The ''Germania'', written by the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
historian
Publius Cornelius Tacitus around 98 AD and originally entitled ''On the Origin and Situation of the Germans'' ( la, De origine et situ Germanorum), is a historical and
ethnographic work on the
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...
outside the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
.
Contents
The ''Germania'' begins with a description of the lands, laws, and customs of the Germanic people (chapters 1–27); it then describes individual peoples, beginning with those dwelling closest to Roman lands and ending on the uttermost shores of the Baltic, among the amber-gathering
Aesti, the
Fenni, and the unknown peoples beyond them.
Tacitus says (chapter 2) that physically, the Germanic peoples appear to be a distinct nation, not an admixture of their neighbors, since nobody would desire to migrate to a climate as horrid as that of Germania. They are divided into three large branches, the
Ingaevones
The Ingaevones were a West Germanic cultural group living in the Northern Germania along the North Sea coast in the areas of Jutland, Holstein, and Frisia in classical antiquity. Tribes in this area included the Angles, Frisii, Chauci, S ...
, the
Irminones, and the
Istaevones, deriving their ancestry from three sons of
Mannus, son of
Tuisto
According to Tacitus's '' Germania'' (AD 98), Tuisto (or Tuisco) is the legendary divine ancestor of the Germanic peoples. The figure remains the subject of some scholarly discussion, largely focused upon etymological connections and compariso ...
, their common forefather.
In chapter 4, he mentions that they all have common physical characteristics, blue eyes (''truces et caerulei oculi'' = "sky-coloured, azure, dark blue, dark green"), reddish hair (''rutilae comae'' = "red, golden-red, reddish yellow"), and large bodies, vigorous at the first onset but not tolerant of exhausting labour, tolerant of hunger and cold, but not of heat or thirst.
In chapter 7, Tacitus describes their government and leadership as somewhat merit-based and egalitarian, with leadership by example rather than authority, and punishments are carried out by the priests. He mentions (chapter 8) that the opinions of women are given respect. In chapter 11, Tacitus describes a form of folk assembly rather similar to the public
things recorded in later Germanic sources: in these public deliberations, the final decision rests with the men of the group as a whole.
Tacitus further discusses the role of women in chapters 7 and 8, mentioning that they often accompany the men to battle and offer encouragement. He says that the men are often motivated to fight for the women because of an extreme fear of losing them to captivity. Tacitus says (chapter 18) that the Germanic peoples are mainly content with one wife, except for a few political marriages, and specifically and explicitly compares this practice favorably to other cultures. He also records (chapter 19) that adultery is very rare, and that an adulterous woman is shunned afterward by the community regardless of her beauty. In chapter 45, Tacitus mentions that the people to the north of the Germanic peoples, the
Sitones
The Sitones were a Germanic people living somewhere in Northern Europe in the first century CE. They are mentioned only by Cornelius Tacitus in 97 CE in Germania. Tacitus considered them similar to Suiones (ancestors of modern Swedes) apart from o ...
, "resemble
he Suevi Scandinaviansin all respects but one - woman is the ruling sex."
"This," Tacitus comments, "is the measure of their decline, I will not say below freedom, but even below decent slavery."
Purpose and sources
Ethnography had a long and distinguished heritage in
classical literature, and the ''Germania'' fits squarely within the tradition established by authors from
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria (Italy). He is known fo ...
to
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
. Tacitus himself had already written a similar—albeit shorter—essay on the lands and peoples of
Britannia
Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Grea ...
in his
''Agricola'' (chapters 10–13).
Tacitus himself had never travelled in
Germania; all his information is second-hand at best.
Ronald Syme supposed that Tacitus closely copied the lost ''Bella Germaniae'' of
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
, since the ''Germania'' is in some places outdated: in its description of Danubian groups, says Syme, "they are loyal clients of the Empire ... Which is peculiar. The defection of these peoples in the year 89 during Domitian's war against the
Dacians
The Dacians (; la, Daci ; grc-gre, Δάκοι, Δάοι, Δάκαι) were the ancient Indo-European inhabitants of the cultural region of Dacia, located in the area near the Carpathian Mountains and west of the Black Sea. They are often consi ...
modified the whole frontier policy of the Empire." While Pliny may have been the primary source, scholars have identified others; among them are
Caesar's ''
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 ...
'',
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called " Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could s ...
,
Diodorus Siculus,
Posidonius,
Aufidius Bassus, and numerous nonliterary sources, presumably based on interviews with traders and soldiers who had ventured beyond the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, source ...
and
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
borders, and Germanic
mercenaries in Rome.
