The Anglo-Saxon InvasionShortly after the departure of Roman troops from Britain in 410 AD, many Germanic tribes from the west coast of Europe began to settle in Britain including the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes.
Although it has been called a settlement, many still argue that it was more of an invasion than a peaceful settlement. As the Romans left they didn't leave much of their native language behind, mainly because it didn't have many words for everyday items, where as the Anglo-Saxon language did. The Anglo-Saxons gave words for the days Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. This language became known as Old English. It took more than two centuries for more words to merge into Old English, however these words came from Latin, the language of the Catholic Church. Some of the words that were brought across from Latin were: "Martyr", "Bishop" and "Font". From this moment forward Latin was used as the language of nobility and religious leaders, even up until to 20th Century. |