Gothic History Section
 |
What Were the Goths Like? What Type of People Were They?
|
They married in their twenties usually, which was late in life for people at that time. Oddly enough for a pagan society, it was expected that you would have sex with only one person for you entire life...your spouse. Premarital intercourse was cause for disqualification for marriage and adultery was punished for both parties, not just the female. When a spouse died you were expected to remain faithful after death and never remarry or be sexually active again. Therefore, love marriages were encouraged, you wanted to make sure the person you were with was worth this strict code of abstinence.
Children were important also. It was considered an honour to leave behind a large family - boys and girls were both treasured. The new, growing family would most likely be as close to the relatives of the wife as well as that of the husband. They were early racial purists and did not even consider marrying outside of the race until the fifth century...and even that did not last long. By the time of Theodoric, the prohibition had been reinstated. Because of their ideal of pure breeding, identifying characteristics remained distinct from other races - a short stocky build, hair ranging from white to fiery red and light eyes.
The Goths had no written language originally other than the reading and writing of runes by the clan's female seer. Eventually, during the Roman period, leaders began to read and overall literacy improved over time. Eventually it was regarded as an important part of life for gothic leaders and recommended for anyone else. The Bible was translated into Gothic before it was translated into Latin! Goths also liked literature, art and other cultural expressions. The height of the so called "Gothic period" of history was during the reign of Theodoric the Great. There was a marked increase in cultural expression during that time.
Though generally peaceful when not hungry, migrating or irritated by others around them, Goths did not get their fierce war like reputation by being pushovers. They believed in bravery on the battlefield and children were brought up prepared to defend themselves and their clan from any who would be a threat to them. Shielding the children from the ugliness of war was not high on the priority list for gothic parents.
Captives from war were dealt with in a most bizarre manner. They were hung from trees after their limbs had been offered to their gods Odin (Woten) and Thor (Tyr). Couples frequently went to battle together. Unlike other people at the time, it was considered an honour for a man to fight beside his wife. During the crisis brought by the Hun invasions it was not uncommon for the children to go on campaigns with their parents as well.
Besides love of family and bravery during conflict, another aspect of life which was important to the Goth was leisure time. (I can seriously relate) A feast or banquet was called for the slightest reason and sometimes, if the situation called for it, the feast was accompanied by sacred honey Meade. Eating was often a communal affair. The Gothic diet typically contained meat, dairy, grains and fruits and accompanied by wine or beer (yum yum - and every kid now wishes he was a gothic kid who didn't need to eat their veggies I guess).
Despite the fact the Romans described them as primitive, they were not as backward as we have been led to believe. In many aspects, we would consider them more civilised than the Romans. While the Roman Empire wallowed in corruption and constant power grabbing, Goths ruled themselves in a democratic manner. They had a tribal leader subject to a counsel which resembled the Viking "all thing" where events and policies were discussed out in the open and all citizens could have a say. Central figures for all of the tribes were only elected from among the tribal leaders when the Goths were threatened from outside and remained only as long as the threat remained. Instead of the politicized Roman legal system, Goths enjoyed trial by peers and the presumption of innocence until proof of guilt was established. The presumption of innocence during that time period was very uncommon. Women could hold and inherit property - a right not extended to Roman women. It's kind of ironic actually that what we tout as basic human rights did not exist at all in the supposedly civilised world and were practiced by the so called barbarians - isn't it?
