Anglo-Saxon England: Kingdoms, Invasions, and Culture
Anglo-Saxon England: Kingdoms and Society
Germanic tribes migrated to Britain, leading to the decline of Roman towns. Over time, several kingdoms emerged, forming the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. Leadership within the Heptarchy shifted: Northumbria held prominence in the 7th century, Mercia in the 8th, and Wessex in the 9th.
Anglo-Saxon Invasions and the Heptarchy
In 449 AD, Jutes, Angles, and Saxons invaded England. The ‘Saxon Shore,’ previously under Roman protection, faced attacks. Picts and Scots raided from the North. The Celtic leader Vortigern sought aid from the Jutes, who settled in Kent. Saxons established themselves in Sussex (477) and Wessex (495), while Angles settled along the East Coast up to Northumbria (547). Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People (731) provides valuable insights into this period.
The Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy consisted of:
- Kent: Known for its culture and wealth in the 6th century. King Ethelbert embraced Christianity.
- Northumbria: A center of literature and learning in the 7th century, with notable monasteries like Lindisfarne, Wearmouth, and Jarrow.
- Mercia: Dominant in the 8th century.
- Wessex: Rose to power in the 9th century under King Egbert (803-839), who achieved overlordship by 830. Alfred the Great (871-889) later became known as ‘Rex Anglorum’ (King of the English).
Alfred the Great and the Viking Wars
Alfred the Great’s reign was marked by continuous conflict with the Danes (Vikings). Key battles included Ashdown (871), Wareham, and Exeter (875). The Treaty of Wedmore (878) was signed after Alfred’s victory, leading to the conversion of the Viking leader Guthrum to Christianity.
Anglo-Saxon Civilization
Anglo-Saxon society was hierarchical:
- Æðelings (Nobles)
- Eorls (Earls)
- Ðegns (Thanes)
- Ceorls (Churls), further divided into geneatas, kotsetla, and gebur
- Ðeow (Slaves)
Justice was based on weregild (compensation for a crime). In 597, St. Augustine was sent to convert the Anglo-Saxons. By 700, all of Anglo-Saxon England had become Christian.
Old English Vocabulary and Language
Old English had a primarily Germanic vocabulary (e.g., cild = child, scip = ship, dæg = day). Some words had different meanings than their modern counterparts (e.g., dream = joy, winnan = fight, sellan = give).
Word formation involved:
- Compounding: Creating new words by combining existing ones (e.g., æftergengness = succession, dægred < dæg+red = dawn).
- Derivation: Forming words using prefixes and suffixes (e.g., onwæcnan = awake, synnfull = sinful).
- Borrowing: Adopting words from other languages, including Celtic (e.g., Kent, Thames, Avon, Brae (hill), dunn (grey)), Latin (e.g., altar, daemon, prior, clericus, grammatica), and Scandinavian (e.g., they, sky, skill, sister, egg, kid).
- Kennings: Poetic phrases used as metaphors (e.g., hronr~d (whale+road = sea), beadol‘oma (battle+light = sword).
Many Old English words were lost after the Norman Conquest in 1066, replaced by French words. However, many surviving Old English words are still widely used today (e.g., man, child, house, eat, do, run, go). Some words remained identical (e.g., god, hand, land), while others changed meaning (e.g., bread originally meant “bit” or “piece”). Some words survived only in specific expressions (e.g., guma = bridegroom), and many others were lost entirely (e.g., blican, leax).
Old English had grammatical gender, unlike the ‘natural gender’ of Modern English. Indo-European languages had three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter), which survive in modern Icelandic and German.
The Introduction of Christianity
In 597, Pope Gregory I sent missionaries, including St. Augustine, to the ‘Angli’ in Kent. King Ethelbert was baptized, and in 601, Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury, establishing the Church in England. Irish missionaries founded monasteries in Northumbria, including Lindisfarne, associated with St. Patrick. The 7th century saw the spread of Christianity.
Consequences of Christianization
- Influx of Latin words into English.
- Construction of churches and monasteries, which served as centers of learning.
After Alfred the Great’s death, several weak leaders followed, including his son Edgar and grandson Aethelstan. Ethelred the Unready (meaning ‘no counsel’) came to the throne at age ten after his mother had his half-brother Edward murdered. He was considered a poor leader. The 990s saw renewed Viking raids.
The First Viking Invasion
In the late 8th century, Vikings raided Lindisfarne and Jarrow (793). In 865, Ivar the Boneless and his brother Halfdan landed in East Anglia. They attacked Wessex in 870, facing resistance from Ethelred and Alfred. Swein Forkbeard forced submissions in the North and defeated Ethelred, who fled to Normandy.
In 878, Alfred won a decisive victory at Edington over Guthrum, the Danish king of East Anglia. The Treaty of Wedmore established the Danelaw. In the late 10th century, Olaf Tryggvason and Svein Forkbeard invaded England. The Battle of Maldon saw a Viking victory over the Saxons. In 1016, after the deaths of Ethelred and his son Edmund Ironside, Cnut (Svein Forkbeard’s son) ruled England. Cnut married Ethelred’s widow, Emma of Normandy.
After Cnut‘s death in 1035, dynastic disputes arose. Edward, the surviving son of Ethelred, was recalled from exile in Normandy to rule. Known as “Edward the Confessor” for his piety, he had lived in Normandy for 25 years and was the founder of Westminster Abbey. As Edward approached old age without an heir, the question of succession became critical.