The Anglo Saxon Period

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Do you wonder what life is back in the past? Is it as hard as today or harder, or maybe easier? To see a view of the past, witness the period of Anglo Saxon and how life is back then. Is the past better, or our generation already learned from them? Anglo Saxon Period covers the history of medieval Britain that starts from the end of Roman rule. It is a period widely known in European history as the Migration Period, also the Völkerwanderung (migration of people in German). Germanic tribes migrate to British lands and adopt the language and culture of the native people of the Britain. Anglo Saxon Period has three particularly areas of discussion that can be relatable to the present time – role of women, social hierarchy, and the government.…show more content…
The king is at the top of that pyramid. The king is appointed by selection, pre-eminent in dignity, rank and law, and has responsibilities including administration, military and moral duties. Below the king are the great warriors of Thanes. The Thanes belonged to upper group of free noblemen which lived in large halls, liable in taxation and church, and could be called upon for military service. Thanes also have duty on attendance on legal assemblies, privilege to own land, freedom of movement throughout the country, and fixed measure of protection from the law. The Churls, one-step lower social class than the Thanes, made up the main body of the society – belonged to lower group of common freemen. Churls have same rights and obligations as Thanes, and they lived in small huts. And lastly, the slaves, the lowest class, are pieces of properties and working machine (of the upper class). The slaves lived in cowsheds and barns, have few civil rights, and worked on estates, as craftsmen and…show more content…
The present federal government of a country has a divided to its states and remaining the national government weak which is very similar to the Anglo Saxon’s. For an instance, the Kingdom of Wessex has divided powers to its shires – very similar to United States that has 50 states with their own power. This proves that the Anglo Saxon created a strong foundation of a government. The difference is that the present government has three branches: the executive, the legislative, the judiciary and the Anglo-Saxon has none. Another important official of the shire was the shire-reeve, from whence the more modern sheriff is derived. The shire-reeve was responsible for upholding the law, and holding civil and criminal courts in the shire. The office of sheriff is still important in some Anglophone countries (e.g. the USA), but now a ceremonial role in the
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