The Germanic tribes
seem to have originated in a homeland in southern
Scandinavia
(Sweden and
Norway, with the Jutland
area of northern Denmark,
along with a very narrow strip of Baltic coastline). They had been settled
here for over two thousand years following the
Indo-European
migrations. The Germanic ethnic group began as a division of the western
edge of late proto-Indo-European dialects around 3300 BC, splitting away
from a general westwards migration to head towards the southern coastline
of the Baltic Sea. By the time the Germanic tribes were becoming key
players in the politics of Western
Europe in the
last two centuries BC, the previously dominant
Celts were on the verge
of being conquered and dominated by
Rome. They had already
been pushed out of northern and central Europe by a mass of Germanic tribes
which were steadily carving out a new homeland.
The Angles gradually migrated west from what is now
Poland about the first
century AD until, by the fourth century they had settled in modern central Denmark,
replacing the Germanic Cimbri
and Teutones who had existed
there in diminished numbers since before the first century BC. The region
gradually gained the name of the new settlers, becoming Angeln, Angel, or
Angulus. By the fifth century, this covered the territory between the River
Eider in the south (now in Schleswig-Holstein), bordering the Old
Saxons, to the River Kongeaen
in the north, bordering the
Jutes. Angle settlement
also extended further southwards into Germany and along the
Frisian coast of the Netherlands.
King Alfred of
Wessex was
careful to note this himself, suggesting a wide-ranging area of settlement
of the Angles, and a relatively large population.
The Angles, Anglii, or Angels (the 'g' is pronounced hard, as in 'gun' not
soft as with a 'j') are first mentioned by Tacitus (Germania) about
AD 98. They could be related to the Teutones of Pliny and Strabo in the early
first century AD, forming a group known as the Ingaevones with the
Chauci and the Cimbri. The
early Germanic tribal grouping of the 'Ingaevones' itself may be a derivative
of Angles. New findings by Edward Dawson (in 2017) served to support this
theory. Based on a study of the Old Iranian/Avestan concept of 'anghu'
(meaning 'life, the world, the people of the world') versus 'angra' (meaning
'hostile, evil, bad'), it could be seen that the tribal name 'Angle' probably
originates from the former, not the latter, because in linguistic terms an
'r' sound is much harder to soften away than an 'h'. This would mean that
the Angles were the 'people of the world' plus a standard '-el' diminutive
being added at the end of the word ('ang- -el'). That in turn implies that
they the Angles were members of the Ingvaeones.
The Angles were also part of the general
Suevi confederation of central
Germany throughout much of the
Roman period. By the fifth
century, population movements caused mainly by the
Huns in the south and Scandinavian
expansion in the north forced the Angles to migrate overseas... to
Britain.
A list of the kings of Angeln has been preserved in the Old
English
epic poems, Beowulf (telling the story of a prince of the
Geats) and
Widsith, both of which probably
provided source material for the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Some names were
added in the seventh to ninth centuries by chroniclers trying to make sense of
the oral traditions they were writing down. They seem to have been famous
figures in their own right, existing in pre-migration Frisia and Denmark.
The East Seaxe
are not mentioned here because their royal genealogy is unique of all Anglo-Saxon
royal pedigrees in that the kings of Essex claimed descent from Seaxnet and not
Woden.
(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Edward Dawson,
from The Oxford History of England: The English Settlements, J N L
Meyers, from Ulwencreutz's The Royal Families in Europe V, Lars
Ulwencreutz, from the Textus de Ecclesia Roffensi per Ernulphum Episcopum
(The Story of the Church of Rochester up to Bishop Ernulf), known as
the Textus Roffensis or Annals of Rochester, from the Historia
Brittonum, Nennius, from Geography, Ptolemy, and from External
Links:
An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Bosworth and Toller (p728, 1898),
and Geography, Strabo (H C Hamilton & W Falconer, London, 1903,
Perseus Online Edition).)
