Netflix for History Buffs: New show Barbarians

Absalom

Absalom

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Just a heads-up, not an endorsement yet:

On Oct. 23, a new German-produced Netflix show called Barbarians will be available.

I am looking forward to it with some anticipation because it will deal with one of the least known yet most important battles in European history, the destruction of Varus and his legions near the Teutoburg Forest in 9 A.D.

If you are not familiar, it was the Roman version of Custers Last Stand, except they may have lost over 20,000 men, not just 250 or so.

The outcome of the battle influenced the history of Northern Europe for the next two millennia; many recent events including the world wars ultimately go back to it, and you can not understand the European Union without knowing about it.

Now shows like this always have the potential to be insufferably cheesy. I do not expect a lot of historical depth, rather lots of sword swinging by people looking like they need a shower. Kind of like the show Vikings. But I am happy the topic even pops up. We will see.

[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-cA7kwBSUaU[/ame]
 
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Looks like a blood and guts rip snorter!

Here’s a Wikipedia article on the battle: Battle of the Teutoburg Forest - Wikipedia

Absalom, how about a paragraph or so on your comment:

“The outcome of the battle influenced the history of Northern Europe for the next two millennia; many recent events including the world wars ultimately go back to it, and you can not understand the European Union without knowing about it.”

While surely too complicated to address in any depth here, for those of us unfamiliar with European history, it would be enlightening. I’m guessing here, based on what I gleaned from the Wikipedia peruse, but does it have to do with the role of the battle in the 19th century creation of Pan-Germanism?
 
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Unfortunately, I recently unsubscribed from Netflix and have no intention of ever resubscribing after that disgusting little "Cuties" documentary they did awhile back. They already had some rather distasteful/exploitation style content before that I found objectionable, but Cuties was the last straw for me.

Now I'm subscribed to Hulu, which I honestly like better because it has a wider variety of content that I'm interested and so far I haven't seen anything there that I object to.
 
Onomea said:
.....
Absalom, how about a paragraph or so on your comment:

“The outcome of the battle influenced the history of Northern Europe for the next two millennia; many recent events including the world wars ultimately go back to it, and you can not understand the European Union without knowing about it.”

While surely too complicated to address in any depth here, for those of us unfamiliar with European history, it would be enlightening. I’m guessing here, based on what I gleaned from the Wikipedia peruse, but does it have to do with the role of the battle in the 19th century creation of Pan-Germanism?
Click to expand...

Much earlier, actually.

As we know from mostly archaeological evidence, Roman civilization had been steadily expanding eastward from romanized Gaul across the Rhine and created advanced infrastructure like developed towns and well-supported roads to the Elbe and beyond.

That came to a screeching halt after 9 A.D. and the defeat. Rome withdrew to the Rhine (and in the South the Danube) frontier. While this was a victory for the independent Germannic people, it established a permanent rift in the center of Europe, Romanic West vs. Germannic/Slavic East, which (while never neat and tidy) again and again broke out into the central conflicts of European history.

The break-up of the Frankish empire of Charlemagne into what became the French and German kingdoms in the early Middle Ages. The endless conflict between the Bourbons of France and the Habsburgs of the Holy Roman Empire. Bonaparte’s conquest and dismantling of that empire. Ultimately (that’s where we get to your pan-Germanism) the arch-enmity between the modern and very nationalist states of France and the new German Empire from 1871 to 1945.

The European Union was the first real attempt to heal that break permanently after WW II. That’s what many critics of the EU don’t get, and that’s why trivialities like Brexit ultimately don’t matter that much. As long as France and Germany stick together politically, mission accomplished. Money and economics are secondary.

See, that’s what happens if you ask me to explain anything “in a paragraph” :)
 
The Wiki article explains that Arminius was one of the Germanic tribe guys, the son of a chieftain/king, sent to Rome and raised there as a hostage for his people’s good behavior. So he’s raised in Rome, by Rome, getting a Roman education, in military strategy and tactics, among other things. And as an adult he accompanies the Romans legions sent to subdue the Germanic tribes. But he sides with his people, and is responsible for their victory, through his understanding of Roman military tactics, in the battle of the Teutoburg Forest.

It’s interesting to me that he was not fully assimilated as a Roman, that he kept his identity as a Germanic tribesman throughout all that.

There’s a love story in there, too. The Wikipedia article explains that he’s married to the daughter of one of the Germanic leaders/chieftains, against the will of the girl’s father, who denounces him as a traitor to Rome on the eve of the battle. The father is not believed by the Romans, who assume the charge is out of personal animus. (Or something like that.)

Anyway, looks like one helluva story in real life.
 
Onomea said:
The Wiki article explains that Arminius was one of the Germanic tribe guys, ....
Click to expand...

And in the 19th century, the Germans made Arminius a unifying hero against the French occupation by Napoleon, and he became a symbol of German nationalism.

With no sense for how stereotypically funny this would sound today, Arminius became Hermann (seriously!) in German, and they built him a fairly bombastic statue in the Teutoburg Forest, although nowhere near the actual battlesite, which wasn’t definitely identified until the 1980s.

Popular field trip destination. I went there a few times as a kid.


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CAJUNLAWYER said:
I'll ask the important question. Does it show boobies???
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Remains to be seen. If the producers stuck to the spirit of Tacitus and the “Germania”, the Germanic tribes were described as virtuous and morally upright. On the other hand, if they want to compete with HBO’s “Rome”, we’re in for something ... :D
 
From the Wikipedia article on Arminius:

.... During the unification of Germany in the 19th century, Arminius was hailed by German nationalists as a symbol of German unity and freedom. Following World War II, however, Arminius was omitted from German textbooks due to his association with militaristic nationalism, and many modern Germans are unaware of his story; the 2,000th anniversary of his victory at the Teutoburg Forest was only lightly commemorated in Germany...

Arminius - Wikipedia

So I would think that this German-produced Netflix saga is, in a sense, the maturation, the coming to terms of German popular culture with Germany’s past, with the younger generation further discovering their illustrious ancestor, and taking pride in him. (And I imagine some of the older generation look askance at the production, recalling the rise of German nationalism and the tragedy of the two wars in the first half of the 20th century.)

Hope the Nefflix production ain’t too cheesy. (Re boobies, Caje, I’d venture boobies galore. We’re not talkin’ Kansas here!)
 
Had a Bavarian born teacher back when,
way back when. He laughed that Germany
would have been better off if the Romans
had been able to stay as the country needed
more civilization, especially "those Prussians."

During WWII he worked with the OSS as
a translator/interpreter. His "official"
profession was philologist.

He said he found some traces of old English
among a few people in the back reaches of
New England and also in the South. Of course
this was 70 years ago.
 
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UncleEd said:
... His "official"
profession was philologist.

He said he found some traces of old English
among a few people in the back reaches of
New England and also in the South. ...
Click to expand...

That’s one of the things that struck me about the trailer for “Barbarians”, something that won’t bother most of you:

Sure, the Romans speak Latin. Cool. But the Germans speak beautiful modern German like you’d hear in Hannover today.

In reality, whatever proto-German dialects those Germanic tribespeople spoke 2000 years ago would be as incomprehensible to modern Germans as King Arthur’s “English” would be to you :)
 
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