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Anglo-Saxon

Inside the fort was a famous spring, St Helen’s Well, today Robin Hood’s Well. (© Bill Henderson)

Brunanburh: Where did the battle that saved England take place?

A scene from the Bayeux Tapestry depicting the death of King Harold II during the battle of Hastings in 1066. (Photo by Getty Images)

Where did the battle of Hastings actually take place? 8 facts about the 1066 battle

The Crown of Thorns allegedly worn by Christ during the Passion. It was one of the prized possessions in Notre-Dame Cathedral until April 2019 – when it was rescued by the inferno that gutted the building. (Photo by: Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Father, son and holy goat? The dark side of medieval relics

War criminal? William the Conqueror shown on horseback in the Bayeux Tapestry. The king's Harrying of the North was a military success but a human catastrophe – one that even appalled chroniclers traditionally sympathetic to the Norman regime. (Photo by Bridgeman)

Was William the Conqueror a war criminal? The brutal story of the Harrying of the North

Giant of literature: A page from the 'Beowulf' manuscript. The story is fictional but some of the characters within it were real people, and others were believed to be the ancestors of Anglo-Saxon and Danish kings. (Photo by Alamy)

Beowulf: The Anglo-Saxons’ action hero

Tyburn, just north of Marble Arch, served as the capital's hanging spot for centuries. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

An A-Z guide to the history of executions

Stained glass in Exeter Cathedral depicting King Æthelstan. (Dreamstime)

The astonishing Æthelstan

Statue of Lady Godiva

Q&A Did Lady Godiva ride naked in Coventry?

High heaven: Lindisfarne Castle rises above the beach. It's a steep climb to the castle entrance. (Photo by Alamy)

History Explorer The Holy Island of Lindisfarne

A selection of treasure from the Staffordshire Hoard.

A closer look at the Staffordshire Hoard

The Repton Stone with detail of mounted warrior.

The problem with the Anglo-Saxons

The ninth-century Alfred Jewel, adorned with the inscription: "Alfred ordered me to be made". This masterpiece of Anglo-Saxon art is thought to have been an aestel, a pointer used to follow text. (Picture by Alamy)

10 ways the Anglo-Saxons changed the course of British history

Ivinghoe Brecon. (Image by Alamy)

The landscape of England

The west Cornish tomb Lanyon Quoit, which dates to the Neolithic period (3500–2500 BC). The Anglo-Saxons believed that ancient burial sites were cursed – and guarded by dragons. (Image by Dreamstime)

Giants, dragons and Middle Earth: the Anglo-Saxon fear of the past

Illustration depicting Æthelflæd fighting the Welsh c.916

Æthelflæd: the Lady of the Mercians