TEGPR 8/2/2004 2:48 PM Page i the Early Germans Second Edition TEGPR 8/2/2004 2:48 PM Page ii The Peoples of Europe General Editors: James Campbell and Barry Cunliffe This series is about the European tribes and peoples from their origins in prehistory to the present day. Drawing upon a wide range of archaeological and historical evidence, each volume presents a fresh and absorbing account of a group’s culture, society and usually turbulent history. Already published The Etruscans The Goths Graeme Barker and Thomas Rasmussen Peter Heather The Normans The Franks* Marjorie Chibnall Edward James The Norsemen in the Viking Age The Russians Eric Christiansen Robin Milner-Gulland The Lombards The Mongols Neil Christie David Morgan The Serbs The Armenians Sima C´ irkovic´ A. E. Redgate The Basques* The Britons Roger Collins Christopher A. Snyder The English The Huns Geoffrey Elton E. A. Thompson The Gypsies The Early Germans Second edition Second edition Angus Fraser Malcolm Todd The Bretons The Illyrians Patrick Galliou and Michael Jones John Wilkes In preparation The Sicilians The Romans David Abulafia Timothy Cornell The Irish The Scots Francis John Byrne and Michael Herity Colin Kidd The Byzantines The Picts Averil Cameron Charles Thomas The Spanish Roger Collins *Denotes title now out of print TEGPR 8/2/2004 2:48 PM Page iii the Early Germans Malcolm Todd Second Edition TEGPR 8/2/2004 2:48 PM Page iv © 1992, 2004 by Malcolm Todd BLACKWELL PUBLISHING 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia The right of Malcolm Todd to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. First edition published 1992 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd Second edition published 2004 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Todd, Malcolm, FSA. The early Germans / Malcolm Todd. – 2nd ed. p. cm. – (The Peoples of Europe) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-4051-1714-1 (alk. paper) 1. Germanic peoples – History. I. Title. II. Series. DD75.T62 2004 936.3 – dc22 2004055089 A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library. Set in 10 on 12 pt Sabon by SNP Best-set Typesetter Ltd., Hong Kong. Printed and bound in the United Kingdom by TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall. The publisher’s policy is to use permanent paper from mills that operate a sustainable forestry policy, and which has been manufactured from pulp processed using acid-free and elementary chlorine-free practices. Furthermore, the publisher ensures that the text paper and cover board used have met acceptable environmental accreditation standards. For further information on Blackwell Publishing, visit our website: www.blackwellpublishing.com TEGPR 8/2/2004 2:48 PM Page v In Memoriam E. A. Thompson D. A. Bullough Teachers and Friends TEGPR 8/2/2004 2:48 PM Page vi TEGPR 8/2/2004 2:48 PM Page vii Contents List of Illustrations xi Foreword to the Second Edition xiii Foreword to the First Edition xv Abbreviations xvi Introduction: Rediscovery 1 The Germani 1 Origins 8 Languages 11 Part I Germania 15 1 Land and People 17 The Land 17 Germans, Celts and the Eastern Peoples 19 2The Social Fabric 28 The Institutions of Society 28 Armament and Warfare 35 3The Germans and the Advance of Rome 44 Early Encounters 44 Roman Frontiers 53 Germans in the Service of Rome 59 TEGPR 8/2/2004 2:48 PM Page viii viii Contents 4The Living and the Dead 62 The Forms of Settlement 62 The Agricultural Economy 76 Burial of the Dead 80 5Trade and Diplomacy 84 Roman Diplomacy and the Early Germans 84 Trade with the Roman Empire 87 6 Cult, Art and Technology 103 Deities and their Sanctuaries 103 Human Sacrifice 109 Myth and Ritual 114 Christianity 118 Crafts and Craftsmanship 120 The Origins of Germanic Art 132 Part II Germanic Europe 137 7The Gothic Kingdoms 139 Gothic Origins 139 The Visigoths 142 The Ostrogoths 163 8The Suebi and Vandals 172 The Suebi 172 The Vandals 175 9Franks, Alamanni and Burgundians 179 The Franks: from Gaul to Francia 179 The Alamanni 193 The Burgundians 197 TEGPR 8/2/2004 2:48 PM Page ix Contents ix 10 The Northern Peoples 202 The Saxons and Frisians 202 Scandinavia 210 11 The Gepids and Lombards 220 The Gepids 220 The Lombards 225 12 The Thuringians and Bavarians 239 Conclusion: From Antiquity to Today 242 Sources 255 Bibliography 256 Index 261 TEGPR 8/2/2004 2:48 PM Page x TEGPR 8/2/2004 2:49 PM Page xi Illustrations 1 The western Germanic peoples, c. ad 200 7 2 The eastern