The Suebi (Suevi):

Location:

The Suebi were a Germanic people who lived east of the Rhine River, near the Baltic Sea, and during the late 1^st century AD, around the Elbe River. Collectively this tribe included the Marcmanni, Quadi, Hermuduri, Semnones, and Langobardi (Lombards), and Alamanni.

History:

In the 3^rd century AD, the Suebi in the Elbe Basin were displaced by the Huns and in 406 AD they joined with the Vandals and the Alans and crossed the Rhine River and the Pyrenees Mountains to invade the province of Gaul. In 409 AD, they entered Spain and settled in what is now Galicia.

In 447 AD under King Rechila, the Suebi were located throughout the Roman provinces of Lusitania and Baetica and in 448 AD Rechila converted to Christianity. Later in 456 AD the Visigoths led by Theodoric II defeated Rechila at Rio Orbigo (near Astorga). In the years to come the Suebi slowly lost their power and in 585 AD their kingdom was annexed into the Visigothic state.

Daily Life:

The Suebi were nomadic herding people who lived in small, scattered familial and tribal units. Most marriages in the tribe were monogamous and the children were cherished and loved. Possessions of worth that they owned were the cattle that they kept and also some trade items of amber, hides, metal, and glass. The Suebi had no written language. Instead they memorized and then passed on information, histories, and myths through the story-song, which they told and/or sung to each other.

Dwellings:

Most of the houses in a Suebi village were made of wood. They were crudely constructed and were usually temporary lodgings used for shelter. The houses were constructed away from other buildings and had an open space around them, possibly as a precaution against fire spreading rapidly from one building to the next.

Clothing:

Most of the clothing that Suebi men and women wore consisted of hides and skins from animals that they hunted. Usually they wrapped themselves in cloaks of this material and held it together with a clasp or a thorn. Along with their animal skin cloaks women wore linen dress-like garments embroider with purple.

Warfare:

Suebi armies were usually under the leadership of a king and his commanding officers. The typical weapon that Suebi warriors used was a fighting axe or a throwing axe (hand axe). In addition to the axe warriors also sometimes used swords, lances, and spears (which they called framea). The wealthier or nobler warriors had horses and simple leather armor and helmets to wear in battle. Most of the warriors' equipment was plain in appearance except for the shield, which was colorfully decorated.

Religion:

The Suebi people were considered pagans during the earlier part of their history. They did not create temples or other places of worship for their gods. Instead they found nature itself to be holy. Sacred places to them were groves, lakes, streams, and cairns. Later, when the Suebi people came into contact with the Romans, they converted to Christianity.

References:

“Suebi.” Wikipedia http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suevi 23 Oct. 2002.

“The Suevi (Swabian) Barbarians.” http://art1.candor.com/barbarian/suevi.htm 23 Oct. 2002.

“Suebi.” 1911 Encyclopedia http://70.1911encyclopedia.org/S/SU/SUEBI.htm 23 Oct. 2002.

“The Suevi.” Geocities http://www.geocities.com/vallina44/history/suevi.html 30 Nov. 2002.

“Ossetia & Ossetians-suebi.” Brinkster http://www8.brinkster.com/vk011/ossetia/suebi.html 30 Nov. 2002.

“Germania” Geocities http://www.geocities.com/rome27bc/germania.html 30 Nov. 2002.

Written by Alison Thiele, 2002