Early Middle Ages: Anglo-Saxon Britian (600-1066)

(Last Post on Medieval History: Magyars and Bohemians)

Student (age 10) is using a map to give a narration. 

In 446, the high king, Vortigern, invited German Saxons from Rhineland to enter as mercenaries to help defend the area from the Picts. The Saxons gained a foothold buy were held off by the legendary leader King Arthur.

This map shows the areas that were ruled by the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes.

In 597, the pope sent Augustine to convert the English to Christianity.

Egbert of Wessex was the first king of a united England in 829.

By the middle 800's,  the Vikings, who had first appeared in England in 789, began to settle there. King Alfred, who became king of Wessex in 871, fought many battles against the Vikings,  finally defeating them in 878. He also created the Treaty of Wedmore which divided England into two, the Saxon west and the Danelaw east.

In 1013 the Danes returned to England after losing their foothold in 940, and the Danish king, Canute ruled at this time.

We read about Edward the Confessor.
If we had not already read Beowulf and the story of King Arthur, this would be a good time to read them. It is particularly fun to read Beowulf around the fireplace with the lights out to get in the mood.

We read about the Scottish nobelman Macbeth from Shakespeare.

For their history notebooks the boys wrote about the conflict between the Britons and the Saxons, comparing and contrasting them. They also told how Christianity came to the British Isles. Also, they told about Egbert and what kind of ruler he was, including which ways Charlemagne influenced him and about Alfred the Great. Both Alfred and Clovis are considered by historians to be Christians. How would you compare these two men? They were asked to describe the rulers of England after the time of Alfred the Great.

(Next Medieval history post: The Holy Roman Empire. )