The Angles Saxons and Jutes - homework help

Class 4 is studying this period in History. We have realised that many of us are the descendants of the Saxons and their cousins the Jutes and Angles. At the moment we are engaged in individual research projects discovering more about one aspect of their life and time, such as: Saxon farming, Saxon homes and villages, punishments, clothes and customs, monks and churches, beliefs and burials, King Alfred, Saxon farming. Each member of the class has agreed questions about their chosen topic to act as a starting point for their research. Later children will be asked to present their findings to the rest of the class. Children are expected to make use of books, atlases, Internet and CD Roms etc and present their work to a high standard. These Internet sites and notes might be of help in research at home:


The ship burial site at Sutton Hoo. Contains information about beliefs, possessions etc.

http://www.suttonhoo.org/

The reconstructed Saxon Village at West Stow in Suffolk provides really good information about Saxon homes, villages, farming, daily life etc and answers the question: Where did they go to the toilet?

http://www.stedmundsbury.gov.uk/weststow.htm


As always the B.B.C. has an extensive site with information about almost every aspect of Saxon life.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/anglosaxons/index.shtml

Anglo Saxon life

Where did the Anglo - Saxons live?

When the Anglo-Saxons arrived in Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries, they found that most of the towns built by the Romans had fallen into ruins. The early Anglo-Saxons lived in small settlements consisting of just two or three families and a few buildings. Later, settlements grew into villages and small towns.

Crime and punishment:

The Anglo-Saxons didn't have prisons. People were often punished with fines. For minor crimes, a nose or a hand might be cut off. If a person killed someone they had to pay money to the dead person's relatives. This was called a 'wergild'. The amount depended on whether the victim was a slave or freeman.
People who ran away from their punishment were declared 'outlaws'. No one would be punished for doing harm to an outlaw.


Saxon beliefs and burials:

Early Anglo-Saxons buried the dead with their belongings. This provides evidence of the different jobs done by men and women. Men's graves include knives and spears, which suggests they were involved in hunting, fighting and farming. Women's graves include tools used for sewing and weaving, which suggests they were involved in making clothes.
Cloth was made by spinning the wool into a thread, then weaving it on an upright loom.

A Saxon question:

I was the King of the West-Saxons. For nearly all my life the Vikings attacked our lands. They had already conquered the north and east of England.

At first, I had to pay the Vikings lots of money to go away. When they attacked again, I had to go and hide. For two years, I built up my army and navy and then I fought back. I won and made peace with the Vikings.

I built new towns. I translated books into English and started schools. I was the first person to be called King of all the English.

Who was I?

E-mail school with the answer and your name.