Anglo-Saxons
Early medieval cultural group in England speaking Old English / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and southeastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to Germanic settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. Although the details of migrations and early political development are not clear, a new English cultural identity developed out of the interaction of these settlers with the pre-existing Romano-British culture. Over time, most of the people of what is now southern, central, northern and eastern England came to identify as Anglo-Saxon[citation needed] and speak Old English. Danish and Norman invasions later changed the situation significantly, but their language and political structures are the direct predecessors of the high medieval Kingdom of England and the Middle English language. Although the modern English language owes less than 26% of its words to Old English, this includes the vast majority of everyday words.[1]
Historically, the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain stretches from about 450 to 1066, from their initial settlement until the Norman Conquest.[2]
The earliest detailed account of the Anglo-Saxons given by Bede indicate that they were divided into smaller groups in regional kingdoms and with differing accounts of their continental origins. The collective term "Anglo-Saxons" is commonly used by modern historians, but they were originally referred to collectively as Saxons, and Bede preferred to use "Angles" as the collective term - both terms indicating origins in different parts of Germany. The collective term Anglo-Saxon first appears in the 8th century, but it was probably not widely used in that period.[3][lower-alpha 1]
Threatened by extended Danish Viking invasions and military occupation of eastern England, the overarching Anglo-Saxon identity evolved and remained dominant until after the Norman Conquest.[4] Anglo-Saxon material culture can be seen in architecture, dress styles, illuminated texts, metalwork and other art. Behind the symbolic nature of these cultural emblems, there are strong elements of tribal and lordship ties. The elite declared themselves kings who developed burhs (fortifications and fortified settlements), and identified their roles and peoples in Biblical terms. Above all, as archaeologist Helena Hamerow has observed, "local and extended kin groups remained...the essential unit of production throughout the Anglo-Saxon period."[5]
In 2003, Catherine Hills argued that attitudes towards Anglo-Saxons, and hence the interpretation of their culture and history, have been "more contingent on contemporary political and religious theology as on any kind of evidence."[6]