Reiks (; pronunciation ; Latinized as ''rix'') is a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

title for a tribal ruler, often translated as "

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

". In the

Gothic Bible The Gothic Bible or Wulfila Bible is the Christian Bible in the Gothic language spoken by the Eastern Germanic (Gothic) tribes in the early Middle Ages. The translation was allegedly made by the Arian bishop and missionary Wulfila in the f ...

, it translates to the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

'' árchōn'' (ἄρχων). It is presumably translated as '' basiliskos'' (βασιλίσκος "petty king") in the ''Passio'' of Sabbas the Goth. The Gothic

Thervingi The Thervingi, Tervingi, or Teruingi (sometimes pluralised Tervings or Thervings) were a Gothic people of the plains north of the Lower Danube and west of the Dniester River in the 3rd and the 4th centuries. They had close contacts with the G ...

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 A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categori ...

(see

Germanic king Germanic kingship is a thesis regarding the role of kings among the pre-Christianized Germanic tribes of the Migration period (c. 300–700 AD) and Early Middle Ages (c. 700–1,000 AD). The thesis holds that the institution of feudal m ...

). A reiks had a lower order of '' optimates'' 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 The Onomastics of the Gothic language (Gothic personal names) are an important source not only for the history of the Goths themselves, but for Germanic onomastics in general and the linguistic and cultural history of the Germanic Heroic Age of c ...

, 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 the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

, with kings given names such as Childeric, and it survives in modern German and Scandinavian names such as '' Ulrich'', '' Erik'', ''

Dietrich Dietrich () is an ancient German name meaning "Ruler of the People.” Also "keeper of the keys" or a "lockpick" either the tool or the profession. Given name * Dietrich, Count of Oldenburg (c. 1398 – 1440) * Thierry of Alsace (german: Dietri ...

'', '' Heinrich'', ''

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stro ...

'', '' Friedrich''.

References

{{Reflist Positions of authority Titles Early Germanic law Goths

See also

References