The epithet "Bavarian Geographer" ( la, Geographus Bavarus) is the conventional name for the anonymous author of a short Latin

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

text containing a list of the tribes in Central-

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

Europe, headed (). The name "Bavarian Geographer" was first bestowed (in its French form, "") in 1796 by Polish count and scholar

Jan Potocki Count Jan Potocki (; 8 March 1761 – 23 December 1815) was a Polish nobleman, ethnologist, linguist, traveller and author of the Enlightenment period, whose life and exploits made him a celebrated figure in Poland. He is known chiefly for his pi ...

. The term is now also used at times to refer to the document itself. It was the first Latin source to claim that all Slavs have originated from the same homeland, called the

Zeriuani The Zeriuani or Zeruiani was an unknown Slavic tribe mentioned by the 9th-century Bavarian Geographer (). It states that the Zeruiani "which is so great a realm that from it, as their tradition relates, all the tribes of the Slavs are sprung and tra ...

Origin and content

The short document, written in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, was discovered in 1772 in the

Bavarian State Library The Bavarian State Library (german: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the big ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

's ambassador to the Saxon court, Comte Louis-Gabriel Du Buat-Nançay. It had been acquired by the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...

s with the collection of the antiquarian Hermann Schädel (1410–85) in 1571. The document was much discussed in the early 19th-century historiography, notably by

Nikolai Karamzin Nikolay Mikhailovich Karamzin (russian: Николай Михайлович Карамзин, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ kərɐmˈzʲin; ) was a Russian Imperial historian, romantic writer, poet and critic. He is best remembered for ...

and Joachim Lelewel. The provenance of the document is disputed. Although early commentators suggested that it could have been compiled in Regensburg,

Henryk Łowmiański Henryk Łowmiański (August 22, 1898 near Ukmergė - September 4, 1984 in Poznań) was a Polish historian and academic who was an authority on the early history of the Slavic and Baltic people. A researcher of the ancient history of Poland, Lithu ...

, ''O pochodzeniu Geografa bawarskiego'', Roczniki Historyczne, R. 20, 1955, s.9–58 the list seems to have been taken from , recorded in the 9th century in the library of the

Reichenau Abbey Reichenau Abbey was a Benedictine monastery on Reichenau Island (known in Latin as Augia Dives). It was founded in 724 by the itinerant Saint Pirmin, who is said to have fled Spain ahead of the Moorish invaders, with patronage that included Charl ...

and named after a local librarian. Based on these findings, Bernhard Bischoff attributes it to a monk active at Reichenau from the 830s to 850s. Aleksandr Nazarenko finds it more probable that the list was composed in the 870s, when Saint Methodius is believed to have resided at Reichenau. The document may have been connected with his missions in the Slavic lands.

demonstrated that the list consists of two parts, which may be datable to different periods and attributed to distinct authors.Henryk Łowmiański, ''O identyfikacji nazw Geografa bawarskiego'', Studia Źródłoznawcze, t. III: 1958, s.1–22. In modern times, some scholars attribute the information from this document to be limited, because it is largely geographic in nature, and its understanding of eastern europe geography is limited, so it may be a case of

Cosmography The term cosmography has two distinct meanings: traditionally it has been the protoscience of mapping the general features of the cosmos, heaven and Earth; more recently, it has been used to describe the ongoing effort to determine the large-sca ...

Content

The document has a short introductory sentence and a list of 58 tribal names in Central-

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, East of the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Re ...

and North of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

to the

Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchm ...

river to the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

and

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

(most of them of Slavonic origin, with '' Ruzzi'', and others such as '' Vulgarii'', etc.). Absent on the list are Polans, Pomeranians and

Masovians Masovians, also spelled as Mazovians, and historically known as Masurians, is an ethnographic group of Polish people that originate from the region of Masovia, located mostly within borders of the Masovian Voivodeship, Poland. They speak the Ma ...

, tribes first of whom are believed to have settled along the shores of the

Warta The river Warta ( , ; german: Warthe ; la, Varta) rises in central Poland and meanders greatly north-west to flow into the Oder, against the German border. About long, it is Poland's second-longest river within its borders after the Vistula, a ...

river during the 8th century, as well

Dulebes The Dulebes, Dulebs, Dudlebi or Dulibyh ( uk, Дуліби) were one of the tribal unions of Early Slavs between the 6th and the 10th centuries. According to medieval sources they lived in Western Volhynia, as well as southern parts of the Duch ...

Volhynians The Volhynians ( uk , Волиняни, Volyniany, pl , Wołynianie) were an East Slavic tribe of the Early Middle Ages and the Principality of Volhynia in 987–1199. Historiography Russian Perspective Russian historiography on regions ...

and

White Croats White Croats ( hr, Bijeli Hrvati; pl, Biali Chorwaci; cz, Bílí Chorvati; uk, Білі хорвати, Bili khorvaty), or simply known as Croats, were a group of Early Slavic tribes who lived among other West and East Slavic tribes in the ar ...

