A SHORT HISTORY OF BRITAIN

By Tim Lambert

Prehistoric England
The first people lived in England about 450,000 BC. At that time England was much warmer
than it is today. Animals like elephants, lions and rhinoceros lived in England alongside deer,
horses, bear and wolves. The humans made simple stone tools and lived in caves.
In 15,000 BC people were still living in caves but they made much more sophisticated tools
of bone and stone. They also made clothes from animal skins and they made 'jewellery' of animal
teeth and shells. These early people hunted animals like horse, deer and wild cattle.
In those days England was covered in tundra but about 8,500 BC the climate grew much
warmer. Forests spread across England. At the same time England was cut off from Europe.
About 7,500 BC a group of humans lived at Star Carr in Yorkshire. They were huntergatherers. They hunted deer, wild cattle, pigs and elk. They also ate birds, fish and shellfish. By this
time humans had also domesticated dogs. They may also have made boats.

Stone Age Farmers

Then about 4,500 BC farming was introduced into England. Using stone axes the farmers
began clearing the forests that covered England. They grew crops of wheat and barley and they
raised herds of cattle, pigs and sheep. However as well as farming they also hunted animals such as
deer, horse, and wild boar and smaller animals such as beavers, badgers and hares. They also
gathered fruit and nuts.
At the same time the early farmers mined flint for making tools. They dug shafts, some of
them 15 metres (50 feet) deep. They used deer antlers as picks and oxen shoulder blades as shovels.
They also made pottery vessels but they still wore clothes made from skins. They erected simple
wooden huts to live in.
Moreover the early farmers made elaborate tombs for their dead. They dug burial chambers
then lined them with wood or stone. Over them they created mounds of earth called barrows.
Although were stone was easily available they made mounds of stones called cairns. Some of these
barrows still survive.
From about 2,500 BC England the Neolithic (new stone age) farmers made circular
monuments called henges. At first they were simple ditches with stones or wooden poles erected in
them. The most famous henge is, of course, Stonehenge. It began as a simple ditch with an internal
bank of earth. Outside the entrance stood the Heel Stone. The famous circles of stones were erected
hundreds of years later. Stonehenge was altered and added to over a thousand year period from
2250 BC to 1250 BC before it was finished.
After 2,500 BC a new culture had spread across England. The inhabitants are known as the
Beaker People because of the pottery beakers they made. They were bell shaped and were often
decorated with bone or cords. However it is not known if the Beaker People were a new race who
migrated to England from Europe or if the people of England simply adopted a new culture.

Bronze Age England

At any rate by 2,000 BC English society was changed by the invention of Bronze. Metal
artefacts appeared in England as early as 2,700 BC although it is believed they were imported. By
about 2,000 BC bronze was being made in England.
In the late Bronze Age (1,000 BC-650 BC) forts were built on hills so warfare was, it seems,
becoming common. This may have been because the population was rising and fertile land was
becoming harder to obtain.
Meanwhile the Bronze Age people continued to build barrows, although cremation was

practised. The dead were buried with useful artefacts. Presumably the living believed the dead
would need these in the afterlife. Unfortunately since they had no written records nothing is known
about the Bronze Age religion.
We know that Bronze Age people lived in round wooden huts with thatched roofs but
nothing is known about their society or how it was organised.

