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The Angrivarii (or ''Angrivari'') were a Germanic people of the early Roman Empire, who lived in what is now northwest Germany near the middle of the Weser river. They were mentioned by the Roman authors Tacitus and Ptolemy. They were part of the Germanic alliance of
Arminius Arminius ( 18/17 BC – 21 AD) was a chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe who is best known for commanding an alliance of Germanic tribes at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD, in which three Roman legions under the command of ge ...
and his defeat of the Romans at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in the 9th year of the common era. The Angrivarii lived in an area which was later called
Angria Angria or Angaria (german: Engern, ) is a historical region in the present-day German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. The chronicler Widukind of Corvey in his ''Res gestae saxonicae sive annalium libri tres'' denoted it as ...
( Modern German "'") in the Middle Ages, which was a major part of the
Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...
Duchy of Saxony. Both names probably derive from geographical terminology.


Location

In his ''
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- ...
'' Tacitus described the Angrivarii and their western neighbours the Chamavi living closer to the Rhine than "the Dulgubini and Chasuarii, and other tribes not equally famous" and east of the Frisii who lived towards the Rhine river which was the official border of the Roman Empire. The Chasuarii probably lived near the Hase river and the Ampsivarii who lived on the Ems river, and the Dulgubini probably towards the Elbe. North of all these peoples lived the Chauci, whose territory stretched to the North Sea coast. Among the more detailed mentions of the Angrivarii which Tacitus makes in his '' Annals'', he describes them also as neighbours to the powerful
Cherusci The Cherusci were a Germanic tribe that inhabited parts of the plains and forests of northwestern Germany in the area of the Weser River and present-day Hanover during the first centuries BC and AD. Roman sources reported they considered themsel ...
people, of Arminius. They had built a dike to mark the boundary and this was west of the Weser. Tacitus also notes in his ''
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- ...
'' that together with the Chamavi, the Angrivarii had invaded the lands formerly held by the Bructeri to their southwest, ''the Bructeri having been expelled and utterly destroyed by an alliance of neighboring peoples...''. The Bructeri had lived near the Ems and Lippe rivers, between the Rhine and Weser. This occurred after the battle of the Teutoburg Forest.


Name and etymology

The name appears earliest in the Annales and ''
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- ...
'' of Tacitus as Angrivarii. In Greek, Ptolemy called them the Angriouarroi ( grc, Ἀνγριουάρροι), which transliterates into Latin Angrivari. In post-classical history the name of the people had a number of different spellings in addition to the ones just mentioned. The name Angrivarii can be segmented Angri-varii meaning "the men of Engern", parallel to Ampsi-varii, "the men of the Ems". Engern, their region, is related to a word for meadows, as in modern German ''""'', and appears as a component in placenames around Germany.
Julius Pokorny Julius Pokorny (12 June 1887 – 8 April 1970) was an Austrian-Czech linguist and scholar of the Celtic languages, particularly Irish, and a supporter of Irish nationalism. He held academic posts in Austrian and German universities. Early life a ...
derives the first element from an Indo-European root *ang-, "to bend, bow." From this root are also derived German ''Anger'',
English dialect Dialects are linguistic varieties that may differ in pronunciation, vocabulary, spelling and grammar. For the classification of varieties of English only in terms of pronunciation, see regional accents of English. Overview Dialects can be defi ...
''ing'', Danish ''eng'', Swedish ''äng'', Dutch ''eng''/''enk'', and many other forms in Germanic languages, all meaning "meadow, pasture." Cf. the similar element Angeln. The second element ''-varii'' is most prolific among Germanic tribal names, commonly taken to mean "inhabitants of", "dwellers in". Its precise etymology remains unclear, but there is a general consensus that it cannot be derived from the
PIE A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), brown sugar ( sugar pie), swe ...
root ''*wihxrós'', "man", surviving in English "''were''-wolf". Their geographical-based name is associated with the 8th century region called Angria (Angaria, Angeriensis, Aggerimensis and Engaria), which was one of four subdivisions of
Old Saxony "Old Saxony" is the original homeland of the Saxons. It corresponds roughly to the modern German states of Lower Saxony, eastern part of modern North Rhine-Westphalia state (Westphalia), Nordalbingia (Holstein, southern part of Schleswig-Holstein ...
(the others were Westfalahi and Ostfalahi and Nordalbingia). This region is now referred to in modern German as Engern, and it corresponds reasonably well with the area where the Angrivarii lived, comprising most of the country surrounding the middle Weser, including both flat land, as around
Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the greatest town between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of Detm ...
, and low hills (
Holzminden Holzminden (; nds, Holtsminne) is a town in southern Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Holzminden. It is located on the river Weser, which at this point forms the border with the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Histor ...
).


