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110-486: Until the 18th century, cattle of diverse colours were bred in these regions. After 1750, the black pied coloured type was dominant, but there are still also unicoloured red and red pied cattle. In 1878 in East Frisia ( Germany ), the first breeding company was founded. East Frisia and East Prussia (today Russia , Lithuania , and Poland ) were the most important breeding regions of the breed. Later it extended over

220-404: A Modra niht or 'night of the mothers', another religious festival of unknown content. The Saxon freemen and servile class remained faithful to their original beliefs long after their nominal conversion to Christianity. Nursing a hatred of the upper class, which, with Frankish assistance, had marginalised them from political power, the lower classes (the plebeium vulgus or cives ) were

330-604: A Carolingian " stem duchy " in 804, in what is now northern Germany. The political history of these inland Saxons, who were neighbours of the Franks , is unclear until the 8th century and the conflict between their semi-legendary hero Widukind and the Frankish emperor Charlemagne . They do not appear to have been politically united until about that time. Previous Frankish rulers of Austrasia , both Merovingian and Carolingian , fought numerous campaigns against Saxons, both in

440-524: A loanword in English from Scottish Gaelic (older spelling: Sasunnach ), is the word Sassenach , used by Scots -, Scottish English- and Gaelic-speakers in the 21st century as a racially pejorative term for an English person and, traditionally, to the English-speaking lowlanders of Scotland. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) gives 1771 as the date of the earliest written use of

550-580: A Saxon force based in the east of Britain (Bede later believed in the Isle of Thanet ) were invited as foederati to Britain, in order to help defend against raids by Picts and Scots. They revolted over their pay and plundered the whole country, initiating a long war. By the time of Gildas in the 6th century the Romano-British had recovered control of at least part of the country, but were now divided into corrupt "tyrannies". There are very few records of

660-551: A church and made many friends among the nobility. Some of them rallied to save him from an angry mob at the annual council at Marklo (near river Weser, Bremen). Social tensions arose between the Christianity-sympathetic noblemen and the pagan lower castes, who were staunchly faithful to their traditional religion. Under Charlemagne, the Saxon Wars had as their chief object the conversion and integration of

770-536: A feudal system as it was known in the rest of Europe . Instead, the system implemented in Frisia was a system of fellowship which has some similarity to older forms of rule known from Germanic cultures of the North. There was a specific relation of dependence between the inhabitants of the ruled area and the chieftain, but the people retained their individual freedom and could move where they wanted. The Frisians controlled

880-472: A large part of Eastern Friesland over several generations until a former follower, Focko Ukena from Leer , defeated the last Tom Brok. But a party of opposing chieftains under the leadership of the Cirksenas from Greetsiel defeated and expelled Fokko, who later died near Groningen. After 1465 one of the last chieftains from the house of Cirksena was made a count by Emperor Frederick III and accepted

990-564: A population of approximately 469,000 people and an area of 3,142 square kilometres (1,213 sq mi). There is a chain of islands off the coast, called the East Frisian Islands ( German : Ostfriesische Inseln ). From west to east, these islands are Borkum , Juist , Norderney , Baltrum , Langeoog and Spiekeroog . The geographical region of East Frisia was inhabited in Paleolithic times by reindeer hunters of

1100-521: A problem for Christian authorities as late as 836. The Translatio S. Liborii remarks on their obstinacy in pagan ritus et superstitio ('usage and superstition'). The conversion of the Saxons in England from their original Germanic religion to Christianity occurred in the early to late seventh century under the influence of the already converted Jutes of Kent . In the 630s, Birinus became

1210-408: A single kingdom. The Duchy of Saxony (804–1296) covered Westphalia, Eastphalia, Angria and Nordalbingia, which is roughly equivalent to Holstein, the southern part of modern-day Schleswig-Holstein state, now bordering on Denmark. The Saxons were conquered by Charlemagne after a long series of annual campaigns, the Saxon Wars (772–804). With defeat came enforced baptism and conversion as well as

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1320-501: A superabundance of pagan sites. Their king, Saeberht , was converted early and a diocese was established at London . Its first bishop, Mellitus , was expelled by Saeberht's heirs. The conversion of the East Saxons was completed under Cedd in the 650s and 660s. The continental Saxons were evangelised largely by English missionaries in the late seventh and early eighth centuries. Around 695, two early English missionaries, Hewald

1430-609: A synod of Mainz in 848 both declared that homilies ought to be preached in the vernacular. The earliest preserved text in the Saxon language is a baptismal vow from the late eighth or early ninth century; the vernacular was used extensively in an effort to Christianise the lowest castes of Saxon society. In the Celtic languages , the words designating English nationality derive from the Latin word Saxones . The most prominent example,

1540-640: Is "Geest" and Heathland . The original language of East Frisia was East Frisian , which now is almost extinct , largely replaced by East Frisian Low Saxon . Original East Frisian survived somewhat longer in several remote places as for example in the islands, such as Wangerooge . Today a modern variant of East Frisian can be found in the Saterland , a district near East Frisia. In former times people from East Frisia who left their homes under pressure had settled in that remote area surrounded by moors and kept their inherited language alive. This language which forms

1650-416: Is also added to black tea in the winter. The tea is alleged to cure headaches, stomach problems, and stress, among many other ailments. The tea is not only a kind of beverage for the population, but also part of its cultural tradition. Over the years the region developed a unique tea ceremony that can be strictly observed in older households. As a part of these rules, the oldest woman in the round has to serve

1760-426: Is also used to flavour the tea. The tea is generally served in traditional small cups, with little cookies during the week and cake during special occasions or on weekends as a special treat. Some of the most common traditional cakes and pastries to accompany tea are apple strudel , black forest cake , and other cakes flavored with chocolate and hazelnut. Brown rum , mixed with kluntjes and left for several months,

1870-479: Is called the time of the "Friesische Freiheit" (Frisian freedom) and is represented by the still well-known salute " Eala Frya Fresena " (Get Up, Free Frisian!) that affirmed the non-existence of any feudality. Frisian representatives of the many districts of the seven coastal areas of Frisia met once a year at the Upstalsboom, located at Rahe (near Aurich ). In the early Middle Ages, people could only settle on

1980-624: Is correct. He notes that the loss of first letters occurs in numerous places in various copies of Ptolemy's work, and also that the manuscripts without Saxones are generally inferior overall. The first undisputed mentions of the Saxon name come from the late 4th century, around the time of emperor Julian . By about 400 the Notitia Dignitatum shows that the Romans had created several military commands specifically to defend against Saxon raiders. The Litus Saxonicum (' Saxon Shore '),

2090-533: Is disputed. According to this proposal, the original Saxon tribe lived north of the mouth of the Elbe , close to the probable homeland of the Angles . What is more certain is that long before any clear historical mention of Saxony as a country, a related but possibly distinct or overlapping group of "Saxons" became important during the late Roman Empire , when the name was used to refer to coastal raiders who attacked from

2200-738: Is located in Emden. The former nautical academy in Leer merged with Fachhochschule Emden in 2009. The people of East Frisia have close cultural ties to those of West Frisia , in the Netherlands , and of North Frisia , on the Jutland peninsula . Saxons The Saxons , sometimes called the Old Saxons , were the Germanic people of "Old" Saxony ( Latin : Antiqua Saxonia ) which became

2310-478: Is presumed that these are the names of two goddesses who were worshipped around that season. The Saxons offered cakes to their gods in February ( Solmōnaþ ). There was a religious festival associated with the harvest, Halegmōnaþ ('holy month' or 'month of offerings', September). The Saxon calendar began on 25 December, and the months of December and January were called Yule (or Giuli ). They contained

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2420-466: Is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisian peninsula , to the east of West Frisia and to the west of Landkreis Friesland but is known to have extended much further inland (As far south as modern Cologne, Germany) before modern representations of the territory. Administratively, East Frisia consists of the districts Aurich , Leer and Wittmund and the city of Emden . It has

2530-545: Is the dominant church, while in Leer, Norden and Aurich the Lutherans are the dominant church. However, the main church of the Reformed Christians is in Leer. There are 266,000 Lutherans and about 80,000 Reformed – so about 346,000 of the approximately 465,000 citizens of East Frisia profess one of the two denominations. The Concordat of Emden in 1599 set rules for the cooperation of Lutherans and Calvinists in

2640-460: The edhilingui . The Lex Saxonum regulated the Saxons' different society. Intermarriage between the castes was forbidden by the Lex Saxonum, and wergilds were set based upon caste membership. The edhilingui were worth 1,440 solidi , or about 700 head of cattle, the highest wergild on the continent; the price of a bride was also very high. This was six times as much as that of

2750-592: The frilingi and eight times as much as the lazzi . The gulf between noble and ignoble was very large, but the difference between a freeman and an indentured labourer was small. According to the Vita Lebuini antiqua , an important source for early Saxon history, the Saxons held an annual council at Marklo (Westphalia) where they "confirmed their laws, gave judgment on outstanding cases, and determined by common counsel whether they would go to war or be in peace that year." All three castes participated in

2860-459: The edhilingui were the descendants of the Saxons who led the tribe out of Holstein and during the migrations of the sixth century. They were a conquering warrior elite. The frilingi represented the descendants of the amicii , auxiliarii and manumissi of that caste. The lazzi represented the descendants of the original inhabitants of the conquered territories, who were forced to make oaths of submission and pay tribute to

2970-544: The Anglo Saxons , or simply "the English". This brought together local Romano-British populations, Saxons, and other migrants from the same North Sea region, including Frisians , Jutes , and Angles . The Angles are the source of the term English which became the more commonly-used collective term. The term Anglo-Saxon , combining the names of the Angles and the Saxons, came into use by the eighth century, initially in

3080-557: The Germanic calendar in use at that time. The Germanic gods Woden , Frigg , Tiw and Thunor , who are attested to in every Germanic tradition, were worshipped in Wessex, Sussex and Essex. They are the only ones directly attested to, though the names of the third and fourth months (March and April) of the Old English calendar bear the names Hrēþmōnaþ and Ēosturmōnaþ , meaning 'month of Hretha ' and 'month of Ēostre '. It

