'Anglo-Saxon' is a collective term usually used to describe the culturally and linguistically similar peoples living in the south and east of the island of
Great Britain (modern Great Britain/United Kingdom) from around the mid-
5th century AD to the
Norman conquest of
1066. They spoke
Germanic dialects, and they are identified by
Bede as the descendants of three powerful tribes,
Angles,
Saxons, and
Jutes.
Place names seem to show that smaller numbers of some other German peoples came over:
Frisians at
Fresham,
Freston, and
Friston;
Flemings at
Flempton and
Flimby;
Swabians at
Swaffham; perhaps
Franconians (or Frenchmen) at
Frankton and
Frankley.
It was perhaps under
Offa of Mercia (reigned 757–796), or under
Alfred the Great (reigned 871–899) and his successors, that the several kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxons existed. Under the reign of
Athelstan (reigned AD 924–937) the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom took shape into
England.
Etymology
The term "Anglo-Saxon" is from
Latin writings going back to the time of King
Alfred the Great, who seems to have frequently used the title ''rex Anglorum Saxonum'' or ''rex Angul-Saxonum''.
The Old English terms ''ænglisc'' and ''Angelcynn'' ("Angle-kin", ''gens Anglorum'') when they are first attested had already lost their original sense of referring to the Angles to the exclusion of the Saxons, and in their earliest recorded sense is refer collectively to the Teutonic peoples who settled Britain from the 5th century.
Bede, writing in the early 8th century in his ''
Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum'', (I.15) suggests that:
★ the people of the more northern kingdoms (
East Anglia,
Mercia,
Northumbria) belonged to the Germanic '
Angles', who derive their name from the peninsula of
Angeln in
Schleswig-Holstein (
Germany).
★ those of
Essex,
Sussex and
Wessex were sprung from the Germanic '
Saxons', who came from the region of
Old Saxony.
★ those of
Kent and southern
Hampshire were from the tribe of the
Jutes.
Other early writers do not bear out consistent distinctions, though in custom the
Kingdom of Kent presents the most remarkable contrasts with the other kingdoms. West Saxon writers regularly speak of their own
nation as a part of the ''Angelcyn'' and of their language as ''Englisc'', while the West Saxon royal family claimed to be of the same stock as that of
Bernicia in the north. On the other hand, it is by no means impossible that the distinction drawn by Bede was based solely on names such as Essex (East Saxons) and East Anglia (East Angles). That Bede could envisage one English people (''gentis Anglorum'' and ''Anglorum populi'') at least demonstrates that the Anglo-Saxons could be thought of in such terms in the 8th century.
The term ''Angli Saxones'' seems to have first been used in continental writing nearly a century before Alfred's time by
Paul the Deacon, historian of the
Lombards. There can be little doubt, however, that in this case it was used to distinguish the ''English Saxons'' from the ''continental
Saxons''.
Anglo-Saxon history
Main articles: History of Anglo-Saxon England
The history of Anglo-Saxon England broadly covers early medieval
England from the end of
Roman Britain and the establishment of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the
5th century until the
Conquest by the
Normans in
1066.
Origins (AD 400–600)
Main articles: Anglo-Saxon migration
Migration of
Germanic peoples to Britain from what is now northern Germany and southern Scandinavia is attested from the 5th century (e.g.
Undley bracteate). Based on
Bede's ''
Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum'', the intruding population is traditionally divided into
Angles,
Saxons, and
Jutes, but their composition was likely less clear-cut, and may also have included
Frisians and
Franks.
The Parker Library holds the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle which show contain text which gives possible first recorded indications of the movement of these
Germanic Tribes to Britain. The Angles Saxons and Jutes were noted to be a
confederation in the Greek
Geographia written by
Ptolemyin around 150 AD. In the entry for AD 449 the Anglo-Saxon chronicals record that:
AD 449. Here Mauricius and Valentinian succeeded to the kingdom and ruled 7 years. And in their days
Hengist and
Horsa, invited by
Vortigern, king of the Britons, sought out Britain in the landing-place which is named Ebba's Creek, at first to help the Britons, but later they fought against them. The king ordered them to fight against the Picts, and they did so and had victory whosesoever they came. They then sent to
Angeln and ordered them to send more help, and tell them of the worthlessness of the Britons and of the excellence of the land. They then sent them more help. These men came from three tribes of Germany: from the Old Saxons, from the Angles, from the Jutes came the Cantware and the Wihtware – that is the tribe which now lives on White – and that race in Wessex which they still call the race of the Jutes.
