The Sitones – a People Ruled by a Woman

History & Finds The Sitones: The Rule of a Woman

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The Sitones were a Germanic people far in the north, whom Tacitus names right beside the Suiones.

The peculiarity

Tacitus highlights one thing: among the Sitones a woman ruled. For the Roman author this was so unusual that he notes it almost with reproach – in this, he thinks from his viewpoint, they had "sunk into slavery".

Women and power in the north

The sentence is a rare glimpse of female rule in the Germanic world. Together with the powerful seeresses and strong women of the sagas, it shows: women could have far more influence here than the Roman image admitted.

"Over the Sitones a woman rules."after Tacitus, Germania 45 (public domain, own translation)

What is documented: Sitones as a northern Germanic people over whom, according to Tacitus, a woman ruled (Germania 45).

What is interpretation: The report is extremely brief and judgemental – Tacitus uses the Sitones as a moral contrast for his Roman audience. Who this ruler was and how her power looked is completely unknown.

The Sitones show a surprising side of the north. Continue with the Suiones and the Germanic seeresses.

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Sources & literature

Tacitus, Germania 45; quote public domain (own translation).

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The Sitones: The Rule of a Woman

The peculiarity

Women and power in the north

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Sources & literature

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