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History of Saxony
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History of Saxony
The history of Saxony is encompassing the history of modern German state of Saxony and its predecessors in the wider region of Upper Saxony, and also includes the historical overview of various medieval and early modern states named Saxony, situated in regions that initially belonged to the Old Saxony and located today mainly within boundaries of modern German states of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. Complex regional histories of various states and provinces that bore the Saxon name from medieval to modern times thus jointly constitute a wider history of Saxony.
Historical states named Saxony were varying significantly in their territorial scopes, particularly during the medieval and early modern times, while their geopolitical developments and traditions were often marked by conflicting dynastic claims and subsequent transfers of Saxon titles and designations to various regions beyond boundaries of the original (old) Saxony.
In some regions, such terminological saxonization did not gain permanent ground, as in Thuringia, where early modern Saxon duchies (Wettinian states in Thuringia) did not erase Thuringian regional identity (officially restored in 1920 by the creation of the State of Thuringia). In other territories, particularly in regions on the middle Elbe, gradual expansion of Saxon designations became permanent, thus replacing older, both Slavic and German geopolitical terms (the old March of Meissen was associated with the Electorate of Saxony only since 1423, and the March of Lusatia only since 1635).
On the other hand, the core regions of the Old Saxony, that started to lose their formal Saxon designations already after the division of the Stem Duchy of Saxony in 1180, managed to officially regain their original Saxon name only in 1946, with the establishment of the modern German state of Lower Saxony, a term borrowed from the former imperial Lower Saxon Circle (1512).
The name of Saxony was derived from the Saxons (Latin: Saxones), an early Germanic tribe that was living in the North Sea coastal regions around the river Elbe. During the 3rd and 4th centuries, Germany was inhabited by great tribal confederations of the Alamanni, Bavarians, Thuringians, Franks, Frisii, and Saxons. These took the place of numerous petty tribes with their own popular tribal forms of government. With the exception of the Saxons, all these confederations were ruled by kings. The Saxons, in contrast, were divided into a number of independent bodies under different chieftains. In time of war these chieftains drew lots to select a leader, who was followed by the other chieftains until the war ended.
In the 3rd and 4th centuries, the Saxons fought their way victoriously towards the west, and their name was given to the great tribal confederation that stretched towards the west exactly to the former boundary of the Roman Empire, almost to the Rhine. Only a small strip of land on the right bank of the Rhine remained to the Frankish tribe. Towards the south the Saxons pushed as far as the Harz Mountains and the Eichsfeld, and in the succeeding centuries they absorbed the greater part of Thuringia. In the east their power extended at first as far as the Elbe and Saale Rivers. In later centuries it extended much farther. The whole coast of the North Sea (the German Ocean) belonged to the Saxons except the part west of the Weser that the Frisians retained.
Ptolemy's Geographia, written in the 2nd century, is considered to contain the first written reference to the Saxons. Some copies of this text mention a tribe called Saxones in the area to the north of the lower Elbe. However, other versions refer to the same tribe as Axones. This may be a misspelling of Aviones, the name of a tribe mentioned by Tacitus in his Germania. According to this theory, the word "Saxones" was the result of later scribes trying to correct a name that meant nothing to them.
On the other hand, Schütte, in his analysis of such problems in Ptolemy's Maps of Northern Europe, believed that "Saxones" is correct. He notes that the loss of first letters occurs in numerous places in various copies of Ptolemy's work, and also that the manuscripts without "Saxones" are generally inferior overall. Schütte also remarks that there was a medieval tradition of calling this area "Old Saxony". This view is in line with Bede, who mentions that Old Saxony was near the Rhine, somewhere to the north of the river Lippe, roughly equivalent to Westphalia, the northeastern part of the modern German state of North Rhine Westphalia.
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History of Saxony
The history of Saxony is encompassing the history of modern German state of Saxony and its predecessors in the wider region of Upper Saxony, and also includes the historical overview of various medieval and early modern states named Saxony, situated in regions that initially belonged to the Old Saxony and located today mainly within boundaries of modern German states of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. Complex regional histories of various states and provinces that bore the Saxon name from medieval to modern times thus jointly constitute a wider history of Saxony.
Historical states named Saxony were varying significantly in their territorial scopes, particularly during the medieval and early modern times, while their geopolitical developments and traditions were often marked by conflicting dynastic claims and subsequent transfers of Saxon titles and designations to various regions beyond boundaries of the original (old) Saxony.
In some regions, such terminological saxonization did not gain permanent ground, as in Thuringia, where early modern Saxon duchies (Wettinian states in Thuringia) did not erase Thuringian regional identity (officially restored in 1920 by the creation of the State of Thuringia). In other territories, particularly in regions on the middle Elbe, gradual expansion of Saxon designations became permanent, thus replacing older, both Slavic and German geopolitical terms (the old March of Meissen was associated with the Electorate of Saxony only since 1423, and the March of Lusatia only since 1635).
On the other hand, the core regions of the Old Saxony, that started to lose their formal Saxon designations already after the division of the Stem Duchy of Saxony in 1180, managed to officially regain their original Saxon name only in 1946, with the establishment of the modern German state of Lower Saxony, a term borrowed from the former imperial Lower Saxon Circle (1512).
The name of Saxony was derived from the Saxons (Latin: Saxones), an early Germanic tribe that was living in the North Sea coastal regions around the river Elbe. During the 3rd and 4th centuries, Germany was inhabited by great tribal confederations of the Alamanni, Bavarians, Thuringians, Franks, Frisii, and Saxons. These took the place of numerous petty tribes with their own popular tribal forms of government. With the exception of the Saxons, all these confederations were ruled by kings. The Saxons, in contrast, were divided into a number of independent bodies under different chieftains. In time of war these chieftains drew lots to select a leader, who was followed by the other chieftains until the war ended.
In the 3rd and 4th centuries, the Saxons fought their way victoriously towards the west, and their name was given to the great tribal confederation that stretched towards the west exactly to the former boundary of the Roman Empire, almost to the Rhine. Only a small strip of land on the right bank of the Rhine remained to the Frankish tribe. Towards the south the Saxons pushed as far as the Harz Mountains and the Eichsfeld, and in the succeeding centuries they absorbed the greater part of Thuringia. In the east their power extended at first as far as the Elbe and Saale Rivers. In later centuries it extended much farther. The whole coast of the North Sea (the German Ocean) belonged to the Saxons except the part west of the Weser that the Frisians retained.
Ptolemy's Geographia, written in the 2nd century, is considered to contain the first written reference to the Saxons. Some copies of this text mention a tribe called Saxones in the area to the north of the lower Elbe. However, other versions refer to the same tribe as Axones. This may be a misspelling of Aviones, the name of a tribe mentioned by Tacitus in his Germania. According to this theory, the word "Saxones" was the result of later scribes trying to correct a name that meant nothing to them.
On the other hand, Schütte, in his analysis of such problems in Ptolemy's Maps of Northern Europe, believed that "Saxones" is correct. He notes that the loss of first letters occurs in numerous places in various copies of Ptolemy's work, and also that the manuscripts without "Saxones" are generally inferior overall. Schütte also remarks that there was a medieval tradition of calling this area "Old Saxony". This view is in line with Bede, who mentions that Old Saxony was near the Rhine, somewhere to the north of the river Lippe, roughly equivalent to Westphalia, the northeastern part of the modern German state of North Rhine Westphalia.
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