Ancient history

Although the Angrivarii receive brief mention in Ptolemy (2.10) and the ''
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- ...
'' of Tacitus (33), they appear mainly at several locations in '' Annales''. They were involved marginally in the wars fought by the talented
Germanicus Caesar Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was an ancient Roman general, known for his campaigns in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicus was born into an influential branch of the patri ...
on behalf of his uncle Tiberius, emperor of Rome, against the perpetrators of the massacre of three Roman legions in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, the year 9. The wars began in the last years of the reign of Augustus, first emperor of Rome. Augustus died an old but respected man in the year 14 and was celebrated with much pomp and splendor. He left a document to be read to the senate posthumously, expressly forbidding extension of the empire beyond the Rhine. News of the will was welcomed by the Germans, thinking it gave them a free hand in the region. Germanicus found it necessary to pacify the border, which he did by a combination of
scorched earth A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy that aims to destroy anything that might be useful to the enemy. Any assets that could be used by the enemy may be targeted, which usually includes obvious weapons, transport vehicles, communi ...
raids and offers of alliance with Rome - in short, stick and carrot. These raids also kept the army of the lower Rhine distracted from the possibility of mutiny, which had broken out on Augustus's death and only been quelled by concessions and executions. For punitive expeditions Germanicus used the Ems river, which flowed from the heart of the country occupied by the tribes that became the Franks. These were still under
Arminius Arminius ( 18/17 BC – 21 AD) was a chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe who is best known for commanding an alliance of Germanic tribes at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD, in which three Roman legions under the command of ge ...
, who had led the German confederation to the victory in 9. Unlike Arminius' native tribe, the
Cherusci The Cherusci were a Germanic tribe that inhabited parts of the plains and forests of northwestern Germany in the area of the Weser River and present-day Hanover during the first centuries BC and AD. Roman sources reported they considered themsel ...
, the loyalty of the other tribes in the confederation was at best equivocal. The Angrivarii's defection or revolt (''defectio'') in the middle of Arminius's renewed operations against the Teutoburg Forest must have been secured in advance by Germanicus. Even if it was not, a cavalry attack soon brought the Angrivarii's capitulation. Soon afterwards, however, they are back in alliance with the Cherusci and opposition to the Romans, setting an ambush at the Cheruscan border, which was a high dirt embankment. They hid their cavalry in the woods and stationed their infantry on the reverse slope of the bank. The Romans had intelligence of the plan beforehand. They assaulted the embankment, preceding their assault with volleys from slings and spears thrown by machines. Driving the Angrivarii from the bank, they went on to pursue the cavalry in the woods. Once again the Angrivarii were totally routed. Once the Cherusci had been dealt with, Germanicus turned his attention to the Angrivarii. They, however, surrendered unconditionally to the general sent by Germanicus and placed themselves in the status of suppliants, begging for mercy, which Germanicus granted. This later reaped dividends for the Angrivarii played a major role in securing the return of ships and men lost in a North Sea storm which scattered the Roman fleet upon the shore of hostile or neutral Germanic tribes. Finally, on May 26 of the year 17, Germanicus celebrated a triumph for his victory over lower Germany and his uncle sent him off to the east.Annales ii.41 Arminius died and the Angrivarii, the other west Germans and their successor tribes continued friendly towards Rome, providing it with elite troops and urban and palace police. Together with the
Cherusci The Cherusci were a Germanic tribe that inhabited parts of the plains and forests of northwestern Germany in the area of the Weser River and present-day Hanover during the first centuries BC and AD. Roman sources reported they considered themsel ...
and the Chatti, the Angrivari belong to the three tribes that Tacitus particularly emphasizes in his account of the triumphal march of Germanicus in 17 AD:


See also

* Battle of the Teutoburg Forest *
Barbarian invasions The Migration Period was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories by various tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roman ...
* List of ancient Germanic peoples *
Angrivarian Wall The so-called Angrivarian Wall (german: Angrivarierwall) was mentioned by the Roman historian, Tacitus (''Annals'' II, 19–21), in connection with the campaign by the Roman general Germanicus in 16 AD, which included the Battle of the Angrivarian ...
* Battle of the Angrivarian Wall


Notes


References

* Bjordvand, Harald; Lindeman, Fredrik Otto (2007). ''Våre arveord''. Novus. . *


External links


Tacitus' ''Germania''
{{Germanic peoples Early Germanic peoples Old Saxony Saxons History of Lower Saxony History of North Rhine-Westphalia Germania