Arminius
Encyclopedia
Arminius also known as Armin or Hermann (Arminius being a Latinization, similar to Brennus
) was a chieftain of the Germanic
Cherusci
who defeated a Roman army
in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
. Arminius's influence held an allied coalition of Germanic tribes together in opposition to the Romans but after defeats by the Roman general Germanicus
, nephew of the Emperor Tiberius
, his influence waned and Arminius was assassinated on the orders of rival Germanic chiefs. Arminius's 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 the Roman Empire. The Romans were to make no more concerted attempts to conquer and permanently hold Germania beyond the river Rhine.
and the status of equestrian
(petty noble) before returning to Germania and driving the Romans out.
"Arminius" is probably a Latin
ized variant of the Proto-Germanic *erminaz (Irmin
) meaning "great" (cf. Herminones). During the Reformation
but especially during 19th century German
nationalism, Arminius was used as a symbol of the "German" people and their fight against Rome. It is during this period that the name "Hermann" (meaning "army man" or "warrior") came into use as the German equivalent of Arminius; the religious reformer Martin Luther
is thought to have been the first to equate the two names.
and Main rivers, and now sought to extend its hegemony eastward towards the Weser and Elbe
rivers, under Publius Quinctilius Varus
, a high-ranking administrative official appointed by Augustus
as governor. Arminius soon began plotting to unite various Germanic tribes and to thwart Roman efforts to incorporate their territories into the empire.
In the fall of 9 AD, in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
, Arminius — then 25 years old — and his alliance of Germanic tribes (Cherusci
, Marsi
, Chatti
, Bructeri
, Chauci
and Sicambri
) ambushed and annihilated a Roman army (comprising the 17th
, 18th
and 19th
legions
as well as three cavalry
detachments and six cohort
s of auxiliaries) totalling around 20,000 men commanded by Varus. Recent archaeological finds say that the long-debated precise location of the three-day battle is almost certainly near Kalkriese
Hill, about 20 km north of Osnabrück
. When defeat was certain, Varus committed suicide by falling upon his sword.
launched some punitive operations into Germany, defeating Arminius two times: in the Battle of the Weser River
and later near the to so-called Wall of the Angrivarii
. Roman troops also managed to recover 2 of the 3 legionary eagles lost in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. However, Tiberius denied Germanicus' request to launch a campaign after the end of operations, as he wished that the frontier with Germania be drawn at the Rhine river. Instead, he accorded Germanicus the honor of a triumph. The third eagle was recovered later under Emperor Claudius.
Thereafter, war broke out between Arminius and Marbod, king of the Marcomanni
. The war ended with Marbod fleeing at Ravenna
under Roman protection, but Arminius did not succeed in breaking into the "natural fortification" that Bohemia is. Consequently, the war ended in stalemate. Arminius also faced serious difficulties at home from the family of his wife and other pro-Roman leaders.
In 19 AD, Germanicus suddenly died in Antioch
, under circumstances which led many to believe he had been murdered by his opponents; Arminius suffered this fate two years later, at the hands of opponents within his own tribe, who felt he was becoming too powerful. Tiberius had purportedly refused an earlier offer from a Chatti nobleman to poison Arminius, declaring that Rome did not employ such dishonorable methods.
by German historians, who wrote in his Annales II, 88:
Arminius was not the sole reason for Rome's change of policy towards Germania. Politics also played a factor; the Emperors could rarely entrust a large army to a potential rival, although Augustus had enough family members to wage his wars; another problem was that Augustus, in 30 years of his reign, had annexed many territories still at the beginning of the process of Romanization.
Tiberius, successor of Augustus, established that Germania was far less developed land, possessed few villages, had little food surplus, and was not currently relevant to the Roman cause. It would require a commitment too burdensome for the imperial finances and for excessive expenditure of military force for a new achievement.
