Teutons
Here are notes associated with the early Germanic tribes who wandered Europe in late Classical times and the early Dark Ages. This catalogue should not be considered complete - there are a great many smaller German tribes not listed; as I develop more data, I will add to what is here, but what follows can be considered at least a broad sampling of the largest and most significant. This file can be considered a companion to my files on eastern Nomads and Celts - each can be studied with a view toward analyzing the different sorts of pre-literate nomads (barbarians, in popular parlance) to have wandered Eurasia.

Covers early Germanic tribes - currently the Alemanni, Banings, Bastarnae, Bavarii, Burgundians, Chauci, Cherusci, Cimbri, Franks, Franks - Chatti, Franks - Ripuarian, Franks - Mythological,  Franks - Salian, Franks - Sicambri, Gepids, Goths, Goths - Ostrogoths, Goths - Tauric, Goths - Visigoths, Hermanduri, Heruli, Hundings, Ingvaeones, Irminones, Istvaeones, Lombards, Marcomanni, Myrgings, Quadi, Rugians, Saxons, Sciri, Sennones, Suevi, Teutons, Thuringii, Tungri, Ubii, Vandals, Vandals - Asding, Vandals - Siling, and Warni.

Other German Files:
Go to: Germany (overall survey)
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Go to: German Kreisen Table
Go to: German Free Cities
Go to: German States A-E
Go to: German States F-H
Go to: German States I-M
Go to: German States N-R
Go to: German States S
Go to: German States T-Z
Go to: Imperial Ecclesiastic States: Archbishops
Go to: Imperial Ecclesiastic States: Bishops A-G
Go to: Imperial Ecclesiastic States: Bishops H-P
Go to: Imperial Ecclesiastic States: Bishops R-W
Go to: Imperial Ecclesiastic States: Abbacies and Convents
ALEMANNI The Alemanni were a late classical-era people who succeeded in occupying southwestern Germany, Alsace, and northern Switzerland in the 3rd century (first mentioned in 213 CE). They were a confederation of various tribes (very likely the Hermanduri and Sennones as major constituents), the chieftaincy of which provided only minimal authority for their region, largely in terms of military leadership. Their name survives today as the base for most Romance language appelations of the German people (Allemagne, Alemannia, etc.)


BANINGS A people mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Widsith poem. Their location is unknown.


BASTARNAE A tribe located in the northeastern Balkans - generally eastern Transylvania, Moldavia, and much of modern Moldova. Their antecedents are obscure: Roman authorities normally referred to them as Germans, and modern research has confirmed that to a large degree - but they dwelt in a region far removed from other Teutonic folk of their time, and they show some characteristics of Steppe-dwelling Iranians such as Scyths and Sarmatians. They first occur as mercenaries in late Macedonian and Pontine service, and were subdued by Rome in 29 BCE. Thereafter they gave little trouble to the Romans until the late 3rd century CE, when they were defeated by Probus and forcibly resettled on the south bank of the Danube.


BATAVI The Batavi were a Germanic tribe, originally part of the Chatti, who appeared in the central Netherlands before the 1st century CE, presumably pushing aside the earlier inhabitants, probably early Frisians. Their central region seems to have been the present Betuwe, the territory between Waal and Meuse, and central North-Brabant. Tacitus described their home as "an uninhabited district on the extremity of the coast of Gaul, and also of a neighbouring island, surrounded by Ocean in front, and by the river Rhenus in the rear and on either side." The name may derive from the Germanic batawjo or "good island". Finds of wooden tablets demonstrate that the Batavians had a system of writing. They were assimilated into the Salian Franks in the late Classic era, but their name and heritage continues to resonate with the Dutch - they provided a focus of self-identity and inspiration for for resistence by Dutch patriots during the Eighty Years War (1568-1648) of Netherlands Independence, and the revolutionary French client-state established in 1795 was called the Batavian Republic.


BAVARII A large and powerful tribe which emerged late in Teutonic tribal times, in what is now the Czech Republic (Bohemia). They replaced, or perhaps are simply another phase of, the previous inhabitants - the Rugians. They swiftly expanded their influence southward, and occupied Austria and the area which still bears their name: Bavaria.