Celtic England
Then about 650 BC iron was introduced into England by a people called the Celts and the
first swords were made.
Warfare was common during the iron age and many hill forts (fortified settlements) were
built at that time. (Although there were also many open villages and farms). The Celts fought from
horses or light wooden chariots. They threw spears and fought with swords. The Celts had wooden
shields and some wore chain mail.
Most of the Celts were farmers although were also many skilled craftsmen. Some Celts were
blacksmiths (working with iron), bronze smiths, carpenters, leather workers and potters. (The
potters wheel was introduced into Britain c.150 BC). Celtic craftsmen also made elaborate
jewellery of gold and precious stones. Furthermore objects like swords and shields were often finely
decorated. The Celts decorated metal goods with enamel. The Celts also knew how to make glass
and they made glass beads.
Celtic society was hierarchical. At the top was a class of nobles headed by a king or
chieftain. Below them were the craftsmen (of whom metalworkers were the most important). Then
came the farmers who provided the food supply and also fought for the chief. There was also a class
of slaves in Celtic England. However the Celts were divided into tribes. There was no political unity
among them and a great deal of fighting.
Trade with Europe was common. Metals like copper, tin, iron and lead were exported from
England. Wool, cloth, skins and grain were also exported. Luxury goods like fine pottery and
expensive metal goods were imported from Europe. At first the Celts used iron bars as a form of
currency but by about 50 BC they were using gold coins.
The Celts lived in round houses. They were built around a central pole with horizontal poles
radiating outwards from it. They rested on vertical poles. Walls were of wattle and daub and roofs
were thatched. Around the walls inside the huts were benches, which also doubled up as beds. The
Celts also used low tables.
Celtic men wore tunics and trousers and women wore long dresses and mantles. They used
bronze mirrors. Women wore belts around their dresses made of cloth, leather or bronze rings.
Celtic men soaked their hair in limewater to make it stand up straight. They wore moustaches but
not beards. Wealthy Celts wore gold ornaments around their necks called torcs or torques.
The Celts made dyes from plants, woad, for blue, madder, for red and weld for yellow.
For amusement Celts played board games. They were also very fond of music and played flutes and
lyres. In good weather they held horse or chariot races. The Celts also enjoyed hunting wild boar on
horseback.
The Celts had priests called Druids. The Druids were very important in Celtic society. As
well as being priests they were scholars, judges and advisors to the kings. The Celts were
polytheists (they worshipped many gods and goddesses). They did not build temples but instead
worshipped at natural sites such as groves of trees, springs, rivers and lakes. Sometimes the Celts
sacrificed valuable goods by throwing them into lakes and rivers.
In Celtic times the practice of building barrows died out. Instead people were interned in
individual graves. They were still buried with grave goods showing the Celts had a strong belief in
an afterlife. They believed that when you died your spirit went to a place called the Otherworld.
The Romans claimed the Druids practiced human sacrifice but this claim is doubtful. The
main Celtic festivals were Imbolc at the beginning of February at the start of the lambing season,
Beltane at the beginning of May, when cattle were sent out to graze in the fields after being kept
indoors and fed on hay during the Winter, Lughasad in August when the crops were growing ripe

and Samhain at the beginning of November. That was the time when animals were brought in from
the fields for the Winter. The Celts could not grow enough hay to feed them all so those not needed
for breeding were slaughtered.
The Celts grew crops in rectangular fields. They raised pigs, sheep and cattle. They stored
grain in pits lined with stone or wicker and sealed with clay. The Celts also brewed beer from
barley.
Although the Romans despised the Celts as barbarians they created a sophisticated and
advanced society. Women certainly had more rights than in Roman society and Celtic craftsmen
were superb.

Prehistoric Scotland
During the ice age Scotland was uninhabited. However when the ice melted forests spread
across Scotland and stone age hunters moved there. By 6,000 BC small groups of people lived in
Scotland by hunting animals like red deer and seals and by gathering plants for food.
Then about 4,500 BC farming was introduced into Scotland. The early farmers continued to
use stone tools and weapons and this period is called the Neolithic (new stone age). The Neolithic
people used stone axes or fire to clear forests for farming and they grew wheat, barley and rye. They
also bred cattle and sheep. They lived in simple stone huts with roofs of turf or thatch.
The finest example of a Neolithic village was found in Orkney after a storm in 1850. The
inhabitants lived in stone huts with stone shelves and stone seats inside. They also had stone beds,
which were probably covered with straw or heather. The people of Skara Brae used pottery vessels.
By 1,800 BC people in Scotland had learned to make bronze. The Bronze Age people continued to
live in simple huts but they are famous for their stone monuments. They arranged huge stones in
circles. The fact that they were able to do so indicates they lived in an organised society.

