★ Must-know
After Roman rule ended, Britain was exposed to attacks from the Picts, Scots and Saxons and fragmented into territories and small kingdoms.
Germanic settlement was gradual rather than a single invasion; some tribes were invited by Britons to help defend against northern and Irish raiders, then increasingly took control and integrated or displaced native people.
Further detail
Roman withdrawal → exposed Britain → gradual Germanic settlement
★ Must-know
Further detail
From the 5th and 6th centuries, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms became established in Britain.
The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms often fought each other for dominance but remained the foundation of Anglo-Saxon England.
Anglo-Saxon life was mainly rural and centred on agriculture, animal farming and village communities.
The Witan advised on:
Anglo-Saxon noblemen held considerable political power and formed an important part of the Witan.
★ Must-know
Further detail
Augustine established the Church at Canterbury and became its first Archbishop.
The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms converted over several decades as pagan practices were gradually replaced by Christian customs.
Northumbrian monasteries helped spread:
Bede, a monk from Jarrow, wrote The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, an important historical source for the period.
Beowulf is an epic poem that reflects the warrior culture and heroism of the Anglo-Saxon period.
★ Must-know
Northumbria became a centre of learning whose monasteries produced important religious and historical texts.
During the 8th century, Mercia rose to prominence under King Offa.
Further detail
Northumbria became a major power during the early part of the 7th and 8th centuries under King Edwin.
Offa struck coinage resembling that of Charlemagne as a symbol of his power and prestige.
Neither Mercia nor Northumbria maintained permanent dominance because of internal conflicts and increasing Viking pressure.
Northumbria’s learning and Edwin contrast with Mercia’s prominence and Offa
★ Must-know
The Vikings, also called Norsemen or Danes, came mainly from Norway and Denmark and spoke Old Norse, a Germanic language.
The Viking attacks caused East Anglia and Northumbria to fall and Mercia to be severely weakened, while Wessex under Alfred became the main resistance.
Further detail
Old Norse later influenced English vocabulary, while English is Germanic because of its Anglo-Saxon origins.
Vikings explored and invaded Europe from the 8th century, using longships called drakkars.
Although Vikings had a runic writing system, most written accounts about them were produced by Christian monks and could be biased.
Vikings attacked monasteries, towns and coastal settlements, exploiting Church wealth and taking control of large parts of Britain.
★ Must-know
Alfred the Great defended Wessex against the Vikings and introduced military, legal and educational reforms.
Alfred’s reign laid the foundations for the eventual unification of England.
Further detail
Alfred reorganised the army, built a navy and established burhs, or fortified towns, to protect against Viking raids.
Alfred promoted literacy by having important works translated into Old English, strengthening English culture.
After Alfred’s death in 899, Edward the Elder and his grandson Athelstan continued expanding Wessex’s power.
By the mid-10th century, Wessex had effectively united England under its rule, and its successors strengthened royal authority through administrative and judicial reforms.
★ Must-know
Further detail
Cnut incorporated England into the North Sea Empire, which included Denmark and Norway.
Edward the Confessor’s reign was relatively stable, but he struggled to control powerful earls, particularly Godwin and later Harold Godwinson.
★ Must-know
After Edward the Confessor died without a direct heir in January 1066, the Witan chose Harold Godwinson as king.
William defeated Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, where Harold was killed.
William was crowned King of England on Christmas Day in December 1066, beginning Norman rule.
Further detail
William, Duke of Normandy, claimed the throne because he believed Edward had promised it to him; William was Robert, Duke of Normandy’s illegitimate son.
Harald Hardrada, King of Norway, also claimed the English throne and was known as the Last Viking.
Lords held estates, could administer local justice, collect taxes and maintain armies, while owing respect and protection to the king and people on their land.
The clergy were powerful, and knights were often granted land, a large house, peasants and servants by barons.
Villages contained 50 to 60 families, and peasants worked every day except Sunday, slept on the floor, gave their produce to the lord and paid taxes.
★ Must-know
William commissioned the Domesday Book survey in 1085, and it was completed in 1087.
The Domesday Book recorded ownership and property across the kingdom to provide a precise survey, partly because William feared another Viking invasion.
The Norman Conquest introduced Norman French and contributed to the development of Middle English as Norman words entered common usage.
