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.
o 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.

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GERMANIC
LANGUAGE
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II
GERMANIC
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The etymology of the word "Germani": is uncertain

o modern English word"germane": "cut, short" (a short distance),

o Another celtic possibility is that the name meant "noisy"
o "spear men"
o "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 selfdesignation 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 Tribes

By the 1st century CE, the writings of Caesar, Tacitus and other Roman
Empire writers indicate a division of Germanic-speaking peoples into tribal
groupings centred on:

the rivers Oder and Vistula/ Weichsel (East Germanic Tribes),

the lower Rhine river,
the river Elbe,
Jutland and the Danish islands

The 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:
o West Germanic,
o East Germanic, and
o North Germanic
The Greek scholars classified Germans as the peoples along
o the Elbe,
o the Rhine, and
o the Danube,
o the Vistula and on
o the Baltic Sea

Roman Empire period

o

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
o No written records of such a parent language exist
o Some evidence point to a common pantheon made up of
several different chronological layers
o

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 ProtoGermanic 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.

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

Migration 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 outwards
Role in the Fall of Rome
Staring 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
Rome
Early Middle Ages
The transition of the Migration period to the Middle Ages is marked by:
the Christianization of the Germanic peoples and
the formation of stable kingdoms replacing the mostly tribal
structures of the Migration period

GERMANIC 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 culture
Germanic settlements:
o
o

typically small, containing no more than ten households

usually located at clearings in the wood
The buildings consisted of farmhouses surrounded
o

granaries and other storage rooms

the building material was timber

cattle and humans usually lived together in the same

building

the Germans practiced:

o agriculture (barley and wheat; brewing beer)
o husbandry (a source of dairy products) and as a basis for
wealth and social status (the size of an individual's herd)
o hunting to a very modest extent
o manual production of basic pottery
o 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 German
Anglo-Frisian
The Anglo-Frisian language family has two major groups:

The English languages descended from the Old English language of

the Anglo-Saxons and include:
o
English (spoken in England) and throughout the United
Kingdom, and also in English Speaking Europe
o
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

o
o

Low Franconian
Dutch dialects (Netherlands)
northern Belgium,
Nord Pas de Calais region of France and
around Dusseldorf in Germany
o 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 speakers
Global distribution of native speakers of the German language:

Country

German speaking population

(outside German speaking
countries)

Country

German speaking population

(outside German speaking
countries)

USA

5,000,000

Mexico

100,000 (Mennonites)

Brasil

3,000,000

South
Africa

75,000 (German expatriate

citizens)

Russian

2,000,000
Belgium

66,000

Raraguay

56,000

Chile

40,000

Namibia

30,000 (German expatriate

citizens)

Denmark

20,000

Romania

15,000

Poland

Argentina

Canada

Italy

Peru

Hungary

800,000

500,000

450,000 620,000

250,000

240,000

220,000
Venezuela 10,000

Australian 110,000