The TEUTONIC INVASIONS of CELTIC BRITAIN
A Good Look Into The Beginnings
of
England, English, and The English People
Based on sources created by Angelcynn.
Edition and Design created by meister_z
In 410 A.D. the Roman legions were recalled to Rome to defend it against barbarian attacks, and Britain was left to fend for itself. The rulers of Britain after 410 are referred to as 'tyrants' because their authority had no legitimacy in Roman eyes. Having no armies left, the Britons were left open to attack from the Picts from northern Britain (probably by sea down the east coast, for the Picts are described in one Late Roman source as a sea-going people, just like the Saxons). With this situation we find the following:
'449 -- In this year Mauricius and Valentinian obtained the Kingdom and reigned seven years. In their days Hengest1 and Horsa, invited by Vortigern, King of the Britons, came to Britain at a place called Ebbsfleet at first to help the Britons defend themselves against the Picts, but later to fight against them. The king had ordered them to fight against the Picts, and so they did and had victory wherever they came. They were then sent to Angeln [i.e. Denmark] under orders to send more aid; but they also told of the "worthlessness" of the Britons and of the excellence of the land. Aid did come to Britain. These men came from three nations of Germany: from the Old Saxons, from the Angles, from the Jutes. From the Jutes came the people of Kent and the people of the Isle of Wight -- that is the race which now dwells in the Isle of Wight, and the race among the West Saxons which is still called the race of the Jutes. From the Old Saxons came the East Saxons and South Saxons and West Saxons. From Angeln, which has stood waste ever since between the Jutes and the Saxons, came the East Angles, Middle Angles, Mercians and all the Northumbrians.' When the Picts were finally defeated, Hengest (who died in 488) and Horsa settled in Kent; but it was in 455 AD that they revolted against the Britons, and Horsa was killed in the attempt.
This account of the migrations from Germany, following the collapse of the Roman Empire, is taken from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, and is how the later Anglo-Saxons saw the first arrival of their people. Since then, until quite recently, it has remained the accepted view of what happened. However, recent researches have cast new light on other facts and events as well. Although Hengest may have been the first Germanic chieftain of Kent, he was, in the end, probably no more than a willful warlord. The first "truer" Germanic king was (probably) his son Oisc, giving the Kentish royal house the name of the 'Oiscingas'. Whilst it may be true that a British king, Vortigern, employed Germanic mercenaries to aid him in his battles against the Picts, it would certainly not be the first instance of Germanic settlers in this country. It is known that Germanic troops had been stationed in this country by the Romans since at least the middle of the third century -- it is also known that some of these troops eventually settled in this country -- and small groups of Germanic pirates were occasionally raiding Britain from at least this date too. So the 'excellence of the land' would have already been well known by then on the continent. Archaeology has shown that by the late fourth century (380 B.C.) Germanic mercenaries were to be found settled all along the east coast of Britain, and along the banks of the Thames River at least as far as Oxfordshire. The Briton 'tyrants' also feared a Roman invasion from Gaul (Roman for France) to remove them, so some of the Saxons stationed in southern England may have been a guard against Roman military intervention. It is also known that the peoples who made up the 'Anglo-Saxons' were far more varied than just the three groups mentioned - but, of course, anyone with a little imagination and historical background information would already expect this, since we should perhaps avoid interpreting such ancient accounts so LITERALLY.
