Reidgotaland, Reidgothland, Reidgotland, Hreidgotaland or Hreiðgotaland was a land mentioned in
Germanic heroic legend
Germanic heroic legend (german: germanische Heldensage) is the heroic literary tradition of the Germanic-speaking peoples, most of which originates or is set in the Migration Period (4th-6th centuries AD). Stories from this time period, to which ...
(mentioned in the
Scandinavian sagas as well as the Anglo-Saxon
Widsith
"Widsith" ( ang, Wīdsīþ, "far-traveller", lit. "wide-journey"), also known as "The Traveller's Song", is an Old English poem of 143 lines. It survives only in the ''Exeter Book'', a manuscript of Old English poetry compiled in the late-10th c ...
) usually interpreted as the land of the
Goths
The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...
.
Etymology and Location
Oddly, ''hreiðr'' can mean "bird's nest" and perhaps it was a kenning for the Goths tradition of moving and "nesting" in new territories, but ''hreið-'' is also a name-prefix meaning "beautiful", "eager", "great", "famous", "noble". Another possibility is that it was originally ''reið'' "ride, journey" (see Raidô). The use of the prefix is simple as the same tribal name was used for the Gutes of Gotland. The identification of the territory varies between the sources. This is the list of meanings given by Nordisk familjebok:
# The Island of Gotland.
# Götaland.
# The land of the
Goths
The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...
, i.e. Gothiscandza and their later territories. In Hervarar saga, it was the same as Oium and bordered the land of the Huns from which it was separated by Myrkviðr.
# The territories of the
Goths
The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...
in southern Europe, according to Anglo-Saxon language, Anglo-Saxon sources.
# Denmark and Sweden (according to Snorri's Edda it was the earthly kingdom of Odin).
# Denmark.
# Jutland.
The second edition of Nordisk familjebok explains that Hreidgoths was originally applied to the Ostrogoths in south-eastern Europe. It appears as hraiþkutum ''hręiðgotum'' on the Rök Stone in Östergötland. In Hervarar saga, the name ''Hreiðgotaland'' is applied to the territories of the Ostrogoths in south-eastern Europe. In Widsith, the traveller has been with the ''Hreðgotum'', ruled by Ermanaric, Eormanrīc, historic king of the Goths. In Snorri's Edda, it is either applied to Jutland or to Scandinavia as a whole, while the islands are called ''Eygotaland''.
In the Legendary sagas however, Eygotaland is used only for the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea.
See also
* Ermanaric
* Oium
* Chernyakhov culture
*
Goths
The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...
Footnotes
Saga locations
Goths
Tyrfing cycle
Exonyms
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