In this TL, 'Germanic' refers only to West Germanic (and some East Germanic remnants, like Crimean Goths) speaking peoples, as Northern Germanic like Danes or Swedish are classified as 'Nordic'. Germanic and Nordic are tipped as sister branches inside the 'Greater Germanic' linguistic family.
Germanic tribes and sub-tribes (as per the 1892 Robert Bach's pseudo-scientific classification)
NOTE: SGL = Standard Germanic Language (created in the 11th centuty; grammar standardized since the 15th century)
1. ANGLES: Real heritage tribe, established in Britain since the 5th century. The original Angles from the Jutlandic peninsula are considered extinct.
1.1. Western Angles: Germanic-speaking population of West England. They formerly spoke the Western dialects of Old English, but they adopted the SGL since the 12th-13th centuries, as the Anglic merchants were the first interested in adopting it after the Frankish conquest of the island.
1.2. Eastern Angles: Germanic-speaking population of East England. They formerly spoke the Eastern dialects of Old English, but they adopted the SGL since the 12th century, being the first ones to adopt it outside its Rhenish core.
1.3. Mercian Angles: Germanic-speaking population of Southumbria, also known as Mercia in Latin. They formerly spoke some of the Northern dialects of Old English, but they adopted the SGL since the 12th-13th centuries, as the Anglic merchants were the first interested in adopting it after the Frankish conquest of the Anglo-Saxon Britain.
1.4. Northumbrian Angles: Germanic-speaking population of Northumbria. Considered a hybrid branch, as the Northern Angles mixed with Scandinavian population there, and it is believed they spoke a Nordic/Germanic creole for some time, until they adopted the SGL by the 14th century, being the last Anglic population to abandon their original dialect.
2. SAXONS: Real heritage tribe from Northern Germany.
2.1. Northern Saxons: Germanic-speaking population of most of Lower Saxony and western and southern Holstein. They formerly spoke the Northern Saxon dialect, but they adopted the SGL since the 13th-14th centuries.
2.2. Western Saxons: Germanic-speaking population of Westphalia, parts of Drenthe and some northern cantons of Hesse. They formerly spoke the Western Saxon dialect, but they adopted the SGL since the 13th-14th centuries.
2.3. Eastern Saxons: Germanic-speaking population of Eastphalia, New Saxony and some parts of Upper Saxony and Lusatia. They formerly spoke the Eastern Saxon dialect, but they adopted the SGL since the 14th-15th centuries, being the last original Saxons to abandon their original dialect.
2.4. Angrian Saxons: Germanic-speaking population of Angria and some northern cantons of Thuringia. They formerly spoke the Central Saxon dialect, but they adopted the SGL since the 13th-14th centuries.
2.5. British Saxons: Germanic-speaking population of East Saxon Britain (Essex) and West Saxon Britain (Wessex), excepting the isle of Wicht. Considered a hybrid branch of Angles and the Saxons who migrated to southern Britain, Their original dialects are poorly known as they adopted the SGL almost immediately after the Frankish conquest of the Anglo-Saxon Britain.
2.6. Neustrian Saxons: Germanic-speaking population of northern Neustria (including the Channel Islands) and the coast of Francia of the Seine. Highly hybridized with former Oeil-speaking populations. Their original dialects are also poorly known, but a certain form of Oeil/Saxon creole survived in the Channel Islands until the 17th century.
2.7. Transylvanian Saxons: Germanic-speaking population of some cantons of southern and northern Transylvania (Siebenbürgen). Established there as settlers since the 12th century, this is the only Saxon population which preserve their own Saxon dialect, even if outside its original range. Today only a third of the Transylvanian Saxons speak the Saxon dialect, with the younger generations mostly switching to SGL.
3. JUTES: Partly real, partly reconstructed heritage tribe dispersed through Jutland, Vermandland and southern Britain.
3.1. Peninsular Jutes: Germanic-speaking population of the province of Jutland (exceting the western islands) and northern Holstein. This branch is considered a reconstructed one, as the original Jutes of the peninsula are considered extinct since the Early Middle Ages. They spoke a variety of Northern Saxon, with some Danish mixing. However, they adopted the SGL since the 12th-13th centuries. Despite being a reconstructed entity, today people of the area widely considered them as Jutes, sharing identity with the other distant branches.
