The basic necessities of life of Germans

Also known as Teutonic. Refers to anyone who uses the Germanic language of Indo-European family.

There is no definite theory about the ethnic origin of Germanic peoples. It is believed that in the late Bronze Age, these people lived in southern Sweden, between the Danish Peninsula and the Ames River, the Oder River and the Haltz Mountain in northern Germany. In the last few centuries BC, Vandals, Geppies and Goths migrated from southern Sweden and occupied the southern bank of the Baltic Sea between the Oder River and the Vistula River. The early migration also developed to the south and west, resulting in the exclusion of Celtic people living in most parts of West Germany today. For example, in BC 1 century, the activities of the Hervetians were limited to today's Switzerland, but later they once extended their territory to the Main River.

By Caesar's time, the Germans had settled in the west of the Rhine and reached the Danube River southward. The earliest large-scale conflict between them and the Romans occurred at the end of the 2nd century BC, when Simbri and Teutonic invaded southern Gaul and northern Italy, and were annihilated by Mario in BC 102 and BC 10 1 year respectively. From the time when Pythias lived, although some travelers have been to Teutonic countries in the north, it was not until long after entering BC 1 century that the Romans knew how to distinguish between Germans and Celts. Thanks to Caesar, he figured out the difference between the two peoples. It was Caesar who brought the Germans who entered the western Rhine into the territory of the Roman Empire. It was Caesar who provided the earliest surviving record of Germanic culture. In 9 BC, the Romans extended their territory eastward from the Rhine River to the Elbe River, but in 9 AD, the Germans among their subjects rebelled under the leadership of Arminius, forcing the Romans to retreat to the Rhine River. During the occupation of this area by the Germans in the 1 century and the frequent wars between the Romans and the Germans, a great deal of information about the Germans reached Rome. By 98 AD, when Tacitus published his book (that is, the Germanic Annals that we are now familiar with), he had obtained very reliable information for his quotation. This book is one of the most valuable ethnographic works in existence. Later archaeological works supplemented Tacitus' narrative content in many ways; However, on the whole, these works either prove the accuracy of the materials quoted in Tacitus' book or show how incisive Tacitus' views on this issue are.

Tacitus believes that according to the analysis of ancient Germanic folk songs, the ancestors of Germanic people were the three sons of manus, while manus was the son of Tuisto, and Tuisto was the son of Owen, the god of the earth. In this way, the Germanic people were divided into three tribes-Ingewang, Herminon and Hista Wang Ren, but the basis of this division is still unclear. Tacitus also described another form of Germanic pedigree in his works. According to this form of genealogy, Manu has more sons, who are regarded as the ancestors of Sveby, Vandal and other branches. In any case, the popularity of these folk songs reflects that in Tacitus' time, all Germanic peoples realized that there was a blood relationship between them.

In Tacitus' time, the distribution of the main Germanic nationalities was as follows: Katie lived in the present Hessian area; Frisian is distributed in the coastal zone between the Rhine and Ames rivers; The Kaoji people live near the mouth of the Weize River; Gathered in the south is the Cherusi tribe of Arminius. Svibi's name was once the source of the place name Schwaben. This ethnic group is scattered in mecklenburg, Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia. The Semeians living in the Havel River and the Spree Valley belong to the Svibi ethnic group, and the Rangbadi people living in the northwest of Semnonon region are also Svibi ethnic groups. There are also seven ethnic groups who believe in the goddess Nertus, among which the Angles live in the unger Peninsula in the east of Schleswig. On the Danube border of the Roman Empire, the Hermon Duri people expanded northward from the area near regensburg and arrived in Thuringia via Franchia. The Macaman people who originally lived in the main valley migrated to Bohemia in the last year of 1 0 BC, and have been occupied by a Celtic named Boyi. Makomani people's east neighbors are Quadi people living in Moravia. There is a people named Bastanais in the lower reaches of the Danube, and people often regard them as Germans. Goths, Geppies and Vandals are scattered on the south bank of the Baltic Sea. Tacitus also talked about Soviet foreigners and Tang people living in Sweden today. He also mentioned several historically insignificant peoples, but said nothing about Saxons and Burgundy. As for other important nationalities that emerged after his time, of course, he could not predict their names.

