978 - Edward the Martyr murdered at Corfe Castle upon the orders of
his step-mother; Aethelred II, the Unready (ill-counselled), younger
brother of Edward the Martyr, King of England (to 1016). English
troops are deployed on the Lleyn Peninsula on behalf of King Hywel
of Gwynedd in order to prevent his uncle, Iago, invading with Viking
allies from Dublin. St. Dunstan completes the cloisteral buildings
and his western extensions to the Abbey Church of St. Augustine's
Abbey, Canterbury. The church is rededicated to St. Peter, St. Paul
and St. Augustine.
THE DANES RAID AGAIN
980 - The Danes renew their raids on England attacking Chester and
Southampton. Manx Vikings led by King Godfred I ally themselves with
Prince Custennin of Gwynedd and raid Anglesey and the Lleyn
Peninsula. Custennin is killed. Foundation of Amesbury Abbey.
983 - Ealdorman Aelfhere of Mercia allies himself with King Hywel of
Gwynedd and together they attack the lands of Prince Einion of
Deheubarth.
984 - Death of Bishop Aethelwold of Winchester. He is buried in
Winchester Old Minster and later revered as a saint.
985 - The English kill King Hywel of Gwynedd by treachery.
987 - Re-foundation of Cerne Abbey.
c.988 - Manx Vikings, under King Godfred I, ravage Anglesey.
991 -
Battle of Maldon: Byrhtnoth of Essex is defeated by Danishinvaders; Aethelred II buys off the Danes with 10,000 pounds of
silver (Danegeld).
992 - Aethelred makes a truce with Duke Richard I of Normandy.
993 - King Aethelred the Unready appoints Aelfhelm as Ealdorman of
Northumbria in place of the aging Waltheof I. Re-foundation of
Sherborne Abbey.
994 - Danes under Sweyn and Norwegians under
Olaf Trygvesson sail upriver Thames and besiege London; bought off by Aethelred.
995 - Uhtred, son of Ealdorman Waltheof I of Northumbria,
establishes an episcopal see at Durham and moves the monastic
community of Chester-Le-Street there. Foundation of Evesham Abbey.
c.1000 - Medshamstead is made into a Burgh. It soon becomes known as
St. Peter's Burgh (Peterborough).
1003 - Sweyn and an army of Norsemen land in England and wreak a
terrible vengeance for a massacre of Danes the preceding year.
1006 - Ealdorman Aelfhelm of Northumbria falls foul of King
Aethelred the Unready who has him murdered.
1007 - Aethelred buys two years' peace from the Danes for 36,000
pounds of silver. Uhtred, son of Ealdorman Waltheof I of
Northumbria, is appointed to his father's old position.
1011 - Thorkell the Tall and his brother, Hemming, plunder
Canterbury, burn the city and the Cathedral, and make off with
Archbishop Alphege to Greenwich. St. Alphage refuses to be ransomed
and the Vikings throw ox-bones at him in a drunken orgee and kill
him.
1012 - The Danes sack Canterbury: bought off for 48,000 pounds of
silver.
THE DANES ASSUME THE CROWN
1013 - King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark lands in England and is
proclaimed king; Aethelred II the Unready flees to Normandy.
c.1013 - Archbishop Lyfing probably restores Canterbury Cathedral,
adding porticus towers and a massive 'westwerk'.
1014 - The English recall Aethelred II the Unready as King on the
death of King Sweyn Forkbeard; the latter's son, Canute (II),
retreats to Denmark and turns his attention to annexing Norway.
1015 - King Canute II of Denmark & Norway again invades England; war
between Danes and Saxons.
1016 - Edmund Ironside, son of Aethelred II the Unready of England,
becomes King. He and King Canute II of Denmark & Norway meet on the
Isle of Alney near Deerhurst and agree to divide the kingdom: Canute
holds the north and Edmund Wessex; Edmund loses the Battle of Ashingdon on the Blackwater in Essex, due to Mercian treachery, and is then assassinated; Canute takes the throne as King Canute the Great of England.
1017 - King Canute the Great divides England into four earldoms.
1019 - King Canute the Great marries the Dowager-Queen Emma, widow
of Aethelred II. Canute gives the relics of St. Wigstan to Evesham
Abbey. They are translated from Repton.
1026 - King Canute the Great's steward, Orc, founds Abbotsbury
Abbey.
1035 - Death of Canute the Great of England, Denmark & Norway: his
possessions are divided; Harold I Harefoot, becomes King of England
(to 1040).
1040 – Knut’s son
AN ENGLISH KING AGAIN
1042 - Edward the Confessor, son of Aethelred II, King of England
(to 1066).
1046 - Sweyn, son of Earl Godwin of Wessex, attempts to marry Abbess
Eadgifu of Leominster.
c.1050 - Abbot Wulfric of St. Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury embarks
on a flamboyant programme of building-work at his abbey. He adds a
further western chapel and bell-tower to the monastic complex and
begins to join St. Mary's to the Abbey Church with a huge rotunda
based on that at St. Benigne at Dijon.
1051 - Earl Godwin exiled (until 1052): he returns with a fleet and
wins back his power.
1052 - Edward the Confessor founds Westminster Abbey, near London.
1053 - Death of Godwin: his son Harold succeeds him as Earl of
Wessex. Earl Harold of Wessex begins a programme of building work at
Waltham Abbey which includes the addition of a huge eastern
crossing.
1055 - Harold's brother Tostig becomes Earl of Northumbria.
1058 - The See of Sherborne is joined to that of Ramsbury & Sonning.
1063 - Harold and Tostig subdue Wales.
1064 - Harold is shipwrecked in Normandy; while there, he swears a
solemn oath to support William of Normandy's claim to England.
1065 - Northumbria rebels against Tostig, who is exiled
1066 – The famous Norwegian Harald Hardrada, veteran of Stiklestad, attempts to sieze Jorvik but is defeated by Harold II at Battle of Stamford Bridge. But then William of Normandy defeats Harold at Hastings and commences the
1066 + The Danish King aids the resistance against William in the East of England, for a good many years.