Who were the Anglo-Saxons?
They were Jutes, a Germanic tribe whose names are preserved today in Jutland and Juteborg. They invaded Britain in the 5th century under the leadership of Hengist and Horsa. The Venerable Bede tells us they occupied the Isle of Wight, parts of the Hampshire coast, and Kent with its capital at Canterbury. They were also Saxons, (Germanic) though they came from the Danish peninsula, and lived partly from piracy from the 3rd century AD to the 5th, when they invaded Britain at the end of Roman supremacy. Their name survives in Wessex, Essex, Sussex and Saxony in Germany itself. The Saxons and Jutes were joined by the Angles, Germanic in origin who probably came from the area of Schleswig-Holstein or neighbouring Denmark. They settled down in East Anglia and Northumbria. Their name survives in the gradual metamorphosis from Anglo-Saxon England to Englaland and thence to England. (more…)