Scholars have long been fascinated by the Anglo-Saxon period of British history, which spans approximately 600 years, from the end of Roman rule in around AD 410 to the start of the Norman conquest in 1066. Unfortunately, because very few contemporary documents are available, a number of important questions about the early part of the period remain unanswered. One of these is: “Who were the Anglo-Saxons?”
There is general agreement that their origins can be traced to a migration of Germanic-speaking people from mainland northwest Europe that began in the early fifth century. But the number of individuals who settled in the British Isles and the nature of their relationship with the pre-existing inhabitants, especially the Romano-British, is still unclear.
Conflicting Evidence
Uncertainty persists because two of the main lines of evidence contradict each other. Historical documents such as Gildas’ The Ruin of Britain, Bede’s The Ecclesiastical History of the English People and The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle suggest not only that the incomers were numerous, but also that they more or less completely replaced the Romano-British, killing some and pushing the rest to the peripheries.
