Anglo-Saxon Migration
There is a large amount of debate among historians regarding the migration
patterns of the Anglo-Saxons into Great Britain. What most of them agree on
is that the primary periods of migration were between the fourth century and
sixth century. However, the debate among historians among migration patterns
is so pronounced that is difficult to get an agreed consensus from them. A number
of these scholars think that once the Anglo-Saxons arrived, the either killed
or removed the natives who were living there. This is especially true for the
people who were living in the southern and northern part of the country. One
prominent feature of the Anglo-Saxons is that they valued freedom, and the people
who arrived in Great Britain placed a high emphasis on liberty.
A number of historical documents noted the differences between the English
and the Welsh. These differences are noted in the names of many places in this
region. To effectively understand the migration patterns of the Anglo-Saxons,
modern technology has allowed researchers to undertake genetic tests. One study
taken in 2002 used genetic samples from people who were living in Wales, Basque
Country, England, and Friesland. The focus of this study were the Y-chromosomes.
The goal of this study was to solidify the theory that there was a large scale
migration which took place in both eastern and central England. Many of these
studies have indicated that current technology is not advanced enough to make
distinctions between those who are Anglo-Saxon, Danish, or North German.
However, these studies were successful in demonstrating that there are strong
genetic influences of groups within the modern population that predate the Anglo-Saxons.
The studies also indicated that the natives living in the area were not completely
displaced by the Anglo-Saxon migration. This is strong evidence for those who
believe that the indigenous people were not totally displaced anywhere in Great
Britain. One interesting thing about this is that computer simulations demonstrate
that some powerful Anglo-Saxons could have put themselves at a distinct advantage
over the natives that lived there. By doing this, they would have been able
to become genetically dominant within a few generations.
A number of historians have also been interesting in studying the number of
people living in Great Britain in the year 400. While the exact number if almost
impossible to calculate, it would seem that there were approximately 2 million
people living in the region during this time. By studying graves, historians
have been able to conclude that the vast majority of the population was not
killed off by this migration.
Original Authors:
Stephen Palmer
Edit Update Authors: None
Updated On: 03/10/2006
