 Map of Germania in the Roman Imperial Period, with the possible locations of some peoples described by Tacitus as Germanic | |
| Author | Publius Cornelius Tacitus |
|---|---|
| Language | Latin |
| Published | AD 98 |
| Publication place | Roman Empire |
TheGermania, written by theRoman historianPublius Cornelius Tacitus around 98 AD[1][2] and originally titledOn the Origin and Situation of the Germans (Latin:De origine et situ Germanorum), is a historical andethnographic work on theGermanic peoples outside theRoman Empire.
TheGermania 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-gatheringAesti, theFenni, 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 neighbours, since nobody would desire to migrate to a climate as horrid as that of Germania. They are divided into three large branches, theIngaevones, theIrminones, and theIstaevones, deriving their ancestry from three sons ofMannus, son ofTuisto, 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.[3]
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 publicthings 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) thatadultery 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, theSitones, "resemble [the Suevi Scandinavians] in all respects but one - woman is the ruling sex."[4] "This," Tacitus comments, "is the measure of their decline, I will not say below freedom, but even below decent slavery."[4]
Ethnography had a long and distinguished heritage inclassical literature, and theGermania fits squarely within the tradition established by authors fromHerodotus toJulius Caesar. Tacitus himself had already written a similar—albeit shorter—essay on the lands and peoples ofBritannia in hisAgricola (chapters 10–13).
Tacitus himself is thought to have never travelled toGermania, thus his information is second-hand at best.[5]Ronald Syme supposed that Tacitus closely copied the lostBella Germaniae ofPliny the Elder, since theGermania 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 theDacians modified the whole frontier policy of the Empire."[6] While Pliny may have been the primary source, scholars have identified others; among them areCaesar'sGallic War,Strabo,Diodorus Siculus,Posidonius,Aufidius Bassus, and numerous nonliterary sources, presumably based on interviews with traders and soldiers who had ventured beyond theRhine andDanube borders, and Germanicmercenaries in Rome.
One of the minor works of Tacitus,Germania was not widely cited or used before theRenaissance. In antiquity,Lucian appears to imitate a sentence from it.[7] It was largely forgotten during theMiddle Ages. In the West, it was cited byCassiodorus in the sixth century and used more extensively byRudolf of Fulda in the ninth. In the East, it was used by the anonymous author of theFrankish Table of Nations in the early sixth century and possibly by the EmperorMaurice in hisStrategikon later that century. In the ninth century, the Frankish Table was incorporated into theHistoria Brittonum, which ensured a wide diffusion to at least some of theGermania's information.[8]Guibert of Nogent, writing his autobiography around 1115, quotesGermania.[7]
Germania survives in a single manuscript that was found inHersfeld Abbey (Codex Hersfeldensis) in 1425. This was brought to Italy, where Enea Silvio Piccolomini, laterPope Pius II, first examined and analyzed the book. This sparked interest amongGerman humanists, includingConrad Celtes,Johannes Aventinus, andUlrich von Hutten and beyond.
The peoples of medieval Germany (theKingdom of Germany in theHoly Roman Empire) were heterogenous, separated in distinctkingdoms, such as theBavarians,Franconians, andSwabians, distinctions which remain evident in the German language and culture after theunification of Germany in 1871 (aside from Austria) and the establishment of modernAustria andGermany. 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 ofGermania, to invoke the warlike qualities of the ancient Germans in acrusade against theTurks. Ever since its discovery, treatment of the text regarding the culture of the earlyGermanic peoples in ancient Germany remains strong, especially in German history, philology, andethnology 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 ofRomanticism andnationalism. A scientific angle was introduced with the development ofGermanic philology byJacob Grimm.Because of its influence on the ideologies ofPan-Germanism andNordicism, Jewish-Italian historianArnaldo Momigliano in 1956 describedGermania and theIliad as "among the most dangerous books ever written".[9][10]Christopher Krebs, a professor at Stanford University, claims in a 2012 study thatGermania played a major role in the formation of the core concepts of Nazi ideology.[11] The mainstream German reception is much less sensationalist and sees Tacitus's description as more patronizing than laudatory, a predecessor of the classicalnoble savage concept which started in the 17th and 18th centuries in western European literature.[12]
TheCodex 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 ofIesi.[13]
Temporarily transferred to Florence for the controls at the state body of the fine arts, the manuscript was severely damaged during the1966 flood. It was later restored and brought back to Iesi, and in 1994, theCodex Aesinas was given to the National Library in Rome, catalogued asCod. Vitt. Em. 1631.[14]
Notes
The exiled Italian scholar and futureWarburg fellowArnaldo Momigliano counted the Germania as one of "the one hundred most dangerous books ever written" (quoted in Krebs, 22). The centuries of debate over how to interpret Tacitus had particular relevance to Momigliano. A classicist from a religiouslyorthodox and socially assimilatedJewish family, Momigliano—like thousands of Italian academics—swore a loyalty oath toMussolini. He joined theFascist party and in 1938 sought exemption from theanti-SemiticRacial Laws as a party member.
Bibliography
Further reading
Germania public domain audiobook atLibriVox| Works | |
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