Tacitus: Germania
Tacitus, an important Roman historian, wrote
the most detailed early description of the Germans at then end of the first
century CE. In doing so, be warned, he was commenting on the Rome of his own
time, as much as on the German themselves.
Tacitus "Germanien und seine Stämme"
Vielleicht ist
die erste Silbe Wenz verwandt
mit den Venedi, die bei Tacitus, dem
römischen Historiker, erwähnt werden. Die Vermutung für diese
Verwandtschaft gründet nur auf der ähnlichen
Aussprache der beiden Wörter. Die Venedi
lebten laut Tacitus im Nordosten
Germaniens. Sie hatten befestigte Siedlungen, trugen Schilde und waren "gut zu Fuß". Gemeint
sind an dieser
Stelle offensichtlich die auch als Veneter bezeichneten Stämme. Interessant auch die klangliche Ähnlichkeit zu Vineta, der versunkenen Stadt
im Ostseeraum.
Tacitus "Germanien et ses troncs"
La première syllabe : Wenz ressemble phonétiquement au nom : Venethe mentionné par
Tacite , l'historien romain . C’est uniquement cette ressemblance
phonétique qui est le fondement de l’intuition sur le lien qui existerait entre
ces deux mots. D’après Tacite ,les Venethes vivaient au nord-est de la Germanie. Ils avaient
des habitations fortifiées, portaient
des insignes et étaient de bons
marcheurs. Évidemment les peuples ainsi nommés
incluent aussi les Venethes . De la même manière
on retrouve la même analogie dans le mot : Vineta, la ville noyée
dans la région de la Mer
Baltique.
Tacitus
(about 98 AD) described a nation called "Suiones"
living on an island in Sea. These Suiones had ships that were peculiar because
they had a prow in both ends (the shape we recognise as Viking ships). This
word Suiones is the same name as Anglo-Saxon Sweon whose country
was called Sweoland (Svealand). In
Beowulf,
this tribe is also called Sweoðeod, from which the name Sweden is
derived, and the country has the name Sweorice which is an old
Anglo-Saxon form of the present Swedish name for Sweden (which some claim is Danish, and
has its origin from the Kalmar
Union). (Danish Sverige = Swedish Svearike).
In the 6th
century the Ostrogoth
Jordanes
mentioned a tribe named Suehans which is the same name as Tacitus' Suiones.
He also unwittingly described the same tribe by a different name, the Suetidi
which is the same as an old name for Sweden, SvíÞjóð and the English Sweoðeod.
Several
independent sources, such as Beowulf, Ynglingatal,
Ynglinga
saga, Saxo
Grammaticus and Historia Norwegiae, mention a number of Swedish
kings who lived in the 6th century, such as Eadgils, Ohthere and Onela, as
well as a number of Geatish kings. Some of these kings were in all likelihood
historic kings within the present territory of Sweden, although the sources
sometimes give contradictory information, such as the death of Ottar. See Mythological kings of Sweden and Semi-legendary
kings of Sweden.
In those days
the kings were warlords
rather than kings as we understand that title today, and what was to become Sweden,
Norway and Denmark in a modern
sense, were a number of petty kingdoms whose borders changed constantly as the
kings killed each other. The politics of these early kingdoms are retold in Beowulf and
the Icelandic sagas.
One of the most
powerful petty kings was the Swedish king, the king of the Sweon (Old
Norse Svíar), who ruled Sweoland. It is unknown when it happened
and it probably happened several times, but when sources become more reliabe
the territories of the Swedish kings include Westrogothia
and other parts of Götaland.
This stage is by some considered to be the beginning of Sweden.
Viking age
Harpers Latein-
Lexikon zum Thema Veneter
Hier werden
die Veneter mit den "modernen" Wenden identifiziert, die ihre Siedlungen in Norddeutschland nahe der Ostseeküste
hatten (frühes Mittelalter). In der Hanse wurden die mit Lübeck eng verbündeten Städte Wismar, Rostock, Stralsund, Greifswald, Hamburg
und Lüneburg als Wendische Städte bezeichnet, die das Wendische Drittel (1347), später das Wendische
Viertel der Hanse bildeten. Wendland oder
Vendland ist ein früherer Name für die meisten Gebiete, die heute in
Brockhaus Enzyklopädie
zum Namen Wenden:
Sammelbezeichnung für alle in Mittel- und Ostdeutschland und in den Ostalpenländern
ansässigen Slawen, frühere Bezeichnung für die Sorben. Die Entstehung des Namens und seine sprachliche und geschichtliche Anknüpfung an den indogermanischen
(aber nicht slawischen) Stamm der Veneter
oder an die Wandalen oder an germanisch weni (Freund) sind nicht gesichert.
Harpers latin- dictionnaire au sujet de Veneter
Ici, les Veneter sont
identifiés avecles tours "modernes" qui ont eu étroitement leurs
agglomérations en Allemagne du Nord la Mer Baltique-côte (moyen âge précoce).
Dans la Hanse, les villes Wismar , Rostock , Stralsund, Greifswald, Hambourget de
Lunebourgalliées étroitement avec Luebeck ont été qualifiées de Wendische de
villesqui formaient plus tard le Wendische tiers (1347 ) , le Wendische quart de la Hanse. Le pays de tour ou
le Vendland est un ancien nom pour la plupart des secteursqui aujourd'hui
_ Brockhaus encyclopédie nom tour:
Nom générique toute dans les moyens- et l'Allemagne de l'Est et dans les pays
des Alpes des Alpes de Slaves domiciliés, une ancienne désignation pour les
sorben. La naissance du nom et son partir linguistique et historique ( toutefoispas slaves )du tronc indogermanischen des
Veneter ou aux
Wandalen ou germanique weni (ami) ne sont pas assurés .
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Tacitus goes on
to give a geographical account of the locations of the main German tribes. The
following, which completes the text of the Germania,
is from an 18th-century different translation by Thomas Gordon. Out of this
host of Germanic groups the Frisians are the only one that has preserved its
ancient name.
http://www.i-friesland.com/Tacitus_tribes.htm
I shall now
deduce the institutions and usages of the several people, as far as they vary
one from another, as also an account of what nations from thence removed, to
settle themselves in Gaul.
Gaul
That the Gauls
were in times past more puissant and formidable, is related by the Prince of
authors, the deified Julius [ie Julius Caesar] and hence it is probable that
they too have passed into Germany. For what a small obstacle must be a river,
to restrain any nation, as each grew more potent, from seizing or changing
habitations; when as yet all habitations were common, and not parted or
appropriated by the founding and terror of Monarchies? The region therefore
between the Hercynian Forest and the rivers Moenus [ie Main] and Rhine, was
occupied by the Helvetians; as was that beyond it by the Boians, both nations
of Gaul. There still remains a place called Boiemum, which denotes the
primitive name and antiquity of the country, although the inhabitants have been
changed. But whether the Araviscans are derived from the Osians, a nation of
Germans passing into Pannonia, or the Osians from the Araviscans removing from
thence into Germany, is a matter undecided; since they both still use the
language, the same customs and the same laws. For, as of old they lived alike
poor and alike free, equal proved the evils and advantages on each side the
river, and common to both people. The Treverians and Nervians aspire
passionately to the reputation of being descended from the Germans; since by
the glory of this original, they would escape all imputation of resembling the
Gauls in person and effeminacy. Such as dwell upon the bank of the Rhine, the
Vangiones, the Tribocians, and the Nemetes, are without doubt all Germans. The
Ubians are ashamed of their original; though they have a particular honour to
boast, that of having merited an establishment as a Roman Colony, and still
delight to be called Agrippinensians, after the name of their founder: they
indeed formerly came from beyond the Rhine, and, for the many proofs of their
fidelity, were settled upon the very bank of the river; not to be there
confined or guarded themselves, but to guard and defend that boundary against
the rest of the Germans.
