LL-L "History" 2008.02.06 (04) [E]

[Lowlands-L List]

=========================================================================
L O W L A N D S - L  -  06 February 2008 - Volume 04
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please set the encoding mode to Unicode (UTF-8).
If viewing this in a web browser, please click on
the html toggle at the bottom of the archived page.
=========================================================================

From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: History

Hi, Luc!

Thanks for your kind words completing a round of mutual admiration. I'm not
quite sure what to make of the naked jester, and maybe I shouldn't go there,
for I'm sure it isn't a pretty sight.

Your question about the Migration Period is an interesting one, though also
an enormous one. I am by no means any sort of expert in that area, so my
bits of knowledge and views may seem naive to some.

One thing is that this period (ca. 300-700 CE, though I would estimate it
rather as having started about 100 CE and ended after 1000 CE) tends to be
described with a focus on Western Europe, or on Europe in general, rather
than as a Eurasian phenomenon. Therefore I was glad you mentioned migration
from Central Asia.

Furthermore, descriptions seem to focus on one or two possible factors that
triggered and maintained the Great Migrations. My rough hypothesis is that
it was due to a variety of factors of which I see the following as most
important:

   - Climate changes -- especially in Northern Europe and possibly
   Siberia --
   Flooding along the North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts seems to have
   caused some communities, such as the Goths (in the general area of todays
   Northern Denmark and Southern Sweden), to leave their land, and this in turn
   caused a chain of incursions.
   - In other areas (or in conjunction with the above), the mentioned
   "youth bulges" in conjunction with specific inheritance rules may have
   caused younger people to leave for new opportunities (especially for land)
   elsewhere. For instance, Saxons haunted the North Sea coasts and eventually
   settled not only in Britain but also on the continental coast in what are
   now Belgium and France. Similar things appear to have happened in Norway,
   where relative overcrowding led to conflicts and emigration to Iceland,
   Greenland and beyond, and discovery of foreign opportunities may have led to
   more organized colonization (for instance of Britain, Ireland, Northern
   France and Russia).
   - Migration within Central Asia and then out of Central Asia toward
   Europe seems to have triggered further migration patterns in Europe. This
   was not only a matter of a general movement from the east pushing others
   farther west, but there were also many tribal alliances, for instance that
   of Iranic-speaking Alans with Goths. The eastern focus of this is the border
   region of Northern China. Nomadic "barbarians" had been "nipping" at China's
   heels, and China sought to "pacify" them by trying to bring them under
   Chinese control, hence extending its borders outward. As a result, many
   Central Asians became sinicized while others migrated away, and this meant
   westward in most cases. The Huns are a good example; their activities took
   place between China and Europe. Similarly, branches of Kök Turks moved from
   just north of China westward. The relative vacuum they left behind was
   filled by Mongols who later, in conjunction with others, conquered large
   tracts of Eurasia, from Korea to close to Vienna.
   - Signs of the Roman empire's decline or decay had become abundantly
   obvious, and several Germanic tribes, perhaps under pressure from the
   criteria mentioned above, took advantage of this by invading Roman
   territories and even Italy itself (e.g., Goths, Vandals and
   Langobards).

This was a very rough sketch of my general picture. My main point is that it
was definitely a Eurasian phenomenon. I am sure the real picture is
extremely complex, and we may never know all the necessary details.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/lowlands-l/attachments/20080206/0f92a7d7/attachment.htm>