Anglo-Saxons were the forerunners of the modern English, who lived in Britain in the V - XI centuries. At first it was a conglomerate of different Germanic tribes, which gradually became the basis of a single nation. The evolution of the Anglo-Saxon people into English occurred after the Norman conquest of England in 1066.
Angles and Saxons
To understand who the Anglo-Saxons are, it is necessary to turn to the ancient and medieval history of Britain. This people appeared as a result of the merger of several Germanic tribes. These were the Angles, Saxons, and also the Utes. Until the III century, they lived in the territory of modern Germany and Denmark. Then it was a pagan territory, bordering the Roman state.
The empire controlled Britain for several centuries. When the first legions entered the island, there lived a Celtic tribe of Britons, on whose behalf this land got its name. In the III century, the Great Migration of Peoples began. It swept the Germanic tribes. Knowing these ancient processes of migration helps to realize who the Anglo-Saxons are. The onslaught of nomads from the east forced the Angles, Saxons and Yutes to go west, cross the sea and settle in Britain. The local population took hostility with strangers, and long wars began for control of the island.
The formation of the seven kingdoms
Finding out who the Anglo-Saxons are and where they came from, one cannot fail to mention that they exterminated the Celtic population of Britain, which was subjected to strong Roman influence. Until the fifth century, this war was part of one big war between a dying empire and barbarians. In the VI century, Roman power on the island remained in the past, and the Britons were destroyed.
Germanic tribes founded their own kingdoms on lands new to themselves. Angles - Northumbria, Mercia and East Anglia, Saxons - Wessex, Essex and Sussex, and Utes - Kent. Despite the national similarities, they began to regularly fight with each other. Political fragmentation into seven kingdoms and several other small principalities continued until the 9th century.
Alfred the Great
Gradually, the ethnic and linguistic borders between the Germanic tribes finally erased. Many factors contributed to this: long life side by side, trade, dynastic marriages between the ruling dynasties, etc. Anglo-Saxons are the people who appeared in the IX century on the territory of the seven kingdoms. An important part of the rallying of the population was its Christianization. Before moving to the island, the Angles and Saxons, like all Germans, were pagans and worshiped their own pantheon of deities.
The first in 597, King Kent Ethelbert was baptized. The ceremony was held by the Holy Catholic Church of Augustine. Over time, new teachings spread among the entire German population of Britain. Christians - that is what the Anglo-Saxons are, starting from the VII - VIII centuries. The ruler of Wessex, Egbert, who ruled in 802 - 839 years., Managed to unite under his authority all seven kingdoms. Today, historians consider him the first monarch of England, although he himself did not bear such a title. His grandson Alfred the Great at the end of the 9th century led the national liberation struggle against the Vikings who encroached on Britain. Having cleared the island of invaders, he took the well-deserved title of king of England. A new period has begun in the history of the development of the nation. Today, historians are researching precisely the 9th century to find out more exactly who the Anglo-Saxons are. In the modern world, knowledge of them is based on the texts of medieval chronicles and archaeological finds.
Peasantry
For the most part, the population of Britain of that period was engaged in agriculture. Who are Anglo-Saxons from a social point of view? These were free peasants (they were called curls). These small landowners were completely independent, independent of the aristocracy and subordinated only to royal power. They paid the state food rents, and also participated in the firm - the national militia.
Until the eighth century, the chronicles did not mention the existence of a layer of dependent peasants. A serious threat to their freedom was the devastating raids of the Vikings. The robbers from Scandinavia arrived on the island unexpectedly. They burned peaceful villages, and residents were killed or taken prisoner. Even if the peasant managed to escape from the Vikings, he was left with nothing. In distress, he had to seek custody of the nobles who owned large land plots. In addition, during the war, the state each time significantly increased taxes. Exactions severely hit even those farms that were in relatively peaceful regions. So the history of the Anglo-Saxons naturally gradually came to the appearance of serfs.
Norman Conquest
Over time, finding out who the Anglo-Saxons are and where they came from has become more difficult due to the fact that this ethnic culture gradually disappeared after England was conquered by the army of Norman Duke William I. In 1066, his fleet departed from fragmented France and arrived in Britain. The goal of William the Conqueror was the English throne, which occupied the Anglo-Saxon dynasty.
The kingdom was weakened due to the simultaneous attack of the Vikings, who also wanted to gain a foothold on the island. At the Battle of Hastings, the Normans defeated the army of the monarch Harold II Godvinson. Soon the whole of England was in the hands of William. This event was not a simple rotation of the ruler, which often happened in the Middle Ages. Wilhelm was a foreigner - he spoke a foreign language and was raised in another society.
The appearance of the English
Having come to power, the new king brought his Norman elite to the island. French briefly became the language of the aristocracy and, in general, of all the upper echelons. However, the old Anglo-Saxon dialect was preserved in a huge peasant environment. The gulf between the social strata did not last long.
Already in the XII century, two languages merged into English (an early version of the modern one), and the inhabitants of the kingdom began to call themselves English. In addition, the Normans brought with them the classic feudal system and the war system. Thus a new nation was born, and the term "Anglo-Saxons" became a historical concept.