lesson 1 - the structure of anglo-saxon england
TRANSCRIPT
Focus: The map of 9th Century England
and the Anglo-Saxon political Divisions
England in the 9th century was divided into many major and minor kingdoms, such as King Alfred’s Wessex.
During the 9th century there were many raids and wars between kingdoms as well as constant feuding with pagan Danes [more commonly known as Vikings].
The common language was Old English [Also known as Anglo-Saxon] – which has, between the 12-14th centuries, died out.
Before they became Christians, the Anglo-Saxons believed in a form of Germanic paganism – close to the Old Norse religion. Christianity replaced this old belief during the 7th and 8th centuries
Anglo-Saxon literature included epic poems [like Beowulf], sermons, translations of the Bible, legal works, chronicles, riddles and others.
In AD 600, a Germanic people from northern Germany and Scandinavia settled in Britain.
These peoples were made up of Angles, Saxons and Jutes.
The term ‘Anglo-Saxon’, came from the two more dominant Germanic races – the Angles and the Saxons.
At first, England was divided into numerous small kingdoms, the main kingdoms consisting of:
Kent Essex Sussex East Anglia Lindsey Bernicia Deira Mercia Wessex
These kingdoms were formed because the settlers were essentially tribal groups that were led by warrior-aristocrats under one chieftain or king. So through tribal agreement – after conquering England – these kings divided the land because of the different tribes amongst the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes.
-They all had kings- All these kings had to obey the High King or ‘Bretwalda’.
-Some kingdoms were more powerful than other kingdoms.
However, by King Alfred’s time, The Kingdom of Lindsey had disappeared, and Bernicia and Deira had combined to form Northumbria.
This lead to [what is known to historians as] the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. Meaning, England was divided into 7 major kingdoms: Kent, Essex, Sussex, East Anglia, Northumbria, Mercia, and Wessex.
These were the kingdoms that were either disappearing at Alfred’s time or were not as
relevant as the Major Kingdoms.
Kent was founded by the Jutes in the 5th century.
It lost it’s independence in the 8th century, becoming a sub-kingdom of Mercia. Later in the 9th century, it became part of Wessex, and unified in the 10th century as part of the Kingdom of England – created under the leadership of Wessex.
It was one of the first Anglo-Saxon kingdoms to be created.
Was founded in the 6th century, and occupied the territories later taken by the modern counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Middlesex and, for some time, Kent.
Kings of Essex were constantly subservient to foreign overlords.
The last King of Essex was Sigered, who ceded the kingdom to Egbert of Wessex.
Its territory was primarily and vastly covered by the Forest of Andred – which was recorded to be 120 miles wide and 30 miles deep.
It was inhabited by wolves, boars and even bears.
The land was so dense that the Domesday Book did not record some of its settlements.
These were the kingdoms that were more powerful and more relevant at the time of Alfred
the Great
It is now known as the English counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and the eastern part of the Fens.
During the 7th century, under King Raedwald, East Anglia became a powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdom.
However, during the decades that followed his death in 642, East Anglia became increasingly dominated by the powerful kingdom of Mercia.
Several of Raedwald’s successors were killed in battle. After Aethelberht was killed by the Mercians in 794 and until 825,
East Anglia ceased to be a independant kingdom. Although, it re-gained its independence under Eadwald in 796.
It survived until 869. After 879, the Vikings defeated the East Anglians in battle and their
king, Edmund of East Anglia, was killed. The Vikings then settled in East Anglia permanently, making it part
of Danelaw.
It is all of Northern England and Southern Scotland.
It was formed by Aethelfrith in central Great Britain, in the 7th century after the unification of Bernicia and Deira.
However, later on, the southern part of Northumbria was lost to Danelaw.
Northern Northumbria became weak and it only retained status when England was reunited by the Wessex-led conquest of Danelaw.
Is the region that is now known as the English Midlands Unlike the other kingdoms, Mercia’s evolution from Anglo-Saxon
invasions is obscure. It developed an effective political structure and adopted Christianity
later than all the other kingdoms. It grew to power in 584. In 852, Burgred of Mercia came to power and; with Ethelwulf of
Wessex; subjugated northern Wales. But at this point in time the Danes had taken over Nottingham.
The Danes drove Burgred from his throne and Ceolwulf II of Mercia succeeded in his place.
In 877, the eastern part of Mercia became part of Danelaw. Ceolwulf II was the last of the Mercian kings, and disappeared by 881. From 883 – 911, Earl Aethelred of Mercia ruled the western part of
Mercia as and Earl under the King of Wessex. After Aethelred’s death in 911, his wife Aethelflaed (Daughter of
Alfred the Great) took power as the Lady of the Mercians until her death in 918.
Her brother, Edward the Elder of Wessex took power after her – hence, Mercia was no longer independent and became part of Wessex.
Is now the South-west of England. It was formed during the 6th century and later
became the reason as well as a part of the unified England in the 10th century.
Wessex was the only English kingdom that remained independent after the Viking raids in the 850s.
It succeeded to defeat and exile Guthrum – the leader of the Danes – under the rule of King Alfred the Great and his predecessors , such as Edward the Elder, gradually drove out the Danes.
Eventually, England became a single kingdom under the rule of one King.
The heptarchy was a kingdom made up of seven sub-kingdoms.
If one of the sub-kingdoms were to fall under attack the other six would strive to help it
There were also some sub-kingdoms fighting amongst each other – which was a negative effect.
Each sub-kingdom had its own king, but the entire heptarchy had a high-king or ‘Bretwalda’ who all other kings had to answer to.
Interactions politically, and economically. How did they deal with their enemies on a unified level? Did they ever do such a thing?
High King /Emperor or ‘Bretwalda’
The Kings of All 7
Kingdoms
The Earls, Dukes and Other Nobles
The Common Folk
Essay: “Discuss the development of a heptarchy in 9th century England.”
Point, Evidence, Explanation, Comparison to most prominent factor, and Link.
Division and Unity. Presentation: “Northumbria, Mercia, and
Wessex: Competition between the kingdoms and the declining power of Northumbria and Mercia.”
Presentation: “Economy, Agriculture, Coinage, and European Trade. Towns and Markets.”