The Special Case of Gutland, Old Gutnic and Gothic (9

februari 2011)
Introduction

Gutland (the present name of the Island of Gotland is of German origin. Here the original
name, Gutland, will be used). Gutland in the Baltic Sea (3,140 sq kilometers with 58,000
inhabitants) is closely connected to the origin of the ancient Gothic people. Gutland has
been inhabited since the Stone Age (since around 6000 BC) and played an important
commercial role from 1000 BC to circa AD 1100. Large numbers of Roman, Byzantine, and
Arabic coins have been found, evidence of wide ranging trade.
Already the Nordic Bronze Age (1800 BC 500 BC) was a rich period in Gutlandic history.
There are around 500 finds from the island indicating that it played an important role in
North Europe. The central position of the island in the Baltic Sea was ideal for trade with
Gtaland (Gothia) and the Baltic coast in the east. The Ethelhem find, for instance, includes
armor for horses (bridles). At Gardarve there are bronze clothespins.
The thesis of the author of this article is that there is a relation between the Old Gutnic
language and the Gothic language.
The latest view is that Old Gutlandic is an East Scandinavian language (along with Danish
and Swedish). This view will be challenged in this article. It is more probable that Old Gutnic
was a Gothic dialect from around 500 BC to circa AD 500. After that Old Gutnic had been
transformed into a North Germanic language influenceded by the languages on the
Scandinavian peninsula, mainly Swedish. Before that, however, Old Gutnic was an East
Germanic language, possibly Gothic.
A recent tendency among archaelogists is to equate the Wielbark Culture and Gothic
Culture. The direct settlement of the Goths in Poland after leaving Scandza (Scandinavia)
was in Gothiscandza. They are believed to have pushed away the Vandals and Rugians living
there. Gothiscandza was located at the mouth of the River Vistula. In Gothiscandza there
are barrow cementaries with raised stone circles and solitary stelae of the same kind as in
mainly Gtaland in southern Sweden. In Poland these ancient monuments can be found
between the River Vistula and the Kashubian-Krajanskian lakelands in the Koszalin region.
The monuments appear in the second half of the first century AD. The inhabitants probably
left their settlements between 100 and 200 AD settling to the south in Oium (present day
Ukraine) on the northern coast of the Black Sea.
Modern Gutlandic is divided into two main dialects, the Frish (Faaroeysko) spoken on a
small island north of Gutland (Fr). The other dialect is spoken on the mainland of the
island. There are today only about 2,000 to 3,000 inhabitants who speak modern Gutlandic.

Gutland and the Gutar

In the Classical World there were different Germanic and non-Germanic peoples: Vandals,
Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Gepids, Rugians, Sciri, and Burgundians, even Alans, originally of
Iranian origin. They had a common faith (Arianism) and law, Lex Gothica, and similar
languages. The Amal Origo Gothica, however, limited the classification of Goths to a
Scandinavian origin (Visigoths, Ostrogoths and Gepids).
The form Gut- (as in Guti) can be found in names like Goetaaelv, as the river of the Guti is
called. Procopius wrote about the Gauts of Thule. The hotly debated question is if the Guti
are connected to Gtlv (and Vstergtland) or to stergtland and Gutland or all three.
The Gothic name can be found in several regions in Europe. Connected to for instance
(V)andalusia is Gothia-Alania. Vstergtland, stergtland and Gutland are however
original Gautic-Gothic names. As will be developed more in detail below there is the
medieval Gutasaga which has overpopulation as a reason for emigration to Greece (the
Krym Peninsula with its Greek population and culture). More likely it was not
overpopulation but climatic change that caused the emigration. This question will however
not be treated further here.

