Saxons

Saxons

The Saxons are one of the Cultures in Britain. Originally from Germany, they have invaded and settled in Britain where they are a constant thorn in the side of the other peoples there.

The Saxons say they arose when the ancient gods made the first people from trees. They walked with the gods and have interbred with the great and small among them. The gods made people to have allies against the giants and subterranean forces of Nature. They made different tribes of people so they would compete with each other to manifest the virtues that make humans great. Humans are beings of “courage, individuality, loyalty, and honor.” These virtues were distributed among the many peoples, thus creating the different tribes who settled in various regions of the continent. The actual Saxon tribes comprise a large group, but other significantly large groups include the Jutes and Angles; all three were driven from their ancestral homelands by the hostile Danes. In Britain they reasserted themselves by conquering and settling this land.

Some Saxons are vassals of Logres but the vast majority live in lands of their own and make war against the other British peoples; raiding, slaving, raping and trying to enforce their rule on the land.

Land

Saxons have invaded and taken over several areas in Britain through conquest and settling. There are three major settlement areas, the north western coast, the Saxon Shore and the south-eastern shores.

The north-western shores were settled by Hengist’s relatives Octa and Eosa who settled named the lands Nohaut and Deira. The warrior-kings of Uther’s time were killed in the battle of St Albans but the former lands are run by Yffi, son of Eossa.

The eastern shores, also known as Saxon Shore, was invaded by the saxon King Æthelswith many years ago and they have steadily been settling the lands and raiding surrounding areas. Prince mark fought her often to keep the Saxons at bay but since his death they have steadily begun spreading.

The south-eastern shores are the main settlement area of Saxons in Britain and home of many warriors and settlers. The first land, Kent, were given as a wedding gift at Rowena and Vortigerns marriage and was ruled by Rowenas father Hengist, who has since died and left the land to his son Æsc. Years later the Saxon warrior-king Ælle settled the nearby county of Regnensis by conquest, forming Suth Seaxe. When Vortigerns son Cerdic grew up, he claimed Hantonne by conquest. Saxons are settling every year and their numbers are growing, threatening civilization as we know it.

• Kent (formerly known as Cantiacii)
• Suth Seaxe (formerly known as Regnensis)
• West Seaxe (formerly known as Hantonne)
• Est Seaxe (formerly known as Caercolun)
• Nohaut
• Deira

Territorial advances

• 

  496 A.D. - Cerdic takes Hantonne

• 

  497 A.D. - Cerdic takes Isle of Wight

• 

  500 A.D. - Angles take Caerwent

• 

  501 A.D. - Angles take Hartland and Huntland

Tribes

Pendragon uses “Saxon” as a catch-all term for the Germanic coastal tribes of the later Roman era (A.D. 300-500) and the Dark Ages (500-1000). These tribes might have stayed on the continent, visiting Britain only as pirates or traders, if not for the collapse of Roman power around 400, which disrupted their old homelands and left Britain open to invasion. Historians may call these people “Anglo-Saxons” or “Old English,” since they are the ancestors of modern English people. In this story, “Saxon” can mean any or all of the following cultures:

Saxons:

These fierce warriors led the invaders in southeast Britain. Their old homeland, near modern Bremenand Hanover, is harassed by Burgundians and Slavs.

Jutes:

A smaller tribe that fled rising sea levels and Danish invaders in Jutland. They are expert sailors. Close-knit Jutish families settled among the Saxons in Wessex and Kent.

Frisians:

These people come from the sea-soaked Netherlands. They have a distinct language and a stubborn, pious paganism. Many Saxons distrust them because their king, Finn, massacred his own guests in the Fight at Finns burgh.

Franks:

This confederation of “free” (frank) German tribes served Rome by guarding the Rhine frontier. When that frontier collapsed, the Franks invaded northeast Gaul (around Cologne and Trier). A few of them joined the invasion of Britain. They are a bit more Romanized than the other Saxons. They are more liable to ride horses than use boats.

Angles:

This tribe entered northeast Britain in 500, evicted from their homeland (the Jutland peninsula: modern Denmark) by the Danes. Now they cannot turn back

Skills & Traits

Saxon stock tends to produce taller, stronger people than other cultures.

Saxon training focuses on two-handed weapons and all of their menfolk are confident in using several such weapons, including large spears and axes. They are also confident at sea, often taking to the ocean for raids, making them fine sailors and swimmers.

Saxon women are said to be quite flirtatious.

Religions

British Christian

“The God of the victors is clearly the God of Victory, and we are wise to emulate the winners in their worship as well as their ways of war. We accept the new faith and swear to defend it against desecrators and heretics.”

Some Saxons may have converted to the faith of their lords. However, their conversion is often more in name than in practice and they retain much the same temperament and culture.

Wotanism

“We worship the gods of our ancestors. Our gods have led us in peace and in war, and their blood runs in our veins. It would be folly to abandon that history.”

Germanic Paganism, also known as Wotanism, reveres a pantheon of gods and goddesses. The chief god of the nobles and warriors is Wotan, the all-seeing god of kings, warriors, and poets. Seax is the sword and war god.