THE GERMAN TRIBES Of the Gaulish tribes west of the Rhine, the most important was the Treveri, inhabiting the basin of the Moselle, from whom the city of Trier (Treves) derives its name. The Rauraci occupied the south of Alsace. To the south of the Treveri lay the Medio matrici, and to the west of them lay the important tribe of the Sequani, who had called in Ariovistus. The Treveri claimed to be of German origin, and the same claim was made by a number of tribes in Belgium, the most powerful of which were the Nervii. There is some obscurity concerning the origin of the name Ger mani. It appears to be a Gaulish term, and there is no evidence that it was ever used by the Germans themselves. Caesar records that four Belgic tribes, namely, the Condrusi, Eburones, Caeraesi, and Paemani were collectively known as Germani. These tribes were all linguistically Celtic, and it is the prevailing opinion that they were not of German origin ethnologically but came from over the Rhine (Caesar, De Bello Gallico ii. 4). The name Germani originally denoted certain Celtic tribes to the east of the Rhine, and was then transferred to the Teutonic tribes which subsequently occupied the same territory.
There is little doubt that, during the last century before the Christian era, the Celtic peoples had been pushed considerably farther west by the Teutonic peoples, a process which was still going on in Caesar's time. The Boii (q.v.) were expelled from their territories in Bohemia by the Marco manni (q.v.) in the time of Augustus. Caesar also mentions a Gaulish tribe named Volcae Tectosages as living in Germany in his time. The Volcae Arecomici in the south of France and the Tectosages of Galatia were in all probability offshoots of this people. The name of the tribe was adopted in the Teutonic languages as a generic term for all Celtic peoples (O.H.G. Walha, A.S. Wealas). Ptolemy mentions a number of place-names which are certainly Celtic, e.g., Mediolanion, Aregelia, Lougidounon, Lokoriton, Segodounon. There is, therefore, a probability that a large part of western Germany east of the Rhine was formerly occupied by Celtic peoples.
Coming to the Germans proper, we find the basin of the Rhine between Strasbourg and Mainz inhabited by the Tribocci, Nemetes, and Vangiones,. farther down by the Mattiaci about Wiesbaden, and the Ubii in the neighbourhood of Cologne ; beyond them were the Sugambri, and in the Rhine delta the Batavi and other smaller tribes. All these tribes remained in subjection to the Romans. Beyond them were the Tencteri, about the basin of the Lahn, and the Usipetes about the basin of the Ruhr. The basin of the Lippe and the upper basin of the Ems were inhabited by the Bructeri, and in the same neighbourhood were the Ampsivarii. The upper basin of the Weser was inhabited by the Chatti, whose capital was Mattium (Maden on the Eder). To the north-west of them were situated the Marsi (q.v.), while the central part of the basin of the Weser was inhabited by the Cherusci, who seem to have extended considerably eastward. The lower part of the river-basin was inhabited by the Angrivarii. The coastlands north of the mouth of the Rhine were occupied by the Canninefates, by the Frisii as far as the mouth of the Ems, thence onward to the mouth of the Elbe by the Chauci. The basin of the Elbe was inhabited by Suebic tribes, the chief of which were the Marcomanni, who settled on the Saale during the latter part of the 1st century B.C., but moved into Bohemia before the beginning of the Christian era, where they became a formidable power under their king Maroboduus. (See SUEBI, etc.) The Quadi were settled somewhat farther east about the source of the Elbe. The Hermunduri in the basin of the Saale were in alliance with the Romans and occupied northern Bavaria with their consent. The Semnones dwelt below the junction of the Saale and Elbe. The Langobardi (see LOMBARDS) possessed the land between the territory of the Semnones and the mouth of the river. Their name is preserved in Bardengau, south of Hamburg. The province of Schleswig (perhaps only the west coast) and the islands adjacent were inhabited by the Saxons, while the east coast was occupied by the Angli. The coast of Mecklenburg was inhabited by the Varini (the later Warni). The eastern part of Germany was much less known to the Romans; the Rugii inhabited the eastern part of Pomerania, where a trace of them is preserved in the name Rugenwalde. The lower part of the basin of the Oder was oc cupied by the Burgundiones, and the upper part by a number of tribes collectively known as Lugii, who seem to correspond to the Vandals of later times. Among the Lugii we may include the Silingae, who afterwards appear among the Vandals in Spain, and whose name is preserved in Slavonic form in that of the province Silesia. The Goths (Gotones) inhabited the basin of the Vistula about the middle of its course, but the lower part of the basin was inhabited by non-Teutonic peoples, among whom we may mention the Galindi, probably Prussians, and the Aestii, either Prussian or Esthonian, in the coastlands at the mouth of the river, who are known especially in connection with the amber trade.
