Kingship In Anglo saxon Britain - Term Paper Example

The kingdoms stood alone for several centuries during which there occurred Christianization of the citizens. Before the 10th century, these kingdoms were rivals as their respective leaders wanted to gain control over other kingdoms. However, it was the threats of possible Viking as well as Danish settlers’ invasion of the island of Britain that saw the unification of the seven kingdoms into one known as England under the hegemony of Wessex between the ninth and tenth centuries. With the unification and the formation of the new kingdom, an English medieval kingship that is still in use to date came into being.

This kingship started with Alfred of Wessex and his succession line gave the English state substance2. The kingship acted as the institution, which had the maintenance of social order as its ultimate responsibility. A medieval king, one needed to adopt delicate approaches that aimed to pay attention closely to the sensibilities of the locals in order to attain success. As such, different rulers of England employed codes that have differences and similarities at the same time. These codes have gone a long way in defining the modes of leadership, the direction it takes, as well as the codes and laws of the generations of administration that followed them.

Alfred’s succession was unexpected with him having four older brothers, which meant that he was fifth in line of succession. However, with the deaths of all the older brothers, Alfred took the throne aged 21 at a time when the kingdom of Wessex was in conflict with the Danes and the Vikings as in all kingdoms in the British island at the time. However, his greatest battle was with the Danes with whom he delved into guerilla tactics and finally defeated them. He also resorted to dialogue when he realized that he could not remove the Danes from the island, with a few intermarriages occurring and even resulting in the conversion of the Danish king into