting a law of Canute, where an atheling and an archbishop are put upon the same footing. In another law of the same Athelstan, the were- gild of the prince, or atheling, is said to be 1.5,000 thrismas. He is therefore the same who is called "earl" in the former law.
Men of superior rank, but still not powerful enough to ensure their individual safety from the oppression and injustice of the nobles, entered into confederacies with each other for mutual support and protection.
By the laws of one of these societies, established in Cambridgeshire, the members mutually bound themselves to be faithful to each other; to bury any associate when he died; to give information to the sheriff if any one of them should be exposed to danger from a lawless attack; and if that officer neglected his duty, to levy a fine of a pound upon him.
When any one of them should be murdered, eight pounds was to be exacted from the assassin, who, if he refused to pay it, was to be prosecuted at the joint expense of the society.
​If any of the members, who was a poor man, killed another, the society were to contribute, in a certain proportion, to pay his fine: a mark a-piece if the fine be 700 shillings; less if the person killed be a clown or ceorle; and the half of that sum again if he be a Welshman. But where any of the associates kills a man wilfully and without provocation, he must himself pay the fine. If any of the associates kill any of his fellows in a like criminal manner, besides paying the usual fine to the relations of the deceased, he must pay eight pounds to the society, or renounce the benefit of it: in which case they bind themselves, under the penalty of one pound, never to eat or drink with him, except in the presence of the king, bishop, or alderman. There were other regulations to protect themselves and their servants from all injuries, to revenge such as were committed, and to prevent their giving abusive language to each other; the fine which they engaged to pay for this last offence was a measure of honey.
A Saxon Blacksmith — From an old MS.
The Saxons, like the rest of the German nations, were divided into three classes—the noble, the free, and the slave; a distinction they maintained after they had settled in Britain.
The nobles were called thanes, and were of two kinds—the king's thanes, and lesser thanes. The latter seem to have been dependent on the former, and to have received lands, for which they paid rent, services, or attendance in peace or war. We know of no title which raised any one to the rank of thane, except noble birth and the possession of land. The former was always much regarded by all the German nations.
There are two statutes, however, to be found amongst the Saxon laws which seem to confound these ranks. Athelstan decreed that the merchant who had made three long sea voyages on his own account should be entitled to the quality of thane, and that a husbandman who had bought five hides of land, and had a chapel, a kitchen, a hall, and a bell, should enjoy the same rank.
Saxon Bell.
The cities, according to the Doomsday-book, appear to have been little better than villages: York, the second in the kingdom, contained but 1,418 families; Norwich had only 738 houses; Exeter, 315; Ipswich, 538; Northampton, 60; Hertford, 146; Canterbury, 262; Bath, 64; Southampton, 94; and Warwick, 225.
These appear to have been the most considerable; the account of them is extracted from the Doomsday-book.
William of Malmesbury tells us that the great distinction between the Anglo-Saxon nobility and the French or Normans was, that the latter built magnificent and stately castles; whereas the former consumed their immense fortunes in riotous hospitality, and in mean houses. We may thence infer that the arts in general were much less advanced in England than in France.
The lower ranks of freemen were the ceorles or husbandmen, employed in cultivating the farms of the nobles or thanes; for which they paid rent, chiefly in kind, and seem to have been removable at pleasure.
But by far the most numerous rank appears to have been the slaves, or villains, who were the absolute property of their lords, and incapable of possessing any kind of property. Of this latter class there were two kinds amongst the Saxons—household slaves, and prædial, or labouring ones.
The power of the master over his slave, however, was not unlimited, for if he beat his eyes or his teeth out, the latter might claim his liberty; and if he killed him, he paid a fine to the king, provided the slave died within a day after receiving his wound.
The great nobles and prelates held criminal jurisdiction upon their possessions—a circumstance which too frequently served as a protection to evil-doers and robbers, rather than acted as a check upon them.
The punishments amongst the Anglo-Saxons appear to have been exceedingly mild for some offences, since even murder might be atoned for by the payment of a fine.
