"Mediæval Britain" is a term used to suggest that there is a unity to the history of Great Britain lies between Ireland and continental Europe. ...Great Britain from the ( 4th century _ 5th century _ 6th century _ other centuries) Events Rome sacked by Visigoths in 410. ...5th century's withdrawal of Roman forces and Germanic may refer to Germanic languages: A language family, the languages of which are spoken in northern and northwestern Europe, and in many places colonized since around 1500 Germanic peoples: Collective name of a number of tribes and peoples, originating from northern Europe, several of which invaded the Roman Empire...Germanic invasions until the (15th century _ 16th century _ 17th century _ more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ...16th century The Protestant Reformation was a movement which began in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church, but ended in division and the establishment of new institutions, most importantly Lutheranism, Reformed churches, and Anabaptists. ...Reformations in Scotland and England. Major historical events in Mediæval British history include the The historical phenomenon of Christianization, the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once (a political shift as much as a spontaneous mass shift in individual consciences), also includes the practice of converting pagan cult practices, pagan religious imagery, pagan sites and the pagan calendar...Christianisation of Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Official language None; English is de facto Capital London Capitals coordinates 51° 30 N, 0° 10 W Largest city London Area  _ Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  _ Total (2001)  _ Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831...England and Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Alba) is a country or nation and former independent kingdom of northwest Europe, and one of the four constituent parts of the United Kingdom. ...Scotland, the Bayeux Tapestry depicting events leading to the Battle of Hastings The Norman Conquest was the conquest of England by William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy), in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings and the subsequent Norman control of England. ...Norman Conquest, England's participation in the A map of Europe in the 1430s, at the height of the Hundred Years War The Hundred Years War was a 116_year_long armed conflict between the Kingdom of England and France, beginning in 1337 and ending in 1453. ...Hundred Years' War and the The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487) is the name generally given to the intermittent civil war fought over the throne of England between adherents of the House of Lancaster and the House of York. ...Wars of the Roses.

The Mediæval period can be dated from the The Anglo_Saxons refers collectively to the groups of Germanic tribes who achieved dominance in southern Britain from the mid_5th century, forming the basis for the modern English nation. ...Anglo_Saxon conquest of the legendary Hengest or Hengist (d. ...Hengest and Horsa, according to tradition, was a fifth century warrior and brother of Hengest who took part in the invasion and conquest of Britain from its native Romano_British and Celtic inhabitants. ...Horsa, when the The word Celtic can refer to: the European Celtic people, ancient or modern the Celtic languages, spoken by these people and their modern descendents the Celtic (Lusitania), Celts from the Alentejo. ...Celtic powers of Romanized Britain were conquered by The term Germanic peoples may refer to: the Germanic tribes that in the first millennium were seen as a barbarian threat by the Roman Empire and its successors; the Germanic Christianity that in the second millennium came to dominate much of Northern Europe, politically organized in the Holy Roman Empire...Germanic tribes from the contemporary Jutland Peninsula Jutland (Danish: Jylland, German: Jütland) is a peninsula in northern Europe that forms the continental part of Denmark and a northern part of Germany, dividing the North Sea from the Baltic Sea. ...Jutland area. Similarly, the end of the mediæval period is ordinarily dated by the rise of what is often referred to as the " By Region: Italian Renaissance Northern Renaissance _French Renaissance _German Renaissance _English Renaissance This article is about the cultural movement known as the English Renaissance. ...English Renaissance" in the reign of Henry VIII King of England and Ireland by Hans Holbein the Younger His Grace King Henry VIII (28 June 1491–28 January 1547) was King of England and Lord of Ireland (later King of Ireland) from 22 April 1509 until his death. ...Henry VIII and John Knox (1513 or 1514? to 1572) was a Scottish religious reformer who founded the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. ...John Knox's Reformation in Scotland. From a linguistic and political point of view, the Bayeux Tapestry depicting events leading to the Battle of Hastings The Norman Conquest was the conquest of England by William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy), in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings and the subsequent Norman control of England. ...Norman Conquest of England divides Medieval Britain in two distinct phases of cultural and political history.

