England: From the Fall of Rome to the Norman Conquest

 In the area of government , at a time when much of Christian - ruled Europe was absorbed with endemic local warfare , the kings of what became England managed to create a unified polity out of dozens of small , rival groupings . This unified polity was able to establish a stable political system that withstood repeated invasions .

 Political unity and stability are extremely difficult to achieve under the best of conditions , and the best of conditions were not what the Anglo - Saxons faced . They were repeatedly 

 chalenged by competition from Scandinavian raiders and settlers as wel as by their Celtic - speaking neighbors on the island of Britain .

 In 1066, the Anglo - Saxons did succumb to invasion in the end , but their cultural triumph was impressive . They managed to " convert ” the Normans who conquered them , in a sense , by causing them to adopt the English language and to take on English identity . It is a testament to centuries of consolidation that when the Normans faced a foe in 1066, it was a united one .