The Romans Leave Britannia
In the northwestern corner of the Roman Empire, the island of Britannia (what we refer to as Britain) was ruled by the Romans in the south and the Picts and the Scotti in the north....
Category: Early Middle Ages [400 to 1066 AD]
Vortigern: Myth and Legend
Sources of information on what happened in Britannia during the 5th century provide tales that have lived on through the ages. These sources include De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae (On the Ruin and Conquest of...
Aurelianus and Arthur: Warrior Legends
When we create the history of a country or region we rely on archaeological artifacts and primary sources, among others. Primary sources are first-hand accounts of people, places, and events that happened during the writer’s...
Localized Leadership
It is important at this point to describe what archaeologists have found to be the state of affairs in Britannia after the Romans left as this had a profound effect on leaders at that time....
Sutton Hoo Discoveries
In 1938, Mrs. Edith Pretty, a widow and daughter of a wealthy industrialist, contacted the Ipswich Museum to ask if there were anyone available to investigate a gigantic mound of earth on her Sutton Hoo,...
Oswiu and Offa: Early Bretwalda
Let’s take a closer look at two of the bretwalda or ‘over-kings’ not yet described in our narrative. They are Oswiu of Northumbria and Offa of Mercia. Both exemplify the way in which warriors expanded...
Egbert: Wessex Rises to Power
Egbert, also spelled Ecgberht, or Ecgbryht, birth c.771/crowned King of Wessex, 802 at age c.29; also crowned King of Kent, 825 at age c.54/death approximately 839 at age 68/Spouse, Name Unknown House: Historians do not...
Æthelwulf: Fighter Against the Vikings
Æthelwulf, birth c. 795/crowned King of Wessex, 839 at age c. 44/death 858 at age c. 63 /spouse, Osburh married in 830 and Judith of Flanders married in 856House: Wessex/Father, Egbert, King of Wessex/Mother, Name...
Æthelbald: Wessex Continues to Rule
Æthelbald, birth c. 834/crowned King of Wessex, 855 at age c. 21/death 860 at age c. 26/spouse, Judith of Flanders, married in 858House: Wessex/Father, Æthelwulf , King of Wessex/Mother, OsburhChildren: None recordedReign: 855-860 Æthelbald’s main...
Æthelberht and the Vikings
Æthelberht, also spelled Æthelbert, Aethelberht, Aethelbert or Ethelbert, birth c. 835/crowned King of Wessex, 860 at age c. 25/death 865 at age c. 30/UnmarriedHouse: Wessex/Father, Æthelwulf, King of Wessex/Mother, OsburhChildren: Two sons, Aldhelm, ÆthelweardReign: 860...
