Saxons/History

The Saxons were were a Germanic tribe which inhabited Denmark, northern Germany, and the coasts of the Netherlands and Belgium. Much later, the Saxons eventually settled in England and northwestern France. The Saxons were one of three tribes which later became known as Anglo-Saxons. While different parts of Germany have been referred to as Saxony at one point in time or the other, northwest Germany is considered to be the place of their origins. Eventually, while the Saxons who migrated to the British Isles would found the kingdom of England, those who stayed behind were conquered and subsequently absorbed into the Frankish empire, with their lands reorganised as the historic Duchy of Saxony.

In Germany
The Saxons were first mentioned in 130 AD, with reference to the "Saxones" tribe north of the Elbe River. Originally from along the northern European coast, their name is derived from their characteristic weapon, the 'seax' dagger. During the early stages of the Roman Empire, the Saxons were fragmented and tenacious, gradually spreading across Europe with no singular leader. After the Romans pulled out of Britannia at the beginning of the 5th century AD, many Saxons settled there in their stead, laying the foundations of what would eventually become England. Those who remained on the continental mainland came into contact with the Franks, who went on to shape their destiny significantly. United under Clovis, the Franks brought much of Gaul under their control. This included Saxon tribes who, although subjugated, were able to remain largely independent, separated from their Frankish overlords and foes by the Harz and Hesse mountain ranges. While most of the other tribes adopted Christianity, the Saxons still fiercely defended their pagan beliefs, upholding them despite determined advances from the Christian Franks. Two priests - both named Ewald - were sent to convert them to Christianity, but they were instead brutally murdered, dismembered, and cast into the Rhine. The Saxons also raided their neighbours relentlessly, further drawing the ire of their western overlords. From 772 to 804, the Saxons were conquered by the Franks during Charlemagne's Saxon Wars.

In England
The term "Anglo-Saxon" refers to the Angles, Saxons and Jute tribes of Germanic origin which invaded Briton in 5th and 6th Centuries.

To quote Bede:

These new-comers were from the three most formidable races of Germany, the Saxons, Angles, and Jutes. From the Jutes are descended the people of Kent and the Isle of Wight and those in the province of the West Saxons opposite the Isle of Wight who are called Jutes to this day. From the Saxons - that is, the country now known as the land of the Old Saxons - came the East, South and west Saxons. And from the Angles - that is, the country known as Angulus, which lies between the provinces of the Jutes and Saxons and is said to remain unpopulated to this day - are descended the East and Middle Angles, the Mercians, all the Northumbrian stock (that is, those people living north of the river Humber), and the other English peoples.