The Kingdom of England was formed in 927 CE when the independent kingdoms of Wessex, Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Danelaw (the Danish occupied kingdom) and the minor kingdoms of Essex, Sussex, and Kent were finally unified as one country after under King Æthelstan, after a drawn-out process of conflict and consolidation in the preceding few centuries.
Northumbria, the northern most region of England and therefore the most susceptible to invasion by Scandinavian forces, continued to fall in and out of English and Danish rule until 954 CE when King Eadred brought it fully under English control, where it remained. At the same time, Lothian, the small area which bordered northern Northumbria, was ceded to Scotland as part of the deal.
In 1016 Cnut (Canute), the son of Swein of Denmark invaded and defeated the weak King Ethelred of England. He was invited to take up the throne of England and established a strong and united England. Despite being a Dane, he was Christian, and the English people and nobles wanted a strong ruler who would end the incessant raids from the north. He married Ethelred’s widow, Queen Emma of Normandy. Cnut was allied with the English and the Danes and brought peace to the kingdom. Cnut also became King of Denmark in 1019 and King of Norway in 1028, which along with England, formed the Great North Sea Empire under his rule. Though both of his sons succeeded his rule - Harald 1035-1040, and Harthacnut 1040-1042 - the death of the second resulted in Edward, the son of King Ethelred and Queen Emma, to be recalled from Normandy (France) to take the throne.
Anglo-Saxon monarchs then ruled a united Kingdom of England in peace until January 1066 with the death of King Edward, who had no children. A succession crisis occurred when Harold, Edward’s brother-in-law, and William, duke of Normandy, his cousin, both claimed that Edward had promised them the throne. Though Harold was crowned immediately after Edward’s death, William later invaded the south coast and defeated King Harold’s forces at the Battle of Hastings in October 1066. His succession to the English throne as William the Conqueror marked the beginning of Norman England – bringing with it new language, customs, and culture - and the end of the Anglo-Saxon period.
| none |
| Norman England |
| continuity |
| Succeeding: Norman England (gb_england_norman) [elite replacement] | |
| Preceding: Anglo-Saxon England I (gb_anglo_saxon_1) [continuity] | |
| UNCLEAR: [continuity] |
| Year Range | Anglo-Saxon England II (gb_anglo_saxon_2) was in: |
|---|
The capital of the Kingdom of England was Winchester, based in Wessex. After William the Conqueror’s invasion and ascendance to the throne, he moved the capital to London in 1066.
The Norman Conquest resulted in the near-total replacement of the Anglo-Saxon ruling class by Norman elites: The Anglo-Saxon nobility and earls were displaced, with their lands redistributed to Norman lords and knights who became the new feudal rulers. By the time of the Domesday Book (1086), less than 5% of English land was held by Anglo-Saxon nobles, demonstrating a near-complete Norman takeover of the elite landowning class. [Carpenter 2003], [webpage_Home | Domesday Book]
Inhabitants. The royal borough of London in former Wessex likely had around 12,000 inhabitants by the end of the polity period. It covered 128 hectares whereas others were around 40 hectares. [1] [2]
[1]: (Roberts et al 2014: 34) Roberts, Clayton, Roberts, F. David, and Bisson, Douglas. 2014. ‘Anglo-Saxon England: 450–1066’, in A History of England, Volume 1, 6th ed. Routledge. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/P2IHD9U3
[2]: (Higham and Ryan 2013: 25) Higham, Nicholas J. Ryan, M. J. 2013. The Anglo-Saxon World. Yale University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/DEXKYD28
People. The population of England was around 1.5 million in 1086 when the Domesday Book was written, which is close enough to the end of our polity date to assume this is a fair approximation of the population during this period. [1]
[1]: (Cantor 1982: 18) Cantor, Leonard. 2021. The English Medieval Landscape. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003159384. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/DEXKYD2
in kilometers. Approximate distance between the of Winchester and the former Northumbrian capital of Bamburgh. However, this is the most direct route by modern roads and so it is likely to have been longer.
