Who were the Anglo-Saxons?

Outdoing all others in brutality?
'They outdo all others in brutality. Ungovernable, entirely at home at sea, they attack unexpectedly. When they are ready to sail home they drown or crucify one in ten of their victims as a sacrifice, "distributing the iniquity of death by the equity of lot".'
Sidonius Appollinaris, landowner, poet and later bishop, writing about Saxon raiders in 470 AD (from The Anglo-Saxons by James Campbell)

'Anglo-Saxon' is used as a catch-all phrase to refer to the Germanic peoples who invaded and settled in England in large numbers during the fifth and sixth centuries AD. As well as the Angles (who came from the southern part of the Danish peninsula and eventually gave their name to England) and the Saxons (who came from the north German plain to the west), there were also Jutes (from Jutland) and unknown numbers from other Germanic – and Scandinavian – tribes as well.

From raiders to invaders
The Romans used the term 'Saxon' to refer to all of the various tribes who inhabited the north German plain between the Elbe and the Weser and the south of what is now Denmark. These peoples had been raiding the coasts of eastern and southern Britain and northern Europe as far west as Spain since the third century AD. By the end of the fourth century, together with the Picts (from Scotland) and the Scots (from Ireland), they were menacing the frontiers of Roman Britain from all sides. The collapse of Roman authority in Britain in the early fifth century left the native Britons exposed to these enemies. Over the coming centuries, the raiders became invaders and settlers, conquering and transforming the country as they came.

The removal of the Roman legions from Britain around 410 AD did not lead to an immediate Anglo-Saxon takeover, however. Nor did the newcomers invade as a single great force that defeated the Britons. After the departure of the legions, centralised government broke down. Local rulers or strongmen moved to fill the gap. The earliest surviving account of the coming of the Anglo-Saxons (written two centuries afterwards) says that they were first hired as mercenaries, turning against their employers when they were not paid.

Settlers and natives
After that, there seem to have been waves of migrating settlers, who soon established themselves in the southern and eastern parts of Britain. In some areas they may have driven out or enslaved the original British inhabitants; in others they may have coexisted peacefully.

The turmoil varied from place to place. There is growing evidence that many Romano-British villas remained in use and prosperous well into the fifth and possibly the sixth century. But with the collapse of central authority, Britain became divided into numerous small warring groups ruled by chiefs, both native and invading. By the seventh century, these had been consolidated into the kingdoms that were to dominate the history of medieval England. Those native Britons who were not subject to Anglo-Saxon rule had been pushed far into the west and north.

Differing opinions
This much is uncontroversial, but archaeologists and historians disagree over the extent to which the newcomers displaced (or, to use a modern expression, 'ethnically cleansed') the native Britons. Many now believe that it was more a case of a new ruling class supplanting the existing chiefs and royal households – a change of rulers, which saw large sections of the native population adopting the newcomers' religious beliefs and way of life rather than being murdered or driven away. In some cases, it is argued that they did not even replace the existing local rulers, but that the native chiefs simply adopted Anglo-Saxon customs – including dress, weapons and burial practices, making it impossible for archaeologists to distinguish them from the newcomers.

Not exclusively 'Anglo-Saxon'
Nor were the new arrivals exclusively 'Anglo-Saxon'. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which records how later Anglo-Saxons viewed their own history, refers to just three tribes as being responsible for the conquest and settlement of Britain:

'These men came from three nations of Germany: from the Old Saxons, from the Angles, from the Jutes. From the Jutes came the people of Kent and the people of the Isle of Wight, that is the race which now dwells in the Isle of Wight, and the race among the West Saxons which is still called the race of the Jutes. From the Old Saxons came the East Saxons and South Saxons and West Saxons. From Angeln [the southern Danish peninsular], which has stood waste ever since between the Jutes and the Saxons, came the East Angles, Middle Angles, Mercians and all the Northumbrians.'

Swedish royalty
Yet we know now that, as well as these, there was also in-migration by the Franks (from what is now northern France and central Germany), the Frisians (from Holland and Belgium), the Geats (from Gotland and parts of southern Sweden), the Wends (from the southern Baltic), Scandinavians and many others. Indeed, the most famous 'Anglo-Saxon' discovery of all in Britain – the Sutton Hoo burials – are actually most likely to be those of a royal family whose origins lay in southern Sweden. If, as most scholars believe, Mound 1 at Sutton Hoo is the burial of King Raedwald (overlord of the East Angles, who died around 625 AD), then the Sutton Hoo burials are those of the Wuffings family – who traced their descent from Scandinavian royalty, with a lineage supposedly stretching back as far as the god Woden.

DNA testing
Recent developments in DNA testing mean that we are eventually likely to learn a great deal more about who were the 'Anglo-Saxons', where they came from, where they settled and when, and who are their descendants in the modern population. Those studies carried out so far have been relatively small and localised, but they are already providing insights into the mixed heritage of the present-day inhabitants of Britain. We don't know what future studies will reveal, but it seems probable that the traditional history of three Anglo-Saxon tribes – the Angles, Saxons and Jutes – conquering and replacing the native British population is far too simplistic.

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