THE OLD ENGLISH PERIOD ( 449-

1100)
The Anglo-Saxon Invasion
450-650 AD

Prepared by: Ms. Sahar Deknash

ENGL301-131
THE ANGLO_SAXON INVASION
By the year 449 AD, a group of Germanic tribes 
began its invasion of Britain. They migrated in groups
from their original homelands and settled in. These
tribes were: The Angles, The Saxons, The Jutes and
The Frisians. They came from different parts of
Germany, Denmark and Netherlands bringing their
.closely related dialects with them
THE ANGLO-SAXON INVASION
The Romans had completely abandoned Britain and 
native Celts had been enslaved by the invaders. The
Angles took over northern England . The Saxons took
over the south. The Jutes took Isle of Wight and
.regions of Kent and Hampshire
THE ANGLO-SAXON INVASION
The Celts referred to all new comers as the Saxons 
and their land became known as Saxonia. Gradually,
the term was changed into Anglia or Englaland ( The
land of the Angles). The Germanic tribes compromised
seven kingdoms in England: Kent, Essex, Sussex,
.Wessex, East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbrians
Kent became the center of culture and wealth which
was occupied by the Saxons, and the leadership moved
.constantly between these kingdoms
THE SEVEN KINGDOMS
How did the Anglo-Saxons deal with the Roman's 
?civilization
The Saxons destroyed the Roman's achievements in 
Britain, and the Roman's towns were burnt or
.destroyed
 The Dialects of Old English
After the settlement of the Germanic tribes , They
tried to combine their original but closely related
dialects in one language. The new emerging language
was not fully unified, and each dialect kept some of its
specific characteristics that were distinguished later as
.dialects of the new unified language
 The new language came to be known as the Anglo-
Saxon language or Old Englisc. We can distinguish
:four major dialects of OE
Northumbrian
Mercian
West Saxon
Kent
Most preserved records and literary works of OE were
.kept in West Saxon dialect
 Thank You Ladies

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Characteristics of Old English