Etymology

[Windigo]

Hey All!

I've been trying to figure out what continental tribes my ancestors may have come from considering the areas of Germany that they were from. I've come across the Alamanni as the most likely candidate thus far. However I can't seem to find anything out about what the name actually means? Also does anyone know if there are any Heathen groups that actually focus on the tribe? The search engines just haven't been much help.:ghostie:

[Xentor]

Variations: "alemannen" (German), "allemagne" (French).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alemanni

It seems to mean "all men".

[Zibblsnrt]

I've been trying to figure out what continental tribes my ancestors may have come from considering the areas of Germany that they were from. I've come across the Alamanni as the most likely candidate thus far. However I can't seem to find anything out about what the name actually means? Also does anyone know if there are any Heathen groups that actually focus on the tribe? The search engines just haven't been much help.

As Xentor said, it's basically how the phrase "All the Men" appeared in their language. (That's cool in and of itself - seeing an obvious the-beginnings-of-this-language bit showing up over about 2,100 years ago, when the Alemanni were first encountered by the Romans.)

It might be a bit tough to find very specific information on them; the group was a pretty vague organization at times. They were a confederation of smaller tribes banded together for mutual defense, probably against the Huns or the Goths back when both were in what's now Russia, and were of course illiterate so there wasn't exactly much in terms of records remaining.

If you can't find much specific on the Alemanni and are looking for cultural information, you might try looking for information on the Marcomanni ("Men of the Marches"), who were basically the southern prong of that particular migration, and much somewhat better documented. The two groups were close enough culturally that either would give you some ideas about the other. Be patient, though, since both came out of an extremely chaotic time.

[Evendusk]

The only thing that seems to have survived about the Alemanni is their language now broken down into a number of Swiss-German dialects.

[Zibblsnrt]

The only thing that seems to have survived about the Alemanni is their language now broken down into a number of Swiss-German dialects.

...Well, that and English...

[Carla O'Harris]

The Alemanni were a branch of the Suebi folk, so see what Tacitus in Germania has to say about the Suebi ; also, Caesar in Gallic Wars has much to say of that folk.

[mothwench]

Variations: "alemannen" (German), "allemagne" (French).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alemanni

It seems to mean "all men".

that it does, according to http://www.etymonline.com/ *snuggles link* (exept i'm sure allemagne simply means germany, in french.)



Alemanni
name of a Suebic tribe or confederation that settled in Alsace and part of Switzerland (and source of the Fr. Allemand "German"), from P.Gmc. *Alamanniz, probably meaning "all-man" and denoting a wide alliance of tribes, but perhaps meaning "foreign men" (cf. Allobroges, name of a Celtic tribe in what is now Savoy, in L. lit. "the aliens," in reference to their having driven out the original inhabitants), in which case the al- is cognate with the first element in L. alius "the other" and Eng. else.




Also does anyone know if there are any Heathen groups that actually focus on the tribe? The search engines just haven't been much help.
hmmm. not that i've seen before. but i can search some german sites when i have more time later on, if you like. there are certainly groups that keep the language alive, one of my mum's friends speaks that dialect with her family.

hey, i'm currently doing this project about artisanry and metalwork or various germanic and celtic tribes, and i'm sorting pictures of artefacts by tribe and era.
wanna see the alemanni stuff i've got so far? :heybaby: