Angle-Saxish England

An overbringing from Wikipedia

Anglo-Saxony/England

Engelsaxen/Englelond's eretide takes in thi goings-on from Roomansh Brittenlond's end til thi Onglish ond Saxish kingdooms' setting-up in thi 5th jearhundred untill thi takeover by thi Normons in 1066. From thi 5th jearhundred ond thi 6th jearhundred, knowen as thi “Dark Elddooms”, mickler, self-stondand kingdooms were cummand intu biing, among them thi Seven Kingdooms (the Heptarchy in book idiom). Later thi Wiking incummings et thi 8th jearhundred's end brought monni shifts in Brittenlond's mootish stallwerk, ond its deelings with other Evelondish kingdooms took on weighti bearing right up tu Engelsaxen's end ond thi Normons cumming ond the taking over of Englelond.

From Ritten Werks

There are sundri ritten deeds from Engelsaxish times stil with us. Thi mein tales are Bede’s English Folk's Chirchli Reckenness ond thi Engelsaxish Cranic. Law deeds goand beck tu Kentish Æthelbert's time ond kingdoom are stil tu be hed, though thej bicumm much greater in reckening efter Alfred thi Great's kingship. Deeds bistowand lond rights allso give us another window tu look beck et thi times. Other deeds are about holi men, ritings (often between chirchmen, but sometimes bitween mootish leeders, such as Cherl the Great (Charlemagne) ond Offa, ond scopcreft.

Aside from these deeds are allso sundri threds ond thrums of unritten witness. Jear-rimeli kithlore hes given us much moer food for thought intu early Middle Eldth learning over thi eredeili 50 jears. Moer wel knowen wejs such as fyndand stownames' underlying or heve been brooked tu show kithish ond mootish trends in settling, while speechlore, moest tellandli, show thi input from Old English, Old Norse, Brittish ond Old Irish tungs tu thi Werld English we now speek, givand clews tu wider kithish ond folkwej leenings.

Incummings ond the settand-up of kingdooms (400-600)

It is hard tu bild a tru timeline for bitidings from the time thi Roomwelsh left Brittenlond (Britain), tu thi setting-up of thi Engelsaxish kingdooms. Thi Roomwelsh afaring, as told by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia regum Brittaniae, is sumwhet untrustwurthi, but as a Middle Eldth folktale

Unearthed fyndings tel a tale of thi end-times of Roomansh reeving with a marked falling awej, ond waning of toun ond feeld life. Fee-tokens minted efter 402 are few. So in 407 when Constantine 111 wos made Highkeasar by his fightand men, ond left Brittenlond along with his men, Roomansh Brittenlond had truli cum tu an end. Brittenlond wos left without a shield, ond Constantine shortli efter wos slain in fighting. In 410, Highkeasar Honorius told thi Roombritish (Romano-Britons) thet thej themselves hed tu fynd their own wejs ond meens of wordand off foes, jet in thi mid 5th jearhundred thi Roombrittish stil felt thet thej cou'd look tu Rome for help agenst unwonted incummers.

Monny tales ond ritings about thi Engelsaxens' cumming staddle themselves upon ritten deeds, others far less so. Four mein ritten deeds give witness. Gildas’ “ The Downfall of Brittenlond” (ritten sumtime in the 540AJs) is a long-drawn-out doun-mouthing, a wurdful flej chiding thi Brittish kings, moer than a tru tale rinand upon whet hed plejed out. Bede’s English Folk's Chirchly Reckenness though taken sumwhet from Gildas' riting, neverthiless brings in other understandings. However it wos not ritten in thi 5th jearhundred, but sum three hundred jears later, in thi 8th jearhundred. Later stil thi riter of thi Engelsaxish Cranic goes tu Bede’s Eretide for input, but allso brings in sum folklore when ritand about thi cumming-intu-being of thi West Saxish kingdoom.

