The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of
Germanic tribes
[
*
*
*
] on the
Upper Rhine
The Upper Rhine (german: Oberrhein ; french: Rhin Supérieur) is the section of the Rhine between Basel in Switzerland and Bingen in Germany, surrounded by the Upper Rhine Plain. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometres 170 to 529 (the ...
River. First mentioned by
Cassius Dio
Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...
in the context of the campaign of
Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into present-day
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it ha ...
, and northern Switzerland, leading to the establishment of the
Old High German
Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050.
There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...
language in those regions, by the eighth century named ''
Alamannia''.
In 496, the Alemanni were
conquered
Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms.
Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, t ...
by
Frankish leader
Clovis
Clovis may refer to:
People
* Clovis (given name), the early medieval (Frankish) form of the name Louis
** Clovis I (c. 466 – 511), the first king of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler
** Clovis II (c. 634 – c. 657), ...
and incorporated into his
dominions. Mentioned as still
pagan allies of the
Christian Franks, the Alemanni were gradually Christianized during the seventh century. The is a record of their customary law during this period. Until the eighth century, Frankish
suzerainty over Alemannia was mostly nominal. After an uprising by
Theudebald, Duke of Alamannia, though,
Carloman executed the Alamannic nobility and installed Frankish dukes.
During the later and weaker years of the
Carolingian Empire
The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the ...
, the Alemannic counts became almost independent, and a struggle for supremacy took place between them and the
Bishopric of Constance. The chief family in Alamannia was that of the counts of , who were sometimes called margraves, and one of whom,
Burchard II, established the
Duchy of Swabia, which was recognized by
Henry the Fowler in 919 and became a
stem duchy of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
.
The area settled by the Alemanni corresponds roughly to the area where
Alemannic German dialects remain spoken, including German
Swabia and
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden ...
, French
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it ha ...
,
German-speaking Switzerland
The German-speaking part of Switzerland (german: Deutschschweiz, french: Suisse alémanique, it, Svizzera tedesca, rm, Svizra tudestga) comprises about 65 percent of Switzerland (North Western Switzerland, Eastern Switzerland, Central Switze ...
,
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German language, German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constit ...
and Austrian
Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label= Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the ...
.
The
French language
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in ...
name of Germany
Because of Germany's long history before 1871 as a non-united region of distinct tribes and states, there are many widely varying names of Germany in different languages, more so than for any other European nation. For example, in the German ...
, , is derived from their name, from
Old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligi ...
''aleman(t)'', from French loaned into a number of other languages, including
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...
which commonly used the term ''Almains'' for Germans. Likewise, the Arabic name for Germany is (Almania), the Turkish is Almanya, the Spanish is Alemania, the Portuguese is Alemanha,
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
is Yr Almaen and
Persian is (Alman).
Name
According to
Gaius Asinius Quadratus (quoted in the mid-sixth century by Byzantine historian
Agathias), the name ''Alamanni'' (Ἀλαμανοι) means "all men". It indicates that they were a conglomeration drawn from various Germanic tribes.
The Romans and the Greeks called them as such (Alamanni, all men, in the sense of a group composed of men of all groups in the region). This derivation was accepted by
Edward Gibbon, in his ''Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' and by the anonymous contributor of notes assembled from the papers of
Nicolas Fréret
Nicolas Fréret (; 15 February 1688 – 8 March 1749) was a French scholar.
Life
He was born at Paris on 15 February 1688. His father was ''procureur'' to the ''parlement'' of Paris, and destined him to the profession of the law. His first tut ...
, published in 1753.
[''Histoire de l'Académie Royale des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, avec les Mémoires de Littérature tirés des Registres de cette Académie, depuis l'année MDCCXLIV jusques et compris l'année MDCCXLVI'', vol. XVIII, (Paris 1753) pp. 49–71. Excerpts are on-line a]
ELIOHS
This etymology has remained the standard derivation of the name.
An alternative suggestion proposes derivation from ''
*alah'' "sanctuary".
Walafrid Strabo in the ninth century remarked, in discussing the people of Switzerland and the surrounding regions, that only foreigners called them the Alemanni, but that they gave themselves the name of ''
Suebi
The Suebi (or Suebians, also spelled Suevi, Suavi) were a large group of Germanic peoples originally from the Elbe river region in what is now Germany and the Czech Republic. In the early Roman era they included many peoples with their own name ...
