[gothic-l] Gaut/Gapt (Tyr)

[Bertil Häggman]

Francisc,

Jordanes clearly stressed the close connection between
the Goths and their god, Mars (=ON Tyr).

"quem Martem Gothi semper asperrima placevere 
cultura (nam victimae eius mortes fuere captorum),
opinantes bellorum praesulem apte humani sanguinis
effusione placandum, huic praede primordia
vovebantur, huic truncis suspendebantur exubiae,
eratque illis religionis preter ceteros insineatus affectus,
cum parenti devotio numinis videretur impendi."

Heidekr was once engaged in a contest of intellect
with the disguised Odin (Gestumblindi), and even dared
attack him with Tyrfingr. This may be interpreted as the
memory of a struggle between Tyr and Odin.

Professor Pritsak first tried to analyze the Eddaic
lays using the menthods of Traditional Germanic
philologists but abandoned it and instead used the
"Comparative Mythology" method introduced by
Georges Dumézil. The Edda was the product of
cyclical myrhic thinking and linear thinking, such
as the philological was to a great extent not valid,
in the view of Pritsak.

Gothically

Bertil




I don't think that the Gothic patron could be Tyr.
Tyr is the Scandinavic form of Gmc. *tiwa-z or *teiwa-z (from the IE 
root *deiwo-s, whence also Sanskrit deva, Avestic daeva-, Latin deus 
and divus, OHG zio, etc.)
In Gothic, *tiwa-z would become *tius, and *teiwa-z > *teiws.
This Angantyr is mentioned only in "The Battle of the Goths and Huns" 
and some ther Norse sagas, and not in historical sources. So it's 
doubtful if this was the name of a real Gothic person.




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