Kindins is a Gothic word (attested only in the Gothic Bible, translating Greek ἡγεμών) that is identified by some scholars as the vernacular title for what may have been a political or judicial position among the 4th century Goths, identified in Greek and Latin sources as a "

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

" (''iudex'', δικαστής).

Patrick J. Geary Patrick J. Geary (born September 26, 1948) is an American medieval historian. He is Professor Emeritus of Western Medieval History at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. From 2004 to 2011, he also held the title of Disting ...

described the position as a "super-royal judge". Herwig Wolfram suggested that the term also equated with the

Burgundian Burgundian can refer to any of the following: *Someone or something from Burgundy. *Burgundians, an East Germanic tribe, who first appear in history in South East Europe. Later Burgundians colonised the area of Gaul that is now known as Burgundy (F ...

''hendinos'' and carried the meaning "representative of the kindred". Peter Heather considered the word ''þiudans'' could have also been understood to mean the same designation. Heather also noted that the title of this type of judge passed from father to son through Ariaric, Aoric and Athanaric. Wolfram described the office of kindins as "the judge who, elected for the duration of a specific threat and limited in his authority to the territory of the tribal confederation, exercised special monarchical power." He noted the root of the word ''kind'' meant "race" or "lineage" and how the passage of history transformed the word kindins from its original meaning of " clan chief".

Knut Helle Knut Helle (19 December 1930 – 27 June 2015) was a Norwegian historian. A professor at the University of Bergen from 1973 to 2000, he specialized in the late medieval history of Norway. He has contributed to several large works. Early life, ed ...

referred to the position of kindins as a "war leader" that would be appointed upon a council of several reiks during special conditions in times of crisis or war. Wolfram considered Ariaric likely to have been the first reliably and independently recorded Thervingian kindins.

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