History of English: Old English
See also: History
of English
| Pre-
English | Middle
English | Modern
English
Old English
Old English Period (ca. 600-1100)
| 600-800 | Rise of three great kingdoms politically unifying large areas: Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex. Supremacy passes from one kingdom to another in that order. |
| ca. 600 | Christianity introduced among Anglo-Saxons by St. Augustine, missionary from Rome. Irish missionaries also spread Celtic form of Christianity to mainland Britain. |
| 793 | First serious Viking incursions. Lindisfarne monastery sacked. |
| 800 | Charlemagne, king of the Franks, crowned Holy Roman Emperor; height of Frankish power in Europe. Wessex kings aspire to similar glory; want to unite all England, and if possible the rest of mainland Britain, under one crown (theirs). |
| 840s-870s | Viking incursions grow worse and worse. Large organized groups set up permanent encampments on English soil. Slay kings of Northumbria and East Anglia, subjugate king of Mercia. Storm York (Anglo-Saxon Eoforwic) and set up a Viking kingdom (Jorvik). Wessex stands alone as the last Anglo-Saxon kingdom in Britain. |
| 871 | Vikings move against Wessex. In six pitched battles, the English hold their own, but fail to repel attackers decisively. In the last battle, the English king is mortally wounded. His young brother, Alfred, who had distinguished himself during the battles, is crowned king. |
| 871-876 | Alfred builds a navy. The kings of Denmark and Norway have come to view England as ripe for the plucking and begin to prepare an attack. |
| 876 | Three Danish kings attack Wessex. Alfred prevails, only to be attacked again a few months later. His cause looks hopeless. |
| 878 | Decisive
battle at Edington; Alfred and a large contingent of desperate
Anglo-Saxons make a last stand (they know what awaits them if they
fail). Alfred leads the Anglo-Saxons to decisive victory; blockades a
large Viking camp nearby, starving them into submission; and exacts
homage from the kings of Denmark and an oath that the Danes will leave
Wessex forever.
Under Alfred's terms of victory, England is partitioned into a part governed by the Anglo-Saxons (under the house of Wessex) and a part governed by the Scandinavians (some of whom become underlords of Alfred), divided by Watling Street. 15 years of peace follow; Alfred reigns over peaceful and prosperous kingdom. First called "Alfred the Great". |
| 925 | Athelstan crowned king. Height of Anglo-Saxon power. Athelstan reconquers York from the Vikings, and even conquers Scotland and Wales, heretofore ruled by Celts. Continues Alfred's mission of making improvemen ts in government, education, defense, and other social institutions. |
| 10th century | Danes and English continue to mix peacefully, and ultimately become indistinguishable. Many Scandinavian loanwords enter the language; English even borrows pronouns like them, their they. |
| 978 | Aethelred "the Unready" becomes king at 11 years of age. |
| 991 | Aethelred has proved to be a weak king, who does not repel minor Viking attacks. Vikings experiment with a major incursion at Maldon in Essex. After losing battle, Aethelred bribes them to depart with 10,000 pounds of silver. Mistake. Sveinn, king of Denmark, takes note. |
| 994-1014 | After 20 years of continuous battles and bribings, and incompetent and cowardly military leadership and governance, the English capitulate to king Sveinn of Denmark (later also of Norway). Aethelred flees to Normandy, across the channel. |
| 1014 | Sveinn's
young son Cnut (or Canute) crowned king of England. Cnut decides to
follow in Alfred's footsteps, aiming for a peaceful and prosperous
kingdom. Encourages Anglo-Saxon culture and literature. Even marries
Aethelred's widow Emma, brought over from Normandy.
After Cnut's death his sons bicker over the kingdom. When they die without issue, the kingdom passes back to the house of Wessex, to young Edward, son of Aethelred and Emma, who had been raised in exile in Normandy. Edward is a pious, monkish man called "The Confessor". Edward has strong partiality for his birthplace, Normandy, a duchy populated by the descendents of Romanized Vikings. Especially fond of young Duke William of Normandy. Edward is dominated by his Anglo-Saxon earls, especially powerful earl Godwin. Godwin's son, Harold Godwinson, becomes de facto ruler as Edward takes less and less interest in governing. |
| 1066 | January.
Edward
dies childless, apparently recommending Harold Godwinson as successor.
Harold duly chosen by Wessex earls, as nearest of kin to the crown is
only an infant. Mercian and Northumbrian earls are hesitant to go along
with choice of Harold.
William of Normandy claims that Harold once promised to support HIM as successor to Edward. Harold denies it. William prepares to mount an invasion. Ready by summer, but the winds are unfavorable for sailing. September. Harald Hardradi of Norway decides this is a good time to attack England. Harold Godwinson rushes north and crushes Hardradi's army at Stamford Bridge. The winds change, and William puts to sea. Harold rushes back down to the south coast to try to repel William's attack. Mercians and Northumbrians are supposed to march down to help him, but never do. They don't realize what's in store for them. October. Harold is defeated and killed at the battle of Hastings. December. William of Normandy crowned king of England in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day.
|