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The Chieftain
The chieftain was the most
important person in his part of land. He owned all the land
but got help from slaves, his sons, and from his wife. He
had a lot of money and went raiding other countries every
summer, and came back with loot and slaves. In this time
his wife looked after the farm. The Chieftain could often
not read or write.
(Read
about excavation of Chieftain's house in Norway.)
The Chieftain 's Wife She stayed
home and looked after the farm when her husband was away.
She spun, weaved, cooked, brewed very strong beer and taught
her daughter to cook. She could read and write. She got
married at the age of 16.
The Eldest Son The eldest
son inherited all of his fathers land and money when his
father died. All of his younger brothers would have to go
and find their own land.
The Freeman Many freemen worked
on farms. They did not own any land, but the chieftain allowed
them to live on his land in return for their held with ship
building, melting iron and farming.
The Blacksmith Blacksmiths
were the most important freeman. They were very skilled
and made beautiful jewellery, weapons, ship building tools
and pots 'n' pans.
The TradesmanThe tradesmen
went to the trading villages to trade their goods which
were either stolen treasures, boats, animals, crops or slaves.
The Slaves Slaves did all
the dirty work such as digging for iron and so. Normally
a chieftain had around 12 slaves, but when he went raiding
he captured more. Slaves were never allowed to carry any
weapons.
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