I.
Germania omnis a Gallis Rhaetisque et Pannoniis Rheno et Danubio fluminibus, a Sarmatis Dacisque mutuo metu aut montibus separatur: cetera Oceanus ambit, latos sinus et insularum immensa spatia complectens, nuper cognitis quibusdam gentibus ac regibus, quos bellum aperuit. Rhenus, Rhaeticarum Alpium inaccesso ac praecipiti vertice ortus, modico flexu in occidentem versus, septentrionali Oceano miscetur. Danubius, molli et clementer edito montis Abnobae jugo effusus, plures populos adit, donec in Ponticum mare sex meatibus erumpat: septimum os paludibus hauritur.
1.
The whole of Germany is kept separate from the inhabitants of Gaul as well as those of Rhaetia and Pannonia by the rivers Rhine and Danube, and from the Sarmatians and Dacians by mountain ranges and mutual mistrust. The rest of the country is edged in by the ocean, which encompasses wide projections of the coastline as well as islands of immense size. War has only recently disclosed to us nations and kings until now unknown. The Rhine begins its course from an abrupt and inaccessible peak of the Rhaetian Alps, turns lightly to follow a western course, and merges with the North Sea. The Danube, rising from the moderately high and gently sloping peak of Mt. Abnoba, touches on the lands of many peoples before it forces a passage with six of its mouths into the Pontus. A seventh channel is absorbed by marshy terrain.
II.
Ipsos Germanos indigenas crediderim, minimeque aliarum gentium adventibus et hospitiis mixtos; quia nec terra olim, sed classibus advehebantur, qui mutare sedes quaerebant, et immensus ultra, utque sic dixerim, adversus Oceanus raris ab orbe nostro navibus aditur. Quis porro, praeter periculum horridi et ignoti maris, Asia aut Africa aut Italia relicta, Germaniam peteret, informem terris, asperam coelo, tristem cultu aspectuque, nisi si patria sit? Celebrant carminibus antiquis (quod unum apud illos memoriae et annalium genus est) Tuisconem deum terra editum, et filium Mannum, originem gentis conditoresque. Manno tres filios assignant, e quorum nominibus proximi Oceano Ingaevones, medii Hermiones, ceteri Istaevones vocentur. Quidam autem, ut in licentia vetustatis, plures deo ortos pluresque gentis appellationes, Marsos, Gambrivios, Suevos, Vandalios, affirmant; eaque vera et antiqua nomina. Ceterum Germaniae vocabulum recens et nuper additum; quoniam, qui primi Rhenum transgressi Gallos expulerint, ac nunc Tungri, tunc Germani vocati sint: ita nationis nomen, non gentis evaluisse paulatim, ut omnes primum a victore ob metum, mox a se ipsis invento nomine Germani vocarentur.
2.
I am inclined to believe that the Germans themselves are indigenous and only to a very small extent diluted by new settlements or peaceful intercourse with the outside. The reason is that in time past people who wanted to emigrate were brought by sea, not by land, and on the farther side of Germany the limitless and, I may add, forbidding ocean is rarely ventured into by ships from our parts of the world. Besides, apart from the dangers of a treacherous and uncharted sea, who would leave behind Asia, Africa, or Italy to reach Germany, a wretched country, inclement as to climate, dismal as to living conditions, and devoid of natural beauty unless this be his native place? The inhabitants have only one way to preserve tradition and history, their ancient songs that celebrate the god Tuisto, borne of the earth, and his son Mannus, the ancestral founders of the race. Three sons are assigned to Mannus, from whose names the nations near the ocean are known as the Ingaevones, those in the interior parts of Germany as Herminones, and all others as the Istaevones. Certain sources, however, with the freedom of speculation afforded by a mythical past, claim that many sons were born to Mannus, thus that more numerous are the names of the people of Germany, the Marsi, the Gambrivii, the Suevi, and the Vandals, all in their view legitimate and ancient names, whereas that of Germania is of recent coinage and circulation. The proof is that the first to cross the Rhine and force the Gauls from their lands were called Germans, the same who are now called Tungri. Gradually the name of a single tribe – not of the entire race – so prevailed that all called themselves Germans, the self-styled name used initially by the conquering tribe to spread fear.