The Roman Conquest of England

The written history of England really began in 55 BC when Julius Caesar led an expedition
there. Caesar returned in 54 BC. Both times he defeated the Celts but he did not stay. Both times the
Romans withdrew after the Celts agreed to pay annual tribute.
The Romans invaded England again in 43 AD under Emperor Claudius. The Roman
invasion force consisted of about 20,000 legionaries and about 20,000 auxiliary soldiers from the
provinces of the Roman Empire. Aulus Plautius led them. The Romans landed somewhere in
Southeast England (the exact location is unknown) and quickly prevailed against the Celtic army.
The Celts could not match the discipline and training of the Roman army. A battle was fought on the
River Medway, ending in Celtic defeat and withdrawal. The Romans chased them over the River
Thames into Essex and within months of landing in England the Romans had captured the Celtic
hill fort on the site of Colchester.
Meanwhile other Roman forces marched into Sussex, where the local tribe, the Atrebates
were friendly and offered no resistance. The Roman army then marched into the territory of another
tribe, the Durotriges, in Dorchester and southern Somerset. Everywhere the Romans prevailed and
that year 11 Celtic kings surrendered to Claudius.
Normally if a Celtic king surrendered the Romans allowed him to remain as a puppet ruler.
Aulus Plautius was made the first governor of Roman Britain. By 47 AD the Romans were in
control of England from the River Humber to the Estuary of the River Severn.
However the war was not over. The Silures in South Wales and the Ordovices of North
Wales continued to harass the Romans. Fighting between the Welsh tribes and the Romans
continued for years.
Meanwhile the Iceni tribe of East Anglia rebelled. At first the Romans allowed them to keep
their kings and have some autonomy. However in c. 50 AD the Romans were fighting in Wales and
they were afraid the Iceni might stab them in the back. They ordered the Iceni to disarm, which
provoked a rebellion. However the Romans easily crushed it. In the ensuing years the Romans
alienated the Iceni by imposing heavy taxes. Then, when the king of the Iceni died he left his

kingdom partly to his wife, Boudicca and partly to Emperor Nero Soon, however Nero wanted the
kingdom all for himself. His men treated the Iceni very high-handedly and they provoked rebellion.
This time a large part of the Roman army was fighting in Wales and the rebellion was, at first,
successful. Led by Boudicca the Celts burned Colchester, St Albans and London. However the
Romans rushed forces to deal with the rebellion. Although the Romans were outnumbered their
superior discipline and tactics secured total victory.
After the rebellion was crushed the Celts of southern and eastern England settled down and
gradually accepted Roman rule.
Then in 71-74 AD the Romans conquered the north of England. In the years 74-77 they
conquered South Wales. Then in 77 AD Agricola was made governor of Britain. First he conquered
North Wales. Then he turned his attention to what is now Scotland. By 81 AD the Romans had
captured the area from the Clyde to the Forth. In 82 they advanced further north. In 83 the Romans
won a great victory at Mons Graupius (it is not known exactly where that was). However in 86 the
Romans withdrew from Scotland.
In 122-126 the Emperor Hadrian built a great wall across the northern frontier of Roman
Britain to keep out the people the Romans called the Picts. However under the Emperor Antonius
Pius the Romans again invaded Scotland. In 42-43 they defeated the Picts. The Romans then built a
wall of turf with a stone base to protect their conquests. However the Antonine Wall, as it was
called, was abandoned about 163. The Roman army withdrew to Hadrian's Wall.

The End of Roman Britain

By the middle of the 3rd century the Roman Empire was in decline. In the latter half of the
3rd century Saxons from Germany began raiding the east coast of Roman Britain. The Romans built
a chain of forts along the coast, which they called the Saxon shore. The forts were commanded by
an official called the Count of the Saxon shore and they contained both infantry and cavalry.
However the Saxon raids were, at first, no more than pin pricks and most of Roman Britain
remained reasonably peaceful and prosperous.
Then in 286 an admiral named Carauius seized power in Britain. For 7 years he ruled Britain
as an emperor until Allectus, his finance minister, assassinated him. Allectus then ruled Britain until
296 when Constantius, Emperor of the Western Roman Empire invaded. Britain was then taken
back into the Roman fold.
In the 4th century the Roman Empire in the west went into serious economic and political
decline. The populations of towns fell. Public baths and amphitheatres went out of use.
In 367 Scots from Northern Ireland, Picts from Scotland and Saxons joined to raid Roman
Britain and loot it. They overran Hadrian's Wall and killed the Count of the Saxon shore. However
the Romans sent a man named Theodosius with reinforcements to restore order.
In 383 some Roman soldiers were withdrawn from Britain and the raiding grew worse.
The last Roman troops left Britain in 407. In 410 the leaders of the Romano-Celts sent a
letter to the Roman Emperor Honorius, appealing for help. However he had no troops to spare and
he told the Britons they must defend themselves.
Roman Britain split into separate kingdoms but the Romano-Celts continued to fight the
Saxon raiders.
Roman civilisation slowly broke down. In the towns people stopped using coins and
returned to barter. The populations of towns were already falling and this continued. Rich people
left to be self-sufficient on their estates. Craftsmen went to live in the countryside. More and more
space within the walls of towns was giving over to growing crops. Roman towns continued to be
inhabited until the mid-5th century. Then most were abandoned. Some may not have been deserted
completely. A small number may have still had a very small population who lived by farming land
inside and outside the walls. However town life as such came to an end.
In the 5th century Roman civilisation in the countryside faded away.

The Saxon Conquest of England

The Saxon conquest of England began in the middle of the 5th century. At that time England
was inhabited by the Celts. For more than 360 years the Romans had ruled them. However Roman
rule in England was really only superficial. After the Roman army left in 407 Roman civilisation
faded away. Towns were abandoned. Villas in the countryside were also abandoned. The Celts
returned to living in hill forts, protected by ditches, earth ramparts and wooden stockades.
Meanwhile the Saxons began raiding England in the 3rd century. However as the Roman
Empire collapsed they turned to conquest.
We have three main sources of information about the Saxon conquest. The Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle is not always accurate and it should be taken with a pinch of salt. Other sources are
Gildas, a 6th century Welsh monk and Bede an early 8th century Saxon monk.
By the 5th century the Romano-Celts had broke up into separate kingdoms but a single
leader called the Superbus tyrannus had emerged. At that time and possibly earlier they were hiring
Germanic peoples as mercenaries. According to tradition the Superbus tyrannus brought Jutes to
protect his realm from Scots (from Northern Ireland) and Picts (from Scotland). According to
Gildas he was also afraid the Romans might invade Britain and make it part of the Empire again.
The Superbus tyrannus may have been called Vortigern. At any rate he wanted Britain to remain
independent. He installed the Jutish leader, Hengist, as king of Kent. In return the Jutes were
supposed to protect Britain.
However after about 7 years the Jutes and the Romano-Celts fell out. They fought a battle at
Crayford and the Jutes won a decisive victory. The war went on for several more years but the Celts
were unable to dislodge the Jutes.
According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Saxons led by their ruler Aelle landed in Sussex in
477. (Some historians think this date is wrong and it was actually 457). At any rate the Celts resisted
them bitterly but after about 15 years the Saxons had conquered all of Sussex. They gave the county
its name. It was the kingdom of the south Saxons.
Meanwhile at the end of the 5th century or the very beginning of the 6th century more Jutes
landed in eastern Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. At the same time Saxons landed in western
Hampshire. They founded the kingdom of Wessex (the West Saxons).
Then in the late 5th century a great leader and general arose among the Celts. We know him
as Arthur. Very little is known about him but he defeated the Saxons in several battles. His victories
culminated in the battle of Mount Badon, about 500 AD. (We do not know exactly where the battle
took place). The Saxons were crushed and their advance was halted for decades.
Meanwhile in the early 6th century the West Saxons, of western Hampshire, annexed the
Jutes of eastern Hampshire. About 530 they also took over the Isle of Wight.
Then in 552 the West Saxons won a great victory somewhere near modern Salisbury and
they captured what is now Wiltshire. In 577 they won another great victory. This time they captured
Bath, Cirencester and Gloucester. They also cut off the Celts of southwest England from the Celts
of Wales.
Meanwhile in the mid-6th century other Saxons invaded Essex. (The kingdom of the East
Saxons). A people called the Angles landed in East Anglia. Obviously they gave East Anglia its
name. They also gave England its name (Angle land).
Other Angles landed in Yorkshire and founded kingdoms there. Also in the later 6th century
Saxons sailed up the Thames and landed in what is now Berkshire. They gave Middlesex its name.
(The land of the middle Saxons). They also landed on the south bank of the River Thames. They
called the area suth ridge, which means south bank. In time the name changed to Surrey.

The Conquest of Western England

So by the late 6th century eastern England was in the hands of Angles and Saxons. In the 7th
century they continued their relentless advance. In 656 the Saxons of the east Midlands won a battle
on the River Wye and captured the west Midlands.

Further South in 658 the West Saxons won a great battle and drove the Celts back to the
River Parret in Somerset. In 664 they won yet another battle. This time they captured Dorset.
By about 670 AD the West Saxons had captured Exeter.
Then in 710 Saxons from eastern Somerset invaded western Somerset. At the same time
Saxons from southeast Devon marched north and west. The two groups advanced in a pincer
movement and soon occupied Devon and western Somerset.
However the Saxons never gained effective control of Cornwall. So Cornwall kept its own
Cornish language.

