Preliminary remark: The dating of the events that occurred in early medieval times is never certain, because of the lack of written witnesses [L1] [LF1] [LP1] .
406 A.D. : The Roman army withdraws Britannia.
410 A.D. : The Roman Emperor Onorius orders the cities of Britannia to provide autonomously for their own defence.
427 A.D. : Romanised life still survives in Britannia, however decaying. St. Germanus, an important bishop from Gaul, visits the island to set a religious controversy, that means that Britannia was still important for the central power.
It is very difficult to interpret archaeological evidence of the fifth century, because of the lack of coinage to help the dating of the findings.
449 A.D. : According to the surviving written sources (the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the writings of the monks Bede and Gildas) this is the year of the first landing of Angles and Saxons in South East Britain.
Romanise Britain, cut off from the rest of the Empire, could not survive as a unified political entity and central authority collapsed in favour of local warlords who, at first, managed to fight the invaders back.
516 A.D. : The British monk Gildas wrote that in 516 an army of invaders was defeated by the Romano Britons in a place called Mount Badon, somewhere in South Western Britain.
Gilda did not write the name of the winning leader, but a legend identifies him with the mythical King Arthur.
540 A.D. : The invading tribes (Angles, Saxons and Jutes) conquer Britain. This date is quoted in Gilda's work 'The Ruin of Britain' , the only surviving source describing the collapse of Roman Britain.
Some historians, however, think that the invasion might have happened about 40 years before.
597 A.D. :A priest called Augustine, (obeying an order of Pope Gregory I) led a mission to England in 596 AD. This mission probably was the result of a request of Æthelberht, king of Kent whose wife was Christian. He arrived In 597 AD and Æthelberht gave him land in Canterbury to build a church [LF1].
Canterbury became an important centre of British Christianity and Æthelberht became the first Christian Anglo-Saxon king.
Augustine was made a saint, sometimes termed 'Augustine the Less'.
616 A.D. :King Æthelberht dies. Æthelberht was one of the most powerful kings in England at the beginning of the 7th century AD, although by the time he died Redwald, king of the East Angles had gained land and power. One of his lasting legacies was the first law code written in English.
731 A.D. : The British monk Bede, also known as the 'Venerable Bede' finishes his most important work: 'Ecclesial History of the English', a very important source for British history of the early post-Roman period.
Bede also wrote other books that were copied and studied all over Europe, an exceptional event for those times.
757 A.D. : Æthelbald, King of Mercia (the most important of all Anglo-Saxons kingdom of Britain) was murdered by his own guard for unknown reasons. A civil war followed and a king named Offa ascended to the throne as Æthelbald's successor.
Offa became one of the most important English kings of the 8th century, his name is still remembered today in association of the fortification called Offa's Dyke.
789 A.D. : First recorded Viking attack in the British Isles. Viking intensified their raids in the following decades.
886 A.D. : Alfred, king of Wessex, agrees a treaty with Danish Vikings and divides England; the eastern part becomes Danish territory, known as Danelaw.
937 A.D. : An Anglo-Saxon king named Athelstan of Wessex defeats an invading army of Vikings and Scots. He was the first king to rule over a unified England. He died in 939.
1016 A.D. : A Danish king, Cnut, manages to become king of England.
1066 A.D. : The Norman king William the Conqueror defeats the Anglo-Saxon armies at the Battle of Hastings. He became king of England with the name of William I of England.
Normans descended from the Vikings, but had adopted French culture.
The Norman conquest influenced deeply English law, customs and language[L2].
