Old English or Anglo-Saxon Period (410-1066)
Historical Background of Anglo Saxon Period
The term “Anglo-Saxon” is used historically to describe the three Germanic tribes, Jutes, Angles, and Saxons, who ruled Britons, today’s Great Britain, from the 5th century CE to the time of the Norman Conquest (1066).
The Anglo-Saxon respected scholar St. Bede in his great book called “Ecclesiastical History of the English People” has mentioned that three different Germanic tribes such as the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes came from northern Germany to the island of Britain in the 5th century, 410 CE, because after the departure of the Romans, the Britons suffered much from plundering raids of Picts and Scotti that is why the contemporary ruler of Britons named “Vortigern” invited them to defend his kingdom against the invasions of the Picts and Scotti, today’s Ireland and Scotland. They defended the Britons but turned against Vortigern and took control over the country and divided the country into eight kingdoms. The Saxons controlled the southern part of England dividing it into three kingdoms such as Essex, Sussex, and Wessex. The Jutes took the southeast part and named the kingdom Kent. And the Angles took over control of the northern and central parts of the country and divided them into four kingdoms such as East Anglia, Middle Anglia, Mercia, and Northumbria.
