Ninth year after Christ, Teutoburg Forest, cold, foggy German land and two armies… three mighty Roman legions scattered defeated by a barbarian alliance of Germanic tribes, led by Arminius, a German prince who had spent most of his life as a Roman. Imperial eagles, the legions’ treasures, are captured. Upon hearing the news, Emperor Octavian Augustus calls out in disbelief, invoking the name of his commander, saying: “Quintilius Varus, return my legions to me….”
Statue of Tacitus in front of the Vienna Parliament
Over the next centuries, these armies will clash many times with varying fortunes of war: Romans, defending their increasingly unstable borders, and Germans, inexorably advancing. Numerous Roman chronicles inform us about this, most notably Gaius Julius Caesar’s Gallic Wars and Publius Cornelius Tacitus’ Germania. The final blow will be dealt to Rome by the Germans in the 5th century when they will even rule over the Eternal City itself.
With the fall of the Roman Empire, the Middle Ages begin, which will be significantly marked by the Germans themselves, who will… They will strive to continue the tradition of the Roman Empire. They will expand their settlements and influence from Africa to the British Isles, from the Apennine to the Iberian Peninsula, from the present-day German and French areas, all the way to the border with the Byzantine Empire, while remaining present in their original territories in northern Europe throughout the entire time.
Today, a large part of highly developed European countries, as well as the United States, are under the decisive influence of the Germanic element in the population; Germans, French, British, Scandinavians, and others are direct descendants of these Germanic tribes that overthrew the Roman Empire and built a new European civilization on its foundations. When we look at the areas of economy, science, or politics, we cannot help but notice that this group of peoples is most responsible for shaping our modern world, with all its positive and negative aspects.
In order to understand how the highly civilized Romans of the first centuries of the new era viewed this rising power, we will try to find out by reading Tacitus’ Germania. A marble sarcophagus measuring 153×273×137 cm depicts scenes from the battle between the Romans and barbarian tribes, most likely the Germans. It was found in the Roman quarter of Portonaccio, which is how it got its name. It is believed to originate from the 2nd century and is kept in the National Roman Museum.
A map showing the distribution of Germanic tribes described by Tacitus.
A depiction of an ancient Germanic village.
Germania
Tacitus, a contemporary of Plutarch, provides a detailed description of their political, economic, and cultural life in his Germania, a kind of ethnographic study, primarily relying on the now lost monumental work of Pliny the Elder, the History of the Germanic Wars.
The ancient Germania, about which Tacitus writes, covered the area between the Rhine, Danube, and Vistula rivers, as well as the Carpathians. It included present-day Germany, the Czech Republic, parts of Austria and Poland, and Scandinavia, which was considered a large island until the 11th century.
Tacitus describes Germania as a land with harsh climate, rough terrain, and a strong emphasis on war and military culture. Now, it is a vast and sad land for anyone who is not native to it, but it says: The country does not have the same appearance everywhere, but it is mostly covered with either impassable forests or dreadful marshes. The regions towards Gaul are more humid, while towards Noricum and Pannonia are windier. Germania is quite fertile, and fruit thrives there; there is plenty of livestock, but it is unattractive.
Tacitus speaks of about fifty Germanic tribes. The tribes were composed of clans, which were kin-related, and the clans of families. Families, clans, and tribes had their leaders. Although they often fought against each other, sometimes several tribes managed to unite, mostly against the Romans. The name Germania is new and has been used only recently. The tribe that was the first to cross the Rhine and expel the Gauls, and which is now called the Tungri, was then named the Germans. And so, gradually, the name of one tribe passed on to the entire nation: at first, this frightful name only referred to the victors, but later it started to be used for all. and call them and everyone else.
