The British Library holds the world’s most important collections of books made or owned in England between the eclipse of Roman Britain and the Norman Conquest of 1066. These books and documents contain crucial evidence for the development of society, economy, literature, government, art and religion during the transformative period...
We are pleased to announce that four of the British Library’s Anglo-Saxon Chronicle manuscripts have been digitised in full as part of our Anglo-Saxon manuscripts digitisation project and are now available on our Digitised Manuscripts website: Anglo-Saxon Chronicle B (Cotton MS Tiberius A VI) Anglo-Saxon Chronicle C (Cotton MS Tiberius...
In English history, the years AD 410-1066 are traditionally called the ‘Anglo-Saxon’ period. How far is this an appropriate description, and how far can that name also be applied to the inhabitants of early medieval England? More pertinently, how did these people view themselves?
Where did the Anglo-Saxons come from? Learn about Anglo-Saxons settlements, daily life and jobs in this BBC Bitesize year 5/6 primary history guide.
From Beowulf to Wikipedia, here’s how English grew, spread, and changed.
The Germanic forefathers of the English brought with them their own poetry but there is no evidence of them bringing any prose writings. The development of ...
What made Alfred, the most famous and celebrated of all Anglo-Saxon kings, so great?
Martin Wall, author of The Anglo-Saxons in 100 Facts, reveals why everything we thought we knew about the "Dark Ages" is wrong
Studying the Anglo-Saxons is an integral part of understanding the historical fabric that has shaped modern Britain. It provides a window into a formative
This period is traditionally known as the Dark Ages, mainly because written sources for the early years of Saxon invasion are scarce. It is a time of war, of the breaking up of Roman Britannia into several separate kingdoms, of religious conversion and, after the 790s, of continual battles against a new set of invaders: the Vikings.
The Battle of Penn Hill was fought in AD 665 between a British and an Anglo-Saxon coalition at Penn Hill in northern Dumnonia, the precise location of which is unknown. It resulted in a decisive British victory, and reversed the Saxon expansion westwards across Albion. Germanic migrants, mainly from the Angle, Saxon and Jutish tribes, began arriving on the east coast of Albion in the mid-5th century, during the chaos following the Roman withdrawal from the provinces of Britannia. They quickly pe
The UK now has a female prime minister and Elizabeth II has been queen for more than six decades, but few would associate Anglo-Saxon England with powerful women. Nearly 1,100 years ago, however, Æthelflæd, “Lady of the Mercians”, died in Tamworth – as one of the most powerful political figures in tenth-century Britain.
The aim of this paper is to explore the changing way in which the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports events in northern Britain, beyond the Anglo-Saxon territories, in the hope of gaining a better understanding both of events in that region and, perhaps more interestingly, the way in which the Chronicle was constructed.
Map showing the routes allegedly taken by the Great Viking Army that invaded the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms in 865 CE, under leadership of such chieftains as 'Hingwar', 'Hubba', and 'Halfdene' (Anglo-Saxon...
We are pleased to announce that four of the British Library’s Anglo-Saxon Chronicle manuscripts have been digitised in full as part of our Anglo-Saxon manuscripts digitisation project and are now available on our Digitised Manuscripts website: Anglo-Saxon Chronicle B (Cotton MS Tiberius A VI) Anglo-Saxon Chronicle C (Cotton MS Tiberius...
Who were the Anglo-Saxons and where did they come from. Why did the Anglo-Saxons invade Britain? Discover their origins and history here.
Martin Wall, author of The Anglo-Saxons in 100 Facts, reveals why everything we thought we knew about the "Dark Ages" is wrong
British history posts by authors of British historical fiction.
The Anglo Saxon Chronicles [click on the picture to see the rest of the list]
