Transcript The Anglo-Saxon Invasion 450

THE OLD ENGLISH PERIOD ( 449-1100)
The Anglo-Saxon Invasion
450-650 AD
Prepared by: Ms. Sahar Deknash
ENGL301-131
THE ANGLO_SAXON INVASION
By the year 449 AD, a group of Germanic tribes began its 
invasion of Britain. They migrated in groups from their
original homelands and settled in. These tribes were: The
Angles, The Saxons, The Jutes and The Frisians. They came
from different parts of Germany, Denmark and Netherlands
bringing their closely related dialects with them.
THE ANGLO-SAXON INVASION
The Romans had completely abandoned Britain and native 
Celts had been enslaved by the invaders. The Angles took over
northern England . The Saxons took over the south. The Jutes
took Isle of Wight and regions of Kent and Hampshire.
THE ANGLO-SAXON INVASION
The Celts referred to all new comers as the Saxons and their 
land became known as Saxonia. Gradually, the term was
changed into Anglia or Englaland ( The land of the Angles).
The Germanic tribes compromised seven kingdoms in
England: Kent, Essex, Sussex, Wessex, East Anglia, Mercia
and Northumbrians.
Kent became the center of culture and wealth which was
occupied by the Saxons, and the leadership moved constantly
between these kingdoms.
THE SEVEN KINGDOMS
How did the Anglo-Saxons deal with the Roman's 
civilization?
The Saxons destroyed the Roman's achievements in Britain, 
and the Roman's towns were burnt or destroyed.
The Dialects of Old English
After the settlement of the Germanic tribes , They tried to
combine their original but closely related dialects in one
language. The new emerging language was not fully unified,
and each dialect kept some of its specific characteristics that
were distinguished later as dialects of the new unified
language.
The new language came to be known as the Anglo-Saxon
language or Old Englisc. We can distinguish four major
dialects of OE:
Northumbrian 
Mercian 
West Saxon 
Kent 
Most preserved records and literary works of OE were kept in
West Saxon dialect.
Thank You Ladies
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Characteristics of Old English