A BRIEF HISTORY OF OLD SAXON

BEFORE CHARLAMAGNE
Their name first appears
o
in mid 2nd century
o
in the works of Greek geographer Ptolemy
o
a tribe inhabiting the North Sea coast to the east of lower Elbe (todays Holstein)
and also three islands in the Elbe estuary
o
named after characteristic short sword sahs (still found in 2nd compound of
ModGerm. Messer knife)
The area Ptolemy described is very small considering how distributed Saxons was in the
future, so his wasnt a good observation. Ptolemy based his descriptions on Roman
reports from A. D. 5.
By the 3rd century, Saxons merged with other Germ tribes. Especially the Chauci tribe,
who occupied on or near North Sea coast between Ems and Elbe. Chauci name
disappeared in 3rd century. A single reference in 4th century describes them as a part of
Saxons.
How did merger happen?
(1) most scholars think it was amicable
o
did not involve long term invasion of a large number of Saxons in Chauci territory
o
Archeological evidence: no major cultural changes in areas of supposed invasion
o
Also, center of political gravity was in an area earlier occupied by Chauci, the
Chauci homeland, east of Elbe, was not important to Saxons
(2) some think it was an unfriendly invasion
o
considering the rather violent history of Saxons
o
invasion by Old Saxos on North Sea between Elbe and Weser in the second half of
the century
o
reduction of natives to bondsman status
o
only by this, we can understand extraordinary differences between nobles and
bondsmen in later Saxon law
Some of the later tribal merger were friendly but most were bloody.
With departure of Langobards from the lower Elbe around A.D. 400, the remaining Bards
appear to have joined Saxon alliance willingly
Other areas were taken forcibly and the natives were reduced to bondsmen status:
o
territory on upper Ems River taken from Angrivarians at the end of 4 th century
o
territory south of middle Lippe taken from Boruktuarians at the beginning of the 8 th
century
531 Saxons and Franks destroyed Thuringian kingdom, Saxons got the northern part
and the population as spoils
Romans:
first contact in late 3rd century
Saxons harassed the coasts of Northern Gaul and south-eastern England.
attacks were so severe that a special coastal defence was set in these areas called
Litus Saxonicum (Saxon Shore) in the beginning of 4th century
Still, by the middle of 5th century northern coasts of Gaul (also some parts of western
coasts) had a large number of permanent Saxon settlers
ultimately those settlers assimilated to Franks in a way that the parts who stayed
werent
from mid-5th century onwards England got some permanent Saxon settlers too as term
Anglo-Saxon implies.
Franks:
Saxons and neighbouring Franks have been reasonably amicable in 531 when they
jointly destroyed Thuringia but on the whole their relationship was troubled
even after the joint war there was friction:

Thuringian Saxons were obliged to pay yearly tribute to Frankish kingdom

this was a sore point for Saxons in later years, they thought it was demeaning
approx. the next 100 years on and off again wars:
in 556 Thurungian Saxons defeated Frankish king and lifted tribute obligation but it
was re-imposed again in the same year
o
in 632-33 Saxons fought on the side of Franks against invading Wedns (Slavic
people) and tribute obligation was lifted again.
Early 8th century:
o
Merovingian Frankish kingdom was shaken by the death of Pippin, the mayor of
palace,
o
715 western Saxons took advantage and invaded lower Rhenish areas
o
3 years later Charles Martel pushed the invading Saxons out, went all the way to
Weser
o
720 and 738 CM entered the Weser again,

he was victorious,

he devastated the countryside,

exacted pledges of tribute,

took hostages for good behaviour

743 Saxons allied with the Bavarian Duke Odilo in his revolt against Frankish
overlordship, Odilo was defeated
748 Thuringian Saxons rose up again allying with a claimant of Frankish throne, they
were defeated again and forced reinstitute the traditional tribute obligations that were
lifted a century ago
753 and 758 The western Saxons (who paid tribute since 738) revolted with failure
o
o
For
o

SAXON SOCIETY BEFORE CHARLEMAGNE

The sources are: Anglo-Saxon, Frankish and Saxon descriptions, laws, treaties, histories
from 7th to 10th centuries.
Information is still speculative for even the major points.

