To Find out About the End of the Anglo-Saxon and Viking Era In

Vikings vs Anglo-Saxons

Learning Objective: To ﬁnd out about the end of the Anglo-Saxon and Viking era in Britain.

www.planbee.com Can you remember what signiﬁcant event happened in 1016?

www.planbee.com In 1016, the Anglo-Saxon king Edmund died, leaving England under the control of the Danish King Cnut. The Anglo- Saxon kingdoms of Wessex and Merica, as well as the Danelaw, were now under the control of a single king for the ﬁrst time. Cnut was also King of Denmark and ruled much of Norway too.

www.planbee.com In the same century, there was another signiﬁcant date in history that would change England forever. The year was 1066.

Do you know why this year was so signiﬁcant?

www.planbee.com During Cnut’s reign, he split England into four earldoms, appointing two Viking earls and two Anglo-Saxon earls. After his death in 1035, there were disagreements about who should be king and seven years of war followed. Eventually, the Witan (the Grand Council) decided that Edward, son of Ethelred the Unready, should be king.

Ethelred had been sent into exile to Normandy to escape the Danish King Sveyn and his attacks on England. Edward had gone with him. Ethelred returned in 1014 when Sveyn died but Edward remained in Normandy. He returned in 1041 and became king in 1042.

www.planbee.com During Edward’s reign, England became the strongest kingdom in Europe. Its towns grew, the army was strong and there were ﬂeets of ships always ready to defend the ports if needed. Westminster Abbey

Edward was a very pious man who spent much of his time in prayer. This earned him the name ‘Edward the Confessor’. It was Edward who commissioned the building of Westminster Abbey in London. The building work began around 1050 and the abbey still stands today. www.planbee.com However, when Edward died in 1066, yet again there were disputes about who should have the crown. Edward died leaving no children behind and there was no one in the royal family to take over as king. England’s throne would be given to whoever had the strongest claim to it.

Edward was buried in the newly-built Westminster Abbey.

www.planbee.com Three men, amongst others, stepped forward as having a claim to the English throne after Edward’s death: Harold Hardrada William Duke of Normandy Harold Godwinson

King of Norway and son of Edward’s cousin. He claimed Earl of Wessex whose King Harthacnut who had Edward had promised him sister had married Edward, been King of England the throne in 1051. This making them brothers-in- immediately before may have been as a thank law. He was a powerful Edward. He claimed his you for the protection of man in his own right in father promised him the Edward and his mother by England and commanded throne. the Normans. the king’s army.

www.planbee.com On Edward’s deathbed, he had named Harold Godwinson as his successor. He knew that England would have wanted an Englishman on the throne instead of one from Norway or Normandy.

Given what you know about this time, how do you think William of Normandy would have reacted when he realised that Edward had broken his promise and not named him as king?

www.planbee.com William gathered an army to attack England and try and claim the throne. By now, Harold Godwinson had been crowned King Harold II. Harold had to deal with the threat of attacks from Norway and from Normandy. Tostig, Harold’s brother who had also tried to claim the throne, teamed up with Harold Hardrada.

Hardrada set sail from Norway with 500 ships. On the way, he was joined by Tostig’s ships and they sailed towards York.

www.planbee.com The Battle of Stamford Bridge

In York, the English were defeated by Hardrada and his army. King Harold decided he needed to travel north. He reached York in just four days, taking the Norwegians by surprise. At the Battle of Stamford Bridge on 25th September 1066, both Hardrada and Tostig were killed in battle and King Harold was victorious. www.planbee.com Meanwhile, William was planning his attack. On 28th September, William and his army landed in Sussex. They marched east along the coast to Hastings where they began to wreak havoc. William’s plan was to lure Harold to him.

As soon as Harold heard that William had landed in England, he gathered his weary army together and headed south. On the way, he stopped in London to gather more troops. William had a troop of 7,500 men. Harold now had 8,000.

www.planbee.com The two armies met on 14th October 1066 and the Battle of Hastings began. The ﬁghting lasted for more than eight hours. For a long time, it seemed as though Harold had the upper hand. The Normans were becoming weary and rumours were spreading that William had been killed. However, William showed his face by removing his helmet. This was the push the Normans needed to renew their focus and energy. www.planbee.com By the afternoon, both sides had suffered many losses. Harold’s army was poised at the top of a summit with William’s army attacking from below. The Normans began to back down the hill and it looked like they were retreating.

The Anglo-Saxons started charging after them but were taken by surprise when the Normans turned and attacked. They managed to break the English line and from then on, the battle was going in their favour. www.planbee.com During the afternoon, King Harold was killed. The story tells that he was hit in the eye with an arrow and then killed by a Norman swordsman.

www.planbee.com Harold’s death disheartened his men and spurred William’s men on. Eventually, the Normans won the Battle of Hastings. After the battle, William marched towards London, dealing harshly with any opposition to his claim as king, even burning down whole villages. In London, he met with the Archbishop of York as well as other important people. They knew they could not defeat William’s army so they offered him the crown.

www.planbee.com William was crowned King of England on 25th December 1066. Over the next few years, he had to deal with several rebellions from other parts of England but eventually peace was established and the Norman conquest of England was complete. William I of England became commonly known as William the Conqueror.

There had been lots of invasions and conquests in Britain before 1066. Why is this one so important?

www.planbee.com The Norman conquest of England ended the Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the kingdom of England. England was now a uniﬁed kingdom under the control of one monarch, just as it is today. The Norman conquest began a new era in England with changes to laws and customs which eventually led to the new feudal system. This system worked on loyalty and helped to keep England united.

It also meant that England was now How do YOU more closely linked with France and think England the rest of Europe than it was with would be Scandinavia. Some historians think different if the that if Harold had won the Battle of Battle of Hastings had Hastings instead of William, England been won by today would be much more like Norway Harold? or Denmark than like the England we know today.