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Home , Angles, Augustine of Canterbury, Bernicia, Danes (Germanic tribe), Deira, Harald Hardrada

The - “In the case of the , the resources and tools with which to rule are that he have his land fully manned: he must have praying men, fighting men and working men. You know also that without these tools no king may make his ability known.” King Alfred’ digressions in his of Boethius’s “Consolation of Philosophy” This module includes the following topics:

❖ Anglo-Saxon Timeline

❖ The Anglo-Saxons

❖ Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms

❖ Society and Structure

❖ Anglo-Saxon End of Anglo-Saxon ❖ Depiction of an Anglo- Kingdom Saxon King with nobles LEARNING OBJECTIVES KEY WORDS

At the end of the module, Anglo- you should be able to: Hundreds Trace the beginning and Saxon ❖ end of the Anglo-Saxon Burghs period of Saxons ❖ Map the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms

❖ Be familiar with the rule Kingdoms and succession of Anglo-Saxon kings ❖ Analyse the life and society of the Anglo- Saxons ANGLO-SAXON TIMELINE In 410, after the By 793, Danish By 597, St. Augustine, an sacking of by Viking raiders Italian , arrived in Alaric, King of the began attacking and founded a , Roman , , Benedictine at legions departed and . and converted from . the King of Kent to By 449, three Christianity. defeated the shiploads of at Edington in 878. Saxon warriors In 635, Aidan founded a led by Hengist monastery in and Horsa arrived Lindisfarne, followed by in Kent. the Synod of in 664. According to legends, King defeated the Saxons at Mount Badon in 518. ANGLO-SAXON TIMELINE 1066: A year after the of Abbey, Harold II The reign of (), King of England, defeated and Between 919 and Athelstan was Tostig at Stamford Bridge. On the other hand, William II of 920, Edward the generally () defeated Harold II at the Battle of . Elder, heir of Alfred, acknowledged became the as the first king of West of England. , Scotia, Strathclyde, and . By the end of the series of In 1016, Cnut submissions, eight was crowned British kings swore as the King of fealty to Edgar, England, Edward’s grandson. followed by in 1018. Tapestry of the Historically, the Anglo-Saxons were members of the Germanic people who inhabited territories of present-day between the until the in 1066. ANGLES SAXONS JUTES ANGLES SAXONS ANGLO-SAXONS JUTES

Based on St. the The migration was Ethnically speaking, the Anglo- Venerable, the Anglo- believed to have been Saxons were a mixture of the Saxons were prompted by the invitation who then descendants of the of the Britons’ ruler. coexisted with the and Angles, Saxons, and took fight early . In other words, the Jutes who against the threats of they were very closely related belonged to the and Scotti, people genetically, culturally and Germanic tribes. inhabiting present-day linguistically – they were all Moreover, they were . White Northwestern Europeans. described as a group of people who EAST ANGL migrated to Britain in KENT the 5th century from northern . Aside from the people, “Anglo-Saxon” is also used to refer to the period of British history from the end of the Roman occupation in 410 to the Norman conquest in 1066. In a wider sense, this time may also be called the early medieval period.

Gradually, the foreign raiders and began to settle with their families in Britain after the Roman legions departed. With little resistance from the populace of Britannia, Germanic-speaking Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and even arrived. Aside from the Celts and Britons, who inhabited areas of Britain to the foreigners, the Anglo- Saxons faced minor difficulties in settling and forming They spoke , ancestor of kingdoms. modern-day English, closely related to The term Anglo-Saxon is other of Old believed to have been first Friesian, , and Old used by writers in the 8th Norse. Before 1100, many books were century. written and read in England indicating that Anglo-Saxons were literate. Map showing the migration of the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes to Britain Based on excavation of burial sites and on Christian writings, Anglo-Saxons in the fifth and sixth centuries were pagans. Early cemeteries suggested that they favoured cremation over burial. At times, the dead were buried with grave goods. It was only in the that Christianity reached Kent through St , an Italian monk, who converted King Ethelbert. List of major Anglo- St Augustine, who was later appointed as by the , converted Saxon gods the King of Kent to Christianity. King Ethelbert gave permission to build a church in Canterbury. Christianity began to spread in other parts of God of ... Britain. Pagan temples and pagan celebrations were replaced with Christian ones. Blader Immortality Eostre Birth Love Death Loki Cunning Saxnot Family Today, the names of some of the days of the week are based on the Thunor Thunder names of Anglo-Saxons gods, including Tuesday (Tiw), Wednesday Tiw War (Woden or ), Thursday (), and Friday (Frigga or Freya). Sea Wayland Metalworking Pagans worshiped many gods Woden Chief God that they believed to have roles in their everyday life. Due to light raw materials, we have little evidence of how early Anglo-Saxons dressed. With fragments of textiles and few records of continental Germanic people, the clothing of early Anglo-Saxons was presented as below in several works of literature. MEN Evidence indicated that early Anglo-Saxon men wore a one-piece short cloak or cape made of sheepskin or fur. Both sexes were suggested to wear “hacele”, a hooded cloak. Most men wore tunics that were usually mid-thigh to knee length. Some men of wealth wore linen undershirts. Leather belts were used to hold up both the trousers and girdle the tunic.