By the end of 8th century Saxony resembled an almost equilateral triangle wth two
hundred miles on a side.
Their neighbours were:
o
Franks on west and south
o
Frisians on northwest
o
Slavs on east
Three major provinces:
o
Westphalia in the west
o
Angria in the centre
o
Eastphalia in the east (the area known as Northalbingia)
It is not clear if the provinces had governments but they certainly had military forces
The basic units of political life were the Gaue, relatively small areas containing several
villages
Head of each Gau was Frst (literally first)
o
was a member of aristocracy
o
local leader in time of war
o
exercised judicial and priestly functions (Saxons believed in the old Germanic Gods)
o
did not inherit the office but was appointed by a kind of national assembly
Saxons had four hereditary social classes:
o
nobles
o
freemen

o
bondsmen
o
slaves
last class were considered property not men, so only first three is relevant to the make
up of the society
Nobles might be representing
o
invaders of expanded territories
o
the Old Germanic nobility +rich freemen
First option is more possible: nobles are first invading Saxons + Chauci
o
nobility was more numerous in Saxons than anywhere else
o
in proposed original homeland Northalbingia, the class of nobles and bondsmen did
not exist
o
the place of nobility was much higher than the freemen compared to everywhere
else
The nobles were large landholders while bondsmen did the farming for them. The
freemen were independent farmers but their independence was probably not secure.
The gulf between nobles and other classes was widened with elevated standing of
bondsmen
o
they had wergeld amounting the of the of freemen
o
bore arms
o
had voice in the assembly
o
implied an effective lowering of the standing of the freemen
The law enforced social gulfs
o
death penalty for any man who marries above his station
o
marriage with a woman of lower standing had no legal standing
The laws and customs were strict and grim
They did not go over to the monarchical government by 8 th century like other Germ.
tribes.
Instead, they had a representative republic
o
yearly meetings of all-Saxon assembly at a designated point on Weser
o
36 representatives from each Gau,

12 nobles

12 freemen

12 bondsmen
o
Seemed fair but since the bondsmen were under nobles it was for nobles
advantage
Nobles protected their status from below and also made sure there was no monarchy
above
War leader was selected from hundred or so Gau leaders
Saxons were not unified and kind as Franks
Even in times of war individual Gaue and provinces retained initiative
It was hard for international bureaucracy to treat Saxons as a whole which was very
frustrating for Franks

pushed to Weser, took hostages and guaranteed free access of Christian missionaries
into Saxony
wasnt a total war, Saxons didnt take it important

774 Saxons rose up when Frankish king and his forces was in Alps
passed by Eresburg and crossed to borders into Franconia
did a lot of damage

775 declared war against Saxons, decided not to stop until Saxons were completely
subjected to his authority and Christian religion
He entered from the west, beat the armies of 3 provinces, it was a victory
The Saxons pledged fealty to him, first step to vassalage.
Most Saxon nobility were content to cease fire, however Saxon resistance continued.

772 beginning of final series of wars to end Saxony as an independent state. Imperial
council in Worms officially declared war on the Saxons and Charlemagne moved
immediately to implement it

First push from south to Angrians

Successful attack
invaded fortress of Eresburg, destroyed the one of the holiest places in Saxon religion
Irminsul (Pillar of the World)

Charlamagne attacked again.

Nobles from all over Saxony pledged fealty
troublemakers were deported to other areas of the empire
explicit mention of an agreement whereby Saxons did not only admit missionaries but
also converted to Christianity as a nation
in imperial assembly many nobles repeated their pledges, a synod of bishop argued
how to go on with Christianization of the Saxony
Charlamagne might have thought the invasion was completed

Widukind of the Westphalians was the leader of the Saxon resistance

778
o
Charlamagne was off to Spain
o
Saxons attacked not only garrisons but Franconia itself
o
they were very violent
o
when they were forced to retreat by Frankish troops, they attempted to attack
monastery at Fulda, the major place for Christianisation of Saxony, they were
prevented doing so.
o
During this Saxons were also taking reprisals within their own country against the
Saxon nobility who stayed faithful to Charlamagne

779 780: Charlamagne imposed further restrictions

782: completion of annexation of Saxony to Frankish empire
o
brought Frankish institutions in all levels
o
employed system of placing districts under counts who were officials of the
Frankish court.
o
imposed laws enforcing Frankish hegemony
o
imposing legal and financial obligations to the Church
o
concession to his Saxon allies: the countships were filled with Saxon nobles and
existing Saxon legal system which favoured the nobility continued unaltered insofar
as it didnt conflict the new laws

Widukind sent out a call for arms

Uprisings all over the Saxony,
o
monasteries and churches were destroyed
o
major battle in Weser, a large Frankish force defeated
Charlamagne hurries up to interfere
Widukind had departed to Denmark and his army dispersed

