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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

historian

Publius Cornelius Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical ...

around 98 AD and originally titled ''On the Origin and Situation of the Germans'' (), is a historical and

ethnographic Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

work on the

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts of ...

outside the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

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 Aesti (also Aestii, Astui or Aests) were an ancient people first described by the Roman historian Tacitus in his treatise ''Germania'' (circa 98 AD). According to Tacitus, the territory of Aesti was located somewhere east of the ''Suiones'' ...

, the

Fenni The Fenni were an ancient people of northeastern Europe, first described by Cornelius Tacitus in ''Germania'' in AD 98. Ancient accounts The Fenni are first mentioned by Cornelius Tacitus in ''Germania'' in 98 A.D. Their location is uncer ...

, 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 () or Ingvaeones () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic cultural group living in the Northern Germania along the North Sea coast in the areas of Jutland, Holstein, and Lower Saxony in classical antiquity. Tribes in this area include ...

, the

Irminones The Irminones, also referred to as Herminones or Hermiones (), were a large group of early Germanic tribes settling in the Elbe watershed and by the first century AD expanding into Bavaria, Swabia, and Bohemia. Notably this included the large sub ...

, and the Istaevones, deriving their ancestry from three sons of

Mannus Mannus, according to the Roman writer Tacitus, was a figure in the creation Germanic mythology, myths of the Germanic tribes. Tacitus is the only source of these myths. This is a university textbook and exists in several variants printed for d ...

, 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 comparisons ...

, 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 fro ...

, "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 Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek and Roman literature and their original languages, ...

, and the ''Germania'' fits squarely within the tradition established by authors from

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 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 Caesar's civil wa ...

. Tacitus himself had already written a similar—albeit shorter—essay on the lands and peoples of

Britannia The image of Britannia () is the national personification of United Kingdom, Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously appli ...

in his ''Agricola'' (chapters 10–13). Tacitus himself is thought to have never travelled to

Germania Germania ( ; ), also more specifically called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman provinces of Germania Inferior and Germania Superio ...

, thus his information is second-hand at best.

Ronald Syme Sir Ronald Syme, (11 March 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. He was regarded as the greatest historian of ancient Rome since Theodor Mommsen and the most brilliant exponent of the history of the Roma ...

supposed that Tacitus closely copied the lost ''Bella Germaniae'' of

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

, 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 (; ; ) 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 considered a subgroup of the Thracians. This area include ...

modified the whole frontier policy of the Empire." While Pliny may have been the primary source, scholars have identified others; among them are

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 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. He ...

's '' Gallic War'',

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 "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental Universal history (genre), universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty ...

Posidonius Posidonius (; , "of Poseidon") "of Apameia" (ὁ Ἀπαμεύς) or "of Rhodes" (ὁ Ῥόδιος) (), was a Greeks, Greek politician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, historian, mathematician, and teacher native to Apamea (Syria), Apame ...

Aufidius Bassus Aufidius Bassus was a renowned Roman historian and orator who lived in the reign of Augustus and Tiberius. Bassus was a man much admired in Rome for his eloquence. He drew up an account of the Roman wars in Germany. Uncertainty in his health perh ...

, and numerous nonliterary sources, presumably based on interviews with traders and soldiers who had ventured beyond the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

and

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

borders, and Germanic

mercenaries A mercenary is a private individual who joins an War, armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rath ...

in Rome.

Reception

One of the minor works of Tacitus, ''Germania'' was not widely cited or used before the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

. In antiquity,

Lucian Lucian of Samosata (Λουκιανὸς ὁ Σαμοσατεύς, 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer who is best known for his characteristic tongue-in-cheek style, with which he frequently ridi ...

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 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. In the West, it was cited by

Cassiodorus Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 585), commonly known as Cassiodorus (), was a Christian Roman statesman, a renowned scholar and writer who served in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ''Senato ...

in the sixth century and used more extensively by Rudolf of Fulda 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 ''The History of the Britons'' () is a purported history of early Britain written around 828 that survives in numerous recensions from after the 11th century. The ''Historia Brittonum'' is commonly attributed to Nennius, as some recensions ha ...

'', which ensured a wide diffusion to at least some of the ''Germania'''s information.

Guibert of Nogent Guibert de Nogent ( 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 a ...

