1
Story
The Celtic World Before Rome
Meet the island worlds that existed before Roman power reached Britain.
History Explorer
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Early British History
Trace the early foundations of British history through Celtic societies, Roman rule, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Viking pressure and the Norman Conquest.
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Guided Route
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New to the topic? Start with the essentials. Already know the broad story? Follow the route for the turning points, context and consequences that make each step matter.
45 min
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2
Story
The Roman Empire
Understand the imperial system that made Britain part of a wider Roman world.
3
Story
The Anglo-Saxons
Follow post-Roman kingdoms, language, law and identity after imperial withdrawal.
4
Story
The Viking Age
See how raids, settlement and North Sea power reshaped Britain and its neighbours.
5
Story
The Norman Conquest of England
Arrive at 1066, when conquest fused Anglo-Saxon, Viking, Norman and continental power.
Featured figures
Start with these figure pages to follow the people, rulers and decision-makers behind the route.
FigureBritish Iceni queen
Boudica
She turned Roman humiliation into Britain's most dangerous revolt, destroyed the colony at Camulodunum and the towns of Londinium and Verulamium, and became a lasting symbol of resistance to empire.
Figure9th-century King of Wessex
Alfred the Great
He survived a near-collapse of Wessex, defeated the Viking Great Army, reorganized defense and law, and helped lay foundations for the later kingdom of England.
FigureLast Anglo-Saxon king of the old royal line
Edward the Confessor
He reigned for twenty-three years without producing an heir, and the war over who came next transformed England more completely than anything he had done while alive.
FigureWilliam the Conqueror
William I
He turned a disputed Norman succession into the conquest of England, defeated Harold Godwinson at Hastings in 1066, and remade English landholding, government and aristocratic culture through force.
All figures in this path
A compact index for the wider cast connected to these stories.
25 figures
Boudica
British Iceni queen
d. 61
Alfred the Great
9th-century King of Wessex
849–899
Edward the Confessor
Last Anglo-Saxon king of the old royal line
1003–1066
William I
William the Conqueror
1028–1087
Brennus
Gallic chieftain
d. 390 BC
Cassivellaunus
British tribal chieftain
Vercingetorix
King of the Arverni
82 BC–46 BC
Julius Caesar
Roman general and dictator
100 BC–44 BC