The laws of Alfred enjoin, that if any one know that his enemy or aggressor, after doing him an injury, resolves to keep within his own house and his own lands, he shall not fight him till he require compensation for the injury. If he be strong enough to besiege him in his house, he may do it for seven days without attacking him; and if the ​aggressor be willing, during that time, to surrender himself and his arms, his adversary may detain him thirty days; but is afterwards obliged to restore him safe to his kindred and be content with the compensation. If the criminal fly to the church, that sanctuary must not be violated Where the assailant has not force sufficient to besiege the criminal in his house, he must apply to the alderman for assistance; and if the alderman refuse aid, the assailant must have recourse to the king; and he is not allowed to assault the house till after this supreme magistrate has refused assistance. If any one meet with his enemy, and be ignorant that he was resolved to keep within his own lands, he must before he attack him, require him to surrender himself prisoner and deliver up his arms, in which case he may detain him thirty days; but if he refuse to deliver up his arms, it is then lawful to fight him. A slave may fight in his masters quarrel, and a father in his son's, with any one except his master.
Ina enacted that no man should take revenge till he had first demanded compensation, and it had been refused him
King Edmund decreed that if a man committed a murder he may, within a year, pay the fine, with the assistance of his relatives and friends; but if they refuse to aid him he shall alone sustain the feud with the kindred of the murdered person.
The Execution of a Criminal. — From a Saxon MS.
There is indeed a law of Alfred, which makes wilful murder capital; but this seems only to have been an attempt of that great legislator towards establishing a better police in the kingdom, and probably it was not often carried into execution. By the laws of the same prince, a conspiracy against the life of the king might be redeemed by a fine.
The price of the kings's head or weregild—a word signifying the legal value of any one—was by law 30,000 thrismas, nearly 1,300 pounds of present money. The price of the prince's head was 15,000 thrismas; that of a bishop's, or alderman's 8,000; a sheriff's 4,000; a thane's,
A Saxon Calendar
or clergyman's 2,000; a ceorle's 266. These prices were fixed by the laws of the Angles. By the Mercian law, the price of a cerole's head was 200 shillings; that of a thane's, six times as much; that of a king's, six times ​more. By the laws of Kent, the price of the archbishop's head was higher than that of the king. Such respect was then paid to the ecclesiastics! It must be understood that where a person was unable or unwilling to pay the fine, he was put out of the protection of the law, and the kindred of the deceased had liberty to punish him as they thought proper.
At a Banquet given by Harold, he receives the News of the invasion of the Normans.
The price of all kinds of wounds was likewise fixed by the Saxon law: a wound of an inch long under the hair, was paid with one shilling; one of a like size in the face, two shillings; thirty shillings for the loss of an ear; and so forth. There seems not to have been any difference made according to the dignity of the person. By the laws of Ethelbert, any one who committed adultery with his ​neighbour's wife was obliged to pay him a fine, and buy him another wife.
In exceedingly difficult or doubtful cases, the judges had recourse to the trial by ordeal. One method, the decision by the cross, was practised in the following manner:—
When any one was accused of any crime, before he was allowed what was emphatically called the appeal to the judgment of God, he was compelled first to make oath of his innocence before the magistrates, and was attended by eleven friends, who, in some respects, were answerable for him; they were called compurgators.
He next took two pieces of wood, one of which was marked with the sign of the cross, and wrapping both up in wool, he placed them on the altar, or on some celebrated relic. After solemn prayers for the success of the experiment, a priest—or, in his stead, some inexperienced youth—took up one of the pieces of wood, and if he fixed upon that which was marked with the figure of a cross, the person was pronounced innocent; if otherwise, guilty. This practice, as it rose from superstition, was abolished by it in France. The Emperor Louis the Debounaire prohibited that method of trial, not because it was uncertain, but lest that sacred figure, says he, of the cross should be prostituted in common disputes and controversies.
The ordeal was another established method of trial among the Anglo-Saxons. It was practised either by boiling water or red-hot iron. The former was appropriated to the common people, the latter to the nobility. The water, or iron, was consecrated by many prayers, masses, fastings, and exorcisms; after which the person accused either took up a stone sunk in the water to a certain depth, or carried the iron to a certain distance; and his hand being wrapped up, and the covering sealed for three days, if there appeared, on examining it, no marks of barring, he was pronounced innocent; if otherwise, guilty. The trial by cold water was different. The person was thrown into consecrated water; if he swam, he was guilty; if be sank, innocent. It is difficult for us to conceive how any innocent person could ever escape by the one trial, or any criminal be convicted by the other. But there was another usage admirably calculated for allowing every criminal to escape who had confidence enough to try it. A consecrated cake, called a corsned, was produced; which, if the person could swallow and digest, he was pronounced innocent.
