The Anglo-Saxon Invasion

Before the Romans arrived in Britain, the people there were mostly Celtic. There were little to no
written records of that time. The Romans conquered Britain in 43 AD, and the peak of their rule was
the second century (Paxton, 2020), however, in the third century, the Irish and some Germanic tribes
began their attacks. At first, the Roman Empire protected Britain, but by the fifth century, barbaric
raids have become full-force, and the Romans fled from the place. In the mid fifth-century, these
tribes began assimilating into British society, causing some native settlers to move into far areas in the
north, west, and southwest. However, majority of the British people blended with the tribes and even
began speaking their language.

The Germanic tribes referred to here are the Saxons, the Angles, and the Jutes, which will eventually
be merged into the term “Anglo-Saxon”. From these tribes the Heptarchy or the seven kingdoms in
Britain were formed around the 6th century: Kent (the kingdom of Jutes or Frisians), Essex (the
kingdom of east Saxons), Sussex (the kingdom of South Saxons), Wessex (the kingdom of West
Saxons), and three kingdoms of Angles: Northumbria, Mercia and East Anglia (Margalitadze, n.d. and
Bede (c. 673 - 735 as cited in The John Paul II Catholic School in Lublin, n.d.)).

A Brief Overview of the Germanic Tribes

The Jutes
According to Edward Dawson (as cited in History Files UK, n.d.), the Jutes were a mountain tribe
from the ancient Alfheim Kingdom now known as Bohuslän in Sweden. They were known as
mountain-dwelling people who were called “the giants” due to their towering features; from the
name “Jutes” came the name Jötunheimr, the legendary birthplace of the giants in Norse
Mythology. In the Finnesburg episode of Beowulf, this tribe was associated withthe Eotenas who
fought alongside the Frisians against the Danes.

The Saxons
The Saxons originally came from the region known today as North Sea Coast of Netherlands,
Germany, the Saxons moved into Britain by sea. They successively arrived under different leaders and
built small kingdoms in various parts of Britain. A famous Saxon king called “Cerdic” was even
believed to have fought a warrior figure who was the origin for the legendary King Arthur. Cerdic,
whether he won the battle or made a truce, was given the lands by King Arthur. There, the Saxons
formed West Saxons, Wessex, in Britain (Violatti, 2014).

The Angles
The Angles or the angli were believed to have originally come from Schleswig in Germany
(Encyclopaedia Britannica, n.d.). This tribe settled in Britain and formed the kingdoms
of Mercia, Northumbria, and East and Middle Anglia. The tribe’s name is the root of the
name England ("land of Ængle"), and they were the original speakers of Old English. Charles, Beal &
Shaw, 2009).

The name of the Angles may have been first recorded in Latinised form, as Anglii, in the Germania of
Tacitus. It is thought to derive from the name of the area they originally inhabited,
the Anglia Peninsula (Angeln in modern German, Angel in Danish). This name has been hypothesised
to originate from the Germanic root for "narrow" (compare German and Dutch eng = "narrow"),
meaning "the Narrow [Water]", i.e., the Schlei estuary; the root would be *h₂enǵʰ, "tight". Another
theory is that the name meant "hook" (as in angling for fish), in reference to the shape of the
peninsula; Indo-European linguist Julius Pokorny derives it from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enk-, "bend"
(see ankle).[3] Alternatively, the Angles may have been called such because they were
a fishing people or were originally descended from such.[4]
During the fifth century, all Germanic tribes who invaded Britain were referred to as
either Englisc, Ængle or Engle, who were all speakers of Old English (which was known
as Englisc, Ænglisc, or Anglisc). Englisc and its descendant, English, also goes back to Proto-Indo-
European *h₂enǵʰ-, meaning narrow.
 Barber, Charles, Joan C. Beal and Philip A. Shaw 2009. Other Indo-European languages have derivities
of the PIE Sten or Lepto or Dol-ə'kho as root words for narrow.  The English language. A historical
introduction. Second edition of Barber (1993). Cambridge: University Press.
The Scandinavian Invasion

First
serious
Viking
incursions.
Lindisfarne
monastery
sacked.

800 Charlemagne, king of the Franks, crowned Holy Roman Emperor; height of Frankish
power in Europe. Wessex kings aspire to similar glory; want to unite all England, and if
possible the rest of mainland Britain, under one crown (theirs).

840s-870s Viking incursions grow worse and worse. Large organized groups set up permanent
encampments on English soil. Slay kings of Northumbria and East Anglia, subjugate king
of Mercia. Storm York (Anglo-Saxon Eoforwic) and set up a Viking kingdom (Jorvik).
Wessex stands alone as the last Anglo-Saxon kingdom in Britain.

871 Vikings move against Wessex. In six pitched battles, the English hold their own, but fail
to repel attackers decisively. In the last battle, the English king is mortally wounded. His
young brother, Alfred, who had distinguished himself during the battles, is crowned king.

