Birth of Britian Theresa

In 367, the Picts, Saxons and Scots worked together to invade Britannia. The people murdered or driven away from their homes. Afterwards, Theodosius was sent to defend Britannia. He succeeded and drove the enemies back. However, in 383, the Britons allowed themselves to be ruled by a Spanish Magnus Maximus. Maximus took the Briton's troops and marched out to defeat Emperor Gratian. Maximus took over Gaul, Spain and Britannia but was slain by Theodosius.
Meanwhile, the barbarians raided Britannia and is wasn't until 400 that Theodosius could send a general to defend the island.

Theodosius appointed the General Stilicho to defend Britannia. Stilicho achieved his goal and drove the barbarians out and repaired the defenses. But in 402, barbarians invaded Italy and Stilicho needed to take the Briton's army to defeat them. The British army complained that Britannia was being neglected and mutinied. The Britons appointed new emperors, each were murdered quickly. They eventually appointed a emperor named Constantine, but rather than defending the island, he left to try his fortune on the continent (similar to Magnus Maximus' actions) and left Britain undefended. Thus Britain was left undefended. When they cried for help from the Romans, they left them to themselves.

St.Germanus arrived in the island to fight the Pelagian heresy, which had spread to the region. He spoke of a rich land, although it was at war. They were being invaded from either the north or the east, by an army of Saxons, Picts and Scots. St. Germanus had been a general beforehand and gathered an army to fight the oncoming horde. He had the soldiers hide, waiting in ambush. When the army was coming, he had the priest shout a "triple Alleluia" and the sound echoed through the valley, terrifying the heathens, who ran for their lives.

In this time period, the Saxons were invading and settling the island. The Germanic people had no kings, and were warring tribes.

In 500 ad, England was divided, the Barbarians occupying the east, the middle land fought over, and the Britons taking the west. It was a bleak time for the remains of Britannia, but stories tell of a brave King Arthur who protected the land.

At this point, there became a sort of society and aristocracy. The Saxons started having kings who ruled their district. However, distances were prohibitive and writing unknown, so the districts were very pelagic in nature.

In 622, the Muslim religion began. Then, Mahomet and his successors, the Caliphs, took over Arabia, Persia, much of the Byzantine empire and the North African shore. They almost took France when they were beaten back by Charlemagne's grandfather, Charles Martel, in 732

King Edwin was the very popular king of Northumbria, who controlled almost all of England. In an effort to upend the dominion of Edwin, King Penda made an alliance with Cadwallon, King of North Wales. King Penda killed Edwin and received the wrath of his loving subjects and son. Unfortunately, King Penda killed his succesor, Oswald, and evaded death for seven years, until he was killed by Oswald's son, Oswy. Thus the Northumbrian power grew.

The issue was whether or not British Christianity should join the Catholic church. They decided to, and now 5/6 of the island was under the control of the church and decidedly Christian.

Although beforehand, the Church had tried to guide England through Kent, it decided to use a different strategy. They sent two missionaries, one named Theodore of Tarsus and one Hadrian of Carthage. Although when they arrived, their were only 3 bishops in all of England to greet them, when Theodore died there were 14

While Europe was fighting of the attacking Muslims, Britain had to deal with the Vikings. They were warriors who came over from Scandinavia to pillage. The Vikings started attacking somewhere in this time frame.

In January, a horde of Vikings lay waste to a monastery in Northumbria. This attack drew the attention of the Church. This was one of many monasteries that were attacked by Vikings. Charlemagne's historian writes that the attacks were seemingly endless.

They were overthrown by King Egbert. After this victory, Wessex became the leading English kingdom, with Kent, creating a solid Southern block.

At this point the Vikings grew more powerful. They conducted raids on England, France and Russia. For thirty years, Southern England was constantly attacked. Paris was more than once besieged and Constantinople was assaulted. The Vikings also began to settle on their captured land.

In January, the Saxons, led by Alfred, were attacked by the Viking forces. The Saxons won. As Winston Churchill said,
"If the West Saxons had been beaten, all England would have sunk into heathen anarchy. Since they were victorious, hope still burned for a Christian existence in this Island."

The Saxons lost. The Danes had loads of reinforcements from overseas and the Saxon army was depleted due to death and desertion, so Alfred came to terms with the Viking army. Unfortunately, the conditions were lost to the mists of time, but we do know that the Vikings agreed to leave.