THE FRANKISH ANNEXATION OF SAXONY

Charlamagne demanded that those who participated in the uprising to be handed to

him
Saxon nobility compiled and 4500 Saxons were beheaded in Werden

The uprisings of Werden incident lasted until 785

785 Widukind understood his cause was hopeless, allowed himself to be baptized
relative peace was achieved
the last battles took place in 804
after that history of Saxons was linked with that of Holy Roman Empire
after Carolingian dynasty, they even contributed their own dynasty to imperial throne

Lintzel argues, he real losers of Frankish-Saxon wars werent the nobility but the
freemen and peasants

Aside from biblical epics, there are smaller sources of various types
o
benedictions
o
exegeses of psalms
o
confessions of faith
o
tax rolls
o
translation of an OE homily
o
inscription on a coin
o
the famous Hildebrandslied (which definitely isnt pure OS)
o
Saxon glosses of words in Latin texts (sometimes word-to-word interlinear
translations)
o
Translations of Latin texts:

Vergil

gospels

saints lives

description of plants and fish

o
OS words and expressions in Latin texts, especially several from the monastery of
Werden

even before the wars nobility was threatened by unrest among oppressed lower classes
both Christianity and the Frankish presence were a way to preserve their noble status
they make treaties with the Franks and it was the peasants who broke them
nobles generally sided with the invaders
Stellinga:
o
in the mid-9th century a powerful league of peasants arose to restore ancient
liberties and native Saxon custom
o
during the wars of succession of Charlamagnes grandsons
o
almost pushed the nobility out of the country
o
it was ruthlessly suppressed by Louis the German
Widukind stands out as the only noble but his intention was to make Saxony into a
kingdom like other Germanic kingdoms
his motivation was not kind too, he wanted to become the king of the Saxony as a
popularly supported tyrant

OLD SAXON TEXTS

HELIAND

The major OS document

alliterative epic poem
almost 6000 long lines
recounts the story of Jesus in a form that combines contributions of all four Gospels into
a single narrative
translates the story to a Germanic verse form and a Germanic conceptual framework
o
the setting isnt the far off Holy Land but the plains of Northern Germany
o
the characters and the relation between them reflects Saxon reality than original
Jewish reality.

example: The men whom the angels announce the birth of Jesus are tending
horses rather than sheep
Date and place of origin of composition, the origin and motive of the author, natural and
artificial quality of his language is debated
The lack of agreement results from the fact that there are 4 manuscripts
o two more or less complete, two fragmentary
o all found in different places and exhibiting some significant differences in language

There are also different interpretations of statements in two Latin prefaces preserved
separately from the epic itself
Date of composition:
o a little after 830
o some place it as late as 850
o depends on which Emperor Louis is talked about in the prefaces
Place of composition:
o East Franconian monastery of Fulda where a great deal of OHG literary activity took
place (such as translation of Tatians gospel harmony which influenced Heliand)
o some believe it was monastery of Werden on the Ruhr
Motive:
o according to preface it was written with the urging of Emperor Louis (probably
Charlamagnes son Louis the Pious), an effort of Christianisation
o some think this is an individual offering to Christ
o some think it is a intentional literary work for an elite group of Christian cognoscenti
Author:
o many guesses
o a layman, a cleric, an Anglo-Saxon, Frisian, Saxon from Westphalia or Eastphalia
etc.
Language:
o scholars disagree whether this represents the vernacular of Saxon
o a supposed Anglo-Frisian and OHG characteristics in the texts
o they can be mere scribal conventions and influences rather than the true dialectal
conditions in OS territories

GENESIS

major OS text
fragment of a 9th century epic poem
probably influenced by the success of Heliand
fragments discovered in 1894
1875 (before the fragments were discovered) Eduard Sievers proposed the Anglo-Saxon
passages were based on OS original
In the passages that OS fragments and the Anglo-Saxon had in common there was a
close correspondence, so this is probably true
OS Genesis has 330 long lines

there are 590 Anglo-Saxon lines with no OS equivalents and probably completely lost
segments so the original must be very long

OLD SAXON GRAMMAR

letter c
As in ModE c is usually pronounced as [k]
o
clion hold fast begins with a [k]
However, before i and e, it has another pronunciation [ts]:
o
crci cross with [ts]
This [ts] pronunciation seems to be restricted only to Latin loan words,
o
following the late Latin pronunciation of <c> before front vowels
o
it is not palatization: [ts] in OS is not a palatalized allophone of /k/ like in OE
o
OS /k/ doesnt appear to have undergone palatalization.

great
OS mikil with [k]

OE micel with []

letter f and
the letter f is pronounced as expected:
o
fallan fall with [f]
the voiced equivalent of f in OS is thusly pronounced as [v] but written as <>
the voiced allophone of /f/ is [v], written <>
o
clion hold fast with a [v]

OS doesnt use <> it uses <th> instead.

