The Germanic peoples are a historical group of Indo-European-speaking peoples, originating in Northern Europe and identified by their use of the Germanic languages which diversified out of Common Germanic in the course of the Pre-Roman Iron Age. Northern Europe is a term for the northern part of Europe. The United Nations defines Northern Europe as (Finland The Germanic languages are a group of related languages that constitute a branch of the Indo-European (IE Language family. Proto-Germanic, or Common Germanic, is the hypothetical common ancestor ( Proto-language) of all the Germanic languages such as modern English The Pre-Roman Iron Age of Northern Europe ( 5th / 4th century BC - 1st century BC) designates the earliest part of the Iron Age in Scandinavia The ancestors of these peoples became the eponymous ethnic groups of North Western Europe, such as the Danes, Swedes, Norwegians, Germans, Dutch, and English.

Migrating Germanic peoples spread throughout Europe in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Late Antiquity (c 300-600 is a Periodization used by historians to describe the transitional centuries from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in The Early Middle Ages is a period in the History of Europe following the fall of the Western Roman Empire spanning roughly five centuries from AD 500 Germanic languages became dominant along the Roman borders (Austria, Germany, Netherlands, and England), but in the rest of the (western) Roman provinces, the Germanic immigrants adopted Latin (Romance) dialects. A limes (or the Limes Romanus) was a Border defense or delimiting system of Ancient Rome. Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland In Ancient Rome, a province (Latin provincia, pl provinciae) was the basic and until the Tetrarchy (circa Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. The Romance languages (sometimes referred to as Romanic languages, or Neolatin languages) are a branch of the Indo-European language family comprising all Furthermore, all Germanic peoples were eventually Christianized to varying extents. The Germanic peoples underwent gradual Christianization in the course of Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. The Germanic people played a large role in transforming the Roman empire into Medieval Europe, and they contributed in developing a common identity, history, and culture which transcended linguistic borders. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial

Ethnonym

A depiction on the 8th century CE Tjängvide image stone often interpreted as Odin riding the eight-legged horse Sleipnir. The Tjängvide image stone (G 110 is an Image stone which was discovered in 1844 on the farm of Tjängvide on Gotland, but it is presently located in the Odin (ˈoʊdɪn from Old Norse Óðinn) is considered the chief god in Norse paganism. In Norse mythology, Sleipnir is Odin 's eight-legged steed and the greatest of all Horses His name means smooth or gliding, and is

Further information: Theodiscus and Teutonic

Various etymologies for Latin Germani are possible. la Theodiscus, the latinised form of Germanic Diutisc ("vernacular" "native" or "indigenous" is a Middle Latin As an adjective, germani is simply the plural of the adjective germanus (from germen, "seed" or "offshoot"), which has the sense of "related" or "kindred"^[1] or "authentic". According to Strabo, the Romans introduced the name Germani, because the Germanic tribes were the authentic Celts (γνησίους Γαλάτας; gnisíous Galátas). Strabo ( Greek: Στράβων 63/64 BC – ca AD 24 was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher. ^[2] Alternatively, it may refer from this use based on Roman experience of the Germanic tribes as allies of the Celts. Celts (ˈkɛlts or /ˈsɛlts/, see Names of the Celts

The ethnonym seems to be attested in the Fasti Capitolini inscription for the year 222, DE GALLEIS INSVBRIBVS ET GERM(aneis), where it may simply refer to "related" peoples, namely related to the Gauls. Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Furthermore, since the inscriptions were erected only in 17 to 18 BCE, the word may be a later addition to the text. Another early mentioning of the name, this time by Poseidonios (writing around 80 BCE), is also dubious, as it only survives in a quotation by Athenaios (writing around 190 CE); the mention of Germani in this context was more likely inserted by Athenaios rather than by Poseidonios himself. Posidonius ( Greek: Ποσειδώνιος / Poseidonios "of Apameia " (ὁ Απαμεύς or "of Rhodes " (ὁ Ρόδιος (ca Athenaeus ( Ancient Greek - Athếnaios Naukratios Latin Athenaeus Naucratita of Naucratis in Egypt Greek rhetorician and grammarian flourished ^[3] The writer who apparently introduced the name "Germani" into the corpus of classical literature is Julius Caesar. In Linguistics, a corpus (plural corpora) or text corpus is a large and structured set of texts (now usually electronically stored and processed He uses Germani in two slightly differing ways: one to describe any non-gaulic peoples of Germania, and one to denote the Germani Cisrhenani, a somewhat diffuse group of peoples in north-eastern Gaul, who cannot clearly be identified as either Celtic or Germanic. Germania was the Latin Exonym for Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western

In this sense, Germani may be a loan from a Celtic exonym applied to the Germanic tribes, based on a word for "neighbour". The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic" a branch of the greater Indo-European Language family. An exonym (from Greek el ἔξω exo = out el ὄνομα onoma = name is a name for a place that is not used within that place by the local A third suggestion derives it directly from the name of the Hermunduri. The Hermunduri, Hermanduri, Hermunduri, Hermunduli, Hermonduri, or Hermonduli were an ancient tribe of Germanic people Tacitus suggests that it might be from a tribe which changed its name after the Romans adapted it, but there is no evidence for this. Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (ca 56 &ndash ca 117 was a senator and a Historian of the Roman Empire.

The suggestion deriving the name from Gaulish term for "neighbour" invokes Old Irish gair, Welsh ger, "near",^[4] Irish gearr, "cut, short" (a short distance), from a Proto-Celtic root *gerso-s, further related to ancient Greek chereion, "inferior" and English gash. Phonological reconstruction Consonants The phonological changes from Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Celtic Consonants may be summarised as follows ^[5] The Proto-Indo-European root could be of the form *khar-, *kher-, *ghar-, *gher-, "cut", from which also Hittite kar-, "cut", whence also Greek character. The roots of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language (PIE are basic Morphemes carrying a Lexical meaning Hittite or Nesili is the Extinct language once spoken by the Hittites, a people who created an empire centered on ancient Hattusas (modern A character (from the Greek grc [[wiktχαρακτήρ χαρακτήρ]] "engraved or stamped mark (on coins or seals branding mark symbol" may refer to any sign

Apparently, the Germanic tribes did not have a self-designation ("endonym") that included all Germanic-speaking people but excluded all non-Germanic people. An exonym (from Greek el ἔξω exo = out el ὄνομα onoma = name is a name for a place that is not used within that place by the local Non-Germanic peoples (primarily Celtic, Roman, Greek, the citizens of the Roman Empire), on the other hand, were called *walha- (this word lives forth in names such as Wales, Welsh, Cornwall, Walloons, Vlachs etc. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Walh (singular or Walha (plural ( is an ancient Germanic word meaning "foreigner" or "stranger" ( Welsh) or "roman" Cornwall ( Kernow ˈkɛɹnɔʊ is the most southwesterly county of England, on the Peninsula that lies to the west of the River Tamar Walloons (Wallons Walons are a Romance people living in Belgium principally in Wallonia. Vlachs is a blanket term covering several modern Latin peoples descending from the Latinised population in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe ). Yet, the name of the Suebi — which designated a larger group of tribes and was used almost indiscriminately with Germani in Caesar — was possibly a Germanic equivalent of the Latin name (*swē-ba- "authentic"). The Suebi or Suevi (from Proto-Germanic * swēbaz based on the Proto-Germanic root * swē- meaning "one's own" ^[6]

