Teutons

The Teutons (Teutones) were mentioned as a Germanic people in early historical writings by Greek and Roman authors. Their homeland was given as Jutland, the western peninsula of modern Denmark. There is debate as to whether they were a Celtic or Germanic people. More than 100 years before the birth of Christ, many of the Teutoni, as well as the Cimbri, migrated south and west to the Danube valley, where they encountered the expanding Roman Empire.

During the late 2nd century B.C, along with their neighbors the Cimbri, the Teutons are recorded as marching south through Gaul and attacking Roman Italy. After a series of defeats by the tribes, Roman armies came to grips with the Cimbri and Teutones and routed them.

The terms "Teuton" and "Teutonic" have sometimes been used in reference to all of the Germanic peoples. "Teut" is an Indo-European word for people, and is not only found in German "deutsch" (=German) and Old Norse "thjod" people, but also in the romance word for all (as in Latin totum, tout in French, or todo in Spanish).