Appearence and tactics of early 5th century Saxons.

[Agraes]

Hello, Im new here but Robert knows me as he helped me working on a project, Arthurian: Total War, a mod for Rome: Total War.


That's said, I would like to bring new elements in the debate. Sorry if I sometime lack to post my references.

Christianity
There was clearly a lack of motivation from brythonic monks and priests to try to convert the Anglo-Saxons. This work will be done by frankish priests in the VIIth century, the "Celtic" church of Iona did however helped convert the Northumbrians. Augustine will met 2 times the "welsh" bishops, wanting them to help him in his work but both times they send him to roses, saying they don't want to do anything with the Saxons.

The Justinian Plague
For what I have read, the plague affected Britons, Gaels and Picts but much more less the Saxons, because there wasn't trade and contacts between the Britons and the Saxons.

My question is, if the Britons under germanic rule were in a kind of equallity with the Saxons, won't the other Britons had maintened contact with them? Because a part of them would probably still be christians, etc.

From another point of view, Saxons (I take this as a generic term) appeared more opened to Christianism in the VIIth century - by the time their great kingdoms have been founded, and a big part of the Brythonic kingdoms have been defeated: Ebrauc around 580, Elmet around 610, midlands kingdoms such as Calfychenedd or Pengwern, Bryneich, Rheged and Gododdin around 640. Kingdoms like Northumbria or Wessex probably had a very large brythonic population.

Origins of the various kingdoms really appear linked to the Foederati like you pointed out: in Kent Jutish foederati, in Bernicia and Deira Angles, in Wessex Saxons.