3. Anglo-Saxon England:
The Creation of the English Monarchy
I. The Anglo-Saxon Conquest
A. Who were the Anglo-Saxons?
- they were derived from several Germanic tribes:
the Angles from Angeln on the Danish peninsula
the Saxons from the lower Elbe on the North Sea
the Jutes from Jutland on the Danish peninsula
B. The Invasion
1) Pirates > as early as 287 they were preying on the English coast
2) Mercenaries
- Vortigen, ruler of southeast Britain, called on Saxon assistance
against the Picts and Scots in 449
- after six years they established their own kingdom in Kent
3) Colonists
- the early Anglo-Saxon settlers of Kent were followed by others
who arrived by boat and were led by tribal chiefs
- they were driven by a desire for land and established farms
C. The Conquest
1) Driven by the practice of lordship
- the military strength of a chief or king depended upon the number
of loyal thegns or warriors who would follow him into battle
- the thegns were rewarded with land, treasure, golden rings
- in order to retain his thegns it was necessary to win battles to
acquire these goods
2) The British resistance was strong
- Battle of Mount Badon (c. 500) > English led by war leader,
Arthur, halted Anglo-Saxon advance for half a century
- this is believed to be the source of the legend of King Arthur
3) Anglo-Saxon advance resumed and political authority was achieved
over most of England
- by 650 eleven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms came into existence
D. What happened to the Britons?
II. The Christian Conversion of the Anglo-Saxons
A. St. Augustine
- When King Ethelbert of Kent married Bertha, a Christian princess from
Gaul, Pope Gregory saw an opportunity to convert the Anglo-Saxons
- Augustine was sent with 40 missionaries to Kent in 597
- within a year Ethelbert converted followed by his nephew, the King of Essex,
and his thegns; missionaries were then sent out among the populace
- by 663 the southeast was permanently converted
B. St. Aidan
- An Irish monk from the Iona monastery founded by St. Columba,
who introduced Christianity to this area from Ireland
- King Oswald of Northumbria, who was converted to Christianity by
Iona monks, entrusted St. Aidan with the conversion of his people
- St. Aiddan founded a monastery on the island of Lindisfarne off the
coast of Northumbria as a center for his missionary work
- succeeded in converting Northumbria and Mercer
C. Roman vs. Celtic Christianity
1) Church organization:
Bishop and Diocese vs. Abbot and Monastery
2) Monk's tonsure:
Shaved crown vs. shaved strip from ear to ear
3) Emphasis:
order, discipline, power. wealth vs. evangelical work, asceticism
4) The Dating of Easter - Vernal Equinox:
March 21st vs. March 25th
D. The Establishment of Christian Unity
1) the Council of Whitby (664)
- decided the Easter controversy in favor of the Roman tradition
2) Theodore of Tarsus
- Archbishop of Canterbury 669
- established England's diocesan organization
III. Creation of a United England
A. Political Consolidation
- Northumbria > leading kingdom in the 7th century
- Mercia > leading kingdom in the 8th century
- prospered under two strong and able kings but they failed to
establish a line of succession leading to political instability
- Wessex > dominated in the 9th and 10th centuries
- benfitted from location which allowed for expansion;
King Egbert (802-839) succeeded in establishing a royal succession
B. The Vikings
1) Traders and raiders who first came to England to plunder
- 793 sacked the monastery of Lindisfarne
2) Then they settled
- due to land hunger and the desire to maintain their freedom as their
kings were consolidating their power
- 866 the Danes occupied East Anglia; within five years they had
overrun Northumbria and Mercia, and attacked Wessex
- Danelaw > territory settled by the Danes to which they brought
their own law, customs and language
C. Alfred the Great (871-899)
1) Became king at a time when the Danes were invading Wessex: after nine
indecisive battles he paid the Danes to leave
2) Battle of Edington (878)) > a decisive victory for King Alfred
- the Danish King accepted Christianity
- the agreed to keep his people out of Wessex
3) When the peace was broken by the Danes of East Anglia (885), Alfred:
- signed a treaty that gave the Danes the northeast and the English
the southwest
- seized London and much of Mercia
- placed on the throne of Mercia as ealdorman Ethelred, whom Alfred
married to his sister, Ethelfleda (she later ruled as Lady of the
Mercians)
4) Defensive measures taken when a new group of Danes arrived from
the continent
- the fyrds (peasant militias) and thegns were divided into two so that
half could remain militarily active while the other half tended to their
farms and estates
- burhs > a network of fortified towns were built
- a navy was constructed to prevent the Vikings from landing on
English soil
5) Reforms:
- Justice > Alfred issued a law code that included existing laws
that he thought were just as well as new laws to protect the
weaker members of society
- the Church > half his income went to the Church to bring bishops
to court as advisors and to support monasteries
- Learning > "Anglo-Saxon Renaissance"
- revival of Latin literacy and the translation of early Latin
works into English:
Pastoral Care - a handbook for bishops
Dialogues - about St. Benedict
Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation by Bede
Anglo-Saxon Chronicles?
- Establishment of schools
D. Alfred's Successors
1) Edward the Elder (899-924)
- continued advancing into Danish territory and securing the
conquest with burhs
- became king of Mercia as well as Wessex after the death of his
sister, Lady of Mercia
2) Athelstan (924-939)
captured York and established control over the north
Return to History 5A Home Page