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There are few sources available on the fifth and sixth centuries. We have some archaeological evidence and a small group of text, annals and fragments. ‘The English Settlements’ tries to piece together what we know about Britain during this 200-year period. Archaeology suggests that Germanic settlers first came to Britain as mercenaries in the Roman army. The English of later centuries dated their ancestors' arrival some decades later. Who were the invaders and what were they like? How did the native people receive them? It is difficult to establish British survival in the regions that became Anglo-Saxon by 600. ...Less

The scale of Scandinavian settlement is much debated, but its positive impact is widely acknowledged. Archaeologists have emphasized Scandinavian contributions to urbanism, the development of industry, and changes in rural settlement patterns. ‘Settlers in England’ examines the influence of Scandinavian settlement on English culture and history. Academics are split between those that see the history of England as one of a number of waves of invaders, and those who emphasize internal evolution and change. Archaeologically, Scandinavian settlements have been hard to detect. In England, there is evidence for a complex sequence of assimilation between different cultures, languages, and religions which lasted for 200 years or more. ...Less