Anglo-Saxon and Medeival England's
Influences on Silence
The Medieval Anglo-Saxon culture plays a major role in the world of Silence, as it provides much of the physical and societal background for the play. Below are a series of student written essays which focus on the many objects and customs of Anglo-Saxon origin that would help make up the world of Silence.
Social Hierarchy of England during the Middle Ages
Written by Appalachian State University Student: Julia Ridenhour
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Relevance to Silence
The social hierarchy of medieval England is very important to better understand Silence because there are many characters in the play that belong to different classes. The characters hold very diverse positions in society, and therefore, possess very different characteristics that can be attributed to their social status. It is necessary to understand the medieval English social hierarchy in order to know how much power each character has in relation to each other and to the time period in general.
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Feudalism
Feudalism consists of a society of distinct social groups hierarchically organized by levels of status (Crouch 243). Medieval England operated under a feudal system where the King granted individuals land in return for serving him. An individual to whom the King granted land became known as the Lord of the manor. A Lord had sovereignty over all those who lived on his land; however, at any time he could be called on by the King to provide military service. Under the feudal system, communities were formed around the local Lord and the manor. The Lord owned the land and would keep his tenants safe in return for their service. The Lord would then provide the King with soldiers or taxes. Feudalism has two aspects, “the political – involving the dissolution of sovereignty – and the economic – the constitution of a coherent network of dependencies embracing all lands and through them their holders” (Brown 1073). Feudalism forms a political hierarchy ranging from the King all the way down to the serfs, as well as an economic system through the distribution of land.
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Royalty
At the top of the social structure in medieval England was the King. In order to protect his land from invasion, the King enacted the feudal system by giving parts of his land to lords who promised to defend the land. The Queen, Prince, and Princess are also considered Royalty. Under the feudal system, the only person that the King had to answer to is the Pope. The Pope had the right to intervene and impose sanctions on an unjust King. In Silence, King Ethelred is considered a member of the Royal class.
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Nobility
Underneath the King were the nobles, to whom the King granted land. Within the noble class, there were the magnates who consisted mostly of Dukes, Counts, and Earls. A Duke is a nobleman of the highest hereditary rank below the King, meaning that he is of royal blood. Count and Earl are the highest titles attainable by an English nobleman who is not of royal blood, but is still nobly born. Ymma of Normandy, sister of the Duke of Normandy, is a central character in Silence who would be considered a magnate at the highest level of nobility. English society was also conscious of levels of wealth and influence below the magnates (Crouch 184). Another member of English nobility, ranking below the magnates, is the Lord. Also known as “Lord of the Manor”, a Lord was given land by the King in exchange for military services (Brown 1066). It was possible for one to achieve lordship without being nobly born (Bisson 754). Every castle formed a lordship and residences were widely dispersed, which gave the Lords more area to rule over (Davies). The Lord had the rights to levy occasional taxes and raise tolls. Lords had absolute power over everyone who lived within their manor; however, they were still subject to the King. The play Silence centralizes around a young Lord, Silence of Cumbria, who would be regarded as a nobleman, but not a magnate.
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The Middle Ground
The next group in the feudal system was the middle ground which included knights, vassals, and freemen. Different degrees of wealth led to different degrees of status. The gentry was the highest class within the middle ground. Knights would be considered a part of the gentry. Knights were given ownership of a piece of land by their local Lord, to whom they owed military service. They also had to swear oaths of homage and fealty in addition to military service (Bean 2). The gentry was still able to own land but at a lower gradation in the hierarchy (Crouch 182). Also included in the gentry were esquires, or gentlemen, who were considered very wealthy men. Eadric, a character in Silence, would be deemed a member of the gentry; however, his close relationship with King Ethelred would make it easy for him to move up a class to nobility. The Clergy would rank below the gentry, although they were often quite poor. Included in the clergy were priests and bishops. Silence portrays a priest in the character of Roger, who would be considered middle ground. Freemen were also thought of as middle ground, but they had to pay rent to the local Lord in exchange for residence.
