Tenth Century (Ethelred the Pious)

Overview
During the Tenth Century, England changed from an Anglo-Saxon country under Viking occupation into a Scandinavian country with a downtrodden Saxon minority. Much of this transformation came from the waves of immigrants from Denmark and Norway. They formed a new class of peasant freeholders, independent-minded and pagan.

Most of these immigrants settled in the Kingdom of Østangeln and in the northern parts of Jorvik, around the City of Jorvik and in the Jarldoms of Mercia. The South remained under Jorvikish rule, but clung more strongly to its Anglo-Saxon ways, partly because of the local autonomy its shires enjoyed under the Angelagen. However, its land was controlled by great lords, descendents of Vikings who received large fiefs during the conquest.

A hybrid culture developed combining the native with the Viking. The Beowulfssaga, thought to originate in Mercia, is considered a prime example of this cultural blending. The old inhabitants of the island influenced the invaders' language as well, and by the end of the century both peoples were speaking various dialects of what can be called Old Englesk.

The strength of the new English kingdoms resulted in a strong Norse presence felt in Ireland and France. Anglo-Norse raiders sailed all over the region during this time.

Jorvik and Østangeln continued their sporadic warring, several political marriages notwithstanding. Norwegian invaders took advantage of the conflict. Norwegian adventurers with lands to the west of Britain allied themselves with Jorvik and created a united kingdom of Østangeln, Man, and Dublin.

Bjørn I of Jorvik asserted his kingdom's paganism, refusing to bow to the trend toward Christianity among Scandinavian lords. Enduring paganism was to remain a hallmark of Northwest Scandinavia for some centuries.