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121-787: The Bructeri were part of the alliance under the leadership of Arminius of the Cherusci , together with the Marsi , Chatti , Sicambri , and the Chauci , that defeated the Roman General Varus and annihilated his three legions at the Battle of Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD. Six years later, one of the generals serving under Germanicus , Lucius Stertinius defeated the Bructeri near the Ems and devastated their lands. Among

242-459: A defender of the liberty of his people. Based on these records, the story of Arminius was revived in the 16th century with the recovery of the histories of Tacitus, who wrote in his Annales II, 88 : Arminius, without doubt Germania's liberator, who challenged the Roman people not in its beginnings like other kings and leaders, but in the peak of its empire; in battles with changing success, undefeated in

363-630: A lost illegitimate son of dead Chlothar I. Many of the Frankish nobles and the Byzantine emperor Maurice gave some support to this rebellion; however, it is swiftly crushed by Guntram. "Many evil things were done at this time", as Gregory writes in Book Eight. It begins with the travels of Guntram to Paris and Orleans and describes numerous confrontations between the king and some bishops. Meanwhile, Guntram becomes ill and fears for his life. Gregory comments that

484-686: A major tourist attraction ever since, as has the Hermann Heights Monument , a similar statue erected in New Ulm, Minnesota , in the United States in 1897. The Hermann Heights monument was erected by the Sons of Hermann , a fraternal organization formed in New York City by German Americans as a means of self protection against anti-German sentiment and discrimination in 1840; and that flourished during

605-454: A narrow road through a dense forest. Recent archaeological finds show the long-debated location of the three-day battle was almost certainly near Kalkriese Hill, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of present-day Osnabrück . When defeat was certain, Varus committed suicide by falling upon his sword. The battle was one of the most devastating defeats Rome suffered in its history. Arminius' success in destroying three entire legions and driving

726-518: A nostris fari plerumque miratus sum, quia: "Philosophantem rethorem intellegunt pauci, loquentem rusticum multi". Hearing continually these complaints and others like them I have undertaken to commemorate the past, in order that it may come to the knowledge of the future; and although my speech is rude, I have been unable to be silent as to the struggles between the wicked and the upright; and I have been especially encouraged because, to my surprise, it has often been said by men of our day: "few understand

847-626: A sense of guilt and shame, rooted in both the Holocaust and Nazi war crimes , related to any form of German nationalism . There was, however, a radically different practice in East Germany . Particularly during the Cold War , Arminius and his warriors were anachronistically reinterpreted quite similarly to the slave revolt led by Spartacus in the Marxist-Leninist official history promoted by

968-428: A son named Thumelicus who grew up in Roman captivity. Tacitus describes him as having an unusual story, which he promises to tell in his later writings, but these writings have never been found. Between 14 and 16, Germanicus led punitive operations into Germany, fighting Arminius to a draw in the Battle at Pontes Longi and twice defeating him (according to Tacitus): first in the Battle of Idistaviso and later at

1089-450: A son; and there could be no son without a father. But as for those who say: "There was a time when he was not", [note: a leading belief of Arian Christology] I reject them with curses, and call men to witness that they are separated from the church. I believe that the word of the Father by which all things were made was Christ. I believe that this word was made flesh and by its suffering the world

1210-504: A specific Christian heresy. Thus, Gregory's creed presents, in the negative, a virtual litany of heresies: I believe, then, in God the Father omnipotent. I believe in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord God, born of the Father, not created. [I believe] that he has always been with the Father, not only since time began but before all time. For the Father could not have been so named unless he had

1331-558: A triumph for his two victories. The third Roman eagle was recovered in 41 by Publius Gabinius, under the emperor Claudius . Arminius also faced opposition from his father-in-law and other pro-Roman Germanic leaders. His brother Flavus, who had been raised alongside him in Rome, remained loyal to the Roman Empire and fought under Germanicus against Arminius at the Battle of Idistaviso. With the end of

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1452-518: Is Christ; next he will place his statue in the temple at Jerusalem to be worshiped, just as we read that the Lord said: "You shall see the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place." But the Lord himself declared that that day is hidden from all men, saying; "But of that day and that hour knoweth no one not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father alone." Moreover we shall here make answer to

1573-405: Is God, equal and always coeternal with the Father and the Son, consubstantial in its nature, equal in omnipotence, equally eternal in its essence, and that it has never existed apart from the Father and the Son and is not inferior to the Father and the Son. I believe that this holy Trinity exists with separation of persons, and one person is that of the Father, another that of the Son, another that of

1694-749: Is considered a primary source for the study of Merovingian history and chronicles the accounts of the Franks during the period. Gregory is also known for documenting accounts of religious figures, notably that of Martin of Tours . Gregory was born in Clermont , in the Auvergne region of central Gaul. He was born into the upper stratum of Gallo-Roman society as the son of Florentius, Senator of Clermont, by his wife Armentaria II, niece of Bishop Nicetius of Lyon and granddaughter of both Florentinus, Senator of Geneva, and Saint Gregory of Langres . Relatives of Gregory held

1815-439: Is maintained until after the death of Charibert I in 567. Clothar's remaining sons fight for the supremacy, with Sigibert showing the strongest military force. Book Four ends with the killing of Sigbert in 575, leaving Chilperic as the dominant king. Gregory of Tours blames Fredegund , the wife of Chilperic, for the assassination. Fredegund, he says, had long held a grudge against Sigibert and his wife Brunhilda . Book Five begins

1936-444: Is murdered under mysterious circumstances. In Book Seven, Fredegund assumes regency for her young son Clothar II . In the future, he will be king of all Franks until his death in 629 – beyond Gregory's narrative, which ends in roughly 593. Fredegund and her son are under the protection of Gunthram. She remains in power until her death in 597. Also in this book is the rebellion of Gundovald and its failure. Gundovald claimed to be