3190-492: The Hamburg culture . Later there were Mesolithic and Neolithic settlements of various cultures. The period after prehistory can only be reconstructed from archaeological evidence. Access to the early history of East Frisia is possible in part through archaeology and in part through the studying of external sources such as Roman documents. The first proven historical event was the arrival of a Roman fleet under Drusus in 12 BC;

3300-697: The Napoleonic Wars East Frisia was occupied first by Prussian and then by Russian soldiers and in 1813 was it was re-annexed by Prussia. However, in 1815, Prussia had to cede East Frisia to the Kingdom of Hanover , which itself was annexed by Prussia in 1866. The landscape is influenced by its proximity to the North Sea. The East Frisian Islands stretch for 90 kilometres along the coast. They offer dunes and sand beaches, though in their center they have grass and woods as well. The area between

3410-512: The Old Saxon language. Old Frisian apparently once stretched along the North Sea coast from the northern Netherlands to southern Denmark , while Old Saxon originally didn't extend to the coast. Linguists have noted that Old Frisian and Old Saxon, although neighbouring and related, did not form part of the same dialect continuum. In contrast, the Saxon dialects became part of the much larger Continental West Germanic continuum which stretched to

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3520-640: The Reformation period. Menno Simons , founder of the Mennonite church, found refuge there. In 1654 the counts of East Frisia, seated at Aurich, were elevated to the rank of princes. Their power, however, remained limited because of a number of factors. Externally East Frisia became a satellite of the Netherlands, Dutch garrisons being stationed in different cities permanently. Important cities like Emden were autonomously administered by their citizens,

3630-671: The Rhine . They included Frisians , Angles and Jutes , who stretched from what is now the Netherlands to what is now Denmark, as well as coastal parts of the territory which came to be called Saxony. It has been proposed that these coastal Saxons and the later Saxons of Carolingian times should be seen as distinct but related peoples, who were referred to by the same name, such as the Dutch and Deutschen ( Germans ) today. Significant numbers of these early Saxons settled in what later became northern France and England. England, rather than Saxony,

3740-614: The Saale into the area of a western Slavic tribe, the Sorbs . The Sorbs were gradually Germanised . This region subsequently acquired the name Saxony through political circumstances, though it was initially called the March of Meissen . The rulers of Meissen acquired control of the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg (only a remnant of the previous Duchy) in 1423; they eventually applied the name Saxony to

3850-466: The "apostle to the West Saxons" and converted Wessex , whose first Christian king was Cynegils . The West Saxons begin to emerge from obscurity only with their conversion to Christianity and keeping written records. The Gewisse , a West Saxon people, were especially resistant to Christianity; Birinus exercised more efforts against them and ultimately succeeded in conversion. In Wessex, a bishopric

3960-417: The 14th century Oldenburg gave up on plans to conquer Ostfriesland, restricting their attacks to irregular invasions, killing livestock then leaving. The East Frisian chieftains used to provide shelter for pirates such as the famous Klaus Störtebeker and Gottfried Michaelsen , who were a threat to the ships of the powerful Hanseatic League which they attacked and robbed. In 1400 a punitive expedition of

4070-628: The 840s, when the Stellinga rose up against the Saxon leadership, who were allied with the Frankish emperor Lothair I . After the suppression of the Stellinga , in 851 Louis the German brought relics from Rome to Saxony to foster a devotion to the Roman Catholic Church . The Poeta Saxo , in his verse Annales of Charlemagne's reign (written between 888 and 891), laid an emphasis on his conquest of Saxony. He celebrated

4180-654: The Alps, and can all be considered to be types of German. According to the historical linguist Elmar Seebold , this development can only be explained if continental Saxon society prior to the migration to Britain was effectively composed of two related, but different forms of West Germanic. In his view, the group of people who, in the 3rd century , first migrated southwards to what is now the northwestern portion of Lower Saxony spoke North Sea Germanic dialects closely related to Old Frisian and Old English . There, these migrants encountered an already present population whose language

4290-583: The Carolingian empire, East Frisia lost its former bindings, and a unity of independent self-governed districts was established. Their elections were held every year to choose the "Redjeven" (councillors), who had to be judges as well as administrators or governors. This system prevented the establishment of a feudalistic system in East Frisia during medieval times. Frisians regarded themselves as free people not obliged to any foreign authority. This period

4400-591: The Chauci; however, after the second century AD there is no mention of the Chauci. They were partly displaced by Frisian expansion after about 500, and were later partially absorbed into the Frisian society. Saxons also settled the region and the East Frisian population of medieval times is based on a mixture of Frisian and Saxon elements. Nevertheless, the Frisian element is predominant in the coastal area, while

4510-401: The East Frisian people drink more tea than any other people group, about 300 litres per person every year. Strong black tea is served whenever there are visitors to an East Frisian home or other gathering, as well as with breakfast, in mid-afternoon and mid-evening. The tea is sweetened with kluntjes , a rock candy sugar that melts slowly, allowing multiple cups to be sweetened. Heavy cream

