xIiw). Yet, there were other dialects also, Northumbria, Mercian, and Kentish. Latin and Scandinavian influenced external sounds of the period. The three sources of Latin were Romans under Claudius conquer of Britain, Romans reside at continental homes of Germanic tribes, and Pop Gregory sends Augustine to Christianize the English (Abrams et al. 3). During the continental period of influence, some words from Latin can be credited to the ancestors of the English. They are military words such as camp, weall (wall), and mil (mile) and trade words like pund (pound). Along with the church came the Roman alphabet, and the sending of Saint. Augustine was a marking of the reintroduction of Christianity into Britain. According to Abrams, AThe impact of Christianity on literacy is evident from the fact that the first extended written specimen of the Old English (Anglo-Saxon) language is a code of laws promulgated Ethelbert, the first English Christian King (3). The King of Kent, Ethelbert, had married a Christian wife, the Frankish princess Bertha. By the time the King had died all of Kent had become Christian (Bede). By the end of the Old English period, about 450 words were in English writings because of the Christianizing of Britain.
The change of beliefs that followed the conversion years= of Christianity later caused England to produce distinguished Churchmen. One of whom was Bede whose Ecclesiastical History of the English People is the most momentous source of information about the period (Abrams et al 3). Because nothing was written down before Christianity, there is no record of written work. Oral poetry was used to describe current events such as The Battle of Brunanburh. These poems showed the linkage of kinships versus geographical areas. Christian writers like the Beowulf poet were interested in the pagan way of life. Often the boundary of Christian and heroic characters was crossed and authors used names allegorically.
