Saxons I

Ethnogenesis

History

Who Were the Saxons?

The Saxons emerged from the misty lowlands between the Elbe and the North Sea sometime in the early centuries of the common era, their name probably derived from the seax — a single-edged knife carried by every free man, useful for everything from cutting bread to cutting throats. Unlike the Franks who absorbed Roman ways or the Goths who wandered into Mediterranean lands, the Saxons stayed rooted in their northern forests, fiercely conservative, deeply pagan, and hostile to outside authority. They had no kings in the Frankish sense — only war leaders chosen for specific campaigns and assemblies of free warriors who governed by consensus and custom.

This decentralization made them impossible to conquer through conventional means. There was no capital to seize, no royal family to subdue, no single army to defeat. Each district chose its own leaders; each free household owed allegiance only to kin and neighbors. To conquer the Saxons meant conquering every village, every family, every stubborn farmer who would rather die than abandon the gods of his fathers.

Homeland and Way of Life

Old Saxony stretched across the North German Plain — a landscape of dense oak forests, boggy heathlands, and slow rivers winding toward the grey North Sea. The soil was poor compared to the rich lands of Gaul, but the Saxons wrested a living from it through mixed farming, cattle raising, and pig herding in the endless woodlands. Settlements clustered in clearings, surrounded by the forest that provided timber, game, and sanctuary from enemies. Roads barely existed; travel meant following rivers or threading through trees along paths known only to locals.

Society divided into three classes: the edhilingui (nobles), the frilingi (free farmers), and the lazzi (freedmen and laborers). Unlike Frankish society where a powerful king could elevate or destroy families at will, Saxon nobles derived their status from ancient lineage and local reputation. The annual assembly at Marklo on the Weser brought representatives from all Saxon districts together — a rare moment of unity in a people who otherwise preferred to manage their own affairs without interference.

Warfare, Power, and Limits

Saxon warfare suited their landscape perfectly. They fought on foot, relying on ambush, forest fighting, and savage close combat rather than the cavalry charges favored by Franks. The forest was their ally — Roman legions had learned this lesson centuries earlier, and Frankish armies would learn it again. Saxon warriors knew every trail, every fordable stream, every clearing suitable for ambush. They could melt into the trees after a raid and reassemble miles away before pursuers found their tracks.

But this very strength limited their reach. Saxon armies rarely campaigned far from home; they lacked the logistical organization for sustained warfare abroad. Their raids struck neighboring peoples — Frisians, Thuringians, Slavs — but they built no empire, sought no conquest beyond their traditional borders. They wanted only to be left alone with their gods and their customs. This defensive posture served them for centuries, until they faced an enemy with unlimited patience and resources.

Beliefs, Customs, and Society

The Saxons clung to Germanic paganism with a tenacity that baffled and infuriated Christian observers. At the heart of their faith stood the Irminsul — a great wooden pillar or sacred tree, perhaps representing the world-axis connecting earth and sky. They worshipped Wodan, Donar, and Saxnot (a tribal god possibly related to Tyr), offering sacrifices in forest groves where no Christian foot had trod. Sacred springs, ancient oaks, and standing stones marked the landscape with divine presence.

Marriage and inheritance followed strict customary law. Intermarriage between the three social classes was forbidden, preserving distinctions that dated back beyond memory. Blood feuds between families could persist for generations, though assemblies sometimes negotiated settlements in blood-price. The dead were cremated in the old fashion long after neighboring peoples adopted Christian burial — the smoke carrying warriors to join their ancestors in whatever halls awaited beyond death.

Contacts, Conflicts, and Legacy

Saxon expansion had two faces. Some sailed west across the North Sea, joining Angles and Jutes in the migration that would create Anglo-Saxon England — a movement driven partly by population pressure, partly by the lure of plunder, and partly by the chaos following Rome's withdrawal from Britain. Those who remained on the continent faced increasing pressure from the expanding Frankish kingdom.

The Saxon Wars (772–804) became Charlemagne's longest and most brutal campaign. Year after year, Frankish armies invaded; year after year, the Saxons submitted, accepted baptism, then revolted the moment the Franks withdrew. Charlemagne responded with escalating violence: the destruction of the Irminsul in 772, the Massacre of Verden in 782 where thousands of Saxon prisoners were reportedly executed, mass deportations that scattered Saxon families across the empire. The war leader Widukind resisted for years before finally accepting baptism in 785, though sporadic resistance continued for another two decades.

By 804, Saxony was finally subdued — not conquered so much as exhausted, its population depleted, its pagan priesthood destroyed, its sacred sites demolished or converted into churches. Within generations, the Saxons became enthusiastic Christians, their descendants producing saints, scholars, and eventually the Ottonian dynasty that would rule the medieval German kingdom. But the memory of their resistance lingered, a reminder of how much blood the conversion of Europe had cost.

Abilities

Saxons I

When anyone attempts to spread religion
into your / , they must draw +1 cube
from the bag

During a battle, if your with located
in a forest deals at least 1 damage,
deal 1 extra damage to the same target

During the achievement phase, gain 2 and 1 for each of your experience cubes

During the resolving of that received
the most votes, gain 1 blessing effect
from any other instead

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