III.
Fuisse apud eos et Herculem memorant, primumque omnium virorum fortium ituri in proelia canunt. Sunt illis haec quoque carmina, quorum relatu, quem baritum vocant, accendunt animos, futuraeque pugnae fortunam ipso cantu augurantur: terrent enim trepidantve, prout sonuit acies. Nec tam voces illae, quam virtutis concentus videntur. Affectatur praecipue asperitas soni et fractum murmur, objectis ad os scutis, quo plenior et gravior vox repercussu intumescat. Ceterum et Ulixem quidam opinantur longo illo et fabuloso errore in hunc Occanum delatum, adisse Germaniae terras, Asciburgiumque, quod in ripa Rheni situm hodieque incolitur, ab illo constitutum nominatumque. Aram quin etiam Ulixi consecratam, adjecto Laertae patris nomine, eodem loco olim repertam, monumentaque et tumulos quosdam Graecis litteris inscriptos in confinio Germaniae Rhaetiaeque adhuc exstare: quae neque confirmare argumentis, neque refellere in animo est: ex ingenio suo quisque demat, vel addat fidem.
3.
It is also part of their traditions that Hercules had been among them and when about to go to battle they praise him in their war songs as the greatest of all heroes. In addition, they have songs they sing in a special manner they call baritus, wherewith they inflame their courage and by the very sound produced they draw auspices about the outcome of the combat they are about to face. Indeed, the way the song is intoned by their line determines whether they impart terror or feel terror themselves. It does not resemble so much the din of many voices together, as rather the concerted expression of their eagerness to fight. What is sought in particular is harshness of sound, broken by an ominous roar, the shields being held close to the mouth to amplify the clamor by making it fuller and more deafening.
[Beside Hercules], Ulysses also, in the course of his fabled long wanderings, is thought by some to have ended up in this ocean and to have landed in Germany, where he founded Ashiburgium, which he named, situated on the bank of the Rhine and still inhabited today. Nay, they even assert that an altar devoted to Ulysses was once found in the same place, with the name of his father Laertes affixed to it. Also, that certain monuments and graves bearing inscriptions in Greek characters are still extant today on the border between Rhaetia and Germany. It is not my intention to either prove or disprove such claims. I let everyone, according to inclination, put faith in them or reject them.
IV.
Ipse eorum opinionibus accedo, qui Germaniae populos nullis aliis aliarum nationum connubiis infectos propriam et sinceram et tantum sui similem gentem exstitisse arbitrantur: unde habitus quoque corporum, quanquam in tanto hominum numero, idem omnibus; truces et cacrulei oculi, rutilae comae, magna corpora et tantum ad impetum valida; laboris atque operum non eadem patientia: minimeque sitim aestumque tolerare, frigora atque inediam coelo solove assueverunt.
4.
I myself share the view of those who hold that no German tribe was corrupted by intermarriages with outside races and that all have remained, distinct, pure, and similar only among themselves in appearance. It follows that physically they are uniform, to the extent that it can be said of such vast numbers. All have keen blue eyes, reddish blonde hair, huge bodies capable of sudden exertion, but intolerant of labor and sustained effort. Thirst and heat they cannot bear; to cold and hunger they have been inured by their climate and the nature of the soil.
V.
Terra, etsi aliquanto specie differt, in universum tamen aut silvis horrida aut paludibus foeda: humidior, qua Gallias; ventosior, qua Noricum ac Pannoniam aspicit: satis ferax; frugiferarum arborum impatiens: pecorum fecunda, sed plerumque improcera; ne armentis quidem suus honor, aut gloria frontis: numero gaudent; eaeque solae et gratissimae opes sunt. Argentum et aurum propitii an irati dii negaverint, dubito. Nec tamen affirmaverim, nullam Germaniae venam argentum aurumve gignere: quis enim scrutatus est? possessione et usu haud perinde afficiuntur. Est videre apud illos argentea vasa, legatis et principibus eorum muneri data, non in alia vilitate, quam quae humo finguntur quanquam proximi, ob usum commerciorum, aurum et argentum in pretio habent, formasque quasdam nostrae pecuniae agnoscunt atque eligunt: interiores simplicius et antiquius permutatione mercium utuntur. Pecuniam probant veterem et diu notam, serratos bigatosque. Argentum quoque, magis quam aurum sequuntur, nulla affectione animi, sed quia numerus argenteorum facilior usui est promiscua ac vilia mercantibus.
