[gothic-l] The old Border between Norway and Sweden.

[Bertil Haggman]

Esteemed listmembers and Keth,

Although the question of the name of the vikings
is related to Gothic indirectly it should possibly
be mentioned that the origin of the word is not
finally solved. Of course the first vikings
may have come from Viken, but the pre-Vikings
most likely did not. The most common explanation
is also vik (bay).

If I remember the first viking attacks was by
Danish vikings on the English east-coast
so it seems probable that the first Viking era
vikings came from the Danish kingdom.

It should also be noted that the area around
Gautelfr/Goetaelv was strategically very
important during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Denmark controlled the areas north and south
of Goetaalv. Thus it was of great importance
for Sweden to capture the area around the
river. The conquest of these areas was combined
with a total disaster for the Danish, when Sweden's
King Charles X Gustavus made an unexpected
march with the army from Poland along the
northern German coast and reached Zealand and
Copenhagen by crossing the ice between the Danish
islands. The siege of Copenhagen failed but the
Danes were forced to hand over Scania, Halland and
Bohuslaen and some other territories to Sweden in
1658. So it was not just a casual failure by the Danes
but a general breakdown.

What Jordens meant in the 6th century AD when he
wrote Ostrogoths in _Getica_ is of course
hard to know. In Sweden it is simply translated into
oestgoetar (on the east coast) although most of the peoples Jordanes
mentions on Scandza are likely on the west coast.
The Gautigoth of Jordanes are thus probably "the Goths on
Gautelfr". But to link the Ostrogoti with the west coast
seems not correct as Jordanes points to the east by
using Ostro-.

Gothically

Bertil



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