The British nation a history / by George MWrong . those assailed were prepared to meetsuch attacks. Only, indeed, when these Northmen (Normans) werethemselves supreme in England and in important parts of Franceand Italy did the attacks wholly cease.] England was long divided into a number of smallstates, sometimes at war with each other and with varyingboundaries: the traditional seven kingdoms (the Heptar-chy) were not permanent divisions. Xorthumbria, withits two sections of Bernicia and Deira, held from about 39 40 THE BRITISH NATION 600 to 735 the chief place and claimed supremacy, but was
The British nation a history / by George MWrong . those assailed were prepared to meetsuch attacks. Only, indeed, when these Northmen (Normans) werethemselves supreme in England and in important parts of Franceand Italy did the attacks wholly cease.] England was long divided into a number of smallstates, sometimes at war with each other and with varyingboundaries: the traditional seven kingdoms (the Heptar-chy) were not permanent divisions. Xorthumbria, withits two sections of Bernicia and Deira, held from about 39 40 THE BRITISH NATION 600 to 735 the chief place and claimed supremacy, but washumbled first by its neighbour Mercia and then by theattacks of a new generation of sea-rovers fromthe jiorth. Before 800 the Danes began tofind out the attractions of England and theweakness of its peo^ile, who liad almost aban-doned the sea. The invaders flat-bottomedboats were so light in draft that they took them far upthe rivers into the interior, and, upon landing, their usual The dividedcondition ofEngland andthe finalBupremacy Danish, or Vikino, J5oat. practice was to seize the available horses, so as to be ableto move rapidly and to retire quickly. At first they weremere robbers and destroyers, who burned towns and vil-lages and desolated large areas; but they were shrewdenough to see that England was a better country thantheir own, and in time they resolved to conquer and tohold it. The English were quarrelling among , King of Mercia, who died in 706, tried to reach afinal division of England into three kingdoms—Xorthum-bria in the north, Mercia in the midlands, and AVessex inthe south and west. For a time it seemed as if thisarrangement would endure, but Xorthumbria was alreadyweak, and Wessex, proving stronger tlian the others, wasable under Egbert to humble Mercia in 829, and to takethe first place. Her remoteness made her less subject tc
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