<P> The writings of Tacitus allude to the Germanic peoples being aware of a shared ethnicity, in that, they either knew or believed that they shared a common biological ancestor with one another . Just how pervasive this awareness may have been is certainly debatable, but other factors like language, clothing, ornamentation, hair styles, weapon types, religious practices and shared oral history were likely just as significant in tribal identity for the Germanics . Members of a Germanic tribe told tales about the exploits of heroic founding figures who were more or less mythologized . Village life consisted of free men assembled under a chieftain, all of whom shared common cultural and political traditions . Status among the early Germanic tribes was often gauged by the size of a man's cattle herd or by one's martial prowess . </P> <P> Before their conversion to Christianity, the Germanic peoples of Europe were made up of several tribes, each functioning as an economic and military unit and sometimes united by a common religious cult . Kinship, especially close kinship, was very important to life within a tribe but generally was not the source of a tribe's identity . In fact, several elements of ancient Germanic life tended to weaken the role of kinship: the importance of the retinues surrounding military chieftains, the ability of strong leaders to unite people who were not closely related, and feuds and other conflicts within a tribe that might lead to permanent divisions . The retinue (often called "comitatus" by scholars, following the practice of ancient Roman writers) consisted of the followers of a chieftain, who depended on the retinue for military and other services and who in return provided for the retinue's needs and divided with them the spoils of battle . This relationship between a chieftain and his followers became the basis for the more complicated feudal system that developed in medieval Europe . A chieftain's retinue might include close relatives, but it was not limited to them . Eventually the rising power of individual chieftains and kings from among the military leadership of Germanic tribes and confederations curtailed and in many ways replaced the power once enjoyed by tribal assemblies . A code of ethics in battle prevailed among the Germanic kin . According to Tacitus, the "greatest disgrace that can befall" a warrior of a clan among the Germanic tribes was the abandonment of their shield during combat, as this almost certainly resulted in social isolation . Within tribal Germanic society, their social hierarchy was linked intrinsically to war and this warrior code maintained the fidelity between chiefs and their young warriors . </P> <P> Feuds were the standard means for resolving conflicts and regulating behavior . Peace within the tribe was about controlling violence with codes identifying exactly how certain types of feuds were to be settled . Those closely related to a person who had been injured or killed were supposed to exact revenge on or monetary payment from the offender . This duty helped reaffirm the bonds between extended family members . Yet such feuds weakened the tribe as a whole, sometimes leading to the creation of a new tribe as one group separated from the rest . Clans of Germanic people consisted of groupings of about 50 households in total with societal rules for each specific clan . Recent scholarship suggests that, despite the obligation to take part in feuds and other customs involving kinship ties, extended families did not form independent units among the early Germanic peoples . Though most members of a tribe would have been more or less distantly related, common descent was not the main source of a tribe's identity, and extended families were not the main social units within a tribe . Traditional theories have emphasized the supposedly central role in Germanic culture of clans or large groups with common ancestry . But there is little evidence that such clans existed, and they were certainly not an important element of social organization . As historian Alexander C. Murray concludes, "kinship was a crucial factor in all aspects of barbarian activity, but its uses and groupings were fluid, and probably on the whole not long lasting ." Internal competition within the factions of a tribe occasionally resulted in internecine warfare which weakened and sometime destroyed a group, as appears to have been the case for the Cherusci tribe during Rome's earlier period . </P> <P> The most important family relationships among the early Germanic peoples were within the individual household, a fact based on the archaeological evidence from their settlements where the long - houses appeared to be central in their existence . Within the household unit, an individual was equally bound to both the mother and the father's side of the family . Fathers were the main figures of authority, but wives also played an important and respected role . Some Germanic tribes even believed that women possessed magical powers and were feared accordingly . Tacitus describes how, during battles, Germanic warriors were encouraged and cared for by their wives and mothers . He also notes that during times of peace, women did most of the work of managing the household . Along with the children, they apparently did most of the household chores as well . Children were valued, and according to Tacitus, limiting or destroying one's offspring was considered shameful . Mothers apparently breast - fed their own children rather than using nurses . Besides parents and children, a household might include slaves, but slavery was uncommon, and according to Tacitus, slaves normally had households of their own . Their slaves (usually prisoners of war) were most often employed as domestic servants . Polygamy and concubinage were rare but existed, at least among the upper classes . When a certain number of families resided on the same territory, this constituted a village (Dorf in German). The overall territory occupied by people from the same tribe was designated in the writings of Tacitus as a civitas, with each of the individual civitas divided into pagi (or cantons), which were made up of several vici . In cases where the tribes were grouped into larger confederations or a group of kingdoms, the term pagus was applied (Gau in German). Extensive contact with Rome altered the egalitarian structure of tribal Germanic society . As individuals rose to prominence, a distinction between commoner and nobility developed and with it the previous constructs of folkright shared equally across the tribe was replaced in some cases by privilege . As a result, Germanic society became more stratified . Elites within the Germanic tribes who learned the Roman system and emulated the way they established dominion were able to gain advantages and exploit them accordingly . </P>

Who are the germanic tribes and how did they help rome fall