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4620-472: The English Saxons as either English or as Anglo-Saxons after this point, the term Saxon was still used to refer to them for some time, and can be a source of potential confusion when interpreting contemporary records. Ptolemy 's Geographia , written in the second century, is sometimes considered to contain the first mention of the Saxons. Some copies of this text mention a tribe called Saxones in

4730-540: The English people and England are Sowsnek and Pow Sows ('Land [Pays] of Saxons'). Similarly Breton , spoken in north-western France, has saoz(on) ('English'), saozneg ('the English language'), and Bro-saoz for 'England'. The label Saxons (in Romanian : Sași ) also became attached to German settlers who settled during the 12th century in southeastern Transylvania . From Transylvania, some of these Saxons migrated to neighbouring Moldavia , as

4840-825: The Fowler, 919) and later the first emperors (Henry's son, Otto I, the Great ) of Germany during the tenth century, but they lost this position in 1024. The duchy was divided in 1180 when Duke Henry the Lion refused to follow his cousin, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa , into war in Lombardy . During the High Middle Ages , under the Salian emperors and, later, under the Teutonic Knights , German settlers moved east of

4950-461: The Frankish monarch as on par with the Roman emperors and as the bringer of Christian salvation to people. References are made to periodic outbreaks of pagan worship, especially of Freya, among the Saxon peasantry as late as the 12th century. In the ninth century, the Saxon nobility became vigorous supporters of monasticism and formed a bulwark of Christianity against the existing Slavic paganism to

5060-551: The Franks. There were also Saxon populations in this period who were living in neither England, nor what would become Saxony. The continental Saxons appear to have become consolidated by the end of the eighth century, partly as a result of interaction with the powerful Frankish kingdoms. The ancestors of Charlemagne, the Arnulfings , took control of the neighbouring Austrasian kingdom of the Franks and sought to assert power over

5170-657: The Hanseatic League against East Frisia succeeded. The chieftains had to promise to discontinue their support for the pirates. In 1402 Störtebeker, who was not a Frisian by birth, was captured and executed in Hamburg. The range of power and influence differed between the chieftains. Some clans achieved a predominant state. One of these was the Tom Broks from the Brokmerland (nowadays: Brookmerland ) who ruled

5280-543: The Late Medieval period as a literary, administrative and, to a significant extent, cultural language in favor of Dutch and German . The first Saxons clearly mentioned in ancient records were the "Saxons" who became important during the late Roman Empire as coastal raiders who attacked from the north using boats, in a similar sense to the much later term Viking . These early raiders and settlers were believed by contemporaries to come from coastal regions north of

5390-508: The Pious supported Christian vernacular works in order to evangelise the Saxons more efficiently. The Heliand , a verse epic of the life of Christ in a Germanic setting, and Genesis , another epic retelling of the events of the first book of the Bible , were commissioned in the early ninth century by Louis to disseminate scriptural knowledge to the masses. A council of Tours in 813 and then

5500-677: The Prince not having much influence on them. A Frisian Parliament, the Ostfreesk Landschaft, was an assembly of different social groups of East Frisia, jealously protecting the traditional rights and freedoms of the Frisians against the Prince. East Frisian independence ended in 1744, when the region was taken over by Prussia after the last Cirksena prince had died without issue. There was no resistance to this takeover, since it had been arranged by contract beforehand. Prussia respected

5610-553: The Roman military, which was stationed in what is now Lebanon and northern Israel. This Ala primum Saxonum already existed by 363 when Julian used them in Arabia against the Persian empire . Roman military accessories are found in northern Germany in the 4th and 5th centuries apparently indicating the return of soldiers who had served the empire. Several records mentioning the early Saxons can be dated: In almost all of these cases

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5720-409: The Saxons into the Frankish empire. Though much of the highest caste converted readily, forced baptisms and forced tithing made enemies of the lower orders. Even some contemporaries found the methods employed to win over the Saxons wanting, as this excerpt from a letter of Alcuin of York to his friend Meginfrid, written in 796, shows: If the light yoke and sweet burden of Christ were to be preached to

5830-465: The Saxons of Germany no longer form a distinctive ethnic group or country, but their name lives on in the names of several regions and states of Germany , including Lower Saxony ( German : Niedersachsen ) which includes most of the original duchy. Their language evolved into Low German which was the lingua franca of the Hanseatic League , but has faced a long and gradual decline since

5940-556: The Saxons were associated with using boats for their raids, even within the Maas delta region. Special mentions of the fearful 4th-century Saxon surprise attacks were made not only by Ammianus, but also by the poet Claudian . Some generations later a dramatic description of Saxon raiding was written by Sidonius Apollinaris writing to a friend who was assigned to a coastal defensive post in Saintonge near Bordeaux . A rough description of

6050-529: The White and Hewald the Black , were martyred by the vicani , that is, villagers. Throughout the century that followed, villagers and other peasants proved to be the greatest opponents of Christianisation , while missionaries often received the support of the edhilingui and other noblemen. Saint Lebuin , an Englishman who between 745 and 770 preached to the Saxons, mainly in the eastern Netherlands, built