levels.: Capital city: Winchester in the former kingdom of Wessex was the centre of royal and administrative power as well as housing the archbishop and cathedrals, three minsters and an episcopal palace. [1] Coins were minted here. [2] :: Major Towns:: Important larger market towns such as London, York, Cambridge, and Ely. They had cathedrals and were the official seat of a diocesan bishop. [3] [4] ::: Port and trading towns::: Trading emporium and market towns and ports such as Dover, Sarre, Southampton, and Ipswich. [3] [4] ::: Villages::: Villages were small and mostly consisted of farmland and a few hall-type buildings. They were generally situated with access to good ploughing land, but some were in lower-status areas such as on the margins of occupied districts or in dry or chalky areas. These may have been used by the Germanic immigrants to establish themselves. [5] [6] :::: Monastic communities:::: Slightly more isolated and small communities based on a monastery with a self-sustaining ‘home-farm’ at its centre. [7] Double monasteries existed which housed monks and nuns side-by-side in communities ran by an abbess. After a slump in monastic life during the Viking invasions and colonisations of the Anglo-Saxon period, Benedictine monasteries surged in the tenth century. Sixty monasteries were established between 940 – 1066. [8]
[1]: (Yorke 1995: 320) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJN
[2]: (Keynes 2000: 462) Keynes, Simon. 2000. “England, c. 900–1016.” Chapter. In The New Cambridge Medieval History, edited by Timothy Reuter, 3:456–84. The New Cambridge Medieval History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521364478.019. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/7Q6L256F
[3]: (Yorke 1990: 40, 65) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJN
[4]: (Wright 2015: 34-36) Wright, Duncan W. ‘Early Medieval Settlement and Social Power: The Middle Anglo-Saxon “Home Farm”’, Medieval Archaeology 59, no. 1 (1 January 2015): 24–46, https://doi.org/10.1080/00766097.2015.1119395. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/H4A8AR5P
[5]: (Higham 2004: 10) Higham, Nick. ‘From Sub-Roman Britain to Anglo-Saxon England: Debating the Insular Dark Ages’, History Compass 2, no. 1 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-0542.2004.00085.x. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XZT7A79K
[6]: (Wright 2015: 25, 31) Wright, Duncan W. ‘Early Medieval Settlement and Social Power: The Middle Anglo-Saxon “Home Farm”’, Medieval Archaeology 59, no. 1 (1 January 2015): 24–46, https://doi.org/10.1080/00766097.2015.1119395. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/H4A8AR5P
[7]: (Wright 2015) Wright, Duncan W. ‘Early Medieval Settlement and Social Power: The Middle Anglo-Saxon “Home Farm”’, Medieval Archaeology 59, no. 1 (1 January 2015): 24–46, https://doi.org/10.1080/00766097.2015.1119395. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/H4A8AR5P
[8]: (Roberts et al 2014: 35-36) Roberts, Clayton, Roberts, F. David, and Bisson, Douglas. 2014. ‘Anglo-Saxon England: 450–1066’, in A History of England, Volume 1, 6th ed. Routledge. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/P2IHD9U3
levels.Church and royalty were closely linked. While the church benefitted economically and through grants of land from the crown, kings were able to keep their authority over their increasingly large territories through religious ministers who solidified the social hierarchy through Christianity. [1] : 1. Archbishop : Archbishops of the highest rank, who have management over other bishops across their territories. [2] :: 2. Bishop:: A bishop has control over an area called a diocese. By 689 CE there were fourteen bishoprics established across the English kingdoms. [3] [4] ::: 3. Priest :::: 4. Minister:::: Ministers were located in villages across England. [5] ::::: 5. Monks
[1]: (Wright 2015: 27-28) Wright, Duncan W. ‘Early Medieval Settlement and Social Power: The Middle Anglo-Saxon “Home Farm”’, Medieval Archaeology 59, no. 1 (1 January 2015): 24–46, https://doi.org/10.1080/00766097.2015.1119395. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/H4A8AR5P
[2]: (Yorke 1990: 21) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJN
[3]: Roberts et al 2014: 26
[4]: (Wright 2015: 30) Wright, Duncan W. ‘Early Medieval Settlement and Social Power: The Middle Anglo-Saxon “Home Farm”’, Medieval Archaeology 59, no. 1 (1 January 2015): 24–46, https://doi.org/10.1080/00766097.2015.1119395. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/H4A8AR5P
