Suebian knot

The Suebian knot is the tribe of the Suevi attributed typical Germanic men hairstyle, which is demonstrated by illustrations, archaeological finds and written traditions.

Description

According to Tacitus, the warriors of the Germanic tribe of the Suevi combed sideways hair and tied it up on the vertex to a node. The purpose of the node have been to seem bigger and scarier in battle. The fashion of Suebenknotens have also prevailed among the tribes, the Suevi are adjacent, there, however, only among the younger warriors, while was born at the Suevi, the node into old age. He was also considered a status symbol.

Tacitus wrote in his Germania that just wore the nobles among the Suevi, the most elaborate node:

Finds and representations

The Suebian knot is tied to two bog bodies, the men of Osterby, with the nodes on the right temple, and Dätgen, at the back of the head demonstrated. The community Osterby ( Rendsburg- Eckernförde ), the location of the bog bodies, resulting in their coat of arms a Suebian knot. The male bog body of Hooghalen, which was found in 1866 near the Dutch village of hatchets in Drethe had, according to the Finder long hair like a woman, who were tied into a knot. Whether it is a Suebian knot in this knot of hair but no more can be confirmed, as the body was buried shortly after the discovery in a cemetery.

Past visual representations of Germans with Suebian knot, or similar hair styles, can be found on for example:

• Relief of several Germanic princes as a negotiating partner before the Roman emperor Trajan's Column in Rome on (about 120 AD)
• Bronze cauldron, Germanic chieftain's grave from Musov ( Muschau ), South Moravia, Czech Republic ( see picture in gallery )
• Several reliefs on the Tropaeum Traiani in Adamklissi, Romania ( 108/109 AD) (see picture in gallery )
• Relief fragment in Keltenmuseum high village on the Enz (however dimly )
• Bronze figure of a kneeling Germans in the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris (see picture)
• Bronze figure of a standing, shackled Germans in the Roman Museum of the Wien Museum (see picture in gallery )
• Head of a Germanenstatutette in the Rhenish State Museum Trier with a chignon at the back of the head
• Bronze cauldron, grave Fund in 2000 at Czarnówko, (until 1945 Scharnhorst Lauenburg, Pomerania ), Lębork, Poland
• Bronze furniture fittings from Carnuntum, the Natural History Museum in Vienna (1st / 2nd century )
• Head of a marble statue of Somzée in the holdings of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts, Brussels. ( About the dating disagreement prevails. Pre-Christian or 1st-2nd century AD ) (see picture in gallery )
• Relief with a representation of barbarians in the amphitheater of Pozzuoli (1st century )
• Barbarians representation on the sarcophagus of Portonaccio in the Museo Nazionale Romano, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome. (4th quarter of the 2nd century ) (see picture in gallery )
• Terracotta mask of Germans in the British Museum (see picture in gallery )
• Head of a Germanic people on the grave stone of Cantaber from Mainz
• Bronze bust of an elderly Germans from the Legion camp Brigetio in Komárom, Hungary

Boiler of Musov

Detail of Tropaeum Traiani in Adamklissi

Captured germane in the Roman Museum of the Wien Museum

Marble statue of Somzée the Royal Museums of Fine Arts Brussels

Sarcophagus of Portonaccio ( standing man at the bottom right )

Terracotta mask in the British Museum

Carrying method

The binding of a Suebenknotens is long ahead of scalp hair. The hair is divided at the back of the head into two equal strands, smooth combed and placed in opposite directions around the head. On one side of the head, usually in the temporal region, the two strands are individually tightened in the same direction. The two strands are then twisted against each other, whereby the rotation of the two single strands loosen up a little. Finally, a loop is formed from the resulting braid and put the excess Zopfende in a loop through the loop. By twisting the resulting knot tightens and holds without any additional aids.

The man of Osterby had a beginning vertex baldness as well as very long and thin hair. Experimental Archaeological wearer trials with this hairstyle showed that the node just as well holds only at very long and thin hair as in the bog body. A certain amount of hair fat also improves the durability of the hairstyle. Strong and full head of hair is due to the abundance less for this hairstyle.