Hermann of the Cherusci
ᛉ 18BCE - 21CE ᛣ
Hermann was son of Segimerus, a German chief of the Cherusci tribe. At a young age, he, along with his brother Flavus, were taken as hostages by the Romans to become citizens of Rome and to serve in their military. They became soldiers and were well trained in the Roman military tactics. Hermann earned the rank of ‘Equites’ or ‘Knight’ while his service in the Roman military. He was trusted by Varus, the Roman governor, and eventually became a liaison between the Romans and the Germanic tribes. During his post, he could see how his people were being treated. He had seen how Varus treated the German people as slaves, and to me, this is when he realized he was also a slave. He had enough of the oppression and began his work to rid the lands of Roman rule and influence. He began to bring the Germanic tribes together and unite them as one force to fight against the Romans. Uniting the tribes had to have been a difficult task, but the freedoms Hermann promised the Germanic tribes was appealing enough.
In the autumn of 9 AD, during the Roman trek back to their headquarters near the Rhine river, Hermann gave Varus a fake report of a Germanic rebellion to the North. Varus wanted to annihilate this rebellion and detoured his three legions to an unfamiliar route, which was directed by Hermann. At this time, Varus was warned by Segestes, Hermann’s father-in-law and a tribal chief, that Hermann was the perpetrator behind this rebellion, Varus dismissed this accusation and pushed forward with Hermann to eliminate this rebellion. This would be a fatal mistake of Varus. Hermann was a military genius and knew that he could not obtain victory over the Romans in open fields. He deceived Varus and led them to lands which they were not comfortablewith, the Teutoburg forest. A land of swamps, muddied terrain, fallen trees, and traverse hills. This was foreign and unknown to the Romans, just this alone had to have terrified the soldiers. They fell for Hermann’s trap, and for over four days, Hermann and the united Germanic tribes slaughtered over 20,000 Roman soldiers, at the end of the battle, Varus committed suicide. A group of ‘savage, heathen, and un-civilized’ men defeated the Roman force, one of superior fighting techniques, better armor, and weapons. This ultimately led to the removal of a Roman presence from the German lands. The battle of Teutoburg forest ended the Roman expansion into Northern Europe. If it wasn’t for Hermann and the Germanic tribes victory, our people and culture would drastically be different today.
Today, we can learn much from Hermann, his actions, and the unification of the Germanic tribes for the betterment and survival of our people. We can look at this example in our history and grow from it. We face all types of chaotic forces from outsider sources. We are consistently attacked for our pride in our people and heritage, the way we live our lives, and the way we practice our religion. We must stay united as a people and work together to battle these chaotic forces. We must continue to stay true to our beliefs and stand up for ourselves and one another whenever these people challenge us or attack us. The best thing we can do is to continue what we are already doing. Focus our energy on our community and do things that better our people. Just getting together and performing a blót, or any other ritual, is a protest to these people. We must continue to grow as folkish Asatruars and not worry what these outsiders think of us. Our focus is and should continue to be; the survival of our folk, traditions, way of life, and our sacred religion.
Herman of the Cherusci’s Day of Remembrance is September 9th.
By Gothi Kevin L