Who were the Anglo-Saxons and where did they come from?
When did they arrive?
In AD410, the last of the Roman soldiers were said to have left Britain and a new mixture
of warring tribes came across the North Sea from Denmark, Germany and the
Netherlands. These ‘new people’ were the Anglo-Saxons. The Roman age had ended and
the Anglo-Saxon age had begun, lasting until 1066.
Did you know that some historians say the Anglo-Saxons came because of rising
floodwaters in their own countries?
Who were they?
The three biggest tribes of the tribes
who came, were the Jutes, Angles and the
Saxons. The land they settled in was
called 'Angle-land', or England.
Using modern names for the countries
they came from, the Jutes were northern
Danish, the Angles were southern Danish
and the Saxons were German-Dutch.
A wooden Saxon hut
What did they do?
The tribes were not always warring; they
were mostly farmers who lived in wooden
or wattle and daub huts. Most Anglo-Saxon
children did not go to school, girls would
help and work around the home. They were
in charge of making cheese, cooking meals,
weaving
cloth,
brewing
ale
and
housekeeping. Whilst boys learnt the skills
of their fathers, learning how to plough
fields, use a spear in battle, how to fish and
hunt and how to chop down trees with an axe.
Some people would say, the Anglo-Saxons were
accomplished craftsman, making intricate
jewellery and metalwork.
What is wattle and daub?
Wattle is made by sticks being woven together
and daub is the binding agent such as mud. This
makes the hut nice and warm. Sometimes manure
was used as daub so the huts could be rather
smelly for a while!
A wattle and daub Saxon hut
What was it like to be an Anglo-Saxon child?
Once they were 10 years old, Anglo-Saxon
children were considered to be an adult.
They were punished just like an adult and
had to work as hard as an adult. Only the
sons of wealthy families or kings might be
taught at home by a private teacher. The
only schools were run by the Christian
Church in monasteries, some children lived
there training as monks and nuns so only few
An Anglo-Saxon monastery
children learnt how to read and write.
Girls wore long-sleeved shifts with woollen tunics
over the top. The tunic was secured by a brooch
on each shoulder and a belt around the waist. Boys
on the other hand, wore long-sleeved under-shirts
and baggy trousers with wool tunics over the top.
The tunic was only secured with a belt.
Anglo-Saxon clothes
Saxon Kingdoms
By the mid 7th Century, several powerful
‘Kingdoms’ (areas run by Kings) started to
emerge. These kings and queens became
progressively more powerful from the
eighth to eleventh centuries (AD750AD1066). The kingdoms began to expand
and merge until by the tenth century
three main kingdoms remained: Mercia,
Wessex and Northumberland. However, it
was the Kings of Wessex who eventually
controlled all of England. Alfred the
Great (AD871-899) was one of the most
famous kings of Wessex.
Saxon Money
The early Anglo-Saxons didn’t use coins, so after the Romans left in AD400, coins
stopped being used as used. They did however,
re-use some Roman coins brought over from
places like France. We know this as coins like
these were found in the famous Sutton Hoo
Saxon burial site. During the 7th Century
(AD600-699), like the Romans, Saxon Kings
wanted to show their importance so they
started to make their own coins to use in trade.
A coin from King Alfred.
These coins were very valuable as they were made
of gold therefore not used for everyday transactions. They we mainly used by rich and
important people as gifts, to buy land, to pay fines and taxes and for long distance trade. Most
Saxons exchanged goods via bartering rather than using coins.
During the 8th Century (AD700-799), especially in Southern and Eastern England, coins
began to be more widely used. Each Kingdom had its own coins with a pictures of that
King’s head on the coins. A trader travelling between the kingdoms would need to change
their coins into ‘local kingdom currency’- just as people do today when they travel abroad.
During this time, coins started to be made of silver instead of gold. Coins became more
common in the 9th to 11th Century, starting to be exchanged for goods and objects.
Did you know that the Anglo-Saxons did not have as many types of
coins with different values as we have? If they had to ‘reduce’ the
value of a coin, they would cut it in half or quarters! Archaeologists
often find these cut coins…
Information sourced from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zq2m6sg
http://anglosaxondiscovery.ashmolean.org/Life/dailylife/coin_info.html