[gothic-l] Pre-Viking Raids and Verland

[Bertil Haggman]

Jordanes mentioned the Eruli has being driven
out by the Danes, so there certainly is no doubt
that Jordanes regarded the Eruli as Scandinavian.

"Free warriors"? A new Knyshian term?

BTW, Prokopios word is "near" not "among".

Anybody who is writing about "extant evidence"
when it comes to the Era of Great Migration is
not really quite up to date.

An interesting connection, however, is the Eruli
who served in the 6th century in the Byzantian
guard, the Varangians (although they received
much more attention in the centuries after).

Varangians have traditionally been connected to
Svealand but the recruitment area could well
be connected to Verland/Vaerend in the south.
There could be a Varangian/vaering/Vaerend
link.

But returning to the privileged stratum of the Middle
Ages most of the more prominent families come
from Prokopios' Eruli area:

Oxenstierna
Brahe
Trolle
Natt och Dag
Bielke
Tott
Ribbing
Stenbock
Lejonhufvud
Sture
Posse
Sparre
Horn
Bonde

to mention some of them.



Bertil Haggman


> Since the writers who attempted to enumerate
> the populations inhabiting Scandinavia (esp. Ptolemy
> and Cassiodorus/Jordanes) do not mention "Eruli" among
> the major established groups of "Scandza", you might
> try to argue that this term ("Eruli") was of the same
> category as "Vikings" or "Vaerings", i.e. that the
> so-called "Eruli" had a different, proper, "ethnic"
> name. Calling themselves "Eruli" ("free
> warriors"?)just for the purpose of their campaigning.
> What would have been this "proper" name? Well if they
> settled "among" the Gauti after 512 AD, perhaps they
> were originally "Gauti"? I'm not saying this is the
> case, only indicating one of the many different
> scenarios which are possible if one does not wish to
> adopt a strict scientific attitude, but follows one's
> desires and intuition beyond the rigors of the extant
> evidence.



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