[gothic-l] Runic Influences

[Friþunanþs Ximeneiks]

Tore Gannholm wrote:

> The Goths are defeated in Italy. What remains of the ruling class has
> nowhere to go.
> Why not try Britannia?

> Tore

The latter observation (that the ruling class had nowhere to go) seems
rather unfounded in light of the fact that:
1). There would have been trade routes to other places closer to Ravenna
and better known than Britannia.
2). The logistical impediments in either traveling on land then crossing
the straits or a direct voyage to Britannia was no simple matter and
therefore would have weighed heavily on deciding where to go. (Not only
would people be crossing, but also movable goods and livestock etc...)
Suitable craft (and funding for same) would have been needed for the
crossing or voyage. When in fact the Goths had very few seafaring
vessels, were not known as a seafaring power and additionally were not
(at the time) in a favorable position to undertake such a task.
BARRING CITATIONS ( JUST FROM A PRACTICAL POINT OF VIEW:)
(Why travel farther and/or add a voyage when they could have in a
simpler, easier manner resettled in Hispania by crossing through
Septimania.
3). Hispania would have been amenable to additional settlement by other
Gothic groups.
4). Hispania would have been closer.
5). Going to Hispania would not have demanded the logistical hurdles,
danger and added expense of a sea voyage, .
6). The route would have been relatively free of impediments especially
since Septimania was already populated with an abundance of Gothic
people.
7). There were better, more established connections between Ravenna and
Hispania than Ravenna and Britannia.
8). The ties between Visigoths and Ostrogoths were well established,
ongoing and consistent.

I would be willing to concede the "possibility" that some individuals
might have managed relocating to Britannia but the notion of numbers of
people going there (from a practical point of view) simply does not seem
as well supported a possibility.

Friþunanþs Ximeneiks



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