By the end of the 3rd century, great changes had taken place. There are three powerful national alliances east of the Rhine, which Tacitus could not know. The Roman Empire was threatened by Franks in the lower Rhine border area. The main river basins were occupied by Burgundy around 260 AD, while the tax areas in the Black Forest area were owned by aleman. These Burgundy people obviously migrated from eastern Germany. Franks and aleman may be an alliance of two countries. In Tacitus' time, they were separated, although some immigrants from the East might live together among them. The peoples living along the Baltic Sea mentioned by Tacitus migrated to the southeast in the second half of the 2nd century. As a result, the Goths controlled most of Ukraine and Romania during this period. Gepides occupied the mountains in northern Transylvania; Vandals became their neighbors in the west.

By 500 AD, the Angles and Saxons had entered England, while the Franks owned the northern part of Gaul. Burgundy people occupied the Rhone River valley, and Visigoths lived in their west. Ostrogoths settled in Italy and Vandals arrived in Africa. In 507 AD, the Franks expelled the Visigoths from most of Gaul they occupied. At that time, the territory of the Visigoths in Gaul had expanded from the Pyrenees to the Loire Valley. After being expelled by Franks, they entered Spain and were completely wiped out by Muslims until 7 1 1. In 568, Lombardy entered Italy and established an independent kingdom, which was destroyed by Charlemagne in 774. Since the Goths and other nationalities left, some areas in eastern Germany were occupied by Slavs. Slavs also expanded westward, reaching as far as Bohemia and the Elbe River basin. After the 8th century, the Germans recovered most of the land in eastern Germany, Lower Austria, Styria and Carinthia from the Slavs.

Material culture According to Caesar's records, Germans are engaged in animal husbandry, and most of their food, such as milk, cheese and meat, is taken from the cattle and sheep they graze. Germans are also engaged in some farming, and the main crops are cereals, root plants and vegetables. But the cattle and horses raised by Germans are not good varieties if they are measured by Roman standards.

The Iron Age began in Germany (that is, the main area where Germanic peoples lived together and lived together), about four centuries earlier than Caesar's time. But even in Caesar's time, metal materials were obviously a luxury for Germanic household utensils, because most of them were made of wood, leather or pottery. Although their weapons are not made of copper, most of the large metal devices they use are made of bronze. Most pottery is made by hand, and pots, pans and other containers made of pottery wheels are rare.

The level of commercial development in early Germanic minority areas is little known. There must have been a slave trade. Many slaves were sold to the Romans. Potters who make pottery with pottery wheels (few in number) undoubtedly sell their products like blacksmiths and miners. But on the whole, the utensils used in the German countryside seem to be homemade. In Caesar's time, many foreign businessmen were very active in selling Italian and Celtic products in Germanic areas. Merchants provided goods such as wine and bronzes to rich soldiers. But since Augustus came to power, the number of goods imported by Germans from the Roman Empire has greatly increased. At that time, German national leaders could buy all kinds of goods, such as feeders, red tableware, Roman weapons, brooches, figurines, various decorations and other items, which were not available before. These Roman products have improved the status of buyers, but it is not clear what kind of payment methods Germans use in exchange for these goods.

War In the early Roman Empire, the weapons used by the Germans, whether offensive or defensive, were characterized by the lack of metal materials. Their main weapon is a spear, and few people carry swords. They know little about helmets and breastplates. They use light shields woven of wood or wicker, sometimes reinforced with iron edges and sometimes with leather, which is their only defensive weapon. This lack of equipment explains why the Germans always take the tactics of storm and quick decision when facing the well-equipped Roman army. If they get involved in hand-to-hand combat that delays time, their light shields and spears will meet Roman swords and spears, and there is no hope of winning. Even in the 6th century, Germanic peoples rarely had enough military equipment. None of them built cavalry archers that could compete with Justinian I's heavy equipment.