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Lower class
The lowest class consisted of the peasants and surfs. The peasants owed their Lords labor and this is what subordinated one class of man to another (Crouch 181). Most of the people living in the Middle Ages were peasants who farmed the land. Serfs were seen as a part of the land and were often sold along with it. They weren’t allowed to leave the manor or even get married without the Lord’s permission. Serf’s worked the fields, cared for livestock, built and maintained the buildings, made the clothing, and bought firewood (Pattie 19). Peasants were poor men who worked for the local Lord in exchange for a place to live, whereas serfs were essentially considered slaves. Agnes, Ymma’s maid in Silence, is regarded as lower class because she is held in servitude and is basically Ymma’s property.
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Works Consulted
Bean, John Malcolm William. From lord to patron: Lordship in late medieval England. Manchester University Press, 1989.
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Bisson, Thomas N.. “Medieval Lordship”. Speculum 70.4 (1995): 743–759. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.
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Brown, Elizabeth A. R.. “The Tyranny of a Construct: Feudalism and Historians of Medieval Europe”. The American Historical Review 79.4 (1974): 1063–1088. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.
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Crouch, David. The Birth Of Nobility : Constructing Aristocracy In England And France : 900-1300. n.p.: Harlow, England ; New York : Pearson/Longman, 2005., 2005. Library Catalog. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.
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Davies, R. R. Lords And Lordship In The British Isles In The Late Middle Ages. [Electronic Resource]. n.p.: Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2009., 2009. Library Catalog. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.
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Pattie, Tammy. "Medieval People." Iscacamp, 2011. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. <http://www.lscacamp.org/portals/0/medieval%20people.pdf>.
Anglo-Saxon Weddings
Written by Appalachian State University Student:
Karina Galiano
There are two wedding scenes within Silence, so knowing what weddings of this time period would have been like would give more insight into the intents of the playwright and would allow one to understand certain things that may be different from current customs.
Contract and Lead up to the Wedding
In Anglo- Saxon times weddings were given great importance and held certain cultural expectations that needed to be followed. Men couldn’t marry lawfully unless gaining permission from the woman’s Mundbora, or guardian, first (this was usually the woman’s father or another close male relative). If consent was not gained, but the marriage proceeded, the husband could be given penalties and he would have no legal rights to the woman or her things (Ancient Marriage Ceremonies). When the man would go to ask for the Mundbora’s permission to marry the woman, he would present the family with a present in line with her social rank (Ancient Marriage Ceremonies). Once the man and woman were “solemnly contracted,” a friend of the groom would become the sponsor of the bride to ensure that she was treated well and well maintained throughout the process. These “contracts,” or engagements, lasted about six to eight weeks before the wedding took place.
All relatives to the third degree were invited to the marriage feast and each one gave a present to the couple, including the Mundbora of the bride who would give the couple weapons, furniture, cattle and money. These gifts were known as the “father’s gifts,” and were all that the groom received (Ancient Marriage Ceremonies).
On the day preceding the wedding, the groom would host his friends in his house where they would spend the day feasting. That next morning the groom and his men would ride horseback to the bride’s house to receive her. This was a tradition done not only to compliment the bride but also to prevent any old suitors from coming for her (Ancient Marriage Ceremonies). The bride was led by her brideswoman and accompanied by a group of young women, (later referred to as bridesmaids), her Mundbora and her male relatives.
Before the Ceremony
In preparation for the actual wedding the bride would bathe, and her attendants would dress her in the wedding gown and a crown with a wedding wreath or a bridal crown (Anglo Saxon Survival Guide). The bridal wreath was often made of corn or wheat- ears as a token of prosperity (Wedding-Day Lore). Like today’s tradition the bride was not to be seen by the groom before the wedding. The groom would also bathe and dress in his fine clothes and would then strap on his ancestral blade.
