Anglo Saxon Society - The King And The Earls

The Power Of The King
1. Law making - Only the king could make new laws and everyone had to obey.
2. Money - the king conrolled the minting and the ditribtion for coins
3. Taxation - the king decided when a tax was paid and how it should be.
4. Religion - the king was chosen by God to rule
5. Fyrd - the king could raise the fyrd army and fleet
6. landownership - the king could grant land and take it away
7. The king ruled over england, with all its resources at his command
8. The king was the most powerful person , no one could tell him what to do
9. The king granted out some power to the earls.
The Winan
1. The Witan was the council that advised the king
2. The king dicided what the Witan should advise him on
3. the king decides who was on the Witan
4. they king didnt have to follow the witans advise
The Earls
1. The earls were the most important people in the country after the king
2. governed large area of england on the kings behalf
3. they were granted some of the kings power
  1. Collect taxes - the earls collected for the earldoms and kept third of the tax
  2. overseeing laws and deciding punishment
  3. military power - earls were the kings 'generals', raising the army
4. Large ealrdoms meant earls could become very powerful
Edward the confessor (1003 - 1066)
1. advantages
  1. As a religious leader people believed that God was guilding him
  2. he was respected as a wise lawmaker
  3. he was married to Edith, daughter of the rich and powerful ealr of godwin
2. Disadvantages
  1. he had been exiled in normandy for most of his life and had few english supporters
  2. he had no children to success him
  3. he struggled to keep control of earl Godwin

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Anglo Saxon Society - The King And The Earls

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	Created by Ruth Blackman over 6 years ago