Surviving Celts in Scotland, Wales and Cornwall

Invading Teutonic tribes (Angles, Saxons and Jutes) drive the surviving Celts into the mountains of Scotland, Wales and Cornwall.

Saint Augustine in Kent

Saint Augustine arrives in Kent with forty monks. Well received by King Aethelred of Kent, he converts a large number of people to Christianity.

Seven kingdoms arise

Seven kingdoms (the Heptarchy) arise: Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Essex, Wessex, Sussex, Kent.

London on fire

London is set on fire by Danish hordes which have been raiding the coasts of the British Isles for decades.

The Danes (or Vikings) were Norsemen who raided the eastern coasts of Britain for about three centuries before attempting to conquer the country. In A.D. 827, they set London on fire. They were the most daring seamen of the Middle Ages. They seized East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria and jointly named them Danelaw (= land under Danish rule).

Alfred re-conquers the south of Britain

Alfred, King of Wessex, re-conquers the south of Britain (though not the north – named Danelaw) from the Danes.

During the Danish war, Alfred succeeded his brother (who had died in battle) on the throne of Wessex and ruled the country from 871 to 899.

He had already won a brilliant victory against the Danes before the death of his brother and now his military genius saved Wessex from certain destruction. At first, he was obliged to call a truce and take refuge in the marches, but he soon reorganized his army. As a young man, Alfred had been in Rome and was familiar with Roman military strategies such as the ‘shield wall’. Thanks to this and other tactics, he managed to drive the Danes back into the Danelaw. The south of the country remained under Saxon rule.

Alfred’s son, fight against the Danes

Alfred’s son carries on the fight against the Danes

Realm of King Aethelred

King Aethelred the Unready disperses the Anglo-Saxon fleet, pays tribute to the Danelaw and orders a massacre of Danes.

Sweyn comes over from Denmark

Sweyn comes over from Denmark to avenge his sister’s death; Aethelred flees to Normandy; Sweyn becomes king of Britain and is even succeeded by his two sons.

The Witan appoints Aethelred’s son Edward

The Witan appoints Aethelred’s son Edward (the Confessor). Anglo-Saxon rule is restored in Britain. Edward exiles the most powerful men in the country, his father-in-law Godwin and his brother-in-law Harold Godwinson, but Harold returns with an army.

Political Institutions: the Witan

On religious festivals, the kings of Anglo-Saxon Britain used to hold meetings of the Witan attended by their leading subjects. The Witan gave advice on matters on which the king asked its opinion (e.g. laws, taxes and dues, appointments of earls and bishops) and it was the place where petitions could be brought before the king. Although common people would sometimes attend, the Witan was not a democratic body in the modern sense of this word. It just served the king’s purposes: there he showed his subjects that he did not act arbitrarily, but with the advice of the best men of the country. Moreover, the king was neither obliged to summon the Witan, nor to take its advice after it had been given. However, the Witan performed one very important function: it decided over the succession to the throne in cases of uncertainty between more than one claimant.

Image:

A meeting of the Witan (short for Witanagemot = Council of Wise Men) (11th century).

Godwinson is appointed king by the Witan

The story of the Norman conquest is faithfully depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry that consists of eight sections that were joined together to form a single band.

Image: The story of the Norman conquest is faithfully depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry that consists of eight sections that were joined together to form a single band.