[5]: (Wright 2015: 30-32) Wright, Duncan W. ‘Early Medieval Settlement and Social Power: The Middle Anglo-Saxon “Home Farm”’, Medieval Archaeology 59, no. 1 (1 January 2015): 24–46, https://doi.org/10.1080/00766097.2015.1119395. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/H4A8AR5P
levels.: 1. King :: 2. Comitatus (pledged warriors) :: (later called Thegns) “In a society where the success of a ruler and the people dependent upon him derived from effectiveness in war, the relationship of the king with his military followers was of vital importance. Tacitus saw the relationship of king and warband (comitatus) as central to the success and failure of the Germanic provinces he describes. The interaction between the king and his warriors is also a major concern of Old English heroic poetry. Poems like Beowulf stress the reciprocal nature of the relationship of king and comitatus. The followers fought loyally for their lord, but the loyalty had been purchased beforehand by the upkeep the king provided for his warriors and by the giving of gifts; conspicuous acts of loyalty in battle would be rewarded by further gifts-appropriate generosity was what made a ‘good king’. When not in battle, the king’s hall was the place where the necessary bonding of lord and follower occurred. The comitatus ate and slept in the hall at the king’s expense.” [1] ::: 3. Fryd (standing army)::: The fryd were a standing army always in service. They were divided up to protect the burghs and shires of the kingdom. [2]
[1]: (Yorke 1990: 17) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJN
[2]: (Baker and Brooks 2015: 229) Baker, John and Brookes, Stuart. “Explaining Anglo-Saxon Military Efficiency: The Landscape of Mobilization”, Anglo-Saxon England 44 (December 2015): 221–58, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0263675100080121. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5LN4TEJV
levels.: 1. King : It seems that kingship was not fully established in Anglo-Saxon ‘England’ until the mid-to-late sixth century. These are evidenced by increasingly rich male burials which are distinctive to the previously higher class of warrior burials. The arrival of Anglo-Saxon leaders resulted in the establishment of the first smaller kingdoms, which set aside any remaining power structures of the post-Roman Britons and started the beginnings of kingship which quickly became widespread throughout the region. [1] [2] [3] Kings now governed through royal officials as outlined below. [4] :: 2. Patricius (deputy to the king) :: The position of patricius is known from Kent, Mercia and Northumbria in the eighth century. The patricius could deputize for the king as military leader and probably played a major role in the co-ordination of royal government.” [5] ::: 3. The Witan::: A council made up of elected wise-men who acted as advisors, particularly for assisting the king on important state matters, new laws, land grants, or war strategy. The Whitan usually consisted of a collection of bishops, abbots, chaplains, ealdormen, royal family members and royal officials. [4] :::: 4. Royal Officials:::: 4.1 Port-Reeves:::: Port-Reeves were the royal officials in the Boroughs. [4] :::: 4.2 Ealdormen.:::: Ealdormen were the royal officials in the Shires. They were from a noble family and were the chief officer for the king in the shires. They preceeded over the bi-annual court. [4] ::::: 5. Baliffs::::: Baliffs became the royal official in the ‘Hundreds’ - smaller divisions of the Shires. They dealt with common criminal and civil matters at a monthly open court. [6]
[1]: Higham 2004: 4
[2]: Yorke 1990: 9, 15
[3]: Wright 2015: 27
[4]: (Roberts et al 2014: 30) Roberts, Clayton, Roberts, F. David, and Bisson, Douglas. 2014. ‘Anglo-Saxon England: 450–1066’, in A History of England, Volume 1, 6th ed. Routledge. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/P2IHD9U3
[5]: (Yorke 1990: 171) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJN
[6]: (Roberts et al 2014: 31) Roberts, Clayton, Roberts, F. David, and Bisson, Douglas. 2014. ‘Anglo-Saxon England: 450–1066’, in A History of England, Volume 1, 6th ed. Routledge. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/P2IHD9U3
Thegns were permanent warriors who were paid and housed at the palace by the King in exchange for their pledge of loyalty. [1]
