What does Saxon mean?

Answer 1

One of a nation or people who formerly dwelt in the northern part of Germany, and who, with other Teutonic tribes, invaded and conquered England in the fifth and sixth centuries., Also used in the sense of Anglo-Saxon., A native or inhabitant of modern Saxony., The language of the Saxons; Anglo-Saxon., Of or pertaining to the Saxons, their country, or their language., Anglo-Saxon., Of or pertaining to Saxony or its inhabitants.

Answer 2

A Saxon means someone who comes from Lower Saxony, which is a state of Germany. Lower Saxony - also called Old Saxony - was once a separate country with it's own language, religion and culture. Many Saxons from Saxony migrated to Britain in the 5th Century AD and colonized it.

Old Saxony, where the Saxons came from, was originally pagan and did not recognize Jesus. In Saxony a sacred tree, called Irminsul, was worshipped by most people. This upset the Christians, so they invaded Saxony and destroyed their sacred tree, which resulted in the beginning of a war between the Christians and Saxons.

After a long war Saxony was conquered in 804 AD and was forced to become Christian. Since that time, Saxony has become gradually absorbed by Germany over hundreds of years, and there is now little or no difference between Saxon-Germans and the general population of Germans of today.

Some Saxons migrated to Britain before the war with the Christians. They settled in Britain alongside another Germanic tribe called the Angles. Together, they are known as Anglo-Saxons and are the ancestors of all English people.

In Old English the word for Saxon was Seaxna. A seax was literally a small knife or dagger..so perhaps Saxon litterally means something like "knife boys".