Physical Features. Coast and Islands.— The length of the coast-line is scarcely the third part of the whole frontier, so that the Germans must be regarded as less a maritime than an inland people. Unlike the eastern states of Europe, the German empire has not only an inland sea-shore, but is also in direct communication with the great oceans by means of the North Sea. The coasts of Germany are shallow, and deficient in natural ports, except on the east of Schleswig-Holstein, where wide bays encroach upon the land, giving access to the largest vessels, so that a great harbour for men-of-war has been constructed at Kiel. With the exception of those on the east coast of Schleswig-Holstein, all the important trading ports of Germany are river ports, such as Emden, Bremen, Hamburg, Lübeck, Stettin, Dantzic, Königsberg, Memel. A great difference, however, is to be remarked between the coasts of the North Sea and those of the Baltic. On the former, where the sea has broken up the ranges of dunes formed in bygone times, and divided them into separate islands, the mainland has to be protected by massive dikes, while the Frisian Islands are being gradually washed away by the waters. On the coast of East Friesland there are now only seven of these islands, of which Norderney, a bathing-place, is best known, while of the North Frisian Islands, on the western coast of Schleswig, Sylt is the most considerable. Besides the ordinary waste of the shores, there have been extensive inundations by the sea within the historic period, the gulf of the Dollart having been so caused in the year 1276. Sands surround the whole coast of the North Sea to such an extent that the entrance to the ports is not practicable without the aid of pilots. Heligoland, which has belonged to England since 1814, is a rocky island, but it also has been considerably reduced by the sea. The tides rise to the height of 12 or 13 feet in the Jahde Bay and at Bremerhafen, and 6 or 7 feet at Hamburg. The coast of the Baltic on the other hand possesses few islands, the chief being Alsen and Fehmern off the coast of Schleswig-Holstein, and Rügen off Pomerania. It has no extensive sands, though on the whole very flat. The Baltic has no perceptible tides; and a great part of its coast-line is in winter covered with ice, which also so blocks up the harbours that navigation is interrupted for several months every year. Its three haffs fronting the mouths of the large rivers must be regarded as lagoons or extensions of the river beds, not as bays. The Oder Haff is separated from the sea by two islands, so that the river flows out by three mouths, the middle one (Swine) being the most considerable. The Frische Haff is formed by the Nogat, a branch of the Vistula, and by the Pregel, and communicates with the sea by means of the Pillau Tief. The Kurische Haff receives the Memel, called Niemen in Russia, and has its outlet in the extreme north at MemeL Long narrow alluvial strips called Nehrungen, lie between the last two haffs and the Baltic. The Baltic coast is further marked by large indentations, the Gulf of Lübeck, that of Pomerania, cast of Rügen, and the semicircular Bay of Dantzic between the promontories of Rixhöft and Brüsterort. The German coasts are now well provided with lighthouses.

