Today, I want to introduce a piece of British history. We’ll look at the Anglo-Saxons and discuss the myths and reality behind this group of people.
From the Roman Empire and Saxon tribes migrating from mainland Europe, to kingdoms, Viking raids, and a king shot in the eye with an arrow, this is the story of the Anglo-Saxons.
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Vocabulary
- Anglo-Saxon (noun): A member of the Germanic tribes that settled in England from the 5th century AD
- The Anglo-Saxons spoke a version of Old English
- Invade (verb): To enter a place with the intention of taking control, often by force.
- The enemy decided to invade the neighbouring kingdom under the cover of darkness.
- Monasteries (noun): Religious communities where monks live.
- The medieval monasteries were centres of learning and religion.
- Descendants (noun): People who are the children, or later generations of a particular ancestor or group.
- The descendants of Germanic settlers are now known as the Anglo-Saxons.
- Settlement (noun): The act or process of establishing a community or group of people in a new location.
- Anglo-Saxon settlements began around the 5th century AD.
- Raid (noun/verb): A sudden and swift attack, often carried out for the purpose of seizing goods or causing damage.
- Vikings were known for their raids along the coastal regions of Europe during the medieval period.
- Tribe (noun): A social group consisting of families or communities sharing common ancestry, language, and customs.
- Before the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons, Britain was home to large tribes of Celtic people.
What is an Anglo-Saxon?
You may have heard the term Anglo-Saxon used to describe British people, or people of British origin in places like the USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Throughout the 19th century, Anglo-Saxon was actually considered to be a distinct race of people originating from Northwest Europe. While this is not true – modern genetic testing suggests there is no such distinct genetic grouping – far-right and nationalist organisations still like to describe themselves as Anglo-Saxon.
Back in high school, while doing a project on the history of the United States, I was introduced to the term WASP – White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. This is a sociological term common in the United States.
It is generally used to refer to the typically wealthy, upper-class, and influential groups of white Americans who dominated much of the politics and culture of the United States for centuries.
The Anglo-Saxon world is also a term that is sometimes used in political science, although the anglosphere is more common. It refers to a group of English-speaking countries that cooperate closely together. The core five members of the Anglo-Saxon world are considered to be the UK, the USA, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.
Interestingly, in French the term Anglo-Saxon is still used widely to talk about anything British or from British origins or English speaking.
This is not as common in the English language anymore, but it is curious that other languages still favour Anglo-Saxon. If you refer to a British person as Anglo-Saxon, they will probably be a little taken aback or confused.
Today, I’d like to take a deeper look into this term: Anglo-Saxon.
We’ll look at the original Anglo-Saxons and how they ended up in the British Isles. We’ll discuss the last Anglo-Saxon King of England and the Battle of Hastings. And we’ll look at Anglo-Saxons in the modern world!
Before the Anglo-Saxons?
Roman Britain
The first thing we need to do is discuss who were the Anglo-Saxons?
The name Anglo-Saxon itself consists of an adjective “Anglo” and a noun “Saxon”. Anglo literally means English, so the name Anglo-Saxon means the English Saxons. This was to distinguish them from the original Saxons on the European continent.
Therefore, the Saxons were not always English. Who was in England before them? And where did they come from?
People have been living on the British Isles, what now make up the United Kingdom, for thousands of years. Up until about 2000 years ago, Celtic-speaking peoples were the main inhabitants of the area.
These included the Britons (who lent their name to the islands) as well as many other tribes and groups. While the Celtic people were eventually pushed to the edges of Britain by later invasions (which we will talk about shortly), their descendants continued to live and use their languages in certain regions: notably parts of Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, and the island of Ireland.
In the year 43AD, the Roman empire found their way to the British Isles. Under the leadership of Emperor Claudius, the Romans established control over the territory, bringing Roman culture, politics, and infrastructure.
The Romans built roads, they constructed the great Hadrian’s wall in the north, and they laid the foundations of Roman towns such as Londinium (London) and Camulodunum (Colchester).
There are examples Roman settlements across England. In my hometown, a Roman mosaic and settlement was recently discovered under a farmer’s field while constructing a new Aldi supermarket.
Roman Britain flourished for a few centuries, before troubles in the empire resulted in its eventual collapse. This left room for other groups from mainland Europe to take their place.
Germanic Tribes
A common misconception is that the Anglo-Saxons were a uniform and united group of people. They weren’t.
We tend to use the name Anglo-Saxon to refer to any of the Germanic tribes who moved to the British Isles around the 5th century AD. St Bede the Venerable, an early historian and monk from Northumberland, wrote that the Anglo-Saxons were the descendants of the Angles, Saxons, and the Jutes.
