Warfare was a major occupation of the Germanic peoples and tended to be conducted by enterprising leaders who could attract a following and who often banded together. Known to Classical observers by the tribal names of their leaders or by general titles like Alamanni ('All Men'), the bands were frequently of very mixed origin.
We have many descriptions of Germanic peoples from Classical writers, but these were generally biased, emphasizing Germanic depravity or their 'noble savage' innocence, depending on the viewpoint of the author.
Here Caesar, for whom they were serving as villains and scapegoats in his conquest of Gaul, describes what he had seen of the Germanic way of life.