According to Caesar's description, the Germanic people never showed signs of autocratic rule. The leaders of various clan groups are only responsible for mediation in the event of disputes between clans, and this function of resolving disputes is limited to the same clan and cannot be surpassed. At that time, it seems that there were no organizations such as arbitration groups. In fact, in peacetime, they did not have a centralized and unified authority, which could give orders and exercise power to manage the affairs of various clans. During the war, according to the records in Caesar's works, various Germanic nationalities should elect a number of chiefs to unite to fight against the enemy; But these chiefs can only command the battle collectively, and this command is only given to them in wartime.

In Tacitus' era, a new military leader system appeared among Germanic peoples. Only those so-called members of the royal family who are recognized are qualified for this position. These royal families once existed in Cherusi and Batawi in the 1 th century, and also existed in Heruli in the 6th century. Any member of these royal families is eligible to be elected as a military leader, but this position cannot be inherited. The leader selected from the royal family is in charge of religious affairs and military command and holds office for life. However, he can be deposed by the resident conference, and his suggestion to the samurai conference may also be rejected. Generally speaking, the role that such leaders can play depends on their personal abilities.

By Tacitus' time, a primitive form of judicial institution had also appeared among Germanic peoples. The samurai assembly elected a number of leading figures as judges, who were responsible for patrolling various places and hearing private litigation cases. Every judge has 100 to execute his sentence. If a judge finds someone guilty, he must take out a certain number of horses or cows to compensate for his crime. The number of livestock depends on the severity of his crime. However, there are many cases, such as murder, injury and theft. , should be postponed by the authoritative figures in the clan to which the parties belong; The blood feud caused by those clans may be passed down from generation to generation and cannot be solved. Even long after the Germans converted to Christianity, their rulers still found it difficult to completely quell the blood feud between clans.

As far as later generations know, only one Germanic chief has ever established personal autocratic rule over the people. This man's name is Marlo Bodes. Around 9 BC, he led the Makomani people to leave their homes in the main valley and moved to Bohemia to settle down. Based in Bohemia, he conquered many Germans scattered between the Elbe River and the Vistula River, such as Semenon, Lombardy and Luki. However, in A.D. 17, the Cherusi cooperated with some Marcas to attack Marobodos, overthrew his rule and deported him to the Roman Empire. According to records, all the leaders of other nationalities and all those who tried to establish monarchs and rulers in this period ended in failure.

When the Germanic world became an ally of the Roman Empire and settled in the empire, the monarchy was formally established in the Germanic world. Ostrogoths leaders who established political power in Italy, Visigoth leaders who established political power in Gaul and Spain, Vandals leaders who established political power in Africa, and leaders of other nationalities became the earliest Germanic kings. During this period, some other famous Germanic chiefs, such as Atana Rick and alaric, could not settle in the provinces as allies because the nation did not conclude a Covenant with Rome, or lived outside the borders of the Roman Empire or promised to be responsible for guarding the borders of the Empire; Their personal authority does not seem to be much greater than those leaders mentioned by Tacitus.

Some materials of converting to Christianity show that before the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 476, the powerful Germanic peoples living outside the boundaries of the Roman Empire did not believe in Christianity. But the Germans who entered the imperial provinces 476 years ago converted to Christianity within 30 or 40 years. Vandals converted to Christianity in Spain from 400 to 429, Burgundy accepted Christianity in eastern Gaul from 465,438+02 to 436, and ostrogoths became a Christian in Pannonia from 456 to 472. All these Germans believe in the Christian Arianism. In 496, under the leadership of Clovis, Franks officially declared their acceptance of Catholic teachings, and then Burgundy was converted to Catholicism at the call of sigismund. Before that, no major Germans believed in Catholicism. The reason why they chose Arioux doctrine over Catholicism is unknown. The last Germanic people who converted to Christianity in continental Europe were the ancient Saxons, who became Christians in the second half of the 8th century, while the Scandinavian people did not accept Christianity until the10th century. England became a Christian country in the 7th century.