History of Anglo-Saxon England

The History of Anglo-Saxon England covers the history of early medieval England from the end of Roman Britain and the establishment of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the 5th century until the Conquest by the Normans in 1066. The 5th and 6th centuries are known archaeologically as Sub-Roman Britain, or in popular history as the "Dark Ages"; from the 6th century larger distinctive kingdoms are developing, still known to some as the Heptarchy; the arrival of the Vikings at the end of the 8th century brought many changes to Britain, and relation ...

Including:

• History of Anglo-Saxon England - Sources
• History of Anglo-Saxon England - Migration: Fifth to Sixth Centuries
• History of Anglo-Saxon England - Seventh to Eighth Centuries
• History of Anglo-Saxon England - First Viking Age: Ninth Century
• History of Anglo-Saxon England - Formation of England: Tenth Century
• History of Anglo-Saxon England - The Second Viking Age and the Norman Conquest: Eleventh Century

Read more here: » History of Anglo-Saxon England: Encyclopedia - History of Anglo-Saxon England

Main articles: Sub-Roman Britain, Roman departure from Britain, Aelle of Sussex It is very difficult to establish a coherent chronology of events from Rome's departure from Britain, to the establishment of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. The story of the Roman departure as told by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae is dubious except as documenting Medieval legend. The archaeological records of the final decades of Roman rule show undeniable signs of decay, in st ...

See also:

History of Anglo-Saxon England, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Sources, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Migration and Formation of Kingdoms 400-600, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Heptarchy and Christianization 600-800, History of Anglo-Saxon England - The Viking Challenge and the Rise of Wessex 9th century, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Formation of England 10th century, History of Anglo-Saxon England - England under the Danes and the Norman Conquest 978-1066

Read more here: » History of Anglo-Saxon England: Encyclopedia II - History of Anglo-Saxon England - Migration and Formation of Kingdoms 400-600

and Anglo-Saxons It is very difficult to establish a coherent chronology of events from Rome's departure from Britain, to the establishment of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. It is traditionally held that Rome left Britain in 410, when Emperor Honorius told the Romano-British to look to their own defence. However, even by the late 5th century the Romano-British felt they could appeal to the consul Aetius for help against invaders. Various myths and legends surround the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons, some based on documentary evidenc ...

See also:

History of Anglo-Saxon England, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Sources, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Migration: Fifth to Sixth Centuries, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Seventh to Eighth Centuries, History of Anglo-Saxon England - First Viking Age: Ninth Century, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Formation of England: Tenth Century, History of Anglo-Saxon England - The Second Viking Age and the Norman Conquest: Eleventh Century

Read more here: » History of Anglo-Saxon England: Encyclopedia II - History of Anglo-Saxon England - Migration: Fifth to Sixth Centuries

The separate kingdoms which made up Anglo-Saxon England were: Kent Northumbria Wessex Essex Sussex Mercia East Anglia Heptarchy - Subkingdoms of Northumbria. Bernicia Deira Heptarchy - Other minor kingdoms. Isle of Wight Surrey Kingdom of the Iclinga ...

See also:

Heptarchy, Heptarchy - Anglo-Saxon England heptarchy, Heptarchy - Subkingdoms of Northumbria, Heptarchy - Other minor kingdoms, Heptarchy - Sources and References

Read more here: » Heptarchy: Encyclopedia II - Heptarchy - Anglo-Saxon England heptarchy

Archaeological evidence indicates that what is now southern England was colonised by humans long before the rest of the British Isles due to its more hospitable climate between and during the various ice ages of the distant past. The first historical mention of the region is from the Massaliote Periplus, a sailing manual for merchants thought to date to the 6th century BC, although cultural and trade links with the continent had existed for millennia prior to this. Pytheas of Massilia wrote of his trading journey to the island around 325 BC. ...

See also:

History of England, History of England - England before the English, History of England - The Anglo-Saxon Conquest of Celtic Britain, History of England - England during the Middle Ages, History of England - Tudor England, History of England - Religious Conflict and the Civil War, History of England - The Industrial Revolution, History of England - Recent history

Read more here: » History of England: Encyclopedia II - History of England - England before the English

Anglo-Saxons - Anglo-Saxon architecture. Main article: Anglo-Saxon architecture Anglo-Saxon architecture describes a period in the history of architecture in England, and parts of Wales, from the mid-5th century until the Norman Conquest of 1066. There are few remains of Anglo-Saxon architecture, with no secular work remaining above ground. At least fifty churches are of Anglo-Saxon origin, with many more claiming to be, although in some cases the Anglo-Saxon part is small and ...