871-876 Alfred builds a navy. The kings of Denmark and Norway have come to view England as
ripe for the plucking and begin to prepare an attack.

876 Three Danish kings attack Wessex. Alfred prevails, only to be attacked again a few
months later. His cause looks hopeless.

878 Decisive battle at Edington; Alfred and a large contingent of desperate Anglo-Saxons
make a last stand (they know what awaits them if they fail). Alfred leads the Anglo-
Saxons to decisive victory; blockades a large Viking camp nearby, starving them into
submission; and exacts homage from the kings of Denmark and an oath that the Danes
will leave Wessex forever.

Under Alfred's terms of victory, England is partitioned into a part governed by the Anglo-
Saxons (under the house of Wessex) and a part governed by the Scandinavians (some of
whom become underlords of Alfred), divided by Watling Street. 15 years of peace
follow; Alfred reigns over peaceful and prosperous kingdom. For this, he is later dubbed
"Alfred the Great".

925 Athelstan crowned king. Height of Anglo-Saxon power. Athelstan reconquers York from
the Vikings, and even conquers Scotland and Wales, heretofore ruled by Celts. Continues
Alfred's mission of making improvements in government, education, defense, and other
social institutions.

10th Danes and English continue to mix peacefully, and ultimately become indistinguishable.
century Many Scandinavian loanwords enter the language; English even borrows pronouns
like they, them, their.

978 Aethelred "the Unready" becomes king at 11 years of age.

991 Aethelred has proved to be a weak king, who does not repel minor Viking attacks.
Vikings experiment with a major incursion at Maldon in Essex. After losing battle,
 Aethelred bribes them to depart with 10,000 pounds of silver. Mistake. Sveinn, king of
Denmark, takes note.

Anglo Saxon Culture that Influenced Britain

The 9th century saw the rise of Wessex, from the foundations laid by King Egbert in the first quarter
of the century to the achievements of King Alfred the Great in its closing decades. Alfred successfully
defended his kingdom against the Viking attempt at conquest and became the dominant ruler in
England. He was the first king of the West Saxons to style himself “King of the Anglo-Saxons.” Alfred
had a reputation as a learned and merciful man with a gracious and level-headed nature who
encouraged education and improved his kingdom’s legal system and military structure and his
people’s quality of life.
During the course of the 10th century, the West Saxon kings extended their power first over Mercia,
then over the southern Danelaw, and finally over Northumbria, thereby imposing a semblance of
political unity on peoples who nonetheless would remain conscious of their respective customs and
their separate pasts. The prestige and pretensions of the monarchy increased, the institutions of
government strengthened, and kings and their agents sought in various ways to establish social order.
This was the society that would see three invasions in the 11th century, the third of which was led
successfully by William of Normandy in 1066 and transferred political rule to the Normans.
Anglo-Saxon Culture And Society
The visible Anglo-Saxon culture can be seen in the material culture of buildings, dress styles,
illuminated texts, and grave goods. Behind the symbolic nature of these cultural emblems, there are
strong elements of tribal and lordship ties. The elite declared themselves kings who
developed burhs (fortifications or fortified settlements), and identified their roles and peoples in
Biblical terms. Above all, as Helena Hamerow has observed, “local and extended kin groups
remained…the essential unit of production throughout the Anglo-Saxon period.” The effects persist in
the 21st century as, according to a study published in March 2015, the genetic makeup of British
populations today shows divisions of the tribal political units of the early Anglo-Saxon period.
The ties of loyalty to a lord were to his person, not to his station; there was no real concept of
patriotism or loyalty to a cause. This explains why dynasties waxed and waned so quickly; a kingdom
was only as strong as its leader-king. There was no underlying administration or bureaucracy to
maintain any gains beyond the lifetime of a leader.
The culture of the Anglo-Saxons was especially solidified and cultivated by King Alfred. The major
kingdoms had grown by absorbing smaller principalities, and the means by which they did it and the
character their kingdoms acquired as a result represent one of the major themes of the Middle Saxon
period. A “good” king was a generous king who won the support that would ensure his supremacy
over other kingdoms through his wealth. King Alfred’s digressions in his translation of
Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy provided these observations about the resources that every king
needed:
In the case of the king, the resources and tools with which to rule are that he have his land fully
manned: he must have praying men, fighting men and working men. You know also that without
these tools no king may make his ability known. Another aspect of his resources is that he must have
the means of support for his tools, the three classes of men. These, then, are their means of support:
land to live on, gifts, weapons, food, ale, clothing and whatever else is necessary for each of the three
classes of men.
The first group of King Alfred’s three-fold Anglo-Saxon society are praying men—people who work at
prayer. Although Christianity dominates the religious history of the Anglo-Saxons, life in the 5th and
6th centuries was dominated by “pagan” religious beliefs with a Scando-Germanic heritage. Almost
every poem from before the Norman Conquest, no matter how Christian its theme, is steeped in
pagan symbolism, but the integration of pagan beliefs into the new faith goes beyond the literary
sources. Anglo-Saxon England found ways to synthesize the religion of the church with the existing
“northern” customs and practices. Thus the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons was not just their
switching from one practice to another, but making something fresh out of their old inheritance and
their new beliefs and learning. Monasticism, and not just the church, was at the center of Anglo-Saxon
Christian life. The role of churchmen was analogous with that of the warriors waging heavenly
warfare.
The second element of Alfred’s society is fighting men. The subject of war and the Anglo-Saxons is a
curiously neglected one; however, it is an important element of their society.
The third aspect of Alfred’s society is working men. Helena Hamerow suggested that the prevailing
model of working life and settlement, particularly for the early period, was one of shifting settlement
and building tribal kinship. The mid-Saxon period saw diversification, the development of enclosures,
the beginning of the toft system, closer management of livestock, the gradual spread of the mould-
board plough, “informally regular plots,” and a greater permanence, with further settlement
consolidation thereafter foreshadowing post-Conquest villages. The later periods saw a proliferation
of “service features,” including barns, mills, and latrines, most markedly on high-status sites.
Throughout the Anglo-Saxon period, Helena Hamerow suggested: “local and extended kin groups
remained…the essential unit of production.”

