What is the history behind the Anglo-Saxons?

The
Anglo-Saxons were composed of three Germanic groupsAngles, Saxons, and Jutes. England gets its
name from the Angles. Old English developed from Old High German (brought by the Saxons) and Old
Scandinavian, the language that the Angles and Jutes would have spoken.

Anglo-Saxon England, which became firmly established around 597 AD, when St. Augustine
brought Christianity to the region, was a relatively rudimentary civilization compared to how it
would develop after the Norman Conquest, solidified after the Battle of Hastings, in 1066. Court
life existed, for example, but did not have any of the elaborate rituals that it would later
develop. Interests in the arts, cuisine, and the establishment of more organized government
would all come as a result of the French influence. In fact, most of the 1,600-plus
French-derived words in the English language entered the lexicon during the period of 1100-1350
AD, when the French cultural influence overtook that of the Anglo-Saxons. This period is
distinguished from that of the Anglo-Saxon period and is referred to as the Middle English
period. Back, however, to the Anglo-Saxons.

The Anglo-Saxon diet was composed
mainly of grains (e.g., barley, millet), northern fruits, such as damsons and apples, and some
meat, though husbandry was less cultivated than it would become later. Beer was ample in
production; wine, less so.

The Anglo-Saxons lived in homes with thatched
roofs. We know that they told stories for entertainment. Few books of Old English poetry
survived, including the Exeter Book, the Vercelli Book, the Junius Manuscript, and the
well-known Beowulf manuscript.