The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World: from Marathon to WaterlooCreasy, Edward Shepherd, Sir
History
The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World: from Marathon to Waterloo
Creasy, Edward Shepherd, Sir
Battles
I have said above that the great Cheruscan is more truly one of our
national heroes than Caractacus is. It may be added that an Englishman
is entitled to claim a closer degree of relationship with Arminius
than can be claimed by any German of modern Germany. The proof of this
depends on the proof of four facts: first, that the Cherusci were
Old Saxons, or Saxons of the interior of Germany; secondly, that the
Anglo-Saxons, or Saxons of the coast of Germany, were more closely akin
than other German tribes were to the Cheruscan Saxons; thirdly, that the
Old Saxons were almost exterminated by Charlemagne; fourthly, that
the Anglo-Saxons are our immediate ancestors. The last of these may be
assumed as an axiom in English history. The proofs of the other three
are partly philological, and partly historical. I have not space to
go into them here, but they will be found in the early chapters of the
great work of Dr. Robert Gordon Latham on the "English Language;" and
in the notes to his edition of the "Germania of Tacitus." It may be,
however, here remarked that the present Saxons of Germany are of the
High Germanic division of the German race, whereas both the Anglo-Saxon
and Old Saxon were of the Low Germanic.
Being thus the nearest heirs of the glory of Arminius, we may fairly
devote more attention to his career than, in such a work as the present,
could be allowed to any individual leader, and it is interesting to
trace how far his fame survived during the middle ages, both among the
Germans of the Continent and among ourselves.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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