List of Germanic peoples
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Germanic Peoples.
Contents |
[edit] Introduction
The first known sociologist, Aristotle, said that
- "Man is an animal of the polis (politikon zoon) by nature (physei)"
The Greeks were assigning names to populations that they considered distinct based on the city-state (polis) to which they belonged. Intermingled with this system was another earlier, deriving from the idea of a family tree. Primary families were grouped into clans and they into tribes. The highest unit was the people, or race, which was considered descended from a single ancestor. If none was known, he was swiftly invented.
As a result, the classical historians conceived of history as a story unfolding between ethnic identities led by heroic men. They always named the identity: a Roman, a Germanic tribesman, the Thracians, the Carthaginians, an Athenian. It was operant even though sometimes not factual as understood: an individual behaved in a certain way because he was a Germanic tribesman and not a Roman or vice versa. Moreover these identities are often still operant today or have been replaced by those that are. The individual learns their expected behaviors and attendant lore as part of the socialization process growing up, just as an actor would learn to play a role.
The main article on this topic is about one such identity, the Germanic. The article attempts to define it and to present some of the associated ideology. This is not an idle exercise, as history and national politics are still to a large extent viewed as a story of the interactions between such groups.
Germanic identities are divided into the historical and the contemporary. There is some overlap, as many of the ancient have descended to the contemporary.
[edit] Ancient and Medieval
The ethnic names below come from ancient and mediaeval sources dating from the late 1st millennium BC to the early 2nd millennium AD. They do not necessarily represent contemporaneous, distinct or Germanic-speaking populations or have common ancestral populations. Some closely fit the concept of a tribe. Others are confederations or even unions of tribes. Some may not have spoken Germanic at all, but were bundled by the sources with the Germanic speakers.
Some were undoubtedly of mixed culture. They may have assimilated to Germanic or to other cultures from Germanic. Long-lasting ethnic identities changed population base and language over the centuries. As for genetic characteristics, they must be considered unrelated to these names.
Apart from these limitations, it is probably safe to assume that, on the whole, most of these populations spoke some branch of Germanic and contributed to pools of descendants who currently live in the Germanic-speaking countries. Many of the names descend to modern place names.
[edit] Alphabetic list
A
Adogit, Adrabaecampi, Aelvaeones, Aeragnaricii, Ahelmil, Alamanni or Alemanni, Ambrones, Ampsivarii or Ampsivari, Angles, Anglo-Saxons, Angrivarii or Angrivari, Arochi, Augandzi, Avarpi, Aviones
B
Baemi, Banochaemae, Batavii or Batavi today known by Batavians, Batini, Bavarii, Bergio, Brisgavi, Brondings, Bructeri, Burgundiones, Buri
C
Calucones, Canninefates, Casuari, Caritni, Chaedini, Chaemae, Chaetuori, Chali, Chamavi, Charudes, Chasuarii, Chattuarii, Chauci, Cherusci, Chatti, Cimbri, Cobandi, Condrusi, Corconti, Crimean Goths, Curiones
D
Danduti, Dani, Dauciones, Diduni, Dulgubnii, Dutch, Danes
E
Eburones, English, Eudoses, Eunixi, Evagre,
F
Faroese, Favonae, Fervir, Finni, Firaesi, Flemish, Forsi, Franks, Frisians, Fundusi
G
Gall-Gaidheal, Gambrivii, Gauthigoth, Geats, Gepidae, Goths, Grannii
H
Hallin, Harii, Harudes, Hasdingi, Helisii, Helveconae, Heruli, Hermunduri, Hilleviones, Horder
I
Ingriones, Ingvaeones (North Sea Germans), Intuergi, Irminones (Elbe Germans), Istvaeones (Rhine-Weser Germans) Icelanders
J
L
Lacringi, Landi, Lemovii, Levoni, Lombards or Langobardes, Liothida, Lugii
M
Manimi, Marcomanni, Marsi, Marsigni, Marvingi, Mattiaci, Mixi, Mugilones
N
Naharvali, Narisci or Naristi, Nemetes, Nertereanes, Nervii, Njars, Norn,Nuitones,Norwegians
O
Ostrogoths, Otingis
P
Parmaecampi, Pharodini
Q
R
Racatae, Racatriae, Ranii, Raumarici, Reudigni, Rugii, Ruticli
S
Sabalingi, Saxons, Scots, Scirii, Segni, Semnoni or Semnones, Sibini, Sidini, Sigulones, Silingi, Sitones, Suarini or Suardones, Suebi or Suevi, Suetidi, Suiones, Sugambri, Swedes
T
Taetel, Tencteri, Teuriochaemae, Teutonoari, Teutons, Theustes, Thuringii, Toxandri, Treveri, Triboci, Tubantes, Tungri, Turcilingi, Turoni
U
Ubii, Ulmerugi, Usipetes, Usipi or Usippi
V
Vagoth, Vandals, Vangiones, Vargiones, Varini, Varisci, Vinoviloth, Viruni, Visburgi, Visigoths, Vispi
Z
Zumi
[edit] Links to maps
Some tribal maps of Germania can be found at:
These maps or any other maps represent an interpretation of the information available to the map-maker. Typically the ancients did not know or did not leave enough information for us to locate them exactly. The maps only give us a rough idea of the features and ethnic locations of Germania. In addition, some of tribes, e.g. the Bastarnae are not identified as Germanic with any certainty and large areas in Central Europe the Germanic tribes probably only constituted a newly arrived minority among Slavs and remaining Celts. Wolfram (1990:91f), for instance, points out that the early Visigoths, called Tervingi also comprised many Taifalans (unknown origin) and Alans (Iranians). The Alans became so Gothicized that non-Germanic people considered them to be Goths.
[edit] Contemporary
The list which follows covers the major ethnic groupings or populations which speak a modern Germanic language.
[edit] List organized by language
- North Germanic
- Danes
- Slesvigers
- Dano-Germans/German-Danes (may be included as an Ethnic German, or Ethnic Danish group[citation needed])
- Faroese
- Icelanders
- some Greenlanders
- Norwegians
- Swedes
- Danes
- West Germanic
- Anglo-Frisian
- English speaking nations
- English (especially those from Eastern England)
- A proportion of Lowland Scots
- cultural descendants of the Anglo-Saxons around the world, including large groups of English speakers in North America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa
- Frisians
- English speaking nations
- Continental West Germanic
- Dutch or Netherlanders
- Flemings
- Afrikaners of South Africa
- Belgian Dutch majority of Belgium
- Limburgers
- Walloons
- Germans, including Ethnic Germans outside of Germany, and some subgroups (Swabians, Bavarians, Austrians) listed below
- Alemannic
- Alsatians
- Austrians
- Vorarlberger minority of Austria
- Baltic Germans
- Bavarians
- Carinthians
- German Belgians
- Dano-Germans/German-Danes (may be included as an Ethnic German, or Ethnic Danish group[citation needed])
- Hutterites (North American Dispora)
- Liechtensteiners
- Luxemburgers
- Mennonites (North American or Eurasian Dispora)
- Styrians
- Swabians
- Swiss German majority of Switzerland
- Walser German and Walliser German minorities of Aosta Valley
- South Tiroleans
- Lorrainians
- Dutch or Netherlanders
- Anglo-Frisian
