Race And Ethnicity In Germania Summary

Through out Germania, Tacitus used ethnicity and race to define sets of people. Ethnicity is a social group of people that share common aspects of their life, such as religion language, and culture. Race, is a group of people who are similar and have distinct physical characteristics that they commonly share. In today’s times, race and ethnicity is how we often categorize people.
Starting out Tacitus talks about the people of Germania. He believes that they have never been tainted by intermarriage of other nations. Meaning he does not think that they have married outside of their “group.” They stand out as a race distinctive and pure to its kind. He goes on to talk about their body type, which relates to race, since it is physical features. They all have blue eyes, reddish hair, and a large frame. They often experience the same effects from the weather on their bodies. Tacitus also goes into detail about their ethnicity.
He tells us about what gods they worship, how their towns are set up, the kind of war they often fight, their wealth, the types of metals they seek, trading, marriage and tradition within the Germanic group. Not only these things, but also about death, he gives an in depth description as to what the people of this ethnicity do when someone passes away. He also goes on to talk about how the Germani have no taste for peace, and that war is the only option for them. They do not have friends or companions just “companions in war.” Marriage to the Germani is strict, and it deserves the highest praise. The wife receives gifts from the husband and in return she gives gifts of arms to her husband. They view this as the supreme bond that holds the marriage together. She will be his partner through all of his sufferings and achievements.
Tacitus speaks of people that have migrated out of Germania into Gaul.
These people still identify to the Germanic race but have their own ethnicity. They identify with different cultures, rituals, gods, and languages among other things. The Gaul’s settled on the banks of the Rhine river, where there was free land. The Treveri and Nervii are descendants of the Gaul’s but try to claim Germanic descendent. Many smaller groups came off of the Gauls. Due to migration the Chatti became part of the Roman Empire and although they are a part of the Roman Empire, they kept their culture and values that came from their Germanic descendent. They took on to the custom related to the Germanic people, and made it a rule that once men become of age, they let their beard and hair grow long and only shave when they have killed an enemy.
Many of the descendants of the Germanic race can still identify with the race but may not identify with their ethnicity. Tacitus explained the many different ethnicities within the Germanic race, and how they apply to each
group.