List of Germanic Peoples.

Introduction

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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 German, 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 German 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 Moreover these identities are often still operant today or have been replaced by those that are.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 ancient and the contemporary. There is some overlap, as many of the ancient have descended to the contemporary.

Ancient

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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.

Alphabetic list

A

Adogit, Adrabaecampi, Aelvaeones, Aeragnaricii, Ahelmil, Alamanni or Alemanni, Ambrones, Ampsivarii or Ampsivari, Angles, 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, Curiones

D

Danduti, Dani, Dauciones, Diduni, Dulgubnii

E

Eburones, Eudoses, Eunixi, Evagre

F

Favonae, Fervir, Finni, Firaesi, Forsi, Franks, Frisians, Fundusi

G

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)

J

Jutes, Juthungi

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

O

Ostrogoths, Otingis

P

Parmaecampi, Pharodini

Q

Quadi

R

Racatae, Racatriae, Ranii, Raumarici, Reudigni, Rugii, Ruticli

S

Sabalingi, Saxons, Scirii, Segni, Semnoni or Semnones, Sibini, Sidini, Sigulones, Silingi, Sitones, Suarini or Suardones, Suebi or Suevi, Suetidi, Suiones, Sugambri

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

Links to maps

Some tribal maps of ancient Germany can be found at:

• Germany of Tacitus
• A speculative Findlay map of 1849

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 ancient Germany. 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.

Contemporary

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No contemporary list of Germanic ethnic characters can be devised that will satisfy the ideology of every individual who considers himself to playing a role in the Germanic saga. The entities below are based primarily but not exclusively on language. It is known in historical linguistics that people under the same polity speak or want to speak the same language, and eventually do. This article does not aim at participating in the great process of defining the self. It merely recounts the major roles in the Germanic saga. Individuals, of course, may play them well or badly, or fit them well or not well, but individual status regarding social identity is not the topic.

List organized by language

• North Germanic
  • Danes
  • Faroese
  • Icelanders
  • Norwegians
  • Swedes
• West Germanic
  • Anglo-Frisian
    • English speaking nations
      • English
      • Anglo-Irish, Anglo-Welsh, Anglo-Scots
      • cultural descendants of the Anglo-Saxons around the world, including large groups of English speakers in North America, Australia, and New Zealand
    • Frisians
  • Continental West Germanic
    • Germans, including Ethnic Germans outside of Germany, and some subgroups (Swabians, Bavarians) listed below
      • Alemannic
      • Swabians
      • Swiss German majority of Switzerland, Liechtensteiners
      • Alsatians
      • Vorarlbergian minority of Austria
      • Austro-Bavarian
        • Bavarians
        • Austrians
    • Dutch,Flemings and the Afrikaners of South Africa.
    • Luxembourgians

See also

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• Confederations of Germanic Tribes

To be merged

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Some of the Germanic tribes included:

Alans, Artrivari, Atuatici, Bajuwaren, Batavians, Belgii, Burgundians, Caeracates, Cannenfates, Casuarii, Cenni, Chasuari, Coldui, Condrusi, Canunefates, Coeresii, Dulgibines, Fali, Gepidai, Getae, Gugerni, Hermionies, Hermunduri, Herules, Huns, Ingavones, Istavones, Juthons, Kugern, Latobrigi, Longobards, Lygii, Marini, Menapi, Northvolkers, Peucini, Poemones, Rauraci, Salains, Scardosi, Schryi, Scorolisi, Seducii, Sigambri, Tenchteri, Teuteri, Tubanti, Tulingern, Twihaten

The above tribes are those which had amalgamated around Germania around the time of their conflicts with the Romans. The above list does not suggest that all the tribes originated from that area.

Other tribes around the area such as the Bessi are of Thracian and or Caucasian origin.

History of the Germanic peoples | Ancient Germanic peoples | Germanic peoples

Liste der germanischen Stämme | Index gentium antiquarum Germaniae | Plemiona germańskie | Lista över germanstammar