The Germans called barbarians by the romans , were organized in tribes and lived from agriculture and livestock.
The barbarian population (which formed the barbarian kingdoms ) settled in Europe after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, but numerous studies agree in pointing to the relatively low number of barbarian invaders, who had long since abandoned the idea of individuals sinking the Roman Empire, destroying everything in their path. step. In no country was an absolutely new political order established, imposing totally different ways of life.
From the human point of view, these barbaric migrations were rather infiltrations of few ethnic groups among already homogeneous populations.
With the fall of the Western Roman Empire, a long period of history began, known as the Middle Ages , I cover from the year 476 to the year 1453 AD.
The last Emperor of Rome was Theodosius (379-395), who upon his death divided the Roman Empire into two parts:West and East. The Eastern Roman Empire It had Constantinople as its capital and became known as Byzantium. The capital of the Western Roman Empire It was Milan.
1. The heirs of the empire
When the Western Roman Empire disappeared, western Europe was divided into a set of autonomous Germanic kingdoms, disappearing the idea of a single, centralized state, in its place several small states emerged that rivaled each other .
The new kings never thought of destroying the organization of Rome; they simply substituted their own for Roman authority. That is why in these kingdoms everything Roman survived, per maticized by the new historical circumstances.
Among the kingdoms that were organized in the 5th century, the most notable were that of the Franks, in Gaul, and that of the Visigoths in the Iberian Peninsula. However other kingdoms were formed. The most important of them were the Vandals, the Ostrogoths and the Anglo-Saxons.
1.1 The Vandal Kingdom of Africa
After devastating Gaul and sacking Spain for almost twenty years, the Vandals led by Genseric decided to settle in North Africa (428). From there, they constantly pillaged Italy. They were finally conquered by the Eastern emperor, Justinian in the year 553.
1.2 The Ostrogothic Kingdom in Italy
In the year 493, the Ostrogoths, led by King Theodoric they formed a powerful kingdom in Italy. This king was an admirer of Roman civilization and did everything possible to facilitate the union between the Ostrogoths and the vanquished. Therefore his kingdom was ruled in peace.
Several years after the death of Theodoric , Emperor Justinian conquered Italy and put an end to the Ostrogothic kingdom (553). Later the Lombards, another Germanic people, conquered northern Italy and formed a new kingdom called Lombardia .
1.3 The Heptarchy
In the British Isles, the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes created seven kingdoms. This was called heptarchy. In the year 827 the Jute kingdom of Wessex, which was one of the most powerful, conquered the other kingdoms:with it the British Isles were unified.
1.4 The Frankish Kingdom
The Franks were a Germanic people who settled in ancient Gaul from the fourth century, in the current territories of Belgium and France. Directed from the year 481 by Clovis, the Franks managed to conquer the entire region.
The conversion of Clovis to Christianity notably facilitated the expansion of the Franks, since the natives of the region accepted Frankish domination with less reluctance and that the Catholic Church, the most powerful institution of the time, gave its full support to this government.
1.5 The Visigoth Kingdom in Spain
Before arriving in Spain, the Visigoths occupied the southern region of Gaul, where they were expelled by the Franks.
The total occupation of the Iberian Peninsula was completed by King Leovigild, whose reign lasted between 568 and 586. Recaredo, son of Leovigild, achieved the religious union of Spain by converting to Catholicism in the Third Council of Toledo (589).
For more information there is a complete article on the Visigothic Kingdom.
2. Economy and political organization
With the establishment of the Germanic kingdoms, the ruralization that began at the end of the Roman Empire became more evident. Agriculture continued to be the most important activity, while trade and currency circulation suffered a major setback. Important modifications were taking place in the created kingdoms:
- Monarchies, initially elective, became hereditary in certain families. In this way, the public concept of the state declined and the concept of patrimonial was introduced. of the monarchy .
- The concept of citizen was gradually being lost, giving way to the idea of entrustment or personal fidelity . German monarchs had no provincial governors, judges, or ministers to help them rule; they only had the help of the counts of the Palace , aristocrats linked to the monarchs by friendship or kinship.
- Legislation lost importance. German monarchs lacked written laws , were governed by custom.
3. Religion
Unlike the Romans, who were Christians, the Germans were originally pagans . They worshiped the forces of nature. His main divinity was Odin, who was the god of war. Later the Germanic kings were converting to Christianity, although the great mass of the rural population continued to cling to their old beliefs.
The German kingdoms that lasted the longest were those in which the German monarchy converted to Catholicism. This happened with Clodoveo , in France and with Recaredo in Visigothic Spain. For the most part, the Ostrogothic kingdom failed early in Italy due to the lack of religious fusion.
4. Culture and art
With the Germans, Western European culture suffered a general retreat . Only the Church preserved and transmitted the Roman creations through the monasteries and episcopal schools, in which men of talent such as Gregory of Tours and Cassidore appeared.
Art also suffered a notable setback and was a naive copy of Roman art. Testimony of this are its most famous monuments:the mausoleum of Teodorico, in Ravenna and the baptistery of San Juan in Poitiers.
On the other hand, during barbarian times, the goldsmith had a great development and prevailed over architecture and sculpture.