The Anglo-Saxons My Story

This story belongs to Kimaya and her Mummy Nicola.

It is a tiny tale about how children, just like you,

lived in the olden days, 1,500 years ago.

Kimaya and Mummy Nicola are using bows and arrows.

They need to try and hit the target.

Ready?

That was cool!

I'm going to tell you a story about a boy named Stedman.

He used to play with his bow and arrow, too.

And he was six years old, just like you.

He lived a very long time ago in the Anglo-Saxon times.

Anglo-Saxons were people who came to what is now England

from the area that is now Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands.

They came on boats, with all their belongings,

to find a new place to live.

Later, their new home came to be known as Angle-land,

or England.

Kimaya, why don't we go back in time and get all dressed up

and see how life was like for Stedman? Shall we?

Yeah!

Kimaya and Mummy Nicola are going on a journey of discovery.

They are going to find out what life was like all those years ago.

Kimaya and Mummy Nicola are ready for their big adventure.

They've come to the West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village.

And they've dressed up in Anglo-Saxon clothes.

Kimaya, wow! What do you think of your costume?

Amazing! What do you think of yours?

I think it's fantastic!

Anglo-Saxon clothes were made from thick wool.

They used plants to dye them different colours.

They made things to decorate the clothes, like brooches and buckles.

What's your favourite bit of your outfit?

-Necklace.

-The necklace?

Cos it's brown and it's got spots.

And it's got a curly part in the middle

and a big circle and some decorations.

Shall we go and explore and find out more about Anglo-Saxons?

-Yeah!

-Come on.

This village is like the one Stedman would have lived in

all those years ago.

Kimaya and Mummy Nicola

want to find out about the Anglo-Saxon houses.

Kimaya! Look at this house.

What do you think it's made of?

Wood?

Yeah, not like our house. Our house is made of bricks.

Anglo-Saxons built their houses from wood they got from the forest.

What about the roof? What do you think that's made of?

Straw?

Yeah, it looks like straw.

Straw for the roof is squeezed together really tightly,

so it keeps the rain out.

It's called a thatched roof.

Everyone in Anglo-Saxon villages had to work together to survive.

There were no supermarkets.

They had to grow their own food, make their own clothes

and build their own houses.

Villagers all had different skills and helped each other

to make sure everyone had everything they needed.

Stedman and his family lived in a house like this.

Can you guess what they used to do in the village?

Farmer?

I think they were farmers.

Farming was very important in the Anglo-Saxon times.

Shall we go and see the farm?

-Yeah!

-Come on, then. Let's go!

All Anglo-Saxon children had to help out

by doing chores with the grown-ups.

Children didn't go to school.

They learned how to do jobs from their families.

Farmers like Stedman's family

would have grown food for the whole village.

This is Lily. She's a farmer.

-Eala.

-What does that mean?

That's Old English for "hello". It's the language the Anglo-Saxons spoke.

-Do you want to try?

-BOTH:

-Eala.

Stedman would have spoken it, and his name means "lives on a farm".

-Amazing.

-Do you want to help me plant carrots?

-Yeah.

-That would be great!

Fantastic.

First, they're making a trough to plant the seeds in.

So, what do you think of this, Kimaya?

This is hard work.

Farmers had to work hard to grow enough food for the whole village,

so they were busy all day every day.

Now it's time to plant the seeds.

Great. We need to water them.

Children had to collect water from the river

and it's a long way away, which can be hard work.

These are what the carrots will look like

-when they're fully grown.

-They look amazing!

Dull on the outside, but inside...

-they are so bright!

-Ooh!

-GASPING

What colour's that?

That's white and purple.

Really cool!

GOAT BLEATS

The Anglo-Saxons also kept animals on their farms,

like chicken, cows, pigs,

sheep and goats.

GOAT BLEATS

They used milk from the cows to make cheese.

They cut wool from sheep and goats to make their clothes.

They also caught fish from the river to eat.

Thank you for letting us help on the farm, Lily.

-Ic thancie the.

-Oh, what does that mean?

-"Thank you" in Old English.

-Wow! Shall we try that, Kimaya?

-Yeah.

-Let's go.

-Ic thancie the.

-Ic thancie the.

Perfect.

While Stedman and his family were busy making food on the farm,

other people in the village were making pots to cook the food in.

Katie is a potter.

