Angeln
From Open Encyclopedia
Angeln, also known as Anglia (German: Angeln, Danish: Angel, Latin: Anglia, English: may follow German or Latin), is a peninsula in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, protruding into the Baltic Sea. It is separated from the neighbouring peninsula of Schwansen (Danish: Svansö) by the Schlei inlet, and from the Danish island of Als by the Flensburger Förde ("Firth of Flensburg").
History
The region was home to the small Germanic tribe of Angles who, together with a few Saxon tribes, left their home when migrating to Britain in the 5th-6th centuries. For the year 449, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states: "From Anglia, which has ever since remained waste between the Jutes and the Saxons, came the East Angles, the Middle Angles, the Mercians, and all of those north of the Humber." (Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 449 AD) The phrase "north of the Humber" refers to the northern kingdom of Northumbria. Mercia was located in central England.
Following the departure of the Angles from Anglia, the region was occupied by Danish Vikings not later than the 8th century. This is reflected in the large number of place names ending in -by which characterise the map of the region today. In the Viking period, the chronicler Aethelweard reports that the most important town in Angeln was Hedeby.
In subsequent history, Angeln's history is subsumed in that of the larger surrounding region which came to be known as Southern Jutland or Schleswig (Danish: Slesvig). Up until the 19th century, the area primarily belonged to Denmark. However ethnically and linguistically a mixed German/Danish population evolved. Denmark lost Schleswig to Austria and Prussia in 1864 as a result of the second war of Schleswig. In 1920, following Germany's defeat in World War I, a plebiscite was held to determine which areas should return to Danish control. As a result of the plebiscite, much of Schleswig returned to Denmark, but Angeln remained in Germany. See "Schleswig-Holstein Question" for a detailed history.
The word
The name Angeln itself means "hook", e.g. as in angling for fish.
The words England, English are derived from the tribe of the Angles, and thus ultimately from the Angeln peninsula. The terms Anglo and Anglo-Saxon also go back to this origin.
The English language is ultimately also derived from the West Germanic language spoken by the Angles.
