What is Germanic peoples?
[[File:Thor.jpg|thumb|right|Thor, Germanic thunder [[deity|god]]. The hammer is associated with the thunderbolt. [[Painting]] by Mårten Eskil Winge, ca. 1872.]] The '''Germanic peoples''' are a [[language|linguistic]] and [[Ethnic group|ethnic]] branch of [[Indo-European people|Indo-European]] peoples. They came from [[Northern Europe]] and are identified by their use of the [[Germanic languages]]. During the [[migration period]] Germanic peoples spread throughout Europe, mixing with existing local populations (like [[Celts]], [[Slavs|Slavs/Vends]], and [[Ancient Rome|Romans]]). They eventually formed the basis of many nations. These nations are connected by similar languages, common history, and [[culture]]. The Latin word ''Germani'' was first used by [[Julius Caesar]]. The Germanic tribes did not have a name for themselves that described all Germanic-speaking people. In English, ''German'' is first attested in [[1520]], replacing earlier use of ''[[Alamanni|Almain]]'' or ''[[Dutch people|Dutch]]''. Today, in English, “Dutch” means the language or people of the [[Netherlands]]. In the [[1st century]] [[Common Era|CE]], Roman authors like [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]] and [[Gaius Cornelius Tacitus|Tacitus]] wrote that Germanic-speaking peoples had divided into tribal groupings. The different tribes lived in different areas: * [[East Germanic tribes|The East Germanic tribes]] lived around the rivers [[Oder]] and [[Vistula]], in what is now [[Poland]]. * The [[Istvaeones]] lived around the lower [[Rhine]] River. * The [[Irminones]] lived around the [[Elbe]] River, in what is now [[Germany]]. * The [[Ingvaeones]] lived in [[Jutland]] and other [[Island|islands]] that now belong to [[Denmark]]. The [[Irminones]], [[Ingvaeones]], and Sons of [[Mannus]] [[Istvaeones]] are called [[West Germanic tribes]]. The Germanic people who remained in [[Scandinavia]] called [[North Germanic]]. The groups all developed separate [[dialect|dialects]], which eventually developed into different [[Germanic languages]]. The Germani