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 A  History  of  England  and  the  British  
Nation  
 
1000  –  2000  
From  the  end  of  the  1st  millennium  to  
the  end  of  the  2nd  millennium  
 
Prologue  
England  before  1000  
 
 
 
The  Decline  of  the  Rome  and  the  Anglo-­‐‑Saxon  Invasion  of  England  
Anglo-­‐‑Saxon  England,  the  Viking  Invasions  and  King  Alfred  the  Great  
The  First  Kings  of  England  

1  

The  Decline  of  Rome  and  the  Anglo-­‐‑Saxon  Invasion  of  England    
The   decline   and   eventual   fall   of   Rome   in   the   fifth   century   after   Christ   led   to   the  
collapse  of  an  empire  that  had  dominated  the  known  world  for  a  millennium
...
 These  were  led  by  the  Goths,  the  Vandals,  
the   Franks   and   the   Huns,   and   their   collective   march   into   western   and   southern  
Europe  during  the  fifth  century  devastated  the  continent  in  much  the  same  way  that  
the  Mongol  invasions  were  to  annihilate  Asia  600  years  later
...
  Further   east,   the   Huns   took   charge   of   central   Europe   where  
Attila  the  Hun  was  to  earn  his  fierce  reputation  throughout  the  440s
...
  They   also   left   many   tribes   fleeing   for   their   lives   and   numbered   among  
these   were   those   inhabiting   the   area   of   north-­‐‑western   Europe   that   in   time   was   to  
become   Germany   and   southern   Denmark
...
 
 
In   the   wake   of   the   barbarian   invasions,   some   from   these   tribes   remained   while  
others   fled   westwards   to   settle   in   northern   or   western   France
...
 Some  of  these  early  Angle,  Saxon  and  Jute  settlers  arrived  at  the  invitation  
of  local  tribal  leaders  in  eastern  England  who  needed  allies  and  mercenaries  in  their  
wars  against  the  Picts  and  the  Scots  from  the  north  and  from  the  midlands  of  Britain
...
  These   had   garrisoned   much   of   the   island   of   Britain  
since  AD43
...
  These,   according   to   the  
Venerable  Bede,  included  the  Britons,  descendants  of  the  Celts  who  themselves  had  
first   come   to   Britain,   from   central   Europe,   at   the   beginning   of   the   Iron   Age   1,500  
years  earlier
...
  However,   modern  
research   into   the   DNA   origins   of   the   British   population   seems   to   contradict   this  
with   scientific   evidence     suggesting   that   70%   of   the   native   English   population  
descending  for  Celtic,  and  not  Anglo-­‐‑Saxon,  origins,   only   10%   of   so   less   than   the  
Welsh  and  the  Cornish
...
  This   originally   was   a   term   used   to  
describe  all  those  who  lived  on  this  Celtic  fringe,  in  Cornwall,  in  Ireland,  in  Brittany  
and   in   Scotland,   as   well   as   in   Wales   itself,   and   it   was   from   this   period   of   British  
history   that   the   first   legends   of   King   Arthur,   defending   the   British   nation   against  
these   new   Germanic   invaders,   originate
...
 
 
The   Barbarian   invasions   of   the   Roman   Empire   from   the   east   begin   an   epoch   of  
European  history  that  for  a  long  time  was  called  the  Dark  Ages
...
 
This   period   has   often   been   portrayed   as   a   period   of   superstition,   war,   feud   and  
ignorance,  contrasting  so  well  with  the  civilisations  that  came  before  and  after
...
  It   had   been   traditionally   seen   as   an   era   when   the  
population   lived   in   fear   of   warlords   and   marauding   armies,   and   where   life   was  
dirty,   violent   and   short
...
   
