Definition:
The Anglo-Saxons were the majority of inhabitants of England from about the 5th century to the Norman Conquest in 1066. The term was initially used to distinguish the Saxons of England from those in Europe. Anglo-Saxons were of Germanic origin, descending from the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes who, according to tradition and the Venerable Bede, migrated to England from northern Germany at the invitation of the British chieftain Vortigern to defend against Irish and Pictis invaders.
By the time of the Conquest, Anglo-Saxons could be any of a mixture of Germanic, Celtic or Danish residents of England; and after the Norman invasion, the term came to mean "the English" as opposed to the new Norman (French) aristocracy.
Examples: When Vortigern hired Anglo-Saxons to fight invading Picts, he didn't know what he'd got himself into.
The Anglo-Saxons were the majority of inhabitants of England from about the 5th century to the Norman Conquest in 1066. The term was initially used to distinguish the Saxons of England from those in Europe. Anglo-Saxons were of Germanic origin, descending from the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes who, according to tradition and the Venerable Bede, migrated to England from northern Germany at the invitation of the British chieftain Vortigern to defend against Irish and Pictis invaders.
By the time of the Conquest, Anglo-Saxons could be any of a mixture of Germanic, Celtic or Danish residents of England; and after the Norman invasion, the term came to mean "the English" as opposed to the new Norman (French) aristocracy.
Examples: When Vortigern hired Anglo-Saxons to fight invading Picts, he didn't know what he'd got himself into.