The Anglo-Saxons

In the early 5th century, a period of which is what partly called as the Anglo-Saxon England, a
part of the history of the now modern UK. It was a population of great wealth. For 500 years,
when Britain was no longer guarded by Roman soldiers in the 5th century, invaders from middle
Europe, people before who we now call as the Germans, and from German tribes specifically,
the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, had ruled and established residency in England. As the Britons
fought for their country, still, they failed and resulted in their retreat to west of the country.
Thus then began the history of Anglo-Saxon England.

Anglo-Saxon England is divided into five main kingdoms namely, Wessex, East Anglia, Mercia,
Northumbria and Kent. Kings often had violent and early death and had intentions to kill each
other for power. Artifacts flourished as one of the gifts for nobles, meaning that it symbolizes
significance and appreciation for the favours.

One of the significant knowledge that arises from the Anglo-Saxons are that they had a passion
for art and their sense of craftsmanship were impressive. The artworks they had established in
their accessories shows great signs of skills in designing wearable artifacts. One of which is what
theoretically are the accessories of King Raedwald may have worn. Most famous with the purse
lid along with two shoulder clasps joined with a buckle. Now these items are golden, and
suggest the level of wealth the Anglo-Saxons had. Varieties of designs and jewels, most of which
is garnet, were imprinted as well as glass that make up to the overall impact of what makes
these arts incredible.

Significant findings of material suggesting the part of who were the Anglo-Saxons can be traced
in the burial mounds: a property of Mrs Edith Pretty, in 1993. This propert of Mrs Edith Pretty, in
Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, where she asked Basil Brown to investigate and had a surprising discovery
as when Brown dug the larges mound. What the found was an imprint of a 27-metre-long ship,
ruined burial chamber at the center, with varying treasures, it also had Byzantine silverwares.
Coins were also found, ann estimate of when this was deposited is around 610 - 635, but coin
production at this time was only present in Kent. and Sutton Hoo is in the Kingdom of East
Anglia, so this suggests that it may have been the burial of King Raedwald in 625. These findings
in Sutton Hoo also includes a helmet, one which is an addition to the collections, now there only
four Anglo-Saxon helmets to be ever found. The one found in Sutton Hoo was puzzled and
assemble as it was corroded and broken to many pieces. The helmet had an iron cap, neck
guard, cheek pieces and face mask. Its appearance is that of Late Roman cavalry helmets. It had
bright silvery appearance as its surface was covered by tinned copper alloy panels.

Onto the decoding of intricate designs of the metal craft and arts of the Anglo-Saxons, their
metalcraft designs utilize animal patterns rather than pretty designs. Anglo-Saxons who had
interest in puzzles and riddles are those that can Identify meanings in these arts. During the 5th
and 11th centuries, it varied depending on its period, but puzzles and story-telling remained
central. The early art style is known as Style I, popular in the late 5th and 6th centuries. It has a
lot of dizzying jumbles of animal limbs and face masks, scholars referred to it as "animal salad."
In order to truly understand the art it requires careful analysis on the imprints. The best
examples of Style I animal art is that of a female grave, silver-gilt square-headed brooch.
Covered with at least 24 different beasts with at least 4 varieties of figures While some images
are clear, most of them are unrecognizable. These images portray readable messages to what it
depicts. In the 6th century Style II replaced Style I. This style embodied a more easier to identify
images and portrayed simple animals, but is still not easy to untangle. The great golden buckle is
the best example of this. It had 13 distinct animals and these animals were easier to distinguish.
Each animal had its meaning and symbol and that the decorations applied provides
characteristics, these characteristics reflect to the authority of the holder or the wearer,
meaning it symbolizes a person's status. Animal arts became more popular in later periods.
Transformed into Mercian design in the 8th century and embodied a Trewhiddle design in the
9th century. Regardless of its message being complicated, these materials often portrayed the
five senses and were relating to humans, animals and plants, perhaps the Creations of God.

Literature was one of the profound highlights of Anglo-Saxon culture since not only that it was
artistic expression as what literature mainly is, but also how it wrote down familiar historical
stories of nobles that have had contributed the most for what heroic deeds was accomplished.
One of which is the story beginning from the death of a king, the consequences of such, and
what the protagonists had to do. These are what the literature of their culture have had
depicted. Poems of great deeds, Odes praising one of a kind individuals and heroes.

In gathering evidences on the history of how the Anglo-Saxons have interbred with the people
that was originally the residence of Briton, the genetic studies in the homogenous regions of
England proved the truth of 5th century invasion of the Germanic tribes, and as a result, they
produced Anglo-Saxons mixed with the genetics of the everyday Britons. For how they had come
to this conclusion is being able to distinctively identify the genetic of the English from the
different regions, a precise finding upon differentiating people from each other in regards to
their respective regions. About 10 and 40 percent genetic relations was an estimate on the
Anglo-Saxon ancestry on the homogenous area of England. The methods include protocols such
as only taking samples from people whose four grandparent resided in the same rural area.

The Anglo-Saxons were people from their homelands in Germany, tribes that resided in Britain
when the Romans no longer guarded. The Anglo-Saxons occupied the country and established
small kingdoms. This had significant impacts on the culture, arts, literature, bloodlines and
history of the people in England and the country itself. The history of the 5th century Anglo-
Saxon England rolled stories and descriptions of wealth and power in the early period of old UK,
the significant influence, the kings' services and the deeds of nobles, the cultural heritage these
3 tribes (i.e. Angles, Saxons, and Jutes) established in the regions, and the overall contribution of
this historic period.