A further problem comes from the term "Britain." During the mediæval period, Britain, the island, was a number of kingdoms. At the height of English mediæval power, a single English king ruled from the border with Scotland to the border of For alternate meanings, see Wales (disambiguation) National motto: Cymru am byth (Welsh: Wales for ever) Official languages: English and Welsh Capital: Cardiff First Minister: Rhodri Morgan AM Area  _ Total:  _ % water: Ranked 3rd UK 20,779 km² xx% Population  _ Total (2001):  _ Density: Ranked 3rd UK 2,903,085 140/km² NUTS...Wales, while Scotland and Wales were themselves ruled variously by kingdoms of various sizes. After the Bayeux Tapestry depicting events leading to the Battle of Hastings The Norman Conquest was the conquest of England by William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy), in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings and the subsequent Norman control of England. ...Norman Conquest, English power intruded into Wales with increasing vigor, but the process of consolidation was continuous from King William I of England William I ( 1027–September 9, 1087), was King of England from 1066 to 1087. ...William to Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell ( April 25, 1599 – September 3, 1658) was an English military leader and politician. ...Oliver Cromwell and is not a mediæval feature.

Early Medieval: Languages and Origins

Around For alternate uses, see Number 400. ...400 AD, History _ Ancient history _ Ancient Rome This is a List of Ancient Rome_related topics, that aims to include aspects of both the Ancient Roman Republic and Roman Empire. ...Roman forces withdrew from the island of Britain. The Celtic forces that had fought the Romans to a standstill for decades and been conquered only with great effort were, by this point, very weak. They had relied upon Roman force to protect them from Scottish and Welsh Celtic marauders and invaders, and when the Roman troops left, the Britons had no effective defence.

According to the Bede, commonly known as the Venerable Bede, (c. ...Venerable Bede, the British king called upon two Germanic tribal leaders from Europe to help defend Romanised Britain (i.e. Britain south of Hadrians Wall (in Latin: Valens Hadriani) was a stone and turf fortification, built by the Romans across the width of Great Britain to prevent military raids by the Pictish tribes of Scotland to the north, to improve economic stability and provide peaceful conditions in the south, to define the...Hadrian's Wall). These two kings were named Hengest and Horsa, and they led a coalition of Angles (German: Angeln, Old English: Englas, Latin: singular Anguls, plural Anglii) were Germanic people, from Schleswig — an area which was wholly the southern part of Denmark and protected from German conquest by the Danevirke until the 19th century — to East Anglia in the 5th century. ...Angles and This article is about the Saxons, a Germanic people. ...Saxons. The Anglo_Saxons rapidly repelled the Celtic invaders and pacified the land. After this, there was a vast victory banquet, where the participants were seated Celt and Saxon alternatingly around the table. At a certain point, Hengest announced "nemet eora saxa" (take out your saxas). Each Saxon drew out his saxa (a long dagger whose name was associated with the tribe) and stabbed the Celtic ruler beside him. With the entire leadership of Celtic Britain dead, the Anglo_Saxons were able to take over the country in a matter of three to four years.

Whether Bede is completely accurate or not is in some doubt. "Hengest" and "Horsa" both mean "horse," so it is possible that only one person is indicated. Also, while the Saxons and Angles are well attested, some of the other tribes supposedly involved in the conquest are very difficult to locate. In general, however, Bede's evidence is accepted as the best account available.

