Anglo-Saxon military organization
Okay kiddo, imagine you lived a really long time ago in a place called England. It wasn't like it is now, it was split up into lots of little tribes and they all spoke a language called Old English.
Now, these tribes often found themselves in wars with each other and needed soldiers to fight. They didn't have a big national army like we do today, so each tribe had to organize its own group of warriors.
These warriors were called Thanes, and they were like knights or soldiers, but there weren't many rules about who could become a Thane. It was mostly based on who had the most land and money.
Each Thane also had a team of warriors who fought with them. They were called a Comitatus or a war band. A Thane's war band was made up of his most loyal followers, who were willing to fight and maybe even die for him.
The Thane would give his war band rewards, like gold or land or fancy weapons, to keep them loyal and working hard. This system was called the "comitatus" society.
When a tribe needed to go to war, they would gather up all their Thanes and their war bands and form an army. The leader of the tribe, called a king or earl, would be the overall commander of the army.
The army would be divided up into groups, each led by a Thane. These groups were called "fyrd" or "hearth troops". The Thane would be in charge of his group and would have to make sure they were ready to fight when the king gave the order.
The Anglo-Saxon army was really good at fighting on foot, and they liked to use shields and spears. They would form a shield wall by standing close together with their shields overlapping. This made a wall of shields that the enemy couldn't get through.
So, in summary, each tribe had their own knights called Thanes, who had their own warriors in a war band. When the tribe needed an army, they would gather up all the Thanes and their war bands into groups called fyrds. The king would be in charge of the army, but each Thane would be leading their own group. They fought on foot using shields and spears and would make a really strong shield wall.
Now, these tribes often found themselves in wars with each other and needed soldiers to fight. They didn't have a big national army like we do today, so each tribe had to organize its own group of warriors.
These warriors were called Thanes, and they were like knights or soldiers, but there weren't many rules about who could become a Thane. It was mostly based on who had the most land and money.
Each Thane also had a team of warriors who fought with them. They were called a Comitatus or a war band. A Thane's war band was made up of his most loyal followers, who were willing to fight and maybe even die for him.
The Thane would give his war band rewards, like gold or land or fancy weapons, to keep them loyal and working hard. This system was called the "comitatus" society.
When a tribe needed to go to war, they would gather up all their Thanes and their war bands and form an army. The leader of the tribe, called a king or earl, would be the overall commander of the army.
The army would be divided up into groups, each led by a Thane. These groups were called "fyrd" or "hearth troops". The Thane would be in charge of his group and would have to make sure they were ready to fight when the king gave the order.
The Anglo-Saxon army was really good at fighting on foot, and they liked to use shields and spears. They would form a shield wall by standing close together with their shields overlapping. This made a wall of shields that the enemy couldn't get through.
So, in summary, each tribe had their own knights called Thanes, who had their own warriors in a war band. When the tribe needed an army, they would gather up all the Thanes and their war bands into groups called fyrds. The king would be in charge of the army, but each Thane would be leading their own group. They fought on foot using shields and spears and would make a really strong shield wall.