AD 455. Here Hengist and Horsa fought against Vortigern the king in the place which is called Aylesford, and his brother Horsa was killed. And after that Hengist, and Æsc his son, succeeded to the kingdom.
AD 457. Here Hengist and Æsc fought against the Britons in the place which is called Crayford, and there killed 4,000 men; and the Britons then abandoned the land of Kent and in great terror fled to the stronghold of London.
AD 465. Here Hengist and Æsc fought against the Welsh near Wipped’s Creek, and there killed 12 Welsh (Romano-Brythonic,) chieftains; and one of their Thegns, whose name was Wipped, was killed there.
AD 473. Here Hengist and Æsc fought against the Welsh and seized countless war-loot and the Welsh fled from the Englisc like fire.
AD 477. Here Ælle (
Ælle of Sussex) and his 3 sons, Cymen and Wlencing and Cissa, came to the land of the Britain with 3 ships at the place which is named Cymen’s shore, and there killed many Welsh and drove some to flight into the wood which is named The Weald.
AD 485. Here Ælle fought against the Welsh near the margin of Mearcred’s Burn.
AD 488. Here Æsc succeeded to the kingdom, and was king of the inhabitants of Kent 24 years.
AD 491. Here Ælle and Cissa besieged Anderitum, and killed all who lived in there; there was not even one Briton left alive there.
AD 495. Here two chieftons; Cerdic and Cynric his son, came to Britain with 5 ships at a place which is called Cerdic’s Shore and the same day fought against the 'Welsh' (the
Brythons.)
There is much debate on the extent of the Anglo-Saxon migration to Britain, see the main article for this debate.
Main articles: Anglo-Saxon migration
Heptarchy (AD 600–800)
The main Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms circa A.D. 600
of Anglo-Saxon Kingdom began around AD
600, and was essentially complete in the mid 8th century. Throughout the 7th and 8th century power fluctuated between the larger kingdoms. Bede records
Aethelbert of Kent as being dominant at the close of the 6th century, but power seems to have shifted northwards to the kingdom of Northumbria. The so-called 'Mercian Supremacy' dominated the 8th century, though again it was not constant. Aethelbald and
Offa, the two most powerful kings, achieved high status. This period has been described as the
Heptarchy, though this term has now fallen out of academic use. The word arose on the basis that the seven kingdoms of
Northumbria,
Mercia,
Kent,
East Anglia,
Essex,
Sussex and
Wessex were the main polities of south Britain. More recent scholarship has shown that a number of other kingdoms were politically important across this period:
Hwicce,
Magonsaete,
Lindsey and Middle Anglia.
Viking Age (AD 800–1066)
Main articles: Viking Age,
Danelaw
In the 9th century, the
Viking challenge grew to serious proportions.
Alfred the Great's victory at
Edington in 878 brought intermittent peace, but the Norsemen with the foundation of
Jorvik gained a permanent foothold in Britain.
An important development of the 9th century was the rise of the Kingdom of
Wessex, and
Alfred by the end of his reign (899) was recognized as overlord by several southern kingdoms.
Æthelstan was the first king to achieve direct rulership of what we would now consider 'England'.
The end of the
10th century saw renewed Scandinavian interest in England, with the conquests of
Sweyn of Denmark and his son
Canute. After various fluctuations, by
1066, there where several people with a claim to the English throne, resulting in two invasions and the battles of
Stamford Bridge and
Hastings, giving rise to the High Medieval
Anglo-Norman rule of Britain.
Anglo-Saxon culture
Anglo-Saxon architecture
Main articles: Anglo-Saxon architecture
Anglo-Saxon architecture describes a period in the
history of architecture in England, and parts of
Wales, from the mid-
5th century until the
Norman Conquest of 1066.
