Did the anglo saxons fight the british? Help - confused

[cba]

ds1 homework included the question. He said yes but when we researched on the internet, it stated that the British invited the anglo saxons to settle here to protect from pirates and raids. But, then it also goes onto say that anglo saxons also raided shores.

So what is the correct answer. Did the anglo saxons fight the british?

Actually both are, or may be, true - after the Romans left there are reports of Saxons being hired as mercenaries against raids by the Picts, but a 6th century chronicler, Gildas, says that they then revolted against their employers.

The Saxons weren't a nation as such, but a kind of federation of various tribes & 'England/Britain' didn't really exist as a nation either - the Romans had imposed their rule over a lot of tribes which didn't have anything to unite them once the Romans had gone, so it's probable that some British tribes were raided by Saxons while others had trade or other alliances with them.

Most of the 'histories' of this time were written much later & some of them are not much more than a collection of unproven legends, with very few dates given, so a lot of what we 'know' about the period is pretty much guesswork.

i thought the anglo saxons were the british? ie the people living on this island.

The term "the British" is often used to refer to the Celtic people who were living here before the Romans and to the mixed Romans/Celts who were living here at the time of the Saxon colonisation. It is the term used by the Romans about the Celtic inhabitants they conquered.

And the situation raiders/mercenaries from the same people is classic.

The Anglo Saxons were two tribes ~ the Angles from Jutland (modern Denmark) and the Saxon a tribe from Germany.

Between the 4th and 7th Centuries, Angles and Saxons settled in Britain, and became known by the collective name ?Anglo-Saxon?. At this time, England was roughly divided into seven kingdoms known as the 'Heptarchy'. The period is often referred to as the Dark Ages and the legendary British King Arthur is supposed to have lived then and was possibly a Romano-Celtic leader.

thanks ladies, ds1 put down the anglo saxons did fight the british. After more research, they were invited here after the romans left but did also raid the british.

So confusing, or perhaps I am just thick.

Thanks ladies

Basically, what happened is:

Britain was inhabited by various Celtic tribes. The country was known as Britain to other nations and its inhabitants as British (Britanni in Latin).

The Romans invaded and settled. Over time they mixed with the locals, intermarried, went native, and the Celtic Brits on their side took on Roman customs and to some extent learnt to speak Latin, though the Celtic language also survived. The resulting Romano/Celtic mix are also referred to as British.

Then the Angles and the Saxons- often lumped together as the Anglo-Saxons or just the Saxons- arrived on the scene, at about the same time as Imperial Rome was collapsing and the Roman legions were withdrawn (but RomanoCeltic Brits still living in the country). The Angles/Saxons were raiders, mercenaries, settlers depending on the opportunities.

They again intermarried with the locals. They imposed their Germanic language on the natives, though Celtic British still survives in Wales (Scottish Gaelic is the result of immigration from Ireland). From now on, the nation is referred to either as England or as Britain; and the natives are known as English or British.