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1066 BCE
Anglo-Saxon food
Perhaps one of our favourite Anglo-Saxon facts is how much they liked to party! They loved a good meal and would often host huge feasts in the chief’s hall. Meat was cooked on the fire and they ate bread, drank beer and sang songs long into the night! They grew wheat, barley and oats for making bread and porridge, grew fruit and vegetables like carrots, parsnips and apples, and kept pigs, sheep and cattle for meat, wool and milk. -
500 BCE
Anglo-Saxon houses
The Anglo-Saxons didn’t like the stone houses and streets left by the Romans, so they built their own villages. They looked for land which had lots of natural resources like food, water and wood to build and heat their homes, and Britain’s forests had everything they needed. They surrounded each village with a high fence to protect cattle from wild animals like foxes and wolves, and to keep out their enemies, tooThe biggest house in the village belonged to the chief, which was large -
450
When did the Anglo-Saxons invade Britain?
The Anglo-Saxons first tried invading in the 4th century, but the Roman army were quick to send them home again! Years later – around 450AD – the Ancient Romans left Britain, the Anglo-Saxons seized their chance and this time they were successful! They left their homes in Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark and sailed over to Britain on wooden boats. -
597
Anglo-Saxon gods
Many of today’s Christian traditions came from the Anglo-Saxons, but they weren’t always Christians. When they first came over from Europe they were Pagans, worshipping lots of different gods who they believed looked different parts of their life, such as family, crop growing, weather and even war. The Anglo-Saxons would pray to the Pagan gods to give them good health, a plentiful harvest or success in battle. -
793
Who invaded after the Anglo-Saxons?
From 793AD, the Vikings invaded Anglo-Saxon Britain several times, plundering and raiding towns and villages along the British coastline. The Anglo-Saxons tried to hold them back but groups of Vikings eventually settled in different parts of the country, especially York (or Jorvik, as they named it) – making it the second biggest city after London. -
1066
Anglo-Saxon facts: Who were they?
The Anglo-Saxons were a group of farmer-warriors who lived in Britain over a thousand years ago. Made up of three tribes who came over from Europe, they were called the Angle, Saxon, and Jute tribes. The two largest were the Angle and Saxon, which is how we’ve come to know them as the Anglo-Saxons today. -
1066
Anglo-Saxon place names
Many towns and villages still carry their Anglo-Saxon names today, including “England” which comes from the Saxon word “Angle-Land”. Early Anglo-Saxon villages were named after the leader of the tribe so everyone knew who was in charge. If you’d visited Reading in Anglo-Saxon times, you’d have been in Redda’s village – Redda being the local chieftain. -
1066
Who invaded after the Anglo-Saxons?
he next invasion came in 1066AD, in one of the most famous battles of our history – the Battle of Hastings. When the Anglo-Saxon King Edward died without an heir, a new king was chosen to rule England – King Harold II. William the Conqueror of Normandy and Harald Hardrada, the King of Norway, weren’t keen on the new English king and thought that they both had the right to rule Britain. -
1066
Who invaded after the Anglo-Saxons?
A descendant of Viking raiders, William brought his army of Normans to Britain to take on the new king, and on 14 October 1066, the two armies fought at the Battle of Hastings. The Normans were victorious and Harold was killed. This signalled the end of Anglo-Saxon rule in Britain. England now had a Norman king, King William I, or William the Conqueror.