Upload
hanhi
View
213
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
British History in Perspective General Editor: Jeremy Black
PUBLISHED TITLES
Rodney Barker Politics, Peoples and Guuernment C. J. Bardett British Foreign Policy in tM Twentieth Century
Jeremy Black Robert Walpole and tM Nature of Politics in Early Eighteenth-Century Britain
D. G. Boyce TM Irish QJLestion and British Politics, 1868-1996 (2nd edn) Keith M. Brown Kingdom or Province' Scotland and tM Regal
Union,1603-1715 A. D. Carr Medieval Wales
Anne Curry TM Hundred Yean War John W. Derry British Politics in tM Age of Fox, Pitt and Liverpool
Susan Doran England and Europe in tM Sixteenth Century Sean Duffy Ireland in tM Middle Ages
William Gibson Church, State and Society, 1760-1850 David Gladstone TM Twentieth-Century Welfare State
Brian Golding Conquest and Colonisation: tM Normans in Britain, 1066-1100 S. J. Gunn Early Tudor Guuernment, 1485-1558
J. Gwynfor Jones Early Modem Wales, c.1525-1640 Richard Harding TM Evolution oftM Sailing Navy, 1509-1815 David Harkness Ireland in the Twentieth Century: Divided Island
Ann Hughes TM Causes oftM English Civil War (2nd edn) Ronald Hutton TM British Republic, 1649-1660
Kevin Jefferys TM Labour Party since 1945 T. A.Jenkins Disraeli and Victorian Conservatism
T. A. Jenkins Sir Robert Peel D. M. Loades The Mid-Tudor Crisis, 1545-1565
Diarmaid MacCulloch The Later Reformation in England,1547-1603 A. P. Martinich Thomas Hobbes
John F. McCaffrey Scotland in the Nineteenth Century W. David McIntyre BritishDecolonization, 1946-1997:
When, Why and How did the British Empire Faa? W. M. Ormrod Political Life in Medieval England, 1300-1450
Richie Ovendale Ang~American Relations in tM Twentieth Century Ian Packer Lluyd George
Keith Perry British Politics and tM American Revolution Murray G. H. Pittock jacobitism
A. J. Pollard TM Wars of tM Rilles David Powell British Politics and the Labour Question, 1868-1990
David Powell TM Edwardian Crisis Richard Rex Henry VIII and tM English Reformation
G. R. Searle The Liberal Party: Triumph and Disintegration, 1886-1929 Paul Seaward The Restoration, 1660-1668
W. M. Spellman john Locke William Stafford john Stuart Mia
Robert Stewart Party and Politics, 1830-1852 Bruce Webster Medieval Scotland
Titles continued overleaf
List continued frum previous page
Ann Williams Kingship and Government in Pre-Conquest England John W. Young Britain and European Unity, 1945-92
Michael B. Young Charles I
FORTHCOMING Walter L. Arnstein Queen Victoria
Ian Arthurson Henry VII Toby Barnard The Kingdom of Ireland, 1640-1740
Eugenio Biagini Gladstone Peter Catterall The Labour Party, 1918-1945
Gregory Claeys The French Revolution Debate in Britain Pauline Croft James 1
Eveline Cruickshanks The Glorious Revolution John Davis BritishPolitics, 1885-1939
David Dean Parliament and Politics in Elizabethan and Jacobean England, 1558-1614
Colin Eldridge The Victorians Overseas Richard English The IRA
Alan Heesom The A ngfb.Irish Union, 1800-1922 I. G. C. Hutchison Scottish Politics in the Twentieth Century
GarethJones Wales, 1700-1980: Crisis of Identity H. S. Jones Political Thought in Nineteenth-Century Britain
D. E. Kennedy The English Revolution, 1642-1649 Carol Levin The Reign of Elizabeth I
Roger Mason Kingship and Tyranny? Scotland, 1513-1603 Hiram Morgan Ireland in the Early Modern Periphery, 1534-1690
R. C. Nash English Foreign Trade and the World Economy, 1600-1800 Robin Prior and Trevor Wilson Britain and the Impact of World War I
Brian Quintrell Government and Politics in Early Stuart England Stephen Roberts Governance in England and Wales, 1603-1688
David Scott The British Civil Wars John Shaw The Political History of Eighteenth-Century Scotland
Alan Sykes The Radical Right in Britain Ann Wiekel The Elizabethan Counter-Revolution
Ian Wood Churchill
Plea"" note that a sister series, Social Hillary in PI'1'..pertive, is now av.tilable. It covers the key topics in social, cultuml and religious history.
