55. Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians.

* The Angles, who may have come from Angeln, and Bede wrote that their whole nation came to Britain, leaving their former land empty. The name 'England' (Anglo-Saxon 'Engla land' or 'Ængla land' originates from this tribe.

* The Saxons, from Lower Saxony (German: Niedersachsen, Germany)

* The Jutes, from the Jutland peninsula.

The Angles is a modern English word for a Germanic-speaking people who took their name from the ancestral cultural region of Angeln, a district located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The Angles were one of the main groups that settled in Britain in the post-Roman period, founding several of the kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England, and their name is the root of the name "England".

The Saxons (Latin: Saxones) were a confederation of Old Germanic tribes. Their modern-day descendants in Lower Saxony and Westphalia and other German states are considered ethnic Germans (the state of Sachsen is not inhabited by ethnic Saxons; the state of Sachsen-Anhalt though in its northern and western parts); those in the eastern Netherlands are considered to be ethnic Dutch; and those in Southern England ethnic English (see Anglo-Saxons). Their earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein. Saxons participated in the Germanic settlement of Britain during and after the 5th century. It is unknown how many migrated from the continent to Britain though estimates for the total number of Germanic settlers vary between 10,000 and 200,000.[1] Since the 18th century, many continental Saxons have settled other parts of the world, especially in North America, Australia, South Africa, and in areas of the former Soviet Union, where some communities still maintain parts of their cultural and linguistic heritage, often under the umbrella categories "German", and "Dutch".

The Jutes, Iuti, or Iutae were a Germanic people who, according to Bede, were one of the three most powerful Germanic peoples of their time. They are believed to have originated from Jutland (called Iutum in Latin) in modern Denmark, Southern Schleswig (South Jutland) and part of the East Frisian coast

The Frisians are an ethnic group of Germanic people living in coastal parts of The Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. They are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia. They inhabit an area known as Frisia. They have a reputation for being tall, big-boned and light-haired people and they have a rich history and folklore.

The Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians that migrated to Britain after the Roman occupation became known as the "English" and during modern times are referred to as "Anglo-Saxons". They mainly came from areas in and around the area of Holstein in modern Denmark.

The Anglo-Saxons had been raiding the coasts of Britain during the Roman occupation and it was because of this activity that the Romans constructed a network of large defensive forts called the Litora Saxonica or Saxon Shore. It wasn't until the Roman occupation ended around 450AD that the Anglo-Saxon migration to Britain started in earnest.

There were many possible reasons why these peoples left their homes to risk their lives sailing across rough seas in small boats to a foreign land:

• they may have been pushed out by other people moving in to their lands

• the lands may have not been as productive as they once were

• the population may have increased such that some had to move away

• armed war-bands may have been attacking their villages making people move to somewhere they thought was safer

• some people may have looked for trade or work in other lands

We do know that some Saxons were employed by the Britons as mercenaries to fight the Picts and other raiders, and we also know that trade existed between Britain and Europe. So it was probably a mix of all these reasons and maybe others; whatever they were, the "English" came to Britain, they stayed and they prospered.

The Early Anglo-Saxon buildings in Britain were simple timber constructions with thatched roofs. Saxon life was based around agriculture and there was a preference to settle in small towns away from the old Roman cities, each having a main hall surrounded by huts for the townsfolk to live in.

The Saxons were pagans worshiping many gods, not just one like the Christians did. In times of war they would make offerings to the God of War to help them win, they would make offerings to other gods to help with the harvest and to bring them good fortune elsewhere. There were religious festivals at various times of the year to honour their gods and to make offerings to them. The Saxons generally converted to Christianity during the 6th, 7th and 8th centuries, but there was resistance to this, especially from the middle classes, who resented the Christian influence on the Saxon nobility.

The Anglo-Saxon army was know as the Fyrd, which was comprised of men who were called up to fight for the king in times of danger.

The Fyrd was led by the nobles called Thegns who were well armed with swords and spears but the rest of the Fyrd were armed only with weapons such as farm implements, clubs and slings.

The later Anglo-Saxon army included a class of professional soldiers called Huscarls (Household troops) that were loyal to the King or Earl.

The early religion was pagan based on the worship of a number of gods similar to that of the northern Europeans. Organised Christianity later replaced paganism and led to the establishment of a unified Church based on the Roman model.