Other invasions went on for many years. Europe was in disorder and confusion for nearly four hundred years. It was a time of seeding, when the rough, brave, liberty-loving German peoples were intermarrying with the Greeks and Romans and learning from them the finer ways of living. From this fusion a new society was built on the ruins of the old, as shown in the nations of Italy, France, and Spain. THE ANGLES AND SAXONS IN GREAT BRITAIN =294. The Britons.= There were already two groups of people in these islands. Under the rule of the Romans one group, the Britons, had been weakened as fighters. [Sidenote: =Britons fight among themselves=] Rome called her legions out of Britain to fight the Germans. This left the Britons without good soldiers to keep order and the tribes began fighting one another. One tribe, the Britons proper, invited bands of Jutes from Denmark (449) to help them. After the Britons had forced back their enemies the Jutes refused to go away. They took possession of the land, making it their home. [Sidenote: =Where the name England came from=] =295. Coming of the Anglo-Saxons.= Other German tribes, chiefly the wild Angles and Saxons, now came over from Europe. The new tribes soon brought the Britons under their rule. They gave their names to the land they had taken--Angle land or England. The Angles and Saxons are the forefathers of the "English" people. The Britons who would not submit were driven into the lands to the west known as Wales, and became the "Welsh." =296. Rome Brings Christianity to the Germans.= When the western Roman Empire passed away in 476, the church remained the only strong central government in all that vast territory. It acted as a steady light when all about was dark and changing. Its priests came to be the only educated class, giving it great influence. [Sidenote: =Clovis, king of the Franks, converted=] Even before the invasions began, missionaries went among the German tribes on the frontiers to preach the religion of Christ. Many of the Germans had accepted the new religion either before or soon after entering Roman territory. Clovis, king of the Franks, was influenced by his Christian wife to accept the new religion. His army followed, and was baptized with its leader. [Sidenote: =England becomes Christian=] Missionaries under Augustine were sent from Rome to England. Through their earnest preaching and noble living the king of Kent and his followers accepted the new religion. A church was built at Canterbury. Others carried on the work until all England had accepted Christianity. Other missionaries went to the northern Germans, and many of these people became Christians. These early missionaries were mostly monks. Their homes (monasteries) were like small settlements among the people. They not only preached the new religion, but showed people better ways of farming and living. In their schools, they taught people to read and write.