 | Geat: Encyclopedia II - Geat - History
Geat - History
The earliest mention of the Geats may appear in Ptolemy (2nd century A.D.), where they are referred to as Goutai. In the 6th century, they were referred to as Gautigoths and Ostrogoths (the Ostrogoths of Scandza) by Jordanes and as Gautoi by Procopius. In the Norse Sagas they are referred to as Gautar, and in Beowulf and Widsith as Geatas.
The Geats were formerly politically independent of the Swedes, whose old name was Svear (Sweon or Sweonas in OE). However, starting in the 500s, the Geats slowly lost their independence and became tributaries of the Swedish kings.[citation needed]
This has been explained with their involvement in the Gothic wars in southern Europe, which brought a great deal of Roman gold to Götaland, but also naturally depleted their numbers (see Nordisk familjebok). Hervarar saga is believed by enthusiasts to contain such traditions handed down from the 4th century. It relates that when the Hunnish Horde invaded the land of the Goths and the Gothic king Angantyr desperately tried to marshal the defenses, it was the Geatish king Gizur who answered his call. This piece of evidence clearly demonstrates that the Goths and Geats were different peoples.
Beowulf and the Norse sagas name several Geatish kings, but only Hygelac finds confirmation in Liber Monstrorum where he is referred to as Rex Getarum and in a copy of Historiae Francorum where he is called Rege Gotorum. These sources concern a Viking raid into Frisia, ca 516, which is also described in Beowulf. Some decades after the events related in this epic, Jordanes described the Geats as a nation which was bold and quick to engage in war.
In the Heimskringla, Snorri Sturluson writes about several battles between Norwegians and Geats. He wrote that in the 9th century, there were battles between the Geats and the Norwegian king Harald Fairhair, a battle the Geats had to fight without assistance of the Swedish king Erik Emundsson. He also wrote about Haakon I of Norway's expedition into Götaland and Harold I of Denmark's battle against Jarl Ottar of Östergötland, and about Olaf the Holy's battles with the Geats during his war with Olof Skötkonung.
In the 11th century, the Swedish House of Munsö was extinct with Emund the Old. Stenkil, a Geat, was elected king of Sweden, and the Geats would be influential in the shaping of Sweden as a Christian kingdom. However, this election also ushered in a long period of civil unrest between Christians and pagans and between Geats and Swedes.
The Geats were not treated as equals with the Swedes. In the Westrogothic law, bishop Brynolf Algotsson (1279-1290 of Skara reminded the Geats that they had to accept the election of the Swedes at the Stone of Mora, by adding the following line on the top of the first page: Sveær egho konung at taka ok sva vrækæ meaning It is the Swedes who have the right of choosing and deposing the king.
One of these Swedish kings was Ragnvald Knaphövde, who in 1125 was riding with his retinue in order to be accepted as king by the Geats of Westrogothia. As he despised the Geats, he decided not to demand hostages from their prominent clans. He was slain near Falköping.
The distinction between Swedes and Geats lasted during the Middle Ages, but the Geats became increasingly important for Swedish national claims of greatness due to Geats' old connection with the Goths. They argued that since the Goths and the Geats were the same nation, and the Geats were part of the kingdom of Sweden, this meant that the Swedes had defeated the Roman empire. The earliest attestation of this claim comes from the Council of Basel, 1434, during which the Swedish delegation argued with the Spanish about who among them were the true Goths. The Spaniards argued that it was better to be descended from the heroic Visigoths than from stay-at-homers. This cultural movement, which was not restricted to Sweden went by the name Gothicismus or in Swedish Göticism, i.e. Geaticism, as Geat and Goth were considered synonymous back then.
To this day, the Swedish kings still formally call themselves svears och götars konung (king of Swedes and Geats, or Rex Sweorum et Gothorum).
Other related archives1125, 11th century, 1279, 1290, 1434, 1621, 1st century, 2nd century, 4th century, 500s, 516, 6th century, 9th century, Ancient Germanic peoples, Angantyr, Articles lacking sources, Beowulf, Bödvar Bjarki, Christian, Council of Basel, Danes, Danish, Dene, Emund the Old, Erik Emundsson, Ethnic groups in Europe, Falköping, Frisia, Geatish Society, Geatish king, Geatish kings, Geats, Gizur, Gothenburg, Gothicismus, Goths, Gotlanders, Gutar, Göta, Götaland, Götavirke, Haakon I of Norway, Harald Fairhair, Harold I of Denmark, Heimskringla, Hervarar saga, History of the Germanic peoples, Horde, House of Munsö, Hrólf Kraki, Hunnish, Hygelac, Jats, Jordanes, Jutes, Nordisk familjebok, Norse sagas, Norwegians, OED, Olaf the Holy, Old English, Old Norse, Olof Skötkonung, Origins for Beowulf and Hrólf Kraki, Ostrogothia, Polans, Poles, Polish, Procopius, Proto-Germanic, Ptolemy, Ragnvald Knaphövde, Sagas, Scandinavian, Scandza, Serbs, Skara, Slavic languages, Slovaks, Slovenes, Snorri Sturluson, Sorbs, Stenkil, Stone of Mora, Svear, Sweden, Swedes, Swedish, Swedish counties, Trial by combat, Trial by ordeal, Varangian, Venerable Bede, Viking, Visigoths, Västergötland, Westrogothia, Westrogothic law, Widsith, Wielbark culture, citation needed, clans, stelae, stone circles, toponyms, Östergötland
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