More recently, scholars have pointed out reasons why the Rhine was a much more practical boundary for the Roman Empire than any river in Germania. Logistically, armies on the Rhine could be supplied from the Mediterranean sea
via the Rhine and Mosel
, with a brief stretch of portage. Armies on the Elbe
, on the other hand, would have to have been supplied either by extensive overland routes or ships travelling the hazardous Atlantic seas. Economically, the Rhine was already supporting towns and sizable villages at the time of the Gallic conquest. Thus the Rhine was both significantly more accessible from Rome and better equipped to supply sizeable garrisons than the regions beyond.
Rome would try to control Germania by appointing client kings, which was cheaper than military campaigns.
Rome chose to no longer rule directly in Germania east of the Rhine and north of the Danube
; Rome preferred to exert indirect influence through client kings, so Italicus, nephew of Arminius, was appointed king of the Cherusci; Vangio and Sido became vassal
princes of the powerful Suebi
, etc.
sagas
, in the form of the dragon slayer Sigurd
of the Völsunga saga
and the Nibelungenlied
. An Icelandic account
states that Sigurd "slew the dragon" in 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's legions on their way to their doom in the Teutoburg Forest. Also one of the foremost Scandinavian scholars of the 19th century, Guðbrandur Vigfússon
, states the identity of Arminius with Sigurd. This educated guess was also picked up by Otto Höfler
, who was a prominent National Socialist academic in World War II, and whose views remained pronouncedly racist during his postwar tenure in Vienna.
, and he became an emblem of the revival of German nationalism
fueled by the wars of Napoleon in the 19th century.
Another theory regarding Arminius' Latin name is that it is based on the Latin word armenium a vivid blue, ultramarine
pigment made from a stone. Thus, Arminius would have been called "blue eyes," and his brother Flavus "blondie" – as references to the stereotype physical features which the Romans assigned to their Germanic neighbors. In that case, the theory goes, "Arminius" does not necessarily have anything to do with the word and god-name "irmin", and his Germanic name could thus have been anything—Siegfried, for instance. Proponents of that theory argue that his father, too, (Segimerus, the modern form of which is "Siegmar") also bore a name with the stem "sieg," or "victorious".
In 1808, Heinrich von Kleist
's published but unperformed play Die Hermannsschlacht, unperformable after Napoleon's victory at Wagram
, aroused anti-Napoleonic German sentiment and pride among its readers.
The play has been revived repeatedly at moments propitious for raw expressions of National Romanticism and was especially popular during the Third Reich.
In 1839, 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 a major tourist attraction ever since, as has The Hermann Heights Monument, a similar statue erected in the United States
in 1897.
The Hermann Heights monument was erected by the Sons of Hermann
, a fraternal organization formed by German American
s in New York City in 1840 and named for Hermann the Cheruscan that during the nineteenth century flourished in American cities with large populations of German origin. Hermann, Missouri
, a town on the Missouri River founded in the 1830s and incorporated in 1845, was also named for Arminius.
The German Bundesliga football-club DSC Arminia Bielefeld is named after Arminius.
includes a description of Arminius's campaigns, where he is called "Hermann".
In 1945 by Newt Gingrich
and William R. Forstchen
, an alternate history novel
describing a world in which Nazi Germany
did not declare war on the United States
in December, 1941, Operation Arminius is the code name
for the German plan for the invasion of the United States
.
Harry Turtledove
's 2009 historical novel
Give Me Back My Legions is a fictional retelling of Arminius' story, from the points-of-view of Arminius himself, various Germans, and Varus and the Romans.
Irish
Black metal
band Primordial
recently referred to Arminius in a song off their To The Nameless Dead
album named "Heathen Tribes" with the line "Arminius stood tall in Teutoborg" in relation to the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest.
Brennus
Brennus is the name of two Gaulish chieftains famous in ancient history:* Brennus , chieftain of the Senones, a Gallic tribe originating from the modern areas of France known as Seine-et-Marne, Loiret, and Yonne; in 387 BC, in the Battle of the Allia, he led an army of Cisalpine Gauls in their...
