The existence of England is one that is often
taken for granted and looked at far too scarcely. This may be due to the overshadowing history
of the development of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, but nonetheless, in order
for these unions to be formed, England had to already exist - and it actually has since
927 AD. So, how was England created, who claimed the
land before the English, and how did it become the nation that we know today?... As the Roman Empire began to fade from the
British Isles, the area of modern-day England started to see a wave of migration from Anglo-Saxon
Germanic tribes. According to some historians, after the Romans
left, the native Britons came under attack from the nearby Picts and Scots and subsequently
welcomed some of these Anglo-Saxons in hopes that they would push out the other invaders. The Germanic peoples were successful in expelling
both the Scots and Picts, but they then turned on the native Britons and established their
own authority by the start of the 7th century. The new Anglo-Saxon rulers then installed
the kingdoms of Essex, Kent, Sussex, Mercia, East Anglia, North-Umbria, and Wessex on the
British mainland. There are minimal records of what happened
over the next few centuries throughout these kingdoms, but we do know that it wouldn’t
be long before the Anglo-Saxons would face invaders of their own… In 793, a Viking army landed at the Lindisfarne
Monastery and raided the sacred building. Their violence and disrespect stunned the
Anglo-Saxons, who were unprepared for what these Vikings had in store… By the end of 870, East Anglia fell to the
Danish invaders, and Mercia was lost only 4 years later. As the Vikings seized Northumbria next in
875, Wessex was the only remaining major kingdom under Anglo-Saxon authority. When the current king of Wessex, Æthelred
, died, his younger brother Alfred was left to protect his kingdom’s independence. At first, he did so by paying off the Viking
aggressors, until he was eventually prepared to lead an army against them. This culminated in the Battle of Edington,
which left the Danes utterly routed and ended their attempts to capture Wessex. A power vacuum in Mercia around the same time
resulted in King Alfred also gaining control of the kingdom and instead of establishing
a new monarch, he placed an ealdorman in charge. This nobleman would answer to King Alfred
himself and kept the King of Wessex as the ultimate authority throughout both regions
now, although a part of Mercia would be ceded to the Vikings. After the death of the King of Wessex and
the contemporary leader of Mercia in 911, Edward the Elder and Æthelflæd each became
the respective successors. Together, these new rulers began to increase
the pressure that had already been put on the neighboring Danelaw, and they both worked
to further increase their territories. In 917, Æthelflæd expanded her lands to
the north and Edward was able to incorporate all of East Anglia into his kingdom. As Æthelflæd pushed forward with the expansion,
she managed to extend Mercian territory all the way up to York, where the locals decided
it would be best to simply pledge loyalty to her as opposed to fighting. Although Æthelflæd shortly died, her daughter,
Ælfwynn , was supposed to take her place and continue on the current course. Unexpectedly, though, the Mercian people quickly
ousted their new leader and accidentally created the perfect opportunity for King Edward from
Wessex to seize all of Mercia not long after. In 918, the Anglo-Saxons continued farther
into Danelaw territory and slowly gained more and more land for themselves. By the time of Edward’s death in 924, the
newly acquired neighbors of the Anglo-Saxons had all pledged allegiance to the king. This put the Anglo-Saxons in a confident position
as Edward’s son, Æthelstan, took over the kingdom. Around this time, Æthelstan’s sister would
marry the local Viking ruler, Sihtric, who still controlled Northumbria. Æthelstan marched on and was finally able
to bring the Kingdom of York under his crown as his sister’s husband passed away. This left Northumbria up for grabs and the
king swiftly consolidated it as a part of his kingdom. This is generally the time that most historians
view the Kingdom of England as having been created… But, the situation was not exactly so simple. Æthelstan was not done trying to expand his
kingdom however he could, and although he did term himself the “King of the English”
at this point, it was still not quite what we know as England today. In 937, Æthelstan decided to give an invasion
