[gothic-l] More on the Gothic-Slavic link

[andreas.schwarcz at UNIVIE.AC.AT]

On 30 Oct 2001, at 21:00, Sigmund wrote:

> Thank you Francisc,
> 
> The nucleus of slavic expansion is believed to be the Pripjat River
> area in northern Ukraine on the border of Poland (to-day a short canal
> joins it with the Wistula) and hence close to the territories held by
> the Goths prior to their migration towards the Black Sea. North of
> them were a closely related group of East Germanics, the Vandals, of
> whom Jordanes  wrote around 1070: "Slavinia, the most extensive of all
> the provinces of Germania, is inhabited by the Winils, or the Vandals
> as they used to be known.". 


Dear Sigmund,
Jordanes did not write anything around 1070 AD. By then he had 
been dead for nearly half a millenium. Your whole citation of him is 
pure invention and cannot be found either in the Romana or in the 
Getica. Jordanes does not locate the Vandals in the Sclavinia, he 
puts them Getica IV 25 ff. near Gothiscandza and the Ulmerugi, 
that means near the coast of the Baltic Sea. He never uses the 
term "Sclavinia" and does not call it a province of Germania. He 
puts the "Venetharum natio populosa" firmly into the Scythia 
Getica V 34 f., where he also locates the "Sclaveni a civitate 
Novietunense et laco quo apellatur Mursiano usque ad Danastrum 
et in boream Viscla tenus commorantur."
    
They were established on the South Baltic
> shores, west of Prussia. I have come to believe that these are
> identical with the Wendes, who long gave name to the Baltic Sea (at
> least its eastern parts) as the Vendic Sea, Mare Wendicum (Sinus
> Wendicus for the Finnish Gulf). But 'die Wandalen' were germanics, not
> slavs. 

This identification of Wendes with Vandals is the so-called 
Wendland-theory proposed by Walter Steller and others, very 
popular under modern German right-wing extremists, but never 
acknowledged by any serious historian, linguist or archeologist. Its 
aim is to "prove" germanic continuity from ancient to modern times 
and to explain the slavic settlement in Poland as fictitious. It 
should have no place in a serious discussion and it is certainly not 
a part of any gothic linguistic or historic debate.

Kind regards
                      Andreas Schwarcz 
Ao.Univ.Prof.Dr.Andreas Schwarcz
Institut für österreichische Geschichtsforschung
Universität Wien
Dr.Karl Lueger-Ring 1
A-1010 Wien
Österreich
Tel.0043/1/42-77/272-16
Fax 0043/142-77/92-72

------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Pogo Stick - Just $24.95!
Great gift idea for kids of all ages, from Youcansave.com
http://us.click.yahoo.com/t5NeUC/QkNDAA/ySSFAA/wWMplB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

You are a member of the Gothic-L list.  To unsubscribe, send a blank email to <gothic-l-unsubscribe at egroups.com>. 

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/