Bructeri
Encyclopedia
The Bructeri were a Germanic tribe located in northwestern Germany
(Soester Börde), between the Lippe
and Ems rivers south of the Teutoburg Forest
, in present-day North Rhine-Westphalia
around 100 BC
through 350 AD
.
They formed an alliance with the Cherusci
, the Marsi
, the Chatti
, Sicambri
, and the Chauci
, under the leadership of Arminius
, that defeated the Roman
General Varus
and annihilated his three legions at the Battle of Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD
. A large bronze and granite monument to Arminius (colloquially known as "Hermann The German") was erected near Detmold in the 19th century and portrays a rather Romantic interpretation of this Germanic chieftain with a winged helmet, his short sword held aloft in victory, and a Roman Standard ground beneath his foot.
Six years later, one of the generals serving under Germanicus
, L. Stertinius defeated the Bructeri and devastated their lands. Among the booty captured by Stertinius was the eagle standard of Legio XIX
that had been lost at Teutoburg Forest. Refusing to bow to Roman rule, the Bructeri in 69-70 participated in the Batavian rebellion
.
The best known of the Bructeri was their wise woman Veleda
, the spiritual leader of the Batavi rising; her subsequent fate is not known, but it is generally believed that she was captured by the Romans.
The Bructeri were eventually absorbed into the larger Frankish
(Ripuarians) community. The best place to find archival documents and history of the tribe is Soest, Germany
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(Soester Börde), between the Lippe
Lippe River
The Lippe is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Rhine and in length.The source is located at the edge of the Teutoburg Forest in Bad Lippspringe close to the city of Paderborn. It runs westward through Paderborn, Lippstadt and then along the northern edge...
and Ems rivers south of the Teutoburg Forest
Teutoburg Forest
The Teutoburg Forest is a range of low, forested mountains in the German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia which used to be believed to be the scene of a decisive battle in AD 9...
, in present-day North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
around 100 BC
100 BC
Year 100 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marius and Flaccus...
through 350 AD
350
Year 350 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sergius and Nigrinianus...
.
They formed an alliance with the Cherusci
Cherusci
The Cherusci were a Germanic tribe that inhabited parts of the northern Rhine valley and the plains and forests of northwestern Germany, in the area between present-day Osnabrück and Hanover, during the 1st century BC and 1st century AD...
, the Marsi
Marsi (Germanic)
The Marsi were a small Germanic tribe settled between the Rhine, Rur and Lippe rivers in northwest Germany.Tacitus mentions them repeatedly, in particular in the context of the wars of Germanicus. They had been part of the tribal coalition of the Cheruscian war leader Arminius that in 9 AD...
, the Chatti
Chatti
The Chatti were an ancient Germanic tribe whose homeland was near the upper Weser. They settled in central and northern Hesse and southern Lower Saxony, along the upper reaches of the Weser River and in the valleys and mountains of the Eder, Fulda and Weser River regions, a district approximately...
, Sicambri
Sicambri
The Sicambri were a Germanic people living on the right bank of the Rhine river, near where it passes out of Germany and enters what is now called the Netherlands at the turn of the first millennium....
, and the Chauci
Chauci
The Chauci were an ancient Germanic tribe living in the low-lying region between the Rivers Ems and Elbe, on both sides of the Weser and ranging as far inland as the upper Weser. Along the coast they lived on artificial hills called terpen, built high enough to remain dry during the highest tide...
, under the leadership of Arminius
Arminius
Arminius , also known as Armin or Hermann was a chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci who defeated a Roman army in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest...
, that defeated the Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
General Varus
Publius Quinctilius Varus
Publius Quinctilius Varus was a Roman politician and general under Emperor Augustus, mainly remembered for having lost three Roman legions and his own life when attacked by Germanic leader Arminius in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest.-Life:His paternal grandfather was senator Sextus Quinctilius...
and annihilated his three legions at the Battle of Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD
9
Year 9 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sabinus and Camerinus...
. A large bronze and granite monument to Arminius (colloquially known as "Hermann The German") was erected near Detmold in the 19th century and portrays a rather Romantic interpretation of this Germanic chieftain with a winged helmet, his short sword held aloft in victory, and a Roman Standard ground beneath his foot.
Six years later, one of the generals serving under Germanicus
Germanicus
Germanicus Julius Caesar , commonly known as Germanicus, was a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and a prominent general of the early Roman Empire. He was born in Rome, Italia, and was named either Nero Claudius Drusus after his father or Tiberius Claudius Nero after his uncle...
, L. Stertinius defeated the Bructeri and devastated their lands. Among the booty captured by Stertinius was the eagle standard of Legio XIX
Legio XIX
Legio undevigesima was a Roman legion levied in 41 or 40 BC by Augustus. It was destroyed in 9 in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest...
that had been lost at Teutoburg Forest. Refusing to bow to Roman rule, the Bructeri in 69-70 participated in the Batavian rebellion
Batavian rebellion
The Revolt of the Batavi took place in the Roman province of Germania Inferior between 69 and 70 AD. It was an uprising against Roman rule by the Batavians and other tribes in the province and in Gaul...
.
The best known of the Bructeri was their wise woman Veleda
Veleda
Veleda was a völva of the Germanic tribe of the Bructeri who achieved some prominence during the Batavian rebellion of AD 69–70, headed by the Romanized Batavian chieftain Gaius Julius Civilis, when she correctly predicted the initial successes of the rebels against Roman...
, the spiritual leader of the Batavi rising; her subsequent fate is not known, but it is generally believed that she was captured by the Romans.
The Bructeri were eventually absorbed into the larger Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
(Ripuarians) community. The best place to find archival documents and history of the tribe is Soest, Germany
Soest, Germany
Soest is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Soest district. After Lippstadt, a neighbouring town, Soest is the second biggest town in its district.-Geography:...
.
Literature
- Ralf G. Jahn: Der römisch-germanische Krieg (9-16 n. Chr.). Inaugural-Dissertation, Bonn 2001.
- Günter Neumann, Harald von Petrikovits, Rafael von Uslar: Brukterer. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen AltertumskundeReallexikon der germanischen AltertumskundeThe Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde is an important German-language encyclopedia treating the history of the Germanic peoples from antiquity to the middle ages...
. Bd. 3, S. 581ff.
See also
- List of Germanic peoples
- Barbarian invasions
External links
- Legio XIX, www.livius.org „In 15, the eagle of the nineteenth was recovered by the Roman commander Lucius Stertinius among the Bructeri.“