Angles and Saxons

In the previous interactivity, you learned how invasions by a variety of Germanic tribes disrupted the social, economic, and political order of Europe. Beginning in the fifth century, the Germanic tribes of the Angles and Saxons, led by chieftains, came from modern day Denmark, the Netherlands, and northern Germany to invade England and establish settlements. Eventually, they became one group known as the Anglo-Saxons. Even after the Norman Conquest in the eleventh century, the population of England remained largely Anglo-Saxon. Only gradually did it merge with Norman lineage to become the ancestors from which modern-day English people are descended. Because the tribes were illiterate until they converted to Christianity, much of their known history came from monks during this time.