BURGUNDIANS The Burgundians were a relatively minor tribe, but they have had a significant impact on Europe. They have formed the name or foundation of a rather bewildering variety of Dark Age and Mediaeval nations and states. Culturally, the late phase of their Rhineland kingdom provides the source for the Germanic epic of the Nibelungenlied, the Siegfried Saga. Perhaps their most enduring contribution, though, is a written code of laws, compiled during (475 CE) the reign of Gundobad which provides a priceless view of Dark Age Teutonic society.


CHAUCI A numerous tribe inhabiting the extreme northwestern shore of Germany during Roman times - basically the stretch of coast between Frisia in the west to the Elbe estuary in the east. By the end of the 3rd century CE, they had merged with the Saxons: whether this conjunction was amicable or forced is not clear - indirect evidence supporting each viewpoint is present. I suspect that a little of each was present, but that Saxon conquest was predominant.


CHERUSCI A nation inhabiting the Rhine valley and the forests of western Germany (near modern Hanover) during the 1st century BCE and 1st century CE. They were first allies of, and then enemies of, Rome. They are most famous for the Battle of Teutoburger Wald, when a Cherusci army under Herman annihilated three legions under the command Publius Quinctilius Varus. The Cherusci leaders were called "Drighten" or "warlord".


CIMBRI A Germanic tribe originally from the Jutland peninsula. They were one of the first Germanic peoples to invade Italy and enjoyed some success before being defeated by Gaius Marius. See also, the Teutons, for an associated nation who accompanied these people for much of their wandering.


FRANKS The Frankish people were confederation of local Teutonic peoples dwelling in the Netherlands and northwestern Germany. In the 5th century they began migrating westward across the Low Countries and into northern France. In Normandy they displaced the last remaining Roman legion and settled the land. The following lists delineate the early Frankish leaders before the divisions of the early 6th century. The Merovingian dynasty takes its name from the first Frankish ruler to penetrate what would become French territory, circa 450.

FRISIANS These were (still are, for that matter) dwellers along the North Sea coast, in northern Netherlands and far northwestern Germany. As they are more directly associated with Low Countries history, I have lists of their early rulers HERE.


GEPIDS An early group which settled originally on the coast of what is now Poland, and was never in very close contact with the Roman south.


GOTHS The Goths were among the first Teutonic people to differentiate themselves from the original homeland, and establish themselves as a separate nation. They began their journeys from central Sweden in the early 1st century BCE - various locations there still recall in name their ancient inhabitants (see, for example, Gotland and Götland). They traveled slowly south and southeastward, across the Baltic and into what is now Belarus and the Ukraine. Here they differentiated into the two divisions that they would always be known by thereafter - the Ostrogoths (Eastern Goths) and the Visigoths (Western Goths). Interestingly enough, the Goths themselves retained a legend to the effect that they began their migrations at the behest of a group of foreign nobles who, arriving in Goth territory from "the far south", managed to secure leadership of the tribe and convince them to undertake extended conquest of lands to their south, back toward the homeland of these foreigners. It has occasionally been speculated, without much in the way of hard evidence, that there actually was a group of (what? Greek, Roman?) exiles who form the basis of this tale.


HERMANDURI One of the early tribes to emerge, they settled in central Germany during the early 1st century, but had disappeared by around 200 CE. They are obscure, and I have almost no names of any of their chieftains as yet. As the Alemanni Confederation appeared in close to the same area the Hermanduri lived in, it is reasonable to suppose that the Hermanduri, along with the Semnones, formed much of the new Confederation. They were in their time perhaps the best-known Germans among the Romans - Tacitus mentions that they were the only tribe to carry on extensive trade with the Empire, and that individual Hermanduri were the only Germans allowed into Roman cities without armed escorts. They are, in fact, the tribe whose name the Romans adapted to describe the entire people - Germanii.