The war-leader Guthrum, despite the peace treaty, attacked Wareham. King Alfred offered a peace treaty, which the Danes accepted, but left and attacked Exeter. Alfred pursued them but was too late. However, the elements were against them, and 120 of their ships were destroyed. Alfred found his enemies ready for peace, and made yet another treaty, which they upheld for five months.

The Danes attacked the Saxons during one of their holidays. The army was destroyed and the Danes, achieved their goal. It was many months before Alfred could even start a gruella. He lived underground, and Winston Churchill said he "lived as Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest"

The heathens attacked King Alfred's stronghold. The Saxons came out and started fighting. They beat back the Vikings and, like he was back from the dead, Alfred returned to the people. They pursued the Vikings and found them ready for peace (again). Alfred's goal was that the two countries could live together in peace, and he strove to achieve that goal.

The Vikings attacked France, and for six years ravaged the mainland. Six years later, after France was no longer fit for plunder, they looked towards England.

King Alfred Daughter married a Danish regent. This lead to a definite peace treaty, the recapturing of London and a system to stop the killing of Saxons by the Danish and vice versa.

When Guthrum died, the treaty he had made with Alfred (and loosely kept) ended. The next year, the Vikings attacked England. They waged war with the aged king of the Saxons, who's son proved an effective general. The war slowed down in 896, but was far from over.

After his father's death, Edward was made king. His cousin, Ethelwald fled to the Danelaw and, with the king, roused them to battle. They attacked Wiltshire, and in retaliation, Edward laid waste to East Anglia. His troops were slow to withdraw and were attacked by the Danes. The Saxons suffered a definite loss but the Danish King and Ethelwald died.
Guthrum II was the successor to the Danish throne and made a treaty with Edward based on the 886 treaty.

The treaty with Guthrum II was broken by the Danes and fighting began anew in Mercia. Edward and the leader of Mercia (Edward's widowed Sister) joined forces. The Danes never recovered from the battles, and over the next ten years, Edward and his sister, Elthefelda, ruled south England. When Elthelfelda died, Edward was invited to take her throne.

Although he tried to keep the peace, Edward's son, Athelstan, became invaded Yorkshire in 926. Northumbria submitted, Scotland acknowledged him as their father and lord, and the Welsh agreed to pay a tribute. Their was an uneasy time of peace and the fighting started in 933, Athelstan decidedly won and pronounced himself Rex Totius Brittaniae.

After Four generations of Saxon kings, Elthelred the Unready took the throne. The Vikings and Danes tried to take over England, and large payments would not stop them. Edmund, declared a rebel by his father tried to stop the invasion and won several battles. When he died, England despaired and submitted to the Danish Prince, Canute.

Canute was ruler of England, Norway, Denmark and even Scotland (who offered him it's homage). He married Ethelred's widow and tried to keep peace in his region. When he died, his kingdom died with him.

After Canute's death, his son's tried to rule, but died soon after. For several year's there was no king. Godwin was the leading political figure, and realized he was about to be exiled by the other leaders, and bargained with Edward, son of Ethelred to avoid being cast out.

Godwin, earl of Wessex, was a leading political figure in England.

Son of Ethelred. He had little aptitude for administration or war, and was guided chiefly by Godwin, and after Godwin's death, Harold.

At the time, William was duke of Normandy. He was the illegitimate son of Duke Robert. He was conspired against by some malcontent nobles and would have been overthrown If he hadn't sought the aid of King Henry of France.

Godwin and his son's were cast into exile. They returned with an army soon after. They had Edward place them back into power.

He ruled through King Edward, as did his father before him.

Harold was washed ashore to French Soil, were a malicious count kidnapped him and held him for ransom. He was released by William, Duke of Normandy. Harold and William became friends. Harold made a deal, in which he would bestow the English Throne to WIlliam. According to the pact, Harold would be made Earl of Wessex and married to William's daughter.

Harold broke the pact. Oaths were the basis of order in the feudal world, and Harold's betrayal caused an uproar. Harold was invaded from the North-east nad the south. He defeated the invasion from the north, but was conquered by William from the south.

The subjugation of England was a lengthy process. The disunity of England, that made her so easy to conquer made her difficult to rule. Dukes and nobles led various rebellions and it wasn't until 1087 that England was actually conquered.

He divided his land between his two sons. Newly subjugated England was given to King William II and Duke Robert claimed Normandy. This caused strife, as barons, owning land in both territories, sought to play their two masters against each other.

After subjugating England, William died and split his land between his sons. Duke Robert claimed Normandy and King William II ascended to the English throne. This caused a divide, as barons often held land in both Normandy and England, thus being ruled by two rulers. They tried, successfully, to play one against each other.

The west and Bysantines united to take the Holy land back.

King Henry had to fight his elder brother to retain the English Throne. He defeated Duke Robert in 1106 and Robert was taken to prison. Normandy acknowledged his suzerainty.

He was mysteriously shot through the head. Prince Henry, his youngest brother, who was with his hunting party, (who may or may not aided the assassination) took the throne.

He had hoped that his daughter, Maude would take the throne, but she was in Mainland Europe with her husband and Stephen took the throne in her absence.

Maude came to claim her rights to the throne. Stephen, who was considered harsh and cruel, lost many of his former supporters to her. She took over and ruled, uncrowned for a year. The islanders decided they liked her less then Stephen and chased her out of the country. The state entered civil war and anarchy. Stephen took an uneasy control of the throne, but failed to bring unity to the kingdom.

Henry, son of Empress Maude, waged war on Stephen. He was beaten and fled to Normandy under the protection of his mother. Later, he was made Duke of Normandy by his parents. After his Father's death, he claimed pportions of France. When he married Eleanor, the former wife of Louis VII, he claimed about half of France. War approached him from all sides. He proved victorious and set his eyes on England. He made a truce with Stephen and ascended to the English throne in 1154, when Stephen died.

The recovering church, was very vexed by the independence of the Irish church. By Papal Bull, the overlordship of Ireland was granted to the English King.

Stephen had made concessions to the Church, such that Henry felt compromised his rights. He attempted to revert back to the old policies but archbishop Becket resisted. Becket fled England and they did not make peace until 1170

In order to avoid turmoil after his death, Henry II had his son's coronation while he was still alive. The Archbishop of York coronated him, to the chagrin of Archbishop Becket. Archbishop Becket then excommunicated the clergy involved with the coronation.

United Muslim power.

The excommunicated clergy went to the king with their troubles, and not only explained there excommunication, but that Becket was ready to tear the crown of off the young kings head. Henry II was enraged and some knights decided to kill the archbishop. The people were enraged. They saw Becket as a martyr.

The king's four sons rose up against him all through these years. The King was generous towards his children, but he was not deceived. He had pictures painting four eaglets preying on the parent bird.

Offered the crusaders land to Henry II and Phillip of France, as the Muslims were getting dangerously close. Unfortunately, rivalries between the western princes prevented them from taking protective measures in time

He promised booty, adventure and eternal bliss and led his army to Jerusalem.

And Palestine and Syria fell into Muslim hands again.

Richard I takes throne

Battle in middle east some cities were won. Trouble in England took Richard I back. For several years a truce was maintained, so as to allow pilgrims access to the holy city

Word came that the king was held prisoner. John claimed that Richard was dead, and claimed the crown. Soon word came that Richard was still alive and John left to France.

Richard was released from captivity and returned to England to find John in open revolt. He chased him to France and defended his territories. He won, of course and John begged pardon. Richard gave it to him and restored John to some of his estates.

The war was described as one in which treaties were made every year, and were broken, as general convenience allowed. The war Ended when Richard was shot. He named John as heir and made the archer that shot him a gift of money and his forgiveness. (After Richard passed, the archer was flayed alive.

After he died, there were two candidates for the throne. One was John, whom Richard had named as heir. Geoffrey, his elder brother, had a son named Arthur. Arthur was the other option. The French supported Arthur. John was accepted in England.

Phillip issued a summons to John to come before his court to answer to charges made against him by the barons of Poitou. John dissented Phillip invaded Normandy and gave Arthur most of the land seized from John and betrothed him to his daughter Mary.

Arthur saw that his Grandmother, the hostile queen was in town with a small escort. He laid siege to the tower. The Queen Eleanor sent for John, who came with impressive speed to his mother's aid. He captured and killed Arthur

Phillip took the English possessions in France. There were no tears shed on the part of the islanders. The unity was bizarre, the product of an advantageous marriage.

John did not appreciate the selection for the Archbishop. He went a little crazy and made war on the church. The church was much more powerful than he, and he lost. The Church declared the battle against the English King a holy war and those who fought would be deemed crusaders. There was an interdict, and for six years, the church bells did not toll. John was excommunicated.
John also persecuted the clergy

John realized he could choose between submission and invasion. He chose the former. He made England a fief of the papacy. This left a lot of people frustrated. The Bishops felt that this required more submission to the pontiff than they would like. Phillip was not happy, he wanted to invade them. The baron's issues went unaddressed.

