[gothic-l] Re: Trailing the Eruli in the North

[andreas.schwarcz at UNIVIE.AC.AT]

Dear Dirk,
Jordanes gives Getica 16-24 a general description of Scandza, 
citing as sources Claudius Ptolemaeus and Pomponius Mela. This 
part of the text is  probably a direct citation from Cassiodorus. He 
calls it "inhospitalis hominibus", because he reports that it borders 
on the frozen sea and he starts his list of scandinavian tribes going 
from north to south. When he comes further south, he reports that 
there are tribes whose territory is on even ground and fertile, so he 
does not describe Scandza as inhospitable as a whole. Getica 24 
he gives the following peoples as the furthest south: "sunt 
quamquam et horum posititura Grannii, Augandzi, Eunixi, Taetel, 
Rugi, Arochi, Ranii. quibus non ante multos annos Roduuolf rex 
fuit, qui contempto proprio regno ad Theodorici Gothorum regis 
gremio convolavit et, ut desiderabat, invenit."
It is quite clear that this Roduuolf is a different person from the 
Erulian king Rodulfus and it is the king of the Eruli who became 
son in arms of Theodoric, not the Scandinavian exilee. Of the latter 
we cannot even say to which of the seven tribes mentioned he 
belonged and why he went into exile. Jordanes does not say that 
he came voluntarily. "Contempto proprio regno" just means that he 
left his own realm, but does not tell us anything about the 
circumstances. He may have been forced into exile, but we cannot 
say anything for sure.
Kind regards,
                          Andreas

   
Ao.Univ.Prof.Dr.Andreas Schwarcz
Institut für österreichische Geschichtsforschung
Universität Wien
Dr.Karl Lueger-Ring 1
A-1010 Wien
Österreich
Tel.0043/1/42-77/272-16
Fax 0043/142-77/92-72


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