Certainly there were the "Traditional" Jutes from Jutland and from the Frankish Rhineland,2 the Saxons (from northern Germany in the region of Holstein) and the Angles (from southern Denmark and particularly the region of Schleswig), and these may have formed the bulk of the migrating peoples. But there were also the Frisians (from the Low Countries -- the Frisian language shared in all the more important sound changes which distinguish English from German on the one hand and the Scandinavian languages on the other). Also came the Geats (from Gotland and south-east Sweden), the Franks (from northern France and central Germany), the Wends in very few numbers (from the southern Baltic lands), the Swedes (another important part of contributors to change in what was to become Angle-Land through the following decades or century), the Norwegians, and one or two stray clans from elsewhere (but insignificant in the Cultural and Linguistic scheme which was about to take place shortly after). The significant "national" origins have already been mentioned. The newcomers were not so much invaders as NEW OCCUPANTS who at times fought against the Britons -- or as the Invaders called them the wealas , an Anglo-Saxon (Old English) word meaning slave or foreigner. Curious attitude and viewpoint, but very Anglo-Saxon indeed, to look on the legitimate residents or inhabitants of another land they are invading or systematically occupying as the "Foreigners" or "Slaves," when it is THEY who are the foreign entities forcing their entry under their own imposition. Moreover, in many areas not far from the coastlines of Britannia (Britain) much of the settlement was peaceful with some Germanic-Danish farmers and craftsmen integrating themselves into existing communities. The numbers of the "invaders" was certainly large at times, and they certainly did affect the nature of Bretisc (Briton) society, even to the extent of replacing in protracted manner the primary Celtic language. They did not wipe out the aboriginal inhabitants of the land, although there were thousands of deaths involved, along with rape, looting, and appropriation (as all invasions do in the end). At first, the arrival of the initial hordes was violent and bloody, but as the decades flew by, they realized that assimilation and blending would be a more effective strategy. Nevertheless, there were not always Bretisc communities who were too willing to let the invaders simply come in and take over their lives, and thus resistance and fight were inevitable outcomes. On the other hand, it is certainly NOT true that the Celts were, nor ever have been, a weak nor a compliant or complacent lot. On the contrary, they were a highly nationalized and hearty race always pressing onward in their struggle for their lands and survival.
Whatever the assumed or inferred "facts" may be, it is more likely than not that there were in actuality a mixture of all the speculations and conjectures which have been handed down to us in recent years by the "experts" in the field. The fact is that in some regions and places the native Britons were entirely, or almost entirely, replaced by the newcomers, while in other places the two peoples lived side by side, gradually blending in with each other through miscegenation. Still, in other places, especially the more remote regions to the north, the population remained almost exclusively Bretisc, although these "British" people gradually adopted some of the ways and parts of the language of the invaders. (This gave rise to the modern English speaker who still retains the ancient mother tongue and genetic or national character of that remote and venerable past.) Here is an extraordinary fact and principle of invasions and occupations which allow for the COEXISTENCE of both races. This was precisely the "miracle" of the British island which came later to be called "England." The Britons and the "Anglo-Saxon" occupants and newcomers both allowed for the blending of customs, actions, traditions, and community actions -- LANGUAGE, only to some extent. For, it was with the passing of Time that essentially the Anglo-Saxon mixture of the invaders' dialects merged to reshape and give rise to the incipient language form now known as ENGLISH. In brief, with the passing of the decades and Evolutionary Time, ANGLO-SAXON originated (now named "Old English" by linguistic study); and it was this ultimate product which united the British peoples in the end. As time went on, Old English evolved further from the original Continental form, and regional dialects developed. The four major dialects recognized in Old English are Kentish, originally the dialect spoken by the Jutes; West Saxon, a branch of the dialect spoken by the Saxons; and Northumbrian and Mercian, subdivisions of the dialects spoken by the Angles. By the 9th century, partly through the influence of Alfred, king of the West Saxons and the first ruler of all England, West Saxon became prevalent in prose literature. A Mercian mixed dialect, however, was primarily used for the greatest poetry, such as the anonymous 8th-century epic poem Beowulf and the contemporary elegiac poems.
Old English was an inflected language (one with a great many grammatical endings) characterized by "strong" and "weak" verbs; a dual number for pronouns (for example, a form for "we two" as well as "we"), two different declensions of adjectives, four declensions of nouns, and grammatical distinctions of gender. Although very rich in word-building possibilities, Old English was sparse in vocabulary, though. It borrowed few proper nouns from the language of the conquered Celts, primarily those such as Aberdeen ("mouth of the Dee") and Inchcape ("island cape") that describe geographical features. Linguists believe that ten common nouns in Old English are of Celtic origin; among these are bannock, cart, down, and mattock. Although other Celtic words not preserved in literature may have been in use during the Old English period, most Modern English words of Celtic origin, that is, those derived from Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, or Irish, are comparatively recent borrowings.
Whatever the nature of the influx of Germanic peoples, we know that it did not happen overnight and that it was not entirely peaceful. Fifty years after the traditional arrival of Hengest and Horsa3 there was still fighting going on for control of the land. Some of this was between the Britons and the invaders. This was the time of Ambrosius Aurelianus (probably the King Arthur of legend), a Romano-British Chieftain. Some of the fighting of the times was between the different Teutonic (Germanic) tribes themselves, each struggling for supremacy. Around the year 500 A.D. the Britons (probably under the leadership of Ambrosius Aurelianus) won a great victory at Mons Badonicus, known today as Mount Badon, which halted the tide of Germanic invaders to such an extent that several continental sources show the Germanic expansion switched to northern "Frankia" in the Teutonic lands(including people from Britain itself). It also seems to be that it was at this time that many Britons left Britain for northern Gaul (France) and turned the peninsula of Armorica into Brittany. For about half a century there was relative peace with British rule over the western half of the country and Germanic rule in the east, and it seems probable that the Britons may even have won back some parts of central England from the invaders (a fact the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles seems to cover up). It was already the times of the Kings and their pugnacious endeavor for extension or supremacy. By the middle of the fifth century, the Teutons (Germans) started a second wave of colonization that ended with most of lowland Britain under the control of many Germanic 'kings' who founded many of the later kingdoms. Thus the Britsh lowlands were ruled by the Teutonic chieftains and the British culture was relegated to the western fringes of the country in Dumnonia (Devon and Cornwall) and Wales (the name of which is derived from the word wealas mentioned above). In the north there was the British kingdom of Strathclyde and the independent British kingdom of Elmet which stretched westwards for many miles from the marshes at the head of the Humber, and separated the Angles of the northern Midlands from those of the plain of York. This division led to the fact that the occasional king who managed to gain supremacy over the other tribes, in Old English the Bretwalda, became known as 'King of all England South of the Humber'. The first of these Bretwalda was Ælle, king of Sussex from 477 AD, and the second was Ceawlin, king of Wessex from 560 AD. It is also why the Germanic peoples living north of the Humber are recorded as the Nordanhymbroron gens, or Northumbrians, whilst the Germanic peoples living between the Humber and the English Channel are referred to as Sutangli, or Southern English (the earliest case of the North/South divide). The Northumbrian Angles were divided into two main kingdoms -- the Dere (Deirans) and Bernice (Bernicians). The Southern English comprised the Lindisfaran (Kingdom of Lindsey -- which may have been founded as a combined British/Germanic kingdom several decades before the traditional Germanic invasion), the Mierce (Mercians), the Eastengle (East Angles), the Eastseaxe (Essex), the West Seaxe (Wessex), the Suthseaxe (Sussex), the Middelseaxan (Middlesex), the Cantware (Men of Kent), Wihtland (people of the Isle of Wight), Hwicce (Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and western Warwickshire) and a loose confederation of small tribes known as the Middle Angles in central England. But in the end, the Anglo-Saxon settlement was comprised of seven kingdoms known as the the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy:
Kent,
Essex,
Sussex,
Wessex,
East Anglia,
Mercia,
and Northumbria.
And, thus, Ancient Britain, ANGLO-SAXON BRITAIN, had been born.
The Germanic peoples who, in the days of the Roman Empire, had occupied territory stretching from Scandinavia to the Danube, from Gaul to beyond the Vistula, shared a common heritage. Although similar in many ways to the Celtic peoples, their culture was distinctly different. For example they spoke various dialects of a Germanic language (not the Gaelic language of the Celts) and they worshipped the Northern, not the Roman or Celtic, gods. The war-oriented, Teutonic lifestyle had become traditional amongst the "tribes." They shared, according to Tacitus, a veneration for the prophetic powers of women and a predilection for feasting and drinking. These traditional features of Teutonic culture were transmitted to their descendants by the Germans who settled in Britain. They were celebrated by Anglo-Saxons to such an extent that we can find the ancient themes in literary works composed as late as the tenth century A.D., long after the disappearance of a tribal society.
Various German peoples demonstrably retained features in common although they were settled over a wide geographical area and long period of time, and nourished their 'barbarian' culture despite the proximity of the Roman Empire. This lack of change is useful to us when studying the early Germanic Immigrants, since their illiteracy for a century and a half after settlement inevitably leaves a gap in the British historical record, a gap that can be filled, at least partially, by written accounts from outside observers. For example, Tacitus' Germania gives us many details of life amongst the Germanic tribes, as do other classical texts, still preserved and still available.