2057-518: Is paid to the local as opposed to universal Christian experience. Within these grandiloquent lives are tales and anecdotes which tie miracles, saints, and their relics to a great diversity of local areas, furnishing his audience with greater knowledge of their local shrine, and providing them with evidence of the work of God in their immediate vicinity, thus greatly expanding their connection with and understanding of their faith. Attacks on heresy also appear throughout his hagiographies; Arianism he took to be

2178-594: Is praying in his church. Guntram orders his army to march against Arian-controlled Septimania and Spain without success and blames his army commanders for having allowed atrocities and random destruction. In Book Nine, the Treaty of Andelot is signed in 587 between Guntram, Brunhilda, and Childebert II. It is a close pact of alliance, wherein Childebert is formally adopted as Guntram's heir. Brunhilda also formally allies with Guntram and comes under his protection. The last book

2299-483: Is set around 589. Basina, the daughter of Chilperic I and Clotilda (daughter of Charibert) leads a brief revolt from a nunnery. The 18 bishops of Tours are named and described. The book ends with a summary of Gregory's previous written works. The Historia Francorum is made up of ten books. Books I to IV initially recount the world's history from the Creation (as was traditional for such works); but move quickly on to

2420-404: Is the life of St. Nicetius of Trier , though, which dominates this book; his great authority and sense of episcopal responsibility which is the focus of Gregory's account as his figure, predestined to be great, bestrode the lives of the others. It is told that he felt a weight on his head, but was unable to see what it was when turning around, though upon smelling its sweet scent he realised that it

2541-477: The Historia is the closing chapter of Book VI, in which Chilperic's character is summed up unsympathetically through the use of an invective: Herod and Nero are among the comparisons employed. The third part, comprising Books VII to X, takes his increasingly personal account to the year 591, and concludes with a plea for further chroniclers to preserve his work in entirety (as indeed would be done). An epilogue

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2662-759: The Balkan peninsula . He returned to northern Germania in AD 7 or 8, where the Roman Empire had established secure control of the territories just east of the Rhine , along the Lippe and Main rivers, and was now seeking to extend its hegemony eastward to the Weser and Elbe rivers, under Publius Quinctilius Varus , a high-ranking administrative official appointed by Augustus as governor. Arminius began plotting to unite various Germanic tribes in order to thwart Roman efforts to incorporate their lands into

2783-572: The Battle of the Angrivarian Wall . In 15, Roman troops managed to recapture one of the three legionary eagles lost in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. In 16, a second eagle was retrieved. Tiberius denied the request of Germanicus to launch an additional campaign for 17, however, having decided the frontier with Germania would stand at the Rhine river. Instead, he offered Germanicus the honor of

2904-453: The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in AD 9, in which three Roman legions under the command of general and governor Publius Quinctilius Varus were destroyed. His victory at Teutoburg Forest precipitated the Roman Empire 's permanent strategic withdrawal and the decolonisation of Germania Magna , and modern historians regard it as one of Imperial Rome's greatest defeats. As it prevented

3025-705: The Chamavi and Angrivarii had moved to the territories of the Bructeri, after having driven them out and totally annihilated them, in alliance with other nearby populations, whom the Latin writer thanks for "offering delight to Roman eyes", without Rome having to intervene. More than 60,000 of the Bructeri fell. "May the tribes, I pray, ever retain if not love for us [Romans], at least hatred for each other; for while [...], fortune can give no greater boon than discord among our foes." The Bructeri were sometimes divided into major and minor divisions. Strabo (64/63 BC – c. 24 AD) describes

3146-601: The Chatti however were under military leadership of the Frankish princes Marcomer and Sunno and they appeared "on the ridges of distant hills". At this time the Bructeri apparently lived near Cologne . In the Peutinger map , the Bructeri also appear as a distinct entity on the opposite side of the Rhine to Cologne and Bonn , the Burcturi , with Franks to their north, and Suevi to their south. This has been interpreted to mean that

3267-606: The Christianization of Gaul , the life and times of Saint Martin of Tours , the conversion of the Franks and the conquest of Gaul under Clovis I , and the more detailed history of the Frankish kings down to the death of Sigebert I in 575. At this date, Gregory had been bishop of Tours for two years. With his fifth book, Gregory embarks (with some relief) on contemporary history, opening: "Here, I am glad to say, begins Book V". This,

3388-464: The Frankish communities of the early Middle Ages . The final mentions of their name seem to indicate this, and also that they had moved south from their old position north of the Lippe. In 307–308, after having spent the year before fighting Franci raiding along the Rhine and the executions of instigators Ascaric and Merogais , emperor Constantine led a punitive expedition against the Bructeri over

3509-535: The Great Illyrian Revolt , he was sent to Germania to aid the local governor Publius Quinctilius Varus in completing the Roman conquest of the Germanic tribes. While in this capacity, Arminius secretly plotted a Germanic revolt against Roman rule, which culminated in the ambush and destruction of three Roman legions in the Teutoburg Forest. In the aftermath of the battle, Arminius fought retaliatory invasions by

3630-605: The Neckar River .) But it is possible, according for example to E. A. Thompson that Sidonius included names of historical tribes, for effect. The name of the Arboruchoi (Αρβόρυχοι), a people described by Procopius (550s) as living in Gaul next to the Franks who lived along the lower Rhine during the time of Clovis I (c. 490), have also been proposed to be Bructeri. According to Procopius, they were Roman foederati who warred with

