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The Early medieval period saw a series of invasions of Britain by the
Germanic-speaking Saxons, beginning in the 5th century. Anglo-Saxon
kingdoms were formed and, through wars with British states, gradually came
to cover the territory of present-day England. Around 600, seven principal
kingdoms had emerged, beginning the so-called period of the Heptarchy.
During that period, the Anglo-Saxon states were Christianised (the conversion
of the British ones had begun much earlier). In the 9th century, Vikings from
Denmark and Norway conquered most of England.
Only the Kingdom of
Wessex under Alfred the Great survived and even managed to re-conquer and
unify England for much of the 10th century, before a new series of Danish
raids in the late 10th century and early 11th century culminated in the
wholesale subjugation of England to Denmark under Canute the Great.
Danish rule was overthrown and the local House of Wessex was restored to
power under Edward the Confessor for about two decades until his death in
1066.
Late Medieval
Bayeux Tapestry depicting events leading to the Norman conquest of
England, which defined much of the subsequent history of
the British Isles
In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy said he was the rightful heir to the
English throne, invaded England, and defeated King Harold II at the Battle of
Hastings. Proclaiming himself to be King William I, he strengthened his
regime by appointing loyal members of the Norman elite to many positions of
authority, building a system of castles across
the country and ordering a
census of his new kingdom, the Domesday Book. The Late Medieval period
was characterised by many battles between England and France, coming to a
head in the Hundred Years' War from which France emerged victorious. The
monarchs throughout the Late Medieval period belonged to the houses of
Plantaganet, Lancaster and York.