- Timeline of the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain
Constructing a chronology of the early Anglo-Saxon period is highly complex, and the limitations of our source material place restrictions on just how accurate any chronology can be. Much of our dating of the period comes from
Bede , writing in the seventh century, who, in his "Ecclesiastical History of the English People", tried to compute dates for events in early Anglo-Saxon history. Bede's work was widely read among the literate in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, and his dates were used by themonk s who compiled the variousAnglo-Saxon Chronicle s from the late ninth century onwards.It is essential to keep in mind that the most controversial dates - those from the fourth to the late sixth centuries - have no contemporary record, and are derived from later attempts to construct Anglo-Saxon history.
This is an outline of some events recorded in Bede's Ecclesiastical History, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Welsh Annals ("
Annales Cambriae "), and "Brut y Tywysogion ". Many of the dates from the fourth, fifth, and sixth century are points of contention. [J. Campbell, 'The Lost Centuries: 400-600' in "The Anglo-Saxons". ed. J. Campbell et al (London: Penguin, 1982), pp. 20-44]:AC = "from the
Annales Cambriae " (English translation [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/annalescambriae.html at this link] ).:ASC = "from theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle ".:B = "fromBede 's writings".:ByT = "fromBrut y Tywysogion ".4th century
*360 and after: various
Germanic peoples came toRoman Britain : raiders, Roman armies recruited from among German tribes, authorized settlers: ref.Aelle of Sussex 5th century
*410: Emperor Honorious recalls the last legions from Britain. There is some uncertainty: some say that this "rescript" refers not to
Britannia (= Britain) but toBruttium inItaly .Fact|date=June 2007
*433: The Britons call theAngles to come and help them [asmercenaries ] against thePict s. ASC
*about 446: The "Groans of the Britons " last appeal (possibly to theConsul Aetius) for the Roman army to come back to Britain.
*447:Vortigern letAnglo-Saxons settle onThanet .Fact|date=February 2008 (The name Vortigern may mean "Great King" rather than being a personal name.)
*455: "Her Hengest 7 Horsa fuhton wiþ Wyrtgeorne þam cyninge, in þære stowe þe is gecueden Agælesþrep, 7 his broþur Horsan man ofslog; 7 æfter þam Hengest feng to rice 7 Æsc his sunu." ASC
*455:Battle of Aylesford : HereHengest andHorsa fought against Vortigern the king, in the place that is calledAylesford , and his brother Horsa was slain; and after that Hengest took the throne with Æsc, his son.
*"457: Her Hengest 7 Æsc fuhton wiþ Brettas in þære stowe þe is gecueden Crecganford 7 þær ofslogon .iiiim. wera, 7 þa Brettas þa forleton Centlond 7 mid micle ege flugon to Lundenbyrg." ASC
*457: Here Hengest & Æsc fought against Britons in the place which is called Crecganford and there slew 4000 men, and the Britons abandonedKent and with great fear fled toLondon .
*465: "Her Hengest 7 Æsc gefuhton uuiþ Walas neah Wippedesfleote 7 þær .xii. wilisce aldormenn ofslogon, 7 hiera þegn an þær wearþ ofslægen, þam wæs noma Wipped."
*466 (corrected from 465):Battle of Wippedesfleot : Here Hengest and Æsc fought together against Welsh (meaning 'foreigner', as the invaders referred to the Britons) near Wippedesfleot and there slew 12 Welsh leaders, and one of their thanes was slain, whose name was Wipped. [This battle is said to have resulted in much bloodshed and slaughter on both sides, to the extent that hostilities abated for a while thereafter. It is not known where Wippedesfleot (= "Wipped's tidal estuary") was.]
*"473: Her Hengest 7 Æsc gefuhton wiþ Walas 7 genamon unarimedlico herereaf, 7 þa Walas flugon þa Englan swa þær fyr." ASC
*473: Here Hengest & Æsc fought against Welsh and took countless war-loot , and the Welsh fled from the English like fire.