From the general ignorance of the age, deeds and writings were exceedingly rare; and in order to obviate this inconvenience, the court of the hundred was the place where most civil transactions took place, in order to preserve the memory of them by having as many witnesses as possible. In the same courts slaves were manumitted, sales concluded, and sometimes, for greater security, a record of such transactions was inserted on the blank leaves of the Bible.
The Saxons appear to have been exceedingly fond of dress. Ladies of rank wore necklaces, bracelets, and rings, set with precious stones. Mantles, kirtles, and gowns were also in general use; and rouge was not unknown to them.
In the men this taste for finery degenerated into effeminacy. They wore golden collars, and not unfrequently precious stones round the neck; and the wealthy wore costly bracelets and rings. They had silk, linen, and woollen garments. Silk, from its costliness, was only used by the wealthy. The fashion of their garments of course varied. They had large mantles, which were ornamented with gold and gems; close coats or tunics, girded with a belt, which Strutt represents as having been put on over the head like a shirt. Many Englishmen are not aware that the smockfrock of the husbandmen of our own day is a pure piece of Saxon costume; and if it were well made, tightened with a broad belt, and worn by a man of good carriage, it would form a much handsomer dress than the-unmeaning stiff-cut coats of our time. Socks and stockings, and other covering for the legs, are mentioned by Saxon writers.
Their furniture was most probably heavy, rude, and ill-fashioned. Whatever invention of this kind they possessed was gained from the clergy, whose communication with Rome gave them the means of introducing many of the mechanical arts.
Saxon Game at Bowls.
Games and exercises of strength and agility were common among the Anglo-Saxons. St. Cuthbert is stated by Bede to have excelled in running, wrestling, and other athletic sports. Feats of juggling were performed by the gleemen, who were the most important characters in the festivals and other popular gatherings. Some of the gleemen seem to have performed tricks, gambols, and feats of all kinds, while others were harpers, or bards, and ballad-singers.
The in-door sports were various, and suitable to different ranks. The games of chess and backgammon were both known, or at least games very similar to them. Backgammon is said to have been invented in the tenth century.
Hangings for rooms, to supply the defects of their coarse carpentry, were among the first of their articles of furniture. Benches and stools, with coverings, are mentioned as their seats. These appear to have been much ornamented with devices of animals and flowers. Their tables were occasionally very costly, being sometimes of silver and gold, but generally of wood; they were sometimes inlaid with gold, silver, and gems. Candlesticks of various sorts were used, as also bells, both large and small; mirrors of silver; beds and bed-hangings, and coverlets of bear and other skins.
Their naval architecture was of the simplest kind, their vessels being of small size, propelled with a single sail, assisted by oars.
The Saxons erected temples for the worship of their gods, but of what form or materials is not now known. The introduction of Christianity led immediately to the erection of churches, which at that period seem to have been built of timber. Some centuries later, under the reign of Edgar the Peaceable, architecture, as an art, ​received a powerful impulse from the riches which had accumulated in monastic establishments, and which found employment in the erection of many monasteries, cathedrals, and other edifices.
Anglo-Saxon Vessel.
Gold and silver, of which our ancestors seem to have possessed a great deal, were used for cups and bowls, and other tensils, and also to adorn their sword-hilts, saddles, bridles, and banners. Their gold rings contained gems; and even their garments, saddles, and bridles were sometimes jewelled.
Spices were a great luxury, and came from India through Italy. Four ounces of cinnamon were sent from one church dignitary to another as a rare present.
The progress of the Anglo-Saxons in the art of painting appears to have been very limited; but few specimens of their illuminated books, however, remain. In one of these there is a representation of the building of the Tower of Babel, out of all rule of perspective; the workmen being represented in the costume of the time in which the design was executed.
Of their jewel work we have scarcely any specimens of consequence. One found in the island of Athelney, supposed to have belonged to Alfred the Great, proves, however, that the art of engraving on metals had been carried to a certain degree of excellence amongst them.
Their arms consisted chiefly of the helmet, sword, spear, shield, and battle-axe—some of them singularly well designed.