The English Kingdoms

By the 7th century there were 9 kingdoms. In the south there were Kent, Sussex and Wessex
(Hampshire and Wiltshire). In the early 9th century Wessex gained control of Sussex and Kent.
Eastern England was divided into Essex, East Anglia and a kingdom called Lindsey roughly modern
Lincolnshire.
The Midlands was ruled by a kingdom called Mercia. In the late 8th century a great king
called Offa ruled Mercia. He built a famous dyke (ditch) to keep out the Welsh. He also absorbed
the kingdom of Lindsey (roughly Lincolnshire).
In 600 the north was divided into two kingdoms. Deira (roughly modern Yorkshire) and
Bernicia further north. However in 605 the two were united to form one powerful kingdom called
Northumbria.
So by the mid-9th century England was divided into just four kingdoms, Northumbria in the
north, Mercia and East Anglia in the east and Wessex in the south.

The Conversion of England to Christianity

The Anglo-Saxons were polytheists (they worshipped a number of gods). Some of our
weekdays are named after Saxon gods, Tiw, Woden, Thunor and Frigg.
In 596 Pope Gregory sent a party of about 40 men led by Augustine to Kent. They arrived in
597.
At the end of the 6th century the king of Kent, Aethelberht, married a Christian princess
named Berta or Bertha. It was partly due to her influence that Kent was converted to Christianity.
Aethelberht permitted the monks to preach and in time he was converted. Furthermore his nephew,
Saeberht, the king of Essex was also converted.
In 627 King Edwin of Northumbria and all his nobles were baptised. (He may have been
influenced by his wife, Ethelburgh, who was a Christian). Many of his subjects followed. A
preacher named Paulinus became the first bishop of York. (There was no Archbishop of York till
735). Paulinus also began converting the kingdom of Lindsey (Lincolnshire).
However things did not go smoothly in Northumbria. King Edwin was killed at the battle of
Hatfield in 632. Most of Northumbria reverted to paganism. They had to be converted all over
again. This time it was the work of Celtic monks from Scotland. In 634 monks led by a man called
Aidan went to Northumbria to preach.
Further south in 630 a Christian called Sigeberht became king of East Anglia. He asked the
Archbishop of Canterbury to send men to help convert his people.
Meanwhile Pope Honorious sent a man named Birinus to convert the West Saxons of
Hampshire.
Then in 653 Paeda, son of Penda king of Mercia was baptised. His father allowed Christian
missionaries to preach in Mercia and gradually the realm was converted.
The last part of England to be converted to Christianity was Sussex. It was converted after
680 by St. Wilfrid.
Finally by the end of the 7th century all of England was at least nominally Christian.
However some people continued to secretly worship the old pagan gods as late as the 8th century.

