Anglo Saxon Invasion Research Paper

Anglo-Saxons invasion

The Angle, Saxon, and Jute tribes who invaded Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries are known as the Anglo-Saxons. They left their homelands in northern Germany, Denmark and northern Holland and rowed across the North Sea in wooden boats.
Historians are not sure why the Anglo-Saxons came to Britain. It may have been because their land often flooded and it was difficult to grow crops, so they were looking for new places to settle down and farm. Some sources say that Saxon warriors were invited to come to England.
The Anglo-Saxons took control of most of Britain, although they never conquered Scotland, Wales and Cornwall. They divided the country into kingdoms, each with its own royal family. The stronger kingdoms …show more content…
The early Anglo-Saxons lived in small settlements consisting of just two or three families and a few buildings. Later, settlements grew into villages and small towns.
Anglo-Saxon houses were built of wood and had thatched roofs. At West Stow in Suffolk archaeologists found the remains of an early Anglo-Saxon village and reconstructed it using Anglo-Saxon methods. They found that the village was made up of small groups of houses built around a larger hall. The houses had only one room and a hearth for cooking, heating and light.
Clothing styles varied from region to region and also changed throughout the Anglo-Saxon period. These are the costumes worn by early Angle settlers. Roll-over each image to find out what the Anglo-Saxons wore.
Early Anglo-Saxons buried the dead with their belongings. This provides evidence of the different jobs done by men and women. Men's graves include knives and spears, which suggests they were involved in hunting, fighting and farming. Women's graves include tools used for sewing and weaving, which suggests they were involved in making …show more content…
During the winter months everyone who was loyal to the lord would gather around the fire for a feast. At a feast people would eat roast meats, bread and fruit and drink beer or mead, a drink made from honey.
As they ate and drank, the Anglo-Saxons listened to songs and stories about brave warriors and their adventures. One of the Anglo-Saxons' favourite stories was about Beowulf, a heroic prince who killed several monsters. Beowulf was first written down in the 8th to 9th centuries, many years after it was first told.
Music was played to accompany the songs and poems. The most popular instrument was the lyre.
The Anglo-Saxons liked to play with words and amused themselves by telling riddles, some of which were written down. See if you can solve the riddle below. 
Early Anglo-Saxons wrote using letters called runes. They believed runes had magical powers. 
What happened to the Anglo-Saxons?
In the 8th and 9th centuries the people of Scandinavia, who were known as the Vikings, began to come to Britain. Anglo-Saxon accounts describe terrible Viking raids in which people were massacred, churches destroyed, and animals and precious objects stolen. By the end of the 870s, the Vikings occupied most of eastern England. Their territory was called the