From the first century CE, the Rhine had become the border between Roman Gaul and tribal Germania. Germanic peoples, Celts, and tribes of mixed ethnicity between the two were settled in its lands, which the Romans defended in two districts, Germania Inferior (“lower Germania”) and Germania Superior (“upper Germania”) along the lower and upper Rhine respectively.

Upper Germania included the region between the upper Rhine and the upper Danube (the Black Forest, somewhat larger than today: see Hercynian Forest), which the Romans called the Agri Decumates, ostensibly “Decumates fields", of unknown provenience. Some have translated the expression as "the ten cantons", but whose cantons is not known. The fortified border around Germania Superior on the Germanic side was called the Limes Germanicus.

The assembled warbands of the Alamanni crossed the limes, attacked Germania Superior and moved into the Agri Decumates. There they became a confederation, occupying what is now Alsace and expanding into northern Switzerland, as well as parts of what are now Bavaria and Austria. Most of this land was occupied by Celts under Roman jurisdiction. Proculus, an imperial usurper in 280, derived some of his popularity in Gaul by his guerilla successes against the Alamanni, according to Historia Augusta, which states that the confederates in the third century were still simply called Germani. "He was, nevertheless, of some benefit to the Gauls, for he crushed the Alamanni — who then were still called Germans — and not without illustrious glory, though he never fought save in brigand-fashion". The Alamanni became a nation, Alamannia, sometimes independent, more often under the Franks. In some languages the name of Germany is derived from this nation.

The region was always somewhat sprawling and comprised of different districts, due to its mixed origin. In it the Diocese of Strassburg dates from about 614, of Augsburg, 736, of Mainz (archdiocese), 745, of Basel, 805. The Duchy of Alamannia in Swabia codified its distinctive laws under Charlemagne. Today the descendants of the Alamanni are divided between parts of four nations: France (Alsace), Germany (Swabia and elsewhere), Switzerland and Austria. The German spoken in those regions are distinctive dialects.

Language

The German spoken over the range of the former Alemanni is termed Alemannic German, a subgroup of the High German dialects. Alemannic runic inscriptions such as the Pforzen buckle are among the earliest testimonies of Old High German altogether. The High German consonant shift is thought to have originated around the 5th century in Alemannia or among the Langobards; Alemannic tribes before that time of course did not speak a High German dialect, but likely spoke West Germanic dialects that were still little differentiated.

Origin

The name

This etymology has remained the standard derivation It is cited in most etymological dictionaries, such as the American Heritage Dictionary (large edition) under the root, *man-. Another source derives the Ala- from *al-, "beyond", often in the sense of "other", from which are also derived Greek allos "other, alien" and Old High German Elisâzzo " ( Elsaz or Alsace): "the land on the other side of the Rhine".

The least likely derivation of the Alamanni is Alan-Manni, the reason being that Alamanni, as far as can be determined from initial contacts, was a self-imposed name. The Alans were never in the region, did not originally speak Germanic and had no influence over any Germanic folk west of the Vistula, nor did they acquire any influence under Attila, who bypassed the region, or from the Ostrogoths of Pannonia after Attila.. Walafrid Strabo, the monk of Abbey of St. Gall writing in the ninth century remarked, in discussing the people of Switzerland and surrounding regions that only foreigners called them Alamanni, but that they gave themselves the name of Suevi. If true of the ninth century, this observation may not necessarily apply to the fourth. We do not know who applied the name and exactly when. It was well established among a variety of historians and geographers.

First explicit mention

Dio Cassius (78.13.4) portrays them as victims of the treacherous emperor. They had asked for his help, says Dio, but he colonized their country, changed the place names and executed their warriors under pretext of enlisting them. When he became ill, the Alamanni claimed to have put a hex on him (78.15.2), which he tried to counter by invoking his ancestral spirits.

Caracalla led the Legio II Traiana Fortis against the Alamanni, who lost and were pacified for a time. The legion was honored with the name Germanica. The Historia Augusta, Life of Antoninus Caracalla, relates (10.5) that Caracalla assumed the name Alamannicus, at which Helvius Pertinax jested that he should be called Geticus Maximus, because he had murdered his step-brother, Geta, the year before. Not on good terms with Caracalla, Geta had been invited to a family reconciliation, at which he was ambushed by centurions in Caracalla's army and slain in his mother Julia's arms. Julia is said to have seduced and married Caracalla. True or not, he, pursued by devils of his own, left Rome never to return.

