Key learning points

1. Earls were very powerful, holding economic, legal and military control over their earldoms.
2. King Edward relied on the earls for military power and government.
3. Earldoms provided a local government and legal system which was divided into shires, hundreds, tithings, and hides.
4. Every five hides had to provide one man for the fyrd.
5. Local government provided a centralised Anglo-Saxon state with justice administered in local communities.

Keywords

• Shire - a shire was the largest unit of administration after an earldom and had its own court

• Hundred - in Anglo-Saxon England, a hundred was a unit of land administration within a shire

• Tithing - a tithing was a group of ten households; together they administered minor disputes in their communities

• Hide - a hide was the basic unit of administration, the measurement of land which could support one household, which carried obligations of tax and military service

• Burh - a burh was a fortified town within a shire where most trade would take place

Common misconception