The Making of England (600–1071)

Timeline

Layers

Picts and Scots → Kingdom of Alba · Northern Britons (Strathclyde, Rheged, Elmet) · Welsh kingdoms · Dumnonia → Cornwall · Northumbria (Bernicia; Bamburgh after 867) · Deira · Mercia · East Anglia · Essex · Kent · Sussex · Wessex → Kingdom of England · Scandinavian York (Jórvík) · Danish Mercia (Five Boroughs) · Danish East Anglia (Guthrum's kingdom) · England under Danish kings (Sweyn, Cnut and sons) · Norman control · The Great Heathen Army · Harald Hardrada's Norwegians · Harold Godwinson's army · William of Normandy's army

Events

• 600, Bamburgh (Bebbanburg): Coastal rock fortress and royal seat of the Bernician kings, capital of Bernicia and a key power centre of Northumbria; later held by Anglo-Saxon and Danish-era earls of Bamburgh.
• 603, Battle of Degsastan: Aethelfrith of Bernicia defeats Aedan mac Gabrain of Dál Riata; Northumbrian pressure on the Gaels. Exact site is uncertain.
• 616, Battle of Chester: Aethelfrith defeats Powys and kills monks of Bangor-is-y-coed; opens the route between Welsh Wales and the north Britons.
• 616, Battle of the River Idle: Raedwald of East Anglia kills Aethelfrith of Northumbria and installs Edwin; East Anglian overlordship at its height.
• 625, Sutton Hoo ship burial: Royal ship burial of the Wuffingas dynasty, probably King Raedwald; the richest early English grave find.
• 633, Battle of Hatfield Chase: Cadwallon of Gwynedd and Penda of Mercia kill Edwin of Northumbria; Northumbria briefly splits into Bernicia and Deira.
• 634, Battle of Heavenfield: Oswald of Bernicia defeats Cadwallon near Hadrian's Wall, reunites Bernicia and Deira and invites Aidan from Iona.
• 642, Battle of Maserfield: Penda of Mercia kills Oswald of Northumbria, probably at Oswestry. Site traditional, not proven.
• 655, Battle of the Winwaed: Oswiu of Northumbria kills Penda near Leeds (site uncertain) and briefly rules Mercia; Mercia then revolts in 658.
• 658, Battle of Peonnum: Cenwalh of Wessex defeats the Britons, probably at Penselwood, and drives them to the Parrett; eastern Dumnonia lost.
• 664, Synod of Whitby: Oswiu decides for Roman Easter dating over Iona's; Northumbrian church aligns with Rome.
• 679, Battle of the Trent: Mercia under Aethelred beats Ecgfrith of Northumbria; Lindsey passes to Mercia. Site on the Trent in Lindsey, unlocated.
• 20 May 685, Battle of Nechtansmere (Dun Nechtain): Picts under Bridei destroy Ecgfrith's army and kill him; Northumbria's northward expansion ends at the Forth. Traditional site Dunnichen, Angus.
• 710, Ine defeats Geraint of Dumnonia: Ine of Wessex beats King Geraint at Llongborth (site uncertain) and pushes the border toward Exeter and the Exe.
• 731, Bede at Jarrow: Bede completes the Ecclesiastical History of the English People at Monkwearmouth-Jarrow, the main source for this era.
• 750, Eadberht takes Kyle: Eadberht of Northumbria seizes the plain of Kyle (Ayrshire) from Alt Clut; later lost.
• 779, Battle of Bensington: Offa of Mercia beats Cynewulf of Wessex and regains the Thames valley.
• 785, Offa's Dyke: Roughly 64 miles of surviving earthwork on the Mercia/Wales border from Chepstow area to near Prestatyn; ditch on Welsh side. Traditionally Offa's work, not scientifically dated.
• 787, Lichfield made an archbishopric: Offa gets a papal archbishopric for Lichfield, reducing Canterbury's authority over Mercia. Dissolved 803.
• 8 Jun 793, Lindisfarne raid: Viking sack of Lindisfarne monastery; the traditional start of the Viking Age in Britain.
• 794, Execution of Aethelberht II: Offa has King Aethelberht of East Anglia killed (tradition: at Sutton Walls near Hereford, L), absorbing East Anglia.