WOMEN A basic clothing for Anglo-Saxon women was a “peplos”. Usually a tubular garment, a peplos was clasped at the shoulders through brooches and was often worn ankle length. Brooches were decorated in regional patterns. Image of early Anglo-Saxons After learning the events during the Anglo- Saxon period, answer the following questions:

❖ What were the events comprising the beginning and end of the Anglo-Saxon period?

❖ Who were the Anglo-Saxons? Where were they from? What type of people were they?

❖ Describe their way of life? ANGLO-SAXON KINGDOMS

Between 650 to 800 AD, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were established, with constant threats from rival kings there was often fighting between them.

Settled by the Jutes, Kent was probably formed from at least two smaller kingdoms. With Ethelbert as king, Kent became one of the wealthiest kingdoms in southern Britain. At the time of his reign, laws of Kent were written down as charters to be implemented.

With the establishment of Canterbury by St Augustine, subjects like poetry, astronomy, mathematics, and Greek were taught, making it a major intellectual centre. Similar to Kent, other kingdoms began to emerge. East was inhabited by the Angles: the “North Folk” (living in modern ), and the “South Folk” (living in ). It was known for its wealth as excavated at . Under the influence of the King of Kent, was, also, converted to Christianity. The opening of King Ethelbert’s law code The Sutton Hoo treasures When Mercia gained power in the , Northumbria’s included important items dominance declined. In the , Penda, a Mercian from the Byzantine king who refused to convert to Christianity, defeated two and . Northumbrian kings. During the reign of Penda, Mercia accumulated enormous wealth and military power, for a In the north, Northumbria time, Kent, Mercia, and East Anglia were ruled by one king, became the most powerful Ethelbald, who became known as the King of South kingdom in the north from English. Succeeded by King Offa, Mercia extended its the smaller kingdoms of power and seized , East Anglia, and Kent. With the and . With its death of King Offa, the Pope deposed the late king’s son strong cultural connection and abolished the archbishopric of (it replaced the with and Rome, of Canterbury). By the , East Anglia was Northumbria emerged as freed from Mercian control. the most influential Anglo- In 825, King Ecgberht of the West Saxons defeated Saxon kingdom. In 635, the Beornwulf, King of the Mercians, which resulted in the monastery on Lindisfarne transfer of overlordship of the kingdoms Kent, Sussex, was built and became the , and Essex to West Saxon (Wessex). Territorial gains under King Ethelwulf were further sealed kingdom’s cultural and with the marriage alliance to a Frankish princess and great religious centre. granddaughter of . TASK

Either use a printed blank outline map of Britain or draw your own, then draw the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms on the map and say which group of people lived in each kingdom. SOCIETY AND STRUCTURE Due to successful trade and use of land in towns and villages, England at the time of the Anglo-Saxons became one of the wealthiest kingdoms in . Upon gaining dominance in the mid , the royal family of the Kingdom of Wessex was the ROYAL FAMILY A king and his family topped the social hierarchy. As a rule, succession to the recognised throne was hereditary, however, the Witan of council of leaders also held right to English royal choose who would be the best successor amongst the royal family. family. MAJOR The who owned lands and other properties served as the king’s right hand men. Whilst not being hereditary, by the , Earls became concentrated to a few families. MINOR NOBILITY were the backbone of the Anglo-Saxon army. With loyalty and service, a received lands and the chance to be an . Also part of major nobility were FREEMEN and some churchmen. Members of the upper group of commoners who participated in local courts in times of disputes. SERFS The majority of England’s population who did not own land. They worked for others for food and shelter. Courts were also organised in hierarchy. The king had the power to appoint officials in charge of local courts in each and borough. Local courts were called ‘Hundred’ Local courts were courts, where local cases were composed of “”, heard. or groups of ten families. FAMILY FAMILY FAMILY FAMILY FAMILY FAMILY FAMILY FAMILY FAMILY FAMILY 10 They were responsible for maintaining order and enforcing laws against murder and theft. Groups of ten Tithings was known as the “Hundreds”, who each elected a . Meanwhile, a collection of Hundreds formed or . The head of was called a “shire-” or “sheriff”. Each shire was under the control of an Earl who needed to pay the king one third of collected fines or taxes. Compared to the Roman and Normans, Anglo-Saxon houses were short-lived. Materials used in housing were largely timber, leather, and textile. Major churches were the only buildings made of .

