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According to the Venerable Bede, the first significant body of Germanic settlers in England had been hired as mercenaries by the British Prince Vortigern during fifth-century struggles for power among British Celts that broke out when Roman colonial troops were withdrawn. After a falling-out with their employer, these Germanic warriors seized British territory in the south of England for themselves and brought their families over the English Channel to settle it. Archaeological evidence also reveals …

…castles or halls were made of wood). After this period, Anglo-Saxon elements of English culture survive primarily in the working class, while French and Latin elements predominate in aristocratic circles. The animals tended by working-class herders, for example, tended to have Germanic names (cow, lamb, pig), while the finished products served up on the aristocratic table had names derived from French (beef, mutton, pork). Important elements of Anglo-Saxon law were incorporated into English law, however.