Hello, my name is Mrs. Tipping and I'm really looking forward to learning with you today all about Britain's settlement by Anglo-Saxons.

What changed after the Romans left? So, shall we get started? Let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain how Mercia came to be the most powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdom by 796CE.

Before we start, I'd like to introduce you to some keywords.

We'll be using these keywords during the lesson, so it might be a good idea to write these words down.

The keywords we're using today are Northumbria, Mercia, barrier, supremacy.

I'm going to say those again and I'd like you to repeat them after me.

Northumbria, Mercia, barrier, supremacy.

Good job.

Let's think in more detail what these keywords mean.

Here are some definitions for those keywords.

Northumbria was a former Anglo-Saxon kingdom in North East England in modern-day Northumberland.

Mercia was a major Anglo-Saxon kingdom in the central part of England.

A barrier is a fence or obstacle that prevents movement or access.

Having supremacy is having more power than anyone else.

Pause the video here to make a note of the keywords, and when you're ready to continue, press play.

These are the learning cycles that we'll be working through together in today's lesson, the rise of major kingdoms, King Offa's Mercia, Offa's challenges and legacies.

In the first learning cycle, we'll explore the rise of major kingdoms. By 750CE, the map of Anglo-Saxon Britain had seen lots of changes.

Two of the kingdoms were seen as the largest, strongest, and most powerful.

Those were Mercia and Northumbria.

Can you see those on the map? These kingdoms controlled vital trade routes, had large amounts of fertile farming land, and had strong leaders.

The leaders were good at commanding their armies, winning battles, and communicating with other kingdoms. Mercia was in the middle of Britain, which gave it access to multiple trade routes and the chance to try and control the other kingdoms nearby.

Northumbria had huge amounts of land in the north of Britain, stretching from the River Humber near Hull to the Firth of Forth, which is in modern-day Scotland.

These advantages meant traders, settlers, and craftsmen would come to live in Mercia and Northumbria, making the kingdoms even stronger.

The relationships between kingdoms continued to change as friendships between them were made and broken.

Let's have a look at this statement.

Kent was one of the most powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdoms by 750CE.

Is that true or false? Hmm, have a think.

If you said false, that's correct.

Well done.

If we were going to justify our answer, which of these two sentences helps us to do that? Northumbria and Mercia were considered the most powerful kingdoms. Essex and Sussex were considered the most powerful kingdoms. Have a chat with your partner, which of these two sentences helps to justify your answer? Well done if you said Northumbria and Mercia were considered the most powerful kingdoms. We're going to move on to our first learning task for this lesson.

Do you agree with Aisha or Andeep? Explain your answer.

Aisha says, "I think Mercia was the most powerful kingdom." Andeep says, "I think Northumbria was the most powerful kingdom." Hmm.

Who do you agree with, and can you explain your answer? I'd like you to pause the video and have a discussion with your partner.

Tell them who you agree with and explain why.

When you're ready, press play to continue.

How did that go? Did you explain your reason to your partner? What did they say? Well, they could have said, I agree with Aisha, because Mercia was in the centre of Britain, so had better access to other kingdoms for trade.

Hmm, that's a good explanation.

Or, I agree with Andeep, because Northumbria had larger amounts of land which would attract more settlers.

So both Aisha and Andeep were correct if you explained your answer.

Well done for completing that learning task.

We're now ready to move on to the second part of this lesson.

We're going to look at King Offa's Mercia.

During this time, one ruler began to stand out, King Offa of Mercia, who ruled from 757 to 796CE.

Offa became known for his power.

He was not just a warrior, but a wise leader who was good at talking to other leaders.

He made great friendships with the other kingdoms through winning battles and family marriages.

He arranged the marriage of his daughter to the King of Wessex to confirm their friendship.

His own marriage to Queen Cynethryth was also very important.

Cynethryth was from Frankish territories, a region known today as part of France and Germany.

By marrying her, Offa was able to unite Mercia and the Frankish lands in friendship, showing his power over the other kingdoms. King Offa had coins made with his image on them.

Examples of these coins have been found around Britain and beyond, which shows that Mercia had very successful trade routes.

Queen Cynethryth was also shown on a coin.

She is the only queen from this time to have her image on a coin.

Take a look at those images on screen that show King Offa and Queen Cynethryth.

How fascinating to find those.

So who was Queen Cynethryth? Was she the powerful wife of King Offa and the Queen of Wessex, was she the powerful wife of King Offa and Queen of Mercia, or was she the powerful Queen of Mercia before King Offa? Hmm.

Have a think.

What do you think? Who was Queen Cynethryth? If you said the powerful wife of King Offa and Queen of Mercia, you are right.