Most houses were The Anglo-Saxons both built facing the sun for domesticated and hunted heat and light. The animals for food. Moreover, biggest house in an household goods were Anglo-Saxon village made of wood, metal, and was the Hall, where pottery. They also traded the Thegn or Earl and goods like hunting dogs and his warriors lived.A slaves in exchange for glass hall was long with the and other foreign items. fire on a stone in the Villages were usually middle. Like other composed of less than 100 civilisations, villages were built near natural inhabitants. resources, such as water, wood, and /Burgh means fortress food. For protection, or fortified settlement. most villages were secured with high A reconstruction drawing of an Anglo-Saxon fences. settlement at Bishopstone. This shows a high-status courtyard house, probably of the early 9th century. In order to protect Anglo-Saxon England from the raiding Danes, Alfred the Great began the policy of fortification of towns, or . Fortified towns were built to advance the kingdom’s defense force. Most burhs protected centres of commerce and the seat of local government. In exchange for free plots of lands, settlers built fortifications. Although not as sophisticated as the Romans, Anglo-Saxon burhs were effective in protecting towns against the Vikings. Burhs were built through the following steps:

❏ Digging of very deep trench

❏ Building of wooden or stone walls

Map of burhs under King ❏ Large gates were positioned Alfred’s reign on either end of the town ANGLO-SAXON KINGS

In 946, Crowned by Upon his Edward II the brother’s death, Upon the murder of his the Martyr became half brother, Ethelred succeeded archbishop of Edgar, King in King of England Mercia and the the Unready became his brother Canterbury, in 975 and was King. Without military as king and Edwy, , murdered in 978 succeeded the skills, he was deposed brought up ’s by his half by the Viking Sweyn of Edmund’s eldest son, throne. Also brother’s known as Edgar Denmark and fled to sons Edwy faced the supporters. Normandy in 1013. He and Edgar as break away of the Peaceful, he united the English returned in 1014 after his heirs. Mercia and the death of the Viking Northumbria. kingdom with justice and order. king. Canute the Great, son of Upon the death of Canute, his sons Harold Edmund II the Sweyn, ruled as King of Harefoot and Harthacanute shared the rule of Ironside, son of England between 1016 and the kingdom. Harold took over Mercia and Ethelred, ruled the 1035 when his rivals (sons of Northumbria while his brother ruled Wessex and Danelaw previous kings) fled abroad. Denmark. When Harold died in 1040, independent of his Aside from being King of Harthacanute succeeded him until 1042. father. He became England, he was also the King the King of of and Denmark, which England from April made him the largest overlord to November in the north. 1016. Threatened by the claim of lacked necessary military skills William, , as he was brought up in exile Edward made an alliance in Normandy. Although he was with Harold, Godwin’s son. the undisputed king, he had a Harold led the king’s army. rival in the person of Godwin While on his deathbed, of Wessex, one of Canute’s Edward named Harold as powerful Earls. In order to seal his successor. an alliance, Edward married Invited by his brother Godwin’s daughter, Edith, in During his reign, Edward Hardicanute, Edward, 1045. However, Godwin defied became known as a simple son of Ethelred to his Edward and assembled his king who did not live off the second wife , own army. As a result, Godwin revenues of his own land. became the King of was sent into exile abroad. With deep religiosity, he England in 1042. The appointment of Normans ordered the building of at court also began. , where he was buried in 1066. Edward’s brother-in- law, Both Harald and Tostig Harold Godwinson, was were killed in the confirmed by the battle. Meanwhile, (king’s William, who claimed council) as Earl of to be Edward’s Wessex and King of successor, in 1066 England on 6, 1066, the day after sailed to Sussex. On Edward’s death. King October 14, 1066, Harold’s throne was Harold was defeated at threatened by William, the Battle of Hastings, Duke of Normandy and which ended the Harald, King of Norway. Anglo-Saxon rule of In September 1066, England. The Duke of Harold Godwinson from the Harald Hardrada and Normandy then Tostig (King Harold’s became known as brother) invaded William the Conqueror. England, but were later defeated. After learning about the Anglo-Saxon kings, answer the following questions: Choose an Anglo-Saxon king that strikes you the most and Who was the most notable ❖ write a short biographical Anglo-Saxon king? narrative about him. ❖ What did you notice on the rule of succession?

❖ How significant were the reigns of Edward the Confessor and Harold Godwinson? THE END OF THE ANGLO-SAXON KINGDOM

By the beginning of the , the was challenged by conquests; first by Canute in 1016; and second by William of Normandy in 1066, which also ended the Anglo-Saxon rule of England.

Following the Norman Anglo-Saxon commoners conquest of England, learned Norman French to Anglo-Saxon nobility were understand the new ruler, whilst either exiled or lowered many still spoke Old English. By down to peasantry. By 1200, scholars called Anglo- 1087, it was estimated that only 8 percent of the total Saxon English “”. English land remained to Moreover, nearly all Anglo- be under Anglo-Saxon Saxon abbeys and control. Lords were were replaced with Norman- replaced by Normans and inspired architecture. It took Anglo-Saxon soldiers were about a decade for William the used as mercenaries, Conqueror to consolidate his Bayeux tapestry depicting the Battle of mostly in the Byzantine kingdom. Hastings, 1066 Empire. After learning how the Anglo-Saxon period ended, answer the following questions:

❖ Who was William the Make a timeline highlighting the reign Conqueror? of Edward the Confessor, the battle for

❖ How did Harold the throne, and the Battle of Hastings. Godwinson become King of England?

❖ What were the changes brought by the Norman conquest of England?