History of the United Kingdom and Anglo-Saxon England

Posted on Apr 1, 2025 in History

The Formation of Great Britain and the United Kingdom

Great Britain is comprised of three countries:

  • Scotland
  • England
  • Wales

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland includes these countries plus Northern Ireland.

History of the Making of the UK

  • 1536: The Act of Union joins England and Wales.
  • 1707: The Act of Union unites Scotland and England, along with Wales, to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.
  • 1801: The Irish Parliament votes to join the Union. The Kingdom of Great Britain becomes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
  • 1922: The name changes to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland when most of the Southern counties in Ireland choose independence.

The Union Jack

The flag of the United Kingdom, commonly known as the Union Jack, embodies the emblems of three countries under one Sovereign.

Emblems on the Union Flag

The emblems that appear on the Union Flag are the crosses of three patron saints:

  • The red cross of St. George, for England, on a white ground.
  • The white diagonal cross, or saltire, of St. Andrew, for Scotland, on a blue ground.
  • The red diagonal cross of St. Patrick, for Ireland, on a white ground.

Anglo-Saxon History, Old English Language, and Literature

(Pre-Historical – 1066 A.D.):

  • Pre-Roman/Pre-Historical: up to 55 B.C.
  • Roman Occupation: 55 B.C. – 410 A.D.
  • Anglo-Saxon Period: 410 – 787 A.D.
  • Viking Invasions: 787 – 1066 A.D.
  • Norman Conquest begins: 1066

Pre-Historical / Pre-Roman

The island we know as England was occupied by a race of people called the Celts. One of the tribes was called the Brythons or Britons (from which we get the term Britain).

  • The Celts were Pagans, and their religion was known as “animism,” a Latin word for “spirit.” The Celts saw spirits everywhere.
  • Druids were their priests; their role was to mediate between the gods and the people.

Important Events During Roman Occupation

  • Julius Caesar begins invasion/occupation in 55 B.C.
  • Occupation completed by Claudius in the 1st century A.D.
  • Hadrian’s Wall built about 122 A.D.
  • Romans “leave” in 410 A.D. because Visigoths attack Rome.
  • St. Augustine lands in Kent in 597 and converts King Aethelbert (king of Kent, the oldest Saxon settlement) to Christianity; he becomes the first Archbishop of Canterbury.

Important Cultural and Historical Results of the Roman Occupation

  1. Military—strong armed forces (“legions”)
    • Pushed Celts into Wales and Ireland
    • Prevented Vikings from raiding for several hundred years: C. Warren Hollister writes, “Rome’s greatest gift to Britain was peace.”
  2. Infrastructure:
    • Government (it fell apart when they left)
    • Walls, villas, public baths (some remains still exist).
  3. Language and Writing:
    • Latin was the official language
    • The practice of recording history led to the earliest English “literature” being documentary.
  4. Religion:
    • Christianity began to take hold, especially after St. Augustine converts King Aethelbert.

The Most Important Results of the Roman Occupation:

  • Latin heavily influenced the English language.
  • Relative Peace.
  • Christianity begins to take hold in England but does not fully displace Paganism for several hundred years.

The Anglo-Saxon Period 410-787

Important Events in the (First) Anglo-Saxon Period:

410-450 Angles and Saxons invade from the Baltic shores of Germany, and the Jutes invade from the Jutland peninsula in Denmark.

  • Nine Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms eventually became the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy (England not unified), or “Seven Sovereign Kingdoms.”

Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy

  1. Kent
  2. Essex (East Saxon)
  3. Sussex (South Saxon)
  4. East Anglia
  5. Northumbria
  6. Mercia
  7. Wessex (West Saxon)

Viking Invasions 787-1066

By definition, Vikings were sea-faring (explorers, traders, and warriors) Scandinavians during the 8th through 11th centuries.

  • Oddly enough, the Anglo-Saxon (and Jute) heritage was not much different from the Vikings’: they, too, were Scandinavian invaders. In fact, some Vikings were also called “Northmen,” which is related to yet another culture (this one French) which made conquest of England—the Normans, and William the Conqueror in 1066. However, when the Viking raids began around 787, the Anglo-Saxons were culturally different from the Viking invaders.

Early England Made by Three Invasions

  1. Roman Occupation 55 B.C.-410 A.D
  2. Anglo-Saxon and Viking Invasions 410 – 1066 A.D
  3. The Norman Invasion (The Battle of Hastings) in 1066 A.D.

English Influenced by: Celtic (from 1700 or 400 B.C. to 55 B.C.) + Latin (from 55 B. C. to 410 A. D.) + German (from 410 A.D. to 1066 A.D.) + French (from 1066 A.D. to 1485 A.D.)