''.
The Suebi are given the alternative name of ''Ziuwari'' (as ''Cyuuari'') in an Old High German gloss, interpreted by
Jacob Grimm as ''Martem colentes'' ("worshippers of
Mars").
History
First appearance in historical record
The Alemanni were first mentioned by
Cassius Dio
Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...
describing the campaign of
Caracalla in 213. At that time, they apparently dwelt in the basin of the
Main, to the south of the Chatti.
Cassius Dio portrays the Alemanni as victims of this treacherous emperor. They had asked for his help, according to Dio, but instead he colonized their country, changed their place names, and executed their warriors under a pretext of coming to their aid. When he became ill, the Alemanni claimed to have put a hex on him. Caracalla, it was claimed, tried to counter this influence by invoking his ancestral spirits.
In retribution, Caracalla then led the
Legio II ''Traiana Fortis'' against the Alemanni, who lost and were pacified for a time. The legion was as a result honored with the name ''Germanica.'' The fourth-century fictional
Historia Augusta, ''Life of Antoninus Caracalla'', relates (10.5) that Caracalla then assumed the name ''Alemannicus,'' at which
Helvius Pertinax jested that he should really be called ''Geticus Maximus,'' because in the year before he had murdered his brother,
Geta.
Through much of his short reign, Caracalla was known for unpredictable and arbitrary operations launched by surprise after a pretext of peace negotiations. If he had any reasons of state for such actions, they remained unknown to his contemporaries. Whether or not the Alemanni had been previously neutral, they were certainly further influenced by Caracalla to become thereafter notoriously implacable enemies of Rome.
This mutually antagonistic relationship is perhaps the reason why the Roman writers persisted in calling the Alemanni ”barbari," meaning "savages." The archaeology, however, shows that they were largely Romanized, lived in Roman-style houses and used Roman artifacts, the Alemannic women having adopted the Roman fashion of the ''
tunica'' even earlier than the men.
Most of the Alemanni were probably at the time, in fact, resident in or close to the borders of
Germania Superior. Although Dio is the earliest writer to mention them,
Ammianus Marcellinus used the name to refer to Germans on the
Limes Germanicus in the time of
Trajan's governorship of the province shortly after it was formed, around 98-99 AD. At that time, the entire frontier was being fortified for the first time. Trees from the earliest fortifications found in
Germania Inferior are dated by
dendrochronology to 99-100 AD.
Ammianus relates
xvii.1.11 that much later the Emperor
Julian
Julian may refer to:
People
* Julian (emperor) (331–363), Roman emperor from 361 to 363
* Julian (Rome), referring to the Roman gens Julia, with imperial dynasty offshoots
* Saint Julian (disambiguation), several Christian saints
* Julian (give ...
undertook a
punitive expedition
A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong beh ...
against the Alemanni, who by then were in Alsace, and crossed the Main (Latin ''Menus''), entering the forest, where the trails were blocked by felled trees. As winter was upon them, they reoccupied a
"fortification which was founded on the soil of the Alemanni that Trajan wished to be called with his own name".
In this context, the use of Alemanni is possibly an anachronism, but it reveals that Ammianus believed they were the same people, which is consistent with the location of the Alemanni of Caracalla's campaigns.
Alemanni and Hermunduri
''
Germania
Germania ( ; ), also called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman province of the same name, was a large historical region in north ...
'' by Tacitus (AD 90) states that the
Hermunduri
The Hermunduri, Hermanduri, Hermunduli, Hermonduri, or Hermonduli were an ancient Germanic tribe, who occupied an inland area near the source of the Elbe river, around what is now Bohemia from the first to the third century, though they have al ...
were a tribe certainly located in the region that later became
Thuringia. Tacitus states that they traded with
Rhaetia, which in Ptolemy is located across the Danube from
Germania Superior, suggesting that the Alemanni originally in part derived from the Hermunduri.
However, no Hermunduri appear in Ptolemy, though after the time of Ptolemy, the Hermunduri joined with the
Marcomanni
The Marcomanni were a Germanic people
*
*
*
that established a powerful kingdom north of the Danube, somewhere near modern Bohemia, during the peak of power of the nearby Roman Empire. According to Tacitus and Strabo, they were Suebian.
Origi ...
in the wars of 166–180 against the empire.
