Anglo-Saxon Britain Timeline

Date Detailed information

449 Angles and Saxons arrive in south east Britain
The traditional date of 449 AD for the arrival of the Anglo-Saxon invaders of Britain is taken from the ‘Ecclesiastical History of the
English’, completed by the Venerable Bede, a Benedictine monk, in 731 AD. It is almost certainly wrong, and other sources suggest that
the arrival of Angles and Saxons was part of a process of conquest and settlement that began earlier, and continued until later.

540 Gildas writes about the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons

Gildas, a British monk, wrote The Ruin of Britain the only near-contemporary source for the collapse of Roman Britain and the arrival
of the Anglo-Saxons. Gildas saw these events as God’s punishment for the sins of the Britons. Although Gildas’s life is generally dated
504-570 AD, some historians think his book may date from as early as the 490s AD.

597 Augustine arrives in Kent and begins the conversion of England

At the instigation of Pope Gregory I, Augustine led a mission to England in 596 AD, probably as the result of a request of Æthelberht,
king of Kent whose wife was Christian. Æthelberht became the first Anglo-Saxon king to turn his back on paganism and become
Christian.

731 Bede finishes his Ecclesiastical History of the English People.

The Venerable Bede, who studied and taught for most of his life as a monk in Jarrow and Monkwearmouth (Tyne and Wear), was the
author of books that were copied and studied all over Europe.

757 Offa comes to the throne of Mercia after the death of Æthelbald.
After ruling Mercia for 41 years, Æthelbald was murdered by his own bodyguard for reasons unknown. The ensuing civil war saw Offa
emerge as his successor and become the most powerful of the English kings of the later 8th century. His name survives to this day in
‘Offa’s Dyke’, the 80-mile-long earthwork which marked his border with the Welsh kingdoms.
786 Cynewulf, King of the West Saxons, is killed
After ruling the West Saxons for 31 years, Cynewulf was attacked by Cyneheard, the brother of a man Cynewulf had exiled. Both men
were killed in the battle and the heroism of their bodyguards caused the event to be recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the oldest
surviving piece of narrative prose in English.

789 Constantine becomes king of the Picts.

Constantine I (789-820 AD) was one of the greatest kings in Scotland in the pre-Viking period. Later generations of Scottish monarchs
claimed Constantine as a king of the Scots, but he seems to have been king of the Picts, a tribe that inhabited much of northern Scotland.
The St Andrew’s sarcophagus, one of the finest pieces of sculpture from Europe at this time, may belong to his reign.

789 First recorded Viking attack happens in Dorset

The Viking attack on Portland in Dorset is the first of its kind recorded in the British Isles, including Ireland. The reeve of Dorchester (a
local high-ranking official) went to greet them after they landed, perhaps accustomed to welcoming Scandinavian merchants. He was
killed. Viking attacks increased in intensity over the coming decades, until the Vikings assembled a ‘Great Army’ equipped for conquest
in about 865 AD.

829 Egbert, King of the West Saxons, conquers Mercia

Egbert, king of the West Saxons, had already established himself as the most powerful ruler in southern England. But in 829 AD he not
only conquered Mercia, but forced the Northumbrians to submit as well. From then on, Wessex retained its dominance in England.
Egbert’s grandson, Alfred, initiated the creation of the single kingdom of England.
843 Kenneth MacAlpine unites Scots and Picts in a ‘kingdom of Scotland’
Most of the history of early Scotland is obscure, but it does seem that the reign of Kenneth MacAlpine, or Cináed mac Ailpín, (841?-858
AD) is of particular importance. Some sources suggest that around 843 AD the kingdom of the Scots and the Picts was amalgamated,
and that from this date historians can speak of a ‘kingdom of Scotland’.

871 Æthelred and Alfred of Wessex meet the Vikings in several battles
A series of bloody clashes between the armies of the Vikings and the kingdom of Wessex, under Æthelred and his brother Alfred, took
place at Reading, Ashdown, Basing and elsewhere. None of these battles were decisive. Æthelred died during the campaign and Alfred
became king of Wessex.
874 Vikings conquer the kingdom of Mercia
In the winter of 873-874 AD, Vikings occupied the royal monastery of Repton, on the river Trent. Their army then moved south from
Repton into Mercia where they were met by King Burhred, who was driven overseas and died in Rome.

878 Wessex is overrun by Vikings and King Alfred goes into hiding
In January, the Vikings succeeded in taking Wessex. Alfred, king of Wessex, took refuge in the marshes of Athelney (Somerset). After
Easter, he called up his troops and defeated the Viking king Guthrum, who he persuaded to be baptised. He later brought Guthrum to
terms and created a settlement that divided England.

886 Alfred, King of Wessex, agrees a treaty with Vikings to divide England
Alfred, king of Wessex, had retaken London and now brought the Vikings under King Guthrum to terms. The treaty between Wessex,
Guthrum and the East Angles divided England. Alfred and Wessex retained the west, while the east (between the Thames and Tees
rivers) was to be Viking territory - later known as the ‘Danelaw’ - where English and (Danish) Vikings were equal in law. The Anglo-
Saxon Chronicle is believed to have been started during Alfred’s reign. It subsequently grew by further additions from anonymous
scribes up to the 12th century.

