There is a legend according to which in 449 the Celtic ruler invited two commanders from the Ute tribe to his place to participate in the battle against the Picts and Scots, who were pushing him from the north. However, the generals refused the reward for participating in the battle and conquered Kent themselves. Later, one of the commanders was killed, and the other took the throne and became the first German ruler on the island.
All subsequent conquests ended with the victory of the Saxons, and in 447 the kingdom of the South Saxons was formed. Since that time, one of the counties of England has been called "Sussex".
According to researchers, around 570, the Angles and Saxons occupied almost half of the island. Britons lived on the western part of the island. But from 577 the Germanic tribes gradually succeeded in conquering these lands as a result of the battles at Durham and Chester. By the end of the seventh century, three states had formed from small Anglo-Saxon states: Mercia, Wessex and Northumbria.
And from the same time the period of the Scandinavian invasions had started. The Vikings mainly landed for the purpose of robbery, mainly in the territories of the northern principalities.
The Vikings established the Principalities of Naples and Normandy in other areas of Europe, but attempts to establish their dominion on the island had been unsuccessful for a period of about two hundred years.
In the second half of the ninth century, the time of the Danish invasions began. The warlords Ingwar and Hubba formed the "Great Army" alliance. But, in 871, the Danes were defeated by the young king Alfred at the battle of Ashdown, who stopped their advance to the south.
The Danes who remained on the islands managed to adopt quickly Anglo-Saxon traditions. For a short time they all adopted Christianity, and their language was very close to Old English. Researchers believe that the acceleration of the process of feudalization (the disappearance of small and medium-sized owners) in England was the result of Danish invasions. During the "Danish period" the amount of requisitions from the peasants increased, because they were forced to pay off the plundering.
The name of the reformer king Alfred (871-901), the hero of numerous legends and tales, is associated with the national struggle of the Anglo-Saxons. Historians call Alfred the first English king, who became the founder of the English monarchy. The territory of England which he wrested from the Danes was but a narrow strip of land in the south-west of the island, up to a line drawn in the north between Chester and London. But Alfred managed to save his country from terror and plundering .
Alfred directed all his abilities for the benefit of the people - he was not only a soldier, but also a sailor, scientist, church builder, historian, inventor, founder of the state. It is generally accepted that the foundations of the English Fleet were laid during the time of this particular king. With the help of the fleet, the country's maritime border began to be protected. Alfred invited famous foreign scholars of that time to English schools, contributed to the translation of Latin works into the language of the Saxons, accompanying the translations with his own prefaces.
Starting from 887, at the initiative of King Alfred, they began to chronicle historical events in the Saxon language and record the customs and traditions of the Anglo-Saxon people.
Alfred's son, Edward the Elder (901-925), united England under one ruler. In 921 he defeated the last king of the eastern Danish half of the island. After this event, his kingdom - the territories of the modern counties of Norfolk and Suffolk - were united with Wessex. The Danes of Northumbria recognized Edward the Elder as their ruler towards the end of his reign. In 924, at a crowded meeting in Dor, the Scots also proclaimed him their king.
The next king, Æthelstan, finally annexed Northumbria, occupied by the Danes, to the kingdom. In the west of Europe, this king was considered the most powerful.
Since 1016, the Danish invasions had ceased completely. The Danish king Canute (Knut) began to rule England. He got christening, married Emma - the widow of the late king, and treated England not as a conquered province, but as the centre of his possessions.
After the death of Knut, the Danish dynasty ended and it was decided to give the throne to a representative of the Saxon dynasty, to which Alfred once belonged. However, in the south, claims to the English throne by the Norman king William began to emerge.
But that is a different story...
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