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Ceremony and Festivities After
At the commencement of the ceremony kinsmen preceded the bride. The groom had his ancestral blade and was accompanied by groomsmen. No marriage was lawful unless in the presence of the Mundbora who also gave the bride to the groom saying, “I give her to thee to be thy honor and thy wife…” (Ancient Marriage Ceremonies). During the ceremony, various gods and goddesses are called upon, particularly Freya and Frigja who were the gods of weddings, love, marriage, and fertility (Anglo Saxon Survival Guide). During the ceremony it was also customary for four men to hold a piece of cloth, known as the care cloth, over the heads of the groom and his bride in order to conceal the blushes of the bride. The care cloth was not used however if the bride was a widow (Ancient Marriage Ceremonies). The bride and the groom would then exchange gifts. The groom gives the bride his ancestral sword so that she may keep it safe and pass it along to his future sons. The sword was an important symbol in Anglo- Saxon culture; it symbolized identity and moral strength and a defense against invading forces (The Wielding of Weapons). The groom would also give the bride all of his keys as a symbol of her becoming the keeper of the household (Anglo Saxon Survival Guide). Rings and the oaths were then also exchanged. At the end of the ceremony, both the bride and groom were crowned with flowers, which the church kept for this purpose.
After the ceremony there would be a feast, music, dance and sometimes some other forms of entertainment. Other entertainment may have included juggling, poetry, stories, and riddles being told (Richard Denning). These festivities would be held in the house of the groom.
Works Consulted:
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Ancient Anglo- Saxon Marriage Ceremonies. National Library of New Zealand. Web. 5 Apr.
2016.
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Richard Denning. Weddings in Anglo Saxon Times. The Anglo Saxon Survival Guide. Richard
Denning 2011. Web. 5 Apr. 2016.
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Wedding- Day Lore. Network Solutions. Web. 20 July 2016.
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The Wielding of Weapons in Old English Literature. Orla Murphy 2009. Web. 5 Apr. 2016.
Anglo-Saxon Clothing
Written by Appalachian State University Student: Morgan Patterson
The apparel that is worn throughout the play Silence is reflective of the Anglo-Saxon period with which it is based. More specifically, Silence exhibits clothing from Anglo-Saxon England around the 10th and 11th centuries with some influences from Norman and Viking culture.
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While Anglo-Saxon England was broken into social classes the clothing options between them didn't range that much. Those of the middle and upper class, including nobility and royals wore very similar garments. The most popular and most commonly seen article of clothing between all of the classes was the wool tunic and wool gown (for women). Wool, or a wool woven blend, was so often seen because it was renewable (from sheep) and relatively easy to produce. The class system consisted of members of the royal household, specifically the king, at the top. The “eorls” or high noblemen outranked the “thegns” who in turn stood above the “ceorls” or ordinary freemen” (Sommerville). Lastly were the free persons who would work but usually without pay and the slaves.
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The men of Anglo-Saxon England commonly wore a tunic or “cyrtel”, mentioned above, with a linen under shirt. Linen was used for the undershirts of men’s clothing along with a linen and silk blend. The tunic would be about knee length or shorter and usually be of somewhat plain design for upper and lower class alike. It would be put on over the head with joining seams up the sides (Owen-Crocker 246). Some tunics are mentioned as having borders to them or sim
ple collars but for the most part remain simple. The sleeves of these type of tunics generally have straight, snug fitting sleeves with a possible slight flair at the ends and could even be cuffed or bordered. A tunic would often be adorned with a belt or girdle made of leather or fabric. Along these belts knives, small pouches, and scabbarded swords were sometimes carried for safety and convenience. While a sword and scabbard are sometimes seen to appear through the girdle on a tunic it was much more logical for these scabbards to have their own separate belt that the wearer could adjust with buckles. Whether the leg coverings of these men was more along the lines of tights or trousers is still debated. The leg wear was so often fitted to the body that in some paintings and tapestries it almost appears that the individual is not wearing bottom coverings. These lower garments were almost certainly of woven cloth, and were known as braccas or brec or hosa (Owen-Crocker 256).
