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In AD793 some Vikings attacked and destroyed the monastery of Lindisfarne. They killed the monks and took precious ornaments.

�ճ�� Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings fought to control Britain.

In the 9th century (AD801 - 900), Anglo-Saxon King  Alfred the Great helped to make peace and some Vikings settled in their own area of eastern England, called the Danelaw.

• After Alfred, Anglo-Saxon kings took the Danelaw land territories back from the Vikings.

• Alfred's grandson, Athelstan, pushed English power north as far as Scotland. He was the first 'King of all England.'

• In AD954, the Anglo-Saxons drove out  Eric Bloodaxe, the last Viking king of Jorvik.

• After Eric was killed, the Vikings agreed to be ruled by England's king.

• The most powerful Anglo-Saxon king was Edgar. Welsh and Scottish rulers obeyed him as well as the English, and his court at Winchester was one of the most splendid in Europe.

• In Viking times, a king had to be strong to fight and keep his land. Ethelred the Unready was a weak king of England.

• Ethelred gave the Vikings gold to stop them invading. This money was called Danegeld. But it didn’t work – the Vikings took the gold and attacked anyway.

• Ethelred's soldiers killed many Viking families in the Danelaw. This made King Sweyn of Denmark angry. He invaded England and Ethelred ran away.

• Sweyn's son Cnut (also known as Canute) became king of England. Cnut was a strong ruler and England was part of his Viking empire with Denmark and Norway.

• In 1042 there was a new king of England called Edward, also known as Edward 'the Confessor.'

• He had no children so it was unclear who would become king next.

• After Edward died, the English Witan (council of Anglo-Saxon kings) chose Earl Harold of Wessex as the next king.

• Duke William of Normandy and Harald Hardrada both believed they should have been made king.

• In 1066, England was invaded twice.

  • First, a Norwegian army led by Harald Hardrada landed in the north.
  • King Harold killed Harald Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge.

• Three days later William's Norman army landed in the south of England.

  • William and Harold's armies fought at the Battle of Hastings.
  • The Normans won, King Harold was killed, and William became King.

• This brought an end to Anglo-Saxon and Viking rule. A new age of Norman rule in England had started.

Edward was the son of Ethelred the Unready and ruled England from 1042. Find out about his life by clicking below.