William replaced the Witan with the Curia Regis, reducing local lords’ power, and common law began to develop from customs and judges’ decisions rather than parliamentary legislation.
Further detail
The Domesday Book comprised over 900 pages in Latin and described more than 13,000 places.
The Great Domesday Book and the Little Domesday Book were compiled from commissioners’ reports recorded by scribes.
📌 Lords paid taxes to the Crown in amounts proportional to the size of their property.
Norman castles were stone military bases and residences for the Norman elite, built to establish and stabilise power.
The Normans introduced Romanesque architecture, characterised by thick walls, rounded arches and large towers; examples include the Tower of London and Durham Cathedral.
William appointed Norman bishops and abbots to key positions to secure loyalty to the Crown and enforce ecclesiastical power alongside royal authority.
★ Must-know
During the Harrying of the North in 1069–1070, William’s forces devastated towns, villages and farmland, causing deaths and displacing communities to consolidate Norman rule.
The Bayeux Tapestry, commissioned in the 1070s by Odo, Bishop of Bayeux and William I’s half-brother, depicts the Norman Conquest and the Battle of Hastings.
After William I died in 1087, he divided his lands among Robert Curthose, William Rufus and Henry Beauclerc; Robert received Normandy, William the crown and Henry money but no land.
After William II died in a hunting accident in 1100, Henry Beauclerc swiftly secured the English throne as Henry I.
Further detail
Anglo-Saxon uprisings continued for decades as people resisted Norman authority.
The Revolt of the Earls in 1075 and 1088 was ultimately crushed by the Crown’s military power.
The Bayeux Tapestry is nearly 70 metres long, is displayed in Bayeux and was probably embroidered in Kent using wool and linen.
In 1088, William II crushed a baronial rebellion supporting Robert’s claim and secured loyalty by offering lands to key barons.
William II clashed with Church officials by seeking control of ecclesiastical appointments and finances, including in tensions with the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Henry Beauclerc purchased the Cotentin Peninsula to establish a foothold and exert pressure on both his brothers.
The tapestry depicts:
William II gained temporary influence over part of Normandy through negotiations in 1091 and secured feudal homage from Malcolm III of Scotland in 1093.
★ Must-know
Henry I issued the Charter of Liberties in 1100, promising to end oppressive policies and restore certain rights of the Church and feudal nobility.
Henry I strengthened royal justice and administration and developed the Exchequer to improve revenue collection and financial accountability.
In 1107, Henry I and Pope Paschal II agreed that the king would give up formal spiritual investiture of bishops but retain influence over appointments and their royal lands.
Henry I defeated Robert Curthose at Tinchebray in 1106, captured him and brought Normandy under his control.
William Adelin drowned when the White Ship sank in 1120, leaving Henry I without a legitimate male heir.
Henry I nominated his daughter Matilda as heir and required barons to swear allegiance to her, challenging prevailing expectations of male succession.
Henry I’s death in 1135 triggered a succession crisis because Matilda’s right to succeed was contested.
Under the Treaty of Wallingford in 1153, Stephen remained king for life and recognised Henry of Anjou as his successor, ending the succession conflict.
Stephen died in 1154 and Henry of Anjou succeeded him as Henry II, ending the Anarchy and beginning royal reconstruction.
Further detail
The earliest surviving Pipe Roll dates from 1130 and records the Exchequer’s annual financial administration.
In the Treaty of Alton in 1101, Robert Curthose relinquished his claim to England in exchange for an annual pension and Henry’s promise not to invade Normandy.
Henry I’s marriage to Matilda of Scotland in 1100 strengthened the connection between the Norman dynasty and Anglo-Saxon tradition.
Henry I arranged Matilda’s marriage to Geoffrey of Anjou, known as Geoffrey Plantagenet, in 1128 to strengthen her position.
Stephen of Blois seized the throne in 1135 with support from a significant part of the nobility and clergy, despite having sworn allegiance to Matilda.
White Ship loss → Matilda named heir → contested succession
★ Must-know
📌 Henry II was king of England but a vassal of the King of France for his French territories, owing feudal obligations including homage.
Henry II sought to centralise judicial power and apply royal law more uniformly after the Anarchy had strengthened powerful nobles and weakened consistent royal justice.