Before their migration to the British Isles, these Germanic tribes inhabited regions of what is now Germany and Denmark. They spoke various different Germanic languages and dialects.
The Saxons were a West Germanic tribe that lived in the coastal areas of what is now Germany. They were known for their seafaring skills and were active in trade and raiding along the North Sea and the Baltic Sea coasts.
The Angles and Jutes were also Germanic tribes closely related to the Saxons. The Angles likely originated in the region of modern Denmark, while the Jutes may have come from the Jutland Peninsula (part of present-day Denmark and Germany).
Germanic-speaking people had been familiar with the British Isles for centuries. They were used by the Roman Empire – as soldiers and workers brought in from mainland Europe. In fact, even while the Roman Empire controlled Britain, Germanic tribes began to invade and settle.
Once the Romans left Britain, there was now an opportunity for a new powerful force to move onto the island.
Move to Britain
From around the 5th century AD, the Germanic speaking tribes began moving to Britain. They slowly invaded around the coasts of the island, arriving in small numbers before larger groups followed.
Historians suggest that they were not resisted by the native Britons at first. In fact, some Saxons may have been invited by a King to help defend his territory in a battle against the Picts and Scotti (Celtic peoples from what is now Scotland).
The Germanic tribes were also pushed out of their homelands. Factors such as population pressure, climatic changes, and conflicts with other tribes contributed to these migrations.
The exact details and history of the settlement of these people in Britain is not well understood as there is little written record. By the 10th century, however, European writers were using the term Anglo-Saxon to describe the inhabitants of Britain.
They settled in different regions of what is now England. In fact, we can still see the influence of the Anglo-Saxons in the names of UK regions.
By the year 556, there were seven separate Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England. Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, Sussex, Kent, Essex, and East Anglia.
If we look deeper into the names: the Saxon settlers founded kingdoms in the east, west, and south (east Saxon became east sax which became Essex). The Angles in the East founded East Anglia. Within East Anglia, the Angles were divided into the Northern folk and the Southern folk – the regions of Norfolk and Suffolk.
Most of these names are still used today. I used to go on vacation to Norfolk in the summer. Kent, Essex, and Sussex are still English counties. The King’s brother (Edward) has the title the Earl of Wessex. And the police for the middle part of the UK has the name West Mercia police force.
Anglo-Saxon Britain
One of the most important legacies of Anglo-Saxon Britain is the spread of religion. Missionaries sent by Pope Gregory the Great arrived in Britain in the year 597, and over the next centuries the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms eventually converted.
Monasteries were set up across the island. These became places of learning and study. In fact, one of the major reasons that we know about the events and history of Anglo-Saxon Britain is the writers who lived in these monasteries, including the Venerable Bede who I mentioned earlier in this episode.
From the 8th century to the 11th century, the British Isles became a target for the Vikings of Scandinavia. The raids of the Vikings brought conflict and disruption to the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, as they targeted the coasts and settlements.
Over time, Viking invasions evolved into large-scale settlements. Eventually, under what came to be known as the Danelaw, large parts of Britain were controlled by Viking settlers for over 100 years.
Alfred the Great, the King of Wessex between 871 and 899, was crucial in resisting invasions and negotiating peace with the Vikings and unifying the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. He is the only English monarch with the title “the Great” which shows how respected he was.
The Anglo-Saxons spoke a language that is now often described as Old English. It developed from the Germanic languages of the different tribes that moved to Britain, and after the Viking invasions had Old Norse had a significant impact as well.
There were also different dialects spoken in the different Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. And, around the edge of Britain in the surviving Celtic regions, Celtic language continued to be spoken.
The End of Anglo-Saxon Britain
In the year 1016, a non-Anglo-Saxon became the King of England. Cnut was a Danish Prince, the son of the King of Denmark and a Polish princess, who became King of England after defeating the previous King (Edmund Ironside) in battle.
After his father died, he also became the King of Denmark and the King of Norway, making him one of the most powerful leaders in medieval Europe.
Once Cnut died, his sons took over his kingdoms, but spent much of their time outside of England.
In 1042, Edward the Confessor (an Anglo-Saxon leader who had been out of the country for years) returned to England and took back the throne after the death of the Danish king at the time.
However, he had no children and when Edward died there were three different claims to the throne.
An Anglo-Saxon, Harold Godwinson claimed that Edward had appointed him as the future King and was crowned as monarch after his death.
Almost immediately, the Norwegian king Harold Hardrada invaded the north of England. Harold Godwinson defeated him at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066 to successfully stay as king.
However, just a few weeks later, William the Duke of Normandy (also called William the Bastard and William the Conqueror) invaded the South of England with his powerful Norman army.