Caracalla left for the frontier, where he conducted wars for the rest of his short reign. He was known for his unpredictable and arbitrary operations launched by surprise after a pretext of peace negotiations. If he had any reasons of state they remained unrevealed to his contemporaries. Whether or not the Alamanni had clean hands, they were certainly further influenced by Caracalla, becoming notoriously implacable enemies of Rome.

This hateful relationship is perhaps the reason why the Roman writers persisted in calling the Alamanni barbari, "savages". The archaeology, however, shows that they were Romanized, lived in Roman-style houses and used Roman artifacts, the Alemannic women having adopted the Roman fashion of the tunica even earlier than the men.

Most of them probably were in fact in or close to Germania Superior. Although Dio is the earliest writer to mention them, Ammianus Marcellinus uses the name with reference to Germanics on the Limes Germanicus in the time of Trajan's governorship of the province a few years after it was formed, circa 98/99 CE. At that time the entire frontier was being fortified for the first time. Trees from the earliest fortifications in Germania Inferior are dated to 99/100 by dendrochronology. Trajan was Nerva's choice as a successor, whom the old man adopted with public fanfare in absentia shortly before his death. By 100 Trajan was in Rome as imperator instead of consul.

Ammianus relates (XVII.1.11 357 CE) that the emperor Julian undertaking a punitive expedition against the Alemanni, who by then were in Alsace, crossed the Main (Latin Menus) and entered the forest, where the trails were blocked by felled trees. As winter was upon them, they reoccupied a

"munimentum quod in Alamannorum solo conditum Traianus suo nomine voluit appellari"

"The fortification which founded on the soil of the Alamanni Trajan wished to be called with his own name"

Prior background

Nevertheless some conclusions can be drawn from Ptolemy. Germania Superior is easily identified. Following up the Rhine one comes to a town, Mattiacum, which must be at the border of the Roman Germany (vicinity of Wiesbaden). Upstream from it and between the Rhine and Abnoba (the Black Forest) are the Ingriones, Intuergi, Vangiones, Caritni and Vispi, some of whom were there since the early empire or before. On the other side of the northern Black Forest were the Chatti about where Hesse is today, on the lower Main.

Historic Swabia was eventually replaced by today's Baden-Württemberg, but it had been the most significant territory of mediaeval Alamannia, comprising all Germania Superior and territory east to Bavaria. It did not include the upper main, but that is where Caracalla campaigned. Moreover, Germania Superior was not originally among the Alemanni.

However, if we look for tribes in the region from the upper Main south to the Danube and east to the Czech Republic where the Quadi and Marcomanni were located, Ptolemy does not offer us any tribes. There are the Tubanti just south of the Chatti and at the other end of the then Black Forest the Varisti, whose location is sure. One possible reason is that the population did not prefer to live in the forest except in troubled times. The region between the forest and the Danube on the other hand includes about a dozen settlements, or cantons.

This Ptolemaic view of the Germanics in the region indicates that the tribal structure had lost its grip in the Black Forest region and was replaced by a canton structure. The tribes were kept in the Roman province, perhaps because the Romans offered stability. Also, Caracalla perhaps felt more comfortable about campaigning in the upper Main because he was not declaring war on any specific historic tribe, such as the Chatti or Cherusci, against whom Rome had suffered grievous losses. By Caracalla's time the name Alamanni was being used by cantons banding together for purposes of supporting a citizen army (the "war bands").

The Alamanni also were regarded as the Suebi. That name, however, never applied only to one tribe, as the sources tell us. It became a general ethnic designation of the Germanics in central germany. Losing their tribal ethnicity, the Alamanni defaulted to just being Suebi, but they do not appear as that in Ptolemy. The latter's Suebi is a somewhat amorphous mass in central germany. They include the Suevi Angili, the Suevi Semnones, an indefinite population southeast of the Saxons, south of the Teutons and on the upper Elbe south to the Danube.