Gutasaga

This saga has not been dated exactly. Probably it was written during the thirteenth or
beginning of the fourteenth century. The saga was not printed until 1687.
What is of interest in the context of migration to the south is the following section (there is,
as far as is known to the author, no translation into English of the saga): [de] foro uppfr
en flod, som hette Dyna, och upp genom Ryssland. S lngt foro de, att de kommo till
Grekland. (The quote is from . Holmbaeck & E. Wessn, Svenska landskapslagar tolkade
och frklarade fr nutidens svenskar. Fjrde serien: Sknelagen och Gutalagen, Stockholm
1943, new edition 1979, which also in detail comments on both the Guta Law and the Guta
Saga).
The short quote above describes how the Guti migrated through Russia on the river Dyna
to Greece (most probably the north coast of the Black Sea including the Krym Peninsula
with its Greek population).
There is considerable linguistic evidence indicating linguistic relation relation of the name
of the Gutlanders to the Goetar (Gauts, Goths) in Goetaland (in for instance the different
names of the island (Gaut-oe, Gutland, and Goetland). In this connection see Thomas
Andersson, Goetar, goter, gutar in journal Namn och Bygd, Uppsala, 84. See also
Guthiuda och Gutland en tillfllig likhet?, NORNAs 30th Symposium in Visby,
September 14 16, 2001, in Visby, Gutland.
In one of the myths it is related that the island was populated from Gautland. It refers to
Tielvar, a man from stergtland, who came to Gutland when his ship drifted eastward in

the Baltic Sea. Tielvars son Hafdi and his wife Vitatjerna were in this myth the first
inhabitants and their three sons Gote (or Gutar), Graier and Gunfin partitioned Gutland in
three parts for themselves to rule.
It has been noted by Piergiuseppe Scardigli (in The Nordic Languages An International
Handbook of the History of the North Germanic Languages, Vol. 1, Berlin/New York 2002, p.
556) that the name of Gutland contains in its first component the people name Goths. The
name of the island is athematic, as in Gut- in Guthiuda (dat.).
There can be no doubt that the identical name for the Goths lies behind both forms. There
are two possible explanations for the name of the island. Perhaps the Goths had settled
there and a small tribal group emigrated, whose population later greatly increased.
Conversely, the Goths could have reached the island at an early time and settled there (see
Reinhard Wenskus, Stammesbildung und Verfassung. Das Werden der frhmittelalterliche
gentes, Kln/Graz 1961/1977, p. 464 ff.). In both cases these Goths were later assimilated
and the Gutnic language became North Germanic.

The Origin of Gutar/Gotlanders

The theory presented in this article is that the Goths came from Gtaland (Vstergtland
and stergtland in present day Sweden). Some of this Goths may have crossed the Baltic
Sea from the Island of Gutland to the mouth of the river Vistula.
The famous Norwegian linguist Sophus Bugge (1833 1907) notes in his standard work on
older Norwegian runes (Norges indskrifter med de aeldre runer, Vol. 1, 1891 1903) that the
Gotlanders call themselves Gutar, Guta or older Gutna. In the Middle Ages Swedes called the
Icelanders gutar or gotar. The Icelanders also used the name gotar. This is the same name
the Goths used for themselves (Ostrogoths and Visigoths). Also the mythic people name
Hreidgotar should be noted in this context.

Ancient Gothic Words and Old Gutlandic

It is possible that the Gutar once spoke Gothic. The inhabitants of Gutland called themselves
Gutar (or older Gutna). In medieval times they were called Gutar by the Swedes and Gotar
by the Icelanders. The Gutar migrated from Goetaland (possibly from Ostergtland). Those
Gtar who remained behind after the migrations to the Vistula area in present day Poland
most likely spoke Gothic, not Nordic. During the centuries after the Gothic migration the
Gutar lost much of their contacts with their fellow Goths and their language was gradually
influenced by Swedish and Danish through trade, communication, politics and religion. The
original Gothic language on the island changed into Nordic, Scandinavian, and finally
Swedish. For an ancient Gutland rune inscriptions see below.

