England: Political History and Notable Figures (inc. Military and Religious Figures)

886 - 1013 - House of Wessex (All Facts)

• First and Founding Dynasty of the Kingdom of England

927 - 939 - Athelstan (All Facts) 

• First King and Founder of the Kingdom of England and First King and Founder of the House of Wessex

  • He is widely recognized as the first King of England

  • He was an effective warrior, administrator, and diplomat

• He unified the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms and states militaristically

  • He defeated Olaf and the Irish Vikings, Constantine and the Scots, and the Britons from the kingdom of Strathclyde in the Battle of Brunanburh

  • He brought fruition to his father and predecessor Edward the Elder’s counter-attacks against the Danes in the region

  • He united Wessex and Mercia and recovered Northumbria, the three remaining Heptarchy Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms, along with they key Viking center of York in Northumbria

  • He subjugated the Princes of Wales

  • He subjugated the Britons of Cornwall

  • Led a punitive expedition into Scottish territory

  • As a result of his military results, he proclaimed himself “King of the English and ruler of all Britain”

  • Some claimed he was even greater than his predecessor grandfather, the mighty King Alfred the Great

• He unified the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms and states diplomatically

  • He held councils to encourage the unification of the various peoples under his rule

• He unified the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms and states administratively

  • He issued many detailed law-codes

  • He divided up his kingdom into large regions administered by ealdormen, who had wide authority for the local maintenance of order

• His military prowess led the kings of Francia, Germany / Holy Roman Empire, and Norway to seek alliances with him

939 - 946 - Edmund (All Facts)

• 2nd King of England and 2nd King of the House of Wessex

• Made peace with Olaf and the Irish-Norse Vikings, who continued to be a threat to England even after his predecessor’s victory in the Battle of Brunanburh because they retook York of Northumbria from the English

  • Aided by Danish settlers, he recovered (some of) the land yielded to Olaf and the Irish-Norse Vikings

946 - 955 - Eadred (All Facts)

• 3rd King of England and 3rd King of the House of Wessex

  • He consolidated English territory permanently when he defeated Eric Bloodaxe and the Irish-Norse Vikings of York in Northumbria in 854, having had Eric Bloodaxe murdered

955 - 959 - Eadwig (All Facts)

• 4th King of England and 4th King of the House of Wessex

• He left the solemn feast of his coronation to be with a married woman and her daughter (whom he later married)

  • When a monk named Dunstan condemned him, a furious row took place, and he had Dunstan banished

  • After this episode, he lost his allegiance of Mercians and Northumbrians, who followed his successor, his younger brother

• When he died, the kingdom of England was reunited once again

959 - 975 - Edgar (All Facts)

• 5th King of England and 5th King of the House of Wessex

  • He was crowned at Bath on White Sunday

    • His coronation was delayed by division caused by the misbehavior of his predecessor and brother on his predecessor’s own co

  • He sailed with his fleet to Chester, where eight British kings came and swore fealty to him

    • To demonstrate their submission, they rowed him on the Dee River from his palace to the Church of St. John, while he held the rudder

  • He consolidated his rule and kingdom after his older brother and predecessor died and after the death of the last great Viking, Eric Bloodaxe, who ruled York in Northumbria

• He oversaw a revival, restoration, and reform of monasticism in England, led by St. Dunstan, whom had been banished by his predecessor and thus recalled by the namesake and made Archbishop of Canterbury

909 - 988 - St. Dunstan (All Facts)

• English Benedictine Monk who spurred the revival, restoration, and reform of monasticism throughout England under the reign of King Edgar

  • He set about sacking lax secular priests and installing monks who adhered strictly to the Benedictine Rule

  • His efforts led to the revival of monastic culture, learning, and art as well as the development of new monasteries

• He was made Archbishop of Canterbury by King Edgar

  • He was helped by Oswald, Bishop of Worcester, and Aethelwold, Bishop of Winchester

978 - 1013 - Aethelred II (All Facts)

• 7th (and 9th) King of England and 7th King of the House of Wessex

  • He was nicknamed “The Unready”

  • His nickname derived from his ill-advised ordering of the St. Brice’s Day Massacre as well as the frequent Viking incursions that occurred under his reign

• His English forces were defeated against Olaf the Norsemen and the Vikings in the Battle of Maldon, so he bought off and paid the Vikings to cease their advances into England

  • However, Olaf the Norsemen of the Vikings and Sweyn of Denmark ravaged throughout southern England and were paid a massive tribute by him, continuing to attack England despite failing to take London

• He and his English forces were eventually defeated by Sweyn and the Danes

  • He fled England to join Queen Emma and their children in France, who have taken refuge with her brother who was the Duke of Normandy at the time

  • Most of the English population surrendered rather than resisted, since the Danes were not going to be bought off with bribes

    • Sweyn avenged his sister Gunnhild and his fellow Danes when they were killed by the namesake after he ordered the St. Brice’s Day Massacre

    • Sweyn retaliated by burning homesteads throughout southern England during his reign, years before accepting a substantial bribe to withdraw

  • When he broke the uneasy truce by persuading one of Sweyn’s top commanders, Thorkell the Tall, to defect to England; Sweyn invaded by landing men on Humberside before marching south, unstoppable by bribe

• At the time of his death, there were fluctuating alliances between the Saxons and the Danes, many of whom had already intermarried with one another

• He was thus overthrown as King of England by Sweyn Forkbeard, who usurped the throne and temporarily replaced the House of Wessex with the House of Denmark

1013 - 1014 - Sweyn Forkbeard (All Facts)

• 8th King of England, and First King and Founder of the House of Denmark of England

• King of Denmark who was temporarily King of England after he invaded and overthrew his predecessor

1016 - Edmund Ironside (All Facts)

• 10th King of England after Aethelred II “The Unready” was reinstated following the deposition of Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark, as King of England

• When he died, however, England went right back into Danish control via his successor

1016 - 1042 - House of Denmark (All Facts)

• 2nd Dynasty of Kings of England who were Danish and who jointly ruled both Denmark and England

• Founded by Sweyn Forkbeard and Canute the Great

1016 - 1035 - Canute the Great (All Facts)

• 11th King of England and 2nd King of the House of Denmark

  • He was also King of Denmark and King of Norway

• He was the son of Sweyn Forkbeard and was offered the English throne after defeating his predecessor Edmund Ironside

  • The death of Harald II of Denmark enabled him to unite England and Denmark

  • He defeated Edmund Ironside and his English forces in the Battle of Ashingdon, and they agreed to split England in half

  • When Edmund Ironside was murdered soon afterwards, the namesake took the other half of England

  • He further consolidated his rule by eliminating potential rivals

  • He married Aethelred II’s widow, Emma of Normandy

• He oversaw a reign distinguished by skillful statecraft and utter ruthlessness

  • He espoused Christianity

  • He established equal rights for both Danes and Englishmen

  • He sent most of his army back to Denmark, confident in his position as ruler