he was a very powerful king at that time. The Vikings now largeraly pulled the Western sea bord of Europe including Normandy, which still bears their name as call of the Northern, so Normandy means the call (coal) of the Northmen. Cnut ruled all these dominants from England where he largely followed by the visible (peaceable) -?? practice of the local kings of Wessex, although he introduced a number of Danes in aristocracy and devided the kingdom into a small number of counties or at that time they were called "earldoms". The earldem of Wessex was given to Godwin, an English protegy of Cnut who married a Danish princess and gave Danish names to four of his 6th sons, including Harold. And Anglo-Viking aristocracy was being created at that time and England started to look increasingly overseas to the land of her Scandinavian conquerers.
The End of the Anglo-Saxon England
So Cnut died in the year 1035 and there were several possible successors. The Wessex dinasty was represented by Ethelred's younger sons Edward and Elthred. Cnut in his turn had 2 sons by two different wives, and they were Harold and Halferchant. Cnut had wanted Halferhat to succeede to his own Empire and his Empire included: Scandinavia (Denmark, Sweden, Norway), Normandie and all England. So, but while Hatherchart delayed in Denmark, the Witan appointed Harold as (a) regent and in 1037 the Witan made Harold king. He didn't live long and when he died, in 1040, Hatherchat as the second son was recalled, but he died 2 years later. Very violent times there were ...
Ethelred's son Edward had been living for a year at the English court and in 1042 he was made (probably elected) king. And he is known under very prominent name Edward the Confessor. He lived quite long (1042-1066). So Edward the Confessor inherited the strongest government in the 11th century Europe. Edward had a clerical staff of priests, headed by a chief clerk whose office developed into that of the medieval C (h) ouncellor and then later it was formed into Parliament and now into the Privy Council, it existed up to the year 1970 (members: the King, the Queen). One of their duties was to keep records. From the late Anglo-Saxon period comes evidence of very detailed surveys recording land Tenna-?? and tax obligations.
The government changed greatly and so did the English society. The mid 9th to mid 11th century saw rapid growth in the population and economy, not surprisingly more people meant bigger counts. By the conquest there were English towns in a sence that we understand the towns today (large concentration of people, markets and tradesmen, groups of craftsmen in specialised quarters, numerous churches and the most prominent figure of a modern town is extending suburbs). The country-side was also changing, though it's hard to trace the changes clearly. Scattered farms developed, however, into smaller villages. Agriculture was becoming more complicated and more complex. By the year 1066 many parts of England had common fields (was farmed by peasants and the results of the farming was devided among them; also they paid tax from the common field). Peasant society was becoming more satisfied and pleased and lots were making greater demands on their tenna.
Edward's reign although brief, though many historians consider it's a long one, of course, you've put them///twidders of somebody's reign, so but still it was brief one, if we compare it to Victoria's reign, it was very prosperous for Britain. But it was overshadowed by a great problem (the problem of succesion). When Edward died, and he died childless, and the year was 1066, the Witan elected as their king Harold Godwinson, he was earl of Wessex, who claimed that Edward had made his death-bed promise of throne. King Harold came to the throne facing another problem. Duke William of Normandy, the head of a warlike [spelling-??] people had a claim to the English succession on the very same grounds, that he was the late king Edward the Confessor's second cousin. However, he allerged [стверджував] that, when visiting Edward in 1051, the old king had solemnly promised the throne to him. So he had 2 reasons to become a king of England: 1) he was his second cousin and another that king Edward had promised him the throne. And with a strong army (it was another good reason) he assembled on the northern side of the English Channel and he was out to get in.
To any invasion by William Harold concentrated his forces among the south coast. Meanwhile Duke William's fleet, which had been delayed by very unpleasant weather, landed at Evancy on 28st of September. Harold didn't expect that and he rushed southwards. But the preparations, which he had made two months earlier (so he had waited for 2 months for the Duke to come), had fallen apart. The reason is very clear: the soldiers were tired, there...