As for their appearance, it is written: … they have defiant blue eyes, red hair, a large body, capable only of attack. They are not capable of work or craftsmanship, and they are most affected by thirst and heat; however, they have learned to endure the cold and hunger due to the harsh climate and scarcity, which emphasizes the differences in living arrangements between the Germanic people and the highly civilized Roman Empire:
It is a well-known fact that Germans do not live in cities, and they do not even like compact settlements. Each of them lives separately and on their own, wherever they have found a nice spring, or field, or forest. Their villages are not like ours, with compact buildings leaning against each other. Each one has a width around their house, either because they fear fire, or because they do not know how to build any differently. They do not know stones and bricks. They use raw, unprocessed materials for construction, and they do not care at all whether it will be beautiful or tasteful. They only smear some parts of the house, a little more carefully, with earth, so clean and shiny that it looks like They also have a tradition of making underground shelters, where they pile up a lot of manure. They take refuge there during the winter, and it also serves as storage for food. These shelters can indeed protect them from harsh winters; moreover, if an enemy comes, they only destroy what they can see, and they don’t know or won’t search for what is hidden and buried.
With sympathy and somewhat idealized, it describes their simple and moral life that resembles that of “noble savages”: In every house, children grow up, naked and dirty, and develop to the strength and size that we admire. Every mother nurses her child with her own milk, and doesn’t leave them to maids and wet nurses. Both master and servant are raised equally simply and strictly: they both grow up alongside the same livestock, live on the same land until time separates them, and until the master distinguishes himself with his courage and virtue.
Thor mainly fights against evil beings who bring chaos into the world, and most often, those are giants and trolls. He was beloved among the people, so they often gathered and for protection they wore amulets in the shape of his mallet. Interestingly, this mallet resembles a cross, so the Germanic tradition, united with the Christian one, continued to live on even after the mythical stories were long forgotten.
Saxon Viking
They also elevate themselves as a nation of uncorrupted spirit and strong moral principles, who value virtues such as truthfulness, love of freedom, courage, marital faithfulness, hospitality, etc. In a way, they were pointing the finger at their decadent fellow citizens and reminding them of the forgotten ancient Roman morality. Many Roman emperors (Augustus, Caligula, Nero, Galba), who gladly took them into their personal guard, were convinced that the Germans knew nothing of cunning and deceit. There, no one mocks vices, nor do they call seducers and adulterers “modern people”…
It emphasizes that they are proud and always safeguard their dignity, and they only submit to those better than themselves: when choosing kings, they consider lineage, and when choosing chieftains, they look at bravery. Kral Dukes are not unlimited and omnipotent, and their power and reputation are based more on the good example they set – if they are determined, hardworking, and if they are ahead of everyone – than on their position. Only priests can sentence to death, imprisonment, or even whipping, and it is not considered as punishment or condemnation by the dukes, but rather as an order from God himself, who, according to their beliefs, is among the warriors.
However, wounded pride and honor often lead to blood feuds: Germans inherit friendships and enmities, as well as those of their father and relatives. Enmities do not last forever. Even blood can be appeased by a certain number of large and small livestock, and then the whole household is pacified. This custom is beneficial for society, because private disputes – considering the unlimited freedom among the Germans – can be very dangerous.
Brave warrior and valkyrie Brunhilda, Arthur Racham, 1912.
Norse god Thor, god of thunder, lightning, winds, and rain, in battle against giants, as depicted by Mart in 1872. by Eskil Winge.
Charlemagne
Priests have the duty to maintain order, even by force. When they command, everyone must be silent, and then the king takes the floor, or some elder, and afterwards those who are distinguished by their age, noble descent, military fame, or speaking skill speak. Everyone tries to defend their opinion with reasons, not with the reputation and position they enjoy. If they do not like a suggestion, they reject it with murmurs; if they like it, they clink their weapons together.
Despite the fact that the Germans are mentioned most often as the most fierce enemies of Rome because of their physical strength and fearlessness, as well as their constant readiness to take up arms and engage in battle: No German does any job, public or private, without being armed; but they can carry weapons only from the moment when the whole tribe declares them capable. In that case, either an elder, or a father, or some relative decorates the young man with weapons in front of the whole gathering: that is their toga for young men, that is their plsrpend; In recognition. Up until now, they belonged to the household, but from now on they belong to the state.
For boys from prestigious families, for boys whose fathers have special merits, elders start to take an interest in them from the beginning, and they are designated as followers to older, experienced warriors. … The reputation and power of an elder depends on the number and worthiness of the boys around him; in peace, it is his pride, in war, his protection. In his own tribe and among neighbors, he will only be known and renowned as much as he has followers and as much as they are valued. Such elders receive delegations and gifts are sent to them. Often, their own fame alone was enough to prevent war… In battle, it would be shameful for an elder to be surpassed by anyone, and for his followers to fall behind him; it would be especially unworthy and a lifelong shame to exit a fight alive, but let the elder perish. Defending and safeguarding him, attributing their own bravery to him, is the holiest duty. Elders fight for victory, and the followers fight for the elder.