[1]: (Yorke 1990: 17) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJN
There were priests, bishops and archbishops in larger towns such as London, Elham, Canterbury and Hereford [1]
[1]: (Yorke 1990: 31, 69) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJN
No reference to judge-type positions in the sources consulted. Rather, ealdormen, port-reeves or sheriffs presided over court matters. [1]
[1]: (Roberts et al 2014: 31) Roberts, Clayton, Roberts, F. David, and Bisson, Douglas. 2014. ‘Anglo-Saxon England: 450–1066’, in A History of England, Volume 1, 6th ed. Routledge. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/P2IHD9U3
Laws were codified and enforced by the king, his officials in the local courts, and bishops and priest. In the preceding polity, King Alfred had established a code of law which incorporated laws from the other kingdoms to create a central English law as part of his vision to unify the entire of England under one kingdom. This was now the central law of the Kingdom of England. [1]
[1]: (Roberts et al 2014: 29-31) Roberts, Clayton, Roberts, F. David, and Bisson, Douglas. 2014. ‘Anglo-Saxon England: 450–1066’, in A History of England, Volume 1, 6th ed. Routledge. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/P2IHD9U3
Ealdormen in the shires presided over a bi-annual court which dealt with criminal, civil and ecclesiastical matters, and also declared new laws or dooms. From the eleventh century, ealdormen began to preside over several shires and so a subordinate, the shire-reeve (sherriff), took over court duties in the individual shires. [1] ♠ Professional Lawyers ♣ inferred absent ♥ No reference to lawyer-type positions in the sources consulted. Rather, ealdormen, port-reeves or sheriffs presided over court matters and plaintiff and defendants represented themselves. [2]
[1]: (Roberts et al 2014: 30) Roberts, Clayton, Roberts, F. David, and Bisson, Douglas. 2014. ‘Anglo-Saxon England: 450–1066’, in A History of England, Volume 1, 6th ed. Routledge. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/P2IHD9U3
[2]: (Roberts et al 2014: 31) Roberts, Clayton, Roberts, F. David, and Bisson, Douglas. 2014. ‘Anglo-Saxon England: 450–1066’, in A History of England, Volume 1, 6th ed. Routledge. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/P2IHD9U3
Towns and cities had markets and trading emporiums. “Jeremy Haslam has suggested that not only was Offa responsible for a defensive network of burhs at important bridgeheads in eastern England, but that he may also have established a series of ‘urban’ markets to stimulate the Mercian economy.” [1]
[1]: (Yorke 1990: 117) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJN
Archives run by the church. [1] ““Kings were the most important benefactors of the religious houses within their kingdoms and naturally figure prominently in the archives of religious communities both through the records of their benefactions and in ‘historical’ records, such as saints’ Lives and annals, produced by individual religious houses. Religious houses might also act as repositories for the archives of their royal families and produce classes of records such as kinglists and genealogies for them.” [2] Schools for religious teaching had been established from the mid-seventh century. Schools for the children of nobles and some commoners at Winchester were encouraged during the reign of Alfred the Great. [3]
[1]: (Yorke 1990: 20, 25) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJN
[2]: (Yorke 1990: 20) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJN
[3]: (Roberts et al 2014: 29, 35) Roberts, Clayton, Roberts, F. David, and Bisson, Douglas. 2014. ‘Anglo-Saxon England: 450–1066’, in A History of England, Volume 1, 6th ed. Routledge. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/P2IHD9U3
Roads were built during the Roman occupation of the region and maintained by soldiers. [1] [2] “Any exemptions granted in the ninth century did not, of course, include remission from the three ‘common burdens’ of military service, upkeep of roads and bridges and fortresswork which were compulsory for the whole Mercian people.” [3]
[1]: (Yorke 1990: 5, 19) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJN
[2]: (Higham 2004: 9) Higham, Nick. ‘From Sub-Roman Britain to Anglo-Saxon England: Debating the Insular Dark Ages’, History Compass 2, no. 1 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-0542.2004.00085.x. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XZT7A79K
