Late Anglo-Saxon EnglandEdward the Elder

Unification of Wessex & Mercia

Continued Battles with Viking Raiders

Athelstan/Edmund/EadredEric Bloodaxe, d. 954; York

RegainedUnification of England

Edgar the PeaceableDevelopments in the ChurchDunstan; Benedictine Rule

Ethelred the UnreadyDevelopments in

AdministrationGrowth of Towns

The Return of the DanesCnutHarold Harefoot; Harthacnut

Alfred the Great, Winchester

Edward the Elder, r. 899-924Alfred the Great’s Legacy

Royal BloodlineStability in Wessex

Edward the ElderUnification with

MerciaAethelflaed,

Lady of the Mercians;

Sister; WifeReconquest of E. Anglia, Essex

Danelaw ShrinkingViking Raids Continue

Northwest; York

Coin Minted under Edward the Elder; “Eadvveard Rex”

Three BrothersAthelstan, r. 924-39

York Retaken, 927/8

Edmund, 939-46Inability to ControlNorthumbrian Rivals

Eadred, 946-55York Lost, 947

Eric BloodaxeYork Regained, 954

StainmoreBloodaxe

Killed

955: Danelaw Conquered; Peace

Coppergate Helment, York

Rebuilding the Church and State

Edgar the Peaceable, r. 959-75Brother, Despot, Edwig, d. 959Church-State Cooperation

Winchester Cathedral

Developments in the Church(Re-)building Monasteries

Old and NewWessex & Mercia

Royal Possession of Land

Dunstan, Abp Cant. 960-88Aethelwold of GlastonburyUniformity of Monastic PracticeStrict Benedictine Rule

Rise of English Monk-BishopsSecular Landholders

Augustine on the Apocalypse; from Glastonbury Abbey; Now in the Bodleian Library, Oxford

England at the Millennium

Ethelred the Unready, r. 978-1016Brother, Anti-Monastic, Edward Martyr“Noble counsel, No counsel”Kingship and Lord’s Anointed

Developments in AdministrationEaldermen - Governance & DefenseShires further ExtendedShire Reeves – Local Admin.Hundred/WapentakeLocal Courts; Execution of JusticeRoyal Commands; English WritsWitan – Royal Counsel

Growth of TownsTrade, Taxation, Mints; IndustryLondon, Winchester, York, Norwich, Thetford, Bristol

Counties/Shires, as late as 1824

Return of the NorsemenSwein Forkbeard (K. Denmark)

Raids of Wessex 990s/1000sReconquest of Danelaw, 1013/4

Oxford, Winchester, LondonSwein, d. 1014; E-red Returns

Edmund Ironside, r. 1016Son of Ethelred; Split Kingdom

Cnut, r. 1016-35Danish Warrior ConquerorChristian, StatesmanAdministrative Divisions (4 Earls)By 1028, King of England, Dmark, NorwaySons: Harold Harefoot, Harthacnut

Cnut was later made famous for his (supposed) attempt to stop the tide from invading his lands. The waters did not obey, proving to Cnut and his nobles that “the power of kings is vain and trivial, and that none is worthy the name of king but He whose command the heaven, earth, and sea obey by eternal laws.”

Cnut vs. Ironside at Assandun, 1016