The ancestors of the Germans who came out of the wilderness, the Germans

The whole world knows that the Germans were the ancestors of the Germans. But many people do not know that they are also the ancestors of the people of Britain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands.

Where the Germans originally came from is still uncertain, and the only way they can tell history is by ballads, unlike Chinese there is a complete system of historians.

We only know that the Germanic peoples first appeared on the Baltic and North Sea coasts. From around 1000 BC, the Germanic peoples lived in the lands of Northern Europe. Later, they gradually advanced southward, occupying a vast area in north-central Europe, thriving in a vast area stretching from the Vistula River in the east to the Rhine in the west.

At that time, the land was uninhabited, and it was said that the largest forest could not be seen for two months in a row. Today it is one of the most developed countries in the world – Germany.

Germanic people on the battlefield

The Germanic peoples of that time were divided into many tribes, each with its own name. The term "Germanic" actually derives from their opponents, the Celts and Romans. The ancient Romans recorded the image of the Germanic people in their writings. Tacitus, a famous historian of the early Roman Empire, wrote the Chronicle of Germania, which detailed the customs and distribution of the Germanic tribes.

In his writing, these "barbarians" are clad in animal skins, tall, with fierce blue eyes and golden hair, hardy and hardy, with a fierce expression, and they are not good at first glance. To the surprise of the Romans, Germanic women exposed their arms, shoulders, and even chests.

Germanic customs looked rather open, scantily dressed, and men and women bathed in the same river. But compared to the Romans, the Germanic peoples were quite pure in the relationship between men and women. Caesar's Gallic Chronicles describes Germanic customs: "Those who have remained childlike for the longest time are greatly praised among their relatives and friends... A person who has knowledge about women before the age of 20 is considered one of the most shameful things. ”

Most tribes practice monogamy. When a husband and wife are married, the bride price of the man is generally only a cow, a horse, a shield, a spear or a sword. Husbands and wives are loyal to each other, and adultery rarely occurs. Germanic women were of a higher status and could participate in tribal deliberations.

What is even more rare is that the Germanic people retain a simple and ancient style that does not value fame and fortune. Most tribes had no currency at all, and usury was unheard of in the Roman world. People bartered for money, were not interested in gold and silver treasures, and did not regard silver vases as more precious than pottery.

The clothes worn were linen and animal skins, and the houses were rough logs, devoid of carvings. All kinds of customs and customs were the envy of ancient Roman moralists. It is no wonder that the Roman aristocracy at that time was drunk on paper and gold fans, night and night

Song, moral corruption, bribery is the norm. King Djouda, a North African king who had been to Rome, said he could even sell the city if he could find a buyer.

However, the Germanic peoples were not born with high morals, and the main reason for their simple customs was poverty. The Germanic tribes were basically in the stage of clan communes, extremely inefficient, and certainly did not have the extravagant capital of the Romans.

They live sporadically from water and grass, hunting and animal husbandry, and do not even use stones and tiles, so the houses are made of logs (but by today's standards it seems luxurious). The Germanic people were not developed in agriculture, and their diet was mainly wild fruits, game meat, milk, cheese, and still a primitive look. The land was communally owned by communes, distributed according to the number of people, and was basically in the period of primitive communism.

What about being poor? It's simple – grab. The Germans considered it a supreme honor to have the vast tracts of land around the tribe deserted, as it meant that the neighbors had been driven out of their homes by them.

The Germanic teenager grew up in such a way that the boy grew up playing in the grass and the forest, rolling in the mud, messing around in the herd, and exercising a strong body.

When he became an adult, his relatives and elders awarded him a shield and a short spear at the tribal assembly, and the teenager began to follow the tribal leader in the southern and northern wars. Chiefs generally have many brave attendants, and these young people have forgotten their lives to defend the chieftain, and if the chieftain dies in battle and the attendant survives, it will be a shame for their life.

This tradition later evolved into the chivalry of the Middle Ages. Some Germanic tribes have even more brutal traditions. When the man became an adult, he grew his beard, waited until he had killed the first enemy, and stood on the bloodied corpse and shaved his beard on his face, so that he could be worthy of his ancestors and the gods.

