london180 Warriors AD 400 - 700 The early Anglo-Saxons settled in agricultural communities, but theirs was a society which still needed an elite of skilled fighting men, loyal to their lord. Warrior culture permeated Anglo-Saxon legends and heroic poetry, such as Beowulf, and is equally evident in chronicles and other records of the time. Anglo-Saxon weapon-smiths were masters of their art. Their swords, with gleaming pattern-welded blades, sometimes bore their own names, becoming both the stuff of legend and greatly prized heirlooms. The graves of the early Anglo-Saxons reflect the importance of fighting skills in their culture. High-status burials included a set of weapons and other equipment appropriate to the dead man. Weapons were valuable items that also symbolized status and were granted only to certain males on reaching puberty. A hierarchy of weapon sets is evident – spears were relatively common, but fighting axes, decorated shields and swords, and more rarely, body amour (as at Sutton Hoo), were owned only by the elite.