Alemanni and Hermunduri

However, no Hermunduri appear in Ptolemy, nor can we use the excuse of tribal disintegration, as the Hermunduri joined the Marcomanni in the wars of 166-180 against the empire, after the time of Ptolemy. A careful reading of Tacitus provides one solution. He says that the source of the Elbe is among the Hermunduri, somewhat to the east of the upper Main. He places them also between the Naristi (Varisti), whose location at the very edge of the ancient Black Forest is well known, and the Marcomanni and Quadi. Moreover, the Hermunduri were broken in the Marcomannic Wars and made a separate peace with Rome. The Alamanni were probably not primarily the Hermunduri, although some elements of them may have been present.

Concentration of Germanics under Ariovistus

The solution to the puzzle as well as the historical circumstances leading to the choice of the Agri Decumates as a defensive point and the concentration of Germanics there are probably to be found in the Germanic attack on the Gallic fortified town of Vesontio in 58 BCE. The upper Rhine and Danube appear to form a funnel pointing straight at Vesontio.

Julius Caesar in Gallic Wars tells us (1.51) that Ariovistus had gathered an army from a wide region of Germany, but especially the Harudes, Marcomanni, Triboci, Vangiones, Nemetes and Sedusii. The Suebi were being invited to join. They lived in 100 cantons (4.1) from which 1000 young men per year were chosen for military service, a citizen-army by our standards and by comparison with the Roman professional army.

Ariovistus had become involved in a war of aggression against Gaul, which the Germanics came prepared to resettle. Intending to take the strategic town of Vesontio, he concentrated his forces on the Rhine near Lake Constance and when the Suebi arrived, crossed. The Gauls had petitioned Rome for military aid. Caesar occupied the town first and defeated the Germanics before it, slaughtering most of the Germanic army as it tried to recross the river (1.36ff). At that time he did not pursue, leaving what was left of the Germanic army and their dependents intact on the Rhine.

The Gauls were ambivalent in their policies toward the Romans. In 53 BCE the Treveri broke their alliance attempted to break free of Rome. Caesar foresaw that they would now attempt to ally themselves with the Germanics. He crossed the Rhine to forestall that event, a successful strategy. Remembering their expensive defeat at the Battle of Vesontio, the Germanics withdrew to the Black Forest, concentrating there a mixed population dominated by Suebi. As they had left their tribal homes behind, they probably took the former Celtic cantons along the Danube.

Conflicts with the Roman Empire

In the early summer of 268, the Emperor Gallienus halted their advance in Italy, but then had to deal with the Goths. When the Gothic campaign ended in Roman victory at the Battle of Naissus in September, Gallienus' successor Claudius II Gothicus turned north to deal with the Alamanni, who were swarming over all Italy north of the Po River.

After efforts to secure a peaceful withdrawal failed, Claudius forced the Alamanni to battle at the Battle of Lake Benacus in November. The Alamanni were routed, forced back into Germany, and did not threaten Roman territory for many years afterwards.

Their most famous battle against Rome took place in Argentoratum (Strasbourg), in 357, where they were defeated by Julian, later Emperor of Rome, and their king Chnodomar ("Chonodomarius") was taken prisoner.

On January 2, 366 the Alamanni crossed the frozen Rhine in large numbers, to invade the Gallic provinces.

In the great mixed invasion of 406, the Alamanni appear to have crossed the Rhine river, conquered and then settled what is today Alsace and a large part of the Swiss Plateau. Fredegar's Chronicle gives an account. At Alba Augusta (Aps) the devastation was so complete, that the Christian bishopric was removed to Viviers, but Gregory's account that at Mende in Lozère, also deep in the heart of Gaul, bishop Privatus was forced to sacrifice to idols in the very cave where he was later venerated may be a generic literary trope epitomizing the horrors of barbarian violence.

List of battles between Romans and Alamanni

• 268, Battle of Lake Benacus — Romans under Emperor Claudius II defeat the Alamanni.
• 271
  • Battle of Placentia — Emperor Aurelian is defeated by the Alamanni forces invading Italy
  • Battle of Fano — Aurelian defeats the Alamanni, who begin to retreat from Italy
  • Battle of Pavia — Aurelian destroys the retreating Alamanni army.
• 298
  • Battle of Lingones — Caesar Constantius Chlorus defeats the Alamanni
  • Battle of Vindonissa — Constantius again defeats the Alamanni
• 356, Battle of Reims — Caesar Julian is defeated by the Alamanni
• 357, Battle of Strasbourg — Julian expels the Alamanni from the Rhineland
• 367, Battle of Solicinium — Romans under Emperor Valentinian I defeat yet another Alamanni incursion.
• 378, Battle of Argentovaria — Western Emperor Gratianus is victorious over the Alamanni, yet again.

