Lengua y Cultura Inglesa IV

M.Victoria González.

1. Who were the Anglo- Saxons?

They were three main Germanic tribes: Angles, Saxons and Jutes.  The Anglo- Saxons
gave a large part of Britain its new name “England, “the land of Angles”.

2. When and why did they invade Britain?

Most of the Germanic tribes were looking somewhere to live because of the adverse
weather conditions and floods, they couldn’t do agriculture.
They began to settle after Ad 430 the Anglo-Saxons chose Britain because it had no army, it
had fertile lands, and it was safer than Europe.

3. Where did they come from?

The invaders came from three powerful Germanic tribes, the Saxons, Angles and Jutes.

4. Where did they settle in Britain?

The jutes settled in Kent and along the south coast, the Angles in the east and in the north
Midlands and the Saxons settled between the Jutes and the Angles in a band of land from
the Thames Estuary Westwards.

5. Describe the Anglo- Saxon government and society.

The Anglo Saxons created institutions; one of these institutions was “the king council
“called “the witan” that probably grew from informal groups of senior warriors and
churchmen.
By the end of the 10 century the witan was a formal body, issues laws and charters. It was
th

not democratic at all; the king could decide to ignore the Witan advice.
The Saxons divided the land into new administrative areas based on shires (countries).
Their technology change the shape of English Agriculture, the introduce a heavier plough
which was better able to plough in long straight lines across the field; it was particularly
useful for cultivating heavier soils, but it required six or eight oxen to pull it. This heavier
plough led changes to in lands ownership and organization. In order to make a good use of
the village, this was divided into two or three large fields, and these were divided again
into long thin strips, each family had a number of strips in each of those fields, as only few
individual families could afford to keep a team of oxen, so they had to share, for this
reason The villagers had to work closely together.
In each district there was a “ manor” or large house were the villagers paid taxes, were
justice was administered and where men met together to join the Anglo-Saxons army.

The lord of the manor had to organize and make sure that the village land was properly
shared. This was the beginning of the Manorial system.
6. What was the Heptarchy?
The term ‘Heptarchy’ alludes to the tradition that there were seven Anglo-Saxon
kingdoms: East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Mercia, Northumbria, Sussex, and Wessex. By the
beginning of the seventh century the boundaries of the Anglo-Saxon Tribal kingdoms,
known as the Heptarchy, had formed. They continued until in around 829, when the
kingdom of Wessex reigned supreme.

7. What was a Bretwalda?

Is an Old English word, the first syllable of the term bretwalda may be related to Briton or
Britain. The second element is taken to mean 'ruler' or ‘sovereign’. This interpretation
would mean 'sovereign of Britain' or 'wielder of Britain'. The word is used in the Anglo-
Saxon Chronicle in its account of the events of 829 and also in a charter of Athelstan, king
of the English, and probably means “ruler of the Britons” or “ruler of Britain.”

8. How was Christianity introduced in Britain?

There´s no date when Christianity first reached Britain, but it was certainly well before
Christianity was accepted by the Roman Emperor Constantine in the early fourth century
before AD. 

Christianity became firmly established across Britain. The Anglo-Saxons belonged to an

In 597 Pope Gregory the Great sent a monk, Augustine, to re-establish Christianity in
England. He went to Canterbury. He did so because the king's wife came from Europe and
was already Christian. Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in 601. Several
ruling families in England accepted Christianity. But Augustine and his group of monks
made little progress with the ordinary people because Augustine was interested in
establishing Christian authority, and that meant bringing rulers to the new faith.

Celtic Church which brought Christianity to the ordinary people of Britain. The Celtic
bishops went out from their monasteries of Wales, Ireland and Scotland, walking from
village to village teaching Christianity.

The competition between the Celtic and Roman Churches reached a crisis because they
disagreed over the date of Easter. 

England had become Christian very quickly. By 660 only Sussex and the Isle of Wight had
not accepted the new faith. Twenty years later, English teachers returned to the lands
from which the Anglo-Saxons had come, bringing Christianity to much of Germany.

9. What was the difference between the Roman Church and the Celtic Church?

The bishops from the Roman Church lived at the courts of the kings, which they made
centres of Church power across England. One was more interested in the hearts of
ordinary people; the other was interested in authority and organization.
10. How was the relationship between the Saxon kings and the Roman Church?

Saxon kings helped the Church to grow, but the Church also increased the power of kings.
Bishops gave kings support, which made it harder for royal power to be questioned. Kings
had “God's approval”. The value of Church approval was all the greater because of the
uncertainty of the royal succession. There were other ways in which the Church increased
the power of the English state. It established monasteries, or ministers, for example
Westminster, which were places of learning and education. These monasteries trained the
men who could read and write, so that they had the necessary skills for the growth of royal
and Church authority. 

11. What language did the Anglo- Saxons speak?

They all used Latin, the written language of Rome and this encouraged English trade with
the continent.