The Short-Term Significance Of The Anglo-Saxon Invasions - Coursework Example

? Topic:  What, in your view, was the short-term significance of the Anglo-Saxon Invasions? Introduction Anglo Saxon England is a term used in reference to the part of Britain that came to be known as England, from the end of the occupation of Britain by Romans, to the final establishment of the Anglo Saxon kingdom in the 5th century which only lasted until the Norman conquest of England by William the conqueror. The invasion of England was a result of fighting between the British and the Anglo Saxons until around AD 500 at the Battle of Mount Badon which started as a result of a mutiny by Anglo Saxon mercenaries within the Roman army between 450 and 500. However, Gildas in his De Excidio Brittannie acclaims the resistance to Ambrosius Aurelianus who finally won the Battle of Mount Badon, which steamed the migration of the Anglo Saxons and their dominance of England as the Britons exhausted themselves with internal disputes, wars and general unrest. Discussion A most recent account based on a skeptical review of the archeological evidence by Hines notes that, while there was a general sequence of the transition from Roman Britain to Anglo-Saxon England, it cannot be dated to the exact dates as historians would desire. This is due to very little evidence in the form of Anglo Saxon artifacts that could be dated back to the 5th century. Anglo Saxon influence hence became more visible during the 2nd half of the 5th century resulting in the definition of the coming of the Anglo Saxons from the point which they achieved significant influence rather than their first arrival, c450 hence is just a date as any. The significances of the Anglo Saxon invasion in Britain can hence be analyzed in terms of the social, political, economic, cultural and economic impacts. As one of the short term social impacts of this invasion and final migration, the Anglo Saxons were assimilated into the Celtic culture and their social setting, especially in the central and southern parts of Britain. This contributed to the final creation of the Anglo Saxon England which basically led to the extensive use of the old English language. The language arose as a social need among the three different communities of the Anglo Saxons to communicate among each other (Gerrard, CA217. Celt was the language of the military and the higher in society who in any given society are usually few in number and the fall of the Romano British rule saw the fall in the number of Latin speakers, hence leaving the majority and the rest of the society to be speakers of old English whose growth in population increased the number of old-English speaker. The Anglo Saxon invasion of England is mainly known to have started by the invitation of Anglo Saxon mercenaries of 100 men on three ships by the Romans to help them in the war against the Picts and the Irish, and also others who came to their own accord. Their most known form of military advancement was on foot sores but during the aftermath of their invasion of Britain, and their expansion of their territory, they switched their military strategy to charging on horsebacks which can also be attributed to the expansion of their kingdom which meant large tracts of land to be covered, which logically could not be done on foot. In the early Anglo Saxon settlement in Britain, buildings were of simple construction, only using masonry in the foundation only but the rest was strictly using timber with thatch roofing. This form of architecture of the Anglo Saxon was because of not wanting to settle within the old roman cities. With the Roman settlement among the Anglo Saxons also saw a distinctive contrast in the form of construction of houses and in the overall architecture in totality (White, CA 211). The Roman settlement led to the building of monumental forms of architecture which can be attributed to Christianity since the churches of this age were to be built in a particular form of architecture. Christianity as a religion was formally introduced to the Anglo Saxons and in England after the final fall of the Roman British Empire at the beginning of the fifth century. According to Bede, this resulted in an influx of invaders from northern Germany by many other different sub tribes who were later to form the known Anglo Saxons community, who had their own religion. Christianity hence gradually replaced the known Anglo Saxon polytheism which had crude laws and cultic practices regarding punishment of wrong doers due to their little regard to human life as seen in their animate sacrifices offered to their deities. Christianity hence had an influence on how they were to practice law due to the respect that Christianity had to human life. Christianity also changed the Anglo Saxon way of life since it set prohibitions on acts of paganism such as their funeral practices which included cremation and inhuming of the dead bodies. The Christian nature of the new government of England was that, the king had to have a close personal relationship with the archbishop resulting in a royal dependence upon the blessing of the church. The settlement of the Anglo Saxons into Britain also saw them change significantly in their burial practices. During the late roman period, the deceased were usually buried straight in the ground, usually with the head at the west end and without any accompaniment of artifacts. In addition, during this period, there was to be no burial of the deceased within the walls of roman town and cities since it was forbidden by law. After the Anglo Saxon invasion however, Britain as a country saw a significant change in such practices especially in the southern and eastern parts of England. The Anglo Saxons either cremated or inhumed. Those inhumed were either buried in graves or burial pits placing the bodies of the deceased in extended supine positions, often with the head specifically oriented (Gerrard, CA217). With this, English burials changed too as a result. There was the practice of depositing orientation of the corpses and the furnishing of the graves with goods including jewelry, ornaments, pottery and other vessels such as toilet seats and knives (Hills, 2003). A major economic impact of the Anglo Saxons invasion according to Dark P The environment of Britain in the first millennium; AD 146, the downfall, or rather the trickle down effect of the economy caused by the fall of the Roman Empire, though this was preceded by the increased coastal flooding which destroyed farm societies who used less of the small one dozen household villages surrounded by irregular fields and individual farmhouses with a walled infield which is attributed to the fall in the economy. The farmers however soon resettled in the Romano British deserted settlements. This however led to the development of the town life which is based on the squatter’s problem, sewage and government offices and the presence of stalls and shops that were built around AD 400, which finally started to boost up the economy of England. Conclusion The settlement of the Anglo Saxons into Britain basically meant that they also brought their way of life into Britain. This was in the form of their political setting and practices and how they conducted their leadership, their social way of life such as how they built their houses, how they buried their dead and how they related with one another in terms of communication which is language (Kirby, 1967). When they brought all these into Britain, they assimilated the indigenous Britons into their culture and borrowed some practices from their neighbours in the form of architecture from the Romans. All these aspects led to the creation of the new country which is Britain today. Bibliography Arnold, C. (1997) Archaeology of the Early Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms, Routledge, London:19-33  Dark,K. (2000) Britain and the End of the Roman Empire, Tempus Publishing, 10-27; 227-231  Hills,C (1990) Roman Britain to Anglo-Saxon England, History Today, Vol.40 - 46-52  Hills (2003) Origins of the English, Gerald Duckworth & Co. 73-115  Kirby, D. (1967) The Making of Early England, B.T.Batsford - 12-32  Welch, M. (1992) Anglo-Saxon England, B.T.Batsford - 97-108  White, R. (CA 211) The Lingering Death of Roman Britain  Gerrard, J. (CA217) The End of Roman Bath  Faulkner, N. (2004). The decline and fall of Roman Britain. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Tempus Publ. Dark, K. (1998) Centuries of Roman Survival in the West  Read More