The Jutes – from Jutland to Kent

History & Finds The Jutes: The Third of the Three

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The Jutes were a Germanic tribe from the peninsula of Jutland (today Denmark). Bede names them as one of the three peoples who moved to Britain in the 5th century.

Angles, Saxons, Jutes

While Angles and Saxons settled large parts of Britain, the Jutes, according to Bede, settled mainly in Kent and on the Isle of Wight. Legend names the brothers Hengest and Horsa as their leaders.

Kent and its special path

Kent long kept peculiarities – for instance in inheritance law – which are linked to the Jutish origin. Thus the tribe lived on in the south-east of England long after its migration.

"From the Jutes are descended the people of Kent and of the Isle of Wight."after Bede, Ecclesiastical History I,15 (public domain, own translation)

What is documented: Jutes as one of the three migrating peoples (Bede I,15), their settlement in Kent and on Wight, the special status of Kent (Anglo-Saxon sources, archaeology).

What is interpretation: Hengest and Horsa are legendary figures (their names mean "stallion" and "horse"); Bede's neat threefold division of Angles/Saxons/Jutes is an ordering scheme, the reality was more mixed.

The Jutes complete the trio of the migration to Britain. Continue with the Angles and Saxons.

Glanz & Gravur — From our workshop: Germanic motifs on natural slate, laser-engraved. To the shop →

Sources & literature

Bede, Ecclesiastical History I; Anglo-Saxon Chronicle; quote public domain (own translation).

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The Jutes: The Third of the Three

Angles, Saxons, Jutes

Kent and its special path

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Sources & literature

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