Barbarian

Origin of the term

The term Barbarian comes from the Greek language, and is used to connote any foreigner not sharing a recognized culture or language with the speaker or writer employing the term. The word was probably formed by imitation of the incomprehensible sounds of foreign language (“bar-bar”), and as such was used in a mocking manner. From the Greek perspective it meant anything that was not Greek, including language, people or customs. Later, as the Greek language and culture spread, the term became generally used for everything that was non-Greek. A "barbarism" in language, especially Greek or Latin, is a misformed word, such as a solecism or a malapropism. Related terms are barbaric and barbarous. Often today, barbarian is used to mean someone violent, primitive, uncouth or uncivilized in general. See also Philistinism or Philistine.

Cross-cultural perspective

From the cross-cultural perspective, the term “barbarian” is used in the context of the encounter of two different cultures. Many peoples have regarded alien or rival cultures as "barbarian," because they were unrecognizably strange. Thus, from this perspective the term has a rather pejorative meaning. For example, the Greeks admired Scythian and Eastern Gauls as heroic individuals, but considered their culture to be barbaric. Similarly, Romans saw various Germanic, Gaul, and Hun tribes as essentially barbaric. The Chinese (Han Chinese) regarded the Xiongnu, Tatars, Turkic people (Turks), Mongols, Jurchen, Manchu, and even Europeans as barbaric. The Chinese used different terms for barbarians from different directions of the compass. Those in the east were called Dongyi (东夷), those in the west were called Xirong (西戎), those in the south were called Nanman (南蛮), and those in the north were called Beidi (北狄).

The Japanese adopted the Chinese usage of the term. When Europeans came to Japan, they were called “nanban” (南蛮), literally Barbarians from the South, because the Portuguese ships appeared to sail from the South.

Sociological perspective

From the sociological viewpoint, the concept of “barbarian” is connected with, and depends upon, a carefully defined use of the term "civilization." “Civilization” denotes a settled (city/urban) way of life that is organized on principles broader than the extended family or tribe, in which surpluses of necessities can be stored and redistributed and division of labor produces some luxury goods (even if only for the elite, priesthood, or kings). The barbarian is one who is not an integrated part of the civilization, technically a social parasite on civilization, who depends on settlements as a source of slaves, surpluses and portable luxuries: booty, loot and plunder.

A distinction, however, needs to be made between the concepts of “culture” and “civilization.” Rich, deep, authentic human culture exists even without civilization, as the German writers of the early Romantic generation first defined the opposing terms, though they used them as polarities in a way that a modern writer might not. "Culture" should not simply connote "civilization". In this sense, barbarians are those of a different culture, who depend on the civilization dominant in the geographical area where they live.

The culture of the nomad, however, should not be confused with the culture of the barbarian. The nomad subsists on the products of his flocks, and follows their needs. The nomad may barter for necessities, like metalwork, but does not depend on civilization for plunder, as the barbarian does.

Psychological perspective

From the psychological perspective, the term “barbarian” can be associated with a stereotypical image of someone who is not a member of the same group as the person using the term. As Bouris, Turner, and Gagnon (1997) put it, “Stereotypes function to represent inter-group realities–creating images of the out-group (and the in-group) that explain, rationalize, and justify the inter-group relationship and one's past, present, and future behavior within it” (p. 273). Accordingly, group-thinking creates a specific context for inter- and intra-group relationships, which use stereotypes as a means of group interaction. For social psychologists, inter-group relationships (cooperation-competition, in-group status) are closely associated with intra-group relationships. Sentiments and behaviors of the in-group membership, usually being seen in a positive and morally correct light, are created in opposition to members of other groups. Positive and moral self-image is attributed to all members of the in-group, while on the other side, out-group membership is regarded as less valued. Stereotypes and negative images of the out-group are thus constructed to serve the function of degrading the out-group and keeping the balance between in- and out-group membership.

