Reiks (; pronunciation ;
Latinized as ''rix'') is a
Gothic title for a tribal ruler, often translated as "
king
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
".
In the
Gothic Bible
The Gothic Bible or Wulfila Bible is the Christian Bible in the Gothic language, which was spoken by the Eastern Germanic (Goths, Gothic) tribes in the Early Middle Ages.
The translation was allegedly made by the Arianism, Arian bishop and m ...
, it translates to the
Greek ''
árchōn'' (ἄρχων).
It is presumably translated as ''
basiliskos'' (βασιλίσκος "petty king") in the ''Passio'' of
Sabbas the Goth.
The Gothic
Thervingi were divided into subdivisions of territory and people called ''kunja'' (singular ''
kuni'', cognate with English ), led by a ''reiks''. In times of a common threat, one of the reiks would be selected as a ''
kindins'', or head of the empire (translated as "judge", Latin ''iudex'', Greek δικαστής).
Herwig Wolfram suggested the position was different from the Roman definition of a ''
rex'' ("king") and is better described as that of a
tribal chief (see
Germanic king).
A reiks had a lower order of ''
optimates
''Optimates'' (, ; Latin for "best ones"; ) and ''populares'' (; Latin for "supporters of the people"; ) are labels applied to politicians, political groups, traditions, strategies, or ideologies in the late Roman Republic. There is "heated ...
'' or ''megistanes'' (μεγιστάνες, presumably translating ''mahteigs'') beneath him on whom he could call on for support.
[Béla Köpeczi, ''History of Transylvania: From the beginnings to 1606'', Social Science Monographs, 2001, p. 163.]
It also figures prominently as second element in
Gothic names, Latinized and often anglicized as ''-ric'', such as in
Theoderic (''Þiuda-reiks'').
The use of the suffix extended into the
Merovingian dynasty
The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...
, with kings given names such as
Childeric,
and it survives in modern German and Scandinavian names such as ''
Ulrich'', ''
Erik'', ''
Dietrich'', ''
Heinrich'', ''
Richard
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...
'', ''
Friedrich''.
See also
*
Germanic king
*
Reich
( ; ) is a German word whose meaning is analogous to the English word " realm". The terms and are respectively used in German in reference to empires and kingdoms. In English usage, the term " Reich" often refers to Nazi Germany, also ca ...
*
King of the Visigoths
*
King of the Ostrogoths
References
{{Reflist
Positions of authority
Titles
Early Germanic law
Goths