After each battle, the Germanic men gave the wounds to their mothers or wives, looked at and counted the number of wounds, and were proud of the number. If there had been no war, the brave Germanic warriors would have nothing to do, eating, drinking, sleeping, hunting, and leaving all the housework to their wives.

Looting outside tribal territories was used as a exercise, and chiefs often called in volunteers at public rallies, and standing up to answer the call won a round of applause. Sometimes they also have to take the initiative to find the tribes that are at war.

The Germans could not even perform at the rally without weapons, and the young man danced naked in the bush of guns and swords, which was really dangerous and romantic.

In the course of perennial combat, this group of war freaks has honed quite distinctive military technology. Before the battle began, the Germans would find a captive and their own warrior to single out and divinate the outcome of the war. In wartime, they first prayed to the god of war, and then issued a cry of mountains and tsunamis.

It is said that they will raise their shields to their lips, which will make the cry louder with echoes. The Germanic warriors believed that the battle would be won if the roar was neat and loud.

In the game Total War of Rome, the "war roar" of the Germanic race can temporarily increase the attack power and frequency of attacks, which is based on history.

Subsequently, the Germanic warriors launched a charge and rushed up, and it would be considered a great shame to retreat and flee. Sometimes the Germans would put their heavy carts in the rear, cutting off the back roads so that the warriors could not escape.

The carriage also carried women of their own tribe, who stretched out their hands, wept bitterly, and begged the warriors not to be defeated and make them slaves to the enemy. Most of the enemy was defeated after the roar and charge of the Germanic army, but the well-equipped and well-trained Roman legions were not so easy to deal with.

Compared with the Romans, the equipment of the Germanic warriors was too large: the weapons were generally limited to short spears and shields, and most of them were shirtless, wearing at most a thin coat, neither breastplate nor helmet, and the shield was only woven with wicker, without the use of metal or cowhide with better protection. As a result, the Germanic army suffered high casualties in the battle and was difficult to last.

As battles were fought, the tribes produced a number of good men of great merit and prestige, who gradually became tribal military chiefs. However, with the exception of wartime command, chiefs do not have privileges within the tribe in peacetime. The system practiced by the Germanic tribes could be called "military democracy".

Tribes held regular assemblies, generally at the time of the new or full moon, when the Germans believed that it was the most auspicious time to handle affairs. All adult men (who are also warriors) can participate in tribal assemblies. You need to carry a weapon, of course, not a fight but a vote.

After the chief has given his opinion, those who agree can wave a short spear or strike a shield, and those who oppose it will stomp their feet, sigh, and whistle. Whichever side is strong enough to win. Although it sounds relatively backward, it is still more in line with the level of social development of the Germanic people at that time.

A tribe generally has only a few thousand men, and it is no problem to make decisions in regular meetings, but if the voting mechanism is introduced, it will consume too many Germanic brain cells.

Similarly, the Germanic tribes did not have such a "high-class" facility as a prison. In the convention, charges and sentences can be made, rebels and fugitives are hanged from trees, and those who escape from the battlefield are put into cages made of branches and thrown into swamps.

Minor offences are punishable by fines, usually a few horses or a few cows. In short, the Germanic peoples of the classical period were basically at the end of primitive society and had not yet formed a complete state system.

Of course, Germanic society was also constantly improving. By the time of B.C., nearly ninety settlements that could be called towns had emerged in the Germania region.

Ancient Rome was the most important catalyst for the development of the Germanic society. The Germans exchanged native products such as amber, fur, and livestock for a variety of exquisite handicrafts from the Romans, including wine.

In Caesar's time, some Germanic tribes also rejected the import of alcohol. But more than a hundred years later, Roman historians discovered that alcoholism had become a daily routine for Germanic men. Making friends, getting married, deliberating, choosing chiefs, none of them can leave the feast.

The Germans felt that only when they drank wine, their hearts were the most frank, pure, and noble. Unfettered binge drinking is also the embodiment of the simple character of the Germanic people. From this point of view, they hated the "cunning" Romans very much.

Source: The Must-Know History of Germany Author: Yang Yicheng