Batavians *(The Ancestors of the Dutch)
Of all these
nations, the Batavians are the most signal in bravery. They inhabit not much
territory upon the Rhine, but possess an island in it. They were formerly part
of the Cattans, and by means of feuds at home removed to these dwellings;
whence they might become a portion of the Roman Empire. With them this honour
still remains, as also the memorials of their ancient association with us: for
they are not under the contempt of paying tribute, nor subject to be squeezed
by the farmers of the revenue. Free from all impositions and payments, and only
set apart for the purposes of fighting, they are reserved wholly for the wars,
in the same manner as a magazine of weapons and armour. Under the same degree
of homage are the nation of the Mattiacians. For such is the might and
greatness of the Roman People, as to have carried the awe and esteem of their
Empire beyond the Rhine and the ancient boundaries. Thus the Mattiacians,
living upon the opposite banks, enjoy a settlement and limits of their own; yet
in spirit and inclination are attached to us: in other things resembling the
Batavians, save that as they still breathe their original air, still possess
their primitive soil, they are thence inspired with superior vigour and
keenness. Amongst the people of Germany I would not reckon those who occupy the
lands which are under decimation, though they be such as dwell beyond the Rhine
and the Danube. By several worthless and vagabond Gauls, and such as poverty
rendered daring, that region was seized as one belonging to no certain
possessor: afterwards it became a skirt of the Empire and part of a province,
upon the enlargement of our bounds and the extending of our garrisons and
frontier.
Cattans
Beyond these
are the Cattans, whose territories begin at the Hercynian Forest, and consist
not of such wide and marshy plains, as those of the other communities contained
within the vast compass of Germany; but produce ranges of hills, such as run
lofty and contiguous for a long tract, then by degrees sink and decay. Moreover
the Hercynian Forest attends for a while its native Cattans, then suddenly
forsakes them. This people are distinguished with bodies more hardy and robust,
compact limbs, stern countenances, and greater vigour of spirit. For Germans,
they are men of much sense and address. [Footnote: "Leur intelligence et
leur finesse etonnent, dans des Germains."] They dignify chosen men,
listen to such as are set over them, know how to preserve their post, to
discern occasions, to rebate their own ardour and impatience; how to employ the
day, how to entrench themselves by night. They account fortune amongst things
slippery and uncertain, but bravery amongst such as are never-failing and
secure; and, what is exceeding rare nor ever to be learnt but by a wholesome
course of discipline, in the conduct of the general they repose more assurance
than in the strength of the army. Their whole forces consist of foot, who
besides their arms carry likewise instruments of iron and their provisions. You
may see other Germans proceed equipped to battle, but the Cattans so as to
conduct a war.[Footnote 10: "Alios ad proelium ire videas, Chattos ad
bellum."] They rarely venture upon excursions or casual encounters. It is
in truth peculiar to cavalry, suddenly to conquer, or suddenly to fly. Such
haste and velocity rather resembles fear. Patience and deliberation are more
akin to intrepidity.
Moreover a
custom, practised indeed in other nations of Germany, yet very rarely and
confined only to particulars more daring than the rest, prevails amongst the
Cattans by universal consent. As soon as they arrive to maturity of years, they
let their hair and beards continue to grow, nor till they have slain an enemy
do they ever lay aside this form of countenance by vow sacred to valour. Over
the blood and spoil of a foe they make bare their face. They allege, that they
have now acquitted themselves of the debt and duty contracted by their birth,
and rendered themselves worthy of their country, worthy of their parents. Upon
the spiritless, cowardly and unwarlike, such deformity of visage still
remains.[Footnote: "Manet squalor."] All the most brave
likewise wear an iron ring (a mark of great dishonour this in that nation) and
retain it as a chain; till by killing an enemy they become released. Many of
the Cattans delight always to bear this terrible aspect; and, when grown white
through age, become awful and conspicuous by such marks, both to the enemy and
their own countrymen. By them in all engagements the first assault is made: of
them the front of the battle is always composed, as men who in their looks are
singular and tremendous. For even during peace they abate nothing in the
grimness and horror of their countenance. They have no house to inhabit, no
land to cultivate, nor any domestic charge or care. With whomsoever they come
to sojourn, by him they are maintained; always very prodigal of the substance
of others, always despising what is their own, till the feebleness of old age
overtakes them, and renders them unequal to the efforts of such rigid bravery.
Usipians and Tencterians
Next to the
Cattans, dwell the Usipians and Tencterians; upon the Rhine now running in a
channel uniform and certain, such as suffices for a boundary. The Tencterians,
besides their wonted glory in war, surpass in the service and discipline of
their cavalry. Nor do the Cattans derive higher applause from their foot, than
the Tencterians from their horse. Such was the order established by their
forefathers, and what their posterity still pursue. From riding and exercising
of horses, their children borrow their pastimes; in this exercise the young men
find matter for emulating one another, and in this the old men take pleasure to
persevere. Horses are by the father bequeathed as part of his household and
family, horses are conveyed amongst the rights of succession, and as such the
son receives them; but not the eldest son, like other effects, by priority of
birth, but he who happens to be signal in boldness and superior in war.
Bructerians
Contiguous to
the Tencterians formerly dwelt the Bructerians, in whose room it is said the
Chamavians and Angrivarians are now settled; they who expulsed and almost
extirpated the Bructerians, with the concurrence of the neighbouring nations:
whether in detestation of their arrogance, or allured by the love of spoil, or
through the special favour of the Gods towards us Romans. They in truth even
vouchsafed to gratify us with the sight of the battle. In it there fell above
sixty thousand souls, without a blow struck by the Romans; but, what is a
circumstance still more glorious, fell to furnish them with a spectacle of joy
and recreation. May the Gods continue and perpetuate amongst these nations, if
not any love for us, yet by all means this their animosity and hate towards
each other: since whilst the destiny of the Empire thus urges it, fortune
cannot more signally befriend us, than in sowing strife amongst our foes.
Frisians
The
Angrivarians and Chamavians are enclosed behind, by the Dulgibinians and
Chasuarians; and by other nations not so much noted: before, the Frisians face
them. The country of Frisia is divided into two; called the greater and lesser,
according to the measure of their strength. Both nations stretch along the
Rhine, quite to the ocean; and surround vast lakes such as once have borne
Roman fleets. We have moreover even ventured out from thence into the ocean,
and upon its coasts common fame has reported the pillars of Hercules to be
still standing: whether it be that Hercules ever visited these parts, or that
to his renowned name we are wont to ascribe whatever is grand and glorious
everywhere. Neither did Drusus who made the attempt, want boldness to pursue
it: but the roughness of the ocean withstood him, nor would suffer discoveries
to be made about itself, no more than about Hercules. Thenceforward the
enterprise was dropped: nay, more pious and reverential it seemed, to believe
the marvellous feats of the Gods than to know and to prove them. [Footnote:
"Coelum ipsum petimus stultitia."]
