Anglo-Saxons
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The famous parade helmet found at Sutton Hoo, probably belonging to King Raedwald of East Anglia circa 625. Based on a Roman parade helmet design (of a general class known as spangenhelm), it has decorations like those found in contemporary Swedish helmets found at Old Uppsala. |
The
Anglo-Saxons were a culturally related people living in
Great Britain from around the mid-
5th century AD.
Germanic peoples, including the
Angles,
Saxons,
Frisians and
Jutes, migrated to southern Britain, beginning after the end of
Roman rule, though it is not known whether they substantially replaced the existing population. Over time the different people coalesced into a more unified
culture. Perhaps under
Offa of Mercia, and certainly under
Alfred of Wessex and his successors, a kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons existed, which developed into the kingdom of
England in the
10th century, one of the main developments of
Anglo-Saxon history.
Origins of the word
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.
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
Angles, who derive their name from the peninsula of
Angeln in
Schleswig-Holstein (
Germany).
*those of
Essex,
Sussex and
Wessex were sprung from the
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) 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 come into use by
Latin writers on the continent, nearly a century before Alfred's time, in the writings of
Paul the Deacon, historian of the
Lombards. There can be little doubt, however, that there it was used to distinguish the inhabitants of Britain from the
Old Saxons of the continent. That is, it meant "English Saxons"; however, in later times it was commonly understood as a combined form "Angles and Saxons".
Modern usages
By 1800 "Anglo-Saxon" was the term used for the Old English language. It was the language spoken in
England before the arrival of the French-speaking
Normans who conquered England in
1066. In the 19th century the term was widely used in
philology. English scholars in the mid-19th century, such as
Edward Freeman, argued that the roots of certain English political ideas and values could be found in pre-Norman, that is, Anglo-Saxon, England. Numerous researchers explored possible long-term survivals, but by the 1890s most scholars gave up that quest and decided that English legal rights emerged from later developments like the
Magna Carta of the 13th century.
It is still a matter of debate as to whether the term "Anglo-Saxon" can be used as a synonym for ethnic or racial groups who lived and live in England. On one hand there is the argument that says that there were further influxes of people into England such as the
Danes,
Normans, and
Celts who migrated to England from the other parts of the British Isles, so the term is no longer valid. The other side of this argument is to say these people were relatively small in number and, particularly in the case of Danes and the Normans, were of similar ethnic origins as the Anglo-Saxons themselves, and so became immersed into the Anglo-Saxon "tribe".
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 was mostly used and popularized by Irish Catholics and French-Canadians. Since 1960 it has had more general usage, but exactly who it designates has become a matter of individual opinions and context, ranging from people of English descent to any North American of European origin who fits a certain socio-economic and/or ethnic profile.
"Anglo-Saxon" is still used by linguists to mean the original
West Germanic component of the
English language, often called
Old English, as opposed to the especially large addition of
Old Danish (eastern England),
Old Norwegian (from Vikings of the
Viken who settled on the West Coast of England), and many loanwords the language has obtained, especially from
Romance languages.
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 supposedly describes their intellectual traditions and national character, as opposed to "
Celtic," "
Gallic", "
Lusitanic" or "
Hispanic". It is a wide-ranging term, taking in the English-speaking world's language, culture, technology, wealth, influence, markets and economy.
More recent times in Australia, the neologism "Anglo-Celtic" has been developed to contrast to the term Anglo-Saxon and reflect the greater influence than non-English Britons had on the development of the culture there.
Main article: History of Anglo-Saxon England
The history of Anglo-Saxon England is the history of 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. The 5th and 6th centuries are known archaeologically as
Sub-Roman Britain, or in popular history as the "
Dark Ages"; from the
6th century larger distinctive kingdoms are developing, still known to some as the
Heptarchy; the arrival of the Vikings at the end of the
8th century brought many changes to Britain, and relations with the continent were important right up to the 'end' of Anglo-Saxon England, traditionally held to be the Norman Conquest.
Anglo-Saxon migration
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The main Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms circa A.D. 600 |
Main article: Sub-Roman Britain
There is considerable debate as to the extent of Anglo-Saxon
migration from the fourth to the sixth centuries. The nature of our sources is such that it is unlikely that any single model for migration will receive academic consensus.
Earlier interpretations saw large numbers of Anglo-Saxon settlers arrive, essentially killing or displacing the British people living in southern and eastern Britain at the time. A minority of the
Romano-British fled to
Brittany and
Galicia in northern Spain.
Britain was perceived in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as the home of liberty, and it was believed that this love of liberty arrived with the Anglo-Saxons, who were held to have been essentially free. Arguments for this were based primarily on the literary evidence. The (probably) early sixth-century monk
Gildas, in his
De Excidio Britanniae, told of the English defeating the British as a punishment from God. A similar narrative appeared in
Bede's
Historia Ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, written in the early eighth century, which drew heavily on Gildas. Later Anglo-Saxon and British (Welsh) documents followed this tradition of cataclysm, focussing on differences between the English and the Welsh. Such an interpretation finds support in the linguistic and place-name evidence. Linguistically, few
p-Celtic words find their way into
old English, though some have argued for greater input than was previously thought. The apparent rarity of obviously Brythonic place-names has been used to downplay continuity, but such names may be difficult to identify rather than absent.
[See, for example, the case of the apparently Old English place-name Rochester, Kent, OE Hrofaescaestre (Leslie Alcock, Arthur's Britain, pp. 194–195).] A genetic study in 2002 by a team at
UCL that included samples from those living in modern
England,
Wales,
Friesland and the
Basque Country, and based on the analysis of
Y-chromosomes was originally thought to give some support to the theory that there was a substantial migration to central and eastern England.
