Chapter 4
Alfred's England: Forging Unity Against the Viking Storm
After Imperial Rome's fall, victorious barbarians were captivated by Christ's Gospel. The Church became learning's sole sanctuary, sheltering ancient knowledge while offering spiritual solace. After the Dark Ages' convulsions, Britain awoke to a profoundly changed world, only to face two external assaults: Islam from the East and Vikings from the North.
The Vikings were formidable fighting men and hardy sea rovers from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Their soul lay in the long-ship-a vessel perfected in the eighth and ninth centuries that could sail far up rivers by shallow draught, anchor in countless creeks, and ride out Atlantic storms. Despite their brutal vices and villainous destruction, we must acknowledge their discipline, fortitude, and martial virtues that made them the most formidable race in the world.
The Viking Age in England began around 789 when three ships arrived on the coast and slew the King's officer. In 793, they sacked Lindisfarne monastery, killing monks and stealing treasures. After a forty-year respite, Vikings returned in greater numbers from 835 onward, with fleets sometimes numbering hundreds of vessels. The English defense system, designed for local threats, proved inadequate against the Vikings' mobility, skill, and stratagems.
In 866, Ivar "the Boneless" led a powerful army into East Anglia. By spring 867, his mounted forces rode north to York, defeating the Northumbrians with grievous slaughter and killing both their kings. This marked Northumbria's end; the North of England never recovered its ascendancy. Schools and monasteries vanished, and a kingdom that had produced Bede and Alcuin sank back into barbarism.
The Danish raiders gradually shifted from seasonal plundering to permanent settlement. Unlike Saxon settlements, these were essentially military encampments with fortified towns as bases. That the Saxons did not succumb completely to these Danish inroads was due to the sudden appearance of one of history's great figures: Alfred.
When Alfred inherited the crown at twenty-four, he faced desperate circumstances. Despite fighting seven or eight battles, Alfred suffered defeat at Wilton and made peace with the Danes in exchange for their departure-though only after receiving substantial payment. This inglorious treaty nevertheless bought Alfred five crucial years to consolidate power.
The most devastating reversal came in January 878 when Vikings surprised Alfred at Chippenham during Twelfth Night celebrations. The West Saxon army scattered, many fled overseas, and Alfred retreated to the marshes of Somerset with only a handful of loyal followers. From his hideout in the Isle of Athelney, Alfred conducted guerrilla warfare while maintaining his authority. Fortune turned when Devon forces defeated a Danish contingent, capturing their enchanted Raven banner. By late May, Alfred had summoned the fyrd from Somerset, Wiltshire, and Hampshire, who greeted him "like one risen from the dead."
At Ethandun (Edington), Alfred won the decisive battle against Guthrum. Rather than slaughtering the defeated Vikings, Alfred chose a remarkable path of reconciliation. He had Guthrum baptized as a Christian, stood as his godfather, entertained him for twelve days, and presented him with gifts. This capacity to rise above circumstances, to remain unbiased by victory or defeat, to persevere through disaster, and to maintain faith in men despite betrayals, elevates Alfred to his "pinnacle of deathless glory."
Chapter 5
The Norman Revolution: Conquest and Transformation
When Edward the Confessor died in January 1066, he allegedly commended Harold as his successor despite his earlier promise to William. Harold was crowned in Westminster Abbey, but this violated his oath to William-a serious breach in the feudal world. Two invasion forces prepared to strike: Harold Hardrada of Norway with Harold's exiled brother Tostig from the northeast, and William from the south. Harold first marched north and brilliantly defeated the Norwegians at Stamford Bridge, killing both Hardrada and Tostig in a decisive battle that ended Scandinavian threats to English sovereignty. But victory celebrations were cut short by news that "William the Bastard" had landed at Pevensey.
William's invasion was organized like a business enterprise, drawing knights and mercenaries from across Europe with promises of English lands. On October 14, the armies met in battle-William's cavalry and archers against Harold's shield-wall of axe-men. The English withstood repeated Norman cavalry charges, but William's tactical skill turned the tide when undisciplined English troops broke ranks to pursue retreating Normans, only to be cut down when caught in the open.
The Norman achievement in England was not merely military. While knight-service governed property holdings and created a new aristocracy, much of Saxon England was preserved. The Normans maintained the royal Curia as the final court of appeal and instrument of supervision. The entire Saxon local government system-counties, sheriffs, and courts-survived, allowing the King to maintain widespread contacts throughout the country.
