There is barely a country in Europe that can't look back on Germanic roots, though there has never been one unified people. The term 'Germanic' actually refers to a number of tribes and clans that lived in central and northern Europe from the sixth century BC. Gaius Julius Caesar is said to have used it when talking about the Gallic war. However, the Romans were full of contempt for the Germanic peoples and their civilisation, Tacitus calling their home a hideous blood-curdling place full of dark woods and swamplands.