5.
The country, though considerably changeable in its features, is on the whole either rough with forests or marred by noxious swamps, more humid or more wind-swept according as it faces towards Gaul or towards Noricum and Pannonia. The land is fairly supportive of crops, yet ungenerous to fruit trees. Flocks and herds abound but they are generally stunted: even cattle look anything but imposing and have no frontal embellishment. The people rejoice rather in the number of animals they own: that is the one asset they consider best. The gods have refused them silver and gold, whether out of anger or kindness I cannot say for certain. For all that, I would not say that there is no vein in Germany capable of producing silver and gold. Who in fact has ever searched? The Germans are not so much impressed by the possession and use [of these metals] as might be expected. One can see among them silver vessels, gifts to their ambassadors and leaders, being held in as little esteem as those that are shaped out of clay. Nevertheless, the Germans who are closest to us value gold and silver in view of their commerce with us: they have knowledge of and preference for certain of our coins. Communities inside Germany rely on barter in the simpler manner of the past. The money they prize is the old type known to them for a long time, namely the coins with serrated edges and the image of a two-horse chariot. They also prefer silver to gold, not out of partiality for that metal, but because the more numerous silver coins are easier to use in their trade of ordinary low-cost merchandise.
VI.
Ne ferrum quidem superest, sicut ex genere telorum colligitur. Rari gladiis aut majoribus lanceis utuntur: hastas, vel ipsorum vocabulo frameas gerunt, angusto et brevi ferro sed ita acri et ad usum habili, ut eodem telo, prout ratio poscit, vel cominus vel eminus pugnent: et eques quidem scuto frameaque contentus est: pedites et missilia spargunt, plura singuli, atque in immensum vibrant, nudi aut sagulo leves. Nulla cultus jactatio; scuta tantum lectissimis coloribus distinguunt: paucis loricae: vix uni alterive cassis aut galea. Equi non forma, non velocitate conspicui: sed nec variare gyros in morem nostrum docentur. In rectum, aut uno flexu dextros agunt ita conjuncto orbe, ut nemo posterior sit. In universum aestimanti, plus penes peditem roboris: eoque mixti proeliantur, apta et congruente ad equestrem pugnam velocitate peditum, quos ex omni juventute delectos ante aciem locant. Definitur et numerus: centeni ex singulis pagis sunt: idque ipsum inter suos vocantur; et quod primo numerus fuit, jam nomen et honor est. Acies per cuneos componitur. Cedere loco, dummodo rursus instes, consilii quam formidinis arbitrantur. Corpora suorum etiam in dubiis proeliis referunt. Scutum reliquisse, praecipuum flagitium; nec aut sacris adesse, aut concilium inire, ignominioso fas; multique superstites bellorum infamiam laqueo finierunt.
6.