The Vikings In England

In 787 three Danish ships landed at Dorset. A royal official called a reeve went to meet
them. He assumed the strangers had come to trade. Instead they killed him and sailed away.
Then in 793 when Norsemen (possibly Norwegians) raided a monastery at Lindisfarne. There
followed a respite until 835 when the Danes descended on the Isle of Sheppey.
However although the Viking raiders were fearsome they were not invincible. In 836 the
Danes joined forces with the Celts of Cornwall. However they were defeated by Egbert, king of
Wessex, at Hingston Down.
Nevertheless the Danes continued raiding England. In 840 a force of Saxons from
Hampshire crushed a Danish force at Southampton. However the same year Saxons from Dorset
were defeated by the Danes at Portland.
In 841 the Danes ravaged Kent, East Anglia and what is now Lincolnshire. In 842 they
sacked Southampton. Further Viking raids occurred in 843 and 845. In the latter year the Saxons
defeated the Danes in a battle at the mouth of the River Parret in Somerset.
Then in 850-51 the Vikings spent the winter of the Isle of Thanet. In the spring they attacked
the Mercians and defeated them in battle. However they were later defeated by an army from
Wessex.
In 854 another Danish force wintered on the Isle of Sheppey before raiding England.
There then followed a relatively peaceful period in which the Vikings raided England only once.
However the Danes eventually stopped raiding and turned to conquest. In the autumn of 865 an
army of Danes landed in East Anglia. In the following year, 866, they captured York. The
Northumbrians attacked the Vikings occupying York in 867 but they were defeated. The Danes then
installed a man named Egbert as puppet ruler of Northumbria.
The Danes then marched south and they spent the winter of 867 in Nottingham. In 869 they
marched to Thetford in East Anglia. In the spring of 870 they crushed an army of East Anglians.
The Danes were now in control of Northumbria, part of Mercia and East Anglia. They then turned
their attention of Wessex. At the end of 870 they captured Reading. The men of Wessex won a
victory at Ashdown. However the Danes then won two battles, at Basing and at an unidentified
location.
Then in the spring of 871 Alfred became king of Wessex. He became known as Alfred the
Great. The Saxons and the Danes fought several battles during 871 but the Danes were unable to
break Saxon resistance so they made a peace treaty and the Danes turned their attention to the other
parts of England.
In 873 they attacked the unoccupied part of Mercia. The Mercian king fled and was replaced
by a puppet ruler. Afterwards Wessex remained the only independent Saxon kingdom.
In 875 a Danish army invaded Wessex again. However they were unable to conquer Wessex
so in 877 they withdrew to Gloucester. In 878 they launched a surprise attack on Chippenham. King
Alfred was forced to flee and hide in the marshes of Atheleney. Alfred fought a guerrilla war for
some months then took on the Danes in battle. The Danes were routed at the battle of Edington.
Afterwards Guthrum, the Danish leader, and his men were baptised and made a treaty with Alfred.
They split southern and central England between them. Guthrum took London, East Anglia and all
the territory east of the old Roman road, Watling Street. Later this Danish kingdom became known
as the Danelaw. Alfred took the land west of Watling street and southern England. However in 886
Alfreds men captured London.
Moreover the wars with the Danes were not over. In 892 some Danes who had been
attacking France turned their attention to Kent. In 893 the Saxons defeated them and they withdrew
into Essex (part of the Danelaw). Meanwhile in 893 another group of Danes sailed to Devon and
laid siege to Exeter. They withdrew in 894. They sailed to Sussex and landed near Chichester. This
time the local Saxons marched out and utterly defeated them in battle.
War with the Danes continued in 895-896. Danes from the Danelaw marched into what is
now Shropshire but they were forced to withdraw.
There then followed a few years of peace.

During his reign Alfred reorganised the defence of his realm. He created a fleet of ships to fight the
Danes at sea. (It was the first English navy). He also created a network of forts across his kingdom
called burhs. Finally Alfred died in 899. And he was succeded by his son Edward.

Late Saxon England

In the mid-9th century there were 4 Saxon kingdoms, Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia and
Wessex. By the end of the century there was only one left, Wessex. In the 10th century Wessex
gradually expanded and took over all the Danish territory. So a single united England was created.
The process began under King Edward. The treaty of Wedmore in 879 gave King Alfred control
over western Mercia. However the people of that area still saw themselves as Mercians' not Saxons
or Englishmen. In time they merged with the people of Wessex. Meanwhile in 915-918 King Egbert
defeated the Danes of Eastern England. He took control of all England south of the River Humber.
By 954 all of England was ruled by Alfred the Greats descendants.
In the late 10th century England enjoyed a respite from Danish raids. England was peaceful
although a young king, Edward, was murdered at Corfe in Dorset in 978. His brother Aethelred
replaced him.
Despite this in the late 10th century there was a religious revival. A man named Dunstan
(c.1020-1088) was Archbishop of Canterbury. He reformed the monasteries. Many new churches
and monasteries were built.
Then in 980 the Danes returned. They attacked Thanet, Southampton and Cheshire. In 981
they raided Devon and Cornwall and in 983 they attacked Dorset.
The Danes continued to raid England. They returned in 991, 992, 993 and 994. In 997 a
Danish army came and systematically raided southern England over a period of 3 years. The Danes
sailed to Normandy in 1001 but they returned to England in 1002.
Meanwhile in 1002 King Aethelred married the sister of the Duke of Normandy. This was
the beginning of Norman influence in Saxon England.
Afterwards the Danes continued to raid England. In 1003 they raided the southwest and in
1004 they plundered East Anglia. In 1006 they raided southeast England. In 1009-1012 they
ravaged eastern England.
The Saxons paid the Danes to stop raiding and return home. However the amount the Danes
demanded increased each time. In 991 they were paid 10,000 pounds to go home. In 1002 they were
paid 24,000 pounds in 1007 they were paid 36,000 pounds. England was drained of its resources by
paying these huge sums of money called Danegeld (Dane gold).
King Aethelred or Ethelred also, stupidly, enraged the Danes by ordering the massacre of
Danes living in his realm. He was persuaded they were plotting against him and he ordered his
people to kill them on 13 November (St Brices Day) 1002. This terrible crime, the St Brices Day
Massacre ensured that the Danes had a personal hostility towards him.
Eventually the Danes turned to conquest. In 1013 the Danish king Swein invaded England.
His fleet sailed up the Humber and along the Trent to Gainsborough. The people of northern
England welcomed him. Swein marched south and captured more and more of England. King
Ethelred fled abroad. Swein was on the verge of becoming king of England when died in February
1014.
Incredibly some of the English invited Ethelred back (provided he agreed to rule more
justly). When he arrived the Danes withdrew.
However they were soon back. In 1015 Sweins son Canute or Cnut led an expedition to
England. They landed at Poole Harbour and occupied southern England. Ethelred finally died in
April 1016.
There was then a struggle between Canute and Ethelreds son Edmund, known as Edmund
Ironside. The people of the Danelaw accepted Canute as king but London supported Edmund.
England was split between the two contestants. They fought at Ashingdon in Essex. Canute won the
battle but he was not strong enough to capture all of England. Instead he made peace with Edmund.
Canute took the north and midlands while Edmund took the south. However Edmund conveniently

