Norman Conquest Encyclopedia
Ceorl
The ordinary freeman in Anglo-Saxon society was known as a ceorl. Above him in rank were the gesiths or thegns (the class that provided warriors) and below him were the slave class, the thralls or serfs. As a free man the ceorl was subject to service under the general levy of the Great Fyrd, the summoning of all able-bodied men other than serfs to the defence of the land in times of crisis.
See also: Anglo-Saxon; fyrd; thegn
Related Reading:
- Saxon Viking Norman (Men-at-Arms 85)
- Anglo Saxon Thegn (Warrior 5)
Peasants going to war, from an 11th century psalter. These were freemen, members of the Great Fyrd.