Journey into the past and explore a thousand years of English history in this exciting free online history course.

Understanding the past is essential if you hope to interpret the present and even predict the future. This history course provides a comprehensive overview of England’s past. Our first section delves into two crucial eras: the Age of Legends and the reign of the Norman kings. The Age of Legends is a mythical period in English history that includes stories like those of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. We cover other Anglo-Saxon monarchs up to Edward the Confessor, who was known for his piety and devotion to Christianity. The course then discusses the arrival of William the Conqueror and his Plantagenet successors.

We then move on to the Age of the Crusades, a period of religious wars in the Middle East between Christians and Muslims, and explain how the conflict affected trade and politics in England. We explore the French Wars, also called the ‘Hundred Years' War’, fought between England and France in the 14th and 15 centuries. The course examines the War of the Usurpers, also known as the ‘War of the Roses’, which was fought between two factions of the English royal family. Finally, we cover the Age of the Puritans, which saw religious reform and strict moral codes upheld in England during the late 16th and 17th centuries.

This course is ideal for students studying history, politics or international relations but also suits anyone who wants to learn about England's history and the political, social and cultural developments that define it. We provide a better understanding of the major events and figures that shaped England's past and present. This history course covers about a thousand years of England’s past so sign up to enrich your knowledge with intriguing stories and a solid grasp on broad historical developments.