King Ethelwulf of Wessex was a devout Christian and in 852, when his son, Alfred, was four years old he was sent to Rome to meet Pope Leo IV. Religion was for a long time a matter upon which kings decided from policy or conviction and the people followed. Kent, Wessex, Northumbria and Mercia were important kingdoms. Viking attacks on WessexĪt the beginning of the 9th century Britain was ruled by several kings (chieftains). It is believed that Version C was written in Abingdon near Oxford, Version D in Worcester and York, and Version E in Canterbury. Some passages in the various manuscripts are identical suggesting that a certain amount of copying took place. In some cases the entries were made several years after the events took place. The chronicles, written in Anglo-Saxon (Old English) in the form of a diary, tell the story of England, and cover a period of over a thousand years.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle are a collection of seven manuscripts written by monks living in England between the 9th and 12th centuries. The book is the most valuable source that we have for early English history. Bede's greatest work was the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, which he finished in 731. Over the next thirty years he wrote extensively about a wide-range of subjects including religion, medicine, astronomy, language and physical science. Bede used Biscop's library to study Latin, Greek and Hebrew. At the age of seven he was placed in the care of Benedict Biscop at Wearmouth Monastery. Bede was born near Monkwearmouth, in about 673.

One of the main written sources available to us is from Bede, a monk from Durham. This period is known as the Dark Ages because there are very few written records of the people who lived in Britain during this period. Christian missionaries who went into the north had more difficulty in converting tribal leaders and it was not until 735 that Ecgbert was created Archbishop of York. Two men who had come to Britain with him in 601 were consecrated, Mellitus as Bishop of London and Justus as Bishop of Rochester. In 604, Augustine founded two more bishoprics in Britain. Pleased by his success, the following year Pope Gregory appointed Augustine as Bishop of Canterbury, and Archbishop of the English people. Within a few weeks Augustine had converted Ethelbert and most of his household to Christianity. He made his way to Canterbury, the home of Ethelbert, the king of Kent. Gregory was determined to change this situation and when he became Pope he sent his friend Augustine and forty monks to England to convert the inhabitants to Christianity. After talking to these slaves he was shocked to discover that there were very few Christians living in England. He spoke to them and discovered that these men were from England. In about 575 a monk called Gregory saw some young men in the Rome slave-market.

Scandinavian tribes also carried out attacks on coastal areas and sometimes settled in Britain. They joined the Celts who had been here before the Romans arrived. This included tribes from Germany (Angles and Saxons) and France (Franks and Jutes). Over the next couple of hundred years new people arrived on the island. Centralized government that was introduced by the Romans disappeared within a few years.

Alfred of wessex