*"477: Her cuom Ælle on Bretenlond 7 his .iii. suna, Cymen 7 Wlencing 7 Cissa, mid .iii. scipum on þa stowe þe is nemned Cymenesora, 7 þær ofslogon monige Wealas 7 sume on fleame bedrifon on þone wudu þe is genemned Andredesleage." ASC
*477: Here Ælle came to Britain and [with him] his 3 sons Cymen & Wlencing & Cissa, with 3 ships to the place which is named Cymenesora [probably now The Owers, sandbanks offSelsey inWest Sussex ] , and there slew many Welsh & drove some in flight into the wood which is called Andredesleag [=The Weald ] .
*"485: Her Ælle gefeaht wiþ Walas neah Mearcrædesburnan stæðe." ASC
*485: Here Ælle fought against Welsh near the margin of Mearcrædesburna [= Mearcræd's stream).
*"491: Her Ælle 7 Cissa ymbsæton Andredescester 7 ofslogon alle þa þe þærinne eardedon; ne wearþ þær forþon an Bret to lafe." ASC
*491: Here Ælle and Cissa besieged Andredescester [nowPevensey ] and slew all who dwelt therein; no Briton was left afterwards.
*490 to 510: Likely range of dates for theBattle of Mons Badonicus . SeeBattle of Mons Badonicus#Effects of the battle for the strategic situation resulting afterwards.6th century
*around 500:
Angles colonised theNorth Sea andHumber coastal areas, particularly aroundHolderness .
*"501: Her cuom Port on Bretene 7 his .ii. suna Bieda 7 Mægla mid .ii. scipum on þære stowe þe is gecueden Portesmuþa 7 ofslogon anne giongne Brettiscmonnan, swiþe æþelne monnan." ASC
*501: Here Port and his 2 sons Bieda and Mægla came to Britain with 2 ships to the place which is calledPortsmouth and slew a young British man, a very noble man. " [But this may be an old fiction, as a folk-etymology to explain the placename Ports-mouth.] "
*"508: Her Cerdic 7 Cynric ofslogon ænne Brettisccyning, þam was nama Natanleod, 7 .v. þusendu wera mid him. Æfter was þæt lond nemned Natanleaga oþ Cerdicesford." ASC
*508: HereCerdic andCynric slew a British king, whose name was Natanleod, and 5000 men with him. Afterwards that land was named Natanleag as far as Cerdicesford [=North Charford andSouth Charford ] .
*535 & 536: Theextreme weather events of 535-536 likely caused a great famine and thus population loss.
*On or before 547:Bernicia established by Anglo-Saxons taking over part of a Celtic area calledBryneich .
*Around 549: A great plague caused much population loss.
*about 560: Anglo-Saxons conquered all of eastYorkshire and the British kingdom ofEbrauc , and there established Deira.
*"571: Her Cuþwulf feaht wiþ Bretwalas æt Bedcan forda. 7 .iiii. tunas genom, Lygeanburg. 7 Ægelesburg. Benningtun. 7 Egonesham. 7 þy ilcan geare he gefor." ASC
*571:Battle of Bedcanford : HereCuthwulf fought against Britons atBedcanford and took 4 settlements:Limbury &Aylesbury , Benson, &Eynsham . And in the same year he died.
*573:Battle of Arfderydd atArthuret inCumbria : Celt fought Celt and weakened their numbers.
