7th-century Lichfield and the residents.

     An updated view of early (6th and 7th century) Saxon [1] England (more accurately called Englisc) is one of a growing economy, improving communications, new understandings of religion, managed tribal projects and battles, a developing legal system, knowledge of where in the social hierarchy an individual stood and pledged loyalties to a warlord. Licetfelda (later changed to Lichfield) would contain a mixture of ethnicities, but this would be of little consequence. The terms Anglo-Saxon, Middle Angles (from Bede, book 1, chapter 15), Mercian or people of Licetfelda would be inconsequential. There was only recognition of their family and some loyalty to their ancestors and warlord. Reynolds expressed it as the natives in the time of Bede were not ‘English people,’ but an admixture of small to large polities, all with different origin-myths.[2] 

   The area contained a very small group of hamlets until medieval times. In the “Great Survey” of 1086 in the book known as The Domesday Book, Staffordshire had an annual value of a mere 8 shillings per square mile; only two other counties were poorer. This despite having a relatively high number of settlements (342). Lichfield had a recorded population of 9.9 households. This amounted to 42 villagers, 2 smallholders,10 slaves and  5 priests. There were 78 ploughlands.,10 lord's plough teams and 24 men's plough teams working in an area with 35 acres of meadow, 10 acres of worked land, some woodland and much marsh with two water mills. 

Imagined view of what early Licetfelda looked like.

 

Inhabitants managed the trees for timber, burnt heather for fuel and planted crops, such as wheat, barley or oat (oat and wheat seeds were found in the archaeological study south of the cathedral[3]). Flax might have been planted in the wetter areas. Fields in Mercia were open and could be large; some were divided into strips if they served a community. They were measured in hides, but this was a loose and variable unit and simply meant acreage which could support a family (estimated to be somewhere between 60 and 120 acres). Bread wheat was their staple food, but there was also dark rye bread. Vegetables included garlic, leeks, onions, parsnips, radishes, shallots and turnips. For planting crops an ard or scratch plough would be needed. They would need a long scythe for clearing away bracken and heather. Intensive manuring of the soil was important and crop rotation was understood. Very few people in England ate large amounts of meat before the Vikings settled, and there is no evidence that elites ate more meat than other people, a recent bioarchaeological study has found.[4] Ownership of land might be with the churl. They would most likely have owned a few animals, particularly one or two oxen for ploughing, hens, geese and ducks, and perhaps a cat or dog. It is also possible pigs, sheep and goats were kept. If so, these animals would have been moved from wood to fields with the changing seasons. The Old English feld in the name of Lichfield might be an indicator of pig pasturing.[5] This was a time when crop sowers were becoming interested in animal husbandry. They would occasionally see horsemen on pony sized horses (data from 171 archaeological sites suggest medieval warhorses were small).

The family might have had to provide a food for a feast (honey, loaves, ales, cheese, birds, hams) to an overlord, held outside near to their hamlet. It has recently been shown peasants didn't give kings food as exploitative tax instead they hosted feasts. Food lists for these feasts which have survived show an estimated 1kg of meat and 4,000 Calories in total, per person.[6] An examination of ten feasts has shown each guest (possibly more than 300) had a modest amount of bread, a huge amount of meat, a decent but not excessive quantity of ale and there was no mention of vegetables, although some probably were served. The feasts were exceptional; there is no evidence of people eating anything like this much animal protein on a regular basis.

For a long time, it has been thought peasants had to pay a food tax, a form of tribute called feorm and the people producing it were called feormers, a word which later became farmers. It is now thought the giving of food for feasts was a one-off event and served to connect farmers to the elite rulers. It was not an obligation but  gave a sense of communal connection. The first Mercian King ruled from c589 and probably lived well away from most communities, but on rare occasions turned up for a feast.