3.2. Vermandic Jutes: Germanic-speaking population of the coast of the Vermandland, specially Kenterwig. Closely related to the Kentish Jutes in Britain, they are considered partly real, partly reconstructed as they are mostly Frankish population retaining Jutish identity from a previous population. They probably spoke a Frankish dialect, but adopted the SGL very early.
3.3. Kentish Jutes: Germanic-speaking population of Kent. This is the only Jutish branch considered to be 100% of real heritage, since the establishment of the Jutes there by the 5th century. They initially spoke their own Jutish language, but they had already switched to Old English before finally adopting the SGL by the 12th-13th centuries.
3.4. Wichtish Jutes: Germanic-speaking population of the isle of Wicht, in West Saxon Britain. It is controversial if they could be considered of real heritage, as it is believed that they were indeed replaced by Saxons at some time before the Frankish conquest. They probably spoke the same dialects as in the rest of the old earldom (now province) before switching to SGL by the 12th-13th centuries. However, they stick today to the Jutish identity.
4. FRISIANS: Real heritage tribe from the continental North Sea shores.
4.1. Northern Frisians: Germanic-speaking population of the western islands of Jutland. They have preserved its Northern Frisian dialect, despite the fact that most of them have switched to SGL in recent times.
4.2. Western Frisians: Germanic-speaking population of the some of the Frisian islands in Holland, as well as some pockets in mainland Holland (Dorstadt), western Frisia and Drenthe. They spoke the Western Frisian dialect, but it is almost extinct today, with a few speakers remaining in the islands. The Western Frisians inhabited most of Holland and northern Brabant until they were replaced by the Franks there at the end of the Early Middle Ages.
4.3. Eastern Frisians: Germanic-speaking population of most of Frisia, Heligoland and some pockets in the continental Lower Saxony. They have preserved the Eastern Frisian dialect in some areas, but the main cities have mostly switched to SGL since the 17th century.
5. FRANKS: Real heritage tribe from West/Central Germany and Northern Gaul.
5.1. Western Franks: Germanic-speaking population of the Francia of the Seine, Campania, the Francia of the Loire and scattered parts of Neustria and the Francia of the Moselle. Considered a highly hybridized branch, as most of this people is bilingual (also Oeil-speaking). In most of Campania and the Francia of the Loire the population is still mainly Oeil-speaking at home. The most Germanic population live around Leyden (Laon) and Sechsen (Soissons), while main cities like Lutz (Paris), Rheims or Rudeburg (Rouan) being bilingual (in the case of Rudeburg, with many Neustrian Saxons too). They spoke the Western Frankish dialect, but it was the first area of the Frankish core to abandon their original dialects, switching to SGL as early as the 12th-13th centuries.
5.2. Eastern Franks: Germanic-speaking population of the Francia of the Main and Hesse, excepting the northern cantons. Considered the most real and authentic Frankish branch. They have preserved the Eastern Frankish dialect in some rural parts of Hesse, but the rest switched to SGL since the 12th-13th centuries.
5.3. Salian Franks: Germanic-speaking population of most of the Salian Francia and parts of Drenthe and Brabant. They spoke the old Salian or Low Frankish dialect, but it is believed that they switched to other Frankish dialects before adopting the SGL by the 14th-15th centuries.
5.4. Rhenish Franks: Germanic-speaking population of Aachen, the Francia of the Rhine, the Francia of the Meuse and the northern half of the Francia of the Moselle. They spoke a variety of closely related Frankish dialects, but as one of the original areas where the SGL was conceived, it replaced all their original Frankish dialects very early.
5.5. Hollandic Franks: Germanic-speaking population of most of Holland (excepting many islands), northern Brabant and some minor areas in Salian Francia. They widely speak their own particular dialect, usually called Hollander, which is based on Low Frankish with some western Frisian influence. It is one of the few examples of a branch still sticking firmly to its own traditional dialect, even if all of them are fluent in SGL as well.
5.6. Flemish Franks: Germanic-speaking population of Flanders, most of Vermandland and significant parts of Brabant and Hennegau. They are tipped to be an original Romance-speaking population who adopted a variety of the Hollander by the end of the Early Middle Ages, but unlike their neighbours, most of them switched to SGL or back to Oeil in recent times. Due to this fact, they are considered to be a 'transitional' branch between the bilingual Western Franks and the Hollandic Franks.
5.7. Pannonian Franks: Germanic-speaking population of most of West Pannonia and part of Central Pannonia. Established there since the 10th century, the variety of Frankish dialects they spoke was quickly replaced by the SGL by the 13th-14th centuries.
