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Task 10: Anglo Saxons. Entrepreuneurial, pagan, barbarians


The historical records frequently refer to certain groups of people as barbarians.
We are going to take a look at one particular group of barbarians - the Anglo Saxons. This task requires you answer the following questions.
what civilization are the Anglo Saxons related to?
Why did the Anglo Saxons settle in England? And what was their religion

Read the following extracts and then write your answer.



Extract 1:
...When Britain gained "independence" from Rome in the year 410ce,
the Roman legions withdrew leaving the country vulnerable to invaders.
Soon after the withdrawal of Roman troops, inhabitants from the north began attacking the Britons.
In response to these attacks, individual towns sought help from the Foedarati,
who were Roman mercenaries of German origin, for the defense of the northern parts of England...

...The Saxons called the native Britons, 'wealas', which meant foreigner or slave,
and from this term came the modern word Welsh.
Eight to ten years later many British aristocrats (Celts) and city dwellers began migrating to Brittany,
an event known as the second migration.
Although there were many different Germanic tribes migrating to England,
several stood out from among the others, such as
the Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Frisians, and Franks...
The Angles migrated from Denmark and the Saxons from northern Germany...

...Conversion to Christianity - By the year 550ce, the native Britons had been converted to Christianity
and the religion became firmly established within their culture.
Attempts by the Britons to convert the Anglo-Saxon pagans were futile.

See the full article here:
http://www.uta.edu/english/tim/courses/4301f98/oct12.html






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Okay answering the question.
When you write your answer you should mention that the Anglo Saxons were given land,
in Briton as payment, for their Mercenary services against the Picts.
Mention that the Anglo Saxon are of Viking/Germanic origin.
Also mention that they are Pagans.
Draw some conclusion (maybe say what you have learned from this task).

Task Discussion