Churls and Thralls

What was the main role of churls?

• • Kings and nobles

• Peasant farmers or tradesmen

• • Religious leaders

• • Warriors

What was a ‘hide’?

• A prison

• A kind of hut

• A piece of land

• • A tool used by farmers

What would happen if a thrall ran away and was caught?

• He would be given more work

• He would be set free

• He would be sold again

• He would be put to death

What might happen to a churl who prospered and owned five hides of land?

• He would be promoted to a bishop

• He could become a thane

• • He would be made a thrall

• He would lose his land

Why did it become harder for churls to improve their status over time?

• • They refused to work

• Land holdings got smaller and wealth differences grew

• • The king banned them from farming

• • There were too many churls

• Churls were usually free men who worked as farmers or in village trades.

• True

• False

• Thralls were often former kings who lost their power.

• True

• False

• Some parents sold their children into slavery during times of starvation.

• True

• False

• Thralls could never be freed and had no way to earn money.

• Ture

• False

• Churls lived in large stone houses with many rooms.

• True

• False