Table Of ContentDAILY LIFE IN
ANGLO-SAXON
ENGLAND
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DAILY LIFE IN
ANGLO-SAXON
ENGLAND
SECOND EDITION
sally crawford
The Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series
Copyright © 2022 by ABC-CLIO, LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be repro-
duced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form
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receive information leading to more complete acknowledgments
in subsequent printings of the book and in the meantime extend
their apologies for any omissions.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Crawford, Sally (Sally Elizabeth Ellen), author.
Title: Daily life in Anglo-Saxon England / Sally Crawford.
Description: Second edition. | Santa Barbara : Greenwood Press,
[2022] | Series: The Greenwood Press daily life through
history series | “completely revised, rewritten and updated
second edition”—Preface. | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021046405 (print) | LCCN 2021046406
(ebook) | ISBN 9781440859250 (hardcover) |
ISBN 9781440859267 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Anglo-Saxons—Social life and customs. |
Anglo-Saxons—Social conditions. | Great Britain—History—
Anglo-Saxon period, 449-1066. | England—Social life and
customs—To 1066. | Civilization, Anglo-Saxon.
Classification: LCC DA152 .C76 2022 (print) | LCC DA152
(ebook) | DDC 942.01—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021046405
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021046406
ISBN: 978-1-4408-5925-0 (print)
978-1-4408-5926-7 (ebook)
26 25 24 23 22 1 2 3 4 5
This book is also available as an eBook.
Greenwood
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This book is printed on acid-free paper
Manufactured in the United States of America
CONTENTS
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction xiii
Timeline xxiii
Glossary xxvii
1. DOMESTIC LIFE 1
Family 1
Children 7
Women 13
Men 17
Marriage 18
Rites of Passage 23
Primary Document A: Wynflæd’s Will,
Part I: Widow Wynflæd Thinks of Her Family 29
Primary Document B: A Remedy for Successful Birth 30
Primary Document C: On Legal Marriage
(Be wifmannes beweddunge) 31
vi Contents
2. RURAL LIFE 33
Seasons 33
Farming and Agriculture 34
Famine 45
Ethnicity and Migration 45
Social Class 48
Slavery 49
Primary Document D: Gerefa, Part I: How to Be
an Expert Land Manager (Be sceadwisan gerefan) 53
Primary Document E: Wynflæd’s Will, Part II: Wynflæd
Decides What to Do with Her Slaves 55
3. ECONOMIC LIFE 57
Urban Life 57
Trade 64
Travel 69
Labor 74
Money 84
Primary Document F: Gerefa, Part II: Providing
Tools for the Laborers and Craftspeople on the Estate 88
Primary Document G: Ælfric’s Colloquy—the
Merchant and the Smith 89
4. INTELLECTUAL LIFE 91
Training and Education 91
Health, Disease, and Disability 96
Science 114
Primary Document H: Ælfric’s Colloquy—the
Pupils and the Plowman 118
Primary Document I: Remedies for Eye Problems
and a Test for Meningitis from Bald’s Leechbook 120
Contents vii
5. MATERIAL LIFE 123
Possessions 123
Housing 125
Lighting 140
Furniture 141
Clothing 143
Hairstyles 151
Primary Document J: Wulfwaru’s Will: The Joy of Stuff 152
Primary Document K: Wynflæd’s Will, Part III: Cloths
and Clothing 154
6. POLITICAL LIFE 155
Government Structure 159
Laws and Policies 165
Crime and Punishment 168
Warfare 173
Primary Document L: From the Laws of
Æthelred II: Matching the Punishment to the Crime 182
Primary Document M: Cynewulf and Cyneheard,
from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 757 183
Primary Document N: Extract from the Old English
Life of St. Guthlac 185
7. RECREATIONAL LIFE 187
Exercise, Sports, and Games 188
Music 190
Dance 192
Visual Arts 194
Literature 198
Humor 200
Feasting, Food, and Drink 201
viii Contents
Holidays and Festivals 209
Primary Document O: Riddles from the
Exeter Book: Bagpipe 209
Primary Document P: More Riddles from the
Exeter Book: Onion and Inkwell 210
Primary Document Q: Old English Cookery:
Seed Bread, Sage Omelet, and Soup 211
8. RELIGIOUS LIFE 213
Beliefs 215
Funerals 217
Sacred Spaces 222
Ritual Deposits 224
Church 225
Magic and Superstitions 232
Primary Document R: The Father of English
Religious Poetry? Cædmon’s Dream Song 235
Primary Document S: An Extract from the
Sermon of the Wolf to the English 237
Primary Document T: Æcerbot: A Field Blessing Ritual 238
Bibliography 241
Index 265
PREFACE
It is a great pleasure to be able to introduce you to this completely
revised, rewritten, and updated second edition of Daily Life in
Anglo-Saxon England. Since the first edition of this book, there have
been many significant new discoveries about this period, rang-
ing from the spectacular, such as the discovery of the astonishing
Staffordshire Hoard, to the scientific. Advances in DNA analysis,
isotope analysis, and major radiocarbon dating projects mean that
old certainties about Anglo-Saxon daily life have given way to new
interpretations and fresh discussions about how people lived in
England over a millennium ago.
Chapter 1 introduces the reader to Domestic Life in early medi-
eval England from the fifth to the eleventh century, starting with
the structure of the family, children and childhood, gender iden-
tity and gender roles, attitudes toward sex, marriage and adul-
tery, and rites of passage. Chapter 2 investigates early medieval
English Rural Life, exploring farming systems, seasonal activity,
farming equipment, famine, social class, slavery, and migration.
Chapter 3 on Economic Life investigates trade, markets, money,
travel at local, national, and international levels, labor, produc-
tion, and industrialization. Chapter 4 looks at Intellectual Life
in early medieval England, including education, language and