of Scotland a chance to see if he could reach his authority even further. The Kingdom of Scotland, or as it was known
at the time, Alba, was at a disadvantage against the English and therefore appealed to the
other remaining sovereign states for assistance. This prompted an alliance between Constantine
II, King of Alba, Olaf Guth-frith-son, King of Dublin, and Owain, King of Strath-clyde. With King Olaf at the helm, the alliance faced
the English at the spectacular Battle of Brunan-burh. Though it is unknown exactly where this battle
took place, it is certain that the alliance was severely crushed by the English invaders. The casualties on both sides were disastrously
high, but Æthelstan and the English were without a doubt the victors. It’s believed by many that this clash may
have truly solidified the unity of England and stirred up a new sense of nationalism
and pride amongst the English people. Nonetheless, it didn’t result in the incorporation
of Alba nor Strathclyde into the Kingdom of England, as both stayed independent. England, on the other hand, would have to
prove its ability to do so… The Vikings, though temporarily defeated,
would return to the young kingdom at the end of the 10th century. After Æthelstan’s death in 939, the previously
defeated King of Dublin, who was a Viking ruler, took immediate advantage of England’s
temporary instability. While King Æthelstan’s half-brother, Edmund,
took over the English realm, King Olaf swooped in to reconquer some of the lands that had
once been in Viking hands. York was quickly captured and a large chunk
of what used to be Northumbria and Mercia was also taken as he strongarmed the English
into accepting this annexation. Ironically, when Olaf died in 941 and his
cousin, who shared the same name, was transitioning to the throne as his successor, Edmund of
England jumped on the chance to pay the Vikings back for the invasion. The following year, the middle chunk of annexed
land was retaken by the English and in only 2 more years the Vikings were entirely pushed
out of Northumbria. This essentially reunited England since the
territory was now all under Edmund’s control. As ambitious as his ancestors, Edmund next
invaded Strathclyde, but only took some of its southern territories by the end of the
incursion. The rest was given to King Malcolm I of Scotland
as opposed to joining England. It once again appeared as though the Kingdom
of England had established some stability, but this was once more short-lived… Edmund was mysteriously murdered in 946, which
left his younger brother, Eadred, as King of England. The next year, Eric Bloodaxe from Norway attacked
and seized the recently re-incorporated Northumbria, which prompted almost a decade of conflicts
over who throughout the Isles would lead Northumbria. Eventually, the English king was able to once
again, and permanently, reclaim the territory on behalf of England. His death soon ended his reign after this
victory, and his young nephew, Eadwig, temporarily succeeded him but was quickly deposed in favor
of his brother, Edgar. However, this was only a partial deposition,
which meant that Eadwig would still hold a small section of the kingdom as a co-ruler. When Eadwig died only 2 years after this decision,
Edgar simply took over the whole of England. Under the reign of King Edgar, known as Edgar
the Peaceful, the true foundations of the English kingdom could finally be established. Many reforms were passed and a vast number
of the systems and laws that had existed in the Danelaw were actually upheld, in hopes
of avoiding any displeasure from the Danish portion of the population. Peace, unity, and order were the pillars of
Edgar’s nearly 2-decade long reign, and his work helped to fully solidify the unity
of the young Kingdom of England… The ultimate formation of England was a long
and shaky process. From the initial immigration of the Anglo-Saxons
into the region to the establishment of their first kingdoms, extending into the invasion
and rule of the Vikings, it wasn’t until the Anglo-Saxons began to seize territory
from the Danelaw that an inkling of modern-day England could be seen. After a series of conquering, being conquered,
reconquering, and so on, the Anglo-Saxons eventually united the existing kingdoms throughout
England. From there, it was merely a matter of establishing
solid borders, maintaining their captured territory in order to keep their kingdom physically
solid, and eventually, under the rule of Edgar the peaceful, building the foundational laws
and structures of what we now know as the Kingdom, or nation, of England…
