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
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
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.