 
In  stark  contrast  with  the  great  cities  of  the  Abbasid  and  Umayyad  Caliphates,  cities  
like   Baghdad,   Alexandria   and   Cordoba,   it   was   a   time   when   nowhere   in   Europe  
could   boast   a   town   with   a   population   of   much   more   than   10,000
...
  One   huge   result   of   this  
existential   threat   to   early   Christian   Europe   was   the   unification   of   the   Church   in  
western  Europe  under  the  leadership  of  Rome
...
  Celtic   and   Viking   art,   craft   and   scholarship   all   prospered  
through  this  period  and,  in  time,  this  new  world  in  the  centuries  that  followed   the  
Rome   Empire’s   decline   was   to   become   dominated   by   the   rise   of   the   Frankish  
emperors  who  unified  western  Europe
...
  This   was   to   combine   the   two   most   important   elements   of   early   Western  
European   civilisation,   the   Roman   Catholic   Church   and   the   legacy   of   the   Roman  
Empire
...
 This  seminal  bond  between  Church  and  state  was  nurtured  and  
maintained  for  the  rest  of  Charlemagne’s  long  reign  and  beyond
...
 
 
Charlemagne   ruled   over   much   of   what   was   to   become   France   and   Germany   and,  
during  his  long  reign,  worked  hard  to  ensure  the  spread  of  Christianity  throughout  
continental   Europe
...
   
 
Charlemagne'ʹs   control   of   his   empire   was   all   encompassing   and   his   treatment   of  
those  on  its  periphery  who  rebelled  against  him  was  both  vicious  and  brutal
...
 Each  region  of  
his  empire  was  ruled  from  a  protected  walled  city  in  which  his  representatives  and  
those   of   the   Church   resided
...
 
William  the  Conqueror,  among  others,  was  to  use  a  similar  strategy  in  his  years  of  
domination  in  both  Normandy  and,  later,  England
...
 
 
Anglo-­‐‑Saxon  England,  the  Viking  Invasions  and  King  Alfred  the  Great  
It  was  on  the  edge  of  this  world  that  the  people  of  Britain  lived  in  the  last  centuries  
of  the  first  millennium
...
 This  was  to  contain  
the  bulk  of  the  island  that  the  Romans  had  called  Britain,  a  word  in  Latin  that  came  
from  the  earlier  Greek  name  for  the  island  meaning  ‘land  of  the  painted  people’
...
 
During  the  centuries  before  the  Norman  invasion,  these  kingdoms  retained  a  central  
importance   in   the   government   of   Anglo-­‐‑Saxon   England   and,   of   their   number,  
Northumberland,   Mercia   and   Wessex   all   in   turn   claimed   overlordship
...
 
 
In   the   century   after   the   Anglo-­‐‑Saxon   invasions,   England   was   increasingly   bound  
through   a   common   belief   in   Christianity   that   had   arrived   on   the   island   with   the  
mission   from   Rome   of   Augustine   to   the   kingdom   of   Kent,   with   the   cathedral   at  
Canterbury   founded   in   597
...
  Christianity   had   reached   Ireland   through   the  
Celtic  missions  of  Patrick  slightly  earlier
...
  The   work   of   both   these   movements   led   to   the   establishment   of   a   unified  
church  by  about  670
...
   
 
Canterbury   had   seminal   connections   with   Augustine   and   remained   of   crucial  
importance  but  it  was  in  Northumbria  where  this  early  English  Christian  scholarship  
was  to  find  its  most  successful  seat
...
 Bede  had  entered  monastic  life  at  Jarrow  as  a  boy  and  his  
most  famous  work,  An  Ecclesiastical  History  of  the  English  People,  was  written  in  Latin  
in   731
...
 This  early  Anglo-­‐‑Saxon  period  was  
also  when  Beowulf,  the  first  epic  poem  in  Old  English,  was  written
...
  The   most   famous   of   the   Mercian   kings   was   Offa   who   became  
overlord   in   757   and   who   is   best   remembered   as   the   architect   of   Offa’s   Dyke
...
   