• 825, Battle of Ellendun: Ecgberht of Wessex beats Beornwulf of Mercia near Wroughton, ending Mercian supremacy and opening Kent, Sussex, Surrey and Essex.
• 829, Ecgberht reaches Dore: Northumbria submits to Ecgberht at Dore after he occupies Mercia; Ecgberht is called Bretwalda in the Chronicle.
• 830, Wiglaf restores Mercia: Wiglaf regains Mercia from Ecgberht; Mercia never again dominates.
• 838, Battle of Hingston Down: Ecgberht defeats the West Welsh and their Danish allies; Cornwall becomes a West Saxon vassal.
• 851, Battle of Aclea: Aethelwulf and Aethelstan beat a great Viking army, probably in Surrey (Ockley). Site uncertain.
• 865, Great Heathen Army lands in East Anglia: Viking army winters at Thetford after receiving horses; the start of the conquest of the kingdoms.
• 867, Bamburgh (Bebbanburg): Seat of independent Bernician rulers 867-954: Ealdorman Eadwulf II (890-912), then Ealdred. The fictional Uhtred of Bebbanburg in The Last Kingdom is invented; the real Uhtred the Bold lived about 1000-1016.
• 21 Mar 867, Battle of York: Northumbrians under Osberht and Ælla storm York but are crushed by Ivar and Halfdan; both kings killed.
• 20 Nov 869, Edmund killed (Hoxne): King Edmund of East Anglia killed by the Great Army; Hoxne in Suffolk is the traditional site, disputed.
• 5 Jan 871, Battle of Reading: Danes beat Æthelred and Alfred at their Reading camp.
• 8 Jan 871, Battle of Ashdown: Alfred and Æthelred beat the Danes on the Berkshire Downs; Bagsecg killed. Exact site unknown, Ashdown House area used.
• 22 Mar 871, Battle of Meretun: Danes beat Æthelred and Alfred at Meretun (Marden, Martin or Merton; site unknown). Æthelred dies April 871, Alfred king.
• 1 May 871, Battle of Wilton: Alfred defeated by the Danes at Wilton, then buys peace; Danes leave Wessex.
• 1 Dec 873, Repton winter camp: Great Army winters in the Mercian royal monastery; Burgred driven out 874, Ceolwulf II installed.
• 878, Treaty of Wedmore: Peace after Edington: Guthrum baptised, leaves Wessex. Wedmore, Somerset. Distinct from the later Alfred-Guthrum treaty.
• 878, Battle of Cynwit: Men of Devon beat Ubba's Danes; site disputed (Countisbury or Kenwith near Bideford). Countisbury used.
• 6 Jan 878, Chippenham surprise: Guthrum surprises Alfred at Twelfth Night; Alfred escapes to the Somerset marshes.
• 1 Mar 878, Alfred at Athelney: Alfred's refuge on a Somerset Levels island; fort built around Easter 878.
• 1 May 878, Battle of Edington (Ethandun): Alfred defeats Guthrum; most favoured site Edington, Wiltshire (Wikipedia coordinates). Guthrum baptised at Aller about three weeks later.
• 886, Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum: Boundary: up the Thames, up the Lea to its source, straight to Bedford, up the Ouse to Watling Street. Date uncertain (878-890). Lea source near Leagrave/Waulud's Bank, Luton (approx).
• 886, Alfred takes London: Alfred retakes London and places it under Æthelred of Mercia; styles himself King of the Anglo-Saxons.
• 893, Buttington: English and Welsh besiege a Danish army at Buttington near Welshpool (traditional identification, not verified).
• 893, Farnham: Edward beats a Danish army at Farnham, Surrey (ASC 893; from memory, not verified on fetched pages).
• 26 Oct 899, Alfred dies: Alfred dies; Edward the Elder succeeds, crowned at Kingston 8 June 900.
• 13 Dec 902, Battle of the Holme: Æthelwold's East Anglian Danes beat Edward's Kentish force but Æthelwold is killed; location uncertain (Holme in the Fens, low confidence).
• 5 Aug 910, Battle of Tettenhall: Mercian and West Saxon army destroys the Northumbrian Danes; kings Eowils, Halfdan and Ingwær killed.
• 917, Tempsford stormed: Edward storms the Danish burh at Tempsford on the Ouse in Bedfordshire.
