Raumarici
| Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R) |
Raumarici or Romerike were a Germanic tribe living in Scandza (Scandinavia) mentioned by historian Jordanes in his work Getica. They were located in what is today south-eastern Norway.
Variants
Jat clans
History
The name Romerike may be derived ultimately from Raum elfr, which was an old name for the Glomma river.
Before the unification of Norway by King Harald Fairhair, Romerike was a petty kingdom. It had its age of greatness between the 5th and 7th centuries. The 6th century Goth scholar Jordanes wrote in his Getica about a tribe located in Scandza which he named the Raumarici and which seems to be the same name as Raumariki, the old name for Romerike.
In Beowulf and Widsith, the tribe is mentioned as the warlike Heaðo-Reamas (i.e. battling Reamas, for the correspondence between Reamas and Raumar compare Geatas and Gautar).
Snorri Sturluson relates in his Heimskringla that it was ruled by the semi-legendary Swedish kings, Sigurd Hring and Ragnar Lodbrok during the 8th century.
In the 9th century, Halfdan the Black, the father of King Harald Fairhair, subdued the area by defeating and killing the previous ruler, Sigtryg, in battle. He then defeated Sigtryg's brother and successor Eystein in a series of battles.
After the death of Halfdan the Black, Romerike submitted to the Swedish king Erik Eymundsson. However, it was forcibly conquered by Harald Fairhair who spent a summer there, to ensure that Romerike was integrated into his newly-created kingdom of Norway.
The centre of the kingdom and the earliest settlements were at Sand, between Jessheim and Garder, where the soil was easiest to cultivate and the surrounding forests were rich in game animals.
Romerike district
Romerike is a traditional district located north-east of Oslo, in what is today south-eastern Norway. It consists of the Viken municipalities Lillestrøm, Lørenskog, Nittedal, Rælingen and Aurskog-Høland in the southern end (Nedre Romerike), and Ullensaker, Gjerdrum, Nannestad, Nes, Eidsvoll and Hurdal in the northern end (Øvre Romerike).[1] [2] [3]
Etymology
The Old Norse form of the name was Raumaríki, but the name must be much older (see below). The first element is the genitive plural of raumr m ("person from Romerike"); the final element is ríki n ("kingdom, reich"; cf. Ringerike, Rånrike). In the Hversu Noregr byggdist and in Thorsteins saga Víkingssonar, the name is attributed to the mythical king Raum the Old (Raumr inn gamli). According to the latter saga, the members of the family were big and ugly, and because of this big and ugly people were called "great Raumar".
Inhabitants of Scandza
Jordanes names a multitude of tribes living in Scandza, which he named a womb of nations (loosely translated), and says 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). This is a strong evidence that they were Jats. The listing represents several instances of the same people named twice, which was probably due to the gathering of information from diverse travellers[4] and from Scandinavians arriving to join the Goths, such as Rodwulf from Bohuslän.[5] Whereas linguists have been able to connect some names to regions in Scandinavia, there are others that may be based on misunderstandings.[6]
On the island there were the Screrefennae (i.e. Sami peoples[7]) who lived as hunter-gatherers living on a multitude of game in the swamps and on birds' eggs.
There were also the Suehans (Swedes) who had splendid horses like the Thuringians (Snorri Sturluson 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 region in Småland), Vagoths (probably the Gutes of Gotland[8]), Bergio (either the people of Bjäre Hundred in Skåne, according to L Weibull, or the people of Kolmården according to others), Hallin (southern Halland) and the Liothida (either the Luggude Hundred or Lödde in Skåne, but others connect them to Södermanland[9]) 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[10]), the Finnaithae (Finnhaith-, i.e. Finnheden, the old name for Finnveden), the Fervir (the inhabitants of Fjäre Hundred) and the Gautigoths (the Geats of Västergötland), 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 southern Bohuslän[11]).
Beyond them, there were the Ostrogoths (Östergötland), Raumarici (Romerike), the Ragnaricii (probably Ranrike, an old name for the northern part of Bohuslän) and the most gentle Finns (probably the second mention of the Sami peoples[12] mixed for no reason). The Vinoviloth (possibly remaining Lombards, vinili[13]) were similar.
He also named the Suetidi; a second mention of the Swedes[14][15] It can also be relevant to discuss if the term "Suetidi" could be equated with the term "Svitjod".[16] The Dani were of the same stock and drove the Heruls from their lands. Those tribes were the tallest of men.
In the same area there were the Granni (Grenland[17]), Augandzi (Agder[18]), Eunixi, Taetel, Rugii ([19]), Arochi ([20]) and Ranii (possibly the people of Romsdalen[21]). The king Rodulf was of the Ranii but left his kingdom and joined Theodoric, king of the Goths.
External links
See also
References
- ↑ Svein Askheim. "Romerike". Store norske leksikon.
- ↑ Svein Askheim. "Øvre Romerike". Store norske leksikon.
- ↑ Svein Askheim. "Nedre Romerike". Store norske leksikon
- ↑ Nerman, B. Det svenska rikets uppkomst. Stockholm, 1925. p.46
- ↑ Ohlmarks, Å. (1994). Fornnordiskt lexikon, p.255
- ↑ Burenhult 1996:94
- ↑ Nerman 1925:36
- ↑ Nerman 1925:40
- ↑ Nerman 1925:38
- ↑ Ohlmarks 1994:10
- ↑ Nerman 1925:42ff
- ↑ Nerman 1925:44
- ↑ See Christie, Neil. The Lombards: The Ancient Longobards (The Peoples of Europe Series). ISBN 978-0-631-21197-6.
- ↑ Nerman 1925:44
- ↑ Thunberg, Carl L. (2012). Att tolka Svitjod. University of Gothenburg/CLTS. p. 44. ISBN 978-91-981859-4-2.
- ↑ Thunberg 2012:44-52.
- ↑ Nerman 1925:45
- ↑ Nerman 1925:45
- ↑ RogalandNerman 1925:45
- ↑ HordalandNerman 1925:45
- ↑ Nerman 1925:45