Saxon people: characteristics of this Germanic tribe

Who were the Saxons, how did they live and what were the characteristics of this culture?

Considered as very ancient ancestors of the Germans and the English, the Saxons were a Germanic tribe that inhabited Europe between the 2nd and 11th century AD. They are known to have received little influence from Roman culture and even disrupted the Empire's plans north of the continent.

The Saxon people expanded to various parts of northern Europe, reaching the British Isles where they established some kingdoms that, over time, would form the seed that would give rise to the current English culture.

Next we will see in depth what the Saxon people were like.how they expanded throughout Europe, what kind of society they had and what their religion was like.

What were the Saxon people?

The Saxon people were a group of Germanic tribes that originally inhabited near the area where the Elbe River flows into Germany.. As time went by, this people expanded, reaching other territories in continental Europe and the British Isles.

This culture laid the foundations of several modern European countries, among them England and Germany, mainly because they were able to reduceThe Saxons, especially because they were able to reduce the Latin influence of the Romans, from whom they managed to wrest many territories.

The name "Saxon" is believed to come from the word "seax" or "sax", a kind of sword characteristic of this people. Today, this element is part of the symbolism of those who consider themselves descendants of the Saxons, as is the case of the English counties of Essex and Middlesex. The German states of Saxony, Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt are also named after this people.

History of the Saxons

The first mention of the Saxons dates back to the 2nd century A.D. by the Egyptian geographer Claudius Ptolemy.. They were said to live in the territory of Jutland, located between the North Sea and the Elbe River. Their original area of influence was bordered to the north by the Jutes, to the northeast by the Angles, to the south by the Franks and to the west by the Frisians, all of them Germanic tribes that shared the same religion, customs and traditions and, in addition, their languages were mutually understandable.

As time went by, the Saxons spread. They carried out piracy raids in the North Sea area and in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. They moved south of the Weser River region, where they encountered the Caucasians and the Angrivarians, two Germanic tribes that they managed to subdue and assimilate. During the second half of the 4th century A.D., the Saxons invaded Roman-administered territories and, by the end of the 6th century A.D., they were already in the hands of the Romans. and by the end of the 6th century A.D., all of northwestern Germania up to the Elbe River was Saxon territory.

It was between the 5th and 5th centuries that an event occurred that was to be momentous for the history of the British Isles. It was at this time that some groups of Saxons invaded Britain and, there, joined other peoples who had also reached the islands, such as the Angles and the Jutes. The Roman Empire had managed to reach the British Isles, but the weakness of the last years caused the province they tried to establish in what is now England and part of Scotland to collapse.

At the beginning of the 7th century, the Anglo-Saxon conquest of Britain was completed, with the Saxons settling on the south side of the Thames and founding the kingdoms of Wessex, Essex and Sussex to the west, east and south respectively. west, east and south respectively. The Angles also founded their kingdoms: East Anglia, Northumbria and Mercia. Another Germanic tribe, in this case the Jutes, did not want to lose the option of having a British kingdom, creating for their part the kingdom of Kent. These seven states would be unified in an Anglo-Saxon monarchy in the 10th century under the reign of Alfred the Great.

The Saxon way of speaking is considered the direct predecessor language to English and partly to German. The Anglo-Saxons, that is the combination of Saxons with the Angles and, in part, the Jutes, ruled over England until the reign of Edward the Confessor. Their power declined when, in 1066, the Norman conquest of the region took place. Despite the change of political power, the language of these people remained in the region, evolving into modern English.

Political organization

The Saxons had a fairly simple political organization, at least during the first centuries. They were organized around the figure of the Thane, who acted as chief of the tribe of about 20 families.. In turn, the group of one hundred Saxon families formed the "Hundreds", who lived in the villages and corresponded to a tribe of greater extension and complexity.

The Saxon system of political power was monarchical, with a king. The monarch was not hereditary, although it was usually a relative of the previous monarch, who was chosen to carry out this function. who was chosen to hold this position. Those in charge of choosing the new king were the "Witan" or Council of Wise Men. On the other hand, the judicial power of the Saxons was exercised by the court of the Shire.

Social organization of the Saxons

The Saxon social structure was made up of three classes three classes: the edhilingui, the frilingi and the lazzi.. As aristocrats, the edhilingui had privileges above the others, enjoying the confidence of the king to assert his authority in the Hundreds. On the other hand, the frilingui or free men had a harder life dedicated to working the land and tending livestock, working to support their families and paying tribute to kings and nobles. Finally, the lazzi were usually prisoners of war made slaves or people bought from other tribes for forced labor.

Economy

As with other Germanic peoples and, also, as in most tribal-type cultures, the main economic activity of the Saxons was agriculture and sheep and cattle raising.. They worked on the land of the latifundia, cultivated areas belonging to the nobles from which they extracted the tributes that went to the king, in addition to keeping a proportion to support their families. They also traded with neighboring towns, exchanging both crafts and slaves.

Saxon religion

The early Saxons were polytheistic, a trait shared with many other Germanic peoples. They worshipped various gods of Norse mythology, as well as believing in the forces of nature. These tribes worshipped the changing seasons, celebrating the equinoxes and solstices, an element that was also shared with the Celts, who gave great importance to the cycles of nature.

The Saxons had a religious institution, the Ealdormen, literally "the old men", who, because of their advanced age, were considered very wise and were given high rank within the Shire. who, because of their advanced age, were considered very wise and had been given a high rank within the Shire. In addition to being in charge of the rituals and the worship of the gods of the Norse pantheon, they controlled and administered the Saxon lands, having enough authority to raze any region that was an obstacle.

We cannot speak of the religion of the Saxons without mentioning some of their gods, whose names have remained for posterity.whose names have remained for posterity in the form of sculptures, engravings and inscriptions on all kinds of monuments and remains in Germany, England and other Germanic countries. In addition, the Norse gods are the names of the days of the week in practically all Germanic languages, including German and English, such as Odin for Wednesday, Thor for Thursday and Freya for Friday.

Odin

Odin was the most powerful god in the pantheon, father of all the other gods.. He ruled in the home of the Norse gods, Asgard, and his weapon was the "gungnir", a kind of very powerful spear that he only used in battle. On the battlefield he never left the side of his extremely swift steed, Sleipnir, which had eight legs.

2. Thor

Thor was considered one of the strongest gods of the Norse pantheon.Thor was a descendant of Odin and guardian of the power of thunder. He also had an aptitude for war and was known for fighting with his hammer, which always returned to his hand no matter where it went.

3. Freya

Freya is one of the best known and most revered goddesses by both the Saxons and the other Germanic peoples.. She was considered the goddess of fertility, love and beauty and her function was similar to that of the goddess Aphrodite. En la cosmovisión sajona se le atribuía haber creado las artes mágicas y los hechizos que conformaban la magia “seidr” nórdica. Esta diosa perfeccionó y enseñó estos poderes a otros dioses.

Referencias bibliográficas:

• Stenton, Sir Frank M (1971) Anglo-Saxon England. 3rd ed. Oxford University Press.
• Reuter, Timothy (1991). Germany in the Early Middle Ages 800–1056. Nueva York: Longman.
• Welch, M. G. (1992). Anglo-Saxon England. English Heritage. ISBN 0-7134-6566-2.
• Welch, M.G. (1971). Late Romans and Saxons in Sussex. Britannia II. Journal of the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies.
• Welch, M.G. (1992). Anglo-Saxon England. English Heritage. ISBN 0-7134-6566-2.
• Jones, Michael E. (1998). The End of Roman Britain. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-8530-5.