A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons Read online

  653

  Penda of Mercia’s son Peada, sub-king of the Middle Angles, converts to Christianity. Cedd is sent to Bradwell on Sea in Essex; the following year Cedd becomes bishop of the East Saxons

  655

  Penda of Mercia and allied Britons force Oswiu of Bernicia to restore plunder at an encounter near Stirling on the River Forth. On 15 November Oswiu crushes the allies at the Battle of Winwaed and kills Penda

  658

  The Mercians drive out Northumbrian forces and make Wulfhere king

  664

  Synod of Whitby

  Oswiu of the Northumbrians aligns the church in his dominions with Rome in the calculation of Easter and matters of ritual

  669

  Theodore of Tarsus, consecrated in Rome as archbishop by Pope Vitalian, arrives at Canterbury. That year he installs Wilfrid as bishop of York and arranges the appointment of a bishop in Mercia

  670

  Oswiu of Northumbria dies peacefully

  674

  Benedict Biscop founds his monastery at Monkwearmouth

  678

  Wilfrid, expelled as bishop of Northumbria, leaves England to appeal to the pope; Theodore divides the huge diocese into three, Bernicia, Deira and Lindsey, all kingdoms or former kingdoms

  679

  Synod of Hatfield convened to affirm the allegiance of the church in England to orthodox Trinitarian Christianity and refute the monothelete heresy. Theodore presides with the style ‘archbishop of the island of Britain and of Canterbury’ At the Battle of the Trent, Æthelred of Mercia defeats Ecgfrith of the Northumbrians

  681

  Benedict Biscop founds the monastery at Jarrow, with Ceolfrith as its first abbot

  685

  Ecgfrith of Northumbria defeated and killed by the Picts at the Battle of Nechtansmere

  686/8

  Cædwalla of Wessex absorbs the Isle of Wight; he makes a pilgrimage to Rome, where he receives baptism from the pope. He dies there

  688

  Ine succeeds as king in Wessex; some time within the next ten years he promulgates his Laws

  690

  Death of Archbishop Theodore St Willibrord begins his mission to the Frisians from Utrecht

  695

  Laws of Wihtred, king of Kent

  706

  Wilfrid restored as bishop of Hexham

  709

  Death of Wilfrid

  710s

  Nechtan mac Derile, king of the Picts, applies to Monkwearmouth for help in adopting Roman Easter and in building a stone church

  714

  St Willibrord baptizes the future Frankish king, Pippin the Short

  716

  Abbot Ceolfrith leaves for Rome, bearing the Codex Amiatinus

  719

  Pope Gregory II at Rome mandates St Boniface to mission in Germany

  725

  Æthelbald of Mercia exerts imperium in Kent on death of King Wihtred

  732

  Battle of Poitiers: Charles Martel ends Arab advance north of the Pyrenees

  735

  Death of Bede Bishop Ecgberht becomes the first full archbishop of York

  742

  St Boniface convenes ‘Germanic Church Council’, dated AD, Bedan style

  744

  Foundation of abbey of Fulda

  747

  Third Council of Clofesho

  751

  Coronation of Pippin the Short as first non-Merovingian king of the Franks St Boniface present at the ceremony

  754 or 755

  5 June, St Boniface on mission to Frisians martyred at Dokkum (aged 78?)

  757

  Æthelbald of Mercia murdered, and his successor too. Offa accedes

  776

  Battle of Otford; Kent reasserts independence of Mercia for a time

  787

  Council of Chelsea confirms the elevation of Lichfield to an archbishopric Ecgfrith son of Offa anointed king of Mercia, perhaps on this occasion: co-ruler with his father

  793

  Vikings sack Lindisfarne

  796

  Death of Offa of Mercia; succeeded by his son Ecgfrith, who is murdered soon after. Revolt in Kent against Mercia led by Eadberht Præn

  798

  Coenwulf of Mercia deposes Eadberht Præn

  800

  Christmas Day, Charles the Great, king of the Franks, crowned emperor by Pope Leo III

  825

  Battle of Ellendun: Ecgberht of Wessex defeats Beornwulf of Mercia

  820s

  Historia Brittonum with its ‘Arthurian’ elements set down at Welsh court of Gwynedd. ‘Nennius’ one of the writers associated with it

  854

  Æthelwulf of Wessex and his son Alfred travel to Rome

  865

  The ‘Great Army’ of Danish Vikings campaigning in East Anglia

  867

  York falls to Viking force Æthelred of Wessex adopts Mercian ‘lunette’ penny type and thus in effect inaugurates a monetary union that anticipates the Anglo-Saxon kings’ nationwide unitary coinage

  869

  Battle of Hoxne and death of King Edmund of the East Angles

  870

  Battle of Ashdown: victory for King Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred over the Viking Danes

  871

  Alfred becomes king of Wessex

  873–4

  The ‘Great Host’ winters at Repton in Mercia and defeats King Burgred, who goes into exile at Rome, where he dies

  875–6

  Vikings under Halfdan settle lands in Northumbria

  876

  Danes divide Mercia with Ceolwulf

  878–9

  Following surprise Danish attack at Twelfth Night, Alfred is a fugitive in marshes of Athelney. He regroups. Following victory at Edington he stands sponsor at the baptism of their king, Guthrum

