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NEW SETTLEMENTS IN BRITAIN

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Religion in the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms- From paganism to Christianity

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Religion in the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms- From paganism to Christianity

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The Germanic migrants who settled in Britain in the fifth century were pagans. From the end of the sixth century, missionaries from Rome and Ireland converted the rulers of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms to a religion – Christianity.
In AD 597 St Augustine had been sent to Kent by Pope Gregory the Great to convert the Anglo-Saxons. It was a tall order for his tiny mission, but gradually the seven kingdoms did convert, and became exemplary Christians – so much so that they converted their old tribal homelands in Germany.One reason why they converted was because the church said that the Christian God would deliver them victory in battles

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1. Kent, settled by the Jutes. Ethelbert of Kent was the first Anglo-Saxon king to be converted to Christianity, by St Augustine around 595 AD.

2. Mercia, whose best-known ruler, Offa, built Offa's Dyke along the border between Wales and England. This large kingdom stretched over the Midlands.

3. Northumbria, where the monk Bede (c. 670-735) lived and wrote his Ecclesiastical History of Britain.

4. East Anglia, made up of Angles: the North Folk (living in modern Norfolk) and the South Folk (living in Suffolk). The Sutton Hoo ship burial was found in East Anglia (see below).

5. Essex (East Saxons). Here the famous Battle of Maldon was fought against the Vikings in 991.

6. Sussex: the South Saxons settled here.

7. Wessex (West Saxons), later the kingdom of King Alfred, the only English king ever to have been called ‘the Great', and his equally impressive grandson, Athelstan, the first who could truly call himself ‘King of the English'.

By 850 AD the seven kingdoms had been consolidated into three large Anglo-Saxon kingdoms: Northumbria, Mercia, and Wessex. The Anglo-Saxons had become a Christian people.

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The Anglo-Saxon period in Britain spans approximately the six centuries from 410-1066AD. The period used to be known as the Dark Ages, mainly because written sources for the early years of Saxon invasion are scarce. However, most historians now prefer the terms 'early middle ages' or 'early medieval period'.

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Anglo-Saxon mercenaries had for many years fought in the Roman army in Britain, so they were not total strangers to the island. Their invasions were slow and piecemeal, and began even before the Roman legions departed. There is even some evidence to suggest that, initially, some Saxons were invited to help protect the country from invasion.

When the Roman legions left Britain, the Germanic-speaking Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians began to arrive – at first in small invading parties, but soon in increasing numbers. Initially they met little firm resistance from the relatively defenceless inhabitants of Britannia. Around 500 AD, however, the invaders were resisted fiercely by the Romano-British, who might have been led by King Arthur, if he existed – and there is no hard evidence that he did. However, the monk Gildas, writing in the mid-6th century, talks about a British Christian leader called Ambrosius who rallied the Romano-British against the invaders and won twelve battles. Later accounts call this leader Arthur.

The Celtic areas of Britain regarded the Saxons as enemies and foreigners on their borders: their name became Sassenachs to the Scottish and Saesneg to the Welsh.

The various Anglo-Saxon groups settled in different areas of the country. They formed several kingdoms, often changing, and constantly at war with one another. These kingdoms sometimes acknowledged one of their rulers as a ‘High King', the Bretwalda. By 650 AD there were seven separate kingdoms

During the 11th century, Anglo-Saxon England was conquered not once but twice. The Danish king, Cnut, ousted the native Anglo-Saxon dynasty in 1016, and he and his sons reigned in England until 1042.

Then, after an interlude during which Edward the Confessor (the son of Æthelred the Unready by Queen Emma) held power, Harold, the last Anglo-Saxon king, was killed at Hastings on 14 October 1066.

Harold’s successor as elected by the surviving English aristocracy was Edgar the Atheling (died 1125), but he never took power and was never crowned. The new Norman dynasty held sway in England for the best part of a century.

This is not to say that the Anglo-Saxons disappeared from sight in 1066.

Although Domesday Book testifies that many native English landholders and churches lost substantial portions of their estates between 1066 and 1086, the Anglo-Saxons remained the largest segment of the population.

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Anglo-Saxon society was hierarchical. At its head stood the king and members of the royal family, followed by the nobility, bishops and other churchmen. At the other extreme were unfree members of society, or slaves.

Everyday life in Anglo-Saxon England was hard and rough even for the rich. Society was divided into three classes. At the top were the thanes, the Saxon upper class. They enjoyed hunting and feasting and they were expected to give their followers gifts like weapons. Below them were the churls. Some churls were reasonably well off. Others were very poor. However, at least they were free. Below them were a class of slaves called thralls. Their lives were very hard. Some churls owned their own land but many 'rented' land from a thane. They 'paid the rent' by working on the thane's land for part of the week and by giving him part of their crops.

We can learn a substantial amount about the social organisation of Anglo-Saxon from two key sources: the earliest law-code, written for King Æthelberht of Kent (died 604); and Domesday Book. Æthelberht’s laws set out a complex system of compensation and punishment, based on the status of the offender and the injured party.

They also reveal that women had rights in Anglo-Saxon England, but that these were dependent on the individual’s marital status. Compensation could not be paid to a woman, but would instead be given to her father, husband or brother.

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The vast majority of Anglo-Saxons made their living from farming. Up to 8 oxen pulled plows and fields were divided into 2 or sometimes 3 huge strips. One strip was plowed and sown with crops while the other was left fallow. The Anglo-Saxons grew crops of wheat, barley, and rye. They also grew peas, cabbages, parsnips, carrots, and celery. They also ate fruit such as apples, blackberries, raspberries, and sloes. They raised herds of goats, cattle and pigs, and flocks of sheep. However, farmers could not grow enough food to keep many of their animals through the winter so as winter approached most of them had to be slaughtered and the meat salted.

Some Anglo-Saxons were craftsmen. They were blacksmiths, bronze smiths, and potters. At first, Anglo-Saxon potters made vessels by hand but in the 7th century, the potter's wheel was introduced. Other craftsmen made things like combs from bone and antler or horn. There were also many leather workers and Anglo-Saxon craftsmen also made elaborate jewelry for the rich.

The Anglo-Saxons lived in wooden huts with thatched roofs. Usually, there was only one room shared by everybody. (Poor people shared their huts with animals divided from them by a screen. During the winter the animal's body heat helped keep the hut warm). Thanes and their followers slept on beds but the poorest people slept on the floor.

There were no panes of glass in windows, even in a Thane's hall and there were no chimneys. Floors were of earth or sometimes there were dug out and had wooden floorboards placed over them. There were no carpets. Rich people used candles but they were too expensive for the poor. Instead, poor Anglo-Saxons used rushlights (rushes dipped in animal fat). Anglo-Saxon toilets were just pits dug in the ground surrounded by walls of wattle (strips of wood weaved together). The seat was a piece of wood with a hole in it.