Neogards Gautaminning

An important but to a great degree neglected source on the connection between Old
Gutlandic and Gothic is the Gautaminning manuscript by the Gutland priest Lars Nilsson
Neogard (1683 1758).
Neogard was born in stergarn on eastern Gutland and was vicar in the local church. His
Gautaminning has finally been published in a fine translation by the Professor Lars Wollin
(Thet Gothlendska Tungomlet Sprkkapitlet i Lars Neogards Gautaminning (1732). Uppsala: Kungl. Gustav Adolfs Akademien fr svensk folkkultur, 2009,
306 pages
).
Most of the references of Neogard on the relation of Old Gutnic to Gothic are based on a
1671 edition of the Codex Argenteus of Wulfila.
The following Gothic related words in the Old Gutnic language are mentioned in Wollins
edition:

Blika; daun; dur; fala; haid; huspreua; kiltra sig; rain; syll; tyna and yrfw (Glossarium Ulphila
Gothicum).

Bei; daun; dur; fule; ganga; haiden; hammar; hweila; kunt; luker; ltta; nidra eller nedra and rauta
(Ulphilae Version af the 4. Evangelister).

Some general background work has been provided. Danish Professor Hans Frede Nielsen has
shed light on the position of Gothic in Germanic languages in his De germanske sprog (Odense University Press,
1979
). Austrian professor Herman Reichert is a commentator on the Romanian Pietroassa ring
and its Gothic inscription and an author of an encyclopedia of Germanic personal names
(see bibliography).

Ancient Runic Inscriptions on Gutland

Of interest are the older runic inscriptions found on Gotland. It is not my intention here to
present a complete list but some words and inscriptions of interest are mentioned. For
further information see Bugge (Buskeruds amt, pp. 152 158).
The Ethelhem brooch has been dated around AD 500. Bugge noted that a in the word wrta
separates it from Nordic and relates it to Gothic. The brooch is of silver and was found in
1846. The runic inscription is one of the earliest from Gutland.
The word wrta has probably lost an h between r and t but there is great likeness with
the Gothic waurtha. Also in Gothic there can be a loss of h as in Gothic uswaurts.
The name mrla can be found as a personal name in Gothic (Merila) and in Protonordic it
would have been *Marila. In Old Nordic one can find personal names like Frohila, Niuwila and
Wiwila created in the same way.

Old Gutnic and Gothic

Swedish Professor E. Wessn concluded that there were three important connections
between Swedish, Gutnic, and Gothic: Die wichtigsten uebereinstimmungen zwischen
Gotisch, Nordisch und Gutnisch sind:
1. ii>ggj, uu>ggw:
Gotisch
Zweeds
daddjan
Krimgotisch ada
haggwan
triggws

2. In Verbum 2. Sg. Prt.

dgga (dggdjur)
gg
hugga
trygg

3. Die Bildung inchoativer Verba auf gotisch nan, nordisch na:

Gotisch
Oudzweeds
Oudzweeds
fullnan voll werden
gabignana reich werden
ga-hailnan geheilt werden
af-lifnan brig bleiben

rodhna errten
vissna welken
somna einschlafen
vakna erwachen
svartna schwarz werden

gulna gelb werden

klarna klar werden
blekna bleich werden
likna gleichen
trttna mde werden

Studia Gotica Die eisenzeitlichen Verbindungen zwischen Schweden und Suedosteuropa Vortraege beim Gotensymposion im Statens Historiska Museum
Stockholm 1970 (ed. Ulf Erik Hagberg), Stockholm 1972, Professor E. Wessn, Die gotische Sprache und ihre Ueberlieferung.

There may still be some rests of Gothic in modern Gutlandic.

