The invaders
The wealth of Britain by the fourth century, the result of its mild climate and centuries of peace, was a temptation to the greedy. At first the Germanic tribes only raided Britain, but after AD 430 they began to settle.
The invaders came from three powerful Germanic tribes, the Saxons, Angles and Jutes. The Jutes settled mainly in Kent and along the south coast, and were soon considered no different from the Angles and Saxons. The Angles settled in the east, and also in the north Midlands, while the Saxons
settled between the Jutes and the Angles. The Anglo-Saxon migrations gave the larger part of Britain its new name, England, "the land of the Angles".
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| The Anglo-Saxon invasions and the kingdoms they established |
The strength of Anglo-Saxon culture is obvious even today. Days of the week were named after Germanic gods: Tig (Tuesday), Wodin (Wednesday), Thor (Thursday), Frei (Friday). New place-names appeared on the map. The first of these show that the earliest Saxon villages, like the Celtic ones, were family villages. The ending -ing meant folk or family, thus "Reading" is the place of the family of Rada, "Hastings" of the family of Hasta. Ham means farm, ton means settlement. Birmingham, Nottingham or Southampton, for example, are Saxon place-names. Because the Anglo-Saxon kings often established settlements, Kingston is a frequent place-name.
The Anglo-Saxons established a number of kingdoms, some of which still exist in county or regional names to this day: Essex (East Saxons), Sussex (South
Saxons), Wessex (West Saxons).
King Offa of Mercia (757-96) was powerful enough to employ thousands of men to build a huge dyke, or earth wall, the length of the Welsh border to keep out the troublesome Celts. But although he was the most powerful king of his time, he did not control all of England.
Government and society
The Saxons created institutions which made the English state strong for the next 500 years. One of these institutions was the King's Council, called the Witan. By the tenth century the Witan was a formal body, issuing laws and charters. It was not at all democratic, and the king could decide to ignore the
Witan's advice. But he knew that it might be dangerous to do so. For the Witan's authority was based on i t s right to choose kings, and to agree the use of the kind's laws. Without its support the king's own authority was in danger. The
Witan established system which remained an important part of the king's method of government. Even today, the king or queen has a Privy Council, a group of advisers on the affairs of state.
The Saxons divided the land into new administrative areas, based on shires, or counties. I n 1974 the counties were reorganized, bur the new system is very like the old one.) Over each shire was appointed a shire reeve, the kind's local
administrator. In time his name became shortened to "sheriff".
Anglo-Saxon technology changed the shape of English agriculture. The
Celts had kept small, square fields which were well suited to the light plough they used, drawn either by an animal or two people. This plough could turn
corners easily. The Anglo-Saxons introduced a far heavier plough. This heavier plough led to changes in land ownership and organisation. In order to make the best use of village land, it was divided into two or three very large fields. These
were then divided again into long thin strips. Each family had a number of strips in each of these fields, amounting probably to a family "holding" of twenty or so acres.
One of these fields would be used for planting spring crops, and another for autumn crops. The third area would be left to rest for a year, and with the other areas after harvest, would be used as common land for animals to feed on. This
Anglo-Saxon pattern, which became more and more common, was the basis of
English agriculture for a thousand years, until the eighteenth century.
In each district was a "manor" or large house. This was a simple building where local villagers came to pay taxes, where justice was administered. The lord of the manor had to organise all this, and make sure village land was properly shared.
At first the lords, or aldermen, were simply local officials. But by the beginning of the eleventh century they were warlords, and were often called by a
new Danish name, earl. Both words, alderman and earl, remain with us today: aldermen are elected officers in local government, and earls are high ranking nobles. It was the beginning of a class system, made up of king, lords, soldiers
and workers on the land. One other important class developed during the Saxon period, the men of learning. These came from the Christian Church.
Christianity: the partnership of Church and state
We cannot know how or when Christianity first reached Britain, but it was certainly well before Christianity was accepted by the Roman Emperor Constantine in the early fourth century AD.
In 597 Pope Gregory the Great sent a monk, Augustine, to re-establish Christianity in England. He went to Canterbury, the capital of the king of Kent. He did so because the king's wife came from
Europe and was already Christian. Augustine became the first Archbishop of
Canterbury in 601. He was very successful. Several ruling families in England accepted Christianity. But Augustine and his group of monks made little progress with the ordinary people.
It was the Celtic Church which brought Christianity to the ordinary people of Britain. The Celtic bishops went out from their monasteries of Wales, Ireland and Scotland, walking from village to village teaching Christianity. The
bishops from the Roman Church lived at the courts of the kings, which they made centres of Church power across England. The two Christian Churches, Celtic and Roman, could hardly have been more different in character. One was
most interested in the hearts of ordinary people, the other was interested in authority and organisation. The competition between the Celtic and Roman Churches reached a crisis because they disagreed over the date of Easter.
