A brief over view on the Anglo Saxons.

The Anglo Saxons.

The Anglo Saxons completely displaced the Celts who were the natives of the British Isles. They almost completely replaced them as the inhabitants of England. The Celts were displaced to Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Northern France. The place name Brittany is derived from the area of land that they inhabited. The name England is named after the Angles.

The Saxons were not literate and kept no written documents. We know almost nothing about what the time was like. That is why we call it the dark ages. They were from an area that had not been colonised by the Romans so they did not keep any of their culture or technological advancements. The Romans had struggled to subdue them and failed.

Hengist and Horsa were two Germanic mercenaries who were brought to England to fight for some Celtic warlords and stayed. They overthrew the natives and ruled themselves. These were the first Anglo Saxon rulers of part of Britain.

Most of England was thick impenetrable forest so the patches of Celtic farmland was very sought after and highly prized. The Saxons took the Celtic farmland by force and drove the Celts out. Some Anglo-Saxons came to Britain to fight, but others came peacefully, to find land to farm. The Anglo-Saxons knew Britain was a rich land. Their own lands often flooded, making it difficult to grow enough food. There was not enough land for everyone. Whole families set off across the North Sea in small boats. Each boatload of people formed a settlement with its own leader. They brought their tools, weapons, belongings and farm animals with them to Britain.

The Saxons colonised large areas of South and East England. The Saxons vastly outnumbered the Celts who were displaced to Wales, Scotland, Devon and North France in Brittany. The Angles colonised East-Anglia and Mercia in the Midlands. The Saxons created new kingdoms called Northumberland, Wessex, Essex, Sussex and Middlesex. The Jutes colonised Kent. The Jutes were the smallest group of invaders. The Saxons were the largest group.

Each group of Anglo-Saxon settlers had a leader or war-chief. A strong leader became 'cyning' - Anglo-Saxon for 'king'. Each king ruled a kingdom and led a small army. There were many quarrels and wars between kings, to see who was the strongest.

By around AD600 there were five important Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. They were Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, Kent and East Anglia. From time to time, the strongest king would claim to be 'bretwalda' - which meant ruler of all Britain.

King Offa became king of several of the small kingdoms in England. He build a fortified barrier to keep the Welsh out and made extensive trade networks with Europe. He improved literacy, build lots of roads and introduced a common currency that was used throughout all of England. The German Emperor Charlemagne called him “the king of all England.” However the Vikings arrived soon afterwards during his reign and brought chaos to the peace that he had endeavoured to create.

Alfred The Great was born in AD849 and died in AD899. His father was king of Wessex, but Alfred became king of all England. He fought the Vikings, and then made peace so that English and Vikings settled down to live together. He encouraged people to learn and he tried to govern well and fairly.

Anglo-Saxons liked to gather in the lord's great hall, to eat and drink, and to listen to songs and stories. They loved tales about brave warriors and their adventures. A favourite story told how Beowulf, a heroic prince, kills the fierce man-eating monster Grendel, and Grendel's equally horrid mother. The story of Beowulf was first written down in the 8th-9th centuries, but long before that the story was told around the fire. The storyteller played music to accompany the songs and poems, on a small harp or on another stringed instrument called a lyre.