[gothic-l] Gutland Contacts With the Goths on Crimea

[bertil]

Matthew, Anders, and esteemed listmembers,

Unfortunately some from Stockholm who have written
on Gutnish and Gothic make all kinds of attempts
to make interpretations that avoid the links
between OLd gutnish and Gothic. This is well
known. One Stockholm rea´searche has even tried
to use the explanation that Gotland means the
"streamland". The interpretations of Professor
Elias Wessén and Professor Bugge are of course on
the right track. Underneath further on Gutland contacts
with Crimea.

Gothically

Bertil

Gutland Contacts With the Goths on Crimea

An indication of these contacts can be found in the rich silver treasures of the Viking era on the island of Gotland. Coins originate in the southeast and even longer eastward in the Caliphate, but used in the Black Sea area as payment.

Gutnish Vikings also travelled to areas near Crimea. The Pilgaards Runestone in Boge Parish, Gutland, from the end of the 10th century has a text saying the Ravn brothers came to Aifur, a rapid of Dniepr, not far from Crimea.

In the 2nd century AD a large migration was likely undertaken from Gutland as described in the Guta Saga. One can thus contemplate Gutnish relations in Ukraine and on the Crimean peninsula. The folk music researcher Jan Ling has for instance found connections between folk music in Sweden and in Ukraine.

Lingustically the name of Gutar is very close to the Goths, who early wrote themselves gutans and Gut-thiu-da – the Gothic people. So the indications of a relationship exist both in archaeology, own traditions, runestones, finds of coins, historical contacts and linguistic affinity that the Gutar are almost identical with the Goths. 

Examples of linguistic affinity can be found in Stein (Crimean gothic 1554) and stein in Gutnish of the 19th century. Further stega (20) = staejg, salt = salt, broe (bread) = broe and hus = hus. The Crimean Gothic language is a mixture of Old Gothic and some north- or northwest Germanic. Some researchers (for instance Loewe) have pointed also to the Eruli, who were driven away from Denmark by the Danes and who co-operated with the Goths in the Black Sea area in the 3rd century.

As the Crimean Gothic language may have lasted well into the 18th century it should not be impossible to do research on the Crimea and look for linguistical evidence of affinity. Placenames and archival sources, if they remain after for instance World War II, could shed light on the riddle of the Crimean Gothic language.

It could well be that the Gutar joined the Goths and during periods had direct contact with the Crimean Goths. On Crimea some Gutar would then have been assimilated. The Gutar travelled in the direction of Crimea and the Black Sea historically. A Guta colony could have been created on Crimea used as a point of rest for Gutar travelling to Constantinople.

There is a host of questions to be answered. No doubt the rests of Crimean Gothic language also could be close to German. So other possibilities exist but the Gutland-Crimean Gothia connection is in need of a project just like other projects such as Dr. Thor Heyerdahl’s contacts with scientific academies in Azerbaijan and Georgia plus Rostov University. Research should be made in place and be well financed. To speculate in chambers geographically far away from where history happened is not enough. A starter could be the historic texts of the sagas and thank you Tore for bringing the text to the list of the original Guta Saga. Now we just lack a translation into English for those not familiar with the likeness between Old Gutnish and (Crimean) Gothic.

Copyright Bertil Haggman 2001




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