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The Northern Barbarians, 100 B.C. - A.D.300
The early Germans were the most important people living outside the bounds of the Roman empire. This book examines the Germanic peoples from their first contact with the Mediterranean world to the beginnings of the migration which carried them over most of Europe. In contrast to the traditional view of the Germans, as barbaric peoples who undermined and finally destroyed the civilization of the western Roman empire, Malcolm Todd argues that they came not to overthrow, but to find their own place in a civilization which they were well equipped to join. The majority of the evidence which he brings to bear is archeological. His book presents an account of the early Germans as cultivated settlers and craftsmen who impressed with their skills and achievements as well as with the force of their numbers.
- GenresHistoryAncient History
232 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1975
59 people want to read
About the author
Malcolm Todd
31 books5 followersMalcolm Todd is Senior Academic at Sheffield Hallam University, where he is Head of Learning and Teaching for the Faculty of Development and Society.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 9, 2022
Informative and accessible overview of the major archaeological finds and their social/cultural implications (e.g., from the table of contents, "Settlements and Agriculture," "Technology and Crafts," "Armament and Warfare," "Gods and Sanctuaries"). More detailed, recent, and up-to-date studies exist, of course; but this is great as a general and introductory overview. Some of the interpretations strike me as too facile, but on the whole it is grounded and reasonable. Philological details are little utilized, which is good, since they tend to be inexact.
January 31, 2018
Conan, you've got to be kidding !
In the days of the Roman Empire, civilization stopped at the Rhine and the Danube, or at least, so the Romans believed. The peoples beyond the frontiers were known collectively as "barbarians". Historians of those times recorded the names of many tribes and the customs of some. As Todd writes, "Roman writers and their public were rather more interested in the lurid and sensational aspects of barbarian peoples than in commonplace beliefs and customs, an attitude towards primitive man not unknown in the civilized world today." But as we look away from the Germanic peoples close to the Rhine, Roman knowledge got slim and shaky. Only modern archaeology has been able to expand our understanding of the barbarian cultures and practices. Archaeology has its limitations of course. Todd's focus is the whole Germanic world, which in those days stretched from Holland, across Germany, and into what is now Poland, Scandinavia, and the Czech Republic. Todd begins with an outline of the seven principal cultures as known to archaeology, not with the tribal groups as listed by the Romans. Throughout the book he uses both archaeology and the works of ancient writers like Pliny and Tacitus, comparing and contrasting the evidence obtained from each. We find many useful maps, diagrams, figures, and a few photographs. It is an exceptionally thorough work covering such topics as settlements and agriculture, technology, armament and warfare, and religion. Todd often refers to the Roman influence that occurred due to trade, interweaving of cultures along the frontier, warfare, and then the later barbarian invasions of depopulated or weakened frontier areas where the invaders would settle and adopt a Roman lifestyle. In general, techniques and objects penetrated deeply into barbarian territory, but organization did not---the reason why Rome could hold back the barbarian peoples for so long.
In short, THE NORTHERN BARBARIANS is a five-star work, but only for professionals, only for serious academics. For them, it must be a veritable handbook, an indispensable reference book which compiles all the known (to 1987) data on the Germanic peoples of northern Europe. I found this book heavy going and with more general readers in mind, have given it only three stars. Its tenor may be recognized on page 14. Todd writes of Tacitus' "Germania" as being of "outstanding importance for the student of Germanic society and tribal geography. It will be assumed that the reader has read the book, and preferably keeps it at hand." That no doubt helps to explain why much of this book reads like a catalogue filled with a mass of descriptive material that a person new to the subject cannot digest. My previous connection with barbarians had been more in the realm of Conan. I realize now that film was chock-full of inaccuracies. What a surprise, eh ?
In the days of the Roman Empire, civilization stopped at the Rhine and the Danube, or at least, so the Romans believed. The peoples beyond the frontiers were known collectively as "barbarians". Historians of those times recorded the names of many tribes and the customs of some. As Todd writes, "Roman writers and their public were rather more interested in the lurid and sensational aspects of barbarian peoples than in commonplace beliefs and customs, an attitude towards primitive man not unknown in the civilized world today." But as we look away from the Germanic peoples close to the Rhine, Roman knowledge got slim and shaky. Only modern archaeology has been able to expand our understanding of the barbarian cultures and practices. Archaeology has its limitations of course. Todd's focus is the whole Germanic world, which in those days stretched from Holland, across Germany, and into what is now Poland, Scandinavia, and the Czech Republic. Todd begins with an outline of the seven principal cultures as known to archaeology, not with the tribal groups as listed by the Romans. Throughout the book he uses both archaeology and the works of ancient writers like Pliny and Tacitus, comparing and contrasting the evidence obtained from each. We find many useful maps, diagrams, figures, and a few photographs. It is an exceptionally thorough work covering such topics as settlements and agriculture, technology, armament and warfare, and religion. Todd often refers to the Roman influence that occurred due to trade, interweaving of cultures along the frontier, warfare, and then the later barbarian invasions of depopulated or weakened frontier areas where the invaders would settle and adopt a Roman lifestyle. In general, techniques and objects penetrated deeply into barbarian territory, but organization did not---the reason why Rome could hold back the barbarian peoples for so long.
In short, THE NORTHERN BARBARIANS is a five-star work, but only for professionals, only for serious academics. For them, it must be a veritable handbook, an indispensable reference book which compiles all the known (to 1987) data on the Germanic peoples of northern Europe. I found this book heavy going and with more general readers in mind, have given it only three stars. Its tenor may be recognized on page 14. Todd writes of Tacitus' "Germania" as being of "outstanding importance for the student of Germanic society and tribal geography. It will be assumed that the reader has read the book, and preferably keeps it at hand." That no doubt helps to explain why much of this book reads like a catalogue filled with a mass of descriptive material that a person new to the subject cannot digest. My previous connection with barbarians had been more in the realm of Conan. I realize now that film was chock-full of inaccuracies. What a surprise, eh ?
July 30, 2023
An interesting non-fiction on the subject. Probably a bit dated nowadays considering when this was published but this is a good introduction to the subject of the Germanic peoples for me.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews