[gothic-l] Fwd: Re: [tied] Harii/Hirri into (H)eruli?

[Troels Brandt <trbrandt@post9.tele.dk>]

--- In gothic-l at yahoogroups.com, george knysh <gknysh at y...> wrote:
>
>
> *****GK: Let me suggest another possibility. We know
> that "Heruli" goes back to an ancient Germanic word
> meaning "man of worth".

I have no opinion regarding the origin of the name "rusa", but if we
regard the above as a suggestion and not a fact, I can accept the
rest of your suggestions below as likely explanations.

Troels

> So we have fairly decent
> linguistic proof that such a word could become an
> ethnonym (possibly there are other examples in
> Germanic tradition for this, including Harii,
> Hermunduri et sim..)  I can think of an excellent
> example from another (Iranic) context, where the term
> "rusa" (and other variants) meaning "bright" "white"
> et sim. was applied to people deemed
> nobles/aristocrats. Originally this was not an
> ethnonym, though perhaps already partly performing
> that function in the case of the "Rosomoni" of
> Jordanes. Adopted as a socio/political designation by
> the Norse warlords, it was transformed into an
> ethnonym, and eventually became the "Rus" (and
> derivatives)we all know so well. In ancient and
> mediaeval times peoples were sometimes known by the
> designation of their aristocracies (one of the oddest
> adaptations of this approach can be found in the Rus
> Primary Chronicle, which considered the "Carolingians"
> to be a people...). All right then. Let us imagine a
> group of warriors who call themselves "men of worth"
> (Eruli), a name subsequently used of all those who are
> part of the communities they organize. This does not
> solve the issue of their ethnicity (or of the
> ethnicity of the populations drawn into their
> organization) but it does provide an anszwer as to
> their emergence. So on that understanding the "Eruli"
> could indeed have been part of the old Harii who went
> east (and then we would, as mentioned look for them
> among the "Vandalic" elements of Chernyakhiv). They
> could have been Scandinavian adventurers. They could
> have been a mixed lot. What do you think of that? The
> only thing certain is that this Maennerbund would have
> emerged in the mid-3rd c. in connection with the
> Gothic campaigns.******
>



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/