 
Indeed,   Offa’s   authority   over   England   was   so   great   that   Charlemagne   himself  
considered   him   as   an   equal
...
 But  Offa  was  never  able  to  
use   his   power   to   claim   the   throne   of   Northumbria,   which   remained   under   the  
control  of  his  son-­‐‑in-­‐‑law,  and  so,  despite  his  power  and  pre-­‐‑eminence,  Offa  cannot  
be  considered  to  be  England’s  first  king
...
  This  
coincided   with   a   period   when   the   Vikings,   who   came   mostly   from   Denmark   and  
were  farmers  and  settlers  as  much  as  raiders,  were  growing  in  strength  and  ambition  
in  the  north,  and  eventually  it  became  clear  to  the  kings  of  both  Mercia  and  Wessex  
that   their   kingdoms   would   have   to   combine   if   they   were   to   have   any   chance   of  
stopping   the   Viking   colonisation   of   England
...
 But  he  was  also  a  devoutly  religious  man  who  in  
855   had   travelled   as   a   young   man   to   Rome   in   a   delegation   led   by   his   father,  
Aethelwulf
...
   
 
Sporadic  Viking  attacks  on  England’s  east  coast  had  begun  in  the  late  eighth  century  
and  these  had  increased  as  the  new  century  progressed
...
 This  involved  a  series  of  unresolved  battles  on  the  borders  between  Wessex  
and   Mercia   that,   by   this   time,   had   fallen   to   Guthrum
...
  Northumbria   had  
earlier  been  taken  over  much  more  formally
...
  As   a   result,   Wessex   nearly   lost   its   independence   with  
matters   becoming   even   worse   at   the   beginning   of   878   when   Alfred’s   forces   were  
scattered  following  a  surprise  attack  on  his  winter  encampment  near  Chippenham
...
   
 
From   here,   Alfred   emerged   a   few   months   later,   in   the   spring   of   878,   to   lead   a   new  
army,  which  comprised  of  men  mustered  from  fyrds,  local  militias,  from  3  shires,  and  
it  was  this  force  that  was  to  go  on  to  defeat  the  Vikings  at  the  Battle  of  Edington  in  
May   878
...
 As  a  result  
of   the   Anglo-­‐‑Saxon   victory,   a   truce   was   agreed   that   split   the   country   along   the  
Watling   Road,   the   old   Roman   road   that   ran   from   Dover   to   Chester,   with   Danelaw  
remaining   in   operation   in   the   east
...
 
 
After   his   success   against   Guthrum   at   Edington,   Alfred   the   Great   remained   on   the  
throne   for   a   further   20   years   during   which   he   continued   to   encourage   scholarship  
and  learning
...
 
This  ambitious  development  envisaged  the  construction  of  a  web  of  fortress  towns,  
or   ‘burhs,   to   protect   Wessex   from   future   Viking   incursion
...
 These  garrisoned  towns,  which  later  became  
boroughs,   would   become   a   network   of   vibrant   well   protected   trading   centres,   and  
the  success  of  Alfred’s  new  burh  system  was  a  central  reason  for  the  huge  success  of  
Wessex   in   the   time   after   Edington
...
 Two  copies  survive  to  the  present  day
...
  The   major   thrust   of   Alfred’s   long-­‐‑term   plan  
was   to   push   back   the   power   and   influence   of   the   Vikings   and,   in   886,   following  
further  Viking  raids  that  threatened  Kent,  his  persistence  allowed  for  the  capture  of  
London
...
  As   a   result   of   his   successes   in   the   880s,   he   was  
elected   overlord   of   all   England   outside   the   rule   of   Danelaw   and,   in   the   meantime,  
was   to   become   a   symbol   of   national   unity
...
 
 
During  this  time,  Alfred  also  gave  his  kingdom  a  unified  system  of  law  based  on  the  
Weregild   in   which   the   payment   of   money   replaced   the   blood   feud   as   compensation  
for  a  crime
...
 Other  crimes  were  judged  by  trial  by  ordeal,  which  included  the  eating  
of   blessed   cakes,   trial   by   cold   or   hot   water,   and   trial   by   fire
...
  These   have  
been   seen   as   a   precursor   to   Common   Law
...
  These   changes   were   early   precursors   of   the   jury   system   that   in   time  
became   such   a   central   tenet   of   English   law
...
  This   system   of   military   organisation   was   still   in   operation   under   King  
Harold  at  Hastings  two  centuries  later
...
 He  also  encouraged  the  Church  to  spread  learning  and  literacy  throughout  
his   kingdom,   and   patronised   The   Anglo-­‐‑Saxon   Chronicle,   an   account   written   in   the  
native   language   by   monks   chronicling   the   life   of   the   nation
...
  The   account   is   considered   to   be   the   first  
example  of  a  book  in  extended  English  prose
...
 
