History of Anglo-Saxon England - Seventh to Eighth Centuries

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

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. Throughout the 7th and 8th century power fluctuated between the larger kingdoms. Bede records Aethelbert of Kent as being dominant at the close of the 6th century, but power 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 - Seventh to Eighth Centuries

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 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 the North Sea. It was probably in this period that the Viking influence on English culture became engrained. Rule over England fluctuated between the descendants of Aeth ...

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 - The Second Viking Age and the Norman Conquest: Eleventh Century

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 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; however, by this time Northumbria had devolved into Bernicia and a Viking kingdom, Mercia had been split down the middle, and East Anglia ceased to exist as an An ...

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 - First Viking Age: Ninth Century

There is a wide range of source material that covers Anglo-Saxon England. The main narrative sources are Bede's Ecclesiastical History and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. A range of laws are available back to the reign of Aethelbert of Kent, though they become far more numerous after the reign of Alfred the Great. Charters (usually land grants) provide us with a wide range of evidence across the period. Other written sources include hagiography, letters (often between churchmen, but sometimes betwee ...

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 - Sources

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