I will critique them and return them to you. C. Warren Hollister writes that with the reign of King Alfred, we can begin to trace the history of the English monarchy.
History is full of false-starts, blind alleys, flashes in the pan and other ephemeral trends.
History is incredibly messy, much like the web of the Black Widow spider. And with the same result for the unwary. Consider for a moment all that had happened during the 1000 years before Alfred's reign. First came various Celtic tribes and their settlements. It is unlikely that they spoke the same language, practiced the same religions, or were free from constant warring with one another.