[gothic-l] Re: The Langobards from Scania/Scadanan

[dirk at SMRA.CO.UK]

--- In gothic-l at egroups.com, "Bengt  Hemtun" <hemtun at s...> wrote:
> Thanks Dirk
> 
 for bringing in archaeology to the discussion. I do not trust in 
> occasional Roman notes about tribes without archaeological physical 
> evidence confirming. 

Hello Bengt,

I think all available sources must be considered, and in analysing 
written soureces one must always ask what intention could the writer 
have had in writing his account and what sources could he have used.


>  
> Is there any kinship there? I mean between Gothic and Germanic 
people.


Tacitus calls the forefathers of the Goths the Gutones at the Vistula 
region of modern Poland Germanic, so the Goths are a Germanic people 
especially with regard to their language. However, once the Goths left 
that region, Roman authors call them Scyths and no longer count them 
as Germanic people. At least that is the view of Herwig Wolfram. 
Personally I think the Romans used the words Germanic, Skythic and 
Barbarian more interchangably. For example in 270 Roman sources call 
the Alamanni, which are always counted as Germanic, Juthungian Skyths 
after a sub-tribe the Juthungians. However, the Goths on the Black Sea 
apparently adopted what might be called a non-Germanic life-style of 
steppe nomads, fighting on horseback, adopting Sarmatian art designs 
etc. Wolfram emphasis this culture by saying that Totila performed the 
 'Djerid' (a kind of Arab horse riding display) in front of the 
Byzantium army.  So I guess it depends on how you define Germanic.

Also, thanks for you list. It seems to underscore that the deviding 
line between ancient Germans and Celts was often fluent. The Vandals 
are a good example, who are said to have contained Celtic Lugian 
layers from the time when they were dominated by the Lugi.

greeting
Dirk




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