Surface and Geology.— In respect of physical structure Germany is divided into two entirely distinct portions, which bear to one another a ratio of about 3 to 4. The northern and larger part may be described as a uniform plain, covered generally by very recent deposits, but with small areas of Tertiary and Secondary formations protruding here and there. South and Central Germany, on the other hand, is very much diversified in scenery and in geological structure. It possesses large plateaus, such, as that of Bavaria, which stretches away from the foot of the Alps, fertile low plains like that intersected by the Rhine, mountain chains, and isolated groups of mountains, comparatively low in height, and so situated as not seriously to interfere with communication either by road or by railway. Its geological structure corresponds to this diversity of surface. The most ancient rocks of Germany are the gneisses, schists, and granites which form the Bohemian and Bavarian plateau, and extend into Saxony. Another isolated mass of similar rocks rising into the heights of the Vosges and Black Forest has been cut through by the valley of the Rhine. Silurian rocks are but scantily developed in Germany. The Devonian system, however, occupies an extensive area, since it forms the high tableland of the Taunus, Hundsruck, and Eifel, which ranges westw ard into Belgium. Carboniferous rocks with productive coal-fields cover isolated areas, chiefly in north-western Germany, particularly in Westphalia, at Saarbrück, in Saxony, and in Upper and Lower Silesia (see Coal). Between the Devonian uplands of the Taunus and the crystalline rocks of Bavaria a vast area of western Germany is occupied by the Triassic system, which ranges from Hanover to Basel and from near Metz to Baireuth. The southern half of this vast Triassic basin is bordered by a belt of overlying Jurassic rocks which skirt the Danubian plain in Würtemburg and Bavaria. Cretaceous rocks occur chiefly in north Germany in scattered patches flanking older formations. They evidently underlie the great plain, since they are found rising up here and there to the surface between Westphalia and Denmark. Older Tertiary formations are absent from Germany, save the portion of the Eocene Alps included within the territory of Bavaria. But Miocene deposits extend into numerous detached basins, including those of the Rhine below Bonn, and at Mainz, the country round Magdeburg, and the plains of Bavaria. These strata contain valuable seams of lignite. The vast plains of northern Germany are covered with glacial drift, which rises to heights of 1400 feet above the sea along the edges of the flanking hills. Igneous rocks of different ages have been erupted in many districts, and further diversify the geology. The best known are the Tertiary and post-Tertiary lavas and cones of the Eifel and Siebengebirge; others of more ancient date occur along the southern slopes of the Harz.

Mountains and Plateaus.— Bavaria is the only division of the country that includes within it any part of the Alps, the Austro-Bavarian frontier running along the ridge of the Northern Tyrolese or Bavarian Alps. The loftiest peak of this group, the Zugspitze (57 miles south of Munich), is 9702 feet in height, being the highest summit in the empire. The Upper German plain sloping northwards from the Bavarian Alps is watered by the Lech, the Isar, and the Inn, tributaries of the Danube, all three rising beyond the limits of German territory. This plain is separated on the west from the Swiss plain by the Lake of Constance (Bodensee, 1306 feet above sea-level), and on the east from the undulating grounds of Austria by the Inn. The average height of the plain may be estimated at about 1800 feet, the valley of the Danube on its north border being from 1540 feet (at Ulm) to 920 feet (at Passau). The plain is not very fertile. In the upper part of the plain, towards the Alps, there are several lakes, the largest being the Ammersee, the Würmsee or Starnberg Lake, and the Chiemsee. Many portions of the plain are covered by moors and swamps of large extent, there called Moose. The left or northern bank of the Danube, from Regensburg (Ratisbon) downwards presents a series of granitic rocks called the Bavarian Forest (Bayerischer Wald), which must be regarded as a branch of the Bohemian Forest (Böhmischer Wald). The latter is a range of wooded heights on the frontier of Bavaria and Bohemia, occupying the least known and least frequented regions of Germany. The summits of the Bayerischer Wald rise to the height of about 4000 feet, and those of the Bohemian Forest to 4800 feet, Hoher Arber, about 49° N. lat., being 4842 feet. The valley of the Danube above Ratisbon is flanked by Jurassic plateaus sloping gently to the Danube, but precipitous towards the valley of the Neckar. The centre of this elevated tract is the Rauhe Alp, so named on account of the harshness of the climate. The plateau continuing to the north-east and then to the north, under the name of the Franconian Jura, is crossed by the valley of the winding Altmühl, and extends to the Main. To the west extensive undulating grounds or low plateaus occupy the area between the Main and the Neckar.