HERULI A tribe originating, apparently, in southern Scandinavia. They are reported to have been driven out of Jutland or thereabouts sometime in the early 3rd century. Thereafter, they wandered generally eastward, becoming over time more closely associated with the Ostrogoths. They managed to sack Byzantium in 267, but their eastern contingent was virtually annihilated at Nis two years later. Serving first under the Goths, and later clients of the Huns, they re-emerged in the second half of the 5th century, to form a confederation of tribes in Italy and Austria. This Kingdom was destroyed by the Ostrogoths under Theodoric, and thereafter Herulian fortunes waned. They disappear from historical record by c. 550 CE. Note also - There has been a persistant story to the effect that a group of Heruli traveled back to their ancient homeland in Jutland in the 6th century, and from there migrated into Norway, and eventually to Iceland as that island's first settlers. There are shadowy comments in Procopius that lend some credence to this view, and a Scandinavian scholar in the first half of the 20th century (Bardi Gudmundsson) has evolved an extensively documented theory to this effect which, nevertheless, has not found much favour among other historians.



HUNDINGS A people mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Widsith poem. They may be connected to Hunding, a Saxon king mentioned in the Volsung Saga and other Norse sources, or to a region in southeastern Bavaria by the same name.


INGVAEONES An early Germanic proto-tribe, or cultural group. They dwelt in Jutland, Holstein, and Frisia from some unknown time in the ancient past (perhaps 500 or 1000 BCE), until the differentiation of localized Teutonic tribes (Frisians, Saxons, Jutes, Angles) in that region circa 50 BCE.



IRMINONES An early Germanic proto-tribe, or cultural group. They dwelt in eastern Germany, roughly between the Elbe and Oder Rivers some unknown time in the ancient past (perhaps 500 or 1000 BCE), until the differentiation of localized Teutonic tribes (Lombards, Marcomanni, Quadi) in that region circa 10 CE.



ISTVAEONES An early Germanic proto-tribe, or cultural group. They dwelt around the Rhine and Weser river systems from some unknown time in the ancient past (perhaps 500 or 1000 BCE), until the differentiation of localized Teutonic tribes (Chatti, Hermanduri, Franks) in that region circa 250 CE.



LOMBARDS A large and powerful tribe which emerged in the Oder basin. Drifting south, they became enmeshed within the Huns, but continued their migration south afterwards until, by the middle of the 6th century, they were poised on the edge of Italy. They entered Italy in 568, and rapidly established themselves in a number of autonomous Duchies throughout the peninsula - a larger Lombard Kingdom was also established in northern and central Italy, which endured until the Carolingian conquest of the late 8th century. Their name refers to their most noticeable identifying characteristic: the "Longbeards".


MARCOMANNI One of the earlier tribes to emerge out of the general Teutonic North, in roughly the end of the 1st century BCE-beginning of the 1st century CE. They are not exceptionally well documented, and I have only a few names from among their chieftains at this time.


MYRGINGS A people mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Widsith poem. They were the enemies of the Angles under King Offa and probably lived near them in southern and central Jutland and northern Germany.


QUADI A smaller Germanic tribe about which little definitive information is known. They emerged as an element in the earlier migrations southward that took place near the beginning of the 1st century CE., alongside the more numerous Marcomanni, who they were probably closely related to. They were settled in what is now Moravia and western Slovakia from roughly 40 CE onward. Their frontiers for the next 350 years or more were the Marcomanni to the west, proto-Slavic tribes to the north, Sarmatian Iazgyians and (later) Asding Vandals to the east, and the Roman Empire to the south.


RUGIANS An eastern tribe who began moving south into the Silesian uplands in avoidance of burgeoning Balt expansion. They eventually settled on the edge of the Steppes, but were absorbed by the advancing Huns. Re-emerging from the retreating Huns some 50 or 60 years later, they found themselves in a position to settle Bohemia, recently vacated by the Marcomanni.


