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Home , Arminius, Attila, Goths, Huns, List of German monarchs, Merovech

The World of the Germanic Tribes and the Migration of Nations We have gotten to know the as a great and powerful state. If we compare a map of this empire's expanse at the time of Christ's birth with a map of the empire around 565 A.D., we will see what major changes must have taken place in the centuries between those two dates. In order to understand them, we turn our attention to the neighbors of the Romans, the Germanic tribes. Who were the Germanic Tribes? Only when Caesar conquered (58 to 51 B.C.), did the Romans get to know the Germanic tribes as a group of nations with their own language and culture. They had arisen since the sixth century B.C. between the lower and middle segments of the and rivers, and from there had spread soon as far as Jütland and what is now northwestern . The neighboring areas were Germanized in the course of the following centuries. We learn from Roman reports that the tribes in the German homeland called themselves "Sueben" (from where we get the modern word "" and "Schwaben"). In the first century B.C., the entire area between the Elbe and Rhein rivers was already under their influence. Some tribes had become confederates with them, others had to pay a as a sign of their dependence, and still others were directly ruled by "Sueben" who had immigrated. The fame and respect for the "Sueben" was so great that even non-Sueben tribes began to consider themselves Sueben and to imitate them. Some tribes did not want to go along with Sueben leadership, and sought new homes west of the Rhein. The Spread of the "Sueben". We can picture how the spread happened by the example of a typical tribal leader. His home was probably the area that is today called "Thüringen". Whether he was already a there, is uncertain. But certainly he was among the leading who had a comitatus or "clientship". Noble Teutons had a group of free men; they had given themselves voluntarily into the service of the master, for a certain length of time, or indefinitely. The master and the freeman swore reciprocal loyalty. The vassal (or "thane") obliged himself to honorable service: he rendered military service and was an advisor in times of peace. The master provided, in returned, for the livelihood of the vassal, gave him gifts, and protected him. Nobles with small followings could enter together with them into the service of a more powerful noble, e.g., for a war party. It was customary that young men would enter into service for a master for a certain length of time. The more respected a master was, the more vassals, and from upper classes, he could gather around himself. They live in his mansion and swore loyalty to him. They promised to stand by him at all times with advice and military help. The Germanic Tribes, page 1 master promised them, in return, loyalty and protection. He clothed and nourished them, and gave them gifts, e.g., a warhorse or a weapon. Especially if a war party promise rich booty, members of other tribes would join the following. The tribal leader began to conquer new lands with such a following. Great successes spread his fame, and many joined him. Thus he appeared finally as a military king at the head of a large army organized by such retinues on the Rhein. Women and children, too, took part in the military migrations, which lasted years. This tribal leader went further, into Alsace, intervened in fights between Celtic tribes, and finally settled in Gaul. Thus he entered into conflict with the Romans, because Caesar began at this time to conquer Gaul. In 58 B.C., this tribal leader was defeated by Caesar and forced to retreat back across the Rhein. Thus the Germanic expansion beyond the Rhein was ended for several centuries. The Migrations of other Germanic Tribes. East of the "Sueben", in the second and first centuries B.C., great changes were likewise taking place. The and other tribes from the Kattegat area, as well as the from the Island of Bornholm, came over the Baltic into the area of the Oder delta in the second century B.C., and immigrated southwards into the area between the Oder and Weichsel rivers. Toward the end of the first century B.C., the followed from Götaland and from the Island of . We must imagine these migrations as being similar to those of the typical tribal leader described above, i.e., the larger portions of the tribe remained in the homeland. According to some reports, the king, in the case of the Goths, lead the migrations himself. In the cases of the other tribes, it was probably relatives of the king, who himself remained at home, who in this way could later become . Probably only a part of the following and army came from their own tribe. For warrior seeking adventure, from many other tribes, came along. Whoever was dependent in the homeland, or whoever only had little property, could hope in this way to attain more property, or, if possible, to become himself a lord over dependent people. The longer the migration lasted, and the more successful the leading king was, larger his armed following became. Wherever they came from, they were now all called by the tribal name of the leader. The tribes of the Vandals, Burgundians, and Goths in the conquered area of the Oder and Weichsel rivers grew together out of three components:

Germanic Tribes, page 2 1. from the leading military king with his closest followers, who gave his name to the group 2. from his army and Teutons of various tribes, who joined after the successful conquering of the area 3. from the subjugated non-Germanic population Germanic Areas - a Roman Province? After the Romans had advanced as far as the River, the Emperor made a plan to make the Elbe River the new boundary for the empire. The maneuvers against the Teuton began in the year 12 B.C., and after a few years, the area seemed to have been conquered. Various tribes were re-located in order to break down their resistance. The ruthless Romans were determined to crush the Teutons. The Markoman tribe, and other Teutons in their following, escape the Roman grasp as they entered under the leadership of the King Marbod. Because of a very dangerous uprising in (in the area of what is today ), the Romans could not defeat the Markoman tribe. Those Teutons who were already defeated must have sent military assistance for this uprising in Pannonia. The Cherusker was possibly the leader of such assisting troops. “Arminius” is the form of the German name, “Herman”. Certainly we know that he was a Roman officer and had . Returning home, he organized a great uprising against the Romans in 9 A.D. It was not at all simple for him to organize all tribal members for this undertaking. Among the Cheruskers, there was no longer a monarchy. All members of the old royal family, to which Arminius also belonged, were leaders of a following and of a very large number of dependents, i.e., people who given themselves to the protective service of a lord in return for the use of land or cattle. They were all fighting for power and influence within their tribe. Taking sides for or against was decided by the group to which one belonged in the internal competition inside the tribe. Arminius persuaded the tribal parliament for a war against the Romans. For this reason, everybody had to participate, who wanted to continue living in the tribe and belonging to it, even those who were friendly toward the Romans. Other tribes joined. The uprising was wildly successful, the Roman military forces exterminated in a remote area (9 A.D.). Subsequently, Caesar Augustus gave up the plans to conquer. Even under his successors, the subjugation was never successful. For four centuries, the Rhein and the Danube remained the Roman border, connected by the Limes (a stone wall connecting the narrow gap between Germanic Tribes, page 3 the two rivers). In 260 A.D., the Alaman and Frankish tribes broke through the Limes. The Germanic tribes learned that when they united, the Romans had no chance of conquering them, and they were finally the one force which was strong enough to conquer Rome. Amazement and Emnity As neigbors, the Teutons remained in frequent contact with Roman culture. The went to the Roman markets and sold there their cattle and grain. Roman retailers brought vessels of bronze, silver, glass, and terra sigillata as far as the Baltic area, and told of life in their homeland. Even the internal struggles in the Roman Empire and its wars on distant borders were known to the Teutons. Especially after the third century A.D., the Teutons used these opportunities on the Rhein and Danube rivers for war and raiding parties. The Romans attempted to protect themselves by treaties with the neighboring kings. In return for fixed payments of money, these tribes were obliged to provide troops and defend the borders against other Germanic tribes. The Romans either placed he POW's from these battles into their own armies, or settled them as dependent peasants in de- populated areas. Besides that, after the fourth century A.D., not only did individual soldiers from among all the free Germanic tribes join the as , but also upper-class leaders, together with the followers, allowed themselves to be mixed in with the Romans and settled in . After a time of service, they either settled there as free people, or they returned to their homelands with the riches they had earned, which gave them an even better reputation among their own people. The free Teutons in Gaul took over, indeed, many aspects of the Roman way of life, but they still remained Teutons in their own self- concept, in their