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| Anglo-Saxon London | |||
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| c.450–1066 | |||
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 London and the surrounding area, showing major settlements | |||
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TheAnglo-Saxon period of thehistory of London dates from the end of theRoman period in the 5th century to the beginning of theNorman period in 1066.
Romano-BritishLondinium had been abandoned in the late 5th century, although theLondon Wall remained intact. There was anAnglo-Saxon settlement by the early 7th century, calledLundenwic, about one mile west of Londinium, to the north of the presentStrand. Lundenwic came under directMercian control in about 670. After the death ofOffa of Mercia in 796, it was disputed between Mercia andWessex.
Viking invasions became frequent from the 830s, and a Viking army is believed to have camped in the old Roman walls during the winter of 871.Alfred the Great reestablished English control ofLondon in 886, and renewed its fortifications. The old Roman walls were repaired and thedefensive ditch was recut, and the old Roman city became the main site of population. The city now became known asLundenburh, marking the beginning of the history of theCity of London.Sweyn Forkbeard attacked London unsuccessfully in 996 and 1013, but his sonCnut the Great finally gained control of London, and all of England, in 1016.
Edward the Confessor became king in 1042. He builtWestminster Abbey, the first largeRomanesque church in England,consecrated in 1065, and the firstPalace of Westminster. These were located just up-river from the city. Edward's death led to a succession crisis, and ultimately theNorman invasion of England.
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In the first half of the 5th century, Roman oversight in London collapsed, leaving the Romanised Britons to look after themselves. By 457, the city appears to have become almost completely abandoned.[1] Over the next few centuries, settlers arrived from modern-day Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark, who are now referred to as "Anglo-Saxons".[2] Rather than continuing Romano-British culture, Anglo-Saxons introduced their own building styles, pottery,language, place names andreligion.[3] Cemeteries from this early Anglo-Saxon period have been found atMitcham,Greenwich,Croydon, andHanwell inEaling.[3]
Rather than occupy the abandoned, overgrown Roman city, Anglo-Saxons at first preferred to settle outside the walls, only venturing inside to scavenge or explore. One Saxon poet called the Roman ruins "the work of giants".[4] Instead, by the 670s the port town ofLundenwic was developing in the area ofCovent Garden.[5]
In the early 8th century, Lundenwic was described by theVenerable Bede as "a trading centre for many nations who visit it by land and sea". TheOld English termwic or "trading town" ultimately derived from theLatin wordvicus,[6][7] so Lundenwic meant "London trading town".[8]
Archaeologists were for many years puzzled as to where early Anglo-Saxon London was located, as they could find little evidence of occupation within the Roman city walls from this period. However, in the 1980s, London was rediscovered, after extensive independent excavations by archaeologistsAlan Vince andMartin Biddle were reinterpreted as being of an urban character.[9][10] In theCovent Garden area, excavations in 1985 and 2005 have uncovered an extensive Anglo-Saxon settlement that dates back to the 7th century.[10][11] The excavations show that the settlement covered about 600,000 m2 (6,500,000 sq ft), stretching along the north side ofthe Strand (i.e. "the beach") from the present-dayNational Gallery site in the west to Aldwych in the east.
By about 600, Anglo-Saxon England had become divided into a number of small kingdoms within what eventually became known as theHeptarchy. Although Bede, writing in the 730s referred to London as the capital of theKingdom of Essex, it was a border town between three more powerful kingdoms;Mercia,Kent andWessex, evidence from coins and documents suggests that the Midland kingdom of Mercia dominated London from around 670 until 870, especially during the long reign ofOffa. Following Offa's death in 796, supremacy over London was disputed between Mercia and Wessex.[12]
In 597, PopeGregory the Great began thereconversion of southern Britain to Christianity. He sentAugustine of Canterbury to build upon the goodwill ofÆthelberht of Kent, and London receivedMellitus, its first post-RomanBishop of London in 604. Mellitus founded the first first cathedral of St Paul towards the western end of the old walled city. This first attempt at converting London to Christianity was however short-lived, as Mellitus was driven out of London, bypagans following Æthelberht's death in 616.[7]
The bishopric of London was re-established for good in 675, when theArchbishop of Canterbury,Theodore of Tarsus, installedEarconwald as bishop. Although evidence of Christian activity in 7th century London is thin, by the 8th century it had become a major Christian city.[7]
London suffered attacks fromVikings, which became increasingly common from around 830 onwards. It was attacked in 842 in a raid that was described by a chronicler as "the great slaughter". In 851, another raiding party, reputedly involving 350 ships, came to plunder the city.
In 865, the VikingGreat Heathen Army launched a large scale invasion of the smallkingdom of East Anglia. They overran East Anglia, Mercia andNorthumbria and came close to controlling most of Anglo-Saxon England. By 871 they had reached London and they are believed to have camped within the old Roman walls during the winter of that year. Although it is unclear what happened during this time, London may have come under Viking control for a period.
In 878, West Saxon forces led byAlfred the Great defeated the Vikings at theBattle of Ethandun and forced their leaderGuthrum to sue for peace. TheTreaty of Wedmore and the laterTreaty of Alfred and Guthrum divided England and created the Danish-controlledDanelaw.
English rule in London was restored by 886. Alfred quickly set about establishing fortified towns orburhs across southern England to improve his kingdom's defences: London was no exception. Within ten years, the settlement within the old Roman walls was re-established, now known as Lundenburh. The old Roman walls were repaired and the defensive ditch was re-cut. These changes effectively marked the beginning of the presentCity of London, the boundaries of which are still to some extent defined by its ancient city walls.[13]
As the focus of Lundenburh was moved back to within the Roman walls, the original Lundenwic was largely abandoned and in time gained the name of Ealdwic, 'old settlement', a name which survives today asAldwych.[7]
Alfred appointed his son-in-lawEarl Æthelred of Mercia, the heir to the destroyed kingdom of Mercia, as Governor of London and established two defendedBoroughs to defend the bridge, which was probably rebuilt at this time. The southern end of the bridge was established as theSouthwark orSuthringa Geworc ('defensive work of the men of Surrey'). From this point, the city of London began to develop its own unique local government.
After Æthelred's death, London came under the direct control of English kings. Alfred's sonEdward the Elder won back much land from Danish control. By the early 10th century, London had become an important commercial centre. Although the political centre of England wasWinchester, London was becoming increasingly important.Æthelstan held many royal councils in London and issued laws from there.Æthelred the Unready favoured London as his capital,[citation needed] and issued his Laws of London from there in 978.
It was during the reign of Æthelred that Vikings resumed their raids, led by Sweyn Forkbeard ofDenmark. London was attacked unsuccessfully in 994, but numerous raids followed. In 1013, London underwent a long siege and Æthelred was forced to flee abroad.
Æthelred returned with his ally the Norwegian kingOlaf and reclaimed London. A Norsesaga tells of a battle during the Viking occupation where the English king Æthelred returned to attack Viking-occupied London. According to the saga, the Danes linedLondon Bridge and showered the attackers with spears.
Undaunted, the attackers pulled the roofs off nearby houses and held them over their heads in the boats. Thus protected, they were able to get close enough to the bridge to attach ropes to the piers and pull the bridge down, defeat the Vikings and end the occupation of London. There is some speculation that the nursery rhyme "London Bridge is Falling Down" stems from this incident.[citation needed] Following Æthelred's death on 23 April 1016, his sonEdmund Ironside was declared king.
Sweyn's sonCnut the Great continued the attacks, harryingWarwickshire and pushing northwards across eastern Mercia in early 1016. Edmund remained in London, still unsubdued behind its famous walls, and was elected king after the death of Aethelred, but Cnut returned southward and the Danish army evidently divided, some dealing with Edmund, some besieging London.
A battle atPenselwood, inSomerset anda subsequent battle atSherston, inWiltshire, fought over two days left neither side victorious. Edmund was able to temporarily relieve London, driving the enemy away and defeating them after crossing the Thames atBrentford. Suffering heavy losses, he withdrew to Wessex to gather fresh troops, and the Danes again brought London under siege, but after another unsuccessful assault they withdrew into Kent under attack by the English, with a battle fought atOtford.
On 18 October 1016, the Danes were engaged by Edmund's army as they retired towards their ships, leading to theBattle of Assandun. In the ensuing struggle,Eadric Streona, whose return to the English side had perhaps only been a ruse, withdrew his forces from the fray, bringing about a decisive English defeat. Edmund fled westwards, and Cnut pursued him intoGloucestershire, with another battle probably fought near theForest of Dean.
On an island nearDeerhurst, Cnut and Edmund – who had been wounded – met to negotiate terms of peace. It was agreed that all of England north of the Thames was to be the domain of the Danish prince, while all to the south was kept by the English king, along with London. Accession to the reign of the entire realm was set to pass to Cnut upon Edmund's death.
Edmund died on 30 November, within weeks of the agreement. Some sources claim Edmund was murdered, although the circumstances of his death are unknown.[14] In accord with the treaty, Cnut was left as king of all of England. His coronation was in London, at Christmas, with recognition by the nobility in January the next year at Oxford.[15]
Cnut was succeeded briefly by his sons,Harold Harefoot andHarthacnut, after which the Saxon line was restored whenEdward the Confessor became king in 1042.
Following Harthacnut's death on 8 June 1042, Godwin, the most powerful of the English earls, supported Edward, who succeeded to the throne. TheAnglo-Saxon Chronicle describes the popularity he enjoyed at his accession — "before he [Harthacnut] was buried, all the people chose Edward as king in London."[16] Edward was crowned atthe cathedral of Winchester, the royal seat of the West Saxons, on 3 April 1043.
Modern historians reject the traditional view that Edward mainly employed Norman favourites, but he did have foreigners in his household. Chief among them wasRobert of Jumièges, who came to England in 1041, becoming Bishop of London in 1043. According to theVita Ædwardi Regis, he became "always the most powerful confidential adviser to the king".[17]
When Edward appointed Robert of Jumièges as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1051, he chose the leading craftsmanSpearhafoc to replace Robert as bishop of London, but he was never consecrated.
Edward's Norman sympathies are most clearly seen in the major building project of his reign,Westminster Abbey, the first Norman Romanesque church in England. This was commenced between 1042 and 1052 as a royal burial church, consecrated on 28 December 1065, completed after his death in about 1090, and demolished in 1245 to make way for Henry III's new building, which still stands. Edward's building is shown in theBayeux Tapestry, and was very similar toJumièges Abbey inNormandy, which was built at the same time. Robert of Jumièges must have been closely involved in both buildings, although it is not clear which is the original and which the copy.[18]
Following Edward's death in 1066, no clear heir was apparent and his cousin, DukeWilliam of Normandy, claimed the throne. The EnglishWitenagemot met in the city and elected Edward's brother-in-law,Harold Godwinson, as king: Harold was crowned in Westminster Abbey. William, outraged by this, theninvaded England.
The average height for Londoners reached a pre-20th century peak[when?], with the male average at 5 feet 8 inches (173 cm) and the female average at 5 feet 41⁄4 inches (163cm).[19]