SAXONS An important tribe dwelling in northwestern Germany, and forming a ramshackle state during the Dark Ages. They were first mentioned by the Classical geographer Ptolemy in the 2nd century, and it is likely that they coalesced out of the early tribal group located in that region. They expanded their influence to cover the entire region and, with the withdreawal of the legions in the 5th century, began raids down the North Sea coast, but especially on the island of Britain. In the late 5th, 6th, and early 7th centuries, large numbers of Saxons crossed the seas and established a variety of Kingdoms in Britain, alongside Scandinavian raiders intent on the same business (Angli and Jutes). Those Saxons who remained on the continent fell into protracted and ultimately devastating conflict with the Franks, who eventually annexed the entire region.


SCIRI (Schiri, Skiri) A small tribe about which not much is known - they were evidently clients or associates of the Heruli, and perhaps the Ostrogoths.


SEMNONES An obscure tribe about which I have very little information. They appear to have been a subgroup of the Suevi, and dwelt in the bulk of what once was East Germany at roughly the time of Arminius (c. 10 CE). They remained in about that location for the remainder of their identifiable existence. They disappear about 200 CE, being replaced in that region quite soon after by the Alemanni Confederation - it is reasonable to assume that many Alemanni had been Semnones, therefore.


SUEVI A complex group of closely related tribes existing from at least the 1st century CE, the group that the list refers to began it's career fleeing for it's life from advancing Huns, during the rapid population shift that occured when the Huns suddenly enveloped the Ostrogothic Empire and continued marching into central and western Europe. Once in relative safety in Gaul, the Suevi continued to migrate in close proximity to the Vandals, and eventually settled in Galicia province of Spain, where they organized a fairly stable state.


TEUTONS The term "Teuton" has from long usage come to refer to the entire ethnoi of Germanic peoples inhabiting the northern verge of Europe from perhaps as early as 2000 BCE. The word derives from Proto-Germanic Þeudanōz and, in this model, is not so much a  particular tribe or nation as it is the cultural hearth out of which all the various Germanic peoples emerged, either directly or at some remove. This label is given to a group of local peoples who inhabited for ages portions of what is known now as Scandinavia - specifically, central and southern Norway, central and southern Sweden, Denmark, and districts in Germany immediately adjacent to Denmark and the Baltic. Here, for whatever it may be worth, is a brief framework of the legendary accounts associated with these earliest times. Nevertheless, note the second section within this article for an account of the early nation which seems to be the source of the term "Teutonicus" in Latin.


THURINGII A late occuring tribe which appeared in the highlands of central Germany, a region which still bears their name to this day - Thuringia. They evidentally filled a void left when the previous inhabitants - the Alemanni Confederation - migrated south. It is unclear whether they were stay-at-home Alemanni, or simply a lesser tribe that was in the right place at the right time.

TUNGRI A Germanic tribe living in eastern Gaul. Their capital was called Atuatuca, located in the modern Limburg province of Belgium. The Tungri were mentioned in the Notitia Dignitatum, an early fifth-century document, in which was transcribed every military and governmental post in the late Roman Empire. The document mentions the Tribune of the First Cohort of Tungri stationed along Hadrian's Wall at Vercovicium (now known as Housesteads, Northumberland) for the purpose of interdicting northern tribesmen from seeking residence or criminal activity in settled Britannia.

UBII A tribe from the Rhine valley; they were allies of Julius Caesar and appear to have survived as Roman foederatii into the 4th century.


VANDALS One of the best-known of the Germanic tribes, in the use of their name to epitomize the Barbarian, if nothing else. This East German folk emerged out of the northern Carpathians in the 3rd century, and quickly split into two separate but closely related peoples, the Asdings and Silings. The Asdings eventually established a fairly stable Kingdom in the western Mediterranean, but both peoples disappeared in the Dark Ages. Their name lives on though, and not merely as an adjective. The name of Siling is recalled in their original homeland of Silesia, and the occupation of western Spain by both elements established the territorial name of Vandalusia, remembered in slightly abbreviated form (Andalusia, Arabic al-Andalus) even today.


WARNI A people evidently dwelling in northeastern Germany, about whom I have very little information - presumably they were clients of the Saxons, the dominant Germanic people of the region in the time specified below. **************************************************
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Examine a Teutonic Pantheon.

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