THE ANGLO-SAXONS AND THE VIKINGS

THE ANGLO-SAXONS

During the 5th and 6th centuries the British were beaten by the north population called Jutes, Angles and
Saxons, also called Anglo-Saxons. They settled near the wall built by Hadrian, looking for farming land. They
were loyal to the family(clan), and the centre of the life was the hall, a place they used to get together and
swore loyalty to the chiefs(boss). In the 7th century the borders of the Anglo-Saxons Kingdoms, well known
as Seven Kingdoms were born, then in 829 the kingdom of Wessex became the most important.

THE DANES

Another group of colonizers were the Viking, or Danes. They were a populace specialized in sea travel. They
crossed the Atlantic ocean in search of treasures and slaves. Then they started colonize the coasts of the
Europe and later, in the 9th century, they occupied part of the Britain, where created the Danelaw, a code of
laws and a method to administer the area occupied by their population. After they reached Wessex, they
met the king of the Anglo-Saxons and his brother: King Ethelred and Alfred.

ALFRED THE GREAT

Alfred became the king of Wessex in 871, he immediately reorganized the army of Wessex and crated a
navy to cross the sea, then established the capital in Winchester, where lots of Latin test were translated
into Anglo-Saxons. After his dead, we remember Athelstan, his grandson, for creating a Kingdom based on
royal authority and coinage. The last king of the Anglo-Saxons was Harold, who managed to defeat the
Danes. Then he fought against William, Duke of Normandy, dying during the Battle of Hastings, in 1066, and
the Anglo-Saxons territories were conquered by the Normans.