Footnotes
1 Hengest is known from two other literary sources BEOWULF and 'The Finnesburgh Fragment,' so he certainly did exist, but as the names 'Hengest' and 'Horsa' both mean 'horse', it is possible that Horsa was just an alternative name for Hengest. Return
2 It is probable that although the leaders of the Jutes had originated in Jutland, they had served as mercenaries in Frisia and the Rhineland. As such, their followers would have been a mixture of North Danish Jutes and Frankish Frisians from the Rhineland. Return
3 Hengest is known from two other literary sources BEOWULF and 'The Finnesburgh Fragment,' so he certainly did exist, but as the names 'Hengest' and 'Horsa' both mean 'horse', it is possible that Horsa was just an alternative name for Hengest. Return
References
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles - Anne Savage; N. Garmonsway
Anglo-Saxon England - Sir Frank Stenton
The Anglo-Saxons - James Graham-Campbell
Germania - Tacitus
The Anglo-Saxon World - Kevin Cossley-Holland
The Kings of Anglo-Saxon England
Following are lists and charts of the kings of the seven major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms that we have knowledge of (based on the Old English (Anglo-Saxon Chronicles and surviving related documents. Additionally you will find a chart of the kings who ruled all of England before the Norman Conquest. There were many smaller kingdoms, but little is known of most of these beyond their names, and most were absorbed by the larger kingdoms as time went by. Also included are some of the more important kings of the Britons and the Vikings. Finally, you will also have a meister_z graph listing the English Kings dating from Egbert, who reigned from 829-839 AD, through Henry I, who reigned from 1100-1135, approximately when the END of the Anglo-Saxon Period initiated -- thus making way to the commencement of the Middle English Period. A long way from the beginnings of the English Language with the Teutonic Invasions, back in 390-449 AD. But, by now, England had become a true country, and its inhabitants had rooted jealously to the lands and thus become one united and powerful nation. The end of Anglo-Saxon England had arrived, but not the end to the development of the now strong English nation and its forceful History. The Norman Invasion in 1066 had marked the preparation for yet another Cultural and Linguistic era. William of Normandy, the Norman King from Normandy in France, had invaded Anglo-Saxon England by landing at Pevensey on September 28, 1066, forcing the Anglo-Saxon king, King Harold, to take arms to defend the English lands. King Harold thought it would be a simpler matter than it turned out to be -- for, on October 14 of the same year (1066), Harold lost his life at the vanquishing hands of William of Normandy. Thus, the new routes for England and the English people were now set, and things would still greatly change, the Language being one of the most prominent and enduring.
Kent | Sussex | Wessex | Northumbria
| East Anglia | Mercia | Essex
|'Kings of All England' | Other Important Kings |
Bottom
| The Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Kent equates approximately with the modern county of Kent and the South-Eastern part of greater London. It was under Mercian Overlordship from about 784-793 and 796-825. From 825-860 it was under the overlordship of Wessex, often with a member of the West Saxon line ruling it as a sub-king. From about 860 onwards it was fully absorbed into Wessex. | |
|
Hengist (c. 455-488) |
Eardwulf (725-?) |
|
Æsc (c. 488-512) |
Eadbert (d. c. 762) |
|
Octa (c. 512-540) |
Æthelbert II (d. c. 762) |
|
Eormenric (c. 540-565) |
Sigered (c. 762-763) |
|
Æthelberht I (565-616) |
Eanmund (c. 763) |
|
Eadbald (616-640) |
Heahbert (c. 764-765) |
|
Earconbert (640-664) |
Egbert II (fl. c. 779) |