3751-612: The Nicene Creed and abhors heresy like those of the "wicked" Arian sect among other heresies. The narrative history begins with a brief epitome of the biblical Old Testament and New Testament , and the subsequent spread of the Christian religion into Gaul. Next, Gregory covers the history of Christianity in Gaul and some of the major events in Roman-Gallo relations. It ends with the death of Saint Martin of Tours in 397. Book Two covers

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3872-771: The Roman Catholic Church . During the military occupation of the German States, first by the French Revolutionary Army and then by the French Imperial Army of Napoleon Bonaparte , Hermann der Cheruskerfürst once again became a national icon and a martyr within both German Romanticism and the anti-Colonialist romantic nationalism fueled by the Napoleonic Wars , which are still termed in Germany

3993-589: The Romanization of Germanic peoples east of the Rhine , it has also been considered one of the most decisive battles in history and a turning point in human history . Born a prince of the Cherusci tribe, Arminius was part of the Roman-friendly faction of the tribe. He learned Latin and served in the Roman military, which gained him Roman citizenship , and the rank of eques . After serving with distinction in

4114-686: The Wars of Liberation . This may particularly be seen as in Caspar David Friedrich 's 1812 painting The Tombs of the Old Heroes . During the unification of Germany in the 19th century, Arminius was hailed as a symbol of German unity and liberation. In 1808, Heinrich von Kleist wrote the play Die Hermannsschlacht , but with Napoleon's victory at Wagram it remained in manuscript, being published in 1821 and not staged until 1860. The play has been revived repeatedly at moments of national crisis and

4235-672: The name Hermann dates from the 16th century, possibly first by Martin Luther . In German, Arminius was traditionally distinguished as Hermann der Cherusker ("Hermann the Cheruscan") or Hermann der Cheruskerfürst ("Hermann the Cheruscan Prince"). Hermann etymologically means "Man of War", coming from the Old High German heri meaning "war" and man meaning "person" or "man". This has also led to his English nickname "Herman

4356-584: The 19th century in American cities and rural areas with large populations speaking the German language in the United States . Hermann, Missouri , a town on the Missouri River founded in the 1830s and incorporated in 1845, was also named for Arminius. Following the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, Arminius became lesser-known among West Germans and the educational system shied away from teaching about his life due to

4477-598: The Bishoprics of Tours, Lyon, and Langres at the time of his birth and he claimed that he was related to 13 of the 18 bishops of Tours who preceded him. Gregory's paternal grandmother, Leocadia III, descended from Vettius Epagathus, the illustrious martyr of Lyon. His father died while Gregory was young and his widowed mother moved to Burgundy , where she had property. Gregory went to live with his paternal uncle St. Gallus, bishop of Clermont , under whom, and his successor St. Avitus, Gregory had his education. Gregory also received

4598-504: The Bructeri had moved into the area previously inhabited by the Tencteri and Usipetes , which had in the time of Caesar been inhabited by the Ubii (who had in turn crossed the Rhine to inhabit Cologne as Roman citizens during imperial times). In the description of Claudius Ptolemy , the Bructeri and Sicambri are apparently close to their old positions, but with Suevi having inserted themselves upon

4719-603: The Frankish influences of the north and the Gallo-Roman influences of the south had their chief contact (see map) . As the center for the popular cult of St Martin, Tours was a pilgrimage site, hospital, and a political sanctuary to which important leaders fled during periods of violence and turmoil in Merovingian politics. Gregory struggled through personal relations with four Frankish kings, Sigebert I , Chilperic I , Guntram , and Childebert II , and he personally knew most of

4840-508: The Frankish realm. Despite their disputes, they occasionally work together against an outside threat, such as their attack of the Burgundians in 523. Eventually, Chlothar becomes the most powerful king in the Frankish realm. After the death of Theuderic I in 534, Book Three ends with the death of his son and successor Theudebert I in 548. Theudebert's kingdom is inherited by Theudebald until his own death in 555. Book Four continues from when

4961-466: The Franks before joining and merging with them, although they retained some of the customs from their Roman service down to Procopius' time. Not all scholars accept their identification with the Bructeri, however, which depends on a misspelling by Procopius ( Arboruchoi for Arboruchtoi ). At the beginning of the eighth century, Bede in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People lists among

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5082-490: The Franks in one kingdom. Gregory has often been compared to Herodotus , and (with his detailed interest in, and accounts of, ecclesiastical history and maneuverings) to a bloodier Anthony Trollope . According to Robert Win's analysis: There can be no argument that Gregory deliberately structured his narrative to protect himself from any political attacks and that it was the political circumstances around him that governed what he could and could not write. Gregory's Latin

5203-573: The German." Born in 18 or 17 BC in Germania , Arminius was the son of the Cheruscan chief Segimerus (German: Segimer ; Proto-Germanic: Sigimariz ; Old English: Sigemær ), who was allied with Rome. Arminius learned to speak Latin and joined the Roman military with his younger brother Flavus . He served in the Roman army between AD 1 and 6, and received a military education as well as Roman citizenship and

5324-510: The Germanic leader into a reimagining of the twelfth chapter of Lucian 's satirical Dialogues of the Dead ; a debate between Alexander the Great , Hannibal , and Scipio Africanus before the underworld judgment seat of Minos over who most deserves the position of history's greatest general and military strategist. Arminius argues his own claim and calls upon Tacitus to bear witness, and ultimately wins

5445-536: The Gnitaheidr—today the suburb Knetterheide of the city of Bad Salzuflen , located at a strategic site on the Werre river which could very well have been the point of departure of Varus' legions on their way to their doom in the Teutoburg Forest. One of the foremost Scandinavian scholars of the 19th century, Guðbrandur Vigfússon , identified Sigurd as Arminius. This educated guess was also picked up by Otto Höfler , who