Chaucians
Hitherto, I
have been describing Germany towards the west. To the northward, it winds away
with an immense compass. And first of all occurs the nation of the Chaucians:
who though they begin immediately at the confines of the Frisians, and occupy
part of the shore, extend so far as to border upon all the several people whom
I have already recounted; till at last, by a Circuit, they reach quite to the
boundaries of the Cattans. A region so vast, the Chaucians do not only possess
but fill; a people of all the Germans the most noble, such as would rather
maintain their grandeur by justice than violence. They live in repose, retired
from broils abroad, void of avidity to possess more, free from a spirit of
domineering over others. They provoke no wars, they ravage no countries, they
pursue no plunder. Of their bravery and power, the chief evidence arises from
hence, that, without wronging or oppressing others, they are come to be
superior to all. Yet they are all ready to arm, and if an exigency require,
armies are presently raised, powerful and abounding as they are in men and
horses; and even when they are quiet and their weapons laid aside, their credit
and name continue equally high.
Cheruscans
Along the side
of the Chaucians and Cattans dwell the Cheruscans; a people who finding no
enemy to rouse them, were enfeebled by a peace over lasting and uniform, but
such as they failed not to nourish. A conduct which proved more pleasing than
secure; since treacherous is that repose which you enjoy amongst neighbours
that are very powerful and very fond of rule and mastership. When recourse is
once had to the sword, modesty and fair dealing will be vainly pleaded by the
weaker; names these which are always assumed by the stronger. Thus the Cheruscans,
they who formerly bore the character of good and upright, are now called
cowards and fools; and the fortune of the Cattans who subdued them, grew
immediately to be wisdom. In the ruin of the Cheruscans, the Fosians, also
their neighbours, were involved; and in their calamities bore an equal share,
though in their prosperity they had been weaker and less considered.
Cimbrians
In the same
winding tract of Germany live the Cimbrians, close to the ocean; a community
now very small, but great in fame. Nay, of their ancient renown, many and
extensive are the traces and monuments still remaining; even their
entrenchments upon either shore, so vast in compass that from thence you may
even now measure the greatness and numerous bands of that people, and assent to
the account of an army so mighty. It was on the six hundred and fortieth year
of Rome, when of the arms of the Cimbrians the first mention was made, during
the Consulship of Caecilius Metellus and Papirius Carbo. If from that time we
count to the second Consulship of the Emperor Trajan, the interval comprehends
near two hundred and ten years; so long have we been conquering Germany. In a
course of time, so vast between these two periods, many have been the blows and
disasters suffered on each side. In truth neither from the Samnites, nor from
the Carthaginians, nor from both Spains, nor from all the nations of Gaul, have
we received more frequent checks and alarms; nor even from the Parthians: for,
more vigorous and invincible is the liberty of the Germans than the monarchy of
the Arsacides. Indeed, what has the power of the East to allege to our
dishonour; but the fall of Crassus, that power which was itself overthrown and
abased by Ventidius, with the loss of the great King Pacorus bereft of his
life? But by the Germans the Roman People have been bereft of five armies, all
commanded by Consuls; by the Germans, the commanders of these armies, Carbo,
and Cassius, and Scaurus Aurelius, and Servilius Caepio, as also Marcus
Manlius, were all routed or taken: by the Germans even the Emperor Augustus was
bereft of Varus and three legions. Nor without difficulty and loss of men were
they defeated by Caius Marius in Italy, or by the deified Julius in Gaul, or by
Drusus or Tiberius or Germanicus in their native territories. Soon after, the
mighty menaces of Caligula against them ended in mockery and derision.
Thenceforward they continued quiet, till taking advantage of our domestic
division and civil wars, they stormed and seized the winter entrenchments of
the legions, and aimed at the dominion of Gaul; from whence they were once more
expulsed, and in the times preceding the present, we gained a triumph over them
rather than a victory.
Suevians
I must now
proceed to speak of the Suevians, who are not, like the Cattans and
Tencterians, comprehended in a single people; but divided into several nations
all bearing distinct names, though in general they are entitled Suevians, and
occupy the larger share of Germany. This people are remarkable for a peculiar
custom, that of twisting their hair and binding it up in a knot. It is thus the
Suevians are distinguished from the other Germans, thus the free Suevians from
their slaves. In other nations, whether from alliance of blood with the
Suevians, or, as is usual, from imitation, this practice is also found, yet
rarely, and never exceeds the years of youth. The Suevians, even when their
hair is white through age, continue to raise it backwards in a manner stern and
staring; and often tie it upon the top of their head only. That of their
Princes, is more accurately disposed, and so far they study to appear agreeable
and comely; but without any culpable intention. For by it, they mean not to
make love or to incite it: they thus dress when proceeding to war, and deck
their heads so as to add to their height and terror in the eyes of the enemy.
Semnones
Of all the
Suevians, the Semnones recount themselves to be the most ancient and most
noble. The belief of their antiquity is confirmed by religious mysteries. At a
stated time of the year, all the several people descended from the same stock,
assemble by their deputies in a wood; consecrated by the idolatries of their
forefathers, and by superstitious awe in times of old. There by publicly
sacrificing a man, they begin the horrible solemnity of their barbarous
worship. To this grove another sort of reverence is also paid. No one enters it
otherwise than bound with ligatures, thence professing his subordination and
meanness, and the power of the Deity there. If he fall down, he is not permitted
to rise or be raised, but grovels along upon the ground. And of all their
superstition, this is the drift and tendency; that from this place the nation
drew their original, that here God, the supreme Governor of the world, resides,
and that all things else whatsoever are subject to him and bound to obey him.
The potent condition of the Semnones has increased their influence and
authority, as they inhabit an hundred towns; and from the largeness of their
community it comes, that they hold themselves for the head of the Suevians.
Langobards
What on the
contrary ennobles the Langobards is the smallness of their number, for that
they, who are surrounded with very many and very powerful nations, derive their
security from no obsequiousness or plying; but from the dint of battle and
adventurous deeds. There follow in order the Reudignians, and Aviones, and
Angles, and Varinians, and Eudoses, and Suardones and Nuithones; all defended
by rivers or forests. Nor in one of these nations does aught remarkable occur,
only that they universally join in the worship of Herthum; that is to say, the
Mother Earth. Her they believe to interpose in the affairs of man, and to visit
countries. In an island of the ocean stands the wood Castum: in it is a chariot
dedicated to the Goddess, covered over with a curtain, and permitted to be
touched by none but the Priest. Whenever the Goddess enters this her holy
vehicle, he perceives her; and with profound veneration attends the motion of
the chariot, which is always drawn by yoked cows. Then it is that days of
rejoicing always ensue, and in all places whatsoever which she descends to
honour with a visit and her company, feasts and recreation abound. They go not
to war; they touch no arms; fast laid up is every hostile weapon; peace and
repose are then only known, then only beloved, till to the temple the same
priest reconducts the Goddess when well tired with the conversation of mortal
beings. Anon the chariot is washed and purified in a secret lake, as also the
curtains; nay, the Deity herself too, if you choose to believe it. In this
office it is slaves who minister, and they are forthwith doomed to be swallowed
up in the same lake. Hence all men are possessed with mysterious terror; as
well as with a holy ignorance what that must be, which none see but such as are
immediately to perish. Moreover this quarter of the Suevians stretches to the
middle of Germany.
