'Map of England, Showing the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms and the Danish Districts (The Latter Shaded)', (c9th century), 1890. The Heptarchy is a collective name applied to the seven kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain in the 5th century. During the 9th century, about half of England was under Danish rule. From "Cassell's Illustrated Universal History, Vol. III - The Middle Ages", by Edmund Ollier. [Cassell and Company, Limited, London, Paris and Melbourne, 1890. ]