Germania (Tacitus)

Germania manuscript " Codex Aesinas Latinus 8 " (facsimile)

Germania first edition by Wendelinus de Spira , Venice 1472.

The Germania is a short ethnographic writing by the Roman historian Tacitus (approx. 58-120 AD) about the Germanic tribes . It has been read more and more since the early modern period and in this way had a considerable impact. In more recent research, the work is viewed more critically and pointed out to the problematic history of its reception.

Dating

The Germania is dated rule in the year 98 AD, based on the formulation..:

" Sescentesimum et quadragesimum annum urbs nostra agebat [...] ex quo ad alterum imperatoris Traiani consulatum computemus "

"Our city was in the six hundred and forty year [...] from then on, count to the second consulate of Emperor Trajan"

- Tacitus : Germania (37, 2)

Trajan's second consulate fell in AD 98. However, this date is only a terminus post quem , at which the work can at the earliest have been written; an absolute date is therefore not available.

A more recent suggestion by Roland Schuhmann, which has not yet been discussed by researchers, assumes that Germania should be drafted after AD 103-106 because the name Pannoniis in the first sentence of the text indicates the existence of two Pannonian provinces ( Pannonia superior and inferior , created by the division of the province of Pannonia ) presupposes if it is understood as a country name; the traditional view sees it as a national name.

title

The Germania font has been handed down without a uniform title. The first mention of the script is found in a letter from the humanist Antonio Beccadelli to Guarino da Verona from April 1426: Compertus est Cor. Tacitus de origine et situ Germanorum (" Cornelius Tacitus de origine et situ Germanorum has been learned"). In an inventory by Niccolò Niccoli from 1431, it says: Cornelii taciti de origine & situ germanorum liber incipit sic (“ de origine et situ Germanorum liber des Cornelius Tacitus begins like this”). Pier Candido Decembrio , who saw the Codex Hersfeldensis (after 1455, see below reception ) in Rome, gives the title as: Cornelii taciti liber ... de Origine et situ Germaniae ("Cornelius Tacitus' book de Origine et situ Germaniae "). Both title variants go back to the Hersfeld Codex; the second variant is semantically inconsistent.

No title of the work has survived from antiquity. There are only two titles that seem reasonably plausible: De origine et situ Germanorum (“About the origin and geographical position of the Germanic peoples”) and De origine et moribus Germanorum (“About the origin and customs of the Germanic peoples”). Two parallel formulations of the title of Seneca could speak for a work title De origine et situ Germanorum : De situ Indiae (“The geographical position of India”) and De situ et sacris Aegyptiorum (“On the geographical position and the sanctuaries of the Egyptians”). However, both titles do not exactly correspond to Germania . Unlike the peoples name Germani, India is a country name, while Seneca's second book does not speak of the origin but of the sanctuaries of the Egyptians. The title De origine et situ Germanorum , handed down from the Renaissance, appears to be a combination of the two titles of Seneca. A passage in the text itself would speak for De origine et moribus Germanorum , because in Germania c. 27.2 reads: Haec in commune de omnium Germanorum origine ac moribus accepimus ("We have heard this in general about the origin and customs of all Teutons"). The title, however, gives the impression that it is taken from this chapter. Since neither of the two titles is beyond doubt, the font has been given the working title Germania .

Reconstructed watchtower of the Limes near the Zugmantel fort in the Taunus

Contemporary history

The Roman Empire was at its peak during Tacitus' lifetime. Geographically it had almost reached its greatest extent and was also flourishing culturally. The borders with Germania had been drawn and largely secured. After the Varus Battle in 9 AD, the Roman offensives were finally stopped in 16 AD (see Germanicus ); It was not until the late 1st century that the Romans moved the border slightly forward under Domitian (see Dekumatland ) and established the two Rhine provinces ( Germania inferior , Germania superior ). Some Germanic tribes had come to terms with their new powerful neighbors, but others continued to be hostile to Rome. For a long time, this situation required a large and expensive troop presence on the border between the Roman Empire and the Teutons. The special thing about the Germanic-Roman relations results from the fact that, in contrast to the other large border zone [...] in the north, there was no organized major power facing Rome .

