The Saxons were first mentioned in Roman times. Between the years 200–400AD they expanded their occupation of territory north of the Elbe river in Holstein to the area south of the river in Westphalia and Eastfalia, and in around 531AD they occupied the Thuringia area down to the Unstrut river which further expanded their territory. By the early 6th century The Saxons also expanded and occupied territories on the banks of the Rhine.

After the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century The Saxons, together with the neighbouring tribes of the Angles and Jutes, began to invade and settle much of the island.

In 804AD The Duchy of Saxony became part of the Frankish Empire. The Saxons were the last German tribe to be conquered and Christianised by the Franks, a campaign which took Charlemagne from 782 to 804 to achieve. As a Duchy, Saxony was one of the more powerful and coveted ones. Its Dukes soon seized the throne of Germany. Otto the Great defeated the Magyars in 955, invaded Italy in 961, and began the line of German Emperors in 962.


Information contributed by Elgiva Godwinson