Scandza

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Scandza

Scandza was the name given to Scandinavia

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a historical and geographical subregion in northern Europe that includes the Scandinavian Peninsula. It consists of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark; some authorities also include Finland and some might even include Iceland....
by Jordanes

Jordanes

Jordanes , was a 6th century Roman bureaucrat , who turned his hand to history later in life.Though he also wrote Romana , a book about the history of Rome, his most known work is his Getica, written in Constantinople about AD 551 ....
, in his work Getica. He described the area to set the stage for his treatment of the Goths

Goths

The Goths were East Germanic tribes who, in the 3rd and 4th centuries, invasion the Roman Empire and later adopted Arian Christianity. In the 5th and 6th centuries, divided as the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, they established powerful successor-states of the Roman Empire in the Iberian peninsula and Italy....
' migration from Scandinavia to Gothiscandza

Gothiscandza

According to a tale related by Jordanes, Gothiscandza was the first settlement of the Goths after their migration from Scandinavia around 1490 B.C....
. His account contains several accurate descriptions of Scandinavia, but is also jumbled and composed of information from several sources.

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Scandza was the name given to Scandinavia

Scandinavia

Jordanes

Goths

Gothiscandza

Jordanes

Jordanes , was a 6th century Roman bureaucrat , who turned his hand to history later in life.Though he also wrote Romana , a book about the history of Rome, his most known work is his Getica, written in Constantinople about AD 551 ....
account gives us a unique glimpse into the tribes of Scandinavia in the 6th century.

Geographical description

Jordanes referred to Ptolemy

Ptolemy

Claudius Ptolemaeus , known in English as Ptolemy , was a Roman Greek mathematics, Greek astronomy, geographer and astrologer. He lived in History of Roman Egypt, and was probably born there in a town in the Thebaid called Ptolemais Hermiou; he died in Alexandria around 168 AD....
's fairly correct description of Scandia "as a great island shaped like a juniper leaf" (i.e. long and not round) "having bulging sides and which tapered down in the south at a long end".

He also referred to Pomponius Mela

Pomponius Mela

Pomponius Mela, who wrote around 43, was the earliest Roman Empire geographer.His little work is a mere compendium, occupying less than one hundred pages of ordinary print, dry in style and deficient in method, but of pure Latinity, and occasionally relieved by pleasing word-pictures....
's description of Codanonia (called Scatinavia by Pliny the Elder

Pliny the Elder

Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was an ancient author, naturalist or natural philosopher and naval and military commander of some importance who wrote Natural History ....
) which was located in the Codanian Gulf (probably Kattegat

Kattegat

The Kattegat , or Kattegatt is a sea area bounded by Jutland , and Scania, Halland and Bohusl?n . The Baltic Sea drains into the Kattegat through the Oresund and the Danish Straits....
). "This island was in front of the Vistula

Vistula

The Vistula , is the longest river in Poland at 1,047 km in length. It drains an area of 194,424 km? , of which 168,699 km? lies within Poland ....
and that there was a great lake" (probably Vänern

Vänern

V?nern is the largest lake in Sweden and the third largest lake in Europe. It is located in the Provinces of Sweden of V?sterg?tland, Dalsland, and V?rmland....
) "from which sprang the river Vagus" (cf. Ván an old name for Göta älv

Göta älv

The G?ta ?lv is a river that drains lake V?nern into Kattegat, and the North Sea, at the city of Gothenburg on the western coast of Sweden. It is located in G?taland, with the river itself being a site of early Geats settlement....
). "On the western and northern side it was surrounded by an enormous sea" (the Atlantic), "but in the east there was a land bridge" (Lappland) "which cut off the sea in the east forming the German Sea" (the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53?N to 66?N latitude and from 20?E to 26?E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Denmark islands....
). "There were also many small islands" (the Swedish and Finnish archipelagos) "where wolves could pass when the sea was frozen. In winter the country was not only cruel to people but also to wild beasts. Due to the extreme cold there were no swarms of honey-making bees."

