### id242084442 medieval England had merit-based advancement opportunities > So how did Aethelred manage to collect such sizeable taxes so quickly? He led an effective organisation with a motivated management team. The Anglo-Saxon state was a remarkable feat of administrative engineering, in which personal prosperity became intrinsically linked to royal service. From the ashes of the ninth-century Viking invasions rose the phoenix of the ealdorman. Appointed by the king, the ealdormen raised his armies, delivered his justice and collected his taxes in their respective regions, known as shires. These important roles increasingly ceased to be hereditary, and offered an enticing opportunity for advancement. So Aethelred was not short of men waiting to efficiently execute his commands, however misguided they may be. His nobles even tried to follow the king’s order to slay all Danish men in England on [St Brice’s Day](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Brice's_Day_massacre) 1002AD. - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01fjwy40adt87e6fwea43gd711) - [[Taxing Times in 2013 and 1013 The Anglo-Saxon State We're In by James Pennock#id242084442 medieval England had merit-based advancement opportunities|View in Vault]]