The generic *þiuda- "people" (occurring in many personal names such as Thiud-reks and also in the ethnonym of the Swedes from a cognate of Old English Sweo-ðēod) is not a self-designation. la Theodiscus, the latinised form of Germanic Diutisc ("vernacular" "native" or "indigenous" is a Middle Latin However, the adjective derived from this noun, *þiudiskaz, "popular", was later used with reference to the language of the people in contrast to the Latin language (earliest recorded example 786 CE). Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. The word is continued in German Deutsch (meaning German), English "Dutch", Dutch Duits and Diets (the latter referring to Dutch, the former meaning German). The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname Dietsch ( "Diets" in modern Dutch) is a colloquial word for the Middle Dutch language. Danish tysk (meaning German). Trying to identify a contemporary vernacular term and the associated nation with a classical name, Latin writers from the 10th century onwards used the learnèd adjective teutonicus (originally derived from the Teutones) to refer to East Francia ("Regnum Teutonicum") and its inhabitants. The Teutons or Teutones (from Proto-Germanic * Þeudanōz) were mentioned as a Germanic tribe by Greek and Roman authors East ( ern) Francia ( Regnum Francorum orientalium) known variously as Francia Orientalis or the Kingdom of the East Franks, was the This usage is still partly present in modern English; hence the English use of "Teutons" in reference to the Germanic peoples in general besides the specific tribe of the Teutons defeated at the Battle of Aquae Sextiae in 102 BCE. The Teutons or Teutones (from Proto-Germanic * Þeudanōz) were mentioned as a Germanic tribe by Greek and Roman authors The Battle of Aquae Sextiae ( Aix-en-Provence) took place in 102 BC.

Classification

Detail of the Uppland Rune Inscription 871 (12th century)

By the 1st century A. This Runestone is originally from Ölsta a village in the county of Uppland in Sweden. D. , the writings of Caesar, Tacitus and other Roman era writers indicate a division of Germanic-speaking peoples into tribal groupings centred on:

• the rivers Oder and Vistula/Weichsel (East Germanic tribes),
• the lower Rhine river (Istvaeones),
• the river Elbe (Irminones),
• Jutland and the Danish islands (Ingvaeones). Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (ca 56 &ndash ca 117 was a senator and a Historian of the Roman Empire. The Roman Era is a period in Western history when Ancient Rome was the centre of power of the world around the Mediterranean Sea, where Latin was the The Oder (known in Czech and Polish as Odra) is a River in Central Europe. The Germanic tribes referred to as East Germanic constitute a wave of Migrants who may have moved from Scandinavia into the area between the Oder The Rhine (Rhein Rijn Rhin Reno Rain Rhenus is one of the longest and most important Rivers in Europe at 1320 kilometres (820 mi with an average discharge The Istvaeones, also called Istaevones Istriaones Istriones Sthraones Thracones Rhine Germans and Weser-Rhine Germans ( Istwäonen, Weser-Rhein-Germanen The Elbe ( die Elbe Low German: de Ilv) is one of the major Rivers of Central Europe. The Irminones, also referred to as Herminones or Hermiones, were a group of early Germanic tribes settling in the Elbe watershed and by the This article is about the region of Denmark. For the World War I naval battle see Battle of Jutland. The Ingaevones or Ingvaeones ("people of Yngvi " as described in

The Sons of Mannus Istvaeones, Irminones, and Ingvaeones are collectively called West Germanic tribes. Mannus is a Germanic mythological figure attested by the 1st century Roman historian Tacitus The Istvaeones, also called Istaevones Istriaones Istriones Sthraones Thracones Rhine Germans and Weser-Rhine Germans ( Istwäonen, Weser-Rhein-Germanen The Irminones, also referred to as Herminones or Hermiones, were a group of early Germanic tribes settling in the Elbe watershed and by the The Ingaevones or Ingvaeones ("people of Yngvi " as described in The West Germanic tribes were Germanic peoples who spoke the branch of Germanic languages known as West Germanic languages. In addition, those Germanic people who remained in Scandinavia are referred to as North Germanic. The North Germanic languages or Scandinavian languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages, a sub-family of the Indo-European languages These groups all developed separate dialects, the basis for the differences among Germanic languages down to the present day. The Germanic languages are a group of related languages that constitute a branch of the Indo-European (IE Language family.

The division of peoples into West Germanic, East Germanic, and North Germanic is a modern linguistic classification. Many Greek scholars only classified Celts and Scythians in the Northwest and Northeast of the Mediterranean and this classification was widely maintained in Greek literature until Late Antiquity. Celts (ˈkɛlts or /ˈsɛlts/, see Names of the Celts The Scythians or Scyths (Σκύθες Σκύθοι were an Iranian speaking people of horse-riding Nomadic pastoralists who dominated the Pontic Latin-Greek ethnographers (Tacitus, Pliny the Elder, Ptolemy, and Strabo) mentioned in the first two centuries CE the names of peoples they classified as Germanic along the Elbe, the Rhine, and the Danube, the Vistula and on the Baltic Sea. Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (ca 56 &ndash ca 117 was a senator and a Historian of the Roman Empire. Gaius or Caius Plinius Secundus, ( AD 23 – August 25, AD 79 better known as Pliny the Elder, was an ancient Author Claudius Ptolemaeus ( Greek: Klaúdios Ptolemaîos; after 83 &ndash ca Strabo ( Greek: Στράβων 63/64 BC – ca AD 24 was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher. Tacitus mentioned 40, Ptolemy 69 peoples. Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (ca 56 &ndash ca 117 was a senator and a Historian of the Roman Empire. Claudius Ptolemaeus ( Greek: Klaúdios Ptolemaîos; after 83 &ndash ca Classical ethnography applied the name Suebi to many tribes in the first century. Ethnography ( Greek ethnos = people and graphein = writing is a genre of writing that uses Fieldwork to provide a descriptive The Suebi or Suevi (from Proto-Germanic * swēbaz based on the Proto-Germanic root * swē- meaning "one's own" It appeared that this native name had all but replaced the foreign name Germanic. After the Marcomannic wars the Gothic name steadily gained importance. Marcomanni were a Germanic tribe, probably related to the Buri, Suebi or Suevi Some of the ethnic names mentioned by the ethnographers of the first two centuries CE on the shores of the Oder and the Vistula (Gutones, Vandali) reappear from the 3rd century on in the area of the lower Danube and north of the Carpathian Mountains. The Goths ( Gothic: Gothic usvg|14px|u]]Gothic asvg|14px|a]]Gothic s The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians (Carpaţi Czech, Polish and Slovak: Karpaty; Ukrainian: Карпати For the end of the 5th century the Gothic name can be used - according to the historical sources - for such different peoples like the Goths in Gaul, Iberia and Italy, the Vandals in Africa, the Gepids along the Tisza and the Danube, the Rugians, Sciri and Burgundians, even the Iranian Alans. The Goths ( Gothic: Gothic usvg|14px|u]]Gothic asvg|14px|a]]Gothic s Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The Gepids (Gepidae Gifðas ( Beowulf, Widsith) - possibly from * Gibiðos, "givers" or gepanta, see below were The Danube (In Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow run" Slovak and Polish Dunaj The Rugians (Rugii were an East Germanic tribe whose ultimate origins have been traced to Rogaland in Norway, whose population probably was the The Burgundians or Burgundes were an East Germanic tribe which may have emigrated from mainland Scandinavia to the island of Bornholm, whose The Alans or Alani (occasionally but more rarely termed Alauni or Halani) were an Iranian nomadic group among the Sarmatian people These peoples were classified as Scyths and often deducted from the ancient Getae (most important: Cassiodor/Jordanes, Getica around 550 CE). The Getae ( Greek: Γέται singular Γέτης was the name given by the Greeks to several Thracian tribes that occupied the regions south of the

History

Origin

Genetics

Relative frequency of Y-DNA haplogroup I1a in Europe.

