Note On The East & West Germans
A short note in regards to the distinction between the East and West Germanic peoples (source: p. 5-8, J.B. Bury, The Invasion of Europe by the Barbarians):
Professor Bury explains that after 1000 B.C., two movements of expansion began within the Germanic peoples, who until then had lived in southern Scandinavia and the land between the Elbe and the Oder rivers. The group originally from the land between the Oder and the Elbe came to occupy western Germany, and are known as the West Germans. This is group of Germans which was in contact with the frontier of the Roman Empire (those of which Julius Caesar and Tacitus wrote), and which later gave rise to the Alammani, Franks, Saxons, Thuringians and Frisians.
The group from Scandinavia, on the other hand, moved in the opposite direction, and came to occupy the area between the Oder and Vistula rivers (and later beyond the Vistula). These are the East Germans, who gave rise to the Goths, Vandals, Gepids, Burgundians, and Lombards. The West Germans became geographically settled much earlier than the East Germans, who remained much more migratory.
Professor Bury explains the disparity between the two groups by pointing out that the ancient Germans (before the expansions starting after 1000 B.C.) were largely “shepards and hunters”, or pastoral. They settled down in an area until their population outgrew the resources of the pastureland, and then emigrated to new lands. The West Germans, however, were eventually halted in their expansion at the borders of the Roman Empire. They were forced to seek an alternatives to the problem of overpopulation, and thus turned to agriculture, and became relatively settled. The East Germans, on the other hand, did not face similar restrictions. They were able to continue expanding to the east and the south, which were occupied by groups weaker than the East Germans. The East Germans were able, therefore, to keep their pastoral and migratory habits much longer than the West Germans.
A short note in regards to the distinction between the East and West Germanic peoples (source: p. 5-8, J.B. Bury, The Invasion of Europe by the Barbarians):
Professor Bury explains that after 1000 B.C., two movements of expansion began within the Germanic peoples, who until then had lived in southern Scandinavia and the land between the Elbe and the Oder rivers. The group originally from the land between the Oder and the Elbe came to occupy western Germany, and are known as the West Germans. This is group of Germans which was in contact with the frontier of the Roman Empire (those of which Julius Caesar and Tacitus wrote), and which later gave rise to the Alammani, Franks, Saxons, Thuringians and Frisians.
The group from Scandinavia, on the other hand, moved in the opposite direction, and came to occupy the area between the Oder and Vistula rivers (and later beyond the Vistula). These are the East Germans, who gave rise to the Goths, Vandals, Gepids, Burgundians, and Lombards. The West Germans became geographically settled much earlier than the East Germans, who remained much more migratory.
Professor Bury explains the disparity between the two groups by pointing out that the ancient Germans (before the expansions starting after 1000 B.C.) were largely “shepards and hunters”, or pastoral. They settled down in an area until their population outgrew the resources of the pastureland, and then emigrated to new lands. The West Germans, however, were eventually halted in their expansion at the borders of the Roman Empire. They were forced to seek an alternatives to the problem of overpopulation, and thus turned to agriculture, and became relatively settled. The East Germans, on the other hand, did not face similar restrictions. They were able to continue expanding to the east and the south, which were occupied by groups weaker than the East Germans. The East Germans were able, therefore, to keep their pastoral and migratory habits much longer than the West Germans.
| Updated >> 21 September 2004 |