The English

The English people are the primary characters of importance in the history of the English language. The English people are thought to have originated as descendants of the Anglo-Saxons and related tribes that migrated to Great Britain after the Romans withdrew from Britain. They later mingled with migrants and conquerors like the Vikings between the 8th and 11th centuries and the Norman-French several centuries later.

The English people are only one of several populations that make up the United Kingdom, which includes three groups of Celtic origin. They are the Scots, the Welsh, and the Irish. The British people are also not the same as the English people, as British identity includes Irish, Welsh, and Scottish. The first people that could be called English were those united in the 10th century in 937 by Athelstan of Wessex.

English identity developed significantly under Norman rule, when most elites were...