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A Map of Our Homeland as it is in 1998

Our Germanic Culture is a rich one, and our customs varied. In creating this page, it was not difficult finding material at all. In fact, just the opposite was true! Below you will find many links (in blue). Click on them to take you to a given area. You can always click on "back" to return here.

Many of these sites are in German, but much of the material is in English. Oh. By the way - there will be a short quiz at the end. No kidding!

Our History

If it seems that we're skimming rather lightly over Germanic history, it's because we intend for this to be only a brief overview.

Like that of most peoples, our early history is lost in the mists of time. Before the arrival of Christianity, the Germanic peoples worshiped the ancient gods and goddesses.

The chief of the dieties was Odin.He was assisted by Thor whose name survives to this day in our word "Thursday". Assisting Odin and Thor were a whole plethora of gods and goddesses. Ostara was the goddess of Springtime. If her name sounds familiar, it's because it's from her name we get the word "Easter". Ertha was "Mother Earth" or the "earth goddess".

The early Germans were a very superstitious people. Some of these superstitions are quite amusing, but some have a familiar ring. There is a current fascination with werewolves, and it's from Germany that the legend of the werewolf comes.

There were many stories designed to be told to children, and it is from these ancient stories that the tradition of "fairy tales" began. One of these legends concerns the god Loki and a small child.

In the year 14 A.D. began the Roman occupation. Nothing in the country we call Germany would ever be the same. Although there were many writers who concerned themselves with this era, probably the most prominent was Tacitus.

Although the Roman occupation was painful and was to last many years, the bright spot was that it eventually brought Christianity.

The Christian Church in the early days, had an uphill battle on its hands gaining converts. Persecuted at worst, barely tolerated at best, the early Christians had to fight not only official Rome, but the old gods of the Romans as well as the followers of Mithras, a religion of particular appeal to the occupying troops.

What the church needed was a "shot in the arm". It got that shot through the efforts of the Emporer Constantine. His act of making Christianity the official State Religion throughout the empire forever changed the history of Europe, and thus the rest of the world. Because of the Church, the Latin language survived, as did several forms of music. One of these, Gregorian Chant, is staging a recurrance of popularity today.

Beginning in the first century A.D. and continuing for several centuries, the Roman Empire was over run by various barbarian hordes. The momentum of these invasions continued, until at last Rome fell. Of all the leaders of these hordes, none was more feared than Atilla the Hun.

The Dark Ages

When did the Dark Ages begin? Historians tend to differ on this, and it probably doesn't matter if one puts a concrete date on it, but most would agree with Gibbon that around 476 A.D. when the first non-Roman succeeded to the Imperial Throne is as good a date as any. It should also be remembered that the "fall" of Rome was not a sudden thing, but rather a gradual process.

As the power of Rome began to decline, the Church stepped in to fill the void. It has been said that "In knowledge there is power." At this time, churchmen were the only educated people. They passed their knowledge on to the ruling classes, and in that way became the power behind many a throne.

The main institution in those days for accomplishing this was not the papacy, but rather the monastery. It was here that first sons of nobility were sent to be educated. It was here that succeeding sons were often sent to enter the monastic system.

Sometimes the good brothers of the monastery engaged in commercial activities to support themselves. One popular activity was the brewing of beer.

The feudal system is probably the first example in history of a "pyramid scheme" - and on a gigantic scale. The broad base was the peasant class, and at the apex was the king. In between were various layers of nobility, each owing obligation to the person above, and extracting service from those below. This service could take many forms - a portion of crops, money, labor, or service in the lord's army in time of war. In turn, the lord owed protection to his underlings. It was common for an underling to take an oath to serve his lord.

There are some excellent course materials on the web giving detailed explanations of this complex system if you are interested.

When we think of the Middle Ages, we often think of castles; not because that's where most people lived, but because that's what's survived. Although seemingly romantic, life in a castle was not as comfortable as most would think.

One of the greatest of German kings was Charles the Great (Karl der Große) (768 - 814). This bust of him is still preserved in Aachen.

The Renaissance indeed was a re-birth all throughout Europe. The Arts, Sciences and Philosophy were again re-born. Nowhere except perhaps Italy, was this new birth more evident than in the German speaking countries.

© 1997 kronprinz@usa.net

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