5566-611: The Holy Spirit. And in this Trinity confess that there is one Deity, one power, one essence. I believe that the blessed Mary was a virgin after the birth as she was a virgin before. I believe that the soul is immortal but that nevertheless it has no part in deity. And I faithfully believe all things that were established at Nicæa by the three hundred and eighteen bishops. But as to the end of the world I hold beliefs which I learned from our forefathers, that Antichrist will come first. An Antichrist will first propose circumcision, asserting that he

5687-506: The Lippe river running through the territory of the lesser Bructeri (Βουσάκτεροι), about 600 stadia from the Rhine. Ptolemy (c. AD 90 – c. AD 168) says that lesser Bructeri and the Sicambri occupied the area just to the north of the Rhine. Both authors agree that the greater Bructeri in their time lived between the Ems and the Weser, to the south of a part of the Chauci . Tacitus (56 AD – 117 AD) on

5808-501: The Rhine and built a bridge at Cologne. In 392 AD, according to a citation by Gregory of Tours , Sulpicius Alexander reported that Arbogast crossed the Rhine to punish the Franks for incursions into Gaul. He first devastated the territory of the Bricteri , near the bank of the Rhine, then the Chamavi, apparently their neighbours. Neither of these tribes confronted him. The Ampsivarii and

5929-569: The Rhine and the Tencteri and Usipetes much further south, near the Black Forest. This document is however suspected of resulting from confused use of primary sources. Sidonius Apollinaris , in his Poems, VII, lists the Bructeri among the allies who crossed the Rhine into Gaul under Attila in 451, leading to the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields . (After them are listed the Franks living along

6050-474: The Rhine could be supplied from the Mediterranean Sea via the Rhône , Saône , and Mosel , with only a brief area of portage. Armies on the Elbe, however, would have to have been supplied by extensive overland routes or by ships travelling the hazardous Atlantic. Economically, the Rhine already had towns and sizable villages at the time of the Gallic conquest. The Rhine was significantly more accessible from Rome and better equipped to supply sizable garrisons than

6171-401: The Roman Empire to a standstill at the peak of its power. During the unification of Germany in the 19th century, Arminius was hailed by German nationalists as a symbol of German unity and freedom. Following World War II , however, Arminius' significance diminished in Germany due to the rise of anti-militarism , pacifism , and anti-nationalism ; the 2,000th anniversary of his victory at

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6292-412: The Roman Empire. The Romans made no further concerted efforts to conquer and permanently hold Germania beyond the Rhine and the Agri Decumates . Numerous modern historians have regarded Arminius' victory as one of the most decisive battles in history, with some calling it "Rome's greatest defeat". In the accounts of his Roman enemies, Arminius is highly regarded for his military leadership and as

6413-435: The Roman general Germanicus in the battles of Pontes Longi , Idistaviso , and the Angrivarian Wall , and deposed a rival, the Marcomanni king Maroboduus . Germanic nobles, afraid of Arminius's growing power, assassinated him in 21. He was remembered in Germanic legends for generations afterwards. The Roman historian Tacitus designated Arminius as the liberator of the Germanic tribes and commended him for having fought

6534-480: The Roman threat, a war broke out between Arminius and Marbod , king of the Marcomanni . It ended with Marbod fleeing to Ravenna and Roman protection, but Arminius failed to break into the "natural fortification" of Bohemia , and the war ended in stalemate. In 19, Germanicus died in Antioch under circumstances which led many to believe he had been poisoned by his opponents. Arminius died two years later in 21, murdered by opponents within his own tribe who felt that he

6655-464: The Romans out of Germany marked a high point of Germanic power for centuries. Roman attempts to reconquer Germania failed, although they did eventually manage to break Arminius' carefully coordinated alliance. After the battle, the Germans quickly annihilated every trace of Roman presence east of the Rhine. Roman settlements such as the Waldgirmes Forum were abandoned. The vastly outnumbered Roman garrison of Aliso (present-day Haltern am See ), under

6776-491: The Saxons. Bede records that around 692, the Saxons conquered the Boructuari . After the Saxons had conquered their homeland, Bructeri were found in Thuringia; their name is preserved in the names Großbrüchter and Kleinbrüchter, in the municipality Helbedündorf . About 738, the Borthari are one of the peoples of Germania addressed in a letter of Pope Gregory III , the others being the Hessians , Thuringians , Nistresi, Wedrecii, Lognai , Suduodi and Graffelti. The letter

6897-441: The State; as an early socialist revolution and as revolutionary terror against the "Roman slaveholder society"( Sklavenhaltergesellschaft ). The legacy of Arminius and his followers was further reinterpreted as symbolic of the allegedly "peace-loving" Warsaw Pact countries, while Imperial Rome was made into a symbol of the capitalist and allegedly Fascistic United States and the NATO military alliance , which were cast as

7018-440: The Teutoburg Forest was only lightly commemorated in Germany. The etymology of the Latin name Arminius is unknown, and confusion is further created by recent scholars who alternately referred to him as Armenus . In his History , Marcus Velleius Paterculus calls him "Arminius, the son of Sigimer, a prince of the nation" and states he "attained the dignity of equestrian rank ". Due to Roman naming conventions of

7139-407: The Weser river, between the towns of Kalefeld and Bad Gandersheim . In the early 19th century, attempts were made to show that the story of Arminius and his victory may have lived on in the Old Norse sagas , in the form of the dragon slayer Sigurd of the Völsunga saga and the Nibelungenlied (Under his Germanic name Siegfried). An Icelandic account states that Sigurd "slew the dragon" in

