Anglo-Saxon times were marked by wars. Each part of the country was run by the most powerful person, who was called a king.
As he owned only a part of the land, he was really a war lord. His job was to provide opportunities for plunder and glory for his followers and the spoils of war were used to pay for his army's loyalty.
If you were powerful you could expect to wear rich clothes, but everyone else wore very simple clothes of rough wool.
