Biography
According to Roman sources, Arminius was born in 18 or 17 BC as son of the Cheruscan, chief Segimerus, and trained as a Roman military commander and attained Roman citizenship as well as the status of equestrian (petty noble) before returning to Germania and driving the Romans out.
"Arminius" is probably a Latinized variant of the Proto-Germanic *erminaz (Irmin) meaning "great" (cf. Herminones). During the Reformation but especially during 19th century German nationalism, Arminius was used as a symbol of the German-speaking people and their fight against Rome. It was during this period that the name "Hermann" (meaning "soldier", "army man" or "warrior") came into use as the German equivalent of Arminius; the religious reformer Martin Luther is thought to have been the first to equate the two names.
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