7260-444: The Younger (died 113) mentioned in a letter (2.7) that in his time "a triumphal Statue was decreed by the Senate to Vestricius Spurinna ", at the notion of the emperor, because he "had brought the King of the Bructeri into his Realm by force of War; and even subdu'd that rugged Nation, by the Sight and Terror of it, the most honourable kind of Victory". The Bructeri eventually disappear from historical records, apparently absorbed into

7381-410: The angels in heaven nor the Son," showing that he spoke these words not of the only-begotten but of the people of adoption. But our end is Christ himself, who will graciously bestow eternal life on us if we turn to him. Gregory's writings make ample references to wine and vineyards . He argued in his writings that wine drinking was defensible when consumed with proper gratitude towards God, but that it

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7502-414: The authority of the bishopric with the congregation and in the context of the Frankish church. Gregory's hagiography was an essential component of this. However, this should not be seen as a selfish grab for power on behalf of the bishops who emerge so triumphantly from the Life of the Fathers , but rather as a bid for hegemony of doctrine and control over the practice of worship, which they believed to be in

7623-458: The barbarian present and past. Ian Wood , noting that the Bricteri of Gregory of Tours are usually considered either a Saxon or Frankish group, suggests that the Boructuari represent a Frankish component in the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain . Gregory also reported that Saint Suitbert tried to convert these Boructuari to Christianity in the late 7th century, when he was bishop of the Frisians, but that during this period they were attacked by

7744-436: The beginnings of the Merovingian dynasty, including King Clovis I 's conversion to Christianity by his wife Clotilde , and ending with his death in 511, after his conquest of large tracts of land in modern-day France. Book Three follows the four sons of Clovis who equally divide his realms after his death in 511. These four kings, Theuderic I , Chlothar I , Childebert I , and Chlodomer , quarrel and fight for supremacy over

7865-407: The best interests of their congregation and the wider church. As an example of Gregory's zeal in his fight against heresy, the Historia Francorum includes a declaration of faith with which Gregory aimed to prove his orthodoxy with respect to the heresies of his time ("so that my reader may have no doubt that I am Catholic for they are"). The confession is in many phrases, each of which refutes

7986-401: The booty captured by Stertinius was the eagle standard of Legio XIX that had been lost at Teutoburg Forest. "The troops were then marched to the furthest frontier of the Bructeri, and all the country between the rivers Amisia and Luppia was ravaged, not far from the forest of Teutoburgium, where the remains of Varus and his legions were said to lie unburied." Scholars consider the Bructeri among

8107-403: The border between the Frankish culture of the Merovingians to the north and the Gallo-Roman culture of the south of Gaul . At Tours, Gregory was well placed to hear and meet people of influence in Merovingian culture. Tours was situated on the Loire , five Roman roads radiated from it, and it was on the main route between the Frankish north and Aquitania , with Spain beyond. At Tours,

8228-488: The capture of Thusnelda and did not marry again. Tacitus recorded that Arminius was "driven to frenzy" by the loss of his beloved wife. Tacitus states in the Annals : Arminius, with his naturally furious temper, was driven to frenzy by the seizure of his wife and the foredooming to slavery of his wife's unborn child. He flew hither and thither among the Cherusci, demanding "war against Segestes, war against Cæsar." And he refrained not from taunts. Thusnelda gave birth to

8349-399: The case and the eloquent praise of Minos. This version influenced later adaptations of the story, and reflected a wide interest in Arminius during the years of the German Reformation ; the name Arminius was interpreted as reflecting the name Hermann by Martin Luther , who saw Arminius as a symbol of his religious followers among the German people and their resistance to the Papacy and

8470-410: The clerical tonsure from Gallus. Having contracted a serious illness, Gregory made a visit of devotion to the tomb of St. Martin at Tours. Upon his recovery, he began to pursue a clerical career and was ordained deacon by Avitus. Upon the death of St. Euphronius , he was chosen as bishop by the clergy and people, who had been charmed with his piety, learning, and humility. Their deputies overtook him at

8591-455: The command of Lucius Nonius Asprenas , were stationed in Moguntiacum . Arminius saw this as the perfect opportunity to defeat Varus. In the autumn of AD 9, the 25-year-old Arminius brought to Varus a false report of rebellion in northern Germany. He persuaded Varus to divert the three legions under his command (composed of the 17th , 18th , and 19th legions , plus three cavalry detachments and six cohorts of auxiliaries), which were at

8712-469: The command of the prefect Lucius Cedicius, inflicted heavy losses on the Germans before retreating into Gaul , resisting long enough for Lucius Nonius Asprenas to organize the Roman defense on the Rhine and Tiberius to arrive with a new army. This prevented Arminius from crossing the Rhine and invading Gaul. At some point after the battle, Arminius married a Germanic princess named Thusnelda . Her father

8833-536: The common face of heresy across Europe, exposed to great ridicule. Often, the scenes which expose the weaknesses of heresy focused on images of fire and burning, whilst the Catholics were proved right by the protection lavished on them by God, in Gregory's view. This was of great relevance to Gregory himself as he presided over the important see of Tours, where extensive use was made of the cult of St. Martin in establishing

8954-510: The court of King Sigebert of Austrasia , and being compelled to acquiesce, though much against his will, Gregory was consecrated by Giles, bishop of Rheims, on 22 August 573, at the age of 34. He spent most of his career at Tours, although he assisted at the council of Paris in 577. The world in which he lived in was on the cusp between the Western culture of late antiquity and the sweeping changes of early-medieval Europe. Gregory lived also on

