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Early Middle English for today

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Angles and Saxons

T`e Engle and t`e Saxe

The Engle and the *Saxe ('Angles' and 'Saxons' in ModE), were the two largest of the Germanic tribes which invaded and settled Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries AD. Though we commonly refer to these Germanic peoples whose culture was dominant in England until the Norman Conquest of 1066, as Anglo-Saxons, this was not a name they used themselves. In fact they probably didn't see themselves as an ethnic whole for a couple of centuries at least. The Celtic Britons gave the name 'Saxons' to all the Germanic invaders of their country, while on the Continent, the Germanic conquerors of Britain were, for a long time, called indiscriminately sometimes 'Saxons', and sometimes 'Angles'.

It was probably through the official language of the church that the Jutes and Saxons came to regard themselves as part of the "Angle kindred" (in Old English - Angelcynn, in Latin - gens Anglorum). In the 9th century, the West Saxon king Alfred never uses any other name for his own language but Englisc - the language of the Angles.

* Note - here I've modified the standard OE form Seaxa, in line with 11th century speech habits. Note also that while Bede's account of the coming of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes has Seaxan as the plural (nominative) form, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle prefers the plural form Seaxa. Side note - from Su_thseaxa - South Saxons and E_astseaxa - East Saxons, come the county names Sussex and Essex.

What does 'Anglo-Saxon' mean?

'Anglo-Saxon' is a relatively recent coining. *Engle-Seaxa is unattested and while no similar compounds are found in the Bosworth-Toller Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, there are three instances of the compound Angolsexna (or angelsexena) in OE sources. That's a minuscule number compared to engle and englisc. See Eric Wade's posts for more detail. The Latin term Angli Saxones seems to have been first used by Continental writers in the late 8th century to distinguish the Saxons of Britain from those of the European continent. The name formed part of a title, rex Angul-Saxonum (king of the Anglo-Saxons), which was used, though rarely, by King Alfred of Wessex (reigned 871-99) and some of his successors. Following the Norman Conquest, it disappeared from usage before being re-borrowed in the late sixteenth century as Anglo-Saxones in Latin and thence as 'Anglo-Saxon' in English.

The term 'Anglo-Saxon' has been used with several related meanings:

  1. to indicate the 5th and 6th century Germanic invaders and settlers of Britain; in this context, it could be considered a form of shorthand for Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Frisians, Franks et al
  2. to designate words derived from the language(s) of the 5th and 6th century Germanic invaders and settlers of Britain, as opposed to words borrowed later from languages such as Norse or French; in this sense, it cuts across the three periods of English - Old, Middle and Modern; nevertheless I would use 'derived from Old English' or 'of Old English origin' instead;
  3. as a synonym for Old English; i.e. the English language prior to 1100 AD, though some stretch that period to the mid 12th century; I can do without a synonym;
  4. to denote the community of speakers of Englisc in medieval England, as opposed to the Normans, who spoke a variety of French; note that Englisc speakers included people of Celtic and Norse ancestry; 'Englisc speakers' does the job quite adequately; note also that the distinction between Englisc speakers and Normans was gradually lost as Norman language and culture was assimilated and integrated;
  5. to denote the bloc of modern nations in which English speakers predominate; for example - "le monde anglo-saxon" refers to the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand; this is largely a French usage, though it may have been borrowed by other continental Europeans; to my mind, 'anglophone' or 'English-speaking' covers this sense;
  6. to refer to the modern diaspora who trace their ancestry to medieval England; in that context, I prefer 'of English descent' or 'Anglo-', generally prefixed to a nationality, e.g. - 'Anglo-Australian'.

In englesaxe, 'Anglo-Saxon' is only used to refer to the 5th and 6th century Germanic invaders and settlers of Britain.

Should I explore this site further?

I think we both know the answer to that. If you're at all interested in earlier varieties of English, or the origins of Modern English words, but aren't quite ready to make the daunting leap required by the grammar of 10th century West Saxon, englesaxe should indeed tickle your fancy. Why not start with At`elwine's diary. It offers a gentle introduction to Early Middle English.