Gloria Harchar

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March 16th, 2012

Medieval Falconry

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Falconry

Hunting with Falcons

The ancient art of falconry is commonly defined as the hunting of wild quarry using trained birds of prey. Strictly speaking falconry involves only the long-winged hawks, the Falcon family, and only a person who flies a falcon at wild quarry is entitled to call themselves a falconer, whereas the term hawking is used for anyone using a broad or short winged hawk, namely the true hawks, buzzards and eagles for the same purpose, and this person would be termed an austringer. The term hawk is broadly used to describe any trained bird of prey.

Using birds of prey by humans as a form of hunting appears to have originated in China around 680 BC. However, an Arabic account indicates the first falconer was a Persian King who became fascinated when he watched a falcon kill another bird. He ordered his men to capture the falcon so he could train it. The legend indicates that the King kept the bird with him at all times, and learned several lessons from it (Falconry, 2001).

Medieval books mention hawks of the tower and hawks of the fist, which roughly corresponds to falcons and hawks, respectively. The female hawk was preferred since it was both larger than the male and easier to train. Hawks were captured all over Europe, but birds from Norway or Iceland were considered of particularly good quality.

Training a hawk was a tedious process. It was normal at first to “seel” the bird’s eyelids—sew them shut—so that it would not be scared or distracted. The trainer would then carry the hawk on his arm for several days to get it accustomed to human presence. The eyes would gradually be unsealed, and the training would begin. The bird would be encouraged to fly from its perch to the falconer’s hand over a gradually longer distance. Hunting game would be encouraged first by the use of meat, then a lure, and eventually live prey. Such prey included herons, sometime with their legs broken to facilitate the kill.

Training a Falcon

Training a Falcon

Hawks were housed in mews, a special building found in most large medieval households that were built a distance from the castle so that the hawks would not be disturbed by activity from the main edifice. The mews could be rather elaborate structures. A proper mew had windows in the wall. The ground should be kept clean so that the bird’s regurgitation could be found and analyzed (Brault, 1985).

References

Brault, G. (1985). Hunting and Fowling, Western European. Dictionary of the Middle Ages vol.6, pp. 356–363.

Falconry, (2000). Reference from http://www.matrix2000.co.uk/falconry.htm.

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March 15th, 2012

Anglo-Saxon Life

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If two people had the same first name, Anglo-Saxons would add the place they came from or their job at the end of their first name. Those surnames today, (Baker, Potter, Farrier), which end in a place or a job, have Anglo-Saxon origins.

As far as clothing, Anglo-Saxon men wore tunics that were gathered at their waists along with hose and soft shoes. A woman’s robe extended to her feet. These tunics or robes were made of linen or wool with the more expensive being colorfully dyed and adorned with exotic borders. Both rich and poor used brooches to fix the clothing and stone amulets were worn for luck.

Weapons were those such as a spear made with a seven-foot-long-ash shaft and an iron head. This spear was used for throwing as well as jabbing. Shields were round and made of wood covered with leather, with an iron boss in the center. The nobles wielded swords about thirty inches long that were made of iron edged with steel. Often the hilt was elaborately carved, jeweled and inscribed with good luck symbols and the names of gods.

Travel was common and the main trade routes followed the old Roman roads. If one ventured off the main roads, travel became dangerous. Travelers were advised to make lots of noise with shouts and horns so as not to be confused with the outlaws that plagued the less-populated roads.

heptarchy

heptarchy

Anglo-Saxons divided Great Britain into seven separate kingdoms or shires–similar to states–according to the territory of the first tribes. This was commonly referred to as the heptarchy. Each shire was ruled by a king whose sons were known as aethelings. The shire was divided into hundreds–similar to counties–and these were the primary units of administration and the court system.

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March 6th, 2012

19th Century Underworld

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The reason you see so many posts about my historical research is because I get a lot of ideas for my stories when I study the past. So many mistakes are repeated. Hind sight is foresight. For my Medieval Romance, I really concentrate on sticking to as many facts about the Anglo-Saxon period and the Norman invasion as I can. For years I’ve studied this era so that I can portray the setting, the culture, imagining what it would be like to live in those times because a lot of things weren’t recorded especially about the common man or woman, so imagination is needed!

For my young adult steampunk I still love researching — in this case nineteenth century England. However, writing an alternate history . . . or present . . . or future–whatever the situation may be–I love being able to take nineteenth century, keeping the atmosphere of Enlightenment with societies and think-tanks, but then infiltrate the brightness with shadows, showing the decay behind the facade of “everything is great.” What I mean is this–sure, England had her greatest economic and industrial growth during the Victorian era. Inventions were encouraged. The middle class grew, and could actually thrive for once. The gap demarcating the aristocrats from the middle class narrowed. But underneath all this was still the poor, the abused children including horrible working conditions for them, and the criminal underworld.

During the nineteenth century most Londoners were passionate about their city. Shopkeepers or noblemen, those who lived in London took pride in the ancient capital of the land they knew to be the home of freedom. London might be dirty, crowded and unhealthy, bursting at the seams under the pressure of continually expanding trade and population. Still, this growth underscored the importance of the city as the commercial hub of a mighty nation and empire. From all over Europe diplomats came to the Court of St. James’s, and the entire world sent ships to the Thames River.

With this London pride, however, there went an edgy, dark mood, tinged with apprehension and fear. Crime in the city had reached epidemic proportions, and there seemed small prospect of bringing it under control. Every kind of criminal offense known to man appeared to be committed in and around London, from petty theft to armed assault and murder. In particular, property was under attack. A man could hardly walk down a main thoroughfare at midday without running the risk of being robbed of his handkerchief, pocketbook, or watch. A street vendor in any of the great markets–the Fleet, Smithfield or Covent Garden–was in danger of losing all his wares via robbery at any time. Forgery was rife, and house-breaking so common that is was no longer possible to go away for any length of time without taking elaborate precautions (Low, 2000).

The well-to-do Londoners were also likely to be aware, sharply or vaguely, to his experience. A great deal of gaming and whoring took place in certain parts of town, and that those who consorted with gamblers or prostitutes ran the risk of becoming victims of blackmail, as well as of assault and theft.

Hogarth's London

Beyond question, the early nineteenth-century underworld has been neglected by historians. A lot more was written about Hogarth’s London, and all the excesses of the first era of cheap gin, than about the period (Trend, 2007). This might be understandable (although drinking will never get rid of problems–it only adds to them!) but this era was when we saw the unchecked increase in violence on the streets of the capital which laid the foundations of social reforms not implemented until much later. But the years 1800 and 1830 deserve to be seen as vitally significant, too, as a bridge between old and new. On one hand, they revived and gave a final intensity to the riotousness and hedonism of the old London: ‘the Regency’, it has been observed, ‘is where the eighteenth century dies’. On the other, the proliferation of crime, especially theft, in these years led to major changes in the way in which London was governed, among which pride of place must be given to the introduction of the Metropolitan Police.

I will write more later!

 

Reference

Low, D. (2000). The Regency Underworld. Redwood Books, Trowbridge, Wiltshire; Gloucestershire, Great Britain.

Trend, N. (February, 2007). Immerse yourself in Hogarth’s London. Reference from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/uk/740240/Immerse-yourself-in-Hogarths-London.html.

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February 28th, 2012

Saxon Law and Order

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Anglo-Saxon People and Law

Anglo-Saxon People and Law

The ties of kinship meant that the relatives of a murdered victim was obligated to exact vengeance for his or her death, which led to bloody and extensive feuds. To halt the blood feuds, wergelds were created, which set a monetary value on a person’s life based upon their wealth and social status and this value could also be used to set the fine payable if a person was injured or offended. The higher the murderer’s social status, the higher the fine levied against them.

Emphasis on social standing led to courts that did not attempt to discover the facts, instead, it was up to each party to get as many people as possible to swear to the rightness of their case. These people were called ‘oath helpers’. If the person was actually guilty, it was difficult for them to gather enough oath helpers. The word of a thane counted for that of six ceorls.

If the accused was found guilty, while maintaining his innocence, and was unable to find enough oath helpers, he would be allowed to prove his innocence through ‘trial by ordeal‘. This was conducted by church officials and before the trial began, the accused would be given the opportunity to confess. If he did not confess, he was given the choice between two ordeals: water or iron.

Water Ordeal

Water Ordeal

In the cold water ordeal, the accused was given holy water to drink and was then thrown in the river; the guilty floated and the innocent sank. In the hot water ordeal, the accused placed his hand in boiling water and retrieved a stone.

For the iron ordeal, the accused carried a glowing iron bar of nine feet. After the hot water and iron trials, the defendant’s hand was bandaged. If the wound healed without festering, the guilty was presumed innocent.

There were no jails or prison officers so there were only three options when passing sentence: fines, mutilation or death. Crimes such as arson, obvious murder and treachery to one’s lord received no compensation and the only punishment was death and forfeiture of one’s property to the king. The church preferred mutilation to death, as this allowed the guilty to expiate his crime and save his soul.

Hot Iron Ordeal

Hot Iron Ordeal

Anglo-Saxons brought a well developed legal system with them from Germany, the Netherlands and France. The hundred court was the lowest echelon of the judiciary system and met every four weeks. Above the hundred court was the shire court, meeting twice a year. The ealdorman, bishop and king’s shire-reeve presided over the shire court.

The vast majority of people were farmers. At first, the farms were owned outright. The ceorls worked in common fields that were divided into narrow strips that were shared out alternately so that each farmer received an equal share of the good and the bad land. These were later consolidated into large estates owned by the lord and the ceorls worked the land in return for service or produce or work the lord’s land a given number of days a year. These estates eventually became commercial enterprises, complete with a grain mill.

Crops most frequently grown were wheat, oats, rye and barley as well as peas, beans and lentils. Honey provided the only sweetener and the base for the popular drink, mead. Meat was acquired from cattle, goats and sheep. Horses and oxen were used for farm labor and transportation.

References

Dumville, D. (1992). Liturgy and the ecclesiastical history of late Anglo-Saxon England. Boydell & Brewer, Ltd. Rochester, NY.

Oliver, L. (2002). The beginnings of English law. University of Toronto Press. Toronto, Canada.

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February 23rd, 2012

Anglo-Saxon Hierarchy

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Anglo-Saxon King

Anglo-Saxon King

The Anglo-Saxon king, whether over-kings or under-kings, were peripatetic, which means they were constantly on the move, traveling across their kingdoms disbursing justice, giving out gifts won from raids and battles to those who supported the king. The traveling kind resolved disputes and provided entertainment for their nobles, as well as for the visiting dignitaries. Their court went with them on travels. When the king came, it was a real drain on resources because the receiving castle had to feed the king, his court and the dignitaries. Too, the kings would collect tribute. England was divided into administrative areas of about 50 to 100 square miles, and in each of these was a king’s “tun.” The king’s visit to the tun was often the occasion for markets, fairs, and festivities. Taxes were paid by coin by sale of surplus produce, while at the same time, dues were commuted to payment in coin rather than in kind.

The king’s tun was a point of public rally where people came together not only to give the king and his entourage board and lodging but they also appealed to the king in cases of dispute, lands granted, gifts given, appointments made, laws announced, policy debated, and ambassadors heard. People also gathered for other reasons–such as to hold fairs, as noted above.

Fairs had been held since prehistoric times and often on tribal lines for different villages to exchange their surpluses and specialties. Some fairs only dealt with one sort of commodity such as sheep. Some places are named something-port (Southport, Davensport), which is an Old English word for market.

Another reason for mingling was for sports and games. There were also gatherings for holy reasons, such as visiting a bishop or holy place or shrine. The hundred meeting (a hundred men under arms) might also provide a gathering place, the shire moot another but larger areas also had assemblies. Becontree was an ancient hundred in the southwest of the county of Essex, England.

Too, it seems there was an Anglo-Saxon hierarchy of settlements as well as a showing off specialties at various settlements. For instance, if a particular area was good at a certain craft, such as shoe making or soap making or wool carding, these places were named for their specialism or services.

The basic unit of land was called the hide and was enough land to support one family. A hide varied in size from 40 acres to 4 square miles. Approximately 100 hides formed a hundred and each villare or shire contained many hundreds. For each hundred, one leader–who was known as the “hundred eolder” was responsible for the administration, justice and supply of military troops as well as the position of leadership of those forces. This office was not hereditary but by the tenth century, was selected among a few outstanding families.

Shire-Reeves

Shire-Reeves

Ealdormen and shire-reeves, or what we now call sheriffs, were appointed to guard the king’s interests. Within the shires were towns or burhs (which were fortified towns). Initially only some towns were walled, often with earthworks reminiscent of the Bronze Age.

Wealthier lords lived on estates, with a main rectangular hall surrounded by outlying buildings for storage, several living and working chambers that were used for various purposes. Inside the hall, the lord might show off expensive wall hangings or paintings. Feasts were held within the hall, and the lord was expected to be a opulent host.

Society was divided into various classes. The top was the king, who was essentially the war leader. He was expected to provide his followers with opportunities for plunder and glory. The king who denied his followers opportunities for land, slaves and plunder were reviled and could very well be assassinated.

Below the king were two levels of freemen: the upper class thanes and the lower class ceorls. The difference between these two levels of freemen had to do with the amount of land owned. A thane owned at least five hides of land. Aside from the amount of land owned a ceorl might be wealthier than a thane. A thane was similar to a knight and stood at the lowest level of the aristocracy. A thane that offered good service was rewarded with gifts, land and elevation to ealdorman. Members of the clergy held the title of thane and bishops held the title of ealdorman.

Ceorls

Ceorl

The ceorls were divided into three classes of freemen (there were many degrees of freedom from what I am beginning to learn–I will write more about this later. But these are the three classes of ceorls, or “freemen”):

  1. Geneatas, a peasant aristocracy who paid rent to their overlord,
  2. Kotsetlas, and;
  3. Geburs or lower middle class.

All ceorls had the right and duty to serve in the fyrd, which was the Anglo-Saxon military. If a ceorl held five hides of land, he became entitled to the rights of a thane but could not be elevated to the title of ealdorman, which is really sad, in my opinion.

The fyrd were highly trained thanes chosen from the hundred. These thanes became professional warriors. In times of peace, thanes served one month of every three in rotation. One of the greatest virtues of a thane was his loyalty to his lord. And listen to this–if their king or lord died in battle, his men were expected to die avenging his death, as it was dishonorable to leave a battlefield where one’s lord or king had been slain. So, they had to die! Those who didn’t die in battle with their lord or king were executed by their lord’s successor. When not at war, the fyrd also acted as a police force.

Below the thanes and ceorls were slaves or bondsman, known as the theow. This was the largest commercial enterprise of the Dark Ages. Some men and women were born into slavery but war was the most common source of slaves.

Slavery was the fate of many of the conquered Celtic Britons. Those unable to pay a fine might become slaves and in some cases a child might be sold into slavery in time of famine to ensure the child’s survival. Slavery might not last a lifetime if a slave could be ransomed by friends or relatives. Too, a slave could be granted freedom by their master. Those enslaved for an inability to pay a fine, might be released from slavery once their labor measured the amount of the debt.

Celtic Slaves

Celtic Slaves

Slavery was an integral part of Anglo-Saxon economy. Almost all of the slaves traded in the middle ages were captured in raids or warfare. It was the practice to kill the leaders of the defeated army and enslave the villagers. Many of these slaves were indigenous Celts. Slavery was abolished at the Westminster Council in 1102.

Anglo-Saxon society was knit together with strong ties to kin and lord. (Which was why the Normans forced every Anglo-Saxon lady to wed a Norman knight–the quickest way to infiltrate the Saxon culture). The tie was to the lord himself, not his station. A kingdom was only as strong as its war-leader king.

 

Reference

(1837). The pictorial history of England: being the history of the people as well as a history of the kingdom. William Clowes & Sons. London, England.

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January 11th, 2012

Domesday Book

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Doomesday Box and Book

In December 1085 William the Conqueror commissioned the book to be written. William invaded England in 1066 and defeated them during the Battle of Hastings, where he killed King Alfred with an arrow to his eye. The first draft was completed in August 1086 and contained records for 13,418 settlements in the English counties south of the rivers Ribble and Tees (the border with Scotland at the time). The system of landholding as depicted throughout the Domesday Book was based on a rigid social heirachy called the feudal system which was imposed on England after William took over the country. This is what my heroine is resisting by becoming the Saxon Shadow.

“Dom” in the name is an older form of the modern word “doom.” Today the word is mainly used in a negative sense, but originally it was more neutral and meant essentially “judgement” or “reckoning.” So Domesday meant in the Day of Reckoning. The accounts set down in the Domesday book were considered to be accurate and final, with no possible appeal.

The original Domesday Book has survived over 900 years of English history and is currently housed in a specially made chest at The National Archives in Kew, London. This site has been set up to enable visitors to discover the history of the Domesday Book, to give an insight into life at the time of its compilation, and provide information and links on related topics.

 

Reference

(1999). Referred by http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/index.html.

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