) was a chieftain of the Germanic
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
Cherusci
Cherusci
The Cherusci were a Germanic tribe that inhabited parts of the northern Rhine valley and the plains and forests of northwestern Germany, in the area between present-day Osnabrück and Hanover, during the 1st century BC and 1st century AD...
who defeated a Roman army
Roman army
The Roman army is the generic term for the terrestrial armed forces deployed by the kingdom of Rome , the Roman Republic , the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine empire...
in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest took place in 9 CE, when an alliance of Germanic tribes led by Arminius of the Cherusci ambushed and decisively destroyed three Roman legions, along with their auxiliaries, led by Publius Quinctilius Varus.Despite numerous successful campaigns and raids by the...
. Arminius's influence held an allied coalition of Germanic tribes together in opposition to the Romans but after defeats by the Roman general Germanicus
Germanicus
Germanicus Julius Caesar , commonly known as Germanicus, was a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and a prominent general of the early Roman Empire. He was born in Rome, Italia, and was named either Nero Claudius Drusus after his father or Tiberius Claudius Nero after his uncle...
, nephew of the Emperor Tiberius
Tiberius
Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
, his influence waned and Arminius was assassinated on the orders of rival Germanic chiefs. Arminius's victory against the Roman legions in the Teutoburg forest had a far-reaching effect on the subsequent history of both the ancient Germanic peoples
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
and on the Roman Empire. The Romans were to make no more concerted attempts to conquer and permanently hold Germania beyond the river Rhine.
Biography
Born in 18 or 17 BC as son of the Cheruscan chief Segimerus, Arminius was trained as a Roman military commander and attained Roman citizenshipRoman citizenship
Citizenship in ancient Rome was a privileged political and legal status afforded to certain free-born individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance....
and the status of equestrian
Equestrian (Roman)
The Roman equestrian order constituted the lower of the two aristocratic classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the patricians , a hereditary caste that monopolised political power during the regal era and during the early Republic . A member of the equestrian order was known as an eques...
(petty noble) before returning to Germania and driving the Romans out.
"Arminius" is probably a Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
ized variant of the Proto-Germanic *erminaz (Irmin
Irmin
Irmin may be*Old Saxon irmin "strong, whole", maybe also "strong, tall, exalted" , from Proto-Germanic *erminaz, *ermenaz or *ermunaz, in personal names *An alleged Germanic deity in some currents...
) meaning "great" (cf. Herminones). During the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
but especially during 19th century German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
nationalism, Arminius was used as a symbol of the "German" people and their fight against Rome. It is during this period that the name "Hermann" (meaning "army man" or "warrior") came into use as the German equivalent of Arminius; the religious reformer Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
is thought to have been the first to equate the two names.
Battle at the Teutoburg Forest
Around the year 4 AD, Arminius assumed command of a Cheruscan detachment of Roman auxiliary forces, probably fighting in the Pannonian wars on the Balkan peninsula. He returned to northern Germania in 7/8 AD, where the Roman Empire had established secure control of the territories just east of the Rhine, along the LippeLippe
Lippe is a Kreis in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe....
and Main rivers, and now sought to extend its hegemony eastward towards the Weser and Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
rivers, under Publius Quinctilius Varus
Publius Quinctilius Varus
Publius Quinctilius Varus was a Roman politician and general under Emperor Augustus, mainly remembered for having lost three Roman legions and his own life when attacked by Germanic leader Arminius in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest.-Life:His paternal grandfather was senator Sextus Quinctilius...
, a high-ranking administrative official appointed by Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
as governor. Arminius soon began plotting to unite various Germanic tribes and to thwart Roman efforts to incorporate their territories into the empire.
In the fall of 9 AD, in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest took place in 9 CE, when an alliance of Germanic tribes led by Arminius of the Cherusci ambushed and decisively destroyed three Roman legions, along with their auxiliaries, led by Publius Quinctilius Varus.Despite numerous successful campaigns and raids by the...
