Anglo-Saxon Kings Essay

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1. What do you know about Anglo-Saxon kings, their ruling period and their achievement? Anglo-Saxon is a general term referring to the Germanic peoples who came to Britain during the 5th and 6th centuries, including Angles, Saxons, Frisii, and Jutes. The Anglo-Saxon period lasted for 600 years, from 410 to 1066, and in that time Britain's political landscape underwent many changes. We know very little of the first few hundred years of the Anglo-Saxon, or "English", era, primarily because the invaders were an illiterate people. Our earliest records of them are little more than highly inventive lists of rulers. We know that they established separate kingdoms, the Saxons settling in the south and west, the Angles in the east and north, and the Jutes on the Isle of Wight and the mainland opposite. They probably thought of themselves as separate peoples, but they shared a common language and similar customs. One of these customs was fighting everyone in sight. A king's power was not hereditary; it depended solely on his ability to win battles and so gain land, treasure, and slaves to give his supporters. He was obliged to fight and keep fighting. If not, he would find himself out of a job or deprived of his life, or both. Succession from father to son was never a foregone conclusion. Any relative of the old king who could muster enough support could make a bid for the throne. This helps to explain why the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms came and went so quickly. The power of any kingdom over its neighbors was only as solid as the strength of its king in battle. During this ruling period England have seen many changes of rulers. History of different Anglo-Saxon kings are described chronologically below- Offa (ruling period: 757-796) - At the beginning there were many kings ruling different parts of England. None of them could be truly called the king of England until eighth
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