Anglo-Saxon England

An introduction to Anglo-Saxon England can be found in the text by Peter Hunter Blair.

It would seem that this group of Germanic peoples had something to do with the creation of the kingdom  of England as a political entity.  They also had something to do with what was to become  English as a spoken and written language.  Who would have guessed that all this would have come through an invitation of one of those Celtic folks (Vortigern) fighting other Celtic folks? (Picts) 

The chapter titles are:
                                    I.   The Foundation of England
                                    II.  Britain and The Vikings
                                    III. The Church
                                    IV.  Government
                                    V.   Economy
                                    VI. Letters

First published by the Cambridge University Press in 1956, it has been reprinted in 1960, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1976, with a second edition printed 1977.  Over these years, a few folks must have felt it to be helpful in their understanding of the Anglo-Saxons and their beginnings.

Authentic Voices

Conforming to an original so as to reproduce essential features is one meaning of the word authentic.  The authentic voices of England from the time of Julius Caesar to the coronation of Henry II are contained in The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles.  Perhaps it should be the authentic voices of the English language, but the following text translated and collated by Anne Savage is shown below.

Alfred The Great (871 - 899 AD) is the fellow most often credited with getting things started.  The royal capital of Saxon Wessex (Winchester) seems the place where the chronicles first started. [Oldest manuscript which has survived = Corpus Christi College Cambridge MS 173, the Parker Chronicle ]  The church folks here for the first time wrote things down in their own language (Anglo-Saxon) instead of the standard church language Latin.  What in the world were they thinking...starting to write in their own language instead of the usual, widely accepted, language of the known world!  An original idea it seemed to be. 

After the Norman invasion, these records ( dates covered from 60 BC - 1070 AD) were taken to Christchruch, Canterbury where copies were made and the story continued until the coronation of Henry II.   The text above describes:

"From the everyday local dramas that made up the lives of the Anglo-Saxons to the intricacies of government and the reigns of kings, every aspect of life in the England of the Middle Ages is examined in glorious detail." [front cover...inside flap ]

What a deal...the authentic voices of the folks writing in a language that was to become English.  Take a look.

The cover shown above is taken from my copy published Crescent Books, 1995.  It contains illustrated material which gives a broad view of this period in time.  It is an excellent reference to those interested in the authentic voices of the English language.

A Book By Bede

Writing a book about the history of the English nation would certainly be a daunting task.  Being the first to do so during a time when learning and civilization were going down the tube, would establish your spot in the annals of history writers.  Such was a fellow named Bede.

Born about the year 673 AD, he was taken as a child of seven to a newly founded monastery called Wearmouth.  He appears to have spent his entire life here and at a sister monastery called Jarrow.  He grew up reading, writing. learning, teaching, and praying. [Must have been an introvert.]  He became an expert in collecting documents of the ancient writers and acts of the church.  He wrote in Latin, and became widely known as the "expert" in Northumbrian and Church history.  He was then ask to write all this stuff into some kind of record, and it has become known as the first history of the English nation.

It was titled "The Ecclesiastical History of The English Nation".  The cover of my translated copy is shown above.  It was first published in 1910, but my copy was reprinted in 1954.  In the introduction of this edition David Knowles writes:

"In the annals of letters and learning there is no more impressive instance of the ultimate fame of work accomplished in silence, for the sake of truth, by a good man."

He died 25th of May 735 AD.  Since his death he has become known as the "Father of English History".  What good genealogist would not like to get to read one of the founding fathers.  Here it is.

Why

Catastrophic events often lead to the question of why.  For most folks extreme misfortune, to utter overthrow or ruin, will cause such a question.  To the philosopher a better questions may be "why not", or to the stoic "because", but to a bishop from North Africa it was "The City of God".

 For over a thousand years Rome had been the ruler of the known world.  When Alaric and his Goths sacked the city of Rome in 410 AD, the city that most felt would stand forever, lost most of its glory.  Lots of folks wanted to know why. 

Of course all sorts of reasons were given among the various groups looking for a scapegoat on which to blame the events. [Sound like today?]  One such explanation was given to the Christian community by this fellow from Hippo. [Modern name of city is Bona.]

It is not an easy read!  Written some three years after Rome first collapsed, it is a detailed analysis of the reason Rome fell. [Written from a particular point of view.]  It is basically a theology of history from the point of view of the existing churches of the day.  Thirteen years in the making, it was an attempt to explain Christianity versus the official religion of imperial Rome.  It was to answer the question why as to the fall of the city of Rome.

My copy, published 1950 by Random House, is a translation by Marcus Dods, with an introduction by Thomas Merton.  For those who have the guts to read this text will need to stick it out.  Why?  Why not?

Roman Britain and Early England

Few writers left their marks during the period following the fall of the Roman Empire.  Written records during this time are few [55 BC - 871 AD], and the events of the day are not well understood.  Peter Hunter Blair provides a brief and very readable account of this early period in the history of the people that occupied the Island after Rome pulled out.

In my growing up days, it was generally known as "The Dark Ages".  It took me some time to realize that the same sun shown brightly on these folks that gave the light to my own Kentucky home. [You know, the sun shines bright...on my "old Kentucky Home".]  Anyway, the book was published in 1966 by the Norton Library, and its major view is to present the rise of Anglo-Saxon England.  Of course those of us with Welsh, Irish, and Scottish lineage will have to dig a little deeper. [There is a good discussion of Offa's Dyke at Llanfair, Shropshire staring p. 229]

Knowledge and understanding of this period in the family tree is one foundation to our JONES surname.  This book provides an avenue to the window of time for the time traveler.

The Church and The State

Immense social, political, economic and religious changes had been occurring during the last two centuries of the Roman world.  The Emperor Constantine [ 324 AD onward ] saw to it that the Christian religion was legal in the empire, and began a series of changes that were to place the "State" and the "Church" together in a cauldron that would forever change the western world as we have come to know it.

An intimate friend of Constantine was a Greek Bishop named Eusebius. (263 AD - 339 AD)  He wrote a history of the Christian Church, leaving a personal account of this period in time.

His work, translated by G.A. Williamson, and published 1965, by Dorset Press, is a very readable version.  It provides the reader a clear insight into the mind of Eusebius who has been called the "Christian Herodotus".

For those who need an understanding of the religious beliefs that were to bring the name of  "JOHN" into common usage among the people of the world, this would be it.  It was the name "JOHN" that was to become the surname "JONES".  It is a source of fascinating information for the genealogist and time traveler.

Later Roman Britain

As the foundations of the Roman world began to unravel, the geographic locations farthest from the center at Rome, began their own attempts at survival.  Being at "the end of the world",  this Celtic island had its own way of trying to deal with the events of the day. 

A small book entitled "Later Roman Britain" by Stephen Johnson", presents a clear account of this period in what was to become the very difficult times following the withdrawal of Roman rule.

For me, the most important aspect was the fact that the "Anglo-Saxon world" had made itself known to this "British Roman world" much before the "Celtic world" would tell their stories.  Saxon raiding parties had caused a series of defensive forts to be built along the eastern coastline.   This interaction had produced a long history of contact between these folks long before old Vortigern was accused of letting these folks get their foot in the door.

Lots of maps and lots of pictures make this read a neat book to gaze upon.  First published 1982 by Paladin, Grafton Books , it has been reprinted in 1986.  Later Roman Britain, a bridge to the past.