Abstract. Much is now known how Early Medieval people of the 6th and 7th century lived, worked, ate, dressed, survived hazards, worshipped, kept law and order and improved health. It is presumed the early inhabitants of Licetfelda or Lichfield had similar cultural features.
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
consisted of 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 surrounding
trees for timber, burnt heather from the local heath 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.
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
did not give kings gifted food as exploitative tax, but 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 usually one
size for adults and one size for children. It was made to fit by tucking and
tightening with a belt. Women wore a kind of head dress or band held in place
with pins or on occasion with a buckle. 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 silver or at best gold for the rich. 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.
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 7th century and consisted of a series of
farmsteads and trackways. Enclosure ditches surrounded the houses and they
probably demarcated family groups. 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.
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 16th and 17th
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 7th 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 in
Mercia. 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.
7th-century medicine
The common
view of early medicine is it consisted of herbal potions, magical practices,
superstitious beliefs, invocations and charms based on strange ideas of how the
body worked. The Lacnunga, British Library Harley MS 585 early-11th century,
described remedies requiring chants of particular words and actions that had to
be repeated. A carbuncle required a chant sung 9 times that started with the
Lord’s prayer. An illustrated Old English herbal, British Library Cotton MS Vitellius
C III early-11th century, advised parsley for a snakebite,
The central concept was a doctrine of four
humours[8] which
when in balance and harmony gave a healthy body, but any disruption led to disease.
Disease was primarily caused by internal disequilibrium, but also affected by
the seasons of the year and natural rhythms of the universe[9]. Blood
circulated like the tides. Added to this was the view of the body being invaded
by ‘alien matter,’ evil spirits and sometimes the wrath of God.[10] Medical
care was available in monasteries and often prayer and pilgrimage were seen to
be all that was offered. Primitive medicine was always irrational and limited.
However, that is not the whole picture; there was much that helped and sometimes
the unwell were cured. Consider the following:
1.
There was a body of lay practitioners, mostly in
monasteries, available to treat the general population. They were called in Old
English, laece, translated as a leech or physician. A doctor was also a medicus[11].
They were expected to deal with all kinds of illness and injury and a host of
symptoms with causes beyond anyone’s comprehension. [12] St
John of Beverley attended several unwell people and Bede described their
treatment.[13]
Page from
Bald’s Leech book, written c. 900–950, British Library Royal MS 12 D
XVII. Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain. The Leech book contains innumerable
prescriptions for a bewildering variety of illnesses, injuries and mental
states.
2.
The monastic practitioner, according to Bede,[14]
had a centre, hospitale, for their practice where sick people were taken.
This centre also provided accommodation for travellers, pilgrims and those
requiring hospitality. Presumably, one was located at Lindisfarne, and perhaps
also at Licetfelda.
3.
Medicine was a subject for study. St Aldhelm mentioned
medicine as one of the subjects taken at the school founded at Canterbury by
Archbishop Theodore in c .670.[15] According
to Bald’s Leechbook, mid-10th century, remedies were drawn from early Latin and
Greek texts such as by Alexander of Tralles, died c. 605, and
Anglo-Saxon physicians known as Oxa and Dun.
4.
The leech charged fees for their services known
as a laece-feoh, leech fee.[16]
The usual
outcome was the making of certain compounds with the hope of
relieving
symptoms.[17]
There is evidence of making a thoughtful prognosis.
Bede described
a young man who developed a swelling on his eyelid which
progressively
grew bigger. Poultices had been applied without success and
some leeches
advised lancing the swelling, but others disagreed fearing
complications.[18] A
recipe for an eye salve in Bald’s Leechbook, mid-10th
century,
has been shown to be effective against antibiotic resistant bacteria.
5.
Treatment of fractures occurred. Bede described
several people sustaining fractures and their treatment. In the Life of
Wilfred, a young mason named Bothelm fell from the top of Hexham church and
broke various bones and dislocated some joints. Physicians were called in who
immobilized the fractured limbs with bandages.[19]
Bede tells the story of Herebald who was riding in the company of John of
Beverley when he fell off his horse and fractured his thumb and skull. John
called for a surgeon who bound up the injured man's skull.[20]
6.