Reception
One of the minor works of Tacitus, ''Germania'' was not widely cited or used before the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...
. In antiquity,
Lucian appears to imitate a sentence from it.
[.] It was largely forgotten during the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
. In the West, it was cited by
Cassiodorus
Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 585), commonly known as Cassiodorus (), was a Roman statesman, renowned scholar of antiquity, and writer serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ''Senator'' ...
in the sixth century and used more extensively by
Rudolf of Fulda
Rudolf of Fulda (died March 8, 862) was a Benedictine monk during the Carolingian period in the 9th century. Rudolf was active at Fulda Abbey in the present-day German state of Hesse. He was one of the most distinguished scholars of his time. Many ...
in the ninth. In the East, it was used by the anonymous author of the
Frankish Table of Nations in the early sixth century and possibly by the Emperor
Maurice in his ''
Strategikon'' later that century. In the ninth century, the Frankish Table was incorporated into the ''
Historia Brittonum'', which ensured a wide diffusion to at least some of the ''Germania''
's information.
Guibert of Nogent
Guibert de Nogent (c. 1055 – 1124) was a Benedictine historian, theologian and author of autobiographical memoirs. Guibert was relatively unknown in his own time, going virtually unmentioned by his contemporaries. He has only recently caught the ...
, writing his autobiography around 1115, quotes ''Germania''.
[
''Germania'' survives in a single manuscript that was found in Hersfeld Abbey ('']Codex Hersfeldensis {{Short description, Manuscript
The Codex Hersfeldensis was a manuscript from the Early Middle Ages. Written between 830 and 850, the codex was found in Hersfeld Abbey in the first half of the 15th century. The codex was brought to Italy by Enoch of ...
'') in 1425. This was brought to Italy, where Enea Silvio Piccolomini, later Pope Pius II
Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 Augu ...
, first examined and analyzed the book. This sparked interest among German humanists
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, including Conrad Celtes
Conrad Celtes (german: Konrad Celtes; la, Conradus Celtis (Protucius); 1 February 1459 – 4 February 1508) was a German Renaissance humanist scholar and poet of the German Renaissance born in Franconia (nowadays part of Bavaria). He led the ...
, Johannes Aventinus, and Ulrich von Hutten
Ulrich von Hutten (21 April 1488 – 29 August 1523) was a German knight, scholar, poet and satirist, who later became a follower of Martin Luther and a Protestant reformer.
By 1519, he was an outspoken critic of the Roman Catholic Church. Hu ...
and beyond.
The peoples of medieval Germany (the Kingdom of Germany
The Kingdom of Germany or German Kingdom ( la, regnum Teutonicorum "kingdom of the Germans", "German kingdom", "kingdom of Germany") was the mostly Germanic-speaking East Frankish kingdom, which was formed by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, espec ...
in 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 unt ...
) were heterogenous, separated in distinct kingdoms, such as the Bavarians, Franconians, and Swabians
Swabians (german: Schwaben, singular ''Schwabe'') are a Germanic people who are native to the ethnocultural and linguistic region of Swabia, which is now mostly divided between the modern states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, in southweste ...
, distinctions which remain evident in the German language and culture after the unification of Germany in 1871 (aside from Austria) and the establishment of modern Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
. During the medieval period, a self-designation of "Germani" was virtually never used; the name was only revived in 1471, inspired by the rediscovered text of ''Germania'', to invoke the warlike qualities of the ancient Germans in a crusade against the Turks. Ever since its discovery, treatment of the text regarding the culture of the early Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...
in ancient Germany remains strong, especially in German history, philology, and ethnology studies, and to a lesser degree in Scandinavian countries, as well. Beginning in 16th-century German humanism, German interest in Germanic antiquity remained acute throughout the period of Romanticism
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
and nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
. A scientific angle was introduced with the development of Germanic philology by Jacob Grimm
Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He is known as the discoverer of Grimm's law of linguistics, the co-author of t ...
.
Because of its influence on the ideologies of Pan-Germanism and Nordicism
Nordicism is an ideology of racism which views the historical race concept of the " Nordic race" as an endangered and superior racial group. Some notable and seminal Nordicist works include Madison Grant's book '' The Passing of the Great Ra ...
, Jewish-Italian historian Arnaldo Momigliano
Arnaldo Dante Momigliano (5 September 1908 – 1 September 1987) was an Italian historian of classical antiquity, known for his work in historiography, and characterised by Donald Kagan as "the world's leading student of the writing of history ...
in 1956 described ''Germania'' and the ''Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Ody ...