Saxon kings helped the Church to grow, but the Church also increased the power of kings. The value of Church approval was all the greater because of the uncertainty of the royal succession. An eldest son did not automatically become king, as kings were chosen from among the members of the royal family, and any
member who had enough soldiers might try for the throne. In addition, at a time when one king might try to conquer a neighbouring kingdom, he would probably have a son to whom he would wish to pass this enlarged kingdom when
he died. He made sure that this was done at a Christian ceremony led by a
bishop. It was good political propaganda, because it suggested that kings: were chosen not only by people but also by God.
There were other ways in which the Church increased the power of the English state. It established monasteries, or minsters, for example Westminster, which were places of learning and education. These
monasteries trained the men who could read and write, so that they had the necessary skills for the growth of royal and Church authority.
During the next hundred years, laws were made on large number of matters. By the eleventh century royal authority probably went wider and deeper
in England than in any other European country.
This process gave power into the hands of those who could read and write, and in this way class divisions were increased. The power of landlords, who had
been given land by the king, was increased because their names were written down. Peasants, who could neither read nor write, could lose their traditional rights to their land, because their rights were not registered.
The Anglo-Saxon kings also preferred the Roman Church to the Celtic Church for economic reasons. Villages and towns grew around the monasteries and increased local trade. Many bishops and monks in England were from the
Prankish lands (France and Germany) and elsewhere. They were invited by English rulers who wished to benefit from closer Church and economic contact with Europe. In addition they all used Latin, the written language of Rome, and
this encouraged English trade with the continent. Increased literacy itself helped trade. Anglo-Saxon England became well known in Europe for its exports of woollen goods, cheese, hunting dogs, pottery and metal goods. It imported wine, fish, pepper, jewellery and wheel-made pottery.
The Vikings
Towards the end of the eighth century new raiders were tempted by
Britain's wealth. These were the Vikings, a word which probably means either "pirates" or "the people of the sea inlets", and they came from Norway and Denmark. Like the Anglo-Saxons they only raided at first. They burnt churches and monasteries along the east, north and west coasts of Britain and Ireland. London was itself raided in 842.
In 865 the Vikings invaded Britain once it was clear that the quarrelling
Anglo-Saxon kingdoms could not keep them out. This time they came to conquer and to settle. The Vikings quickly accepted Christianity and did not disturb the local population. By 875 only King Alfred in the west of Wessex held out against the Vikings, who had already taken most of England. After some serious defeats Alfred won a battle in 878, and eight years later he captured London. He was strong enough to make a treaty with the Vikings. Viking rule was recognised in the east and north of England. In the rest of the country Alfred was recognised as king.
Who should be king?
By 950 England seemed rich and peaceful again after the troubles of the Viking invasion. But soon afterwards the Danish Vikings started raiding westwards. The Saxon king, Ethelred, decided to pay the Vikings to stay away. To find the money he set a tax on all his people, called Danegeld, or "Danish money". It was
the beginning of a regular tax system of the people which would provide the money for armies.
When Ethelred died Cnut (or Canute), the leader of the Danish Vikings,
controlled much of England. He became king for the simple reason that the royal council, the Witan, and everyone else, feared disorder. The Witan chose Edward, one of Saxon Ethelred's sons, to be king.
Edward, known as "the Confessor", was more interested in the Church than in kingship. By the time Edward died there was a church in almost every village. The pattern of the English village, with its manor house and church, dates from this
time.
Edward only lived until 1066, when he died without an obvious heir. The question of who should follow him as king was one of the most important in English history. Edward had brought many Normans to his English court from France. "These Normans were not liked by the more powerful Saxon nobles, particularly by the most powerful family of Wessex, the Godwinsons. It was a Godwinson, Harold, whom the Witan chose to he the next king of England. Harold had already shown his bravery and ability. He had no royal blood, but he seemed a good choice for the throne of England.
Harold's right to the English throne was challenged by Duke William of
Normandy. William had two claims to the English throne. His first claim was that King Edward had promised it to him. The second claim was that Harold, who had visited William in 1064 or 1065, had promised William that he, Harold, would not try to take the throne for himself. Harold did not deny this second claim, but said
that he had been forced to make the promise, and that because it was made unwillingly he was not tied by it.
Harold was faced by two dangers, one in the south and one in the north. The Danish Vikings had not given up their claim to the English throne. Harold decided not to wait for the whole Saxon army, to gather because William's army was small.
He thought he could beat them with the men who had done so well against the Danes. However, the Norman soldiers were better armed, better organised, and were mounted on horses. If he had waited, Harold might have won. But he was defeated and killed in battle near Hastings.
William marched to London, which quickly gave in when he began to burn villages outside the city. He was crowned king of England in Edward's new church of Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day, 1066. A new period had begun.
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