Further information: Genetic history of Europe

The most prevalent Y-chromosome haplogroups in Germanic populations are I1a, R1a and R1b, accounting for a frequency of roughly a third each in the population of southern Norway, southwestern Sweden, and Denmark. European populations have a complicated demographic and genetic history including many layers of successive migrations between different time periods In Human genetics, a Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup is a Haplogroup defined by differences in the non- recombining portions of DNA from the In Human genetics, Haplogroup I1 is a Y-chromosome Haplogroup occurring at greatest frequency in Scandinavia associated with the mutations identified as A Subclade of R1, R1a is a Y-chromosome haplogroup found at high frequency in the extreme north of India among the Kashmiri Pandits In Human genetics, Haplogroup I1 is a Y-chromosome Haplogroup occurring at greatest frequency in Scandinavia associated with the mutations identified as Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe

I1 itself occurs at its greatest frequency in Scandinavia. Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well ^[7] It displays a very clear frequency gradient, with a peak frequency of approximately 35% among the populations of southern Scandinavia, and rapidly decreasing frequencies toward the edges of the historically Germanic peoples.

Frequency of the R1b haplogroup is significant of Western Europe (particularly the Atlantic Fringe), while R1a frequency peaks in Central Asia, Eastern Europe and Northern India (highest frequencies in Russians, Uzbeks, Indo-Aryans, Altaians). }} Atlantic Europe is a geographical and anthropological term for the western portion of Europe which borders the Atlantic Ocean. The Russian people (Русские— Russkie) are an East Slavic Ethnic group, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries The Uzbeks (Self designation sg O‘zbek, pl O‘zbeklar) are a Turkic people of Central Asia. The Altay or Altai are an ethnic group of Turkic people living in the Siberian Altai Republic and Altai Krai and surrounding areas It is the combination of roughly equal frequency of I1, R1a and R1b that is characteristic of North Germanic populations, with a gradient of increasing frequency of R1b towards Germanic speaking populations of the British Isles and the European continent. Sami populations have a frequency of I1 comparable to south Scandinavian values, but a lower incidence of haplogroup R in favour of haplogroup N. SAMI (Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange is a Microsoft accessibility initiative released in 1998 In Human genetics, Haplogroup N (M231 is a Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup.

Bronze Age

Map of the Nordic Bronze Age culture, around 1200 BCE. The Nordic Bronze Age (also Northern Bronze Age) is the name given by Oscar Montelius to a period and a Bronze Age culture in Scandinavian

Regarding the question of ethnic origins, evidence developed by archaeologists and linguists suggests that a people or group of peoples sharing a common material culture dwelt in a region defined by the Northern Bronze Age culture between 1700 BCE and 600 BCE. The Nordic Bronze Age (also Northern Bronze Age) is the name given by Oscar Montelius to a period and a Bronze Age culture in Scandinavian The Germanic tribes then inhabited southern Scandinavia, Denmark and Schleswig,^[8] but subsequent Iron Age cultures of the same region, like Wessenstedt (800 to 600 BCE) and Jastorf, are also in consideration. Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Wessenstedt is located in the Lüneburg Heath, is a quarter of Natendorf having about 150 inhabitants and belongs to Altes Amt Ebstorf of district The Jastorf culture is an Iron Age Material culture in what is now north Germany, spanning the 6th to 1st centuries BC forming the southern part of the ^[9] The change of Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic has been defined by the first sound shift (or Grimm's law) and must have occurred when mutually intelligible dialects or languages in a Sprachbund were still able to convey such a change to the whole region. Proto-Germanic, or Common Germanic, is the hypothetical common ancestor ( Proto-language) of all the Germanic languages such as modern English Grimm's law (also known as the First Germanic Sound Shift or the Rask's-Grimm's rule) named for Jacob Grimm, is a set of statements describing A Sprachbund (ˈʃpraːxbʊnt in German plural Sprachbünde) from the German word for “language union” also known as a linguistic area, convergence So far it has been impossible to date this event conclusively.

The precise interaction between these peoples is not known, however, they are tied together and influenced by regional features and migration patterns linked to prehistoric cultures like Hügelgräber, Urnfield, and La Tene. The Urnfield culture (c 1300 BC - 750 BC) was a late Bronze Age culture of central Europe. The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site A deteriorating climate in Scandinavia around 850 BCE to 760 BCE and a later and more rapid one around 650 BCE might have triggered migrations to the coast of Eastern Germany and further towards the Vistula. A contemporary northern expansion of Hallstatt drew part of this peoples into the Celtic hemisphere, including nordwestblock areas and the region of Elp culture^[10] (1800 BCE to 800 BCE). The Nordwestblock (English "North-West Block" is a hypothetical cultural region that several 20th century scholars propose as a Prehistoric culture thought to The Elp culture (ca 1800 to 800 BC is a Bronze Age archaeological culture of the Netherlands having Earthenware pottery of low quality known as "Kümmerkeramik"

At around this time, this culture became influenced by Hallstatt techniques of how to extract bog iron from the ore in peat bogs, ushering in the Pre-Roman Iron Age. Hallstatt, Upper Austria is a village in the Salzkammergut, a region in Austria. Bog iron refers to impure Iron deposits that develop in bogs or Swamps by the Chemical or Biochemical Oxidation of iron carried An ore is a volume of rock containing components or Minerals in a mode of occurrence that renders it valuable for mining A bog or mire is a Wetland type that accumulates Acidic Peat, a deposit of dead plant material &ndash usually Mosses but also The Pre-Roman Iron Age of Northern Europe ( 5th / 4th century BC - 1st century BC) designates the earliest part of the Iron Age in Scandinavia

Early Iron Age

Main article: Pre-Roman Iron Age

The expansion of the Germanic tribes 750 BC – AD 1 (after the Penguin Atlas of World History 1988):       Settlements before 750BC       New settlements until 500BC       New settlements until 250BC       New settlements until AD 1