The south western corner of the empire contains a series of better defined hill-ranges. Beginning with the Schwarzwald (Black Forest), we find its southern heights decline to the valley of the Rhine, above Basel, and to the Jura The summits are rounded and covered with wood, the highest being the Feldberg (10 miles S.E. of Freiburg, 4902 feet). Northwards the Black Forest passes into the plateau of the Neckarbergland (average height, 1000 feet). The heights between the lower Neckar and the Main form the Odenwald (about 1700 feet); and the Spessart, which is watered by the Main on three sides, is nothing but a continuation of the Odenwald. West of this range of hills lies the valley of the upper Rhine, extending about 180 miles from south to north, and with a width of only 20 to 25 miles. In the upper parts the Rhine is rapid, and therefore navigable with difficulty; this explains why the towns there are not along the banks of the river, but some 5 to 10 miles off. But from Speyer (Spires) town succeeds town as far down as Düsseldorf. The western boundary of this valley is formed in the first instance by the Vosges, where granite summits rise from under the surrounding red Triassic rocks (Sulzer Belchen, 4700 feet). To the south the range is not continuous with the Swiss Jura, the valley of the Rhine being connected here with the Rhone system by low ground known as the Gate of Mülhausen. The crest of the Vosges is pretty high and unbroken, the first convenient pass being near Zabern, which has been taken advantage of for the railway from Strasburg to Paris. On the northern side the Vosges are connected with the Haardt sandstone plateau (Kalmit, 2230 feet), which rises abruptly from the plain of the Rhine. The mountains south of Mainz (Mayence), which are mostly covered by vineyards, are lower, the Donnersberg, however, raising its head to 2262 feet. These hills are bordered on the west by the high plain of Lorraine and the coal-fields of Saarbrücken, the former being traversed by the river Moselle. The larger half of Lorraine belongs to France, but the German part possesses great mineral wealth in its rich layers of ironstone (siderite), and in the coal-fields of the Saar. The Devonian tract of the Hundsruck, Taunus, and Eifel is an extended plateau, divided into separate sections by the river valleys. Among these the Rhine valley from Bingen to Bonn, and that of the Moselle from Treves to Coblentz, are winding gorges excavated by the rivers. The Eifel presents a sterile, thinly-peopled plateau, covered by extensive moors in several places. It passes westwards imperceptibly into the Ardennes. The hills on the right bank of the Rhine also are in part of a like barren character, without wood; the Westerwald (about 2000 feet), which separates the valleys of the Sieg and Lahn, is particularly so. The northern and southern limits of the Niederrheinisches Gebirge present a striking contrast to the central region. In the south the declivities of the Taunus (2890 feet) are marked by the occurrence of mineral springs, as at Ems on the Lahn, Nauheim, Homburg, Soden, Wiesbaden, &c., and by the vineyards which produce the best Rhine wines. To the north of this Gebirge, on the other hand, lies the great coal basin of Westphalia (the largest in Germany). In the south of the hilly duchy of Hesse rise the isolated mountain groups of the Vogelsberg (2530 feet) and the Rhön (3117 feet), separated by the valley of the Fulda, which uniting further north with the Werra forms the Weser. To the east of Hesse lies Thuringia, a province consisting of the far-stretching wooded ridge of the Thüringer Wald (with three peaks of upwards of 3000 feet high), and an extensive elevated plain to the north. Its rivers are the Saale and Unstrut. This plateau is bounded on the north by the Harz, an isolated group of mountains, rich in minerals, with its highest elevation in the bare summit of the Brocken (3743 feet). To the west of the Harz a series of hilly tracts is comprised under the name of the Weser Mountains, out of which above Minden the river Weser bursts by the Porta Westphalica. A narrow ridge, the Teutoburger Wald (1300 feet), extends between the Weser and the Ems as far as the neighbourhood of Osnabrück.

To the east theThüringerWald is connected by the plateau of the Frankenwald with the Fichtelgebirge. This group of mountains, occupying what may be regarded as ethnologically the centre of Germany, forms a hydrographical centre, whence the Nab flows southward to the Danube, the Main westward to the Rhine, the Eger eastward to the Elbe, and the Saale northward, also into the Elbe. In the north-east the Fichtelgebirge connects itself directly with the Erzgebirge, which forms the northern boundary of Bohemia.

