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to that of Roman Britain 400 AD to c600 AD
Comparison by Dr Stanley West
(Please click images to enlarge)
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LIFE IN ROMAN BRITAIN | LIFE OF THE EARLY ANGLO-SAXONS |
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Roman Britain had been part of a centralised Empire, with central government. | The early Anglo-Saxons depended upon their tribal structure for law and order. |
The country was run by a bureaucracy. | There were no officials and no bureacracy. |
All laws and decrees were recorded and codified in writing. | There was no writing and no written record. Laws were transmitted orally. |
Literate individuals wrote histories and treatises. | All history was passed down orally, often as a saga or story. |
The empire used money in the form of coinage. | There was no coinage or money used as a store of value. |
The empire ran a standing army of paid professionals. | There was no standing army, or wages for fighting. |
The economy supported specialist workers like smiths and jewellers. | Very few specialists. Perhaps only itinerant traders and bards. |
There were organised industries selling their products. | No organised industries. |
The empire had formal market places and shops. | The early Saxons had no market places. |
Large scale farming and forestry were carried on. | Only small family farms existed. |
Agricultural estates were normal. | No estates existed at this time. |
There was a large agricultural surplus, available for sale and trade internationally. | Surpluses, if any, were in short supply. |
Towns and cities were normal. | No Anglo-Saxon towns at this time, and they avoided existing towns. |
Organised road building, bridges and other public works. | The Anglo-Saxons did not build roads or public buildings. |
The Romano-British economy was complex and at least partly international. | A simple agrarian economy with subsistence farming was normal. |
Religion was organised and intertwined with the state. | There was no organised Anglo-Saxon religion until Christianity arrived in the 7th century. |
High status buildings could be built of stone, brick or concrete. | All building depended upon wood-working skills. |
Source This comparison by Stanley West is taken from his book entitled "Understanding West Stow", published in 2000. |
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