The Saxons

Normally when you hear the word England, you think about Queen Elizabeth, or Big Ben. But really you should think about a people called the Saxons.

The Saxons were a group of Germanic tribes who settled in England in the early middle ages. They invaded Great Britain and were eventually allowed to settle there as farmers. After this they sort of started taking over South-Eastern Britain (modern day England) and they split up into four separate realms:

The East Saxons created the Kingdom of Essex.

The Middle Saxons created the Province of Middlesex.

The South Saxons created the Kingdom of Sussex.

Finally the West Saxons created the Kingdom of Wessex.

During the period of the reigns of Egbert to Alfred the Great, the kings of Wessex were basically the ruler of all four realms, unifying the country. They eventually organized it as the Kingdom of England when they were threatened by Viking invasions.

Their first religion was paganism, and they worshiped gods like Woden and Thunor. Eventually they were converted to Christianity under the influence of the neighboring Jutes of Kent in the seventh century.

The main division in Saxon society was between slave and free. Both groups hierarchically structured, with several classes of freemen and many types of slaves. The most prominent ranks within free society were the king, the nobleman or thane, and the ordinary freeman. Women though, were in some ways better off than they would be in later times. A woman could own her own property, she could even take over as a leader for her husband if he died. Also marriage was consensual between the man and the women.  

The occupations of the Saxons consisted of mainly farming, but metal working and sculpting were also popular jobs.