4.1 GERMANIC PEOPLES

"Germani" first attested in Roman inscription at 222 BCE, DE GALLEIS INSVBRIBVS ET GERM (aneis) making reference to GAULS. The writer who apparently introduced the name "Germani" into classical literature is Julius Caesar. He uses Germani in two different ways:

Germania = a geographical area of land on the east bank of the Rhine from Gaul, and outside Roman control. This usage of the word is the origin of the modern concept of Germanic languages.

It includes Celtic peoples living east of the Rhine and north of the Alps. Caesar, Tacitus and others did note differences of culture that this was a wild and dangerous region, less civilised than Gaul, and requiring of military vigilance in Rome and Gaul.

Caesar uses the term Germani, for a very specific tribal grouping in northeastern Belgic Gaul who called themselves Germanic in order not to be associated with Gaulish indolence.

The etymology of the word "Germani": is uncertain

modern English word"germane": "cut, short" (a short distance), Another celtic possibility is that the name meant "noisy"

"spear men" "greedy men" The term Germani probably originally applied to a specific group of tribes in northeastern Gaul who may not have spoken a Germanic language, and whose links to Germania are unclear The Germanic tribes did not have a single self-designation that included all Germanic-speaking people but excluded all non-Germanic people Non-Germanic peoples were called *walha - (this word lives forth in names such as Wales, Welsh, Cornwall, Wallons, Vlachs etc.).

Latin writers from the 10th century onwards used the learned adjective teutonicus (originally derived from the Teutonos) to refer to East Francia ("Regnum Teutonicum") and its inhabitants, to identify a contemporary vernacular term and the associated nation with a classical name. This usage is still partly present in modern English; hence the English use of "Teutons" in reference to the Germanic peoples.Classification of the Germanic TribesBy the 1st century CE, the writings of Caesar, Tacitus the rivers Oder and Vistula/ Weichsel (East Germanic Tribes),

the lower Rhine river,

the river Elbe,

Jutland and the Danish islandsThe Germanic people in Scandinavia are referred to as North Germanic. These groups all developed separate dialects, the basis for the differences among Germanic languages down to the present day.

The modern linguistic division of Germanic peoples: West Germanic, East Germanic, and North Germanic The Greek scholars classified Germans as the peoples along the Elbe, the Rhine, and the Danube, the Vistula and on the Baltic SeaRoman Empire period Germanic expansions during early Roman times (the Goths were settled on the southern Baltic shore by 100 CE)The early Germanic tribes spoke mutually intelligible dialects, - Germanic languages derive from a single earlier parent language

No written records of such a parent language exist Some evidence point to a common pantheon made up of several different chronological layers Some traces of common traditions between various tribes are indicated by Boewulf and the Volsunga Saga

the Romans knew them as one and gave them a common name, Germani (although the Romans gave geographical rather than cultural names to peoples

The pre-Migration Age distribution of the Germanic tribes in Proto-Germanic times, and stages of their expansion up to 50 BCE, 100 CE and 300 CE. The extent of the Roman Empire in 68 BCE and 117 CE is also shown.

By the late 2nd century BCE, Gaul, Italy and Hispania were invaded by migrating Germanic tribes As Rome expanded to the Rhine and Danube rivers, it incorporated many Celtic societies into the Empire. Caesar's wars helped establish the term GermaniaMigration Period

2nd century CE to 5th century CE simplified migrations

The 5th century CE numerous Germanic peoples, under pressure from population growth and invading Asian groups, began migrating in far and diverse directions:

Great Britain

Continental Europe

Mediterranean

Northern Africa

The wandering tribes then began staking out permanent homes as a means of protection, resulting in fixed settlements which expanded outwardsRole in the Fall of RomeStaring from 1950 historians and archeologists shifted their interpretations that the Germanic peoples are no longer seen as invading a decaying empire but as being co-opted into helping defend territory the central government could no longer adequately administer so as the Roman government passed into the hands of Germanic leaders. The Gothic settlers have turned into legitimate successor to the rule of RomeEarly Middle AgesThe transition of the Migration period to the Middle Ages is marked by:

the Christianization the formation of stable kingdoms replacing the mostly tribal structures of the Migration periodGERMANIC SOCIETY A main element uniting Germanic societies is Kingship (a sacral institution combining the functions of military leader, high priest, lawmaker and judge). Germanic monarchy was elective; the king was elected by the free men from among eligible candidates of a family tracing their ancestry to the tribe's divine or semi-divine founder.

the free men of property each ruled their own estate and were subject to the king directly, without any intermediate hierarchy as in later feudalism. Free men without landed property could swear fealty to a man of property who as their lord would then be responsible for their upkeep, including generous feasts and gifts. This system of sworn retainers was central to early Germanic society, and the loyalty of the retainer to his lord was taken to replace his family ties.

