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75-479: The poem begins with a Norwegian king named Hjörvarðr. The king had four wives: Álfhildr with whom he had a son named Heðinn, a second by the name Særeiðr with whom he had the son Humlungr and a third called Sinrjóð by whom he had the son Hymlingr. The fourth wife is not mentioned, but she may be the girl Sigrlinn with whom the plot of the story begins. Hjörvarðr had made a vow to possess the most beautiful woman he knew. When he learnt that king Sváfnir of Sváfaland had

150-617: A Germanic language , the Suebi are generally agreed to have spoken one or more Germanic languages. Tacitus refers to Suebian languages, implying there was more than one by the end of the first century. In particular, the Suebi are associated with the concept of an "Elbe Germanic" group of early dialects spoken by the Irminones , entering Germany from the east, and originating on the Baltic. In late classical times, these dialects, by now situated to

225-471: A boar in the sonarblót . On Yule Eve the sonar-boar was led into the hall before the king; then people laid their hands on its bristles and made vows. One of the prose segments in " Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar " adds that the oaths were sworn while drinking the bragarfull toast: Um kveldit [jólaaftan] óru heitstrengingar. Var fram leiddr sónargöltr. Lögðu menn þar á hendr sínar ok strengðu menn þá heit at bragarfulli. That evening [of Yule Eve]

300-752: A large group of Germanic peoples originally from the Elbe river region in what is now Germany and the Czech Republic . In the early Roman era they included many peoples with their own names such as the Marcomanni , Quadi , Hermunduri , Semnones , and Lombards . New groupings formed later, such as the Alamanni and Bavarians , and two kingdoms in the Migration Period were simply referred to as Suebian. Although Tacitus specified that

375-620: A large grouping of Germanic peoples that at least overlaps with the classical terms "Suevi" and "Irminones". However, this term was developed mainly as an attempt to define the ancient peoples who must have spoken the Germanic dialects that led to modern Upper German dialects spoken in Austria, Bavaria , Thuringia , Alsace , Baden-Württemberg and German speaking Switzerland. This was proposed by Friedrich Maurer as one of five major Kulturkreise or "culture-groups" whose dialects developed in

450-413: A long discussion in poetry (a poem called Hrímgerðarmál ) with Hati's daughter Hrímgerðr which they prolonged until the sun rose and transformed the gýgr into stone. After having won fame in battle, Helgi went to king Eylimi and asked the king for his daughter's hand. King Eylimi consented and so Helgi and Sváfa exchanged their vows. Although, they were married, she remained with her father and Helgi

525-566: A name with this same meaning, but recorded with a different pronunciation by the Romans. Alternatively, it may be borrowed from a Celtic word for "vagabond". Caesar placed the Suebi east of the Ubii apparently near modern Hesse , in the position where later writers mention the Chatti , and he distinguished them from their allies the Marcomanni . Some commentators believe that Caesar's Suebi were

600-584: A single nation. They actually occupy more than half of Germania, and are divided into a number of distinct tribes under distinct names, though all generally are called Suebi". Although no classical authors explicitly call the Chatti Suevic, Pliny the Elder (23 AD – 79 AD), reported in his Natural History that the Irminones were a large grouping of related Germanic gentes or "tribes" including not only

675-531: A specific tribe more or less "Suebian". Caesar noted that rather than grain crops, they spent time on animal husbandry and hunting. They wore animal skins, bathed in rivers, consumed milk and meat products, and prohibited wine, allowing trade only to dispose of their booty and otherwise they had no goods to export. They had no private ownership of land and were not permitted to stay resident in one place for more than one year. They were divided into 100 cantons, each of which had to provide and support 1000 armed men for

750-410: A tradition known as heitstrenging . Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks refers to the tradition of swearing oaths on Yule Eve by laying hands on the bristles of the boar, who was then sacrificed in the sonar- blót : Ok skyldi þeim gelti blóta at sónarblóti. Jólaaptan skyldi leiða sónargöltinn í höll fyrir konúng; lögðu menn þá hendr yfir burst hans ok strengja heit. And they would sacrifice

825-453: Is that is best of all, The shield-destroyer, with gold it shines. 9. In the hilt is fame, in the haft is courage, In the point is fear, for its owner's foes; On the blade there lies a blood-flecked snake, And a serpent's tail round the flat is twisted. Sváfa had given Helgi his name and during his battles, she was always there for him, shielding him from danger. Helgi reproached his father king Hjörvarðr for not avenging

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900-684: The Boii further east near the Hercynian forest . In addition, near the Hercynian forest Caesar believed that the Celtic Tectosages had once lived. All of these peoples had for the most part moved by the time of Tacitus. Nevertheless, Cassius Dio wrote that the Suebi, who dwelt across the Rhine, were called Celts. This may follow a Greek tradition of labelling all barbarian people north of

975-603: The Gallic Wars . Unlike Strabo and Tacitus who wrote later, he described them as a single people, distinct from the Marcomanni, within the larger Germanic category, who he saw as a growing threat to Gaul and Italy in the first century BC, as they had been moving southwards aggressively, at the expense of Gallic tribes, and establishing a Germanic presence in the immediate areas north of the Danube . In particular, Caesar saw

1050-678: The Huns . In 406 AD, Suebian tribes led by Hermeric , together with other Danubian groups including Alans and Vandals, crossed the Rhine and overran Gaul and Hispania . They eventually established the Kingdom of the Suebi in Galicia . With the breaking up of Hunnic power after the Battle of Nedao there was also a short-lived Kingdom of the Suebi on the Danube, under Hunimund . They were defeated by

1125-850: The Juthungi , while the Alamanni ravaged Gaul and settled the Agri Decumates . The Alamanni continued exerting pressure on Gaul, while the Alamannic chieftain Chrocus played an important role in elevating Constantine the Great to Roman emperor . By the late 4th century AD, the Middle Danubian frontier inhabited by the Quadi and Marcomanni received large numbers of Gothic and other eastern peoples escaping disturbances associated with

1200-532: The Lombardic language spoken by the Lombards of Italy, and standard "High German" itself, are also at least partly derived from the dialects spoken by the Suebi. (The only non-Suebian name among the major groups of Upper Germanic dialects is High Franconian German , but this is on the transitional frontier with Central German , as is neighboring Thuringian.) Julius Caesar (100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) describes

1275-911: The Marcomanni , who under King Marobodus had moved into the same Hercynian forest as the Coldui (possibly the Quadi ), taking over an area called "Boihaemum". This king "took the rulership and acquired, in addition to the peoples aforementioned, the Lugii (a large tribe), the Zumi , the Butones , the Mugilones , the Sibini , and also the Semnones , a large tribe of the Suevi themselves". Some of these tribes were "inside

1350-565: The Marsigni , and Buri , who "in their language and manner of life, resemble the Suevi". (Living partly subject to the Quadi are the Gotini and Osi , who Tacitus says speak respectively Gaulish and Pannonian , and are therefore not Germans.) Ptolemy also places the " Lugi Buri " in mountains, along with a tribe called the Corconti . These mountains, stretching from near the upper Elbe to

1425-880: The Ostrogoths , one of the peoples of eastern origin who had been allies of the Huns. In the sixth century the Suevic Longobards moved from the Elbe to become one of the major powers of the Middle Danube , in competition with the dynasties from the east such as the Herules , Gepids and Ostrogoths . During the last years of the decline of the Western Roman Empire , the Suebian general Ricimer

1500-569: The "Rugiclei" up to the Vistula river (probably referring to the "Rugii" of Tacitus). He does not specify if these are Suevi. In the sea, the states of the Suiones , "powerful in ships" are, according to Tacitus, Germans with the Suevic (Baltic) sea on one side and an "almost motionless" sea on the other more remote side. Modern commentators believe this refers to Scandinavia . Closely bordering on

1575-455: The "coastal" regions north of the Rhine. The geographer Ptolemy (c. AD 90 – c. AD 168), in a fairly extensive account of Greater Germany, makes several unusual mentions of Suebi between the Rhine and the Elbe. He describes their position as stretching out in a band from the Elbe, all the way to the northern Rhine, near the Sugambri . The "Suevi Langobardi " are the Suevi located closest to

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1650-735: The Adrabaecampi, are the Sudini and then the Marcomanni living in the Gambreta forest. North of them, but south of the Sudetes mountains (which are not likely to be the same as the modern ones of that name) are the Varisti , who are probably the same as Tacitus' "Naristi" mentioned above. Jordanes writes that in the early 4th century the Vandals had moved to the north of the Danube, but with

1725-753: The Alps as Celtic. Strabo (64/63 BC – c. 24 AD), in Book IV (6.9) of his Geography also associates the Suebi with the Hercynian Forest and the south of Germania north of the Danube. He describes a chain of mountains north of the Danube that is like a lower extension of the Alps, possibly the Swabian Alps , and further east the Gabreta Forest , possibly the modern Bohemian forest . In Book VII (1.3) Strabo specifically mentions as Suevic peoples

1800-632: The Angles and Langobardi west of the Elbe, where they may indeed have been present at some points in time, given that the Suebi were often mobile. It is already mentioned above that stretching between the Elbe and the Oder, the classical authors place the Suebic Semnones. Ptolemy places the Silingi to their south in the stretch between these rivers. These Silingi appear in later history as a branch of

1875-704: The Danube, during this period. Caesar describes the Suebi as pressing the German tribes of the Rhine, such as the Tencteri , Usipetes and Ubii , from the east, forcing them from their homes. While emphasizing their warlike nature he writes as if they had a settled homeland somewhere between the Cherusci and the Ubii , and separated from the Cherusci by a deep forest called the Silva Bacenis. He also describes

1950-570: The Elbe Germanic. In the time of Caesar, southern Germany had a mixture of Celtic and Germanic tribes and was increasingly coming under pressure from Germanic groups led by the Suebi. As described later by Tacitus, what is today southern Germany between the Danube , the Main , and the Rhine had been deserted by the departure of two large Celtic nations, the Helvetii in modern Schwaben and

2025-564: The Elder (as opposed to Tacitus) as being not Suevic but Vandili , amongst whom he also included the Goths, and the Varini, both being people living north of them near the Baltic coast. Pliny's "Vandili" are generally thought to be speakers of what modern linguists refer to as Eastern Germanic . Between the coastal Saxons and inland Suebi, Ptolemy names the Teutonari and the "Viruni" (presumably

2100-792: The Hermiones". North of the Lugii, near the Baltic Sea , Tacitus places the Gothones (Goths) , Rugii , and Lemovii . These three Germanic tribes share a tradition of having kings, and also similar arms – round shields and short swords. Ptolemy says that east of the Saxons, from the "Chalusus" river to the "Suevian" river are the Farodini , then the Sidini up to the "Viadua" river, and after these

2175-700: The Lugii north of the mountains, he named two large groups, the Lougoi Omanoi and the Lougoi Didounoi, who live between the "Suevus" river (probably the Saale ( Sorbian : Solawa ) or Oder river) and the Vistula, south of the Burgundi . These Burgundians who according to Ptolemy lived between the Baltic sea Germans and the Lugii, stretching between the Suevus and Vistula rivers, were described by Pliny

2250-409: The Marcomanni as a tribe distinct from the Suebi, and also active within the same alliance. But he does not describe where they were living. Strabo wrote that the Suebi "excel all the others in power and numbers." He describes Suebic peoples (Greek ethnē ) as having come to dominate Germany between the Rhine and Elbe, with the exception of the Rhine valley, on the frontier with the Roman empire, and

2325-434: The Marcomanni still to their west, and the Hermunduri still to their north. A possible sign of confusion in this comment is that he equates the area in question to later Gepidia , which was further south, in Pannonia, modern Hungary, and east of the Danube. In general, as discussed below, the Danubian Suebi, along with the neighbours such as the Vandals, apparently moved southwards into Roman territories, both south and east of

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2400-428: The Nomads, they load their household belongings on their wagons and with their beasts turn whithersoever they think best. Notable in classical sources, the Suebi can be identified by their hair style called the " Suebian knot ", which "distinguishes the freeman from the slave"; or in other words served as a badge of social rank. The same passage points out that chiefs "use an even more elaborate style". Tacitus mentions

2475-411: The Rhine, far to the east of where most sources report them. To the east of the Langobardi, are the "Suevi Angili ", extending as far north as the middle Elbe, also to the east of the position reported in other sources. It has been speculated that Ptolemy may have been confused by his sources, or else that this position of the Langobardi represented a particular moment in history. As discussed below, in

2550-427: The Romans from entering into Gaul. Caesar on the other hand saw himself and Rome as an ally and defender of the Aedui. The forces Caesar faced in battle were composed of " Harudes , Marcomanni , Tribocci , Vangiones , Nemetes , Sedusii , and Suevi". While Caesar was preparing for conflict, a new force of Suebi was led to the Rhine by two brothers, Nasuas and Cimberius, forcing Caesar to rush in order to try to avoid

2625-435: The Suebi in his firsthand account, De Bello Gallico , as the "largest and the most warlike nation of all the Germans". Caesar confronted a large army led by a Suevic King named Ariovistus in 58 BC who had been settled for some time in Gaul already, at the invitation of the Gaulish Arverni and Sequani as part of their war against the Aedui. He had already been recognized as a king by the Roman senate. Ariovistus forbade

2700-503: The Suebi live there, naming only specifically the Hermunduri and the Langobardi . But he mentions these are there because of recent defeats at Roman hands which had forced them over the river. (Tacitus mentions that the Hermunduri were later welcomed on to the Roman border at the Danube.) In any case he says that the area near the Elbe itself is held by the Suebi. From Tacitus and Ptolemy we can derive more details: Note that while various errors and confusions are possible, Ptolemy places

2775-400: The Suebi, and the Tencteri and Usipetes, already forced from their homes, tried to cross the Rhine and enter Gaul by force. Caesar bridged the Rhine, the first known to do so, with a pile bridge , which though considered a marvel, was dismantled after only eighteen days. The Suebi abandoned their towns closest to the Romans, retreated to the forest and assembled an army. Caesar moved back across

2850-422: The Suebi, but also the Hermunduri, Chatti and Cherusci . Whether or not the Chatti were ever considered Suevi, both Tacitus and Strabo distinguish the two partly because the Chatti were more settled in one territory, whereas Suevi remained less settled. The definitions of the greater ethnic groupings within Germania were apparently not always consistent and clear, especially in the case of mobile groups such as

2925-404: The Suebian group was not an old tribal group itself, the Suebian peoples are associated by Pliny the Elder with the Irminones , a grouping of Germanic peoples who claimed ancestral connections. Tacitus mentions Suebian languages, and a geographical "Suevia". The Suevians were first mentioned by Julius Caesar in connection with the invasion of Gaul led by the Germanic king Ariovistus during

3000-434: The Suebians as the most warlike of the Germanic peoples. During the reign of Augustus the first emperor, Rome made aggressive campaigns into Germania , east of the Rhine and north of the Danube, pushing towards the Elbe. After suffering a major defeat to the Romans in 9 BC, Maroboduus became king of a Suevian kingdom which was established within the protective mountains and forests of Bohemia . The Suevians did not join

3075-455: The Suevi, while their language is more like the British." After giving this account, Tacitus says: "Here Suebia ends." Therefore, for Tacitus geographic "Suebia" comprises the entire periphery of the Baltic Sea , including within it tribes not identified as Suebi or even Germanic. On the other hand, Tacitus does clearly consider there to be not only a Suebian region, but also Suebian languages, and Suebian customs, which all contribute to making

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3150-438: The Suevi. Whereas Tacitus reported three main kinds of German peoples, Irminones, Istvaeones , and Ingaevones , Pliny specifically adds two more genera or "kinds", the Bastarnae and the Vandili ( Vandals ). The Vandals were tribes east of the Elbe, including the well-known Silingi , Goths , and Burgundians , an area that Tacitus treated as Suebic. That the Vandals might be a separate type of Germanic people, corresponding to

3225-467: The Suiones and closely resembling them, are the tribes of the Sitones . Ptolemy describes Scandinavia as being inhabited by Chaedini in the west, Favonae and Firaesi in the east, Finni in the north, Gautae and Dauciones in the south, and Levoni in the middle. He does not describe them as Suebi. Tacitus describes the non-Germanic Aestii on the eastern shore of the "Suevic Sea" (Baltic), "whose rites and fashions and style of dress are those of

3300-538: The Upper-German dialects predominant in Southern Germany, Switzerland and Austria, which experienced the Second consonant shift some time after about 600 AD. Etymologists trace the name from Proto-Germanic * swēbaz based on the Proto-Germanic root * swē- found in the third-person reflexive pronoun , giving the meaning "one's own" people, in turn from an earlier Indo-European root *swe- (Polish swe, swój, swoi, Latin sui, Italian suo, Sanskrit swa , each meaning "one's own"). The etymological sources list