Hermondurians
The community
next adjoining, is that of the Hermondurians; (that I may now follow the course
of the Danube, as a little before I did that of the Rhine) a people this,
faithful to the Romans. So that to them alone of all the Germans, commerce is
permitted; not barely upon the bank of the Rhine, but more extensively, and
even in that glorious colony in the province of Rhoetia. They travel everywhere
at their own discretion and without a guard; and when to other nations, we show
no more than our arms and encampments, to this people we throw open our houses
and dwellings, as to men who have no longing to possess them. In the
territories of the Hermondurians rises the Elbe, a river very
famous and formerly well known to us; at present we only hear it named.
Nariscans
Close by the
Hermondurians reside the Nariscans, and next to them the Marcomanians and
Quadians. Amongst these the Marcomanians are most signal in force and renown;
nay, their habitation itself they acquired by their bravery, as from thence
they formerly expulsed the Boians. Nor do the Nariscans or Quadians degenerate
in spirit. Now this is as it were the frontier of Germany, as far as Germany is
washed by the Danube. To the times within our memory the Marcomanians and
Quadians were governed by kings, who were natives of their own, descended from
the noble line of Maroboduus and Tudrus. At present they are even subject to
such as are foreigners. But the whole strength and sway of their kings is
derived from the authority of the Romans. From our arms, they rarely receive
any aid; from our money very frequently.
Marsignians, etc
Nor less
powerful are the several people beyond them; namely, the Marsignians, the
Gothinians, the Osians and the Burians, who altogether enclose the Marcomanians
and Quadians behind. Of those, the Marsignians and the Burians in speech and
dress resemble the Suevians. From the Gallic language spoken by the Gothinians,
and from that of Pannonia by the Osians, it is manifest that neither of these
people are Germans; as it is also from their bearing to pay tribute. Upon them
as upon aliens their tribute is imposed, partly by the Sarmatians, partly by the Quadians. The Gothinians, to heighten
their disgrace, are forced to labour in the iron
mines.
By all these several nations but little level country is possessed: they are
seated amongst forests, and upon the ridges and declivities of mountains. For, Suevia is parted by a continual ridge of mountains; beyond which, live
many distinct nations. Of these the Lygians are most numerous and extensive, and spread into several
communities. It will suffice to mention the most puissant; even the Arians,
Helvicones, Manimians; Elysians and Naharvalians. Amongst the Naharvalians is
shown a grove, sacred to devotion extremely ancient. Over it a Priest presides
apparelled like a woman; but according to the explication of the Romans, 'tis
Castor and Pollux who are here worshipped. This Divinity is named Alcis. There
are indeed no images here, no traces of an extraneous superstition: yet their
devotion is addressed to young men and to brothers. Now the Aryans, besides
their forces, in which they surpass the several nations just recounted, are in
their persons stern and truculent; and even humour and improve their natural
grimness and ferocity by art and time. They wear black shields, their bodies
are painted black, they choose dark nights for engaging in battle; and by the
very awe and ghastly hue of their army, strike the enemy with dread, as none
can bear this their aspect so surprising and as it were quite infernal. For, in
all battles the eyes are vanquished first.
Gothones
Beyond the Lygians dwell the Gothones, under the
rule of a King; and thence held in subjection somewhat stricter than the other
German nations, yet not so strict as to extinguish all their liberty.
Immediately adjoining are the Rugians and Lemovians upon the coast of the
ocean, and of these several nations the characteristics are a round shield, a
short sword and kingly government. Next occur the communities of the Suiones, situated in the ocean itself; and besides their strength in
men and arms, very powerful at sea. The form of
their vessels varies thus far from ours, that they have prows at each end, so as to
be always ready to row to shore without turning nor are they moved by sails,
nor on their sides have benches of oars placed, but the rowers ply here and
there in all parts of the ship alike, as in some rivers is done, and change
their oars from place to place, just as they shift their course hither or
thither. To wealth also, amongst them, great veneration is paid, and thence a
single ruler governs them, without all restriction of power, and exacting
unlimited obedience. Neither here, as amongst other nations of Germany, are
arms used indifferently by all, but shut up and warded under the care of a particular keeper, who in truth too is always a slave: since from all
sudden invasions and attacks from their foes, the ocean protects them: besides
that armed bands, when they are not employed, grow easily debauched and
tumultuous. The truth is, it suits not the interest of an arbitrary Prince, to
trust the care and power of arms either with a nobleman or with a freeman, or
indeed with any man above the condition of a slave.
Aestyans
Beyond the Suiones is another sea, one very heavy and almost void of agitation;
and by it the whole globe is thought to be bounded and environed, for that the
reflection of the sun, after his setting, continues till his rising, so bright
as to darken the stars. To this, popular opinion has added, that the tumult
also of his emerging from the sea is heard, that forms divine are then seen, as
likewise the rays about his head. Only thus far extend the limits of nature, if
what fame says be true. Upon the right of the Suevian Sea
the Aestyan nations reside, who use the same customs and attire with the Suevians; their
language more resembles that of Britain. They worship the Mother of the Gods.
As the characteristic of their national superstition, they wear the images of
wild boars. This alone serves them for arms, this is the safeguard of all, and
by this every worshipper of the Goddess is secured even amidst his foes. Rare
amongst them is the use of weapons of iron, but frequent that of clubs. In
producing of grain and the other fruits of the earth, they labour with more
assiduity and patience than is suitable to the usual laziness of Germans. Nay,
they even search the deep, and of all the rest are the only people who gather
amber. They call it glasing, and find it amongst the shallows and upon the very
shore. But, according to the ordinary incuriosity and ignorance of Barbarians,
they have neither learnt, nor do they inquire, what is its nature, or from what
cause it is produced. In truth it lay long neglected amongst the other gross
discharges of the sea; till from our luxury, it gained a name and value. To
themselves it is of no use: they gather it rough, they expose it in pieces
coarse and unpolished, and for it receive a price with wonder. You would
however conceive it to be a liquor issuing from trees, for that in the
transparent substance are often seen birds and other animals, such as at first
stuck in the soft gum, and by it, as it hardened, became quite enclosed. I am
apt to believe that, as in the recesses of the East are found woods and groves
dropping frankincense and balms, so in the isles and continent of the West such
gums are extracted by the force and proximity of the sun; at first liquid and
flowing into the next sea, then thrown by winds and waves upon the opposite
shore. If you try the nature of amber by the application of fire, it kindles
like a torch; and feeds a thick and unctuous flame very high scented, and
presently becomes glutinous like pitch or rosin.
Sitones
Upon the Suiones, border the people Sitones; and, agreeing
with them in all other things, differ from them in one, that here the
sovereignty is exercised by a woman. So
notoriously do they degenerate not only from a state of liberty, but even below
a state of bondage. Here end the territories of the Suevians.