<th> and <> stand for the interdental fricatives [, ], randomly (as in OE)
<th> is found:
o
with the voiced pronunciation ([]) occurs between voiced sounds
o
with the voiceless pronunciation ([]) occurs

initially

finally

before voiceless consonants

<> is found:
o
all positions that <th> is found
o
except initially
o
and has the same sound values

thikki thick with initial []

wirthig or wirig worthy with []

the
s is
o
o

voiced allophone of /s/ is [z], also written <s>

pronounced
as [z] between voiced sounds
as [s] otherwise

seggean say with [s]

wesan be with [z]

there are two allophones for /h/: the fricatives [h] and [x] both written as <h>
<h> is pronounced as
o
[h] initially and in between vowels
o
[x] finally and in between consonants

<e> has two values

o
(in Robinson):

umlaut of PGmc. a

close e

phonetically [e]

its higher than the other like i: but much shorter

o
e (in Robinson)

open e

phonetically [] or perhaps []
Two values show that the new sound produced by a-umlaut did not merge with the
existing /e/ but instead, created a new phoneme
it seems likely that OS had other umlaut vowels that are not symbolized in the
manuscripts:
o
probably front rounded vowels such as:

[]

[]

[]
o
later dialects possessed such umlaut vowels
o
the factors that caused the development of these vowels ([i], [], [j] in next syllable)
are disappeared after OS times

The long <e> which is (in Robinson) also has two values
o

higher

the original 2 or
o
e:

lower

sometimes shows up as <ie> in some OS texts

this sound is the results from a reflex of the Proto-Germanic dipthong /ai/

OS development from diphthongs /ai/ and /au/ to monophthongs [e:] and [o:]
Proto-
Old
Germanic
Saxon
/ai/
[e:]

/au/
[o:]
This change doesnt show in ON or Gothic.
OHG and OLF does this monophthongization under certain conditions.
However, OS does it with almost no exception

the long <o> also has different values

o
/o:/

low and close

as mentioned above, this sound is a reflex of the Proto-Germanic /au/ (as in

Gothic: hauhs high)
o
/:/

high and open

denoted by [o:] by Robinson

from Proto-Germanic long (as in Gothic: gs good)

shows up as <uo> in some OS texts

OS

Goth.

ON

OHG

more

mr

mais

meir

mr

dead
stone

dd
stn

daus
stains

daur
stein

tt
stein

baptiz
e

dpian

daupja
n

deypa

toufan

Table shows monophthongization (to [e:] and [o:]) of ProGerm. diphthongs (/ai/ and /au/) in OS and other dialects

original became long [a:]

like in ON

OS

allow

they
gleaned
deed

lta
n
als
un
dd

rhotacism
Old Saxon has changed original Germanic z to r
Like Old Norse and unlike Gothic

Goth
.
lta
n
lsu
n
gad
s

umlaut

OS shows umlaut (like ON)

the process is less apparent in OS than ON

u-umlaut
there are no signs of u-umlaut like in ON

a-umlaut
a-umlaut is as obscure as it was in ON
effects can be seen sometimes when OS is compared with Gothic
o gold OS: gold / Goth.: guls shows the effects of an earlier -a- in the ending
alternation created by a-umlaut have mostly ben levelled
o
gold gold guldin golden is one of the few examples
o
gidriban driven and gigripan gripped are the examples where i hasnt been
lowered before a

i-umlaut
limited in OS compared with ON
the only vowel that is regularly fronted in front of an i or j is the short a:
o
gast guest gesti (nom. plu.)
o
slahan strike slehis (2 sg. pres. ind.)
i-umlaut must have had a far greater effect than the orthography shows since the later
dialects have regular umlaut for both long and short vowels

RESULT: some i-umlaut, very little evidence of a-umlaut or u-umlaut

gemination
REMEMBER: ON doubled the consonants g and k after a short vowel and before j (or
sometimes w) this phenomenon is gemination
germination has a greater scope in OS (and all the dialects after Goth. and ON)
all consonants can be doubled, except r.
doubling takes place not just before j and sometimes w, but also before r and l (and
occasionally before m and n)
OS is unique in West-Germanic dialects since it usually still shows the conditioning j