• 918, Corbridge: Ragnall's Norse fight Constantine II's Scots and Northumbrians (Ealdred) at Corbridge on the Tyne.
• 12 Jun 918, Æthelflæd dies: Lady of the Mercians dies at Tamworth; Edward takes direct control of Mercia Dec 918.
• 927, Æthelstan takes York: On Sihtric's death Æthelstan takes York, becoming king of all England.
• 927, Ealdred of Bamburgh: Ealdred, son of Eadwulf, attended Eamont Bridge 927; may have died 934.
• 12 Jul 927, Eamont Bridge: Constantine II, Hywel Dda, Ealdred of Bamburgh and Owain of Strathclyde accept Æthelstan's overlordship.
• 937, Brunanburh (site unknown): Æthelstan beats Olaf Guthfrithson, Constantine and Owain in autumn 937. Over forty sites proposed; Bromborough on the Wirral is the leading candidate. Marker is a best guess.
• 954, Stainmore: Eric Bloodaxe's death on Stainmore is a later tradition; Wikipedia's Eadred article says only that York's magnates expelled him in 954 and he was killed soon after. Site approximate.
• 11 May 973, Edgar crowned at Bath: Edgar and Aelfthryth consecrated at Bath Abbey on Whit Sunday; probably a display of overlordship of Britain.
• 1 Jul 973, Kings submit to Edgar on the Dee: At Chester six to eight kings (incl. Kenneth II, Strathclyde and Welsh kings) allied or submitted; later sources say they rowed him on the Dee. Month approximate; some see a parley of equals.
• 10 Aug 991, Battle of Maldon: Byrhtnoth's Essex fyrd beaten by Vikings on the Blackwater; Danegeld followed. Date from memory.
• 3 Feb 1014, Sweyn dies at Gainsborough: Sweyn died after about two months as king; the fleet chose Cnut; the English recalled Aethelred.
• 1016, Uhtred the Bold killed: Uhtred of Bamburgh, earl of Northumbria, killed on his way to submit to Cnut by Thurbrand the Hold (traditionally Wighill, near Tadcaster); historical basis of the fictional Uhtred. Place and date from memory.
• 1016, Uhtred the Bold (real): Real Uhtred, son of Waltheof I, ruled Bamburgh c.1000-1018 and was ealdorman of Northumbria 1006-1016; the TV Uhtred is fictional.
• 18 Oct 1016, Battle of Assandun (site disputed): Decisive Cnut victory. Site probably Ashingdon near Rochford, Essex (shown); Ashdon near Saffron Walden (52.05N, 0.31E) is the main rival.
• 1 Nov 1016, Alney partition: Edmund and Cnut met on the Severn island near Deerhurst; Cnut got Mercia/north, Edmund Wessex. Sources differ. Edmund d. 30 Nov.
• 1 Aug 1018, Battle of Carham: Scots (Malcolm II) and Cumbrians (Owen the Bald) beat the Northumbrians on the Tweed. Probably Aug 1018 (comet), maybe 1016; link to Lothian is disputed.
• 12 Nov 1035, Cnut dies at Shaftesbury: Cnut d. 12 Nov 1035; buried Winchester; his sons split the realm.
• 1063, Rhuddlan raid on Gruffydd: Harold raids Gruffydd's court at Rhuddlan; Gruffydd flees by sea and is killed in Snowdonia in summer 1063.
• 20 Sep 1066, Battle of Fulford: Hardrada and Tostig beat Edwin and Morcar outside York.
• 25 Sep 1066, Battle of Stamford Bridge: Harold destroys the Norwegian army; Hardrada and Tostig killed.
• 14 Oct 1066, Battle of Hastings: Fought at Senlac Hill, now Battle; Harold killed.
• 10 Dec 1066, Submission at Berkhamsted: Edgar Atheling, Edwin, Morcar and the Londoners submit to William.
• 1 Feb 1068, Siege of Exeter: William besieges rebels around Harold's mother Gytha; negotiated surrender; Rougemont castle built.
• 1 Sep 1069, Rising at York: Danes and Northumbrian rebels take York's castles; William retakes and ravages it. Robert de Comines killed at Durham Jan 1069 (mini).
• 25 Dec 1069, Harrying of the North: Winter 1069-70 devastation of Yorkshire and the land to the Tees; William holds Christmas at York.
• 1 Oct 1071, Fall of Ely: Isle of Ely falls to William; Morcar imprisoned, Hereward escapes. Exact date uncertain (1071).