Page 45 - Alfred the Great And His Legacy

The Role of Women in Anglo-Saxon Society

• The earliest extant law code in English, issued by King Aethelberht of Kent,

throws some light on the role of women & on attitudes towards them.

• At least 8 ranks of women are listed , from “grinding slaves” to free women

of “the foremost noble rank”. This is the same as the ranks recorded for

men, except that women are divided by marital status.

• However, women are under-represented in the Domesday Book, which

focuses on landowners & male workers. Great Domesday mentions only

479 named women compared to 16,667 individual men.