Teutons

This article is about the tribe of the Teutons. The term "Teutons" has also been used to refer to the Germanic peoples summarily, as with the Teutonic Knights.

The Roman empire under Hadrian (ruled 117-138), showing the location of the Teutones Germanic tribe, in their original home in the northern part of the Jutland peninsula

The migrations of the Teutons and the Cimbri.
Cimbri and Teuton defeats.
Cimbri and Teuton victories.

"The Women of the Teutons Defend the Wagon Fort (1882) by Heinrich Leutemann

The Teutons or Teutones were a Germanic tribe mentioned by Greek and Roman authors, notably Strabo and Marcus Velleius Paterculus. According to a map by Ptolemy, they originally lived in Jutland, which is in agreement with Pomponius Mela, who placed them in Scandinavia (Codanonia).

History

In the late 2nd century BC, many of the Teutons, under their leader Teutobod as well as the Cimbri, migrated from their original homes in southern Scandinavia and on the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, south and west to the Danube valley, where they encountered the expanding Roman Republic. The Teutons and Cimbri were recorded as passing west through Gaul before attacking Roman Italy. After decisive victories over the Romans at Noreia and Arausio in 105 BC, the Cimbri and Teutons divided forces and were then defeated separately by Gaius Marius in 102 BC and 101 BC respectively, ending the Cimbrian War. The Teutons' defeat was at the Battle of Aquae Sextiae (near present-day Aix-en-Provence). Some of the surviving captives were reported to have been among the rebelling Gladiators in the Third Servile War.

The racial affinities of the Teutons are a matter of dispute amongst historians. Their name is Celtic in form and many writers believe that the Teutons were really Celts, stemming from a branch of the Helvetii. However, a people of this name are mentioned by the early traveller Pytheas, as inhabitants of the northern ocean coasts. Strabo and Marcus Velleius Paterculus, moreover, classify them as Germanic peoples, and this is perhaps a more probable view, although the distinction between Celts and Teutons is not clearly realized by some earlier historians. If the Teutons really came from the same quarter as the Cimbri, it is possible that their name may have been preserved in the Thyland or Thythsyssel regions, found in the extreme north-west of Jutland.

Mass suicide of Teuton women

According to the writings of Valerius Maximus and Florus, the Teuton King, Teutobod, was taken in irons after the Teutons were defeated by the Romans. Under the conditions of the surrender, three hundred married women were to be handed over as Roman slaves. When the Teuton matrons heard of this stipulation, they begged the consul that they might instead be allowed to minister in the temples of Ceres and Venus. When their request was denied, the Teutonic women slew their own children. The next morning, all the women were found dead in each other's arms, having strangled each other during the night. This act passed into Roman legends of Germanic heroism.

See also

• Theodisca
• Furor Teutonicus
• Teutonic
• List of Germanic peoples

References

• Fick, August, Alf Torp and Hjalmar Falk: Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der Indogermanischen Sprachen. Part 3, Wortschatz der Germanischen Spracheinheit. 4. Aufl. (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht), 1909.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Teutoni". Encyclopædia Britannica 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 673. 

External links

•  Beach, Chandler B., ed. (1914). "Teutones". The New Student's Reference Work. Chicago: F. E. Compton and Co.