120 - 114 BC
A large-scale incursion of the sea into Jutland in this period is known as
the Cimbrian Flood. It permanently alters the shape of the coastline and
drastically affects the way people live in the region. It is probably this
event (which is ascribed by some scholars to 307-306 BC) which affects the
GermanicTeutones in the centre of
the peninsula and their northern neighbours, the
Cimbri, enough to force
their kings to lead large numbers of their people in a southwards migration.
Remnants of both peoples probably remain in the peninsula, but the region is
later settled by the Jutes and Angles, and the natives are probably absorbed
into their number.
The Angles settled into central Denmark between the first and
fourth centuries AD, possibly making the most of the vacuum
which followed the mass departure of many Cimbri and Teutones
c.100 BC
Later Anglo-Saxon legend recounts how Sceaf is washed ashore as a child.
He later becomes king of the Angles in their homeland in northern Germany,
founding the dynasty known as the Scelfings. At some period over the next
three centuries his people migrate into the Cimbric Peninsula, between modern
Schleswig-Holstein and Jutland in the centre of modern
Denmark, while their
neighbours in Germany, the
Jutes, migrate into Jutland
itself.
While Sceaf's historical reality cannot be confirmed, his name, along with
those of his descendants, probably form part of a strong oral tradition
amongst Angles which is passed on until it can be written down in ninth
century Wessex.
Some names are also mentioned by Snorri Sturluson in Prose Edda in
their Norse forms (also shown
here in each case). Sceaf is sometimes also claimed as the founder of the
Langobards, another
Germanic tribe with origins
in Scandinavia. The Langobards live for a time on the southern Baltic shore,
alongside the Warini, a tribe
that throughout its history is linked very closely to the Angles.
Sceaf / Seskef
Founder of the Scelfings. Ancestor of the
Lindisware
Angles.
Bedwig / Bedvig
Son.
Hwala
Son.
Hrathra / Annarr
Son.
first century AD
Itermon / Ítermann
Son.
Heremod / Heremód
Son. A later addition to the list, a legendary
Danish
king.
AD 98
Writing around this time, the
Roman
writer Tacitus mentions the
Suevi, listing their constituent
tribes which cover the larger part of Germania. Noted for their custom of
twisting their hair and binding it up in a knot, 'the seven tribes of Jutland
and Holstein': the Angles,
Aviones,
Eudoses,
Nuitones,
Reudigni,
Suardones, and
Warini, form a part of the
Suevi host.
Of this group, Tacitus says: 'They believe that she [Mother Earth] interests
herself in human affairs and rides through their peoples. In an island of
Ocean [the islands of eastern
Denmark] stands a sacred
grove, and in the grove stands a car [carriage] draped with a cloth which none
but the priest may touch. The priest can feel the presence of the goddess in
this holy of holies, and attends her, in deepest reverence, as her car is
drawn by kine. Then follow days of rejoicing and merry-making in every place
that she honours with her advent and stay. No one goes to war, no one takes
up arms; every object of iron is locked away [ie. weapons]; then, and then
only, are peace and quiet known and prized, until the goddess is again restored
to her temple by the priest, when she has had her fill of the society of men.
After that, the car, the cloth and, believe it if you will, the goddess herself
are washed clean in a secluded lake. This service is performed by slaves who
are immediately afterwards drowned in the lake. Thus mystery begets terror
and a pious reluctance to ask what that sight can be which is allowed only
to dying eyes.'
The island of Rugen was first occupied by the Rugii in the
first century AD, seemingly just one of a mass of tribes in
this western Baltic region that were jostling for position
and a permanent home
The question of precisely where the Angles live at this period one that is
yet to be satisfactorily answered. In fact, few of the tribes in the group
that contains the 'Anglii' can be located with any accuracy as it seems
that Tacitus is merely given a list of names, possibly in order of descent,
without any further details. Given that their rough location is largely
certain (East Slesvig), the approximate positions of the others around them
can be guessed, and a focus on the western part of the Baltic Sea seems to
have been universal amongst them.