The Tollund Man was buried in Jutland in the 4th Century BCE, a historically important area inhabited by the Germanic peoples. The Pre-Roman Iron Age of Northern Europe ( 5th / 4th century BC - 1st century BC) designates the earliest part of the Iron Age in Scandinavia The Tollund Man is the naturally mummified corpse of a man who lived during the 4th century BC, during the time period characterised in Scandinavia as the This article is about the region of Denmark. For the World War I naval battle see Battle of Jutland. His corpse is one of several well preserved bog bodies from the Pre-Roman Iron Age. Bog bodies, also known as bog people, are preserved Human bodies found in sphagnum bogs in Northern Europe, Great Britain and The Pre-Roman Iron Age of Northern Europe ( 5th / 4th century BC - 1st century BC) designates the earliest part of the Iron Age in Scandinavia

Archeological evidence suggests a relatively uniform Germanic people were located at about 750 BCE from the Netherlands to the Vistula and in Southern Scandinavia. In the west the coastal floodplains were populated for the first time, since in adjacent higher grounds the population had increased and the soil became exhausted. ^[11] At about 250 BCE some expansion to the south had occurred and five general groups can be distinguished: North Germanic in southern Scandinavia, excluding Jutland; North Sea Germanic, along the North Sea and in Jutland; Rhine-Weser Germanic, along the middle Rhine and Weser; Elbe Germanic, along the middle Elbe; and East Germanic, between the middle Oder and the Vistula. This concurs with linguistic evidence pointing at the development of five linguistic groups, mutually linked into sets of two to four groups that shared linguistic innovations. ^[12]

This period witnessed the advent of Celtic culture of Hallstatt and La Tene signature in previous Northern Bronze Age territory, especially to the western extends. Hallstatt, Upper Austria is a village in the Salzkammergut, a region in Austria. The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site However, some proposals^[13] suggest this Celtic superstrate was weak, while the general view in the Netherlands holds that this Celtic influence did not involve intrusions at all and assume fashion and a local development from Bronze Age culture. ^[14] It is generally accepted such a Celtic superstratum was virtually absent to the East, featuring the Germanic Wessenstedt and Jastorf cultures. Wessenstedt is located in the Lüneburg Heath, is a quarter of Natendorf having about 150 inhabitants and belongs to Altes Amt Ebstorf of district The Jastorf culture is an Iron Age Material culture in what is now north Germany, spanning the 6th to 1st centuries BC forming the southern part of the The Celtic influence and contacts between Gaulish and early Germanic culture along the Rhine is assumed as the source of a number of Celtic loanwords in Proto-Germanic.

Frankenstein and Rowlands (1978), and Wells (1980) have suggested late Hallstatt trade contact to be a direct catalyst for the development of an elite class that came into existence around northeastern France, the Middle Rhine region, and adjacent Alpine regions (Collis 1984:41), culminating to new cultural developments and the advent of the classical Gaulish La Tene Culture^[15] The development of La Tene culture extended to the north around 200 to 150 BCE, including the North German Plain, Denmark and Southern Scandinavia:^[16]

In certain cremation graves, situated at some distance from other graves, Celtic metalwork appears: brooches and swords, together with wagons, Roman cauldrons and drinking vessels. The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site The area of these rich graves is the same as the places where later (the first century CE) princely graves are found. A ruling class seems to have emerged, distinguished by the possession of large farms and rich gravegifts such as weapons for the men and silver objects for the women, imported earthenware and Celtic items. ^[17]

The first Germani in Roman ethnography cannot be clearly identified as either Germanic or Celtic in the modern ethno-linguistic sense, and it has been generally held the traditional clear cut division along the Rhine between both ethnic groups was primarily motivated by Roman politics. Caesar described the Eburones as a Germanic tribe on the Gallic side of the Rhine, and held other tribes in the neighbourhood as merely calling themselves of Germanic stock. The Eburones ( Greek:, Strabo) were a people of Germanic descent that lived in the upper north of Gallia largely between the Rhine and the Even though names like Eburones and Ambiorix were Celtic and, archeologically, this area shows strong Celtic influences, the problem is difficult. Ambiorix was together with Catuvolcus, prince of the Eburones, leader of a Belgic tribe of north-eastern Gaul ( Gallia Belgica) where Some 20th century writers consider the possibility of a separate "Nordwestblock" identity of the tribes settled along the Rhine at the time, assuming the arrival of a Germanic superstrate from the 1st century BCE and a subsequent "Germanization" or language replacement through the "elite-dominance" model. The Nordwestblock (English "North-West Block" is a hypothetical cultural region that several 20th century scholars propose as a Prehistoric culture thought to ^[18] However, immigration of Germanic Batavians from Hessen in the northern extend of this same tribal region is archeologically spoken hardly noticeable and certainly did not populate an exterminated country, very unlike Tacitus suggested. The Batavians ( Latin Batavi) were a Germanic tribe originally part of the Chatti, reported by Tacitus to Here, probably due to the local indigenous pastoral way of life, the acceptance of Roman culture turned out to be particularly slow and, contrary to expected, the indigenous culture of the previous Eburones rather seems to have absorbed the intruding (Batavian) element, thus making it very hard to define the real extends of the pre-Roman Germanic indigenous territories. ^[19]

Roman Times

Main article: Roman Iron Age

Germanic expansions during early Roman times are known only generally, but it is clear that the forebears of the Goths were settled on the southern Baltic shore by 100 CE. The Roman Iron Age ( 1 - 400) is the name that Swedish Archaeologist Oscar Montelius gave to a part of the Iron Age in The Goths ( Gothic: Gothic usvg|14px|u]]Gothic asvg|14px|a]]Gothic s The Baltic Sea is a Brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N Latitude and from 20°E to 26°E Longitude.

The early Germanic tribes are assumed to have spoken mutually intelligible dialects, in the sense that Germanic languages derive from a single earlier parent language. In Linguistics, mutual intelligibility is recognized as a relationship between Languages in which speakers of different but related languages can readily understand No written records of such a parent language exists. ^[20] From what we know of scanty early written material, by the fifth century CE the Germanic languages were already "sufficiently different to render communication between the various peoples impossible". ^[21] Some evidence point to a common pantheon made up of several different chronological layers. However, as for mythology only the Scandinavian one (see Germanic mythology) is sufficiently known. The word mythology (from the Greek grc μυθολογία mythología, meaning "a story-telling a legendary lore" Germanic paganism refers to the religious beliefs of the Germanic peoples preceding Christianization. ^[21] Some traces of common traditions between various tribes are indicated by Beowulf and the Volsunga saga. Beowulf is an Old English Heroic epic poem of anonymous authorship dating as recorded in the Nowell Codex manuscript from between The Völsunga saga is a Legendary saga, a late 13th century Icelandic prose rendition of the origin and decline of the Volsung clan One indication of their shared identity is their common Germanic name for non-Germanic peoples, *walhaz (plural of *walhoz), from which the local names Welsh, Wallis, and others were derived. Walh (singular or Walha (plural ( is an ancient Germanic word meaning "foreigner" or "stranger" ( Welsh) or "roman" The Valais ( German:) is one of the 26 Cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its An indication of an ethnic unity is the fact that the Romans knew them as one and gave them a common name, Germani (this is the source of our German and Germanic, see Etymology above), although it was well known for the Romans to give geographical rather than cultural names to peoples. The very extensive practice of cremation deprives us of anthropological comparative material for the earliest periods to support claims of a longstanding ethnic isolation of a common (Nordic) strain. The Nordic race was one of the racial categories into which the Europeans were divided by anthropologists in the first half of the twentieth century

In the absence of large-scale political unification, such as that imposed forcibly by the Romans upon the peoples of Italy, the various tribes remained free, led by their own hereditary or chosen leaders. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest

Collision with Rome

Map showing the pre-Migration Age distribution of the Germanic tribes in Proto-Germanic times, and stages of their expansion up to 50 BCE, 100 CE and 300 CE. The extent of the Roman Empire in 68 BCE and 117 CE is also shown.

