If you didn't happen to be king though, then what were you?
I'm afraid there was little choice, as there were just two levels of being in the Anglo-Saxon world, 'freeman,' or 'slave.' There were two levels of freemen also, the 'Thanes' and the 'Churls.' Thanes were the wealthy men with lots of land and slaves to farm it, while the 'Churls,' usually only had enough land to provide food for their families. Freemen could work for whomever they wished, if they so desired. However, the poor slaves had no rights at all, they belonged to their masters and were worked hard. Slaves came from a mixture of places. Sometimes they were prisoners that had been caught during a battle, or they were given to slavery because of a crime they had committed. Perhaps worst of all, if your family couldn't afford to keep you, then they could sell you into slavery!
Saxon villages were often set up in a certain way. There would be a great hall in the centre used for meetings and gatherings and around the hall would be the dwellings of the people. The size of the homes depended on how far up the ladder you were, pretty much the same as today! However, they were built a lot differently. The Saxon's were big on wood and their houses were made completely out of timber. Wattle, which were bendy sticks, were woven to form the walls which were daubed with mud, hence the term 'wattle and daub.' Roofs were often thatched with straw or woven reeds and in the centre of the home was a clay fire pit. Not too safe with all that wood, can you imagine how many houses burned down?
Big farmers, the Saxons grew and harvested rye, barley, wheat, oats, peas and beans. Lovers of food and drink, cattle, pigs, sheep and poultry were kept for meat, eggs, milk and wool. Not having a 'fridge' in them there days, salt was used to preserve their meat usually by evaporating seawater. Flax was also grown for linen, along with woad and madder, plants whose leaves were used for dye. Big weavers, the Saxons used upright looms to make their clothes.
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