[gothic-l] Re: Names of Heruls

[Tore Gannholm]

>
>
>Thule, is that Norway or Sweden for Procopius? Usually it is seen as
>Norway sometimes the Orkneys and sometimes even Iceland as far as I
>know. The question maybe analogue to what Procopius understood under
>Britannia/Britta. There is good reason to believe that he thought that
> Britannia/Britta is the same as Jutland. Others think that he
>confused Britain with Britany, while at the same time confusing it
>with a mythtical island of the dead. In general, it is clear that he
>knew very little about that region let alonge Thule.
>
>


Dirk,

Why must we always speculate. Why not read what Procopius says.


VI.XV.27
"Thus, then, do the inhabitants of Thule live. And one of their most
numerous nations is the Gauti, and it was next to them  that the incoming
Eruli settled at the time in question."

Further the arcaeological findings show a big change at exactly the same
time as Procopius says that the Eruli settled next to the Gauti. There is
only an unsurmountable forrest between where the Gauti lived and the lake
Mälar area where we have many of the archaeological findings from the 6th
century.

I quote from Origin of Svear:
1. Suddenly a Svea power appeared which was strong enough to wage war
against the Gutar, island of Gotland in the Baltic. From where did those
Svear come?
2. A new fashion in burying saw the light in the Lake Mälar Area during the
6th century. The burials were very ritual, which indicates that religion
very much directed the treatment of man for the next life.
3. The Svear used the Roman Julian sun calender which is considered to have
been introduced in Uppland about the year 500. Still in the 17th century
the Disthing-day in Uppsala was calculated according to this calendar.
4. The Æsir-religion which can be interpreted as the religion of the
warlike masters makes its appearance whilst the Vana-belief probably was
the religion of the peaceful farming people. The Æsir-religion can be
considered a child of an Iranian religion, which after its founder, Mani,
is called Manikeism. This religion gained from the 4th century wide
acceptance outside of the Persian state of the time. The Æsir-religion has
also borrowed ideas from early Christianity.

Tore

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