An Introduction to the Industrial and Social History of England | Page 6

from Roman times, or been brought over as part of the stock
of knowledge of the invaders. Far the greater part of the population
lived in villages, as they probably had done in Roman and in
prehistoric times. The village with the surrounding farming lands,
woods, and waste grounds made up what was known in later times as
the "township."
The form of government in the earlier separate kingdoms, as in the
united monarchy after its consolidation, gave limited though constantly
increasing powers to the king. A body of nobles known as the "witan"
joined with the king in most of the actions of government. The greater
part of the small group of government functions which were undertaken
in these barbarous times were fulfilled by local gatherings of the
principal men. A district formed from a greater or less number of

townships, with a meeting for the settlement of disputes, the
punishment of crimes, the witnessing of agreements, and other
purposes, was known as a "hundred" or a "wapentake." A "shire" was a
grouping of hundreds, with a similar gathering of its principal men for
judicial, military, and fiscal purposes. Above the shire came the whole
kingdom.
The most important occurrences of the early Saxon period were the
general adoption of Christianity and the organization of the church.
Between A.D. 597 and 650 Christianity gained acceptance through the
preaching and influence of missionaries, most of whom were sent from
Rome, though some came from Christian Scotland and Ireland. The
organization of the church followed closely. It was largely the work of
Archbishop Theodore, and was practically complete before the close of
the seventh century. By this organization England was divided into
seventeen dioceses or church districts, religious affairs in each of these
districts being under the supervision of a bishop. The bishop's church,
called a "cathedral," was endowed by religious kings and nobles with
extensive lands, so that the bishop was a wealthy landed proprietor, in
addition to having control of the clergy of his diocese, and exercising a
powerful influence over the consciences and actions of its lay
population. The bishoprics were grouped into two "provinces," those of
Canterbury and York, the bishops of these two dioceses having the
higher title of archbishop, and having a certain sort of supervision over
the other bishops of their province. Churches were gradually built in
the villages, and each township usually became a parish with a
regularly established priest. He was supported partly by the produce of
the "glebe," or land belonging to the parish church, partly by tithe, a tax
estimated at one-tenth of the income of each man's land, partly by the
offerings of the people. The bishops, the parish priests, and others
connected with the diocese, the cathedral, and the parish churches made
up the ordinary or "secular" clergy. There were also many religious
men and women who had taken vows to live under special "rules" in
religious societies withdrawn from the ordinary life of the world, and
were therefore known as "regular" clergy. These were the monks and
nuns. In Anglo-Saxon England the regular clergy lived according to the
rule of St. Benedict, and were gathered into groups, some smaller,

some larger, but always established in one building, or group of
buildings. These monasteries, like the bishoprics, were endowed with
lands which were increased from time to time by pious gifts of kings,
nobles, and other laymen. Ecclesiastical bodies thus came in time to
hold a very considerable share of the land of the country. The wealth
and cultivation of the clergy and the desire to adorn and render more
attractive their buildings and religious services fostered trade with
foreign countries. The intercourse kept up with the church on the
Continent also did something to lessen the isolation of England from
the rest of the world. To these broadening influences must be added the
effect which the Councils made up of churchmen from all England
exerted in fostering the tardy growth of the unity of the country.
*5. Danish and Late Saxon England.*--At the end of the eighth century
the Danes or Northmen, the barbarous and heathen inhabitants of the
islands and coast-lands of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, began to
make rapid forays into the districts of England which lay near enough
to the coasts or rivers to be at their mercy. Soon they became bolder or
more numerous and established fortified camps along the English rivers,
from which they ravaged the surrounding country. Still later, in the
tenth and eleventh centuries, under their own kings as leaders, they
became conquerors and permanent settlers of much of the country, and
even for a time put a Danish dynasty on the throne to govern English
and Danes alike. A succession of kings of the West Saxon line had
struggled with varying