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Britain 1066–1500

England Before 1066

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Learning objectives

Who were the English descended from?

How was England run?

What was England like in the 1060s?

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What was England like before 1066?

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Anglo-Saxon life

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The Romans left England in the 4th century AD.

The knowledge the Romans had brought was lost. Their settlements with their sophisticated sewerage and heating systems fell into disrepair. It was as if England had gone back in time.

In the 5th Century, the Saxons, Angles, Jutes and other Germanic tribes invaded Britain, forcing the native Celtic Britons out of lowland England.

In the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries, Vikings from Norway and Denmark also settled large areas of Britain.

Who were the English?

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Who were the English?

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Who were the English?

In 1066, England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales were separate states.

The kings of England were too busy keeping their own country together to worry about neighbouring lands.

Scotland, Wales and Ireland continued to be populated by native Celtic people.

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At this time England's connection to Europe did not lie with France, just across the Channel, but rather with the Scandinavian countries, where the Vikings came from.

Friends in the north

England had been part of the Viking Empire of King Cnut up until 1034 and there was still a strong Scandinavian presence in the north-east of the country.