6160-482: The area of East Frisia, the tea can also be poured out of the cup into its saucer and drunk from there. If you don't want any more tea, you have to put your spoon into the cup or else the host will refill your cup immediately after everyone in the round finished their current cup of tea. East Frisia is predominantly Protestant. In Rheiderland , Krummhörn and around Emden , the Reformed Church ( Calvinism )

6270-500: The area to the north of the lower Elbe . However, other versions refer to the same tribe as Axones . This may be a misspelling of the tribe that Tacitus in his Germania called Aviones . According to this theory, Saxones was the result of later scribes trying to correct a name that meant nothing to them. On the other hand, Schütte , in his analysis of such problems in Ptolemy's Maps of Northern Europe , believed that Saxones

6380-601: The attempts of German states to conquer the coasts. During the 14th century adherence to the Redjeven constitution decayed. Catastrophes and epidemics such as pestilence intensified the process of destabilization. This provided an opportunity for influential family-clans to establish a new rule. As chieftains (in Low German : "hovedlinge"; in standard German : "Fürsten") they took control over villages, cities, and regions in East Frisia; however, they still did not establish

6490-515: The basic political structure of the later Holy Roman Empire . The early rulers of this Duchy of Saxony expanded their territories, and therefore those of the Holy Roman empire, to the east, at the expense of Slavic-speaking Wends . Before the entry of Saxony into Frankish history, there is possibly a single classical reference to a smaller and much earlier Saxon tribe, but the interpretation of this text ("Axones" in most surviving manuscripts)

6600-436: The county of East Frisia. Since then it is a special feature of the Protestant Landeskirchen in East Frisia, that Lutherans and Calvinists are members of each other's local church communities in places, where only one of both exists. East Frisia is a rural area. However, there are some industrial sites such as the Volkswagen car factory in Emden and the Enercon (windturbine) company in Aurich . Leer is, after Hamburg ,

6710-410: The east and the Nordic paganism of the Vikings to the north. Much Christian literature was produced in the vernacular Old Saxon , the notable ones being a result of the literary output and wide influence of Saxon monasteries such as Fulda , Corvey and Verden ; and the theological controversy between the Augustinian , Gottschalk and Rabanus Maurus . From an early date, Charlemagne and Louis

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6820-402: The first centuries of its use the term Saxon was associated with raiders and not associated with any clearly defined homeland, apart from the settlements of Saxons in what are now England and Normandy. It is only much later that the medieval records of the Frankish empire began to refer to a largely inland nation of Saxons in what is now northern Germany. Although it became convenient to refer to

6930-411: The future king of Italy, who is mentioned in the same part of Gregory's text as a person who subsequently allied with Childeric to fight Alemanni in Italy. In comparison to mentions of the early Saxons raiders and settlers in Britain or Gaul, there are few mentions of the Saxons in Germany before the 8th century. Interpretation of the records is also complicated not only by the continuing references to

7040-441: The general council; twelve representatives from each caste were sent from each Gau . In 782, Charlemagne abolished the system of Gaue and replaced it with the Grafschaftsverfassung , the system of counties typical of Francia . By prohibiting the Marklo councils, Charlemagne pushed the frilingi and lazzi out of political power. The old Saxon system of Abgabengrundherrschaft , lordship based on dues and taxes,

7150-467: The greatest reform of Frisian society in history: He introduced mayors, where the local administration was still in the hands of autonomous groups of elders (like the Diekgreven, Kerkenolderlings etc.), introduced the Code Civil and reformed the ancient Frisian naming system by newly introducing family names in 1811. In the following years the East Frisians registered their family names, often depending on their father's name, area or (if unfree) master. After

7260-436: The higher situated Geest areas or by erecting in the marsh-areas " Warften ", artificial hills to protect the settlement, whether a single farming estate or a whole village, against the North Sea floods. In about 1000 AD the Frisians started building large dikes along the North Sea shore. This had a great effect on establishing a feeling of national identity and independence. Until the late Middle Ages Ostfriesland resisted

7370-451: The homeland of these Saxons was given by Hilarion who says the Frankish homeland lay between the Saxons and Alemanni . In 441–442 AD, Saxons are mentioned in the Chronica Gallica of 452 which says that the "British provinces, which to this time had suffered various defeats and misfortunes, are reduced to Saxon rule". Some generations later Gildas is generally seen as reporting what happened, although he gave no date. According to him,

7480-403: The islands and the coast is unique in the world: the tide leaves a broad stretch of mudflat with creeks that attract an extraordinary number of species, worms and crabs as well as birds or seals . For this reason, the UNESCO World Heritage Fund declared the Wadden Sea , which had already been a national park, a global heritage site. Away from the coastal area, much of the physical geography

7590-504: The king, but, during Charlemagne's campaign in Hispania (778), the Saxons advanced to Deutz on the Rhine and plundered along the river. This was an oft-repeated pattern when Charlemagne was distracted by other matters. Under Carolingian rule , the Saxons were reduced to tributary status. There is evidence that the Saxons, as well as Slavic tributaries such as the Abodrites and the Wends , often provided troops to their Carolingian overlords. The dukes of Saxony became kings ( Henry I ,

7700-531: The language of the Chauci , the language of the Thuringians , and possibly other ancient tribes) prevailed and ultimately formed the basis for the Low Saxon dialects known today, while their speakers retained the tribal name. Bede , a Northumbrian writing around the year 730, remarks that "the old (that is, the continental) Saxons have no king, but they are governed by several ealdormen (or satrapa ) who, during war, cast lots for leadership but who, in time of peace, are equal in power." The regnum Saxonum

7810-451: The languages of the Angles and this particular Saxon group were closely related, a continuum between Anglian and Saxon could form in Britain, which later became English . In the land of the Saxons itself, the departure of a large part of this former elite caused the sociopolitical landscape to change, and the original population, after the departure of the majority of the elite's descendants, became so predominant that their dialects (presumably

7920-540: The most obstinate people of the Saxons with as much determination as the payment of tithes has been exacted, or as the force of the legal decree has been applied for fault of the most trifling sort imaginable, perhaps they would not be averse to their baptismal vows. Charlemagne's successor, Louis the Pious , reportedly treated the Saxons more as Alcuin would have wished, and as a consequence they were faithful subjects. The lower classes, however, revolted against Frankish overlordship in favour of their old paganism as late as

8030-560: The mouth of the Ems river and threatened the ships coming down the river. For this reason the County of Oldenburg made several attempts to subjugate East Frisia during the 12th century. Thanks to the swampy terrain, the Frisian peasants defeated the Oldenburgian armies every time. In 1156 even Henry the Lion failed to conquer the region. The conflicts lasted for the next few centuries. In

8140-500: The name Saxon supposedly derives. In Estonian , saks means colloquially, 'a wealthy person'. As a result of the Northern Crusades , Estonia 's upper class comprised mostly Baltic Germans, persons of supposedly Saxon origin until well into the 20th century. Following the downfall of Henry the Lion (1129–1195, Duke of Saxony 1142–1180), and the subsequent splitting of the Saxon tribal duchy into several territories,

8250-599: The name of the Saxon duchy was transferred to the lands of the Ascanian family. This led to the differentiation between Lower Saxony (lands settled by the Saxon tribe) and Upper Saxony (the lands belonging to the House of Wettin ). Gradually, the latter region became known as Saxony, ultimately usurping the name's original geographical meaning. The area formerly known as Upper Saxony now lies in Central Germany – in

8360-489: The name of the town Sascut , in present-day Romania, shows. The Finns and Estonians have changed their usage of the root Saxon over the centuries to apply now to the whole country of Germany ( Saksa and Saksamaa respectively) and the Germans ( saksalaiset and sakslased , respectively). The Finnish word sakset ( scissors ) reflects the name of the old Saxon single-edged sword –  seax  – from which

8470-486: The north by, in a similar sense to the much later term Viking . These early raiders and settlers came from coastal regions north of the Rhine . They included Frisians , Angles and Jutes , as well as people from the coastal part of what came to be called Saxony. One of the first writers to mention a country called Saxony appears to have been an Ostrogothic geographer of Italy named Marcomir. The much later Ravenna Cosmography which reproduces some of his reports uses

8580-484: The other Saxons, but also because the German Saxons possibly weren't originally unified within one Saxon political entity. It is therefore not clear whether some early continental "Saxons" could also sometimes have come under other designations such as Warini , Frisians or Thuringians . Nevertheless some records during Merovingian times are clearly about Saxons living within what is now Northern Germany, north of

8690-447: The other guests with tea, starting with the second oldest and then going down in age regardless of gender. The "kluntje" must be placed inside the teacup before the tea is poured right on top of it. After that some heavy cream is added carefully just as a top layer so it can make "clouds" (wulkjes) that swim on the tea itself. It's then forbidden to stir the tea, so the layers stay mild, strong and then sweet from top to bottom. Depending on

8800-492: The peoples to the east including not only the Bavarians, Swabians and Thuringians, which were long under Frankish rule, but also the Saxons and Frisians. They also pressured the Saxons and Frisians to convert to Christianity. In 804 the emperor Charlemagne conquered the Saxons, and incorporated the Saxons into the Frankish empire as a Stem Duchy, similar to the older ones although there is no evidence that it had previously been

8910-599: The period, but by the time of Bede in the 8th century most of England was ruled by Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. In the 460s, an apparent fragment of a chronicle preserved in the History of the Franks of Gregory of Tours , gives a confusing report about a number of battles involving one " Adovacrius " who led a group of Saxons based upon islands somewhere near the mouth of the Loire . He took hostages at Anger in France, but his force

9020-525: The population of the higher Geest area expresses more Saxon influence. Historical information becomes clearer by early Carolingian time, when a Frisian kingdom united the whole area from present-day West Frisia (the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and part of North Holland ) throughout East Frisia up to the river Weser . It was ruled by kings like the famous Radbod whose known names were still mentioned in folk tales until recent times. Frisia

9130-517: The random decision-making. There were also sacred rituals and objects, such as the pillars called Irminsul ; these were believed to connect heaven and earth, as with other examples of trees or ladders to heaven in numerous religions. Charlemagne had one such pillar chopped down in 772 close to the Eresburg stronghold. Early Saxon religious practices in Britain can be gleaned from place names and

9240-471: The region is again suffering from the loss of young educated people, who go away to find better employment in, for example, southern Germany. Many communities face a rising number of aged people, creating structural problems in the future. There are few academic jobs in the area, and those are focused on engineering. The closest universities are the University of Oldenburg and Groningen . A Fachhochschule

9350-535: The same derivation, as do the words used in Welsh to describe the English people ( Saeson , singular Sais ) and the language and things English in general: Saesneg and Seisnig . Cornish terms the English Sawsnek , from the same derivation. In the 16th century Cornish-speakers used the phrase Meea navidna cowza sawzneck to feign ignorance of the English language. The Cornish words for

9460-600: The second most important location for shipping companies in Germany. Although just on the other side of the border to Emsland , the Meyer Werft is an important employer for East Frisians as well. Main industrial sites are the harbours of Emden and Leer , and Wilhelmshaven east of East Frisia. Around 1900, many people left East Frisia due to lack of jobs and emigrated to the United States or elsewhere. Today

9570-508: The ships sailed into the course of the Ems river and returned. The earlier settlements, known solely through material remnants but whose people's name for themselves remains unknown, led up to the invasion of Germanic tribes belonging to the Ingvaeonic group. Those were Chauci mentioned by Tacitus , and Frisians . The region between the rivers Ems and Weser was thereupon inhabited by

9680-488: The smallest language-island in Europe is called Saterland Frisian or, by its own name, Seeltersk . It is spoken by about 1000 people. East Frisian Low Saxon (or Eastern Friesland Low Saxon, as some people prefer to say for a better distinction from East Frisian, which is Frisian but not Low Saxon) is a variant of Low German with many of its own features due to the Frisian substrate and some other influences originating in

9790-568: The sovereignty of the Holy Roman Empire . However, in 1514 the emperor ordered that a duke of Saxony should be the heir to the count of East Frisia. Count Edzard of East Frisia refused to accept this order and was outlawed. Twenty-four German dukes and princes invaded Frisia with their armies. Despite their numerical superiority they failed to defeat Edzard, and in 1517 the emperor had to accept Edzard and his descendants as counts of East Frisia . East Frisia played an important role in

9900-538: The term "Old Saxony" to refer to the continental homeland of the British Saxons who the writer understood to have come from this Old Saxony with a leader named Ansehis . It describes the lands of this Old Saxony as lying on the ocean coast, between Frisia and the Danes. It contained the rivers "Lamizon", "Ipada", "Lippa" and "Limac", which are generally interpreted as the Ems , Pader , Lippe and Leine . Today

10010-404: The three castes, excluding slaves, were called the edhilingui (related to the term aetheling ), frilingi and lazzi . These terms were subsequently Latinised as nobiles or nobiliores ; ingenui , ingenuiles or liberi ; and liberti , liti or serviles . According to very early traditions that are presumed to contain a good deal of historical truth,

10120-800: The traditional autonomy of the Frisians, governed by the Frisian chancellor Sebastian Homfeld. In 1806 East Frisia (now called Oostfreesland) was annexed by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Holland and later became part of the French Empire . Most of East Frisia was renamed the Département Ems-Oriental, while a small strip of land, the Rheiderland, became part of the Dutch Département Ems-Occidental. The French Emperor Napoléon I undertook

10230-565: The union of the Saxons with the rest of the Frankish empire. Their sacred tree or pillar, a symbol of Irminsul , was destroyed. Charlemagne deported 10,000 Nordalbingian Saxons to Neustria and gave their largely vacant lands in Wagria (approximately modern Plön and Ostholstein districts) to the loyal king of the Abotrites . Einhard , Charlemagne's biographer, says on the closing of this grand conflict: The war that had lasted so many years

10340-493: The varied history of East Frisia. It is similar to the Gronings dialect spoken in the adjacent Netherlands province of Groningen. In modern Germany, East Frisians in general are the traditional butt of ethnic jokes similar to Polish jokes in the United States. This is mainly the case in the North. In an otherwise coffee drinking country, East Frisia is noted for its consumption of tea and its tea culture . Per capita,

10450-543: The west near the Lippe, Ems and Weser, and further east, neighbouring Thuringia and Bohemia . Later medieval sources referred to this eastern area as "North Swabia". Charlemagne conquered all the Saxons after winning the long Saxon Wars (772–804), and forced them to convert to Christianity , annexing Saxony into the Carolingian domain. Under the Carolingian Franks, Saxony became a single duchy, fitting it within

10560-607: The whole of northern and central Germany. Since 1958 in West Germany the breed was crossed with Holstein Friesian cattle . Since the 1960s these crossed animals have been dominant, and so the German black-and-white cattle breed was born. In East Germany the breed was crossed with Jersey cattle and Holstein Friesian cattle to create the German Black Pied Dairy cattle breed. The original breeding type