language, and in their clothing. A common Germanic culture emerged after the fourth century A.D. inside and outside of the Roman Empire, between Seine and Elbe rivers, by means of the adoption of Roman ways and customs, while at the same time retaining their own Germanic traditions. Already since the beginning of the third century A.D., the political organizations of the Teutons were also caught up in a large wave of change. The Romans knew them from then on under the new names Alaman, Frank, and Saxon. The Migration of Nations. Again and again in the course of history, nations have migrated. We have already heard in this narrative about the Germanic migrations. But in the Germanic Tribes, page 4 year 375 A.D., a catastrophe impacted many Germanic tribes, which caused them to move for decades around . At the end of this era, Europe was changed; there was no longer any . Because of the world-changing consequences of these migrations, these events are known collectively as the "migration of nations" (Völkerwanderung). We will consider more closely only the history of the Goths and the . The Goths. The catastrophe of the year 375 A.D. was caused by the spread of a new nation, the . Under their leadership in the fourth century A.D., equestrian migrated from inner Asia toward the west. In the course of this, their military forces grew continually in size. In the year 375, they delivered a smashing defeat to the (eastern Goths), and already in 376 they occupied the territories of the (western Goths). Nobody knew how to defend himself against these unknown enemies who looked so strange. For they fought, not with a rider's lance, but rather their weapon was a bow, with which they could shoot especially far, and whose arrows had a great capacity for penetration. Panic spread, and flight into the Roman Empire seemed to be the only salvation. Most of the Visigoths crossed the Danube already in 376 with imperial permission. Famine, and the greed of the Roman bureaucrats, soon drove them to rebellion. In 378, there was a battle at Adrianopel, which ended with a Gothic victory and the death of the emperor. After this defeat, the Roman saw themselves forced, for the first time, to allow an entire tribe to settle on imperial territory under its own leadership. The number of these "Roman Goths" grew continually by means of refugees from the old Gothic homeland. From now on, there were Goths under Roman rule, and Goths under Hun rule. When the Huns, in 394, also came over the Danube, the "Roman Goths" took flight again, and left Thrakia (around what is today ). Under their king Alaric, they migrated for years, sometimes with, and sometimes without, Roman permission, through the Balkan peninsula and . Their army grew, in the course of this, through escaped slaves of Germanic origin, through Germanic defectors from the Roman army, and refugees from the Hun Empire. These migratory bands of riders were accompanied by a large crowd of women and children. It is estimated that it totaled around 100,000 people. Out of this army, under the leadership of a military king, there gradually arose the new tribe of the Western Goths. Sometimes they fought alone against Roman squads, sometime as allies with a Roman group against a different group. Among these battles, Rome was Germanic Tribes, page 5 conquered in 410 A.D., the first time since the Celtic attack of 387 B.C. The hopes of the Western Goths, to achieve for themselves a permanent new home, were only realize in 418 A.D., after they had moved through Gaul and . In (in southwestern France), they settled. For the Romans, the king of the Western Goths was the representative of the emperor, and was assigned to govern by him. became the new capital. During their forty-year stay in the Roman Empire, they had gotten to know the Roman customs well, and they took on many Roman ways of life. But the Goths remained mounted warriors. At first they were given quarters in the large Roman estates. But already after only a few years, they demanded a part of the land. From now on they themselves owned estates - large or small, each according to his station. Peasants and indentured servants worked the land as before. For them, only the master had changed. The administration of the Western Gothic Empire was continued by Roman bureaucrats. That continued even in 468 A.D., when the king renounced participation in the Roman Empire. Since 434 A.D., ruled the Huns. He undertook, in 451, a military advance against the Western Roman Empire. In the middle of Gaul, in the fields of Katalaunia (between and ChÉlons-sur-Marne), there was a battle, in which the respective Roman tribes fought on both the Roman side and the Hun side, depending on whom they served. After the battle ended in a stalemate, and Attila retreated, the Huns were no longer considered unbeatable. When