What was Anglo-Saxon art and culture like?

The Anglo-Saxons were great craft workers. They made intricate jewellery, musical instruments and homemade toys and games.

They were also keen storytellers. They would gather together in feasting halls and tell thrilling stories.

Often their stories would be accompanied by music played on a string instrument called a lyre.

The Saxons liked to play with words too. They amused themselves by telling clever riddles.

Anglo-Saxon jewellers made brooches, beads and gold ornaments.  At first, their artwork was pagan, but after the conversion to Christianity in the AD600s astonishing artwork was made for churches.

Take a look below at these Anglo-Saxon treasures.

Written work was in Latin, the language of the Church, or in Old English. Very few Anglo-Saxons could read or write.

All their stories were told to them by their friends and family. Anglo-Saxons loved tales about brave warriors and their adventures.

On dark winter days, people gathered in the great hall around a log fire. They listened to stories and poems, feasted and sang songs. They ate roast meats with bread and fruit, and they drank ale or a strong drink made from honey called mead.

A favourite story told how Beowulf, a heroic prince, battled the fierce man-eating monster Grendel. The story of Beowulf was first written down around the 8th or 9th century, but long before that the story was told around the fire.

Children played with **homemade toys.**They had rag dolls and carved wooden toys, as well as games that used counters and dice.

From finds in graves, we know children also had spinning tops and played tunes on pipes made from reeds or animal bones.

Anglo-Saxon men enjoyed sporting pastimes, like wrestling, weight-lifting (using heavy rocks) and horse-racing. These sports kept them fit for work and strong for war.

Some people thought that after Rome, Britain went into a simple and gloomy ‘dark age’. It is true that town life was abandoned. However, the skill of Anglo-Saxon art, metal-work and manuscripts does not suggest a ‘dark age’ at all.

Archaeology is revealing new treasures, most famously with Sutton Hoo in 1939. The Staffordshire Hoard is the largest hoard of gold and silver jewellery, discovered in 2009 and dating to 650-675 AD.

Objects from Sutton Hoo and the Staffordshire Hoard came from as far afield as Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Greece, Turkey and Syria, suggesting a big trade network.