There was a rudimentary understanding of disease
spread by contagion. Archbishop Theodore at the Council of Hertford, 672, eight
years after the death of Cedd at Lastingham, forbade monks from travelling from
one monastery to another.[21]
This was possibly a response to stop the spread of plague, though there could
have been other reasons. When Chad became ill, he told his brothers he had been
visited by ‘the beloved guest who has been in the habit of visiting our
brothers.’[22]
The guest could have been a rodent carrying fleas as a vector for bubonic
plague (blefed).
7.
Skin diseases due to malnutrition, vitamin
deficiency and lowered vitality were common. It is doubtful whether the
remedies prescribed would have had much effect although in one case, at least,
a recipe for scabs on the skin which contained tar might well have proved
beneficial.[23]
8.
Early histories of plague in Europe usually
remarked on the dirtiness of Anglo-Saxon life. Accumulation of waste in the
dwelling and street, poor disposal of human and animal waste, overcrowding and
poor ventilation are cited as reasons for the easy spread of disease.[24]
This poor state has not been substantiated and is probably another example of
maligning the Anglo-Saxon, especially by comparison with earlier Roman times.
It does not account for pestilences being highly contagious.
9.
Palaeopathology has given some indication to the
sort of ailments the leech might be called upon to treat. Osteoarthritis was a
common joint condition and has been found in much skeletal material from
Anglo-Saxon cemeteries. Dental, alveolar disease and fracture of the ankle have
been frequently encountered. Less common conditions include osteochondritis
dissecans, congenital dislocation of the hip, pyogenic arthritis of the humerus
and even leprosy.[25]
The conclusion is many desperately searched for a miracle
cure and whilst most remedies were useless the leeches provided some measure of
comfort for the sick. Indeed, the practitioners carried out their work with at
least some regard to the ethics and morality of their calling.[26]
Few doubted their worth.
[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.
[8]
The four humours affect temperament: Blood makes a man of goodwill, simple,
moderate, reposeful and sturdy. Red bile makes a man of even temper, just, lean
of figure, a good masticator of his food, and of strong digestion. Black bile makes
a man irascible, greedy, avaricious, sad, envious and often lame. Phlegm makes
a composite type, watchful, introspective and growing early grey headed.
[9]
H. M. Cayton, ‘Anglo-Saxon Medicine within its Social Context.’, Durham theses,
Durham University. (1977) Available at Durham E-Theses Online:
http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1311/
[10]
Apostasy and immorality, usually of a sexual kind, were often given as reasons.
[11]
J. McClure and R. Collins, The Ecclesiastical History of the English People.
(Oxford: 2008), Book IV, Chapter 19, 204.
[12]
S. Rubin, ‘The medical practitioner in Anglo-Saxon England’. Journal Royal College
General Practitioners, (1970), 20, 63.
[13]
Ibid, Book IV, Chapters 2–5, 237–241.
[14]
McClure and Collins (2008), Book IV, Chapter 24,
217.
[15]
J. G. Payne, English Medicine in Anglo-Saxon Times, (Oxford: 1904), 15.
[16]
A 12th-century comment of William of Malmesbury in ‘Life of St Wulfstan’
[17]
S. Rubin (1970), 65.
[18] McClure and Collins (2008), Book 4, Chapter
32, 232.
[19]
B. Colgrave, The Life
of Bishop Wilfrid by Eddius Stephanus. (Cambridge: 1927), Chapter 23, 47.
[20] J. McClure and Collins (2008), Book 6, Chapter 6,
243.
[21]
Ibid, Book IV, Chapter 5, 181.
[22]
Ibid, Book IV, Chapter 3, 176.
[23]
W. Bonser, The medical background of Anglo-Saxon England. A study in
history, psychology and folklore. (London: 1963), 375.
[24]
A. Hirsch, Handbook of geographical and historical pathology. (London:
1883), 1, 522.
[25]
For detailed descriptions of diseases in Anglo-Saxon populations, see the work
of Calvin Wells, e.g. Bones, Bodies and Diseases, London 1964; and D.
Brothwell, e.g. "Palaeopathology of Early British man", J. Roy.
Anthrop. Inst. 1961, 91. 318-44 and Digging up Bones, London 1963.
[26] S. Rubin (1970), 70.
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