British Pasts. Saxons and Scandinavians

Transcription

1 Saxons and Scandinavians

2 Sources on the Dark Ages 540s: Gildas, The Ruin of Britain 731: The Venerable Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People C. 890: Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Archaeological evidence: grave objects

3 Who were the settlers? They came from three very powerful Germanic tribes, the Saxons, Angles and Jutes. The people of Kent and the inhabitants of the Isle of Wight are of Jutish origin, and also those opposite the Isle of Wight, that part of the kingdom of Wessex which is still today called the nation of the Jutes. From the Saxon country, that is, the district now known as Old Saxony, came the East Saxons, the South Saxons and the West Saxons. Besides this, from the country of the Angles, that is, the land between the kingdom of the Jutes and the Saxons, which is called Angulus,, came the West Angles, the Middle Angles, the Mercians, and all the Northumbrian race (that is those people who dwell north of the River Humber) as well as the other Anglian tribes. Angulus is said to have remained deserted from that day to this. Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People

4 Path of Fifth- Century Invasions

5 Lordship and Kinship Close-knit kin-groups, sometimes living together in one settlement (cf. -ing, -ingham, -ington) Vendetta, satisfaction of honour with a wergild Loyalty to lord

6 Religion Norse Gods: Tiw, Woden and Thor/Thunor (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday); Eostrae (Easter) Shrines in remote places, woods and hills Worship of stones, wood, trees and wells?

7 Adventus Saxonum Mid-fifth century (?): First Saxons imported by Vortigern to defend the east coast c. 450(?): Landing of Hengist and Horsa Rebellion of Saxons; c. 500, British victory at Mons Badonicus Sixth century: Invaders push further inland

8 British Kingdoms Kingdom of Dalraida (Irish) Strathclyde, Rheged and Elemet (Pictish) Gwynedd, Powys and Gwent (Welsh) Dumnonia (modern Cornwall, Devon, Somerset) Depopulation: mass emigration westwards, disease, social degradation

9 Seventh-Century Kingdoms The Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy: Kent, Sussex (South Saxons), Wessex (West Saxons), East Anglia, Essex (East Saxons), Mercia (including Middle Angles), and Northumbria

10 My brothers were slain at one stroke, Cynan, Cynddylan, Cynwraith, Defending Tren, ravaged town [...] More common was blood on the field s face Than ploughing of fallow [...] The hall of Cynddylan, dark is the roof, Since the Saxon cut down Powys Cynddylan and Elfan... Early Welsh Poem

11 The Balance of Power Power and conquest depended on: Military forces, which depended on: Gift-giving, which depended on: Wealth, which was gained by: Power and conquest King Oswin of Deira was tall and handsome, pleasant of speech, courteous in manner, and bountiful to nobles and commoners alike; so it came about that noblemen from almost every kingdom flocked to him as retainers.

12 Sutton Hoo Burial Site (620s) Probably tomb of Raedwald

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14 Social Structures, Daily Life This is how the present life of man on earth, King, appears to me in comparison with that time which is unknown to us. You are sitting feasting with your ealdormen and thegns in winter time; the fire is burning on the hearth in the middle of the hall and all inside is warm, while outside the wintry storms of rain and snow are raging; and a sparrow flies swiftly through the hall. It enters in at one door and quickly flies out through the other. For the few moments it is inside, the storm and wintry tempest cannot touch it, but after the briefest moment of calm, it flits from your sight, out of the wintry storm and into it again. So this life of man appears but for a moment; what follows or indeed what went before, we know

15 Beowulf Then the warriors rode around the barrow [...] They praised his manhood and the prowess of his hands, They raised his name; it is right a man Should be lavish in honouring his lord and friend. [...] They said that he was of all the world s kings The gentlest of men, and the most gracious, The kindest to his people, the keenest for fame.

16 Local Government Country divided into hundreds Royal manor house (tun) at centre of a district centre of law and government Surrounded by smallholdings

17 Christianity 597: Augustine sent to England by Pope Gregory the Great 601: Augustine enthroned as first Archbishop of Canterbury From mid 6th century: Irish monks convert English 664: Date for Easter set at the Synod of Whitby Monasteries founded (e.g. Wearmouth and Jarrow); towns begin to form around religious centres

18 Mercian Supremacy King Aethelbald of Mercia (716-57) described as King not only of the Mercians but of all the provinces called by the general name Southern English

19 King Offa (757-96) Had full control over Kent, also over Sussex, Surrey, East Anglia First ruler to refer to himself as king of the English Construction of Offa s Dyke, barrier between England and Wales Introduced systematic coinage

20 Rise of the House of Wessex 825: Egbert of Wessex wins decisive victory over the Mercians and annexes Kent, Essex, Surrey and Sussex 829: Mercia falls to Egbert and Northumbria acknowledges his lordship 839: Mercia regains independence

21 Viking Raids 789: Reference in Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to the first three ships of Norwegians from Hörthaland : Plundering of Lindisfarne 794: Plundering of Jarrow 795: Plundering of Iona 835: Major Viking raid on Kent From 850: Raiders descend in great numbers on European countries

22 Viking invasions

23 The Vikings Viking = pirate Trading peoples; weak leadership and competition for land lead to adoption of adventuring lifestyle From 850s: Conquer and settlement 865: Danish Great Army lands in East Anglia 867: Capture of York 869: East Anglia conquered 870: Danish army camps at Reading and prepares to invade Wessex

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25 Alfred the Great (871-99) 870: Aethelred and Alfred defeat Danes 871: New Danish army arrives Aethelred dies, Alfred buys Danes off 875-6, 878: Further Danish attacks on Wessex 878: Alfred driven back to Athelney May 878: Alfred defeats Danes; Guthrum baptised

26 Alfred the Great (871-99) 886: Alfred frees London from Danish occupation; establishment of Danelaw Construction of network of burhs; promotion of centres of learning

27 Later Wessex Monarchs By 920: Edward the Elder ( ), and Aethelfled fix English frontier at Humber 923: Kings of Scots and of Strathclyde Welsh accept Edward as lord 973: Eight British kings swear fealty to Edgar

28 Return of the Vikings 918: Norwegian vikings attack northern Danelaw from Ireland 919: Ragnald establishes kingdom of York 920: Edmund accepts Ragnald s fealty 926: Athelstan attacks and captures York 937: English army under Athelstan defeats combined force of Norse, Scots and Welsh

29 Return of the Vikings 939: Olaf Guthfrithson captures York and is recognised as king by Edmund 941-5: Edmund recovers northern Danelaw 947: York falls to Eric Bloodaxe : Struggle for power between Eric, Eadred and Olaf Sihtricson 954: Eadred invades Northumbria and kills last king of York

30 Edgar s Reign (959-75) Rule of secular law, witans Establishment of system of shires Introduction of standard coinage Monastic reform

31 Reign of Aethelred the Unready ( ) 991: Large Danish force attacks Essex militia and is bought off 1002: Aethelred makes treaty with Duke of Normandy and orders massacre of Danish population ín southern England 1003: King Sweyn attacks East Anglia and is bought off 1013: King Sweyn returns and is accepted as king; Aethelred flees to Normandy 1015 Canute invades England

32 King Cnut (Canute) ( ) from a wild man into a most Christian king Exacerbates divisions in England

33 Next week: 1066 and All That