The barbarian image serves to degrade the members of the opposite group, creating a morally justified reason for separation from that group. The barbarian image usually involves depicting out-group members as extremely strong but irrational, evil without moral judgment, destructive and violent, whose leaders rely more on emotion than intelligence, etc. Such an image is contrasted with in-group members, who are gentle, moral, and of superior intelligence. Thus, in- and out-group members cannot/should not be mixed together. In this way the intra-group balance is established. (For further reading see R. Cottam, 1986 and Herrmann, 1985).

Biblical perspective

In the New Testament the term Barbarian is used in its Hellenic sense–to describe non-Greeks or those who merely speak a different language. For example, in Acts 28:2 and Acts 28:4 the author, probably from the Greek-Roman standpoint, refers to the inhabitants of Malta (formerly a Carthaginian colony) as “barbarians.” Similarly, in Colossians 3:11 the word is used for those nations of the Roman Empire that did not speak Greek. The writer of Romans 1:14 suggests that Greeks together with non-Greeks (i.e. “barbarians”) compose the whole human race. The term here, therefore, merely indicates a separation of Greek-speaking cultures from the non-Greek-speaking ones, the term itself not bearing any deprecatory value. However, elsewhere in the Bible this is not the case. In 1 Corinthians 14:11 Paul uses the term in its derogatory sense–to describe someone who speaks an unintelligible language. "If then I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be to him that spoke a barbarian, and he that spoke will be a barbarian unto me." Paul here denounces the speaking in tongues, comparing it with the barbarian (i.e. foreign) language, which is useless if it cannot be understood, therefore not being able to convey the message from God. Philo and Josephus, together other Roman writers, used this term to separate Greco-Roman culture from other cultures, implying the supremacy of the former.

Historical perspective

Throughout history, any tribe referred to as barbaric was usually automatically regarded as primitive, violent, and uncivilized. Such a stigma was mostly due to Greek views on those who threatened Greek civilization and culture (e.g. Persian or Gothic tribes). The Romans inherited this view from the Greeks, and in their encounters with different tribes across Europe usually called those tribes “barbarian”. However, being war- and conquest-oriented, the Romans admired barbarians as fearless and brave warriors. In the latter stages of the Roman Empire, around the 4th and 5th centuries CE, the Romans even started to recruit young barbarian males to serve in the Roman army. Gothic and Vandal soldiers were employed to protect the outer borders of the Roman Empire. This practice of hiring barbarian soldiers into the Roman army was called the barbarization of the Roman Empire, which in the long run just aided in the final breakdown of the Roman Empire, by encouraging barbarians to attack Romans more, due to the perceived weakness that barbarization produced. However, many scholars believe that it was not barbarians or their culture(or lack of culture) that destroyed the Roman Empire, but the decline in the culture of the Roman Empire that led to its own destruction. Immorality, social indulgency, and greed destroyed the Empire. Barbarians simply hastened the collapse. (For further reading see Edward Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

However, there are several aspects of barbarian culture that have contributed to modern culture and civilization. Many modern holidays are based on barbarian traditions and pagan rituals. Santa Claus and the Christmas tree, the Easter bunny and Easter eggs all have roots in different barbarian festivals. Next, barbarian tribes of Celts had developed mathematical system based on the number 12 (rather than Arabic 10-based system), which is still used in US metric system. Also, barbarian literature has greatly contributed to classic literature, with stories such as Beowulf, Kalevala, Der Ring des Nibelungen, and the tales of King Arthur. Many famous fairy tales (e.g. tales of the Brothers Grimm) are based on barbarian legends and myths. In modern times, in fantasy novels and role-playing video games, barbarians are depicted as brave uncivilized warriors, often able to attack with a crazed fury. Conan the Barbarian or Asterix (fantasy figures) and Attila the Hun (historical figure) are among the best known barbarians.

Compare

Oriental, another word for an alien outsider, now also with pejorative connotations.

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

Barbarian ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

History of "Barbarian"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.

Comments

This is an unfinished work in progress.—Jennifer Tanabe 18:37, 23 Sep 2005 (CDT)