One of the most famous battles in British history, the Battle of Hastings, took place on October 14, 1066, near Hastings in Sussex.
The battle was intense, and Harold was killed, leading to a victory for the Normans. The Bayeux Tapestry, a famous embroidered cloth, depicts scenes from the battle. The legend states that Harold died after being shot in the eye with an arrow.
William’s victory at Hastings marked the end of Anglo-Saxon rule and the beginning of Norman rule in England. He was crowned as William I of England on Christmas Day 1066.
William implemented significant changes to the English political system. He gave most of the land and territory in England to his Norman supporters.
Norman influence extended to various aspects of English society, including the legal system, architecture, and language. The Normans introduced feudalism and initiated the construction of numerous castles.
The English aristocracy underwent significant changes, and Norman French became the language of the ruling elite.
Anglo-Saxon in Modern English
We have seen how the Anglo-Saxons were a diverse group of Germanic tribes who made Britain their home after the collapse of Roman Britain.
They spoke a variety of languages, set up different kingdoms, and fought battles against each other, Celtic tribes, Vikings, and the Normans.
Anglo-Saxons also lay the foundations for modern English, speaking a Germanic language known as Old English.
In some languages, including French, Anglo-Saxon is still used to refer to British people and British things. This is not the case in English.
The term “Anglo-Saxon” has sometimes been misused in political and cultural discussions. Some right-wing nationalist groups have selectively used the term to promote a particular vision of English or British identity.
In the 19th century, it was used as a name for a “race” of people that inspired racist texts and philosophies. In the USA, racist organsiations like the Ku Klux Klan have been adopting symbols and identities associated with this idea of Anglo-Saxon for decades.
And the American Republican Party has published articles and reports that describe the USA as having a uniquely Anglo-Saxon culture.
However, this term Anglo-Saxon is based on a misunderstanding. First, there was no one distinct or unique people called the Anglo-Saxons. Instead, there was a variety of different tribes.
Second, they never described themselves as Anglo-Saxons – this was a term invented overseas to distinguish Britain’s Germanic tribes from mainland Europe.
The term was actually not used for hundreds of years, until the 17th and 18th century when British writers were looking for a national legend or story. In the 19th century, with the background of colonialism and the British Empire, writers started to describe the British as having an Anglo-Saxon culture and background.
Third, it is often used by people to describe all early Britons when this was not the case. The Anglo-Saxons never conquered the Celtic territories in Scotland, Cumbria, Wales, and Cornwall. There were Roman-Britons, Norse-Britons, and later Norman-Britons.
Today, historians tend to not use the term anymore. Why? It is not accurate. They prefer to refer to specific groups – like Saxons, Angles, Northumbrians, and Jutes.
Final Thought
Today I’ve looked at the term Anglo-Saxon.
We began with the Roman empire and its collapse. We then looked at the Germanic tribes, including the Saxons and Angles, who migrated to Britain from the 5th century AD.
We discussed Anglo-Saxon Britain and how it came to an end, and concluded with a short discussion on the usage of Anglo-Saxon in modern English.
While their contributions to language and governance endure, the term “Anglo-Saxon” has undergone misuse and misunderstanding, particularly in nationalist rhetoric.
What do you think? How much do you know about your country’s history? Does your language still use the phrase Anglo-Saxon to refer to Britain?
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In Italy, as well in France, “Anglosassone” is commonly referred to everything culturally pertinent to nations generated by the British Empire (USA, UK, CANADA, AUSTRALIA and NEW ZELAND).
Maybe the meaning of the expression “Angle Saxon” might be read in opposition to the other expression “Latin”, which is commonly used to point out a bunch of different nations, among Italy, Spain, France, Portugal and many other countries in South America where people speak Spanish or Portuguese, although Latins were only one of the three tribes which founded the ancient city of Rome (the other two were Sabins and Etruscans), the people of the first king of Rome, Romulus. There is almost no genetic connection between nowdays “Latin peoples” and the ancient Latins, because during the centuries many people of multiple origin have took place in Europe. If we look at the northern Italians genotype, for instance, we discover that their ancestors were mainly Lombards, warriors who came from actual Hungary (and before Hungaty from eastern Germany).
Then, we can say that these countries are called “latin countries” because their languages are widely effected by the Latin language, in fact we speak about “new latin languages” referring to Italian, French, Spanish, etc. Yet who can say that English language is not effected by Latin?
I always assumed that France, Spain etc are called Latin countries due to the roots of their languages rather than anything genetic? They all directly descended from vulgar Latin. While English was 100% influenced by Latin (especially in Vocabulary) it is a Germanic language (from the Anglo-Saxons).