The Varini, Warni or Warini were one or more

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and e ...

who originally lived in what is now northeastern Germany, near the

Baltic sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

. They are first named in the

Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

, and appear to have survived into the

Middle Ages 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 ...

. It is proposed that in

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

they were called Werns or Warns.

Name and etymology

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

spelled the name as ,

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

as ,

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...

as (),

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman gen ...

as (). Later attestations include or in the Old English ''

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 ...

'', and in the '. The name supposedly meant either "defenders" or "living by the river" (from the Indo-European root "water, rain, river").

Attestations

Classical

The earliest mention of this tribe appears in

's '' Natural History'' (published about 77 AD). He wrote that there were five Germanic races, and one of these were the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...

. These included the '' Burgodiones'', the ''Varinnae'', the Charini (not known from any other record) and the

Gutones The Gutones (also spelled Guthones, Gotones etc) were a Germanic people who were reported by Roman era writers in the 1st and 2nd centuries to have lived in what is now Poland. The most accurate description of their location, by the geographer Ptol ...

(

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 ...

). Tacitus (about AD 56 – 120) gave the most information about the Varini in his '' Germania''. He mentioned them as one of a group of remote Suevian peoples, living beyond (north and/or east of) the Semnones and

Langobardi The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...

(who lived near 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 ...

). He did not mention that they were Vandili. : Roman Empire 125

Surviving versions of the second century ''Geography'' by

included the (Greek ) in the description of ''Germania'', but these are difficult to interpret and have apparently become corrupted. These describe the Viruni as being near the otherwise unknown ''"Teutonoari"''. Gudmund Schütte suggested that this name is an error combining the

Teutones The Teutons ( la, Teutones, , grc, Τεύτονες) were an ancient northern European tribe mentioned by Roman authors. The Teutons are best known for their participation, together with the Cimbri and other groups, in the Cimbrian War with th ...

and "Aoaroi", and would equate the later to the Varini (''Ouarni'') as a doubling-up error. Together these two peoples were surrounded by: *The Elbe to their west. Schütte (e.g. p. 34) reconstructs Ptolomy's intentions in such a way that the Langobards were living in this area. *A river called the ''Chalusus'' to the east, beyond which the surviving versions of Ptolemy's ''Geography'' name the Teutones and Avarni. Schütte (p. 44) proposes to be a doubling-up of the same two peoples supposedly west of this river. West of them, in turn is another unknown river the "Suevos" and a people called the Aelvaeones. *

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

to their north, between Elbe and Chalusus. Some scholars such as Matthias Springer believe the text originally said "

Aviones The Aviones or Auiones (*''Awioniz'' meaning "island people") were one of the Nerthus-worshipping Germanic tribes of the 1st century mentioned by Tacitus in '' Germania'', and they lived either in the southern Jutland Peninsula, or on Öland. They ...

".). To the east of these Saxons over the Chalusus, are the Farodini (otherwise unknown). *The large Suevian people the Semnones, to their south, whose territory also stretches east of the Chalusus, as far as the Suevos. This is perhaps in the area of

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...

, where one of the main rivers is

Warnow The Warnow () is a river in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany. It flows into the Baltic Sea near the town of Rostock, in its borough Warnemünde. The source of the Warnow is in Grebbin, a small village north of Parchim, at the wes ...

and a town is called

Warnemünde (, literally ''Mouth of the Warnow'') is a seaside resort and a district of the city of Rostock in Mecklenburg, Germany. It is located on the Baltic Sea and, as the name implies, at the estuary of the river Warnow. is one of the world's busi ...

. Ptolemy also plotted the position of a town named ''Virunum'' at 40°30' longitude and 55° latitude using his system. This was however east of the Chalusus river, between the "Suevus" and "Viadua" rivers, which both lay between the Chalusus and the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

according to him. The town () has been identified as somewhere near modern-day

Drawsko Pomorskie Drawsko Pomorskie (until 1948 pl, Drawsko; formerly german: Dramburg) is a town in Drawsko County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland, the administrative seat of Drawsko County and the urban-rural commune of Gmina Drawsko Po ...