Tacitus says that the source of the
Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Rep ...
is among the Hermunduri, somewhat to the east of the upper
Main. He places them also between the
Naristi
The Varisci (German: ''Varisker'') were a Germanic tribe, the presumed prior inhabitants of a medieval district, ''Provincia Variscorum'', the same (in presumption) as the Vogtland district of Saxony in Germany. They do not appear under that name ...
(Varisti), whose location was at the very edge of the
Black Forest
The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is ...
, and the
Marcomanni
The Marcomanni were a Germanic people
*
*
*
that established a powerful kingdom north of the Danube, somewhere near modern Bohemia, during the peak of power of the nearby Roman Empire. According to Tacitus and Strabo, they were Suebian.
Origi ...
and
Quadi. Moreover, the Hermunduri were broken in the
Marcomannic Wars and made a separate peace with Rome.
The Alemanni thus were probably not primarily the Hermunduri, although some elements of them may have been present.
Ptolemy's ''Geography''
Before the mention of Alemanni in the time of Caracalla, one would search in vain for Alemanni in the moderately detailed geography of southern Germany in Claudius
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of import ...
, written in Greek in the mid-second century; at that time, the people who later used that name likely were known by other designations.
Nevertheless, some conclusions can be drawn from Ptolemy. Germania Superior is easily identified. Following up the Rhine one comes to a town, Mattiacum, which must be at the border of the Roman Germany (vicinity of
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
). Upstream from it and between the Rhine and
Abnoba (in the
Black Forest
The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is ...
) are the
Ingriones,
Intuergi,
Vangiones,
Caritni and
Vispi, some of whom were there since the days of the early empire or before. On the other side of the northern Black Forest were the Chatti about where
Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Da ...
is today, on the lower Main.
Historic Swabia was eventually replaced by today's
Baden-Württemberg, but it had been the most significant territory of mediaeval
Alamannia, comprising all Germania Superior and territory east to Bavaria. It did not include the upper Main, but that is where Caracalla campaigned. Moreover, the territory of Germania Superior was not originally included among the Alemanni's possessions.
However, if one looks for the peoples in the region from the upper Main in the north, south to the Danube and east to the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...
where the
Quadi and
Marcomanni
The Marcomanni were a Germanic people
*
*
*
that established a powerful kingdom north of the Danube, somewhere near modern Bohemia, during the peak of power of the nearby Roman Empire. According to Tacitus and Strabo, they were Suebian.
Origi ...
were located, Ptolemy does not give any tribes. The
Tubanti are just south of the Chatti and at the other end of what was then the Black Forest, the Varisti, whose location is known. One possible reason for this distribution is that the population preferred not to live in the forest except in troubled times. The region between the forest and the Danube, though, included about a dozen settlements, or "cantons".
Ptolemy's view of Germans in the region indicates that the tribal structure had lost its grip in the Black Forest region and was replaced by a canton structure. The tribes stayed in the Roman province, perhaps because the Romans offered stability. Also, Caracalla perhaps felt more comfortable about campaigning in the upper Main because he was not declaring war on any specific historic tribe, such as the Chatti or Cherusci, against whom Rome had suffered grievous losses. By Caracalla's time, the name Alemanni was being used by cantons themselves banding together for purposes of supporting a citizen army (the "war bands").
Concentration of Germanic peoples under Ariovistus
The term Suebi has a double meaning in the sources. On the one hand Tacitus' ''Germania'' tells us
Chapters 38, 39 that they occupy more than half of Germany, use a distinctive hairstyle, and are spiritually centered on the
Semnones. On the other hand, the Suebi of the upper Danube are described as though they were a tribe.
The solution to the puzzle as well as explaining the historical circumstances leading to the choice of the Agri Decumates as a defensive point and the concentration of Germans there are probably to be found in the German attack on the Gallic fortified town of
Vesontio in 58 BC. The upper Rhine and Danube appear to form a funnel pointing straight at Vesontio.
Julius Caesar in ''
Gallic Wars
The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland). Gallic, Germanic, and British tribes fought to defend their homel ...
'' tells us
1.51 that
Ariovistus had gathered an army from a wide region of Germany, but especially the
Harudes,
Marcomanni
The Marcomanni were a Germanic people
*
*
*
that established a powerful kingdom north of the Danube, somewhere near modern Bohemia, during the peak of power of the nearby Roman Empire. According to Tacitus and Strabo, they were Suebian.
Origi ...