By the late 2nd century BCE, Roman authors recount, Gaul, Italy and Hispania were invaded by migrating Germanic tribes, culminating in military conflict with the armies of the Roman Empire. Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Hispania was the name given by the Romans to the whole of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal, Spain, Andorra, Gibraltar The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Six decades later, Julius Caesar invoked the threat of such attacks as one justification for his annexation of Gaul to Rome.

As Rome expanded to the Rhine and Danube rivers, it incorporated many Celtic societies into the Empire. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 The Rhine (Rhein Rijn Rhin Reno Rain Rhenus is one of the longest and most important Rivers in Europe at 1320 kilometres (820 mi with an average discharge The Danube (In Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow run" Slovak and Polish Dunaj The tribal homelands to the north and east emerged collectively in the records as Germania. Germania was the Latin Exonym for The peoples of this area were sometimes at war with Rome, but also engaged in complex and long-term trade relations, military alliances, and cultural exchanges with Rome as well.

The Cimbri and Teutoni incursions into Roman Italy were thrust back in 101 BCE. The Cimbri were a Celtic or Germanic tribe who together with the Teutones and the Ambrones threatened the Roman Republic in the late The Teutons or Teutones (from Proto-Germanic * Þeudanōz) were mentioned as a Germanic tribe by Greek and Roman authors These invasions were written up by Caesar and others as presaging of a Northern danger for the Empire, a danger that should be controlled. In the Augustean period there was — as a result of Roman activity as far as the Elbe River — a first definition of the "Germania magna": from Rhine and Danube in the West and South to the Vistula and the Baltic Sea in the East and North.

Caesar's wars helped establish the term Germania. The initial purpose of the Roman campaigns was to protect Transalpine Gaul by controlling the area between the Rhine and the Elbe. In 9 CE a revolt of their Germanic subjects headed by the supposed Roman ally, Arminius, (along with his decisive defeat of Publius Quinctilius Varus in the surprise attack on unprepared Romans at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest) ended in the withdrawal of the Roman frontier to the Rhine. Arminius, also known as Armin or Hermann (18 BC/17 BC - AD 21) was a chieftain of the Cherusci who defeated a Roman army in the The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest took place in the year 9 A At the end of the 1st century two provinces west of the Rhine called Germania inferior and Germania superior were established. Germania Inferior was a Roman province located on the left bank of the Rhine, in today's southern and western Netherlands, parts of Germania Superior ("Upper Germania " so called for the reason that it lay upstream of Germania Inferior, was a province of the Important medieval cities like Aachen, Cologne, Trier, Mainz, Worms and Speyer were part of these Roman provinces. ( Ripuarian: Oche, Dutch: Aken, Spanish: Aquisgrán, Italian: Aquisgrana, French, Trier (Trèves Luxembourgish: Tréier; Augusta Treverorum is a City in Germany on the banks of the Moselle River. Mainz (ˈmaɪ̯nʦ (Mayence is a City in Germany and the capital of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Worms (voɐms is a City in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River Speyer (English formerly Spires) is a City in Germany ( Rhineland-Palatinate) with approx

The Germania by Gaius Cornelius Tacitus, an ethnographic work on the diverse group of Germanic tribes outside of the Roman Empire, is our most important source on the Germanic peoples of the 1st century. The Germania ( Latin title De Origine et situ Germanorum, English for the Origin and Situation of the Germans) written by Gaius Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (ca 56 &ndash ca 117 was a senator and a Historian of the Roman Empire. Ethnography ( Greek ethnos = people and graphein = writing is a genre of writing that uses Fieldwork to provide a descriptive

Migration Period

Main article: Migration Period

2nd century CE to 5th century CE simplified migrations. The Migration Period, also called Barbarian Invasions, or sometimes Völkerwanderung ( German for "wandering of peoples" is the English name

During the 5th century, as the Western Roman Empire lost military strength and political cohesion, numerous Germanic peoples, under pressure from population growth and invading Asian groups, began migrating en masse in far and diverse directions, taking them to England and as far south through present day Continental Europe to the Mediterranean and northern Africa. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the Continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European Over time, this wandering meant intrusions into other tribal territories, and the ensuing wars for land escalated with the dwindling amount of unoccupied territory. Wandering tribes then began staking out permanent homes as a means of protection. Much of this resulted in fixed settlements from which many, under a powerful leader, expanded outwards. A defeat meant either scattering or merging with the dominant tribe, and this continual process of assimilation was how nations were formed. A nation is a Human Cultural and Social Community. In as much as most members never meet each other yet feel a common bond it may be considered In Denmark the Jutes merged with the Danes, in Sweden the Geats merged with the Swedes. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe The Jutes, Iuti, or Iutae were a Germanic people who according to Bede were one of the three most powerful Germanic peoples of the time The term Dane may refer to People with a Danish ancestral or ethnic identity whether living in Denmark, emigrants or the descendants of emigrants "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Geats, Geatas, Gautar, Goths, Gotar, Gøtar, Götar were a North Germanic tribe inhabiting Götaland In England, the Angles merged with the Saxons and other groups as well as a large number of natives to form the Anglo-Saxons. The Angles is a modern English word for a Germanic-speaking people who took their name from the cultural ancestral region of Angeln, a modern district located in The Saxons or Saxon people were a Confederation of Old Germanic tribes. For their language see Anglo-Saxon language. Anglo-Saxon is the term usually used to describe the invading Tribes in the south

A direct result of the Roman retreat was the disappearance of imported products like ceramics and coins, and a return to virtually unchanged local Iron Age production methods. According to recent views this has caused confusion for decades, and theories assuming the total abandonment of the coastal regions to account for an archaeological time gap that never existed have been renounced. Instead, it has been confirmed that the Frisian graves has been used without interruption between the 4th and 9th century and that inhabited areas show continuity with the Roman period in revealing coins, jewellery and ceramics of the 5th century. Also, people continued to live in the same three-aisled farmhouse, while to the east completely new types of buildings arose. More to the south, in Belgium, archeological results of this period point to immigration from the north. ^[22]

