2.2.2. The Anglo-Saxon Conquest of Britain

The independence of Britons was but of short duration. In the year 449 A.D. the first Germanic invaders under the leadership of Hengist and Horsa came to Britain.

According to Bede, (a monastic scholar who wrote the 1-st history of England Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum) the newcomers were of the three strongest races of Germany: the Saxons, the Angles and the Jutes. The Jutes (the 1- st wave of invaders) settled in the South East, in Kent. The Saxons (the 2-nd wave of invaders) occupied the territory along the Thames and to the south of the river. The Angles (the 3-d wave of invaders) settled to the North of the Thames. To the Romans and the Celts, the Germanic conquerors were all Saxons but they preferred to call themselves Angelcynn (English people) and applied this name to the conquered territories: Angelcynnes land (land of the English, hence England).

Now it is necessary to add a few words as to the significance of the invasion. When the Angles, Saxons and Jutes settled on the island of Britain, they were separated from all their kinsmen on the continent of Europe, which resulted in the differentiation of their speech. The slight difference between their dialects and those of other Germanic tribes, no longer levelled by communication, had a tendency to grow, and in the course of time, it brought about the development of a separate language – the English language. On the other hand, the fact that the Angles, Saxons and Jutes came to live together on the same island and fought the same enemy contributed much to their being gradually united into one people – the English people. Therefore, the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain is considered to be the beginning of the history of the English language.

The invaders met with stubborn resistance of Britons and succeeded in establishing themselves only after much fighting a century and a half later. The Britons of Cornwall were subjugated only in the year 838, i.e. nearly 4 centuries after the beginning of the invasion.

By the end of the VI century there had been formed seven Germanic kingdoms (the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy). The Angles formed three kingdoms: Northumbria, Mercia and East Anglia. The Saxons also founded three kingdoms: Wessex, Essex and Sussex. The Jutes founded one kingdom – Kent. The strongest of those kingdoms, Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex were constantly fighting for supremacy. In the VII c. political supremacy was gained by Northumbria, which accounts for the fact that the oldest English documents were written in the Northumbrian dialect. In the VIII century the leadership passed to Mercia and finally, in the IX century – to Wessex. The capital of Wessex, Winchester, became the capital of England. Nearly all the literature of the IX–XI cc. was written in the dialect of Wessex.

The most important event that influenced the development of the English language at that period was the introduction of Christianity in 597, which was a gradual process and which was over only by the end of the VII century. It resulted in the substitute of the Latin alphabet for a Runic alphabet, used before that, and an extensive adoption of Latin words and words that came from Greek and Hebrew.