Fennians
Whether amongst
the Sarmatians or the Germans I ought to account the Peucinians, the Venedians, and the Fennians, is what I cannot determine; though the
Peucinians, whom some call Basstarnians, speak the same language with the
Germans, use the same attire, build like them, and live like them, in that
dirtiness and sloth so common to all. Somewhat they are corrupted into the
fashion of the Sarmatians by the inter-marriages of the principal sort with
that nation: from whence the Venedians have derived
very many of their customs and a great resemblance. For they are continually
traversing and infesting with robberies all the forests and mountains lying
between the Peucinians and Fennians. Yet they are rather reckoned amongst the
Germans, for that they have fixed houses, and carry shields, and prefer travelling
on foot, and excel in swiftness. Usages these, all widely differing from those
of the
Sarmatians, who live on horseback and dwell in waggons. In wonderful
savageness live the nation of the Fennians, and in beastly poverty, destitute
of arms, of horses, and of homes; their food, the common herbs; their apparel,
skins; their bed, the earth; their only hope in their arrows, which for want of
iron they point with bones. Their common support they have from the chase,
women as well as men; for with these the former wander up and down, and crave a
portion of the prey. Nor other shelter have they even for their babes, against
the violence of tempests and ravening beasts, than to cover them with the
branches of trees twisted together; this a reception for the old men, and
hither resort the young. Such a condition they judge more happy than the
painful occupation of cultivating the ground, than the labour of rearing
houses, than the agitations of hope and fear attending the defence of their own
property or the seizing that of others. Secure against the designs of men,
secure against the malignity of the Gods, they have accomplished a thing of
infinite difficulty; that to them nothing remains even to be wished.
What further accounts we have are fabulous: as that the Hellusians and Oxiones have the countenances and aspect of men, with the bodies and limbs of savage beasts. This, as a thing about which I have no certain information, I shall leave untouched.
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Langobards. What on the contrary ennobles the Langobards is the
smallness of their number, for that they, who are surrounded with very many and
very powerful nations, derive their security from no obsequiousness or plying;
but from the dint of battle and adventurous deeds. There follow in order the
Reudignians, and Aviones, and Angles, and Varinians, and Eudoses, and Suardones
and Nuithones; all defended by rivers or forests. Nor in one of these nations
does aught remarkable occur, only that they universally join in the worship of
Herthum; that is to say, the Mother Earth. Her they believe to interpose in the
affairs of man, and to visit countries. In an island of the ocean stands the
wood Castum: in it is a chariot dedicated to the Goddess, covered over with a curtain, and permitted to be
touched by none but the Priest. Whenever the Goddess enters this her holy
vehicle, he perceives her; and with profound veneration attends the motion of
the chariot, which is always drawn by yoked cows.
Then it is that days of rejoicing always
ensue, and in all places whatsoever which she descends to honor with a visit
and her company, feasts and recreation abound. They go not to war; they touch
no arms; fast laid up is every hostile weapon; peace and repose are then only
known, then only beloved, till to the temple the same priest reconducts the
Goddess when well tired with the conversation of mortal beings. Anon the
chariot is washed and purified in a secret lake, as also the curtains; nay, the
Deity herself too, if you choose to believe it. In this office it is slaves who
minister, and they are forthwith doomed to be swallowed up in the same lake.
Hence all men are possessed with mysterious terror; as well as with a holy
ignorance what that must be, which none see but such as are immediately to
perish. Moreover this quarter of the Suevians stretches to the middle of
Germany.
Hermondurians. The community next adjoining, is that of the
Hermondurians; (that I may now follow the course of the Danube, as a little
before I did that of the Rhine) a people this, faithful to the Romans. So that
to them alone of all the Germans, commerce is permitted; not barely upon the
bank of the Rhine, but more extensively, and even in that glorious colony in
the province of Raetia. They travel everywhere at their own discretion and
without a guard; and when to other nations, we show no more than our arms and
encampments, to this people we throw open our houses and dwellings, as to men
who have no longing to possess them. In the territories of the Hermondurians
rises the Elbe, a river very famous and formerly well known to us; at present
we only hear it named.
Chapter 42
Nariscans, Marcomanians and Quadians. Close by the Hermondurians reside the Nariscans, and
next to them the Marcomanians and Quadians. Amongst these the Marcomanians are
most signal in force and renown; nay, their habitation itself they acquired by
their bravery, as from thence they formerly expulsed the Boians. Nor do the
Nariscans or Quadians degenerate in spirit. Now this is as it were the frontier
of Germany, as far as Germany is washed by the Danube. To the times within our
memory the Marcomanians and Quadians were governed by kings, who were natives
of their own, descended from the noble line of Maroboduus and Tudrus. At
present they are even subject to such as are foreigners. But the whole strength
and sway of their kings is derived from the authority of the Romans. From our
arms, they rarely receive any aid; from our money very frequently.
Chapter 43
Marsignians, the Gothinians, the Osians
and the Burians. Nor less powerful
are the several people beyond them; namely, the Marsignians, the Gothinians,
the Osians and the Burians, who altogether enclose the Marcomanians and
Quadians behind. Of those, the Marsignians and the Burians in speech and dress
resemble the Suevians. From the Gallic language spoken by the Gothinians, and
from that of Pannonia by the Osians, it is manifest that neither of these people
are Germans; as it is also from their bearing to pay tribute. Upon them as upon
aliens their tribute is imposed, partly by the Sarmatians, partly by the
Quadians. The Gothinians, to heighten their disgrace, are forced to labor in
the iron mines. By all these several nations but little level country is
possessed: they are seated amongst forests, and upon the ridges and declivities
of mountains. For, Suevia is parted by a continual ridge of mountains; beyond
which, live many distinct nations. Of these the Lygians are most numerous and
extensive, and spread into several communities. It will suffice to mention the
most puissant; even the Arians, Helvicones, Manimians; Elysians and
Naharvalians.
Amongst the Naharvalians is shown a grove,
sacred to devotion extremely ancient. Over it a Priest presides appareled like
a woman; but according to the explication of the Romans, 'tis Castor and Pollux
who are here worshipped. This Divinity is named Alcis. There are indeed no
images here, no traces of an extraneous superstition: yet their devotion is
addressed to young men and to brothers. Now the Aryans, besides their forces,
in which they surpass the several nations just recounted, are in their persons
stern and truculent; and even humor and improve their natural grimness and
ferocity by art and time. They wear black shields, their bodies are painted
black, they choose dark nights for engaging in battle; and by the very awe and
ghastly hue of their army, strike the enemy with dread, as none can bear this
their aspect so surprising and as it were quite infernal. For, in all battles
the eyes are vanquished first.
Gothones. Beyond the Lygians dwell the Gothones, under the
rule of a King; and thence held in subjection somewhat stricter than the other
German nations, yet not so strict as to extinguish all their liberty.
Immediately adjoining are the Rugians and Lemovians upon the coast of the
ocean, and of these several nations the characteristics are a round shield, a
short sword and kingly government. Next occur the communities of the Suiones,
situated in the ocean itself; and besides their strength in men and arms, very
powerful at sea. The form of their vessels varies thus far from ours, that they
have prows at each end, so as to be always ready to row to shore without turning
nor are they moved by sails, nor on their sides have benches of oars placed,
but the rowers ply here and there in all parts of the ship alike, as in some
rivers is done, and change their oars from place to place, just as they shift
their course hither or thither.
To wealth also, amongst them, great
veneration is paid, and thence a single ruler governs them, without all
restriction of power, and exacting unlimited obedience. Neither here, as
amongst other nations of Germany, are arms used indifferently by all, but shut
up and warded under the care of a particular keeper, who in truth too is always
a slave: since from all sudden invasions and attacks from their foes, the ocean
protects them: besides that armed bands, when they are not employed, grow
easily debauched and tumultuous. The truth is, it suits not the interest of an
arbitrary Prince, to trust the care and power of arms either with a nobleman or
with a freeman, or indeed with any man above the condition of a slave.