New Gutlandic skurae or skaeurae (spade, shovel) is similar to Gothic skauro as in
winthiskauro (hurling shovel).
Gutnic lukarna-staki (candlestick) relates to Gothic lukarna-stada (which has the same
meaning in the Gothic language).
New Gutlandic bloejna (turning into mild weather) can be compared to *bi-hlyna with the
prefix bi-, which is common in Gothic.
Old Gutnic ver could be connected to Gothic wairilo.
In the Gutasaga there is the word briscathus which is close to Gothic wrisqan.
Lamb in Old Gutnic means sheep, but not elsewhere in Scandinavia. In Gothic lamb also has
the meaning sheep. The Finnish word lammas most probably is an East Germanic loan word.
Svaerva av today on Gutland means wipe off (in Gothic this is afswairban).
In modern Gutnic jul-rak means stack of wood and in Gothic rikan means stacking.
Old Gutnic has the word hagga meaning slash and in Gothic the word must have been
haggwan.
The first Gutlander to be baptized by Norwegian King Olav the Holy was named Ormica,
which could well be related to Gothic personal names.
The Old Gutnic adjective haur (high) is similar to Gothic hauh.

The examples above are so far few provided by Professor Bugge but it seems likely that
further research would probably reveal other cases of likeness between Old Gutnic and
Gothic.

Krym Gothic

We will now shortly deal with a question of relations between Gothic, the runes and their
origin as well as the possible connection between the Gutland emigration and the Gothic
ruin language on Krym.
An interesting theory on the connection between Armenia, Georgia and the origin of the
runes has been put forward by the Norwegian linguist Sophus Bugge. Of importance as
background is the study of the world crisis of the Third Century AD (see my Goths and Eruli
of Jutland Warfare and the World Crisis in the Third Century (2003). Goths (and Eruli)
came in contact with Armenians in Cappadocia during the raids of 267 AD. Of interest is also
the fact that Wulfila, author of the famed Gothic Bible, was of Cappadocian origin. During
the era of the raids the Cappadocian Christians probably spoke classical Greek. In the dialect
there was a sprinkle of Armenian words and most likely also Armenian was spoken. There is
also a relation between Armenian and Georgian letters (see Bugges notes in Introduction,
Book 4: VI and VII and Book 6: II in the work on the older Norwegian rune inscriptions).
The Goths on Krym might well have had a connection with Gutland. There are a few
remnants of the Krym Gothic language (O.G. Busbeck, Austrian diplomat of Emperor
Ferdinand I, encountered and documented Krym Gothic). This Flemish scholar (1522
1592), serving in Istanbul 1556 1562, published a list of Krym Gothic words during the
period he served in Istanbul. Busbeck was a collector of Classical Greek manuscripts, which
are now in the Austrian National Library. This Austrian diplomat also discovered
Monumentum Ancyranum, generally known as the Angora Monument. It is fascinating to
compare some of the words of Gothic noted in the list made by the Austrian ambassador.
For a few comparisons see below:
Engels

Krimgotisch

Modern Gutnisch (rond 1800)

stone
twenty
salt
bread
house

stein
stega
salt
Broe
Hus

stein
staejg
salt
Broe
Hus

Preliminary Conclusions

Around a century has passed since professor Bugge suggested that the question of the
connection between the ancient Gutland language and Gothic should be explored. Bugge
pleaded with Swedish linguists to further study the Old Gutnic Gothic relation. As far as
this author knows no Swedish linguist has made a serious attempt of research.

In this article an attempt has been made to explore some of the evidence of a link that is
available but largely remains unknown due to the fact that no detailed study of the matter
has been made in Sweden.
Both Gautaminning and the Gutasaga should be made available in English translations
with a commentary. The former is now at last available in a modern Swedish edition. Skilled
scholars on Scandinavian history and languages outside the Nordic countries are needed for
this important research. Swedish linguists cannot, unfortunately, be relied upon to do this.

Selected Bibliography

Marian Adamus, Mutual relations between Nordic and other Germanic dialects in Germanica
Wratislaviensia 7, 1962, pp. 115 158.

THORSTEN Andersson, Gtar, goter, gutar, in Namn och Bygd Tidskrift fr nordisk ortnamnsforskning,
rg. 84, 1996.

