Early Britain: Romans, Anglo-Saxons & Vikings

Last reviewed 25 August 2026 · Reviewed by the BritainTest editorial team

This is the story of Britain before the Norman Conquest of 1066. It runs from the ancient peoples who built Stonehenge, through Roman Britain, to the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings. The test likes the order these peoples came in, and a few standout facts like Hadrian's Wall and King Alfred the Great. These notes are part of our history study guide.

Key facts

Ancient Britain

The first people in Britain were hunter-gatherers. The first farmers arrived about 6,000 years ago and built great monuments: Stonehenge in Wiltshire and Skara Brae, a Stone Age village in Orkney, both date from this time. In the Bronze Age, people lived in roundhouses, buried their dead in round barrows, and became skilled metalworkers. In the Iron Age, the Celts lived across Britain, built hill forts, made tools and weapons from iron, and minted the first coins.

The Romans (43 AD to about 410)

Julius Caesar tried to invade in 55 BC but did not succeed. The Romans invaded successfully in 43 AD, under Emperor Claudius, and ruled for around 400 years. Boudicca, queen of the Iceni, led a famous rebellion against them. The Romans built roads, towns and public baths, and constructed Hadrian's Wall in the north to keep out the Picts. They never conquered what is now Scotland. As their empire weakened, the Romans left Britain in about 410 AD.

The Anglo-Saxons (from about 410)

After the Romans left, the Anglo-Saxons came from northern Europe and settled in much of England. By around 600 AD they had formed several separate kingdoms. The English language has its roots in their languages. Christianity spread during this time: St Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury and spread the faith in the south, while St Columba spread it in the north from the island of Iona. The ship burial at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk is a famous Anglo-Saxon site.

The Vikings (from 789)

The first Vikings came from Denmark and Norway and raided Britain from 789. They later settled, especially in the north and east of England, in an area known as the Danelaw: place names like Grimsby and Scunthorpe come from their languages. King Alfred the Great, an Anglo-Saxon king of Wessex, defeated the Vikings and is remembered for defending his kingdom. In the north, the threat of Viking attack pushed the peoples of Scotland to unite under one king, Kenneth MacAlpin. England was even briefly ruled by Danish kings, the best known being Cnut (Canute). This period ends with the Norman Conquest in 1066.

Who ruled when

What to remember for the test

• The order: ancient Britons, then Romans, then Anglo-Saxons, then Vikings.
• 43 AD is the Roman invasion; they left around 410.
• Hadrian's Wall was built by the Romans to keep out the Picts, and the Romans never conquered Scotland.
• The English language comes from the Anglo-Saxons.
• St Augustine (south) and St Columba (north) spread Christianity.
• King Alfred the Great defeated the Vikings, who settled in the Danelaw.

For where these dates sit among all the others, see our UK history timeline.

Practise this topic

Test yourself on early Britain in the real format, then reread anything you miss. Next in the story is the Norman Conquest and the Middle Ages.

who came first romans or vikings?

Yes, the Romans came first, and by a long way. The Romans invaded successfully in 43 AD under Emperor Claudius and ruled for around 400 years. The first Viking raids this page records came in 789, well after the Romans had left Britain in about 410. The order to remember runs: ancient Britons, then Romans, then Anglo-Saxons, then Vikings.

That ordering is the single fact this question really needs. Every other date in this chapter hangs off it, so if you remember one thing, make it that sequence.

Did the Vikings and Romans Ever Fight?

No. The Romans and Vikings never fought in Britain, because their eras never overlapped. The Romans invaded in 43 AD and ruled for around 400 years; as their empire weakened, the Romans left Britain in about 410. Viking raids began in 789, centuries later.

The Romans still left a deep mark on the island the Vikings would later raid. Boudicca, queen of the Iceni, led a famous rebellion against them. The Romans built roads, towns and public baths, and constructed Hadrian's Wall in the north to keep out the Picts. They never conquered what is now Scotland.

What was England like before the arrival of the Vikings?

Before the Vikings arrived, England was Anglo-Saxon. After the Romans left, the Anglo-Saxons came from northern Europe and settled in much of England. The island's story stretches back much further, though: the first people in Britain were hunter-gatherers, and Stonehenge in Wiltshire and Skara Brae, a stone age village in Orkney, both date from this earlier time.

By the Iron Age, the Celts lived across Britain. They built hill forts, made tools and weapons from iron, and minted the first coins. That was the Britain the Romans found, and the one the Anglo-Saxons later reshaped into England.

When did the raids start?

Viking raids on Britain started in 789. The raids grew into settlement under the Danelaw, and King Alfred resisted them. This whole era belongs to the story of Britain before the Norman conquest of 1066, which is where this chapter ends.

The period also shaped what came next: the English language and the spread of Christianity are both part of this story, and both outlasted the raiders themselves.

When was England created?

England was created in the early medieval period, around the turn of the 10th Century, about 500 years after the Romans and before the Norman invasion, as Bakewell Town Council's history of the period explains. At the time, what we now consider England was split into the various ancient kingdoms including Wessex, Essex, Mercia, and Northumbria.

The unification had a driving figure. The son of Alfred the Great, Edward the Elder, as King of Wessex, set about uniting the southern kingdoms, or more accurately taking them back from the Danes, and in doing this Edward the Elder established himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons. Some 12 years or so later, a northern alliance that included the king of the Scots and Strathclyde mounted a last-ditch attempt to de-throne Edward's son, Athelstan, at the Battle of Brunanburgh.