, Arminius — then 25 years old — and his alliance of Germanic tribes (Cherusci
Cherusci
The Cherusci were a Germanic tribe that inhabited parts of the northern Rhine valley and the plains and forests of northwestern Germany, in the area between present-day Osnabrück and Hanover, during the 1st century BC and 1st century AD...
, Marsi
Marsi (Germanic)
The Marsi were a small Germanic tribe settled between the Rhine, Rur and Lippe rivers in northwest Germany.Tacitus mentions them repeatedly, in particular in the context of the wars of Germanicus. They had been part of the tribal coalition of the Cheruscian war leader Arminius that in 9 AD...
, Chatti
Chatti
The Chatti were an ancient Germanic tribe whose homeland was near the upper Weser. They settled in central and northern Hesse and southern Lower Saxony, along the upper reaches of the Weser River and in the valleys and mountains of the Eder, Fulda and Weser River regions, a district approximately...
, Bructeri
Bructeri
The Bructeri were a Germanic tribe located in northwestern Germany , between the Lippe and Ems rivers south of the Teutoburg Forest, in present-day North Rhine-Westphalia around 100 BC through 350 AD....
, Chauci
Chauci
The Chauci were an ancient Germanic tribe living in the low-lying region between the Rivers Ems and Elbe, on both sides of the Weser and ranging as far inland as the upper Weser. Along the coast they lived on artificial hills called terpen, built high enough to remain dry during the highest tide...
and Sicambri
Sicambri
The Sicambri were a Germanic people living on the right bank of the Rhine river, near where it passes out of Germany and enters what is now called the Netherlands at the turn of the first millennium....
) ambushed and annihilated a Roman army (comprising the 17th
Legio XVII
Legio septima decima was a Roman legion levied by Augustus around 41 BC. The legion was destroyed in the Battle of Teutoburg Forest...
, 18th
Legio XVIII
Legio duodevigesima was a Roman legion levied by the future Augustus around 41 BC. The legion was, along with two others, destroyed in the Battle of Teutoburg Forest...
and 19th
Legio XIX
Legio undevigesima was a Roman legion levied in 41 or 40 BC by Augustus. It was destroyed in 9 in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest...
legions
Roman legion
A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
as well as three cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
detachments and six cohort
Cohort (military unit)
A cohort was the basic tactical unit of a Roman legion following the reforms of Gaius Marius in 107 BC.-Legionary cohort:...
s of auxiliaries) totalling around 20,000 men commanded by Varus. Recent archaeological finds say that the long-debated precise location of the three-day battle is almost certainly near Kalkriese
Kalkriese
Kalkriese is a 157-m high hill in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is hard to pass along Kalkriese's northern slope because one has to cross many deep brooks and rivulets. To the north of the Kalkriese is a large wetland, which stretches north for a large distance. It is a presumed archaeological site of...
Hill, about 20 km north of Osnabrück
Osnabrück
Osnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due west of Hanover. It lies in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest...
. When defeat was certain, Varus committed suicide by falling upon his sword.
Roman retaliation, inter-tribal conflicts and death
In 14-16 AD GermanicusGermanicus
Germanicus Julius Caesar , commonly known as Germanicus, was a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and a prominent general of the early Roman Empire. He was born in Rome, Italia, and was named either Nero Claudius Drusus after his father or Tiberius Claudius Nero after his uncle...
launched some punitive operations into Germany, defeating Arminius two times: in the Battle of the Weser River
Battle of the Weser River
The Battle of the Weser River, sometimes known as a first Battle of Minden, was fought in 16 AD between Roman legions commanded by Emperor Tiberius' heir and adopted son Germanicus, and an alliance of Germanic tribes commanded by Arminius...
and later near the to so-called Wall of the Angrivarii
Angrivarii
The Angrivarii were a Germanic tribe of the early Roman Empire mentioned briefly in Ptolemy as the Angriouarroi , which transliterates into Latin Angrivari. They are believed to be the source of the 8th century identity, Angrarii, which was one of three subdivisions of Saxony...
. Roman troops also managed to recover 2 of the 3 legionary eagles lost in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. However, Tiberius denied Germanicus' request to launch a campaign after the end of operations, as he wished that the frontier with Germania be drawn at the Rhine river. Instead, he accorded Germanicus the honor of a triumph. The third eagle was recovered later under Emperor Claudius.
Thereafter, war broke out between Arminius and Marbod, king of the Marcomanni
Marcomanni
The Marcomanni were a Germanic tribe, probably related to the Buri, Suebi or Suevi.-Origin:Scholars believe their name derives possibly from Proto-Germanic forms of "march" and "men"....
. The war ended with Marbod fleeing at Ravenna
Ravenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
under Roman protection, but Arminius did not succeed in breaking into the "natural fortification" that Bohemia is. Consequently, the war ended in stalemate. Arminius also faced serious difficulties at home from the family of his wife and other pro-Roman leaders.
In 19 AD, Germanicus suddenly died in Antioch
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...
, under circumstances which led many to believe he had been murdered by his opponents; Arminius suffered this fate two years later, at the hands of opponents within his own tribe, who felt he was becoming too powerful. Tiberius had purportedly refused an earlier offer from a Chatti nobleman to poison Arminius, declaring that Rome did not employ such dishonorable methods.
Rome
In the accounts of his Roman enemies he is highly respected for his military leadership skills and as a defender of the liberty of his people. Based on these records, the story of Arminius was revived in the sixteenth century with the recovery of the histories of TacitusTacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
by German historians, who wrote in his Annales II, 88:
Arminius was not the sole reason for Rome's change of policy towards Germania. Politics also played a factor; the Emperors could rarely entrust a large army to a potential rival, although Augustus had enough family members to wage his wars; another problem was that Augustus, in 30 years of his reign, had annexed many territories still at the beginning of the process of Romanization.
Tiberius, successor of Augustus, established that Germania was far less developed land, possessed few villages, had little food surplus, and was not currently relevant to the Roman cause. It would require a commitment too burdensome for the imperial finances and for excessive expenditure of military force for a new achievement.
More recently, scholars have pointed out reasons why the Rhine was a much more practical boundary for the Roman Empire than any river in Germania. Logistically, armies on the Rhine could be supplied from the Mediterranean sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
via the Rhine and Mosel
Mosel
Mosel may mean the following:* Moselle , a European river, named Mosel in German* Mosel , a German appellation, formerly known as Mosel-Saar-Ruwer** Mosel wine, wine produced in the region...
, with a brief stretch of portage. Armies on the Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
, on the other hand, would have to have been supplied either by extensive overland routes or ships travelling the hazardous Atlantic seas. Economically, the Rhine was already supporting towns and sizable villages at the time of the Gallic conquest. Thus the Rhine was both significantly more accessible from Rome and better equipped to supply sizeable garrisons than the regions beyond.
Rome would try to control Germania by appointing client kings, which was cheaper than military campaigns.
Rome chose to no longer rule directly in Germania east of the Rhine and north of the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
; Rome preferred to exert indirect influence through client kings, so Italicus, nephew of Arminius, was appointed king of the Cherusci; Vangio and Sido became vassal
Vassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
princes of the powerful Suebi
Suebi
The Suebi or Suevi were a group of Germanic peoples who were first mentioned by Julius Caesar in connection with Ariovistus' campaign, c...
, etc.
Old Norse sagas
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 NorseOld Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
sagas
Sagàs
Sagàs is a small town and municipality located in Catalonia, in the comarca of Berguedà. It is located in the geographical area of the pre-Pyrenees.-Population:...
