1 - INTRODUCTION
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 March 2008
Summary
Political history and language history
Bede begins his story of the Anglo-Saxon invasions and settlements of Britain as follows(it seems more appropriate here to quote from the Old English translation than from the original Latin text):
Đa waes ymb feower hund wintra and nigon and feowertig fram ures Drihtnes menniscnysse paet Martianus casere rice onfeng ond VII gear haefde. Se waes syxta eac feowertigum fram Agusto pam casere. Đa Angelpeod and Seaxna was geladod fram pam foresprecenan cyninge [Wyrtgeorn wses gehaten], and on Breotone com on prim miclum scypum, and on eastdeaele pyses ealondes eardungstowe onfeng purh paes ylcan cyninges bebod, pe hi hider gelaoode, paet hi sceoldan for heora eo1e compian and feohtan. And hi sona compedon wio heora gewinnan, pe hi oft aer noroan' onhergedon; and Seaxan pa sige geslogan. pa sendan hi ham aerenddracan and heton secgan pysses landes wsestmbaernysse and Brytta yrgpo. And hi pa sona hider sendon maran sciphere strengran wigena; and waes unoferswi6endlic weorud, pa hi togaedere gepeodde waeron. And him Bryttas sealdan and geafan eardungstowe betwih him, past hi for sybbe and for haelo heora edles campodon and wunnon wid heora feondum, and hi him andlyfne and are forgeafen for heora gewinne.
(Bede 1.12)It was four hundred and forty-nine years after the birth of our Lord that the Emperor Martian came to the throne, and reigned for seven years. He was the forty-sixth Emperor since Augustus. The Angles and the Saxons were invited by the aforesaid king [he was called Vortigern] and they came to Britain in three large ships and received dwelling places in the eastern part of this island by order of that same king who had invited them here, so that they would battle and fight for their land. And at once they fought against their enemies who had often come down on raids from the north, and the Saxons won the battles. Then they sent messengers home, ordering them to tell of the fertility of this land and the cowardice of the Britons. And then they immediately sent here a larger fleet with stronger warriors; and, when they were gathered together, they formed an invincible army. And the Britons gave them dwelling places to share between them, on condition that they fought for peace and for prosperity in their land and defeated their enemies, and the Britons would give them provisions and estates on account of their victory.
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- The Cambridge History of the English Language , pp. 1 - 25Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1992
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