The anglo-saxon conquest

At first the Germanic tribes only raided Britain, but after AD 430 they began to settle. knowledge of this period mainly to an English monk named Bede in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People. invaders came from three powerful Germanic tribes, the Saxons, Angles and Jutes. The Jutes settled mainly in Kent and along the south coast, and were soon considered no different from the Angles and Saxons. The Angles settled in the east, and also in the north Midlands, while the Saxons settled between the Jutes and the Angles in a band of land from the Thames Estuary westwards. The British Celts fought the raiders and settlers from Germany as well as they could. most were driven into the mountains in the far west, which the Saxons called "Weallas", or "Wales", meaning "the land of the foreigners". Some Celts were driven into Cornwall, where they later accepted the rule of Saxon lords. In the north, other Celts were driven into the lowlands of the country which became known as Scotland. Some Celts stayed behind, and many became slaves of the Saxons. Days of the week were named after Germanic gods: Tig (Tuesday). New place-names appeared on the map. The Anglo-Saxons established a number of kingdoms, some of which still exist in county or regional names to this day: Essex (East Saxons), Sussex (South Saxons), Wessex (West Saxons), Middlesex (probably a kingdom of Middle Saxons), East Anglia (East Angles). By the middle of the seventh century the three largest kingdoms, those of Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex, were the most powerful. The power of Mercia did not survive after Offa's death. The Saxons created institutions which made the English state strong for the next 500 years. One of these institutions was the King's Council, called the Witan. By the tenth century the Witan was a formal body, issuing laws and charters. It was not at all democratic, and the king could decide to ignore the Witan's advice. For the Witan's authority was based on its right to choose kings, and to agree the use of the king's laws. Without its support the king's own authority was in danger. The Witan established a system which remained an important part of the king's method of government. The Saxons divided the land into new administrative areas, based on shires, or counties. "Shire" is the Saxon word, "county" the Norman one. Over each shire was appointed a shire reeve, the king's local administrator. Anglo-Saxon technology changed the shape of English agriculture. introduced a far heavier plough which was better able to plough in long straight lines across the field. It was particularly useful for cultivating heavier soils. This heavier plough led to changes in land ownership and organisation. The Saxons settled previously unfarmed areas. In each district was a "manor" or large house. This was a simple building where local villagers came to pay taxes, where justice was administered, and where men met together to join the Anglo-Saxon army, the fyrd. It was the beginning of the manorial system which reached its fullest development under the Normans. It was the beginning of a class system, made up of king, lords, soldiers and workers on the land. One other important class developed during the Saxon period, the men of learning. These came from the Christian Church.

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