Knowledge can bi taken allso from other feelds, such as learned nibbings. It is worthwhile tu bear in mind allso thet thi Onglish kingdooms of, Bernicia, Deira ond Linsey ond Kent all kept their Brittish names, which would seem tu show a mootish ongoing. On thi other hond, thi moer westerli kingdooms of thi West Saxens ond thi Merchish spred out from their earlier bounds. Unearthed fyndings, following buriing lejouts ond lond hondling let us follow settling by thi Ongels ond Saxens, allthough it is not unlikeli thet thi Britwelsh were takand up Engelsaxish wejs. From bodies unearthed from an olden gravejard near Abington in Englond, it seems tu show thet Saxish incummers ond homegrown Britwelsh lived side by side. There is much learned mooting as tu whether thi Engelsaxish incummers took over from, or melded with, thi Roombritish whu lived in southern or eastern Brittenlond. Allreddi from thi 4th jearhundred, Brittons hed fled athwars thi "The Narrows" ond begunn tu settle in thi western londship of Armorica, settand up in Brittani. Others mej heve gon tu northern Spain. Thi Brittish afarings tu thi Evelondish meinlond, ond thi Ongels ond Saxens tu Brittenlond, should bi seen in a broader light than wos first thought, thet beand through the Evelondish folk wonderings ond folk spreddings throughout Evelond. However sum misgivings, founded upon breakthroughs in kindlore, make man think further upon thi mickleness of thi Engelsaxens' inflow intu Brittenlond.

Though there is no wej tu know fulli about the times, steds or folks therein, it dus seem thet in 495, et thi fight et Badon Fell (mejbe et Badburi rings, Latinish Mons Badonicus, Britwelsh Mynydd Baddon), thi Britwelsh wreked a bloodi loss on thi Saxens. Unearthed fynds, together with thi less-than-trustwurthi writings by Gildas, would leed us tu believe thet thi Engelsaxish inflow intu Brittenlond wos stemmed for a while.

The Seven kingdooms ond the Spread of Cristendoom

The spread of Cristendoom throughout Engelsaxish Englond, begunn around 500, wos shaped ond wielded by Keltish Cristendoom from the north-west ond the Roomish Church from the south-east. The first Canterbury Head-Bishop, Augustine started his soul-sowing ond reaping in 597. In 601, he cristened Kent's Aethelbert, the first Engelsaxish King to becumm a Crist-follower. The last heathen Engelsaxish king, the Merchish Penda died in 655. The undertaking by the Engelsaxish Churches to spreading Cristendoom's goodspel on the Europaeish mainlond begann in the 8th yearhundred, leading to the Healand's wurd spreading throughout almost all the greater Frankish rikedooms by 800.

Throughout the 7th yearhundred ond the 8th yearhundred might flowed to ond fro between the mickler kingdooms. Bede's writings tel us thet Kent, led by Æthelbert, wos the mightiest kingdoom et the 6th yearhundreds' end, but efterwards leadership seems to heve shifted northwords to the Northimbrish kingdoom, which saw Bernica ond Deira melding. King Edwin most likely held wield over most of Brittenlond, though Bede’s Northimbrish leanings should here be kept in mind. Breakawey upheavings meant thet lordship wos not alweys long-stonding, though Merchlond seems to have held wield as a stronger kingdoom under Penda’s leadership. Setbecks in wor, all but ended Northimberlond's over-lordship: firstly the great fight et Trent in 679  against the Merchish, ond then et Nechtanemere in 685 against the Pects.

The so-called ”Merchish Overlordship” stood foremost amongst the kingdooms during the 8th yearhundred, though again it wos not alweys abiding. Aethelbald ond Offa were the two kings held in highest rank; indeed Offa wos deemed the overlord of south Brittenlond by Charlemagne. Thet Offa cou'd find the weys ond means to bild Offa’s Dyke is witness to his might. However the rising Westsexe, ond stands taken by smaller kingdoms, kept Merchlond in hond, ond by the end of the eight hundreds the “Merchish Overlordship”, if there ever wos one, wos over.

