TheHarii (West Germanic "warriors")[1] were, according to a single brief remark by the 1st century CE Roman historianTacitus, aGermanic people; the most powerful of theLugian group of states (civitates), who in turn dominated a large part of theSuebian part ofGermania in an area north of theSudeten andCarpathian Mountains, in the region of present day Poland and eastern Germany.
In his workGermania, Tacitus says the Harii used black shields and painted their bodies black (nigra scuta, tincta corpora), attacking at night as a shadowy army, much to the terror of their opponents. Theories have been proposed connecting the Harii to theeinherjar, ghostly warriors in service to the godOdin, attested much later among theNorth Germanic peoples by way ofNorse mythology, and to the tradition of theWild Hunt, a procession of the dead through the winter night sky sometimes led by Odin.
Regarding the Harii, Tacitus writes inGermania:
As for the Harii, quite apart from their strength, which exceeds that of the other tribes I have just listed, they pander to their innate savagery by skill and timing: with black shields and painted bodies, they choose dark nights to fight, and by means of terror and shadow of a ghostly army they cause panic, since no enemy can bear a sight so unexpected and hellish; in every battle the eyes are the first to be conquered.[2]
According toJohn Lindow, Andy Orchard, andRudolf Simek, connections are commonly drawn between the Harii and theeinherjar of Norse mythology; those that have died and gone toValhalla ruled over by the godOdin, preparing for the events ofRagnarök.[2][3][4]
Lindow writes that regarding the theorized connection between the Harii and the Einherjar, "many scholars think there may be basis for the myth in an ancient Odin cult, which would be centered on young warriors who entered into an ecstatic relationship with Odin" and that the nameHarii has beenetymologically connected to the-herjar element ofeinherjar.[3]
Simek says that since the connection has become widespread, "one tends to interpret these obviously living armies of the dead as religiously motivated bands of warriors, who led to the formation of the concept of theeinherjar as well as theWild Hunt".[4]
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