[Y Chromosome Evidence for Anglo-Saxon Mass Migration (2002), Michael E. Weale, Deborah A. Weiss, Rolf F. Jager, Neil Bradman and Mark G. Thomas: Molecular Biology and Evolution 19:1008-1021. Retrieved 4 May 2006] A similar and more complete study in 2003 (also done at UCL) has shown that it is currently not possible to differentiate between Anglo-Saxon and Danish-Viking genetic markers. It is therefore not possible to know if the 2002 study was measuring contributions from Danish settlers in the
Danelaw in the tenth century (who are historically recorded as having settled), or Anglo-Saxon settlers in the fifth century (where no historical record exists).
[A Y Chromosome Census of the British Isles (2003), Cristian Capelli, Nicola Redhead, Julia K. Abernethy, Fiona Gratrix, James F. Wilson, Torolf Moen, Tor Hervig, Martin Richards, Michael P. H. Stumpf, Peter A. Underhill, Paul Bradshaw, Alom Shaha, Mark G. Thomas, Neal Bradman, and David B. Goldstein Current Biology, Volume 13, Issue 11, Pages 979-984 (2003). Retrieved 4 May 2006.] Both studies provide strong evidence for a continuing pre-Anglo-Saxon genetic component in all areas of what is now England, it appears unlikely that the indigenous
Brythons were completely displaced by any incomers, the 2002 paper estimates an
immigration event affecting 50%â€"100% of the Central English male gene pool and also notes that
our data do not allow us to distinguish an event that simply added to the indigenous Central English male gene pool from one where indigenous males were displaced elsewhere or one where indigenous males were reduced in number. This fits in well with the 2003 paper's estimate of about a 60% non-indigenous contribution for York and Norfolk. Indeed the 2003 paper
provides significant evidence that there has not been complete population replacement anywhere in the British Isles. Computer simulations have shown that a relatively small group of politically dominant Anglo-Saxons could have given themselves a
selective advantage over the native Britons. This would have allowed them to rapidly increase their numbers (and therefore their genetic contribution to the present British gene pool) relative to the indigenous population in as few as five generations. This form of
artificial selection may have been quite commonly practiced at this time, it has been likened to
apartheid. This model has been proposed to explain the apparent contradiction between the high proportion of assumed
Anglo-Saxon genetic markers on the Y chromosomes of men in England relative to the low levels of immigration thought to have occured.
[Evidence for an Apartheid Like Social Structure in Early Anglo-Saxon England by Mark G. Thomas, Michael P. H. Stumpf and Heinrich Härke: Proceedings of the Royal Society, July 2006. doi:10.1098/rspb.2006.3627. Retrieved 06 August 2006.]More recently the focus has shifted towards continuity, trying to place Britain in the context of European
Late Antiquity. Some of this argument is based on scale. The
population of Britain in 400 is unknowable, but is estimated, based on land usage, to have been around 4 million. It is considered unlikely that such a large population was significantly killed or displaced between the fifth and sixth centuries, although examinations of land usage do suggest that the population dropped significantly in this time.
[Epidemics could certainly have reduced the population of Britain. There is contemporary annalytical evidence for multiple waves of plague - e.g. Irish Annals, and Bede's account of the plague in his youth - which also known from Mediterranean sources.] Much of the argument for continuity is based on
archaeological evidence, such as investigations of
graves and settlements, which suggest that the British population was not killed or displaced, but rather came to adopt Anglo-Saxon
culture. Some major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, such as
Bernicia,
Deira,
Kent and
Lindsey, have names that stem from existing political structures. In the
laws of king
Ine, a late seventh- and early eighth- century king of
Wessex, there were
Welsh communities living within Wessex who had specific stipulations regarding their legal position. The genetic analysis done at UCL in 2003 has added weight to this view.
Ultimately it is unlikely, at least with the current evidence, that this matter will be resolved. Over the course of the Anglo-Saxon period Welshmen living in Wessex, such as those outlined in
Ine's law code, came to be regarded as Anglo-Saxons; no mention of separate stipulations for Welsh communities is provided in
Alfred's ninth-century code, for instance, although he does append Ine's code to his. It is worth bearing in mind that the extent of Anglo-Saxon migration would have differed considerably across Britain.
Anglo-Saxon architecture
Main article: 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. 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, surrounded by the huts 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 article: 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 to King 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 numerous 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. 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 article: 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, i.e., 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 OE 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 ywith only rare occurrences of
j,
k,
q,
v, and
z.
Anglo-Saxon law
Main article: Anglo-Saxon laws
Numerous 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 important for understanding contemporary developments, and how law developed following the
Norman Conquest.
Anglo-Saxon literature
Main article: 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 article: Anglo-Saxon mythology
The indigenous pre-Christian
belief system of the Anglo-Saxons was a form of
Germanic paganism and therefore closely related to
Norse mythology, as well as other Germanic pre-Christian cultures.
Christianity (both
Celtic and
Roman) replaced the indigenous religion of the Saxons in England around the 8th and 9th centuries AD. The
Synod of Whitby settled the choice for Roman Christianity. As the new clerics became the chroniclers, the old religion was systematically lost before it was recorded and today our knowledge of it is largely based on surviving 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 our main sources of information on pre-Christian beliefs.
Remnants of the Anglo-Saxon gods remain in the English language names for days of the week:
*
Tiw, the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of
Tyr, the god of war: Tuesday
*Woden, the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of
Odin, the one-eyed wise god of storms and the dead: Wednesday
*
Þunor, the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of
Thor, the thunder god: Thursday
*
Frige, the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of
Freya, the love-goddess: Friday
*
Anglo-Saxon monarchs*
Anglophile*
English people*
Saxons*
States in Medieval BritainA 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]
*
Fides Angliarum Regum: the faith of the English kings
