Saxons
The Saxons, or Saxon people, are (today) part of the German people, with their main areas of settlements in the German States of Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, Westphalia, and the northeastern part of the Netherlands (Groningen, Drenthe, Twente, Salland, Veluwe and Achterhoek).
First mentioned by the Ancient Greek geographer Ptolemy, the pre-Christian area of the Saxon people first covered an area a little more to the northwest, with parts of the southern Jutland Peninsula, Old Saxony and small parts of the eastern Netherlands. During the 5th century AD, the Saxons were part of the people invading the Romano-British province of Britannia and so formed the Anglo-Saxons.
Before Christianization, the Saxons had much in common with other native pre-Christian Germanic paganism. After Christianization, parts of the religion have remained in people who came from the Saxons.
The word "Saxon" is thought to come from the word seax, a mixture of single-edged knives. The Saxons were thought by Charlemagne and historians to be very war-like and angry.
Many words like "radish" that are used today were created by the Saxons.
The Finnish and Estonian name for Germany, Saksa, comes from the Saxons.