Content of Germania

Germanic tribes around 50 AD

In Germania , which is divided into a general and a special part, Tacitus describes Germania , to some extent also its geography, and names various Germanic tribes from the Rhine to the Vistula . He portrays the manners and customs of the Germanic peoples and emphasizes their moral way of life, such as their strictly regulated family life, their loyal and sincere character, their bravery in war and their will for freedom. But he also points out weaknesses, such as their indolence, their penchant for dice games and excessive alcohol consumption.

general part

Chapters 1–5: General Description

Tacitus begins with the borders of Germania, its people, the nature of the land and the mineral resources. He regards the Germanic peoples as hardened, original and unmixed with other peoples, as the indigenous population of their homeland, since they are not phenotypically similar to his descriptions according to any ethnic group of the known world at that time, and he also could not imagine that someone would volunteer in such a region , which in his opinion is very rough, inhospitable and difficult to reach at all, could immigrate. He describes the land and climate as unfriendly and desolate, poor in fertile soil and without valuable mineral resources.

Chapters 6–15: Public Life

He goes on to describe warfare, religion and popular assemblies, then talks about Germanic jurisprudence and the role of princes in war. He describes the Teutons as wild barbarians, weakly armed, but brave in battle and full of appreciation for their women, as pious people who trust in omens and oracles. According to Tacitus, decisions were made in meetings that were held depending on the position of the moon. But here he criticizes a certain lack of discipline. Tacitus believes that fighting is valued more highly by the Germans than the effort of daily work. He even paints the picture of a lazy people, addicted to idleness, who would rather let their wives and old people work than take care of their own house, yard and field.

Chapters 16-27: Private Life

The next sections deal with the dwellings of the Teutons, their way of living and clothing; digressions follow about marriage, upbringing and inheritance law, until the discussion turns to hospitality, celebrations and games. The general part ends with a description of agriculture and the burial of the dead. Here, too, Tacitus paints the picture of a wild, negligently clad people, which, however, and for this he expressly praises the Germanic peoples, is characterized by high modesty. The Teutons are monogamous and loyal to their spouses. This remark in particular led to the assumption that Germania was a mirror of morals addressed to Roman society. Hardly anywhere else does Tacitus emphasize a peculiarity of Germanic life so emphatically.

The hospitality of the Germanic peoples is praised, but the debauchery that occurs is also shown. Their celebrations, according to Tacitus, often lasted for days and not infrequently ended in drunken brawls and manslaughter. Here the author also mentions their simple food and the alcoholic drink ( beer ) unknown to him , which the Teutons consumed in excess. It is surprising that in almost the same breath their absolute honesty is praised. Tacitus then realized with astonishment that pretty much the only thing the Germans practiced soberly and seriously was the game of dice . Here they even used their personal freedom as a last resort and allowed themselves to be sold as slaves. They did agriculture jointly, but always at a low level. The last point of this part is the depiction of the funeral, which is described as simple and ostentatious, but with dignified veneration of the deceased.

special part

In the last eleven chapters, Tacitus describes the customs and peculiarities of individual tribes and also talks about those who left Germania and settled in Gaul.

Chapters 27-29: Tribes in the West and South

Initially, Gallic tribes, Helvetians and Bojer ( Boier ), who moved to Germania, are mentioned here. He contrasts this with Treverer and Nervier , who, according to him, live as Teutons in Gaul. This assignment is not entirely unproblematic, although Gaius Iulius Caesar noted that a large part of the Belgians boasted Germanic descent. Tacitus mentions Vangionen , Triboker and Nemeter on the Rhine, especially he emphasizes the Ubier , who are loyal to the Roman Empire. The Batavians on the Lower Rhine are described as particularly brave, who are just as loyal to Rome as the Mattiakers in the area around today's Wiesbaden.

