[gothic-l] Re: Newcomer's questions...

[Ingemar Nordgren]

--- In gothic-l at egroups.com, "Cid Vale Ferreira" <sepia at g...> wrote:
> hi...

> 
>      - I read an article saying that the Goth descend from Sweden's 
Gotars.
>  Is that true?
>      - The Gotars were originally from Götaland or Scandza?
>      - The main deity of the Gotar was supposed to be Gaut (Odin), 
but there
>  is any evidence of this?
>      - There are any know material about where Gotar's religious 
differs
> from
>  the "general" nordic traditions?
>      - There are any know material about Goths's religious 
traditions?
>      - Do you know where I can find a drawing, sculpture or painting 
of Gaut
>  hanged (in the internet)?

Dear Cid,

It sounds  as it could be my article in Migracije  Teme  tracing the 
Goths through the symbolism of Rings but if so a little 
overinterpreted.

It is true everything points towards Gaut as the common original 
beleived ancestor for the Gothic peoples - the divine ancestor it  is. 
It is also true that religion seems to be the unifying factor of the 
Goths also after their christianization.
It is still discussed wether he was an own God or just a variant of 
Odin but I judge he was a predecessor of  early odinistic   type but 
also with fertility-function and later he is absorbed by the 
Odin-name. There is definitely no picture of him anywhere but he is 
mentioned in a number of royal genealogies both with the Goths and by 
 for example Vandilian  Hasdings, Burgunds and Anglo-Saxons. Their 
religion is sparsely described. Wolfram in the Goths mentions a 
little, Ambrosius of Milan wrote a letter  about Gothic priest in the 
5th century et.c.In my book, The Well Spring of the Goths I have 
analyzed all that I have been able to find  of Germanic religion, 
artefacts et c. and estimated a cult of Gaut but it is mostly a 
hypothesis concerning the content. The book is however in Swedish and 
till now not translated.

In the list-archive you find a summary of the book. It is the second  
message of 2001 with the title Goterkaellan.

The gautar, ýtas (jutes), gutar and several Norweigan tribes could all 
be regarded as Gothic but the known Goths   from Vistula originate 
from all these peoples and have immigrated to the Vistula-area in 
three different periods from Scandinavia including Denmark as I see 
it. This is of course a hypothesis too but well founded. 

Nobody could say about these things if it is true or not - just if it 
is more or less  probable. There are of course many meaning that I am 
completly wrong and that is of course their privilege.

Best wishes

Ingemar Nordgren, Ph.D.
Kaellby, Sweden


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