See also:

Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxons - Etymology, Anglo-Saxons - Origins of the word, Anglo-Saxons - Use of the term Anglo Saxon today, Anglo-Saxons - Anglo-Saxon culture, Anglo-Saxons - Anglo-Saxon architecture, Anglo-Saxons - Anglo-Saxon art, Anglo-Saxons - Anglo-Saxon history, Anglo-Saxons - Anglo-Saxon language, Anglo-Saxons - Anglo-Saxon law, Anglo-Saxons - Anglo-Saxon literature, Anglo-Saxons - Anglo-Saxon religion

Read more here: » Anglo-Saxons: Encyclopedia II - Anglo-Saxons - Anglo-Saxon culture

The Act of Union of 1800 formally assimilated Ireland within the British political process, and created a new state "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland" with effect from 1 January 1801, uniting England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. Since then England has not existed as an independent political entity, but as a country it has remained highly dominant in the United Kingdom. The majority of the political and econom ...

See also:

History of England, History of England - England before the English, History of England - The Anglo-Saxon Conquest of Celtic Britain, History of England - England during the Middle Ages, History of England - Tudor England, History of England - Religious Conflict and the Civil War, History of England - The Industrial Revolution, History of England - Recent history

Read more here: » History of England: Encyclopedia II - History of England - Recent history

The Wars of the Roses culminated in the eventual victory of the relatively unknown Henry Tudor, Henry VII, at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, where the Yorkist Richard III was slain, and the succession of the Lancastrian House was ultimately assured. Whilst in retrospect it is easy for us to date the end of the Wars of the Roses to the Battle of Bosworth Field, Henry VII could afford no such complacency. Before the end of his reign, two pretenders would try to wrest the throne from him, aided by remnants of the Yorkist faction at home ...

See also:

History of England, History of England - England before the English, History of England - The Anglo-Saxon Conquest of Celtic Britain, History of England - England during the Middle Ages, History of England - Tudor England, History of England - Religious Conflict and the Civil War, History of England - The Industrial Revolution, History of England - Recent history

Read more here: » History of England: Encyclopedia II - History of England - Tudor England

In the wake of the Romans, who had abandoned the south of the island by 410 in order to concentrate on more pressing difficulties closer to home, what is now England was progressively settled by successive and often complementary waves of Germanic tribesmen. These Germanic tribes first came when they were invited by Vortigern, King of the Britons, as mercenaries to help the Britons during their wars against the Irish and the Picts. The prevailing view is that waves of Germanic people, Jutes together with undoubtedly large numbe ...

See also:

History of England, History of England - England before the English, History of England - The Anglo-Saxon Conquest of Celtic Britain, History of England - England during the Middle Ages, History of England - Tudor England, History of England - Religious Conflict and the Civil War, History of England - The Industrial Revolution, History of England - Recent history

Read more here: » History of England: Encyclopedia II - History of England - The Anglo-Saxon Conquest of Celtic Britain

The defeat of King Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 at the hands of William of Normandy, later styled William I of England and the subsequent Norman takeover of Saxon England led to a sea-change in the history of the small, isolated, island state. William ordered the compilation of the Domesday Book, a survey of the entire population and their lands and property for tax purposes. William ruled over Normandy, then a powerful French kingdom. William and his nobles spoke and conducted court in French, in Normandy as wel ...

See also:

History of England, History of England - England before the English, History of England - The Anglo-Saxon Conquest of Celtic Britain, History of England - England during the Middle Ages, History of England - Tudor England, History of England - Religious Conflict and the Civil War, History of England - The Industrial Revolution, History of England - Recent history

Read more here: » History of England: Encyclopedia II - History of England - England during the Middle Ages

The defeat of King Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 at the hands of William of Normandy, later styled William I of England and the subsequent Norman takeover of Saxon England led to a sea-change in the history of the small, isolated, island state. William ordered the compilation of the Domesday Book, a survey of the entire population and their lands and property for tax purposes. The English Middle Ages were to be characterised ...

