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Period: 700 to 1000
Beowulf
Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall in Heorot has been under attack by a monster known as Grendel. After Beowulf slays him, Grendel's mother attacks the hall and is then also defeated. Victorious, Beowulf goes home to Geatland (Götaland in modern Sweden) and later becomes king of the Geats. After a period of fifty years has passed, Beowulf defeats a dragon, but is mortally wounded in the battle. -
Period: 701 to 900
The Ruin
The poem evokes the former glory of a ruined Roman city by juxtaposing the grand, lively past state with the decaying present. -
Period: 871 to 899
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great is the King of Wessex, a Saxon kingdom in southwestern England. He prevented England from falling to the Danes and promoted learning and literacy. -
878
Battle of Edington
At the Battle of Edington, an army of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex under Alfred the Great defeated the Great Heathen Army led by Guthrum on a date between 6 and 12 May AD 878, resulting in the Treaty of Wedmore later the same year. -
Period: 901 to 1000
The Wanderer
The poem begins with the Wanderer asking the Lord for understanding and compassion during his exile at sea. He cannot avoid going to sea, however, because this life is his fate. -
Period: 1001 to 1100
Treachery of Scone
Treachery of Scone is a non-extant tale of suggested 11th century Scottish origin. It appears in a list of literary tales a "good poet ought to know" in the Book of Leinster; its absence from another similar list suggests that the story came to Ireland and the attention of the compiler in the 11th century -
1066
Edgar Ætheling
Edgar Ætheling was the last male member of the royal house of Cerdic of Wessex. He was elected King of England by the Witenagemot in 1066 but never crowned -
1066
William Conquered English
William built a large fleet and invaded England in September 1066, decisively defeating and killing Harold at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066. After further military efforts William was crowned king on Christmas Day 1066, in London. -
Period: 1066 to 1087
William the Conqueror
William the Conqueror was the first Norman King of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087. A descendant of Rollo, he was Duke of Normandy from 1035 onward. After a long struggle to establish his power, by 1060 his hold on Normandy was secure, and he launched the Norman conquest of England six years later. The rest of his life was marked by struggles to consolidate his hold over England and his continental lands and by difficulties with his eldest son.