died in November 1016 and Canute became king of all England.

Canute turned out to be a good king. Under him trade grew rapidly and England became
richer. When Canute died in 1035 England was stable and prosperous.
Canute divided England into four Earldoms, Northumbria, East Anglia, Mercia and Wessex.
Each earl was very powerful.
Unfortunately after Canute's death there were seven years of fighting over who would rule
England.
Then in 1042 Edward, known as Edward the Confessor became king. During his reign,
which lasted until 1066 England grew increasingly prosperous. Trade grew and English towns
flourished. England was stable and well governed. Edward also built Westminster Abbey.
However Edward's mother was Norman and Norman influence was increasing in England.
The next king, Harold, was to be the last Saxon king.
Edward the Confessor died without leaving an heir. William Duke of Normandy claimed
that Edward once promised him he would be the next king of England. He also claimed that Harold
had sworn an oath to support him after Edwards death. If Harold ever swore such an oath it was
only because he had been shipwrecked off the Norman coast and was coerced into swearing an
oath.
In Saxon times the crown wasnt necessarily hereditary. A body of men called the Witan
played a role in choosing the next king. Nobody could become king without the Witans support. In
January 1066, after Edward's death, the Witan chose Harold, Earl of Wessex, to be the next king.
Duke William of Normandy would have to obtain the crown by force.

The End Of Saxon England

However William was not the only contestant for the throne. Harald Hardrada, king of
Norway, also claimed it. He sailed to Yorkshire with 10,000 men in 300 ships. The Earls of
Northumbria and Mercia attacked him but they were defeated. However King Harold marched north
with another army. He took the Norwegians by surprise and routed them at Stamford Bridge on 25
September 1066. That ended any threat from Norway.
Meanwhile the Normans built a fleet of ships to transport their men and horses across the
Channel. They landed in Sussex at the end of September. the Normans then plundered Saxon farms
for food. They burned Saxon houses.
Harold rushed to the south coast. He arrived with his men on 13 October.
The Saxon army was made up of the house-carles, the king's bodyguard. They fought on
foot with axes. They wore coats of chain mail called hauberks. Kite shaped shields protected them.
However most Saxon soldiers had no armour only axes and spears and round shields. They fought
on foot. Their normal tactic was to form a 'shield-wall' by standing side by side. However the
Saxons had no archers.
The Norman army was much more up to date. Norman knights fought on horseback. They
wore chain mail and carried kite shaped shields. They fought with lances, swords and maces. Some
Normans fought on foot protected by chain mail, helmets and shields. The Normans also had a force
of archers.
The battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066. The Saxons were assembled on
Senlac Hill. The Normans formed below them. Both armies were divided into 3 wings. William also
divided his army into 3 ranks. At the front were archers, in the middle soldiers on foot then mounted
knights.
The Norman archers advanced and loosed their arrows but they had little effect. The foot
soldiers advanced but they were repulsed. The mounted knights then charged but they were unable
to break the Saxon shield wall. Then the Saxons made a disastrous mistake. Foot soldiers and
knights from Brittany fled. Some of the Saxons broke formation and followed them. The Normans
then turned and attacked the pursuing Saxons. They annihilated them. According to a writer called
William of Poitiers the Saxons made the same mistake twice. Seeing Normans flee for a second
time some men followed. The Normans turned and destroyed them.

