Dark ages = 410AD – 710AD (ish)  when the ‘Anglo – Saxons’  dominated Britain. Then . . . .

From AD793, a ‘new prayer’ could be heard at ‘Matins’ (early morning and evening prayers) across England:

"Save us, Lord, from the fury of the Northmen!"

(The Northmen or ‘Vikings’ came from Scandinavia).

The Viking onslaught first started with a few bloody raids.

The first recorded raids include the sacking of the monasteries at Lindifarne, Jarrow, and Iona. A ‘Micel Here’ (Great Army) of Heathen Danes landed in East Anglia in AD865. Within nine years the Vikings had attacked and established their rule ‘Danelaw’, over the kingdoms of Northumbria and East Anglia, their former Anglo-Saxon kings having been put to the sword. The Vikings also ravaged the once mighty East Mercia, driving King Burgred overseas.

The Saxon King of Wessex (AD 871-99 the guy who ‘burnt the ‘cakes’ – Alfred the Great) recognised the opportunity to establish himself as ‘Bretwalda’ (King of Kings)!!!

 He added southeast Mercia as well as London and the Thames Valley to his territories and organised Anglo-Saxon resistance to the Viking onslaught. Between AD 912 and AD 954. Anglo-Saxon Wessex conquered Danelaw and the Viking Kingdom of York - exit one ‘Mr Eric Bloodaxe’, the last Viking king.

For the first time, the England of both ‘Vikings and Saxons’ was united as a country, under the rule of ‘Athelson’, grandson of Alfred.

The good times ended with arrival on the throne of ‘Aethelred the Unready’.

The Vikings had recognised some years earlier that whilst they enjoyed all of that looting and pillaging, just the threat of it was, in most instances, sufficient to extort money from their prey.

 This protection money, or ‘Danegeld’ as it was called, was obviously much easier to obtain from a frightened weak king than from a strong one. Aethelred must have been very frightened, as more Saxon coinage has to date, been found in ‘Scandanavia’, than has been found in England.

 The country was bled dry. Smelling weakness from the other side of the North Sea, an army of King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark conquered England in 1009.

 Anticipating that he may have upset Sweyn a little, by having Sweyn's sister killed a few year's earlier, Aethelred  fled abroad. King Sweyn, was followed by his son ‘Canute’ and subsequently his son ‘Harthcanute’  -‘The Three Danish Kings of England’!!!

 When Harthcanute died in 1042, Edward (later known as the Confessor) was chosen as King.

 Now, Edward was a Saxon - his real father was Aethelred (the Unready).Anything to do with Aethelred, was bad news for England.

 Edward's mother was from Normandy in northern France. The area had been gifted to the Nor(th)men or Vikings by the King of France, some 150 years earlier (the French King thought it ‘wiser’, to ‘give’ the Vikings a piece of land, to own and establish  for themselves,  rather than to have the Vikings plunder and do whatever ‘else’ they  felt like doing . . .).

Edward had spent much of his youth in Normandy and Norman influence was evident in his London court. Amongst many Norman visitors who to Edwards court was the ‘Duke of Normandy’ himself. It was during this visit in 1052 that Edward the Confessor is ‘said’ to have promised the Crown of England to William Duke of Normady.