|
Egbert I (664-673) |
Ealhmund (fl. c. 784) |
|
Hlothere (673-685) |
Eadbert (c. 793-796) |
|
Eadric (685-686) |
Æthelwulf (825-839, 856-858) |
|
Wihtred (690-725) |
|
| The Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Sussex equates approximately with the modern counties of East and West Sussex, but excluding the area around Hastings, which appears to have been a separate kingdom known as Hæstingas (although this may have been a sub-kindom of Sussex, or even Kent). It was under Mercian Overlordship from about 770-825. From 825-860 it was under the overlordship of Wessex. From about 860 onwards it was fully absorbed into Wessex. | |
|
Ælle (c. 477-491) |
Æthelbert (fl. c. 750) |
|
Æthelwold (fl. c. 660) |
Osmund (fl. c. 760) |
|
Æthelwalh (fl. c. 675) |
Oswald (fl. c. 767) |
|
Nothelm (aka Nunna) (d. c. 702) |
Oslac (fl. c. 770) |
|
Watt (c. 702 - ?) |
Aldwulf (fl. c. 773) |
|
Æthelstan (fl. c. 715) |
|
| The Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Wessex had it's heartland in the area of the modern county of Hampshire, although by the time of Ine it covered all of the country south of the river Thames from the borders of Kent and Sussex to the Tamar River (by the 10th century even the Kingdom of Dumnonia, west of the Tamar, was under West Saxon rule). By the middle of the tenth century the kings of the royal house of Wessex became the rulers of the the whole of England. | |
|
Cerdic (c. 519-534) |
Cuthred (740-756) |
|
Cynric (c. 534-560) |
Sigeberht (756-757) |
|
Ceawlin (c. 560-593) |
Cynewulf (757-786) |
|
Ceol (c. 593-597) |
Beorhtric (786-802) |
|
Ceolwulf (c.597-611) |
Egbert (802-839) |
|
Cynegils (c. 611-642) |
Æthelwulf (839-856) |
|
Cenwealh (c. 642-672) |
Æthelbald (856-860) |
|
Queen Seaxburh (c. 672-673) |
Æthelberht (860-866) |
|
Æscwine (c. 673-676) |
Æthelred I (866-871) |
|
Centwine (676-685) |
Alfred 'the Great' (871-899) |
|
Cædwalla (685-688) |
Edward I 'the Elder' (899-924) |
|
Ine (688-726) |
Æthelstan (924-939) |
|
Æthelheard (726-740) |
Edmund I 'the Magnificent' (939-946) |
| The Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria was originally just a coastal strip on the North-east coast ov Britain. Between the sixth and eighth centuries it expanded until it stretched from the east coast to the west coast, and from the River Humber to the Firth of Forth. Northumbria was made up of two seperate kingdoms, Diera in the south and Bernicia in the north. Sometimes these kingdoms were ruled by two seperate kings, sometimes by one. This division also led to many civil wars in Northumbria. Northumbria suffered heavily in the Viking invasions, and the Kingdom of Diera formed the nucleus of Viking Northumbria. | |
|
Ida (c. 547-560) |
Osric (719-729) |
|
Ælle I (c. 560-588) |
Ceolwulf (729-737) |
|
Æthelric (c. 568-572) |
Eadbert (737-758) |
|
Theodric (c. 572-579) |
Æthelwold Moll (758-765) |
|
Frithuwald (c. 579-585) |
Alchred (765-774) |
|
Hussa (c. 585-593) |
Æthelred I (774-779) |
|
Æthelfrith (c. 593-616) |
Ælfwald I (779-788) |
|
Ælfric (c599-616) |
Osred II (788-790) |
|
Edwin (616-633) |
Æthelred I (790-796) |
|
Osric I (633) |
Osbald (796-797) |
|
Eanfrith (633-634) |
Eardwulf (797-806) |
|
Oswald (634-642) |
Ælfwald II (806-808) |
|
Oswiu (642-670) |
Eanred (808-840) |
|
Oswine (642-651) |
Redwulf (843-844) |
|
Æthelwald (650-671) |
Æthelred II (844-849) |
|
Ecgfrith (671-685) |
Osbert (849-863) |
|
Aldfrith (685-705) |
Ælle II (863-867) |
|
Eadwulf (705-706) |
Egbert I (867-872) |
|
Osred (706-717) |
Ricsige (872-876) |
|
Coenred (717-719) |
Egbert II (876-878) |