ANNERHOLM, Hjalmar, Studier ver de inkoativa verben p na(n) i gotiskan och de nordiska fornsprken,
Lund 1956.

BUGGE, Sophus, Norges indskrifter med de aeldre runer, Oslo 1891 1903.

Coetsem, Frans van, Zur Entwicklung der germanischen Grundsprache in Kurzer Grundriss der
germanischen Philologie bis 1500. I. Band Sprachgeschichte, Berlin, 1970, pp. 1 93.

Coetsem, Frans van Kufner, Herbert L. (eds), Toward a Grammar of Protogermanic, Tbingen, 1972.

Fox, Anthony, Linguistic reconstruction. An introduction to theory and method, Oxford 1995.

Martin Giertz, Officiell historiesyn missgynnar Gotland som var en mktig provins (The Official View of
History Is Harming Gotland Which Was An Influential Province), daily newspaper Gotlands Allehanda,
August 1990.

Martin Giertz, Tillbakavisa alla frsk misstnkliggra Gutasagan! (Refute All Attempts To Cast Doubts
On The Gutasaga), Gotlands Allehanda, August 10, 1990.

Martin Giertz, Gutar-goter inte bara namnlikhet utan ocks ett historiskt sammanhang (Gutar-Goths
Not Only Similarity Of The Names But Also A Historical Connection), Gotlands Allehanda, August 13, 1990.

Martin Giertz, Sprklikhet gutar-goter: stergarnsprst hade nyckeln! (Linguistic similarity GutarGoths: An stergarn Priest Had The Key !), Gotlands Allehanda, August 1990.

Gotlands runinskrifter, Stockholm 1962.

Hofmann, Dietrich, Gotlands alte Sprache und ihre Zeugnisse in Gotland tausend Jahre Kultur- und
Wirtschafsgeschichte im Ostseeraum, Sigmaringen 1988, pp. 27 40.

E.A. Makaev, The Language of the oldest runic inscriptions. A linguistic and historical.philological
analysis. Translated from the Russian by John Meredig in consultation with Elmer H. Antonsen. Prepared
for publication by Thorsten Andersson and Henrik Williams. Kungl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets
Akademiens Handlingar, Filologisk-filosofiska serien 21., Stockholm 1996.

Marstrander, C., De gotiske runeminnesmerker in Norsk tidskrift for sprogvidenskap 3, 1929.

Namenforschung Name Studies Les noms propres An International Handbook of Onomastics, Volume
2, Berlin and New York 1996 (see especially XIV. Names of Countries and Peoples).

Nerman, Birger, Die Vlkerwanderungszeit Gotlands, 1935.

Nordgren, Ingemar, Goterkllan om goterna i Norden och p kontinenten, Gteborg 2000 (also published
in English as an electronic book The Well Spring of the Goths).

Nyln, Erik Goterna, Gotland och Gutasagan, Arkeologi p Gotland, Skriftserie utgiven av
kulturnmnden i Gotlands kommun, Gotlandica nr 14, Visby 1979.

Reichert, Herman, Lexikon der altgermanischen Namen, 1. Teil: Text, Vienna 1987.

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Schmidt, Ludwig, Die Ostgermanen (Geschichte der deutschen Stmme bis zum Ausgang der
Vlkerwanderung), Munich 1969.

Schwarz, Ernst, Goten, Nordgermanen, Angelsachsen. Studen zur Ausgliederung der germanischen
Sprachen, Bern 1951.

Stephens, G., Old Northern Runic Monuments I, 1866.

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Also Hervarar Saga ok Heidriks (translation G. Turville-Petre, London, 1956.

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Berlin 1967.

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reference to Otto von Friesen, Gotische Schrift, Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde.

Wolfram, Herwig, Die Germanen, Munich 2001.

Wolfram, Herwig, Die Goten und ihre Geschichte, Munic 2001

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