Early Germanic Law reflects a hierarchy of worth within the society of free men Free women did not have a political station of their own but inherited the rank of their father if unmarried, or their husband if married Traditional Germanic society was gradually replaced by the system of estates and feudalism characteristic of the High Middle Ages.

Material cultureGermanic settlements:

typically small, containing no more than ten households usually located at clearings in the wood The buildings consisted of farmhouses surrounded granaries and other storage rooms the building material was timber

cattle and humans usually lived together in the same buildingthe Germans practiced:

agriculture (barley and wheat; brewing beer)

husbandry (a source of dairy products) and as a basis for wealth and social status (the size of an individual's herd)

hunting to a very modest extent manual production of basic pottery fabrication of iron tools, and weapons

GERMANIC LANGUAGES MAP

WEST GERMANIC LANGUAGES

Low Franconian (Dutch)

Low German

High German: Central German (incl. Luxembourgish)

High German: Upper German (incl. Austro-Bavarian)

Anglo-Frisian (English, Scots)

Anglo-Frisian (Frisian)

NORTH GERMANIC LANGUAGES East Scandinavian (Danish, Elfdalian (spoken by c. 2,000 people who live or have grown up in the parish of vdaln, located in the southeastern part Northern Sweden)

West Scandinavian (Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian)

Line dividing the North and West Germanic languages

The GERMANIC LANGUAGES make up the predominant language family.

West Germanic

North Germanic

East Germanic (now extinct; the only known surviving East Germanic texts are written In the Gothic language)West Germanic Anglo-Frisian

Low Franconian (now primarily modern Dutch) and Low German (Saxon); the latter two include the pluricentric German varieties including Standard GermanAnglo-FrisianThe Anglo-Frisian language family has two major groups:

The English languages descended from the Old English language of the Anglo-Saxons and include:

English (spoken in England) and throughout the United Kingdom, and also in English Speaking Europe Modern Scots (spoken in Scotland and Ulster) The Frisian language are spoken by about 500,000 Frisians who live on the southern coast of the Northern Sea in the Netherland and Germany, and include West Frisian, Saterlandic (district of Cloppenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany), and North Frisian.

German Germany,

Austria, Lichtenstein, the East Cantons of Belgium Switzerland (including the northeast areas bordering on Germany and Austria)There are several groups of German dialects:

High German include several dialect families:

Standard German (High German) Central German (central Germany and Luxembourgish High Franconian (family of transitional dialects between Central and Upper High German) Upper German Austro-Bavarian Swiss German Low Franconian Dutch dialects (Netherlands)

northern Belgium,

Nord Pas de Calais region of France and around Dusseldorf in Germany

In Belgian and French contexts, the language is sometimes referred to as Flemish. Afrikaans (South-African emigrant communities in Europe, most notably in the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom) North Germanic Scandinavian countries (Danish, Denmark, Greenland, Faroe Island), - Norwegian (Noerway), Swedish (Sweden) and parts of Finland), Elfdalian or (Ovdalian) (in a small part of central Sweden), Faroese (Faeow Island)), and Icelandic (Iceland)Native speakersGlobal distribution of native speakers of the German language:

CountryGerman speaking population (outside German speaking countries)

USA5,000,000

Brasil3,000,000

Russian2,000,000

Poland800,000

Argentina500,000

Canada450,000 620,000

Italy250,000

Peru240,000

Hungary220,000

Australian110,000

Mexico100,000 (Mennonites)

South Africa75,000 (German expatriate citizens)

Belgium66,000

Raraguay56,000

Chile40,000

Namibia30,000 (German expatriate citizens)

Denmark20,000

Romania15,000

Venezuela10,000

I GERMANIC LANGUAGE

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II GERMANIC LANGUAGE

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