[gothic-l] Gepids

[Alburysteve at AOL.COM]

Hi Dirk:

>  ancient authors were apparently also very uncertain about the meaning
>  of that name. Isidore of Seville (I think) said that the name Gepids
>  comes from Ge-pedes meaning something like foot-soldier. Another
>  classical interpretation is Ge-paides, which is supposed to mean
>  'Decendents of the Getes' (a non-Germanic people in Dacia).

Indeed, Jordanes makes this same mistake, confusing the Getes, a group of
Scythicized Thracians with whom Alexander tangled in his day, with the Goths.

>  Heinrich Sevin (die Gebiden, 1955) argued that the name should really
>  be *Gebids* rather than *Gepids*.

Phonetically, this makes sense to me but (alas) I'm in no position to judge
it.

>Sevin calles the settlement areas of ...

Many thanks for this background info.

>  I think most authors nowdays believe that the Gepids formed in the
>  Vistula region out of the  Goths who did not move to the Black Sea
>  area in the 2nd/3rd centuries as they are not mentioned by Tacitus.
>  With regards to their name, I suppose we will never now for sure what
>  it means.

A suitable ending to my quest.  Many thanks to all for their help.

Rgds,

Steve O'Brien
Albury, Ontario

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