Geat: Encyclopedia II - Geat - On Geats and Goths

Geat - On Geats and Goths

Geatas was originally Proto-Germanic *Gautoz and Goths and Gutar were *Gutaniz. *Gautoz and *Gutaniz are two ablaut grades of a Proto-Germanic word *geutan with the meaning "to pour" (modern Swedish gjuta, modern German giessen) designating the tribes as "pourers of semen" or "men".^{[citation needed]} They were consequently two derivations from the same proto-Germanic ethnonym, cf. Serbs and Sorbs, Polans and Poles, Slovenes and Slovaks in Slavic languages.

It is a long-standing controversy whether the Goths were Geats. Jordanes claimed that the Goths came from the island of Scandza. He also claimed that on this island there were three tribes called the Gautigoths (cf. Geat/Gaut), the Ostrogoths (cf. the Swedish province of Östergötland) and Vagoths (Gotlanders?).

Some enthusiasts interpreted the findings of Polish archaeologists as supporting Jordanes' claim. They found the Gothic finds in Poland to be similar to those of southern Sweden. Scandinavian burial customs, such as the stone circles (domarringar), which are most common in Götaland and Gotland, and stelae (bautastenar) appeared in northern Poland in the 1st century AD, suggesting an influx of Scandinavians during the formation of the Gothic Wielbark culture [1][2]. Moreover, in Ostrogothia, in Sweden, there is a sudden disappearance of villages during this period. The languages of Goths and Geats were strikingly different, however.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "On Geats and Goths", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki