The Anglo-Saxons were the dominant people living in England from the mid-5th century AD until the Norman conquest in 1066. They spoke Germanic languages and are identified by Bede as the descendants of three powerful tribes.[1] These were the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes.[1] Their language, Anglo-Saxon or Old English, came from West Germanic dialects. It changed into Middle English from about the 11th century. Old English was divided into four main dialects: West Saxon, Mercian, Northumbrian, and Kentish.
The Anglo-Saxon culture replaced the Celtic culture in the area that is now England. Modern historians do not think that the Anglo-Saxons drove the Celts away, but instead that they became an upper class to the Celts in England, and the Celts then became part of the Anglo-Saxon culture.[2] They created seven kingdoms in England. They never conquered Wales but Anglo-Saxon kings did claim overlordship from time to time.[3] Some Anglo-Saxons came to Britain as warriors, but others came peacefully to become farmers or to raise families.[4]
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