Saxons

Lore & Background

The Saxons' political history is unclear until the 8th century and the conflict between their semi-legendary hero Widukind and the Frankish emperor Charlemagne. Under the Carolingian Franks, Saxony became a single stem duchy, fitting it within the basic political structure of the later Holy Roman Empire. Long before any clear historical mention of Saxony as a state, the name 'Saxons' was also used to refer to coastal raiders who attacked the Roman Empire from north of the Rhine, in a sense similar to the much later term 'Viking.' These early raiders and settlers included Frisians, Angles, and Jutes, and the term Saxon was not at that time a term for any specific tribe. Earlier still, there is a single possible classical reference to a smaller and much earlier Saxon tribe in the second century AD, but the interpretation of this text ('Axones' in most surviving manuscripts) is disputed. For historians who accept this record, the original Saxon tribe lived north of the mouth of the Elbe, close to the probable homeland of the Angles, in the part of later Saxony which later came to be known as Nordalbingia. Significant numbers of these early Saxons settled within the empire, in what later became northern France and England. England, rather than Saxony, was sometimes written of as the Saxon homeland. To avoid confusion, later writers in the 8th century such as Bede and the author of the Ravenna Cosmography referred to the Saxons of Saxony in Germany as the 'old Saxons,' and their country as 'old Saxony.' The settlers once called Saxons in England became part of a new Old English-speaking nation, now commonly referred to as the Anglo-Saxons, or simply 'the English.'

Reader's Guide

The Saxons are significant as a Germanic people whose name and legacy persist in modern German regions such as Lower Saxony. The early Duchy of Saxony, formed under Carolingian rule, expanded eastward at the expense of Slavic-speaking Wends, shaping medieval German political geography. The Saxons' language evolved into Low German, which became the lingua franca of the Hanseatic League, though it has faced a long decline since the Late Medieval period in favor of Dutch and German. The term 'Saxon' also has a broader historical use: it was applied to early coastal raiders from the North Sea region, including Frisians, Angles, and Jutes, who attacked the Roman Empire and later settled in Britain, contributing to the formation of Anglo-Saxon England. This dual usage—referring both to the continental Old Saxons and to the seafaring raiders—has caused confusion, leading 8th-century writers like Bede to distinguish the continental group as 'old Saxons.' Today, the Saxons of Germany no longer form a distinctive ethnic group or country, but their name endures in regional designations and historical study.

Did You Know?

• The name 'Saxons' is traditionally said to derive from a kind of knife called a seax in Old English and sahs in Old High German.
• The first clear contemporary uses of the Saxon name come from the 4th century, though some refer to events in the 3rd century.
• Ptolemy's Geographia (2nd century) may contain the first mention of Saxons, but some manuscripts read 'Axones' instead, and the interpretation is disputed.
• The early Duchy of Saxony expanded eastward at the expense of Slavic-speaking Wends.