AngloSaxons

The Anglo-Saxons were a group of Germanic-speaking peoples who inhabited and culturally shaped England from about the 5th century onward, following the decline of Roman rule in Britain. Their main constituent groups were the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, who migrated from what is now Denmark and northern Germany. Over time these communities merged with the remaining Celtic populations and established a number of kingdoms across the island.

Largely organized around kings, noble elites, and freemen, Anglo-Saxon society featured a hierarchical class structure that included thegns (earls or military followers) and ceorls (freemen). Law and governance operated through local assemblies and royal courts, with the Witan or Witenagemot serving as a council of advisers to kings. The economy was based on agriculture, with growing urban trade and the minting of coinage in later periods. Christianity was adopted gradually from the 6th century, initiated by missions such as Augustine of Canterbury, and monasteries became centers of learning and literacy.

The language of the Anglo-Saxons was Old English, recorded in diverse texts from laws and charters to poetry. West Saxon became the literary standard, and enduring works include epic poetry such as Beowulf and prose like Bede’s Ecclesiastical History. Christian monasteries preserved learning through turbulent times, including Viking raids in the 9th and 10th centuries.

By the late 9th and 10th centuries, the kingdom of Wessex led efforts to unify most of England, with diminished Danish control following treaties that created the Danelaw. The Anglo-Saxon era effectively ended with the Norman Conquest in 1066 after Harold II’s defeat at Hastings, though its language, culture, and institutions continued to influence medieval England.