,
Triboci,
Vangiones,
Nemetes and
Sedusii. The Suebi were being invited to join. They lived in 100 cantons
4.1 from which 1000 young men per year were chosen for military service, a citizen-army by our standards and by comparison with the Roman professional army.
Ariovistus had become involved in an invasion of
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only durin ...
, which the German wished to settle. Intending to take the strategic town of Vesontio, he concentrated his forces on the Rhine near Lake Constance, and when the Suebi arrived, he crossed. The Gauls had called to Rome for military aid. Caesar occupied the town first and defeated the Germans before its walls, slaughtering most of the German army as it tried to flee across the river (1.36ff). He did not pursue the retreating remnants, leaving what was left of the German army and their dependents intact on the other side of the Rhine.
The Gauls were ambivalent in their policies toward the Romans. In 53 BC the
Treveri broke their alliance and attempted to break free of Rome. Caesar foresaw that they would now attempt to ally themselves with the Germans. He crossed the Rhine to forestall that event, a successful strategy. Remembering their expensive defeat at the Battle of Vesontio, the Germans withdrew to the Black Forest, concentrating there a mixed population dominated by Suebi. As they had left their tribal homes behind, they probably took over all the former Celtic cantons along the Danube.
Conflicts with the Roman Empire
The Alemanni were continually engaged in conflicts with the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Medite ...
in the third and fourth centuries. They launched a major invasion of
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only durin ...
and northern Italy in 268, when the Romans were forced to denude much of their German frontier of troops in response to a massive invasion of the
Goths
The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Euro ...
from the east. Their raids throughout the three parts of Gaul were traumatic:
Gregory of Tours (died ca 594) mentions their destructive force at the time of
Valerian and
Gallienus (253–260), when the Alemanni assembled under their "king", whom he calls
Chrocus, who acted "by the advice, it is said, of his wicked mother, and overran the whole of the Gauls, and destroyed from their foundations all the temples which had been built in ancient times. And coming to
Clermont he set on fire, overthrew and destroyed that shrine which they call ''Vasso Galatae'' in the Gallic tongue," martyring many Christians
''Historia Francorum'' Book I.32–34. Thus sixth-century Gallo-Romans of Gregory's class, surrounded by the ruins of
Roman temples and public buildings, attributed the destruction they saw to the plundering raids of the Alemanni.
In the early summer of 268, the
Emperor Gallienus halted their advance into Italy, but then had to deal with the Goths. When the Gothic campaign ended in Roman victory at the
Battle of Naissus in September, Gallienus' successor
Claudius Gothicus turned north to deal with the Alemanni, who were swarming over all Italy north of the
Po River.
After efforts to secure a peaceful withdrawal failed, Claudius forced the Alemanni to battle at the
Battle of Lake Benacus in November. The Alemanni were routed, forced back into Germany, and did not threaten Roman territory for many years afterwards.
Their most famous battle against Rome took place in
Argentoratum (
Strasbourg), in 357, where they were defeated by
Julian
Julian may refer to:
People
* Julian (emperor) (331–363), Roman emperor from 361 to 363
* Julian (Rome), referring to the Roman gens Julia, with imperial dynasty offshoots
* Saint Julian (disambiguation), several Christian saints
* Julian (give ...
, later Emperor of Rome, and their king
Chnodomarius was taken prisoner to Rome.
On January 2, 366, the Alemanni yet again crossed the frozen
Rhine
The Rhine ; french: Rhin ; nl, Rijn ; wa, Rén ; li, Rien; rm, label=Sursilvan, Rein, rm, label=Sutsilvan and Surmiran, Ragn, rm, label=Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader and Puter, Rain; it, Reno ; gsw, Rhi(n), including in Alsatian dialect, Al ...
in large numbers, to invade the Gallic provinces, this time being defeated by Valentinian (see
Battle of Solicinium). In the great mixed invasion of 406, the Alemanni appear to have crossed the
Rhine river a final time, conquering and then settling what is today
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it ha ...
and a large part of the
Swiss Plateau.
The crossing is described in
Wallace Breem
Wallace Wilfred Swinburne Breem (13 May 1926 – 12 March 1990) was a British librarian and author.
He was the ''Librarian and Keeper of Manuscripts'' of the Inner Temple Law Library. His writing included non-fiction pieces, but he is probab ...
