Editing Saxons (section)

==Merovingian period==
{{Also see|Old Saxony|List of rulers of Saxony#Independent Saxony}}
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 the other Saxons, but also because the Saxons living in present day Germany probably 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 the Franks.
*In about 531 the Franks, led by the eldest son of Clovis I, [[Theuderic I]] conquered the still independent kingdom of [[Thuringia]], which henceforth became a kingdom under Frankish overlordship. Centuries later, medieval writers claimed that the early Saxons had assisted the Franks, and even that they had been brought from England for this purpose, but no contemporary sources mention this, and historians doubt that there was any conflict between the Saxons and the Thuringian kingdom.{{sfn|Springer|2004|pages=60-96}}
*In 555, after the death of Theuderic's grandson [[Theudebald]], Theuderic's younger half-brother [[Clothar I]] (also spelled Lothar) inherited rule over the Rhine regions. It is reported by Gregory of Tours (IV.10) and [[Marius Aventicensis|Marius of Avenches]] that Saxons "revolted", and the new ruler Clothar led an army in 556 to ravage Saxony and Thuringia. Thuringia, both authors mention, had supported the Saxons.{{sfn|Springer|2004|pages=97-98}} In a possibly separate incident Gregory reports that Chlothar fought Saxons in 556 or 557 who had been stirred up by his own brother [[Childebert I]] to attack his territory, going as far as [[Deutz, Cologne|Deutz]] on the Rhine. (Springer argues against assuming that this was one incident, or involved one single group of Saxons, because Thuringia is quite far from Deutz.){{sfn|Springer|2004|pages=97-98}} Gregory of Tours (IV.14), pursuing an ethical topic which he is known for, reported that Chlothar was forced to fight by the Franks who did not want to negotiate, and that the Franks were subsequently beaten. However, later records indicate that a group of Saxons began paying tribute to the kings of Austrasia during Chlothar's reign.{{sfn|Springer|2004|pages=98-99}}
*[[Sigebert I]], the son of Clothar I who ruled Austrasia until 575, was praised by the poet [[Venantius Fortunatus]] for defeating the "Thuringian Saxons". (Springer suggests that this was his way of distinguishing the mainland Saxons from the Anglo-Saxons of Britain.){{sfn|Springer|2004|page=110}}
*In 612, Sigebert's grandson [[Theuderic II]] attacked his own brother [[Theudebert II]] at [[Zülpich]], with a force of Saxons, Thuringians, and other people from east of the Rhine.{{sfn|Springer|2004|page=111}}
*Heroic stories set in the 620s were written centuries later about Sigbert's nephew and eventual successor in Austrasia, [[Chlothar II]] and his defeat of Saxons led by [[Berthoald, Duke of Saxony|Berthoald]] near the [[Weser]]. [[Dagobert I]], Chlothar's son, was also involved.{{sfn|Springer|2004|pages=113-115}}
*In 632, Dagobert I, now the most powerful king of the Franks, was met by Saxon messengers in [[Mainz]] in a period of war with the [[Wends]] under [[Samo]], who were attacking Thuringia. These Saxons negotiated, or attempted to negotiate, the end of a tribute of 500 cows per year which they had been paying, in return for a promise to defend against the Wends at their own expense.{{sfn|Springer|2004|pages=111-113}}

There were also Saxon populations in this period who were living in neither England, nor what would become Saxony. 
*In 568/9, some Saxons were living in the Austrasian kingdom of [[Sigebert II]], possibly in the Champagne region, and they accompanied the [[Lombards]] into Italy under the leadership of [[Alboin]] and settled there for some time. Sigebert in the meantime allowed a [[Suebi|Suevian]] group to replace them in Austrasia. In 572, they returned to Gaul from Italy, raiding south-eastern Gaul as far as ''Stablo'', now [[Estoublon]], and were defeated by the [[Gallo-Roman]] general [[Mummolus]]. They were allowed to return to Italy, gather their families and belongings and return to pass through the region again to go north. After once again plundering the countryside, they were stopped at the [[Rhône]] by Mummolus and forced to pay compensation for what they had robbed.{{Sfn|Bachrach|1971|p=39}} Upon arrival at their original home they were furious about the Suevian settlers, and refused to negotiate against them. Gregory of Tours, our main source for these events, claims that there was divine intervention, allowing the much smaller Suebian group to utterly defeat the Saxons in two battles.{{sfn|Springer|2004|pages=101-103}}
*One notable group of Saxons lived on the Normandy coast, near [[Bayeux]]. In 589, the Saxons from the Bessin region near Bayeux wore their hair in the [[Bretons|Breton]] fashion at the orders of [[Fredegund]], and fought with them as allies against [[Guntram]].{{Sfn|Bachrach|1971|p=63}} Beginning in 626, the Saxons of the [[Bessin]] were used by Dagobert I for his campaigns against the [[Basques]]. Much later, in 843 and 846 under king [[Charles the Bald]], other official documents mention a ''[[pagus]]'' called ''Otlinga Saxonia'' in the Bessin region, but the meaning of ''Otlinga'' is unclear.
*In southwestern France, in the late 6th century Chulderic the Saxon became a Duke north of the [[Garonne]] for [[Childeric II]], after having previously been a subject of King [[Guntram]]. A century later, [[Aeghyna]], a ''[[Duke of Gascony]]'', died in 638.{{Sfn|Fredegar|1960|p=66}} Both men are likely to have been Bayeux Saxons, although they may for example have come from Britain.{{sfn|Springer|2004|page=111}}