Roman authors coined the term "Teutons" as a collective term for certain peoples in Northern and Central Europe. But the affected peoples and tribes themselves felt no sense of togetherness.
Who were the Germans?
The Germans as a unified people never existed. Rather, the term is a generic term for certain tribes that lived in the area between the Rhine, Danube and Vistula. These tribes did not form a common state and had no common identity. Rather, they regularly fought among themselves.
At the time of the high cultures of the Greeks and Romans, little was known about the peoples of the north in the Mediterranean area. For a long time they were grouped under the term barbarians (people who had not enjoyed a Greco-Roman education).
It was not until 80 BC that the term "Teutons" appeared in the Greek historian Poseidonios. Gaius Julius Caesar (100 to 44 BC) popularized the term in his work "De bello gallico".
Since that time, the Romans had some contact with the Germanic tribes and peoples, most of whom were warlike. The term "Teutons" definitely does not come from the people it referred to, as they found their identity in their tribal or ethnic communities.
The peoples and tribes of the Germans were not a unit
The Society of the Teutons
The settlement and social structure of the various Germanic tribes was essentially the same. The family formed the core of Germanic society. All members were obliged to full loyalty to her. The head had the task of protecting the entire family. This also included the serfs who were servants and maids.
All blood relatives belonged to a clan. They settled together in a village community and fought in the war as a closed association. If there were disputes, the clans had the right to regulate their own affairs. If one member of a kinship was attacked, the whole kinship would stand together and defend it.
All free men of a tribal community capable of fighting formed the so-called Thing, which, as the tribal assembly, elected the chief. A chief could be dismissed just as quickly if he did not fulfill his duties in the interests of the community.
The chief was a tribal chief rather than a king or consul, as was common among Romans and Greeks of the time. Only when conflicts with the Romans increased did the Germans begin to refer to their chiefs as kings.
During the Thing, which mostly took place outdoors in holy places, strict rules applied. The assembly was dedicated to the gods, a disturbance offended them and was severely punished by the priests. Each member of the council had one vote.
But not only war and peace were decided. The General Assembly also held court or voted on the admission of new members to the Thing. Thus, a bondman who had won fame and glory in battle could attain the status of a free member of the Thing.
Germanic farm around the birth of Christ
Battle of Varus and tribal feuds
The relatively small groups of tribes felt that they were independent units. As a result, the Germans rarely succeeded in uniting several tribes for one goal. The Romans recognized this early on and took advantage of it. They made alliances with different tribes and played the Germans off against each other.
The so-called Arminius uprising in the year 9 AD is therefore atypical for Germanic behavior. During the uprising, the Cheruscan Arminius managed to unite under his leadership quarreling tribes, which repeatedly fought disputes among themselves.
Together they tried to defend themselves successfully against the Romans. This prevented the Romans from dominating the Germanic tribes on the right bank of the Rhine.
If the Germans involved in the uprising had continued to act together, they might have succeeded in getting the Romans to the left of the Rhine in trouble. But the Germanic mentality was different.
Arminius, who around 100 years later was regarded by the Roman historian Tacitus as the liberator of the Germans, was only considered by them as one of many. Pretty soon he had many jealous people eager to gain his power.
As soon as the Romans were expelled, quarrels broke out again between the different tribes. Had Arminius been a Roman, his achievement would have commanded the pride of the entire Empire. As a German, however, Arminius fell victim to his own relatives in 21 AD, who feared that he was becoming too powerful.
Arminius only united the different tribes for a short time