British History in Perspective Series Standing Order
ISBN 978-0-333-71356-3 hardcover ISBN 978-0-333-69331-5 paperback
((ruLlw' North A merira only)
You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and the ISBN
quoted above.
Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. England
KINGSHIP AND GOVERNMENT IN PRE-CONQUEST ENGLAND
c.500-1066
ANN WILLIAMS
First published in Great Britain 1999 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills. Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-0-333-56798-2 ISBN 978-1-349-27454-3 (eBook)
First published in the United States of America 1999 by
ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC., Scholarly and Reference Division, 175 Fifth Avenue. New York. N.Y. lOOlO
ISBN 978-0-312-22090-7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Williams. Ann. 1937-Kingship and government in pre-conquest England. c. 500-10661 Ann Williams. p. cm. - (British history in perspective) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-312-22090-7 (cloth) I. Great Britain-Politics and govemment-449-1 066. 2. Monarchy-England-History-To 1500. 3. Anglo-Saxons-Kings and rulers. I. Title. II. Series. DAI52.W545 1999 942.0 I-DC2 I 98-46258
CIP
© Ann Williams 1999 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1 st edition 1999
All rights reserved. No reproduction. copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced. copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright. Designs and Patents Act 1988. or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. 90 Tottenham Court Road. London WI P 9HE.
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright. Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 I 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99
ISBN 978-0-333-56798-2 ISBN 978-1-349-27454-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-27454-3
To the generations of students at the Polytechnic of North London who, between 1965 and 1988, attended my classes on pre-conquest history, and (in some cases) were kind enough to say that they enjoyed the experience, this book is dedicated in love and gratitude.
The people must know how well I govern them. How would they know, if we didn't tell them?'
(Frank Herbert, Dune)
CONTENTS
Preface IX
List of Abbreviations Xl
Chronology XIV
Genealogical Tables xx
1 Through a Glass Darkly: The Origins of English Kingship 1 Sources and Problems 2 The Idea ofthe 'Seven Kingdoms' 5 Unity in Diversity? The Emergence
of 'Englishness' 9
2 The Time of the Warlords 14
3 The Shadow of Mercia 22
4 Strategies of Power 32 Tribute and Tax 33 Military Service 36 Hospitality 39 The King's Lands 40 Towns and Trade 43
5 All the King's Men 49 The King's Household 50 The Reeve 51 The Ealdorman 52 Church, Law and Literacy 56
vii
Vlll Contents
6 Out of the North: The Impact of the Vikings 65 Military Organization in the Eighth Century 66 The Viking Raids 68 The Rise of Wessex 71 The Achievement of Alfred 73
7 The Making of England 81 Making the Kingdom 82 Kings of the English 84 Local Institutions: Shire, Hundred and Vill 88 Ealdormen and Ealdordoms 89 The King's Household 91 The Royal Council 92 Law and Legislation 93
8 Rule and Conflict, 978-1066 97
9 The Ill-Counselled King 107 Local Organization: Ealdormen and Reeves 108 Local Organization: The Shire Court and Community 109 The Written Word and Royal Administration 113 Military Organization 115
10 The Danish Conquest 123 Danes and English 124 The King's Household 126 Earls and Earldoms 131
11 Authority and Ambition, 1042-66 137 The French Connection 138 1051-2: A Crisis ofAuthority? 139 The King's Government 142 A United Kingdom? 147
Notes 151
Bibliography 222
Index 231
PREFACE
This book is a study ofthe exercise of royal authority before the Norman Conquest. Six centuries separate the adventus Saxonum from the battle of Hastings; the same length oftime which separates the late twentieth century from the age of Chaucer. During those long years, the English kings changed from warlords who exacted submission by force into law-givers to whom obedience was a moral duty. In the process, they created many of the administrative institutions which continued to serve their successors. They also created England; the united kingdom of the English people.
To write the history even of a few aspects of such a lengthy process is not easy, and this book has been long in the making; much perforce has been omitted. It could not have been done at all without the support and encouragement of friends, especially Stephen Church, who cheered me with help and advice over many difficult times. I should like to thank all those who, over the years, have sent me papers which I might otherwise have missed or had difficulty finding, especially Simon Keynes, Susan Reynolds, David Roffe, Pamela Taylor, Patrick Wormald and Barbara Yorke. I am particularly grateful to Dr Keynes for a copy of his privatelypublished Atlas of Attestations in Anglo-Saxon Charters; the frequency of its appearance in the footnotes will show the labour it has saved me. For similar reasons I must thank Susan Kelly for the interim update ofP. H. Sawyer's Anglo-Saxon Charters, on a new edition of which she is currently engaged. Many debts are acknowledged in the bibliography and the endnotes, but not all the assistance I received was in published form, and I should like to mention a few who helped me with discussion of particular problems; Tom Cain, Marios Costambeys, David Dumville, Guy Halsall, Michael Hare and Sally Harvey. I also owe much to those who participated in the now-defunct seminars on English Diplomatic at the Institute of Historical Research, London, notably Paul Fouracre, Wendy Davies, Diana Greenway, Alex Rumble, T. A. Heslop and Janet Nelson. And I must record a
ix
x Preface
special debt to the late John Brand, from whom I derive whatever understanding I possess of the mysteries of numismatics. All errors, omissions and misunderstandings are, of course, my own.
Wanstead ANN WILLIAMS
Acknowledgements
The author and publishers wish to thank Routledge for permission to use copyright material from the table 'Regnal list of the West Saxons' (p. xxvii), from Barbara Yorke, Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England (1997), p. 133. Every effort has been made to trace all the copyright-holders, but if any have been inadvertently overlooked the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangement at the first opportunity.
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
LEthelweard, Chron
Anon Life ANS ASC
ASE ASSAH
Asser
BAR Bede, Letter to
Ecgbert
Bede, Prose Life BNJ CBA Chron Abingdon
Chron Eveslutm
Chron Ramsey
Domesday Book iv
A. Campbell (ed.), The Chronicle of /Ethelweard (London, 1962). Anonymous life of St Cuthbert, in Two Lives. Anglo-Norman Studies. Dorothy Whitelock, David C. Douglas and Susie I. Tucker (eds), The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: a revised translation, 2nd edn (London, 1965). Anglo-Saxon England. Anglo-Saxon Studies in Arcluteology and History (vols 1-3 published by BAR; subsequent volumes by Oxford Committee for Archaeology and History). 'Asser's Life of King Alfred', Simon Keynes and Michael Lapidge, Alfred the Great (Harmondsworth, 1983) pp. 66-110. British Archaeological Reports. Epistola Bede ad Ecgbertum episcopum, in Charles Plummer (ed.), Venerabilis Baedae Opera Historica (Oxford, 1896) pp. 405-23. Bede's Prose life of Cuthbert, in Two Lives. British Numismatic Journal. Council for British Archaeology. Joseph Stevenson (ed.), Chronicon Monasterii de Abingdon, Rolls Series (London, 1858). W. Dunn Macray (ed.), Chronicon Abbatiae de Evesham, Rolls Series (London, 1863). W. Dunn Macray (ed.), ChroniconAbbatiae Rameseiensis, Rolls Series (London, 1886). Domesday Book seu Liber Censualis Willelmi Primi Regis Angliae, vol iv Additamenta (London, 1816).
Xl
xu
ECEE
ECNENM
ECW
ECWM
EHDi
EHR Exon Domesday GDB
GP
GR
HA
HAA
HB
HC
HE
HR
J. Med. Hist. JnW
List of Abbreviations
C. R. Hart, The Early Charters of Eastern England (Leicester, 1966). C. R. Hart, The Early Charters of Northern England and the North Midlands (Le.icester, 1975). H. P. R. Finberg, The Early Charters of Wessex (Leicester, 1964). H. P. R. Finberg, The Early Charters of the West Midlands (Leicester, 1961). Dorothey Whitelock (ed.), English Historical Documents, i, c. 500-1042 (London, 1955). English Historical Review. Liber Exoniensis (printed in Domesday Book iv). R. W. H. Erskine (ed.), Great Domesday: facsimile, Alecto Historical Editions (London, 1986). N. E. S. A. Hamilton (ed.), William of Malmesbury, De gestis pontificum Anglorum, Rolls Series (London, 1870). W. Stubbs (ed.), William of Malmesbury, De gestis regumAnglorum, Rolls Series (London, 1887). Historia Abbatum auctore Baedae, in Charles Plummer (ed.), Venerabilis Baedae Opera Omnia (Oxford, 1896) pp. 364-87; translation in D. H. Farmer (ed.), The Age of Bede (Harmondsworth, 1983). Anonymous Life of Ceolfrid , Historia Abbatum auctore anonymo, in Charles Plummer (ed.), Venerabilis Baedae Opera Historica (Oxford, 1896). Historia Brittonum, in John Morris (ed.), Nennius: British History and the Welsh Annals (Chichester, 1980). Hemming's Cartulary, Thomas Hearne (ed.), Hemingi Chartularium Wigornensis (Oxford, 1723). Bertram Colgrave and R. A. B. Mynors (eds), Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People (Oxford, 1969). Historia Regum, in Thomas Arnold (ed.), Symeonis monachi Opera Omnia, Rolls Series (London, 1882-5) ii, pp. 3-283. J oumal of Medieval History. P. McGurk and R. R. Darlington (eds), The Chronicle of John of Worcester (Oxford 1995).
LDB
Origins
P&P S.
Stenton,ASE
TRHS Two Chronicles
Two Lives
VCH VG
VW
Wallace-Hadrill, Commentary
WG
List of Abbreviations Xlll
Little Domesday, Abraham Farley (ed.), Domesday Book, seu Liber Censualis Willelmi Primi Regis Anglie ii, Record Commission (London, 1783). Steven Bassett (ed.), The Origins of Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms (Leicester, 1989). Past and Present. P. H. Sawyer, A nglo-Saxon Charters: an A nnotated List and Bibliography, Royal Historical Society (London, 1968). F. M. Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, 3rd edn (Oxford, 1971). Transactions of the Royal Historical Society. Thomas Earle and Charles Plummer (eds), Two of the Saxon Chronicles parallel (Oxford, 1952). Bertram Col grave (ed.), Two Lives of Saint Cuthbert (Cambridge, 1940). Victoria History of the Counties of England. Bertram Colgrave (ed.), Felix's Life of Saint Guthlac (Cambridge, 1985). Bertram Colgrave (ed.), The Life of Bishop Wilfrid by Eddius Stephanus (Cambridge, 1985). J. M. Wallace-Hadrill, Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English people: a Historical Commentary (Oxford,1988). Bertram Colgrave (ed.), The Earliest Life of Gregory the Great (Cambridge, 1985).
CHRONOLOGY
c.400-600 The period of English settlement in Britain. 580/93-616/18 A<:thelberht king of Kent. c.602-3 Laws ofA<:thelberht. 590-604 Pontificate of Gregory I, the Great, 'apostle of the English'. 593-616 A<:thelfrith king of Berni cia. 597 Arrival ofSt Augustine, first archbishop of Canterbury. 604 A<:thelfrith seizes Deira and marries Acha, daughter of
616
616-33 628
?628-655 633
633-4
634-42 634-51 642 642-51 642-70 651
655 655-c.664
A<:lle; Edwin driven into exile. Battle of the River Idle: A<:thelfrith killed by Rcedwald of East Anglia. Edwin king of De ira and Bernicia. Baptism of Edwin; battle ofCirencester, where Penda of Mercia defeats the West Saxons. Penda king of Mercia. Battle of Hatfield: Edwin killed by Cadwallon of Gwynedd and Penda of Mercia. Eadfrith of Bernicia and Osric of Deira killed by Cad-waHon; battle of'Heavenfield' (near Hexham): CadwaHon killed by Oswald. Oswald king of Berni cia and Deira. Aidan bishop of the Northumbrians at Lindisfarne. Battle of Maserfeld: Oswald killed by Penda. Oswine king of De ira. Oswiu king of Berni cia. Oswine murdered by Oswiu; Oethelwald, son of Oswald becomes king of De ira. Battle of the River Winwced: Penda killed by Oswiu. Alhfrith son ofOswiu king of Deira.
XIV
658 658-75 664 664-709110 668-90 670-85 672 673-c.685 c.674 675-704 679
685
685-7 685-705 688-726 688-94 690-726 695 716-57 731 735 736 757 757-86 758-96 765-92 768 786 786-802 787
789
793 796
796-821 800
Chronology
Mercians throw off Northumbrian rule. Wulfhere king of Mercia. Synod of Whitby (Northumbria). Wilfrid bishop of York. Archiepiscopate of Theodore. Ecgfrith king of Berni cia; A<:lfwine king of De ira. First synod of the whole English Church at Hertford. Laws of Hlothhere and Wihtred of Kent. Wulfhere defeated by Ecgfrith. A<:thelred king of Mercia.
xv
Battle of the River Trent: Ecgfrith defeated by A<:thelred; death ofA<:lfurine of De ira. Battle ofNechtanesmere (Dunnichen Moss): Ecgfrith killed by Bruide, king ofthe Picts. C<edwalla king of Wessex. Aldfrith king of Northumbria. Ine king of Wessex. LawsofIne. Wihtred king of Kent. Laws ofWihtred. A<:thelbald king of Mercia. Bede completes the Historia Ecclesiastica. Death of Bede ; York becomes an archbishopric. Ismere charter; A<:thelbald called 'king of Britain' . Murder ofA<:thelbald; Beornred and Offa fight for Mercia. Cynewulf king of Wessex. Offa king of Mercia. J<enberht archbishop of Canterbury. Charlemagne king ofthe Franks. Papal legation to England; murder of Cynewulf. Beorhtric king of Wessex; Ecgberht in exile in Frankia. Synod of Chelsea: Lichfield an archbishopric. Ecgfrith, Offa's son, consecrated king of the Mercians. Beorhtric marries Offa's daughter, Eadburh; viking raid on Portland, Dorset. Vikings sack Lindisfarne. Deaths of Off a and Ecgfrith; Eardwulf consecrated king ofN orthumbria. Coenwulfking of Mercia. Charlemagne crowned emperor.
XVI
802-39 803 814 814-40 821-3 823 823-6 825
826 826-7
827 827-c.838 829-30 838
839-58 839-c.852 840-52 843-77 849
852-74 853 855-6 856
858-60 860-65 865-71 865 867 869 870
871
871-99
Chronology
Ecgberht king of Wessex. Synod ofCloJesho: Lichfield demoted to a bishopric. Death of Charlemagne. Louis the Pious emperor and king of the Franks. CeolwulfI king of Mercia. Ceolwulf deposed. Beornwulfking of Mercia. Battle of Ellendun (Wroughton): Ecgberht defeats Beornwulf. Beornwulfkilled in East Anglia. West Saxon conquest of south-east England; lEthelwulf son of Ecgberht king of Kent. Ludeca, king of Mercia, killed in East Anglia. Wiglafking of Mercia. Wiglaftemporarily expelled by Ecgberht. Battle of Hingston Down: Ecgberht defeats the Britons ofDumnonia and their viking allies. lEthelwulfking of Wessex. Athelstan, son oflEthelwulf, king of Kent. Beorhtwulfking of Mercia. Charles the Bald king ofthe Franks. Murder of Wigs tan, grandson ofWiglaf and CeolwulfI; cult develops at Repton. Burgred king of Mercia. Burgred marries lEthelswith, daughter oflEthelwulf. lEthelwulfs pilgrimage to Rome. lEthelwulf marries Judith, daughter of Charles the Bald. lEthelbald king of Wessex. lEthelberht king of Wessex. lEthelred I king of Wessex. Arrival ofthe 'Great Army' ofI var the Boneless. Great Army attacks York. Great Army attacks Mercia. Great Army attacks East Anglia; martyrdom of King Edmund of East Anglia. Great Army attacks Wessex; battles of Ashdown and Basing; death oflEthelred I; arrival of 'Summer Army' ofGuthrum. Alfred king of Wessex.
874 874-878/9 876
877 878
880-90 883 886
889/99 898 899-924 910
911 911-18 918 920 924-39 926 927
934 937
939 940-6 940
943 946-55 954
955-9 957 958-87
959-75
Chronology
Vikings occupy Repton; Burgred flees to Rome. CeolwulflI king of Mercia.
XVll
Vikings settle southern Northumbria; Danish kingdom of York established. Ceolwulfpartitions Mercia with Guthrum. Guthrum occupies Chippenham; Alfred takes refuge at Athelney; battle of Edington: Alfred defeats Guthrum. Guthrum king of East Anglia. iEthelred lord of Mercia. Alfred takes London from the Danes; ?marriage of iEthelred andiEthelfl;ed, Alfred's daughter. iEthelred andiEthelfl;ed fortifY Worcester. Alfred fortifies London. Edward the Elder king of Wessex. Battle of Tettenhall: West Saxons and Mercians defeat Danes of York. Death ofiEthelred lord of Mercia. iEthelfl;ed Lady of the Mercians. Death ofiEthelfl;ed; Edward takes over Mercia. Sigtrygg Caech king of York. Athelstan king of the English. Sigtrygg Caech marries Eadgyth, sister of Athelstan. Sigtrygg dies; Athelstan seizes York; meeting of Athelstan with Constantine II, king of Scots, at Eamot. Athelstan campaigns in Scotland. Battle of Brunanburh: Athelstan defeats coalition of Scots and Vikings. Death of Athelstan; OlafGothfrithsson seizes York. Edmund king ofthe English. OlafGothfrithsson sacks Tamworth and seizes the 'Five Boroughs'. Edmund recovers the 'Five Boroughs'. Eadred king of the English. Eric Bloodaxe, last viking king of York, killed on Stainmore. Eadwig king ofthe English. Edgar king of the Mercians. Harald Bluetooth, son of Gorm the Old, king of Denmark. Edgar king ofthe English.
XVlll
973
975-8 978 978-1016 979 986
987-1014 991
994 995-9 1002
1002-23
1007-17 1009-12 1012 1013-14
1014
1014-19 1015
1016
1016-35 1017 1018 1019 c.I023 1023/32 1027 1028-30
Chronology
Coronation of Edgar at Bath; meeting with the Scots and British kings at Chester. Edward the Martyr king ofthe English. Edward murdered at Corfe, Dorset. 1Ethelred II king of the English. 1Ethelred crowned at Kingston. Harald driven from Denmark by his son Swein Forkbeard. Swein Forkbeard king of Denmark. Battle of Maldon: Vikings defeat and kill Byrhtnoth, ealdorman of Essex. Treaty of 1Ethelred with OlafTryggvasson. OlafTryggvasson king of Norway. Marriage of 1Ethelred with Emma, daughter of Richard I of Normandy. Wulfstan lupus bishop of Worcester and archbishop of York. Eadric Streona ealdorman of Mercia. Thorkell the Tall's army in England. Martyrdom ofArchbishop1Elfheah (StAlphege). Swein Forkbeard king of the English; 1Ethelred flees to Normandy; ?marriage ofCnut, Swein's son, with1Elfgifu of Northampton. Death of Swein; return of 1Ethelred; Cnut returns to Denmark. Harald, Swein's son, king of Norway. Murder of Sigeferth and Morcar, thegns of the 'Seven Boroughs' (Northumbria); Edmund a:theling, son of 1Ethelred married Sigeferth's widow. Death of 1Ethelred; Edmund Ironside king of the English. Cnut defeats Edmund at Assandune; death of Edmund on 30 November. Cnut king of the English. Coronation ofCnut; marries Emma, widow of1Etheired. Agreement of Oxford; Cnul's law-code oflOl8. Harald dies; Cnut king of Denmark. Godwine earl of Wessex. Leofric earl of Mercia. Cnut's pilgrimage to Rome. Norway conquered by Danes.
1033 1035-47 1035-42 1035-40 1036 1038-46 1040-2 1042 1042-66 1043
1044 1045
1046-60 1047 1050
1051-2 1052
1053 1053-66 1055 1055-65 1057
1057-?1062 1060-69 1062-95 ?1062-70 1063
1065
1066
Chronology
Siward earl ofN orthumbria. Magnus king of Norway. Harthacnut king of Denmark. Harold I Harefoot king ofthe English. Murder of Alfred <etheling. Lyfing bishop of Worcester. Harthacnut king of the English.
XIX
Magnus invades Denmark; opposed by Swein Estrithson. Edward the Confessor king ofthe English. Swein Godwineson an earl; Stigand bishop of East Anglia. Robert of J umieges bishop of London. Marriage of Edward with Edith, Godwine's daughter; Harold Godwineson earl of East Anglia. Ealdred bishop of Worcester. Stigand translated from East Anglia to Winchester. Ralph, King Edward's nephew, made an earl; Robert of Jumieges becomes archbishop of Canterbury. Edward expels Earl Godwine and his family. Return and reinstatement of Earl Godwine; Stigand archbishop of Canterbury. Death of God wine. Harold Godwineson earl of Wessex. Death of Earl Siward of North umbria. Tostig Godwineson earl of North umbria. Deaths of Ralph, earl of Hereford, and Leofric of Merna. JElfgar, Leofric's son, earl of Mercia. Ealdred archbishop of York. Wulfstan bishop of Worcester. Edwin, son of Earl JElfgar, earl of Mercia. Harold and Tostig conquer North Wales; ?marriage of Harold and Edwin's sister Ealdgyth. N orthumbrian revolt; Tostig exiled; Morcar, son of Earl JElfgar, earl of Northumbria. Edward dies, 5 January; Harold II Godwineson crowned, 6 January. Battle of Stamfordbridge, 25 September; battle of Hastings, 14 October: Harold II killed. William of Normandy becomes king of the English.
~ ~
Th
e D
eira
n li
ne
Yff
i
~
A:lf
ric
A:L
LE
(?
d. 5
99)
OS
RIC
(6
33-4
)
I
A:T
HE
LR
IC
(c.
59
9-6
04
)
Tabl
e 1
Nor
thum
bria
n ki
ngs
of th
e se
vent
h ce
ntur
y
--
I
Th
e B
erni
cian
line
ID
A (
547-
59)
A:T
HE
LR
IC
ED
WIN
m
(1
) C
wen
burh
(2)
A:t
helb
urh
Ach
a (2
) m
A:T
HE
LF
RIT
H m
(I
) B
ebbe
(6
16-3
3) I
(592
-616
)
(I)
(I)
(2)
. (2
) (2
) 1(2
) (I
)
I I
I I
I I
OS
WIN
E
Osf
rith
E
adfr
ith
Usc
frea
Eanfl~d (
2)
m
OS
WIU
m (
1) R
hiai
nfel
lt (
3) I
rish
Pri
nces
s (6
34-5
1)
(642
-70)
(I)
1(2)
(2
) (3
) I
I I
Yff
i A
LH
FR
ITH
E
CG
FR
ITH
A
:LF
WIN
E
AL
DF
RIT
H
(655
-64,
Dei
ra)
(670
-85)
(6
64-7
9)
(685
-705
) D
eira
Not
e:
Kin
gs i
n ca
pita
ls;
m=
mar
ried
; d
= d
ied.
