Saxon

Pre-Norman English invader

Saxon refers to a member of the Germanic peoples who inhabited parts of northwestern Germany and, from the fifth century, invaded and settled in Britain.

As an adjective, it describes things relating to these peoples or their language: Saxon warriors, Saxon place names.

In British historical context, Saxon often distinguishes the pre-Norman English population from their Norman conquerors: the old Saxon ways.

The term also describes a plain, direct style of English using words of Germanic rather than Latin origin: good Saxon prose.

linguistic

Old English

Germanic language of early Britain

BeowulfOld English epic's protagonist
runesOld Germanic script
alliterationMatching initial consonants

kenning · word-hoard · vernacular · dialect · etymology · Germanic · inflection · vocabulary · prose · Alfred

ethnic

Germanic

Of Teutonic language stock

TeutonicOf ancient German peoples
tribeSocial group sharing ancestry
AnglesEarly medieval British settlers

Jutes · migration · Wessex · Mercia · Northumbria · Celt · Briton · invasion · settlement · chieftain

cultural

mead

Honey-fermented alcoholic drink

hallInterior connecting pathway
feastElaborate ceremonial meal
harpPlucked orchestral strings

poetry · brooch · jewelry · burial · craftsmanship · goldwork · garnet · sword · shield · helmet

historical

Hastings

English seaside town, historic

conquestDefeating and seizing control
HaroldTraditional masculine given name
WilliamMale given name

Domesday · thane · earl · Alfred · Edward · resistance · serfdom · feudalism · tenure · peasant

architectural

church

Place of Christian worship

towerTall slender edifice
doorwayPassage into a room
archCurved spanning structure

rounded · Norman · Romanesque · stonework · nave · chancel · crypt · pilaster · window · masonry

Saxon

Old English

Germanic

mead

Hastings

church

Saxon

Opposites

Phrases

Categories

Family