Tacitus’
Germania: A Critique of Roman Society?
John
C. Haynes
EUH-4413:
History of the Roman Empire
Dr.
Edward Dandrow
July
10, 2021
1
In Tacitus’ book Germania, the Roman senator and prolific
writer gives us a sweeping account of the various Germanic tribes that existed
in central Europe north and east of the Roman empire. Tacitus lists each tribe that the Romans have
encountered and gives details about their lives: the political structure, their social structure,
how they dressed, what they ate, how they waged war, and how they cared for
their families. While there are a few
aspects of Germanic life that Tacitus views negatively, for the most part he seems
to have a mostly favorable view of these tribes. We could also argue that in summarizing
different cultural attributes of the Germanic tribes, Tacitus is also making
indirect references to Roman life. In
this paper, I will be reviewing those areas where the Roman senator employs
language that appears to critique Roman society in his approval of Germanic
society.
In the year 98 CE, Publius Cornelius Tacitus wrote De
origine et situ Germanorum (On the Origin and Location of the Germani),
most commonly referred to as Germania.
He begins his work with a general description of the boundaries of the
Germanic tribes and some of the commonalities of Germanic society. The latter part of this work is dedicated to
focusing on individual tribes and their specific traits. One key note to understanding Tacitus’
mindset while reading Germania is shared in the Introduction to the
translation used in this writing. In his
Introduction, J.B. Rives believes that Tacitus views the Germani as a “noble
savage.”[1] He remarks at how their society finds little
value in many of the things the Romans hold in such high prestige. He does negatively view some aspects of German
society. For example, as a general
observation, Tacitus states that when not at war, the Germans dedicate their
time only to eating and sleeping.[2] In the tribe of the Sitones, Tacitus is
extremely reproachful of the fact that they are ruled by a woman. He views this as a decline in their society.[3]
Besides some negative views, Tacitus seems to have a
rather positive outlook of the Germani, as a whole and of individual tribes. He remarks that the tribes generally have no
lust
2
for gold or silver and
are remarkable for their bravery in battle.[4] However, there are some traits of Germanic
culture which Tacitus appears to be extremely fond of, and it appears that when
speaking of these, he is also critiquing the opposite of behaviors found in the
Roman Empire. Specifically, these relate
to their customs of marriage and marital ethics. Tacitus relates a set of strict marriage
rules that create a healthy marriage bond.
In particular, the men of the Germanic tribes are, according to Tacitus,
satisfied with one wife each, and pointedly states that “no feature of their
culture deserves higher praise.”[5] Indeed, in war the men do whatever they can
to protect their women and children. We
could contrast this with the lower status wives and children seem to play in
Roman politics, especially with the jostling of heirs and political rivalry where
it was not uncommon for wives and previous wives, children, and stepchildren to
be executed if only to secure a line to political power.
And in choosing leaders, the Germanic peoples would come
together within their respective tribes, related as they were by kinship, into
councils, and choose their leaders based on prowess and ability.[6] After choosing a leader, he would surround
himself with advisors from the tribe and the leader would take heed of the
counsel given. All decisions and
gatherings were done under arms, and challenges and disagreements were often
settled by armed duel between the parties.[7] Tacitus may well be reflecting on the
internal intrigues of political life in Rome, with secret liaisons and
alliances. Changes in political roles
decided as often by assassination as by open discussion and vote. While Tacitus, in Germania, does not
overtly contrast society in the German tribes with Roman society, and while he
does not openly speak negatively on any aspect of Roman society, he does give
such high praise to certain values of the Germani, that any reader of this work
would immediately call to mind the darker counterparts to those same
circumstances played out in the Roman Empire.
And perhaps that was Tacitus’ intent all along.
3
Bibliography
Tacitus. Germania.
Translated by Harold Mattingly.
London: Penguin Books, 1999.
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