6. BURGUNDIANS: Reconstructed heritage tribe from Burgundy. The original Burgundians are considered extinct since the 7th century, but the current ones have succeeded in keeping some sort of shared identity.
6.1. Upper Burgundians: Germanic-speaking population of the eastern cantons of Upper Burgundy. They originally spoke a mix of Frankish and Swabian dialects, but they quickly adopted the SGL by the 14th century.
6.2. Lower Burgundians: Germanic-speaking population of the eastern cantons of Central Burgundy and some pockets in Lower Burgundy. They usually spoke a variety of Alemannic dialects with strong Romance influence, and today many rural areas have preserved them.
7. LOMBARDS: Reconstructed heritage tribe from northern Italy. The original Lombards are considered extinct since the 9th-10th centuries, but there have been some controversial claims of alleged surviving remnants in northwestern Friuli and the area of Döm.
7.1. Western Lombards: Germanic-speaking population of some valleys in northern Lombardy, specially Döm. They speak some varieties of Alemannic with strong Italian influence. Most of them are poorly fluent in SGL and are mostly bilingual with Italian.
7.2. Eastern Lombards: Germanic-speaking population of some areas in northwestern Friuli and small pockets in the Istrian province near Görz (Gorizia). Unlike the Western Lombards, it seems they spoke some varieties of the Bavarian group of dialects, but in order to preserve their Germanic identity in such isolated areas inside the Italian linguistic sphere, they adopted the SGL by the 19th-20th centuries and their own dialects are considered extinct today.
8. SWABIANS: Real heritage tribe from Southwest Germany and the Alpine area.
8.1. Lower Swabians: Germanic-speaking population of both West and East Swabia. They speak the Lower Swabian dialects, but today they are only preserved in some rural areas as the cities have mostly switched to SGL.
8.2. Upper Swabians: Germanic-speaking population of Alemannia. Due to their historical isolation, they have preserved the use of Alemannic or Upper Swabian dialect, in a similar way to Hollandic. It is widely used at all levels, even if all the Alemannians are fluent in SGL as well today.
8.3. Rhenish Swabians: Germanic-speaking population of Alsace. Considered a hybridized branch, highly influenced by Frankish. The Alsatian dialect is preserved today, but in serious decline as the younger generations are switching en masse to SGL.
8.4. Rhetian Swabians: Germanic-speaking population of Rhetia. Unlike the Alemannians, they switched from their old Upper Swabian dialect to the SGL by the 17th-18th centuries due to their tight relations with neighbouring Tirol.
8.5. Pannonian Swabians: Germanic-speaking population of parts of Central and East Pannonia and northern Gepidia. Established there since the 12th century, the variety of Swabian dialects they spoke was quickly replaced by the SGL by the 15th-16th centuries.
9. BAVARIANS: Real heritage tribe from Southeast Germany and the Alpine area.
9.1. Western Bavarians: Germanic-speaking population of West Bavaria and the Upper Palatinate. They speak the Western Bavarian dialect, which is still quite well preserved, even if the switch to SGL has accelerated in some areas during the last century.
9.2. Eastern Bavarians: Germanic-speaking population of East Bavaria, some eastern cantons of West Pannonia and the areas of Pressburg, in Lower Moravia. Unlike their western counterparts, the Eastern Bavarian dialect is almost extinct as they have been gradually adopting the SGL since the 15th century.
9.3. Southern Bavarians: Germanic-speaking population of both West and East Carinthia and northern Carniola. They speak a variety of sometimes valley-restricted Southern Bavarian dialects, but the main cities have switched to SGL since the 17th century.
9.4. Tirolese Bavarians: Germanic-speaking population of most of Tirol and northwestern Friuli (Hayden). In the southern half they are bilingual with Italian and most of them have switched to SGL since the 17th-18th centuries. Tirolese dialect is still preserved in most of the northern valleys.
9.5. Bohemian Bavarians: Germanic-speaking population of the western and southern cantons of Bohemia, and the southern cantons of Upper Moravia. Originally they spoke a mix of Western and Eastern Bavarian dialects, but now they have largely abandon almost all of them in favour to SGL.
9.6. Rhenish Bavarians: Germanic-speaking population of the Lower Palatinate. Isolated from the rest of the Bavarian sphere, they abandoned their original West Bavarian dialect with high Frankish influence quite early and adopted the SGL since the 15th-16th centuries.