Chapters 30–31: The Chats

According to Tacitus, the vigorous and militarily well-organized chats , they only cut their hair and beard after killing an enemy. This is the determination of their existence.

Chapters 32–34: Other Tribes in the West

The Tenkerians are trained riders whose neighbors, the Brukterer , have been destroyed by other Teutons. He mentions the Angrivarians and Chamavians , the Dulgubnians and Chasuarians , and finally the Frisians at the edge of the ocean.

Chapters 35–37: Tribes in the North

Tacitus mentions the Chauken as neighbors of the Frisians , who settle from the North Sea coast to the Chatten area. Free from greed and lust for power, they are very respected by the other Teutons. He mentions the Cherusci , calls them boobies and fools - perhaps in a reflex to the lost battle in the Teutoburg Forest against Arminius - and ends with the mention of the glorious Cimbri and the Cimber Wars, which were also costly for the Romans .

Chapters 38-45: The Suebi

Tacitus dedicates the penultimate and largest section of the special part to the Suebi . These inhabited a large part of Germania. Unlike other tribes, they are not a uniform ethnic group and differ from the rest by their hairstyle ( Suebi knot ) . Up until old age they knotted their hair into an elaborate hairstyle, not for reasons of beauty, but to appear tall and terrifying. He mentions public human sacrifices among the Semnones subgroup , and mentions the Lombards and other tribes. They worship mother earth ( Nerthus ), to whom they pay homage in a sanctuary on an island in the ocean .

The Suebian tribe of the Hermunduren , on the other hand, was loyal to the Romans, they were the only Germanic tribe to cross the Roman border and trade without supervision. Among many others, Tacitus mentions Narister , Marcomanni and Quaden , also the Aesti living to the right of the Suebian Sea (on the east coast of the Baltic Sea) , who resembled the Suebi in way of life and religion, but their language resembled the British language (i.e. a form of Celtic ) . They collected amber ( glesum ) and sold it to the Romans without knowing how it was made or where it came from. Tacitus ends with the Sithons who have sunk so deeply into bondage that they are ruled by a woman.

Chapter 46: Frontier Peoples in the East

In the last chapter of Germania , Tacitus discusses Peukiner , Veneter and Fennen , tribes beyond the area of ​​the Suebi, of which he does not know whether to assign them to the Germanic peoples.

discussion

swell

Tacitus himself had never been to Germania. It is likely that he drew his knowledge largely from literary sources, such as Gaius Iulius Caesar's work on the Gallic War (De bello Gallico) and the Germanic excursion it contained . Possibly he also consulted other written sources, among others the Germanic excursion in the history of Titus Livius and the bella Germaniae ("German wars") of the older Pliny . Both works are not or not completely preserved. However, only Caesar is mentioned in Germania . It is likely that oral reports from contemporary travelers to Germania also flowed into his work. The description of the Suebi knot , the sacrificial rites and the punishment of the faithless wife are traced back to actual observation.

Tacitus' Germanic image

Tacitus describes to his readership a people who seem to be fundamentally different from their own. It can be assumed that the object of his description, the Teutons, would have seemed extremely alien to the Roman people, had he not used the method of "integrating the foreign into his own world in terms of concept and content". This Roman interpretation ( Interpretatio Romana ) is particularly noticeable when describing the Germanic gods. Tacitus speaks of Mercury (for Odin ) as the highest god and mentions Hercules (for Thor ) and Mars (for Tyr ). This can also be seen in the description of the army (here the division of troops into hundreds / centuries) and the separation of public affairs (res publica) and private affairs (res privatae) .

