The Saxons The Saxons were a confederation of German tribes living in the north of Germany. In the early Middle Ages they expanded toward Great Britain and colonized large parts of it. A large part of the Saxons however stayed in northern Germany where they resisted the expansion of the Franks. Facing the Viking invasions the english realms (Saxons, Jutes and Angles) were unified during the period of Egbert till Alfred the Great and it became the Kingdom of England.