Sceldwea / Skjöld / Scyld
Son. The Scelfings become the Scyldings.
Skiold, or Scyld, is also the founding father of the
Danish
people. Could there be an ancient connection between the Danes and the
Angles which is remembered in this individual, presuming that he is even
real. It is just as likely that he is an addition to the genealogy because
he is based on an historic heroic figure, that of Scyld Scaefson of the Danes.
Ptolemy, who writes in the mid-second century, places the
Sicambri to the south of a
group of westerly Suevi Langobards,
in the Rhineland. To their east are the Suevi Anglii, while along the Elbe are
the Chauci, to the east are the
Semnones, and then there are
the Suebi, perhaps the original
core tribe of the confederation, which is apparently settled on the Rhine to
the east of the Ems.
The present royal family of
Great Britain traces its descent to Geat, son of Tætwa, son of Beow,
son of Scyld. Whilst traditional genealogies in their later forms can
support this, at the very least the early rulers of the Cerdicingas of
Wessex
throw considerable doubt on a continuance of descent, and Cerdic himself
has a very dubious claim to Anglian ancestry.
Elizabeth II of the House of Windsor and Philip, duke of Edinburgh,
on the balcony of Buckingham Palace following the queen's coronation
on 2 June 1953 - between them stand the young Prince Charles and
Princess Anne
Below,
Godwulf can be found in the older versions of the genealogies, but is
replaced by Nennius with Folcwald. This is to tie in with the inclusion
of the famous hero (to Anglo-Saxon ears as well as Scandinavian and
Frisian) Finn
Folcwalding, who is added as a suitably heroic ancestor at some point
between the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons in
Britain and Nennius' composition of his Historia Brittonum (see
feature link).
Other names are also added over the years to extend the list.
Son. Added to the list by the
Lindisware
genealogy.
Frealaf / Fridleifr
Son. Probable second son of Finn.
fl c.370s
Freawine
Son.
Probably based on Freawine, a king of Old
Saxony.
Frithuwald
Son. Added to the list by William of Malmesbury.
Woden / Odin
Son. Originator of many Anglian dynasties.
Woden
is claimed as an ancestor figure by many of the Anglian,
Jutish and
Saxon
tribes which later migrate to
Britain.
Is it possible that this semi-mythical figure represents a powerful
Anglian king whose many sons and their descendants find or create
positions of power as the Anglian peoples fragment before and during their
migration? Those claiming him as an ancestor include the descendants of
Baeldaeg,
Benoc,
Caser,
Waegdaeg and
Wehta, while the kings
of Lindsey
claim direct descent from him.
A later version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, MS Vespasian B vi, adds
one Waðolgeot / Watholgeot between Woden and Wihtlæg, but it is probably more
likely that this name is that of another son who is arranged in series after
Woden, in the manner of genealogies, making him the genealogical father of Wihtlæg
instead of his brother. Nennius goes one step further and adds Guedolgeat and
Gueagon between Woden and Wihtlæg.
The proto-Germanic dictionary mentions 'guda, gudan', meaning 'priest'. 'Gudan'
is a form of Wotan (Woden), which suggests that it is the native
Germanic name of a priest
who is later deified. 'Wotan' may even be a title for a particular priest,
and may be pronounced 'Guotan' by the
Celts who strongly influenced the
Germanic tribes. Far from being a warrior chieftain, the pre-Christian sagas
always describe Wotan as a magician, not a fighter. The Vainamoinen of the
Kalevala shows similarities and possibly a template for later versions
of 'magician' priests such as Wotan. It seems that Germanic and Norse magical
tradition could originate with the
Finns/Kvens because
it shows the characteristics of the shamanism of
Uralic and Altaic speakers
and related groups across northern Eurasia.