's historical novel ''
Eagle in the Snow''. The
Chronicle of Fredegar gives the account. At ''Alba Augusta'' (
Alba-la-Romaine) the devastation was so complete, that the Christian bishop retired to
Viviers, but in Gregory's account at Mende in
Lozère, also deep in the heart of Gaul, bishop Privatus was forced to sacrifice to idols in the very cave where he was later venerated. It is thought this detail may be a generic literary ploy to epitomize the horrors of barbarian violence.
List of battles between Romans and Alemanni
* 259,
Battle of Mediolanum
The Battle of Mediolanum took place in 259, between the Alemanni and the Roman legions under the command of Emperor Gallienus.
Background
When Roman Emperor Valerian rose to power in October 253, he had his son Gallienus elevated to the pos ...
—
Emperor Gallienus
Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (; c. 218 – September 268) was Roman emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260 and alone from 260 to 268. He ruled during the Crisis of the Third Century that nearly caused the collapse of the empir ...
defeats the Alemanni to rescue Rome
* 268,
Battle of Lake Benacus—Romans under Emperor
Claudius II defeat the Alemanni.
* 271
**
Battle of Placentia—Emperor
Aurelian is defeated by the Alemanni forces invading Italy
**
Battle of Fano—Aurelian defeats the Alemanni, who begin to retreat from Italy
**
Battle of Pavia—Aurelian destroys the retreating Alemanni army.
* 298
**
Battle of Lingones—
Caesar Constantius Chlorus defeats the Alemanni
**
Battle of Vindonissa
The Battle of Vindonissa was fought in 298 or 302 between the Imperial Roman army, led by Emperor Constantius Chlorus, and the Alemanni. The Romans won the battle, fought in Vindonissa, strengthening Rome's defenses along the Rhine.
References
...
—Constantius defeats the Alemanni.
* 356,
Battle of Reims—
Caesar Julian
Julian may refer to:
People
* Julian (emperor) (331–363), Roman emperor from 361 to 363
* Julian (Rome), referring to the Roman gens Julia, with imperial dynasty offshoots
* Saint Julian (disambiguation), several Christian saints
* Julian (give ...
is defeated by the Alemanni
* 357,
Battle of Strasbourg—Julian expels the Alemanni from the
Rhineland
The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section.
Term
Historically, the Rhineland ...
* 368,
Battle of Solicinium—Romans under Emperor
Valentinian I defeat an Alemanni incursion.
* 378,
Battle of Argentovaria—Western Emperor
Gratianus is victorious over the Alemanni.
* 451,
Battle of the Catalaunian Fields—Roman General
Aetius and his army of Romans and barbarian allies defeat Attila's army of
Huns and other Germanic allies, including the Alemanni.
* 457,
Battle of Campi Cannini—Alemanni invade Italy and are defeated near
Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore (, ; it, Lago Maggiore ; lmo, label= Western Lombard, Lagh Maggior; pms, Lagh Magior; literally 'Greater Lake') or Verbano (; la, Lacus Verbanus) is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest l ...
by
Majorian
* 554,
Battle of the Volturnus
The Battle of the Volturnus, also known as the Battle of Casilinum or Battle of Capua, was fought in 554 between an army of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzan ...
—Byzantine General
Narses defeats a combined force of
Franks
The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...
and Alemanni in southern Italy.
Subjugation by the Franks
The kingdom of Alamannia between Strasbourg and Augsburg lasted until 496, when the Alemanni were conquered by
Clovis I at the
Battle of Tolbiac. The war of Clovis with the Alemanni forms the setting for the conversion of Clovis, briefly treated by
Gregory of Tours.
Book II.31 After their defeat in 496, the Alemanni bucked the Frankish yoke and put themselves under the protection of
Theodoric the Great of the
Ostrogoths but after his death they were again subjugated by the Franks under
Theudebert I in 536. Subsequently, the Alemanni formed part of the
Frankish dominions and were governed by a Frankish duke.
In 746,
Carloman ended an uprising by summarily executing all Alemannic nobility at the
blood court at Cannstatt, and for the following century, Alemannia was ruled by Frankish dukes. Following the
treaty of Verdun
The Treaty of Verdun (), agreed in , divided the Francia, Frankish Empire into three kingdoms among the surviving sons of the emperor Louis the Pious, Louis I, the son and successor of Charlemagne. The treaty was concluded following almost three ...
of 843, Alemannia became a province of the eastern kingdom of
Louis the German, the precursor of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
. The duchy persisted until 1268.