, but instead mentioning several unknown tribes hard to identify. There is also some information about the number of strongholds ( la, civitates) possessed by some of the tribes, however the number in several instances seems exaggerated. The list consists of two parts, first describing the tribes in the Eastern neighborhood of

Francia Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...

(''iste sunt regiones ... nostris''), while the second or near or outside the zone of the first going in different directions. The tribes can be geographically grouped into Danubian, Silesian-Lusatian, Baltic, and Eastern Vistulan-Caspian.

List of tribes

According to Łowmiański (1958), in the first list are mentioned 1. ''Nortabtrezi'' (

Obotrites The Obotrites ( la, Obotriti, Abodritorum, Abodritos…) or Obodrites, also spelled Abodrites (german: Abodriten), were a confederation of medieval West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern Mecklenburg and Holstein in northern Germany ...

), 2. ''Uuilci'' (

Veleti The Veleti, also known as Wilzi, Wielzians, and Wiltzes, were a group of medieval Lechitic tribes within the territory of Hither Pomerania, related to Polabian Slavs. They had formed together the Confederation of the Veleti, a loose monarchic c ...

), 3. ''Linaa'' ( Linones), 4.-6.''Bethenici''-''Smeldingon'' ( Smeldingi)-''Morizani'', 7. ''Hehfeldi'' ( Hevelli), 8. ''Surbi'' ( Sorbs/Serbs), 9. ''Talaminzi'' (Daleminzi-

Glomacze The Glomacze, also Golomacze or Dolomici ( pl, Głomacze or ''Gołomacze'', german: Daleminzier) - were Polabian Slavs inhabiting areas in the middle Elbe (''Łaba'') valley. Other West Slavic tribes such as the Milceni settled east of them. About ...

), 10. ''Beheimare'' Bohemians, 11. ''Marharii'' ( Moravians), 12. ''Uulgarii'' ( Bulgars), 13. '' Merehanos'' (

Nitra Nitra (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of about 78,353, it is the fifth l ...

Moravians). In the second list are mentioned 14. ''Osterabtrezi'' (other Obotrites), 15. ''Miloxi'' (uncertain), 16. ''Phesnuzi'' (unknown), 17. ''Thadesi'' (uncertain, Tadeslo), 18. ''Glopeani'' ( Goplans), 19. '' Zuireani'' (uncertain), 20. ''Busani''

Buzhans The Buzhans () were one of the tribal unions of Early Slavs, which supposedly formed East Slavs in Southern Russia and Volga region. They are mentioned as ''Buzhane'' in the Rus' Primary Chronicle. Several localities in Russia are claimed to be co ...

, 21. ''Sittici'' (uncertain), 22. ''Stadici'' (uncertain), 23. ''

Sebbirozi The Sebbirozi was a tribe mentioned by the 9th-century Bavarian Geographer (). It states that the Sebbirozi inhabit 90 settlements (Sebbirozi habent civitates XC). Linguist Aleksander Brückner related ''Sebbirozi'' with another tribe from the sou ...

'' (uncertain), 24. ''Unlizi'' ( Ulichs), 25. ''Neriuani'' (uncertain), 26. ''Attorozi'' (uncertain), 27. ''Eptaradici'' (uncertain,

Seven Slavic tribes The Seven Slavic tribes ( bg, Седемте славянски племена, Sedemte slavyanski plemena), or the Seven clans ( bg, Седемте рода, Sedemte roda, links=no) were a union of Slavic tribes in the Danubian Plain, that was ...

), 28. ''Uuilerozi'' (uncertain), 29. '' Zabrozi'' (uncertain), 30. '' Znetalici'' ( Netolice and Neletici), 31. ''Aturezani'' (unknown), 32. ''Chozirozi'' (uncertain), 33. ''Lendizi'' (

Lendians The Lendians ( pl, Lędzianie) were a Lechitic tribe who lived in the area of East Lesser Poland and Cherven Cities between the 7th and 11th centuries. Since they were documented primarily by foreign authors whose knowledge of Central and East Eu ...

), 34. ''Thafnezi'' (unknown), 35. ''

'' (uncertain), 36. ''

Prissani The Prissani or Pyritzans ( pl, Pyrzyczanie) were a medieval tribe in Pomerania. They were first mentioned as "Prissani" with 70 civitas by the Bavarian Geographer, ca. 845.Johannes Hoops, Herbert Jankuhn, Heinrich Beck, Reallexikon der germanische ...

'', 37. ''Uelunzani'' (

Wolinians The Wolinians ( la, Velunzani, Uelunzani, pl, Wolinianie) were a Lechitic tribe in Early Middle Age Pomerania. They were first mentioned as "Velunzani" with 70 ''civitates'' by the Bavarian Geographer, ca. 845.Johannes Hoops, Herbert Jankuhn, He ...

), 38. ''Bruzi'' ( Prussians), 39. ''Uuizunbeire'' (

Volga Bulgaria Volga Bulgaria or Volga–Kama Bulgaria, was a historic Bulgar state that existed between the 7th and 13th centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama River, in what is now European Russia. Volga Bulgaria was a multi-ethnic state wi ...

), 40. ''Caziri''

Khazars The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...

