Editing Saxons (section)

==Language==
Old English, associated with the Saxons in England, was closer to later recorded dialects of [[Old Frisian]] than 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 [[Dialect_continuum#Continental_West_Germanic_continuum|Continental West Germanic continuum]] which stretched to 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 [[Anglo-Frisian languages|Old Frisian and Old English]]. There, these migrants encountered an already present population whose language 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 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 language|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 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|Low Saxon dialects]] known today, while their speakers retained the tribal name.<ref name="Seebold">{{Cite book |last=Seebold |first=Elmar |author-link=Elmar Seebold |title=Essays on the Early Franks |date=2003 |isbn=9789080739031 |location=Barkhuis |pages=24–29 |chapter=Die Herkunft der Franken, Friesen und Sachsen}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|title=Evolution of Saxon within North Sea Germanic according to Seebold:<ref name="Seebold"></ref>
|width=325 | height=325
|align=center
|footer=
|File:Evolution of North Sea Germanic (according to Seebold) Initial Saxon migration.png
 | {{legend|lightblue|Position of North Sea Germanic dialects before the migration period (3rd century CE).}} {{legend|black|Migration of the Saxons from the territory of the Angles (A.).}}{{legend|darkorange|Migration of Weser Rhine Germanic speakers towards the Roman limes (1.), southward migration of Elbe Germanic speakers (2.).}}
|File:Evolution of North Sea Germanic (according to Seebold) Frisian and Anglo-Saxon migrations.png
 |{{legend|lightblue|Position of North Sea Germanic dialects during the 5th and 6th century.}} {{legend|black|Migration of North Germanic speakers (including the Saxon elite) to England (A.) and Frisia (B.)}}{{legend|darkorange|Migration of Weser Rhine Germanic speakers (1.), migration of West Slavic speakers (2.), migration of North Germanic speakers (3.).}}
|File:The emergence of the modern Anglo-Frisian languages.png | {{legend|lightblue|Position of North Sea Germanic dialects (Old English & Old Frisian) directly following the migration period.}} {{legend|darkorange|Linguistic expansion of [[Old Frankish]] (1.) and [[Old Low German]] (2.).}}{{legend|black|10th/11th century migration of (Ems) Frisian speakers to the North German mainland (A.)}}
}}