Iron itself is anything but plentiful, to judge from the kinds of weapons they have. Very few use swords or lances with long wooded shafts. The spears they carry, or frameas as they call them, end in a short narrow steel head; the weapon is so sharp and wieldy that they do battle with it both in hand to hand combat and from afar, as need demands. Even the cavalry considers this kind of spear and a shield sufficient armament. The foot soldier has in addition missiles, many to a man, which he discharges in a volley, hurling them to an incredible distance, being unembarrassed by protective covering of any sort, except for a light cloak. They disdain all forms of adornment: only their shields they embellish with the choicest colors. Few wear breastplates, even less are provided with helmets, be they leather or metal. Their horses not only lack both beauty and speed but are not trained to execute any circling or wheeling movements, as is the case with us. They only ride them straight ahead or make one single turn to the right in such a compact body that none are left behind. All things considered, their main strength is in infantry, and for that reason infantry and cavalry fight together: the foot soldiers, handpicked for their swiftness from among the young men of military age, are positioned in the front line and in combat adjust their speed to that of the cavalry. Their number is also limited to one hundred from each district and the number itself becomes the name by which they are addressed within the tribe: thus, what initially was just a number becomes a title of honor. The Germans arrange their forces in wedge formations: to withdraw from battle is considered prudence rather than cowardice, provided one returns to the fight. The bodies of their fallen are removed from the field even when the issue of the battle is undecided. To have abandoned one’s shield is the ultimate crime nor is it permitted to a man thus disgraced to be present at religious services or to enter a council. Many who have survived a battle by flight have crowned their infamy by hanging themselves.
VII.
Reges ex nobilitate, duces ex virtute sumunt. Nec regibus infinita aut libera potestas: et duces exemplo potius, quam imperio, si prompti, si conspicui, si ante aciem agant, admiratione praesunt. Ceterum neque animadvertere neque vincire, ne verberare quidem, nisi sacerdotibus permissum; non quasi in poenam, nec ducis jussu, sed velut deo imperante, quem adesse bellantibus credunt: effigiesque et signa quaedam, detracta lucis, in proelium ferunt. Quodque praecipuum fortitudinis incitamentum est, non casus nec fortuita conglobatio turmam aut cuneum facit, sed familiae et propinquitates, et in proximo pignora, unde feminarum ululatus audiri, unde vagitus infantium: hi cuique sanctissimi testes, hi maximi laudatores. Ad matres, ad conjuges vulnera ferunt; nec illae numerare, aut exigere plagas pavent; cibosque et hortamina pugnantibus gestant.
7.
Kings are chosen on the basis of nobility, military leaders on that of courage. The kings’ powers are not without limits or despotic; as to the generals, if they are decisive, prominent in action, foremost in the attack, they command more by their example and the admiration it excites than by their official authority. Only the priests, however, are permitted to mete out death sentences, to imprison, even to flog, and that is not done in retribution for a crime or in response to a chief’s order, but as if at the prompting of the god, who, according to their beliefs, stands by them during the fighting. They carry into battle certain images and standards they preserve in their sacred groves. To them the primary spur to perform deeds of valor comes from the fact that their cavalry and infantry forces are not groupings of men fortuitously brought together, but family and clans acting in unison. With them the fighting men have those they hold dearest, so they can hear the wailing of their women and the children’s cries. These are the most valid witnesses of each man’s courage, the ultimate admirers. From battle the warriors take their wounds to mothers and spouses, who do not fear to count them and closely examine the harm inflicted: they even bring food and encouragement to their men engaged in combat.
VIII.
Memoriae proditur, quasdam acies, inclinatas jam et labantes, a feminis restitutas, constantia precum et objectu pectorum et monstrata cominus captivitate, quam longe impatientius feminarum suarum nomine timent: adeo ut efficacius obligentur animi civitatum, quibus inter obsides puellae quoque nobiles imperantur. Inesse quin etiam sanctum aliquid et providum putant: nec aut consilia earum aspernantur, aut responsa negligunt. Vidimus sub divo Vespasiano Veledam diu apud plerosque numinis loco habitam. Sed et olim Auriniam et complures alias venerati sunt non adulatione, nec tanquam facerent deas.
8.
It is told that armies on the the verge of defeat, about to abandon the fight, were steadied by the women’s insistent prayers, by interposing their bare breasts to flight, and by pointing to the approaching menace of enslavement, which the Germans fear far more intensely on account of the women, to such an extent that the best way to secure the loyalty of their tribes is to require also the inclusion of noble maidens in the number of hostages. In fact, Germans even think that women have supernatural and prophetic powers: their advice is not ignored and neither are their predictions. During Vespasian’s reign we all have heard of Veleda, long revered by many Germans as a deity, but earlier on they venerated also Aurinia and many other women, though not out of servile deference nor as if they intended to make them goddesses.