9075-591: The empire. This proved a difficult task, as the tribes were strongly independent and many were traditionally enemies of each other. Between AD 6 and 9, the Romans were forced to move eight of the eleven legions present in Germania east of the Rhine to crush a rebellion in the Balkans , leaving Varus with only three legions to face the Germans, which was still 18,000 troops, or 6,000 men per legion. An additional two legions, under

9196-537: The events up to 642. Likewise, the fourth Book of Fredegar and its continuations is [ sic ] the only source of any significance for much of the period it covers. Gregory's hagiographies are also a valuable source of anecdotes and stories which enrich modern understanding of life and belief in Merovingian Gaul. The motivation behind his works was to show readers the importance and strength of Christianity, and this bias should always be remembered. Alongside

9317-482: The heretics [note: the Arians] who attack us, asserting that the Son is inferior to the Father since he is ignorant of this day. Let them learn then that Son here is the name applied to the Christian people, of whom God says: "I shall be to them a father and they shall be to me for sons." For if he had spoken these words of the only begotten Son he would never have given the angels first place. For he uses these words: "Not even

9438-404: The king's illness is a just punishment since he is planning to send a great number of bishops into exile. Fredegund gives two poisoned daggers to two clerics and sends them away with the order to assassinate Childebert and Brunehild. However, the two clerics are arrested by Childebert, tortured, and executed. Meanwhile, Fredegund is also behind the assassination of bishop Praetextus of Rouen while he

9559-481: The leading Franks. Gregory wrote in Late Latin , which frequently departed from Classical usage in both syntax and spelling, although with relatively few changes in inflection. Gregory of Tours' history is densely written, with numerous narratives and characters. It contains Christian tales of miracles, descriptions of omens and natural events, stories of Christian martyrs, dialogues of church debates, discussions of

9680-472: The lengthy and complex Vulgate Bible, as well as numerous religious works and historical treatises, which he frequently quoted, particularly in the earlier books of the Historia . The main impression that historians once retained from the Historia focused on Gregory's anecdotes about violence; until recently, historians tended to conclude that Merovingian Gaul was a chaotic, brutal place. Recent scholarship have concluded that Gregory's underlying purpose

9801-463: The lives of holy men, nobility, and eccentric peasants, frequent Bible verses and references, and explorations of the complex international relations between numerous tribes and nations including the Lombards , Visigoths , Ostrogoths and Huns , also Gregory's biography and interpretation of events. Book One begins with a pronouncement by the author that he is a Frankish Catholic clergyman who follows

9922-554: The most dangerous Germanic enemies of Rome. The Bructeri in 69-70 participated in the Batavian rebellion . The best known of the Bructeri was their wise virgin Veleda , the spiritual leader of the Batavi rising, regarded as a goddess. She foretold the success of the Germans against the Roman legions during the Batavian revolt . A Roman Munius Lupercus was sent to offer her gifts but was murdered on

10043-486: The most outstanding poet Venantius Fortunatus in his lifetime, Gregory of Tours is the unique historian from the 6th-century Merovingian world; and his extensive literary output is itself a testimony to the preservation of learning and to the lingering continuity of Gallo-Roman civic culture through the early Middle Ages . Gregory's writings have also provided valuable evidence for music scholars studying Gallican liturgy and Gallican chant . His Decem Libri Historiarum

10164-475: The nature of Christ. In addition, his ridiculing of pagans and Jews reflected how his works were used to spread the Christian faith . For example, in book 2, chapters 28–31, he described the pagans as incestuous and weak and then described the process by which newly converted King Clovis led a much better life than that of a pagan and was healed of all the conundrums he experienced as a pagan. Gregory's education

10285-406: The new evil empire needing to be resisted. According to journalist David Crossland: "The old nationalism has been replaced by an easy-going patriotism that mainly manifests itself at sporting events like the soccer World Cup ." The German Bundesliga football club DSC Arminia Bielefeld is named after Arminius. In the German diaspora , on the other hand, the 2,000-year anniversary of the battle

10406-498: The other hand, states that the Bructeri had been forced from their territory, which he describes as having been north of the Tencteri who were on the Rhine at the time, between Cologne and the Chatti. This was done by the Chamavi and Angrivarii , who neighbored the Bructeri upon their north, along with other neighboring tribes. More than sixty thousand fell in this conflict, which the Romans had been able to observe with satisfaction. Pliny

10527-570: The pagan classics, but rather progressed to mastery of the Vulgate Bible . It is said that he constantly complained about his use of grammar. He did not understand how to correctly write masculine and feminine phrases, reflecting either a lack of ability or changes in the Latin language. Though he had read Virgil , considered the greatest Latin stylist, he cautioned: "We ought not to relate their lying fables, lest we fall under sentence of eternal death." By contrast, he seems to have thoroughly studied

10648-467: The part where the author has much personal knowledge about the events in the Frankish kingdom. This book and the ones after are considerably longer and more detailed than the previous, while covering a shorter amount of time. This book also contains Gregory's impressions of ecclesiastical issues he witnessed and had some bearing on. It describes a possible debate that Gregory had with a rival Arian church leader. Moreover, Book 5 also introduces Childebert II ,

10769-658: The peoples "from whom the Angles and Saxons who now live in Britain derive their origin" the Boructuari (original Latin, Old English Bede Boructuare ). In the same passage Bede also lists the Frisians , Rugians , Danes , Huns and continental Saxons . This name is usually identified with that of the Bructeri. According to Walter Pohl , the mention of these later Boructuari , may be a classical allusion designed to establish continuity between

10890-682: The power of God flowing through them in the way that it did for the fathers. More immediate concerns were at the forefront of his mind as he sought to create a further layer of religious commitment, not only to the Church at Rome, but also to local churches and cathedrals throughout Gaul. Along with his other books (notably the Glory of the Confessors , the Glory of the Martyrs , and the Life of St. Martin ), meticulous attention

