Anglo-Saxon England

Even before the Romans withdrew, Angles and Saxons and Jutes—Germanic tribes from north Germany and Denmark—had begun raiding the island. There were also invasions of Britain by the Picts from northeast Scotland and by the Scots from Ireland and west Scotland.

The Britons tried to repel the new invaders. (Scholars believe the legend of King Arthur was inspired by the deeds of one of the leaders of this resistance.) But the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes became dominant. The area they won came to be called Anglaland, or Englaland, from which comes England.

For several centuries the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes often fought each other. A number of kingdoms were formed: Wessex, Essex, and Sussex by the Saxons; Kent by the Jutes; and East Anglia, Mercia, Deira, and Bernicia by the Angles. Northumbria later was formed from Deira and Bernicia.

Christianity had spread to the British Isles during the Roman occupation. It disappeared from England when the Romans left, but survived in Ireland and Scotland as the Celtic Church. Saint Augustine and other missionaries from the Roman Church re-introduced Christianity into England in 597. Although conversion was fairly rapid, rivalry developed between Celtic and Roman Christianity. The Synod of Whitby in 664 ended the rivalry by deciding that the Church in England would follow Roman Christianity.

In the ninth century, Egbert, king of Wessex, conquered the southern Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and became overlord of Anglo-Saxon England. In 829 he unified Wessex and Mercia through conquest.