, writing his autobiography around 1115, quotes ''Germania''. ''Germania'' survives in a single manuscript that was found in

Hersfeld Abbey Hersfeld Abbey was an important Benedictine imperial abbey in the town of Bad Hersfeld in Hesse (formerly in Hesse-Nassau), Germany, at the confluence of the rivers Geisa, Haune and Fulda. The ruins are now a medieval festival venue. History ...

('' Codex Hersfeldensis'') in 1425. This was brought to Italy, where Enea Silvio Piccolomini, later

Pope Pius II Pope Pius II (, ), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini (; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August 1458 to his death in 1464. Aeneas Silvius was an author, diplomat, ...

, first examined and analyzed the book. This sparked interest among German humanists, including Conrad Celtes, Johannes Aventinus, and

Ulrich von Hutten Ulrich von Hutten (21 April 1488 – 29 August 1523) was a German knight, scholar, poet and satire, satirist, who later became a follower of Martin Luther and a Protestant reformer. By 1519, he was an outspoken criticism, critic of the Roman Cat ...

and beyond. The peoples of medieval Germany (the

Kingdom of Germany The Kingdom of Germany or German Kingdom ( 'kingdom of the Germans', 'German kingdom', "kingdom of Germany", ) was the mostly Germanic language-speaking East Frankish kingdom, which was formed by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. The king was elec ...

in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

) were heterogenous, separated in distinct

kingdoms Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchic state or realm ruled by a king or queen. ** A monarchic chiefdom, represented or governed by a king or queen. * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and me ...

, such as the

Bavarians Bavarians are a Germans, German ethnographic group native to Bavaria, a state in Germany. The group's dialect or speech is known as Bavarian language, Bavarian, native to Altbayern ("Old Bavaria"), roughly the territory of the historic Electo ...

Franconians Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

, and

Swabians Swabians ( , singular ''Schwabe'') are a Germans, German ethnographic group native to the region of Swabia, which is mostly divided between the modern states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately de ...

, distinctions which remain evident in the German language and culture after the

unification of Germany The unification of Germany (, ) was a process of building the first nation-state for Germans with federalism, federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without Habsburgs' multi-ethnic Austria or its German-speaking part). I ...

in 1871 (aside from Austria) and the establishment of modern

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. 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 The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

against the Turks. Ever since its discovery, treatment of the text regarding the culture of the early

in ancient Germany remains strong, especially in German history, philology, and

ethnology Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). Sci ...

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 and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

and

nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

. A scientific angle was introduced with the development of

Germanic philology Germanic philology is the philology, philological study of the Germanic languages, particularly from a Comparative method, comparative or historical perspective. The beginnings of research into the Germanic languages began in the 16th century, wi ...

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 formulated Grimm's law of linguistics, and was the co-author of the ''Deutsch ...

. Because of its influence on the ideologies of

Pan-Germanism Pan-Germanism ( or '), also occasionally known as Pan-Germanicism, is a pan-nationalist political idea. Pan-Germanism seeks to unify all ethnic Germans, German-speaking people, and possibly also non-German Germanic peoples – into a sin ...

and

Nordicism Nordicism is a racialist ideology which views the "Nordic race" (a historical race concept) as an endangered and superior racial group. Some notable and influential Nordicist works include Madison Grant's book '' The Passing of the Great Rac ...

, 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'' (; , ; ) 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 ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

'' 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 In Western anthropology, Western philosophy, philosophy, and European literature, literature, the Myth of the Noble savage refers to a stock character who is uncorrupted by civilization. As such, the "noble" savage symbolizes the innate goodness a ...

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 Jesi () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Ancona, in the Italian region of Marche. It is an important industrial and artistic center in the floodplain on the left (north) bank of the Esino river, before its mouth on the Adria ...

. 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

*Greenwey, Richard (trans.) ''The Annales of Cornelius Tacitus. The Description of Germanie.'' 1598. * Gordon, Thomas. (trans.), before 1750. * Murphy, Arthur. (trans.), before 1805. *Church, Alfred John and Brodribb, William Jackson (trans.), 1877. * Furneaux, Henry (ed.), 1900. * *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

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, 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
19101910
* Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb's translations
18681868
revise

reprinte
18991942
* Edward Brooks's translation
1897
* Lamberto Bozzi's translation
2012
* Roger Pearse's

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Germania (Book) 1st-century history books Classical ethnography Germania Works about history in Latin Sources on Germanic paganism Works by Tacitus Books about Germany 1st-century books in Latin History books about ancient Rome History books about Germany 90s in the Roman Empire