Is this a matter for the Gothic list?

[macmaster at RISEUP.NET]

I think so; certainly, it has been raised here before at least in passing
(can't recall who posted a 'reconstruction' of Gothic/Scandinavian
migrations & links)

Even in a purely linguistic discussion, the question of the relationships
between the Germanic languages and where, when and how the divisions
occured has a bearing on this subject.

I personally tend to agree with Heather; the Goths as we know emerged in
eastern Europe.  But, there probably was a migration from Scandinavia to
the south Baltic coast - I think that it was most likely a 'migration' so
small (one or two boatloads) as to be virtually invisible.  The Goths
were, in my mind, made up of people descended from many sources who
coalesced over a long period around a small group who came in that initial
migration.

Tom



Wilhelm Otto wrote:
> Dear Gothic list,
>
> Is this a chat list just for the language itself or for a wider approach
> to
> the gothic culture, as history?
>
> If it serves the later purpose as well I will raise a subject. I have just
> read Peter Heather:
>
> “The Goths” and this book gives me an entirely new view of the old gothic
> world. He tells us about Jordanes’ Gethica and claims that it is among
> contemporary historians Jordanes’ fault that people still believe the
> Goths
> originated in Scandinavia before moving across the Baltic. Secondly, from
> at
> least the the third century the Goths was divided into two groups: the
> Visgoths and the Ostrogoths and thirdly that these groups were led by two
> families with unique royal prestige, the Balthi and the Amals.
>
> These ideas, Peter Heather says, have set an agenda around which argument
> has raged.
>
>
>
> I have been trying to discuss the first of these topics, the exodus, on a
> Swedish chat list and am very confused by the response. There are members
> who claim there has been an exodus, although Peter Heather claims that the
> dating of relevant objects from both sides of the Baltic shows that there
> has been none. And Peter Heather seems to be a man who to day carries the
> weight of argument. I have a general feeling that in Sweden the Gothic
> exodus is a valueloaded topic, and that it is difficult to give it a fair
> treatment.
>
>
>
> For me this is a matter of preserving my bearings in a world I thought was
> rational, at least in these circumstances.
>
>
>
> Is this a topic for the Gothic list?
>
> Wilhelm Otto
>
>
>
>
> --
> No virus found in this outgoing message.
> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.22/238 - Release Date:
> 2006-01-23






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

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gothic-l/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    gothic-l-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com

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