See also:

History of England, History of England - England before the English, History of England - The Anglo-Saxon Conquest of Celtic Britain, History of England - England during the Middle Ages, History of England - Tudor England, History of England - Religious Conflict and the Civil War, History of England - The Industrial Revolution, History of England - Recent history

Read more here: » History of England: Encyclopedia II - History of England - England during the Middle Ages

Anglo-Saxons - Origins of the word. The term "Anglo-Saxon" is from Latin writings going back to the time of King Alfred the Great, who seems to have frequently used the title rex Anglorum Saxonum or rex Angul-Saxonum. The origin of this title is not quite clear. It is generally believed to have arisen from the union of six of the seven kingdoms of the Heptarchy under Alfred in 886. An interpretive reading of Bede (Historia Ecclesiae i. 15) suggests that: the people of the ...

See also:

Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxons - Etymology, Anglo-Saxons - Origins of the word, Anglo-Saxons - Use of the term Anglo Saxon today, Anglo-Saxons - Anglo-Saxon culture, Anglo-Saxons - Anglo-Saxon architecture, Anglo-Saxons - Anglo-Saxon art, Anglo-Saxons - Anglo-Saxon history, Anglo-Saxons - Anglo-Saxon language, Anglo-Saxons - Anglo-Saxon law, Anglo-Saxons - Anglo-Saxon literature, Anglo-Saxons - Anglo-Saxon religion

Read more here: » Anglo-Saxons: Encyclopedia II - Anglo-Saxons - Etymology

A number of assassination attempts were made on the Protestant King James I, notably the Main Plot and Bye Plots of 1603, and most famously, on 5th November 1605, the Gunpowder Plot, by a group of Catholic conspirators, led by Guy Fawkes, which was stoked up and served as further fuel for antipathy in England to the Catholic faith. The First English Civil War broke out in 1642, largely as a result of an ongoing series of conflicts between the then King, Charles I, and Parliament. The defeat of the Royalist army by the New Model Army o ...

See also:

History of England, History of England - England before the English, History of England - The Anglo-Saxon Conquest of Celtic Britain, History of England - England during the Middle Ages, History of England - Tudor England, History of England - Religious Conflict and the Civil War, History of England - The Industrial Revolution, History of England - Recent history

Read more here: » History of England: Encyclopedia II - History of England - Religious Conflict and the Civil War

The late 18th and early 19th centuries saw considerable social upheaval as a largely agrarian society was transformed by technological advances and increasing mechanisation, which was the Industrial Revolution. Much of the agricultural workforce was uprooted from the countryside and moved into large urban centres of production, as the steam-based production factories could undercut the traditional cottage industries, due to economies of scale and the increased output per worker made possible by the new technologies. The consequent overcrowdi ...

See also:

History of England, History of England - England before the English, History of England - The Anglo-Saxon Conquest of Celtic Britain, History of England - England during the Middle Ages, History of England - Tudor England, History of England - Religious Conflict and the Civil War, History of England - The Industrial Revolution, History of England - Recent history

Read more here: » History of England: Encyclopedia II - History of England - The Industrial Revolution

The Act of Union of 1800 formally assimilated Ireland within the British political process, and created a new country "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland" with effect from 1 January 1801, uniting England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. Since then England has not existed as an independent political entity, but as a region it has remained highly dominant in the United Kingdom. The majority of the political and econom ...

See also:

History of England, History of England - England before the English, History of England - The Anglo-Saxon Conquest of Celtic Britain, History of England - England during the Middle Ages, History of England - Tudor England, History of England - Religious Conflict and the Civil War, History of England - The Industrial Revolution, History of England - Recent history

Read more here: » History of England: Encyclopedia II - History of England - Recent history

Main articles: Northumbria, Mercia, Offa of Mercia, and Heptarchy Christianization of Anglo-Saxon England began around AD 600, influenced by Celtic Christianity from the north-west and by the Roman Catholic Church from the south-east. The first Archbishop of Canterbury, Augustine took office in 597. In 601, he baptized the first Anglo-Saxon king, Ethelbert of Kent. The last pagan Anglo-Saxon king, Penda of Mercia, died in 655. The Anglo-Saxon mission on the continent took off in the 8th cent ...

