Settlers in BritainTheRomansinvadedBritain in AD43. After that, for 400 years southern Britain was part of the Roman world. The last Roman soldiers left Britain in AD 410, and then new people came in ships across the North Sea. Historians call them Anglo-Saxons. The new settlers were a mixture of people from north Germany, Denmark and northern Holland. Most were Saxons, Angles and Jutes. There were some Franks and Frisians too. If we use the modern names for the countries they came from, the Saxons, Franks and Frisians were German-Dutch, the Angles were southern Danish, and Jutes were northern Danish. Peaceful settlement?Some Anglo-Saxons came to Britain to fight, but others came peacefully, to find land to farm. The Anglo-Saxons knew Britain was a rich land. Their own lands often flooded, making it difficult to grow enough food. There was not enough land for everyone.Whole families set off across the North Sea in small boats. Each boatload of people formed asettlementwith its own leader. They brought their tools, weapons, belongings and farm animals with them to Britain. The real King ArthurAfter theRomansoldiers left in AD410, Britain no longer had a strong army to defend it. There were battles between Anglo-Saxons and Britons. In AD491, for instance, a fight for the Roman fort at Pevensey in Sussex was won by the Anglo-Saxons, who killed all the Britons in the fort.Later people told stories of British leaders who fought theinvaders. One was Ambrosius Aurelianus (a Roman name). Another was King Arthur. We do not know if there was a real Arthur. Most of the stories about him and his Knights of the Round Table come much later in history. Legend says Arthur won a great battle around AD500, but he could not stop more Anglo-Saxons coming. English and VikingsThe English often called theVikings"Danes" - though there were Swedish and Norwegian Vikings as well as Danish ones. Anglo-Saxon history tells of many Viking raids, from the time in 793 when Vikings attacked themonasteryat Lindisfarne in Northumbria and killed many of themonks.After King Alfred led the fight against them in the 870s, some Vikings settled down to live peacefully. They had their own part of eastern England called the Danelaw. English and Danelaw Vikings became neighbours, though other Vikings went onraidingfrom the sea. Battle of HastingsWhen Edward the Confessor died childless and the Witan (a national council of leading nobles and spiritual leaders) gave Harold Godwinson the throne William was so angry he invaded England. He believed Harold had promised him the throne.At the Battle of Hastings; 14th October 1066 King Harold lost. Harold was outnumbered, his troops were exhausted as they had just marched from the Battle of Stamford Bridge near York where they had defeated the King of Norway, Harald Hardrada and when the Normans pretended to run away Harold's army moved down from the safety of their hill.The Bayeux Tapestry, ordered for William by his brother, then shows King Harold being hit in the eye with an arrow and then being trampled on. Once Harold was dead, William won the battle