What is the distinction between Anglo-Saxons and Vikings?

Question

The Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf takes place among Danes/Scandinavians. What exactly is the relationship between Angles/Saxons/Jutes and the Vikings? Furthermore, were the Danes and Norwegians simply subsets of the Vikings (for the relevant time period)? Are Geats Vikings?

Answer 1

The Angles were not the natives of England. Those were the Celts (britons).

The Angles and the Saxons were Germanic tribes from Northern Germany and Holland who settled in England, along with the Jutes, on circa 400d.c. onwards.

The term Viking usually refers to Norwegians and Danes. I wouldn't consider the Swedes and Geats (Goths) as Vikings since they didn't sail towards the North Sea, and didn't share the same taste for looting, pillage and murdering as the Vikings. Instead, they were great explorers and merchantmen who sailed the Baltic and the great Russian rivers up to the Black Sea and Constantinople, and established succesful colonies in what they called "Rus", later known as Russia. Those guys were in a way the founders of Russia.

Regarding to the relation between Angles/Saxons/Jutes and Vikings, well, they were all germanic and shared the same religious beliefs, cultural background and mithology. Plus they were neighbours while they were still in the continent.

Answer 2

Anglo refers to native english, while saxon refers to the province of Saxony in northern Germany that invaded England many times over the course of the 500-700's AD. Native English and the Saxon immigrants intermarried, thus, Anglo-Saxon. When William the conquerer led the Normans from Normandy to England in 1058(?) AD, he met resistance in the Anglo-Saxons. Vikings, from Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Finland) and Denmark terrorized the coasts of Europe from 400-700 AD. So, yes, Danes and Norweigens are the great grandchildren of Vikings. I have no idea about Geats.

Answer 3

Beowulf is set before the Angle/Saxon migration to England got underway. It is the oldest known work in 'English', but the Angles/Saxons brought both their language and the poem with them.

It's fairer to say that Vikings are a subset of Danes and Norwegians (and Swedes) rather than vice-versa. The origin of the word 'Viking' is still disputed. Vikings did not exist as a distinct ethnic group - the term 'Viking'  (and 'Northman') was applied to any Scandinavian who came raiding South and Vikings only accounted for a small proportion of the Scandinavian community. Incidentally, only the Irish seem to have initially distinguished between Danes and Norwegians, whom they referred to as 'White Vikings' and 'Black Vikings' respectively. The English tended to refer to them all as 'Danes', at least until Cnut became King and the nobility became Anglo-Danish.