11011-460: The powerful Suebi , etc. Only when indirect methods proved insufficient to control the Germanic tribes beyond the Rhine, did Roman emperors occasionally lead devastating punitive campaigns deep into Germania. One of them, led by the Roman emperor Maximinus Thrax , resulted in a Roman victory in 235 at the Battle at the Harzhorn Hill , located in the modern German state of Lower Saxony , east of

11132-416: The preceding generation, taking in a wide range the spiritual community of early medieval Gaul, including lives of bishops, clerics, monks, abbots, holy men, and hermits. He praised St. Illidius for purity of heart, St. Brachio the abbot for discipline and determination in study of the scriptures, St Patroclus for unwavering faith in the face of weakness, and St. Nicetius bishop of Lyon for justice. It

11253-454: The regions beyond. Rome chose no longer to rule directly in Germania east of the Rhine and north of the Danube , instead preferring to exert indirect influence through the tactics of using divide and rule and the appointing of client kings , which were cheaper than military campaigns. Italicus , nephew of Arminius, was appointed king of the Cherusci; Vangio and Sido became vassal princes of

11374-453: The rhetorician but many the rustic speaker". Win further observed: The Historia Francorum is the only source of that period covering the beginning of the Franks in the decaying Roman Empire from around 397 (the death of Martin of Tours) to 590 (the early reign of king Chlothar II). Gregory's chronology of the Franks is continued with the Fourth Book of Fredegar and its continuations for

11495-425: The road. The inhabitants of Cologne , the Ubii , asked for her as an arbiter; "they were not, however, allowed to approach or address Veleda herself. In order to inspire them with more respect they were prevented from seeing her. She dwelt in a lofty tower, and one of her relatives, chosen for the purpose, conveyed, like the messenger of a divinity, the questions and answers." In his Germania , Tacitus reported that

11616-418: The second part of his history, Books V and VI, closes with Chilperic I 's death in 584. During the years that Chilperic held Tours, relations between him and Gregory were tense. After hearing rumours that the bishop of Tours had slandered his wife, Fredegund , Chilperic had Gregory arrested and tried for treason – a charge which threatened both Gregory's bishopric and his life. The most eloquent passage in

11737-525: The son of recently slain Sigibert and of the still-living Brunhilda. Childebert is taken along with Brunhilda under the protection of Gunthram, brother and sometime rival of Chilperic. In Book Six, the young Childebert betrays his alliance with his adoptive uncle Gunthram, who had protected Childebert and his mother after his father Sigibert's death. Now Childebert forms an alliance with his uncle, Chilperic, who had often been an enemy of Sigibert. In 584, Chilperic

11858-536: The spiritual worlds, firmly placing the accounts of the lives in a world which was understandable and recognisable; or, seen from the other angle, confirming the presence of miracles in the temporal world. In 587, Gregory began writing the Book of the Glories of the Martyrs ( Liber in gloria martyrum ), which deals "almost exclusively with the miracles wrought in Gaul by the martyrs of the Roman persecutions". But it also tells

11979-455: The status of equite before returning to Germania. These experiences gave him knowledge of Roman politics and military tactics, which allowed him to successfully anticipate enemy battle maneuvers during his later campaigns against the Roman army. Around the year AD 4, Arminius assumed command of a Cheruscan detachment of Roman auxiliary forces, probably while fighting in the Pannonian wars on

12100-516: The story of one Theodore who made a pilgrimage to India and reported the existence of a large monastery where the body of Thomas the Apostle was first interred and where miracles took place. Gregory's avowed aim in writing this book was to "fire others with that enthusiasm by which the saints deservedly climbed to heaven", though this was not his sole purpose, and he most surely did not expect his entire audience to show promise of such piety as to witness

12221-422: The time marching to winter quarters, to suppress the rebellion. Varus and his legions marched right into the trap that Arminius had set for them near Kalkriese . Arminius' tribe, the Cherusci , and their allies the Marsi , Chatti , Bructeri , Chauci , and Sicambri (five out of at least fifty Germanic tribes at the time) ambushed and annihilated Varus' entire army, totaling over 20,000 men, as it marched along

12342-455: The time, it is likely Arminius is an adopted name granted to him upon citizenship or in any case not his Germanic name . The name instead appears to ultimately be of Etruscan origin, appearing as armne and armni on inscriptions found at Volaterrae . According to another theory, that name was given to Arminius for his service in Armenia. The German translation of Arminius as

12463-407: The two remaining sons of Clovis die: Childebert in 558 and Clothar in 561. The last years of Clothar's life see the entire realm of the Franks ruled by him. At the time of his demise in 561 (as under Clovis before him), the kingdom is divided equally between four sons of Clothar: Charibert I , Sigebert I , Guntram , and Chilperic I ; they quarrel for control of the entire realm. A truce between them

12584-447: The war. Arminius was not the only reason for Rome's change of policy towards Germania. Politics also played a factor; emperors found they could rarely trust a large army to a potential rival, though Augustus had enough loyal family members to wage his wars. Also, Augustus, in his 40-year reign, had annexed many territories still at the beginning of the process of Romanization. Tiberius, who succeeded Augustus in AD 14, decided that Germania

12705-609: The world's first superpowers. Indeed, learning of his victory over the Roman army was especially important to German Renaissance humanists , as the Renaissance only reached the Holy Roman Empire much later than southern Europe and German humanists were widely looked down upon by their Italian colleagues. The first literary adaptation of the Arminius story came in 1520 with Ulrich von Hutten 's Latin dialogue Arminius , which inserts

