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Rugii

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"Rugians" redirects here. For the Slavic tribe, seeRani (tribe).
Settlement areas of the Rugii:Rogaland,Pomerania(since the first century),Rugiland(5th century);Rügen(uncertain)

TheRugii,RogiorRugians(Ancient Greek:Ρογοί,romanized:Rogoi), were aRoman-eraGermanic people.[1]They were first clearly recorded byTacitus,in hisGermaniawho called them theRugii,and located them near the south shore of theBaltic Sea.Some centuries later, they were considered one of the "Gothic" or "Scythian" peoples who were located in theMiddle Danuberegion. Like several other Gothic peoples there, they possibly arrived in the area as allies ofAttilauntil his death in 453. They settled in what is nowLower Austriaafter the defeat of theHunsatNedaoin 454.

The Baltic Rugii mentioned by Tacitus are possibly related to the people known as theRutikleioi,and the place known as Rougion, both mentioned in the second century byPtolemy.Both these names are associated with the coastal island known today asRügen.They have also been associated with theUlmerugimentioned in the sixth century byJordanes,as people who had lived on the Baltic coast near the Vistula long before him. In a passage that is difficult to interpret Jordanes mentioned that the Rugii also lived in Scandinavia in his own time, near the Danes and Suedes.

It has been speculated, based on their name, and the Gothic origin stories published by Jordanes, that the Rugii originally migrated from southwest Norway toPomeraniaaround 100 AD, and from there to theDanubevalley. The name of the Ulmerugi has been interpreted asHolmrygirknown from much laterOld Norsetexts. The Rugii have also been associated with theRygirof Rogaland in Norway. All these names apparently share their etymological origins.[2]

The name of the Rugii continued to be used after the sixth century to refer to Slavic speaking peoples including even Russians.[3]

Etymology

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It has been proposed that the tribal nameRugiiorRygiris related to theOld Norseterm forrye,rugr,and would thus have meant 'rye eaters' or 'rye farmers'.[2]

HolmrygirandUlmerugiare both translated as 'island Rugii'.[2]

Ptolemy'sRutikleioihave been interpreted as a scribal error forRugikleioi(in Greek). The meaning of the second part of this name form is unclear, but it has for example been interpreted as a Germanic diminutive.[2]

Uncertain and disputed is the association of the Rugii with the name of the isle ofRügenand the tribe of theRugini.Though some scholars suggested that the Rugii passed their name to the isle of Rügen in modern Northeast Germany, other scholars presented alternative hypotheses of Rügen's etymology associating the name to the mediaevalRani (Rujani) tribe.[2][4]

TheRuginiwere only mentioned once, in a list of Germanic tribes still to be Christianised drawn up by the English monkBedein hisHistoria ecclesiasticaof the early 8th century.[2][5]

History

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Origins

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According to an old proposal, the Rugii possibly migrated from southwest Norway toPomeraniain the first century AD.[6]Rogalandor Rygjafylke is a region (fylke) in south west Norway. Rogaland translates "Land of the Rygir" (Rugii), the transition ofrygirtorogabeing sufficiently explained with the general linguistic transitions of theNorse language.[2]

Scholars suggest a migration either of Rogaland Rugii to the southern Baltic coast, a migration the other way around, or an original homeland on the islands of Denmark in between these two regions.[2]None of these theories is so far backed by archaeological evidence.[2]Another theory suggests that the name of one of the two groups was adapted by the other one later without any significant migration taking place.[2]Scholars regard it as very unlikely that the name was invented twice.[2]

In Pomerania

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Further information:Early history of Pomerania
TheRoman EmpireunderHadrian(ruled 117–138): the Rugii inhabit a region corresponding to modernPomerania(northern Germany and Poland)

The Rugii were first mentioned byTacitus[7]in the late first century.[2][8][4]Tacitus' description of their contemporary settlement area, adjacent to theLemoviiandGutones(who are generally considered to be earlyGoths), at the "ocean". This is generally seen as the southern coast of theBaltic Sea,the laterPomerania.[2][8][4]Tacitus distinguished the Rugii, Gutones and Lemovii from other Germanic tribes, saying they carried round shields and short swords, and obeyed kings.[2][8][4]

TheOxhöft cultureis associated with parts of the Rugii andLemovii.[4]The archaeologicalGustow groupofWestern Pomeraniais also associated with the Rugii.[9][10]The remains of the Rugii west of the Vidivarii, together with other Gothic,Veneti,andGepidgroups, are believed to be identical with the archaeologicalDębczyn culture.[11]

In 150 AD, the geographerPtolemydid not mention the Rugii, but he did mention a place namedRhougion(also transliterated from Greek asRougion,Rugion,LatinizedRugiumorRugia) and a tribe named theRoutikleioiin roughly the same area, between the rivers Vidua and Vistula.[12]Both these names have been associated with the Rugii.[2][4]

In the sixth century, Jordanes wrote an origin story (Origo gentis) about the Goths, theGetica,which claims that the Goths and many other peoples came from Scandinavia, the "womb of nations". This contains at least three possible references to the Rugii, although Jordanes himself does not make any connection between them.

  • One is that upon the arrival by boat of the Goths from Scandinavia, in the coastal area of "Gothiscandza",the Goths expelled a people called theUlmerugi.[13][2][4]
  • Jordanes also makes a references to a people called the Rugii still living in Scandinavia in the sixth century, in the area near the Dani, normally presumed to be the Danes.[14][2]
  • In a list of peoples conquered by the fourth century Gothic kingErmanaric,who ruled north of theBlack Sea,the name "Rogas" appears.[15]

According to an old proposal, in the second century AD, eastern Germanic peoples then mainly in the area of modern Poland, began to expand their influence, pressing peoples to their south and eventually causing theMarcomannic Warson the Roman Danubian frontier. The Rugii are one of the peoples thought to have been involved. While modern authors are sceptical of some elements of the old narrative, the archaeology of theWielbark culturehas given new evidence to support this idea.[16]

In Pannonia, Rugiland and Italy

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Europe at the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD

In the beginning of the fourth century, a large group of Rugii settled at the upperTiszain ancientPannonia,in what is now modern Hungary.[citation needed]They were later attacked by theHuns[citation needed]but took part inAttila's campaigns in 451, but at his deaththey rebelledand created underFlaccitheusa kingdom of their own inRugiland,a region presently part of lower Austria (ancientNoricum), north of the Danube.[17]After Flaccitheus's death, the Rugii of Rugiland were led by kingFeletheus,also called Feva, and his wife Gisa.[17]Yet other Rugii had already becomefoederatiofOdoacer,who was to become the firstGermanicking of Italy.[17]By 482 the Rugii had converted toArianism.[6]Feletheus' Rugii were utterly defeated by Odoacer in 487; many came into captivity and were carried to Italy, and subsequently, Rugiland was settled by theLombards.[17]Records of this era are made byProcopius,[18]Jordanesand others.[2]

Two years later, Rugii joined theOstrogothickingTheodoric the Greatwhen he invaded Italy in 489. Within theOstrogothic Kingdomin Italy, they kept their own administrators and avoided intermarriage with the Goths.[19][6]They disappeared afterTotila's defeat in theGothic War (535–554).[6]

Possible continuations in the north

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It is assumed that Burgundians, Goths and Gepids with parts of the Rugians leftPomeraniaduring the late Roman Age, and that during theMigration Period,remnants of Rugians,Vistula Veneti,Vidivariiand other,Germanic tribesremained and formed units that were laterSlavicized.[11]The Vidivarii themselves are described byJordanesin his Getica as amelting potof tribes who in the mid-6th century lived at the lowerVistula.[20][21]Though differing from the earlierWielbark culture,some traditions were continued.[21]One hypothesis, based on the sudden appearance of large amounts of Roman solidi and migrations of other groups after the breakdown of theHunempire in 453, suggest a partial re-migration of earlier emigrants to their former northern homelands.[21]

The ninth-centuryOld EnglishWidsith,a compilation of earlier oral traditions, mentions the tribe of theHolmrycumwithout localizing it.[2]Holmrygirare mentioned in anOld NorseSkaldicpoem,Hákonarmál,and probably also in theHaraldskvæði.[22][2]

