"First, we need to pay a visit to our scop," the Lady said as she led them to another, smaller room with a fireplace. "She is the one who knows the story of the land and will regale us with tales throughout dinner. But she has asked to be allowed to give you a sample now. I am not the one who says no to the scop," she said with a small laugh. "That is unwise, as the scop can be in direct contact with the gods and can bring good or bad fortune upon us."
A scop! That was the Old English word for a bard! This was getting better and better!
"Hwaet!" a woman said from the shadows. "Listen! And I will tell you the lay of the land. I can look into the future and the past and tell you all about how things came to be."
She kept them rooted to the spot for at least half an hour. Audrey couldn't always keep up with the scop's words, but the tale was hard to miss. It was one she had read herself, one of the few surviving tales from the time. The scop was a fantastic storyteller and was even able to play parts of the tale on the lyre, a string instrument. It ended all too soon for Audrey, but the scop just smiled and promised more later in the evening.
Outside, the scene was quite different. It had looked like just a market day when they arrived, but now it was more like a fair, a show where one person explained a part of how life worked in Anglo-Saxon times. Audrey knew some of it before, but parts of it were new. The animal husbandry was achingly familiar, it reminded her of her childhood on the farm. She was relieved when they moved away from that area. She couldn't think about that now.
"A skilled blacksmith, like we have here, is well worth his keep," the Lady explained as they walked over to the smithy. "A blacksmith was looked upon with awe and perhaps a little fright. For they had the ability to take something seemingly normal, like the stones that contained iron ore, and transform it into something completely different, like the iron we use to make tools. That is a skill that takes many years to learn, yet those who master it would be seen as a valued member of any household or staff. A skilled blacksmith can ask for much and get it, especially if he knows the secret of how to make steel blades."
Audrey had never considered that before. How much work went into making tools of iron, or worse, bronze! She hoped they would get to try this during the day.
"Next, we move on to the more disturbing part of life," the Lady said. "As I hope you are all aware, life was hard back then. Harder than I think most of us can even imagine. Diseases ran rampant, and many people died of things we barely consider a problem in today's society. An injury could mean death later, as they had no real knowledge of bacteria and limited hygiene. Ironically, the hoarding Vikings were often cleaner than the local population. They bathed at least once a week, though perhaps not at sea. This, however, is not about Vikings. Our settlement is what we today call Anglo-Saxon.
There was certainly a difference in status among the people. On top is the king, the royalty as we say today. Though they are not the mighty kings from the Middle Ages. Britain was divided into several smaller kingdoms and the borders were constantly shifting, through warfare or dynastic shifts. A king was never safe on his throne, and rarely did a king die from age. And rarely could a son inherit the throne without shedding some blood.
Below the king were the earls. They were the king's representatives in an area, and had the king's authority, when he himself was not present. They were mighty men indeed, and sometimes more secure in their position than the kings. Below that were the thegns, landowners that didn't just rent the land from church or lord. They often paid taxes to the king, or the earl, but they owned their own land and could use it as they wished.
Then there are the churls. They are freemen, but they owed most, if not all, of their labour to their lord. Yet they could, in most situations, choose to leave and find better terms elsewhere, though few ever did so. They became what we might call peasants today. Though they were far better off than others.
Another thing that we don't like to think of, but that we in the fellowship felt it important to highlight is the presence of slavery. Or theows, as they were called. Though don't let the name fool you. It was not quite the cattle slavery of the Americas in more modern times. A more proper term would perhaps be an indentured servant. Theows are bound to their master, yet it can be a temporary position, or something that comes from being on the losing side in a conflict. Theows are the property of their master, yet that also means that the master must provide food and shelter for their theows. For the poor people in this time period, a life as a slave was better than the alternative. For many, their freedom wasn't worth starving to death for."
Audrey already knew most of this information, but it was different, somehow, to learn about it when they stood in what could have been a lord's residence. She had never thought about why someone would voluntarily sell themselves into slavery, but if the alternative was to starve to death, she could see why some would take that choice.