Crumbs from the Table

What is now England was settled by the Anglo-Saxon peoples from the 400s, after the Roman legions withdrew from the island between 383 and 410.  It is possible that the Anglo-Saxon peoples (comprising Angles, Saxons and Jutes) were initially invited by the Britons to help defend Britain against incursions from Ireland.  The settlers came over from northern Europe (what is now the Netherlands, Northern Germany and Denmark) and settled the east of the country, forming several kingdoms.  This post particularly focuses on the Anglian kingdoms in the north of the country. Along the north east side of the country, there were two Anglian kingdoms - Bernicia (what is now the North West) and Deira (what is now Yorkshire). These united to become Northumbria in about 604.  To the west, until the mid-600s, the land was controlled by Britons - this was known as the Old North (Hen Ogledd).  In what is now Cumbria was a Brittonic kingdom called Rheged, which may have stretched...

The Völkerwanderung was a period in late antiquity/early middle ages when various mainly Germanic peoples migrated westwards into the Roman Empire. The accepted dates for this period are 375 to 568 CE. Prior to the Völkerwanderung, peoples such as the Goths, Vandals and Franks lived in the area north east of the border of the Roman Empire (known as the "limes"), which ran diagonally across Europe from what is now Rotterdam (Netherlands) right across to what is now the Romanian coast on the Black Sea. The year 375 marks the invasion by the Huns who "pushed" other peoples into the Roman Empire. During the ensuing 200-year period, there was a migration flow into what was the Roman Empire, including the following peoples: Goths, Vandals, Lombards, Suebi, Franks, and Anglo-Saxons.  In 410, Rome was sacked by the Visigoths. The year 476 marks the date the last Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed and replaced by Odoacer, an Arian and non-Roman.  The following hu...

At the start of the reign of Henry VIII (1510), the church in England, known as Ecclesia Anglicana , formed part of the western communion of churches with the bishop of Rome ("Pope") at its head . When the Protestant Reformation first began with Martin Luther and others from 1517, many Christians and scholars in England supported the teachings of the Reformation. One centre for such interest was the University of Cambridge and the White Horse Inn where discussions were held. However, the King of England, Henry VIII, opposed their teachings, and wrote a defence of the seven sacraments in 1521 for which he was granted the title "Defender of the Faith" by Pope Leo X in 1521. Around this time, William Tyndale became a Protestant Christian and began a project to translate and print the New Testament into English. The very first edition of Tyndale's New Testament came out in 1525. This eventually led to his capture and martyrdom in what is now Belgium in the year 1536...

Christianity in what is now England probably goes back before the year 200. There is a church in London, St Peter upon Cornhill, which traces its origins back to the conversion of King Lucius and the year 179, although these facts are disputed. Church fathers Tertullian and Origen both reference Christians in Britain. The first British martyrs, who died sometime in the 200s or early 300s, were Julius, Aaron and Alban. Shortly after Constantine came to power, in 314, three British bishops attended a church council at Arles (now France).  At the start of the 400s, the western Roman Empire collapsed and the Roman legions withdrew from the areas of Britain that had previously been under Roman control. This made these areas vulnerable to attack from the Irish. It would seem that the Romano-Britons called on the assistance of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes. In the end, these peoples came over to Britain from what is now the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark and settled the eastern half of w...

Chad of Mercia (634-672) was a Christian monastic who lived in the 600s, at the time when the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were being Christianised.  Chad was one of four brothers born, it is supposed, into the nobility of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria (northeast England). However, curiously, his name is of Celtic origin, which may mean he was not of Anglo-Saxon stock. Sometime before Aidan's death in 651, Chad studied under that prominent Christian monastic at the Lindisfarne monastery. Chad may have completed his education at Mayo in Ireland.  Sometime before 664, Chad was back on the island of Britain, helping his brother Cedd found a monastery at Lastingham (Yorkshire). When his brother Cedd died, Chad took over as abbot. Caught up in the church politics of the time, Chad was briefly appointed bishop of York (approx. 666-669) in place of his contemporary, Wilfrid, only later to step down in his favour.   Later, in 669, King Wulfhere of Mercia requested a bishop, an...

Christianity in Britain may date back to before the year 200 ; it is claimed that St. Peter upon Cornhill  church in London was founded in the year 179. Certainly, Christianity had reached Britain by the year 208. The church father Tertullian mentions this fact as an example of the geographical spread of Christianity in his time, "In all parts of Spain, among the various nations of Gaul, in districts of Britain inaccessible to the Romans but subdued to Christ, in all these the kingdom and name of Christ are venerated." Another church father, Origen, writing about 239, likewise refers to Christianity among the Britons, "The power of the Saviour is felt even among those who are divided from our world, in Britain," although he is also careful to qualify that "very many have not yet heard the word of the Gospel." The first known martyr for the Christian faith in Britain was Alban , who was killed at Verulam (now St Alban's) sometime between the year 250 an...