Anglo Saxon Research Paper

The Anglo-Saxons

The invasion of a Germanic barbarian tribe, the Anglo-Saxons, had a significant and positive influence on England. Unlike most invasions, the Anglo-Saxons’ arrival in England had mostly benefitted the Britons. In both the government and the early church, Anglo-Saxon culture and practices transformed England in many ways. The pagan Anglo-Saxons contributed to the early development of the church and of the development of a complex governing body, helped create new farming methods, and allowed for the expansion of Christianity by providing an outlet for missionary work in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.

The Anglo-Saxons were pagan barbarians who had invaded and settled in various parts of Eastern England. This Germanic tribe originated

in Denmark and Northern Germany and had invaded alongside other pagan Germanic tribes (North 642). This invasion also included the Franks during their invasion of Britain and the Netherlands. All three groups claimed land and the Anglo-Saxons settled in Britain. Their invasion caused the Romans to withdraw their military forces from Britain, leaving the Britons without protection (Fisher 489). Over time the Anglo-Saxons numbers grew and a war ensued, creating a time of absolute chaos within Britain. The entire landmass was left defenseless against Anglo-Saxons. In response, the Britons fled to the safety of the western forests and mountains. Rome’s withdrawal of its military forces not only enabled the Anglo-Saxons to invade England, but also allowed them to create permanent settlements (Fisher 489). As a result, the Anglo-Saxons carved out small kingdoms throughout England, along with Kent, in southeast England. The Anglo-Saxons, a Germanic tribe, were occupants of former Roman territory but mirrored the Scandinavians. “The Anglo-Saxons resembled their pagan Scandinavian relatives more than their Christian Frankish neighbors” (Blair 8). Even though it seemed like they had engrossed an immense number of Britons, their exotic culture proved superior in terms of influence and that culture impacted many aspects of politics in the Early Church and England.
The Anglo-Saxons’ Ecclesiastical culture influenced the seventh-century English and the early church.

“Their para-monastic form, capable of being endowed, adopted, or controlled by individuals or dynasties, was attractive to the kings and nobles of northern Europe, where the monastic sites tended to become nodes of interconnections based on familial and territorial structures”(Blair 49). In this para-monastic form, the bishops were important pastorally and to varying degrees administratively. This also provided infrastructure for the local churches. In all the complex religious sites, housing communities of a broadly monastic character became progressively more important. “…it proved enormously attractive to English kings too, though this only becomes apparent sometime after the initial conversions” (Blair 49). As a result, there rose long-term stability within Irish society where the emergent Anglo-Saxon communities helped forge a new Germanic and pagan identity. As they moved toward a more political and less tribal organization, they reoriented themselves towards the Christian world. “…the late Anglo-Saxon kings developed a highly advanced administration that functioned through a system of local divisions (shires) and royal officers (sheriffs)” (McKitterick 121). This system made the Anglo-Saxon kings’ will known throughout their kingdom by means of writs and allowed the direct levying of taxes. With this improved degree of communication, the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms survived

conquests made by the Danish kings Swegn and Cnut, the duke of Normandy, and William the Conqueror.
The Anglo-Saxons not only contributed to the political development of England but also contributed to the development of the economy.

England received new crops, made advancements in trade and established a relationship with the Christian Church. “…zooarchaeological evidence indicates that the Anglo-Saxon immigrants followed agricultural practices similar to those of Romano-British farmers” (Fisher 492). At West Stow, a rural settlement in use from the fifth to seventh centuries, evidence indicated a mixed agricultural economy. During that time, changes in agricultural practices spread, including new cereal crops, the use of water mills and meadows, the farming of open fields, the production of animal surpluses, and broad use of the moldboard plow. These new alterations enabled greater agricultural yields. “Each major Anglo-Saxon kingdom controlled at least one emporium” (Fisher 494). The goods that passed through the emporia were linked to local markets or exchange sites at smaller, non-urban settlements. Archaeological finds demonstrate that the European continent supplied Anglo-Saxon England with cachet goods like precious metals, gemstones, ceramics, jewelry, textiles, glassware, and weaponry. The church characterized the sacral role of kingship through ritual anointing and synodic degree. “A mutually beneficial patron-client relationship existed between the Anglo-Saxon kings and the Christian church” (Fisher 494). West Saxon and Mercian kings, seeking support for their

dynastic ambitions, gave gifts of land and other resources to this church, which the Anglo-Saxons had also helped advance the in terms of strength and power.
The Anglo-Saxon’s invasion of Eastern England opened the opportunity for the Church to expand and create monasteries to convert the pagans. “In A.D. 597 the Roman mission sent by Pope GREGORY I and led by Augustine landed in Kent where it began the conversion of the English and the organization of the English Church…” (Loughran 449). The scattered heathen Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England gave the Church the opportunity to Christianize the pagan men and women. Kent was the most cultured Christian Anglo-Saxon kingdom, and there he built the Cathedral of Christ Church. “Augustine’s mission bore fruit long after in the conversion of the rest of England, in the Synod of Whitby, and in the missionary work of Anglo-Saxons on the Continent” (Farmer 871). He had established a diocese, appointed bishops, held councils, founded monasteries for both men and women, and greatly fostered learning and culture. Augustine’s missionary work strengthened the organization of the early church. “Conversion became a form of very effective cultural imperialism, whether as a diplomatic tool or as part of a process of conquest” (Mckitterick95). As a result of this conversion, art flourished along with letters, especially in North-Umbria. In the 8th century, Anglo-Saxon monks, missionaries, and teachers went to the continent in the footsteps of the Irish to advance the cause of religion and learning. The invasion by the heathen Anglo-Saxons had helped and strengthened the monasteries in Eastern England.
England and the early church benefited from the invasion and settlement of the Anglo-Saxons. England’s agriculture and trade broadened, creating a more potent economy. As the economy became more efficient, political systems in England and administrations in the early church evolved into more sophisticated forms. The early church began to gain even more strength as Augustine established monasteries throughout the pagan Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. All of these positive developments were the result of the Anglo-Saxons invading Eastern England leading to grand steps forward in the strengthening of the country.