Tacitus' "Germania"

A little while ago, having repeatedly come across references to Tacitus' essay "On the Origin and Situation of the Germanic Peoples", better known as "Germania", I decided I ought to read it myself.

This is the oldest work describing the Germanic peoples—it dates from the year 98—hence its interest to modern Germans, and people interested in Germany, myself included—though I should point out that the Roman use of "German" refers to the ancestors of all the Germanic peoples, including today's Nordic peoples, and the peoples of the Low Countries and of England. Indeed, today German distinguishes between "Germanisch", describing the ancients, and "Deutsch", describing today's Germans—and so did English too once upon a time (see below).

Moreover the distinction between Germans and Celts then wasn't as clear cut as it is today; and even the name "German" is possibly of Celtic origin.

Anyhow, I thought I'd write up a little about the essay here, in case anyone's interested, and to record my own reaction for my own futurity; what follows is a combination of my own insights, what I've read online, and what I've heard in the History of English podcast.

( Read more... )