The Saxons were a Germanic people who inhabited the area of modern-day Germany on the coast of the North Sea.

What is the difference between Saxons and Anglo-Saxons?

The term 'Anglo-Saxon' refers to those Saxons who migrated from Germania to Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries CE and only came into use after 1066 to differentiate continental Saxons from those in Britain. The term 'Saxons' refers to those who remained in Saxony, Germania.

What happened to the Saxons who remained in Germania?

The Saxons who remained in Saxony in Germania were defeated by Charlemagne of the Franks in 804 CE and were afterwards assimilated into the wider population.

What happened to the Anglo-Saxons in Britain?

The Anglo-Saxons in Britain were united under the leadership of Alfred the Great (r. 871-899 CE) and assimilated with the Britons and others.

Saxons Timeline

Definition

The Saxons were a Germanic people of the region north of the Elbe River stretching from Holstein (in modern-day Germany) to the North Sea. The Saxons who migrated to Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries CE along with the Angles, Frisians, and Jutes came to be known as Anglo-Saxons to differentiate them from those on the continent.

More about: The Saxons

Timeline

285 CE
Carausius is given the task of eliminating the Frankish and Saxon pirates.
337 CE
Death of Emperor Constantine I.
367 CE
Picts, Scots, Saxons, and Franks attack the Roman Empire.
c. 425 CE - c. 450 CE
Earliest Anglo-Saxon burial in Britain.
450 CE
Angles and Saxons settle Britain.
469 CE
A Saxon army is defeated by the Franks at Angers.
495 CE
Cerdic, the founding figure of the West Saxon dynasty, arrives to Britain leading a squadron of five ships according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
611 CE - 643 CE
Reign of Cynegils in Wessex; first West Saxon king to convert to Christianity and be baptized.
772 CE - 804 CE
The Saxon Wars; Charlemagne defeats the Saxons and establishes Christianity in Saxony.
865 CE
The Great Viking Army invades the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms of England.
28 Sep 1066 CE
William the Conqueror's invading army lands at Pevensey in Sussex, southern England.