10670-416: The whole of their kingdom. Since then, this part of eastern Germany has been referred to as Saxony ( German : Sachsen ), a source of some misunderstanding about the original homeland of the Saxons, with a central part in the present-day German state of Lower Saxony (German: Niedersachsen ). Old English, associated with the Saxons in England, was closer to later recorded dialects of Old Frisian than

10780-452: The word in English. The Gaelic name for England is Sasann (older spelling: Sasunn , genitive : Sasainn ), and Sasannach (formed with a common adjective suffix -ach ) means 'English' in reference to people and things, though not when naming the English language, which is Béarla . Sasanach , the Irish word for an Englishman (with Sasana meaning England), has

10890-708: The work of Paul the Deacon , to distinguish the Germanic-speaking inhabitants of Britain from continental Saxons. However, both the Saxons of Britain and those of Old Saxony in northern Germany long continued to be referred to as "Saxons" in an indiscriminate manner. The name of the Saxons has traditionally been said to derive from a kind of knife used in this period and called a seax in Old English, and sachs in Old High German . During

11000-468: Was a short-lived kingdom, and it was crushed by Pippin of Herstal in 689. East Frisia then became part of the Frankish Empire . Charles the Great then divided East Frisia into two counties. At this time, Christianization by the missionaries Liudger and Willehad started; one part of East Frisia became a part of the diocese of Bremen , the other the diocese of Münster . With the decay of

11110-571: Was at length ended by their acceding to the terms offered by the king; which were renunciation of their national religious customs and the worship of devils, acceptance of the sacraments of the Christian faith and religion, and union with the Franks to form one people. The Saxons long resisted becoming Christians and being incorporated into the orbit of the Frankish kingdom . In 776 the Saxons promised to convert to Christianity and vow loyalty to

11220-474: Was composed of nine forts stretching around the south-eastern corner of England. On the other side of the English channel two coastal military commands were created, over the Tractus Armoricanus in what is now Brittany and Normandy, and the coast of Belgica Secunda in what later became Flanders and Picardy. The Notitia Dignitatum also lists the existence of a Saxon military unit (an Ala ) in

11330-608: Was conserved in East Germany as a genetic reserve. Individual breeders in West Germany and in the Netherlands were also able to conserve the original type. German Black Pieds are smaller than Holstein Friesians and with a lower milk volume, but they are more fertile and long-lived. A comparison was made between the rates of muscle growth and energy utilisation of Fleckvieh bulls as compared to German black pied bulls. It

11440-455: Was divided into three provinces – Westphalia , Eastphalia and Angria  – which comprised about one hundred pagi or Gaue . Each Gau had its own satrap with enough military power to level whole villages that opposed him. In the mid-9th century, Nithard first described the social structure of the Saxons beneath their leaders. The caste structure was rigid; in the Saxon language

11550-523: Was found that the Fleckvieh bulls had faster growth rates, the carcases had a smaller proportion of fat, especially abdominal fat, and the animals could be slaughtered at an earlier date when fed on similar diets. East Frisia East Frisia or East Friesland ( German : Ostfriesland ; East Frisian Low Saxon : Oostfräisland ; Saterland Frisian : Aastfräislound ) is a historic region in modern Lower Saxony , Germany . The modern province

11660-405: Was founded at Dorchester . The South Saxons were first evangelised extensively under Anglian influence; Aethelwalh of Sussex was converted by Wulfhere , King of Mercia and allowed Wilfrid , Bishop of York , to evangelise his people beginning in 681. The chief South Saxon bishopric was that of Selsey . The East Saxons were more pagan than the southern or western Saxons; their territory had

11770-469: Was replaced by a form of feudalism based on service and labour, personal relationships and oaths. Saxon religious practices were closely related to their political practices. The annual councils of the entire tribe began with invocations of the gods. The procedure by which dukes were elected in wartime, by drawing lots, is presumed to have had religious significance, i.e. in giving trust to divine providence – it seems – to guide

11880-484: Was significantly different from their own, i.e. belonging to the Weser–Rhine Germanic grouping, over whom they then formed an elite, lending their name to the subsequent tribal federation and region as a whole. Later, during the 5th century, as the Angles started migrating to Britain, the descendants of this elite joined them, while the descendants of the native inhabitants did not, or at least not significantly. As

11990-457: Was sometimes written of as the Saxon homeland. To avoid confusion, already in the 8th century authors such as Bede sometimes referred to the Saxons of Saxony in Germany as the "old Saxons", and their country as "old Saxony", and this differentiation is still often used by historians today when discussing this period. In contrast, the settlers once called Saxons in England became part of a new Old English -speaking nation, now commonly referred to as

12100-426: Was subsequently retaken by Roman and Frankish forces led by Childeric I . A "great war was waged between the Saxons and the Romans but the Saxons, turning their backs, with the Romans pursuing, lost many of their men to the sword. Their islands were captured and ravaged by the Franks, many people being killed." Though there is no consensus, many historians believe that this Adovacrius may be the same person as Odoacer ,

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