SAXONS
 
The Saxon history
begins at the lower Elbe (river). “Saxons“ is a short form of the old word
“Sahsnotas“ and means “Swordpeople“. In the year 125 the Greek
geographer Ptolemy reports about the “Saxones“ north of the Elbe, so in the area
of today’s Schleswig-Holstein. From there they spread out to the south east
and west. A Saxon tribal unit arose. It consisted of five important
groups: The “Engern“ at the river Weser. East of that the “Ostfalen
= Eastphalians“. In the west the “Westfalen = Westphalians”. In
the north the” Nordalbingier“ (North people). These four are “Niedersachsen
= Lower Saxons”. Additionally there were the “Ostsachsen = East
Saxons“ at the Elbe. Worldwide everyone knows the wonderful view from the
Elbe to the Saxon city of Dresden. It’s located in an area, that was called
“Saxony“as well later. In the Middle Ages the knight Eike von Repkow wrote
the “Sachsenspiegel = ancient law
code of Saxony“, the most important German law book. It was based on the
tribal law in Saxony, but went far beyond it. The Sachsenspiegel created the
base for a standardized German legal terminology. Furthermore many Saxons
took part in the medieval German “Ostsiedelung = (re)settlement in Eastern-Europe” and so they marked the
New-tribes.
In the old
“Sachsenreich = Saxon empire” there were “Gaue = gaus” as districts. In times
of peace the representatives of those met once a year at a place named „Marklo“
(probably at the Weser near Nienburg). Also the leader of the Saxons for the
case of war, the “Herzog” (= Heerführer), the “duke” (= army leader) was
elected here. The name of the assemblies was “Allthing“. -
Later the Germanic/ Viking people of Iceland founded an “Allthing” on
it’s island and this is the reason, why Iceland is called the oldest existing
democracy!
Mostly classified
as essentially Germanic is also the tradition of the “Pferdegiebel = horse
gables“ at the houses of the Saxons. Simply draw a stencil, saw the
Pferdegiebel out of two boards, cross them and nail them at a wooden
roof. - Such easily every little American house can turn into an
obvious Saxon house! - In Europe this tradition lives on until
today.
At about 450
parts of the Saxons moved to Britain together with the Angles and Jutes,
where the term „Anglo-Saxons“ arose.
- What many people don’t know:
The Saxons are also getting counted to the “Vikings”!
Settlement of
Britain by Angles and Saxons. White the “welsch“ (Celtic/ Roman)
territories. The word “welsch“ was also used by the Angles and Saxons:
therefore ”Welsh“ and “Wales“.
The defeat
against the Franks in the “Saxon Wars“ 772-804 led to the christianisation of
the “Festland-Sachsen = Mainland-/ Continental-Saxons”. The missionaries were
mostly Anglo-Saxons.
In the following
century the “Stammesherzogtum Sachsen
= Tribal-Dukedom of Saxony“ arose. The Tribal-Dukedom grew
to the north and east, but it “only“ lasted until about 1180, when the
powerful Duke of Saxony and Bavaria “Heinrich der Löwe =
Heinrich (Henry) the Lion“ was defeated in a struggle for power
against his rival Kaiser Friedrich „Barbarossa“ (a Swabian). Then Saxony was
split up for the first time. A Dukedom of Westphalia arose, parts fell
apart into smaller territories and in the east a “Dukedom of Saxony” arose.
Accordingly to a saga also the below presented black-yellow-green coat of
arms arose at exactly this time. Allegedly “Barbarossa“ had been wearing a
wreath of vine leaves on his head at the “Hoftag = Court Day” in 1181, to
protect himself against the sun in great heat. When the new Duke Bernhard of
Saxony appeared with the black-yellow striped shield of his family,
Barbarossa hung his wreath of leaves over it. The design fits to this time of
Gothic.
In 1260 the eastern
Dukedom Saxony was split up as well.
- The rulers of
the northern part (Saxony-Lauenburg) were documented as the Dukes of “Nidern
Sachsen = (old German for) Lower Saxony“ in the 14th century. In
1689 they became extinct and the distributions of land among the nobility
went on ...
- The
south-eastern part of the former Dukedom of Saxony (Kurfürstentum Sachsen
Wittenberg = Electorate Saxony-Wittenberg) went to the Wettiner dynasty’s
Margrave of Meißen in 1423. Henceforth their entire possessions were named ”Saxony“.
This Saxony is the precursor of the present „Freistaat
Sachsen = Free State of Saxony“.
But also this
Saxony was split up and split up and reunited throughout history ...
Between 1815 and
1944 there was additionally a prussian province “Saxony“ therefore. It
was combined with the former state of “Anhalt“ in 1945 by the communists
under the Soviet occupation. Saxony-Anhalt did however only exist for
seven years, than the communists abolished their states. 1989 the „Free State
of Saxony“ and “Saxony-Anhalt” were refounded. They joined he so called
”Federal Republic of Germany“** in 1990 together with the other refounded
states of the so called “German Democratic Republic”*. In the so called
”Federal Republic of Germany“** there are today three states, using the name
„Saxony“: The Free-State of Saxony (which contains a part of Silesia),
Saxony-Anhalt and Lower-Saxony (which does not contain all of Lower-Saxony,
but therefore parts of Friesland) ...
- Even parts of Westphalia are
not part of this state, but part of a state called “Nordrheinwestfalen =
North Rine-Westphalia“... - Well ...
- Both states were made all
up completely fictitious by the British occupying force after World War
II. - But no politics! ....
- No politics! ... - No
politics! ...
* This State was never democratic and
never a republic (a state of the people)! Just using this name would be
incorrect, manipulating and morally wrong.
**The German name is different to the
English expression “Federal Republic of Germany“. “Bundesrepublik
Deutschland“ means “Federal Republic Germany”. However the state is not
Deutschland/ Germany. The word “Deutschland” arose in the 15th
century from “das deutsche Land = the German country”. So Deutschland/
Germany is the land, marked by the German culture - a culturally defined area
- not a state! No other state has ever officially called itself
Germany(!), but several included much more of this territory and the German
people! Just using this name would be incorrect, manipulating and morally
wrong.
 
