Preliminary conclusions
I draw the following conclusions:
(1) Don't think of the Anglo-Saxons (Saxons,
Angles,
Fries, Jutes, maybe more) as classic tribes. Only a tiny,
highly specialized section of those populations was lured into Britain,
because of their skills, mentality and reputation. This limited number
of professionals became housecarls in Britain.
(2) They were less contaminated by the Empire,
less instructed in Roman tradition and law. Roman law stipulated that
"all men are equal before the law". So, for the east-British lords,
they must have been even more reliable (the lords considered themselves
more equal). The 'Saxons' were more naive.
(3) The wages the north Germans demanded must
have been lower. Constantine III was elected 'emperor' partly
because the wages for the British legions were delayed, or considered
too low, or even not paid at all.
(4) What the east-British lords wanted, was a
personal guard primarily to increase their power locally and secondery
to fight the raids. The idea was never to form a classic army.
Anglo-Saxons were simply not trained to serve in legions.
(5) They served as a security layer between the
less skilled and lower ranking British military in the guards and the
upper class members. This was the occupation of a housecarl. They could
also be used against the landless British commoners. This was something
the British military were reluctant to do.
This explains the very small number of Anglo-Saxons in Britain. The
system of housecarls would be continued up to the
battle of Hastings (1066). One of the tasks of the housecarls was to
train and lead a militia called the fyrd. For more
see: Wikipedia,
housecarl
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