The battle was now lost. Harold was killed with all his housecarles. Those Saxons who
could fled down the north side of Senlac Hill. However they managed a counterattack. In the failing
light some Norman knights followed the fleeing Saxons. The Saxons were able to ambush and kill
many of them.
Nevertheless the battle was lost and the surviving Saxons melted away. William captured
Dover and Canterbury. He then captured Winchester (a very important town in those days). Finally
he captured London and he was crowned king of England on 25 December 1066. The Saxon era
was over.

William I
William, Duke of Normandy, was crowned King of England on 25 December 1066.
However at first his position was by no means secure. He had only several thousand men to control
a population of about 2 million. Furthermore Swein, king of Denmark also claimed the throne of
England. At first the Normans were hated invaders and they had to hold down a resentful Saxon
population.
One method the Normans used to control the Saxons was building castles. They erected a
mound of earth called a motte. On top they erected a wooden stockade. Around the bottom they
erected another stockade. The area within was called the bailey so it was called a motte and bailey
castle. The Normans soon began building stone castles. In 1078 William began building the Tower
of London.

Rebellions Against the Normans

William stayed in Normandy from March to December 1067. When he returned to England
his first task was to put down an uprising in the Southwest. He laid siege to Exeter. Eventually the
walled town surrendered on honourable terms.
Although Southern England was now under Norman control the Midlands and North were a
different matter. In 1068 William marched north through Warwick and Nottingham to York. The
people of York submitted to him- for the moment and William returned to London via Cambridge
and York.
However in January 1069 the people of Yorkshire and Northumberland rebelled. William
rushed north and crushed the rebellion However the rising in the north fanned the flames of
rebellion elsewhere. There were local risings in Somerset and Dorset. There was also rebellion in
the West Midlands. Furthermore a Saxon called Edgar, the grandson of Edmund Ironside, a previous
Saxon ruler led a force of Irishmen to North Devon. However local Norman commanders crushed
the uprisings and drove out the Irish.
It was not over yet. In the autumn of 1069 King Swein of Denmark sent an expedition to
England. When the Danes arrived in Yorkshire the people of Yorkshire and rose in rebellion once
again. William marched north and captured York. The Danes withdrew from northern England. This
time William adopted a scorched earth policy. William was determined there would not be any more
rebellions in the north. In 1069-1070 his men burned houses, crops and tools between the Humber
and Durham. They also slaughtered livestock. There followed years of famine in the north when
many people starved to death. This terrible crime was called the harrying of the north and it took the
north of England years to recover.
Meanwhile the Danes sailed south. They plundered Peterborough and took the Isle of Ely as
a base. Many Saxons joined the Danes. These Saxon rebels were led by a man called Hereward the
Wake.

Changes in Society
However in June 1070 King William made a treaty with King Swein and the Danes left. The
Saxons kept on fighting in the Fens but by 1071 they were forced to surrender. Hereward escaped.
William was now in control of all of England

After the Norman Conquest almost all Saxon nobles lost their land. William confiscated it
and gave it to his own followers. They held their land in return for providing soldiers for the king
for so many days a year.
William also changed the church in England. In those days the church was rich and powerful
and the king needed its support. William replaced senior Saxon clergymen with men loyal to
himself. Lanfranc, an Italian, replaced Stigand, the Saxon Archbishop of Canterbury. (With the
agreement of the Pope). Lanfranc then deposed Saxon bishops and abbots and replaced them with
Normans.
Among the lower ranks of society there were also changes. In late Saxon times the peasants
were losing their freedom. This process continued under the Normans. On the other hand slavery
declined. (It died out by the middle of the 12th century).
In 1085 William decided to carry out a huge survey of his kingdom to find out how much
wealth it contained. The result was the Domesday Book of 1086.
William died in 1087 and he was succeeded by his son, also called William (he is sometimes
called William Rufus because of his reddish complexion). His brother Robert became Duke of
Normandy.
William the Conqueror was a ruthless man. However a writer of the time did say this about
him; 'he kept good law'. The eleventh century was a lawless age when a strong ruler who kept order
was admired.