The Norman settlement accelerated the drift toward the manorial system already underway in Anglo-Saxon England. However, while Saxon custom held that the tie between lord and man was primarily personal (allowing free men to transfer between lords and take their land), Norman feudalism insisted the land remained under the lord regardless of the man's movements. The landed pyramid thus rose tier by tier to the King, with every acre registered as held by some form of service.
The Conquest linked England's history anew to Europe, preventing drift into a narrower Scandinavian orbit. The Church was similarly transformed, with bishoprics and abbeys given to Normans who brought continental reforms. Under Lanfranc and Anselm as Archbishops of Canterbury, the Church was ruled by two of the age's greatest men. Through this conquest, three dominant ideas returned to Britain: a Europe transcending nationalism, the concept of monarchy as arbiter of class interests, and the Catholic Church combining Roman imperialism with Christian ethics while preserving learning and art.
Chapter 6
Plantagenet Power: Henry II and the Birth of English Law
Henry II's accession began one of the most decisive reigns in English history. Though England was just one province in his empire that stretched "from the Arctic Ocean to the Pyrenees," he gave England that external control essential for national unity. Accepted by both English and Norman as ruler of both races, he shaped the country in ways that endure to the present day.
After a century as an invading army's encampment and battleground for quarrelsome officers, England finally became a coherent kingdom based on Christianity and Latin civilization. Henry first brought England, Scotland, and Ireland into a common relationship, re-established the royal government his grandfather had begun, and laid foundations for central power that would eventually supersede the feudal system. Because of him, the English-speaking world is governed by English Common Law rather than Roman Law.
Physically, Henry was square and thick-set, with powerful arms, coarse hands, and bandy legs from endless riding. He had a large head with cropped red hair, a freckled face, and a harsh voice. He loved hunting intensely, lived frugally, and worked constantly on public business. Always traveling, his moods varied-gentle in danger but capricious when pressure eased.
Few have lived so fully or drunk so deeply of triumph and sorrow. His later life was marred by conflict with Eleanor. From the outset, Henry depended on Parliament to compensate for his title's defects, embracing elective, limited kingship rather than absolute monarchy.
The Plantagenets ruled with a rough hand in a violent age, yet it was violence born of vigor, not decadence. Though England has known greater soldier-kings and subtler diplomats than Henry II, none has left a deeper mark upon her laws and institutions. His frenzied energy wasn't exhausted by politics, war, and hunting-like his Norman predecessors, Henry possessed an instinct for government and law that became his enduring legacy. While the names of his battles have vanished with their dust, his fame lives on in the English Constitution and Common Law.
Using the elastic concept of the King's Peace, Henry gradually extended royal jurisdiction over all criminal cases throughout England. For civil cases, he expanded the king's right to hear appeals where justice had been refused. To attract litigants to royal courts, Henry offered a revolutionary procedure-trial by jury, a "royal boon" that became the crown's most powerful weapon against feudal justice.
The jury system stands as the hallmark of English justice, preserving the principle that law flows from the people. Unlike Continental systems based on Roman law, English justice required cases to be scrutinized by twelve honest men, protecting defendants from arbitrary perversion of law. This unwritten law, developed through precedent rather than imposed by codes, spread throughout the English-speaking world, governing everything from grazing rights in the American West to gold mines in Australia.
Chapter 7
The Great Charter: Magna Carta and the Birth of Liberty
Prince John's character was a study in contradictions. He combined a warrior's ruthlessness with Machiavellian subtlety, executing cruelties with cold, inhuman intelligence despite occasional furious rages. Ironically, the English-speaking world owes more to John's vices than to virtuous sovereigns, for it was the union of forces against him that established our most famous milestone of rights and freedom.
Philip Augustus methodically dismantled the Angevin Empire. Having encircled Normandy and driven a wedge between John's northern and southern possessions, he systematically captured fortress after fortress. When John's nerve failed and he fled to England, the Normans surrendered. By June 1204, Rouen had fallen and Normandy became French. Though contemporaries saw only humiliating defeat, this separation ultimately benefited England by ending costly Continental entanglements and forcing the ruling class to identify solely with English interests.
John's domestic troubles mounted as he pressed his father's administrative system to extremes. The English barons, now distinct from Norman feudatories, resisted foreign service and scutage payments. When Archbishop Hubert Walter died in 1205, Pope Innocent III seized the opportunity to assert Papal authority by appointing Stephen Langton against John's wishes. John retaliated by persecuting the clergy and seizing Church lands, leading the Pope to place England under interdict in 1208 and excommunicate John in 1209.
After John's military defeat at Bouvines in 1214 destroyed his Continental alliances, the barons formed plans to restrain his despotic rule. Under Langton's moderating influence, they grounded their opposition in principles of law and ancient custom rather than mere class interest. At Runnymede in June 1215, John agreed to their terms, sealing the Articles of the Barons that would become Magna Carta.
The Charter itself was a feudal contract of sixty-one clauses addressing specific grievances rather than declaring constitutional principles. It focused primarily on feudal administration, scutage, reliefs, and wardship, with protections mainly for the baronial class. Despite its limitations, Magna Carta established the revolutionary principle that the king himself was bound by law-a doctrine that would survive long after its feudal context faded, becoming an enduring witness that royal power was not absolute.
Chapter 8
The Mother of Parliaments: Simon de Montfort and Constitutional Evolution
Henry III's troubled reign proved momentous for England's institutional development, particularly in what can be called the seed-time of the Parliamentary system. The reform commission established after the baronial opposition's triumph produced the Provisions of Oxford in 1258, supplemented by the Provisions of Westminster in 1259. These documents represented a significant evolution beyond Magna Carta, focusing less on specific legal points and more on fundamental questions of governance-who should advise the king and which officials should execute royal authority.
Simon de Montfort did not rest content with merely transferring power from Crown to barons-he immediately turned upon the barons themselves, recognizing that if the king should be curbed, so too should the great lords. He championed the "Community of the Bachelors of England," representing the country gentry, and extended reforms to baronial estates. This split the baronial party, allowing King Henry and Prince Edward to strike against their divided opponents.
In January 1265, Simon summoned representatives from both shires and towns to Parliament, seeking to legitimize his revolutionary settlement by weighting it with supporters from the middle classes. Though once celebrated as the first representative Parliament, modern historians view its constitutional significance more cautiously. Prince Edward, having escaped his captivity, organized opposition by promising to uphold the Charters and remedy grievances. At Evesham in August 1265, Edward's forces defeated Simon's army, and the great Earl died heroically on the battlefield.
Though Simon perished, his movement lived on throughout the nation. His followers held out in isolated strongholds, while common folk openly supported his cause. Eventually, compromise prevailed through the influence of Pope Clement IV and his Legate, with the disinherited rebels allowed to repurchase their lands. Simon de Montfort had lit "a fire never to be quenched in English history," and his ideas would survive through his nephew, the new King Edward I, who would draw deeply upon the concepts of the man he had slain.
Chapter 9
The Longbow Revolution: England's Military Transformation
Under Edward III, England found leadership equal to her growing strength. Despite Edward II's weak reign, national prosperity had increased steadily. The feuds of nobility and royal vices had been confined to a small circle, while England developed a commanding military advantage unknown abroad-the long-bow.
This weapon, wielded by well-trained yeoman archers, created a soldier type unmatched on the Continent. At 250 yards, arrow volleys produced effects unseen until the American Civil War. The professional archer earned high pay, traveled to battle often on ponies, with considerable transport for comfort and ammunition. He carried an iron-pointed stake which, planted in the ground, formed a deadly barrier against cavalry charges. From behind these obstacles, archers in open formation could deliver rapid, continuous fire that could destroy cavalry attacks.
France remained ignorant of this development. There, armored knights and men-at-arms dominated warfare, with foot soldiers considered mere auxiliaries. A military caste had imposed itself on society based on physical and technical assertions the long-bow would disprove. By the mid-fourteenth century, the English looked upon Europe with a sense of unmeasured superiority.
In 1346, with Parliament finally providing adequate funding, Edward launched a new invasion of France. The battle of Crecy became a devastating demonstration of English longbow superiority. The Genoese crossbowmen, their bowstrings soaked by rain and blinded by the setting sun, were annihilated by the English archers whose arrows "fell like snow." When the Genoese retreated, King Philip ordered his cavalry to cut them down, bringing his knights within arrow range. The deadly hail pierced mail, slaying horse and man alike, while Welsh and Cornish infantry slipped through to finish the wounded with their long knives.
While England celebrated these military triumphs, a far deadlier enemy approached-the Black Death. Entering Europe through the Crimea, it would destroy at least one-third of the population. The plague's horrific symptoms-swift onset, blotches, hardened glands, tumors that gave no relief when lanced, delirium and insanity-devastated society. Church authority was undermined as survivors questioned divine mercy, while weird sects like the flagellants emerged from plague-haunted cities.
