Germany Rises - The Wise World Traveler: Becoming a Part of All that You Meet - page 109

ern Europe. In 12 BCE Roman legions conquered their territory north of the Alps and east
of the Rhine River. But successive revolts of Teutonic (German) tribes cost the legions
dearly. In 14 CE a Roman general, Germanicus (who celebrated his victories by appropri-
ating the name of his foes), led three campaigns into the German forests. A hundred years
later, under the Emperor Hadrian, Rome secured a triangle that ran from the Rhine to the
Danube. Fortifications secured the triangle, but the rest of Germania was beyond Rome's
control. Within the boundaries of the triangle (the limes) is the city of Trier, on the banks
of the Moselle River. Founded by the Romans in 15 BCE, its city gate (the Porta Nigra)
served as the entry to Rome's fortified city.
By the beginning of the fifth century CE, the Roman Empire was in severe crisis. As
the empire staggered and then collapsed, Germanic invasions grew bolder and more suc-
cessful. Visigoths and Vandals moved swiftly across frontiers that had been badly over-
stretched and were rapidly weakening. The fifth century was the time of the wandering
Germanic tribes ( Volkerwanderung ). On the North Sea coast were Jutes, Angles, and Sax-
ons, who flooded what remained of Roman Britain and left an enduring linguistic stamp
(and a name, England) on the British Isles. East of the Elbe River were the Swabians, Van-
dals, Alans, and Goths. In the North were genetic relatives, the Scandinavians. Their des-
cendants were Vikings, who later came crashing into Europe in the eighth century.
Much of what we know about the German tribes comes from the Roman writer Tacitus
(56-120 CE). In addition to their territorial restlessness and ferocity as warriors, the tribes
were organized in clans, made collective decisions through an assembly of warriors, and
worshipped Odin (Wodin), the god of war and protector of heroes who presides over their
feasting and roistering in Walhalla. Freyja is goddess of love, wealth, and fertility. Thor is
the god of thunder and rain (he assures good crops), but he is also the god of war, using his
hammer to crush the skulls of those who oppose him. And among the many other gods is
Sigurd, whose magic cloak grants the wearer invisibility.
NATIONAL BEGINNINGS: TRACING THE RIVER OF HISTORY
In the year 9 CE, three Roman legions were annihilated by German warriors in the Teuto-
burg forest. Rome decided against further incursions into German territory and stabilized
its frontier posts on the Rhine and Danube rivers.
In 800 CE Charlemagne was crowned and anointed Holy Roman Emperor by Pope
Leo III and laid claim to the inheritance of the now defunct western Roman Empire. He
ruled the territory of Roman Gaul (by this time, home of the Franks) and asserted his au-
thority over Bavaria and Saxony. On his death, his kingdom was divided; German lands
were inherited by his son, Otto. In 846 CE Clovis, King of the Franks, extended his rule
into what is now western Germany.