Page created 2nd June 1997
Dodda the Huntsman, 570AD
(aka Colin Levick)
Meet Dodda the Huntsman
Dodda lives with his family at Ceteham (Chatham), and although not truly a warrior his knowledge of the bow and spear have meant he has sometimes had to answer the king's summons to defend his homeland, most recently when Ceawlin of Wessex attacked Kent. Although, like most ceorls, he has a small farm he also hunts wild animals and birds for his hlaford and to supplement his family's diet. Dodda usually hunts with his bow and arrows, although he might also use a net and spear for larger game, or a falcon or sling for wildfowl.
The Ceorl
The ceorl was the freeman in Anglo-Saxon society. Although he was not one of the warrior nobles, all able-bodied freemen could be called upon to bear arms in defence of the tribe's homelands.
The ceorl at this time (c. 400- 700AD) would have been primarily a farmer. The Anglo-Saxon economy was based on food production and few villages or settlements would have supported specialist craftsmen. Most people had to be self sufficient in all requirements of everyday life. For this reason each person had to become a 'jack of all trades' although within each community individuals would tend towards the craft for which they showed natural apptitudes rather than being a specialist craftsman.
In addition to farming, many ceorls would have supplimented their diet by hunting wild animals and birds. He would also take part in activities such as maintaining the ditches and fences around the settlement, helping to build other houses and halls in the settlement, etc.
Although they usually farmed land for a nobleman, many ceorls were quite wealthy in their own rights, and usually paid their rent to their hlaford (lord, literally 'loaf-lord') in food. This payment was known as feorm (this is probably the origin of the word 'farm'). The status of the ceorl in Anglo-Saxon England seems to have been higher than his pre-migration Germanic counterpart. Many ceorls also owned slaves who would work on their farms.
Last updated 12th June 1999
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