10. THURINGIANS: Real heritage tribe from Central Germany.
10.1. Western Thuringians: Germanic-speaking population of most of the Thuringian province. They formerly spoke the Western Thuringian dialect, but they adopted the SGL since the 13th-14th centuries.
10.2. Eastern Thuringians: Germanic-speaking population of parts of Upper Saxony and Lusatia, and some northern Bohemian cantons. They formerly spoke the Eastern Thuringian dialect, but they adopted the SGL since the 15th-16th centuries.
11. POMERANIANS: Creolized tribe from Pomerania. They were formed by ethnogenesis between Wends and Saxon/Frankish settlers.
11.1. Western Pomeranians: Germanic-speaking population of western Pomerania and some Rugian cantons. They formerly spoke a Wendish/Saxon creole until the 17th century, when they switched en masse to the SGL.
11.2. Eastern Pomeranians: Germanic-speaking population of eastern Pomerania. They formerly spoke a Wendish/Saxon creole which survived until the 20th century, but they had already started to adopt the SGL since the 17th century.
12. PRUSSIANS: Creolized tribe from Prussia. They were formed by ethnogenesis between Baltic Prussians and Saxon/Frankish settlers.
12.1. Western Prussians: Germanic-speaking population of West Prussia. They formerly spoke a Saxon dialect with strong Baltic influences, but they switched to SGL by the 16th-17th centuries.
12.2. Eastern Prussians: Germanic-speaking population of East Prussia, excepting the southern cantons. They formerly spoke a sort of Baltic/Saxon creole, but they switched to SGL by the 16th-17th centuries.
12.3. Masurian Prussians: Germanic-speaking population of the southern cantons of East Prussia (Masuria). Considered a hybridized branch of Eastern Prussians and West Slavic population. They still speak a 'double creole' (Saxon/Baltic mixed with Saxon/Slavic) language in some rural areas, but today is in total decline, as the younger generations are switching to SGL.
13. CURONIANS: Newly created Germanic tribe by ethnogenesis, from the Eastern Baltic area.
13.1. Northern Curonians: Germanic-speaking population scattered by Estonia (except the islands), Ugandi and Ingria. They share very different ethnic origins (including Nordic) and adopted SGL since the very beginning of their settlement in the northeastern Baltic area due to basic communication purpose. This is one of the most artificial branches, as it is used as a basketcase for many different Germanic-speaking of the Baltic, grouped as 'Curonians' just for practical reasons.
13.2. Southern Curonians: Germanic-speaking population of Courland and pockets scattered by Livonia, Letland and coastal Samogitia. Unlike the Northern Curonians, the Southern Curonians are a more homogeneous population of basically Germanized Latvian origin. Excepting the ethnic Germanic elites, the rest spoke Latvian until they adopted the SGL during the last five centuries at least.
13.3. Insular Curonians: Germanic-speaking population of the islands of Estonia. This population is based on a first Scandinavian population (Danish and Swedish) who later hybridized with Estonian, Latvian and Germanic populations. Like the Northern Curonians, they adopted the SGL very early for basic communication between the diverse groups.
14. VANDALS: Reconstructed heritage tribe from the Warthe valley and upper Vistula. The original Vandals are considered extinct since the 6th century,
14.1. Lower Vandals: Germanic-speaking population of Lower and Central Vandalia (Warthe valley). Like the Curonians, they share multiple origins, not only Germanic, but also Wendish and West Slavic. This is not proved that they used a creole language like Pomeranians. Their linguistic heritage is hard to reconstruct, as they have been using the SGL since the 14th-15th centuries.
14.2. Upper Vandals: Germanic-speaking population of Upper Vandalia. In this case, the West Slavic heritage is more evident than in the Lower Vandals. However, they also switched to SGL quite early (15th-16th centuries).
15. SILESIANS: Creolized tribe from Silesia. They were formed by ethnogenesis between West Slavic and Saxon/Thuringian settlers.
15.1. Upper Silesians: Germanic-speaking population of Upper Silesia and some pockets in northern and central Lower Moravia. They are Germanized West Slavic population who adopted the SGL between the 15th and the 18th centuries, even if there are some weak proof about the use of a West Slavic/Germanic creole for some time.
15.2. Lower Silesians: Germanic-speaking population of Lower Silesia and parts of Lusatia. Unlike the Upper Silesians, they are a mix of Germanized West Slavic population with Saxon/Thuringian settlers. It is believed that they first adopted the Eastern Saxon dialect as common language before switching to SGL.
