History of Anglo-Saxon England

Sub-Roman Britain (410–c. 449) Heptarchy (c. 449–927) Kingdom of England (927–1066) Engla land (Old English)
410–1066
Britain around the year 540. Anglo-Saxon kingdoms' names are coloured red. Britonnic kingdoms' names are coloured black.
Common languages	Old English
Demonym(s)	Anglo-Saxon, Angle, Saxon
History
• Abandonment of the Roman province Britannia	410
• Start of the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain	c. 449
• Unification of the Angles, Saxons and Danes	c. 927
• Norman Conquest	1066

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Anglo-Saxon England or Early Medieval England covers the period from the end of Roman Britain in the 5th century until the Norman Conquest in 1066. It consisted of various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms until 927, when it was united as the Kingdom of England by King Æthelstan (r. 927–939). It became part of the short-lived North Sea Empire of Cnut, a personal union between England, Denmark and Norway, in the 11th century.

The Anglo-Saxons migrated to Britain from mainland northwestern Europe after the Roman Empire's withdrawal from Britain at the beginning of the 5th century. Anglo-Saxon history thus begins during the period of sub-Roman Britain following the end of Roman control, and traces the establishment of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the 5th and 6th centuries (conventionally identified as seven main kingdoms: Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Sussex, and Wessex); their Christianisation during the 7th century; the threat of Viking invasions and Danish settlers; the gradual unification of England under the Wessex hegemony during the 9th and 10th centuries; and ending with the Norman Conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066.

The Normans persecuted the Anglo-Saxons and overthrew their ruling class to substitute their own leaders to oversee and rule England.^[1] However, Anglo-Saxon identity survived beyond the Norman Conquest,^[2] came to be known as Englishry under Norman rule, and through social and cultural integration with Romano-British Celts, Danes and Normans became the modern English people.