| The Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of East Anglia equates with the modern counties of Suffolk ('the south folk') and Norfolk ('the north folk'). Very little is known about it's early history, although it's ruling family in the late sixth and early seventh century was known as the 'Wuffingas' and may well have been of Swedish rather than German or Danish descent like most of the other Anglo-Saxon royal lines. Despite this, most of it's population appears to have been Anglian in origin. The kingdom was taken over almost intact in the Viking invasions. | |
|
Wehha (fl. c. 575) |
Hun (fl. c. 750) |
|
Wuffa (fl. c. 590) |
Beonna (fl. c. 754) |
|
Tytila (fl. c. 605) |
Alberht (fl. c. 757) |
|
Rædwald (?615-625) |
Æthelred (fl, c. 765-770) |
|
Ragenhere (625-628) |
Æthelberht (?-789) |
|
Sigberht (628-632) |
Æthelstan (fl. c. 820-825) |
|
Anna (632-651) |
Æthelweard (?-855) |
|
Æthelhere (651-653) |
Edmund (855-870) |
|
Æthelwald (653-661) |
?Oswald (870-875) |
|
Aldwulf (661-?) |
Guthrum (875-890) |
|
Alfwold (?-748) |
|
| The origins of Mercia are obscure, although it probably started out as a small kingdom roughly equating to modern Warwikshire sometime in the fifth century. By the beginning of the eighth century it had expanded considerably taking in the whole of the midlands, from the Thames to the Humber. By the late eighth century the Mercian kings held power over almost all of the other kingdoms. During the Viking invasions the kingdom was split with the Anglo-Saxons retaining the western half and the Vikings contolling the eastern half (the Five Boroghs). From the late ninth century onwards western Mercia was under the overlordship of the West Saxon kings. | |
|
Icel (?-c. 584) |
Ecgfrith (796-797) |
|
Creoda (c. 584-592) |
Cenwlf (797-821) |
|
Pybba (c. 592-606) |
Ceolwulf I (821-823) |
|
Ceorl (c. 606-633) |
Beornwulf (823-825) |
|
Penda (633-655) |
Ludeca (825-827) |
|
Paeda (655-658) |
Wiglaf (827-840) |
|
Wulfhere (658-675) |
Beorhtwulf (840-852) |
|
Æthelred I (675-704) |
Burgred (852-874) |
|
Cenred (704-709) |
Ceolwulf II (874-883) |
|
Coelred (709-716) |
Æthelred II (883-911) |
|
Æthelbald (716-757) |
Æthelflæd (911-918) |
|
Offa 'the Great' (757-796) |
|
| The Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Essex equates approximately with the modern county of Essex and the north-Eastern part of greater London. Very little is known about the kings of Essex apart from some of their names. It seems that by about 600AD the kingdom of Essex had absorbed the kingdom of the Middle Saxons (modern Middlesex). At several times in its history it appears to have been ruled by two kings at the same time, perhaps with one ruling Essex proper and the other ruling Middlesex. It was under Mercian Overlordship from about 730 until the Viking invasions of the 9th century. | |
|
Sledda (fl. c. 580) |
Offa (?-710) |
|
Sæberht (?- c.616) |
Sælred (710-?) |
|
Sigbert I 'the small' (fl. c. 640) |
Swebert (fl. c. 733) |
|
Sigberht II (fl. 660) |
Swithred (fl. c. 750) |
|
Swidhelm (fl. c.675) |
Sigeric (fl. c. 783) |
|
Sighere & Sebbi (fl. c.680) |
Sigered (fl. c. 800-805) |
|
Sighard & Swefred (fl. c.685) |
|
'Kings of All England
South of the Humber'
The "Bretwalda"
(the Anglo-Saxon Title)
| Until 1014 these kings were all of the royal house of Wessex. However, from 1014-1042 there was a series of Viking kings ruling England. The rule reverted to the West Saxon royal line in 1042. | |
|
Eadred (946-955) |
Edmund II 'Ironside' (1016) |
|
Eadwig 'the All Fair' (955-959) |
Cnut 'the Great' (1016-1035) |
|
Edgar 'the Peacable' (959-975) |
Harold I 'Harefoot' (1035-1040) |
|
Edward II 'the Martyr' (975-978) |
Harðacnut (1040-1042) |
|
Æthelred II 'Unræd' (978-1016) |
Edward III 'the Confessor' (1042-1066) |
|
Swein 'Forkbeard' (1014) |
Harold II 'Godwinsson' (1066) |
|
Vortigern (fl. c. 425-450) |
Ingeld (fl. c. 902-907) |
|
Ambrosius Aurelianus (5th century?) |
Erik Bloodaxe (d. 954) |
|
Arthur (5th century?) |
Choose One for Review
|
Kent | Sussex | Wessex | Northumbria
|
The above information was based on the sources created by Angelcynn.
