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• The Anglo-Saxon period spans the time after the Romans left England in 410 and before the Norman Conquest of 1066.
• England was not a united country. It was divided up into separate kingdoms.
• The best-known Saxon king was Alfred the Great, who ruled Wessex from 871-886 and all of England from 886-899.
• Archaeological evidence and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle give us a good idea about what life in England was like in this period.

The Anglo-Saxon period lasted from the year 410, when historians think the Romans left England, to 1066 when the Normans invaded.

Sources suggest that people known as the Angles and the Saxons were people who migrated to Britain around the 4th and 5th centuries. They travelled from areas of Europe that would now identify as northern Germany, France and Scandinavia. Anglo-Saxons was the name given to this group of people who formed together in England.

It is often said that the Anglo-Saxons invaded Britain after the Romans had left but we are not actually sure exactly what happened. It is likely that many people peacefully migrated to Britain before the Romans left.

Anglo-Saxon England was not one united country. It was made up of several separate kingdoms. By 800, there were seven main kingdoms:

• Northumbria
• Mercia
• Wessex
• East Anglia
• Essex
• Kent
• Sussex

Each kingdom had their own leaders, and they were frequently at war with each other.

There were a number of reasons for the Angles and Saxons to move to England:

• Some were invited to help fight against attacks from Vikings and tribes in Scotland. Many were given land in return.
• There was good farmland in England, which could provide food and resources for people to live off.
• The Roman Empire had collapsed, so some Angles and Saxons believed they could win power and control over areas of Britain that previously wouldn’t have been possible.
• Archaeological evidence suggests people in already living in England were keen to trade with Angles and Saxons.

Alfred the Great is perhaps the most famous Anglo-Saxon king. He ruled from 871 – 899.

At the start of his reign, he ruled over Wessex, in the west of England. He defeated several Viking raids, and eventually signed an agreement, making peace with Vikings in the north. This resulted in England being divided in two: one area controlled by Alfred, and another area under Viking rule, called Danelaw. Alfred expanded his kingdom, taking land from the Mercia area and winning control of London.

Under his leadership, many books were translated from Latin into English. This encouraged improvements in education. He also ordered many new ships to be built to protect his kingdom from invasion, as well as the building of new monasteries.

Aethelflaed was Alfred the Great’s eldest daughter. She was married to the ruler of Mercia, possibly to seal an alliance between Alfred’s lands and the English controlled part of Mercia. When her husband died in 911, she ruled Mercia herself until 918.

Aethelflaed worked hard to protect Mercia from the Vikings by building forts and in 917 she sent an army to capture Viking-held Derby. In 918, Leicester also surrendered to her without a fight. The Viking leaders of York offered their loyalty, but she died before the offer could be accepted.

Athelstan was the grandson of Alfred the Great and nephew of Aethelflaed. He ruled from 924 – 939. During his rule, Athelstan defeated the Vikings and reclaimed York. In 937, he won a famous war against a combined Scottish, Irish and Viking force at the Battle of Brunanburh. In doing so, he united the kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex. He is widely considered to be the first king of a united England.

In the 700s, a monk called the Venerable Bede who lived in Northumbria wrote a book called the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, which gives us important information about life in the early Anglo-Saxon period. Bede tells us, for example, about terrible famines that hit England, and about plagues that caused a great deal of disease and suffering. This gives us an idea of how difficult life could be in early medieval England.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is another important text that gives historians an idea about what life was like in Anglo-Saxon England. It is a collection of manuscripts written under Alfred’s leadership that places great emphasis on Alfred’s successes as a leader, but often ignores the more negative parts of his reign. The Chronicles were written by monks. Several copies were made and sent to monasteries across the country. The monasteries then updated the manuscripts each year. These documents are collectively called the Chronicles.

Most people in Anglo-Saxon England lived in villages. Their homes were made of wood, wattle and daub, and thatched roofs. They were normally just a single room with space for a fire and a hole in the roof to allow smoke to escape.

Most Anglo-Saxons were farmers and lived off the land. They were able to make equipment such as ploughs and tools to help them in their work. They would grind wheat to make flour so they could make bread. Some Anglo-Saxons were skilled craftsmen who made decorative jewellery such as brooches and necklaces.

England had several Christian bishops during the Roman period, but the spread of Christianity increased during the later Anglo-Saxon era. The spread of Christianity also helped to unite the different kingdoms of England, as more and more people across the country were following the same religion.

Children in Anglo-Saxon England didn’t go to school. Instead, they learned skills from their parents. Boys often learned farming or craftsmanship from their fathers while girls would often learn how to spin cloth and look after the home. Archaeological digs have discovered evidence of activities and games that children would have played. Discoveries have included carved horses, wooden musical instruments, dice games and a range of different board games.

Adults enjoyed sports such as hunting, running, horse racing and playing musical instruments. Evidence of these activities has been found in archaeological digs and written accounts from the time.

Storytelling was a popular pastime of the Anglo-Saxons. People would often sit together and tell each other tales. One of the most famous examples of this time was the story of Beowulf. This is a poem set in Scandinavia, in which Beowulf battles against a monster called Grendel.

Anglo-Saxons also enjoyed riddles. In the 900s, around one hundred were gathered together in the Exeter Book Riddles.