The Semispatha and the Saex

[Thomas V.]

I wonder on the demonym 'Saxon' as I understand there to be no internal references by the Angles to themselves as Saxons; that in fact this term is one placed upon them instead. Unlike the Franks and the Allemani, for example, whose names reflect a larger tribal confederation, the Angles never formed such large groupings such that they coined, as it were, a generic term for themselves. I understand that the demonym 'Angle' itself is already derived from the angon and survives today as obviously English but more importantly as a vestige of the throwing weapon in the term 'angling'. I find it hard to see the same tribes labelled under two different weapon names save that one is an internal designation and the other an external one.

The first assured mentioning of the Saxons (Julian the Apostate, Ptolemaeus probably didn't wrote Saxones but Aviones) is from 356 and refers to the timespan 350-353.

Between 363 and 378 Eutrop refers to pirates as Franci and Saxones.

During several decades Franci and Saxones are used in conjunction. During the 4th century the term Saxones hardly was a name for a tribe, but rather a term used to describe pirates. Gregor of Tours still hardly used the term Saxones as a tribe name. According to Springer, Saxones during the 5th and 6th century probably refered to Englishman, IF it even was used as a tribe name.

Is it perhaps possible that Roman writers simply used the word most apt to describe these northern Germans and labelled them as such? If so, then a short one-edged sword or seax must have been prevalent (notwithstanding burial finds or their lack) at this early stage to be used as a demonym.

In the Germanic languages, the sax could mean any kind of sword/knive and not just single-edged short swords.