Anglo-Saxons, the name commonly given to the nation or people formed by the amalgamation of the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, who settled in Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries after Christ, the Anglo-Saxons being simply the English people of the earlier period of English history. The tribes who were thus the ancestors of the bulk of the English-speaking nationalities came from North Germany, where they inhabited the parts about the mouths of the Elbe and Weser, and the first body of them who gained a footing in Britain are said to have landed in 449, and to have been led by Hengist and Horsa. From the preponderance of the Angles the whole country came to be called Engla-land, that is, the land of the Angles or English.
Many scholars object to the term 'Anglo-Saxon' as being inaccurate and open to misinterpretation. Correctly used, Anglo-Saxon means English-Saxon, as distinguished from the Old-Saxon of the Continent; incorrectly used, as it has been too frequently, it is taken as = Angle + Saxon, a union of Angle and Saxon. Camden (1551-1623) is responsible for the widespread use of the term; ignorance is responsible for the misuse. Many scholars prefer to apply the term 'Old English' to the language and people of England before A.D. 1100, partly because this term is more accurate and partly because its use helps to emphasize the essential continuity of the language.
The whole Anglo-Saxon community was frequently spoken of as consisting of the eorls and the ceorls, or the nobles and common freemen. The former were the men of property and position, the latter were the small landholders, handicraftsmen, &c., who generally placed themselves under the protection of some nobleman, who was hence termed their hláford or lord. Besides these there was the class of the serfs or slaves (theówas), who might be either born slaves or freemen who had forfeited their liberty by their crimes, or whom poverty or the fortune of war had brought into this position. They served as agricultural labourers on their masters' estates, and were mere chattels, as absolutely the property of their master as his cattle.
The king (cyning, cyng) was at the head of the State; he was the highest of the nobles and the chief magistrate. He was not looked upon as ruling by any Divine Right, but by the will of the people, as represented by the witan (wise men) or great council of the nation. The new king was not always the direct and nearest heir of the late king, but one of the royal family whose abilities and character recommended him for the office. He had the right of maintaining a standing army of household troops, the duty of calling together the witan, and of laying before them public measures, with certain distinctions of dress, dwelling, &c., all his privileges being possessed and exercised by the advice and consent of the witena-gemót or parliament (literally, 'meeting of the wise'). Next in rank and dignity to the king were the ealdormen, who were the chief witan or counsellors, and without whose assent laws could not be made, altered, or abrogated. They were at the head of the administration of justice in the shires, possessing both judicial and executive authority, and had as their officers the scír-geréfan or sheriffs. The ealdormen led the fyrd or armed force of the county, and the ealdorman, as such, held possession of certain lands attached to the office, and was entitled to a share of fines and other moneys levied for the king's use and passing through his hands. The whole executive government may be considered as a great aristocratical association, of which the ealdormen were the
members, and the king little more than the president. The ealdorman and the king were both surrounded by a number of followers called thegnas or thanes, who were bound by close ties to their superior. The king's thanes were the higher in rank; they possessed a certain quantity of land, smaller in amount than that of an ealdorman, and they filled offices connected with the personal service of the king or with the administration of justice. The scir-geréfa (shire-reeve or sheriff) was also an important functionary. He presided at the county court along with the ealdorman and bishop, or alone in their absence; and he had to carry out the decisions of the court, levy fines, collect taxes, &c. The shires were divided into hundreds and tithings, the latter consisting of ten heads of families, who were jointly responsible to the State for the good conduct of any member of their body. For the trial and settlement of minor causes there was a hundred court held once a month. The place of the modern Parliament was held by the witena-gemót. Its members, who were not elected, comprised the æthelings or princes of the blood royal, the bishops and abbots, the ealdormen, the thanes, the sheriffs, &c.
One of the peculiar features of Anglo-Saxon society was the wergyld, which was established for the settling of feuds. A sum, paid either in kind or in money, was placed upon the life of every freeman, according to his rank in the State, his birth, or his office. A corresponding sum was settled for every wound that could be inflicted upon his person; for nearly every injury that could be done to his civil rights, his honour, or his domestic peace, &c. From the operation of this principle no one from king to peasant was exempt.
Agriculture, including especially the raising of cattle, sheep, and swine, was the chief occupation of the Anglo-Saxons. Gardens and orchards are frequently mentioned, and vineyards were common in the southern counties. The forests were extensive, and valuable both from the mast they produced for the swine, and from the beasts of the chase which they harboured. Hunting was a favourite recreation among the higher ranks, both lay and clerical. Fishing was largely carried on, herrings and salmon being the principal fish caught; and the Anglo-Saxon whaling vessels used to go as far as Iceland. The manufactures were naturally of small moment. Iron was made to some extent, and some cloth, and saltworks were numerous. In embroidery and working of gold the English were famous over Europe. There was a considerable trade at London, which was frequented by Normans, French, Flemings, and the merchants of the Hanse towns. Our Anglo-Saxon forefathers were notorious for their excess in eating and drinking, and in this respect formed a strong contrast to their Norman conquerors. Ale, mead, and cider were the common beverages, wine being limited to the higher classes. Pork and eels were favourite articles of food. The houses were rude structures, but were often richly furnished and hung with fine tapestry. The dress of the people was loose and flowing, composed chiefly of linen, and often adorned with embroidery. The men wore their hair long and flowing over their shoulders. Christianity was introduced among the Anglo-Saxons in the end of the sixth century by St. Augustine, who was sent by Pope Gregory the Great, and became the first Archbishop of Canterbury. Kent, then under King Ethelred, was the first place where it took root, and thence it soon spread over the rest of the country. The Anglo-Saxon Church long remained independent of Rome, notwithstanding the continual efforts of the Popes to bring it under their power. It was not till the tenth century that this result was brought about by Dunstan. Many Anglo-Saxon ecclesiastics were distinguished for learning and ability, but the Venerable Bede holds the first place.
Anglo-Saxon Language.—The Anglo-Saxon language, which is simply the earliest form of English, claims kinship with Dutch, Icelandic, Danish, Swedish, and German, especially with the Low German dialects (spoken in North Germany). It was called by those who spoke it Englisc (English). The existing remains of Anglo-Saxon literature show different dialects, of which the northern and the southern were the principal. The former was the first to be cultivated as a literary language, but afterwards it was supplanted in this respect by the southern or that of Wessex. It is in the latter that the principal Anglo-Saxon works are written. The Anglo-Saxon alphabet was substantially the same as that which we still use, except that some of the letters were different in form, while it had two characters either of which represented the sounds of th in thy and in thing. Nouns and adjectives are declined much as in German or in Latin. The pronouns of the first and second person had a dual number, 'we two' or 'us two' and 'you two', besides the plural for more than two. The
infinitive of the verb is in -an, the participle in -ende, and there is a gerund somewhat similar in its usage to the Latin gerund. The verb had four moods—indicative, subjunctive, imperative, and infinitive, but only two tenses, the present (often used as a future) and the past. Other tenses and the passive voice were formed by auxiliary verbs. Anglo-Saxon words terminated in a vowel much more frequently than the modern English, and altogether the language is so different that it has to be learned quite like a foreign tongue. Yet, notwithstanding the large number of words of Latin or French origin that our language now contains, and the changes it has undergone, its framework, so to speak, is still Anglo-Saxon. Many chapters of the New Testament do not contain more than 4 per cent of non-Teutonic words, and as a whole it averages perhaps 6 or 7.