Oct. Alfred the Great of Wessex dies and is succeeded by his son Edward the Elder
899 Alfred, king of Wessex, was the only English ruler to earn the moniker ‘the Great’. At the time of his death, his kingdom was the only
English realm that had preserved its independence from the Vikings. Under his son, Edward the Elder, the armies of Wessex began the
conquest of the rest of England from the Vikings.
918 Æthelflæd, the ‘Lady of the Mercians’, dies at the height of her power
For seven years, the forces of Mercia were led by Æthelflæd, the widow of Æthelred of Mercia and the daughter of Alfred of Wessex.
She built fortresses and pushed into the territory of the Danes (Vikings). Leicester submitted to her without a fight. She died just after
receiving a formal offer of allegiance from the men of Yorkshire.

939 Athelstan, first king of all England, dies

Athelstan, king of Wessex, pushed the boundaries of his kingdom to their furthest extent, until he could rightfully be described as the
king of England. In 927 AD, he took York (Yorvik) from the Vikings, and forced the submission of Constantine of the Scots and of the
northern kings. The five Welsh kings submitted to a huge annual tribute and he also subdued Cornwall. In 937 AD, he defeated a
 combined invasion force at the Battle of Brunanburh. He was buried in Malmesbury Abbey.

946 Edmund of England is stabbed to death in a brawl

Edmund succeeded his half-brother Athelstan, as king of England in 940 AD. He had taken part in the Battle of Brunanburh, in which an
invasion by Dublin Vikings, Welsh and Scots was crushed, and continued his brother’s struggle with Olaf Guthfrithson, leader of the
Dublin Vikings. He was at the royal manor of Pucklechurch (Gloucestershire) when he tried to stop a brawl among his men and was
killed.

954 Eric Bloodaxe, the last Viking king in England, is forced out of Yorvik (York)
Eric Bloodaxe, an exiled son of Harald Finehair, king of Norway, was invited to take over the kingdom of Yorvik (York) around 946
AD. He was welcomed by Athelstan, king of Wessex, who wanted Eric to protect his kingdom from Scots and Irish invaders.

960 Dunstan becomes archbishop of Canterbury

Dunstan (909-988 AD) was an English monk who had already been abbot of Glastonbury, and bishop of Worcester and London, when
he was appointed to the most senior position in the English church by Edgar, king of England. He led Edgar’s reforms of the church,
known as the ‘10th-Century Reformation’. Few English churchmen have been so influential. Dunstan was made a saint.

973 Edgar is crowned king of England at Bath, 14 years after taking power
Edgar ruled England from 959 to 975 AD, but it was not until 973 AD - two years before his death - that he organised a solemn
coronation and anointing. Afterwards he took his fleet to Chester, where six kings promised to serve him. A later tradition pictures these
kings rowing him down the River Dee. They included the kings of the Scots, of the Strathclyde Britons, and of Gwynedd.

978 Edward the Martyr, King of England, is murdered

Edgar of England had two sons, and the elder, Edward, succeeded him in 975 AD. He was not popular and was treacherously murdered
at Corfe in Dorset, probably by the followers of his half-brother Æthelred, who became the new king. Edward’s body was buried at the
convent of Shaftesbury, and miracles were witnessed at the tomb.

1016 Cnut of Denmark becomes king of the English

The death of Swein of Denmark in 1014 was a temporary upset to the ambitions of his son Cnut (Canute) in England. But in 1016,
 Æthelred, king of England, died. His son Edmund Ironside made a truce with Cnut in which they agreed to divide the kingdom between
them. Edmund died shortly afterwards and Cnut became king of the whole country. Three years later he became king of Denmark as
well.

1040 Macbeth defeats Duncan I of Scotland and makes himself king

The rebel Macbeth’s victory over Duncan was followed by a long and relatively successful reign, which seems to have born little
relation to the events portrayed in William Shakespeare’s play ‘Macbeth’. Macbeth and his wife had a reputation for piety, and in 1050
he went on pilgrimage to Rome. In 1054, Macbeth was ousted by Duncan’s son Malcolm III (1054-1093), but was not finally killed until
the Battle of Lumphanan in 1057.

Aug. Edward the Confessor becomes king of England

1042 Edward II was better known as ‘the Confessor’ because of his extreme piety. He introduced more regular cultural and political contact
with the continent than England had previously experienced, and the Norman influence in the English court increased during this period.

1051 Edward the Confessor exiles the powerful nobleman, Earl Godwin of Wessex
Edward the Confessor’s reign was dominated by the ambitions of his father-in-law and most powerful nobleman, Earl Godwin of
Wessex. The earl and his family played a significant role in defending the kingdom and in pacifying the Welsh borders, but in 1051 their
quarrels with Edward’s authority provoked him into exiling the entire family. They returned the following year, and in 1053 Godwin’s
son Harold acceded to the earldom of Wessex.

6 Jan Edward the Confessor dies and is succeed by Harold Godwinson

1066 Harold, earl of Wessex, was crowned king of England on 6 January 1066, the same day as the funeral of his predecessor, Edward the
Confessor. He was immediately faced with powerful threats from William, duke of Normandy, and Harold Hardrada, king of Norway,
both of whom laid claim to the English throne.

Adapted from:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/timeline/vikinganglosaxons_timeline_noflash.shtml