When Anglo-Saxon settlers first
moved into Britain in the 450s, they quickly
began to divide Britain up into numerous petty
kingdoms. 
Though London fell within the Kingdom
of the East Saxons, its importance was obviously
recognised by these newcomers and the city was
often taken under direct control of the Essex
overlords: variously Kings of Kent, Mercia or
Wessex.
The area within the old Roman walls was
left almost wholly deserted, though there may
have been an Essex Royal Palace somewhere nearby.
Soon after the arrival of Christianity in the
Saxon parts of Britain in 597, however, King
Aethelbert of Kent built the first St. Paul's
Cathedral within the Ludgate, supposedly
replacing a pagan Saxon temple. St. Augustine had been sent, by Pope Gregory I, to
establish two archiepiscopal sees in the
metropolitan centres of London and York. He
instead settled for the more accommodating people
of Canterbury and Kent as his flock and, in 604, St. Mellitus was established at St. Paul's under the
patronage of Aethelbert and his subordinate, King
Saebert of Essex. Both Kings died twelve years
later, Essex & London returned to paganism
and Mellitus was forced to flee the city.
By the 640s, a trading
settlement began to establish itself west of the
city walls in what is now the Strand and Charing
Cross. This naturally advantageous position had
the added political benefits of being on the
boundary of a number of kingdoms. Lundenwic,
as the area had become known by the 670s, grew
into a thriving emporium: 'a market for many
peoples coming by land and sea' as Bede
described it. Saxon timberwork has been
discovered reinforcing the Strand Embankment,
while wooden homes stood to the north.
Archaeological finds of pottery and millstones
from France and Germany show London's expanding
international trade, and it is probable that
foreign ships passed easily through the, by now,
ruinous London Bridge. The first coins minted in
Britain since the Romans were produced there and
stamped with the word Lonuniu.
In 675, St. Eorcenwald became
Bishop of London and solidly re-established
Christianity in the city after the rule of
several inefficient prelates. Around the same
time, the Mercian Kings from Midland Britain
became dominant over the city and may have
established the first monastery at Westminster.
They held 
councils in
Chelsea and appear to have built a Royal Palace
in the ruins of the old Roman fort and
amphitheatre. St. Alban's Church, Wood Street is
said to have been the 8th century Chapel Royal of
King Offa (of Offa's Dyke fame) and may have
earlier roots. Elsewhere in the still deserted
city, new paths began to emerge through the
dilapidated Roman buildings.
Attacks from Viking Raiders
started in earnest around Britain in the 830s and
it wasn't long before they moved on London. There
were attacks in 842 & 851. Then in 865, the
'Great Heathen Army' invaded East Anglia and
began to march across the country, raping and
pillaging as it went. The Vikings spent the
winter of 871-2 in London, presumably within the
walls. It is unclear what happened to the traders
to the west at this time. By 878 though, King Alfred the Great had become King of all the English and
forced the Viking leaders to sue for peace. Eight
years later, he re-established Lundenburg,
within the city walls, as one of a system of
defensive burghs around the country. A South-Werk
was also constructed across the river to protect
the ferry crossing. With the Roman walls repaired
and the ditch recut, Alfred handed the city over
to Ealdorman Aethelred of Mercia. The latter
established Aethelred's Hythe (Queenhythe) and
Billingsgate Market and a new street system began
to emerge. Trade prospered and Lvndonia
coins were minted in the city, but development
was slow at first. Lundenwic was abandoned,
though the name survives today as the Auld-Wych.
Upon Aethelred's death in 911,
London came under the direct control of the
English Kings. Through the 920s, the city became
the most important commercial centre in England
with eight moneyers within its streets.
Contemporary writers speak of exotic
international trade. There were markets at West
(Cheapside) & East Cheap and much industry
has been excavated in the form of decorative
metalwork and weavers' loomweights. London became
a political focus too. King Aethelstan held many
Royal Councils in London and issued laws from the
city, but the place also had its own government.
The city was divided into twenty wards with an
ealdormen in charge of each. He was a commander
in war and a judge in peace-time. London also had
its own Portreeve, a precursor of the
county sheriff, who was responsible for
collecting taxes. The Peace-Guild was established
to pursue criminals. Another body, the ancient
popular assembly, known as the Folkmoot,
traditionally met at St. Paul's Cross in the Cathedral churchyard, but may have
originally taken over the Mercian Royal Palace at
the old Roman amphitheatre. Guildhall was later
built on this site. The busy city was full of
small wooden houses. Stone was reserved for
churches. All Hallows by the Tower still retains
a Saxon arch. Other fragments survive at St.
Brides, Fleet Street & St. Nicholas Shambles.
King Aethelred the Unready favoured London as his capital and
issued the Laws of London there in 978. It was during his reign
that Viking raids returned and were soon
transformed into a purposeful campaign to overrun
Britain. The Londoners resisted the forces of King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark in 994 and numerous attacks
followed. By 1013, the Dane was besieging the
English King in London itself, and Aethelred was
forced to flee abroad. Sweyn died the following
year, but his son, Canute, continued to lead the Viking armies
and overran the city. However, an old Norse Saga
tells of Aethelred's return at the Battle of
London Bridge (its first mention in Saxon times).
The king and his ally, St. Olaf of Norway,
managed to manoeuvre their ships beneath this
river crossing and "tied ropes around the
supporting posts, and rowed downstream as hard as
they could....until....the bridge fell"
along with most of the Danish garrison. Hence
perhaps the old rhyme, "London Bridge is
falling down". King Aethelred died two
years later and was buried in St. Paul's
Cathedral. His son, Edmund Ironside, continued to try to hold back the
invaders. He defended London so well,
particularly the rebuilt bridge, that Canute's
men were forced to cut a large channel to the
south in order to get their ships close enough to
the city to land. Archaeologists have recently
discovered possible indications of the truth of
this unlikely story. Edmund escaped from London,
but later defeats forced him to share the country
with Canute. Within months though, Edmund was
dead and the Dane established himself as sole
King of England. The Danes had a large community
outside the city walls based around the church of
St. Clement Danes. Canute's son, King Harold Harefoot, was eventually buried there after his
body was exhumed from Westminster and thrown into
the Thames. The perpetrator of this macabre
event, his brother, King Hardicanute, himself died at a Wedding Feast in
Lambeth.
In 1042, Canute's step-son, King Edward the Confessor of the old Saxon line, was invited to
take up the throne of England. He restricted
Royal Councils to meeting at only a few major
centres: Gloucester, Winchester and, of course,
London. Edward was a very pious man and is best
known for re-founding the great Abbey at
Westminster, along with the adjoining palace.
This second nucleus and Royal rival to the city
was to cause political & economic tensions in
future centuries. Construction work was completed
in 1066, only weeks before Edward's death. He was
buried in his new foundation.
Edward had no clear heir, and
his cousin, Duke William of Normandy, claimed that he had been
promised the English throne, a position
supposedly confirmed by the citizens of London.
The Royal Council, however, met in the city and
elected the dead King's brother-in-law, Harold as King. He was crowned in Westminster
Abbey and William invaded England soon afterward.
London sent a large force of men to the ensuing
Battle of Hastings to fight for Harold, under
Ansgar the Staller, the Royal Standard Bearer.
They were not victorious.
Next: Norman
London