     The average male stood at 172cm (5 feet 8 inches) high and the average female was 157cm (5 feet 2inches) according to skeletons found in graves. Dependence on low protein crops meant young people did not attain full height until well into their 20s. A study of residues of garments in graves concluded men wore coats, tailored tunics and trousers.[7]  Women wore a linen, tailored gown with long sleeves that might have ended in leather cuffs and over this was worn a loose cloak of coarser weave. They possibly had a veil. There were regional variations in women’s clothes, but nothing is known on costumes for Mercia. Clothing was more or less one size for adults and one size for children. It was made to fit by tucking and tightening with a belt or on occasion with a buckle. Women wore some kind of head dress or band held in place with pins. A cloak might have had a hood. Animal skins, such as otter, badger, pine marten, stoat and sheep, were worn by both sexes with the fur on the inside. Shoes were also the same for both sexes and are thought to be similar to those made by the Romans; namely, round toed, flat soled and heavily laced. Only the rich could own elaborate brooches and pins, and some even had embroided garments with gold thread. Saxon women wore bracelets, necklaces and anklets. They might have hung useful items from a belt. Men also possessed cloak brooches and possibly arm rings. The rings could be copper alloy, or for the rich silver or at best gold. This jewellery varied with fashion and area and it is unknown what was being worn in Mercia at this time. Combs have been found which suggests hair was frequently groomed. Considering the few Saxon finger rings ever found, it is unlikely the ordinary Saxon would have one. 

Reconstructed house at Maelmin, Northumberland, 410-550 A.D. It is 7 m x 3.5 m and 4 m high. Consists of 7 pairs of opposed vertical posts with cross beams. The pitched timber roof is covered in thatch. All joints are mortice and tenon with pegs.Walls are overlapping planks, but could have been wattle and daub.

A variety of languages were used. Chad, other priests and scribes writing the Gospels would know Latin. The Anglo-Saxons would speak Old English (Ænglisc) with a Mercian dialect. A few might have spoken in Brittonic, an insular Celtic language. Indeed, Chad with his priestly training in Northern Ireland might have understood this language.

Any habitation would have resembled the excavated settlement at Catholme (7.8 miles, 12,5 km north-east of Lichfield) in the Trent valley. This settlement is thought to have been established in the 7^th century and consisted of a series of farmsteads and trackways. Enclosure ditches surrounded the houses and they probably demarcated family groups. 

                                  Catholme today.

A single human burial was found at the entrance to two enclosures and has been interpreted as an ancestral marker. The trackways were a way of leading animals to the river. The ditches could also have stopped animals wandering too close to the farmsteads and causing problems. The idea of having ditches and trackways was relatively new and depended on families cooperating to dig and maintain them. 

Ditches and three early graves were found in the archaeological investigation immediately south of the cathedral.^[2] The south choir aisle archaeology revealed early Anglo-Saxon graves.

     The people would have access to a simple legal system organised from a Mercian stronghold somewhere in the Trent or Tame River valley area. It would be a rudimentary family law with the beginnings of human rights. The idea that others could be asked to give a judgement on someone’s wrongdoing had started. Miscreants could do penance by working for a church. Sickly and disabled children might also be cared for in the church community. Women enjoyed many freedoms and some ran estates and nunneries. Women exercised ownership of their household and intervened to help other households. There are several accounts of kings listening to their wife and being guided by her advice. Women were often equal in law to their husbands and her sons.Everyone would know about the warlord, claiming to be descended from Woden. Recognition of an elite ruling family in the area was relatively new; their ancestry was often contrived. Separation between the privileged and the poor was now beginning.

Boys would be trained in fighting skills from the age of 7 and then receive their first weapons on reaching 14. The most likely weapon would be a spear. He could then be called on to fight for the warlord as a mercenary. If he received a sword it would be accompanied by oaths of fidelity and this would mark the attainment of manhood. The sword would be special to the individual and might even receive a name. 

Ryknild Street south of Lichfield. 7 m wide.

There would be a path to Lichfield and access to the church to hear the daily Divine Office of sung prayers and chanted psalms with readings from the Bible given by a senior cleric. The psalms sung by a precentor might have been accompanied by a psaltery which was a 10 stringed, harp shaped instrument with a hollow, triangular sounding box. Lyres have also been found that could have been used. The church day was divided into 7 times for worship and if bells were rung each time this gave nearby people an idea of the time in the day. No early Saxon service book has survived, so it is unclear the order of a service. Maybe, there was a diversity of services and it was not as rigid and regular as is often supposed. A local pool or stream would be used for baptism and there were many that were suitable.

     Before the Synod of Whitby (663 or 664) the year had 12 lunar months and lasted 354 days. The names of the months were connected to customs associated with the time of the year and they varied regionally. Therefore, every two years an extra leap month between June and July was added. After the Synod, the Roman year of 365 days was followed and years later an extra day had to be added to account for the missing quarter day. Only the two seasons of winter and summer were recognised.  Spring and autumn seasons do not appear until the 16^th and 17^th century. Bede considered winter started on 7 November and summer on 6 February, but not everyone followed this. Those following the Celtic tradition started their year on Halloween and later it became 25 December or Yule. The day started at sunrise. For most people the time of the year would be known only from phases of the moon, appearance of migrating birds, times when flowers bloomed and fruited and when animals gave birth. Time would be a general concept.

