[gothic-l] Re: The Eruli and Runes

[troels_brandt]

Tore and Bertil,

I am not sure I understand the background for combining runes - and
the runestones in Blekinge - with the Heruls.

To my knowledge Semitic and Phoenician alphabets formed the basis of
the Etruscian and an early Latin alphabet - the latter containing
most signs similar to the runes. Personally I believe the arguments
put forward by Erik Moltke that the runes were "invented" by people
knowing this Latin alphabet but living in an independent Germanic
culture in a certain distance of the Romans in the first two
centuries AD. I think the intensity in the Southeastern Europe of
early finds is too low to point as the only indication at Heruls and
Goths as inventors, and we know trade routes making such finds
possible. The high intensity of finds is in Scandinavia (north of the
Ejder) and from the 6th century also in Southern Germany.

There are evident archaeological signs of Eastgermanics in the area
already before 500AD, and very few scholars seriously studying
Procopius express doubt, that some Heruls arrived to "Thule" around
500 AD and that some of these returned to Illyria. The subject
normally discussed is their number, route and destination - and I
agree this is open for discussion.

This dating corresponds of course to the statement from Scandinavian
linguists calling the 6th century the stormy century in the history
of Nordic language, and it is correct, that the first examples of the
new alphabet are known from this century, but first around 800 AD the
old 24 FUTHARK disappeared. Tore: Are there any other arguments
connecting the new 16 rune-alphabet to the Heruls?

Even when we accept that Heruls settled in Blekinge, I do not see an
obvious connection between the Heruls and the runestones from Istaby,
Stentoften, Bjoerketorp and Gummarp dated 600-675 AD also by Danish
scholars. The first impression is that Bertil has concluded the other
way round deciding first these kings of Lister to be Heruls, as I do
not regard general Germanic names and a faint similarity to the
Gothic! bible as arguments. Bertil: Are there any other arguments
connecting especially these runestones to the Heruls? You have not
clearly pointed out any Herulian indications in the 3 names from
Istaby.

As far as I can see the answers drowned in the Aartum-debate leading
to the "execution" of the innocent Arild Hauge.

Troels


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