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldhistory/chapter/the-anglo-saxons/

The Anglo-Saxon Hero

by Christopher Garcia
In Anglo-Saxon culture and literature, to be a hero was to be a warrior. A hero had to be strong,
intelligent, and courageous. Warriors had to be willing to face any odds, and fight to the death for
their glory and people. The Anglo-Saxon hero was able to be all of these and still be humble and kind.
In literature Beowulf is, perhaps, the perfect example of an Anglo-Saxon hero. In The 13th Warrior,
Ibn Fadlan (played by Antonio Banderas) also shows many of the characteristics that distinguish an
Anglo-Saxon hero. At the same time, Fadlan and those around him display many of the traits which
define today's heroes. The Anglo-Saxon hero is clearly shown and defined in Beowulf, "The
Wanderer," "The Dream of The Rood," and even Crichton's The 13th Warrior.
In Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxon hero is well defined by the actions of Beowulf. It is obvious that Beowulf
is the quintessential hero. His strength and courage are unparalleled, and he is much more humble
(and honorable) than many of the corrupt warriors around him. Beowulf displays his great strength
time after time. Whether he is fighting sea monsters, Grendel's mother, or a horrible fire-breathing
dragon, Beowulf shows that his courage and strength should be an inspiration to all heroes.
Strength and physical appearance are essential to the Anglo-Saxon warrior. Beowulf is described as
having the strength of "thirty men" in just one of his arms, and when he first arrives in the land of the
Danes, the coastguard sees the mighty hero and says, "I have never seen a mightier warrior on earth
than is one of you, a man in battle-dress" (Beowulf, 7). Strength is clearly an important characteristic
of heroes in Anglo-Saxon culture, but strength alone is not enough to define a hero. Beowulf shows
that every hero must have courage. In an argument with Unferth, Beowulf says, "Fate often saves an
undoomed man when his courage is good" (Beowulf , 12). This quotation shows the importance of
courage in the Anglo-Saxon culture. Fate, which was thought to be unchangeable, seems to bend for a
hero who has enough courage. Beowulf tells Hrothgar and the Danes that he will kill Grendel (which
would on its own be a great feat of strength), but he says he will do this without his sword, and this
shows his courage and honor. Beowulf then speaks inspiringly to the thanes in the mead-hall:
I resolved, when I set out on the sea, sat down in the sea-boat with my band of men, that I should
altogether fulfill the will of your people or else fall in slaughter, fast in the foe's grasp. I shall achieve a
deed of manly courage or else have lived to see in this mead-hall my ending day. (Beowulf, 13)
When Beowulf speaks these words, he shows his great courage, and displays the proper attitude of
the Anglo-Saxon warrior. Death for a warrior is honorable, and courage must be shown through
deeds, even if it means death. A hero must be willing to die to achieve glory. He must display courage
in the face of overwhelming or impossible odds, and he must have the strength to back his courage.
Beowulf also shows that a hero must be humble. When he is exalted by the Danes after his victories
against Grendel, and Grendel's mother, he refuses kingship, humbly returns to Hygelac, and gives
away all of his hard earned treasures. Beowulf constantly refers to his loyalty to his lord, Hygelac.
Beowulf is the perfect example of an Anglo-Saxon hero. Beowulf has all the characteristics of a
warrior and is still noted as being "The mildest of men and the gentlest, kindest to his people, and
most eager for fame" (Beowulf, 52).
Like Beowulf, Ibn Fadlan shows many honorable characteristics in The 13th Warrior. Ibn displays many
of the distinguishing traits of Anglo-Saxon heroes; however, there are also a few characteristics that
define today's heroes present in the film. Ibn Fadlan shows great intelligence by learning the Anglo-
Saxon language in a short time. The extremely surprised Rus ask him how he learned their language
and he tells them that he listened. Even Buliwyf shows intelligence by learning to write "sounds" in a
relatively short time. Intelligence is important to the Anglo-Saxons, especially in leaders. Hrothgar is
often described as being wise, and this shows that wisdom is also an important character trait.
Though Ibn Fadlan isn't trained as a warrior, he displays admirable courage in battle. The other
