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The Guduscani or Goduscani () were a tribe whose location and origin on the territory of early medieval Croatia remains a matter of dispute. According to different hypotheses, they were a tribe or clan of Croat, Slavic, Avaric or Gothic origin that was located around present-day
Gacka The Gacka is a river located in the Lika region of central Croatia. Because for a large part of its course it is a subterranean river, estimates of its length vary. The aboveground part has undergone substantial human intervention – before it ...
(
Lika Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by t ...
), between upper
Kupa River The Kupa () or Kolpa ( or ; from in Roman times; ) river, a right tributary of the Sava, forms a natural border between north-west Croatia and southeast Slovenia. It is long, with a length of serving as the border between Croatia and Slovenia ...
and the
Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...
n coast, or that were inhabitants around the river Guduča near the Bribir region.


Etymology

They are mentioned three times in the '' Frankish Annals'' (''Guduscani'', ''Guduscanorum'', ''Guduscanis'') and twice in ''
Vita Hludovici ''Vita Hludovici'' or ''Vita Hludovici Imperatoris'' (The Life of Louis or the Life of the Emperor Louis) is an anonymous biography of Louis the Pious, Holy Roman Emperor and King of the Franks from AD 814 to 840. Author The work was written ...
'' (''Goduscanorum'').
Petar Skok Petar Skok (; 1 March 1881 – 3 February 1956) was a Croatian linguist and onomastics, onomastician. His central work is the four-volume etymological dictionary of Serbo-Croatian. Biography Skok was born to a Croatian family in the village of J ...
and
Radoslav Katičić Radoslav Katičić (; 3 July 1930 – 10 August 2019) was a Croatian and Yugoslav linguist, classical philologist, Indo-Europeanist, Slavist and Indologist, one of the most prominent Croatian scholars in the humanities. Biography Radoslav Ka ...
derived their ethnonym from Proto-Slavic ''*gъd-'', similar to Proto-Prussian ''gude'' in the meaning of "forest". Skok, and
Petar Šimunović Petar Šimunović (19 February 1933 – 5 August 2014) was a Croatian linguist, onomastician, dialectologist, lexicographer, and academic member of HAZU. He was considered as the most prominent Croatian Onomastics, onomastician (since the second ...
, also derived it from Proto-Slavic ''*gadъ'' (''Constantine VII Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, an ...
(905–959) mentioned in his work ''
De Administrando Imperio (; ) is a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII. It is a domestic and foreign policy manual for the use of Constantine's son and successor, the Emperor Romanos II. It is a prominent example of Byz ...
'' a ''
županija A ''županija'' (singular; plural ''županije'') is a Croatian term for administrative subdivisions. The etymology is the South Slavic term '' Župa'', which means parish in Croatian. The similar Slovene term župnija is used to mean that. Th ...
'' in Croatia in the 10th century called "Gūtzēkă" ("*Gъtьska"), which is translated as
Gacka The Gacka is a river located in the Lika region of central Croatia. Because for a large part of its course it is a subterranean river, estimates of its length vary. The aboveground part has undergone substantial human intervention – before it ...
. Scholars tried to connect toponym Gacka with the
ethnonym An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and used ...
of the Guduscani (*Gъdъska, with "d" instead of "t" due to Frankish misunderstanding, original form being *Gъtаne, *Gъtьci > *Gъtьča > *Gъčani > Gačani), but although it is not certain that the toponym got its name from the ethnonym, the Latin suffix "-anus" shows that the name Guduscani merely had territorial meaning of the "inhabitants of Gacka". The hypothetical derivation from the toponym of Roman city of ''Guduscum'' (
Kučevo Kučevo ( sr-cyr, Кучево, ; ) is a town and municipality located in the Braničevo District of the Southern and Eastern Serbia, eastern Serbia. In 2022, the population of the town was 3,313, while the population of the municipality was 11,80 ...
in Serbia) is rejected by now because such a toponym never existed. The theory relating their name to the name of
Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...
is problematic because the suffix indicates that the ethnonym originates from name of a place and not people.