3375-451: The Vandals, and were therefore likely to be speakers of East Germanic dialects. Their name is associated with medieval Silesia . Further south on the Elbe are the Baenochaemae and between them and the Askibourgian mountains Ptolemy names a tribe called the Batini (Βατεινοὶ), apparently north and/or east of the Elbe. According to Tacitus, around the north of the Danubian Marcomanni and Quadi, "dwelling in forests and on mountain-tops", live

3450-436: The Varini of Tacitus), and further east, between the coastal Farodini and the Suebi are the Teutones and then the Avarni . Further east again, between the Burgundians and the coastal Rugiclei were the "Aelvaeones" (presumably the Helveconae of Tacitus). Tacitus called the Baltic sea the Suebian sea. Pomponius Mela wrote in his Description of the World (III.3.31) beyond the Danish isles are "the farthest people of Germania,

3525-409: The alliance led by Arminius . In 69 AD the Suebian kings Italicus and Sido provided support to the Flavian faction under Vespasian . Under the reign of Marcus Aurelius in the 2nd century AD, the Marcomanni, perhaps under pressure from East Germanic tribes to their north, invaded Italy. By the Crisis of the Third Century , new Suebian groups had emerged, and Italy was invaded again by

3600-406: The bird and discovered Sigrlinn and Álof inside the house. King Hjörvarðr returned home with Sigrlinn and Atli with Álof, the daughter of the jarl he had killed. Hjörvarðr and Sigrlinn had a son who was a silent man and to whom no name could be given. When this silent man had grown up, he was one day sitting on a hill, and he saw nine valkyries riding of whom Sváfa was the most beautiful one. She

3675-551: The bird was given gold-horned cattle and altars from the king's estate. Atli returned home to king Hjörvarðr and told him that his mission had failed. The king resolved to go to king Sváfnir himself together with Atli. When they came up on a mountain, they saw Sváfaland in flames and great clouds of dust rolling across the land coming from warriors on horseback. It was the army of king Hróðmarr who also desired princess Sigrlinn, but had been denied and decided to attempt to seize her by force. King Hróðmarr had just killed king Sváfnir and

3750-442: The bridge and broke it down, stating that he had achieved his objective of warning the Suebi. They in turn supposedly stopped harassing the Ubii. The Ubii were later resettled on the west bank of the Rhine, in Roman territory. Sonarg%C3%B6ltr The sonargǫltr or sónargǫltr was the boar sacrificed as part of the celebration of Yule in Germanic paganism , on whose bristles solemn vows were made in some forms of

3825-451: The burning of Sváfaland and the killing of king Sváfnir. Moreover, king Hróðmarr still had king Svafnir's riches in his possession. Hjörvarðr gave Helgi a war band and Helgi also acquired the magic sword that Sváfa had told him about. Then Helgi killed Hróðmarr and avenged his grandfather. In his continued adventures, Helgi killed the jötunn Hati (through this Hati does not appear to be the same as Hati Hróðvitnisson ) and Helgi and Atli had

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3900-416: The constant pursuit of war. Strabo describes the Suebi and people from their part of the world as highly mobile and nomadic, unlike more settled and agricultural tribes such as the Chatti and Cherusci : ...they do not till the soil or even store up food, but live in small huts that are merely temporary structures; and they live for the most part off their flocks, as the Nomads do, so that, in imitation of

3975-439: The custom of making vows on the sacrificial animal. The choice of a boar indicates a connection with Freyr , whose mount is the gold-bristled boar Gullinbursti , and the continuing Swedish tradition of eating pig-shaped cakes at Christmas recalls the early custom. According to Olaus Verelius 's notes in his 1672 edition of Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks , part of this jula-galt would then be saved for mixing with

4050-427: The daughter Sigrlinn who was the most beautiful girl, Hjörvarðr sent Atli, the son of his jarl Iðmundr, to woo the girl on his behalf. Atli Iðmundsson stayed with king Sváfnir for a winter but was told by Fránmarr, the king's jarl, that the king would not give away his daughter to king Hjörvarðr. On his return home, Atli had a conversation with a bird, which told him that Hjörvarðr would have Sigrlinn on condition that

