Odda the Ceorl, 600AD
(aka Mike King)Meet Odda the Ceorl, who is married to Bruntheow. They have two children of their own, Aelle and Ymma, and a foster son, Aelfred.
Odda has a small farm in the Severn valley where he lives with his family. In addition to his farming he also makes and sets fish traps in the river to augment his families diet. The farm he owns had originally belonged to a Romano-British farmer, but Odda's family inherited it after the West Saxions defeated the Britons at the Battle of Dyrham in 577AD
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.
Page created 30th July 1997
Last updated 2nd August 1997
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