[gothic-l] Re: Bavarian-Goths

[dirk at SMRA.CO.UK]

--- In gothic-l at y..., cstrohmier at y... wrote:
> Dear Dirk,
>        Thank you for sharing the interesting information on "The
> Phalheim Horse Warriors."
>        On a related note, there seems to be a connection between the
> Bavarians and the Goths.  According to the author J. Zibermayer
> (in "Noricum:  Bayern und Osterreich"; Horn, 1957), the Bavarians
> themselves were an independent East German tribe from Baia on the
> Black Sea (in modern Romania):  Their name Bavarian comes
> from "Baiawarioz", meaning "people from Baia."


Dear Cory,

I must admit that I haven't heard about this theory before. My
understanding is that Bajuwari means the men from (or living near)
Boia (Bohemia), like Raetowari being the people of Raetia. But if you
like we can discuss this matter on the Germanic-List.





>        There is a lot of evidence that points in that direction.
> There are traces of Gothic customs in the Bavarian law code (Lex
> baiowariorum), and of Gothic vocabulary in south German, probably
> relating to a Gothic missionary effort in southern Germany and to
the
> second German sound shift which probably began in Bavaria.
>        It is interesting to note that the Bavarians settled in
> Bavaria during the time when the area was under the control of the
> Ostrogothic Kingdom in Italy.



Although a considerable number of Bavarian words have been identified
as Gothic and East Germanic origin, the language is essentially west
Germanic as far as I know.

I suppose the East Germanic influence on the Bavarians, could have
ensued in different ways. Hervig Wolfram for example pointed out that
the Scheiern area (old name Skierun)in Bavaria takes its name from the
East Germanic Skiri who settled there. Also, at least one Bavarian
duke is known to have been a Herul. The possibility of Gothic
missionaries has, however, been somewhat dismissed by W. Menghin, who
pointed out that Arians as such were not very active in
this field.


In general, Theoderic the Great is often called the god-father of the
Bavarians, so there probably was some sort of more or less close
connection. For example, Gothic legends like the Hildebrands Lied have
entered old High German through the Bavarians.  Close trade links
between the Bavarians and the Goths are attested by coin hoard finds,
including small silver denominations which indicate that some sort of
exchange may have gone on on a fairly regular basis.  Also, I reported
about the Alamannic Lauchheim cemetary, which yielded the remains of
what are considered to be noble Ostrogothic women who had married
Alamannic elite members. The same sort of intermarriage may have gone
on between the Goths and the Bavarians as well.

(If you are specifically interested in the Bavarians you should check
out the Germanic list)

Kind Regards,
Dirk




Dr. Dirk Faltin


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