'' as "among the most dangerous books ever written". Christopher Krebs, a professor at Stanford University, claims in a 2012 study that ''Germania'' played a major role in the formation of the core concepts of Nazi ideology. The mainstream German reception is much less sensationalist and sees Tacitus's description as more patronizing than laudatory, a predecessor of the classical noble savage
A noble savage is a literary stock character who embodies the concept of the indigene, outsider, wild human, an " other" who has not been "corrupted" by civilization, and therefore symbolizes humanity's innate goodness. Besides appearing in m ...
concept which started in the 17th and 18th centuries in western European literature.
'' Codex Aesinas''
The '' Codex Aesinas'' is believed to be portions of the Codex Hersfeldensis – the lost Germania manuscript brought to Rome from Hersfeld Abbey. It was rediscovered in 1902 by priest-philologist Cesare Annibaldi in the possession of Count Aurelio Balleani of Iesi.
Temporarily transferred to Florence for the controls at the state body of the fine arts, the manuscript was severely damaged during the 1966 flood. It was later restored and brought back to Iesi, and in 1994, the ''Codex Aesinas'' was given to the National Library in Rome, catalogued as ''Cod. Vitt. Em. 1631''.
Editions and translations
*Greenvvey, R. (trans.) ''The Annales of Cornelius Tacitus. The Description of Germanie.'' London: John Bill 1622
*Church, Alfred John and Brodribb, William Jackson (trans.), 1877.
* Furneaux, Henry (ed.), 1900.
*Gordon, Thomas. (trans.), 1910.
*
*Mattingly, H. (trans.) ''The Agricola and The Germania''. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1948
*Syme, Ronald. (ed.), ''Tacitus'', vol. 1 Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1958
*Önnerfors, Alf. (ed.) ''De origine et situ Germanorum liber''. Teubner, Stuttgart: 1983, (P. Cornelii Taciti libri qui supersunt, T. 2,2)
*Rives, J. B. (trans.) ''Tacitus: Germania''. Oxford: 1999
See also
* Ancient Germanic peoples
* Germanic paganism
*Noble savage
A noble savage is a literary stock character who embodies the concept of the indigene, outsider, wild human, an " other" who has not been "corrupted" by civilization, and therefore symbolizes humanity's innate goodness. Besides appearing in m ...
*'' Regnator omnium deus''
References
Notes
Bibliography
*Dorey, T. A., '' 'Agricola' and 'Germania', '' in ''Tacitus'' (London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1969) (Studies in Latin Literature series)
*Gudeman, Alfred, ''The Sources of the Germania of Tacitus'', in ''Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association'', Vol. 31. (1900), pp. 93–111
* Christopher B. Krebs, ''Negotiatio Germaniae. Tacitus' Germania und Enea Silvio Piccolomini, Giannantonio Campano, Conrad Celtis und Heinrich Bebel'' (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2005). .
* Christopher B. Krebs, ''A Most Dangerous Book: Tacitus’s Germania from the Roman Empire to the Third Reich'' (New York: W.W. Norton, 2012). .
*Schama, Simon
Sir Simon Michael Schama (; born 13 February 1945) is an English historian specialising in art history, Dutch history, Jewish history, and French history. He is a University Professor of History and Art History at Columbia University.
He f ...
, 1995. ''Landscape and Memory'' 2.i "The hunt for Germania"
Further reading
*Robinson, Rodney Potter (1935). ''The Germania of Tacitus'' (Middletown, Connecticut; American Philological Association) (textual and manuscript analysis)
*Schellhase, Kenneth C. (1976). ''Tacitus in Renaissance Political Thought'' (Chicago)
External links
* Thomas Gordon's 1737 translation (Reprinte
1910
1910
* Alfred John Church
Alfred John Church (29 January 1829 – 27 April 1912) was an English classical scholar.
Church was born in London and was educated at King's College, London, and Lincoln College, Oxford. He took holy orders and was an assistant-master at Merch ...
and William Jackson Brodribb's translations
1868
1868
revise
reprinte
1899
1942
* Edward Brooks's translation
1897
* Lamberto Bozzi's translation
2012
* Roger Pearse's
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Germania (Book)
1st-century history books
Greco-Roman ethnography
Germania
Latin histories
Sources on Germanic paganism
Works by Tacitus
Books about Germany
1st-century Latin books