), 41. ''Ruzzi'' (

Rus' people The Rusʹ (Old East Slavic: Рѹсь; Belarusian, Russian, Rusyn, and Ukrainian: Русь; Old Norse: '' Garðar''; Greek: Ῥῶς, ''Rhos'') were a people in early medieval eastern Europe. The scholarly consensus holds that they were or ...

), 42.-43. ''Forsderen''-''Liudi'' (uncertain,

Drevlians The Drevlians ( uk, Древляни, Drevliany, russian: Древля́не, Drevlyane) were a tribe of Early East Slavs between the 6th and the 10th centuries, which inhabited the territories of Polesia and right-bank Ukraine, west of the ea ...

), 44. ''Fresiti'' (unknown), 45. ''Serauici'' (unknown), 46. ''Lucolane'' (uncertain), 47. ''Ungare'' (

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...

), 48. ''Uuislane'' (

Vistulans The Vistulans, or Vistulanians ( pl, Wiślanie), were an early medieval Lechitic tribe inhabiting the western part of modern Lesser Poland."The main tribe inhabiting the reaches of the Upper Vistula and its tributaries was the Vislane (Wislanie) ...

), 49. ''Sleenzane'' (

Silesians Silesians ( szl, Ślōnzŏki or Ślůnzoki; Silesian German: ''Schläsinger'' ''or'' ''Schläsier''; german: Schlesier; pl, Ślązacy; cz, Slezané) is a geographical term for the inhabitants of Silesia, a historical region in Central Euro ...

), 50. ''Lunsizi'' (

Lusatia Lusatia (german: Lausitz, pl, Łużyce, hsb, Łužica, dsb, Łužyca, cs, Lužice, la, Lusatia, rarely also referred to as Sorbia) is a historical region in Central Europe, split between Germany and Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr ...

ns, 51. ''Dadosesani'' (Dziadoszanie), 52. ''Milzane (

Milceni The Milceni or Milzeni ( cs, Milčané; german: Milzener; pl, Milczanie) were a West Slavic tribe, who settled in the present-day Upper Lusatia region. They were first mentioned in the middle of the 9th century AD by the Bavarian Geographer, who ...

)'', 53. ''Besunzane'' (Bežunčani or Pšovans), 54. ''Uerizane'' (unknown), 55. ''Fraganeo'' (

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

), 56. ''Lupiglaa'' (uncertain), 57. ''Opolini'' ( Opolans), 58. ''

Golensizi The Golensizi ( pl, Golęszycy, Gołęszycy, Golęszyce, Gołęszyce, Gołężyce, cz, Holasici, german: Golensizen) were a tribe of West Slavs, specifically of the Lechitic tribes (one of the Silesian tribes), living in the Early Middle Ages and ...

''.

References

Bibliography

* Le comte du Buat, , T. 11. Paris 1772 *

, , Brunsvic 1796 * V. von Keltsch, , 23 (1886), s. 507 n. * A. Králiček, (1898), pp. 216–235, 340–360 * S. Zakrzewski, , Lwów 1917 * E. Kucharski, ''Polska w zapisce karolińskiej zwanej niewłaściwie "Geografem bawarskim"'', :Pamiętnik IV powszechnego Zjazdu historyków polskich, t. I, Lwów 1925, sekcja II, s. 111; * E. Kucharski, ''Zapiska karolińska zwana niewłaściwie "Geografem bawarskim"'', Sprawozdania Tow. Nauk. we Lwowie, t. V (1925), s. 81–86 * A. V. Nazarenko. . Moscow, 1993 * W. Fritze, ''Die Datierung des Geographus Bavarus'', Zschr f. Slavische Philologie, 21, Heft 2 (1952), pp. 326–242 *

,
O pochodzeniu Geografa bawarskiego
', Roczniki Historyczne, R. 20, 1955, s. 9–58; reed: w: ''Studia nad dziejami Słowiańszczyzny, Polski i Rusi w wiekach średnich'', Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, Poznań 1986, s. 104–150, *

,
O identyfikacji nazw Geografa bawarskiego
', Studia Źródłoznawcze, t. III: 1958, s. 1–22; reed: w: ''Studia nad dziejami Słowiańszczyzny, Polski i Rusi w wiekach średnich'', Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, Poznań 1986, s. 151–181, * Gerhard Billig, ''Zur Rekonstruktion der ältesten slawischen Burgbezirke im obersächsisch-meißnischen Raum auf der Grundlage des Bayerischen Geographen'', Neues Archiv für sächsische Geschichte 66 (1995), pp. 27–67 * Jerzy Nalepa, ''O nowszym ujęciu problematyki plemion słowiańskich u "Geografa Bawarskiego". Uwagi krytyczne'', Slavia Occidentalis, T. 60 (2003), s. 9–6

External links

Original Latin text in the Bayerische StaatsbibliothekEnglish translation of text.
{{Authority control 9th-century geographers Medieval German geographers 9th-century Latin books Early Slavs Anonymous works 9th-century manuscripts Slavic history Writers from the Carolingian Empire 9th-century Latin writers Lists of ancient Indo-European peoples and tribes