Shrouded within the uncertainty of Europe's distant past are many mysteries. Whilst we are relatively well informed about the Mediterranean with its mighty empires we know comparatively little about the heartland and the fringes of the European continent. It wasn't until the days of Julius Caesar that a new player stepped up onto the stage of European and – by extension to the modern age – World History: The Ancient Germanic Peoples. Caesar described them as even more brutish and uncivilized than the in the eyes of the Mediterranean World already savage Gauls and justified his campaigns into Gaul partially by claiming that they needed protection from the Germans. But before we venture too far into historical events involving these peoples the term “German” and its use in the context of Antiquity has to be clarified.
History
A Neanderthal in Suite and Tie
What if Neanderthals hadn't become extinct? This is a question the curators of a Museum in Germany must have asked themselves when they created this exhibit: A Neanderthal in a suit and tie. As many of you may know, research in Archaeogenetics has relatively recently revealed that all human beings north of the Sahara Desert carry a few percent of Neanderthal DNA in us. So strictly speaking, Neanderthals have never gone extinct but are a part of many of us today. But what do you think modern life would be like if other human species were still around, not just as fragments in our genetic code?
Y-DNA Haplogroups in the German Empire
The Haplogroup distribution across the German Empire prior to WW1 according to FTDNA and Robert Gabel. Haplogroup I is the oldest of them and probably resembles remnants of Hunter-Gatherer lineages whilst R1b and R1a are connected to Celto-Germanic and Slavic peoples.
The Etruscans
The Etruscans were one of the many historic peoples inhabiting the Italian Peninsula before the Rise of Rome and influencing the Empire from within after their subjugation. It is thought that the Romans incorporated some of the Etruscan deities in their own pantheon and that even the Latin language underwent some phonetical changes as a consequence. Some words in modern English ultimately come from the Etruscans via Latin, such as 'person'.
The Migration of the Cimbri and Teutons
The migration of the Cimbri and the Teutons from Jutland across Central and Western Europe and into Northern Italy. The Cimbri and Teutons were the first Germanic people mentioned in history, although the term Teuton itself may in fact be of Celtic origin.
Fenrir and Tyr
Fenrir bites off Tyr's hand. Illustration from a 17th century Icelandic manuscript.Tyr is the god of war and justice in Norse mythology, and the etymology of his name suggests that he once was at the top of the Germanic pantheon, although he had been replaced by Odin/Wodan relatively early.Fenrir is one of the children of … Continue reading Fenrir and Tyr
The German Eastward Expansion
Map showing the German Eastward Expansion, starting in the early Middle Ages at the zenith of Charlemagne's Frankish Empire. Although first German settlements east of the river Elbe in modern Eastern Germany started relatively early, it wasn't until the 10th and 11th centuries, that larger amounts of Germans moved eastward and assimilated most of the … Continue reading The German Eastward Expansion
The Loulan Beauty – A Tarim Mummy
One of the Tarim mummies from the Tarim basin in northwestern China in the province of Xinjiang, dated to 1800 BC. These mummies are frequently associated with speakers of the Indo-European Tocharian language which since has gone extinct due to assimilation into the Uyghur population at the end of the first millennium AD. It took another millennium to rediscover this lost Indo-European language at the beginning of the 20th century.
Europe ca. 476 CE
Picture: Germanic Kingdoms in Europe after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Although the Germans were certainly less sophisticated than their contemporary Romans, Greeks, Egyptians or even the neighbouring Celts, which to the Mediterranean world were already considered barbarians, they were to some degree responsible for the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The … Continue reading Europe ca. 476 CE
THE ANGLO-SAXON MIGRATION: NEW INSIGHTS FROM GENETICS
This article is a re-blog from HERITAGEDAILY (link to original article at the bottom of the page). HERITAGEDAILY is an independent publisher of the latest scientific discoveries, research, and travel news. First launched as a small archaeology blog in 2011, the platform has grown into a general science publisher with a focus on archaeology, anthropology, … Continue reading THE ANGLO-SAXON MIGRATION: NEW INSIGHTS FROM GENETICS
The Ancient Samnites
The Samnites were an Italic civilisation who lived in Samnium, a region of Southern Italy that includes the present-day Abruzzo, Molise and Campania.
The Greco-Roman Concept of the Barbarian
'Barbarian' and 'barbaric' are nowadays commonly used to describe somebody or something behaving in a particularly uncivilized or - to the observer - foreign way, and in this regards differs surprisingly little from it's ancient counterpart. This article seeks to examine the meaning and history of the term in short.
The Roman Border in Ancient Germany
The borders of Rome weren't as much boundaries as they were frontiers: Areas of cultural exchange between different peoples. This article explores the relationship between Rome and the Germanic tribes living beyond the border.
