god....freyjones
Banned
Hi,
It's a no brainer that English victory in the Battle of Edington enabled Alfred, his son and grandson to establish Anglo-Saxon dominion in southern Britain and create England.
However, if the English had lost the Battle of Edington, and Alfred the Great was either killed by the Danes or exiled, what would have happened?
Imho:
- There would be no England was we know it today, though I doubt the Danes would eradicate all Anglo-Saxon culture. Most likely the Danes may have formed an "England" or united Danish state in what is now England, with a hybrid of Danish and Saxon culture. Guthrum or whoever ruled York would have to watch constantly for Saxon overthrowing, especially since they were more numerous in the kingdom.
- If the Danes could have defeated the Saxons, then they'd see little reason not to attack the Cornish, Welsh, or Scots. Viking, albeit from Norway, had already settled in Scotland at that time, so "English" Danes had natural kin/allies.
- English today as a language would be far more similar to the other Germanic languages than it is today.
- There would be no Norman Conquest, as we know it. However, as William I and his ancestors were essentially Viking, then perhaps an alliance/union would be forged.
- Had the Danes succeeded in conquering Wales, Cornwall, and Scotland or perhaps even Ireland, this could have led to another eventual "United Kingdom" being forged, though with a Danish culture dominant. There also may not be a Hundred Years War, Magna Carta, nor any other major event directly centred on the Norman Conquest.
- As for how an "England" or "UK" would feature today in 2015, well the label England wouldn't exist, and culturally "England/the UK" would be more akin to Denmark, Norway and Sweden than it is currently. It's possible though that once the Viking age ended, there would have been further divergence between them, or even the Saxons (perhaps even allied with the Celtic peoples in Wales, Scotland, Cornwall, etc.) overthrew the Danish elites and reinforced English/Celtic norms and customs.
- Whether there still would have been a British Empire, well this is difficult to say, though if the same scenarios that led to the fall of Rome (.i.e. 1453) still occurred then it's possible. An "English" monarch, just as Elizabeth I did in rel life, may look at Spain/Portugal and think "me too!" and raid Spanish ships and settle colonies.
This is tl;dr, granted, but then just some thoughts I had.
It's a no brainer that English victory in the Battle of Edington enabled Alfred, his son and grandson to establish Anglo-Saxon dominion in southern Britain and create England.
However, if the English had lost the Battle of Edington, and Alfred the Great was either killed by the Danes or exiled, what would have happened?
Imho:
- There would be no England was we know it today, though I doubt the Danes would eradicate all Anglo-Saxon culture. Most likely the Danes may have formed an "England" or united Danish state in what is now England, with a hybrid of Danish and Saxon culture. Guthrum or whoever ruled York would have to watch constantly for Saxon overthrowing, especially since they were more numerous in the kingdom.
- If the Danes could have defeated the Saxons, then they'd see little reason not to attack the Cornish, Welsh, or Scots. Viking, albeit from Norway, had already settled in Scotland at that time, so "English" Danes had natural kin/allies.
- English today as a language would be far more similar to the other Germanic languages than it is today.
- There would be no Norman Conquest, as we know it. However, as William I and his ancestors were essentially Viking, then perhaps an alliance/union would be forged.
- Had the Danes succeeded in conquering Wales, Cornwall, and Scotland or perhaps even Ireland, this could have led to another eventual "United Kingdom" being forged, though with a Danish culture dominant. There also may not be a Hundred Years War, Magna Carta, nor any other major event directly centred on the Norman Conquest.
- As for how an "England" or "UK" would feature today in 2015, well the label England wouldn't exist, and culturally "England/the UK" would be more akin to Denmark, Norway and Sweden than it is currently. It's possible though that once the Viking age ended, there would have been further divergence between them, or even the Saxons (perhaps even allied with the Celtic peoples in Wales, Scotland, Cornwall, etc.) overthrew the Danish elites and reinforced English/Celtic norms and customs.
- Whether there still would have been a British Empire, well this is difficult to say, though if the same scenarios that led to the fall of Rome (.i.e. 1453) still occurred then it's possible. An "English" monarch, just as Elizabeth I did in rel life, may look at Spain/Portugal and think "me too!" and raid Spanish ships and settle colonies.
This is tl;dr, granted, but then just some thoughts I had.