The fine for neglecting fyrd, the obligation to do military service for the king, is set at 120 shillings for a nobleman, and 30 shillings for a ceorl, incidentally revealing that ceorls were required to serve in the army. Scholars have disagreed on the military value of the ceorl, but it is not surprising that all free men would fight, since defeat might have meant slavery.Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, p. 290.
The fine for neglecting fyrd, the obligation to do military service for the king is set ,at 120 shillings for a nobleman and 30 shillings for a ceorl, incidentally revealing that ceorls were required to serve in the army. Scholars have disagreed on th,e military value of the ceorl, but it is not surprising that all free men would fight, since defeat might have meant slavery.Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, p. 290.