Alamanni and Franks

The kingdom (or duchy) of Alamannia between Strasbourg and Augsburg lasted until 496, when the Alamanni were conquered by Clovis I at the Battle of Tolbiac. The war of Clovis with the Alamanni forms the setting for the conversion of Clovis, briefly treated by Gregory of Tours (Book II.31) Subsequently the Alamanni formed part of the Frankish dominions and were governed by a Frankish duke.

In 746, Carloman ended an uprising by summarily executing all Alemannic nobility at the blood court at Cannstatt, and for the following century, Alamannia was ruled by Frankish dukes. Following the treaty of Verdun of 843, Alamannia became a province of the eastern kingdom of Louis the German, the precursor of the Holy Roman Empire. The duchy persisted until 1268.

List of Alamannic rulers

• Chrocus 306
• Mederich (father of Agenarich, brother to Chnodomar)
• Chnodomar 350, 357
• Vestralp 357, 359
• Ur 357, 359
• Agenarich (Serapio) 357
• Suomar 357, 358
• Hortar 357, 359
• Gundomad 354 (co-regent of Vadomar)
• Ursicin 357, 359
• Makrian 368–371
• Rando 368
• Hariobaud 4th c.
• Vadomar vor 354–360
• Vithicab 360–368
• Priarius ?–378
• Gibuld (Gebavult) c. 470

Dukes under Frankish rule

• Butilin 539–554
• Leuthari I before 552–554
• Haming 539–554
• Lantachar until 548 (Avenches diocese)
• Magnachar 565 (Avenches diocese)
• Vaefar 573 (Avenches diocese)
• Theodefrid
• Leutfred I until 588
• Uncilin 588–607
• Gunzo 613
• Chrodobert 630
• Leuthari II 642
• Gotfrid until 709
• Willehari 709–712 (in Ortenau)
• Lantfrid 709–730
• Theudebald 709–744

Christianization

"worship trees, rivers, hills and gorges as gods, and decapitate horses and cows, and innumerable other animals, as if it were a holy rite,"

Apostles of the Alamanni were Saint Columbanus and his disciple Saint Gall. Jonas of Bobbio records that Columbanus was active in Bregenz, where he disrupted a beer sacrifice to Wodan. For some time, the Alamanni seem to have continued their pagan cult activities, with only superficial or syncretistic Christian elements. In particular, there is no change in burial practice, and tumulus warrior graves continued to be erected throughout Merovingian times. Syncretism of traditional Germanic animal-style with Christian symbolism is also present in artwork, but Christian symbolism becomes more and more prevalent during the 7th century. Unlike the later Christianization of the Saxon and of the Slavs, the Alamanni seem to have adopted Christianity gradually, and voluntarily, spread by emulation of the Merovingian elite.

From ca. the 520s to the 620s, there was a surge of Alamannic Elder Futhark inscriptions. About 80 specimens have survived, roughly half of them on fibulae, others on belt buckles (see Pforzen buckle, Bülach fibula) and other jewelry and weapon parts. Use of runes subsides with the advance of Christianity.

The establishment of the bishopric of Constance cannot be dated exactly and was possibly undertaken by Columbanus himself (before 612). In any case, it existed by 635, when Gunzo appointed John of Grab bishop. Constance was a missionary bishopric in newly converted lands, and did not look back on late Roman church history (unlike Basel, episcopal seat from 740, which continued the line of Bishops of Augusta Raurica, see Bishop of Basel, and the Raetian bishopric of Chur, established 451). The establishment of the church as an institution recognized by worldly rulers is also visible in legal history. The early 7th century Pactus Alamannorum marginally mentions special privileges of the church, while Lantfrid's Lex Alamannorum of 720 has an entire chapter reserved for ecclesial matters.

See also: Germanic Christianity.

Modern Alemanni

Notes