The Assize of Clarendon in 1166 strengthened royal criminal investigations by requiring groups of local men to report suspected criminals to royal authorities.
📌 During Henry II’s reign, juries increasingly reported accusations and established facts, while trial by ordeal continued and was not immediately replaced by modern jury trials.
📌 Henry II wanted clergy accused of serious crimes subject to royal justice and sought to restrict appeals to Rome, while Becket defended the Church’s independence.
Four knights associated with Henry II’s court murdered Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral on 29 December 1170.
Anglo-Norman forces including Richard de Clare, known as Strongbow, intervened in Irish conflicts and captured territories in 1169.
Henry II travelled to Ireland in 1171 to assert royal authority over Anglo-Norman territories, but did not establish control over the whole island.
Further detail
Henry II was the son of Matilda and Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, and inherited important French territories through his father.
Henry II strengthened itinerant justices, royal judges who travelled to hear cases and enforce royal law.
Henry II’s judicial reforms, including expanded writs, contributed to English common law and a more centralised royal justice system.
Thomas Becket, Henry II’s former chancellor, became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1162 and resisted important royal reforms.
★ Must-know
Henry II’s plans assigned: the English Crown and claims to Normandy and Anjou to Henry the Young King, Aquitaine to Richard, Brittany to Geoffrey, intended Irish territories to John
Henry the Young King rebelled against Henry II in 1173, supported by Richard, Geoffrey, Eleanor of Aquitaine and foreign rulers including Louis VII of France.
Henry II defeated the Great Revolt in 1174 and reasserted his authority, preserving the unity of his dominions.
Richard rebelled against Henry II with Philip II’s support, and Henry II died at Chinon in France on 6 July 1189 after his defeat.
Further detail
Henry II had eight legitimate children, including four sons: Henry, Richard, Geoffrey and John.
The revolt was motivated by:
Henry the Young King died in 1183 after becoming ill during a campaign against Richard’s supporters, and Geoffrey died in 1186.
With his brothers dead, Richard became Henry II’s principal surviving adult son and most likely successor.
★ Must-know
Richard I succeeded Henry II as king in 1189 and prioritised military campaigns and the defence of Angevin territories over personal government of England.
Richard I took part in the Third Crusade from 1189 to 1192 to recover territories lost to Muslim forces, particularly Jerusalem.
Richard defeated Saladin’s forces at the Battle of Arsuf in 1191 but did not recapture Jerusalem.
Richard negotiated a truce with Saladin in 1192 that left Jerusalem under Muslim control but allowed Christian pilgrims to visit the city and other holy places.
Further detail
Crusader forces captured Acre in 1191 after a prolonged siege, with Richard among the campaign’s principal leaders.
Philip II left the Holy Land in 1191, weakening cooperation with Richard during the crusade.
★ Must-know
Leopold V, Duke of Austria, captured Richard in December 1192 while he was travelling incognito through Europe.
Richard’s ransom was traditionally recorded as 150,000 marks of silver and required exceptional taxation and mobilisation of royal resources.
Richard ordered Château Gaillard built between 1196 and 1198 to defend Normandy and protect approaches to Rouen from French attacks.
Richard died on 6 April 1199 after being wounded by a crossbow bolt while besieging Châlus-Chabrol in France.
Because Richard had no legitimate son, his younger brother John succeeded him as King John I in 1199.
Further detail
Richard was handed over to Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, and remained captive for more than a year.
Eleanor of Aquitaine helped organise Richard’s release, which took place in February 1194.
William Longchamp and Hubert Walter were among the royal officials who administered England during Richard’s absence.
Financing Richard’s ransom and campaigns encouraged taxation and reinforced royal administration.
After his release in 1194, Richard concentrated on defending and recovering his French territories, particularly Normandy, against Philip II.
Take a 50-question practice quiz on Anglo-Saxon and Plantagenet England, with every answer explained.
1. The Anglo-Saxon period in Britain:
2. After Roman rule ended, which developments affected Britain?
Memorize the key concepts of Anglo-Saxon and Plantagenet England with 94 flashcards.
Between which years did the Anglo-Saxon period last in Britain?
From 410 to 1066.
Which groups attacked Britain after Roman rule ended?
The Picts, Scots, and Saxons.
How was post-Roman Britain politically organized?
It fragmented into territories and small kingdoms.
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