Definitions

The Kingdom of Mercia (c. 527-879 CE) was an Anglo-Saxon political entity located in the midlands of present-day Britain and bordered on the south by the Kingdom of Wessex, on the west by Wales, north by Northumbria, and on the east by East...

Medieval European Manorialism (Manorial System) was the system where rural society was arranged around a manor house or castle on an estate. The smallest units of these estates were called manors. Free and unfree labourers here worked the...

The Kingdom of Northumbria (c. 604-954 CE) was a political entity in the north of modern-day Britain with Mercia directly to the south, the Kingdoms of the Welsh to the west, and the land of the Picts to the north; the eastern line of the...

Odo of West Francia (also known as Eudes, l. c. 856-898 CE, r. 888-898 CE) was Count of Paris and hero of the Viking Siege of Paris 885-886 CE who was shortly afterwards elected King of West Francia. He was the son of Robert The Strong (c.830-866...

The Kingdom of Wessex (c. 519-927 or c. 519-1066) was a political entity founded by the West Saxon Chieftain Cerdic (r. 519-540) in 519 in the Upper Thames Valley of modern-day Britain which would later evolve into the modern nation. The...

Vejovis (sometimes spelt Vediovis) was an obscure Roman deity. He is poorly attested in both written sources and archaeology, and his nature is debated by scholars. His name is related to Jove (Jupiter), and some authors described him as...

Feudalism was the system in 10th-13th century European medieval societies where a social hierarchy was established based on local administrative control and the distribution of land into units (fiefs). A landowner (lord) gave a fief, along...

The Magna Carta or 'Great Charter' was an agreement imposed on King John of England (r. 1199-1216) on 15 June 1215 by rebellious barons in order to limit his power and prevent arbitrary royal acts like land confiscation and unreasonable taxes...

Aethelwulf (r. 839-858) was King of Wessex, a region in modern-day Britain, son and successor to Egbert of Wessex (r. 802-839), who had unified and expanded his kingdom with Aethelwulf's assistance. Aethelwulf fought at the Battle of Ellandun...

Domesday Book was a comprehensive survey and record of all the landowners, property, tenants and serfs of medieval Norman England. It was compiled in 1086-7 under the orders of William the Conqueror (r. 1066-87). The record is unique in European...