(1) Georg
Friedrich Händel - The great composer made his career mostly
among the Anglo-Saxons in England.
(2)
August Heinrich Hoffmann - better known as Hoffmann von Fallersleben.
He wrote the vocals of
the German national anthem in 1841. The music was composed by the Austrian
Joseph Haydn.
Quickly back to
what really “makes up” the Saxon being:
Today most of all,
what people feel, when they hear about the story of the Saxons and feel connected
to it! The strong references to the very old Saxon tribe remain,
especially because so much after it is hard to sum culturally, and here in
the Germerika Project remains the American awareness that one doesn’t need to
miss a missing common All-Saxon culture- und education politics in Europe, as
Americans anyhow don’t wait for politics, but are proud of tackling
things on their own!
In every case
there is a long Saxon history and already always a varied culture in
different tribal groups. - One can win a lot from this, one only
needs to concentrate on the chances and use one’s creativity, curiosity and
freedom, as soon as one feels something Saxon in oneself. –
The results can become the history of the future.
A very remarkable
example: The Saxon Erzgebirge (mountain region) is not only famous for
it’s toys and Christmas decorations, also silver and lead were extracted
there. For the town Sankt Joachimsthal, in the Bohemian part of the
mountains, even special silver coins were named. The Joachimstaler. -
They came to Saxony and led to the Saxon Taler. Later the
Talers stayed famous in fairy tales (for example The Star money/ The Star
Talers), and the German Taler (see below; with the “Sachsenross =
Saxon horse”) was followed by the US-Dollar! Some things can begin
small and get very important ...
 
Saxon
“Taler” made of silver - and U.S. “Silver Dollar“
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