Culture
Language
The German spoken today over the range of the former Alemanni is termed
Alemannic German, and is recognised among the subgroups of the
High German languages. Alemannic runic inscriptions such as those on the
Pforzen buckle are among the earliest testimonies of
Old High German
Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050.
There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...
.
The
High German consonant shift is thought to have originated around the fifth century either in Alemannia or among the
Lombards
The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774.
The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the '' History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...
; before that the dialect spoken by Alemannic tribes was little different from that of other West Germanic peoples.
''Alemannia'' lost its distinct jurisdictional identity when
Charles Martel
Charles Martel ( – 22 October 741) was a Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of Francia from 718 until his death. He was a son of the Frankish state ...
absorbed it into the Frankish empire, early in the eighth century. Today, ''Alemannic'' is a linguistic term, referring to
Alemannic German, encompassing the dialects of the southern two thirds of
Baden-Württemberg (German State), in western
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
(German State), in
Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label= Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the ...
(Austrian State),
Swiss German in Switzerland and the
Alsatian language of the
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it ha ...
(France).
Political organization
The Alemanni established a series of territorially defined ''pagi'' (cantons) on the east bank of the Rhine. The exact number and extent of these ''pagi'' is unclear and probably changed over time.
''Pagi'', usually pairs of ''pagi'' combined, formed kingdoms (''regna'') which, it is generally believed, were permanent and hereditary. Ammianus describes Alemanni rulers with various terms: ''reges excelsiores ante alios'' ("paramount kings"), ''reges proximi'' ("neighbouring kings"), ''reguli'' ("petty kings") and ''regales'' ("princes"). This may be a formal hierarchy, or they may be vague, overlapping terms, or a combination of both. In 357, there appear to have been two paramount kings (Chnodomar and Westralp) who probably acted as presidents of the confederation and seven other kings (''reges''). Their territories were small and mostly strung along the Rhine (although a few were in the hinterland). It is possible that the ''reguli'' were the rulers of the two ''pagi'' in each kingdom. Underneath the royal class were the nobles (called ''optimates'' by the Romans) and warriors (called ''armati'' by the Romans). The warriors consisted of professional warbands and levies of free men. Each nobleman could raise an average of c. 50 warriors.
Religion
The
Christianization
Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, cont ...
of the Alemanni took place during
Merovingian times (sixth to eighth centuries). We know that in the sixth century, the Alemanni were predominantly pagan, and in the eighth century, they were predominantly Christian. The intervening seventh century was a period of genuine
syncretism during which Christian symbolism and doctrine gradually grew in influence.
Some scholars have speculated that members of the Alemannic elite such as king
Gibuld due to
Visigothic influence may have been converted to
Arianism even in the later fifth century.
In the mid-6th century, the Byzantine historian
Agathias records, in the context of the wars of the Goths and Franks against Byzantium, that the Alemanni fighting among the troops of Frankish king
Theudebald were like the Franks in all respects except religion, since
He also spoke of the particular ruthlessness of the Alemanni in destroying Christian sanctuaries and plundering churches while the genuine Franks were respectful towards those sanctuaries. Agathias expresses his hope that the Alemanni would assume better manners through prolonged contact with the Franks, which is by all appearances, in a manner of speaking, what eventually happened.
Apostles of the Alemanni were
Columbanus
Columbanus ( ga, Columbán; 543 – 21 November 615) was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries after 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil Abbey in present-day France and Bobbio Abbey in pr ...
and his disciple
Saint Gall.
Jonas of Bobbio records that Columbanus was active in
Bregenz, where he disrupted a beer sacrifice to
Wodan. Despite these activities, for some time, the Alemanni seem to have continued their pagan cult activities, with only superficial or
syncretistic Christian elements. In particular, there is no change in burial practice, and tumulus warrior graves continued to be erected throughout Merovingian times. Syncretism of traditional Germanic animal-style with Christian symbolism is also present in artwork, but Christian symbolism becomes more and more prevalent during the seventh century. Unlike the later Christianization of the Saxons and of the Slavs, the Alemanni seem to have adopted Christianity gradually, and voluntarily, spread in emulation of the Merovingian elite.
From c. the 520s to the 620s, there was a surge of
Alemannic Elder Futhark inscriptions. About 70 specimens have survived, roughly half of them on
fibulae, others on belt buckles (see
Pforzen buckle,
Bülach fibula) and other jewelry and weapon parts. Use of runes subsides with the advance of Christianity.
