Empires and Barbarians (107 page)

31
‘Gives a shock’: King and Oberg (1993), 2. For general discussions of a qualitative definition of mass migration, see e.g. King and Oberg (1993), 1–4; Fielding (1993a).

32
For discussion, though, of the high Middle Ages, see Phillips (1988), (1994); Bartlett (1993), 144–5.

33
In the 1990s there were discussions of how an end to Fordist mass-production techniques in industry were likely to affect future migration flows: Fielding (1993a). We now partly know the answer, with skilled labour being sucked into Western Europe, for instance, while the demand for mass labour in the Middle East continues to grow apace: Cohen (2008).

34
On Spanish migration to the new world, and British migration to Australia and New Zealand, see Sanchez-Albornoz (1994); Borrie (1994), 45ff. The convict ships to Australia were another kind of involuntary state-assisted scheme.

35
Bartlett (1993), 134–8.

36
Helpful general discussions of motivation include Fielding (1993a); Collinson (1994), especially 1–7; Voets et al. (1995), especially 1–10; Rystad (1996); Vertovec and Cohen (1999); Cohen (2008). Some case studies are provided by the essays of Atalik and Beeley, Cavaco, Montanari and Cortese, Oberg and Boubnova, in King (1993).

37
See e.g. Cohen (1996), (2008).

38
See e.g. Rystad (1996), 560–1; Bailyn (1994), 4–5.

1
Ammianus 16.12.23–6. For attempts at localizing these early units, see Krüger (1976–83), vol. 1, 44–55, 202–19. For the view that little changed between the first and fourth century, see e.g. James (1989), 42, after Thompson (1965), 40.

2
The literature on Arminius and Maroboduus is enormous, but for introductions, see Krüger (1976–83), vol. 1, 374–412; Pohl (2000), 21–4. On early kingship, and its general lack, see Green (1998),
chapter 7
. On Maroboduus’ lack of heirs, see Tacitus,
Germania
42.

3
Chnodomarius, Serapio and Mederichus: Ammianus 16.12.23–6; Vadomarius and Vithicabius: Ammianus 27.10.3–4; Gundomadus: Ammianus 16.12.17.
Optimates
: Ammianus 16.12.23–6. This view of hereditary canton kingship would be accepted by the vast majority of scholars working in the field: see e.g. Pohl (2000), 29–30, 102ff.; Drinkwater (2007), 117ff. (with full references). Some of the old sub-group names within the Alamanni (Brisigavi, Bucinobantes, Lentienses) survive as modern place names (Breisgau, Buchengau, Linzgau).

4
On the first- and second-century leagues and alliances, see e.g. Tacitus,
Germania
38–40 (on the Sueves). For more general commentary, see e.g. Hachmann (1971), 81ff.; Krüger (1976–83), vol. 1, 374–412; Pohl (2000), 65f. The revolt of Julius Civilis, for instance, combined elements from the Batavi, Frisians, Caninefates, Bructeri and Tencteri (Tacitus,
Histories
4.18; 21) but no unity survived his fall.

5
‘There fell in this battle’: Ammianus 16.12.60; Julian’s diplomacy is recounted at Ammianus 17.1, 17.6, 17.10 and 18.2. Vadomarius: Ammianus 21.3–4; Macrianus: Ammianus 28.5, 29.4, 30.3.

6
Early Medieval Ireland and England provide, respectively, more and less articulated examples: see e.g. Binchy (1970a) and the papers in Bassett (1989) for an introduction. I take here a very different view to the minimalist line in germanophone scholarship, a full introduction to which is provided by Humver (1998), and to Drinkwater (2007), 121ff., who argues that there was no urge to unification among fourth-century Alamanni, although he does admit that once Roman manipulation was removed in the fifth century, unification happened.

7
See Wolfram (1988), 62ff., with further arguments in Heather (1991), 97ff. against e.g. Thompson (1966), 43–55; cf. Thompson (1965), 29–41. The three generations are: Ariaricus (in power in 332), Ariaricus’ anonymous son, and the son’s son Athanaric. For this particular reconstruction of Gotho-Roman relations, which is again argued against Thompson (1966), see Heather (1991), 107–21. Others would reconstruct Gotho-Roman relations differently, but none doubts that the Tervingi survived heavy defeat at the hands of Constantine, or that the position of ‘judge’ survived.

8
Batavi: Tacitus,
Histories
4.12;
Germania
29. Chatti, Bructeri and Ampsivarii: Tacitus,
Annals
58;
Germania
33. Hermenduri: Tacitus,
Annals
13.57.

9
On Ejsbøl Mose, see Ørsnes (1963). Sacrifices of the weapons of a defeated enemy are reported at Caesar,
Gallic War
6.17; Tacitus,
Annals
13.57.

10
Chnodomarius: Ammianus 16.12.60. Drinkwater (2007), 120–1 supposes that the king and his three friends had fifty followers each, rather than Chnodomarius having all two hundred, but if that were the case, it is hard to see why he was king. Tervingi:
Passion of St Saba
. On retinues more generally, see e.g. Hedeager (1987); Todd (1992), 29ff. (with references). The contrast with the public bodies of the early Roman period is very striking: see Thompson (1965), 29ff.

11
See Green (1998),
chapter 7
; cf. Wolfram (1997),
chapter 1
; Pohl (2000), 66ff. ‘They chose kings’: Tacitus,
Germania
7 (‘reges ex nobilitate duces ex virtute sumunt’).

12
See
Chapter 6
below on the rise of Clovis. Clovis operated on Roman soil, however, which meant that he could support a much larger retinue, whereas a Germanic economic context (see below) would have imposed tighter economic constraints and perhaps made this impossible.

13
On Chnodomarius’ armour, see Ammianus 16.12.25; we will return to these swords on p. 78.

14
On Odry, see Kmiecinski (1968). In these eastern areas of Germania, the cemeteries were much more permanent than any settlements in the first two centuries
AD
, and are marked by large stone circles which contained few if any burials. It has been plausibly suggested that this reflects the fact that cemeteries rather than settlements provided the locus for social gatherings.

15
The fullest discussion is Haarnagel (1979).

16
On Wijster, see Van Es (1967). See more generally the relevant studies in Krüger (1976–83): compare vol. 1,
chapter 11
with vol. 2,
chapter 5
; Myhre (1978); Steuer (1982), 258ff.; Hedeager (1988), (1992), 193ff.; Todd (1992),
chapter 4
. There is a useful discussion of the Roman side of the frontier in Carroll (2001),
chapter 4
.

17
Goffart (2006), 26–32 objects to old-style assumptions, based on the famous Jordanes,
Getica
4.25, that Scandinavia in particular and Germania in general was a womb of nations, endlessly producing future invaders of the Roman Empire until it was overwhelmed. As a comment on old-fashioned historiography, this is fair enough, though his work does not engage with the detailed archaeological evidence.

18
See Urbanczyk (1997b).

19
On the Pietroasa treasure, see Harhoiu (1977). On
fibula
production at the Runder Berg (see note 24 below), see Christlein (1978), 43–7, 171. On pottery, see Heather and Matthews (1991),
chapter 3
(Cernjachov); Drinkwater (2007), 89–93; cf., more generally, Krüger (1976–83), vol. 2, 123ff.

20
On glass, see Rau (1972). On combs, see Palade (1966).

21
The groundwork was laid by Steuer (1982).

22
For an introduction to the historiography, see Thompson (1965). I strongly suspect that measuring social status via artefacts will tend to place the basic erosion of human equality (to the extent that it ever existed) at far too late a date in the history of
Homo sapiens sapiens
.

23
For useful surveys, see Thompson (1965),
chapters 1
–
2
; Todd (1992),
chapter 2
; for more detailed discussions, see Gebuhr (1974); Hedeager (1987), (1988), (1992),
chapters 2
–
3
; Hedeager and Kristiansen (1981); Steuer (1982), 212ff.; Pearson (1989). For Odry, see note 14 above.

24
On Runder Berg, see Christlein (1978); Siegmund (1998); and cf. Brachmann (1993), 29–42; Drinkwater (2007), 93–106, which point out that there must have been other lowland Alamannic elite sites, none of which has yet been identified. On Feddersen Wierde, see Haarnagel (1979). On Gothic areas, see Heather (1996), 70ff. (with references). For more general discussion, see Krüger (1976–83), vol. 2, 81–90; Hedeager (1988), (1992),
chapter 4
; Todd (1992),
chapter 6
; Pohl (2000).

25
The two classic and highly influential general accounts are the solidly Marxist interpretation of Fried (1967), and the more optimistic line adopted by Service (1975). These studies set the agenda for more detailed subsequent studies of intermediate societies (between the very small and the more modern). The four areas I identify represent a distillation from the helpful collections of papers in Claessen and Skalnik (1978), (1981); Claessen and van de Velde (1987); Skalnik (1989); Earle (1991); Claessen and Oosten (1996).

26
This is true whether (see previous note) one adopts Service’s view of the process (by which a wider range of functions is more efficiently fulfilled) or Fried’s less optimistic Marxist view (whereby the growth of the bureaucracy entails the further rigidification of power structures).

27
The key term here is ‘reciprocity’, meaning that ruler and ruled exchange something that is of mutual value. This probably won’t be (and certainly doesn’t have to be) an equal exchange, but even the act of exchanging makes the interaction honourable. If it is one-sided, then it is demeaning.

28
Alamanni: Ammianus 16.12. Tervingi: Heather (1991), 109 (on pre-376
AD
, based on Ammianus 20.8.1, 23.2.7, and 26.10.3), 146. Drinkwater (2007), 142–4 proposes that there were 15,000 Alamanni and allies at Strasbourg. He consistently downplays Alamannic numbers on the basis of his prior assumption that they posed no real threat to Roman frontier security, which is in my view a circular and unconvincing approach: see Heather (2008a). The evidence strongly suggests that these societies possessed slaves and that slaves were not normally liable for military service. We do not know the proportion of slaves, but they are likely enough to have been a significant portion of the population, so that merely to number fighting men will be to underestimate the total of young adult males in these societies.

29
For waterborne summits, see Ammianus 27.5.9 (cf. Themistius,
Orations
10), 30.3.4–6. For Burgundian/Alamannic boundaries, see Ammianus 28.5.11.

30
For an introduction to the evidence, see Heather & Matthews (1991),
chapter 5
.

31
On the Gothic contingents, see note 28 above, with Heather (1991), 107ff. for the crucial link that military service was something imposed on the Goths by the Romans when they held the diplomatic upper hand. On the Alamannic contingents, see Heather (2001). On the loan word, see Green (1998),
chapter 11
.

32
Vannius: Tacitus,
Annals
12.25. On Roman imports on elite Gothic sites, see Heather (1996), 70–2. On trade and diplomacy, see Heather (1991), 109. Of course, Chnodomarius may possibly just have been offering a share of war booty rather than cash up front.

33
On the ‘wall’ of Athanaric, see Ammianus 31.3.8, with Heather (1996), 100 for the identification. On Runder Berg and other sites, see note 24 above.

34
Based on a trawl through the literature cited in note 25 above. Not even the famously inert Irish kings of the Middle Ages – so wonderfully caricatured by the late Patrick Wormald as a ‘priestly vegetable’ – failed to exercise powers over dispute settlement. In the famous tract on Irish kingship,
Crith Gablach
, one day was reserved for this function: see Binchy (1970b); cf. Wormald (1986).

35
For an introduction to early Anglo-Saxon tax systems, see Campbell (2000); Blair (1994). These kinds of arrangement have also been found in areas of Britain that never fell under Roman rule: see Barrow (1973).

36
The mobility of Alamannic kings is suggested by the difficulty the Romans faced in trying to kidnap one of their number: see Ammianus 29.4.2ff. For an excellent introduction to the immense bibliography on itineration, see Charles-Edwards (1989).

37
See Thompson (1966); cf. Heather (1991), 177ff. (with full references). For Gundomadus, see note 3 above. Even if one accepts the hypothesis of Drink-water (2007), 142–4 that there were 24 Alamannic canton kings, they would
have produced no more than 4,800 retinue warriors between them. On the range of material in burials, see e.g. Steuer (1982); Weski (1982); Harke (1992). On burials entirely empty of goods, see e.g. Heather and Matthews (1991), 62, for some examples from Gothic-dominated territories.

38
A quick read of the relevant law collections from the Visigothic, Frankish, Lombard, Burgundian, and Anglo-Saxon kingdoms brings out the importance of this group, who also feature in materials from the ‘smaller’ political entities, such from Thuringia, Bavaria, and Alamannia.

39
On the proportion of freemen to slaves, see Heather (1996), 324–5, after Procopius,
Wars
3.8.12 (1 elite to 4 subordinates in one Gothic force); 8.26.12 (close to 1:1 in a Lombard force). On this warfare, see Heather (1996), especially Appendix I (collecting the evidence for two classes of warrior being mentioned in Roman narrative sources). For charter evidence, see Wickham (1992); (2005), part 3. Post-Roman society did not immediately fall under the sway of the much smaller landowning elite, who can be seen to be dominant from the Carolingian period of c.800 and beyond: see for example
Chapter 6
above on the growth of landed estates, which was the basis of aristocratic/gentry domination in Anglo-Saxon England and northern Francia; and, for more general comment, Wickham (2005), part 2.