Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/675

* SAXO GRAMMATICXTS. 607 SAXONY. Danish chroniclers. He lived in the twelfth century and was secretary to Archbishop Al)so- lon. He is said to have died at Koeskildo after 1208. His work is entitled (icsta Uiinorum, or Hisloriu Ditnica, and consists of 10 books. The earlier portions are not critical, but in regard to times near his own Saxo Granunaticus is an in- vahialile autliority. According to his own .state- ment, he derived his knowledge of the remoter period of Danish history from old songs, nuiic inscriiitions, and tlie historical notices and tra- ditions of the Icelanders. A characteristic fea- ture of the work is the large number of trans- lations of early verses, most of which are ])re- served only in this form. The best edition of the Historia Daitiai is that undertaken by P. E. ilHller, and finished by J. il. Velschov (('o])en- hagen, 1839). The first nine books, dealing with the heathen age, have been translated into English by 0. Elton, with explanatory notes by F. York Powell, and issued by the English Folk Lore fSociety (London, 1892). For Saxo's treat- ment of the Hamlet story, see Amleth. SAXON ART. See Axglo-Saxon Art. SAXONLAND. The section of Transylvania to which large numbers of Germans migrated in the Middle Ages, and where their descendants still live. SAXONS (Lat. Saxoiics : connected with OHG. sdJis, AS. seax, archaic Eng. sax, knife, sword, Lat. saxum, rock, stone). A Germanic people who first appear in history after the be- ginning of the Christian Era. The earliest mention of the Saxons is by Ptolemy in the second century a.d., at which time they appear to have dwelt in what is now Hol- stein. In the third and fourth centuries they pressed southward into the region of the Weser, where they encountered the Chauci and Angri- varii, who were subdued and absorbed. In the sec- ond half of the fourth century we find them breaking into the Roman dominions. By the close of the sixth century all Northwest Germany as far east as the Elbe had come ^o be the land of the Saxons. They invaded Britain perhaps as early as the third century: in the fifth century they occupied the coasts of Xormandy. In the fifth and sixth centuries a part of the Saxons passed over into Britain, where the .lutes had alreadv established themselves, and where they were joined by the Angles. At the beginning of the seventh century the Anglo-Saxon conquest of Britain was in a great measure completed. Pepin, King of the Franks, attacked the Saxons in Ger- many (the Old Saxons) successfully, and Charles the Great subdued them after fierce wars (772- 804), and forced their chiefs to accept Chris- tianity. (See Chakles THE Great.) In the course of the ninth century, when under the descendants of Charles the Great a strong central power had ceased to exist in Germany, a great national Saxon duchy rose into existence. This old Duchy of Saxony was dissolved toward the close of tlu> twelfth century, and the name of Saxony passed over to an entirely difTerent region from that which had been the home of the Saxons. See S-UiONY. Consult Hey, Die sinirischen fiiedel- ungcn im Kijnirircich .Sachsrn (Dresden, 189.3). SAXON SWITZERLAND. A mountainous district in the eastern part of Saxony (q.v. ). SAXONY. A kingdom and a State of the German Empire, bordered on the north and east by the Prussian provinces of Saxony and Silesia, on the southeast by Bohemia, on the southwest by Bavaria, and on the west by Heuss, Saxe-Wei- mar, Saxe-Altenburg, and Prussian Saxony (.Map: Germany, E ,3). It is triangular in form, with its longest side along the .ustrian frontier. Its present limits were defined in 181.5. Area, .j787 square miles. It is the fifth German State in size. Saxony is a country of moderate elevations. The highlands of the southeast merge very grad- ually into the plains of the north. Over half of the total surface is arable. Along the Hoheuiian frontier are the important Erz^iebirge. with the Elster ^Mountains at the southern apex of the country and the granite Lusatian group at the extreme eastern corner. On the northwest the slojie is to the plain of Leipzig from a second and [larallel range extending from the southwest to the vicinity of Diibein in the northeast. The highest peak of Saxony is in the Erzgebirge — the Fichtelberg (about 4000 feet), rising south of Chenuiitz. The Elbe River enters neiir the east- ern end of the Erzgebirge, and here is found the famous district known as Saxon Switzerland. Its low but picturesque heights of the Elbsand- stein (sandstone) Mountains, with their won- derful castellated rock formations, its forests of ])ine, and the narrow curving river valley form a region of great beauty. The Elbe, the only great conunercial waterway of Saxony, traverser the kingdom in a northwestern direction. The Mulde flows north through the northwestern p;irt. There are no lakes. The climate is on the whole mod- erate, agreeable, and favorable to agriculture. The rainfall is abundant. The precipitation is principally in the summer months. Sa.xony has long been celelir.ated for its rich silver mines at Freiberg. They W'ere discovered in the twelfth century. Coal, mostl}' lignite, is abimdant in the Plauen region. Iron, lead, and tin, besides other minerals, as well as marble and precious stones, are mined. There are nu- merous mineral spring resorts. Bad Elster be- ing the best known. About one-fourth of Saxonj' is covered with forests, nearly half of the forest area being owned by the State. About 90 per cent, of the trees are conifers. The an- nual income from the forest lands is large. Of the population approximately one-fifth are en- gaged in agriculture and stock-raising. Rye, oats, potatoes, and hay have the largest acre- ages. Fruit-raising latterly has greatly in- creased in importance. Sheep-raising and the quality of the wool have both seriously decliiu'd. Horse-breeding is still important. In 1900 there were 688,9.53 cattle, lt)(j.73n horses, 74,028 sheep, 139,790 goats, and 570,9.53 swine. Saxony has long been a famous manufacturing country. About one-fourth of the population is connected with the manufacturing inlcresls. which are still increasing as compared with the agricultural. The most extensive and highly de- veloped branch of manufacturing is the manufac- ture of textiles. Linens, cottons, woolens, silks, worsteds, muslins, hosiery, laces, endiroideries, damask, ticking, clothing, furniture, paper of all kinds, smoking pipes, f;imous watches, cutlery, glass, steam machinery, and pianos may be men- tioned among the prominent manufactures. The celebrated Meissen or Saxon porcelain is produced at the State Porcelain Factory at Meissen. Sax- ony nuikes famous glassware, and originated the