Thusnelda (c. 10 BC - unknown) was a Germanic noblewoman captured by Germanicus, the grandson of Augustus, and leader of an army that invaded Germania. The ancient Roman historian Tacitus and Strabo cites her capture as evidence of both the firmnesss and restraint of Roman arms.
She was the daughter of the Cheruscan prince Segestes. Her father had intended her for someone else, but Arminius had abducted and impregnated her. Arminius subsequently led a coalition of Germanic tribes that lured the legions of Publius Quinctilius Varus to near-annihilation at Battle of Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD. This disaster generally is seen as stifling any future ambitions of Rome to conquer Germania.
The war between the Roman Empire and the northern German tribes continued, and in May 15 AD Thusnelda was captured by Germanicus, the nephew of Emperor Tiberius, who commanded the invasion of Germany. She was pregnant and staying with her father, who was a Roman client and bitterly opposed to Arminius, and it was her father who delivered her to Germanicus, after the latter saved him by driving off Arminius' forces, who had besieged him. Her husband much grieved over her loss and did not marry again.
219 Thusnelda is a typical S-type Main belt asteroid. It was discovered by Johann Palisa on September 30, 1880 in Pola and was named after Thusnelda, wife of Germanic warrior Arminius.
In 1982, the asteroid was observed using photometry from the La Silla Observatory to generate a composite light curve. The resulting data showed a rotation period of 1.24 days (29.8 h) with a brightness variation of 0.2 in magnitude.