[gothic-l] Re: Gothic kingdoms

[Ingemar Nordgren]

Hi Oskar!

I wondered the same when I stumbled over it. The only explanation I can
see is that he uses the word kingdom in a more general sense, including
the lokal reiks-leaders of the different kunis/kunjas, even when they
approvingly were controlled of a leading king. He also claims Athanarik
was a king  and hence equates the title of kindins with king and calls
the realm of the vesi-tervingi a kingdom, to which I definitely
disagree. Athanarik was however a reiks/king of his own kunja of course
but that is another matter. Evidently people speaking and thinking in
English have trouble to distuingish between the title king and closely
related titles not claiming formal kingship.

Best
Ingemar


>    Date: Sat, 1 Jun 2002 13:39:30 +0200
>    From: "Oskar Andersson" <o.andersson at gamlabyn.com>
> Subject: Gothic Kingdoms in the 4th century
>
> Listmembers,
> > I have stumbled across this line in Peter Heather's valuable account of Gothic history - "The Goths."
> > There is a quote that I am quite uncertain about, and I am looking for help to trace the ideas and sources behind it:
> > Peter Heather> The Goths p. 97:
>
> "The Gothic world of the fourth century was divided into perhaps as many as six or more separate kingdoms."
> > I assume Heather is making a statement about Gothic kingdoms, although he might very well be adressing the question of kingdoms maintained by other tribes (Sarmatians, Taifali, etc.). At any rate, I wanna know what underlies this statement, and what makes Heather contribute this very interesting question - compared to the old one that presented two major power centres to wit that of the Vesi-Tervingi and that of the Greuthungi-Ostrogoths in the region.
> > Comments?



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