Sea. West Germanic invaders from Jutland and southern Denmark: the Angles (whose

name is the source of the words England and English), Saxons, and Jutes, began

populating the British Isles in the fifth and sixth centuries AD. They spoke a mutually

intelligible language, similar to modern Frisian – the language of northeastern region of the Netherlands – that is called Old English. The Heptarchy is a collective name applied to seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. These were: Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia (kingdoms of the Angles), Kent (Jutes), Essex, Sussex and Wessex (Saxons).

Anglo-Saxon invaders pushed the original, Celtic-speaking inhabitants out of what

is now England into Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, and Ireland, leaving behind a few

Celtic words.

The raid at Lindisfarne at the end of the 8th century was not the first Viking incursion into the British Isles. In an entry for the year 787, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports the arrival of “three ships of Northmen” on the coast of Wessex, a band of foreigners who promptly killed the local reeve when he came to conduct them to the king. Additionally, a Kentish charter from 792 indicates that defensive measures against “pagan seamen” had been taken in the kingdom of Mercia. However, the attack on Lindisfarne in 793 was the first recorded Viking raid in England and in Europe more broadly, and its importance is signaled by the strange incidents that accompany it in the historical record.

The battle was fought between the Norman army, led by Duke William II of Normandy (William the Conqueror), and the English army, led by King Harold II of England.

The Norman invasion of England was prompted by William's claim to the English throne, which he believed was rightfully his due to a promise made by Harold and disputed succession following the death of King Edward the Confessor.

The battle ended in victory for the Normans, largely due to the effectiveness of their cavalry and the death of King Harold during the fighting.

By 878, Viking raids had ravaged most of England, with all Anglo-Saxon kingdoms except Wessex under Viking control.

Alfred, known for his resourcefulness, had been hiding in the Somerset marshes after suffering setbacks.

He rallied his forces and adopted innovative tactics, including building a fortified burh (hill fort) network.

The exact date is uncertain, but it likely occurred between May 6th and 12th.

Alfred used clever terrain manipulation and a hidden shield wall to surprise the Viking army.

The Anglo-Saxons exploited a psychological advantage by charging downhill with a powerful "boar's head wedge" formation.

The battle was fierce, but the Anglo-Saxons ultimately triumphed, inflicting heavy losses on the Vikings.

Guthrum agreed to the Treaty of Wedmore, which established a border between Anglo-Saxon and Viking-controlled territory (the Danelaw).

This marked a significant shift in power, halting the Viking advance and paving the way for Alfred's later reconquests.

The extent and desirability of the changes brought about by the conquest have long been disputed by historians. Certainly, in political terms, William’s victory destroyed England’s links with Scandinavia, bringing the country instead into close contact with the Continent, especially France. Inside England the most radical change was the introduction of land tenure and military service. While tenure of land in return for services had existed in England before the conquest, William revolutionized the upper ranks of English society by dividing the country among about 180 Norman tenants-in-chief and innumerable mesne (intermediate) tenants, all holding their fiefs by knight service . The result, the almost total replacement of the English aristocracy with a Norman one, was paralleled by similar changes of personnel among the upper clergy and administrative officers.

Germanic tribes began to make the short journey across the North Sea and began populating the British Isles in the fifth and sixth centuries AD.

West Germanic invaders from Jutland and southern Denmark:

•the Angles (whose name is the source of the words England and English)

•Saxons

• Jutes.

They spoke a mutually intelligible language, similar to modern Frisian - the language of northeastern region of the Netherlands - that is called Old English.

The term 'Heptarchy' (from the Greek ἑπταρχία, 'heptarchia'; from ἑπτά, 'hepta': "seven"; ἀρχή, 'arche': "reign, rule" and the suffix -ία, '-ia') is used because of the traditional belief that there had been seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, usually described as East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Mercia, Northumbria, Sussex, and Wessex.

The first known written reference to the historiographical traditional belief that there were these 'seven kingdoms' was in Henry of Huntingdon's 12th century work, Historia Anglorum; the term Heptarchy is not known to have been used to describe them until the 16th century.

By convention, the Heptarchy period lasted from the end of Roman rule in Britain in the 5th century, until most of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms came under the overlordship of Egbert of Wessex in 829. This approximately 400-year period of European history is often referred to as the Early Middle Agesor, more controversially, as the Dark Ages.

Although heptarchy suggests the existence of seven kingdoms, the term is just used as a label of convenience and does not imply the existence of a clear-cut or stable group of seven kingdoms.

In the late 6th century, the king of Kent was a prominent lord in the south.

In the 7th century, the rulers of Northumbria and Wessex were powerful.

In the 8th century, Mercia achieved hegemony over the other surviving kingdoms, particularly during the reign of Offa the Great.

Four major dialects of Old English emerged, Northumbrian in the north of England, Mercian in the Midlands, West Saxon in the south and west, and Kentish in the Southeast.

Old English reflected the varied origins of the Anglo-Saxon kingdomsestablished in different parts of Britain. The Late West Saxon dialect eventually became dominant.

Written records of each OE dialect:

-Northumbrian (Franks' casket, Ruthwell cross, Caedmon's hymns),

-Mercian (translation of the Psalter),

-Kentish (psalms),

-West Saxon (The Anglo-Saxon chronicle, the translation of a philosophical treatise Cura Pastoralis, King Alfred's Orosius - a book on history).

The decline of the Heptarchy and the eventual emergence of the kingdom of England was a drawn-out process, taking place over the course of the 9th to 10th centuries. In the 9th century, the Danish enclave at York expanded into the Danelaw, with about half of England under Danish rule.