An Exploratory Quantitative Spatial Analysis of Early Saxon Discursive Identity (250-700 CE)

Robert Jan Duchateau

doi:doi:10.11648/j.history.20261402.12

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An Exploratory Quantitative Spatial Analysis of Early Saxon Discursive Identity (250-700 CE)

Robert Jan Duchateau^*

Published in History Research (Volume 14, Issue 2)

Received: 28 August 2026 Accepted: 14 September 2026 Published: 28 September 2026

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Abstract

Traditional early medieval historiography frequently treats the early Saxons as a homogeneous, migrating ethnic entity. This paper explores this paradigm by conducting an exploratory quantitative textual and spatial analysis of early medieval identity construction, focusing on the maritime networks of the North Sea and the territorial river systems of the Rhine-Meuse delta in Northwest Europe. Utilising 58 systematically coded historical source elements from the digital Corpus Saxonum ante DCC, this study spans Late Antiquity and the core transitional centuries of the Migration Period (250-700 CE). Pearson's chi-squared tests (χ² = 49.34, df = 4, N = 58, p <.001, V =.65) indicate a statistically significant chronological correlation within this specific dataset: the early discursive label 'Raider' (250-400 CE) systematically co-occurs with maritime settings, giving way to the sedentary, territorial label 'Inhabitant' (550-700 CE) in inland descriptions. A two-sample F-test performed on database-validated geographic coordinates from certified gazetteers confirms an overall geographical anisotropy for the total sample (F(57, 57) = 2.30, p =.001), indicating an unequal spatial dispersion of the textual mentions across the European littoral. Given the limited size of the dataset, these statistical configurations are treated as heuristic trends within this compiled corpus rather than definitive proof. The results suggest that the spatial-temporal distribution of the ethnonym in the text fragments aligns with shifting regional friction boundaries and administrative rhetoric, offering a provisional, interdisciplinary framework for quantitative historiography.

Published in	History Research (Volume 14, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.history.20261402.12
Page(s)	56-66
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Saxons, Ethnogenesis, Late Antiquity, Quantitative Historiography, Meta-ethnic Frontier, Discourse Analysis, Large Language Models (LLMs), Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

References

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APA Style

Duchateau, R. J. (2026). An Exploratory Quantitative Spatial Analysis of Early Saxon Discursive Identity (250-700 CE). History Research, 14(2), 56-66. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20261402.12

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ACS Style

Duchateau, R. J. An Exploratory Quantitative Spatial Analysis of Early Saxon Discursive Identity (250-700 CE). Hist. Res. 2026, 14(2), 56-66. doi: 10.11648/j.history.20261402.12

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AMA Style

Duchateau RJ. An Exploratory Quantitative Spatial Analysis of Early Saxon Discursive Identity (250-700 CE). Hist Res. 2026;14(2):56-66. doi: 10.11648/j.history.20261402.12

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@article{10.11648/j.history.20261402.12,
  author = {Robert Jan Duchateau},
  title = {An Exploratory Quantitative Spatial Analysis of Early Saxon Discursive Identity (250-700 CE)},
  journal = {History Research},
  volume = {14},
  number = {2},
  pages = {56-66},
  doi = {10.11648/j.history.20261402.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20261402.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.history.20261402.12},
  abstract = {Traditional early medieval historiography frequently treats the early Saxons as a homogeneous, migrating ethnic entity. This paper explores this paradigm by conducting an exploratory quantitative textual and spatial analysis of early medieval identity construction, focusing on the maritime networks of the North Sea and the territorial river systems of the Rhine-Meuse delta in Northwest Europe. Utilising 58 systematically coded historical source elements from the digital Corpus Saxonum ante DCC, this study spans Late Antiquity and the core transitional centuries of the Migration Period (250-700 CE). Pearson's chi-squared tests (χ2 = 49.34, df = 4, N = 58, p V =.65) indicate a statistically significant chronological correlation within this specific dataset: the early discursive label 'Raider' (250-400 CE) systematically co-occurs with maritime settings, giving way to the sedentary, territorial label 'Inhabitant' (550-700 CE) in inland descriptions. A two-sample F-test performed on database-validated geographic coordinates from certified gazetteers confirms an overall geographical anisotropy for the total sample (F(57, 57) = 2.30, p =.001), indicating an unequal spatial dispersion of the textual mentions across the European littoral. Given the limited size of the dataset, these statistical configurations are treated as heuristic trends within this compiled corpus rather than definitive proof. The results suggest that the spatial-temporal distribution of the ethnonym in the text fragments aligns with shifting regional friction boundaries and administrative rhetoric, offering a provisional, interdisciplinary framework for quantitative historiography.},
 year = {2026}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - An Exploratory Quantitative Spatial Analysis of Early Saxon Discursive Identity (250-700 CE)
AU  - Robert Jan Duchateau
Y1  - 2026/09/28
PY  - 2026
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20261402.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.history.20261402.12
T2  - History Research
JF  - History Research
JO  - History Research
SP  - 56
EP  - 66
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2376-6719
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20261402.12
AB  - Traditional early medieval historiography frequently treats the early Saxons as a homogeneous, migrating ethnic entity. This paper explores this paradigm by conducting an exploratory quantitative textual and spatial analysis of early medieval identity construction, focusing on the maritime networks of the North Sea and the territorial river systems of the Rhine-Meuse delta in Northwest Europe. Utilising 58 systematically coded historical source elements from the digital Corpus Saxonum ante DCC, this study spans Late Antiquity and the core transitional centuries of the Migration Period (250-700 CE). Pearson's chi-squared tests (χ2 = 49.34, df = 4, N = 58, p V =.65) indicate a statistically significant chronological correlation within this specific dataset: the early discursive label 'Raider' (250-400 CE) systematically co-occurs with maritime settings, giving way to the sedentary, territorial label 'Inhabitant' (550-700 CE) in inland descriptions. A two-sample F-test performed on database-validated geographic coordinates from certified gazetteers confirms an overall geographical anisotropy for the total sample (F(57, 57) = 2.30, p =.001), indicating an unequal spatial dispersion of the textual mentions across the European littoral. Given the limited size of the dataset, these statistical configurations are treated as heuristic trends within this compiled corpus rather than definitive proof. The results suggest that the spatial-temporal distribution of the ethnonym in the text fragments aligns with shifting regional friction boundaries and administrative rhetoric, offering a provisional, interdisciplinary framework for quantitative historiography.
VL  - 14
IS  - 2
ER  -

