Professor Peter Heather

We can certainly say that they spoke a Germanic language. That is crystal clear. The Anglo-Saxon language that comes down to us in the British context, or some of the manuscript evidence is going back to the late 7th, early 8th centuries, and its Germanic character is completely clear, yeah.

Well, we don't really know. The Saxons, the continental Saxons are not literate. I mean, they have runes, but they're not writing any kind of connected texts. And the first kind of Saxon histories we get date from after the Frankish Carolingian era conquest of Saxony. And in fact, they tend to be 10th century even. So that's...

Well, we don't really know. The Saxons, the continental Saxons are not literate. I mean, they have runes, but they're not writing any kind of connected texts. And the first kind of Saxon histories we get date from after the Frankish Carolingian era conquest of Saxony. And in fact, they tend to be 10th century even. So that's...

Well, we don't really know. The Saxons, the continental Saxons are not literate. I mean, they have runes, but they're not writing any kind of connected texts. And the first kind of Saxon histories we get date from after the Frankish Carolingian era conquest of Saxony. And in fact, they tend to be 10th century even. So that's...

Yes, it is. Way late. So, you know, 700 years or 600 years after where we're thinking about in the late Roman period. Do we know why they're called Saxons? It's not totally clear why they're called Saxons. There's a knife that's called a sax. But there are also hints that there is potentially a god involved here.

Yes, it is. Way late. So, you know, 700 years or 600 years after where we're thinking about in the late Roman period. Do we know why they're called Saxons? It's not totally clear why they're called Saxons. There's a knife that's called a sax. But there are also hints that there is potentially a god involved here.

Yes, it is. Way late. So, you know, 700 years or 600 years after where we're thinking about in the late Roman period. Do we know why they're called Saxons? It's not totally clear why they're called Saxons. There's a knife that's called a sax. But there are also hints that there is potentially a god involved here.

Some, well, one of the early Anglo-Saxon genealogies, royal genealogies, that of the kings of the East Saxons, the Essex boys, goes back to a god called Saxnet. who also appears in one continental North Sea prayer.

Some, well, one of the early Anglo-Saxon genealogies, royal genealogies, that of the kings of the East Saxons, the Essex boys, goes back to a god called Saxnet. who also appears in one continental North Sea prayer.

Some, well, one of the early Anglo-Saxon genealogies, royal genealogies, that of the kings of the East Saxons, the Essex boys, goes back to a god called Saxnet. who also appears in one continental North Sea prayer.

So what is clear and become more clear from recent finds is that kings of these late Roman groups, and they have multiple kings, they are advocates and followers of particular warrior gods. So I think it's not impossible, though the evidence is limited. I have described it all for you. The Saxons are getting their name because their chosen warrior god cult is actually Saxon.

So what is clear and become more clear from recent finds is that kings of these late Roman groups, and they have multiple kings, they are advocates and followers of particular warrior gods. So I think it's not impossible, though the evidence is limited. I have described it all for you. The Saxons are getting their name because their chosen warrior god cult is actually Saxon.

So what is clear and become more clear from recent finds is that kings of these late Roman groups, and they have multiple kings, they are advocates and followers of particular warrior gods. So I think it's not impossible, though the evidence is limited. I have described it all for you. The Saxons are getting their name because their chosen warrior god cult is actually Saxon.

The archaeology is, in a sense, quite clear. They are agriculturalists. They mostly cremate their dead. There are some groups that bury bodies. They live in clustered villages to some extent, but also rural spread. What is completely unclear is their political organization. And it's unclear because they are not in direct contact with the Roman world.

The archaeology is, in a sense, quite clear. They are agriculturalists. They mostly cremate their dead. There are some groups that bury bodies. They live in clustered villages to some extent, but also rural spread. What is completely unclear is their political organization. And it's unclear because they are not in direct contact with the Roman world.

The archaeology is, in a sense, quite clear. They are agriculturalists. They mostly cremate their dead. There are some groups that bury bodies. They live in clustered villages to some extent, but also rural spread. What is completely unclear is their political organization. And it's unclear because they are not in direct contact with the Roman world.

So we know, for instance, that the Alamanni, who are the southern neighbors of the Franks on the sort of middle and upper Rhine, that they tend to form a political confederation. You've got a number of separate kings over different areas within Alamani territory, but within each political generation, you tend to have an overking. And that's what I think makes the Alamani the Alamani.

So we know, for instance, that the Alamanni, who are the southern neighbors of the Franks on the sort of middle and upper Rhine, that they tend to form a political confederation. You've got a number of separate kings over different areas within Alamani territory, but within each political generation, you tend to have an overking. And that's what I think makes the Alamani the Alamani.

So we know, for instance, that the Alamanni, who are the southern neighbors of the Franks on the sort of middle and upper Rhine, that they tend to form a political confederation. You've got a number of separate kings over different areas within Alamani territory, but within each political generation, you tend to have an overking. And that's what I think makes the Alamani the Alamani.

They are a confederative group who will tend to throw up a recognized overking. Whether that's true of Saxons, I'm sure the multiplicity of kings is true, but whether they had a confederative tendency that made them politically recognizable and distinct, like the Alemanni did, there's no way of knowing that, actually.