TheAngleswere one of the mainGermanic peopleswho settled inGreat Britainin thepost-Romanperiod.[2]They founded several kingdoms of theHeptarchyinAnglo-Saxon England.Their name, which probably derives from theAngelnpeninsula, is the root of the nameEngland( "Engla land"[3]or "Ængla land"[citation needed]), as well as ultimately the wordEnglishfor its people and language. According toTacitus,writing around 100 AD, a people known as Angles (Anglii) lived beyond (apparently northeast of) theLombardsandSemnones,who lived near the RiverElbe.[4]
Ængle/Engle | |
|---|---|
 The spread of Angles (orange) and Saxons (blue) to the British Isles around 500AD | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| origin: southernJutland: Schleswig(Angeln,Schwansen,Danish Wahld,North Frisia/North Frisian Islands) Holstein(Eiderstedt,Dithmarschen) destination:Heptarchy(England) | |
| Languages | |
| Old English | |
| Religion | |
| OriginallyGermanicandAnglo-Saxon paganism,laterChristianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Anglo-Saxons,Anglo-Normans,English,Lowland Scots,[1]Saxons,Frisii,Jutes |
Etymology
editThe name of the Angles may have been first recorded in Latinised form, asAnglii,in theGermaniaof Tacitus. It is thought to derive from the name of the area they originally inhabited, the Angeln peninsula, which is on the Baltic Sea coast ofSchleswig-Holstein.
Two related theories have been advanced, which attempt to give the name a Germanic etymology:
- It originated from theGermanicroot for "narrow" (compare German and Dutcheng= "narrow" ), meaning "the Narrow [Water]", i.e., theSchleiestuary;the root would be*h₂enǵʰ,"tight".
- The name derives from "hook" (as inanglingfor fish), in reference to the shape of the peninsula where they lived; Indo-European linguistJulius Pokornyderives it fromProto-Indo-European*h₂enk-,"bend" (see ankle).[5]Alternatively, the Angles may have been called such because they were afishingpeople or were originally descended from such.[6]
According toGesta Danorum,DanandAngulwere made rulers by the consent of their people because of their bravery. TheDanesand Angles are respectively named from them.
Greco-Roman historiography
editTacitus
edit
The earliest surviving mention of the Angles is in chapter 40 of Tacitus'sGermaniawritten around AD 98.Tacitusdescribes the "Anglii" as one of the more remoteSuebictribes compared to the Semnones and Langobardi, who lived near theElbeand were better known to the Romans. He grouped the Angles with several other tribes in that region, theReudigni,Aviones,Varini,Eudoses,Suarines,andNuithones.[4][7]According to Tacitus, they were all living behind ramparts of rivers and woods, and therefore inaccessible to attack.[4][7]
He gives no precise indication of their geographical situation but states that, together with the six other tribes, they worshippedNerthus,or Mother Earth, whose sanctuary was located on "an island in the Ocean".[8]The Eudoses are generally considered to be theJutesand these names have been associated with localities inJutlandor on the Baltic coast. The coast contains sufficient estuaries, inlets, rivers, islands, swamps, and marshes to have been inaccessible to those not familiar with the terrain, such as the Romans, who considered it unknown and inaccessible.
