Istvaeones

dialect groups in Europe in around AD 1. The depiction of Jutland as a West Germanic area is typical within German scientific tradition. The Istvaeones, Istaevones or Istiaeones, whose name may originally have been Istriones, were a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine border of the Roman Empire in the 1st century AD, and who were understood on the basis of old Germanic "songs" ( ) to descend from an ancient common ancestor. According to Tacitus the old songs described three such groups, each descended from one of the three sons of their common ancestor who was named Mannus, and who was in turn the son of a god named Tuisco. The other two groups were the Ingaevones who lived on the North Sea coast, and the Herminones who lived further inland. Apart from this Mannus story, Tacitus noted there were claims that this god had more offspring, and that there were other tribal names as old as these three. In an earlier mention of these three peoples by Pliny the Elder it is explained that the Istvaeones lived near the Rhine. The surviving manuscripts of both Pliny and Tacitus lack any listing of specific Germanic peoples who were Istvaeones. Although the names of these three peoples did not appear again in Roman era literature, they were used again in learned medieval literature, although different nations were included in the medieval versions.…

dialect groups in Europe in around AD 1. The depiction of Jutland as a West Germanic area is typical within German scientific tradition. The Istvaeones, Istaevones or Istiaeones, whose name may originally have been Istriones, were a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine border of the Roman Empire in the 1st century AD, and who were understood on the basis of old Germanic "songs" ( ) to descend from an ancient common ancestor. According to Tacitus the old songs described three such groups, each descended from one of the three sons of their common ancestor who was named Mannus, and who was in turn the son of a god named Tuisco. The other two groups were the Ingaevones who lived on the North Sea coast, and the Herminones who lived further inland. Apart from this Mannus story, Tacitus noted there were claims that this god had more offspring, and that there were other tribal names as old as these three. In an earlier mention of these three peoples by Pliny the Elder it is explained that the Istvaeones lived near the Rhine. The surviving manuscripts of both Pliny and Tacitus lack any listing of specific Germanic peoples who were Istvaeones. Although the names of these three peoples did not appear again in Roman era literature, they were used again in learned medieval literature, although different nations were included in the medieval versions. The terms were also revived in modern times in both archaeology and linguistics, in proposals about the evolution of the languages and cultures of the Germanic peoples. The use of these terms in linguistics and archaeology is especially associated with the interdisciplinary proposals of Friedrich Maurer (1898–1984). In archaeology, the term Istvaeonic has sometimes been associated with the so called Rhine-Weser material culture which came into being during the Roman era, replacing earlier La Tène material cultures. The material culture of the region became distinct after the Romans first entered the region. In linguistics, the term "Istvaeonic languages" is sometimes given for a proposed sub-grouping within the West Germanic language family, consisting of a proposed Frankish language and its descendants, which would include Old Dutch and several historical dialects of German. The language of the ancestral Istvaeones may have been Celtic, but Maurer proposed that their language indirectly influenced later Germanic languages in the area as a substrate.

Medieval interpretations

In late Roman times it appears that a scholarly effort was made to rework the Mannus myth, with an updated list of peoples, which also included the non-Germanic Romans and Britons. These are included among the descendants of "Istio" along with the Germanic peoples of the Rhineland of late Roman times, the Franks and Alemanni. A version of this list has survived in the Historia Brittonum (written 830). Walter Goffart published the following reconstruction. Tres fuerunt fratres, primus Erminus, secundus Inguo, tertius Istio. Inde adcreuerunt gentes XIII. Primus Erminus genuit Gothos, Walagothos, Wandalos, Gepedeos, et Saxones. Inguo genuit Burgundiones, Turingos, Langobardos, Baioarios. Istio genuit Romanes, Brittones, Francos, Alamannos. There were three brothers, first Erminus, second Inguo, third Istio. From them derive thirteen peoples. First Erminus brought forth the Goths, Foreign Goths, Vandals, Gepides and Saxons. Inguo brought forth the Burgundians, Thuringians, Lombards, Bavarians. Istio brought forth the Romans, British [or Bretons ], Franks, Alamans. Variant spellings of the name Istio include Estio, Escio, Hostius, Ostius, Hisisio, Hissitio, Hisitio, Hessitio and Scius.

Modern interpretations

The historical sources give no complete account of the Istvaeones. Modern historians attempt to extrapolate their tribal constituents based on later sources, archeological findings and linguistic information. For example, Tacitus and other Roman authors named various tribes originally living near the Rhine such as the Frisii, Ubii, Vangiones, Triboci, and Nemetes. Much later the peoples of these regions came to be seen as either Roman, Frankish or Allemanic.

See also

List of Germanic peoples

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1378958598 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.