History Of Anglo Saxon England
The history of Anglo-Saxon England covers the withdrawal of the power Roman province of Britain in 410 , and the founding of the kingdoms Anglo-Saxon to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. The fifth and sixth centuries are generally termed " Dark Ages "; large separate kingdoms began to emerge from the sixth century. During most of this period, England was divided between the areas controlled by the Anglo-Saxons and those dominated by Britons. The arrival of the Vikings in the late eighth century , shook the UK. Looters Danish launch attacks on all coastal areas before settling in eastern England, while the Norwegians (via the Ireland ) attack the west coast of the island. The Anglo-Saxons eventually regain control of the whole of England in the eleventh century , but not for long: in 1066 , the death without heirs of King Edward the Confessor leads a war of succession and the conquest of the country by William the Conqueror.
Summary |
There are a wide variety of sources concerning the Anglo-Saxon England. The arrival of the Anglo-Saxons is the subject of myths and legends, sometimes based on documentary evidence. There are four main literary sources.
De Excidio and conquestu Britanniae of Gildas the Wise (c. 540) is a polemical work, more a criticism of British kings as an exact description of the events of the time. The Ecclesiastical History of the English people of the Venerable Bede, Gildas and is based on sources other than 730 and date around. The Historia Brittonum of Nennius probably dates from around AD 800 , and ranks as Gildas, in terms of Brittany. Finally, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , later, based on Bede and legends about the origins of Wessex.
Other elements support the literary sources. The customs of burial and land use permit to trace the progression of the Anglo-Saxon colonization. Human remains found near Abingdon , England, were presented as evidence that Saxon immigrants and native Britons lived side by side. The question of whether the Anglo-Saxons replaced or mingled with the Britons of southern and eastern Britain is debatable. Dark both examine the issue.
Many laws exist, dating back to the reigns of thelberht of Kent and Ine of Wessex and became more numerous after the reign of Alfred the Great. The charters usually donations of land, provide ample evidence for the entire period. Other sources include hagiography , letters (usually exchanged by clerics, but sometimes by rulers as Charlemagne and Offa ) and poetry.
Several genetic studies have been conducted on the current population of England in order to deduce information on the composition of the population in the Anglo-Saxon, and the extent of Anglo-Saxon immigration. Historians of the nineteenth century took for granted that mass immigration had taken place, but now considers it more probable that the arrival of a small elite.
Migrations and kingdoms of birth
It is difficult to establish a coherent chronology of the period between the Roman withdrawal from Britain of the foundation of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. The version given by Geoffrey of Monmouth 's departure of the Romans in his Historia regum Britanniae is hardly reliable outside information it provides on the medieval legend. Other sources, however, can partially reconstruct the events of that period. It is generally believed that the names of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Kent , Bernicia , Deira and Lindsey are of Celtic , suggesting perhaps some form of political continuity. Further west, the kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia did not appear to follow pre-existing boundaries.
The archaeological evidence of Roman presence in recent years show unmistakable signs of decadence. In the fourth century , a defense system is put in place against Saxon raids around several forts along the southeastern coast of England, but some historians believe that the " Saxon Shore "actually consists of counters where the Saxons are established, not fortresses built against their attacks. Coins minted after 402 are rare, suggesting that the army is no longer paid after that date. In 407 , the usurper Constantine III was proclaimed emperor by his troops, and crossed the Channel with some of the garrisons on the island. He died in battle in 411. In 410 , Emperor Honorius asked the Romans to Britain to look after themselves on their defense, but in the middle of the fifth century , they believe they can still appeal to the consul Aetius to repel the invaders. Although the Roman power goes out, it is possible that the lifestyle will be romanized continued for several generations.
Roman Britain seems to have divided into several separate kingdoms, but united by a board of joint control. According to Gildas, the council invited Saxon mercenaries to Britain to repel the looters, but they revolted when not paid. Bede dates the arrival of the Saxons in 446 , a date now being challenged. Follows a period of conflict, marked by victories Saxon and Breton. The dates, locations and individuals involved are very uncertain, but it seems to 495 at the battle of Mount Badon (Mons Badonicus in Latin , Mynydd Baddon in Welsh ), the Britons inflicted a severe defeat to the Anglo-Saxons. Archaeological evidence suggests that Anglo-Saxon migration was temporarily halted.
A second landing Saxon place sixth century in the Southampton area, while the Saxons are progressing in the Cotswolds and Chilterns. In the seventh century , they took control of the south-west England, except Cornwall , which will only really attached tenth century. If the Britons give the generic name of "Saxons" to their invaders, they also include Angles , the Frisians and Jutes. The Saxons probably gave their name to the Essex (East Saxons), in Middlesex ("the middle Saxon"), in Sussex (South Saxons) and Wessex (West Saxons "). Angles populate the majority of East Anglia, Mercia, Bernicia and Deira, while the Jutes settled in Kent and the Isle of Wight.
The earliest archaeological evidence of the "Saxons" were found in eastern England, and not, as suggested by historical records, in Kent. It was also discovered traces in the upper valley of the River Thames , which was interpreted as coming from mercenaries in the service of British kings. Gildas says that the Britons have experienced a period of civil war, and there has also been among the proto-Saxon kingdoms.
From the fifth century , the Britons began to cross the Channel to settle in Armorica , giving birth to Britain today. There seems to have had subsequent phases of migration, from Devon and Cornwall, and also bound for Galicia. These migrations, as those of the Britons that the Anglo-Saxons are seen in the context of " invasions. " However, the extent of Anglo-Saxon migration to Britain has been called into question by various genetic and archaeological work.
