800-1500-Medieval England

• Anglo Saxon Kingdoms:

  • Wessex
  • Mercia
  • Eat Anglia
  • Northumbria
• England had rich mineral deposits of lead, iron, tin & silver (used for buildings, tools, weapons, jewellery)
• England had fertile land (east + south)= crops grew well
• England had high quality wool= cloth making
• England has plentiful supplies of salt= preserve meat for winter
• England had rivers & seas full of fish= food
• England's inland trade routes were well established (within Europe)= trading large quantities of various goods (exporting cheese, wool, cloth, minerals & importing glass, wine, spices, silk)
• Most people in England lived in villages. number of Fortified towns increased & became trading centres
• England's monasteries & abbeys were extremely wealthy (owned many jewels, gold/silver objects & beautifully illustrated manuscripts)
• By 1066 England became a Christian country. Many monasteries were build & scholars + clergy moved freely between England + Europe
• Kings had ultimate authority in their own kingdoms, advised by powerful men in kingdom (churchmen & nobles)
• Money to run kingdoms were raised by taxation, law & order was maintained by local communities responsible for preventing crime
• Lack of central Gov in England meant it was difficult to organise a defence against invaders
• c789-c865= Vikings raided England attacking villages, towns, monasteries & abbeys close to coast
• Vikings raided England for:

  • treasures held in monasteries & abbeys
  • goods stored in merchants warehouses
  • to take people & ask for randsoms
• 865= Viking great army landed in East Anglia
• Reasons for Viking migration:

  • Religion (Odin god of war would reward them in afterlife if they conquered England)
  • Agriculture (fertile land=could feed families & live good lifestyle)
  • Trade (England had good trading systems)
• 866=Vikings capture York & used it as a base for defeating Northumbria, East Anglia + Mercia
• 878=Alfred of Wessex & Guthrum leader of Vikings agreed treaty of Wedmore
• Treaty of Wedmore= Established Vikings now controlled large parts of England (called Danelaw)
• Jan 878= Vikings surprised attacked Wessex ( part of Wessex surrendered) 4 months later=Battle of Edington (Alfred won=treaty of wedmore)
• Vikings played sagas, chess, music etc.
• St Brice's Day Massacre 13th November 1002-King Ethelred ordered mass killing of Danes (believed they'd join with Viking raiders)
• 1013-King Ethelred and sons driven out of England
• Vikings set up their own shops, markets and workshops & built own houses (long houses)
• Some Danes grew rich from trading locally, nationally & overseas
• 1016- Cnut became the first Danish king of England (till 1035)
• King Cnut led a peaceful reign because he allowed Saxons to hold positions of power and continued using Saxon law also set up earldoms, gave a few Saxon nobles large areas of land
• Vikings adapted to Saxon lifestyle

  • some became Christian
  • Didn't mint coins- allowed Saxons to be in control
• Vikings Impacts:

  • Vikings introduced 'Things'- where members votes on laws & agreed on a punishment for those they found guilty (trial by jury)
  • Raids=Saxons to develop burhs-fortified towns
  • English language similar to Old Norse (surnames ending in son, day of the week)
• Reasons why Vikings settled in York:

  • Centre of Anglo Saxon Gov (only mint in Northern England)
  • Surrounded by fertile land
  • good trade routes (inland & overseas)
  • raiders targeted due to wealth
  • captured york first (base to attack other regions)
• Impacts (York)

  • hundreds of houses, workshops, warehouses & wharves built
  • Became a multicultural city(migrants from Germany, Netherlands, Ireland)
  • Skilled migrants worked on different trades= prospered
  • population increased- 867-950 10,000-15,000 people migrated
  • Trade flourished (used old Roman roads for moving goods inland, River Ouse route to North sea to trade with European ports + cities)
• 876- Saxon tried to push Vikings out of York & failed
• 927- Athelstan conquered large parts of Viking kingdom of York & the city
• 939- Vikings recaptured York held till 954 & Saxons took over again
• Vikings kept stone Saxon church in York (later named York Minister)
• 939- Archbishop Wulfstan negotiated a boarder between Vikings and Saxons
• Coins minted in York had a Christian symbol on them
• Many Viking kings converted to Christianity & king Guthrum was buried in York Minister
• 1066- Normans from Normandy (northern France) invaded England led by Duke William