How, tribes living in ancient times on current Polish territory, described Publius Cornelius Tacitus in De origine et situ Germanorum?
Here Suebia ends. I do not know whether to class the tribes of the Peucini, Venedi, and Fenni with the Germans or with the Sarmatians. The Peucini, however, who are sometimes called Bastarnae, are like Germans in their language, manner of life, and mode of settlement and habitation. Squalor is universal among them and their nobles are indolent. Mixed marriages are giving them something of the repulsive appearance of the Sarmatians. The Venedi have adopted many Sarmatian habits; for their plundering forays take them over all the wooded and mountainous highlands that lie between the Peucini and the Fenni. Nevertheless, they are on the whole to be classed as Germans; for they have settled homes, carry shields, and are fond of traveling – and traveling fast – on foot, differing in all these respects from the Sarmatians, who live in wagons or on horseback. The Fenni are astonishingly savage and disgustingly poor. They have no proper weapons, no horses, no homes. they eat wild herbs, dress in skins, and sleep on the ground.
– Publius Cornelius Tacitus, Germania, XLVI
Please find below more details:
- Peucini – peoples who migrated through Poland and stayed in current Moldova
- Veneti – peoples inhabiting the area of modern Poland
- Fenni
- Sarmatians – various tribes inhabiting the area of modern Ukraine, Belarus, Russia
It should be remembered, however, that contemporary researchers often refer to the brief descriptions of Tacitus, as fixing stereotypes.