Suebian sea.Beyond the Suiones we find another sea, sluggish and
almost stagnant. This sea is believed to be the boundary that girdles the earth
because the last radiance of the setting sun lingers on here till dawn, with a
brilliance that dims the stars. Popular belief adds that you can hear the sound
he makes as he rises from the waves and can see the shape of his horses and the
rays on his head. So far and no farther (in this, report speaks truly) does the
world extend. Turning, therefore, to the right hand shore of the Suebian sea,
we find it washing the country of the Aestii, who have the same customs and
fashions as the Suebi, but a language more like the British. They worship the
Mother of the Gods, and wear, as an emblem of this cult, the device of a wild
boar, which stands them in stead of armor or human protection and gives the
worshiper a sense of security even among his enemies. They seldom use weapons
of iron, but clubs very often. They cultivate grain and other crops with a
perseverance unusual among the indolent Germans. They also ransack the sea.
they are the only people who collect amber - glaesum is their own word for it -
in the shallows or even on the beach. Like true barbarians, they have never
asked or discovered what it is or how it is made.
For a long time, indeed, it lay unheeded
like any other refuse of the sea, until Roman luxury made its reputation. They
have no use for it themselves. They gather it crude, pass it on in unworked
lumps, and are astounded at the price it fetches. Amber, however, is certainly
a gum of trees, as you may see from the fact that creeping and even winged
creatures are often seen shining through it. Caught in the sticky liquid, they
were then imprisoned as it hardened. I imagine that in the islands and
continents of the west, just as in the secret chambers of the east, where the
trees exude frankincense and balm, there must be woods and groves of unusual
productivity. Their gums, drawn out by the rays of their near neighbor the sun,
flow in liquid state into the adjacent sea and are finally washed up by violent
storms on the shores that lie opposite. If you test the properties of amber by
applying fire to it, you will find that it lights like a torch and burns with a
smoky, pungent flame, soon becoming a semi-fluid mass like pitch or resin. Bordering
on the Suiones are the nations of the Sitones. They resemble them in all
respects but one - woman is the ruling sex. This is the measure of their
decline, I will not say below freedom, but even below decent slavery.
Chapter 46
Peucini, Venedi, and Fenni.
Here Suebia ends. I do not know whether to class the tribes of the Peucini,
Venedi, and Fenni with the Germans or with the Sarmatians. The Peucini,
however, who are sometimes called Bastarnae, are like Germans in their
language, manner of life, and mode of settlement and habitation. Squalor is
universal among them and their nobles are indolent. Mixed marriages are giving
them something of the repulsive appearance of the Sarmatians. The Venedi have
adopted many Sarmatian habits; for their plundering forays take them over all
the wooded and mountainous highlands that lie between the Peucini and the
Fenni. Nevertheless, they are on the whole to be classed as Germans; for they
have settled homes, carry shields, and are fond of traveling - and traveling
fast - on foot, differing in all these respects from the Sarmatians, who live
in wagons or on horseback. The Fenni are astonishingly savage and disgustingly
poor. They have no proper weapons, no horses, no homes. they eat wild herbs,
dress in skins, and sleep on the ground.
Their only hope of getting better fare lies
in their arrows, which, for lack of iron, they tip with bone. The women support
themselves by hunting, exactly like the men; they accompany them everywhere and
insist on taking their share in bringing down the game. The only way they have
of protecting their infants against wild beasts or bad weather is to hide them
under a makeshift covering of interlaced branches. Such is the shelter to which
the young folk come back and in which the old must lie. Yet they count their
lot happier than that of others who groan over field labor, sweat over
house-building, or hazard their own and other men's fortunes in the hope of
profit and the fear of loss. Unafraid of anything that man or god can do to them,
they have reached a state that few human beings can attain: for these men are
so well content that they do not even need to pray for anything. What comes
after them is the stuff of fables - Hellusii and Oxiones with the faces and
features of men, the bodies and limbs of animals. On such unverifiable stories
I shall express no opinion.
Suiones
Wikipedia
Suiones
Suiones, Swedes, Svíar or Svear, were an ancient Germanic tribe in Scandinavia. They are usually only referred to as Swedes in English. In modern Scandinavian, but not in Icelandic, the adjectival form svensk and its plural svenskar/svensker have replaced the name svear and is, today, used to denote modern Swedes in opposition to ancient Swedes, svear. During the Viking Age they constituted the basis of the Varangian subset, the Vikings that travelled eastwards (see Rus').
According to early sources, they were a powerful tribe whose kings claimed
descendance from the god Frey.
Their primary dwellings were in eastern Svealand, i.e. the traditional Folklands of Attundaland, Tiundaland, Fjärdhundraland and Roslagen in the area of the present cities of Uppsala and Stockholm and the modern province of Gästrikland. Their territories also probably included the provinces of Västmanland, Södermanland and Nerike in the basin of Mälaren which constituted a bay with a multitude of islands. The region is still one of the most fertile and densely populated regions of Scandinavia.
The lands of the Svear were called Svealand (the Voyage of Ohthere: Swéoland), Suithiod (Beowulf: Sweoðeod), Svíaveldi or Svea rike (Beowulf: Swéorice), and the unknown moment when they subjugated, or united politically with, the Geats in Götaland between the 6th century and the 11th century is nowadays often regarded as the birth to the Swedish kingdom, even though the Swedish kingdom retains their name, Sverige in Swedish, from Svea rike - i.e. the kingdom of the Suiones. The English name Sweden is derived from an old name for Sweden and the land of the Suiones: Svitjod (the people of the Suiones).
Much debate is raised as to whether the original domains of the Suiones really
was in Uppsala, the heartland of Uplandia, or if the term was used commonly for all
tribes within Svealand, in the same way as old Norway's different provinces were collectively referred to as
Nortmanni. The established Svealand theory holds that the Aesir-cult center in Gamla Uppsala, was the religious centre of the Swedes and where
the Swedish king served as a priest during the sacrifices (blóts).
The form Suiones appears in the Roman author Tacitus's Germania. A closely similar form, Sweon(as), is found in Old English and in the work of Adam of Bremen, about the Hamburg-Bremen archbishops, they are denoted Sueones.
According to one theory (Noréen 1920) Suiones is a Latin rendering of a Proto-Germanic *Swihoniz, meaning "one's own (tribesmen)", derived from the same Indo-European root as the Latin suus (i.e. not from Latin but from the same reflexive pronominal root, a root also existing in Slavic languages). In modern Scandinavian, the same root appears in words such as svåger (brother-in-law) and svägerska (sister-in-law). The form *Swihoniz would in Wulfila's Gothic become *Swaíhans, which later would result in the form Suehans that Jordanes mentioned as the name of the Swedes in Getica. Consequently, the old North Germanic form would have been *SwehaniR which following the sound-changes in Old Norse resulted in Old West Norse Svíar and Old East Norse Swear.
According to a second theory (v. Friesen 1915), it is not derived from the root *swih, but from the root *Swe and being originally an adjective, *Sweoniz, meaning "kindred". Then the Gothic form would have been *Swians and the H in Suehans a pleonasm. The Proto-Old Norse form would then have been *SweoniR which also would have resulted in the historically attested forms.