The Heptarchy and Christianization
The Christianization of the Anglo-Saxons began around 600, under the influence of Irish on the west and the Roman Catholic south. The Archbishop of Canterbury was founded by Augustine in 597 , who baptized in 601 Ethelbert of Kent , first Anglo-Saxon king to embrace the Christian faith. The last pagan Anglo-Saxon king, Penda , died in 655. From the eighth century , the Anglo-Saxon missionaries go evangelize Europe, and 800 , the Carolingian Empire was almost entirely Christianized.
Throughout the seventh and eighth centuries , the power relations between the major kingdoms fluctuate. According to Bede , the most powerful king in the late sixth century is Ethelbert of Kent, but the center of gravity of England seems to have migrated north and Northumbria , formed by the union of the kingdoms of Bernicia and Deira. Edwin of Northumbria probably dominates most of England, even when discounting the bias of Bede for the Northumbria. Various succession disputes begin Northumbrian hegemony, and Mercia remains a major power. Northumbrian domination is destroyed after two defeats: against Mercia the Battle of Trent (679), and against the Picts at the Battle of Nechtansmere (685).
Mercia dominated the eighth century, though intermittently. Kings thelbald and Offa acquire remarkable power: Charlemagne considered Offa as overlord of the whole of southern Britain, and the Offa's Dyke , a huge defensive structure built against the Welsh, a testament to the power of the sovereign. However, the rise of Wessex, and the challenges posed by smaller kingdoms, held in check Mercia, and the late eighth century, its "supremacy" over there.
The term Heptarchy was used to describe this period, but fell into disuse in the academic sources. The use of the word comes from the fact that the kingdoms which dominate the south of England are among seven: Northumbria , of Mercia , the Kent , the East Anglia , the Essex , the Sussex and Wessex. Recent work has highlighted the influence of other equally important kingdoms Hwicce , Magonsaete , Lindsey and Middle-Anglia.
The Vikings offensive and the rise of Wessex
The first known attack of the Vikings in Britain is the looting of the monastery of Lindisfarne , dated 793 by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. It is believed that further attacks have taken place previously with Orkney and Shetland , where the Vikings were already well established. The arrival of the Scandinavians, including the Grand Army pagan Danish ( 865 ), upsets the political and social geography of the British Isles. The victory of Alfred the Great , king of Wessex, Ethandun ( 878 ), carries a halt to the expansion Danish, but Northumbria is already divided between a kingdom and a residue Viking Saxon Bernicia , the Mercia is divided in two, and East Anglia became a Danish kingdom after the martyrdom of King Edmund. The small kingdoms of Ireland, Scotland and Wales are experiencing similar fates.
The Danes began to settle in eastern England, and they dominate the region became known as Danelaw. Danish Mercia revolves around the Five Boroughs , while in the north, Jorvik ( York ) became the capital of a Viking kingdom namesake , an ally from time to time the Norwegians to Dublin. Danish and Norwegian settlements had a significant influence on the language English : many words derived from Old Norse , although the vast majority comes from the Anglo-Saxon language. In addition, many names of the regions colonized by the Danes and Norwegians come from Scandinavian roots.
The ninth century is marked by the rise of the kingdom of Wessex. At the end of the reign of Alfred the Great, despite various vicissitudes, the kings of the West Saxons ruled over the ancient kingdoms of Wessex, Sussex and Kent. The Cornish are subject to the Anglo-Saxon kings and some South Wales acknowledge Alfred as overlord, as well as western Mercia.
The unification of England
Alfred of Wessex died in 899 , and his son Edward the Elder succeeded him. With his brother Ethelred of Mercia (then Ethelfleda , wife of one), he fought the Danes and began an expansion program, seizing and fortifying Danish territories. In 918 , Edward control all England south of the Humber. That same year the death resulting Ethelfleda full integration of Mercia in the Wessex. The son of Edward, Athelstan , is the first to rule directly on the whole of England after the conquest of Northumbria ( 927 ). The titles conferred on him the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and its coins suggest a still broader rule. He managed to break an attempted reconquest of Northumbria by a coalition of Scots and Vikings Brunanburh ( 937 ). The unity of England, played under his successors Edmund and Edred , becomes firmly established during the reign of Edgar (959-975).
England against the Danes and the Norman Conquest
The late tenth century was marked by renewed attacks by Vikings , who are particularly victorious at Maldon in 991. King Ethelred the unwise is expelled from England by Sven of Denmark in 1013 , but he died shortly after, allowing Ethelred to return to power. His eldest son Edmund Ctes-de-Fer is facing an opponent Weight: Knut the Great 's son, Sven. Edmond is defeated Assandun in October 1016 and died two months later, allowing Knut to seize all of England. Then extends his empire on Denmark, Norway, part of Sweden and England.
The first half of the eleventh century unfolds the descendants of Knut ( Harold Pied-de-Livre , Hardeknut ) and Ethelred ( Edward the Confessor ). January 5, 1066 , Edward the Confessor died childless, and his succession was disputed. The powerful Earl Harold Godwinson , claiming to have been chosen as successor by the Confessor on his deathbed, is recognized by the king Witenagemot , but the Duke of Normandy William the Conqueror and King of Norway Harald Hardrada can also claim the throne. Both invade England. Despite the support of brother Harold, Tostig , Harald was defeated and killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge , but Harold was in turn defeated by William at Hastings. The Duke of Normandy is crowned King of England on Christmas Day at Westminster , but his authority is not universally accepted, as evidenced by the rebellions of 1068 and 1069 , which will be suppressed only with difficulty ( Devastation of northern England ).
References
Source of translation
- (In) This article is partially or entirely from the article in English entitled " History of Anglo-Saxon England "(see the list of authors )
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