OSW
AL
D
(634
-42)
1
OE
TH
EL
WA
LD
(6
51-5
, D
eira
)
EA
NF
RIT
H
(633
-4)
C1
~
Z ~ o C1 ~ ~ ~ eo r ~ \J
1
Tabl
e 2
Mer
cian
kin
gs
PYB
BA
I
I ..
-----
----
I
PEN
DA
(do
655)
EO
WA
(do
642)
C
oenw
ealh
I
--
PEA
DA
W
UL
FH
ER
E
.-ET
HE
LR
ED
(d
o 65
6)
(658
-75)
(6
75-7
04)
I ~----------~
CO
EN
RE
D
CE
OL
RE
D
(704
-9)
(709
-16)
Oth
er k
ings
, rel
atio
nshi
p un
know
n B
eorn
red
(757
-8)
Beo
rnw
ulf (
823-
6)
Lud
eca
(826
-7)
Wig
laf (
827-
-co
838)
W
igm
und
(co 8
38-4
0) s
on o
fWig
laf
Bur
gred
(84
0-74
) .-E
thel
red
(co 8
83-9
11)
CEO
LWA
LD
(716
)
Alw
ih
Osm
od
.-ET
HE
LB
AL
D
(716
-57)
E
anul
f
I T
hing
fert
h
I O
FFA
(7
58-9
6)
I E
CG
FR
ITH
(7
96) C
EO
LW
UL
FI
(821
-3)
I m
.-E
lffi:e
d
----
---,
Cut
hwal
d
Cen
twin
e
Cyn
ereo
w
I B
assa
Cut
hber
t
WIG
MU
ND
(c
. 83
8-40
) r
Wig
stan
C
EO
LW
UL
F II
(8
79-8
78/9
)
CO
EN
WU
LF
(796
-821
)
~o
Tabl
e 3
The
Wes
t Sax
on k
ings
of t
he n
inth
cen
tury
(sim
plif
ied)
EC
GB
ER
HT
(8
02-3
9)
I
Cha
rles
th
e B
ald
Kin
g of
the
Fra
nks
I iE
TH
EL
WU
LF
m
(I
) O
sbu
rh
(2) J
ud
ith
m
(2
) iE
TH
EL
BA
LD
(3
) B
aldw
in 'I
ron
arm
' (8
39-5
8)
(?I)
(I
) I (
I)
(I)
(I)
(I)
I I
I I
I I
Ath
elst
an,
kin
g o
f iE
TH
EL
BA
LD
iE
TH
EL
BE
RH
T
iET
HE
LR
ED
I
ken
t (8
39-5
3)
(858
-60)
(8
60-6
5)
(865
-71)
iE
thel
swit
h m
B
urg
red
of
Mer
cia
AL
FR
ED
(8
71-9
9)
iEth
elfl
aed
(911
-18)
m
iE
thel
red
of
ED
WA
RD
iE
lfsw
ith
m
Bal
dwin
II,
co
un
t
I iE
lfw
ynn
iEth
elw
eard
the
C
hron
icle
r (d
. 99
8)
Mer
cia
(see
Tab
le 4
) o
f F
lan
der
s (d
. 91
1)
Arn
ulf
A
delo
lf
~ ~
Cou
nts
of
Co
un
ts o
f F
land
ers
Bo
ulo
gn
e
~ ~:
Tabl
e 4
The
Wes
t Sax
on k
ings
(i)
Edw
ard
to l
Eth
elre
d II
(si
mpl
ifie
d)
ED
WA
RD
the
Eld
er
m
(1)
Ecg
wyn
n (8
99-9
24)
~-------l
Ead
gyth
m
S
igtr
ygg
Cae
ch
AT
HE
LS
TA
N
(924
-39)
1-iE
LFW
EA
RD
(9
24)
Not
e:
*O
ther
chi
ldre
n o
f thi
s m
arri
age
incl
ude:
E
dith
(E
adgy
th)
m O
tto
I, th
e G
reat
, Em
pero
r E
adhi
ld m
Hu
gh
the
Gre
at, d
uke
oft
he
Fra
nks.
