Anglo-Saxon
In 410 A.D. the Roman legions were recalled to Rome to defend it against barbarian attacks, and Britain was left to fend for itself. Having no armies left the British people were left open to attack from the Picts which was by the sea down the east coast, for the Picts are described in one Late Roman source as a sea-going people - just like the Saxons. This account of the migrations from Germany, following the collapse of the Roman Empire, is taken from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, and is how the later Anglo-Saxons saw the first arrival of their people. Since then, until quite recently, it has remained the accepted view of what happened. The British 'tyrants' also feared a Roman invasion from Gaul to remove them, so some of the Saxons stationed in southern England may have been a guard against Roman military intervention - a far cry from the old view of the Britons missing the presence of the legions!. It is also known that the peoples who made up the 'Anglo-Saxons' were far more varied than just the three groups mentioned. The numbers of the invaders was certainly large, and they certainly did affect the nature of British society, even to the extent of replacing the primary language, but they did not wipe out the na
The early Saxon settlers came in small groups and established themselves, or were established, in East Anglia, Essex, Oxfordshire, Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire, often at or close to Roman towns, as at Caister-By-Norwich and Dorchester-on-Thames. The usual materials were linen and woolens, the more expensive outfits being marked by colourful dyes and exotic borders. If a person became a slave because they were unable to pay a debt, they might be freed when the value of their labour reached the value of the original debt. Shields were round, made of wood covered with leather, and had an iron boss in the centre. The nature of the religion of the Germanic settlers is a very difficult subject, since it has to be pieced together from odd references from classical times and later Christian writings which obviously did not want to promote Pagan beliefs. When they weren't fighting the favourite pastimes of the Dark Ages were dice and board games such as chess. The king who did not provide land, slaves, or plunder might wake up dead one fine morning. Society was divided into several social classes, which might vary from place to place. It is also thought that some of the 'Anglo-Saxon' burials may actually be native Britons who adopted the ways of the 'Anglo-Saxons', just as they had done several centuries earlier with the Romans. A few of the main Anglo-Saxon gods were Tiw, Odin, Thor, and Friya, whose names are remembered in our days of the week Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. In some cases a family would sell a child into slavery in time of famine to ensure the child's survival.
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