4.1
Here come the Anglo-Saxons
We have already seen how some historians thought the Romans leaving Britain plunged it into a ‘Dark Age’, and that Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Danes arrived in huge numbers and completely changed life for everybody forever. But is this true?
Life goes on There is plenty of evidence that in some areas of Britain not much changed after the Romans left. One example is the Roman city of Wroxeter. It appears that, for 200 years after the Romans left, people continued to live within the city walls. The Roman buildings fell into ruins, but people lived in timber-built and thatched copies of Roman houses. Birdoswald Fort, on Hadrian’s Wall, continued to be lived in, and new wooden buildings erected, long after the Romans left. Clearly, a leader had emerged and was still controlling parts of northern England!
4.1 Here come the Anglo-Saxons
Everyday life Historians think that most Anglo-Saxon settlers arrived gradually over around 200 years, and preferred to live in small villages rather than towns. They were farmers as well as fighters. Houses were usually made from wood, with a thatched roof. A hole in the roof would let out the smoke. Doors would face east, towards the rising sun and therefore would let in the morning light. Nearby, there would be timber, fresh water and land for farming.
Farming Anglo-Saxons kept animals such as cows, goats and sheep, as well as chickens, ducks and geese for eggs. Sometimes the animals would share the house, living at one end while the family lived in the other, especially in wintertime. Many of the animals would have to be slaughtered in the autumn and salted to preserve them – there just was not enough feed to keep all of them alive through the winter. Anglo-Saxons mostly grew einkorn (a type of wheat), rye, barley, oats, peas and beans. Vegetables like onions, leeks, turnips and cabbages were grown in gardens around the houses. Craftsmen made pottery; tools like ploughs, rakes and hoes; and clothes from leather and wool. Occasionally a trader would come to the village bringing things they could not make for themselves, or people would go to the nearest town on market day. They hunted and fished to supplement their diet whenever they could.
Modern drawing showing Birdoswald Roman Fort in the 5th century – a barn on the site of a Roman granary
Think about it! 1. What impact do you think the Romans leaving would have had on everyday life? 2. How similar, and how different, is the Anglo-Saxon barn to a Roman granary?
Let’s do it! 1. Research Wroxeter or Birdoswald after the Romans left. Do you think this really was a ‘Dark Age’ for Britain?
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Ploughing, from an Anglo-Saxon manuscript
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