The Barbarians were groups located in Europe and Asia that were not part of Greek or Roman culture. There were many Barbarian groups such as the Visigoths, Gauls, Norse, Huns, Teutons, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Allans, Germans, Celts, Franks, and Jutes. They had various forms of political organization including kings and clan heads. Their religions included gods from the Ases and Vanes families. The Barbarians practiced monogamy, farming, hunting, and some used runes for writing and magic. Their culture included festivals like Yule and Ostara as well as literary works such as Beowulf and tales of King Arthur.
Lecture 17 Barbarians the Germanic tribes and the Norseme.docxsmile790243
Lecture 17 Barbarians: the Germanic tribes and the Norsemen
The Germanic and the Norse mythologies are very similar and they reflect the harsh
environment and the fierce fighters that these people were. These are the people that the Romans
called barbarians; that’s where the word comes from. The very sophisticated Romans feared the
barbarians, who were actually able to bring down the entire Roman Empire. These are the Vikings, a
different group, because they not only were able to trade and went from Scandinavian countries all the
way down to North Africa and had trading ventures with the Muslim states, but at the same time they
were pillaging the coastlines of Europe and the Brit ish Isles. They had settled Iceland. You talk about
global warming. At the time that the Vikings were heading out, Greenland was actually green and for 75
years, the Vikings had established a community there in this very rich environment until the ice
returned. An entire village is caught under 20, 30, 40, 50 feet of snow and is now being excavated. The
Vikings even went further on, using Greenland as a base probably, and went to Nova Scotia or in that
area and established communities there. These wer e a wide ranging people who believed that the gods
were there as protectors and the gods were there as helpers, but when it came down to brass tacks,
these people believed that a person controlled his own destiny. You tried to do your best, you asked for
help, but then you play the cards, the hand, that you are dealt.
Another interesting side note about Viking culture is that generally in all the Germanic tribes,
and they were mostly tribes and clans, the succession of leader went to the strongest, the f ittest, and
the bravest. But, when some of the Vikings became extremely wealthy with their trading particularly
with the Muslims in North Africa, they wanted to keep that money within their own families, so they
changed the succession so that it went from father to son, rather than strongest to strongest. It is
interesting to note that in some of these clans where the succession had changed, the entire culture fell
apart within a couple of generations.
Even our days of the week remind us of the Norse go ds. For instance, Thor’s Day, Thursday.
Thor was the god of thunder, and the most powerful god. It is interesting that he was not the leader of
the family of gods, but by far the most powerful one. He had a magic hammer, Mjollnir, that every time
he threw it, it would return to him. Freya’s Day, Friday. Freya being the goddess of fertility and love ,
the most beautiful of all the goddesses. And Wodin’s Day, Wednesday. Wodin is also known as Odin,
depending on the pronunciation and spelling of the lo cality where it comes from. Odin was actually the
leader of the gods, the one who was able to keep the family, the loose confederation, of the gods
together. He was a one-eyed god and it is not often that we hav ...
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1. The Barbarians
To Greeks and
Romans a
Barbarian was
someone who
wasn’t from their
extraction or The Huns
culture.
What do you think
a Barbarian is?
2. Who were the Barbarians?
These are some of the
many Barbarian groups.
1. Visigoths
2. Gauls
3. Norse
4. Huns
5. Teutons
6. Anglo Saxons or Vikings
7. Allans
8. Germans
9. Celts
10. Franks
11. Jutes
12. Vandals
3. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION
They were
nomads and were
located around
Europe and Asia.
The different
kinds of
Barbarians were
ruled by:
1. Kings
2. Clan heads
4. RELIGION
Anglo-saxon and
German gods
were divided in
two big families:
1. Ases (Aesir)
dedicated to war
2. Vanes (Vanir)
dedicated to war
Samples of gods and
goddess: Odin riding on his eight legged horse
Odin, Frigga, Thor,
Frey
5. Family and Economy
Monogamy was the
norm for them
They used to marry or
“capture” who loved
(women or men could
do that)
Gender roles were
well delineated but
women and men used
to have almost the
same rights.
They were good Pictish Barbarian
farmers and hunters
6. WRITING
Some of them used
Runes. This was a
written alphabet
but also used to
have magical and
religious meanings.
Different runes
7. CULTURAL AREAS
The Barbarian Festival
of Jul (Yule). Lasted
12 nights and started
the night of December
20 (Solstice Eve)
The holiday of Ostara
(around March 20-21)
LITERATURE:
• Beowulf and the
Mabinogion
• Tales of King Arthur
• The Kalevala
• The Volsun Saga