Transmitted It is true that the heroism of Germanic warriors was greatly influenced by their women: The dowry does not bring a wife to her husband, but rather the husband to his wife. Parents and relatives gather and inspect the gifts, which are not things that flatter a woman’s ego or that the bride adorns herself with, but rather oxen, a bridled horse, a shield with a frame, and a sword. The young man receives these gifts in exchange for the girl, who, in return, brings some weapons to her husband. This is considered the strongest bond, the holy secret of marriage, even the gods of marriage. These signs themselves at the beginning of married life remind the Germanic woman that she must also participate in heroics and war, that she must share all the hardships and dangers with her husband, that in war and peace, she must endure the same difficulties and efforts: this is what a pair of oxen and an equipped horse and weapons signify. This is how she must live, and this is how she must die. What she has received, she must pass on untainted and honorable to her sons, who will then pass it on to their daughters-in-law, and they, in turn, will pass it on to their grandsons… It is often said that it has happened that an army, which was already wavering in battle, was brought back to life when the women, with their long hair and white robes fluttering in the wind, rushed into the midst and, by their entreaties, revived their men’s faint hearts. The women impressed, encouraged, and kept… The Germans believe that there is something divine, prophetic in women, and that is why they seek their advice and listen to their words.
They particularly value the art of divination, a duty that belonged to inspired women called volur. Rarely does any nation show as much interest in signs and omens as the Germans. Their way of divining is very simple. They cut branches from a fruitful tree into small sticks, mark each stick with a special sign, and then randomly throw them on a white cloth. After that, the priest (if the matter is public) or the head of the household (if it is private) says a prayer, then raises his eyes to the sky, draws three sticks, and predicts based on the signs on them. If the omen is unfavorable, no further divination is done that day; if it is favorable, divination is repeated to confirm the omen.
Divination by voices and bird flights is known to both the Romans and the Germans, except that the Germans also divine by horses. In groves and meadows, which are… He mentioned that every tribe keeps white horses that people don’t use for anything; they harness those horses to sacred carriages, and then a priest, or a king, or some elder, follows them and watches how they neigh and strike with their hooves. They believe in this more than in any divination, and not only the common folk and the gentry, but also the priests. The priests consider themselves only as servants of the gods, and the sacred horses as their delegates.
As for religion, it is noted that the Germans do not confine gods within walls, and do not make statues in human form, as they believe it does not align with the divine majesty; they dedicate groves and sacred enclosures to them, and they call by the name of God what is incomprehensible and can only be sensed through prayer. And regarding funeral customs, it is said: Germanic funerals are quite simple; the only concern is to burn the bodies of noble people on a pyre made of special wood. They do not dress the pyre with clothes or sprinkle it with fragrances; each deceased person’s weapons are burned along with them, and occasionally even a horse.
In Alphen aan den Rijn, a small town in the In western Netherlands, on the Rhine river, where the northern border of the Roman Empire passed, Tacitus Germania is engraved on the sidewalk. In 2001, during the construction of a shopping center in the heart of Alphen, remains of the Roman Castellum Albanianae were found, built in the year 40 during the reign of Emperor Caligula, which was inhabited until the year 270.
The attitude towards slaves was also significantly different from that of the Romans: Their slaves do not have specific duties in their master’s house like ours do. Each Germanic slave has their own house and hearth. The slave is somewhat of a tenant – they have to give the master a certain portion of their crops, livestock, and cloth, and by doing so, they fulfill all their obligations. Otherwise, all the household chores are done by women and children. It is rare for someone to whip their slave or imprison them for forced labor.
Although Tacitus portrays them with undeniable sympathy, he criticizes some of their customs: However, they are not moderate when it comes to drinking. If someone were to give them as much to drink as they desired, they could easily succumb to this vice. Mastering before weapons… Germans drink some kind of barley or wheat juice [Humor eh hordeo aut frumento] from which, by fermentation, something like wine is made. Those who are near the Rhine also buy real wine.
