The years between the collapse of the Roman government in Britain in the early years of the fifth century and the arrival of St Augustine at the end of the sixth were a period of significant change.

A Germanic people replaced or intermarried with the Celtic British and became a significant part of the population of lowland Britain. Germanic languages replaced Latin and some Celtic languages, and loose knit and feuding hereditary kingships replaced the more centrally governed Roman provinces. Because this change took place while the Germanic immigrants were illiterate, much of Britain entered the dark ages, with little documentation from this time.

The first Germanic warband arrived in Britain in the mid-fifth century to serve as mercenary troops at the invitation of the British sub-Roman government. The Romans themselves had withdrawn totally from Britain in 410 AD. Anglo-Saxon mercenaries had for many years fought in the Roman army in Britain, so they were not total strangers to the island. When the post Roman British government failed in their agreement to supply the mercenaries, these troops revolted. This revolt touched a significant part of the country. Then, the first settlers invited their relatives from overseas to join them.

The Saxons were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, Latin: Saxonia) near the North Sea coast of northern Germania, in what is now Germany. The Angles (Old English: Ængle, Engle; Latin: Angli) were one of the main Germanic peoples. Tacitus identified them as living east of the Lombards and Semnones, which is lower Denmark.

At the beginning of the sixth century, the Germanic peoples’ rapid spread through the country was checked for a time by the British Celts, but by the mid-sixth century, they started to expand again. By the time of Augustine’s arrival, they controlled much of the lowlands and were expanding to the north and west. This pushed the Celtic people westward towards Wales and South West England, permanently changing the map of Celtic Britain. Although history records it as an Anglo-Saxon invasion, it also included Jutes from Jutland (now Northern Denmark).

The Celtic people used the name “Saxon” generically to describe all of the Germanic people they met. While this likely indicates a heavy proportion of Saxons in the early raids and settlement, many other tribes were involved. Significantly, central Britain came to be called England after the Angles rather than Saxony.

But they weren’t the last to invade.