3. Germanic Settlements

The first band of people from the great North German Plain crossed the North Sea and settled in what is now the county of Kent were the Jutes from the peninsula of Jutland in Denmark. The picts were one of the ancient people who lived in what is now eastern and northeastern Scotland. The Saxons came from northern Germany, the Angles appear to have occupied present-day Denmark. Particularly between Angles and Saxons, there was a close kinship of language and tradition. During the Anglo-Saxon period, England was not a united country. The land was divided into separate kingdoms, the most important of which were Kent, Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex. For 2 hundred years the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms would struggle among one another. The driving force was not an ideal of national unity but the desire of an individual king or dynasty to extend power and force neighbouring kings into submission.

The early Anglo-Saxon period was ended by the destructive Viking invasions from 800 to 1000. Anglo-Saxon England was weakened by the continuing Danish raids. But the Danes encountered effective opposition in Wessex, which was ruled by Alfred the Great (born 849 – 899). He is described as the greatedst Englishman who ever lived. He is the only English monarch known as the Great. In 871 he defeated the Danes at the battle of Ashdown. But the Danes continued to devastate Wessex and Alfred was forced to withdraw to the Somerset marshes, where he continued guerilla warfare against the enemies. In 878 he again defeated the Danes in the battle of Edington and negotiated the treaty with the Danes. England was divided. The north and east (East Anglia and Northumbria) were declared to be Danish territory, later known as the Danelaw, which meant that Viking laws and customs prevailed. Alfred gained control of West Mercia and Kent, which had been beyond boundaries of Wessex. Alfred was not only an excellent warrior but also a scholar. He took part and arranged translation of books from Latin into Anglo-Saxon. Died in Oct. 899. Buried in Winchester. However, the cultural differences between the Saxons and the Danes were comparatively small.

4. Norman Conquest

The Normans were in large part descended from the Vikings who had seized and then remained in northwestern France, which became known as Normandy. The official period of the Medieval period begins in 1066 with the battle of Hastings in which Harold Godwin was defeated by William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy. The battle took place on October 14, 1066. Harold Godwin was chosen King of England in 1066, after Edward the Confessor died. But William of Normandy claimed that Edward, his cousin, had promised the English throne to him. Harold was killed and his army was totally destroyed. So, Harold’s death left England open to Norman rule. William assumed the English crown as William I. Historians rank the battle of Hastings among the major battles that changed the course of history.

When he came to England, William I brought many French nobles, who were granted estates confiscated from the Anglo-Saxons. Thus, the king’s power was strengthened. Many cathedrals and monasteries were built as well as the Norman castles that held the country together. From these centres a feudal society was organised.

Anglo-Saxon nobles took a loyalty oath (swore allegiance) to William the Conqueror. He introduced a continental feudalism, a structure in which nobles held land in return for service in the royal army. If the king did not give the nobles land, they would not fight for him. The feudal duties were very important. The king had to make sure he had enough satisfied nobles who would be willing to fight for him.

W. reformed the church. He established the Archibishop of Canterbury as primate of the English church.

It was William I who built the White Tower of the Tower of London to cover the river approaches to London. The Tower has served as fortress, palace, treasury, state prison and a mint until 1810.

Norman conquest increased the king’s power.

The Norman Conquest destroyed the Anglo-Saxon governing class. The English hated the harsh Norman rule. They lived their own lives and spoke various dialects of what is now regarded as Middle English. For some years English monks continued to record events in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

The Domesday Book was the first official record of the property holders living in England and the amount of land they had. The information was collected and recorded at the command of William the Conqueror in 1086. The object was to find out the taxable value of each of his subjects.