Well done.

Why was Cynethryth an important woman for Offa to marry? Was it because she was rich, which meant Offa would get all of her money; she was a fierce fighter, which meant Offa could beat his enemies in battle; or she was Frankish, which meant that her people would be a powerful friend for Offa and Mercia? Have a discussion with your partner.

Which do you think is the right answer? Why was Cynethryth an important woman for Offa to marry? If you said she was Frankish, which meant that her people would be a powerful friend for Offa and Mercia, that's correct.

Well done.

So the growth of Mercia had begun with Ethelbald of Mercia, the king before Offa.

However, Offa was a motivated ruler, as he did not just want to lead Mercia.

He wanted to establish supremacy over the other six kingdoms and make Mercia the most important kingdom in the whole of Anglo-Saxon Britain.

By 800CE, all of the other kingdoms, except for Northumbria, were either conquered by or surrendered to Offa's kingdom, and by the end of Offa's reign, Mercia ruled over East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Sussex, and Wessex, so he'd taken over quite a lot of the other kingdoms. Let's check for our understanding, Mercia are ruled over all the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms by the end of Offa's reign.

Is that true or false? What do you think? It is, in fact, false.

Can we justify our answer? Mercia ruled over every kingdom except Northumbria.

Mercia ruled over every kingdom except Sussex.

Hmm, have a chat with your partner.

Which of these two sentences helps to justify our answer? That's right.

If you said Mercia ruled over every kingdom except Northumbria, then you've got that correct.

Well done.

We've now reached the second learning task of this lesson.

I'd like you to pause the video here to give yourself enough time to give three reasons why Offa thought he should have the title of bretwalda.

You can either talk to your partner about those three reasons, or if you'd like to, you could write them down.

Pause the video now and when you're ready to restart, press play.

How did that go? Could you give three reasons? Let's have a look at what you could have put.

You might have said, he led Mercia to supremacy over most of the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms by defeating them in battle.

He created agreements with other powerful rulers through marriages.

He started a tribute system where other kingdoms paid him for protection or to show they respected him.

Those are the three reasons why Offa thought he should have the title of bretwalda.

Well done if you managed to get those three reasons, We're now ready to move on to the third part of this lesson, Offa's challenges and legacies.

The impressive structure stretched approximately 240 kilometres wide and had a height of about eight metres in some places.

Wow! To build such a big structure, many Mercian workers would have to be involved.

They dug up earth and stacked it in a pile to create a ditch on the Welsh side and a raised bank on the Mercian side.

It served as a physical and symbolic barrier between Mercia and the Welsh kingdoms, and showed just how far Offa was willing to go to protect and mark his kingdom's boundaries.

Even today, parts of Offa's Dyke can still be seen, a lasting reminder of the power and legacy of King Offa of Mercia.

You can see here on the map, that red line shows where Offa's Dyke was constructed, and then in the photograph you can see where it's still shown today.

So there's lots of information we've been gathering so far.

Why did King Offa order Offa's Dyke to be built? Hmm, let's check our understanding.

Was it to defend his land from the Welsh tribes, was it to build a wall that would surround the whole of Mercia, or was it as a monument to his wife? Hmm, I wonder.

What do you think? If you said to defend his land from the Welsh tribes, that's absolutely right.

Well done.

We've now reached our final learning task of this lesson.

I'd like you to write one paragraph explaining why Offa's Dyke was important for Offa's legacy as a powerful Anglo-Saxon king.

I'd like you to try and include the following words in your answer: powerful, defend, and barrier.

So grab yourself some paper and a pen and then pause the video here and give yourself enough time to write that paragraph, and when you're ready to continue, restart the video.

How did that go? Shall we look at an example? So, you could have written something like this.

Offa's Dyke was important for King Offa's legacy as it showed what a powerful king he was because he could overcome challenges he faced.

It showed that he was able to defend his kingdom by creating a barrier between Mercia and the Welsh so that he was not attacked.

Well done if you wrote something similar and for completing that learning task.

Before we finish this lesson, let's summarise all that we've learnt about the rise of Mercia.

By 750CE, the kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria were the most powerful in Anglo-Saxon Britain King Offa was the most powerful king of Mercia, and, alongside his wife, Queen Cynethryth, he led his kingdom to supremacy over most of the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Due to his supremacy, Offa saw himself as bretwalda, the ruler of all of Britain.

Offa was unable to defeat the Welsh.

He built a barrier on his western borders called Offa's Dyke to protect his kingdom against them.

Thank you for joining me on today's lesson, and I really look forward to our next lesson.

See you next time.