IX.
Deorum maxime Mercurium colunt, cui certis diebus humanis quoque hostiis litare fas habent. Herculem ac Martem concessis animalibus placant: pars Suevorum et Isidi sacrificat. Unde causa et origo peregrino sacro parum comperi, nisi quod signum ipsum, in modum liburnae figuratum, docet advectam religionem. Ceterum nec cohibere parietibus deos, neque in ullam humani oris speciem assimulare, ex magnitudine coelestium arbitrantur: lucos ac nemora consecrant, deorumque nominibus appellant secretum illud, quod sola reverentia vident.
9.
The god they are most devoted to is Mercury, to whom on given days they even deem proper to offer human sacrifices. Hercules and Mars they placate with animals that are prescribed by their rites. A part of the Suebi perform sacrifices to Isis as well. The place from which this foreign cult has its origin and cause I could not find, except that the symbol itself, shaped like a Liburnian galley, points to an imported worship. Moreover, Germans consider it beneath the grandeur of heavenly powers to surround them with walls and to represent them in any likeness of the human face. They consecrate to them woods and groves and apply names of gods to that ineffable something which reverence only makes visible to the eyes of the faithful.
X.
Auspicia sortesque, ut qui maxime, observant. Sortium consuetudo simplex: virgam, frugiferae arbori decisam, in surculos amputant, eosque, notis quibusdam discretos, super candidam vestem temere ac fortuito spargunt: mox, si publice consuletur, sacerdos civitatis, sin privatim, ipse paterfamiliae, precatus deos coelumque suspiciens, ter singulos tollit, sublatos secundum impressam ante notam interpretatur. Si prohibuerunt, nulla de eadem re in eundem diem consultatio; sin permissum, auspiciorum adhuc fides exigitur. Et illud quidem etiam hic notum, avium voces volatusque interrogare: proprium gentis, equorum quoque praesagia ac monitus experiri; publice aluntur iisdem nemoribus ac lucis candidi et nullo mortali opere contacti: quos pressos sacro curru sacerdos ac rex vel princeps civitatis comitantur, hinnitusque ac fremitus observant. Nec ulli auspicio major fides non solum apud plebem, sed apud proceres, apud sacerdotes; se enim ministros deorum, illos conscios putant. Est et alia observatio auspiciorum, qua gravium bellorum eventus explorant; ejus gentis, cum qua bellum est, captivum, quoquo modo interceptum, cum electo popularium suorum, patriis quemque armis, committunt: victoria hujus vel illius pro praejudicio accipitur.
10.
In the auspices and the drawing of lots they undoubtedly place maximum faith. The method of the latter is straightforward: they cut a branch of a nut tree and divide it into pieces, each provided with a distinguishing mark, then scatter the pieces in a casual manner at random on a white cloth. Next, if the divination is public, the chief priest of the tribe, if private the head of the family, after calling on the gods and turning his eyes towards heaven, takes up one cutting at a time for three times in succession and interprets the three pieces in accordance with the marks previously impressed on them. If the response is negative, no further answer is sought that day about the same matter. If positive, the confirmation of auspices is still required. To seek enlightenment from the cries and flight patterns of birds, is certainly a method well known in Germany, but peculiar to this people is the practice to draw auspices and forewarnings also from horses. In the same woods and groves that are sacred to the gods pure-white horses are raised at public expense and kept untainted by field labor. After being harnessed to a sacred chariot, they are accompanied by the priest as well as by the king — or the head of the tribe – who take note of the horses’ whinning and snorting. No omen is considered more reliable, not only by the common people but also by the nobles and the priests. In fact, these last view themselves as the gods’ servants, the horses as their collaborators. They have another way of taking auspices through which to fathom the issue of decisive wars: they pit a prisoner, captured in some way or other, of the nation with which they are at war against a champion of their own, each armed with the weapons of his country. The victory of the one or the other is taken as a presage of the issue of the war.