12826-583: Was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours during the Merovingian period and is known as the "father of French history". He was a prelate in the Merovingian kingdom, encompassing Gaul 's historic region. Gregory's most notable work is the Decem Libri Historiarum ('Ten Books of Histories'), also known as the Historia Francorum ('History of the Franks'). Decem Libri Historiarum

12947-417: Was a far less developed land, possessing few villages and only a small food surplus, and therefore was not currently important to Rome. Conquering Germania would require a commitment too burdensome for the imperial finances and an excessive expenditure of military force. Modern scholars have pointed out that the Rhine was a more practical boundary for the Roman Empire than any other river in Germania. Armies on

13068-470: Was a prominent Nazi academic during World War II . After Tacitus' Annals were rediscovered by Renaissance humanists and first published during the Gutenberg Revolution of the 15th century, Arminius became an important symbol of German national identity , as a figure who successfully opposed colonialism and prevented the Romanization of his people by outgeneraling and defeating one of

13189-404: Was becoming too powerful. Tiberius allegedly had refused an earlier offer from a Chatti nobleman to poison Arminius: "It was not by secret treachery but openly and by arms that the people of Rome avenged themselves on their enemies." Arminius' victory against the Roman legions in the Teutoburg Forest had a far-reaching effect on the subsequent history of both the ancient Germanic peoples and on

13310-526: Was carried by Boniface . In it, Gregory advises the peoples and their princes to accept Boniface's religious authority and to abandon the pagan customs they had rejected at baptism. The Borthari are usually identified with Bede's Boructuari . Under the Carolingians the name of the Bructeri was still being used for a gau in the region near where they had originally lived, the so-called Brukterergau (or Borahtra, Botheresgau, Botheresge, Pagus Boroctra). This

13431-478: Was celebrated in New Ulm, Minnesota , proudly and without restraint. There were mock battles between Romans and club-wielding barbarians and also a lecture series in an auditorium. Fictionalized versions of Arminius or commentary upon his legacy appear in: The Football (Soccer) Team „DSC Arminia Bielefeld“ is named After Arminius Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (born Georgius Florentius ; 30 November c.  538 – 17 November 594 AD)

13552-644: Was especially used as propaganda in Nazi Germany . In 1838, construction was started on a massive statue of Arminius, known as the Hermannsdenkmal , on a hill near Detmold in the Teutoburg Forest; it was finally completed and dedicated during the early years of the Second German Empire in the wake of the German victory over France in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. The monument has been

13673-561: Was however now south of the Lippe, and north of the Ruhr river , in the area classically inhabited by the Sicambri. This area is today the well-known and heavily populated Ruhr region of Germany. Arminius Arminius ( / ɑːr ˈ m ɪ n i ə s / ; 18/17 BC–AD 21) was a chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe who is best known for commanding an alliance of Germanic tribes at

13794-425: Was problematic when consumed solely for pleasure. The History of the Franks by Gregory of Tours is an historical record of great importance. It is a central source for early Frankish history, representing the period of transition from late Roman antiquity to early Medieval times in a nascent Europe. It is believed to be the only reliable source of information to describe the emerging military and political power of

13915-408: Was redeemed, and I believe that humanity, not deity, was subject to the suffering. I believe that he rose again on the third day, that he freed sinful man, that he ascended to heaven, that he sits on the right hand of the Father, that he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe that the holy Spirit proceeded from the Father and the Son, that it is not inferior and is not of later origin, but

14036-482: Was relatively poor in comparison with earlier centuries when writers were educated at secular Roman grammar and rhetoric schools. He was self-aware of this and apologized for his poor Latin in his introduction: Ista etenim atque et his similia iugiter intuens dici, pro commemoratione praeteritorum, ut notitiam adtingerint venientum, etsi incultu effatu, nequivi tamen obtegere vel certamena flagitiosorum vel vitam recte viventium; et praesertim his inlicitus stimulis, quod

14157-425: Was the Cheruscan prince Segestes , who was pro-Roman. But Arminius abducted and then impregnated Thusnelda circa AD 14. This elopement was likely a result of a dispute between Arminius and Segestes who was against their relationship. In May of 15 the Roman general Germanicus captured Thusnelda. At the point of her capture she was pregnant and living with her father, who had taken her back. Arminius deeply grieved

14278-399: Was the standard Latin one of Late Antiquity , focusing on Virgil 's Aeneid and Martianus Capella 's Liber de Nuptiis Mercurii et Philologiae , but also other key texts such as Orosius 's Chronicles , which his Historia continues, and Sallust ; he referred to all these works in his own. His education, as was typical for the time, did not extend to a broad acquaintance with

14399-415: Was the weight of episcopal responsibility. He surmounted the others in the glory of his miracles and was chosen by God to have the entire succession of past and future Frankish kings revealed to him. A further aspect of this work is the appearance of Gregory himself in certain sections, notably in the life of St. Leobardus. This is for two reasons: Firstly, it created a distinct link between the temporal and

14520-466: Was to highlight the vanity of secular life and contrast it with the miracles of the saints. Though Gregory conveys political and other messages through the Historia , and these are studied very closely, historians now generally agree that this contrast itself is the central and ever-present narrative device. His Life of the Fathers comprises twenty hagiographies of the most prominent religious men of

14641-488: Was written in 594, the year of Gregory's death. Readers of the Historia Francorum may find that one royal Frankish house is more generously treated than others. Gregory was also a Catholic bishop, and his writing reveals views typical of someone in his position. His views on perceived dangers of Arianism , still strong among the Visigoths , led him to preface the Historia with a detailed expression of his orthodoxy on

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