1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Alamanni

ALAMANNI, or ALLEMANNI, a German tribe, first mentioned
by Dio Cassius, under the year 213. They apparently dwelt in
the basin of the Maine, to the south of the Chatti. According
to Asinius Quadratus their name indicates that they were a
conglomeration of various tribes. There can be little doubt,
however, that the ancient Hermunduri formed the preponderating
element in the nation. Among the other elements may be
mentioned the Juthungi, Bucinobantes, Lentienses, and perhaps the
Armalausi. From the 4th century onwards we hear also of the
Suebi or Suabi. The Hermunduri had apparendy belonged to the
Suebi, but it is likely enough that reinforcements from new
Suebic tribes had now moved westward. In later times the
names Alamanni and Suebi seem to be synonymous. The tribe
was continually engaged in conflicts with the Romans, the
most famous encounter being that at Strassburg, in which
they were defeated by Julian, afterwards emperor, in the year
357, when their king Chonodomarius was taken prisoner. Early
in the 5th century the Alamanni appear to have crossed the
Rhine and conquered and settled Alsace and a large part of
Switzerlafid. Their kingdom lasted until the year 405, when
they were conquered by Clovis, from which time they formed part
of the Frankish dominions. The Alamannic and Swabian dialects
are now spoken in German Switzerland, the southern parts of
Baden and Alsace, Wurttemberg and a small portion of Bavaria.

See Dio Cassius lxvii. ff.; Ammianus Marcellinus, 'passim';
Gregory of Tours, Historia Francorum, book ii.; C. Zeuss, 'Die'
'Deutschen und die Nachbarstämme' (Munich, 1837), pp. Ro5 ff.;
O. Bremer in H. Paul, 'Grundriss der Permanischen Philologie'
(2nd ed., Strassburg, 1900), vol. iii. pp. 930 h. (Author:Frederick George Meeson Beck|F. G. M. B.)


Category:EB1911:People:Groups:Europe Category: EB1911:People:Groups:Europe