John lost. The barons were already mad at him and his constant demand for money and troops kept the anger burning. After the loss, his domestic opponents got ready to step in

On June 15, the original Articles of the Barons was signed. It would be reissued 38 times in the next hundred years.

It looked like the king was going to defeat the baronial opposition but then he died. His nine year old son, Henry, was the rightful heir. William the Marshall, the noble legate aided the young boy. The barons had brought armies in from France, and William the Marshall expelled them in 1219

After William the Marshall died, Hubert obtained the position now known as regent. When the chief mercenary of the English grew over mighty and attempted to disturb the newfound peace, Hubert crushed him. He proceeded to hang the surviving knights in front of the conquered fortress' walls. As a sign of pacification, the Great Charter was again reissued.

Son of William the Marshall. Henry the third had lots of foreign mercenaries and appointed foreign nobles. The local barons and nobles were malcontent, and under Richard, drove the king to the Welsh Marshes and forced him to accept their terms.

And with her came her numerous and needy kinsmen. Another round of foreigners descended on the country, to the chagrin of the barons.

The Pope was making demands for more money and his Legate came to demand more money form the English church. This caused an uproar in England. The pope also granted his loyal Italian clergy the vacant English benefices. With the election of Innocent the Fourth, more money was required.

Led an evasion of the Pope's requests.

The Barons were writing up the terms of the money they give to the king. They insisted that the Justiciar, Chancellor, and treasurer should be selected by the Great Council, on which they were strongly represented. The King's French connections urged him to boss the barons around. He said, "Servants don't judge their master, vassals do not judge their prince or bind him by conditions. Such language procured no money. The king started selling plates, jewels, positions, encouraged extortion and demanded a tithe of eclessiastical property.

Even more favor. He put his son on the Sicilian throne, for a ridiculous price. The papacy offered it if he would provide the army and pay of some Vatican debts. Henry accepted such terms and provoked general outrage. He also spent lavishly on his brother's election as Holy Roman Emperor. He also failed to prevent the English from being swept out of Wales.

Henry agreed to a government reform that excluded foreigners form holding public office. Papal emissaries and foreign merchants and bankers will be reduced to their proper station and so on.

The King, court party and the foreign interests associated with them, had no intention of complying. They struggled to regain the lost ground.

The Pope freed Henry from his oath to keep the rules of the provisions. Henry removed all of the officials the barons had appointed.

After the King broke the deal, there were two competing governments. The barons held the popular opinion, and the only thing stopping them from attacking the crown, was the Earl of Gloucester's lack of support for Simon de Montfort. When the Earl died, civil war broke out, until Simon's superior military strategies won the war.

He did not make himself king, but signed treaties with the king. Theoretically, they respected the authority of the royals, but really, Montfort had King Henry III in his pocket. The Baron's saw him as a threat to their power, and under more scrutiny than before, so sought to take him off the throne. And so they did. Under the King's son Edward.

He was in Sicily when his father died, and returned for his coronation two years later.

The King of Scotland left his Granddaughter, of fourteen as his successor (the girl was known as the maid of Norway). As a way of uniting the kingdoms, King Edward's son, was to marry her. Unfortunately, she died in 1290 and Scotland had to find someone to take the throne.

When the Maid died, King Edward's suggestion for the throne had much weight. He selected John Balliol. Since it was likely that another would have won, without his aid, Balliol was Edward's puppet. The Scottish, however, provided the new king with twelve advisors who overawed him. King Edward found a hostile rather than a puppet one.

Peace had reigned between England and France for 30 years, but the quarrels between English, Gascon and French sailors strained that peace.

The sea fights need not have caused a war, but Phillip of France did not appreciate the insult of English holdings in Southern France. He provoked the English King, but Edward was long suffering and stove to reach a compromise. Phillip demanded recognition of Gascony as a fief of France, Edward consented. Phillip also wanted access to the forts as a sign of Frances sovereignty. Once he had them, he didn't give them up. Edward realized he had to fight to keep his possessions in France. He needed lots of money for the war, and due to his heavy taxation, wales and Scotland were in revolt. He suppressed Wales, but Scotland would not be so easily controlled. The Barons also proved problematic. Eventually, domestic concerns suffocated the war.