ENGLISH HISTORY and CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
_______________________________________________________________________
KINGS and MONARCHY
º
-PAGE 1-
_______________________________________________________________________
Name Reign º Name Reign
º
SAXONS º
º
*Egbert 829-839 º*Aethelred the Unready 978-1016
755-839 º 965?8-1016
º Aethelred II
Ethelwulf 839-858 º Ruling at the height of Danish
º power, fled in 1013 upon Sweyn's &
Ethelbald 858-860 º Canute's attempt to conquer England
º but was reinstated in 1014 w/
Ethelbert 860-866 º Sweyne's death that year.
Alfred's brother º
º
Ethelred 866-871 º*Edmund II (Ironside) 1016
Ethelbert's kin º Son to Aethelred the Unready.
º Fought Danes until his decisive
*Alfred the Great 871-899 º defeat at Assandun, where he agreed
849-899 º to a partition of England, and soon
Ethelwulf's 4th son º abruptly died.
º (Possibly assassinated by unhappy
º nobles, or treacherous Canute.)
*Edward the Elder 899-924 º
870-924 º
Alfred's son º
(Contended against claimant º
Aethelwold for the crown.) º
º
*Aethelstan 924-939 º DANES
Reinforced Alfred's policy of º
royal will over common law. º
º
Edmund 939-946 º*Canute 1016-1035
º 994-1035
Edred 946-955 º Son of Sweyn.
º King of England, Norway, & Denmark.
Edwig 955-959 º He codified English law, and
º supported the Church.)
Edgar the Peaceful 959-975 º
944-975 º
Crowned 957 after revolt against º*Harold (Harefoot) 1035-1040
his brother Edwy supported by º Illegitimate son of Canute.
discontented Mercia nobles. º Was forced to contend against his
º half-brother Hardecanute for the
*Edward the Martyr 975-978 º crown but won in 1037.
963--978 º
(Edward II) º Hardecanute 1040-1042
Son of Edgar/ unable to control º 1019-1042
kingdom/ & murdered by ambitious º Son of Canute but unable to get
stepmother Aelfthryth (Aelfrida),º English throne until death of
who desired her son Aethelred as º illegitimate half-brother Harold.
king. (Edward was only 15.) º Cruel and oppressive. Danish king
º from 1035 till death in 1042.
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º
-PAGE 2-
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º
SAXONS º NORMANS
º
*Edward the Confessor 1042-1066 º*WILLIAM the Conqueror 1066-1087
1004-1066 º 1027-1087
Son of Ethelred, was raised in º William was the illegitimate son of
Normandy but returned upon º Robert, Duke of Normandy, whose le-
mother's marriage to Canute. º gitimate wife did not bear any
Succeeded Hardecanute, but con- º children to him. His mother was
flicted with father-in-law the º Arlette, a young girl from Falaise.
Earl of Wessex (Godwin) who fa- º Was left fatherless at seven when
vored Normans & was exiled in º Robert went off on a crusade and
1051. Childless, Ed. named Wil- º never returned. Ambitious relatives
liam Duke of Normandy his heir. º and his youth obliged William to
Was a fairer king than others. º become a survivor. The king of
º France also helped W. to retain his
Harold II 1066(only)º title as sole heir to Robert. He
1022-1026 º offered marriage to Matilda of
Was the son of the very powerful º Flanders whose father Baldwin V was
Earl of Wessex Godwin, who felt º the richest man in Europe. Matilda
to be rightful heir to throne º had previously been refused affec-
upon Edward the Confessor's º tion by a Saxon Lord named Brithric
death (1066). Was banished by º and equally refused William for
King Edward along w/ father to º being a bastard son. William never
Ireland in 1051. Recovered suc- º forgave. One day when he saw her in
cessfully title & lands in 1053 º town, he yanked her from her horse,
but fell into William of Norman- º pulled her through the mud, kicked
dy's hands in 1065 when Harold's º her and beat her before leaving. It
ship was blown to the shores of º was then that Matilda (4 feet tall)
Normandy, where he was furtively º changed her mind and decided to
forced by William to pledge his º marry W. after all. Matilda managed
support to him as heir to the º Normandy while W. was conquering
throne after Edward's decease. º England, & after the conquest she
Harold returned then to England º had old Brithric thrown into prison
& witnessed Edward's illness in º where he died, & she put her name
December, from which Edward died º to all his properties. Later on
on January 5, 1066. Then Harold º when she heard of W.'s flirting
was elected king by the " Witen- º with a lady, Matilda had her
agemot" or Witan, council of wiseº crippled by hamstringing and then
men. H. led a battle against an º put her to death. These were the
invasion organized by his brotherº rulers of England and thus were
Tostig. H. died when William's º their ways. William was crowned
overwhelming organization van- º king of England on December 25,
quished H. with over 500 ships & º 1066. He desired to be all-powerful
7,000 men. It appeared at first º and a dictator over a submissive
that Harold would win. But W.'s º people. His policy was to anihilate
cunning and intelligence led him º and not leave anything nor anyone
to pretend retreat to weaken and º standing. He had no tolerance for
fool Harold's combatants as they º rebellion. He sent for Matilda &
charged into the trap. Harold's º his 3 sons & 5 daughters. Later M.