This time hes been knowen in book English as “The Heptarchy“, though this name hes fallen out of learned writing ond speech. The word arose on the belief thet the seven kingdooms of Northimberlond, Merchlond, Kent, East Engle, Eastsexe, Suthsexe, ond Westsexe were the main mootish steering bodies of south Brittenlond. More latterly learning has shown that more than a few other kingdooms were also under wielding throughout this time, namely Hwicce, Magosaete, Lindsey, ond Middle Engle, as wel as the Keltish kingdooms of Strathclyde Rheged, ond Devon/Westwales.

The Wiking Cumming ond the Rise of the Westsexe

793 is the date given by the Engelsaxish Cranic for the first Wiking raids in Brittenlond et Lindisfarne bedehouse. However, by then the Wikings were wel set up in Orkney and Shetland, ond it is more than likely that monny other raids unwritten of hed happened before this. Deeds show the first Wiking strike on Hi (Iona) happening in 794. The cumming of the Wikings, moreso their Great Heathen Worband, wos to gravely upset the mootish and folkish make-up of Brittenlond ond Irelond. Alfred the Great’s overcumming of the Wikings et Edington in 878 stemmed their strikes; however, by this time Northimberlond hed split beck into Bernicia, ond Deira (which hed becumm a Wiking kingdoom), Merchlond hed been asundered doun the middle, ond East Engle ond Eastsexe were no longer was wieldingly Engelsaxish. The Wiking raids brought about almost the same outcumm upon the sundry kingdooms of the Irish, Scots (Northern Irish), Pects and (a little lesser so) the Welsh. Indeed in North Brittenlond the Wiking’s foehood wos one of the grounds behind the setting up of the Irish kingdoom of Alba, which in time grew into Scotlond.

Efter the time of reaving ond raiding, the Wikings begann to settle in Englond. A thriving Wiking nub wos York, knowen as Yorvik to the Wikings. Sundry, friendly ties between Danish Yorvik ond the Norweyish Dublin waxed and waned. The folks from the Danish and Norweyish settlings hed enough bearing to leave a meaningful lastingness on the English tung; monny wurds thet make up the bedrock of todey’s English cum from Old Norse, though of the first hundred wurds heard deily in English by far greater are Old English wurds. Much the same, monny stead-names of Brittenlond, Irelond ond English speeking londs throughout the wurld are from Scandinavish, ond cum to us from those early Danish and Norweyish settlings in Englond.

A weighty unfolding in the 9th yearhundred wos the rise of the Kingdoom of the Westsexe. Though it wos sumwhet of an up-ond-doun ride, by the end of Alfred’s lordship (899AJ) the West Saxish kings came to wield their might in all Saxlond (Westsexe, Suthsexe, Estsexe), ond Kent ond Eastengle. Before long, Cornwales (Westwales beyond the Tamar) eke bowed to West Saxish lordship ond a few kings of the more southerly Welsh kingdooms acknowledged Alfred as their overlord, as did Merchlond under Alfred’s sun-in-law Aethelred.

The Make-up of Englond in the 10th yearhundred)

Alfred of Wessex died in 899 and was followed by his son Edward the Elder. Edward, and his brother-in-law Æthelred of (what was left of) Mercia, began steps towards widespread growth, amongst other things building strongholds for warding off foes, and towns in the way Alfred had done. On Æthelred’s death his wife (Edward’s sister) Æthelflæd ruled as “Lady of the Mercians”, and went on building the kingdom. It seems Edward had his son Æthelstan brought up in the Mercian king’s-hall, and on Edward’s death Æthelstan took over the Mercian kingdom and, after some unstableness, Wessex.

Æthelstan went on in the way of his father and aunt building up the framework of his kingdom, and was the first to be king of what we now think of as “England". Indeed the names of worth bestowed upon him in deeds and fee-tokens bring to mind thought of widespread overlordship. The growth of his kingdom bestirred ill-feeling amongst the folk of other kingdoms of Britain and he stood before a fellowship of Scots and Vikings at the fight-out of Brunanburh. His win there, written down by scops in the Anglo-Saxon Tale, was one of the telling steps on the road to England, under one kingdom, coming into being.

However, “England” was not a kingdom fixed and fast, and indeed under Æthelstan’s afterbears Edmund, Eadred and Edwy the kingdom broke up and came back together many times. Nonetheless, Edgar, who in the end overlorded the same landstretch as Æthelstan, seems to have made the kingdom sounder and stronger, and, by the time of the lordship of his son Æthelred, the Unready, England seems to (almost) truly set itself up as a kingdom.

The H10th saw meaningful mootish wends in Western Europe; Carolingish might was waning and by the mid C10th in West Francia (France), fell and in its stead came the weakly House of Capet. In East Francia a Saxon kindred took over leadership, and its kings began bestowing upon themselves the name of Holy Roman Kaiser. It is worthwhile to keep in mind that at this time Anglo-Saxon England was the most thriving of the europish kingdoms; one only has to look at fee-token handling in the timespan to know that C10th Anglo-Saxon kings wielded far greater kingly might than their fellow europish kings.

England under the Danes and the Norman Takeover(978-1066)

The end of the H0th saw an ednewed look by Vikings towards England. Æthelred for long held wield, but in the end lost his kingdom to Sweyn of Denmark, though he won it back following the latter’s death. However, Æthelred’s son Edmund 11 Ironside died shortly afterwards, leaving the way open for Canute, Sweyn’s son, to become king of England, one landbit of a mighty kyserdom stretching beyond the North Sea. It was most likely in this time that the viking wield on English kithship became inbedded.

Lordship over England flowed between the afterbears of Æthelred and Canute for the first half of the C11th. In the end the outcome was the well-known setting of 1066AJ, where indeed a few men had a right to the English throne. Harold Godwineson became king, in all likelihood at the behest of Edward the Shrift (Confessor) on his deathbed. However William of Normandy, an afterbear of Æthelred and Canute’s wife Emma, and Harald of Norway, (helped by Harold Godwineson’s unfriendly brother Tostig) all had a right. Although, maybe the strongest right to the throne belonged to Edgar the Atheling, whose youth hindered him from being a greater player in the unfoldings of 1066AJ, though he was made king for a short time by the English Witan.

Inslaught was the outcome of this setting. Harald Godwineson overcame Harald of Norway and Tostig at the fight-out of Stanford Bridge, but fell in the fighting against William of Normanby at Hastings. Being kinned king on Christmas Day, 1066AJ, William began a set of steps in strengthen his hold on England. However, his leadership was always under threat in England, and the lack of knowledge about Northumbria in the Doomesdey’s Book is witness to the unrest there during William’s kingship.

Go-to

Further Reading

Anne Savage, "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles" ISBN 1-85833-478-0, pub CLB, 1997 David Howarth, "1066 The Year of the Conquest", ISBN 0-14-005850-8, pub1981 F.M. Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, 3rd edition, (Oxford, 1971) J. Campbell et al, The Anglo-Saxons, (Penguin, 1991) R. Lacey & D. Danziger, "The Year 1000: What Life Was Like at the Turn of the First Millennium" (Little Brown & Company, 1999) For a full reading list, see Simon Keynes' bibliography [1]

See also

Anglo-Saxonic culture and society.

Timeline of Anglo-Saxonic England

Anglo-Saxonic architecture

Anglo-Saxonic monarchs

Anglo-Saxonic warfare

Anglo-Saxonic polytheism

Prosopography of Anglo-Saxonic England

States in Medieval Britain

Britain in the Middle Ages

Outside Ties

Medievalists.net -extensive resources on the medieval period