The origins of the Germanic peoples are ambiguous to say the least. During the late Bronze Age, they are believed to have occupied southern Sweden, the Danish peninsula, and northern Germany between the Ems River on the west, the Oder River on the east, and the Harz Mountains on the south. They were also called Teutonic peoples, defining any of the Indo-European speakers of Germanic languages, and who also shared ethnic and cultural ties. They were closely related to the Nordic groups, which now form the majority of the population of Scandinavia, and also had ties with the Celtic peoples that dominated Europe between 1000 and 200 BC. The Germans became a distinct linguistic group with the development of the Jastorf culture between the Elbe and Oder, and the Harpstedt culture in northwest Germany and Holland by the Fifth Century BC. Prior to this, the Celts had been the dominant group in Central Europe during the Hallstat and La Tene cultural periods.
Julius Caesar, Ptolemy the Geographer, Pliny the Elder, Strabo and Tacitus provided much of what we know of these peoples. Unfortunately, their information was not always accurate.
According to Caesar, the German king Ariovistus, led a coalition of groups in the campaign against the Romans in 58 BC. The Germans formed up by tribes (generatim) with equal intervals: Harudes, Marcomanni, Triboci, Vangiones, Nemetes, Seduni, and Sueves (Suebi). Many accounts only record the Suebi to which tribe Ariovistus belonged.
Tacitus uses the name Suebi in a far wider sense as it includes not only the tribes of the basin of the Elbe, but also all the tribes north and east of that river, including even the Swedes (Suiones). This usage, which is not found in other ancient writers, is probably due to a confusion of the Suebi with the agglomeration of peoples under their supremacy, which as we know from Strabo extended to some at least of the eastern tribes. More recent scholarship has shown that view to be an oversimplification.
Of note, the Romans referred to the Baltic Sea as the Mare Suebicum.
Such errors are typical because of the rise and fall of the various dominant groups like the Suebi and Marcomanni. The latter controlled several tribes in the First Century AD during the reign of King Maroboduus, who led his people into the Bohemian plateau through the Elbe valley, settling into the region surrounding present-day Prague. The Quadi, who were closely associated with the Marcomanni throughout their history, and settled in Moravia, probably accompanied them on this migration.
Strabo is the first writer to identify the various tribes as Germans, although they only referred to themselves by their distinct tribal names. Tacitus states that the Germans were much the same as the Gauls in appearance and customs, but differ slightly in that they were wilder, bigger and have blonder hair: “accordingly, it seems to me that the Romans wanted to give them this name as if to say that they were the genuine Gauls, since germani means "genuine" in the language of the Romans”. All he says is that the first people to cross the Rhine into Gaul were at that time called the Germans. It is unclear whether they already had that name, or only acquired it after crossing the Rhine; whether this is what the Gauls called them, or what they called themselves; and lastly at what date all this took place.
There were a wide variety of names for the various German tribes, here are some of the better known names (source document and homeland are also given where possible):
Aduatuci: Gallic Wars 2.29-33;
Some of these may have been Celtic peoples that adopted German culture or vice versa, Germans who assimilated with neighboring Celts (Gauls). The German historian, Hans Delbruck, was one of the first modern writers to focus on the ancient Germans:
In his note on this extract, Delbruck clarifies his use of names and the omission of others:
The association of peoples may have been linked to the worship of specific gods within the pantheon of Germanic and later Nordic gods. Tacitus identifies three major groupings of Germans, who were closely affiliated with the offspring of the god Mannus.
As the popularity of gods changed so possibly did the associations of the tribal groups. Alternately, they adopted regional names like Thuringians or associated with leaders or ideas such as the Franks (free) and Alamanni (all men).
Alamanni; Ambrones: Plutarch;
Ampsivarii: Vecht-Ems area;
Angle: Jutland;
Angrivarii: Annals 2.19, 2.22, 2.24: Hunte-Weser area;
Aravisci: Germania 28;
Aviones: Germania 40.
Baiuvarii (Bavarians);
Bastarnae: Ukraine;
Batavians: Rhine-Waal mouths;
Bructeri: Lippe-Ems;
Burgundians; Buri: Germania 43.
Caeracates: Histories 4.70;
Caeraesi: Gallic Wars 2.4;
Calci: Strabo 7.1.3;
Campsiani: Strabo 7.1.3;
Canninefates: Holland;
Cauci: Strabo 7.1.3 (Chauci or Chaubi);
Chatti: Upper Weser;
Chattuarii: Strabo 7.1.3, 7.1.4 (likely Chatti);
Chaubi: Strabo 7.1.3 (or Chauci);
Chauci: lower Weser-Elbe and lower Ems-Weser;
Cherusci: Middle Weser;
Cimbri: Denmark;
Coldui or Coadui: Strabo 7.1.3;
Condrusi: Gallic Wars 6.32.
Eburones: Gallic Wars 2.4; 5.24, 5.26-38, 5.39, 5.47, 5.55-58; 6.5, 6.31, 6.32, 6.34, 6.35;
Eudoses: Germania 40;
Fosi: Germania 36;
Frisians: Friesland.
Gamabrivii; Gepidae; Goths (Tervingi and Greuthungi, later Visigoths and Ostrogoths).
Harii; Harudes: Gallic Wars 1.51;
Helisii: Germania 43;
Helvecones: Germania 43;
Herminones: Mela 3.32;
Hermunduri: Saxony-Thuringia;
Heruli (or Eruli).
Jutes; Landii: Strabo 7.1.4;
Langobardi (Lombards): Weser-Elbe;
Lemovii: Germania 44;
Lugii: SW Poland.
Manimi: Germania 43;
Marcomanni: Bohemia;
Marsi: Lippe-Ruhr area;
Marsigni: Germania 43;
Mugilones: Strabo 7.1.3;
Naharvali; Naristi: Germania 40;
Nemetes: Germania 28; Annals 12.27; Gallic Wars 1.51, 6.25: West of Karlsruhe;
Nervii: Germania 28;
Nuithones: Germania 40.
Osi: Germania 28;
Paemani: Gallic Wars 2.4;
Peucini (Basternae): Strabo 7.3.15: St George's mouth of the Danube;
Quadi: Bohemia and Moravia.
Reudigni: Germania 40;
Rugi: Germania 44; Saxon: Weser-Elbe- Lower Saxony;
Sciri (Turclingi were a possible clan or sub-tribe);
Sedusii: Gallic Wars 1.51;
Semnones (Suebi): Elbe-Oder;
Sedusii: Gallic Wars 1.51;
Segui: Gallic Wars 6.32;
Sibini: Strabo 7.1.3*;
Sitones: Germania 45;
Suarines: Germania 40;
Suebi; Suiones (Swedes);
Sugambri: Sieg-Lahn area.
Tencteri: Sieg-Lahn area;
Teutones: Gallic Wars 1.40; 2.4; Mela 3.32;
Thuringians; Treviri: Germania 28;
Triboci: Germania 28; Histories 4.70; Gallic Wars 1.51;
Tubantes: Annals 1.51 are likely the Tubatti: Strabo 7.1.4: Ijssel-Vecht area;
Tungri. --
Ubii: around Cologne;
Usipetes: Ijssel-Ruhr area;
Usipi; Vandals (later Asdingi and Silingi);
Vangiones: South of Mainz;
Varini: Germania 40;
Venedi; -
Zumi. -
“We know the geography of northwest Germany accurately enough to determine that the region between the Rhine, the North Sea, the Elbe, and a line drawn from the Main in the vicinity of Hanau to the confluence of the Saale with the Elbe was inhabited by 23 [sic] Germanic tribes: two of Friesians, the Canninefates, Batavians, Chamavi, Ampsivarii, Angrivarii, Tubantes, two Chauci, Usipetes, Tencteri, two Bructeri, Marsi, Chasuarii, Dulgibini, Lombards, Cherusci, Chatti, Chattuarii, Inneriones, Intverges, and Calucones.” (History of the Art of War within the Framework of Political History, pg. 24)
“Cf. in detail on the above, as well as on the Fosi, Sugambri, Danduti, Texuandri, Marsaki, and Sturii, Preussische Jahrbücher 81: 478, as well as Much, Deutsche Stammsitze. Against this account one could still object that, although the names have come down to us through the sources and can, in general, be definitely established geographically, nevertheless quite a few of the names may not apply to tribes but simply to districts or clans. It certainly happened quite often and easily that individual clans which had had a strong increase broke away from their original stem and formed their own new tribe…”
“To Mannus they assign three sons, after whose names so many people are called; the Ingaevones, dwelling next the ocean; the Herminones, in the middle country; and all the rest, Instaevones. Some, borrowing a warrant from the darkness of antiquity, maintain that the God had more sons, that thence came more denominations of people, the Marsians, Gambrians, Suevians, and Vandalians, and that these are the names truly genuine and original. For the rest, they affirm Germany to be a recent word, lately bestowed: for that those who first passed the Rhine and expulsed the Gauls, and are now named Tungrians, were then called Germans: and thus by degrees the name of a tribe prevailed, not that of the nation; so that by an appellation at first occasioned by terror and conquest, they afterwards chose to be distinguished, and assuming a name lately invented were universally called Germans.”
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