Angles
are settled as laeti along the coast of the
British
territory of
Dewyr to serve in the defence of the coastline against raiders, and the
leader of these is possibly one Saebald, son of Sigegeat of
Waegdaeg's Folk.
Skulls are scattered around thighbones and joints in the great
mass grave at the Alken Enge wetlands in East Jutland, a centre
of early Germanic populations, following a battle in the
first century AD, around the time at which the Angles and others
may have been moving into the region
Further groups of Angles are thought to migrate southwards about this time,
into Saxon
territories and further, where they form the
Thuringian peoples in
what is now central Germany.
Wærmund / Waermund
Son. Copied into the list of early
Danish
kings as Vermund.
c.448
Hnæf of the Danes
is killed at the 'Fight at Finnesburg' in
Frisia, as is
Finn's eldest son. Finn is subsequently killed by Hengist, great-grandson
of Wehta and Hnæf's
Anglian comrade in arms. The fight seems to involves
Jutes on both sides, under
Anglian and Frisian command, with Gefwulf, possible ruler of the Jutes,
numbering amongst the former.
449/450
Although not unquestionably proven to be the same man, the Hengist of
Finnesburg and his brother Horsa are invited to Britain by the
High King,
Vortigern, and land at Ypwines fleot (Ebbsfleet) with their
Jutish followers. Traditionally,
they fulfil the terms of their contract by fighting back
Pictish
and Irish Scotti
invaders and receive territory on which to settle. Very shortly they begin
to carve out a kingdom of their own which they call
Kent. Their
success encourages greater
Saxon
and Angle leaders to migrate to Britain (and possibly some more minor
Germanic tribes such as
the Rondings)
as a way of escaping the increasing pressures of life in their native lands,
squeezed between dominant Danes
to the north and
Frisians to the south.
The Myrging are a clan descended
from Saxons
who occupy territory in modern Schleswig-Holstein, on the border with the
Angles to the north. They become involved in a war with Offa, who kills
two of the sons of Eadgils. Eadgils himself is subsequently killed by Ket
and Wig, the sons of the Saxon prince, Freawine, perhaps allowing the
Myrging to overrun the border district between Saxons and Angles until
they are completely conquered by Offa. The Myrging are totally absorbed
into the Angle tribal collective, probably disappearing as a distinguishable
people under the subsequent rule of Angeltheow, who abolishes the title.
'King of the Myrging'.
c.455?
A
group of Angles invades eastern
British
territory around the Roman
city of Lindum (British Lind Colun) where they found the kingdom of the
Lindisware.
456 - ?
Angeltheow / Angengeot
Son. 'Angengeot' is used in the later, MS Vespasian B vi
ASC.
c.475 - 495
Angles begin to arrive and take control of the lower east coast of
Britain.
They intermingle with the
Saxon
descendants of
Romanfoederati
and eventually form the kingdom of the
East Engle.
Anglian elements spread further westwards from there to create the
Middil
Engle group of settlers in the early sixth century.
The rich countryside and easily-navigable rivers of
eastern Britain proved very welcoming to emigrating
Angles, leaving their former homeland massively depopulated
Eomær leads a full-scale migration of his peoples over the North Sea to
Britain,
where they found several kingdoms in newly conquered territory. Many of
these kingdoms may be founded by relatives of the king's (if the later royal
pedigrees are to be believed at all). Eomær leads his own immediate group
of followers into eastern Britain and perhaps onwards into the East Midlands,
where his son founds the
Iclingas.
They soon come to dominate the entire region.
At the same time a cousin of Eomær's, Esa of
Benoc's Folk,
apparently leads another group of Anglians into the British kingdom of
Bernaccia.
This they overrun in 547 to form the Anglian kingdom of
Bernicia.
Angeln is reputedly left abandoned and empty by the mass population
movement, allowing the Danes
to migrate southwards to fill the gap.
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