The proto-Germanic *Swihoniz or *Sweoniz became part of a compound, which in Old West Norse was Svíþjóð, (The Suione People), in Old East Norse Sweþiuð and in Old English Sweoðeod. This form appears in runestones in the locatives a suiþuþu (Simris) and a suaþiauþu (Tirsted). A Danish source from the 13th century mentions a place called litlæ swethiuthæ, which is probably the island Sverige (Sweden) near Stockholm.
Interestingly, the only Germanic nation having a similar naming was the Goths, who from the name *Gutans (cf. Suehans) created the form gut-þiuda.
The name Swethiuth and its different forms gave rise to the different Latin names for Sweden, Suethia, Suetia and Suecia as well as the modern English name for the country.
A second compound was Svíariki, or Sweorice in Anglo-Saxon, which meant "the realm of the
Suiones". This is still the formal name for Sweden in Swedish, Svea rike and the origin of its current name Sverige.
The history of this tribe is shrouded in the mists of time. Besides Scandinavian mythology and Germanic legend, only a few sources
describe them and there is very little information, in spite of the fact that
the tribe existed already during the first century A.D.
There are two sources from the 1st century A.D that are quoted as referring to the Suiones. The first one is Pliny the Elder who said that the Romans had rounded the Cimbric peninsula Jutland where there was the Codanian Gulf (Kattegat?). In this gulf there were several large islands among which the most famous was Scatinavia (Scandinavia). He said that the size of the island was unknown but in a part of it dwelt a tribe named the Hillevionum gente, in 500 villages, and they considered their country to be a world of its own.
What strikes the commentators of this text is that this large tribe is unknown to posterity, unless it was a simple misspelling or misreading of Illa Svionum gente. This would make sense, since a large Scandinavian tribe named the Suiones was known to the Romans.
Tacitus wrote in AD 98 that the Suiones were a powerful tribe (distinguished not merely for their arms and men, but for their powerful fleets) with ships that had a prow in both ends (longships):
Beyond these people (the Rugii and the Lemovii) are the states (civitates) of the Suiones, but these are in the ocean itself (i.e. on an island and not, like the Rugii and Lemovii, on the South Baltic coast of the mainland). The Suiones are distinguished not merely for their arms and men, but for their powerful fleets, though the style of their ships is unusual in that there is a prow at each end so that the boat can advance head-on in either direction. Moreover, they do not use sails, and the oars are not fixed in rows along the sides, but are detachable, and are removed on certain rivers; they can also be reversed, if occasion demands. These people respect wealth, and one man among them is supreme, there being no limits to his power and no question as to the full obedience due to him. Promiscuous carrying of arms is not allowed here, as it is among the other Germans, but weapons are kept shut up in the charge of a slave who acts as guard. This is because the sea prevents sudden inroads from enemies, and because bands of armed men who have nothing to do often become unruly. It is not found expedient for the king (regia utilitas) to place a nobleman or a freeborn man, or even a freedman, in charge over these arms...[1] (http://www.northvegr.org/lore/history_viking/018.php)
What kings (kuningaz) ruled these Suiones is unknown, but Norse mythology presents a line mythical kings whom Thor Heyerdahl has proposed existed in real life (see Mythological kings of Sweden).
After this the sources are silent about the Suiones until the 6th century,
when Jordanes names two tribes he calls the Suehans and the
Suetidi who lived in Scandza. The Suehans are considered to be the Suiones,
and they were famous for their fine horses. Interestingly, Snorri Sturluson wrote that the contemporary Swedish king Adils (Eadgils) had the finest horses of his days. The
Suehans were the suppliers of black fox skins for the Roman market. Then
Jordanes names a tribe named Suetidi a name that is considered to refer
to the Suiones as well and to be the Latin form of Svitjod.
The Suetidi are said to be the tallest of men together with the Dani who were of the same stock.
The next source is Beowulf (9th century) which describes the wars between
the Sweon and the Geatas, during the 6th century. This time we have
information about the royal house of the Suiones, which is named the Scylfings a dynasty which is known to Scandinavian
sources as well (see Swedish semi-legendary kings). There is a prophesy that the
Geats will be subdued by the Swedes and that is what happened.
Adam of Bremen relates in the 11th century that the Sueones had many wives and were severe on crime. Hospitality was an important virtue and refusing a wanderer to stay over the night was considered shameful. The visitor was even taken to see the hosts' friends.
It is interesting that even if 1000 years separate Adam of Bremen from
Tacitus both describe the Suiones as being comprised of many tribes,
probably identical to the traditional provinces of eastern Svealand. Like Tacitus, he also notes that they are powerful
warriors at sea, a power that they use to keep their neighbours in order. Their
royal family is of an old dynasty (see House of Munsö), but the kings are dependent on the will of
the people (the Ting). What has been decided by the people is more important
than the will of the king unless the king's opinion seems to be the most
reasonable one, whereupon they usually obey. During peacetime, they feel to be
the king's equals but during wars they obey him blindly or whoever among them
that he considers to be the most skillful. If the fortunes of war are against
them they pray to one of their many gods (Aesir) and if they win they are grateful to him.
The Norse sagas are our foremost source for knowledge and especially Snorri Sturluson who is probably the one who has contributed the most (see for instance the Heimskringla). His descriptions concur to a large extent with those of the previous sources.
For a continuation, see Early Swedish Kingdoms.
- Mythological kings of Sweden
- Swedish semi-legendary kings
- Swedes
- Svea
- Mother Svea
- Trial by combat
- Trial by ordeal
Suiones
Suiones, Swedes, Svíar or Svear, were an ancient Germanic
tribe in Scandinavia.
They are usually only referred to as Swedes in English. In modern Scandinavian,
but not in Icelandic,
the adjectival form svensk
and its plural svenskar/svensker
have replaced the name svear
and is, today, used to denote modern Swedes in opposition to ancient Swedes, svear. During the Viking Age they
constituted the basis of the Varangian subset, the Vikings that travelled eastwards (see Rus').
According to
early sources, they were a powerful tribe whose kings claimed descendance from
the god Frey.
Location
Their primary
dwellings were in eastern Svealand, i.e. the traditional Folklands
of Attundaland,
Tiundaland, Fjärdhundraland
and Roslagen in the
area of the present cities of Uppsala and Stockholm and the modern province of Gästrikland.
Their territories also probably included the provinces of Västmanland, Södermanland and Nerike in the basin of Mälaren which
constituted a bay with a multitude of islands. The region is still one of the
most fertile and densely populated regions of Scandinavia.
The lands of
the Svear were called Svealand (the Voyage of Ohthere: Swéoland), Suithiod
(Beowulf: Sweoðeod), Svíaveldi
or Svea rike (Beowulf: Swéorice),
and the unknown moment when they subjugated, or united politically with, the Geats in Götaland
between the 6th century and the 11th
century is nowadays often regarded as the birth to the Swedish kingdom, even though
the Swedish kingdom retains their name, Sverige
in Swedish, from Svea
rike - i.e. the kingdom of the Suiones. The English name Sweden is derived from an old name for
Sweden and the land of the Suiones: Svitjod (the people of
the Suiones).
