The Way of Life

The peasants of the village formed a little society – a community. The land of the village belonged to the whole community and each villager had a right to a share of it. All the disputes of the community members were settled at the folk-moots (meetings).

In the 7-th-9-th centuries gradual changes were taking place among the members of the community. The land became the property of the separate families. It could be inherited, presented, given in returns for debts or sold. As a result inequality among the community members began to grow. Feudal relations were beginning to develop among the Anglo-Saxons – a class of rich landowners as forming and the free peasants were gradually losing their land and freedom. But it was a slow process in Britain. The moots lost their importance and now it was the council of the most powerful men in the country that gave advice to the king on all important matters. The status of a man in society depended on how much land he possessed. It also depended on the man’s rank and his relation to the king. The king’s warriors and officials held more land and they ruled the country.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-13