Harii
I have written about them a year earlier but I have rewritten this post to include more information about them.
The Harii were a Germanic tribe shrouded in mystery. Little is known about the origins of this tribe and its exact location. Some historians claim that the Harii came from modern day northern Germany but others suggest that they came from the south, modern day southern Germany and Poland, if Tacitus is correct this would be a more likely location of them.
There is of course also the possibility that the Harii were not even a tribe at all. Perhaps it is just a name for the legendary warriors who belonged to it. The name Harii is Germanic and is derived from the word 'ger' which means 'spear. The name is in plural so you could translate it into 'spears' or perhaps 'army'.
We only know of their existence thanks to a description made by Tacitus in his work the Germania:
"The Harii, fierce beyond the superiority of strength they possess over the other just enumerated people, improve their natural ferocity of aspect by artificial helps. Their shields are black, their bodies painted, they choose the darkest nights for an attack and strike terror by the funereal gloom of their sable bands, no enemy being able to sustain their singular, and, as it were, infernal appearance since in every combat the eyes are the first part subdued." - Tacitus, Germania
Tacitus describes here a ghostly army of painted men who attack in the night. Some historians compare these warriors to the Einherjar and others theorize that these warriors were the inspiration for the dead in Wodan's wild hunt. Their blackened appearance might have actually been inspired by legends of the wild hunt. It is possible they tried to emulate the hunt in order to terrorize their enemies, which apparently, according to Tacitus, was a very succesful tactic.
One thing I do really want to mention is the theory that the Harii were perhaps not even Germanic at all. If you read the Germania more closely, the Harii seem to have been part of the Lugii community:
"for a continued ridge of mountains separates Suebi from various remoter tribes. Of these, the Lugii is the most extensive, and diffuses its name through several communities. It will be sufficient to name the most powerful of them: the Harii, Helvecones, Manimi, Elysii, and Naharvali." - Tacitus, Germania
The Lugii were not a tribe but a confederation of tribes of Celtic origins. Although it is uncertain if all tribes belonging to this confederation were fully Celtic, it seems some Germanic tribes like the Semnones and the Lombards were part of it as well. Also according to Strabo's work Geographica, the Lugii were subjected to the rule of Maroboduus, ruler of the Marcomanni tribe, which was a Germanic tribe.
It appears that the truth lies somewhere in between. It is very well possible that the Harii were actually Celtic in origin, that would explain the painted bodies since that is not a Germanic but a Celtic tradition. They might have been greatly influenced by the Germanic culture and perhaps adopted it as their own.
What is also a bit mysterious is the fact that the Harii were never mentioned again after 98AD. Were they perhaps fully absorbed into the Lugii confederation and were thus known as the Lugii instead of the Harii? There is also of course the small possibility that the Harii migrated to an unknown location.
If the Harii were Celtic in origin, judging by their probable location, they might have once belonged to the Hallstatt culture and their origins could predate the Germanic culture itself. The Hallstat culture is the first Celtic, Proto-Celtic, culture in existence, dating back to around 1200-800BC.
The question that remains however, did these legendary warriors really exist? If they were Celtic in origin, it is very well possible that they would have used woad in order to intimidate their enemies. Combine Germanic guerilla tactics with nightly raids and painted warriors screaming to the Gods as they attack, I bet anyone who faced them would have been absolutely terrified.
You might have recognized the image of the Harii in the band Heilung. During their live performances they use volunteers dressed up as Harii warriors.
Here are images of: Harii warriors depicted by Sammi McEwan for the Total war games, Depiction of Harii warriors in the band Heilung, photographed by Lykke Nielsen,
