<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

The term Anglo-Saxon is commonly applied to that period of English history, language and literature which preceded the Norman Conquest.

It goes back to the time of King Alfred, who seems to have frequently used the title "rex Anglorum Saxonum" or "rex Angul-Saxonum." The origin of this title is not quite clear. It is generally believed to have arisen from the final union of the various kingdoms under Alfred in 886.

It is thought the people of the more northern kingdoms (East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria, etc.) belonged to the Angli, while those of Essex, Sussex and Wessex were sprung from the Saxons, and those of Kent and southern Hampshire from the Jutes.