     Inhabitants would be very aware of changes in the weather and health and have some belief system to expiate misfortune. Invocations and charms would be known and ways to foretell events would be believed. Epidemics of a variant of plague swept through parts of England at least four times in the seventh century. High mortality would have been exacerbated by the poor general level of health. Life expectancy was probably around 40 years with infant mortality being high and men generally living longer than woman. Many female skeletons show ankle deformations consistent with spending much time in the squatting position. High status individuals lived just as long as low status people; there was not yet a spatial separation of the privileged and so infections reached everyone. Age was measured in the number of winters lived.

The climate was much colder that it is today, but it started to get warmer after the 7^th century. Their rectangular timber framed dwelling perhaps had a heather brush roof; very thick and strong to bear the weight of snow. At West Stow Saxon village, Suffolk, a ‘stuffed thatched’ roof with a base layer of gorse into which straw was stuffed has been found to give a sturdy roof and might have been used. The floor was probably raised up to be above the damp ground, but how this was generally done is still unsettled. Most ornaments would be fashioned from wood, but the churl probably knew of a smith in the area to obtain forged goods. Goods would be bartered and so a sense of relative values would be known. Some might have been able to afford glass bowls for eating and drinking; the glass most likely being recycled Roman glass. There might have been some trading with travellers. One particular item that would be sought was a quern stone for grinding seeds. Another would be flint for cutting. Other extras could be bought at wics or trading centres and for Mercia they are not identifiable. All the 30 plus productive trading wics known were spread across eastern England. Traded goods would have travelled along the river Trent from the wics in Lincolnshire, but where they were offloaded is unclear; Tamworth is a guess, Burton another.

     Red and roe deer, wolves, boar, beavers and otters would occasionally be seen. People would have heard old stories of the extinct lynx and brown bear. They might see once in a lifetime a wildcat. Black rats, wood mice, shrews and mosquitoes were pests. Foxes, badgers, shrews, weasels, red squirrels, hedgehogs and pine martens were commonly seen. Hare would be evident on fields, but not rabbits. Common birds were sparrows, swallows, martins, crows, rooks, ravens, starlings, jackdaws, pigeons, buzzards, red kites, herons and cranes (the carpet page of St Chad’s gospel shows entwined, three-legged birds that resemble cranes). In 671, there was a “great mortality of birds”, presumably because of a very cold winter. The heathland would have grouse, quail, partridge and possibly pheasants. There would be little hunting of animals unless the churl could join with others to assist, in which case hounds were used for chasing. January was the favoured time for hunting wolves. They would set snare traps for small animals. Local streams could provide eels and trout. Boys dug foxes out of their holes and hunted hares.

[1] There is a problem with naming the people Saxon or Anglo-Saxon (the preferred title in academic publications). Based on surviving texts, early inhabitants of the region were commonly called englisc and angelcynn. From 410 A.D. when the Romans left to shortly after 1066, the term only appears three times in legal charters in the entire corpus of Old English literature and all in the tenth century.

[2] S. Reynolds, ‘What do we mean by Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Saxons?’ Journal of British Studies (1985), 24, 395–414. 

[3] M. O. H. Carver, ‘Excavations south of Lichfield Cathedral, 1976–1977’ South Staffordshire Archaeological and Historical Society Transactions, 1980–1981, XXII (1982), 38.

 [4] S. Leggett and T. Lambert. ‘Food and Power in Early Medieval England: a lack of (isotopic) enrichment’. Anglo-Saxon England, (2022), 1

[5] D. Turner and R. Briggs, ‘Testing transhumance: Ango-Saxon swine pastures and seasonal grazing in the Surrey Weald, Surrey Archaeological Collections, (2016), 189.

 [6] T. Lambert and S.  Leggett. ‘Food and Power in Early Medieval England: Rethinking Feorm’. Anglo-Saxon England, (2022), 1.

[7] K. Brush, Adorning the dead. The social significance of early Anglo-Saxon funerary dress in England  (Fifth to Seventh centuries A. D.), Unpub. PH. D. dissertation, University of Cambridge