  880

  Danes settle in East Anglia

  885

  Submission to Alfred of all the English not subject to the Danes

  886

  Alfred ‘inaugurates’ burh at London

  899

  Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, dies

  903

  King Edward (the Elder) crushes rebellion of Æthelwold

  910

  Battle of Tettenhall: Edward defeats Northumbrian Danes

  918

  Death of Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians. Mercia taken over by Edward, king of the Anglo-Saxons

  924

  Death of Edward, accession of Æthelstan

  925

  Coronation of Æthelstan at Kingston Æthelstan coinage with style ‘REX TOTIUS BRITANNIAE’ Grately Code issued about this time

  934

  Æthelstan makes pilgrimage to shrine of St Cuthbert at Chester-le-Street

  937

  Battle of Brunanburh: Æthelstan’s victory over the Vikings of York and their northern allies

  939

  Death of Æthelstan and accession of Edmund

  943

  Baptism of Olaf, Viking king of Dublin and York, Edmund standing as his sponsor

  946

  Murder of Edmund at Pucklechurch, accession of Eadred

  952–4

  Eadred achieves submission of York Vikings Eric Bloodaxe killed at Battle of Stainmore

  955

  Death of Eadred, accession of Eadwig

  957

  Edgar king in Mercia and Northumbria

  959

  Death of Eadwig, Edgar king of all the English kingdom Dunstan, archbishop of Canterbury

  961

  Oswald becomes bishop of Worcester and, two years later, Æthelwold bishop of Winchester. The three principal figures of tenth-century church reform now in post.

  973

  Edgar’s ‘imperial’ coronation at Bath

  970s

  Edgar’s reign sees reforms of Anglo-Saxon coinage with royal mints established nationwide

  c. 973

  Council of Winche
ster approves the Regularis Concordia (i.e. an accord for the ‘regular’ clergy, the monks), governing the reformed Benedictine monasteries throughout England

  975

  Death of Edgar, accession of Edward the Martyr

  978

  Murder of Edward, accession of Æthelred II

  981

  Seven Danish ships sack Southampton: the first incursion since death of King Edgar

  990

  Sigeric, archbishop of Canterbury, travels to Rome for his pallium. A detailed account of his journey survives

  991

  Battle of Maldon: Ealdorman Byrthnoth killed resisting Norse raiders. Archbishop Sigeric advises paying tribute of 10,000 pounds, the first in Æthelred’s reign

  994

  Swein Forkbeard and Olaf Tryggvason of Norway lay siege to London

  995

  Community of St Cuthbert move from Chester-le-Street to Durham

  1002

  Wulfstan becomes archbishop of York and bishop of Worcester. St Bryce’s Day Massacre

  1009

  Arrival of army of Thorkell the Tall

  1012

  First levy of heregeld, tax levied nationwide (Europe’s first such impost) to pay Danish mercenaries. Payment continued until 1051, revived under the Norman kings and last raised in 1162. Martyrdom of St Ælfeah

  1013

  Swein of Denmark invades; Æthelred and his family flee to Normandy

  1014

  Death of Swein

  1015

  Return of Æthelred; Cnut campaigns against Edmund Ironside

  1016

  Death of Æthelred; accessions of Cnut and Edmund, who dies 30 November

  1017

  Cnut marries Queen Emma

  1020

  Cnut’s first letter to the English

  1021

  Thorkell the Tall exiled

  1027

  Cnut’s journey to Rome

  1035

  Death of Cnut; Harold I proclaimed at Oxford

  1040

  Death of Harold I, accession of Harthacnut

  1042

  Accession of Edward the Confessor

  1044

  Robert of Jumièges appointed bishop of London

  1051–2

  Expulsion and return of the Godwine family

  1053

  Reputed visit to England by Duke William of Normandy

  1055

  Tostig Godwineson appointed earl of Northumbria

  1063

  Earls Harold and Tostig campaign successfully against the Welsh

  1065

  Rising in the north against Tostig Harold has King Edward appoint Morcar of Mercia earl of Northumbria

  1066

  January, King Edward dies; Harold crowned king in Westminster Abbey Harald of Norway invades England with Tostig but Harold defeats them at Stamford Bridge, 25 September; William invades, 28 September. William defeats the English army at Hastings, 14 October.

  1068–9

  Northern rebellions against William

  1071

  Rebel force on Isle of Ely surrenders to William; Hereward the Wake makes good his escape

  1075

  Death of Edith, queen of Edward the Confessor, at Winchester. King William has her body brought solemnly to Westminster to be interred beside that of her husband in the abbey

  1085–6

  The Domesday survey

  1087

  Death of William the Conqueror

  1088

  William II, facing rebellion led by Odo of Bayeux, ‘summoned Englishmen and placed his troubles before them [and they] came to the Assistance of their lord the king . . .’

  1092

  Death of Wulfstan, bishop of Worcester – the last English bishop in post The last consecutive entry in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

  SELECTIVE GENEALOGY OF THE ROYAL HOUSE OF CERDIC/WESSEX/ENGLAND

  INTRODUCTION AN IDEA OF EARLY ENGLAND

  ‘Late Anglo-Saxon England was a nation state.’ So wrote a leading historian some ten years back. The words were controversial then and they are controversial now. Yet Professor Campbell was quite explicit as to his meaning. ‘It was an entity with an effective central authority, uniformly organized institutions, a national language, a national church, defined frontiers . . . and, above all, a strong sense of national identity.’1 It is, perhaps, hardly a view that squares with the received wisdom outside the world of Anglo-Saxon studies. But England was certainly a nation state at a very early era of European history.

  In this book I claim no originality of research, but want to tell the story of the first centuries of the English in Britain and in Europe and show how the historical reality of an English identity grew out of traditions of loyalty and lordship from the epic heritage of a pagan past embodied in the poem of Beowulf in a common vernacular language, and how the notion of a warrior church produced an expatriate community that made pioneering contributions to the shaping of the European experience. In the process we should see how, while there was ‘a nation of the English centuries before there was a kingdom of the English’,2 that kingdom, based on a shared vernacular language and literature, at the time of its overthrow in 1066 had achieved a substantially uniform system of government that, for good or ill, was in advance of any contemporary European polity of a comparable area.3 It was the culmination of a gradual coming together of separate political entities. As a result, the story comprises overlapping narratives of rival kingships – Kentish, Northumbrian, Mercian and so forth – up to the mid-tenth century, so that the reader will sometimes find the chronology running ahead of itself. Above all, this main account is of necessity interrupted by chapters not set in England at all but on the Continent of Europe, where three generations of expatriate English men and women made formative contributions to the birth of a European identity.

  In the early 700s Wynfrith ‘of Crediton’ in Devon, otherwise known as St Boniface, patron saint of Germany, where he worked for most of his life, was in the habit of referring to his home country as ’transmarina Saxonia’ (‘Saxony overseas’). He described himself as of the race of the Angles. His younger contemporary, the Langobard churchman Paul the Deacon, noted the unusual garments that ‘Angli Saxones were accustomed to wear’ and in the next century Prudentius, bishop of the French city of Troyes, writes of: ‘The island of Britain, the greater part of which Angle Saxons inhabit’ (Brittaniam insulam, ea quam maxime parte, quam Angli Saxones incolunt).4 Wilhelm Levison, the great authority on the English presence on the Continent in the early Middle Ages, actually suggested that the term Anglo-Saxon may have originated on the Continent to distinguish them from the German or ‘Old’ Saxons. However, most scholars now tend to accept that the name of the ‘Angles’ had earlier origins.

  We have here a cluster of terms – Germany, Saxony, Langobard, French – that are not what they seem. The geographical identity of the island of Britain is still, give or take a coastline indentation or two, what it was twelve hundred years ago, but ‘France’ was part of the region known as ‘Francia’, the land of the western Franks. Gaul was the Roman term for the province and the term ‘Neustria’ is sometimes used for territories in southern Francia. The Langobards were a Germanic people who had established a kingdom in northern Italy remembered in the word Lombardy. What today we might call ‘Germany’ then comprised parts of the wesern regions of the modern state, mostly the lands of the East Franks – Francken (Franconia), Hessen, Lothringen, Schwaben (Swabia) and Bayern (Bavaria). The pagan Germanic-speaking tribes of Saxony (those ‘Old’ Saxons) had yet to be brought into the Christian domains of the eastern Franks, though they too were Germans.

  This leaves us with the Anglo-Saxons. They were at first a mixed collection of Germanic raiders who had crossed over to the island Britain and would eventually become subsumed under the name of ‘English’. Some may have settled as early as the 370s, following a great incursion of Scotti (from Ireland), Picts (from Scotland) and Saxons described
by the Roman writer Ammianus Marcellinus for the year 367. In much the same way, the Germanic tribes on the east bank of the lower Rhine, known collectively as ‘the Franks’, who began to disturb that part of the Roman imperial frontier in the third century, were made up of three main groups: the Salian, the Ripuarian and the Chatti or Hessian Franks. As for the original inhabitants of Britannia, whose descendants still maintain their identity in Wales, they considered the English quite simply as Germans and continued to call them that as late as the eighth century.5

  About the year 400, apart from the officers and men of the Roman military, a small group of colonial officials and possibly a few Christian clerics, the overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of Britain south of Hadrian’s Wall could have been divided into two broad ethnic groups. The larger of these could claim descent from the original Iron Age peoples who occupied the islands before the Roman invasion of AD 43 and who still, some four centuries later, constituted the bulk of the population. The smaller group, a native establishment and ruling class, was of mixed Romano-British ancestry, the result of intermarriage. Most of them called themselves ‘Roman’. Many could have spoken or written Latin, the rest spoke one of the languages of the British territories that were formerly client kingdoms to Rome. (‘Roman’, of course, was a civic rather than ethnic designation. The legionaries came from such provinces as Dacia (modern Romania), Iberia and Gaul, a few perhaps from Latium in Italy, and many from Syria.