James Campbellhas argued that, regarding Bede's "Rugini", "the sense of the Latin is that these are the peoples from whom theAnglo-Saxonsliving in Britain were derived ".[23]: 53 The Rugini would thus be among the ancestors of the Anglo-Saxons.[23]: 123–124 Whether the Rugini were remnants of the Rugii is speculative.[2]Despite the identification by Bede as Germanic, some scholars have attempted to link the Rugini with theRani.[5][24]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Bjornlie, Shane(2018)."Rugians".In Nicholson, Oliver (ed.).The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity.Oxford University Press.ISBN9780191744457.RetrievedJanuary 26,2020.Rugians. Germanic people prominent in provincial politics of the Danube frontier region during the last half of the 5th century...
  2. ^abcdefghijklmnopqrstuAndersson, Thomas (2003), "Rugier 1. Namenkundliches",Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde,vol. 25 (2 ed.), Walter de Gruyter, pp. 452ff,ISBN3-11-017733-1
  3. ^Steinacher, Roland[in German](2010). "The Herules: Fragments of a History". InCurta, Florin(ed.).Neglected Barbarians.ISD.ISBN9782503531250.pp.43-44.
  4. ^abcdefgJ. B. Rives on Tacitus, Germania, Oxford University Press, 1999, p.311,ISBN0-19-815050-4
  5. ^abDavid Fraesdorff,Der barbarische Norden: Vorstellungen und Fremdheitskategorien bei Rimbert, Thietmar von Merseburg, Adam von Bremen und Helmold von Bosau,Akademie Verlag, 2005, p.55,ISBN3-05-004114-5
  6. ^abcd"Rugi (people)".Encyclopædia Britannica Online.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Retrieved8 September2012.
  7. ^Tacitus,Germania,Germania.XLIV
  8. ^abcThe Works of Tacitus: The Oxford Translation, Revised, With Notes, BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2008, p.836,ISBN0-559-47335-4
  9. ^Magdalena Ma̜czyńska, Tadeusz Grabarczyk,Die spätrömische Kaiserzeit und die frühe Völkerwanderungszeit in Mittel- und Osteuropa,Wydawn. Uniwersytetu Łódź, 2000, p.127,ISBN83-7171-392-4
  10. ^Horst Keiling,Archäologische Funde von der frührömischen Kaiserzeit bis zum Mittelalter aus den mecklenburgischen Bezirken,Museum für Ur- und Frühgeschichte Schwerin, 1984, pp.8:12
  11. ^abMachajewski, Henryk (2003), "Pommern",Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde,vol. 23, Walter de Gruyter, p. 282,ISBN3-11-017535-5
  12. ^Ptolemaeus II,11,12
  13. ^Jordanes, Getica, IV,26
  14. ^Jordanes, Getica, L,261.266; LIV,277
  15. ^Christensen, Arne Søby(2002).Cassiodorus, Jordanes and the History of the Goths.Museum Tusculanum Press.ISBN9788772897103.,chapter 6.
  16. ^Heather, Peter (2009).Empires and Barbarians: The Fall of Rome and the Birth of Europe.Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-989226-6.,pp.96-107
  17. ^abcdWilliam Dudley Foulke, Edward Peters,History of the Lombards,University of Pennsylvania Press, 1974, pp.31ff,ISBN0-8122-1079-4
  18. ^Procopius,Bellum GothicumVI,14,24; VII,2,1.4
  19. ^"At the behest of Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno, Theodoric of the Ostrogoths invades Italy and founds a kingdom based in Rome. Many of the remaining Rugii join Theodoric in his invasion and settle in self-contained communities, refusing intermarriage with the Ostrogoths and other Germanic peoples there. They retain their identity until the fall of the Ostrogothic kingdom of Italy. The Langobards migrate into the former Rugii territory to fill this vacuum."Germanic Tribes: Rugii
  20. ^Andrew H. Merrills,History and Geography in Late Antiquity,Cambridge University Press, 2005, p.325,ISBN0-521-84601-3
  21. ^abcMayke de Jong,Frans Theuws, Carine van Rhijn,Topographies of Power in the Early Middle Ages,Brill, 2001, p.524,ISBN90-04-11734-2
  22. ^Skj, B I,57
  23. ^abCampbell, James (1986).Essays in Anglo-Saxon history.London: Hambledon Press.ISBN090762832X.OCLC458534293.
  24. ^Joachim Herrmann,Welt der Slawen: Geschichte, Gesellschaft, Kultur,C.H. Beck, 1986, p.265,ISBN3-406-31162-8

This article contains content from theOwl EditionofNordisk familjebok,a Swedish encyclopedia published between 1904 and 1926, now in thepublic domain.

Further reading

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