Germanic people whose homeland was in the north German coastal plain, especially between the rivers Elbe and Wester. During the 5th century ad groups from these communities migrated to Britain either by invitation or invasion and in due course founded kingdoms which can generally be recognized by the fact that their names have the suffix ‘sex’ (e.g. Wessex). Those who remained in Saxony were absorbed into the Frankish kingdom during the 8th century ad.