Late antiquity

The Warini were mentioned by

in the 6th century, implying that the Varini had a very large territory in his time. Procopius situates the bordering the Franks, with only the river

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

between them, but also stretching to the coast. Their king Hermegisclus had made a strategic alliance with the Frankish ruler

Theudebert I Theudebert I (french: Thibert/Théodebert) ( 500 – 547 or 548) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia from 533 to his death in 548. He was the son of Theuderic I and the father of Theudebald. Sources Most of what we know about Theudebert comes f ...

(ruler Austrasia 533-547), marrying his sister Theudechild. However, in contrast he had engaged his son with the sister of the Anglian ruler. Before his death he expressed the wish to have his son married to his stepmother Theudechild instead. As a result when king Hermegisclus died, the Warinis compelled his son Radigis to marry his stepmother. The maiden, who is not named in the story, did not accept this, and crossed the North Sea with an army of 400 ships and 100.000 men, seeking retaliation. After a battle won by the Anglians, Radigis was caught hiding in a wood not far from the mouth of the Rhine and had no other choice than to marry his fiancée. He also wrote in passing that when the

Heruls The Heruli (or Herules) were an early Germanic peoples, Germanic people. Possibly originating in Scandinavia, the Heruli are first mentioned by Ancient Rome, Roman authors as one of several "Scythians, Scythian" groups raiding Roman provinces in t ...

(Eruli) had been defeated by the

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the '' History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...

, some of them moved to

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

(which he called

Thule Thule ( grc-gre, Θούλη, Thoúlē; la, Thūlē) is the most northerly location mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman literature and cartography. Modern interpretations have included Orkney, Shetland, northern Scotland, the island of Saar ...

). When other Heruls sought to find them years later, they crossed 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 ...

(Ister), went through the lands of the Slavs (Sclaveni) and after a barren region, they came to the land of the Warni. After these Warni they passed through the land of the Danes, and then crossed the sea from there to Scandinavia, where they found them living with the Geats (Gautoi). Others, however, question Procopius's reliability for this northern region. Modern scholars claim that the area north of the Rhine may have been under Frankish control during the greater parts of the 6th and 7th centuries, at least since the defeat of the Danish sea-king

Hygelac Hygelac ( ang, Hygelāc; non, Hugleikr; gem-x-proto, Hugilaikaz; la, Ch(l)ochilaicus or ''Hugilaicus''; died 521) was a king of the Geats according to the poem ''Beowulf''. It is Hygelac's presence in the poem which has allowed scholars to ...

in 526. According to the chronicle of

Fredegar The ''Chronicle of Fredegar'' is the conventional title used for a 7th-century Frankish chronicle that was probably written in Burgundy. The author is unknown and the attribution to Fredegar dates only from the 16th century. The chronicle begin ...

the ''Varni'' or ''Warni'' rebelled against the Merovingian Franks in 594 and were bloodily defeated by

Childebert II Childebert II (c.570–596) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia (which included Provence at the time) from 575 until his death in March 596, as the only son of Sigebert I and Brunhilda of Austrasia; and the king of Burgundy from 592 to his ...

in 595 (the year he died) "so that few of them survived". The Warini also appear in the title of a 9th-century legal codex, '' Lex Angliorum, Werinorum hoc est Thuringorum'' (Law of the Angles and Warini, that is, of the Thuringians), which has much in common with Frankisch, Frisian and Saxon law codes. Recent research suggests that they were part of a Thuringian federation, which dominated Northern Germany from Atilla's death in 453 to the middle of the 6th century when they were crushed by the Franks. Their military fame might explain why the names of the Warini and Thuringians have been mentioned in a much wider area, extending even beyond the Rhine. Their home country seems to have been the district between the rivers Saale and Elster, which was called ''Werenofeld'' (around

Eisleben Eisleben is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is famous as both the hometown of the influential theologian Martin Luther and the place where he died; hence, its official name is Lutherstadt Eisleben. First mentioned in the late 10th century, E ...

). When the region east of the Elbe became Slavic-speaking, a group in this region continued to be called Warnabi, perhaps representing assimilated Varni. The Warini are mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon poem ''

'' as the ''Wærne'' or ''Werne''. The name Billing, mentioned in ''Widsith'', might be related to the ancestors of the Saxon

Billung The House of Billung was a dynasty of Saxon noblemen in the 9th through 12th centuries. The first known member of the house was Count Wichmann, mentioned as a Billung in 811. Oda, the wife of Count Liudolf, oldest known member of the Liudol ...

-family.

References

External links