warriors in the troop show many courageous characteristics including the will to fight to the death.
Buliwyf fights the primitive tribe and manages to kill the leader even though he is poisoned and dying.
There are, however, some character traits that pertain more to today's heroes in the movie. The
romantic aspect of Ibn Fadlan does not correlate with the traits of heroes in Anglo-Saxon literature.
The Anglo-Saxon hero didn't need to have romantic relationships, and in fact probably didn't have
time for any. Many of the Anglo-Saxon heroic traits, however, are still heroic today. Courage,
strength, and intelligence are still very important characteristics of heroes; however, standing to fight
even if it means death is not as important as it was in the Anglo-Saxon culture. In fact, there is a
saying today which explain, "Those who fight and run away, live to fight another day." The 13th
Warrior shows many heroic characteristics, but not all of these were considered heroic in Anglo-Saxon
culture and literature.
The earth-walker of "The Wanderer" helps to further define the Anglo-Saxon warrior and hero. The
earth-walker says that "men eager for fame shut sorrowful thought up fast in their breast's coffer"
(Norton). This quotation adds another level to the definition of a hero. A hero in Anglo-Saxon culture
had to be strong, brave, intelligent, and humble, but he must at all times keep his sorrows and fears
to himself. Heroes couldn't complain about their problems, or appear weak. Anglo-Saxon warriors had
to be stoic, and they had to appear fearless at all times. This relates to both Beowulf and Buliwyf
because both of these heroes show no fear or sorrow. These two heroes keep their word and do not
complain, no matter how impossible their tasks seem. This is one of the true marks of the Anglo-
Saxon hero, and one of the places that Ibn Fadlan (Of The 13th Warrior) could be said to fall short of
the Anglo-Saxon hero definition. Ibn tends to voice his worries and let his fear of death be shown,
especially when the warriors are waiting for the Wendel. The earth-walker speaks of wise men; again
this shows how important wisdom is for Anglo-Saxon warriors.
The portrayal of Christ as a warrior fighting for his people in "Dream of the Rood" is a very powerful
picture of a hero and savior. The talking tree (clearly a pagan influence in the poem) tells the reader
how he has had to stand strong for "the young hero/strong and stouthearted" (Norton). Christ is
described here as a young hero, a warrior fighting to save his people. Christ and the tree are drenched
in blood, covered with markings, and yet they stand strong and have courage. This is truly the mark of
a hero in Anglo-Saxon culture and literature. In the poem Christ "climbed on the high gallows, bold in
the sight of many, when he would free mankind" (Norton). These actions distinguish the young hero
as proud, strong, and very brave. His strength is emphasized when the tree says that it "trembled"
when the warrior embraced it. "The Dream of the Rood" offers a powerful description of a hero, and
savior.
The hero in Anglo-Saxon culture and literature is best defined as an honorable warrior. The Anglo-
Saxon hero possessed many traits which heroes today possess. They were strong, intelligent, tactful,
courageous, and willing to sacrifice all for glory and their people. The heroic traits of the literary
characters in Beowulf, "The Wanderer," "Dream of the Rood," and The 13th Warrior both define and
set the standard for the Anglo-Saxon hero.

It may be cliché to speak of deeds worthy of song, but the desire to be remembered through the
performance of great feats is a theme common to many European traditions of heroic poetry that is
clearly evidenced in Old English.

Ancestry was more important than the hereafter. Fame and a good reputation would
build up a name and make it last. Therefore, it was the descendants’ patrimonial duty not
to spoil the legacy of their forefathers and ruin the family repute. Men were expected to
uphold the values which had been passed down to them by their ancestors and live up to
the standards of dignity and loyalty they inherited. Moreover, they were to observe the
immutable ties of blood and lordship, which created a grid of horizontal and vertical
liabilities. In other words, one had to account for the welfare and protection of his kin
 and for that of his avowed liege lord.

Anglo-Saxon values and culture in

Beowulf
 June 2019
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.34738.04809
 Project: Medieval studies

Authors:

Dana Vasiliu

Bards, etc DND