The Bayeux Tapestry

The Norman invasion of England in 1066 is notably described through the images of the Bayeux Tapestry, a cartoon-type story of the Battle of Hastings. The Bayeux Tapestry is about 50 cm tall and 70 metres long. It is the longest piece of embroidery in the world!! The borders of the tapestry are filled with mythological figures, lions, dragons, and scenes from fables.

From Vikings to Normans

Queen Emma and the Normans

Queen Emma, daughter of the Duke of Normandy, was Queen consort of England twice, by successive marriages: first as second wife to Æthelred the Unready of England (1002–16); and then second wife to Cnut the Great of Denmark (1017–35). Edward the Confessor (the builder of Westminster Abbey and the only King of England that has been canonized) was son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England. The day after Edward died, a powerful noble was chosen by the Witan (the King's council) as King of England, and even if he did not have a direct blood link to the king nor was of royal birth, he became King Harold of England.

1. The Normans. In 1066, England was invaded. First, a Norwegian army landed in the north. King Harold of England won over them but three days later a Norman army landed south, led by Duke William of Normandy, who said King Edward the Confessor had promised him to be his successor.

So, Harold had to hurry south and the two armies fought the Battle of Hastings (14 October 1066). At Hastings, Harold was definitely defeated and William became king. The Anglo-Saxon period of English history was over, and it was the Vikings (Norse) of Normandy who finally conquered England in 1066, changing the British history for ever. (For the next three hundred years, the rulers of England will speak French, not English!!)

The Vikings, Literally

Vikings and Monks

1. The Vikings. The Vikings first invaded Britain in AD 793. The first place the Vikings attacked in Britain was the monastery at Lindisfarne. A few years later the island of Iona came under attack. Both places were site of monasteries where their monks had produced amazing illuminated manuscripts: the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Book of Kells.

Angle-Land and the Sassenachs

1. The Angles and Saxons. For 400 years southern Britain was part of the Roman world. But when the last Roman soldiers left Britain in AD 410, new people were already coming across the North Sea from territories located in the continent in what is today Germany and Holland. The new settlers were a mixture of people: Saxons, Angles, Jutes. England gets its name from the Angles (Angle-land), while it is still called “Sasana” in Gaelic (and its inhabitants “Sassenachs”), after the Saxons.

Certain days of the week are named after early Saxon Gods:

Tiwesdæg (Tiw's-day - the day of the sky god Tiw,Tiu or Tig),

Wodnesdæg ( Woden's day - the day of the god Woden),

Ðunresdæg (Thor's Day - the day of the god Ðunor ),

Frigedæg (Freyja's day - the day of the goddess Freyja, wife to Woden),

The Anglo-Saxons ruled for about 500 years (a hundred years longer than the Romans). However, unlike the Romans, the Anglo-Saxons never 'went home'. The Anglo-Saxons divided England into kingdoms, each with its own royal family. The five main Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, Kent and Anglia.

Great Anglo-Saxon kings included Offa of Mercia and Edwin of Northumbria (who founded Edinburgh or 'Edwin's burh', the current capital of Scotland). The most famous of all Anglo-Saxon kings is Alfred, the only king in British history to be called 'Great', while one who was really not a very good one was Ethelred the Unready (his name comes from an Old English word unraed, meaning "bad advice"). Finally a Dane called Cnut became king of England in 1016.

Britannia

About 2,000 years ago the British Isles were inhabited by the Celts. During the next 1,000 years there were many invasions:

1. The Romans. In 55 B.C. the Roman General Julius Caesar led his army across the sea from Gaul to Britain. But the Celts fought bravely, and Caesar soon went back to Gaul. Next year, the Romans came back. This time Caesar captured a Celtic hill-fort, but then again he went away. Nearly a hundred years later, in A.D. 43, the Romans returned: Emperor Claudius sent an army to invade Britain and the southern half of the island was made part of the Roman Empire. The Roman province of Britannia only covered the areas of modern England and Wales. The area of modern Scotland was never finally conquered. In calling the country 'Britannia', the Romans gave Britain its name.