Journal of the Anglo-Saxons

By: Ben Nelson

Ben Nelson

Period 1

February 6, 2011

TT Journal Entries

Dear Journal,

What a great many changes my culture is undergoing. The fall of the Roman

Empire is imminent, and as a result, the Romans are withdrawing from their island

outpost near our homeland. Our chief decided to try settling in that area, as the weather

there can’t be much worse than it is here. As I found out from many people, everyone

was quite eager to get going. The chief had us cross the channel that day, and we came

upon a ruined settlement surrounded by trees, most likely that of the Romans. We settled

there, and I spent my night in a stone structure

that was probably a chapel at one point. My

suspicions were confirmed about whose

settlement this used to be when I came across

a single red thread, probably from a cape. It

was a Roman settlement.

Date: 449A.D.

Dear Journal,

Our culture is thriving! We are effectively farming the land, I think our year’s

crops will be plentiful. A blade of the greenest grass shows the excellence of the soil. The

Roman legacy has left its mark here, but we are replacing Roman culture with our

Saxony culture. Our neighbors to the north, the Angles, seem okay and I think we will get

along with them, as they have many of our cultural traits because we are both Germanic

tribes. As soon as we arrived in this land now called England, we started replacing

Roman things with Saxon things. It is a tedious task, but we will have it done soon. After

all, we can’t let the Romans rule us even after their empire crumbled!

Date: 489A.D.

Dear Journal,

A nice man named Augustine has come over the channel to spread the word about

a man named Jesus and his father, who is God.

I walked up to him and asked, “Have you any proof?”

He replied confidently, “The proof is all around you, even in this little pebble.

Who else could have made something so wondrous?”

I pocketed the pebble and decided to keep it as a reminder of this encounter. I

later found out that that man’s ideas were liked and spread like a Danish invasion.

Date: 597A.D.

Dear Journal,

Our land of England is coming together as a whole, as it must in order to

withstand the might of the Danes. The kingdoms being formed are those of Northumbria,

Mercia, East Anglia, and Wessex, which is where I am living right now. Just the other

day Vikings raided a neighbor settlement, which by the time we got there it looked more

like the coals of a cooking fire. We searched for survivors, but alas there was only one, a

man named Ablendan, which means blind in our language of Old English.

“Oh, the screams! My family and friends! The screams!” he ranted. I personally

put him in bed and calmed him.

When I put him in bed however, I

found a brown button that didn’t

match his clothes. It must have been

from a family member. That poor

man, I wonder what our fate is with

the Danes?

Date: 674A.D.

Dear Journal,

Political standings have changed, as the four kingdoms of Mercia, Northumbria,

Wessex, and East Anglia have been put under the control of a powerful Mercian king

named Offa. Now, he is a good king to unite all of England. Maybe he can fight off the

invasions of foreigners, that would be a nice occurence. The shire reeve (governor) of our

area has to travel to Mercia, because Offa is changing laws and needs authoritative

figures there.

The shire reeve stopped by our town for the night and told the town, “I will be

gone for only three weeks to get to know our newly crowned king. I have high hopes for

the future of England under his rule.” At this statement there was lots of cheering and

drinks all around. I hope the shire reeve is right.

Date: 758A.D.

Dear Journal,

This is the first time I have dared venture from the safety of home, the reason

being of great news. There has been talk that Offa has started to make a dike that

stretches across the Welsh border! I am amazed, because I am there right now watching

the construction of it commence. This may be one of our greatest successes to repel

foreign attack. I must get some dirt from it in order to prove of this wonder’s existence.

As I watch, I can see how much organization has gone to this project, there must be

thousands working on it! I will go and see if I can help contribute in the work.

Date: 786A.D.

Dear Journal,

It is a joyful day in Wessex, for our own king Egbert has taken control of Wessex

from Mercia. However, this joy is not meant to last because of recent tidings from a lone

horseman. Proof of this encounter lies in the gray hairs of the horse’s flank under this

journal entry.

He said, “This is an unhappy time for us, as the Norwegians and the Danes are

attacking our eastern and northern borders!” Very bad

indeed, as both cultures, especially the Danes, are

good in the art of war. We are losing land as they take

out the unprotected settlements of Northumbria. The

only thing the people of Wessex can do is pray that

the rain of blood does not come to the south.

Date: 827A.D.

Dear Journal,

The rain of blood has come! Wessex is the only kingdom still standing against the

Danes, with King Alfred at our head. The Danes have pushed us into the Athelney

marshes in a corner of Wessex! All seems lost, I hope, for the sake of our people that

Alfred knows what he is doing. In fact, just the other day I swear I saw him walk through

the mud of the marsh.

“Is that you King Alfred?” However, I did not get an answer back. Whoever it

was, I felt sorry for him; it was as if he was about to lose something close to him. But this

encounter has made me even more determined to defeat the Danes, and I believe we have

just a big enough chance, because Alfred is an excellent tactician and warrior.

Date: 877A.D.

Dear Journal,

I am so glad that my heart was right! If you don’t know where the happiness is

coming from, it is from the good news that Alfred the Great drove out the Danes from

Wessex and there is now peace in the land. I even have part of a feather of the last arrow

shot in the war! He has also turned

Wessex into an easily defendable

area, improved our navy, and has

contributed greatly to our culture

through literature as well. Alfred

the Great has taken us from

darkness to our golden age, truly he

is great.

Date: 892A.D.

Dear Journal,

Why is it that there is so much chaos after a long period of peace? After Alfred’s

death, there were lines of weak rulers, leading the leadership of the Danes over Wessex.

That’s right, the Danes. After the Danish rulers there was Edward the Confessor, and

after him, there was a battle between King Harold and William, the Duke of Normandy.

William won, and so our beautiful Anglo-Saxon rule over England ended with the

Norwegians taking over.

Date: 1066A.D.

Works Cited

"The Anglo-Saxons." BBC. BBC, n.d. Web. 6 Feb 2011. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/anglo_saxons/saxons.shtml >.

"Baby Names." Birthcare. Birthcare, 2008. Web. 6 Feb 2011.

<http://www.mybirthcare.com/favorites/pg1/Anglo-Saxon-names.asp>.

Ross, David. "Early Anglo-Saxon Britain." Britain Express. Britain Express Limited, n.d. Web. 6 Feb 2011. <http://www.britainexpress.com/History/Anglo-Saxon_Britain.htm>.

"History of High Sheriffs." The High Sheriffs' Association of England & Wales. High Sheriff's Association of England and Wales, 2010. Web. 6 Feb 2011. <http://www.shrievalty-association.org.uk/History.htm>.

Ross, David. "Alfred the Great." Britain Express. Britain Express Limited, n.d. Web. 6 Feb 2011. <http://www.britainexpress.com/History/Alfred_the_Great.htm>.

Ross, David. "Ethelred, the Danes, and the Confessor." Britain Express. Britain Express Limited, n.d. Web. 6 Feb 2011. <http://www.britainexpress.com/History/Ethelred_the_Danes_and_the_Confessor.htm>.