Anglo-Saxon England

Anglo-Saxon England refers to the period of the history of the part of Britain that became known as England, lasting from the end of Roman occupation and establishment of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the 5th century until the Norman conquest of England in 1066 by William the Conqueror. Anglo-Saxon is a general term referring to the Germanic peoples who came to Britain during the 5th and 6th centuries, including Angles, Saxons, Frisii, and Jutes. The term also refers to the language spoken at the time in England, which is now called Old English, and to the culture of the era, which has long attracted popular and scholarly attention.

Until the 9th century Anglo-Saxon England was dominated by the Heptarchy, the kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Sussex, and Wessex. In terms of religion the kingdoms followed Anglo-Saxon paganism during the early period, but converted to Christianity during the 7th century. Paganism had a final stronghold in a period of Mercian hegemony during the 640s, ending with the death of Penda of Mercia in 655.

Facing the threat of Viking invasions, the House of Wessex became dominant during the 9th century, under the rule of Alfred the Great. During the 10th century, the individual kingdoms unified under the rule of Wessex into the Kingdom of England, which stood opposed to the Danelaw, the Viking kingdoms established from the 9th century in the north and east of England. The Kingdom of England fell in the Viking invasion from Denmark in 1013 and was ruled by the House of Denmark until 1042, when the Anglo-Saxon House of Wessex was restored. The last Anglo-Saxon king, Harold Godwinson, was killed in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings.