To honor this hero, I offer snippets from my new book, Finding Polaris ...
Introduction, Part One - The Age of Arminius
Arminius
of the Cherusci is a hero for all Germanic Heathens to know. His words and deeds, his orlog spun Wyrd that
has been felt for centuries, and should be appreciated today. Arminius stopped the Roman advance past the
River Rhine. Caesar Augustus had plans to
push Rome Germania . However, archeology carried
out over the last twenty or so years shines a more positive and detailed light
on the Germanic peoples of that era ...
At the time of Arminius the Germanic peoples lived in well established agricultural economic societies. According to archeologist Peter S. Wells – Despite what Roman authors wrote about them, the peoples of central and northern continentalEurope
practiced a fully settled agricultural economy, as their ancestors had for over
four thousand years before the time of Arminius. They lived in sturdy houses in small
settlements situated on small rivers or smaller streams to assure a constant
supply of water.
Tacitus writes – Even iron is not plentiful; this has been inferred from the sort of weapons they have (Tacitus, Ibid pg. 105). According to Wells, that was not the case. Many communities produced their own iron tools from local bog ores. By the time the settlement of Meppen and others like it were inhabited around the time of Christ, iron metallurgy had been practiced in the region for about seven centuries, and many blacksmiths were highly knowledgeable in the techniques of producing sharp, and durable steel blades for knives, sickles, scythes, axes, spears, and swords (Wells, Ibid. pg. 114). This was the environment that Arminius grew up in.
Archeology has helped to tell a better story about Arminius. If you enjoyed these snippets, there are many more within the covers of Finding Polaris. Click on the title as it appears on the right of this blog and you will be taken to the book's Amazon page.
Copyright 2019 Terry Unger All Rights Reserved
At the time of Arminius the Germanic peoples lived in well established agricultural economic societies. According to archeologist Peter S. Wells – Despite what Roman authors wrote about them, the peoples of central and northern continental
Tacitus writes – Even iron is not plentiful; this has been inferred from the sort of weapons they have (Tacitus, Ibid pg. 105). According to Wells, that was not the case. Many communities produced their own iron tools from local bog ores. By the time the settlement of Meppen and others like it were inhabited around the time of Christ, iron metallurgy had been practiced in the region for about seven centuries, and many blacksmiths were highly knowledgeable in the techniques of producing sharp, and durable steel blades for knives, sickles, scythes, axes, spears, and swords (Wells, Ibid. pg. 114). This was the environment that Arminius grew up in.
Archeology has helped to tell a better story about Arminius. If you enjoyed these snippets, there are many more within the covers of Finding Polaris. Click on the title as it appears on the right of this blog and you will be taken to the book's Amazon page.
Copyright 2019 Terry Unger All Rights Reserved