Role in the Fall of Rome

Some of the Germanic tribes are frequently blamed in popular depictions of the decline of the Roman Empire in the late 5th century. The Decline of the Roman Empire, leading to the Fall of the Roman Empire, or the Fall of Rome, was the end of the Western Roman Empire. Professional historians and archaeologists have since the 1950s shifted their interpretations in such a way that the Germanic peoples are no longer seen as invading a decaying empire but as being co-opted into helping defend territory the central government could no longer adequately administer. Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos Individuals and small groups from Germanic tribes had long been recruited from the territories beyond the limes (i. A limes (or the Limes Romanus) was a Border defense or delimiting system of Ancient Rome. e. , the regions just outside the Roman Empire), and some of them had risen high in the command structure of the army. Then the Empire recruited entire tribal groups under their native leaders as officers. Assisting with defense eventually shifted into administration and then outright rule, as Roman government passed into the hands of Germanic leaders. Odoacer, who deposed Romulus Augustulus, is the ultimate example. Odoacer (435–493 also known as Odovacar (from the Germanic Audawakrs, meaning "watchful of wealth" was a Roman general and the Romulus Augustus (c 461/463 &ndash after 476 sometimes known as Romulus Augustulus ( Little Augustus) was the last Western Roman Emperor reigning from

The presence of successor states controlled by a nobility from one of the Germanic tribes is evident in the 6th century - even in Italy, the former heart of the Empire, where Odoacer was followed by Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths, who was regarded by Roman citizens and Gothic settlers alike as legitimate successor to the rule of Rome and Italy. Succession of states is a theory in International relations regarding the recognition and acceptance of a newly created State by other states based on Nobility is a government-privileged title which may be either hereditary (see Hereditary titles) or for a lifetime Odoacer (435–493 also known as Odovacar (from the Germanic Audawakrs, meaning "watchful of wealth" was a Roman general and the Theodoric the Great (454 – August 30, 526) known to the Romans as Flavius Theodoricus, was king of the Ostrogoths (471-526 ruler of The Ostrogoths (Ostrogothi or Austrogothi were a branch of the Goths, an East Germanic tribe that played a major role in the political events of the late Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest

Paganism and Christianization

"Thor's battle against the giants" (1872) by Mårten Eskil Winge. Mårten Eskil Winge (1825-1896 was a Swedish artist especially known for his Norse mythology paintings

See also: Germanic paganism

See also: Germanic mythology

Main article: Germanic Christianity

While the Germanic peoples were slowly converted to Christianity by varying means, many elements of the pre-Christian culture and indigenous beliefs remained firmly in place after the conversion process, particularly in the more rural and distant regions. Germanic paganism refers to the religious beliefs of the Germanic peoples preceding Christianization. The Germanic peoples underwent gradual Christianization in the course of Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages.

The Ostrogoths, Visigoths, and Vandals were Christianized while they were still outside the bounds of the Empire; however, they converted to Arianism rather than to orthodox Catholicism, and were soon regarded as heretics. The Ostrogoths (Ostrogothi or Austrogothi were a branch of the Goths, an East Germanic tribe that played a major role in the political events of the late The Visigoths (Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, or Wisi were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East The historical phenomenon of Christianization (or Christianisation &mdash see spelling differences) the conversion of individuals to Christianity Arianism is the theological teaching of Arius (c AD 250-336 who was ruled a heretic by the Christian church at the Council of Nicea. As a Christian Ecclesiastical term Catholic —from the Greek adjective, meaning "general" or "universal"—is described Heresy, as a blanket term describes a practice or belief that is labeled as unorthodox The one great written remnant of the Gothic language is a translation of portions of the Bible made by Ulfilas, the missionary who converted them. Gothic is an extinct Germanic language that was spoken by the Goths. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin Wulfila is also a spider genus ( Anyphaenidae) Wulfila (meaning "little wolf" (ca A missionary is a member of a Religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith someone who proselytizes. The Lombards were not converted until after their entrance into the Empire, but received Christianity from Arian Germanic groups. The Lombards ( Latin Langobardi, whence the alternative names Langobards and Longobards) were a Germanic people originally from

The Franks were converted directly from paganism to Catholicism without an intervening time as Arians. The Franks or Frankish people (Franci or gens Francorum) were West Germanic tribes first identified in the 3rd century as an Ethnic group Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning "country dweller rustic" is a word used to refer to various religions and religious beliefs from across the world As a Christian Ecclesiastical term Catholic —from the Greek adjective, meaning "general" or "universal"—is described Several centuries later, Anglo-Saxon and Frankish missionaries and warriors undertook the conversion of their Saxon neighbours. For their language see Anglo-Saxon language. Anglo-Saxon is the term usually used to describe the invading Tribes in the south The Saxons or Saxon people were a Confederation of Old Germanic tribes. A key event was the felling of Thor's Oak near Fritzlar by Boniface, apostle of the Germans, in 723 CE. Thor's Oak was an ancient tree sacred to the Germanic tribe of the Chatti, ancestors of the Hessians and one of the most important sacred sites of the Pagan Fritzlar is a small German town (pop 15000 in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, 160 km (100 miles north of Frankfurt Saint Boniface ( Latin: Bonifacius c 672 – June 5, 754) the Apostle of the Germans, born Winfrid or Wynfrith at

Eventually, the conversion was forced by armed force, successfully completed by Charlemagne, in a series of campaigns (the Saxon Wars), that also brought Saxon lands into the Frankish empire. Charlemagne (ˈʃɑrlɨmeɪn Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus meaning Charles the Great) (747 – 28 January 814 was King of the Franks from 768 to his The Saxon Wars were the campaigns and insurrections of the more than thirty years from 772, when Charlemagne first entered Saxony with the intent to conquer Francia or Frankia, later also called the Frankish Empire (imperium Francorum Frankish Kingdom (Latin regnum Francorum, "Kingdom of the Massacres, such as the Bloody Verdict of Verden were a direct result of this policy. The Massacre of Verden (Blutgericht von Verden was an alleged massacre of Saxons in 782 near the present town of Verden in Lower Saxony,

In Scandinavia, Germanic paganism continued to dominate until the 11th century in the form of Norse paganism, when it was gradually replaced by Christianity. Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well Norse paganism is a term used to describe the religious traditions which were common amongst the Germanic tribes living in Nordic countries prior to and

Assimilation

Further information: Romanization (cultural)

The various Germanic Peoples of the Migrations period eventually spread out over a vast expanse stretching from contemporary European Russia to Iceland and from Norway to North Africa. Romanization may also refer to linguistics see Romanization. Romanization was a gradual process of Cultural assimilation, in which The migrants had varying impacts in different regions. In many cases, the newcomers set themselves up as over-lords of the pre-existing population. Over time, such groups underwent ethnogenesis, resulting in the creation of new cultural and ethnic identities (such as the Franks and Galloromans becoming French). Ethnogenesis (From Greek: ethnos ( group of people nation and genesis ( a coming into being is the process by which a group of human beings comes The Franks or Frankish people (Franci or gens Francorum) were West Germanic tribes first identified in the 3rd century as an Ethnic group This article covers the culture of Romanized areas of Gaul. For the political history of the brief "Gallic Empire" of the 3rd century see Gallic Empire Legal residents and citizens To be French according to the first article of the Constitution is to be a citizen of France regardless of one's origin race or religion ( Thus many of the descendants of the ancient Germanic Peoples do not speak Germanic languages, as they were to a greater or lesser degree assimilated into the cosmopolitan, literate culture of the Roman world. Even where the descendants of Germanic Peoples maintained greater continuity with their common ancestors, significant cultural and linguistic differences arose over time; as is strikingly illustrated by the different identities of Christianized Saxon subjects of the Carolingian Empire and Pagan Scandinavian Vikings.

