Who are the Anglo Saxons? (05:24)

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The Anglo Saxons were a group of barbarian peoples who migrated to England in the 5th and 6th centuries.

Farm Museum Site (03:03)

The farming museum is expanding to include a bigger and better village that is based around a Dark Ages settlement. The village is visited by 15,000 children a year who learn about the daily life of people 1,000 years ago.

The Biggest Killer in the Dark Ages (00:60)

The biggest killer in the Dark Ages was probably disease and starvation, not in battle. The battles themselves were few and far between, and the biggest enemy was starvation. People spent 90 of their working day fighting against that enemy.

Ancestors' Fundamental Philosophy (01:58)

The philosophy of the ancient people was that if you don't work, you don't eat. This is demonstrated by the fact that the majority of the population was farming and that even kings owned farms. The children in the village today have worked on the village, living as people had lived 1000 years ago.

The Anglo Saxon Chronical (02:58)

The Anglo Saxon Chronicle is a difficult document because it was composed in a particular period of time and is slanted to Alfred's point of view.

Dark Age Settlements (02:14)

The buildings in a settlement were made from materials that were locally available, so they would vary depending on the area.

Anglo Saxon Architecture (03:22)

Anglo Saxon houses were basic structures made of timber, with thatch roofs, and cobbled or wattle walls.

Windowed Buildings (01:16)

They had one door and no windows. The houses had an earth or clay floor with a long fire pit in the center.

Anglo Saxon Home Design (03:36)

Anglo Saxon houses were similar to those of today, except they lacked a toilet pit. Laws were in place to govern the people, and were written down as a result of the missionaries coming to England.

Anglo Saxon Clothing Techniques (02:38)

The main materials used for clothing were wool and linen, and shoes were made of various types of leather. Wool was grown from the flax plant, and the sheep's wool came off in your hands.

Anglo Saxon Fashions (02:02)

Anglo Saxon men would cross garter their legs, wear a linen undershirt, a heavier overshirt, a belt, and a cloak.

Anglo Saxon Dresses (01:18)

Women in the Dark Ages wore a long gown that went very near to the ankle, and sometimes a tube dress or wraparound apron.-They often wore a drawstring around the neck, and jewelry as a way of displaying wealth. Many women wore a wimple to protect their hair from the open fires.

Anglo Saxon Religion (03:25)

The women who work on our village find that they often use their apron to grab a panhandle or something, because it might be hot or dirty. So the apron gets dirty and not your clothing underneath. The religion of the Anglo Saxons, well, that changes.

Food of the Lindisfarne People (01:38)

The food that the people ate in the days of the Lindisfarne Gospels would have varied depending on where they lived, but would have mainly consisted of farm produce and seafood.

Dark Age Crops (04:35)

The main staples of life in the Dark Ages were bread and beer, which were made from cereal crops that had to be harvested, threshed, and winnowed by hand. Dark Age women often cooked in wooden buckets using a large stone that had been heated in the fire. They drank a lot of beer because it was one of the few drinks that was sterile.

War Bands and Beer with Honey (02:40)

Saxons were originally a war band that followed a lord in order to get booty and land. They only fought in the summer, and were hit hard by the Vikings who did not have the same seasonal fighting restrictions. Alfred realized he needed to do something about the military organization of the kingdom, and divided the potential armed forces into two groups that would serve at different times of the year.

Labor Intensive Clothing (03:12)

People in the Dark Ages had to be self-sufficient, so they made their own clothing, which was labor-intensive to produce.

Anglo Saxon History (03:23)

Alfred the Great was a very important and successful king in Anglo Saxon history. He was able to survive the Viking threat and reorganized his kingdom on a good Christian basis. One of the most important ways he did this was by commissioning the Anglo Saxon Chronicle and translating the Pastoral Care of Gregory the Great.

The End of Anglo Saxon Period (03:43)

The Anglo Saxon period comes to an end with the Battle of Hastings, but many aspects of the Anglo Saxon world continue on into the future.

Credits (01:26)

Credits