475 – 700

Anglo-Saxon Conquest

Roman rule comes to an end at approximately AD 410. Northern, Eastern, and central Britain fragment without unified rule. A lack of Roman defense in the South-East opens Britain to increasing Saxon settlement along the South-Eastern shore. This is the time of King Arthur, a unifying ruler who helped the native Britons defend, at least for a while, the increasing numbers of Saxon settlers and invaders. Some Saxons (in Lindisware) took on forms of Roman government and produced a induced transition of power. There was a period of for a generation after the defeat of the South Saxons at the battle of Mons Badonicus, but continued Anglo-Saxon settlement led to a resumption of the fighting in approximately AD 547. The West Seaxe push deep into Britannia, the South Seaxe win ground, and around AD 700 almost all of mainland Briton, with a few independent Britonnic territories in the West and North, was under Anglo-Saxon rule and inhabitation ( http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/FeaturesBritain/BritishMapAD450-700.htm ).

597-601

Gregorian Mission to Kent

Tradition and poetic written records tell that soon-to-be-Pope Gregory met Anglo-Saxon youths at the slave market, held a conversation with them, and decided to send missionaries to their home country. Gregory therefore sent Augustine and 25 others as missionaries to the kingdom of Kent: specifically, Canterbury. There, the missionaries began to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and a great number of Saxons were baptized, along with their king, Æthelberht. It is recorded that “at Christmas 597 over 10,000 people were baptized” ( http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=597-627 ). A monastery was built in Canterbury, and Christianity radiated out from Kent into surrounding regions until eventually all of Britannia was a quasi-Christian nation, with a mixture of traditional animism.

800-1066

Viking Raids and Norman Conquest

Scandinavian (Viking) raids were prevalent through the 9th century, especially against undefended monasteries and settlements, while Scottish raids in Northern Britannia decimated the Pict kingdom. Viking raids were sporadic in the early to mid-9th century, but mid 9th century began to become more organized with massed troops, evidently bent on conquest. King Alfred “the Great” of the English defeated the Vikings and retook Northumbria in the 880s. The 10th century saw a resurgence of the Vikings and the establishment of Daneleld, the kingdom of the Danes. Political lineages formed, and eventually, around 1016, Cnut, a Nord, became the self-proclaimed ruler of England, Norway, and Ireland. Cnut’s grand-nephew William I of Normandy, France, defeated Harold II of England at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, ending all Anglo-Saxon rule ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/overview_vikings_01.shtml ).

Oct. 14, 1066

Battle of Hastings

William “the Conqueror” defeats King Harold II of the Anglo-Saxons, ending Anglo-Saxon rule in Britannia. The battle was fought on Senlac Hill near Hastings, England. Legend tells that Harold II was killed at the end of the day by an arrow to the eye. William’s landing and conquest of Britannia, along with the Battle of Hastings, is graphically displayed on the incredible Bayeux Tapestry. That Christmas (1066), William the Conqueror was crowned the first Norman King of Britain ( http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-battle-of-hastings ).

1190-1194

King Richard “the Lion Heart” participates in the third Crusade

Richard became king after a surprise attack on his father, King Henry II, on 6 July 1189. Immediately, Richard’s focus became the crusade to retake Jerusalem. This would be historically known as the third crusade, issued under Pope Gregory VIII, and would result in the recapturing of Acre and Jaffa, but not Jerusalem. King Richard departed from Dartmouth in 1190, warred against the Almohad Caliphate in Portugal, traveled from Vézelay to Lyon to Marseille and then Messina, which he captured. He then traveled to Acre, built siege weapons, and took the city within a month. In one wild act of animosity, Richard’s army decapitated 2,700 Muslim women and children in full view of Saladin’s army, leading Saladin to kill all of his Christian prisoners. The details of Richard’s crusade go on ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Crusade#King_Richard_and_King_Philip.27s_departure ).

1215

Signing of the Magna Carta

King John of England came to the throne during a time of increasing conflict between his office and the Barons of the land that resided and presided under him. John, as the kings before hom, collected taxes from the Barons and fees in lieu of military service. The Baron’s did not like King John’s ability to establish fees and taxes, nor to force them into military service, and became increasingly difficult to control. As France takes Normandy and John is forced to rely solely on English resources, the battle against his Barons continues to grow. Finally, John assents to concede to a document written by the Barons which outline their basic rights; this document came to be known as The Great Charter, or the Magna Carta ( https://www.britannica.com/topic/Magna-Carta ).

1330 - 1388

John Wycliffe

Among other things: “English theologian, philosopher, church reformer, and promoter of the first complete translation of the Bible into English. He was one of the forerunners of the Protestant Reformation” (Britannica). Wycliffe was an outspoken activist of Ecclesiastical disendowment, or a stripping away of the wealth of the Church. He also believed and wrote about the importance of God’s Word being made available to everyone, which led him to translate the first English Bible. His beliefs, writings, and acts began stirring the discontent and skepticism in the Church’s power, doctrines, politics, and wealth that built a social framework for the Protestant Reformation to take place and take hold ( https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Wycliffe ).

1337 – 1453

The Hundred-Years War

The Hundred-Years War was an extended conflict between England and France, originally over contested territory Guyenne. In theory, France should have made a quick and decisive victory over England, but English discipline and skill with the longbow staved off many attacks of the Frence, winning English victories at Sluys (1340), Crecy (1346), and Poiters (1356). England’s numerous victories forced King John of France to sign the Treat of Calais which gave the duchy of Guyenne wholly to English control. King John’s son, Charles V, came back and recaptured much of the territory handed over in the treaty by year 1380. A time of peace ensued, but King Henry V of England started the conflict anew, captured Agincourt and Normandy (1415 – 1418), and then failed politically to crown himself King of France. Joan of Arc led the French resistance, outed King Henry V, reclaimed Guyenne, and the Hundred Years War fizzled out ( http://www.history.com/topics/hundred-years-war ).

1348 – 1350

The Black Plague

The Black Plague, or “Black Death,” as it is often referred to, is a disease now understood to have been caused by Yersinia pestis bacteria. The Black Plague arrived in England in June 1348 by way of sea. The plague spread to London by fall and “by summer 1349 it covered the entire country, before dying down by December.” England was better prepared, governmentally speaking, to handle the crisis than much of Europe, and the only real halt in English affairs was a brief cessation of the ongoing Hundred-Years war. Modern scholars approximate that between 25 and 60 percent of the entire English population was killed, although definite numbers are impossible to ascertain based on historical record and archaeological data ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death_in_England ).

1378 – 1417

The Great Schism

A second Pope of the Catholic Church, Clement VII, was established in Avignon in retaliation against the election of Pope Urban VI. The two popes, presiding in different countries, induced nationalistic loyalties and conflict, triggering groups of cardinals from under both Papacies to create the office of a third Pope, Alexander V. After many tumultuous years, Pope Alexander’s successor, Pope John XXIII called together a council, and this council deposed Pope John, forced the Roman Pope to resign, and “dismissed the claims of the Avignon Pope.” The council them elected a new pope, Pope Martin V, and the schism was ended ( https://www.britannica.com/event/Western-Schism ).