The southern sides of this range are comparatively steep; on the north it slopes gently down to the plains of Leipsic, but is intersected by the deep valleys of the Elster and Mulde. Although by no means fertile, the Erzgebirge is very thickly peopled, as various branches of industry have taken root there in numerous small places. Around Zwickau there is a productive coal-field, and mining for metals is carried on near Freiberg. In the east a tableland of sandstone, called Saxon Switzerland, from the picturesque outlines into which it has been eroded, adjoins the Erzgebirge; one of its most notable features is the deep ravine by which the Elbe escapes from it. Numerous quarries, which supply the North German cities with stone for buildings and monuments, have been opened along the valley. The sandstone range of the Elbe unites in the east with the low Lusatian group, along the east of which runs the best road from northern Germany to Bohemia. Then comes a range of lesser hills clustering together to form the frontier between Silesia and Bohemia. The most western group is the Isergebirge, and the next the Riesengebirge, a narrow ridge of about 20 miles’ length, with bare summits. Excluding the Alps, the Schneekoppe (5266 feet) is the highest peak in Germany; and the southern declivities of this range contain the sources of the Elbe. The hills north and north east of itare termed the Silesian Mountains. Here one of the minor coal-fields gives employment to a population grouped round a number of comparatively small centres. One of the main roads into Bohemia (the pass of Landshut) runs along the eastern base of the Riesengebirge. Still farther to the east the mountains are grouped around the hollow of Glatz, whence the Neisse forces its way towards the north. This hollow is shut in on the east by the Sudetic group, in which the Altvater rises to almost 4900 feet. The eastern portion of the group, called, the Gesenke, slopes gently away to the valley of the Oder, which affords an open route for the international traffic, like that through the Mülhausen Gate in Alsace, Geographers style this the Moravian Gate.

The North-German plain presents little variety, yet is not absolutely uniform, A row of low hills runs generally parallel to the mountain ranges already noticed, at a distance of 20 to 30 miles to the north. To these belongs the Upper Silesian coal-basin, which occupies a considerable area in south-eastern Silesia. North of the middle districts of the Elbe country the heights are called the Flaming hills. Westward lies as the last link of this series the Lüneburger Haide or Heath, between the Weser and Elbe, north of Hanover. A second tract, of moderate elevation, sweeps round the Baltic, without, however, approaching its shores. This plateau contains a considerable number of lakes, and is divided into three portions by the Vistula and the Oder. The most eastward is the so-called Prussian Seenplatte. Spirdingsee (430 feet above sea-level, and 46 square miles in area) and Mauersee are the largest lakes; they are situated in the centre of the plateau, and give rise to the Pregel. Some peaks near the Russian frontier attain to 1000 feet. The Pomeranian Seenplatte, between the Vistulι and the Oder, extends from S.W. to N.E., its greatest elevation being in the neighbourhood of Dantzic (Thurmberg, 1096 feet). The Seenplatte of Mecklenburg, on the other hand, stretches from S.E. to N.W., and most of its lakes, of which the Müritzsee is the largest, send their waters towards the Elbe. The finely wooded heights which surround the bays of the east coast of Holstein and Schleswig may be regarded as a continuation of these Baltic elevations. The lowest parts, therefore, of the North-German plain, excluding the sea-coasts, are the central districts from about 52° to 53° N. lat,, where the Vistula, Netze, Warthe, Oder, Spree, and Havel form vast swampy lowlands (in German called Brüche), which, during the last hundred years, have been considerably reduced by the construction of canals and by cultivation,—improvements due in large measure to Frederick the Great. The Spreewald, to the S.E. of Berlin, is one of the most remarkable districts of Germany. As the Spree divides itself there into innumerable branches, enclosing thickly wooded islands, boats form the only means of communication. West of Berlin the Have] widens into what are called the Havel lakes, to which the environs of Potsdam owe their charms. In general the soil of the North-German plain cannot be termed fertile, the cultivation nearly everywhere requiring severe and constant labour. Long stretches of ground are covered by moors, and there turf-cutting forms the principal occupation of the inhabitants. The greatest extent of moorland is found in the westernmost parts of the plain, in Oldenburg and East Frisia. The plain contains, however, a few districts of the utmost fertility, particularly the tracts on the central Elbe, and the marsh lands on the west coast of Holstein and the north coast of Hanover, Oldenburg, and East Frisia, which, within the last two centuries, the inhabitants have reclaimed from the sea by means of immense dikes.

