the arrival of the saxons

8/8/2019 The Arrival of the Saxons

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The Celtic retrieve

yAfter the Romans retrieve, Great Britain went back toBarbarism.

y How did this happened?

y Excidio Britanniae (The ruin of Britain) written around

550 by Gildas:y Picts and Scots moved southwards with no great

opposition.

y Britans wanted to thorow them away from their

territories.


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The Celtic retrievey Britons asked Aecius for help.yWas not sent, since the Romans were fighting the

Goths (front of North Italy) and the Huns (front ofWest Italy).

yVortigern, a Britan chief, asked the Jutes for Help.yJutland (Jylland) is located between Schleswig(Anglos) and Saxony(Saxons).


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Arrival of the Saxons.yJute Chiefs Hengist (Stallion) and Horsa (Horse)

responded the call.

y By 456 they landed in Kent (449 according to Beda).

y Instead of helping the Britons against the Picts, theyended up conquering the territory.

y This gave birth to the Legend of Vortigern.


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Arrival of the Saxonsy O

ther Germanic tribes followed theP

ath of the Jutes.y By 477 Saxons cross over Calais and landed in the

south part of England.

y Founded the Three Saxon Kingdoms (Wessex, Essex

and Sussex)


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The Battle of Mount Badony Gildas, a historian, describes a great battle ca. 500 a.D.

in Mount Badon.

y The only Battle Britons won.y The Britain chief Ambrosius Aurelianus (Roman-

Briton) defeated the Germanics.

y Nennius (800 a.D.), reproduces the story giving birth

to the epoch of legends:


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The Legend of Mount Badony

Ambrosius is a magician servant of Vortigern whocommands the Britons with the help of a royalcommander named Arthur.

yArthur fights twelve battles, winning the all against the

Saxons.yArthur becomes a King and establishes his Kingdom in

Camelot.

y In reality, Saxons defeated the Britons badly.


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The arrival of the Anglos

y

Much later, ca. 540 the Anglos landed in the formerIcenii land and founded a series of Kingdoms along theThames.

y Founded: Anglia, Mercia (Marc), Deira and Bernicia.

yBoth, the Anglos and Saxons conquered the Juteterrotories.

y Considered themselves of the same race.

y The Anglos dominated the Island with their 4

Kingdoms and soon began Great Britain to be know asthe Angle-land.


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y The name of England can only be applied to the

territories that were dominated by these three barbarictribes.

y The whole Island is Great Britain.

y The Saxons made the Celts retrieve as well who

established themselves In the northern part: Wealhas(Land of strangers).

yWealhas becomes Wales and the Wealhean Celtsbecome the Welsh (They called themselves Cymri).


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Division of England.y

Thus England was divided more or less as it is now:y Great Britain:

y 1) England (Three Saxon kingdoms + 4 Anglo ones)

y 2) Scotland

y 3) Wales


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What about Ireland?y

The other Island, the Smaller, was never conquered byno one. It remained 100% Celtic.

yAlthough not conquered by troops it was conquered byreligion.


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Conversion of Irelandy Pelagius conceives Christianity in a form that was

considered a Heresy. And spreads his ideas alongBritain (Ca. 420 a.D.)

y By 429, the Pope sends the Bishop of Auxerre to fighthim and in his way he lands in Ireland.

y He paved the way to Christianity to be spread in thesmaller Island.

y Later a portentous missioner, Patricius (later nick

namedP

atrick), spread the religion allover. Died the 17of March 461.

the arrival of the saxons

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