The majority of scholars believe that the Anglii lived on the coasts of theBaltic Sea,probably in the southern part of the Jutland peninsula. This view is based partly on Old English and Danish traditions regarding persons and events of the fourth century, and partly because striking affinities to the cult of Nerthus as described by Tacitus are to be found in pre-ChristianScandinavianreligion.[8]
Ptolemy
editSurviving versions of the work ofPtolemy,who wrote around AD 150, in hisGeography(2.10), describes the Angles in a confusing manner. In one passage, theSueboi Angeilloi(orSuevi Angili), are described as living inland between the northernRhineand centralElbe,but apparently not touching either river, with the Suebic Langobardi on the Rhine to their west, and the Suebic Semnones on the Elbe stretching to their east, forming a band of Suebic peoples. This is unexpected. Owing to the uncertainty of this passage, much speculation exists regarding the original home of the Anglii. However, as pointed out byGudmund Schütte,the neighbouring Langobards appear in two places, and the ones near the Rhine appears to be there by mistake.[9][10]Schütte, in his analysis, believes that the Angles are placed correctly relative to the Langobardi to their west, but that these have been positioned in the wrong place. The Langobardi also appear in the expected position on the lower Elbe, and the Angles would be expected to their northwest, based upon Tacitus.[11]
Another theory is that all or part of the Angles dwelt or moved among other coastal people, perhaps confederated up to the basin of theSaale(in the neighbourhood of the ancient canton ofEngilin) on theUnstrutvalleys below theKyffhäuserkreis,from which region theLex Anglorum et Werinorum hoc est Thuringorumis believed by many to have come.[8][12]The ethnic names ofFrisiansandWarinesare also attested in these Saxon districts.[citation needed]
Procopius
editAn especially early reference to the Angli in Britain is the 6th-century Byzantine historianProcopiuswho however expressed doubts about the stories he had heard about events in the west, which he apparently heard through Frankish diplomats. He never mentions the Saxons, but he states that an island called Brittia (which he believed to be distinct from Britain itself), was settled by three nations: the Angili, Frissones, and Brittones, each ruled by its own king. Each nation was so prolific that it sent large numbers of individuals every year to the Franks, who "allow them to settle in the part of their land which appears to be more deserted, and by this means they say they are winning over the island. Thus it actually happened that not long ago the king of the Franks, in sending some of his intimates on an embassy to the EmperorJustinianin Byzantium, sent with them some of the Angili, thus seeking to establish his claim that this island was ruled by him. "[13]Procopius claimed that the Angles had recently sent a large army of 400 ships to Europe, from Brittia to the Rhine, to enforce a marriage agreement with theWariniwho he lived north of the Franks at that time.
Medieval historiography
edit
Bede(died 735) stated that the Anglii, before coming to Great Britain, dwelt in a land called Angulus, "which lies between the province of the Jutes and the Saxons, and remains unpopulated to this day." Similar evidence is given by the 9th-centuryHistoria Brittonum.KingAlfred the Greatand the chroniclerÆthelweardidentified this place with Angeln, in the province ofSchleswig(though it may then have been of greater extent), and this identification agrees with the indications given by Bede.[8]
In the Norwegian seafarerOhthere of Hålogaland's account of a two-day voyage from theOslo fjordtoSchleswig,he reported the lands on his starboard bow, and Alfred appended the note "on these islands dwelt theEnglebefore they came hither ".[n 1]Confirmation is afforded by English and Danish traditions relating to two kings namedWermundandOffa of Angel,from whom theMercianroyal family claimed descent and whose exploits are connected with Angeln, Schleswig, andRendsburg.[8][12]
Danish tradition has preserved record of two governors of Schleswig, father and son, in their service, Frowinus (Freawine) andWigo(Wig), from whom the royal family ofWessexclaimed descent.[citation needed]During the fifth century, the Anglii invaded Great Britain, after which time their name does not recur on the continent except in the title of the legal code issued to theThuringians:Lex Angliorum et Werinorum hoc est Thuringorum.[8][12]
The Angles are the subject of a legend aboutPope Gregory I,who happened to see a group of Angle children fromDeirafor sale as slaves in the Roman market. As the story was told by Bede, Gregory was struck by the unusual appearance of the slaves and asked about their background. When told they were calledAnglii(Angles), he replied with a Latin pun that translates well into English: "Bene, nam et angelicam habent faciem, et tales angelorum in caelis decet esse coheredes" (It is well, for they have an angelic face, and such people ought to be co-heirs of the angels in heaven). Supposedly, this encounter inspired the pope to launch a mission to bring Christianity to their countrymen.[16][17]
Archaeology
editThe province of Schleswig has proved rich in prehistoric antiquities that date apparently from the fourth and fifth centuries. A large cremation cemetery has been found atBorgstedt,between Rendsburg andEckernförde,and it has yielded many urns and brooches closely resembling those found in pagan graves in England. Of still greater importance are the great deposits atThorsberg moor(in Angeln) andNydam,which contained large quantities of arms, ornaments, articles of clothing, agricultural implements, etc., and in Nydam, even ships. By the help of these discoveries, Angle culture in the age preceding the invasion of Britannia can be pieced together.[8]
Anglian kingdoms in England
edit
According to sources such as theHistoryof Bede, after the invasion of Britannia, the Angles split up and founded the kingdoms ofNorthumbria,East Anglia,andMercia.H. R. Loyn has observed in this context that "a sea voyage is perilous to tribal institutions",[18]and the apparently tribe-based kingdoms were formed in England. Early times had two northern kingdoms (Bernicia and Deira) and two midland ones (Middle Anglia and Mercia), which had by the seventh century resolved themselves into two Angle kingdoms, viz., Northumbria and Mercia.
