The Anglo-Saxon Invasion of Britain

Abstract

The Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries is typically a story of slaughter anddestruction. This is largely because Gildas, the only known contemporary to write about the events,portrayed it as such, and subsequent writers have taken his interpretation as fact. However, Gildas wasnot a historian, nor did he claim to be. Modern archeological research has proven that Gildas exaggeratedmuch of the destruction he claims took place, but this has not changed the popular notion that theAnglo-Saxons conquered and subdued the native Britons. However, the literature, art, and language ofthe Saxons and the Britons prior to and during the Anglo-Saxon period indicates the two peoples musthave joined together in more than just war. However, the question remains: to what extent did thisaffect the peoples, and the culture that emerged from this period? This paper uses an interdisciplinaryapproach. First, it uses archeological evidence to critically examine the modern historiographicevidence for the conquer-and-destroy model of Anglo-Saxon colonization. It then uses literary analysisto demonstrate the Celtic story-telling influences in the Anglo-Saxon literary opus Beowulf, and finallyconsiders the linguistic evidence of Celtic language influences on Old English. Ultimately, though theAnglo-Saxon language (Old English) emerged as the dominant language of the island, there was far morecultural exchange between the two peoples than has previously been acknowledged. This is crucial tounderstanding this important era of British history and the development of British-English culture.