Tacitus regards all Teutons as original, i.e. H. they all have the same origin and are not mixed with other peoples and have not immigrated to Germania either. Character traits, which he generally ascribes to the entire people, he traces back to this common origin. Tacitus cannot prove this, however, he simply assumes that no people could have voluntarily moved to this barren land to mix with the Teutons.

In the whole of Germania it can be seen that he is looking for what is known in his world in the world of the Teutons in order to describe and compare it for his Roman audience. The polarizing picture that Tacitus gives (honorable customs, love of freedom and morality versus primitive, vicious and lazy way of life) gives today's reader an impression of Roman society at the time of Tacitus. In this respect, Germania can not only be seen as the ethnography of the Teutons, but also as a point of reference for understanding Tacitus' own Roman society.

Tacitus' intentions

In order to understand Germania correctly, it is essential to know Tacitus' motivations. Does he want to criticize his time and society or prove his superiority? Does he just want to describe a strange people and bring his Roman contemporaries closer to what seems strange and barbaric to them? Understanding this is the basis for evaluating his work.

However, Tacitus himself does not comment on this. There is also no introduction or an epilogue by the author to Germania in which possible intentions are explained or at least hinted at. Research can therefore only use comparable works (including today's ethnographies) and / or see the writing in the context of its time. Unfortunately, Tacitus' Germania is unique for its time. We are not aware of ancient ethnographic writings that do not contain any further explanation (excursus), which makes it difficult to clarify this central question. Science therefore also draws on Tacitus' other works, mainly the Agricola . To see the work in the context of its time is made difficult by the fact that we do not know much about the public opinion of the time.

In research, the question of Tacitus' intentions is a central point and highly controversial. Some theories dominate this discussion, but can probably never be fully verified or falsified. It is possible that all of them have their rights to a certain extent.

Sittenspiegel theory

It is possible that Tacitus wanted to counter the decadence of Roman customs with a positive counterexample (moral mirror) ; suggests that he strongly idealized the Teutons in some places. For example, he contrasts the modesty of Germanic women with lustful drama and seduction through provocative feasts in Rome. There is even an explicit criticism of the Roman situation: Tacitus blames his own discord and civil war for Germanic successes.

Ethnography theory

Other researchers do not regard the work as a moral warning for the establishment of Roman morality, but as an objective ethnography . These, in places strongly polarizing, negative and positive opposites to Tacitus' own culture therefore only served the understanding of the different . This is supported by the fact that many of his descriptions have turned out to be correct and have been confirmed by modern archeology.

Further approaches

It is also discussed that Tacitus might want to show why Rome could never completely conquer Germania in decades of attempts. The reason is therefore the form of society and the freedom-loving character of the Teutons. Newer interpretations go even further: Tacitus not only wants to explain why Germania could not be defeated, but even warn against further attempts at conquest.

reception

The writing, together with the other "small writings" of Tacitus, only reached the time of humanism in a single copy . It was found by Enoch von Ascoli in the Hersfeld Abbey and brought to Italy around 1455. Enea Silvio Piccolomini, who later became Pope Pius II , was the first to deal with writing. In medieval Germany, the term Germanic as a self-designation for “the Germans” hardly played a role, as attempts were made to place oneself historically close to the Romans.

In order to spark enthusiasm for a crusade against the Turks, the Germania was used at the Regensburg Reichstag in 1471 by emphasizing the warlike characteristics of the Teutons. It was only the German humanists who became aware of Tacitus ( Conrad Celtis , Aventinus , above all Ulrich von Hutten ). From then on, the Germans' interest in what they viewed as “their prehistory” continued for a long time, even though each epoch had its own, different interpretation. The humanists raved about the alleged “Germanic purity” and the originality of their ancestors, in this sense the Germania served to establish an anachronistic identity. Only with Jacob Grimm (and Karl Viktor Müllenhoff ) was a scientific approach added.

As early as the 19th century, however, the scientific construction of a Germanic myth through ancient studies began. Via Gustaf Kossinna , this development contributed to the emergence of the pseudo-scientific racial theory of National Socialism . National Socialist racial politicians, above all Heinrich Himmler and the “ Research Association of German Ahnenerbe ”, which he co-founded , distorted and misused the statements made by Tacitus as arguments for an alleged “racial superiority” of the Germans and their millions of mass murder in the Nazi concentration and extermination camps .

In the more recent research, however, the problematic history of reception and the instrumentalization of the content of the writing are critically pointed out, especially since the equation Germanic / German is no longer tenable. The treatment by Eduard Norden , who placed the work in the context of ancient ethnography in 1920 , also and especially in comparison to the widely prevailing Germanic ideology, is still fundamental. Modern research views Germania more critically than older ones (for example with regard to intention and source criticism) and has in some cases also come to new assessments.

The Germania was in the 100 books TIME library added.

Editions and translations

• Manfred Fuhrmann (translator): Tacitus. Germania. Reclam, Stuttgart 1971 and more often, ISBN 3-15-000726-7 .
• Erich Koestermann (Ed.): Cornelius Tacitus. Germania, Agricola, Dialogus de oratoribus. Teubner, Stuttgart 1970 [Reprint 3rd edition 2011], ISBN 978-3-11-095884-3 (P. Cornelii Taciti libri qui supersunt, T. 2.2)
• Alf Önnerfors (ed.): De origine et situ Germanorum liber . Teubner, Stuttgart 1983 [Reprint 2011], ISBN 978-3-11-096377-9 (P. Cornelii Taciti libri qui supersunt, T. 2.2)
• Gerhard Perl : Tacitus. Germania - Latin and German. In the series: Joachim Hermann (Hrsg.): Greek and Latin sources on the history of Central Europe up to the middle of the 1st millennium CE (= writings and sources of the Old World 37.2) Akademie-Verlag Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-05-000349 -9 , ISSN  0080-696X .
• Wilhelm Reeb (Ed.): Tacitus Germania. Commentary by W. Reeb with the assistance of H. Klenk with contributions by A. Dopsch, H. Reis, K. Schumacher. BG Teubner, Berlin / Leipzig 1930. ( Digisat SLUB Dresden )
• JB Rives (Ed.): Tacitus: Germania . Oxford 1999 (English translation with detailed introduction and extensive commentary).
• Rodney P. Robinson: The Germania of Tacitus. A critical edition. (= Philological Monographs published by the American Philological Association, no.5). Middletown, Connecticut 1935. Reprint: Olms Verlag, Hildesheim u. a. 1991, ISBN 3-487-09523-8 .
• Alfons Städele , Gerhard Fink (ed.): Tacitus Germania. Study edition Latin - German. (Tusculum Collection). Akademie Verlag, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-05-005270-0 .
• P. Cornelius Tacitus: Germania. Interpreted, edited, transcribed, annotated and provided with a bibliography by Allan A. Lund . University Press Carl Winter, Heidelberg 1988, ISBN 3-533-03875-0 .

literature

About the Teutons in general

• Bruno Bleckmann : The Teutons . CH Beck, Munich 2009, ISBN 3-406-58476-4 .
• Walter Pohl : The Teutons . 2nd Edition. Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-486-56755-1 .

About Tacitus and Germania

• Jan-Wilhelm Beck : 'Germania' - 'Agricola': Two chapters on Tacitus' two small writings. Investigations into their intention and dating as well as the development of their author . Hildesheim 1998, ISBN 3-12-645000-8 (Spudasmata 68).
• Herbert Jankuhn , Dieter Timpe (Hrsg.): Contributions to the understanding of the Germania des Tacitus, part 1. Report on the colloquia of the commission for the archeology of northern and central Europe in 1986 . Göttingen 1989, ISBN 3-525-82459-9 (AbhGöttingen 175).
• Christopher B. Krebs: Negotiatio Germaniae. Tacitus' Germania and Enea Silvio Piccolomini, Giannantonio Campano, Conrad Celtis and Heinrich Bebel. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2005, ISBN 3-525-25257-9 (Hypomnemata 158).
• Allan A. Lund : On the overall interpretation of the Germania of Tacitus . In: Hildegard Temporini, Wolfgang Haase (Hrsg.): Rise and decline of the Roman world . Part II, Vol. 33.3. de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1991, pp. 1858–1988, ISBN 3-11-012541-2 , ISBN 978-3-11-012541-2 .
• Allan A. Lund: Critical research report on the 'Germania' of Tacitus. In: Hildegard Temporini, Wolfgang Haase (Hrsg.): Rise and decline of the Roman world . Part II, Vol. 33.3. de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1991, pp. 1989-2222 and pp. 2341-2344.
• Allan A. Lund: On the Germanic concept in Tacitus . In: Heinrich Beck (Hrsg.): Germanic problems in today's view (= Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde - supplementary volumes 1). 2nd ed. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1999, ISBN 3-11-016439-6 , pp. 53-87.
• Rudolf Much : The Germania of Tacitus . 3rd, considerably expanded edition, with the collaboration of Herbert Jankuhn, edited by Wolfgang Lange. Carl Winter, Heidelberg 1967.
• Günter Neumann, Henning Seemann (Eds.): Contributions to the understanding of the Germania des Tacitus, part 2. Report on the colloquia of the commission for the classical studies of Northern and Central Europe in 1986 and 1987 . Göttingen 1992, ISBN 3-525-82482-3 (AbhGöttingen 195).
• Eduard Norden : The Germanic prehistory in Tacitus Germania . 6th edition, unchanged. Abdr. D. 1st edition 1920. Teubner, Stuttgart 1974, ISBN 3-519-07224-6 .
• Stephan Schmal: Tacitus . Georg Olms Verlag, Hildesheim 2005, ISBN 3-487-12884-5 .
• Roland Schuhmann: Geographical space and way of life of the Teutons. Commentary on Tacitus' Germania, c. 1-20. Jena 2006.
• Dieter Timpe : Romano-Germanica: collected studies on the Germania of Tacitus . Teubner, Stuttgart and Leipzig 1995, ISBN 3-519-07428-1 .

To the Germania reception

• Gerhard Binder : On the fate of a fateful writing of the Germans in the 19th century. To the Germania of Tacitus. In: Manfred Jakubowski-Tiessen (Hrsg.): Religion between art and politics. Aspects of secularization in the 19th century. Gõttingen 2004, pp. 26–47.
• Christopher B. Krebs: A dangerous book - The "Germania" of Tacitus and the invention of the Germans . DVA, Munich 2012.
• Allan A. Lund: German ideology in National Socialism. On the reception of Tacitus' "Germania" in the "Third Reich" . University Press C. Winter Heidelberg GmbH, Heidelberg 1995.
• Dieter Mertens : The instrumentalization of the "Germania" of Tacitus by the German humanists . In: Heinrich Beck (Ed.): On the history of the equation "Germanic-German" . de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2004, pp. 37–101 ( online ; PDF; 6.2 MB).
• Ingo Wiwjorra: The Germanic myth . Construction of a world view in antiquity research of the 19th century . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2006, ISBN 3-534-19016-5 .

Web links

Wikisource: Die Germania des Tacitus  - Sources and full texts

• Germania, Latin and German with further information
• Latin Germania
• Germania, Latin and German with commentary
• Digitized version of the first German edition of Germania, Nuremberg 1473/74. (accessed on April 12, 2015)