Attila died, in 453, most of the subjugated Germanic tribes revolted against his sons. The Huns retreated into the eastern steppes. The victorious Teutons built new empires north of the Danube. The "Hun Goths", i.e., the Eastern Goths, were, however, loyal to the Huns until the end. Now they asked to be admitted into the Roman Empire. After long rivalries between various Gothic princes, the Great emerged as the winner. The Emperor removed him from the Eastern Gothic Empire, because he assigned him to fight against the Teuton Odoaker in Italy. After Theodoric's victory, his Eastern Goths settle in Italy. In the imperial city , Theodoric lived after 493 A.D. as the and the representative of the Emperor. The Franks. In the battle in the Katalaunian fields, the Franks fought as allies of the Roman officer Aetius. When he was murdered soon after, all the Frankish tribes changed sides to attack Gaul. Members of the Salisian royal house, called Merovingians after an ancestor named , collected an army for themselves. In the conquered area, they founded their own small kingdoms, with Roman cities as residences. In the case of the Rhein Franks, things were similar (except that they were a few miles to the east). At the end of the century, many Franks had left their original Germanic Tribes, page 6 homeland, which was east of the Rhein, the area called or Frankenland. One of the lesser kings in the Merovingian was not content with what he inherited from his father: in 482 A.D., Chlodowech (an ancient form of the modern name Ludwig) took the throne at the age of sixteen, after his father, Childerich, the King of Tournai. In 486 he conquered northern Gaul, which had been up to that time still ruled by a Roman. After this victory, Childerich was more powerful than any other Frankish king. He was victorious also in wars against the Western Goths and the Alaman tribe. After the victory over the Alamans, Chlodowech asked to be baptized, along with approximately 3,000 of his followers. From now on, the bishops did not see the Frankish king as a foreign ruler, but rather as the protector of the . The Franks began to give up their pagan ways: they stopped , trial by ordeal, and slave trading. Instead of regarding women as property, monogamy became the standard. But the old pagan ways re-surfaced. Bit by bit, Chlodowech subjugated also all the other Frankish kings, as he used betrayal, power, and cunning to bring about the violent death of all the other Frankish kings and their courts. Their ruin was exactly the fact that they were related to him. Because, according to pagan thought, which kept seeping back into the Christianized Teutons, only members of the royal family could become king. Only they possessed the "royal touch", because they, as the pagans believe, descended from divine ancestors. Their special closeness to the gods (the pagans were polytheists) allowed them to bring luck and blessing to their people, because the gods gave them the victories in war and good harvests in peace, and bestowed prosperity among humans and livestock. In the eyes of the Franks, Chlodowech's "touch" was greater than all others. Everyone was ready to accept him as king. His Christian subjects saw, correspondingly, the grace of resting upon him and his actions, inasmuch as he did bring peace and an end to the ritual sacrifices. Thus he founded the unity and the empire of the Franks. Very different from the Goths, the Franks in Gaul were more than merely a class of warlike lords. The Germanic settlers, who had lived there a long time, and who had the same culture as the Franks, quickly became Franks. From the name of this Germanic tribe not only the name of the modern nation France, but the city , as well. Agricultural estates and villages were founded, in which the majority of the Franks lived as free farmers. Upper-class Franks achieved, through conquest and later by royal grant, large land holdings, which were maintained by peasants or indentured servants. But most of the land belongs to the king.

Germanic Tribes, page 7 The organization of the church remained steady through all these social changes. The Romans saw in the bishops their advocates among the new masters. But without royal approval, nobody could become a bishop now. In the cities, there were also the royal administrators, the counts. They judged and collected and tolls, which continued to be paid as under the Romans. They were also the leaders of the military troops in their areas. All free men were obligated for military service, at first only the Franks, but later also the Romans. Even upper-class Romans could have high positions in the administration, and later in the army. So the Franks and the Romans lived in good peace with each other. It didn't take long, until even the Romans wanted to become Franks.

Germanic Tribes, page 8