Die Stämme (The Tribes)

2. Die Stämme (The Tribes) • Origin traced back as far as 2000 B.C. in Scandinavia • Started moving southward sometime during the 1st Millenium B.C. (ca. 1000 B.C.) • Mainly followed rivers and would settle near them. • Consisted of: Alemanni, Suevi, Franks, Saxons, Thuringians, Goths (divided into Visigoths and Ostrogoths), Vandals, Markommani

4. Die Römer und die Deutsche • 12 B.C.-- Rome decided to conquer Germania between the Rhine and Elbe Rivers to establish a new northern and eastern boundary. • 9 A.D.– Germanic prince Armenius defeated the Roman forces in the Teutoberg Forest. • Roman Empire’s boundaries stayed at the Rhine-Danube frontier, although they did extend slightly into them, along 300 miles of fortifications called the limes. • “Romanized” areas in the South and West were more “civilized” than the “barbaric” North and East.

5. Germanic Culture • Tribal culture: basic unit was the clan. • Nomadic culture; built some walled fortifications • Hunted, some stock farming; no economic structure • Land was communally owned and work divided equally among families • Cultural life centered on feuds, plunder, massacring enemies, even human sacrifice

6. Germanic Culture Continued… • “Das Ding”—an assembly of freemen; elected king/duke (“Herzog”), acted as a court of justice. • No written law • Polytheistic • Personal loyalty (Treue) took precedence over bonds of kinship and the tribe.

7. Karl der Große (Charlemagne, aka Charles the Great) • Crowned “Emperor ever august of the Romans” by the pope on Christmas Day, 800 A.D. • Forged an alliance with papacy in Rome • Facilitated educational and religious reform • Described as tall, dynamic, cruel, courageous, a victorious warrior; provided a short-lived period of peace and justice. • Ordered that his empire should be divided among his three sons. (Treaty of Verdun, 843)

8. 919 – 1125 Saxon and Salian Dynasties • 1st German Empire (Reich) began with election of Conrad I as the first German king. • Otto I: 936-973 (Beginning of Saxon Dynasty), crowned in Rome in 962; gave successive German rulers the title of “Emperor”, unifying the German monarchy and Roman Empire • From 962-1056, papacy was dominated by the German rulers. • Lateran decree of 1059 declared that the pope was to be elected by the College of Cardinals, not by the emperor. Caused excommunication of Henry IV (1056-1106).

9. Hohenstaufen Dynasty1138-1250 • Emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa or “Red Beard”) dealt successfully with the political turmoil of his time. • During Barbarossa’s reign, the term “Holy Roman Empire” first came into use. • Established Germany as a feudal monarchy. • Time period considered a “golden age.” • Under the reign of Frederick II, princes were given more power in their territories, which ensured six centuries of division in Germany.

10. Hapsburg DynastyRulers in Austria • 1273 the ruling house was established • Charles IV (1346-1378) laid the constitutional foundations of the Holy Roman Empire until it dissolved in 1806. • From 1438 on, the office of emperor was a hereditary monarchy in the hands of the Hapsburg family. • The power of the Emperor became constantly weaker as the princes of the smaller territories/states demanded more power. • The Reich, the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, continued to protect the smaller states from foreign threats, and the imperial idea lived on until Napoleon’s dissolution in 1806.

11. Cities and Craft Guilds • Cities began as isolated settlements. • No roots in German culture • In the west and along the Roman frontier, some cities had roots in Roman history, e.g. Köln, Augsburg, Regensburg. • Emperors would travel to different places and stay in wooden structures with earthen ramparts. • Stone architecture was begun in Charlemagne’s time. • Feudal lords began to fortify permanent residences, situating them on hills or mountains—the first fortresses, or “Burgs.” • Towns formed around the castles as can be seen in some German city names: e.g. Augsburg, Regensburg, Magdeburg, etc.

12. Cities and Craft Guilds Continued… • German word for city: Stadt; simply meant a marketplace, a location where some activity takes place. Does not stem from the Latin civitas, which refers to a group of people living under the same laws, citizenship. • German cities developed under purely economic lines. • To evolve into modern cities, they needed to be freed from control of the lord/bishop; they needed to develop city councils. • Tradesmen became very important: handicrafts, industry, and banking were of great importance. • Later Craft Guilds—made up of tradesmen—took over the city councils. (14th century) • The Guilds created the models for good government later imitated by the territorial states.

13. Origins of Capitalism • Social and psychological atmosphere encouraged materialistic values and the rise of capitalism • German capitalism was more modern that that of Italy because the middle class sought to make money and increase production as ends in themselves—as opposed to doing it to attain power or fame, as was done by the Italian princes. • Mining (silver) and banking expanded considerably • Silver became the medium of exchange (currency) • The German emperor was dependent on the princes for financial support and often had to rely on bankers. Some emperors had to go into hiding or were kept as prisoners in towns because of their financial problems. • Banking became powerful enough to influence politics. • Although social mobility existed, rank was still valued highly. • Population growth and inflation undermined any possible economic improvement.

14. Middle Ages • Beginnings of Renaissance thinking • First universities established starting in 1348 (University of Prague), followed by Vienna, Erfurt, Heidelberg (1386), Cologne , and Leipzig (1410). • Intellectual life was the province of the middle class; they, however, had no interest in politics and society. • Contributed to a narrow-minded view, or an interest in utopian ideas that has impacted even the present day. (Think about what happened during WWII.) • Major crisis 1: Bubonic Plague. Wiped out 2/5 of the European population; inspired an obsession with death, encouraged a deep pessimism. • Major crisis 2: The Great Schism—created a disastrous division in the church when three claimants contended for the papal throne. This and other issues in the church led to the postponement of important religious reforms and led to the Reformation.

15. Germany, A Reference Guide From the Renaissance to the Present by Joseph A. Biesinger • Slide 3 map: http://www.rollintl.com/roll/germanics.htm • Slide 4 picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Ancient_Germanic_culture • Slide 7 picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne