Seaxneat or Saxnot is the mythical founder of the Saxons. Seaxneat seems to have been a god unique to the Saxons, although he has been compared to Tyr. His name is said to mean either "knife bull" or "bull of the Saxons", Old Saxon nōt English neat being an old word for "ox, cattle, bovine".
Etymology
It is difficult to interpret his name exactly as the Saxon people took their own name from their word for knife, Sax or Seax. Seaxneat is recorded amongst the continental Saxon as Saxnot, where he is mentioned in Old Saxon as a god who had to be denounced during their conversion to Christianity in the Old Saxon Baptismal Vow.
Ancestor of the Saxons
Seaxneat was also worshiped in England, where he was seen as the ancestor of the Anglo-Saxons as recorded in the genealogies of Essex, and likely was considered the ancestor of the continental Saxons also. The other Saxon kingdoms of England, Wessex and Sussex, do not record Seaxneat in their genealogies, but it is possible that at one time he was considered the ancestor of all the Saxon folk. The reason for his absence amongst the Saxons of Wessex and Sussex could be that he was eventually replaced by Woden who eventually became the chief god amongst the Anglo-Saxons in England, but in Essex for reasons unknown the Saxons there felt it necessary to remain loyal to him.