(2)
iElff
i<ed
* Ead
gifu
m
C
harl
es t
he
Sim
ple,
K
ing
of t
he
Fra
nks
(3)
Ead
gifu
,---L
, E
DM
UN
D
(940
-46)
E
AD
RE
D
(946
-55)
1-
--
--
--
-I
EA
DW
IG
(955
-9)
(I)
iEth
elfl
<ed
m
ED
GA
R
m
(2)
iElf
thry
th
(959
-75)
ED
WA
RD
the
Mar
tyr
iET
HE
LR
ED
II
(975
-8)
(978
-101
6)
(see
Tab
le 5
)
g:
Tabl
e 5
The
Wes
t Sax
on k
ings
(ii)
lEth
elre
d II
to E
dwar
d th
e C
onfe
ssor
(si
mpl
ifie
d)
iElf
gifu
(1
) m
iE
TH
EL
RE
D I
I (9
78-1
016)
---l
E
dith
m
E
adri
c S
treo
na
iElf
gifu
m
U
htr
ed o
f E
DM
UN
D
m
Eal
dgyt
h o
f M
erci
a B
ambu
rgh
(101
6)
(see
Tab
le 7
)
Edw
ard
.eth
elin
g
Edg
ar .e
thel
ing*
m
(2)
Em
ma
of
Nor
man
dy (
see
Tab
le 6
)
r--
I l
Alf
red
ED
WA
RD
the
G
oda
m
Dro
go
Con
fess
or
(10
42
-66
)
Ral
ph,
earl
of
Her
efor
d
Not
e:
·His
sist
er, M
arga
ret o
f Sco
tlan
d, m
Mal
colm
III
Can
mor
e; th
eir
daug
hter
, Edi
th/M
atil
da, m
Hen
ry I
(11
00-3
5).
~
~.
<:
Tho
rgil
s
I G
odw
ine
m
Gyt
ha
Eil
af
Vlf
m
Tabl
e 6
Th
e D
anis
h K
ings
(si
mpl
ifie
d)
Mie
sko,
duk
e o
f the
Pol
es
dau
(2
) m
Est
rith
SVV
EIN
For
kbea
rd
(10
13
-14
) m
(I
) un
know
n
r----L
, m
d
au
Gyt
ha m
Eri
c o
f Lad
e
~
Har
ald,
kin
g o
f D
enm
ark
CN
UT
m
(I
)£lf
gif
u*
(2)
Em
mat
(1O~6-35)
VV
yrtg
eorn
ki
ng o
f the
V
Ven
ds
HA
RO
LD
II
(10
66
) (s
ee T
able
7)
Sw
ein
of
Den
mar
k B
eorn
H
aral
d (
2)
m
Gu
nn
hil
d
m
(I)
Hak
on
(I)
(2
)--
HA
RO
LD
I
(10
35
-40
) H
AR
TH
AC
NV
T
(10
40
-42
)
Not
e:
·See
Tab
le 7
; tS
ee t
able
5. E
arls
in
Eng
land
und
erli
ned.
~
~ <
Tabl
e 7
The
ear
ls o
f Mer
cia
and
the
fam
ily
of lE
lfgi
fu o
f Nor
tham
pton
Wul
frun
m
u
nk
no
wn
E
arls
of M
erci
a
I .. -
.. ---
---
--I W
ulfr
ic S
pot
lElf
heim
lE
lfth
ryth
m
un
know
n
,----,
lE
lfgi
fu o
f m
C
NU
T
Eal
dgyt
h m
M
orca
r S
igef
erth
* N
ort
ham
pto
n
(see
Tab
le 6
)
Sw
ein
HA
RO
LD
I
(see
Tab
le 6
)
Edw
in o
f M
erci
a
Not
e:
*His
wid
ow m
ED
MU
ND
Iro
nsi
de
(see
Tab
le 5
).
dau
gh
ter
=
? lE
lfgi
fu
m
Mor
car
of
No
rth
um
bri
a
Leo
fwin
e
Leo
fric
m
G
odgi
fu
lElf
gar
Eal
dgyt
h m
H
AR
OL
D I
I (s
ee T
able
6)
~ ~.
Genealogical Tables XXVll
Table 8 Regnal list of the West Saxons
Cerdic 538-554
Cynric 554-581
Ceawlin 581-588
Ceol 588-594
Ceolwulf 594-611
Cynegils 611-642
Cenwalh 642-673
Seaxburh 673-674
iEscwine 674-676
Centwine 676-685/6
Ca:dwalla 685/6-688
Ine 688-726
iEthelheard 726-740
Cuthred 740-756
Sigebert 756-757
Cynewulf 757-786
Beorhtric 786-802
Egbert 802-839
iEthelwulf 839-855(8)
iEthelbald 855-860
iEthelbert 860-866
iEthelred 866-871
Alfred 871-899
Source: Reproduced by kind permission of Routledge, from Barbara Yorke (1997) Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England.