1. Anglo-Saxon: Historical and social background (449-1966) Historical background The Anglo-Saxons tribes arrived in Great Britain at the beginning of the 5th century. There were Germanic invaders who had already settled in England as mercenaries. They crossed the North Sea and they killed many British inhabitants or pushed them towards Wales, Cornwall ans Scotland. Together with them a small group of Danes, called the Jutes, arrived in the south of Great Britain, together with the Anglo-Saxons, in the same period. When these Germanic tribes arrived in England, they destroyed many Roman cities (except London who became the most important commercial centre) and cancelled the Roman civilization and language. The Celtic civilization survived only in Wales, Scotland, Cornwall and Ireland. Although the Anglo-Saxons brought them pagan religion, Christianity continued to spread in England, thanks to Pope Gregory the Great, who sent St Augustine to Britain in 597. He become the first Archbishop of Canterbury and founded many monasteries. Judes, Anges and Saxons invented the Germanic Iceland. In Ireland his mission was continued by Patrick. The AngloSaxon imposed their language (they had a written alphabet called “runes” or “runic alphabet”, even if they had a very strong oral tradition), their culture, their political and judicial systems and they divided the country into seven kingdoms (Notrhumbria ad East Anglia, Kent, where the Jutes settled, Essex, Wessex, Sussex). During the 9th century we had a second brief invasion of the Danes, but King Alfred who was a Saxon king, defeated them and became the greatest English king of that time. He created a reign which embraced all south of England and he reintroduced the Latin culture and language. After his death, the Danes re-conquered the country until 1042 when another English king, Edward the Confessor, became the new King. He lived for many years in France and in Normandy and for that reason he introduced in England the…