Chapter 10
The Wars of the Roses: Dynastic Struggle and National Transformation
The Wars of the Roses reached their climax with the Lancastrian cause seemingly crushed. Queen Margaret, though driven from England, proved indomitable. She mortgaged Calais to Louis XI for 20,000 gold livres and secured Scottish support by surrendering Berwick. In 1462, through her diplomatic efforts, three key Northern castles-Bamburgh, Alnwick, and Dunstanburgh-opened their gates to her forces.
Edward IV showed unprecedented clemency, pardoning captured Lancastrian nobles like the Duke of Somerset and Sir Ralph Percy, even restoring their estates and positions of trust. This magnanimity proved disastrous. When Margaret returned with fresh forces, Percy betrayed Bamburgh while Alnwick was surrendered by Sir Ralph Grey. King Henry, separated from his queen for the final time, hid in Cumberland while Margaret embarked on remarkable continental adventures, seeking aid from Burgundy while living in desperate poverty.
With his throne secured through battlefield victories, Edward IV revealed his true character-a magnificent warrior who sheathed his sword eagerly when danger passed. While brilliant in crisis, he lacked zest for daily governance, preferring hunting, feasting, drinking, and the pursuit of women. The Neville family-particularly Warwick, Montagu, and Archbishop George Neville-managed the realm while the young king enjoyed the fruits of victory.
Edward's handsome appearance, gallant address, and sociable manner enhanced his popularity, especially with Londoners. This comfortable arrangement collapsed when Edward encountered and fell in love with Elizabeth Woodville, widow of a Lancastrian knight. Despite her modest standing, Edward married her secretly in 1464, keeping the union hidden for five months while Warwick pursued diplomatic marriages with Spanish or French princesses.
The offended Nevilles took deep counsel. Warwick gained the King's brother, Clarence, to his side and orchestrated a rising in the North while simultaneously creating pressure in London through the Commons. The northern rebels defeated Edward's forces at Edgcott, and the king found himself captured by Warwick.
For a time, Warwick held both rival kings-Henry VI and Edward IV-as prisoners. After executing the Queen's father and brother, Warwick eventually released Edward when he promised to amend his ways. But the reconciliation was superficial. In March 1470, Edward obtained evidence of Warwick and Clarence's continued treachery and turned against them. They fled to France, where Louis XI arranged a shocking reconciliation between Warwick and Margaret of Anjou, despite the river of blood between them.
Richard III moved swiftly to secure power after Edward's death. After dismissing the royal escort, he brought the young King to London, lodging him first at the Bishop's palace where he received fealty from the lords. Despite suggestions from the Queen's supporters about alternative residences, Richard insisted the Tower would be more fitting and secure for royal dignity. The child of twelve was ceremoniously conducted there, the gates closing behind him.
Richard moved methodically to claim the crown. A preacher named Shaw delivered a sermon at St. Paul's Cross declaring Edward's children illegitimate, arguing Edward's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville was invalid due to sorcery and prior betrothal. Nevertheless, Parliament petitioned Richard to assume the crown after receiving documents declaring Edward's marriage invalid. Richard performed the expected show of reluctance before accepting the "call of public duty."
Despite establishing apparent security, Richard initiated enlightened reforms-reviving Parliament's power, declaring "benevolences" illegal, protecting commerce, and courting clergy favor. Yet these measures counted for nothing against the hatred his crimes had aroused. As Sir Thomas More recorded, Richard never found peace: "He never had quiet in his mind, he never thought himself sure... his eyes whirled about, his body privily fenced, his hand ever on his dagger."
At Bosworth on August 22, Richard commanded ten thousand disciplined troops against Richmond's five thousand, but appearances deceived. When battle joined, the Earl of Northumberland stood idle while Lord Stanley joined Richmond. Seeing defeat, Richard shouted "Treason!" and charged desperately to kill Richmond personally. Though he slew Richmond's standard-bearer and nearly reached his rival, Sir William Stanley's three thousand "red-coated" troops overwhelmed him. Richard, refusing to flee, died fighting-his naked, bloodied corpse later bound across a horse and displayed in Leicester.
Bosworth Field ended both Richard's life and the Plantagenet dynasty that had ruled for over three hundred years. The marriage of Henry Tudor to Elizabeth of York would unite the warring roses, laying to rest "the revengeful ghosts of two mangled generations" and closing the medieval chapter of English history.