It ended when Bruce finally got King Edward II to come to terms.

They were attacked while trying to cross a bridge. They were slaughtered.

Wallace had captured Balliol's throne. Edward fought him and the Scottish army was once again fugitives. Wallace was not captured until 1305. Bruce, (who would have taken the Scottish crown if Edward had not selected John Balliol) led the army after Wallace.

Edward could not deal with Scotland and France at the same time. He made a final treaty in 1303 and married Phillip's sister. Edward's son married Phillips daughter.

Later in the year, after defeating Bruce in one of his last campaigns

While Edward I may have defeated Bruce, he was still there. Edward !'s successor, Edward II, attacked Bruce's army at Bannokburn. They lost, badly.

Inspired by the Scottish, Ireland, under Edward Bruce, brother of Roger the Bruce, sought to break from the English crown. Edward Bruce was crowned king of Ireland, but after a temporary victory, was slain, in spite of his brother's help.

Edward II started building up the Royalist parties. He favored the Despencers, a party of lords, led by a father and son, both named Hugh (He was also infatuated with the younger Hugh). The Lancaster and Welsh Marcher Lords, joined together to expel the Despecers. Edward II defeated the ambitious lords.

Queen Isabella, disgusted with her husband's passion for Hugh Despencer, left for France under the pretext of negotiating with the French King who had taken the Gascony duchy. There she became the lover of an exiled Marches lords, Roger Mortimer. Then, she and her lover took over England and killed the King and Despencers in a bloody revolution.

This was not a very popular treaty. Isabella and Mortimer, had many troubles at home and abroad, and the latter they bought there way through. They forced their subjects to pay a war indemnity and restricted English holdings to a small and weak portion of France. The treaty and the "shameful treaty of Northhampton" did not make Isabella and her lover were not that popular.

Charles IV had died without an heir. Philip of Valois took the throne and demanded homage from Edward. King Edward III, had an indirect connection to the throne. He advanced his campaign to France.

Defeated by Mortimer

He won that title in the Treaty of Northampton. A year later, he died.

The Earl thought that Edward II was still alive and tried to restore him to the throne. He was executed. This event convinced the Nobles to rally around Edward III.

He took back his throne, executed Mortimer and imprisoned his mother.

Edward made a secret alliance with Edward Balliol, who went to Scotland to take the crown. Within two months, he was driven into England.

Balliol was given the town of Berwick. Edward laid siege to Berwick (and won, obviously). However, Edward demanded that he was given the overlordship of South-Eastern Scotland. In granting Edward this large portion of Scotland, Baliol's supporters were disgusted with him. Bruce's supporters were in France, biding their time.

The English may have won Ireland, but their custom did not. IN Ulster, the line of De burghs, ended with a girl. But girls cannot attain chieftainship in Irish law, so the British law was openly discarded. Her male brethren took on the title, and British law disappeared in the outer realms of Ireland.

Everyone was ready to go to war with France, but the Counts of Flanders posed difficulties. The Flemish citizens were growing wealthier through their arful weaving, which depended on English wool. The counts, however, nursed French sympathies and placed obstructions on the English wool trade. The citizens rebelled, and looked to the England for help.

It just doesn't end. No peace treaty was signed until 1802, when France was a republic, did the English sovereign formally renounce his claim to the throne of Valois and the Bourbons.

Philip looked towards his navy, first. Edward had not neglected his, and when they met in 1340, the French navy was decidedly crushed. The british army could now invade France

The army landed unopposed in Normandy, they were to lay siege to Paris. They wer going to take over France very quickly, and the secret was well kept. The whole French monarchy was against them.

Edward III was marching through France, pursued by the larger French army. However, Edward was the better general and the French were not organized. Edward rocked it.

His loyalty to France led him to attack England. He was captured and ransomed at a price that sorely taxed Scotland.

The war had proceeded in a broken manner. The black death had crippled the British Army. But in 1355, Edward was granted a renewal of war by parliament.

The English captured the French King, John. The English got Henry II's old possession of Aquitaine, Edward I's inheritance of Ponthieu and the famous port and city of Calais. A ransom was fixed for King John, which was eight times the annual revenue of the English crown in times of peace.

THIS WAR NEVER ENDS!

The twelve year old prince was captured by the English on his way to a school in France. 18 years later, they let him go. His father was dead and he was King. He was impressed by the English monarch's power, and disciplined the Scottish Barons. They found an opportunity to kill him in 1437