The Anglo-Saxons are the forerunners of the modern English. These are tribes that lived between the Elbe and Rhine rivers, on the southern peninsula. It is believed that the development of Britain began to occur due to climate change.
The Anglo-Saxons are the forerunners of the modern English, who lived in the 5-11th century. Initially, they were a conglomerate of various Germanic tribes. He gradually became a new nation. A sharp evolutionary leap took place after the Norman conquest of England in 1066.
Origin of the term
The Angles and Saxons are the North Germanic tribes of Jutland and Lower Saxony who conquered and settled most of England during the early Middle Ages. People were barbarians, but over time they were able to successfully integrate into the Orthodox Christian civilization.
The Anglo-Saxon conquest of Britain was a long process that lasted over 180 years. The war was between the Britons and the Anglo-Saxons. But in the 6th century, the struggle began to be more pronounced, so the consequence was the disintegration of post-Roman Britain into small independent states. In the process of military and aggressive measures, a huge number of the Celtic population was exterminated. Some of the Celts were driven out of Britain to the continent. Another part was turned into slaves who were forced to pay tribute to their conquerors.
Only the mountainous Celtic regions in the west and north remained independent. Tribal associations continued to exist there, which later turned into independent Celtic principalities and kingdoms.
As a result of such actions, England was divided into three significant sections. These were the kingdoms:
- English;
- Saxons;
- utes.
They were headed by chiefs or tribes who established themselves as kings. In the 9th century, England was divided into eight kingdoms. In fact, there were more of them, but the small kingdoms did not play any significant role, so they did not receive much attention. Such small kingdoms initially competed and fought among themselves.
How did the Anglo-Saxons live?
Until the 9th century, the bulk was represented by communal peasants who owned large plots of land. The Kerls had full rights, could take part in public meetings, and carry weapons.
After the Danish pogrom of the 870s, Alfred the Great restored the kingdom in much the same way as it did among the Germanic tribes living on the continent. The king is at the head of the state. The clan nobility consisted of the closest relatives. Queens also had good privileges. The king himself was surrounded by his entourage and retinue. From the latter, the service and fief nobility was gradually formed.
In literature, much attention is paid to the clothes people wore. Women wore long, loose dresses that were fastened on the shoulders with large buckles. Decorations in the form of brooches, necklaces, pins and bracelets were typical in those days. Men usually wore short tunics, tight-fitting trousers, and warm raincoats.
The Anglo-Saxons used an alphabet consisting of 33 runes. With their help, all kinds of signatures were made on jewelry, dishes or bone elements. The Latin alphabet was adopted with the advent of Christianity, while some handwritten books of that time have survived to this day.
By nature, the Anglo-Saxons were fearless and cruel. Such traits formed a tendency to indiscriminate robbery. It was because of this that other tribes feared them. People despised danger. They launched their robber ships into the water and allowed the wind to carry them to any overseas coast.
The spread of Christianity
Pope Gregory Dvoeslov set the task of Augustine to spread Christianity among the Anglo-Saxons. The fight against superstition was successful. Starting from the middle of the 5th century, the Anglo-Saxons, during a century and a half struggle with the local population, took possession of the eastern part of the island. division into kingdoms was convenient for the rapid spread of Christianity.
The church society took a very active part in the fate of the country. During the years of war, Celtic Christianity was torn away from its Roman roots. Therefore, an important part was the restoration of the lost connection. By the 7th century, a new religion was preached throughout almost the entire territory.
From the late 12th century to the early 19th century, Britain became one of the strongest maritime powers. Due to some unique features of the islands, a giant British Empire was built. To raise its status, it has repeatedly “pitched” the continental countries of Europe in devastating wars. Mostly the British won in them, who received overseas colonies, wealth taken from competitors.