Medieval Britain
"Mediæval Britain" is a term used to define the period in the history of Great Britain from around the 5th century until the 15th or 16th centuries. Major historical events in Mediæval British history include the Christianisation of England and Scotland, the Norman Conquest, England's participation in the Hundred Years' War and the Wars of the Roses.
The Mediæval period can be dated a number of ways. Generally, England's mediæval period is dated from the Anglo-Saxon conquest of the legendary Hengest and Horsa, when the Celtic powers of Romanized Britain were conquered by Germanic tribes from the contemporary Jutland area. Similarly, the end of the mediæval period can be dated by any number of markers. Some define its end simply by the rise of what is often referred to as "Renaissance England" in the reign of Henry VIII. From a linguistic and political point of view, however, what fell between 440 and 1066 was very unlike what existed between 1070 and 1500, and so "mediæval" ends up including two very dissimilar cultural and political histories.
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 Wales, while Scotland and Wales were themselves ruled variously by kingdoms of various sizes. After the Norman Conquest, English power intruded into Wales with increasing vigor, but the process of consolidation was continuous from William to Oliver Cromwell and is not a mediæval feature.
Languages and Origins
Around 400 AD, 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 defense.
According to the Venerable Bede, the British king called upon two Germanic tribal leaders from Europe to help defend Romanized Britain (i.e. Britain south of Hadrian's Wall). These two kings were named Hengest and Horsa, and they led a coalition of Angles and 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.
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 Odin (as Woden), the practice of weregild, the comitatus code, and the distribution of wealth in battle to thanes and retainers. They also brought with them the culture of scaldic poetry and alliterative verse. Their language, most accurately called Anglo-Saxon, is also called Old English.
Conversion
In 596, Augustine the Lesser was sent by Pope Gregory the Great to do missionary work in England. He was reluctant to do so.
Celtic Britain had been converted to Christianity, but the Anglo-Saxons were not. Reportedly, when Gregory saw an Angle slave-boy, he said, "non Angli sed angeli" (these are not Angles, but angels). He then ordered Augustine to go to England to convert the tribes. Augustine was reluctant, given the fierceness of the Saxon tribes, but in 597 he landed in the east of England.