men were overpowered, and a strayº gave birth to Henry, born on
arrow penetrated into Harold's º English soil. Robert (eldest) hated
eye and brain, killing him soon º his father. But William Rufus would
after the wound. The greatest º become the next king.
English battle ever, the Norman º
Conquest was over. º
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º
PAGE 3
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º
William the conqueror, ruthless & º as a man died. Even in the Church
all, became nevertheless quite º he did not waste any opportunity
overweight with time and soon had º to fatten his treasury. He sold the
an enormous potbelly. Thus, Robertº clerical positions and absorbed the
knocked him off his horse one day º Church's income as well. His reign
in a fight they had. Then while º was filled with petty wars, rebel-
William was attacking the town of º lion, and fighting. But most
Mantes in 1087, his horse stepped º were the squabbles between him and
on a hot coal and threw William º his brother Robert, Duke of Norman-
forward against the pommel of the º dy, who had let Normandy become run
saddle, injuring vital organs º down and useless. William Rufus
inside. He suffered from severe º died one day when on a hunting
abdominal pains for six weeks be- º trip. And despite the different
fore William the Conqueror finallyº stories, it was Henry who had the
died. Before his death, William º most to gain from his death. A
bequeathed Normandy to his son º quick and hasty burial ensued and
Robert (after all), England was º Henry lost no time in declaring
assigned to William Rufus, and º himself the newly crowned king.
Henry (the youngest) was alloted º
a large sum of money and treasure.º
William the Conqueror died on º Henry I 1100-1135
September 9, 1087. He had lived º 1068-1135
a ruthless life style of armed º Henry, son of William the Conqueror
agression, but his last moments º and Englishman by birth, promptly
on earth were rather antiheroic º and eagerly assumed the throne of
and undignified. Ironically, as heº England. He was, contrary to
had made many pay an unworthy º William Rufus who never procreated,
death, now he, too, did so. When º extremely libidinous and prolific
the burial services were in pro- º in his lifetime. He had more than
cess, the priests discovered that º twenty illegitimate children by as
his immense and corpulent body didº many different women. He loved to
not fit into the casket (coffin). º impregnate and abandon at will, and
They tried to force and cram W.'s º was yet considered more moral and
body into the coffin anyway, and º virtuous than the previous court.
in the process of doing so, the º Henry had inherited a good sum of
great and half-rotten belly º money from his father while Rufus
exploded in view of everyone pre- º and Robert had got the lands. But
sent. The guests ran, retching, º Robert the spender pawned Normandy
out of the building -- sickened º to Rufus in exchange for financing
and vomiting at the sight. º a crusade, and Rufus lost his life
º in his last hunting trip. An
William Rufus 1087-1100 º improvised council and a raging
(William the Red) º multitude outside the castle's
1056-1100 º walls decided on Henry as
William Rufus was a vain little º legitimate king. He was crowned
man with curly blond hair, his º King on August 5, 1100. Soon he
father's great belly, and a tre- º married Eadgyth (Edith) from
mendous affection and desire for º Scotland. Her father had been
wealth and power. Furthermore, he º Malcolm, who had dethroned the
was cynical and defiant concerningº true-life Macbeth. Margaret,
God, committing blasphemy on many º Edith's mother, was a relative to
occasions. Avaricious as a royal º Edward the Confessor. She fled to
villain could be, he confiscated º England after Malcolm's death and
lands, money and daughters as soonº was joyfully accepted and received.
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Original Document
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