Rivers.— Nine independent river-systems may be distinguished: those of the Memel, Pregel, Vistula (Weichsel), Oder, Elbe, Weser, Ems, Rhine, and Danube. Of these the Pregel, Weser, and Ems belong entirely, and the Oder mostly, to the German empire. The Danube has its sources on German soil; but only the fifth part of its course is German. Its total length is 1730 miles, and the Bavarian frontier at Passau, where the Inn joins it, is only 350 miles distant from its sources. It is navigable as far as Ulm, 220 miles above Passau; and its tributaries the Lech, Isar, Inn, and Altmühl are also navigable. The Rhine is the most important river of Germany,...

At each successive general election the numbers of socialist deputies to the imperial parliament increased; and in 1877 it was calculated that, although only twelve members of the party were returned, about a tenth of the entire body of voters were socialists. Some alarm was excited by these facts, but no one thought of putting down the movement by force until one day in May 1878 a shot was fired at the aged emperor in Berlin, as he drove along the Unter den Linden with his daughter, the grand-duchess of Baden, by his side. The criminal, a youth named Hödel, boasted of his socialist opinions and aims. A wave of anger swept over the nation; and the reactionary party, fancying it had an opportunity of laying a rough hand on far more than socialism, succeeded in inducing the imperial Government to draw up without delay a severe measure, directed nominally against the socialists, but in reality against all politicians obnoxious to the conservatives. The bill was hurried through the federal council and submitted to the diet. By that time the majority of the liberals had recovered their self-control; and with the aid of the centre party they threw out the proposed scheme by an immense majority. Parliament was prorogued, and it was uncertain whether there would be any further attempt at repression.

Suddenly the announcement came that the emperor had again been shot at, and that this time he had been wounded. For some days Germany was convulsed with rage and horror, and on all sides the cry was raised that now at last socialism must be sternly dealt with. Taking courage, the Government dissolved parliament, and pressure of every kind was put upon the electors to secure a thoroughly reactionary diet. The country, however, reflected that, although it was necessary to protect society, it might not be necessary to sacrifice the liberties which it had with so much difficulty conquered. Accordingly, when the new parliament assembled in August 1878, it was found that the liberals had not sustained very serious losses. The progressists bitterly opposed the measure introduced by the Government; but by some means Prince Bismarck managed, as he had often done before, to overcome the objections of the national liberals. By their support a law was passed which gave the police of the empire, for two years and a half, enormous special powers. These powers were at once rigidly enforced; and socialism appeared to vanish from the land. Whether, however, it may not spring up in some great national crisis, all the stronger for the sufferings of its adherents, is a point that can be determined only when some great national crisis occurs.

The socialists and the ultramontanes, without having anything else in common, have joined in opposition to measures for promoting the national unity. They have been aided by the Polish deputies, by the members for Alsace and Lorraine, and by the so-called particularists, conservative politicians ardently attached to the ancient customs and rights of the individual states. Notwithstanding this formidable band of allies, considerable progress has been made in the task of transforming a loose confederation of countries into a true nation. Between 1872 and 1875 utter anarchy in important departments of life was brought to an end by laws relating to imperial coinage, imperial paper money, and the system of banking. And in 1877 thorough investigation resulted in the appointment of a supreme imperial tribunal (Reichsgericht). It was proposed that this tribunal should sit in Berlin; but many liberals having no desire that that city should assume in Germany the place which belongs in France to Paris, a large majority decided for Leipsic. This was taken as a hint that, while Germany wishes to be united, she will not voluntarily see herself transformed into a magnified Prussia.

In spite of their military strength, their victories, and the establishment of their empire, the Germans are not, politically, a contented people; and the reason is that they have outgrown their institutions. While a statesman of extraordinary genius and authority stands in the way, a progressive system maybe impossible; but the more intelligent classes have never lost the desire to add to the hardly-earned national unity the crowning triumph of unfettered representative government.