[3]: (Yorke 1990: 125) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJN
There were ports all along the English coast, the most notable being London, Dover, and Sarre. [1] “In the seventh and eighth century, trade with the Continent seems to have become increasingly important to Anglo-Saxon kings, as can be seen from the development of the sceatta and penny coinages, the rise of the specialized trading base (wic) and the priority given to acquiring ports by kingdoms like Mercia and Wessex which to begin with were not ideally placed to participate in foreign trade.” [2]
[1]: (Yorke 1990: 40) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJN
[2]: (Yorke 1990: 166) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJN
Bridges were built during the Roman occupation of the region and maintained by soldiers. [1] “One important innovation was the burh or fortress which could be used both as a local refuge and as a base for a militia to intercept Viking forces and hamper their manoeuvrability. When Offa ruled Kent he had introduced the public services of fortress-work and bridge-work to help counter the first Viking attacks on the province so when the West Saxons conquered Kent they inherited the Mercian burhs there. [2]
[1]: (Yorke 1990: 125) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJN
[2]: (Yorke 1990: 152) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJN
Anglo-Saxon homes were made of wood rather than stone or brick so it is unlikely that mines and quarries were needed for mass-production until the later period and the Norman invasion when stone and brick became more popular. [1]
[1]: (Hills 1990: 51) Hills, Catherine. ‘Roman Britain to Anglo-Saxon England’, History Today, 1 October 1990, https://www.proquest.com/docview/1299029206/abstract/974AE2C925154DEBPQ/1. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/9P2MJSYJ
Ports such as London and Dover housed trading emporiums for imports and exports to Europe. Ipswich in East Anglia was a significant trading emporium from the early seventh century onwards. [1]
[1]: (Yorke 1990: 50, 65) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJN
In many villages houses were arranged within fenced enclosures. Animals were kept in paddocks and enclosures. Fortresses and fortifications are found across Anglo-Saxon England. [1]
[1]: (Hamerow 2005: 273-4, 279) Hamerow, Helena. 2005. “The Earliest Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms.” Chapter. In The New Cambridge Medieval History, edited by Paul Fouracre, 1:263–88. The New Cambridge Medieval History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521362917.012. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5JNINHPQ
Cemeteries; churches. Cemeteries throughout the entire region and polity duration. Anglo-Saxon cemeteries have been found dating from as early as 425 CE. [1] [2]
[1]: (Higham 2004: 6) Higham, Nick. ‘From Sub-Roman Britain to Anglo-Saxon England: Debating the Insular Dark Ages’, History Compass 2, no. 1 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-0542.2004.00085.x. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XZT7A79K
[2]: (Yorke 1990: 7) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJN
Cemeteries throughout the entire region and polity duration. Anglo-Saxon cemeteries have been found dating from as early as 425 CE. [1] [2] “The most widespread evidence from England in the mid-fifth to midseventh centuries is undoubtedly that from cemeteries, to which we must now briefly return. Something between 30,000 and 40,000 graves have been discovered over the past few centuries, sometimes in concentrations of several thousand in a single place.74 This sounds a very large number indeed, but it should be remembered that this material represents deposition over at least two centuries, so reflects perhaps only at most 3,000–4,000 per generation.” [3]
[1]: (Higham 2004: 6) Higham, Nick. ‘From Sub-Roman Britain to Anglo-Saxon England: Debating the Insular Dark Ages’, History Compass 2, no. 1 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-0542.2004.00085.x. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XZT7A79K
[2]: (Yorke 1990: 7) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJN
[3]: (Higham 2004: 12) Higham, Nick. ‘From Sub-Roman Britain to Anglo-Saxon England: Debating the Insular Dark Ages’, History Compass 2, no. 1 (2004).
