Anglo-Saxon invasions

The Anglo-Saxon invasions

The term Anglo-Saxon refers to three Germanic tribes (the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes) who began raiding the British coasts around 450, after the departure of the Roman troops. They met with bitter opposition from some local British tribes (according to legend, some of these tribes were led by the mythical King Arthur). The Anglo-Saxons raided Britain for over a century, and progressively settled in and drove away the local Celtic tribes, pushing them - and their Celtic languages - into present-day Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

Anglo-Saxon society and culture

Anglo-Saxon society was strongly hierarchical. At the top was always a leader, who could be a tribal chief, the head of a family unit, and ultimately a king.
Each leader ruled over his thanes, Anglo-Saxon warriors bound to him by loyalty. In return for their allegiance, they received land, riches and power. Warriors grouped together under a single king or ruler formed a comitatus.
Anglo-Saxon culture was based on a rich tradition of oral literature, symbolised by the mead-hall, a large room in a building or castle where warriors and kings gathered to drink, eat and feast and where scops would entertain them with songs about heroes and their adventures. The arrival of Christian missionaries, from 597 onwards, was essential for the preservation of Anglo-Saxon culture: most Anglo-Saxons could not read or write, so it was the Christian monks who recorded and handed down their literature .

Boudicoa, Queen of the Iceni

Boudicca was the wife of Prasutagus, ruler of the Iceni people in East Anglia. After invading southern England in 43 AD, the Romans allowed Prasutagus to continue to rule over his territory. However, after his death things took a dramatic turn: Prasutagus had left half of his possessions to his wife and two daughters and the other half to Rome, but the Romans decided to ignore his will, since Roman law did not allow inheritance to be passed on to women. They took over all Prasutagus’ land, Boudicca was chained and whipped and her two daughters, who at the time were about 12 years old, were tortured before her eyes. Boudicca sought immediate revenge: she convinced the Iceni to join forces with other Celtic tribes and rebel against the Romans. She then led her people to three important victories: the battles of Colchester, London and St. Albans. However, she and her army were eventually defeated by the Romans in the crucial Battle of Watling Street. No one knows exactly what happened to Boudicca and her daughters. Some say she died of battle wounds, others that she and her daughters took poison to avoid falling in the hands of the Romans. In spite of the final defeat, Boudicca is remembered as the legendary queen who led her people against the Romans and has come to symbolise the idea of national resistance.