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Foot coverings may have included what we now think of as a type of hose or a sock of sorts. Much more commonly than even socks was garters or leg bindings that consisted of strips of cloth being rapped around sometimes just below the knee. Shoes of the Anglo-Saxon period were often made of leather or a sturdy fabric. The poorest of the classes would be seen barefoot rather than clad in shoes while the nobility and royalty might have owned multiple pairs. Men’s shoes were often black with a white stripe down the front (Owen-Crocker 259). The thicker leather often used for shoes and sword belts came from cattle while the thinner leather used for things like pouches or straps may have come from smaller hunted game.
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The women of Anglo-Saxon England wore garments of clothing from similar to identical materials as the men. The women of the upper class often had a linen under garment like a slip or a chemise that was cut similarly to their outer garments. The sleeves of these under garments would be fitted to the arm of the wearer and rarely be seen if the outer sleeve was to slip away.
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When a sleeveless outer ferment was worn the under garment would also reflect this style choice. The outer garment tended to be loose to the floor hanging and fastened at the shoulders with brooches. When the outer garment was not let loose around the women it would sometimes be pouched at the hips with a belt or girdle (Owen-Crocker 217) also, similar to the men of Anglo-Saxon England the women could also be found carrying items from their belt sic as small bags of coin or even small knives/daggers. While men are portrayed as keeping their hair short and uncovered the women rarely, if ever, are depicted with their head uncovered. The cloak often worn over the people’s type outer garment could possibly have an attached hood that would be pulled over the head or a separate piece of fabric could be wrapped around for warmth and concealment. When a woman is depicted without any head covering it is usually a sign of some form of moral failure.
Works Cited
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Owen-Crocker,GaleR.DressInAnglo-SaxonEngland.Woodbridge:TheBoydellPress2004 (GT 732 .094 2004 in University Library)
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​Fairholt,F.W.CostumeInEnglandAHistoryOfDress.Michigan:SingingTreePress1986 (GT 730 .F2 1986 in University Library)
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Clinch,George.EnglishCostumeFromPrehistoricTimesToTheEndOfTheEighteenthCentury.NewJersey:Rowman&Littlefeild1975 (GT 730 .C5 1975 in University library)
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“Cloth and Clothing in Early Anglo-Saxon England” Penelope Walton Rogers. Print. 2007. English Heritage and Council for British Archeology.”
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Anglo Saxon England II." Anglo Saxon England II. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 July 2016. “https://faculty.history.wisc.edu/sommerville/123/123%2051%20Anglo%20Saxons%20II.htm”
Anglo-Saxon Cuisine: Ye Olde Food and Drink
Written by Appalachian State University Student: Christina Donovan
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As in reality, food plays a significant role in Silence: Ymma reacts poorly to the new food in England which causes her to be sick throughout her journey from Normandy, Silence and Ymma use wine to keep Silence’s secret, and Eadric cooks a rather interesting dish in the latter half of the play. Understanding the types of food and drink people consumed during the Anglo-Saxon period can provide a way to further appreciate both the similarities and disparities between the lives of Ymma and Silence and our own.
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Food
A standard meal for people at the turn of the first millennia consisted of a loaf of bread with butter and an accompaniment like vegetables or meat in a broth or stew (Hagen 255). Bread was the staple of the Anglo-Saxon diet as it provided the much needed, life-giving calories inexpensively. The Bishop of Metz states in his Rule of Chrodegang that “4 pound [of bread] a day” would be consumed by the average person (Colquhoun 38). The type of bread that was cheapest and easiest to come by varied by region as different kinds of cereal products flourished in different regions of Anglo-Saxon England. While rye would thrive across most of England, wheat needed the drier climate of the south. Because of its limited range, wheat was often more expensive, yet it was still the dominant cereal crop (Hagen 30, 33). Thus, wheaten loaves were considered the best and eaten more by those of high status than by the poor. Incidentally white bread, which would have had to be sieved through cloth many times to achieve its signature qualities, would primarily be used for the Christian ritual of the Eucharist (Colquhoun 39; Hagen 256).
