Editing Germanic peoples (section)

===Warfare===
[[File:Column of Marcus Aurelius - detail4.jpg|thumb|Image of Romans fighting the [[Marcomanni]] on the [[Column of Marcus Aurelius]] (193&nbsp;CE)]]
{{Main|Early Germanic warfare|Military organization of the Germanic peoples}}

Warfare seems to have been a constant in Germanic society,{{sfn|Steuer|2021|p=673}} including conflicts among and within Germanic peoples.{{sfn|Steuer|2021|p=794}} There is no common Germanic word for "war", and it was not necessarily differentiated from other forms of violence.{{sfn|Bulitta|Springer|2010|pp=665–667}} Historical information on Germanic warfare almost entirely depends on Greco-Roman sources,{{sfn|Murdoch|2004|p=62}} however their accuracy has been questioned.{{sfn|Steuer|2021|p=674}} The core of the army was formed by the [[Comitatus (warband)|comitatus]] (retinue), a group of warriors following a chief.{{sfn|Steuer|2021|p=785}} As retinues grew larger, their names could become associated with entire peoples. Many retinues functioned as {{Lang|la|[[auxilia]]}} (mercenary units in the Roman army).{{sfn|Steuer|2021|pp=793–794}}

Roman sources stress, perhaps partially as a [[literary topos]], that the Germanic peoples fought without discipline.{{sfn|Green|1998|pp=68–69}}{{sfn|Murdoch|2004|p=63}} Germanic warriors fought mostly on foot,{{sfn|Todd|1999|p=35}} in tight formations in close combat.{{sfn|Steuer|2021|p=663}} Tacitus mentions a single formation as used by the ''Germani'', the wedge ({{langx|la|cuneus}}).{{sfn|Bulitta|Springer|2010|pp=678–679}} Cavalry was rare: in the Roman period, it mostly consisted of chiefs and their immediate retinues,{{sfn|Todd|1999|p=35}} who may have dismounted to fight.{{sfn|Steuer|2021|p=672}} However, East Germanic peoples such as the Goths developed cavalry forces armed with lances due to contact with various nomadic peoples.{{sfn|Todd|1999|p=42}} Archaeological finds, mostly in the form of grave goods, indicate that most warriors were armed with spear, shield, and often with swords.{{sfn|Steuer|2021|p=663}} Higher status individuals were often buried with spurs for riding.{{sfn|Steuer|2021|p=672}} The only archaeological evidence for helmets and [[chain mail]] shows them to be of Roman manufacture.{{sfn|Steuer|2021|p=661}}