More broadly, early Medieval Germanic peoples were often assimilated into the walha substrate cultures of their subject populations. A region or society where several different groups are spontaneously assimilated is sometimes referred to as a Melting pot. Walh (singular or Walha (plural ( is an ancient Germanic word meaning "foreigner" or "stranger" ( Welsh) or "roman" Thus, the Burgundians of Burgundy, the Vandals of Andalusia and the Visigoths of western France and eastern Iberia all lost their Germanic identity and became part of Latin Europe. The Burgundians or Burgundes were an East Germanic tribe which may have emigrated from mainland Scandinavia to the island of Bornholm, whose Burgundy (Bourgogne Burgund is a region historically situated in modern-day France and Switzerland, inhabited in turn by Celts ( Gauls) Andalusia (Andalucía is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the most populous and the second largest in terms of land area The Visigoths (Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, or Wisi were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East Likewise, the Franks of Western Francia form part of the ancestry of the French people. The Franks or Frankish people (Franci or gens Francorum) were West Germanic tribes first identified in the 3rd century as an Ethnic group West Francia or the West Frankish Kingdom was a short-lived kingdom encompassing the lands of the western part of the Carolingian Empire that came under the undisputed Legal residents and citizens To be French according to the first article of the Constitution is to be a citizen of France regardless of one's origin race or religion ( Examples of assimilation during the Viking Age include the Norsemen in Normandy, and the societal elite in medieval Russia among whom many were the descendants of Slavified Norsemen (a theory, however, contested by some Slavic scholars in the former Soviet Union, who name it the Normanist theory). Viking Age is the term denoting the years from about 700 to 1066 in European history. Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who speak one of the North Germanic languages as their native language Normandy (Normandie Norman: Normaundie) is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. Kievan Rus′ (Ки́евская Русь romanised: Kievskaya Rus', rusʲ also written as Kyivan Rus′ (Ки́ївська Русь or Kievan Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Rus’ (Русь rusʲ Русичи Русы are an ancient people whose name survives in the cognates Russians, Rusyns, and Ruthenians

Conversely, the Germanic settlement of England resulted in Anglo-Saxon displacement of and/or cultural assimilation of the indigenous culture, the Brythonic speaking British culture. Sub-Roman Britain is a term derived from an Archaeologists ' label for the material culture of Britain in Late Antiquity. The Brythonic languages (or Brittonic languages or British languages) form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family the other being As in England, indigenous Brythonic Celtic culture in some of the south-eastern parts of what became Scotland (approximately the Lothian and Borders region) succumbed to Germanic influence c. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Lothian and Borders is an area in south-east Scotland consisting of the East Lothian, City of Edinburgh, Midlothian, West Lothian 600—800, due to the extension of overlordship and settlement from the English areas to the south. Between c. 1150 and c. 1400 most of the Scottish Lowlands became English speaking through immigration from England, France and Flanders and from the resulting assimilation of native Gaelic-speaking Scots. The Scottish Lowlands ( a' Ghalldachd, meaning roughly 'the non-Gaelic region' in Gaelic, and called Lawlands or Lallans in Scots The Scots language is the resulting Germanic language still spoken in parts of Scotland. Scots ( The Scots leid) refers to Anglic varieties derived from early northern Middle English spoken in parts of Scotland and Northern Between the 15th and 17th centuries Scots spread into Galloway,Carrick and parts of the Scottish Highlands, as well as into the Northern Isles. Galloway ( Gaelic: Gall-Ghaidhealaibh, əŋ ɡauɫ̪ɣəɫ̪əv or Gallobha, Lowland Scots Gallowa) is an area in southwestern Carrick ( Gaelic: A' Charraig, əˈxar̴ɛg̊ʲ is a former comital district of Scotland which today forms part of South Ayrshire. The Scottish Highlands ( Scottish Gaelic: A' Ghàidhealtachd, Scots: Hielans) include the rugged and Mountainous The Northern Isles ( Old Norse: Norðreyjar) are a chain of Islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The latter, Orkney and Shetland, though now part of Scotland, were nominally part of the Kingdom of Norway until the 15th century. Orkney (also known as the Orkney Islands or incorrectly the Orkneys) is an Archipelago in northern Scotland, situated 10 miles (16 km north Shetland (formerly spelled Zetland, from etland; Old Norse non Hjaltland; Sealtainn is an Archipelago off the northeast coast of Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional A version of the Norse language was spoken there from the Viking invasions until replaced by Scots. Norn is an extinct North Germanic language that was spoken on Shetland and Orkney, off the north coast of mainland Scotland, and in Viking Age is the term denoting the years from about 700 to 1066 in European history.

Portugal and Spain also had some measure of Germanic settlement, due to the Visigoths, the Suebi (Quadi and Marcomanni) and the Buri, who settled permanently. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The Visigoths (Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, or Wisi were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East The Suebi or Suevi (from Proto-Germanic * swēbaz based on the Proto-Germanic root * swē- meaning "one's own" Quadi were a smaller Germanic tribe, about which little definitive information is known Marcomanni were a Germanic tribe, probably related to the Buri, Suebi or Suevi The Buri first appear in history as a Germanic tribe mentioned in the Germania of Tacitus, where they initially "close the back" of the Marcomanni The Vandals (Silingi and Hasdingi) were also present, before moving on to North Africa. The Silings or Silingi (Latin Silingae, Greek Σιλίγγαι - Silingai) were an East Germanic tribe probably part of the larger The Hasdingi were the southern tribes of the Vandals, an East Germanic tribe. North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Many words of Germanic origin entered into the Spanish and Portuguese languages at this time and many more entered through other avenues (often French) in the ensuing centuries (see: List of Spanish words of Germanic origin and List of Portuguese words of Germanic origin). Portuguese ( or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain and northern Portugal. Iberian languages is a generic term for the languages currently or formerly spoken in the Iberian peninsula. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people This is an initial list of many Spanish words that come from Germanic languages. This is a list of Portuguese words that come from Germanic languages.

Italy has also had a history of heavy Germanic settlement. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Germanic tribes such as the Visigoths, Vandals, and Ostrogoths had successfully invaded and sparsely settled Italy in the 5th century CE. The Visigoths (Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, or Wisi were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East The Ostrogoths (Ostrogothi or Austrogothi were a branch of the Goths, an East Germanic tribe that played a major role in the political events of the late Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Most notably, in the 6th century CE, the Germanic tribe known as the Lombards entered and settled primarily in the area known today as Lombardy. The Lombards ( Latin Langobardi, whence the alternative names Langobards and Longobards) were a Germanic people originally from Lombardy (Lombardia Latin: Langobardia, Western Lombard: Lumbardìa, Eastern Lombard: Lombardia) is one of the The Normans also conquered and ruled Sicily and parts of southern Italy for a time. The Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy. Geography Southern Italy forms the lower "boot" of the Italian peninsula containing the ankle (Abruzzo and Molise and southern Lazio the toe (Calabria and the heel Crimean Gothic communities appear to have survived intact until the late 1700’s, when many were deported by Catherine the Great. Crimean Gothic was a Germanic dialect spoken by the Crimean Goths in some isolated locations in Crimea (now in Ukraine) until the late 18th Catherine II, called Catherine the Great (Екатерина II Великая Yekaterina II Velikaya;) reigned as Empress of Russia for 34 years ^[23] Their language vanished by the 1800’s.