Written records began being kept from the seventh century. [1] [2]
[1]: (Yorke 1990: 20) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJNs
[2]: (Hills 1990: 47) Hills, Catherine. ‘Roman Britain to Anglo-Saxon England’, History Today, 1 October 1990, https://www.proquest.com/docview/1299029206/abstract/974AE2C925154DEBPQ/1. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/9P2MJSYJ
Written records began being kept from the seventh century. [1] [2]
[1]: (Yorke 1990: 20) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJNs
[2]: (Hills 1990: 47) Hills, Catherine. ‘Roman Britain to Anglo-Saxon England’, History Today, 1 October 1990, https://www.proquest.com/docview/1299029206/abstract/974AE2C925154DEBPQ/1. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/9P2MJSYJ
Written records began being kept from the seventh century. [1] [2]
[1]: (Yorke 1990: 20) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJNs
[2]: (Hills 1990: 47) Hills, Catherine. ‘Roman Britain to Anglo-Saxon England’, History Today, 1 October 1990, https://www.proquest.com/docview/1299029206/abstract/974AE2C925154DEBPQ/1. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/9P2MJSYJ
The Bible. Introduced by the Romans after it became the official religion of the empire.
The church created many of the earlier documents such as ‘historical’ records of saints and annals. The Venerable Bede created many works including verse and prose on the life and St. Cuthbert, and the Martyrology, a list of saints. [1] Under Alfred the Great, religious works in Latin were translated into English, including Pope Gregory’s two works, Pastoral Care, on the duties of a bishop, and Dialogues, about the tales of St. Benedict. [2]
[1]: (Yorke 1990: 20, 22) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJN
[2]: (Roberts et al 2014: 29) Roberts, Clayton, Roberts, F. David, and Bisson, Douglas. 2014. ‘Anglo-Saxon England: 450–1066’, in A History of England, Volume 1, 6th ed. Routledge. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/P2IHD9U3
Written records began being kept from the seventh century, including charters, king lists, historical works, and annals. “Kings were the most important benefactors of the religious houses within their kingdoms and naturally figure prominently in the archives of religious communities both through the records of their benefactions and in ‘historical’ records, such as saints’ Lives and annals, produced by individual religious houses. Religious houses might also act as repositories for the archives of their royal families and produce classes of records such as kinglists and genealogies for them.” [1] “This process of re-valuation has, however, encouraged several authors to imagine that sub-Roman Britain, in its entirety, retained a significant political, economic and military momentum across the fifth century and even the bulk of the sixth. This in large part stems from attempts to develop visions of an Arthurian era of British success against the incoming Anglo-Saxons, as suggested by the Historia Brittonum of 829–30, and the Annales Cambriae of the mid-tenth century.” [2]
[1]: (Yorke 1990: 20) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJN
[2]: (Higham 2004: 3) Higham, Nick. ‘From Sub-Roman Britain to Anglo-Saxon England: Debating the Insular Dark Ages’, History Compass 2, no. 1 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-0542.2004.00085.x. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XZT7A79K
Written records began being kept from the seventh century. The church created many of the earlier documents such as ‘historical’ records of saints and annals as well as records of the royal family and genealogies. The Venerable Bede created many works including, The Ecclesiastical History of the English People (c. 731 CE), verse and prose on the life and St. Cuthbert, and the Martyrology, a list of saints. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was created during the reign of Alfred the Great (r.871–899) [1] “This process of re-valuation has, however, encouraged several authors to imagine that sub-Roman Britain, in its entirety, retained a significant political, economic and military momentum across the fifth century and even the bulk of the sixth. This in large part stems from attempts to develop visions of an Arthurian era of British success against the incoming Anglo-Saxons, as suggested by the Historia Brittonum of 829–30, and the Annales Cambriae of the mid-tenth century.” [2] : ♠ Philosophy ♣ present ♥ During Alfred the Great’s reign, some of the many works he had scholars translate or write were “Boethius’s The Consolation of Philosophy, which taught that the pursuit of wisdom is the wise man’s consolation, and St. Augustine’s Soliloquies, which taught that contemplation could save a ruler from the sin of pride.) [3]
[1]: (Yorke 1990: 20, 22, 26) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJN
[2]: (Higham 2004: 3) Higham, Nick. ‘From Sub-Roman Britain to Anglo-Saxon England: Debating the Insular Dark Ages’, History Compass 2, no. 1 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-0542.2004.00085.x. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XZT7A79K
[3]: (Roberts et al 2014: 35) Roberts, Clayton, Roberts, F. David, and Bisson, Douglas. 2014. ‘Anglo-Saxon England: 450–1066’, in A History of England, Volume 1, 6th ed. Routledge. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/P2IHD9U3
Old English poems. The heroic poem Beowulf is believed to be dated from the seventh or eighth century, though some scholars now suggest it may be from a slightly later period and was certainly written down during this polity period. [1] the Junius Manuscript, Exeter Book and Vercelli Book were all written in the tenth and eleventh centuries. [2]
[1]: Yorke 1990: 22
[2]: Higham and Ryan 2013:252
At Canterbury Cathedral a silver tablet was found which listed the months and when hung from a chain acted as a portable sundial. [1]
[1]: (Cathedral House and The Precincts Canterbury) ‘Anglo-Saxon Canterbury’, Canterbury Cathedral (blog). https://www.canterbury-cathedral.org/heritage/history/anglo-saxon-canterbury/. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/KTYTGA3V
The Kingdom of Kent produced the first coins in the late sixth century, driven primarily by their ongoing trade with Francia (France). King Offa of Mercia (r. 757-796 CE) had the first Mercian coinage, and by the end of his reign they were being minted at Canterbury, Rochester, London and East Anglia. [1]
[1]: (Yorke 1990: 40, 115) York, Barbara. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203447307. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YXTNCWJN
There has been no information on a postal system in the sources consulted.
There has been no information on a definitive estimate for the fastest individual communication. However, this would have been via horse, likely with a relay for important royal communication.
Standard weights were prescribed by King Offa of Mercia and were used for centuries thereafter. [1] Scales and weights have been found in a small number of graves in the south-east of England, which were used for assessing bullion and coins. [2]
[1]: (Donnachie 2015) Donnachie, Ian. 2015. ‘Weights and Measures’, in The Oxford Companion to British History. Oxford University Press. http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199677832.001.0001/acref-9780199677832-e-4444. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/6JQDSKYN
[2]: (Hamerow 2005: 285) Hamerow, Helena. 2005. “The Earliest Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms.” Chapter. In The New Cambridge Medieval History, edited by Paul Fouracre, 1:263–88. The New Cambridge Medieval History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521362917.012. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5JNINHPQ
At Canterbury Cathedral a silver tablet was found which listed the months and when it was hung from a chain acted as a portable sun dial. [1]
[1]: (Cathedral House and The Precincts Canterbury) ‘Anglo-Saxon Canterbury’, Canterbury Cathedral (blog). https://www.canterbury-cathedral.org/heritage/history/anglo-saxon-canterbury/. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/KTYTGA3V