The Origins of the Ancient Greeks
An attempt at answering - in brief - the question of the origin of the Ancient Greeks from an archaeological, mythological and genetic approach.
German Prisoners Of War in Britain 1939-1948
The Second World War was the most devastating conflict in human history. All sides suffered horrendous casualties, but not all of those belonged to the dead or the wounded. Many, in fact, the vast majority, were taken captive and had to be taken care of, which put a massive administrative burden on the belligerent nations. This article seeks to examine the fate of German POWs in British hands during and beyond the War.
The Cause of the High German Consonant Shift
The High German Consonant Shift gave rise to the High and Upper German dialects of the West Germanic Dialect Continuum. It's cause is still debated, however, although a Gallo-Roman substrate seems to be the most likely explanation.
Tattúínárdǿla saga: If Star Wars Were an Icelandic Saga
A great article by Dr. Jackson Crawford, Old Norse Specialist at the University of Colorado, about a hypothetical version of George Lucas’ Star Wars as an Icelandic Saga in the style of the Eddic Poems.
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A long time ago, in a North Atlantic far far away…
Introduction
Earlier this week I was drawn into an enlightening discussion with my colleague Ben Frey about the complicated textual tradition that lies behind George Lucas’s “Star Wars,” which few outside the scholarly community realize is a modern rendition of an old Germanic legend of a fatal conflict between a father and his treacherous son. Below I present some remarks on the Old Icelandic version of the legend, with some spare comparative notes on the cognate traditions in other old Germanic languages.
The story as presented in George Lucas’s films represents only one manuscript tradition, and a rather late and corrupt one at that – the Middle High German epic called Himelgengærelied (Song of the Skywalkers). There is also an Old High German palimpsest known to scholars, later overwritten by a Latin choral and only partly legible to us…
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The Origins of The Ancient Celts
Where did the Ancient Celts originally come from? A comparison of the linguistic, archaeological and genetic evidence.
Proto-Indo-European Religion
The myths and legends of the Proto-Indo-Europeans have influenced the world like no other be it through the great Greek Classics, the Icelandic Sagas or the Indian Vedas. But what exactly did they themselves believe in and how did they practice their faith?
History through Poems: Examining Beowulf
A great article on a classic of Old English Literature by Kristyn J. Miller.
Epic poems have incredible staying power both as literary achievements and as historical resources. The Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf is one of the foremost examples of this. Despite its mythological themes, the story offers historians a rare insight into Anglo-Saxon ideals of masculinity, heroism, and society. At the same time, it presents literary scholars with a wellspring of opportunities to analyze symbolism and metaphor, as well as a look at the progression of our literary language.
Within the literary sphere, modern Beowulf criticism finds its origins in J.R.R. Tolkien. In his 1936 lecture at Oxford University, later transcribed as an essay, Tolkien argued:
I have read enough, I think, to venture the opinion that Beowulfiana is, while rich in many departments, specially poor in one. It is poor in criticism, criticism that is directed to the understanding of a poem as a poem.
The essay goes on to reaffirm the value…
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The prehistoric Eurasians: The Proto-Indo-Europeans
The Proto-Indo-Europeans are the hypothetical speakers of the (re-)constructed Proto-Indo-European language, the ancestor to most European and some central and south Asian languages.
Ragnarok and Reincarnation in Norse Mythology
Ragnarok describes the end of the world in Norse Mythology. Or does it really? Not only the world itself is reborn after its destruction, but one of the gods as well. Could this be an indication for reincarnation in Germanic myth or perhaps even evidence for a pan-Indo-European phenomenon of rebirth?
The Indo-European Language Family
The Indo-European language family is the most widely spoken language family in the world today, partially due to Colonialism. But even before the European expansion Indo-European languages were spoken throughout Eurasia.
Remnants of Proto-Indo-European Society in Sparta
In Nigel M. Kennels book "The Gymnasium of Virtue" he discusses the possible influence of Proto-Indo-European customs on ancient Spartan society.
Volunteering at the Smithsonian Transcription Center
A report about my personal experience working remotely for the Smithsonian Transcription center.
Origins and Culture of the Ancient Germanic Tribes
The origin of the ancient Germans (not to be confused with the modern Germans) is still debated, although somewhere between Northern Germany and Southern Scandinavia seems to be the most likely place. Bu where did the people inhabiting this area come from?
Do Ancestry DNA Tests Work?
Many people are understandably intrigued by the relatively new service of personal ancestry tests to determine their own origins. But how reliable are they really?
The Origin and Expansion of the Celtic Peoples
The Celts belong to the most mysterious of Europe's inhabitants. Today, Celtic speakers are confined to the far northwest of the continent, in the past, however, much of Continental Europe spoke Celtic. Where did they come from and how did they manage to cover such a vast area?
European Origins 