7th-century Lichfield

Summary. Much is known how Early Medieval people of the 6th and 7th-century lived, worked, ate, dressed, worshipped, kept law and order and improved health.

     An updated view of early 7th-century Early Medieval[1] England is one of a growing economy, improved communications, religious conversions, managed tribal battles, a developing legal system, knowing where in the social hierarchy an individual stood and pledged loyalties to a strong warlord. Licitfelda (Lichfield) contained several ethnic groups, but this appeared to be inconsequential. There were only recognitions of family, loyalty to ancestors and the warlord. Reynolds expressed it as the populace was not ‘English people,’ but an admixture of small to large polities, all with different origin-myths.[2]

Licitfelda, later Licetfelda, consisted of a very small group of hamlets until medieval times. The “Great Survey” of 1086, The Domesday Book, listed Staffordshire with an annual value of a mere 8 shillings per square mile; only two other counties were poorer. This was despite having a relatively high number of settlements (342). Lichfield had a recorded population of 9.9 households which 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. It was worked ploughland within a dense forest stretching from Derbyshire to Warwickshire, possibly 70 miles long.

                                    Imagined view of what early Licetfelda and the cathedral site 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 the staple food; 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. This would require at least one cow.

Ard or scratch plough   

                                                            AI generated image of a 7th-century cow

A long scythe was needed to clear away invading 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, 9th-century, and there is no evidence that elites ate more meat than other people, a recent bioarchaeological study has found.[4] Ownership of land was usually with the churl; feudal ownership was not yet widespread. 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 farmers were becoming interested in animal husbandry. A few would own horses.

The family might have had to provide 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 must have been served. The feasts were exceptional.[7]

 

The average male stood at 172cm (5 feet 8 inches) high and the average female was 157cm (5 feet 2inches) according to skeletons. 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.[8]  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, though nothing is known on costumes for Mercia. Clothing was usually one size for adults and one size for children, and 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. 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.

AI regeneration of typical 7th‑century dress in England, for men, women, and children.

 

A variety of languages were used. Chad, other priests and scribes writing the Gospels would know Latin. The majority 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 probably understood this language. Perhaps, new immigrants used a Germanic 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.

 AI generated 7th‑century dwelling in England    

AI generated interior 7th-century dwelling

 

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 did 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 increasing.

 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. Many owned a seax knife. An axe would be frequently used for collecting firewood. Only the elite warriors had a horse and shield.

AI generated weapons in 7th-century England

 

The church in Lichfield would offer a 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 could be used for baptism.

AI generated church for late 7th-century in England, based on St Peters at Monkwearmouth

 

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. Bede’s interpretation in his ‘The Reckoning of Time’, 725, stated January was named after Yule, February was the sun month to offer cakes to the Gods, March was after the goddess Hreᵭa, April after Eostre, May was for milking three times in the day, June and July were for sailing, August was when to weed, September was harvest time, October was the start of  winter with a full moon, November was the time to sacrifice animals and December was the month before Yule. 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 believed. Epidemics of a variant of plague swept through parts of England at least four times in the 7th-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.

AI generated 7th‑century wild animals in England

7th-century medicine

          The common view of early medicine is 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[9] which when in balance and harmony gave a healthy body, but any disruption led to disease. Disease was primarily caused by internal disequilibrium, and affected by seasons of the year and natural rhythms of the universe[10]. 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.[11] 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, but there were cures.

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 a medicus[12]. They were expected to deal with all kinds of illness and injury and a host of symptoms with causes beyond anyone’s comprehension. [13] St John of Beverley attended several unwell people and Bede described their treatment.[14]

 

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.

 The monastic practitioner, according to Bede,[15] had a centre, hospitale, for their practice where sick people were taken. This centre provided accommodation for travellers, pilgrims and those requiring hospitality. Presumably, one was located at Lindisfarne, and perhaps at Licetfelda. 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.[16] 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 physicians known as Oxa and Dun. The leech charged fees for their services known as a laece-feoh, leech fee.[17] The usual outcome was the making of certain compounds with the hope of relieving symptoms.[18] 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.[19] A recipe for an eye salve in Bald’s Leechbook, mid-10th century, has been shown to be effective against antibiotic resistant bacteria.

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.[20] 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.[21]

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.[22] 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.’[23] The guest could have been a rodent carrying fleas as a vector for bubonic plague (blefed).

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.[24]

Early histories of plague in Europe usually remarked on the dirtiness of dwellings. 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.[25] This poor state has not been substantiated and could be a form of prejudice.

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 Early Medieval 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.[26]

 

The understanding 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.[27] 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] 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.

[8] 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.

[9] 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.

[10] 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/

[11] Apostasy and immorality, usually of a sexual kind, were often given as reasons.

[12] J. McClure and R. Collins, The Ecclesiastical History of the English People. (Oxford: 2008), Book IV, Chapter 19, 204.

[13] S. Rubin, ‘The medical practitioner in Anglo-Saxon England’. Journal Royal College General Practitioners, (1970), 20, 63.

[14] Ibid, Book IV, Chapters 2–5, 237–241.

[15] McClure and Collins (2008), Book IV, Chapter 24, 217.

[16] J. G. Payne, English Medicine in Anglo-Saxon Times, (Oxford: 1904), 15.

[17] A 12th-century comment of William of Malmesbury in ‘Life of St Wulfstan’

[18] S. Rubin (1970), 65.

[19]  McClure and Collins (2008), Book 4, Chapter 32, 232.

[20] B. Colgrave, The Life of Bishop Wilfrid by Eddius Stephanus. (Cambridge: 1927), Chapter 23, 47.

[21] J. McClure and Collins (2008), Book 6, Chapter 6, 243.

[22] Ibid, Book IV, Chapter 5, 181.

[23] Ibid, Book IV, Chapter 3, 176.

[24] W. Bonser, The medical background of Anglo-Saxon England. A study in history, psychology and folklore. (London: 1963), 375.

[25] A. Hirsch, Handbook of geographical and historical pathology. (London: 1883), 1, 522.

[26] 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.

[27] S. Rubin (1970), 70.