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Author Information

Robert Jan Duchateau

Independent Researcher, Groesbeek, The Netherlands

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http://orcid.org/0009-0009-9975-4497

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APA Style

Duchateau, R. J. (2026). An Exploratory Quantitative Spatial Analysis of Early Saxon Discursive Identity (250-700 CE). History Research, 14(2), 56-66. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20261402.12

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ACS Style

Duchateau, R. J. An Exploratory Quantitative Spatial Analysis of Early Saxon Discursive Identity (250-700 CE). Hist. Res. 2026, 14(2), 56-66. doi: 10.11648/j.history.20261402.12

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AMA Style

Duchateau RJ. An Exploratory Quantitative Spatial Analysis of Early Saxon Discursive Identity (250-700 CE). Hist Res. 2026;14(2):56-66. doi: 10.11648/j.history.20261402.12

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@article{10.11648/j.history.20261402.12,
  author = {Robert Jan Duchateau},
  title = {An Exploratory Quantitative Spatial Analysis of Early Saxon Discursive Identity (250-700 CE)},
  journal = {History Research},
  volume = {14},
  number = {2},
  pages = {56-66},
  doi = {10.11648/j.history.20261402.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20261402.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.history.20261402.12},
  abstract = {Traditional early medieval historiography frequently treats the early Saxons as a homogeneous, migrating ethnic entity. This paper explores this paradigm by conducting an exploratory quantitative textual and spatial analysis of early medieval identity construction, focusing on the maritime networks of the North Sea and the territorial river systems of the Rhine-Meuse delta in Northwest Europe. Utilising 58 systematically coded historical source elements from the digital Corpus Saxonum ante DCC, this study spans Late Antiquity and the core transitional centuries of the Migration Period (250-700 CE). Pearson's chi-squared tests (χ2 = 49.34, df = 4, N = 58, p V =.65) indicate a statistically significant chronological correlation within this specific dataset: the early discursive label 'Raider' (250-400 CE) systematically co-occurs with maritime settings, giving way to the sedentary, territorial label 'Inhabitant' (550-700 CE) in inland descriptions. A two-sample F-test performed on database-validated geographic coordinates from certified gazetteers confirms an overall geographical anisotropy for the total sample (F(57, 57) = 2.30, p =.001), indicating an unequal spatial dispersion of the textual mentions across the European littoral. Given the limited size of the dataset, these statistical configurations are treated as heuristic trends within this compiled corpus rather than definitive proof. The results suggest that the spatial-temporal distribution of the ethnonym in the text fragments aligns with shifting regional friction boundaries and administrative rhetoric, offering a provisional, interdisciplinary framework for quantitative historiography.},
 year = {2026}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - An Exploratory Quantitative Spatial Analysis of Early Saxon Discursive Identity (250-700 CE)
AU  - Robert Jan Duchateau
Y1  - 2026/09/28
PY  - 2026
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20261402.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.history.20261402.12
T2  - History Research
JF  - History Research
JO  - History Research
SP  - 56
EP  - 66
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2376-6719
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20261402.12
AB  - Traditional early medieval historiography frequently treats the early Saxons as a homogeneous, migrating ethnic entity. This paper explores this paradigm by conducting an exploratory quantitative textual and spatial analysis of early medieval identity construction, focusing on the maritime networks of the North Sea and the territorial river systems of the Rhine-Meuse delta in Northwest Europe. Utilising 58 systematically coded historical source elements from the digital Corpus Saxonum ante DCC, this study spans Late Antiquity and the core transitional centuries of the Migration Period (250-700 CE). Pearson's chi-squared tests (χ2 = 49.34, df = 4, N = 58, p V =.65) indicate a statistically significant chronological correlation within this specific dataset: the early discursive label 'Raider' (250-400 CE) systematically co-occurs with maritime settings, giving way to the sedentary, territorial label 'Inhabitant' (550-700 CE) in inland descriptions. A two-sample F-test performed on database-validated geographic coordinates from certified gazetteers confirms an overall geographical anisotropy for the total sample (F(57, 57) = 2.30, p =.001), indicating an unequal spatial dispersion of the textual mentions across the European littoral. Given the limited size of the dataset, these statistical configurations are treated as heuristic trends within this compiled corpus rather than definitive proof. The results suggest that the spatial-temporal distribution of the ethnonym in the text fragments aligns with shifting regional friction boundaries and administrative rhetoric, offering a provisional, interdisciplinary framework for quantitative historiography.
VL  - 14
IS  - 2
ER  -

Copy | Download