Those of all socio-economic classes would eat bread and other cereal products en masse, yet only the rich would be able to accompany it with lavish dishes of beef (Hagen 453, 84). Those wealthy enough were able to fill their tables with bread, pork, beef, cheese, fish, vegetables, eggs, butter, and beans according to what was available that season; however, those dining usually limited themselves to one or two dishes so as to not appear gluttonous (Hagen 390). Not only would the poor be left with the most unsavory and driest of kinds of bread, but they also would have very little to eat with it: a broth with chopped meat from sheep or goats (Hagen 96, 101, 390). All Anglo-Saxons took their meals at regular times, for, according to Christian traditions of the time, to eat before mealtime was to take part in the mortal sin of gluttony (Hagen 387).
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Drink
In a time when water was unsafe to consume, society looked to alcoholic beverages to quench their thirst: win (wine), beor (beer), and ealu (ale). At the top of the beverage hierarchy, wine stood as the drink of the rich and the royal and was considered wholly superior to beer and ale (Francis 3; Rose 14). Although the English did have vineyards, English wine was dry and did not have a good flavor as a result of the climate where the grapes were cultivated (Hagen 215).
As a result, it would be flavored with honey and berries or used as a base for other drinks. Most rich Anglo-Saxons would import wine from France. Anglo-Saxons and Normans primarily traded white wine as red and rose were not very popular at that time. The best wines, as found in writings from the period, are described as “fresh, strong, and some perhaps had a hint of sparkle” (Rose 15). Note that the best wines are not described as sweet. Though wine may not have been naturally sweet, individuals may have added honey to sweeten it just as they did with beer.
Beor, the second drink on the hierarchy, was a more affordable drink. Made in England, beor was sweeter than wine, ale, or milk and had the second highest alcohol content (4-6%) next to wine (Hagen 200-201). Although sources often taken beor to be a forerunner to the modern beer, Anglo-Saxon beor may have been synonymous with cider, an alcoholic drink made from apples or pears, rather than derived from barley (Hagen 200, 202). Since primary sources are written in Old English and are not often explicit in their detail, beor’s modern equivalent is a source of contention.
Like beor information on ealu is not clear. Scholars only differentiate between the two because Anglo-Saxon literature, specifically Leechdoms, writes that “a pint of ale weighs six pence more than a pint of water, and a pint of wine weighs 15 pence more … and a pint of beor weighs 22 pence less …” (Hagen 200). This passage provides evidence that ale had a different alcohol content than beor. It also suggests that Anglo-Saxon ealu is similar to our modern day beer. Ealu appears to be the drink of the poor. It hangs at the bottom of the beverage hierarchy with an alcohol content that is less than 4% (Hagen 204). Though ealu lies at the bottom of the barrel, water was even less desirable to those of the tenth and eleventh centuries: “Ale if I have it, water if I have no ale” (Hagen 199). Water at that time was fraught with bacteria and pathogens, making it dangerous to consume. Alcoholic beverages were the safest, and most appetizing, alternative.
Works Consulted
Colquhoun, Kate. Taste: The Story of Britain through Its Cooking. London: Bloomsbury, 2007. Print.
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Francis, A. D. The Wine Trade. London: A. and C. Black, 1972. Print.
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Gautier, Alban. "Cooking And Cuisine In Late Anglo-Saxon England." Anglo-Saxon England 41.(2013): 373-406. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 3 Apr. 2016.
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Hagen, Ann. Anglo-Saxon Food and Drink: Production, Processing, Distribution and Consumption. Hockwold Cum Wilton, Norfolk, England: Anglo-Saxon, 2006. Print.
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Rose, Susan. The Wine Trade in Medieval Europe 1000-1500. London: Continuum, 2011. Print.