4125-408: The following ethnic names as being from the same root: Suiones (whence also the name of the Swedes ), Samnites , Sabellians , Sabines , and, according to one of the hypotheses, Slavs , indicating the possibility of a prior more extended and common Indo-European ethnic name, "our own people". Notably, the Semnones , known to classical authors as one of the largest Suebian groups, also seem to have

4200-419: The forest" and some "outside of it". Tacitus confirms the name "Boiemum", saying it was a survival marking the old traditional population of the place, the Celtic Boii , though the population had changed. Tacitus describes a series of very powerful Suebian states in his own time, running along the north of the Danube which was the frontier with Rome, and stretching into the lands where the Elbe originates in

4275-487: The great vows were taken; the sacred boar was brought in, the men laid their hands thereon, and took their vows at the king's toast. In Ynglinga saga the sonarblót is used for divination ( til frettar ). The association with the Yule blót and with the ceremonial bragarfull gives the vows great solemnity, so that they have the force of oaths . This becomes a recurring topos in later sagas, although we have only these two saga mentions attesting to

4350-400: The headwaters of the Vistula , he calls the Askibourgian mountains. Between these mountains and the Quadi he adds several tribes, from north to south these are the Sidones , Cotini (possibly Tacitus' Gotini) and the Visburgi . There is then the Orcynian (Hercyian) forest, which Ptolemy defines with relatively restricted boundaries, and then the Quadi. Beyond this mountain range (probably

4425-474: The joining of forces. Caesar defeated Ariovistus in battle, forcing him to escape across the Rhine. When news of this spread, the fresh Suebian forces turned back in some panic, which led local tribes on the Rhine to take advantage of the situation and attack them. Also reported within Caesar's accounts of the Gallic wars, the Suebi posed another threat in 55 BC. The Germanic Ubii , who had worked out an alliance with Caesar, were complaining of being harassed by

4500-423: The later Chatti or possibly the Hermunduri , or Semnones . Later authors use the term Suebi more broadly, "to cover a large number of tribes in central Germany". While Caesar treated them as one Germanic tribe within an alliance, albeit the largest and most warlike one, later authors, such as Tacitus , Pliny the Elder and Strabo , specified that the Suevi "do not, like the Chatti or Tencteri , constitute

4575-404: The modern Sudetes ) where the Marsigni and Buri lived, in the area of modern southwest Poland, Tacitus reported a multitude of tribes, the most widespread name of which was the Lugii . These included the Harii , Helveconae , Manimi , Helisii and Naharvali . (Tacitus does not mention the language of the Lugii.) As mentioned above, Ptolemy categorizes the Buri amongst the Lugii, and concerning

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4650-432: The modern concept of East Germanic , is a possibility that Tacitus also noted, but for example the Varini are named as Vandilic by Pliny, and specifically Suebic by Tacitus. At one time, classical ethnography had applied the name Suevi to so many Germanic tribes that it appeared as if, in the first centuries AD, that native name would replace the foreign name "Germans". The modern term "Elbe Germanic" similarly covers

4725-428: The modern day Czech Republic . Going from west to east the first were the Hermunduri , living near the sources of the Elbe and stretching across the Danube into Roman Rhaetia . Next came the Naristi , the Marcomanni , and then the Quadi . The Quadi are on the edge of greater Suebia, having the Sarmatians to the southeast. Claudius Ptolemy the geographer did not always state which tribes were Suebi, but along

4800-400: The northern bank of the Danube, from west to east and starting at the " desert " formerly occupied by the Helvetii , he names the Parmaecampi , then the Adrabaecampi , and then a "large people" known as the Baemoi (whose name appears to recall the Boii again), and then the Racatriae . North of the Baemoi, is the Luna forest which has iron mines, and which is south of the Quadi. North of

4875-475: The sacrifice of humans practiced by the Semnones in a sacred grove and the murder of slaves used in the rites of Nerthus practiced by the tribes of Schleswig-Holstein . The chief priest of the Naharvali dresses as a woman and that tribe also worships in groves. The Harii fight at night dyed black. The Suiones own fleets of rowing vessels with prows at both ends. While there is debate possible about whether all tribes identified by Romans as Germanic spoke

