Sippe
Encyclopedia
Sippe is German
for "clan
, kindred
, extended family
". It continues a Proto-Germanic term *sibbja, which referred to a band or confederation
bound by a treaty or oath
, not primarily restricted to blood relations. The original character of sibb as a peace treaty is visible in Old English, e.g. in Beowulf
(v. 1858):
The Sippe came to be a cognatic, extended family unit, exactly analogous to the Scottish/Irish sept
.
Most of the information left about the nature and role of the Sippe is found in records left by the Lombards
, Alamanni
, and Bavarians. One of the functions of the Sippe was regulating use of forests. The average Sippe likely contained no more than 50 families. The Sippe seems to have been absorbed into the monogamous family later on; P.D. King asserts that this was already the case among the Visigoths during the time of the Visigothic Kingdom
.
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
for "clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
, kindred
Kinship
Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. And descent groups, lineages, etc. are treated in their own subsections....
, extended family
Extended family
The term extended family has several distinct meanings. In modern Western cultures dominated by nuclear family constructs, it has come to be used generically to refer to grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins, whether they live together within the same household or not. However, it may also refer...
". It continues a Proto-Germanic term *sibbja, which referred to a band or confederation
Confederations of Germanic tribes
The following are some historical Germanic Confederations:*230 BC - Bastarnae, a mixture of Germanic tribes, at the Black Sea; they participated in the siege of Olbia in 220 BC....
bound by a treaty or oath
Oath
An oath is either a statement of fact or a promise calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually God, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. To swear is to take an oath, to make a solemn vow...
, not primarily restricted to blood relations. The original character of sibb as a peace treaty is visible in Old English, e.g. in Beowulf
Beowulf
Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...
(v. 1858):
- hafast þû gefêred, þät þâm folcum sceal,
- Geáta leódum ond Gâr-Denum
- sib gemæne ond sacu restan.
The Sippe came to be a cognatic, extended family unit, exactly analogous to the Scottish/Irish sept
Sept (social)
A sept is an English word for a division of a family, especially a division of a clan. The word might have its origin from Latin saeptum "enclosure, fold", or it can be an alteration of sect.The term is found in both Ireland and Scotland...
.
Most of the information left about the nature and role of the Sippe is found in records left by the Lombards
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
, Alamanni
Alamanni
The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of Germanic tribes located around the upper Rhine river . One of the earliest references to them is the cognomen Alamannicus assumed by Roman Emperor Caracalla, who ruled the Roman Empire from 211 to 217 and claimed thereby to be...
, and Bavarians. One of the functions of the Sippe was regulating use of forests. The average Sippe likely contained no more than 50 families. The Sippe seems to have been absorbed into the monogamous family later on; P.D. King asserts that this was already the case among the Visigoths during the time of the Visigothic Kingdom
Visigothic Kingdom
The Visigothic Kingdom was a kingdom which occupied southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to 8th century AD. One of the Germanic successor states to the Western Roman Empire, it was originally created by the settlement of the Visigoths under King Wallia in the province of...
.
See also
- SifSifIn Norse mythology, Sif is a goddess associated with earth. Sif is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, and in the poetry of skalds...
, a Norse goddess theorized as personifying the concept - Band (anthropology)
- SiblingSiblingSiblings are people who share at least one parent. A male sibling is called a brother; and a female sibling is called a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings usually grow up together and spend a good deal of their childhood socializing with one another...
- Norse clansNorse clansThe Scandinavian clan or ætt was a social group based on common descent or on the formal acceptance into the group at a þing.-History:...
- Germanic tribes
- List of Germanic peoples
- KinshipKinshipKinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. And descent groups, lineages, etc. are treated in their own subsections....
- MundMund (in law)The mund is a principle in Germanic tradition and law that can be crudely translated as "protection" and which grew as the prerogative of a Germanic tribe king or leader. It has been Latinized in mundium.The word comes from Germanic *mundo The mund is a principle in Germanic tradition and law that...
- ClanClanA clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
- SeptSeptA sept is an English word for a division of a family, especially a division of a clan. The word might have its origin from Latin saeptum "enclosure, fold", or it can be an alteration of sect.The term is found in both Ireland and Scotland...
- Extended familyExtended familyThe term extended family has several distinct meanings. In modern Western cultures dominated by nuclear family constructs, it has come to be used generically to refer to grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins, whether they live together within the same household or not. However, it may also refer...
- ConsanguinityConsanguinityConsanguinity refers to the property of being from the same kinship as another person. In that respect, consanguinity is the quality of being descended from the same ancestor as another person...