The Anglo-Saxon Invasion of Britain (450 A.D.

)
The term Anglo-Saxon is used to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the
south and east of Britain beginning in the early 5th century.
The A-S era denotes the period of English history between about 450 and 1066. The beginning
date varies, depending on the source (its squishy).
The A-S term can be used for their language as well, also known as Old English, spoken and
written by the A-S until about the mid-12th century. It derived from West Germanic dialects.
According to tradition, these tribes first entered Britain en masse as part of a deal to protect
the Britons from the incursions of the Picts and Gaels (Celtic peopleprimarily Irish and Scottish
ruffians).

Pict cross

Cross Pict (a.k.a Ticked Pict)

The story, as reported in some contemporary sources, indicates that the British
king Vortigern allowed the Germanic warlords to settle their people in exchange for their service
as mercenaries. One warlord allegedly manipulated Vortigern into granting more land and
allowing for more settlers to come in, paving the way for the Germanic settlement of Britain.
Historians are divided about what followed: some argue that the takeover of southern Great
Britain by these tribes was peaceful. However, one account from a native Briton who lived at this
time described it as a forced takeover:
For the fire . . . spread from sea to sea, fed by the hands of our foes in the east, and did not cease,
until, destroying the neighboring towns and lands, it reached the other side of the island, and
dipped its red and savage tongue in the western ocean. In these assaults . . . all the columns
were leveled [to] the ground by the frequent strokes of the battering-ram, all the husbandmen
routed, together with their bishops, priests, and people, whilst the sword gleamed, and the
flames crackled around them on every side. Lamentable to behold, in the midst of the streets lay
the tops of lofty towers, tumbled to the ground, stones of high walls, holy altars, fragments of

human bodies, covered with livid clots of coagulated blood, looking as if they had been squeezed
together in a press; and with no chance of being buried, save in the ruins of the houses, or in the
ravening bellies of wild beasts and birds; with reverence be it spoken for their blessed souls, if,
indeed, there were many found who were carried, at that time, into the high heaven by the holy
angels. . . . Some, therefore, of the miserable remnant, being taken in the mountains, were
murdered in great numbers; others, constrained by famine, came and yielded themselves to be
slaves forever to their foes, running the risk of being instantly slain, which truly was the
greatest favor that could be offered them: some others passed beyond the seas with loud
lamentations instead of the voice of exhortation. . . . Others, committing the safeguard of their
lives, which were in continual jeopardy, to the mountains, precipices, thickly wooded forests,
and to the rocks of the seas (albeit with trembling hearts), remained still in their country.
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The Benedictine monk Bede, writing in the early 8th century, identified the English as the
descendants of three Germanic tribes:
1. The Angles, who came from Angeln (in modern Germany). Bede wrote that their whole nation
came to Britain, leaving their former land virtually empty. The name England (Old
English: Engla land or ngla land) originates from the A-S tribe.

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2. The Saxons, from Lower Saxony (in modern Germany). These folks were a kind of
confederation of Germanic tribes. It is unknown how many migrated from the continent to
Britain, though estimates for the total number of A-S settlers are around 200,000.
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3. The Jutes, from the Jutland peninsula (in modern Denmark). The Jutland peninsula juts out
in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark.

The Heptarchy: 7 A-S kingdoms of Northumbria,

Mercia, Kent, East Anglia, Essex, Sussex and Wessex.

Anglo-Saxon England became divided into kingdoms:

The Angles settled in East Anglia

The Saxons settled in areas of Essex (East Saxons), Sussex (South

Saxons), Middlesex (Middle Saxons), and Wessex (West Saxons)
The Jutes settled mainly in Kent; they referred to themselves as Kentings
(the men living in Kent)
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Names of some British towns came from the A-S. Some were named after the chieftain (leader)
and end with folk (as in Suffolk and Norfolk) or ing (as in Hastings or Nottingham).
Some name endings describe what was there:
-ham means village (e.g. Birmingham)
-ford means river crossing (e.g. Stratford)
-ton means farm (e.g. Middleton)
-bury means fortified place (e.g. Banbury).
-ley means forest clearing (e.g. Henley)
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The A-S were polytheistic pagans when they first came to Britain. The indigenous preChristian belief system was a form of Germanic paganism and therefore closely related to the Old
Norse religion.
The days of the week, for example, are named after early A-S gods:
Monday (Moon-day). The moon is the goddess of hunting. She wears a white robe and
carries a bow and arrow.
Tuesday (Tiws-day). Tiw is the god of war. He dresses like an Anglo-Saxon warrior and
carries a battle-axe.

Wednesday (Wodens-day). Woden is the chief god. He dresses like a king and carries a
spear to show his authority.

Thursday (Thors-day). Thor (also Thunor) is the god of thunder. He dresses like a warrior
and carries a bolt of lighteningor a hammer.

Hemsworth delivers some uncomfortable news to a Brit: http://youtu.be/Cd-sLasEQgs

Friday (Freya-day). Freya is the goddess of love and the wife of Woden. She
carries no weapons/symbols. (Apparently, her beauty is sufficientand
disarming.)
Saturday (Saturn-day). Saturn is the god of fun and feasting. He is fat and
jolly.
Sunday (Sun-day). The sun is the god of life. He is often shown as a youth with
a sun halo.
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In 597 the Pope in Rome sent a missionary named (Elder) Saint Augustine to England to convert
the A-S to Christianity.
He was well-received, so much so that King Ethelbert of Kent allowed him to build a church in
Canterbury.

Christianity then spread to other parts of Britain; churches, usually built of wood alongside
existing watchtowers, were built in A-S villages all over Britain as per the Popes orders.
As Anglo-Saxons were converted from pagan beliefs to Christian ones, they changed their way of
life and became less war-like.
They even had the time and inclination to play with sticks . . .

Straight lines made it easier to carve onto wood, stone or metal. When the A-S became Christians
they began using the Latin alphabet.
And they apparently wrote and published sets of math books:

All while inspiring hobbits:

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625 A.D.The Burials at Sutton Hoo (discovered/excavated in 1939)
Sutton Hoo is the site of two 6th- and early 7th-century cemeteries. One
contained an undisturbed ship burial including a wealth of Anglo-Saxon
artifacts of outstanding archaeological significance, now held in the British
Museum in London.

Sutton Hoo is of a primary importance to early medieval historians because it sheds light on a
period of English history that is on the margin between myth, legend and historical
documentation.
The ship-burial is one of the most magnificent archaeological finds in England for its size and
completeness, far-reaching connections, the quality and beauty of its contents, and the profound
interest of the burial ritual itself.
The most significant artifacts from the ship-burial are those found in the burial chamber,
including a suite of metalwork dress fittings in gold and gems, a ceremonial helmet, shield and
sword, a lyre, and many pieces of silver plate from the Roman Empire.

The ship-burial has from the time of its discovery prompted comparisons with the world
described in the heroic Old English poem Beowulf, which is set in southern Sweden (Geatland).
Close archaeological parallels to the ship-burial are found, both in its general form and in details
of the military equipment that the burial contains.