The territory of modern Germany was divided between Germanic and Celtic speaking groups in the last centuries BCE. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The parts south of the Germanic Limes came under limited Latin influence in the early centuries CE, but were swiftly conquered by Germanic groups such as the Alemanni after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The Limes Germanicus ( Latin for Germanic frontier) was a remarkable line of frontier ( Limes) forts that bounded the ancient Roman The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of Germanic tribes located around the upper Main river ( Germany

In Scandinavia there is a long history of assimilation of and by the Sami people and Finnic peoples, namely Finns and Karelians. Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well The Sami people are the Indigenous people of northern Europe inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of northern Sweden, Norway Finnic peoples ( Fennic) are a historical linguistic group of peoples Baltic Finns who are Native speakers of Baltic-Finnic The terms Finns and Finnish people ( Finnish: suomalaiset, Swedish: finländare) are used in English to The Karelians (also Karels are descendants of Baltic Finns whose historic homeland Karelia is divided between Finland 's counties North Karelia In today's usage the term 'Nordic peoples' refers to the ethnic groups in all of the Nordic countries. The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe called the Nordic region, consisting of Denmark, Finland, Iceland,

Medieval to Modern ethnogeneses

Main article: Germanic Europe

The Germanic tribes of the Migration period had settled down by the Early Middle Ages, the latest series of movements out of Scandinavia taking place during the Viking Age. The Early Middle Ages is a period in the History of Europe following the fall of the Western Roman Empire spanning roughly five centuries from AD 500 Viking Age is the term denoting the years from about 700 to 1066 in European history. The Goths, Vandals, Burgundians and Lombards were linguistically assimilated to their Latin (Italo-Western Romance) substrate populations (with the exception of the Crimean Goths, who preserved their dialect into the 18th century). The Goths ( Gothic: Gothic usvg|14px|u]]Gothic asvg|14px|a]]Gothic s The Burgundians or Burgundes were an East Germanic tribe which may have emigrated from mainland Scandinavia to the island of Bornholm, whose The Lombards ( Latin Langobardi, whence the alternative names Langobards and Longobards) were a Germanic people originally from Crimean Goths were those Gothic tribes who remained in the lands around the Black Sea, especially in Crimea.

The Viking Age Norsemen split into an Old East Norse and an Old West Norse group, which further separated into Icelanders and Norwegians on one hand, and Swedes and Danes on the other. Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who speak one of the North Germanic languages as their native language Old Norse is the North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age Old Norse is the North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age Icelanders are the Nation or Ethnic group of Iceland descended primarily from Norsemen of Scandinavia. Norwegians See also History of Norway and Demography of Norway. The term Dane may refer to People with a Danish ancestral or ethnic identity whether living in Denmark, emigrants or the descendants of emigrants Politically, the union between Norway and Sweden was dissolved as late as 1905, and the Republic of Iceland was established in 1944. Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland ( In Great Britain, Germanic people coalesced into the Anglo-Saxon or English people between the 8th and 10th centuries. The English people (from the adjective in Englisc) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to England who predominantly speak English .

On the European continent, the Holy Roman Empire included all remaining Germanic speaking groups from the 10th century. The Holy Roman Empire ( HRE; German Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR, Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium (SRI was a union of territories in In the Late Medieval to Early Modern period, some groups split off the Empire before a "German" ethnicity had formed, consisting of Low Franconian (Dutch, Flemish) and Alemannic (Swiss) populations. The German people (Deutsche are an Ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common German culture, descent and speaking the German language as Low Franconian, or Low Frankish, is a group of several West Germanic Languages spoken in the Netherlands, northern Belgium ( The Dutch people ( Dutch:) are the dominant Ethnic group of the Netherlands. The terms Fleming and Flemings ( Vlaming and Vlamingen in Dutch) denote respectively a person and people and the Flemings or The Old Swiss Confederacy was the precursor of modern-day Switzerland. In the 19th century, the Austrian Empire became an entity separate from the German Empire (Austrians), leaving the rump Kingdom of Germany to form the German ethnicity by the 20th century, including sub-ethnicities such as the Franconians, Swabians, Bavarians or Saxons. For the history of these states before 1804 see Holy Roman Empire, Habsburg Monarchy, and articles on each of the component countries. The German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from 1871 to 1918 when it was a semi- Constitutional monarchy: beginning with the Unification Austrians (Österreicher are a nation and an ethnic group originating from the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states ( March of Austria, The Kingdom of Germany grew out of East Francia in the tenth century The German people (Deutsche are an Ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common German culture, descent and speaking the German language as Franconia (Franken is a historic region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria and the area to its immediate west Swabia, Suabia, or Svebia ( German: Schwaben, Schwabenland or Ländle) is both a historic and linguistic The Bavarians are a German people from Bavaria, Germany. They are the inheritors of the Bavarii, which occupied modern-day Bavaria and its surroundings The Saxons or Saxon people were a Confederation of Old Germanic tribes. The territory settled by Frisians remains divided between the Netherlands and Germany. The Frisians are an ethnic group of Germanic people living in coastal parts of The Netherlands and Germany. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Alemannic-speaking Alsace was disputed between Germany and France from the 17th to the 20th centuries, finally passing to France in 1945, and largely romanized since then. Alsace (Alsace alzas Alsatian and Elsass pre-1996 German: Elsaß; Alsatia is one of the 26 Regions of France, located on the eastern Romanization may also refer to linguistics see Romanization. Romanization was a gradual process of Cultural assimilation, in which

Daughter-groups of Germanic ethnicities that emerged during the age of colonialism include Anglo-America, Australians and New Zealanders (British Empire, speaking varieties of English), the Afrikaaners (Dutch Empire, speaking Afrikaans) and a scattered distribution of overseas Ethnic Germans, most notably in Namibia (the former German colony of South West Africa) and Argentina. See Colony and Colonization for examples of colonialism which do not refer to Western colonialism right|250px|right|thumb|Anglo-America dark green indicates countries traditionally included in the region ([[Canada]] and the [[United States]] For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Kiwi is the nickname used internationally for people from New Zealand, as well as being a relatively common self-reference The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. This is a list of varieties of the English language. Dialects are linguistic varieties which differ in Pronunciation, Vocabulary and The term Afrikaner people refers to white Afrikaans -speaking people who have been established in Southern Africa since the 17th century and are mainly of northwestern The Dutch Empire was the territories controlled by The Netherlands from the 17th to the 20th century Afrikaans is an Indo-European language, derived from 17th century Dutch and classified as Low Franconian Germanic, mainly spoken in This article is about the German diaspora See Germans for the German ethnicity in general Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa on the Atlantic coast German South West Africa ( German: Deutsch-Südwestafrika, DSWA) was a Colony of Germany from 1884 until 1915 when it was taken For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics.

See also

• Confederations of Germanic Tribes
• Germanic Europe
• List of Germanic peoples
• Norse clans
• Nordicism
• Tribal warfare

References

Further reading