Hi
i l l l
'O rigin At.
: Pop u l a - ,
' This, c'Öüfiti-y appears to have been full ó f extenfive forefts, even in
the R om an period']' and o f courfe to have been in many parts; th in ly
peopled, y e t there are faint indications th a t the Ctmbri, or modern
Celt's, poffeffid',lèverai tra£ts in the fottth^as they certainly held a large
portion o f the N. W . '.O n tîïë N. E. o f Ge rmany the Fmnifh nations
are Well known to have preceded the incurfions o f the Goths and? SI*-
^4 ons. " The'Scythians of Goths,proceeding; from the ir original feats on
the Euxine]' éxpelled the CimBîr and*Fins ; and long before th e 'lig h t
o f h iftory arifes had planted colonies in the n o rth o f France, whence à
part had p a fled lp England, n o t to mention Their fouthem pofieffion^
in Gaul and Spain. T h e Goth's on 'the E uxine, and the Ge rman
■nations, were the deftroyers o f the Roman empire in the weft ; and it ,
is in vain with th e weak, a n th e r^ o f a fabujqps a g e ,to ^ a c e the ir origin
to Scandinavia, which in th é elatfical 'period had onl^ .detached -two
colonies, th e Jutes o r Danes, a n d th e Pidts ó f Scotland.^
' : > T h e progreffive gèography ’oRGerman-y, ib-pugh ’a r n t t lteW ltin g T # #
has -n^vef* been
D ’Anvillë Ji'asheen contented to f o llb ^ f ir è fnricfuaftd y ^ b r s “ ô fjb fu -
-vmus and ‘Célfarius, i l è n 'o f p o d d in g 'èrudïtichiV Sut d é f f i t n t ê T ^ 'l ^ -
ment and fagacity, and who have compofed maps w h ic ^ h a r iU ittl’e* rela
tion w ith the grand and immoveable features o f nature. It appears
th a t the- central parts p f Germany' were little known to the ancients>
The-fouthem and weftern diftfias,-as bordering on the Roman empire,
had been partially explored. Roman {hips had navigated the Baltic;
and Roman armies had vifited the northern courfe o f the Elbe ; but
the centre, and the eaft, though filled by Ptolemy with many names',\
muft. be regarded as nearly unknown, fince he errs lb widely in the: -
arrangement o f mountains and: rivers. It would appear that the Roman
arms had penetrated nearly in a direction due eaft, to the neared
circuit o f the Elbe near Magdeburg, in which quarter the trophies-of
Drufus. Were erefted. On the S. th e . Sudetic mountains, ..and perhaps
the Krzgeberg,. feeni to bound the knowledge o f the ancients; while
' through the_; centre o f Germany, from; the. Rhine| t;p the Viftula, cx-
t-ended the- vaftHerciriian foreft, by Heflia, Thuringia, and the north
o î the Sudetic and Carpathian mountains. The mountain Melèboous
o f
o f Ptolemy feems to be the fame with the Bru£terUs o f others, repre- Progrbs-
Jenting-tb^ji^ofl:»northern mount-aiös,of Germany,.thofg o f r the H:artz ; sive^Geo-
and th,&.-Semana Sylya may a lia be fpught near,%e c efuriepf the, Roman
a rmy .towards Magdeb.u5:g^yThéEes isy.reafian ,to é elièye thajt Ptolemy, -
borrowing from , various' writers, -often$ giv^s The fame,nation hr tribe,
unde f different names, and thustp^pfe sifpa 'c es w ffe b , would- qtherwifo
prefent a wide blankenf e jth a t the« nióft aiïthentfefojirp!^''Q§Gefman
geography are, thé writings o f Pliny] Tacitus, and o tl^ r;J $ f orians.
T h e interpor’ „ ö ffh isg.-.eoy-ntty' rem-aïnedjUTiië^pSlordd 4itl th e age*, o f jl
Charlemagne, and the; nórdigrn^par/t.s fo |n 4 genomes a fte r'th a t
period. , Longer.' details, would- n p t.b e a d a p t e d - l i m i t s ,o f this
work,; but,r e a p p e a r e d ipffentiaf.toyjhdigite dhtfiecradipal errors in th e
elaffi,cal-geography -pf ^ c o u n t r y , > moft o f 'th e modern« Euro-;,
.peau patipns; have., p r o c e e d e d ;.;
hiftorical- epochs: have alfceady^b^n, -jnentijoned;) Hiftoncat
io.defcribing, .tfipfe. k rg e ? portions ,of Germany, rite' Auftrian, a n d ;P ju f i:Epochsj'
Can domin ions ‘ - a n d_- fp m 0 o f th e ’-otherSi m ay be .briefly-,hintëdj--in th e
accgupt, o f fljft refpeftive ftatesM bfnffice ifr,hereTo meptlonfo jf-.yTh'e
ancient period,.chiefly refting qp t^e, Recount, pfjthe Roman a n d .f ta n - \
cic^iftfiriansT. 2. T h e middle period.*, o jn th& ejïd; q£4he eighth eerf-
tp ry , Charleptagpe, ..having jufidued ’ a great part,, OfjG.eEmany* t and
Ita ly , was in .th&.year ,8$fo prodaim.ed*.E,kinernr-. ,nfi thp VWeifb^H'is
fit CQelflu-,! , puis le Debpnnaire hgJjaj thq^empire .with,France-:,but bis
fo n L o tb a ir e l was r e f t r i ^ ^ to ^ e rm a p y j . 4 -A fte rm an y .jiniefeièhQ'm-
motions Hefiry duke o f Saxony was chpjm,empe^oi^in-Qjf? the Imp
- o f Charlemagne having failed fix^ye^rs Ibgfpif. ^H e vgas fpljoyipd, by
his fon Qtho the Great, 9 3 6 : and the Cine of §aXopy faijjngf.i 024, was
fbllowbd b y t l o t 'o f Frayconia.; t i n the .twëllth c cn fu r^ an cS S th e faeV
. tipns p f th e Gnelphs .and Gibèljne|,^the latter b e ap è J% p^rtifims o flh p
-emperor. -'F red e rick Barbatpfia^ who afegnded m l imperial .tbrone
1 152, is a diftinguiffced name. L o n g contefts having again arifen, the
. feepter was at length -affigned to, the houfe o f Aüftria in 1273 ; and
after fome deviations continued to remain in that family. 3.' T h e .
* Particularly the Saxons : the fouthern parts had before been fubjeft to the Franks, and
were converted to Chriftianity,
;( VOL. x. ' ' 4 G ■ . modern-'