Bibliography.—Luden, Die Geschichte des deutschen Volks.·, Leo, Vorlesungen uber die Geschichte des deutschen Volks und Reichs ·, Giesebrecht, Geschichte der deutschen Kaiserzeit·, Waitz, Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte·, Mayer, Deutsche Geschichte·, Souchay, Geschichte der deutschen Monarchie·. Sugenheim, Geschichte des deutschen Volks und seiner Cultur. (J∙ SI.)

PART HL—LANGUAGE.

In its ordinary sense the name German Language or Deutsche Sprache is now generally used to denote, in all their stages from the earliest time to the present day, the different languages and dialects of Teutonic origin spoken in the German and Austrian empires and in Switzerland, not including, however, the Frisian language, which once was spoken, and still in a few remnants survives, on the shores and islands of the German Ocean, nor the dialects of the Danish population of nortnern Schleswig. Flemish and Dutch, although very closely connected with German, are likewise excluded. But the word Deutsch has also been, and still continues to be, used in a wider sense. Jacob Grimm introduced it, in his famous Deutsche Grammatik, as a comprehensive name for that family of the so-called Indo-European or Aryan languages, for which English writers generally use the name of “Teutonic,” and of which the principal branches are represented by Gothic, the Scandinavian languages, English, Frisian, and German. In this Grimm has had many followers, but scarcely anywhere out of Germany; and even there the fact that the name, in this application, besides being incorrect from an historical point of view (as the word has never been used thus by any one of the people to whom it has been applied by Grimm), is also liable to be misunderstood, has caused a growing tendency towards confining it again to its original meaning described above, and using Germanisch, or Germanic, in the collective sense of the English “Teutonic.” But even in the stricter sense the designation Deutsch is not of very long standing, nor has the word always been a real proper name for a distinct people or tribe. In Bishop Ulfilas’s Gothic version of the Bible we find the adverb thiudisko (eθvικω<s), Gal. ii. 14, which is clearly a derivative from thiuda (fθvο<i), meaning primarily “after the manner of the people.” German writers of tbe earlier centuries were therefore as fully justified in calling their own language diutisc, or, in a Latinized form, theudiscus, theοtiscus, that is, their popular or vernacular language, as were those mediaeval Latin writers of all nations who distinguished their national languages by the name of lingua vulgaris irom. Latin, the only literary language fully acknowledged in their time. It was not until the I Oth century that another Latinized form frequently used in later times, viz., teutonicus, began to be used instead of the older theοtiscus, of which the only rivals in former times had been such local names as frαnciscus (frenkisc} or saxoηi-cus, which were no doubt derived from the names of single tribes, but were often also used in the same comprehensive sense as theotiscus, without necessarily implying any allusion to dialectal differences between the languages of the tribes they properly belonged to. The last name we have to mention here is the Latin Germanus, with its different derivatives in the modern languages, including the English form German. Many attempts have been made to elucidate the origin of this word, but as yet nothing can be taken for certain beyond the fact that it is neither of Latin nor of German origin. Most probably it was a Celtic word, and, according to what Tacitus says in his Germania (ch. ii.), it was originally the name of a Celtic tribe, from which, by some strange error of the Roman and Greek historians, it has been transferred to the non-Celtic inhabitants of Germany. Accordingly the name has never been used by the Germans themselves except in imitation of its use in the works of Latin writers.