 
The  First  Kings  of  England  
Alfred’s   son,   Edward   the   Elder,   continued   the   feuding   against   the   Vikings   into   the  
new   century   and   launched   a   series   of   successful   attacks   on   Danelaw
...
  The   choice   of  
Athelstan  was  taken  at  the  Witan,  a  gathering  of  nobles,  a  meeting  of  the  ‘wise’,  that  
in  Anglo-­‐‑Saxon  times  chose  the  most  suitable  candidate  of  royal  birth  for  the  throne
...
 
 
Despite  threats  to  his  crown  early  in  his  reign,  Athelstan,  who  never  married,  was  to  
go  on  and  complete  the  work  of  his  father  and  grandfather  before  him  when,  3  years  
11  

later,  his  army  conquered  Northumbria
...
  Through   internecine   marriage   alliances   and  
further   wars,   most   especially   against   the   Scots,   the   Irish   and   the   Danes   that  
culminated  in  the  massive  Anglo-­‐‑Saxon  victory  at  the  bloody  Battle  of  Brunanburgh  
in  the  autumn  of  937,  Athelstan  worked  hard  to  consolidate  his  new  united  kingdom,  
and  this  he  passed  on  to  his  half-­‐‑brothers  when  he  died  in  939
...
 
 
The   zenith   of   Anglo-­‐‑Saxon   unity   was   reached   a   little   later   in   the   970s   when   Edgar  
the   Peaceful,   the   nephew   of   Athelstan   and   the   great   grandson   of   Alfred   the   Great,  
was  able  to  put  in  place  a  number  of  new  initiatives  that  stabilised  England’s  unity
...
  Later,   in   Norman   times,   this   would   evolve   into   the   county  
system
...
  This   meeting,   at   which  
Edgar   was   attended   by   a   huge   army   and   navy,   culminated,   according   to   later  
chroniclers,  with  these  various  kings  rowing  Edgar  up  the  River  Dee  as  a  symbolic  
sign  of  loyalty
...
 This  whole  elaborate  pageantry  was  
organised   by   Dunstan,   the   Archbishop   of   Canterbury   and   Edgar’s   main   political  
adviser   throughout   his   reign,   with   the   coronation   service   used   at   Bath   forming   the  
basis   of   all   subsequent   British   royal   coronation   ceremonies   for   the   next   thousand  
years
...
 
 
12  

As   trading   and   commercial   links   began   to   bind   the   nation   together,   old   tribal  
loyalties   were   replaced   by   early   expressions   of   English   nationalism
...
  Edgar   the   Peaceful,  
however,  died  suddenly,  at  the  age  of  31,  only  2  years  after  his  grandiose  success  at  
Chester,   and   was   sainted   within   a   hundred   years   for   his   work   in   unifying   the  
English  church  and  building  monasteries
...
 Supporters  of  a  new  king,  
Edward’s  half-­‐‑brother,  Ethelred  the  Unready,  then  a  boy  of  only  10  or  11,  carried  out  
this  coup  d’état
...
  He   was   interred   at   Winchester   but   his   tomb   was   lost   during   the  
dissolution   of   the   monasteries   in   the   1530s
...
   
 
The   murder   of   Edward   the   Martyr   was   masterminded   by   Queen   Ealfreda,   the  
mother  of  the  new  king  as  well  as  the  queen  who  had  been  crowned  alongside  Edgar  
at  Bath  Abbey  5  years  before
...
  Losing   much   of   the   unity   that   had   been   brought   about   by   the  
guile   and   hard   work   of   Edgar   and   his   forebears   lost   during   his   long   28-­‐‑year   reign,  
these  were  terrible  years  for  the  English  nation  with  much  of  the  north  and  east  of  
the   country   returning   to   Viking   rule
...
This   led   to   the   first,   though   certainly   not   the   last,   payment   of  
Danegeld  by  the  king,  and  this  crisis  was  to  last  long  into  the  new  century

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