germanic

Germanic is a term used in linguistics, ethnography, and archaeology to refer to a branch of the Indo-European language family, as well as the peoples who spoke its languages. It covers both ancient and modern communities across northern Europe and their descendants in other continents.

Linguistically, Germanic languages descend from Proto-Germanic, spoken in parts of Scandinavia and northern Germany during the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age. They are traditionally divided into three groups: North Germanic (the Scandinavian languages: Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic, Faroese), West Germanic (English, German, Dutch, Afrikaans, Frisian, and others), and East Germanic (Gothic and related languages, now extinct).

Historically, Germanic-speaking peoples are first recorded by classical authors in the Roman period. The term encompasses a broad spectrum of tribes and cultures, including the Goths, Vandals, Lombards, Franks, Saxons, Angles, and Jutes. From the 4th to the 6th centuries, migrations and contacts with the Roman Empire and its successor states led to the formation of early medieval kingdoms in Gaul, Britain, Italy, and Iberia.

Culturally, Germanic societies practiced a range of religious traditions before widespread Christianization, which varied regionally by period. Early literature includes runic inscriptions and, later, medieval Germanic literatures in various languages. The modern Germanic languages became dominant in large parts of Europe and the Atlantic world through colonization and immigration.

Today, Germanic remains a major linguistic and historical category used to describe a wide family of languages, as well as the shared historical experiences of peoples in regions including northern and central Europe, and their descendants in North America and other continents.