Who were the Anglo Saxons?

Tony Dalton
January 27, 2023

The story of three aggressive Germanic tribes who came to England around 400 AD.

These three tribes were the Saxons, the Jutes, and the Angles who were in England for over 600 years, from 410 AD to 1066 AD, a long time.

Where did they come from?

They were robust farmer-warriors who came from north-western Europe, from the countries we today call Germany and Denmark, however they left a lasting mark on our English history and culture.

Their arrival started a period of upheaval, as for nearly 400 years life had been stable as England had been a province of the mighty Roman Empire. The Romans had brought stability, straight roads, stone towns, trade networks, and a way of life with which many of the local Britons had got used to. Then catastrophe in 410 AD, the Roman legions left, as they were recalled to defend their crumbling empire back in Rome. This left a power vacuum across the country, and as always, the result of a power vacuum was chaos. Without any central authority or any protection, essentials like food became erratic, disease and banditry returned, resulting in fear beginning to spread among the people. Then towns started to fall into disrepair, and local leaders were not able to organise themselves.

This is when sensing an opportunity, these Germanic tribes came across the North Sea in their numbers. Now as the country was virtually defenceless, they met little resistance. They created their own little kingdoms, usually by force, with the effect that they pushed the native Britons to the fringes of the country, to the mountains of Wales, the moors of Cornwall, and even across the sea to Ireland.

Different Germanic tribes chose different parts of the country to settle. The Saxons went to the southern parts founding kingdoms such as Wessex (West Saxons), Essex (East Saxons), Sussex (South Saxons), and Middlesex (Middle Saxons). The Jutes chose mainly to settle in Kent, while the Angles went to the north and east.

As a point of interest, did you know that the name “England” comes from the “land of the Angles.”

These tribes shared a common language and similar customs, however, that didn’t mean that they got on. In fact, it was the opposite, they loved fighting each other almost as much as they enjoyed fighting outsiders. Kingdom clashed with kingdom, and rival chieftains jostled for power, territory, and glory. In fact, even despite this seeming lawlessness, the Anglo-Saxons, as they are collectively known, over time created a new kind of society.

Fortunately, they were more than just warriors. They were:

skilled farmers who cultivated the land with impressive efficiency.
excelled in crafts and trades—especially in weaving cloth and producing leather goods.
self-sufficient communities, centred around the hall of the local lord, with workshops, farms, and churches.

It was an unrecorded time, which means that our understanding of Anglo-Saxon life mainly comes from archaeological discoveries, and from a few limited sources such as Bede’s manuscript called the ‘Ecclesiastical History of the English People’.

Bede was an excellent writer and created many grand texts on the Christian Bible and on the lives of his contemporaries, however it is for his ‘The Ecclesiastical History of the English People’ that he is remembered for today as it the first history of Anglo Saxon England ever written.

Completed at the age of 60 it was primarily a church history however it also chronicled the Germanic peoples who settled in England, the Anglo Saxons. Although written 300 years after their arrival it is Bede’s skilful and clear account of the Anglo Saxon period along with archaeological evidence that allows scholars to create a picture of this unique time.

A lot of his writings were confirmed when one of the most significant finds of the period was made in 1939 at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk. Near the River Deben, archaeologists uncovered a burial site containing eleven large mounds or ‘barrows’, dating back to the 7th century. The most remarkable discovery was a 90-foot-long ship burial believed to belong to a great Anglo-Saxon king, possibly Rædwald of East Anglia. Inside the ship, they found an extraordinary collection of treasures: gold jewellery, weapons, a magnificent helmet, and various artefacts that give us a glimpse into the wealth, craftsmanship, and culture of the time.

All this came to an end when the Normans invaded in 1066. Fortunately, the legacy of the Saxons, Jutes, and Angles lives on in our language, place names, and national identity.

So over 1500 years ago England was invaded and then ruled by three Germanic and Danish tribes, isn’t that surprising?

The Musical

We have created a factional musical The Saxon King – The Story of Sutton Hoo by matching the treasures discovered at Sutton Hoo with the story of King Edwin of Northumbria and King Readwald’s alliance against King Ethelfrid from “Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People”.

You can download it today at The Saxon King – The Story of Sutton Hoo and be rehearsing it immediately.

Let’s Make History Fun!

Ten questions to discuss:

Which three Germanic tribes came to England after the Romans left, and when did they arrive?
Where did the Saxons, Jutes, and Angles originally come from, and how long did they remain in England?
What impact did the Roman withdrawal in 410 AD have on life in England?
How did the power vacuum left by the Romans contribute to the success of the Germanic invasions?
Which regions of England did each of the three tribes settle in?
What does the name ‘England’ mean, and which tribe is it connected to?
Why were the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms often in conflict with one another, despite sharing similar language and customs?
Apart from being warriors, what other skills or trades were the Anglo-Saxons known for?
Who was the Venerable Bede, and why is his work significant to our understanding of Anglo-Saxon England?
What was discovered at Sutton Hoo in 1939, and why is it considered such an important archaeological find?

For more information:

https://www.bl.uk/anglo-saxons/articles/who-were-the-anglo-saxons

https://www.thecollector.com/who-were-the-anglo-saxons/

https://www.history.org.uk/primary/resource/3865/anglo-saxons-a-brief-history