The royal charters also use it. Alfred uses it in 5 out of 17 charters. Charters also call Alfred King "tocius Bryttanniæ” [of all Britain], “totius Albionis” [of all Albion], “Saxonum” [of the Saxons], “Anglorum et Saxonum” [of the Angles and Saxons] & “Anglorum” [of the Angles]
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It's not the primary royal title, however. King Eadwig, for instance, uses the term in 9 out of 87 charters. 7 of those 9 charters also use another title for him, often some version of "Rex Anglorum" [King of the English]. He's also called "Rex Anglorum" in 71 other charters.pic.twitter.com/ISeIg9q9zn
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This illustrates that--even if we prioritize Latin terms over OE and the terms used by kings over those used by ordinary people--"Anglo-Saxon" is STILL not the common term. Eadwig *alone* uses "Anglorum" [the English] more than ALL surviving uses of "Anglo-Saxon" put together.pic.twitter.com/lZXZvNMbaC
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The claim that "Anglo-Saxon" is the most accurate term is difficult to sustain. It's a Latin term, not the vernacular term. It's a title some kings experimented with but not the most used one. It's not the historical term for the language, nor is it a term of self-identification.
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Describing the language of early England as "Anglo-Saxon" or stating "I am an Anglo-Saxon" are modern inventions. Both uses are popularized during the 19th century when white imperialists imagined the early English as a unified racial group whose language expressed their traits.pic.twitter.com/xIBLcCd2QG
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Philologists began describing vernacular language and race as reflective of each other. At the same point, Old English began to be described as "Anglo-Saxon," while medievalists argued that OE was the speech of "free men" that "shall one day be ruling tongue of the world."pic.twitter.com/B0V3zpbtvw
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For scholars to pretend now that this little-used medieval term was *the* proper term for the early English is simply not demonstrable. It was not the most used term by a long shot, nor was it the vernacular term.pic.twitter.com/obqwXcXOlz
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Erik "Mr. Bloodaxe" Wade Retweeted Erik "Mr. Bloodaxe" Wade
Regardless, even if it HAD been the popular term, the fact that it now is deeply racialized and used by white supremacists should be enough reason to stop using it ourselves.https://twitter.com/erik_kaars/status/1171730118429073409 …
Erik "Mr. Bloodaxe" Wade added,
Erik "Mr. Bloodaxe" Wade @erik_kaarsThread: I want to briefly rehearse the problems with the term "Anglo-Saxon" as a medieval term. In sum, it is a term with a racist history--in both Europe and America--since the 19th century at least. It also was not the primary term used in the medieval period.Show this thread1 reply 10 retweets 64 likesShow this thread -
Erik "Mr. Bloodaxe" Wade Retweeted Benjamin A. Saltzman
The open letter arguing for "Anglo-Saxon" ignores these problems, an issue most striking given that their newly formed organization shares a name with a major UK white supremacist group whose identity is organized around the term "Anglo-Saxon."https://twitter.com/b_a_saltzman/status/1196168272909131776 …
Erik "Mr. Bloodaxe" Wade added,
Benjamin A. Saltzman @b_a_saltzmanWith due respect, the newly founded "Forum for Multidisciplinary Anglo-Saxon Studies" might have been advised to begin their research and planning with a simple google search, since the top results for “Forum Anglo Saxon” all point to a white suprematist website *based in the UK* pic.twitter.com/KomptrOBQOShow this thread2 replies 6 retweets 46 likesShow this thread -
Nobody is talking about a ban on a term. But, just as we have shifted from using terms like "Aryan" and "Oriental" in scholarly work because their racist connotations, we can also shift away from "Anglo-Saxon" without doing damage to historical accuracy.pic.twitter.com/CB1Bk0y27Q
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Hey what’s that source you are using for the numbers of how often a term appears?
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Replying to @AdmiralHip @erik_kaars
Ah sorry I missed that you had it up there.
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