Early Anglo-Saxon buildings in Britain were generally simple, constructed mainly using timber with thatch for roofing. Generally preferring not to settle in the old Roman cities, the Anglo-Saxons built small towns near their centres of agriculture. In each town, a main hall was in the centre, and other forms of building of the townspeople.
There are few remains of
Anglo-Saxon architecture, with no secular work remaining above ground. At least fifty churches are of Anglo-Saxon origin, with many more claiming to be, although in some cases the Anglo-Saxon part is small and much-altered. All surviving churches, except one timber church, are built of stone or brick, and in some cases show evidence of re-used
Roman work.
The architectural character of Anglo-Saxon ecclesiastical buildings range from
Coptic influenced architecture in the early period;
basilica influenced
Romanesque architecture; and in the later Anglo-Saxon period, an architecture characterised by pilaster-strips, blank arcading, baluster shafts and triangular headed openings.
Anglo-Saxon art
Main articles: Anglo-Saxon art
Anglo-Saxon art covers the period from the time of
King Alfred (871–899), with the revival of English culture after the end of the Viking raids, to the early 12th century, when
Romanesque art became the new movement. Prior Alfred there had been the
Hiberno-Saxon culture (the fusion of Anglo-Saxon and Celtic techniques and motifs) which had ceased with the Vikings.
Anglo-Saxon art is mainly known today through
illuminated manuscripts. It includes the
Benedictional of St. Æthelwold manuscript, which drew on
Hiberno-Saxon art,
Carolingian art and
Byzantine art for style and
iconography. A "Winchester style" developed that combined both northern ornamental traditions with Mediterranean figural traditions, and can be seen in the Leofric Missal (Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Bodl, 579). The Harley Psalter was a knockoff of the Carolingian Utrecht Psalter —all of which underscore the larger trend of an Anglo-Saxon culture coming into increasing contact with, and under the influence of, a wider Latin Mediæval Europe.
Manuscripts were not the only Anglo-Saxon art form, although they are the most well known to have survived. Perhaps the best known piece of Anglo-Saxon art is the
Bayeux Tapestry which was commissioned by a Norman patron from English artists working in the traditional Anglo-Saxon style. The most common example of Anglo-Saxon art is coins, with thousands of examples extant and more being found every year. Anglo-Saxon artists also worked in
fresco,
ivory, stone carving,
metalwork (see
Fuller brooch for example) and
enamel, but few of these pieces have survived.
Anglo-Saxon language
Main articles: Old English language
Anglo-Saxon, also called Old English, was the language spoken under
Alfred the Great and continued to be the common language of
England (non-
Danelaw) until after the
Norman Conquest of 1066 when, under the influence of the
Anglo-Norman language spoken by the
Norman ruling class, it changed into
Middle English roughly between 1150–1500.
Anglo-Saxon is far closer to early
Germanic than Middle English. It is less latinized and retains many morphological features (nominal and verbal inflection) that were lost during the
12th to
14th centuries. The language today which is closest to
Old English is
Frisian, which is spoken by a few hundred thousand people in the northern part of the Netherlands and Germany.
Before literacy in the vernacular "Old English" or Latin became widespread, the
Runic alphabet, called the ''futhorc'' (also known as ''futhark'') was used for inscriptions. When literacy became more prevalent, a form of Latin script was used with a few letters derived from the futhork: '
Eth,' '
Wynn,' and '
Thorn.'
The letters regularly used in printed and edited texts of Old English are the following:
★ ''a æ b c d ð e f g h i l m n o p r s t þ u w x y''
with only rare occurrences of ''j'', ''k'', ''q'', ''v'', and ''z''.
Anglo-Saxon law
Main articles: Anglo-Saxon laws
Very few law codes exist from the Anglo-Saxon period, giving us an insight into legal culture beyond the influence of
Roman law. How this legal culture developed over the course of the
Anglo-Saxon period is not important for the understanding of contemporary developments, except how law developed following the
Norman Conquest.
Anglo-Saxon literature
Main articles: Anglo-Saxon literature
Anglo-Saxon literature (or Old English literature) encompasses
literature written in Old English during the 600-year
Anglo-Saxon period of
Britain, from the mid-
5th century to the
Norman Conquest of 1066. These works include genres such as
epic poetry,
hagiography,
sermons,
Bible translations, legal works,
chronicles, riddles, and others. In all there are about 400 surviving
manuscripts from the period, a significant corpus of both popular interest and specialist research.
The most famous works from this period include the poem ''
Beowulf'', which has achieved
national epic status in Britain. The ''
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of important early English history. ''
Cædmon's Hymn'' from the 7th century is the oldest surviving written text in English.
Anglo-Saxon religion
Main articles: Anglo-Saxon polytheism
The indigenous pre-Christian
belief system of the Anglo-Saxons was a form of
Germanic paganism and therefore closely related to the
Old Norse religion, as well as other Germanic pre-Christian cultures.
Christianity (particularly the
Roman) gradually replaced the indigenous religion of the Saxons in England around the 8th and 9th centuries AD. Christianity was introduced into Northumbria and Mercia by monks from Ireland, but the the
Synod of Whitby settled the choice for Roman Christianity. As the new clerics became the chroniclers, the old religion was partially lost before it was recorded and today historians' knowledge of it is largely based on surviving customs and lore, texts, etymological links and archaeological finds.
One of the few recorded references is that a Kentish King would only meet the missionary
St. Augustine in the open air, where he would be under the protection of the sky god, Woden. Written Christian prohibitions on acts of paganism are one of historians' main sources of information on pre-Christian beliefs.
Despite these prohibitions, numerous elements of the pre-Christian culture of the Anglo-Saxon people survived the Christianisation process. Examples include the English language names for days of the week:
★
Tiw, the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of Tyr: Tuesday
★
Woden, the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of
Odin: Wednesday
★
Þunor, the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of Thor: Thursday
★
Fréo, the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of
Freyja: Friday
Contemporary meanings
"Anglo-Saxon" is still used as a term for the original
West Germanic component of the
English language, which was later expanded and developed through the influence of the concept of
Old Norse and
Norman French, though linguists now more often refer to it as
Old English. In the 19th century the term "Anglo-Saxon" was broadly used in
philology, and it is still, to some degree, used this way nowadays.
For other uses, see
Anglo-Saxon.
In popular usage in
Canada and the
United States, the term "Anglo-Saxon" (as in "White Anglo-Saxon Protestant" or "
WASP") has evolved into a politicised term with little connection to its academic definition. Until about 1960 the term of European origin who fits a certain socio-economic and/or ethnic profile.
For over a hundred years, the French have used "Anglo-Saxon" to refer to the
Anglophone societies of Britain and the United States, and sometimes (rarely) including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. It is a wide-ranging term, taking in the English-speaking world's language, culture, technology, wealth, influence, markets and economy.
See also
★
Angles
★
Anglophile
★
English people
★
Jutes
★
Saxons
★
States in Medieval Britain
★
Timeline of the Anglo-Saxon invasion & takeover of Britain
Notes
References
★ Oppenheimer, Stephen. ''The Origins of the British'' (2006). Constable and Robinson, London. ISBN 1-84529-158-1
Further reading
A good collection of the source material can be found in
★ D. Whitelock, ''English Historical Documents c.500–1042'', (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1955)
For early contemporary understandings of what it meant to be 'Anglo-Saxon' or 'English' see
★ Bede, ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'', trans. L. Sherly-Price, (London: Penguin, 1990)
For modern interpretations overviews can be found in
★ F.M. Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', 3rd edition, (Oxford: University Press, 1971)
★ J. Campbell et al, ''The Anglo-Saxons'', (London: Penguin, 1991)
★ E. James, ''Britain in the First Millennium'', (London: Arnold, 2001)
For an introduction to aspects of Anglo-Saxon culture, see the articles in
★ M. Lapidge et al, ''The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England'', (Oxford: Blackwell, 1999)
★ For a full reading list, see Simon Keynes' bibliography
[1]
External links
★
Fides Angliarum Regum: the faith of the English kings
★
Anglo-Saxon Origins: The Reality of the Myth by
Malcolm Todd
★
Origins of the British language: an alternative view
★
''An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary''
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