The Fosi were a
Germanic tribe
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 The information comes from various ancient historical documents, beginn ...
.
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars.
The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...
, in his ''
Germania'' mentions them as being neighbours of the
Cherusci, and they suffered alongside the Cherusci in their downfall.
He also noted that before their mutual downfall, the Fosi were less prosperous than the Cherusci. The two tribes, however, had been dependents in their prosperity, so they shared that same adversity on equal terms during their decline.
The etymological origin of the name Fosi is not known with certainty. The name may derive from the proto-Germanic *''
fuhsaz'', signifying "
fox".
References
Bibliography
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Early Germanic peoples
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