, in the form of the dragon slayer Sigurd
Sigurd
Sigurd is a legendary hero of Norse mythology, as well as the central character in the Völsunga saga. The earliest extant representations for his legend come in pictorial form from seven runestones in Sweden and most notably the Ramsund carving Sigurd (Old Norse: Sigurðr) is a legendary hero of...
of the Völsunga saga
Volsunga saga
The Völsungasaga is a legendary saga, a late 13th century Icelandic prose rendition of the origin and decline of the Völsung clan . It is largely based on epic poetry...
and the Nibelungenlied
Nibelungenlied
The Nibelungenlied, translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem in Middle High German. The story tells of dragon-slayer Siegfried at the court of the Burgundians, how he was murdered, and of his wife Kriemhild's revenge....
. An Icelandic account
states that Sigurd "slew the dragon" in the Gnitaheidr—today the suburb Knetterheide of the city of Bad Salzuflen
Bad Salzuflen
Bad Salzuflen is a town in the Lippe district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. At the end of 2006 it had 54415 inhabitants.-Details:Bad Salzuflen is a spa town and is known for its saltwater springs and thermal baths. In former times the town profited from the salt trade...
, located at a strategic site on the Werre
Werre
The Werre is a river in the Detmold region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, left tributary of the Weser. Its source is near Horn-Bad Meinberg. The Werre flows generally north through the towns Detmold, Lage, Bad Salzuflen, Herford and Löhne. It flows into the Weser close to Bad Oeynhausen. The...
river which could very well have been the point of departure of Varus's legions on their way to their doom in the Teutoburg Forest. Also one of the foremost Scandinavian scholars of the 19th century, Guðbrandur Vigfússon
Guðbrandur Vigfússon
Guðbrandur Vigfússon, known in English as Gudbrand Vigfusson, was one of the foremost Scandinavian scholars of the 19th century.-Life:He was born of an Icelandic family in Breiðafjörður...
, states the identity of Arminius with Sigurd. This educated guess was also picked up by Otto Höfler
Otto Höfler
Otto Höfler was an Austrian scholar of German studies. He was a student of Rudolf Much, and adopted Much's "Germanic Continuity Theory," which argued for continuity of ancient Germanic culture into present-day German folklore...
, who was a prominent National Socialist academic in World War II, and whose views remained pronouncedly racist during his postwar tenure in Vienna.
Martin Luther
In Germany, he was rechristened "Hermann" by Martin LutherMartin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
, and he became an emblem of the revival of German nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
fueled by the wars of Napoleon in the 19th century.
Another theory regarding Arminius' Latin name is that it is based on the Latin word armenium a vivid blue, ultramarine
Ultramarine
Ultramarine is a blue pigment consisting primarily of a double silicate of aluminium and sodium with some sulfides or sulfates, and occurring in nature as a proximate component of lapis lazuli...
pigment made from a stone. Thus, Arminius would have been called "blue eyes," and his brother Flavus "blondie" – as references to the stereotype physical features which the Romans assigned to their Germanic neighbors. In that case, the theory goes, "Arminius" does not necessarily have anything to do with the word and god-name "irmin", and his Germanic name could thus have been anything—Siegfried, for instance. Proponents of that theory argue that his father, too, (Segimerus, the modern form of which is "Siegmar") also bore a name with the stem "sieg," or "victorious".
German nationalism
Heinrich von Kleist
Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist was a poet, dramatist, novelist and short story writer. The Kleist Prize, a prestigious prize for German literature, is named after him.- Life :...
's published but unperformed play Die Hermannsschlacht, unperformable after Napoleon's victory at Wagram
Battle of Wagram
The Battle of Wagram was the decisive military engagement of the War of the Fifth Coalition. It took place on the Marchfeld plain, on the north bank of the Danube. An important site of the battle was the village of Deutsch-Wagram, 10 kilometres northeast of Vienna, which would give its name to the...
, aroused anti-Napoleonic German sentiment and pride among its readers.
The play has been revived repeatedly at moments propitious for raw expressions of National Romanticism and was especially popular during the Third Reich.
In 1839, construction was started on a massive statue of Arminius, known as the Hermannsdenkmal
Hermannsdenkmal
The Hermannsdenkmal is a monument located in Ostwestfalen-Lippe in Germany in the Southern part of the Teutoburg Forest, which is southwest of Detmold in the district of Lippe...
, on a hill near Detmold
Detmold
Detmold is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of about 74,000. It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947...
in the Teutoburg Forest; it was finally completed and dedicated during the early years of the Second German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
in the wake of the German victory over France in the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
of 1870– 1871. The monument has been a major tourist attraction ever since, as has The Hermann Heights Monument, a similar statue erected in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1897.
The Hermann Heights monument was erected by the Sons of Hermann
Sons of Hermann
The Order of the Sons of Hermann, also known as Hermann Sons and by its German name as der Orden der Hermann's Soehne or Hermannssöhne, was formed as a mutual protection society for German immigrants in New York City on July 20, 1840....
, a fraternal organization formed by German American
German American
German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry and comprise about 51 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group...
s in New York City in 1840 and named for Hermann the Cheruscan that during the nineteenth century flourished in American cities with large populations of German origin. Hermann, Missouri
Hermann, Missouri
Hermann is a city designated in 1842 as the county seat of Gasconade County, Missouri, United States. It is near the center of the Missouri Rhineland and south of the Missouri River. The population was 2,674 at the 2000 census....
, a town on the Missouri River founded in the 1830s and incorporated in 1845, was also named for Arminius.
The German Bundesliga football-club DSC Arminia Bielefeld is named after Arminius.
Modern popular culture
Robert Graves' novel I, ClaudiusI, Claudius
I, Claudius is a novel by English writer Robert Graves, written in the form of an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Claudius. As such, it includes history of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty and Roman Empire, from Julius Caesar's assassination in 44 BC to Caligula's assassination in AD 41...
includes a description of Arminius's campaigns, where he is called "Hermann".
In 1945 by Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as the House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and as the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999....
and William R. Forstchen
William R. Forstchen
William R. Forstchen is an American author who began publishing in 1983 with the novel Ice Prophet. He is a Professor of History and Faculty Fellow at Montreat College, in Montreat, North Carolina...
, an alternate history novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
describing a world in which Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
did not declare war on the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in December, 1941, Operation Arminius is the code name
Code name
A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage...
for the German plan for the invasion of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Harry Turtledove
Harry Turtledove
Harry Norman Turtledove is an American novelist, who has produced works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.- Life :...
's 2009 historical novel
Historical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
Give Me Back My Legions is a fictional retelling of Arminius' story, from the points-of-view of Arminius himself, various Germans, and Varus and the Romans.
Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
Black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
band Primordial
Primordial (band)
Primordial is an extreme metal band from Skerries, County Dublin, Ireland. It was formed in 1987 by Pól MacAmlaigh and Ciarán MacUiliam . Their sound melds black metal with Irish folk music.-Biography:...
recently referred to Arminius in a song off their To The Nameless Dead
To the Nameless Dead
To the Nameless Dead is the sixth studio album by the Irish black metal band Primordial, released in 2007. It is also available in a limited edition as a digibook, featuring a different cover design, a 40 page booklet, and a bonus DVD. The album was recorded at Foel Studio, Wales, with producer...
album named "Heathen Tribes" with the line "Arminius stood tall in Teutoborg" in relation to the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest.
See also
- Germanic peoplesGermanic peoplesThe Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
- Barbarian invasions
External links
- Arminius / Varus. The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest - Internet-Portal „Westfälische Geschichte“, LWL-Institut für westfälische Regionalgeschichte, Münster
- Terry Jones' Barbarians – The Savage Goths (Google Video) – includes a portion on Arminius A description of Arminius and his fight against the Romans
- "They Need a Hero" by Clay Risen, The National, October 9, 2009 – an article on modern German views of Hermann and the 2,000th anniversary of the battle