ROME on Nostr: TACITUS’ GERMANIA. A PASSAGE A Glimpse into Germanic Culture from Tacitus' Germania ...
TACITUS’ GERMANIA. A PASSAGE
A Glimpse into Germanic Culture from Tacitus' Germania
"They have no written laws, and conduct their affairs by tradition and custom. When a crime is committed, the penalty is fixed, not by a magistrate, but by the kinsmen of the injured party. The satisfaction demanded is paid in cattle. The general penalty for murder is a certain number of cattle or slaves.
The fines for other offenses are graded according to the injury inflicted. The satisfaction accepted by the kinsmen reconciles the public peace.
They believe that divine power is present in groves and forests, and they pay reverence to certain trees. They also practice divination by means of lot, which they do in a simple manner. They cut a branch from a fruit-bearing tree and divide it into small pieces. These they mark with various signs and scatter them haphazardly on a white cloth. Then, having invoked the gods and asked a question, they pick up three pieces at random. The interpretation of these pieces, according to a prearranged system, indicates the divine will."
A Glimpse into Germanic Culture from Tacitus' Germania
"They have no written laws, and conduct their affairs by tradition and custom. When a crime is committed, the penalty is fixed, not by a magistrate, but by the kinsmen of the injured party. The satisfaction demanded is paid in cattle. The general penalty for murder is a certain number of cattle or slaves.
The fines for other offenses are graded according to the injury inflicted. The satisfaction accepted by the kinsmen reconciles the public peace.
They believe that divine power is present in groves and forests, and they pay reverence to certain trees. They also practice divination by means of lot, which they do in a simple manner. They cut a branch from a fruit-bearing tree and divide it into small pieces. These they mark with various signs and scatter them haphazardly on a white cloth. Then, having invoked the gods and asked a question, they pick up three pieces at random. The interpretation of these pieces, according to a prearranged system, indicates the divine will."