Saxon culture was very different from the Norman culture. In the books “Wulf the Saxon” and “The Dragon and the Raven“, both written by G. A. Henty, the focus is on the Saxon and Norman (Danish) cultures. In the books, it was always the Saxons who were the protagonists, and the Normans were the antagonists. In the end, the Saxons won, and the Normans lost.
In Wulf the Saxon, it was kind of different. The way that it was different was that the Saxon Wulf and the Norman Beorn were friends, and they all worked together, even though Wulf was a Saxon and Beorn was a Norman.
The Saxons demonstrated loyalty, honor, courage, power, and duty, and they all stood up for one another.
The Normans demonstrated basically the opposite of what the Saxons showed. When I read the books, it seemed to me that in “The Dragon and the Raven,” all the Normans were antagonists, and in “Wulf the Saxon,” some of the Normans were antagonists, but one of them was a protagonist.
The wealthy Saxons had many possessions, and most of them were very important, as they could be chosen as the Earl, or Thane, or, depending on who their father was, they could be the King. The King is usually chosen by birth, and if his father is the King, there is a high chance that his son will be next in line to the throne after his father’s death. The Earl is lower of rank than the King, but is much higher in rank than normal people. The King chooses somebody to be the Earl, and the Earl’s job is to be the second most powerful nobleman and military commander. A Thane is someone who is chosen by the Earl to be someone who goes into battle and helps the Earl out in his everyday duties.