Their food is quite simple: wild fruit, fresh game, sour milk, and all of it without any special preparation or special spices – just enough to satisfy hunger. They are also accused of laziness: the land is fertile and there is plenty of it, but the Germans do not exploit it as much as they could: they do not plant orchards, do not separate meadows, do not irrigate gardens. They only seek grain from the land… It is much easier to persuade a German to go to war and to slaughter the enemy than to plough the land and wait for the harvest.
Runes
Runes
In most Scandinavian countries, especially in Sweden, one can still find stones inscribed with specific Germanic symbolic writing – runes. The inscriptions are of sacred nature and contain invocations to the deities whose protection was sought, various dedications, and magical spells. Mule. Stone inscribed with runes is one of the most important authentic sources for getting to know the world of the Germans. Runes are symbols that, like other types of symbols, have multiple meanings and applications, similar to astrological or alchemical symbols. Their origin has not been fully explored, but it is believed that they were influenced by the Roman script. Although their primary purpose was sacred-magical, runes were also carved onto the beams of houses and warrior halls for protection, as well as on weapons, shields, and amulets. They were used for divination, inscribed on tiles or twigs, to predict the favorable outcome of tribal undertakings..
Tacitus’ work was written at the turn of the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. By then, the Romans had conquered Britain and the southern and western Germanic lands, which would become the Roman province of Germania, with its capital at Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (today’s Cologne). The sprawling Roman Empire, weakened from within by decadence and corruption, and threatened by barbarian incursions from the outside, was no longer the Hey guys, for further conquests, they have already started fortifying themselves. Towards the barbarian world, from Scotland to the Black Sea, they raised a boundary, a long series of ditches, walls, and military fortifications, around which settlements, towns, would sprout up, becoming places of exchange between the two worlds. However, the advance towards the borders of the Roman Empire would continue until the 5th century when the Germans finally took control of the Apennine Peninsula itself. The year 476, when the city of Rome itself fell into the hands of Germanic chieftains, is considered the beginning of a new historical period – the Middle Ages. During this period, Germanic tribes would establish numerous larger or smaller kingdoms (Burgundians, Vandals, Visigoths, Ostrogoths, etc.), and the most significant of them is the Frankish Empire established by a confederation of Germanic tribes in the territory of present-day France and Germany. The Frankish Empire lasted from the 5th to the 9th century and, faced with the Arab expansion, it would halt their spread from the Iberian Peninsula in the Battle of Tours in 732. The inscription written with hands is located in Bromma, in the western part of Stockholm. The translation of the text reads: “Sigvidr and Sigreifr had this rock carved for Sinarra, their father.”
The empire consisted of kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, and independent imperial cities, whose courts, influenced by the new religion of Christianity, developed the medieval ideal of just and honorable knighthood. This is attested by numerous ballads and epics, and the Saga of the Nibelungs is particularly interesting because it combines the ancient Germanic worldview with the values of Christian knighthood.
The internal motivator that shaped all the external aspects of their lives, as portrayed by ancient writers, is the mythical and religious picture of the world of the ancient Germans. This picture of the world places humans in a complex reality composed of nine worlds supported by the World Tree, Yggdrasil. These are the worlds of the gods (Asgard, Vanaheim), humans (Midgard), elves, giants, and dwarves (Alfheim, Jotunheim, Svartalfheim), primordial This is a world in which the elemental forces of fire and ice (Muspelheim, Niflheim) exist, as well as the realm of the dead (Hel, which has no connection to Christian Hell, although they have similar names).
It is a world where bravery, contempt for death, and morality are the fundamental values that merit a glorious place in Odin’s hall, Valhalla, after death. It is also a world that exists in a delicate balance between the gods, humans, and other luminous beings and their dark enemies, giants and various other monsters that constantly threaten to breach the organized world and transform it into Chaos. It is also a world that anticipates its end, in the terrifying Ragnarok, the Twilight of the Gods, in which the last heroic battle between the forces of Order and Chaos will take place. Chaos will briefly prevail, followed by a new birth of life, purified and youthful. The idea of renewal, of abandoning the old and tired in order to bring forth something fresh and vital, is part of this world’s depiction and the character of the ancient Germans.