4950-417: The sacrificed boar was believed to be consumption of the god's flesh and absorption of his power. It was formerly usual to spell the word sónargǫltr and to interpret it as "atonement-boar" (the rare element sónar- can also mean "sacrifice"). However, following Eduard Sievers , it is usually now spelled with a short o and taken as meaning "herd boar, leading boar", as Lombardic sonarþair

5025-430: The seed-corn and giving to the plough-horses and ploughmen at spring planting. As Jacob Grimm pointed out, the serving of a boar's head at banquets and particularly at The Queen's College, Oxford , may also be a reminiscence of the Yule boar- blót . Gabriel Turville-Petre suggested that names for Freyr and his sister Freyja which equate them with a boar and a sow respectively implied that consumption of

5100-399: The south of the Elbe, and stretching across the Danube into the Roman empire, experienced the High German consonant shift that defines modern High German languages , and in its most extreme form, Upper German . Modern Swabian German , and Alemannic German more broadly, are therefore "assumed to have evolved at least in part" from Suebian. However, Bavarian , the Thuringian dialect ,

5175-419: The southern German area from the first century BC through to the fourth century AD. Apart from his own linguistic work with modern dialects, he also referred to the archaeological and literary analysis of Germanic tribes done earlier by Gustaf Kossinna In terms of these proposed ancient dialects, the Vandals, Goths and Burgundians are generally referred to as members of the Eastern Germanic group, distinct from

5250-403: The third century a large group of Suebi, also referred to as the Allemanni , moved up to the Rhine bank in modern Schwaben , which had previously been controlled by the Romans. They competed in this region with Burgundians who had arrived from further east. Strabo does not say much about the Suebi east of the Elbe, saying that this region was still unknown to Romans, but mentions that a part of

5325-785: The troll woman. He also informed Heðinn that king Hróðmar's son Álfr wanted to avenge his father and had challenged Helgi to a holmgang at Sigarsvoll which would take place three nights later. During the holmgang with Álfr, Helgi received a mortal wound due to the troll woman's curse and Álfr won. Helgi then sent his companion Sigarr to king Eylimi in order to fetch Sváfa so that they could meet before he died. Before passing away, Helgi asked Sváfa to marry his brother Heðinn. The brother asked Sváfa to kiss him, because she would not see him again before Helgi had been avenged. Both Helgi and Sváfa would be reborn as Helgi Hundingsbane and Sigrún and so their adventures continued. Suebi The Suebi (also spelled Suavi , Suevi or Suebians ) were

5400-494: Was its de facto ruler. The Lombards, with many Danubian peoples both Suebian and eastern, later settled Italy and established the Kingdom of the Lombards . The Alamanni, Bavarii and Thuringii who remained in Germania gave their names to the still-existing German regions of Swabia , Bavaria and Thuringia respectively. Suebian languages are thought to be a main source of the later High German languages , especially

5475-641: Was out doing battle. One Yule , Helgi's brother Heðinn found a troll-woman riding on a wolf with snakes for bridles. She asked him for his company, which he denied her. The troll woman cursed and said that he would come to regret his decision at the king's toast during the Yule festivities. During the festivities, the men laid their hands on the sacred boar to swear their oaths and Heðinn vowed that he would have Sváfa, his brother's wife as his own. Heðinn met Helgi and told him of his fateful vow. Helgi responded that one of his fylgjas had seen Heðin's meeting with

5550-401: Was searching for Sigrlinn. During the night, king Hjörvarðr and Atli camped by a small stream, and Atli discovered a house on which was sitting a great bird. Atli did not know that the bird was a fetch, i.e., a magical double of king Sváfnir's jarl Fránmarr who was in the fetch of a bird in order to magically protect Sigrlinn and his own daughter Álof, who were both inside the house. Atli killed

5625-737: Was the daughter of king Eylimi . Sváfa called him Helgi and asked him if he wanted a gift with his newly given name (which was customary), but Helgi wanted nothing if he could not have Sváfa herself. She then informed him of the location of a great sword engraved with snakes and magic runes: 8. Sverð veit ek liggja í Sigarsholmi fjórum færi en fimm tögu; eitt er þeira öllum betra vígnesta böl ok varit gulli. 9. Hringr er í hjalti, hugr er í miðju, ógn er í oddi þeim er eiga getr; liggr með eggju ormr dreyrfáiðr, en á valböstu verpr naðr hala. 8. Swords I know lying in Sigarsholm, Fifty there are save only four; One there

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