THE RISE OF THE NORMANS [THE WAR FOR ENGLAND]
PREVIOUSLY…. 6-8th C 8th – 9th C 5-6th C Local Britons having problems with Picts, invite Anglo-Saxons over to help Anglo Saxons want to stay, Britons give them Kent They want more – they take it Britons flee to modern day Wales 6-8th C Anglo-Saxon form kingdoms, civil wars over who is the true King (or bretwalda) 8th – 9th C 786 Vikings begin to raid Britain and fight wars with the ruling Anglo-Saxons
SO WHAT HAPPENED with THOSE VIKINGS? THE GREAT HEATHEN ARMY of the Danish Vikings arrives in England in 865 AD Led by Ragnar & Ivar the Boneless takes over nearly all of England
ALfRED OF WESSEX
WHY DID HE THINK THIS WOULD WORK? ALFRED – THE GREAT King of Wessex (Anglo-Saxon) Creates the burghal system to re-organize military defense BURGH: a mound of earth surrounded by a ditch often with a palisade wall WHY DID HE THINK THIS WOULD WORK?
ALFRED THE GREAT THE FYRD – What we would think of as conscription (the Draft) All able bodied English (Anglo-Saxons) were part of the fyrd, they had to provide their own weapons The fyrd was called upon in emergency situations Alfred re-emphasizes the fyrd and turns them from a conscripted poorly trained commoners into a capable fighting force.
ALFRED’s REFORMS - RESULTS? Alfred and his army beat back the Vikings out of Wessex Treaty is agreed upon, and Vikings forced to give lands back to Anglo-Saxons but can stay in Danelaw Does defeating an army and forcing them to take only ½ of a country that was yours to begin with make you great?
Late 9th Century England Danelaw: Danish Viking Kings Wessex: Led by Anglo-Saxon Kings (The English) Northumbria: Norwegian Viking kings. **Vikings are not all one people there are different groups of them.
10th C: SIGNIFICANT EVENTS Guthrum (Danes) gets converted to Christianity 910 – English def. Danish Vikings 954 – English def. Eric Bloodaxe & the Norwegian Vikings BY 954 ALL THE VIKINGS ARE OUT OF ENGLAND or too Christian to fight us
ethelred the Unready King of England 978 – 1016 AD THE VIKINGS RETURN! But Ethelred thinks of a plan to send them home….
CNUT (Canute) THE GREAT KING OF DENMARK KING OF NORWAY And thanks to Ethelred being the Unready and paying him $$$ to stay away…he shows up conquers England and becomes THE KING OF ENGLAND…
IF YOUR KEEPING TRACK… CIVILIZATION/COUNTRY PERSON THEY CALLED ‘GREAT’ Greece Alexander of Macedon England Alfred of Wessex France Charlemagne Scandinavia Canute Byzantines Justinian I Eastern Romans Constantine Western Romans Pompey Persians Xerxes I & Darius I
VIKING EMPIRE OF CNUT
CNUT DIES---Who takes the EMPIRE? Cnut’s son wants to go home to Denmark and be King there… So the new King becomes the son of the previous king (Ethelred the Unready) his son is: EDWARD THE CONFESSOR Takes back much of England and then he dies too
WHO SUCCEEDS?
Who THE HECK ARE THE NORMANS Normandy is a region in coastal France, right across the English channel from England
CONFLICT RUMOUR: Edward chose William of Normandy to be the heir, Edward dies without his true intentions being known. HAROLD (England) is crowned King HAROLD HADRADA (Norway): “OH HELL NOOOOOO!” And invades England… BATTLE OF STAMFORD BRIDGE: English Harold defeats Norwegian Harold
Not oVER yEt… The next day William of Normandy lands in England Harold has to rush his army south to Hasting.
Battle of Hastings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLy1LskT6Y8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8OPQ_28mdo
MACEDONS NORMANS DÉJÀ VU? WHO RULED GREECE? WHO RULED ENGLAND? First Myceneans Then Athens Then Sparta Then Thebes But in the end… WHO RULED ENGLAND? First Britons Then Anglo-Saxons Then Vikings But in the end… MACEDONS NORMANS
WILLIAM OF NORMANDY More Famously known as WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR Goes on to conquer England.. HOW he did it. & WHAT he did there.