Anglo-Saxon period

The Saxons, Angles and Jutes, drawn by Britains prosperity, began to attack the island during the decay of the Roman Empire, and by the 5th century AD they started to settle. The Jutes settled in Kent, the Saxons mainly in Essex and Sussex, while the Angles settled along the east coast. Over a period of two centuries, waves of these Germanic tribes continued to arrive, thus pushing the Britons further north and west of the island, what became Scotland and Wales. The territory was organized under a number of different kingdoms, seven of which are referred altogether as The Heptarchy, namely Essex, Sussex, Wessex, Middlesex, East Anglia, Northumbria and Mercia. By mid 750s, King Offa of Mercia, the most powerful kingdom of that time, claimed the kingship of the English. However, the power of Mercia did not outlive Offas death because Saxon people still believed loyalty to kin was more important than loyalty to the king. But things were undergoing change, and they would continue to do so until the situation was completely the opposite.

Government and Society Among the institutions the Saxons created to strengthen the English state, was the Witan, a group of important warriors and clergymen from which the king got advice. Around the 900s, The Witan had evolved into a formal body which passed laws and whose support to the king was of vital importance for the latter to remain in power. The land was divided into shires, a new form of division administered by a shire reeve. These areas remained the same for thousands of years. The Anglo-Saxons introduced a co-operative way of ploughing. It consisted in the division of the village into big fields, which were divided into long narrow strips. Each family was entitled to a number of those strips. What families shared was the team of oxen that dragged the bigger ploughs, more convenient for heavy soils. Every district had a manor house where local people paid their taxes, justice was done, arrangements were made for the cultivation of the land, and men met to join the fyrd, the Anglo-Saxon army. This organization gave birth to the manorial system and the class division.

Christianity: the partnership of Church and state Britain had been Christian under the rule of the Roman Empire, but as the new settlers, who belonged to a Germanic religion, established in England, Christianity was confined to the Celtic areas. Under this circumstance, Pope Gregory sent Monk Augustine to try and re-install Romes religion. His mission was a success when it came to powerful families, but that was not the case with the common people. The Celtic Church was the institution that spread Christianity among the ordinary people because their monks went from village to village teaching the religion. The differences between the two churches had to be settled and that was when then king of Northumbria resolved to give his support to the Roman Church. Both kings and Church benefited from this partnership: kings promoted Churchs growth and, in turn, they received Gods approval. King Alfred, who reigned from 871-899, made an extensive use of the Church. He had the educated men belonging to the church establish a system of law, educate the people and write down important matters.

The Vikings Britains wealth by the end of the 8th century lured more invaders coming from Denmark and Norway. When they conquered and settled, the Vikings readily adopted Christian faith without disturbing the local inhabitants. Anglo-Saxon kingdoms did not succeed in trying to keep the Vikings out of England, except for King Alfred. He was able to capture London and make a treaty with the Vikings. They ruled the north and east of England under the Danelaw. Elsewhere in the country, Alfred was the acknowledged king. When peace seemed to be re-established, by the end of the 10th century, Vikings began to move to the west. Ethelred, the Saxon King of the time, kept them at bay by paying them money he collected from people trough a tax. This set the starting point for a system of taxes that would constitute the resource to provide for armies.

After Ethelred death, a Viking leader, Cnut, was proclaimed king. The Witan decision was made in order to prevent disorder. When Cnut died in 1035, the Witan decided one of Ethelreds sons should be king. Edward, the new king, gave more importance to Church than to kingship. His reign left a legacy of churches in almost every village, but no heir to succeed him. This time, the Witan chose Harold to be king. Harold was of no royal descent but he was brave, capable, and, most importantly, he was Saxon. Duke William of Normandy challenged Harold arguing his right to the throne was twofold: Edward had promised it to him and Harold had promised not to claim it. Besides, the Danish Vikings were also claiming the English throne. Harolds army was able to defeat the Vikings in Yorkshire but they were outnumbered by Williams soldiers, who also had better arms and fought on horses. William defeated and killed Harold near Hastings. On 25th December 1066, William was crowned king of England in Westminster Abbey, giving way to a new period in British history.