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hey, all. after learning a bit more about the Anglo-Saxon succession, i decided to go and revise the history of *Britain in my ASB ATL. i've gotten up to the 12th century in a persisting Godwin dynasty (with Harold Godwinson's historical son Edmund being selected for the throne, followed by his younger brother Magnus and then Magnus' fictional son Aethelwulf) and, since its come to my attention that the Anglo-Saxons didn't really look outside of Britain like the Normans did, i'm at a bit of a hitch. for this, keep in mind that these changes are in effect:
late 1066 - early 1067: Harald Hardrada, William of Normandy, and Sweyn II are all repelled from invading England (only Hardrada is killed); William failed to win at Normandy against Gyrth and Leofwine Godwinson while Harold rallied more soldiers and allowed his troops to rest after Stamford Bridge, and was defeated against Pevensey very early in 1067 by Harold himself. Sweyn's two separate invasions take place in 1067 and 1072, respectively, and only the first one gains any traction (capturing York before being driven back)
over the next five years, Harold forms alliances with the remaining pockets of independence and autonomy in England to further unify the region (some of these were made by force; Godwinson was brutal even for the time)
1085: Harold dies of natural causes and is succeeded by Edmund Godwinson (appointed by the Witenagemot because its unclear who was older between the Godwinson brothers, and Gyrth and Leofwine died in 1078 and 1081, respectively); the other brother, Godwine, is compensated with the Lordship of Ireland
1093: Edmund and Godwine both die within a short time of each other, before Godwine could replace Edmund (or he died before him) and thus the new king is their younger brother Magnus, who's simply the strongest candidate (rather than being appointed as next of kin). during his reign, Magnus tries to further unify England with Ireland and Scotland
1118: Magnus dies and is succeeded by his (fictional) son Aethelwulf, who tries to further unify Wales and Scotland with England via appeasement with land grants
what i had written originally was that the Anglo-Saxons invade Wales in 1127 and conquer it by 1146 (that may be an unrealistic projection, but i think i based it on the OTL Norman conquest of Wales), had Aethelwulf build fortified castles all over England to keep power secure, and got the English involved in the Mediterranean through an alliance with the Byzantines which brought them into conflict with France. again, this is all up in the air now that i'm rewriting the timeline
does anyone have ideas for what the Anglo-Saxons would do if they remained in power rather than being conquered by the Normans? would they stay in Britain for the most part, or look outward like the Normans did IOTL?