Midsummer sun and the Midwinter darkness

In the north, there was the nation of the Adogit (perhaps referring to the inhabitants of Hålogaland

Hålogaland

H?logaland figures extensively in the Norse sagas, and in the Heimskringla, especially the Ynglinga Saga. It was inhabited by the H?leygia aett, "the race of H?lgi", who was the eponymous hero of H?logaland....
in Norway or the people of Andøya

Andøya

And?ya is the northernmost island in the archipelago of Vester?len in Nordland county, Norway. The island belongs to the And?y municipality, and has an area of 489 km?, making it the List of islands of Norway by area in Norway....
) who lived in continual light during the midsummer (for forty days and nights) and in continual darkness for as long time during the midwinter. Due to this alternation they go from joy to suffering (the first description of the Scandinavian winter depression

Seasonal affective disorder

Seasonal affective disorder , also known as winter depression or winter blues, is a mood disorder first identified ten centuries ago by Avicenna, in which people who have normal mental health throughout most of the year experience depression symptoms in the winter or, less frequently, in the summer, repeatedly, year after year....
). The sun moreoever seemed to pass around the Earth rather than to rise from below.

Inhabitants

Jordanes names a multitude of tribes living in Scandza, which he named the Womb of nations, and they were taller and more ferocious than the Germans (archaeological evidence has shown the Scandinavians of the time were tall, probably due to their diet). The listing represents several instances of the same people named twice, which was probably due to the gathering of information from diverse travellers and from Scandinavians arriving to join the Goths, such as Rodwulf

Rodwulf

Rodwulf was a Scandinavian chieftain who joined the Ostrogoths in Ravenna. He got tired of his own people and travelled south in order to have some adventure....
from Bohuslän

Bohuslän

is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden , situated on the west coast of the country. It borders Dalsland and V?sterg?tland as well as the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea and ?stfold in Norway....
. Whereas linguists have been able to connect some names to regions in Scandinavia, there are others that may be based on misunderstandings.

On the island there were the Screrefennae (i.e. Sami people

Sami people

The S?mi people, are the indigenous people Indigenous peoples of Europe inhabiting S?pmi , which today encompasses parts of northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Kola Peninsula of Russia....
s) who lived as Hunter-gatherer

Hunter-gatherer

A hunter-gatherer society is one whose primary List of subsistence techniques involves the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild, foraging and hunting without significant recourse to the domestication of either....
s living on a multitude of game in the swamps and on birds' eggs.

There were also the Suehans (Swedes

Swedish people

Swedes are people from Sweden or of Swedish decent. Unlike the United States, United Kingdom, and Australian Censuses, Statistics Sweden does not classify the Swedish population by race or ethnicity....
) who had splendid horses like the Thuringians (interestingly Snorri Sturluson

Snorri Sturluson

Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet and politician. He was two-time elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing....
wrote that the 6th century Swedish king Adils had the best horses of his time). They were the suppliers of black fox skins for the Roman market and they were richly dressed even though they lived in poverty.

There were also the Theustes (the people of the Tjust
Tjust

Tjust was one of the small lands of Sm?land, Sweden. It was divided into the hundreds of Tjust Northern Hundred and Tjust Southern Hundred. It corresponds to V?stervik Municipality and the southern part of Valdemarsvik Municipality....
region in Småland

Småland

is a historical Provinces of Sweden in southern Sweden.Sm?land borders Blekinge, Scania or Sk?ne, Halland, V?sterg?tland, ?sterg?tland and the island ?land in the Baltic Sea....
), Vagoth
Vagoth

The Vagoths were a Germanic tribe mentioned by Jordanes. He located them in Scandza. Speculations about their exact identity have identified them with the Geats of Vikbolandet and with the Gotlanders....
s (probably the Gotland

Gotland

is a Counties of Sweden, Provinces of Sweden and Municipalities of Sweden of Sweden and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, it makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area....
ers), Bergio (either the people of Bjäre Hundred in Skåne

Skåne

Scania is a geographical region on the southernmost tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, a traditional provinces of Sweden in the Kingdom of Sweden, before 1658 a province in the Kingdom of Denmark and part of the historical lands of Denmark....
, according to L Weibull, or the people of Kolmården

Kolmården

Kolm?rden is a large forest that separates the Sweden Provinces of Sweden of S?dermanland and ?sterg?tland, two of the country's main agriculture areas, from each other....
according to others), Hallin (southern Halland

Halland

is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , on the western coast of Sweden. It borders V?sterg?tland, Sm?land, Sk?ne and the sea of Kattegat....
) and the Liothida (either the Luggude Hundred or Lödde in Skåne