*"577: Her Cuþwine 7 Ceawlin fuhton wiþ Brettas, 7 hie .iii. kyningas ofslogon, Coinmail, 7 Condidan, 7 Farinmail, in þære stowe þe is gecueden Deorham. 7 genamon .iii. ceastro Gleawanceaster, 7 Cirenceaster, 7 Baþanceaster." ASC
*577:Battle of Dyrham : HereCuthwine andCeawlin fought against Britons and they slew 3 kings: Coinmail & Condidan & Farinmail, in the place which is calledDyrham , and took 3 towns:Gloucester &Cirencester & Bath.:These entries seem to show that the British defences in the EnglishMidlands collapsed, and the peace that followed theBattle of Mons Badonicus ended, and the Anglo-Saxons obliterated the British Watling Streetsalient and united their areas and overran theLondon -Verulamium area and much of the plain of the Midlands. Loss of Bath would separate the Welsh from the Britons of the southwest. After this, the border between Saxons and the southwest Celts was likely at the Wansdyke along the ridge of theMendip Hills .
*581:Ælla took land from the Britons, thus establishing or enlarging Deira.
*around 584: TheKingdom of the Iclingas becameMercia .
*"584: Her Ceawlin 7 Cuþa fuhton wiþ Brettas, in þam stede þe mon nemneþ Feþanleag. 7 Cuþan mon ofslog. 7 Ceaulin monige tunas genom, 7 unarimedlice herereaf, 7 ierre he hwearf þonan to his agnum." ASC
*584:Battle of Fethanleag : Here Ceawlin andCutha fought against Britons in the place that is namedFethanleag [perhaps near [http://www.shelswellparishes.info/stoke/main.html Stoke Lyne] inOxfordshire ] , and Cutha was slain, and Ceawlin took many settlements and countless war-loot , and in anger he turned back to his ownland .:If so much weight can be put on the one word "ierre", "many settlements ... in anger" may point to a widespread violent "pacification " of the overrun British lands, leading later to more Anglo-Saxon expansion.
*590: Elmet joined an alliance of Celtic kingdoms against the expandingAngle s ofBernicia . SeeElmet andHistory of Yorkshire#The Romans, Deirans and Northumbrians .
*afterwards:Urien of Rheged was murdered. A feud broke out between two of this alliance's key members.7th century
*around 600:
Battle of Catraeth : also seeY Gododdin : a army from the Celtic kingdom ofGododdin fell in battle against theAngles of Deira andBernicia atCatterick inYorkshire .
*around 604: Deira and Bernicia united asNorthumbria .
*afterwards:Elmet builtearthwork s north and west ofBarwick-in-Elmet , where Elmet's king's seat was.
*"614: Her Cynegils 7 Cuichelm gefuhton on Beandune, 7 ofslogon .ii. þusendo Wala 7 .lxvi." ASC
*614: HereCynegils andCwichelm fought [on the same side] on Beandun, and slew 2066 Welsh.
*616 autumn: Northumbria invaded and conquered Elmet.
*616: Likeliest date for theBattle of Chester between a Northumbrian army and a Welsh army: heavy Welsh casualties, and severed the land connection between Wales and northwest Britain.
*633 October 12: Battle of Hatfield (AC: 630, Meigen) nearDoncaster inYorkshire :Gwynedd andMercia attack and defeatNorthumbria ;Elmet andEbrauc temporarily return to Celtic rule.
*633 or 634:Battle of Heavenfield (AC: 631, Cantscaul) about 6 miles NW ofHexham : Northumbria expels the Gwynedd army.
*"642: Her Oswald Norþanhymbra cyning ofslægen wæs."
*642: HereOswald king of Northumbria was slain ASC. "This may be the same battle as":-
*644: TheBattle of Maserfield (alias Battle of Maes Cogwy), in which Oswald king of the Northmen and Eawa king of the Mercians fell. AC B
*652: Cenwalh won a battle atBradford-on-Avon .
*655 Nov 15:Battle of the Winwaed : KingOswiu of Bernicia defeated and killed KingPenda of Mercia . King Cadafael ap Cynfeddw of Gwynedd was allied with Penda but stayed out of the battle.