OS
Go OH
th.
G
ask
bid
bi
bid
dia
dj
da
n
an
n
think
hu
hu
hy
ggi
gj
cg
an
an
an
little
lutt lei
lt
il
tils
el
field,
akk ak
c
land
ar
rs
er

ingvaenic lenghtening
MISTAKE IN ROBINSON: reference to ON is misplaced:
o
in ON n is assimilated rather than deleted (after first nasalizing and then lengthening
of the preceding vowel)
o
OS sides with the Low Germ. branch of the West Germanic family rather than High
Germ. branch

ingvaeonic lengthening: loss of nasal and compensatory lengthening of the preceding vowel

OS
Goth

five

fif

fimf

way

us

kno
wn

sin
s
unsi
s
kun
s

While creating the new monophthongs [e:] and [o:], OS also preserved the other long // [:] Problems in the ascription of the symbols may be causing from
and the older long // [:]
o OHG scribal influence
the assumption for the e:/: and o:/: distinctions in OS is supported by modern dialects
o dialect variations
o Achterhoeks in the east of the Netherlands have four distinct phonemes where
The problems are these
Standard Dutch has two
o
the use of <e>, for when <a> is expected (in both short and long cases):

o
o
o

glass: gles instead of glas

year: gr instead of ir
the use of <o> instead of <a> before nasals (in both short and long):

hand: hond instead of hand

month: mnoth instead of mnoth

<a> spellings instead of <e> (from Germ. /ai/) or <o> (from Germ. /au/)

holy: hlag instead of hlag

tree: bm instead of bm

NOTE: OE reflex for Germ. /au/ is /a/, while it is // in OFris.

palatalization of k before e, symbolized with an <i> between two

know: kiennian instead of kennian

OHG interfrences/spellings:
occasional substitution of ei or ou for expected and
presence of nasal in words like uns us
occasional forms that show OHG Consonant Shift

call
htan ([e:]) het haitan

called
([])
haithait
catch
fhan feng
fhan

caught
faifh
several former members of this class now inflect weak

sow sowed OS: sian sida COMPARE Goth. saian sais

the na class
its frequent in ON and Gothic
but absent in OS
the meaning of class:

inchoative

to become X where X is a state

this meaning is now captured by periphrastic phrases using auxiliary verbs
OS
gewhid s thin
thy name be made holy
namo

o
o

o
o
o

may thy name become

holy

the 2nd sg. pret. ind. of strong verbs show ending i and has the root of pret. pl.
rather than pret. sg.
These distinguish OS from Gothic and ON
OS
Goth
take
.
nima
nima
inf.
n
n
nam
nam
1st and 3rd sg. pret.
ind.
nmi
nam
2 sg. pret. ind.
t
nm
nm
1 pl. pret. ind.
un
un

has neither morphological passive nor medio-passive
instead it uses auxiliary verbs

like weran to become

ex: ac war that corn farloren

plural endings on verbs do not distinguish between persons
OS sides with the Low Germ. branch of the West Germanic family here rather than with
the High Germ. branch
plural endings may vary with tense and mood but not with person
Goth.
OS

kusu
m
kusu

kusu
n

w
kurun
g
kurun
sia
kurun

Goth.
kiusa
m

kiusi

kiusa
nd

OS
w
kiosa
d
g
kiosa
d
sia
kiosa
d

we
chose
you
chose
they
chose

weihnai namo
ein

reduplication
Note the losses in the verb class system, and in the verbal paradigm
o
like ON, OS has given up on reduplication for forming past tense
o
most members of reduplicating class now show vowel alternation like the rest if the
strong verbs

OS
Goth.

Gothic showing the na verb in weihnan become holy

OS has no reflexive pronouns
it uses ordinary object pronouns instead (as in OE)

Like ON
presence of intensified demonstrative
same origin as PDE this
intensified demonstrative is derived from the regular demonstrative plus si:

OS
Goth
masc.
nom. th and these
sa
sing.
fem. acc. sing. thia and thesa

neut. dat. plu.
thm
and aim
thesun

Goth
.

we
choose

you
choose

they
choose

Unlike ON and Gothic but like all the others
OS developed verbal inf. into sth approaching a true noun (called a gerund)
this may function as:
o
subject or object of a verb
o
object of a preposition

may show forms

nom and acc has no endings anyway

in dat and gen the nominal endings show in the gerund

The problem of inflected infinitive:

o
innovation or retention?