See also:

History of Anglo-Saxon England, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Sources, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Migration and Formation of Kingdoms 400-600, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Heptarchy and Christianization 600-800, History of Anglo-Saxon England - The Viking Challenge and the Rise of Wessex 9th century, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Formation of England 10th century, History of Anglo-Saxon England - England under the Danes and the Norman Conquest 978-1066

Read more here: » History of Anglo-Saxon England: Encyclopedia II - History of Anglo-Saxon England - Heptarchy and Christianization 600-800

Main articles: Danelaw, Viking Age, and Alfred the Great 793 is the date given by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the first Viking attack in Britain, at Lindisfarne monastery. However, there is a good chance that other, non-recorded, raids occurred before this. The arrival of the Vikings, in particular their Great Heathen Army, was to seriously upset the political and social geography of Britain and Ireland. Alfred the Great's victory at Edington in 878 stemmed the Viking attack; howeve ...

See also:

History of Anglo-Saxon England, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Sources, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Migration and Formation of Kingdoms 400-600, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Heptarchy and Christianization 600-800, History of Anglo-Saxon England - The Viking Challenge and the Rise of Wessex 9th century, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Formation of England 10th century, History of Anglo-Saxon England - England under the Danes and the Norman Conquest 978-1066

Read more here: » History of Anglo-Saxon England: Encyclopedia II - History of Anglo-Saxon England - The Viking Challenge and the Rise of Wessex 9th century

Main articles: Athelstan and Edgar of England Alfred of Wessex died in 899 and was succeeded by his son Edward the Elder. Edward, and his brother in law Æthelred of (what was left of) Mercia, began a program of expansion, building forts and towns on an Alfredian model. On Æthelred's death his wife (Edward's sister) Æthelflæd ruled as 'Lady of the Mercians', and continued expansion. It seems Edward had his son Athelstan brought up in the Mercian court, and on Edward's de ...

See also:

History of Anglo-Saxon England, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Sources, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Migration and Formation of Kingdoms 400-600, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Heptarchy and Christianization 600-800, History of Anglo-Saxon England - The Viking Challenge and the Rise of Wessex 9th century, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Formation of England 10th century, History of Anglo-Saxon England - England under the Danes and the Norman Conquest 978-1066

Read more here: » History of Anglo-Saxon England: Encyclopedia II - History of Anglo-Saxon England - Formation of England 10th century

Main articles: Ethelred the Unready , Canute the Great , and Norman Conquest of England The end of the 10th century saw renewed Scandinavian interest in England. Aethelred ruled a long reign, but ultimately lost his kingdom to Swein, though he recovered it following the latter's death. However, Aethelred's son Edmund II Ironside died shortly afterwards, allowing Canute, Swein's son, to become king of England, one part of a mighty empire stretching across t ...

See also:

History of Anglo-Saxon England, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Sources, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Migration and Formation of Kingdoms 400-600, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Heptarchy and Christianization 600-800, History of Anglo-Saxon England - The Viking Challenge and the Rise of Wessex 9th century, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Formation of England 10th century, History of Anglo-Saxon England - England under the Danes and the Norman Conquest 978-1066

Read more here: » History of Anglo-Saxon England: Encyclopedia II - History of Anglo-Saxon England - England under the Danes and the Norman Conquest 978-1066

Alfred of Wessex died in 899 and was succeeded by his son Edward the Elder. Edward, and his brother in law Æthelred of (what was left of) Mercia, began a program of expansion, building forts and towns on an Alfredian model. On Æthelred's death his wife (Edward's sister) Æthelflæd ruled as 'Lady of the Mercians', and continued expansion. It seems Edward had his son Athelstan brought up in the Mercian court, and on Edward's ...

See also:

History of Anglo-Saxon England, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Sources, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Migration: Fifth to Sixth Centuries, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Seventh to Eighth Centuries, History of Anglo-Saxon England - First Viking Age: Ninth Century, History of Anglo-Saxon England - Formation of England: Tenth Century, History of Anglo-Saxon England - The Second Viking Age and the Norman Conquest: Eleventh Century

Read more here: » History of Anglo-Saxon England: Encyclopedia II - History of Anglo-Saxon England - Formation of England: Tenth Century