Germanic peoples, c. ad 100 10 3 Bows, arrows, spears and swords from the votive finds at Nydam and Thorsbjerg 37 4 German captives on a Roman statue-base from Mainz, probably first century ad 38 5 Early Roman military bases east of the middle Rhine 49 6 The settlement at Peelo, Drenthe, the Netherlands 65 7 The settlement at Wijster, Drenthe, the Netherlands: a planned layout of the fourth century ad 68 8 The settlement at Zeijen I, Drenthe, the Netherlands: an enclosed settlement of the early Roman Iron Age 72 9 Plan of long-houses in early Germanic settlements 74 10 The settlement at Flögeln, near Cuxhaven, Germany: fourth to fifth centuries ad 75 11 Imports of early Roman bronze vessels into Germania (after J. Kunow) 90 12 Silver dish with emblem of Athena, from the hoard found near Hildesheim 92 13 Roman imports east of the Rives Vistula 94 14 Tombstone of Q. Atilius Primus, soldier and later trader, found in Slovakia north of the Danube frontier; second century ad 96 15 The corpse of a girl from Windeby 111 16 The skull of a man from Osterby with a ‘Suebian’ knot 112 17 One of the two Thorsbjerg phalerae, a Roman military ornament with additions by a Germanic craftsman 115 18 Scandinavian brooches showing the influence of Roman ornament 122 TEGPR 8/2/2004 2:49 PM Page xii xii Illustrations 19 Gold collar from Ålleberg, Sweden; fifth century ad 124 20 Gold cage-cup from the Pietroasa treasure, Romania 126 21 Motifs and inscription from one of the gold horns found at Gallehus, Denmark 128 22 Movements of the Visigoths from the Danube to Gaul 147 23 The mausoleum of Theodoric at Ravenna 169 24 The Germanic kingdoms in Gaul 182 25 The settlement at Neerhaeren-Rekem, near Maastricht, c. ad 400 189 26 The burial of Arnegunde, St Denis, Paris: a Frankish royal lady of the late sixth century 190 27 The settlement at St-Ouen-du-Brueil, Normandy, late fourth to fifth century ad 191 28 The hilltop stronghold of the Runder Berg, near Urach, southern Germany: an Alamannic noble residence of the fourth and fifth centuries 196 29 The hoard from Tureholm, Sweden 212 30 The Gudme region, ad 200–800 213 31 The fort of Eketorpsborg, Sweden 216 32 Reconstruction of the horse-gear from a richly furnished Gepid(?) burial at Apahida, Romania 222 33 Finds of Avar arrowheads on the upper Danube 224 34 A Lombard burial at Tamasi, Hungary 224 35 Lombard Italy and its neighbours 229 36 An idealized German warrior, based on material from the Thorsbjerg votive find 249 TEGPR 8/2/2004 2:49 PM Page xiii Foreword to the Second Edition A book written more than a decade ago and now appearing in a revised edition, after several reprints and four translations, requires some defence. Since the publication of the first edition in 1992 there have been many advances in the study of this extensive field. These include not only major accessions to knowledge, but also new approaches to what is already known, in part in response to radical political change in modern Europe, after 1989 in particular. Other, more intellectual forces have been at work, opening up debate on the relations between the Roman world and the northern peoples, and on the complex subject of migra- tion. Inevitably, migration in its many forms is prominent in this volume, as is the equally complex field of ethnicity, which has received much attention over recent years. Discussion of both these subjects has been to the fore over the past decade and more. Among many major con- tributions there may be mentioned those of Herwig Wolfram, Patrick Périn, Michel Kasanski, Claus von Carnap-Bornheim, Peter Heather and Ian Wood. The important Romanisierung project organized by the Römisch–Germanische Kommission has opened numerous avenues of research. Behind these advances the onward march of the reference work, Hoops’ Reallexicon has continued with general benefit. In revising the book I must acknowledge a debt to the incomparable resources of the Library of the Römisch–Germanische Kommission and the kindness of its expert staff. My debt to the staff of Blackwell Pub- lishing is as great. In particular, I must thank Tessa Harvey, Angela Cohen and Helen Lawton for all their help, advice and support, and Sandra Raphael for her expertise in copy-editing a mongrel text. February 2004 TEGPR 8/2/2004 2:49 PM Page xiv TEGPR 8/2/2004 2:49 PM Page xv Foreword to the First Edition The emergence and early history of the Germanic peoples have never been a central concern of British historians.