History

In the '' Frankish Annals'', the Guduscani are mentioned as allies to the Carolingians, and the ''Duke'' Borna is mentioned as ''"dux Dalmaciae", "dux Dalmatiae et Liburniae"'' and ''"dux Guduscanorum"''. However, there exist different semantic readings of the source, some saying that Borna was the duke of Guduscani, or of Guduscani and
Timočani The Timočani (also Timochani, or Timochans; Serbian and Bulgarian: Тимочани) were a medieval South Slavic tribe that lived in the territory of present-day eastern Serbia, west of the Timok River, as well as in the regions of Banat, Sy ...
or a separate duke from both of them. Borna seemingly was the first titled duke, i.e. prince (dux) of Guduscani, which indicates that the Guduscans initially could have been the temporary basis of Borna's authority and could have occupied a much larger territory from Bribir (river Guduča, a confluence of Krka river) in
Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...
to
Gacka The Gacka is a river located in the Lika region of central Croatia. Because for a large part of its course it is a subterranean river, estimates of its length vary. The aboveground part has undergone substantial human intervention – before it ...
in
Lika Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by t ...
, south of Lower Pannonia. The old consideration that the Guduscani originated from the territory of
Moesia Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; ) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River. As a Roman domain Moesia was administered at first by the governor of Noricum as 'Civitates of Moesia and Triballi ...
(present-day
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
) and that together with the Timočani became allies of the Franks is disputable due to lack of evidence and arguments. In 818 they were part of an envoy of Borna sent with the other South Slavic tribes (''nationes'') of Timočani and
Praedenecenti Praedenecenti, also known as the Danubian Abodrites or Obotrites, were an early medieval Slavic tribe, that lived in the Great Danubian plain, to the east of the river Danube, in the buffer zone between the Carolingian Empire, Carolingian and Fi ...
(possibly an off-shot of Abodrites) to the court of
Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...
in
Herstal Herstal (; ), formerly known as Heristal, or Héristal (), is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city of Wallonia located in the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. It lies along the Meuse river. Herst ...
. Some scholars also related them to the Khashānīn (possibly
Kashubians The Kashubians (; ; ), also known as Cassubians or Kashubs, are a Lechitic ( West Slavic) ethnic group native to the historical region of Pomerania, including its eastern part called Pomerelia, in north-central Poland. Their settlement area is ...
) mentioned by
Al-Masudi al-Masʿūdī (full name , ), –956, was a historian, geographer and traveler. He is sometimes referred to as the "Herodotus of the Arabs". A polymath and prolific author of over twenty works on theology, history (Islamic and universal), geo ...
. In 819 alongside Borna fought against
Ljudevit Ljudevit () is a Croatian masculine given name. The name comes from the word ''ljudi'', meaning ''people''. The name Ljudevit is also used as a translation of foreign names such as Ludwig or Louis. Ljudevit may refer to: * Ljudevit (Lower Pannon ...
, the Duke of the
Slavs in Lower Pannonia Early Slavs settled in the eastern and southern parts of the former Roman province of Pannonia. The term ''Lower Pannonia'', was used to designate those areas of the Pannonian Plain that lie to the east and south of the river Rába, with the ...
. They were part of the army of Borna against Ljudevit at the
Battle of Kupa The Battle of Kupa occurred at Kupa river in 819. It involved Frankish vassal Duke Borna of Littoral Croatia, with an army of Guduscani, against the advancing army of Frankish rebel, Duke Ljudevit of Pannonian Croatia. During the battle, the ...
(819) but deserted before the battle. Borna conquered their lands again upon returning from the battle.


Identity

Seemingly only after the fall of Guduscani, and during the time of Mislav or
Trpimir Trpimir is a Croatian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Trpimir I of Croatia (died c. 864), medieval Croatian duke * Trpimir II of Croatia (died c. 935), medieval Croatian king * Trpimir Kutle (born 1976), Croatian ...
, was imposed a dynasty with undisputed Croatian identity which legitimized and spread it further. Depending on the interpretation of the Byzantine and Frankish sources, some historians consider them to be a tribe separate from the Croats and that the emergence of the Croatian political identity and power is not related to the region of Lika yet of Northern Dalmatia. Some argue that Borna possibly was their gentile chieftain and they represented only one small tribe among others in medieval Croatia. However, Borna most probably was not a member of the Guduscani because they later deserted him and got reconquered. The events and their behavior indicates that Guduscani were a separate identity and group from the Croats in Dalmatia, possibly related to the account of Avars living in Croatia from ''
De Administrando Imperio (; ) is a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII. It is a domestic and foreign policy manual for the use of Constantine's son and successor, the Emperor Romanos II. It is a prominent example of Byz ...
'' and that were more similar or shared more history with Pannonian Slavs than Croats. The view that the Guduscani were Gothic remnants is not widely accepted, as the state of the Goths was in Italy and it ceased to exist in the mid-6th century, while their presence in the former
Roman province of Dalmatia Dalmatia was a Roman province. Its name is derived from the name of an Illyrian tribe called the Dalmatae, which lived in the central area of the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It encompassed the northern part of present-day Albania, much of ...
and
Liburnia Liburnia () in ancient geography was the land of the Liburnians, a region along the northeastern Adriatic coast in Europe, in modern Croatia, whose borders shifted according to the extent of the Liburnian dominance at a given time between 11th ...
was not dominant, however, there were Valagoths as well in the region.


References


Sources

* * * * * * {{Slavic ethnic groups (VII-XII century) Medieval history of Croatia South Slavic tribes 9th century in Croatia 10th century in Croatia History of Lika