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The nation we now call England was not always a single entity, but evolved from the shattering of the Roman province of Britannia
Sixteen hundred years ago, Britannia covered what we now know as England and Wales. During the fourth century, it became vulnerable to periodic raids: from Germanic tribes in the south and east; from the Picts in the north; and from Scots (who were actually from Ireland) in the west.
In about 410, as Rome itself came under attack, the emperor Honorius informed Romano-British tribal leaders that they could no longer consider themselves under imperial protection. The Roman troops were recalled to the continent, leaving a military and political void.
Petty kingdoms
As Germanic invasions increased over the following few centuries, the country disintegrated into a fluctuating number of petty kingdoms, each with its own ruler.
By the late 500s, Angles, Saxons and Jutes (collectively known as Anglo-Saxons) from southern Denmark and northern Germany had settled in the south and east of England. They had initially been welcomed as mercenaries by local rulers to see off other raiders in the wake of the Roman withdrawal.
The Anglo-Saxons spoke an early form of English and were mostly pagans. The north-west and south-west regions of England (and, of course, all of Wales) were home to 'Britons' (or Celts). They were mainly Christian and spoke a version of Welsh.
Dominant player
By about 700, the Britons in England had been pushed back to Cornwall. At the same time, Christianity had spread throughout the Anglo-Saxon areas. Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria were the dominant Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Smaller ones included East Anglia, Sussex, Essex, Kent and Lindsey (the Lincolnshire area).
During the 700s, under King Offa, Mercia aggressively extended its borders. But when it came to fending off the Vikings, soon to be the country's main threat, Wessex emerged as the dominant player.
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