1.1.4

Local Government

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Anglo-Saxon Local Government

It is important to understand how the Anglo-Saxons structured government below the king.

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Earldoms, shires and hundreds

  • Earldoms were divided into shires.
  • Shires were divided into ‘hundreds’.
Illustrative background for Hundreds, tithings and householdsIllustrative background for Hundreds, tithings and households ?? "content

Hundreds, tithings and households

  • Hundreds were divided into ‘tithings’.
  • At first, a tithing was made up of 10 households (but this changed over time).
  • At first, a hundred was made up of 100 ‘hides’ of land. 1 hide of land roughly equal to 120 acres (0.5 km squared).
  • The number of men that had to be provided for the local militia (the fyrd) was determined by the number of hides of land that a person or region owned.

Jump to other topics

1Anglo-Saxon England & The Norman Conquest, 1060-66

2William I in Power: Securing the Kingdom, 1066-87

3Norman England, 1066-88

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