Old German military community according to archaeologists and narrative tradition

The article deals with the functioning and structuring of the Old Germanic military community. Its values and military system are described on the basis of Roman historical tradition, hagiography and archaeological data. The author analyses the development and consolidation of military community's status within the Old German society. Gradual development of the chief (royal) power provided some changes in religion and burial customs of the Old Germans. The study of the burial conception of the Old Germans during the age of the Great Resettlement allows to investigate the consciousness of a warrior society. The changes of burial practices prove the dependence of Burial rites on the proximity to the Roman border. The results of archaeological studies of Old German warriors demon­strate close social, economical, political and cultural ties between the Old Germans and the Roman Empire. The German religion world outlook reflected in a German military hierarchy and in demonstrative weapon significance. The weaponry technique and the role of weapon in German life are under investigation in the article. The Old Ger­man military community is considered to be a unified unique organism. It was based on its own rules and demon­strated the elements of different cultures. There were continuous relations within the Old German world which en­able to pick out certain markers of the inner and outer military community's changing.