What is now England was settled by the Anglo-Saxon peoples from the 400s. The settlers, Anglians, Saxons and Jutes came over from northern Europe (what is now the Netherlands, Northern Germany and Denmark) and settled the east of the country, forming several kingdoms. The focus of this post is 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 kingdom called Rheged, which may have stretched as far south as what later became Lancashire and Cheshire. Rheged was united with Northumbria possibly as a result of the royal marriage between Oswiu of Northumbria and the Rhegedian princess Rieinmelth as early as 638. The Brittonic kingdo...