[gothic-l] The Formation of the Goths

[Bertil Haggman]

"From this island of Scandza, as from a factory of tribes
or a wom of peoples...the Goths are said to have migrated
long ago under their king Berig. As soon as they had dis-
embarked from their ships and had set foot on land, they
gave the place a name; for even today it is said to be
called Gothiscandza. From there they soon advanced
against the settlements of the Ulmerugi, who at that
time lived on the shores of the sea, made war upon
them, engaged in a battle, and drove them from the land.
At that time they subjugated their neighbors, the Vandals,
and by their victories forced the to jin the Gothic rule...

This is the beginning of the memoria, the Amal tribal
history of the Goths, which Cassiodorus recorded and
which Jordanes preserved for posterity. As late as the
sixth century Theoderic the Great insisted that his family
had originated in Scandinavia and had made the long
trek from there by way of eastern Pomerania and the
Vistula to the Black Sea, thence to Pannonia and Moesia,
and finally to Italy. In view of the enormous energy that
scholarship has invested in defending or refuting the
Scandinavian origin of the Goths, one could ask why
we do not believe Theoderic and accept his claim - of
course not as hard fact but as motif of a saga..."

When rereading the above section of Chapter 2 of Wolfram
(1988) I was struck by the similarity of the middle ground
taken by Professor Wolfram similar to that of Professor
Hermodsson in _Goterna_.

Gothically

Bertil


------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Access Your PC from Anywhere
It's Easy. It's Fun. - Free Download.
http://us.click.yahoo.com/5dkfKB/7XkDAA/_ZuFAA/wWMplB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

You are a member of the Gothic-L list.  To unsubscribe, send a blank email to <gothic-l-unsubscribe at egroups.com>.

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/