Thuringians = Tervingian Goths
faltin2001
dirk at SMRA.CO.UK
Sun Aug 21 12:14:29 UTC 2005
Hello all,
I read the study Stamm und Reich der frühen Thüringer nach den
Schriftquellen" (i.e. Folk/tribe and realm of the early Thuringians
according to historical sources) by Dr. Heike Grahn-Hoek, in
Zeitschrift des Vereins für Thüringische Geschichte, Vol. 56 (2002).
The study comprises 87 pages in small print. It is extremely well
sources and argued to the highest academic standards. As indicated by
the title the author relies exclusively on historical sources and in
fact explicitly excludes archaeological evidence to avoid circular
arguments. As far as I can see her study was well received by other
historians (e.g. H. Castritius in RGA).
The argument of key interest in my view centres on the origin of the
Thuringians. The author explains that the most common theory suggests
that the name was derived from an older tribal name Herum-d u r e n.
However, she adds that this explanations has always been doubted by
linguists. Thus, the author re-examines the various name forms
provided in the earliest sources. Based on Malchus a Greek source of
the 5th cent. who provided the Greek form The-ou-r-ingoi (in Latin
The-u-r-ingi) she argues that this name may be derived from The-r-u-
ingi the name of the Gothic Terwingi through a simple switch of ou/u
and r. She states that there are other examples in antique sources
where such an u to r switch occurred.
The author states that the time frame for the emergence of
Theuringoi/Thuringians and the disappearance of Theruingi/Tervingi
around 400 AD matches perfectly. This is important as it would fill a
gap in the documentation of the Theuringoi/Thuringians. They are
first mentioned in 400AD (Vegetius), but the source implies that at
this time they are already very well known throughout the empire.
Next, the author moves to the main part of her examination, the study
of historical sources in order to see whether a link between
Theuringi/Thuringians and Theruingi/Tervingians can be postulated. In
short, she takes the events surrounding Athanaric's Tervingi as the
starting point. Faced with the Hunnic onslaught, in the 370s the
Tervingi were beset by a crisis with a pro-Roman, pro-Christian
faction led by Fritigern which sought settlements within the Roman
empire and a pagan anti-Roman faction led by the Athanaric. Athanaric
had at one stage vowed never to set food on Roman soil. Yet, for
whatever reason he was later compelled to seek refuge with a small
following in Constantinopel. His part of the Tervingi was taken over
by `proximorum factione' (ie. relatives), who according to
Marcellinus Comes sought refuge "far away in lands (domicilium
remotum) unknown to the Huns". The author's argumentation here is
extremely detailed and suggest that these Tervingi were located
further north than often believed at that time.
Next, the author discusses the campaign of Radagaisus in 405/06. She
explains that his attribution to Greutungi (Ostrogoths) or Tervingi
(Visigoths) is uncertain. Since he is described as a pagan in
contrast to the Christian Tervingi under Alaric some scholars argue
that he must have been a Greutungian Goths. However, the sources call
him simply a rex (basileus) Gothorum, i.e. a king of the Goths.
However, Radagaisus is not listed among the ancestors of the
Ostrogothic Amals. Thus, other scholars argue that Radagaisus was a
Tervingian and possibly even the one who succeeded Athanaric. Thos
who believe that he as a Tervingian successor of Athanaric usual
place him in the so called Caucaland, i.e. the Carpathian region.
Yet, most interestingly, Zosimos provides evidence for the
geographical origin of Radagaisus by stating that he had come from
the lands between Danube and Rhine. This is exactly the description
for the geographical location of the Thuringian kingdom and it would
make to sense if he had started out in the Carpathians.
The author points out that the name Radagais appears later in the
Thuringian/Warnian royal family with a prince Radagis. The component
Rada- is found in royal Thuringian names like Rade-gundis (two
princesses) and a 7th century Thuringian duke/king Radaulf. The `
gais `component of Radagais is used again in the name of the
Thuringian prince Arta-gais/Arta chis.
As mentioned earlier, the author deliberately excluded archaeological
evidence in order to avoid circular argumentation. One a footnote in
her study refers to supportive archaeology. However, the
archaeological evidence available already is in my view a key support
for the theory that Theuringi/Thuringians are identical with
Theruingi/Tervingian Goths. Berthold Schmidt has shown already in the
1980s and 1990s that substantial groups of carriers of the
Cheryhakovsk/Sintana-de-Mures culture (which is associated with the
Goths) arrived in middle Germany and settled at the centre of the
later Thuringian kingdom. These groups are known under the technical
terms Grossbadegaster and Niemburger groups. They arrived in middle
Germany in the 370/380s just at the time when Athanaric's Tervingi
disappear from the sources. Following Grahn-Hoek's argument these
would have been the Athanaric-Tervingi probably under the leadership
of Radagais.
Cheers
Dirk
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