15.3. Bohemian Silesians: Germanic-speaking population of northeastern Bohemia and northern Upper Moravia. This is the only Silesian branch which preserved a known West Slavic/Saxon creole until the 19th century, but today is considered extinct.
16. HERULIANS: Reconstructed heritage tribe from the Sau (Sava) valley. The original Herulians are considered extinct since the 6th century,
16.1. Savan Herulians: Germanic-speaking population of Herulland. They descend from a heterogeneous group of Germanic settlers who established in the area for defending the Byzantine-Germanic border between the 14th and the 17th centuries. The Herulian reconstructed identity has been used for binding them together. They have spoken the SGL from the beginning of its settlement.
16.2. Dalmatian Herulians: Germanic-speaking population of some pockets in Dalmatia. They descend from a group of Savan Herulians who moved to Venetian-ruled Dalmatia in the 16th century in order to also defending the Venetian border from Byzantine expansion. They are more hybridized with Italian-speaking people than the Savan branch.
17. GEPIDS: Reconstructed heritage tribe from the lower Pannonian basin. The original Gepids are considered extinct since the 6th century.
17.1. Western Gepids: Germanic-speaking population of some parts of Gepidia. As the Herulians, they descend from a different group of Germanic settlers who established in the area for defending the Byzantine-Germanic border between the 14th and the 17th centuries. They have spoken the SGL from the beginning of its settlement as well.
17.2. Eastern Gepids: Germanic-speaking population of the western cantons of New Gepidia. This group moved eastwards when the Germanic Empire ensured its sovereignty over the Lower Danubian principalities in 1574. This branch has highly hybridized with both Romance-speaking and Bulgarian population.
18. WARNIANS: Tribe from northeastern Germany of controversial origin. Some claim it is from real heritage, while others claim it is reconstructed.
18.1. Western Warnians: Germanic-speaking population of western Warnia and some eastern cantons of Holstein. They formerly spoke an obscure dialect of the Saxon group or similar (Warnian group?), but they have adopted the SGL since the 12th-13th centuries.
18.2. Eastern Warnians: Germanic-speaking population of eastern Warnia. It is believed they spoke a mix of the Pomeranian creole and the alleged Warnian dialect. In any case it is a more Wendicized branch. As well as the western branch, they adopted the SGL since the 12th-13th centuries.
19. RUGIANS: Tribe from two distant locations (northeastern Germany and Carniola) of controversial origin. Some claim it is from real heritage, while others claim it is reconstructed.
19.1. Northern Rugians: Germanic-speaking population of Rugia. It is unclear if they spoke their own language/dialect or rather Wendish or a Pomeranian creole. Since the area was occupied by Sweden for long time, the ethnic development prior to 1774 is hard to reconstruct. Rugians have developed a strong tribal identity despite (or thanks to) their unclear origins, and use the SGL since their reintegration into the Empire.
19.2. Southern Rugians: Germanic-speaking population of southern Carniola and the Croatian canton of Karlstadt. Unlike other Germanic-speaking population detached from the main sphere, this pocket was not created by planned settlements. Despite the popular claim that they directly descend from the Rugians who migrated to the Alpine are during the Early Middle Ages, they are probably from a mixed Bavarian/Swabian origin. However, as they have self-identified as Rugians for long, they are grouped with Northern Rugians. Their original and particular dialect (with no clear affinities) is considered extinct since 1899.
20. GOTHS: Partly real, partly reconstructed heritage tribe from modern Gothia. The original groups of Goths are considered extinct since the 8th century, but a minor branch survived in the Tauric peninsula. This is the only Germanic tribe of traditional Eastern Nicene religion.
20.1. Peninsular Goths: Germanic-speaking population of part of East Gothia, basically the Tauric peninsula, and the city of Dneperburg, in West Gothia. Unlike the other tribes, they originally spoke an East Germanic language, the Gothic. However, this language vanished by the 18th century and their descendants adopted the SGL. Most of these new Goths have also other alternate origins, mostly Germanized East Slavic and Turkic population.
20.2. Dnistrian Goths: Germanic-speaking population of some areas in the Dniester valley, in both West Gothia and Moldavia. They are a mix of Peninsular Goths who moved to the area when it was repopulated by the 18th-19th centuries with other Germanic settlers from Saxony, Bavaria and Swabia.
