Bede clearly connects the groups of people who were inhabiting Britain during his time to the groups who came from overseas.
However, other written sources and archaeological data suggest that there was more complexity between the 5th and 7th centuries CE. Some fifth-century sunken-floored buildings in Britain are built in the same way as continental examples, indicating that they were brought over by those who had moved to the island. However, archaeological evidence suggests that political hierarchies didn’t develop until the late 6th century, suggesting it wasn’t elites who brought the building style over Another document called ‘The Tribal Hidage’ separates those living south of the Humber into 34 groups rather than 5.
Bede’s writing gives us an insight into how the narratives around Britain’s Early Medieval settlers changed over time, as they slowly came together to form unified political groups.
The three (re)constructed buildings and early medieval Northumbria | Five languages | Local groups | The past in the present | Anglo-Saxonism | The three buildings and their significance | The sites of the (re)constructed buildings | “Germanic” vs “Romano-British” | Early medieval timber buildings in Britain | (Ex)perimental reconstructions