England and Wales at the time of the Saxon kingdoms

The Anglo-Saxon kings divided up the nation into a number of different areas, each operating more or less independently of the others. These kings were like other Germanic princes and brought with them the tales, religion, and traditions of the continent, including the worship of For other meanings of Odin and Wotan see Odin (disambiguation) Odin (Old Norse Óðinn, Swedish Oden) is usually considered the supreme god of Germanic and Norse mythology. ...Odin (as Woden), the practice of Weregild (Alternative spellings: wergild, wergeld, weregeld, etc. ...weregild, the Comitatus can be: an old Latin word meaning company or retinue or an armed group of men attached to a leader in the Classical Times and in the Middle Ages, a political term used in various meanings: see Comitatus (Classical meaning) in the Middle Ages, the Latin word for county...comitatus code, and the distribution of wealth in battle to For the Anglo_Saxon royal retainer, see Thane/Thegn. ...thanes and retainers. They also brought with them the culture of scaldic poetry and The Old English epic poem Beowulf is written in alliterative verse. ...alliterative verse. Their language is called Anglo_Saxon or Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ...Old English.

Christianity

The Welsh maintained the Christian traditions inherited from Roman times. The Anglo_Saxon tribes in England retained their pagan traditions.

In the The Kingdom of Kent was a kingdom of Jutes in southeast England, one of the seven traditional kingdoms of the so_called Anglo_Saxon heptarchy. ...Kingdom of Kent, King Ethelbert (or Æthelbert) (c. ...Ethelbert's wife Bertha, a Christian For other uses of the term Merovingian, see Merovingian (disambiguation). ...Merovingian princess, had brought a chaplain with her and built or restored a church in St Peters St, Canterbury, from the West Gate, 1993 Canterbury (Latin: Duroverum) is a cathedral city in the county of Kent in southeast England. ...Canterbury and dedicated it to St Statue of Saint Martin cutting his cloak in two. ...Martin of Tours, a major patron of the Merovingians. Probably under influence of his wife, the pagan Ethelbert asked Pope Saint Gregory I, or Gregory the Great (called the Dialogist in Eastern Orthodoxy) (circa 540 _ March 12, 604) was pope of the Catholic Church from September 3, 590 until his death. ...Gregory I to send missionaries. A reluctant Augustine of Canterbury (birth unknown, died May 26, 604 (traditional) or 605 (Thorn)) was the first Archbishop of Canterbury, sent to Ethelbert of Kent, Bretwalda of England by Pope Gregory the Great in 597. ...Augustine of Canterbury was sent; in Events Saint Augustine is created Archbishop of Canterbury. ...597 he landed in Kent.

Ethelbert held the largely honorific title of among the kingdoms, and the re_Christianisation of England spread in the south from Canterbury.

In Events Saint Columba, the Irish missionary, founds his mission to the Picts and his monastery on Iona. ...563 Saint A separate article is titled Columba (constellation). ...Columba, exiled from his native Ireland, founded a monastery on the island of Alternate uses: see Iona (disambiguation). ...Iona in the Hebrides, and from there Christianity spread to the rest of Scotland and the north of England.

See also

• The Groans of the Britons (Latin: gemitus Britannorum) is the name of the final appeal made by the post_Roman population of Britain for assistance against foreign invasion. ...Groans of the Britons
• Celtic Christianity is Christianity as it was first received and practiced by communities with Celtic backgrounds that observed certain practices divergent from those in the rest of Europe. ...Celtic Christianity
• The Anglo_Normans were the descendents of the Normans who ruled England following the conquest by William of Normandy in 1066. ...Anglo_Norman
• English historians in the Middle Ages is an overview of the history of English historians and their works in the Middle Ages. ...English historians in the Middle Ages Important English historians and historical works from the Middle Ages.

High Medieval

See more complete discussions at England is the largest and most populous of the four main divisions of the United Kingdom. ...History of England, Stirling Castle has stood for centuries atop a volcanic crag defending the lowest ford of the River Forth. ...History of Scotland, The earliest inhabitants of Wales were from continental Europe, who migrated in several waves and who were later subsumed into the culture and race of the Celts. ...History of Wales, See also the Isle of Mam. ...Isle of Man.

External links

• Shadowed Realm _ Your Guide to Medieval History (http://www.shadowedrealm.com/)