2013/01/14 by Catherine Hills · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · #Historical Studies of British Isles #Medieval Literature and History #Scottish History and National Identity
paper · doi:10.1002/9781444351071.wbeghm029
openalex publication_date 2013/01/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/14
Abstract During the 5th century CE Britain ceased to be part of the Roman empire and became a group of small warring territories, from which eventually emerged the medieval kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Wales. This process involved population movements around the Irish and North Sea coastal regions, of which the most substantial was that of the Anglo‐Saxons from northern Germany and southern Scandinavia into eastern England. The historical, archaeological, linguistic, and biological evidence for that migration is often read as telling a simple story of the replacement of native Briton by Germanic Anglo‐Saxon in the south and east of England. This origin myth of the English has had continuing political power because it has been seen as the basis for the distinction between the English, Scots, and Welsh. The political dimension has also been a factor in alternative versions of the story, stressing the unity of all British people rather than their differences, and playing down the scale of the migrations. It is the reason why the story still has significance and is still hotly debated, with no consensus yet agreed to as to the absolute or relative numbers of natives or immigrants.