I am still in the middle of reading this book by Malcolm Todd. But one thing that has struck me whilst reading, is it seems the understanding is that Germanians, of any tribe, have a reputation of being so simple that finding beautiful and wonderous crafts and other treasures is amazing. Maybe I am wording this wrong, but I get the feeling that either Todd himself, or archaeology as a whole, has determined Germanic culture is sub-par as compared to Roman culture or any other. However, Todd makes quite a case early in the book that the earliest of written histories of the Germanians (i.e. Tacitus) were biased in their views of Germanic culture and abilities. But as I read further into the book, I wonder if he isn't the same?

I don't know what others have thought when reading the book, but that struck me funny and I felt I had to get it off my chest.