She's going to show Kimaya and Mummy Nicola how to make a pot.

This is what Anglo-Saxons made pottery from.

Do you know what it is?

Yeah - clay.

Well done. That's right.

They dug the clay from the ground. Clay is very thick mud.

-Today, we're going to make a coil pot.

-What is a coil pot?

Well, it's very similar to this one here.

How did you make that?

Well, I'm going to show you.

First, take a piece of clay

and pinch a little base like that,

so you've got a tiny little cup.

And then we're going to make some long coils.

They look like wriggly worms.

Well done.

With the little cup you've already made, you put a coil on the top

and move it round your pot.

We're going to add another coil and build the pot up.

Now we have to smooth it and make sure there's no gaps in it.

Anglo-Saxons loved to decorate things. They were skilled craftsmen.

They decorated their clothes and their pots, too.

That's excellent.

We have here some antler horns,

-with pretty shapes in them.

-Oh, they're so cool!

That's really well done!

Now, the Anglo-Saxons, to finish their pot,

would put them in to bake into a fire

and make it really hard, like this one, so it can be used.

What brilliant pots they've made.

Stedman and his family would have

cooked their food in pots like these.

What else did the villagers make?

Kimaya and Mummy Nicola

have come to see Dante, the Anglo-Saxon blacksmith.

A blacksmith is someone who makes things from metal.

Wow! What do you think they're doing?

They're going to make something.

-They're going to make something?

-Yeah!

To change the shape of metal,

first it needs to be very hot, so it glows red.

The blacksmith works in a place called a forge.

What colour does that look?

-TAPPING

-Red!

-It looks red.

-Why do you think it's red?

-Cos it's burning hot.

That's right. I think it's burning hot.

The blacksmith is using a hammer to change the shape of the metal.

-What do you think he's making?

-A bow and arrow.

It's not a bow and arrow.

I think it's an arrowhead!

TAPPING

Anglo-Saxons used arrows for hunting or in battles.

It IS an arrowhead!

The Anglo-Saxons had lots of battles.

DRUMMING MUSIC

Anglo-Saxons used spears, as well as bows and arrows, in battles.

They used shields to protect themselves, decorated with pictures

of animals or symbols to wish them luck.

They decorated their helmets, too.

ALL SHOUT

Even children would have trained for battles in Anglo-Saxon times.

Kimaya has been joined by some of her friends.

They're going to do some archery training,

-just like Stedman would have done.

-That's it!

Alan is an archer. He's showing them how to use bows and arrows.

Nock your arrows!

Draw the string right back. Really look along that arrow. And...

loose!

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Loose!

Yeah!

-APPLAUSE AND CHEERING ALL:

-Yeah!

Well done, Kimaya. Now, after all that hard work,

it's time for an Anglo-Saxon feast to celebrate.

GENTLE MUSIC

After a long day of chores and archery training,

Anglo-Saxons finally got to relax at dinner time.

All the villagers gathered in the village hall

to eat a feast together.

They cooked stew or soup over the fire,

using the vegetables from Stedman's farm.

What do you think of the soup?

-Mm, this is nice.

-Yeah, and look!

There's purple carrots!

Look, Kimaya. Look what the soup's cooked in!

Anglo-Saxons loved to play games.

It was a good way to relax after a hard day's work.

This game is called nine men's morris,

which is a bit like noughts and crosses.

GENTLE MUSIC

I like the music.

-It's lovely, isn't it?

-Yeah.

MUSIC ENDS

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

So, Kimaya, have you had a nice day?

Yeah!

It's been lots of fun finding out what happened a long time ago.

Can you remember some of the things we did?

What colour were the carrots Anglo-Saxons grew on the farm?

Yellow or purple?

That's right. The carrots were purple.

What did Kimaya use to practise archery?

A bow and arrow or a bucket and spade?

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Yes. It was a bow and arrow. Well done!

What have you enjoyed the most?

-Pottery.

-Yeah?

What did you enjoy the most as well?

Oh, I liked eating the soup the best. It was yummy!

But most of all I enjoyed spending time with you.

What a journey of discovery.

That was Kimaya and Mummy Nicola's tiny tale

about what it was like living as Anglo-Saxons 1,500 years ago.

Now Mummy Nicola has shared this story with Kimaya,

it's time for Kimaya to start her very own story.

Do you know someone with a story to share?