[gothic-l] Re: Snorri on Reidgotaland

[trbrandt at POST9.TELE.DK]

Hi Keth

--- In gothic-l at y..., keth at o... wrote:
> I will look out for it again as I read the rest of the fornaldr 
sagas.
> Because it is mentioned there, and you get the impression that it
> is a vast distant land. But I'll have to find that reference.
> I'll look in Hervarar saga where the country is mentioned
> as a legendary country. I think it says Heidrek travelled a long 
time

That depends of where he came from. We can not be sure that this 
figure originally was a Scandinavian king. This might be one of the 
transferred Eastgermanic Legends.

> before he arrived there. Christopher Tolkien has also made some 
notes
> about this in connection with his edition of the Hervarar saga and
> Heidreks. (Viking Society publication).
> Oh yes, here is another reference in Hauksbók: (in the
Heimlýsing
> section) "austr frá Polena er Reiðgotaland ok Vindland ok
þá 
Húnland."
> So it lies "east of Poland". "Vindland" is 
probably "Wenden"..........

This appear promising as it looks like a precise geographical 
description. Here they locate Reidgotaland in the Vistula-region and 
not in Goetaland or Southern Europe - making the Vistula-region the 
home of the Goths if we can trust the meaning of nest. Of course more 
sources are needed but this is a long step in order to get back on 
the track.

As far as I remember, Widsith mentioned a similar location, and maybe 
it was in this connection Kemp Malone called them Nest Goths. 
Unfortunately I do not have his book here.     

Troels


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