Anglo-Saxon kingdoms over the Celtic Church throughout England However internal dissent and external defeats steadily drained Northumbrian political and military power Unrest, violence, and political coups throughout the eighth century doomed Northumbrian culture, culminating with the Viking sack of Lindisfarne in 793 Mercia began its rise under King Penda (628–654), and its political domination culminated under kings Ethelbald (716–757) and Offa (757–796) Many factors contributed to Mercia’s success It held prosperous agricultural territory in the Trent Valley The people in the east Midlands, the Middle Angles of the Fens, Lindsey, and around the Wash accepted the dynasty, as did settlers in the Severn Valley and along the borders of modern Chester, Shropshire, Herefordshire, and Gloucestershire London and East Anglia fell to Mercia as well After the death of King Ine in 725, no effective resistance to Mercia remained in Wessex Eventually it subdued Kent and threatened Canterbury This success led Ethelbald to claim he was king of all Britain The actions of Mercian rulers bolstered the concept of kingship Offa summoned papal legates, held church councils, created a new archbishopric in Lichfield, and asked the church to anoint his son Ecgfrith, all of which shows a practical desire to cooperate and benefit from relations with the church, but it also did much to strengthen his position and the theory of monarchy throughout the land Mercia retained power in the Midlands throughout the reigns of Cenwulf (796–821) and Ceowulf (821– 823), but their popularity faded in the south and southeast following the harsh tactics they used in building a defensive system within England Kent and East Anglia resented Mercian overlordship and led the way in uprisings in the early ninth century The primary beneficiary of these uprisings was the kingdom of Wessex The rise of Wessex began with King Egbert (802– 839), who defeated the Mercians in 825, winning control of Kent, Sussex, and Essex, and continued with the arrival of the Vikings The Vikings had been making raids on England since the 780s, but in the mid-ninth century their attacks changed from raids to campaigns of conquest In the 850s they stayed between campaign seasons, and by 865 thousands of Danes undertook a conquest that ended with their control over nearly all of England except Wessex ALFRED THE GREAT Alfred the Great (r 871–899) came to power just after the Danish onslaught started He was a talented king, warrior, able administrator, patron of the arts, 17 and a good political leader, but it was a desperate moment in Anglo-Saxon history Danes controlled the most fertile parts of north and east England The south held out, but it seemed only a matter of time until it too fell To buy time while he mustered his army Alfred made a truce with the Danes in 872 He then reformed his army, fortified towns, and built a navy to meet the Viking threat To control his kingdom Alfred depended upon his royal court, made up of bishops, earls, king’s reeves, and some important thanes Councils, called Witenagemots, or Witans, discussed issues such as raising military forces, building fortresses, and finances The king made the decisions, but he relied on the Witan for advice, support, and help making decisions known Ealdormen, noblemen of great status who managed the shires or districts of Wessex for the king, played especially important roles In 876, the Danish leader, Guthrum, renewed the attack on Wessex, and by winter 878 Alfred retreated to the Isle of Athelney In the spring he took the fight back to the Danes, defeating Guthrum and forcing him to promise to cease his attacks on Wessex and convert to Christianity Following this, Alfred repeatedly beat back Danish attacks and gradually regained lost territory Around 886, Alfred and Guthrum created a boundary running northwest, along an old Roman road known as Watling Street, from London to Chester that became the Anglo-Saxon–Danish border The cultural influences of the Danish side, the Danelaw, affected England for centuries The boundary also freed a large section of Mercia from Danish control, and Alfred installed a new ealdorman to control the area and married his daughter to him, uniting the kingdoms and setting the groundwork for a united England Clashes with Danes continued, but the most severe crises had passed by Alfred’s death in 899 Under his heirs, resistance to Vikings and pagan forces came to be associated with the royal house of Wessex From 899 to 1016 Alfred’s descendants held the throne They continued developing royal institutions and expanded their power base In the late 10th century new Viking attacks coupled with internal divisions among noblemen led to the overthrow of Ethelred “the Unready” (978–1016) The Witan installed a Dane as king of England Canute (1016–35) successfully managed Denmark, Norway, and Anglo-Saxon England and became a powerful political figure in Europe While Canute ruled with a Scandinavian touch, creating nobles called “earls,” most Anglo-Saxon governing institutions functioned unchanged He brought together