Anglo- Saxon Britain

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Anglo- Saxon Britain
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Who were the Saxons?

• Saxons were a large and powerful Germanic
  people located in what is now northwestern
  Germany and the eastern Netherlands (but not in
  the area that is known as Saxony today).
• The word 'Saxon' derives from the word 'Sax'
  which means "one-edged sword".
• Saxons were thought to have originated from the
  area of northern Germany known as Schleswig
  Holstein today or Old Saxony.

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The Jutes original home

• The Jutes lived
• in Denmark.
• They lived in
• a territory that
• was called
• Jutland.

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Anglo- Saxon invasion
5th century- Angles, Saxons and Jutes came to
Britain
Reasons
Their own land often flooded
Saxon warriors were invited to come to England  
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The Invasion

• The Jutes came to Britain around 5-6th century
  AD.
• At the same time came the Angles and Saxons.
• The Celts were absorbed, enslaved or driven away
  to upland and remote areas.
• The Jutes occupied Hampshire,
• Kent and the Isle of White
• where they made their own
• Jutish kingdom.

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King Arthur
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The Anglo- Saxon kingdoms

• They never conquered Scotland
• Main Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were Northumbria,
  Mercia, Wessex, Kent and Anglia
• Offa built a long earth wall and ditch along the
  border with Wales- the Offas Dyke

Offas Dyke
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The Saxons in England

• They were really good farmers, they used four and
  eight ox ploughs to farm the land
• They worked together as a team to produce food
• Saxons lived in thatched tent like huts called
  tuns
• Saxons were divided into 2 groups freemen and
  slaves.

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Everyday life

• Anglo- Saxons had a slave society
• Rich freemen were called thanes
• People lived in small farming communities in
  wooden houses with workshops

• They didnt have prisons. For minor crimes, a
  nose or a hand might be cut off
• For murders people had to pay money to the dead
  persons relatives- wergild. (The amount depended
  on the murderers social status)

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A Village
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A hut
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The way of life of the Jutes

• They disliked towns so they destroyed them.
• They prefered to live in small villages.
• Each village was self-sufficient, there was very
  little trading.

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Clothing

• As the Anglo-Saxons adopted the Christian
  religion their dress and costumes were less
  revealing and heads were covered

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Armour
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Saxon law

• Every man had a price which was directly
  proportional to his status in the community
• This system was called wergild and it applied to
  everybody
• The system worked reasonably well for many years,
  Alfred the Great says many years later, "It was
  better than a blood feud". 

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Early Saxons beliefs

• The early Saxons were pagans and believed in many
  gods. When people died they were either cremated
  and put in a pottery urn or buried with their
  belongings.
• Slaves were usually buried with their masters.

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• Early Anglo- Saxons used runes as letters and it
  was believed that they had magical powers

• In 1939 archaeologists dug up many precious
  objects that once belonged to king Redwald at
  Sutton Hoo in Suffolk

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Christianity

• In 597 the Pope sent a monk called Augustine to
  England
• Hundreds of churches and monasteries were built
• Monasteries became centres of learning
• Children copied out manuscripts and wrote on
  sheets called vellum made out of the dried
  stomachs of calves

• Lindisfarne monastery

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Amusements

• Feasts were held in the lord's hall
• People ate on feasts roast meats, bread and fruit
  and drank beer or mead Anglo-Saxons listened to
  songs and stories about brave warriors
• They also amused themselves by telling riddles

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Entertainment

• Saxons listened to songs and stories about brave
  warriors and their adventures. One of the Saxons'
  favourite stories was about Beowulf, a heroic
  prince who killed several monsters. Beowulf was
  first written down in the 8th to 9th centuries,
  many years after it was first told.
• Music was played to accompany the songs and
  poems. The most popular instrument was the Lyre.

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Kings
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Egbert (802-839)
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8th century Venerable Bede
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Alfred The Great (871-899)
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Invaders

• In the 8th and 9th centuries the Vikings, began
  to come to Britain and destroyed almost
  everything on their way
• By the end of the 870s, the Vikings occupied most
  of eastern England
• The Anglo-Saxon period came to an end in 1066
  when Duke William of Normandy defeated Harold in
  the Battle of Hastings

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Edward the Confessor (1042-1066)
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Harold(1035-1040)
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Influence
The Ecclesiastical History of the English
People

• The system of law of the UK is based on Anglo-
  Saxon ideas
• Many Anglo- Saxon words are used today
• faether - fathersunu - sondohtor -
  daughterchese cheese

• Many place names have Anglo- Saxon origin
• ford - river crossingham - settlementden -
  hillton - farm or villagewic - farmstead

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The End