650 - 849 AD
Saxon England: Viking raiders . . .
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Northumbria - Mercia rivalry . . . Northumbria dominates southern Scotland by ~ 655 . . . Mercia claims overall Anglo-Saxon leadership by ~679 . . . Wessex kingdom ~737 . . . all these islands effectively Christian (Roman) by this time . . . Offa (Mercia) 758 to 796 . . . Offa's dyke (~780's) . . . Wessex influence grows early 9th century . . . Mercia & Northumbria submit to Wessex leadership by ~829 . . . then come the Vikings . . . Picts & Scots united (844) in face of attacks by Vikings . . . population overall much of this period probably falling, though difficult to know why . . . possibly linked to suspected downturn in climate (see below) . . .
From mid-7th century onwards, probably colder than now, particularly in winter * a 'wet' period too, with farms abandoned in upland areas * snowfall perhaps more prevalent than the period either before or after * North Sea & NE Atlantic may also have been stormier for a time * some bitterly cold winters 8th century.				Weather Log
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