The
Nordendorf fibula (early seventh century) clearly records pagan theonyms, ''logaþorewodanwigiþonar '' read as "Wodan and Donar are magicians/sorcerers", but this may be interpreted as either a pagan invocation of the powers of these deities, or a Christian protective charm against them.
A runic inscription on a fibula found at
Bad Ems
Bad Ems () is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Rhein-Lahn rural district and is well known as a spa on the river Lahn. Bad Ems is the seat of the '' Verbandsgemeinde'' (administrative community) ...
reflects Christian pious sentiment (and is also explicitly marked with a Christian cross), reading ''god fura dih deofile ᛭'' ("God for/before you, Theophilus!", or alternatively "God before you, Devil!"). Dated to between AD 660 and 690, it marks the end of the native Alemannic tradition of runic literacy. Bad Ems is in
Rhineland-Palatinate, on the northwestern boundary of Alemannic settlement, where Frankish influence would have been strongest.
[Wolfgang Jungandreas, 'God fura dih, deofile †' in: Zeitschrift für deutsches Altertum und deutsche Literatur, 101, 1972, pp. 84–85.]
The establishment of the bishopric of
Konstanz cannot be dated exactly and was possibly undertaken by Columbanus himself (before 612). In any case, it existed by 635, when
Gunzo appointed
John of Grab bishop. Constance was a missionary bishopric in newly converted lands, and did not look back on late Roman church history unlike the Raetian bishopric of
Chur (established 451) and
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS) ...
(an episcopal seat from 740, and which continued the line of Bishops of
Augusta Raurica, see
Bishop of Basel). The establishment of the church as an institution recognized by worldly rulers is also visible in legal history. In the early seventh century ''
Pactus Alamannorum'' hardly ever mentions the special privileges of the church, while
Lantfrid's ''
Lex Alamannorum'' of 720 has an entire chapter reserved for ecclesial matters alone.
Genetics
A genetic study published in ''
Science Advances'' in September 2018 examined the remains of eight individuals buried at a seventh-century Alemannic graveyard in
Niederstotzingen, Germany. This is the richest and most complete Alemannic graveyard ever found. The highest ranking individual at the graveyard was a male with Frankish grave goods. Four males were found to be closely related to him. They were all carriers of types of the paternal haplogroup
R1b1a2a1a1c2b2b. A sixth male was a carrier of the paternal haplogroup R1b1a2a1a1c2b2b1a1 and the maternal haplogroup
U5a1a1. Along with the five closely related individuals, he displayed close genetic links to
northern and
eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, wh ...
, particularly
Lithuania and
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...
. Two individuals buried at the cemetery were found to be genetically different from both the others and each other, displaying genetic links to
Southern Europe, particularly northern Italy and Spain. Along with the sixth male, they might have been adoptees or slaves.
See also
*
Annales Alamannici
*
List of rulers of Alamannia
*
List of confederations of Germanic tribes
This list of ancient Germanic peoples is an inventory of ancient Germanic cultures, tribal groupings and other alliances of Germanic tribes and civilisations in ancient times. The information comes from various ancient historical documents, beginn ...
*
Armalausi
*
Varisci
*
Helvetii
*
Charietto
References
Sources
*
Ammianus Marcellinus, ''passim''
* O. Bremer in H. Paul, ''Grundriss der germanischen Philologie'' (2nd ed., Strassburg, 1900), vol. iii. pp. 930 ff.
*
Dio Cassius lxvii. ff.
*
* Ian Wood (ed.), ''Franks and Alamanni in the Merovingian Period: An Ethnographic Perspective (Studies in Historical Archaeoethnology)'', Boydell & Brewer Ltd, 2003, .
*
Melchior Goldast, ''Rerum Alamannicarum scriptores'' (1606, 2nd ed. Senckenburg 1730)
*
Gregory of Tours, ''Historia Francorum'', book ii.
*
*
C. Zeuss, ''Die Deutschen und die Nachbarstämme'' (Munich, 1837), pp. 303 ff.
External links
The Agri Decumates*
ttp://www.badische-seiten.de/bilder/schwaebisch-alemannische-fasnet/ Brauchtum und Masken Alemannic Fastnacht
{{Authority control
Early Germanic peoples
German tribes