*"658: Her Cenwalh gefeaht æt Peonnum wiþ Walas, 7 hie gefliemde oþ Pedridan; þis wæs gefohten siþþan he of East Englum com. He wæs þær .iii. gear on wrece, hæfde hine Penda adrifenne, 7 rices benumenne. forþon he his swostor anforlet." ASC
*658: Here Cenwalh fought against Welsh [= Britons] atPenselwood , and drove them in flight as far as [the river]Parrett [inSomerset ] ; this was fought after he came fromEast Anglia . He was there 3 years in exile.Penda had driven him out, and taken his kingdom, because he abandoned his sister.
*681: ... This year alsoCentwine pursued the Britons to the sea. ASC8th century
*"710: .... 7 þam ylcan geare feaht Beorhtfrið ealdorman wið Pehtas betwux Hæfe 7 Cære, 7 Ine 7 Nun his mæg gefuhton wið Gerente Weala cyninge," ... ASC
*710: ... and in the same year ealdorman Beorhtfrith fought againstPict s between [the rivers] Avon and Carron [which flow into theRiver Forth from the south about 20 miles west ofEdinburgh ] , and Ine and his relativeNunna fought against Geraint king of Welsh ... [This second battle may have been theBattle of Llongborth .]
*722: According to theAnnales Cambriae , "the battle of Hehil among the Cornish, the battle of Garth Maelog, the battle of Pencon among the south Britons, and the Britons were the victors in those three battles."
*before 730: Northumbria annexedRheged .
*760: A battle between the Britons and the Saxons, that is the battle ofHereford and Dyfnwal son of Tewdwr dies. AC
*778: The devastation of the South Britons byOffa . AC
*784: The devastation of Britain by Offa in the summer AC
*"794: Her Adrianus papa 7 Offa cyning forþferdon ..." ASC
*794 (corrected to 796): Herepope Hadrian and king Offa die. (AC: 797: Offa king of the Mercians and Maredudd king of the Demetians die, and the battle ofRhuddlan .)
*798: Caradog king ofGwynedd is killed by the Saxons. AC9th century
*"813: ... 7 þy geare gehergade Ecgbryht cyning on West Walas from easteweardum oþ westewearde." ASC
*813 (corrected to 815): ... and in this year kingEcgbryht raided inCornwall from east to west.
*816: ... Saxons invaded the mountains ofEryri and the kingdom ofRhufoniog . AC
*818:Cenwulf devastated theDyfed region. AC
*822:: The fortress ofDegannwy is destroyed by the Saxons and they took the kingdom ofPowys into their own control. AC
*"823:: Her wæs Wala gefeoht 7 Defna æt Gafulforda. ..." ASC
*823 (corrected to 825): Here was a fight of Welsh/Britons [against] Devon-men at Gafulford ...
*"835: Her cuom micel sciphere on Westwalas 7 hie to anum gecierdon, 7 wiþ Ecgbryht West Seaxna cyning winnende wæron. Þa he þæt hierde 7 mid fierde ferde 7 him wiþ feaht æt Hengestdune 7 þær gefliemde ge þa Walas ge þa Deniscan."
*835 (corrected to 838): Here a great ship-army [ofViking s] came toCornwall and they [= the Cornish] joined them, and were fighting againstEcgbryht king of theWest Saxon s. Then he heard and with an army fought against them at Hengestdun and there put to flight both the Cornish and theDane s.
*877: Rhodri and his son Gwriad are killed by the Saxons.. AC10th century
*946: ... And
Strathclyde was laid waste by the Saxons. AC11th century
*1063: Here Earl Harold and his brother Earl
Tostig went intoWales both with land-army and ship-army, and conquered that land; and that people gavehostage s and submitted to them, and afterwards went to and killed their king Gruffudd, and brought Harold his head, and he set another king for it. ASC (Peterborough manuscript). Although Harold did invade theKingdom of Gwynedd in north Wales and harry the Welsh, ByT states that Gruffudd ap Llywelyn was killed by traitors and his head sent to the English king. Neither Gwynedd itself or Wales were conquered.References
ee also
*
Anglo-Saxon England
*Kingdom of Gwynedd
*Kingdom of Powys
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