Skåne

Södermanland

, sometimes referred to under its Latin form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a Provinces of Sweden or landskap on the south eastern coast of Sweden....
) who live in a flat and fertile region, due to which they are subject to the attacks of their neighbours. Other tribes were the Ahelmil (identified with the region of Halmstad

Halmstad

Halmstad ['hulm-st??] is a port, university, industrial and recreational urban areas of Sweden at the mouth of the Nissan River in the provinces of Sweden of Halland on the Sweden west coast....
), the Finnaithae (Finnhaith-, i.e. Finnheden, the old name for Finnveden

Finnveden

Finnveden or Finnheden is one of the ancient small lands of Sm?land. It corresponded to the hundreds of Sunnerbo Hundred, ?stbo Hundred and V?stbo Hundred....
), the Fervir (the inhabitants of Fjäre Hundred) and the Gautigoths (the Geats of Västergötland

Västergötland

is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden , situated in the southwest of Sweden. In older English literature one may also encounter the Latin language version Westrogothia....
), a nation which was bold and quick to engage in war. There were also the Mixi, Evagreotingis (or the Evagres and the Otingis depending on the translator), who live like animals among the rocks (probably the numerous hillforts and Evagreotingis is believed to have meant the "people of the island hill forts" which best fits the people of Bohuslän

Bohuslän

Östergötland

?sterg?tland is a one of the traditional provinces of Sweden in the south of Sweden. It borders Sm?land, V?sterg?tland, N?rke, S?dermanland, and the Baltic Sea....
), Raumarici (Romerike

Romerike

Romerike is a Districts of Norway located north-east of Oslo, in what is today south-eastern Norway. It consists of the Akershus municipalities Fet, L?renskog, Nittedal, R?lingen, Skedsmo, S?rum and Aurskog-H?land in the southern end , and Ullensaker, Gjerdrum, Nannestad, Nes, Akershus, Eidsvoll and Hurdal in the northern end ....
), the Ragnaricii (probably Ranrike

Ranrike

Ranrike was the old name for a part of Viken, corresponding to southeast Norway and the northern half of the modern Swedish province of Bohusl?n ....
, an old name for a part of Bohuslän) and the most gentle Finns (probably second mention of the Sami people

Sami people

Lombards

The Lombards were a Germanic peoples originally from Northern Europe who settled in the valley of the Danube and from there invaded Byzantine Italian peninsula in 568 under the leadership of Alboin....
, vinili.) were similar.

He also named the Suetidi (a second mention of the Swedes

Swedish people

Dani

Things known as Dani include:* A unisex name [more commonly used by women than by men.]* Dani is a common surname in the Maratha clan system and among the Savji people of India....
, who were of the same stock and who drove the Heruls from their lands. Those tribes were the tallest of men.

In the same area there were the Granni (Grenland

Grenland

Grenland is a Districts of Norway in the county of Telemark, in the south of Norway. It is composed of the municipalities Skien, Porsgrunn, Bamble, Nome, Norway, and Siljan....
), Augandzi (Agder

Agder

Agder is a districts of Norway in the southernmost region of Norway, corresponding to the two counties of Norway Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder. Today, the term S?rlandet is more commonly used....
), Eunixi, Taetel, Rugi (Rogaland

Rogaland

is a Counties of Norway in Norway, bordering Hordaland, Telemark, Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder. It is the center of the Norwegian petroleum-industry, and as a result of this, Rogaland has the lowest unemployment rate of any county in Norway, 1.1%....
), Arochi (Hordaland

Hordaland

is a Counties of Norway in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland. Hordaland is the third largest county after Akershus and Oslo by population....
) and Ranii (possibly the people of Romsdalen). The king Roduulf was of the Rani but left his kingdom and joined Theodoric

Theodoric

Theodoric is a Germanic languages given name frequently encountered in early medieval European history. Variant spellings include forms such as Theoderic, Theudoric, Theuderic, or Theuderich....
, king of the Goths.

Sources

Burenhult, Göran (1996) Människans historia, VI.
Nerman, B. Det svenska rikets uppkomst. Stockholm, 1925.
Ohlmarks, Å. (1994). Fornnordiskt lexikon
Ståhl, Harry (1970) Ortnamn och ortnamnsforskning, AWE/Gebers, Uppsala.