Remarks

1. ↑ Tacitus Complete Edition without Agricola . Also the first edition for Annales 11-16, Historiae and Dialogus et Oratoribus .
2. ↑ Much (1967), p. 420.
3. ↑ Roland Schuhmann: A critical note on Tacitus, Germania c. 1.1 and its significance for the dating of writing , in: Glotta 80 (2004), pp. 251–261.
4. ↑ See also Beck (1998), p. 100f.
5. ↑ A settlement of the Ubier even became the nucleus of the Roman city Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (later Cologne). The chats, however, fought over and over again with Roman troops.
6. ↑ Bleckmann (2009), p. 45f.
7. ^ Tacitus, Germania 2.
8. ^ Tacitus, Germania 5.
9. ↑ Germania , 11: Your independence has a bad consequence: You never come to the meeting at the same time.
10. ↑ Caesar, de bello Gallico 2,4,1. On this problem with Tacitus cf. also Harald v. Petrikovits: Germani Cisrhenani . In: H. Beck (Ed.): Germanic problems from today's perspective . Berlin 1986. pp. 88-106, here p. 100.
11. ↑ Germania 33: It remains, I beg, and persists with these peoples, if not love for us, then at least mutual hatred.
12. ↑ It was assumed that this place was later on the island of Rügen . See Spitra, Kersken (2009) p. 113.
13. ^ Cf. Caesar, de bello Gallico , 6, 11-28.
14. ↑ For a brief summary, see Pohl (2004), p. 62.
15. ↑ Cf. Tacitus, Germania , chapter 28.
16. ↑ See afterword by Fuhrmann, in: Tacitus, Germania . Reclam, 1997, p. 66.
17. ↑ Cf. Allan A. Lund: On the overall interpretation of the Germania des Tacitus , in: Hildegard Temporini, Wolfgang Haase (Ed.): Rise and Decline of the Roman World Part II, Vol. 33.3, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin-New York 1991, S. 1858ff., Here: S. 1863 and S. 1953.
18. ↑ See Schmal (2005), p. 38
19. ↑ In fact, the Latin source text is also carefully examined. However, this can only help to a limited extent with this key question.
20. ↑ Lund (1991) writes: Ancient ethnography in its typical form does not consist in the ethnographic monograph, but in the ethnographic excursus. This was inserted in larger historiographical or geographical works in order to convey the cultural background to the understanding of the mentioned population groups to the reader ... and refers to Caesar and Strabo.
21. ↑ On the other hand, little is known about the topics that occupied public opinion at the time , Fuhrmann, epilogue in the Reclam translation, p. 68
22. ↑ Cf. Tacitus, Germania , Chapter 19.
23. ↑ He is referring to the civil war around the so-called Four Emperor Year 68/69 AD, cf. Tacitus, Germania , chapter 37.
24. ↑ See Lund (1991), p. 1866.
25. ↑ Tacitus wrote his portrait of the Germanic peoples accordingly, to explain the nature of the Germanic peoples to the Roman public and to make them understand why they ... were not yet defeated. Lund (1991), p. 1956
26. ↑ These ... people ... are not pursuing a threatening strategy, they are far too disorganized for that. It is best to leave it in peace, because it is always defensible. Schmal (2005), p. 42.
27. ↑ See Pohl (2004), p. 5
28. ↑ So-called Turkish speech by the papal envoy Giannantonio Campano, cf. Bleckmann (2009), p. 37.
29. ↑ Ned Parker: The Nazis and the Book of Power. ZDF, 2014. Documentary, 45 min. ( Memento of the original from November 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 5, 2014.  
30. ↑ Christopher B. Krebs: A dangerous book - The "Germania" of Tacitus and the invention of the Germans. Munich 2012; Dieter Mertens: The instrumentalization of the "Germania" of Tacitus by the German humanists. In: Heinrich Beck (Ed.): On the history of the equation "Germanic-German". Berlin 2004, pp. 37-101.
31. ^ Eduard Norden: The Germanic prehistory in Tacitus Germania. Leipzig / Berlin 1920 ( online ).
32. ↑ The commentary in JB Rives (Ed.) Provides an overview: Tacitus: Germania. Oxford 1999.