Germanicus is an important figure in Tacitus' narrative, because his position in the history of the principate raises crucial questions about how meaning is created in the interplay between past and present. It is generally accepted that the tradition about Germanicus, to which Tacitus is contributing in Annals 1–2, has its source in writings from the reign of Caligula, the son of Germanicus. As the father, brother and grandfather of three successive Julio-Claudian emperors, Germanicus acquires historical significance retrospectively. According to which sort of history you read, he either foreshadows the greatness of his successors or represents the virtues which they pervert.

As an addition to this perspective on Germanicus, readers of Tacitus have remarked on the extent to which Germanicus seems out of place in the Tiberian regime.