As to its geographical extension the German language has undergone very great changes in the course of the last two thousand years. At the dawn of history no Germans were to be found to the left of the Rhine, and even to the right of it Celtic tribes occur in the earliest times. There were Celts also in the south of the present Germany as far north at least as the Danube and the Main; Bohemia, too, derives its name from an early Celtic population, the Boii. Only the midland and north were inhabited by Germanic nations or tribes, stretching as far east as Poland, and perhaps covering even parts of the adjoining territories of Russia, where Slavonic and. Finnish tribes were their neighbours. But of these Germanic tribes and their languages some have left no equivalents in our modern German tribes and dialects. We have mentioned the Frisian language as not belonging to German in its proper sense, although the Frisians have kept their original residence up to the present day, and have always been in constant connexion and frequent intercourse with their “German” neighbours. Many other tribes have wandered from their seats and colonized other countries. It was as late as the middle of the 5th century that the Jutes, Angles, and Saxons began their voyages of conquest to England, where they founded a new people and a new language, leaving their native soil open to Danish invasions. Much earlier the midland tribes had already been slowly pushing on to the west and south, and expelling or subduing and assimilating the Celtic owners of the territories they invaded. But what was gained in these parts was counterbalanced by great losses in the north and east. The territories about the lower and middle Elbe, Oder, and Vistula, abandoned by the Lombards, the Burgundians, the Goths, and some other Germanic tribes, as well as Bohemia, which for some short time had been in the possession of the German Marcomans, were soon filled up by the immigration of numerous tribes of the great Slavonic family. Without going into details of the facts which are well known to the student of history, we may simply state that, since about 500 a.d., when the great migration of the nations had come to an end so far as Germany was concerned, no further change of any great importance has taken place in the western and southern parts. In the east the German population at this time did not go beyond a line that may be drawn from about Kiel to the Böhmerwald, passing near Hamburg, Magdeburg, ^Naumburg, Coburg, and Baireuth. As is well known, it is in later centuries that almost all the eastern districts have been recovered for the German language.

In the 6th century the remains of the numerous smaller Germanic tribes, mentioned before and during the migration of the nations, had consolidated into seven larger bodies or aggregations of tribes. The Frisians still held the extreme north of Holland and Germany. Their midland and eastern neighbours were then called by the new name of Saxons, borrowed from the Saxons who had left the Continent for England. In the main parts of the Netherlands and Belgium, along both sides of the Rhine, and across Germany to the Thuringian and Bohemian Forests, the powerful Frankish confederation had established itself, and it soon incorporated the smaller and less vigorous tribes of the Hessians and Thuringians, which were surrounded by the midland or eastern Franks, the Saxons, and the Slavs. Alsatia, Switzerland, and South Germany eastward to the river Lech were occupied by the Alemannians, while the inhabitants of the remaining districts of the present Bavaria and Austria bore the collective name of Bavarians.

The history of the German language cannot be severed from the history of these tribes, for Frisian, Saxon, Frankish (Hessian, Thuringian), Alemannian, and Bavarian are the leading dialects of the Continental branch of the Teutonic family. What Dr J. A. H. Murray has pointed out about the origin of the principal English dialects may equally well be said of these Continental idioms. Having no specimens of the languages of the Continental tribes for nearly three centuries after their final settlement, we cannot tell to what extent they originally agreed with or differed from each other, although there must have been some dialectal differences to begin with, which were afterwards increased and multiplied, partly by phonetic changes (most probably resulting from scarcely discernible phonetic peculiarities, which, even in the earliest times, must have prevailed in those idioms), and partly by such alterations of the inflexional systems as are known to occur frequently in all languages whose character is not merely literary. But, however scanty our means of illustrating the earliest history of these idioms may be, there is no doubt that they were not all of them related to each other in the same degree. Three main groups are easily distinguishable :—

(1) Frisian and Saxon, whose nearest relation is English;