Much debate
is raised as to whether the original domains of the Suiones really was in Uppsala, the
heartland of Uplandia,
or if the term was used commonly for all
tribes within Svealand, in the same way as old Norways different provinces
were collectively referred to as Nortmanni.
The established Svealand theory holds that the Aesir-cult center in Gamla Uppsala,
was the religious centre of the Swedes and where the Swedish king served as a
priest during the sacrifices (blóts).
Etymology
The form Suiones appears in the Roman author
Tacitus's Germania.
A closely similar form, Sweon(as),
is found in Old
English and in the work of Adam
of Bremen, about the Hamburg-Bremen archbishops, they are denoted Sueones.
According to
one theory (Noréen 1920) Suiones
is a latin rendering of a Proto-Germanic *Swihoniz,
meaning "one's own (tribesmen)", derived from the same Indo-European
root as the Latin suus (i.e. not from latin but from the
same root, a root also existing in Slavic languages). In modern Scandinavian,
the same root appears in words such as svåger
(brother-in-law) and svägerska
(sister-in-law). The form *Swihoniz
would in Wulfila's Gothic become *Swaíhans, which later would result in
the form Suehans that Jordanes mentioned as
the name of the Swedes in Getica.
Consequently, the old North Germanic form would have been *SwehaniR which following the sound-changes
in Old Norse resulted in Old West Norse Svíar
and Old East Norse Swear.
According to
a second theory (v. Friesen 1915), it is not derived from the root *swih, but from the root *Swe and being originally an adjective,
*Sweoniz, meaning "kindred".
Then the Gothic form would have been *Swians
and the H in Suehans a
pleonasm. The Proto-Old Norse form would then have been *SweoniR which also would have resulted
in the historically attested forms.
The
proto-Germanic *Swihoniz or *Sweoniz became part of a compound,
which in Old West Norse was Svíþjóð,
in Old East Norse Sweþiuð and
in Old English
Sweoðeod. This form appears
in runestones in the locatives a suiþuþu
(Simris) and a suaþiauþu
(Tirsted). A Danish source from the 13th
century mentions a place called litlæ
swethiuthæ, which is probably the island Sverige (Sweden) near Stockholm.
Interestingly,
the only Germanic nation having a similar naming was the Goths, who from the name *Gutans (cf. Suehans) created the form gut-þiuda.
The name Swethiuth and its different forms gave
rise to the different latin names for Sweden, Suethia, Suetia
and Suecia as well as the
modern English name for the country.
A second
compound was Svíariki, or Sweorice in Anglo-Saxon,
which meant "the realm of the Suiones". This is still the formal name
for Sweden in Swedish, Svea
rike and the origin of its current name Sverige.
History
The history
of this tribe is shrouded in the mists of time. Besides Scandinavian mythology and Germanic legend,
only a few sources describe them and there is very little information, in spite
of the fact that the tribe existed already during the first century A.D.
Romans
There are two
sources from the 1st century A.D that are quoted as referring to the Suiones.
The first one is Pliny the Elder who said that the Romans had
rounded the Cimbric peninsula
Jutland where there was
the Codanian Gulf (Kattegat?). In this gulf
there were several large islands among which the most famous was Scatinavia (Scandinavia). He
said that the size of the island was unknown but in a part of it dwelt a tribe
named the Hillevionum gente,
in 500 villages, and they considered their country to be a world of its own.
What strikes
the commentators of this text is that this large tribe is unknown to posterity,
unless it was a simple mispelling or misreading of Illa Svionum gente. This would make sense,
since a large Scandinavian tribe named the Suiones
was known to the Romans.
Tacitus wrote
in AD 98 that the
Suiones were a powerful tribe (distinguished
not merely for their arms and men, but for their powerful fleets)
with ships that had a prow in both ends (longships):
Beyond these people (the Rugii and the Lemovii) are the states
(civitates) of the Suiones, but these are in the ocean itself (i.e. on an
island and not, like the Rugii and Lemovii, on the South Baltic coast of the
mainland). The Suiones are distinguished not merely for their arms and men, but
for their powerful fleets, though the style of their ships is unusual in that
there is a prow at each end so that the boat can advance head-on in either
direction. Moreover, they do not use sails, and the oars are not fixed in rows
along the sides, but are detachable, and are removed on certain rivers; they
can also be reversed, if occasion demands. These people respect wealth, and one
man among them is supreme, there being no limits to his power and no question
as to the full obedience due to him. Promiscuous carrying of arms is not
allowed here, as it is among the other Germans, but weapons are kept shut up in
the charge of a slave who acts as guard. This is because the sea prevents sudden
inroads from enemies, and because bands of armed men who have nothing to do
often become unruly. It is not found expedient for the king (regia utilitas) to
place a nobleman or a freeborn man, or even a freedman, in charge over these
arms...[1]
What kings (kuningaz) ruled these Suiones is
unknown, but Norse mythology presents a line mythical kings whom
Thor
Heyerdahl has proposed existed in real life (see Mythological kings of Sweden).
Jordanes
After this
the sources are silent about the Suiones until the 6th century, when Jordanes names two
tribes he calls the Suehans
and the Suetidi who
lived in Scandza. The Suehans are considered to be the
Suiones, and they were famous for their fine horses. Interestingly, Snorri
Sturluson wrote that the contemporary Swedish king Adils (Eadgils) had the finest
horses of his days. The Suehans were the suppliers of black fox skins for the
Roman market. Then Jordanes names a tribe named Suetidi a name that is considered to refer to the
Suiones as well and to be the latin form of Svitjod. The Suetidi are
said to be the tallest of men together with the Dani who were of the same stock.
Beowulf
The next
source is Beowulf (9th
century) which describes the wars between the Sweon and the Geatas, during
the 6th century. This time we have information about the royal house of the Suiones,
which is named the Scylfings a
dynasty which is known to Scandinavian sources as well (see Swedish semi-legendary kings). There
is a prophesy that the Geats will be subdued by the Swedes and that is what
happened.
Adam of Bremen
Adam
of Bremen relates in the 11th century that the Sueones had many wives and were
severe on crime. Hospitality was an important virtue and refusing a wanderer to
stay over the night was considered shameful. The visitor was even taken to see
the hosts' friends.
It is
interesting that even if 1000 years separate Adam of Bremen from Tacitus both
describe the Suiones
as being comprised of many tribes, probably identical to the traditional
provinces of eastern Svealand.
Like Tacitus, he also notes that they are powerful warriors at sea, a power
that they use to keep their neighbours in order. Their royal family is of an
old dynasty (see House of Munsö), but the kings are dependent on the
will of the people (the Ting).
What has been decided by the people is more important than the will of the king
unless the king's opinion seems to be the most reasonable one, whereupon they
usually obey. During peacetime, they feel to be the king's equals but during
wars they obey him blindly or whoever among them that he considers to be the
most skillful. If the fortunes of war are against them they pray to one of their
many gods (Aesir) and if
they win they are grateful to him.
Norse sagas
The Norse sagas
are our foremost source for knowledge and especially Snorri
Sturluson who is probably the one who has contributed the most (see for
instance the Heimskringla).
His descriptions concur to a large extent with those of the previous sources.
For a
continuation, see Early
Swedish Kingdoms.
See also
§
Mythological kings of Sweden
§
Swedish semi-legendary kings
§
Swedes
§
Svea
de:Suionen
la:Suehans sv:Svear
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