As you would expect with any society that was characterised by a hierarchical class system there would be the top class who were defined by their wealth and by the power that they wielded. In the Anglo-Saxon world the upper class were known as the aethelings, who were principally the royal family. The king was … Continue reading The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: The Aethelings and the Eoldermen
1066
The Battles of Brunanburh and of Maldon
The Battle of Brunanburgh is both important and significant to the Anglo-Saxon peoples because not only did it lead to the establishment of England as a single kingdom. It was also widely reported in many different sources and various languages including Old English, Middle English, Latin, Irish, Welsh, and Icelandic.Under Aethelstan, the King of the … Continue reading The Battles of Brunanburh and of Maldon
The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: The Theigns
Above the ceorls, the peasants of the Anglo-Saxon world, sat the ‘theigns’. They were to all intents and purposes the middle class. To qualify as a theign a man needed to own a minimum of 5 hides of land. A hide was not an exact measurement in Anglo-Saxon England but roughly equated to enough land … Continue reading The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: The Theigns
The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: The Peasants
One of the features of the Anglo-Saxon social structure was its’ obsession with class. There were three basic classes, the ceorls or peasants, the theigns or landowners, and the eoldermen or nobility. These classes were further subdivided again creating a ladder for the socially mobile to climb.The ceorls were the most numerous and, therefore, the … Continue reading The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: The Peasants
What is a huscarl?
A huscarl was a Saxon warrior. They were generally rich men in that they had to be able to afford to equip themselves with at least two horses, steel mail armour, a steel helmet, weapons such as a fighting spear, throwing spears, a Dane-axe, a shield and, perhaps most importantly, a gold decorated two edged … Continue reading What is a huscarl?
It’s Late in the Day but it is Necessary
It’s not something you expect the day after you put down the manuscript and say to yourself; “that’s finished then!” but there’s that little voice inside your head, whispering like Gollum; “you know he’s right precious!”He was right and I was wrong.The thing is if you ask people to read your manuscript and give you … Continue reading It’s Late in the Day but it is Necessary
Submission Time!
While I am tending towards e-publishing there is still a part of me that wants to explore the traditional publishing route of contracting a literary agent and seeing my book in hard print. I have no doubt that writers already know how difficult this process is. In fact I would go so far as to … Continue reading Submission Time!
Just My Imagination
It is funny how the act of writing is the same as creating a new fantasy world. I used to do that as a child, create my own worlds peopled by fantastic characters from pop culture and the books I read, and dinosaurs! Always dinosaurs! Having decided to write the book and then immersed myself … Continue reading Just My Imagination
I’ll Write a Book One Day!
It’s a common enough assertion but I expect very few people, relatively speaking, actually make the attempt. It is not surprising really, I mean, the idea of writing a book seems so easy, you sit down with a pen or typewriter or word processor or ipad or whatever takes your fancy, a blank sheet, and … Continue reading I’ll Write a Book One Day!
Peter C Whitaker 