Northumbria held suzerainty amidst theGermanicpresence in the British Isles in the 7th century, but was eclipsed by the rise of Mercia in the 8th century. Both kingdoms fell in the great assaults of the DanishVikingarmies in the 9th century. Their royal houses were effectively destroyed in the fighting, and their Angle populations came under theDanelaw.Further south, the Saxon kings ofWessexwithstood the Danish assaults. Then in the late 9th and early 10th centuries, the kings of Wessex defeated the Danes and liberated the Angles from the Danelaw.
They united their house in marriage with the surviving Angle royalty, and were accepted by the Angles as their kings. This marked the passing of the oldAnglo-Saxonworld and the dawn of the "English"as a new people. The regions ofEast Angliaand Northumbria are still known by their original titles. Northumbria once stretched as far north as what is now southeastScotland,includingEdinburgh,and as far south as the Humber estuary and even the river Witham.
The rest of that people stayed at the centre of the Angle homeland in the northeastern portion of the modern GermanBundeslandof Schleswig-Holstein, on the Jutland Peninsula. There, a small peninsular area is still called Angeln today and is formed as a triangle drawn roughly from modernFlensburgon the Flensburger Fjord to theCity of Schleswigand then to Maasholm, on theSchleiinlet.
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^Steven L. Danver(2014). "Groups: Europe".Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures and Contemporary Issues.Routledge.p. 372.ISBN978-0765682949.
- ^Darvill, Timothy,ed. (2009)."Angles".The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology(3rd ed.).Oxford University Press.ISBN9780191727139.Retrieved26 January2020.
Angles. A Germanic people who originated on the Baltic coastlands of Jutland.
- ^"England | Etymology of the name England by etymonline".Online Etymology Dictionary.Retrieved16 October2024.
- ^abcTacitus,Cap. XL
- ^Pyles, Thomas and John Algeo 1993.Origins and Development of the English Language.4th edition. (New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich).
- ^Baugh, Albert C. and Thomas Cable 1993A History of the English Language.4th edition. (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall).
- ^abChurch & Brodribb (1876),Ch. XL
- ^abcdefgChadwick (1911),pp. 18–19.
- ^Ptolemy,Geography,2.10.
- ^Schütte (1917),p.34See also pp. 119–120, & 125–127
- ^Schütte (1917),p.34&118.
- ^abcLex Anglorum et Werinorum hoc est Thuringorum(in Latin) – via Vikifons.
- ^Procopiusbook VIII, xx.
- ^Sweet (1883),p. 19.
- ^Loyn (1991),p. 24.
- ^Bede (731),Lib. II.
- ^Jane (1910),Vol. II.
- ^Loyn (1991),p. 25.
Sources
- Bede(731).Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum[Ecclesiastical History of the English People] (in Latin).
- Chadwick, Hector Munro(1911)..InChisholm, Hugh(ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 18–19.
- Jane, Lionel Cecil, ed. (1910)..Translated byJohn Stevens.
- Tacitus, Publius Cornelius.De origine et situ Germanorum[On the Origin and Situation of the Germans] (in Latin).
- Germania.Translated byChurch, Alfred John;Brodribb, William Jackson. 1876.
- Schütte, Gudmund(1917).Ptolemy's Maps of Northern Europe: A Reconstruction of the Prototypes.Copenhagen: Græbe for H. Hagerup for the Royal Danish Geographical Society.
- Sweet, Henry (1883).King Alfred's Orosius.Oxford: E. Pickard Hall & J. H. Stacy for N. Trübner & Co. for the Early English Text Society.
- Loyn, Henry Royston (1991).A Social and Economic History of England: Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest(2nd ed.). London: Longman Group.ISBN978-0582072978.
Attribution:
- ,Encyclopædia Britannica,vol. 2 (9th ed.), 1878, p. 30
