44. Old Saxon, its written records.

Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German, is the earliest recorded form of Low German, documented from the 8th century until the 12th century, when it evolved into Middle Low German. It was spoken on the north-west coast of Germany and in Denmark by Saxon peoples. It is close enough to Old Anglo-Frisian (Old Frisian, Old English) that it partially participates in the Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law; it is also closely related to Old Low Franconian ("Old Dutch"). It is separated from Old High German by the High German consonant shift.

Only a few texts survive, predominantly in baptismal vows the Saxons were required to perform at the behest of Charlemagne. The only literary text preserved is “Heliand” – IX c A.D. Also there is “Genesis”, a poem of religious character – IX c A.D.

45. Pliny’s classification of the Germanic tribes.

Pliny the Elder was a Roman naturalist, scholar, historian, traveler, officer, and writer.

A great historian Pliny spent many years in the Roman provinces of Low and High Germany. He was a prominent encyclopedias. He wrote a book called “Natural History”. He was the first who enumerated and classified the military tribes. It was proved by many scientists. According to Pliny there were several Germanic tribes:

• The Vindili. They lived in the eastern part of the territory inhabited by the Germanic tribes. They consisted of the Goths,  the Burgundians and the Vandals. The Vandals first inhabited the territory between the Oder and the Vistula. Later they moved to Northern Africa through Spain. The word vandalism originated from Vandal (means Barbary).

• The Burgundians came to the continent from the island of Bornholm. It was in the Baltic Sea. Later they moved to the west and settled in south-eastern part of France in the area called Burgundia.

• The Goths first inhabited the lower coast of the river Vistula. Later they moved to the south and formed powerful tribal unions of Ostrogoths and Visigoths.

• The Ingvaenoes. They lived in the north-western part of the Germanic territory. They inhabited the Jutland peninsula and the coast of the North Sea. The tribes of Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians were formed later of this group.

• The Istaevones. They lived on the Rhine. Later they formed a very powerful tribal union of Franconians. In the early Middle Ages they were powerful group of West Germans.

• The Herminones lived in the centre of Germany and later the German nation was formed of these tribes.

• The Hilleviones were isolated from other Germanic tribes. They inhabited Scandinavia. Modern Scandinavian nations are the descendants of these tribes.

The Vindili spoke eastern Germanic; the Hilleviones spoke northern Germanic, the Ingvaones, Istaevones and Herminones – West Germanic.

46. Main sources of information about the Germ. Tribes. The Germ. Tribes in the ad 1.

• Archeology and ethnography data

• Borrowing in the lang-es of the neighbouring nomadic tribes

• Written records

• The written records are as follows:

PYTHEASfrom Massilia, the Greek astronomer, traveler and geographer	IV c BC	An account of a sea voyage to the Baltic Sea. Has not come down to us. Was used by Greek and Roman writers, historians, geographers.
JULIUS CAESAR, the Roman general, writer and statesman	I c BC	Described some militant Germ. tribes who bordered on the Celts of Gaul in the North-East in his “Commentaries on the War in Gaul” (“Записки про галльську війну”).
PLINY THE ELDER, the Roman scientist and writer	I c AD	Made a classified list of the Germ. tribes grouping them under six headings in “Natural History” (“Природна історія”).
CORNELIUS TACITUS, the Roman historian and senator	I-II c AD	Complied a detailed description of the life and customs of the ancient Germans. Reproduced Pliny’s classification of the Germ. tribes, characterized their social culture. “Germania” (“Германія”), “Annales” (“Анали”).
JORDAN, the Gothic historian	VI c AD	His work “On the Origin and History of the Goths” (“Про походження та історію готів”чи “Гетика”) was written in Latin and comprised the description of historical events from Cassiodor’s history (533) and legends of the Goths of those times. Cassiodor’s history has not come down to us.
BEDEthe Venerable, the English scholar and monk	VIII c D	“Ecclesiastical History of the English People” (“Церковна історія народу англів”).
SNORRI STURLUSON, the Old Icelandic statesman, poet and historian	XIII c AD	“Younger Edda” (“Молодша Едда”) – prose Edda.

----- By the 1st century CE, the writings of Caesar, Tacitus and other Roman era writers indicate a division of Germanic-speaking peoples into tribal groupings centred on:

* the rivers Oder and Vistula/Weichsel (East Germanic tribes),

* the lower Rhine river (Istvaeones),

* the river Elbe (Irminones),

* Jutland and the Danish islands (Ingvaeones).

The Sons of Mannus, Istvaeones, Irminones, and Ingvaeones are collectively called West Germanic tribes. In addition, those Germanic people who remained in Scandinavia are referred to as North Germanic. These groups all developed separate dialects, the basis for the differences among Germanic languages down to the present day.

----- Starting with the 1st century AD, the pressure of the Germanic tribes on the border of the Roman Empire started to be felt. Many Germanic people had reached Rome as slaves; but later, during the decadence of the Roman Empire, some Germanic warriors were employed as mercenaries.

By the 3rd-4th centuries BC, there was a general Germanic invasion in the Roman Empire, mainly non-violent. But, to the end of the 4th century, this invasion turned massive, countless waves crossing the Rhine and the Danube, and the weakened Roman army did not handle the situation. The "Barbarians" destroyed and pillaged everything on their way. In 150 years, all the territories of the Western Roman Empire were distributed between Germanic tribes: Iberia was occupied by Visigoths, Alsace by Alamans, Savoy by Burgunds, Gaul by Franks, Britain by Anglo-Saxons and Italy by Ostrogoths.