#english_history 

## Institutions
The [[Saxon Invaders|Saxons]] created the King's Council, called the **Witan**. It was at first an informal group of king's advisors, but by the 10th century it was a formal legal body, issuing laws and charters. The king's authority lay on the Witan's support. Even now, the UK's monarch has a [[Privy Council]]. 
At first the lords, or **aldermen**, were local officials in the shires, but by the beginning of the 11th century they were warlords, **earls**. The Anglo-Saxons lied the foundation of what would become a classical English [[Class system|class system]]. 
One of the classes developed during the Saxon perion were the men of learning, who came from [[Christianity after the Saxon invasion|The Christian Church]] ^7fd111

## Administration
The Saxons divided the land into new areas, based on [[Shire|shires]], or **counties**, by the end of the 10th century. Over each shire was appointed a **shire reeve**, the king's local administrator, whose name then became shortened to **sheriff**. 
Each district had a **"manor"**, or a large house. This was the building where local villagers came to pay taxes, where men met together to join the army, the **fyrd**. The lord of such manor had to organise all this and make sure the land properly shared. ^eba737

## Agriculture
Anglo-Saxons used heavier ploughs than the Celts, similar to how they had heavier ploughs [[The Celts in Britain#^71f566|than the Beaker people]]. They introduced straight large thin strips of village land that were used for farming. One such field would be used for planting spring crops, other - for autumn, and the third area would be left to rest for a year. 
Each village had its "lord", which means "loaf ward", or "bread keeper", and a "lady", which means "loaf kneader", or "bread maker", showing that the primary basis of Saxon society was farming, which was **collective and co-operative**, with families sharing oxen and ploughs. ^55e23e

## Law
Every district had its own laws and customs, and justice was often a family matter.