[gothic-l] Goths, Gepids, Gaut

[Bertil Häggman]

Cory,

Never heard of the Goths practicing a matriarchal
religion. Gaut, at least in Swedish, was known as
"avlaren" (the begetter).

Of the Godi I am not very versed but know of 
the Godar (Icelandic chiefs; charismatic clans).
They were liege-lords and priests at the same
time. I don't think personally that there is
any connection between distant Iceland and
Godar=Goths.

There is the interesting term of Guda-s/Gudai
for th eRus population of the Lithuanian-Polish
state, that is Ukrainians and Belorussians, but
that is not, I guess, connected to the "gudja" you
mention.

The use by Jordanes of the Roman/Latin names
in _Getica_, in my opinion, is of no greater interest.
(like Mars or Mercury). That these Roman gods
show up would only be natural at the time
_Getica_ was written. Important is Chapter 79, 
in in which Gaut (or Gapt) is mentioned as the 
progenitor of the Goths, a Scandinavian war god. 
His son was hulmul (or Humli) the mythical progenítor 
of the Dani. Amal is not mentioned until the fourth 
generation.

Gothically

Bertil

> I'm not sure if this was discussed before here on Gothic-
> List, but there are a few interesting quotes in the book "The 
> Norsemen" by H. A. Guerber (ISBN 0-517-60439-6) which may have
> some relation to the Gaut discussion.
> On pages 56 and 57 it says:  "In other parts of Germany, 
> Frigga, Holda, or Ostara is known by the name Brechta, Bertha, or 
the White Lady.   ...In Mecklenburg, this same goddess is known as 
Frau Gode, or Wode, the female form of Woutan or Odin, and her 
appearance is always considered the harbinger of great prosperity.  
She is also supposed to be a great huntress, and to lead the Wild 
Hunt, mounted upon a white horse, her attendants  being changed into 
hounds and all manner of wild beasts."  (I wonder if this, together 
with the practice of inhumation among the Goths, might suggest a 
matriarchal religion.)
> On page 86 under the discussion on Tyr, it says:  "A 
> distinctive feature of the worship of this god among the Franks and 
> some other Northern nations was that priests called Druids or Godi 
> offered up human sacrifices upon his altars...."  (I wonder if
> this might suggest that originally there was some connection among 
> the word Godi, the Gothic words "Gut" (Goth) and
> "gudja" (priest), and Frau Gode.)
> On page 348, it says:  "Odin ... was like Mercury in that he 
> taught the use of runes, while the Greek god introduced the 
> alphabet."  (Didn't Jordanes "Getica" say something
> about the Goths worshipping Mercury?) (I wonder if this, together 
with the practice of cremation among the Goths, might suggest a 
patriarchal religion.)
> Sincerely,
> Cory
P.S.
The Gothic words "Guth" (God) and "goths" (good) and
the 
Langobardic word "Godan" (Wodan) are three more parts of the
puzzle 
to ponder.





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