(2) Frankish, Hessian, and Thuringian; and (3) Alemaunian and Bavarian. Frisian is generally considered as a separate language. From Saxon the later Low German dialects {Niederdeutsche Mundarten) have sprung. The members of the third group (generally designated as Oberdeutsch, or Upper German), combined with Mitteldeutsch, or the midland dialects, viz., Thuringian, Hessian, and part of the Frankish dialects, are the sources of the later Hochdeutsch or High German. The greatest difference prevails between the first and third groups; the second may be characterized as containing various transition dialects. The southern Frankish dialects are very closely akin to the adjacent Upper German idioms, while Dutch, the utmost offshoot of the Frankish language to the north, does not very materially differ from Saxon or Frisian in the earliest period. The most striking phonetic feature of the languages of the first group is their regular dropping of the nasal sounds before the spirants f, th, s, accompanied by subsequent lengthening of the preceding vowels. Thus we have in Anglo-Saxon or Old English fiif, after, cuft, gas (Mod. English five, other, {uni) couth, goose), in Old Frisian fif, othar, cuth, gos, in Old Saxon fif, othar, cuth,gοs, corresponding to such Gothic forms as fimf, anthar, kunths, or the ordinary High German fünf, ander, kund, gans. Since, however, Dutch partakes of this peculiarity to some extent, we cannot easily form a decisive opinion as to the value of this fact as a distinctive mark; but more stress may be laid on a very remarkable difference in the inflexional system of the verb. Here the languages of the first group have melted together the forms of the three persons of the plural number, thus we, ge, his findaft, or fundon, we, you, they find, or found, in Old English ∙,wi,gι, hia findaft, or fundon in Old Frisian; wi, gi, sia findaft, or fundon in Old Saxon. The corresponding Old High German forms are wir findam, ir findat, sie findant for the present, wir funium, ir funtut, sie funtun for the perfect tense. Old Dutch joins, in this case, the German branch; from werthaη, to become, for instance, are derived wι werthun, gι werthift, sia τverthunt, &c. The declension of the substantives shows another remarkable difference. While the languages of the first group have retained the original s in the nominative plural of such words as Old English dagas, days, Old Saxon dagos, or changed it to r, as Old Frisian dagar, Dutch and German have dropped it altogether, the corresponding forms being daga and taga. These facts must be taken for decisive, as it seems to be certain that they existed before any distinction of Low and High German in their modern sense (a distinction chiefly dependent on subsequent changes in their mute system) could be thought of. From a purely grammatical point of view, Dutch, although generally considered a separate language (which no doubt it is, with regard to its literary and political position), is entitled to claim a closer relation to High German than even Low German, whose non· literary character, taken along with the political union of northern and southern Germany, has led to the current opinion that it is only a dialect of “German” in its narrower sense. We do not mean to deny that there is, at present, a more conspicuous conformity between Dutch and Low German than between Low German and High German; but this is only due to the fact that High German, after the final settlement of the German tribes, has deviated much more from its original features than either Dutch or Low German. The most striking peculiarities of High German, as opposed to all other Teutonic idioms, have mainly been caused by the second or High German “Lautverschiebung,” or change of mute consonants, which forme part of a long series of sound-changes generally comprehended under the name of Germanische Lautverschiebung or Grimm’s Law. This Lautverschiebung began, perhaps as early as the 7th century, in the south, and thence slowly spread northward, but with decreasing vigour and consistency, Dutch and Low German not being touched at all. It was only thus that the idiom of the Netherlands Franks of the later centuries was separated from the dialects of their “German” relations. Before, however, the first literary documents are met with, this separation is complete; and we may therefore restrict ourselves here to a short history of High and Low German alone.

The German language presents, as do most of the cognate tongues, three maiu stages of development,—Old, Middle, and Modern,—distinguished by their inflexional and literary character. In accordance with Mr Henry Sweet’s description of the stages of the English language, Old German may be defined as the period of full inflections (Old Low German, dages, dage, dagu∙, dagos, dago, dagun ; Old High German, tages, tage, tagu; tagä, tago, tagum), while the Middle period is that of levelled inflections (Middle Low German, dages, dage, dagen∙, Middle High German, tages, tage, tagen)·, but it is chiefly the literary character that distinguishes Modern High German from Low German and its own earlier stages. A special form of High German is established in this period for all literary purposes, supplanting the dialects both of Low and of High German that formerly were freely used in literary intercourse. Assuming two periods of transition besides, we have the following divisions, with the approximate dates: [table]

The same divisions have to be made for Low German, but the scheme cannot be so fully carried through, as the time between 1000 and 1200 is almost destitute of literary monuments.

Old German.— The inflexional characteristics of Old German are almost identical with those of Old English. Nouns had the same five cases,—nominative, accusative (only in a few instances kept distinct), genitive, dative, and instrumental. Strong and weak declensions of nouns and their subdivisions are likewise the same. The dual of the first and second personal pronouns is almost extinct in Old High German, but is quite common in Low German. In the verb we find the...