Bavarian Geographer

Last updated

The epithet "Bavarian Geographer" (Latin : Geographus Bavarus) is the conventional name for the anonymous author of a short Latin medieval text containing a list of the tribes in Central-Eastern Europe, headed Descriptio civitatum et regionum ad septentrionalem plagam Danubii ( Latin for 'Description of cities and lands north of the Danube ').

Contents

The name "Bavarian Geographer" was first bestowed (in its French form, "Géographe de Bavière") in 1796 by Polish count and scholar Jan Potocki. [1] 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. [2]

Origin

Source text of document

Descriptio civitatum et regionum ad septentrionalem plagam Danubii. Isti sunt qui propinquiores resident finibus Danaorum, quos vocant Nortabtrezi, ubi regio, in qua sunt civitates LIII per duces suos partite. Uuilci, in qua civitates XCV et regiones IIII. Linaa est populus, qui habet civitates VII. Prope illis resident, quos vocant Bethenici et Smeldingon et Morizani, qui habent civitates XI. Iuxta illos sunt, qui vocantur Hehfeldi, qui habent civitates VIII. Iuxta illos est regio, que vocatur Surbi, in qua regione plures sunt, que habent civitates L. Iuxta illos sunt quos vocant Talaminzi, qui habent civitates XIII. Beheimare, in qua sunt civitates XV. Marharii habent civitates XL. Uulgarii regio est inmensa et populus multus habens civitates V, eo quod mutitudo magna ex eis sit et non sit eis opus civitates habere. Est populus quem vocant Merehanos, ipsi habent civitates XXX. Iste sunt regiones, que terminant in finibus nostris.

Isti sunt, qui iuxta istorum fines resident. Osterabtrezi, in qua civitates plus quam C sunt. Miloxi, in qua civitates LXVII. Phesnuzi habent civitates LXX. Thadesi plus quam CC urbes habent. Glopeani, in qua civitates CCCC aut eo amplius. Zuireani habent civitates CCCXXV. Busani habent civitates CCXXXI. Sittici regio inmensa populis et urbibus munitissimis. Stadici, in qua civitates DXVI populousque infinitus. Sebbirozi habent civitates XC. Unlizi populus multus civitates CCCCXVIII. Neriuani habent civitates LXXVIII. Attorozi habent civitates CXLVIII, populus ferocissimus. Eptaradici habent civitates CCLXIII. Uuilerozi habent civitates CLXXX. Zabrozi habent civitates CCXII. Znetalici habent civitates LXXIIII. Aturezani habent civitates CIIII. Chozirozi habent civitates CCL. Lendizi habent civitates XCVIII. Thafnezi habent civitates CCLVII. Zeriuani, quod tantum est regnum, ut ex eo cuncte genetes Sclauorum exorte sint et originem, sicut affirmant, ducant. Prissani civitates LXX. Uelunzani civitates LXX. Bruzi plus est undique quam de Enisa ad Rhenum Uuizunbeire Caziri civitates C. Ruzzi. Forsderen. Liudi. Fresiti. Serauici. Lucolane. Ungare. Uuislane. Sleenzane civitates XV. Lunsizi civitates XXX. Dadosesani civitates XX. Milzane civitates XXX. Besunzane civitates II. Uerizane civitates X. Fraganeo civitates XL. Lupiglaa civitates XXX. Opolini civitates XX. Golensizi civitates V.

The short document, written in Latin, was discovered in 1772 in the Bavarian State Library, Munich by Louis XV's ambassador to the Saxon court, Comte Louis-Gabriel Du Buat-Nançay. [3] It had been acquired by the Wittelsbachs 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 and Joachim Lelewel. [4]

The provenance of the document is disputed. Although early commentators suggested that it could have been compiled in Regensburg, [5] the list seems to have been taken from Codex Reginbertinus II, recorded in the 9th century in the library of the Reichenau Abbey and named after a local librarian. [6] Based on these findings, Bernhard Bischoff attributes it to a monk active at Reichenau from the 830s to 850s. [7] 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. [8] Henryk Łowmiański demonstrated that the list consists of two parts, which may be datable to different periods and attributed to distinct authors. [9]

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 European geography is limited, so it may be a case of cosmography. [10]

Content

The document has a short introductory sentence and a list of 58 tribal names in Central-Eastern Europe, East of the Elbe and North of the Danube to the Volga river to the Black Sea and Caspian Sea (most of them of Slavonic origin, with Ruzzi , and others such as Vulgarii , etc.). [5] Absent on the list are Polans, Pomeranians and Masovians, tribes first of whom are believed to have settled along the shores of the Warta river during the 8th century, [11] as well Dulebes, Volhynians and White Croats, but instead mentioning several unknown tribes hard to identify. [12] There is also some information about the number of strongholds (Latin : civitates) possessed by some of the tribes, however the number in several instances seems exaggerated. [5] [9] The list consists of two parts, first describing the tribes in the Eastern neighborhood of Francia (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. [5] [9]

List of tribes

According to Łowmiański (1958), in the first list are mentioned:

In the second list are mentioned:

Related Research Articles

<i>Lorem ipsum</i> Placeholder text used in publishing and graphic design

In publishing and graphic design, Lorem ipsum is a placeholder text commonly used to demonstrate the visual form of a document or a typeface without relying on meaningful content. Lorem ipsum may be used as a placeholder before the final copy is available. It is also used to temporarily replace text in a process called greeking, which allows designers to consider the form of a webpage or publication, without the meaning of the text influencing the design.

Theodoric was an antipope in 1100 and 1101, in the schism that began with Wibert of Ravenna in 1080, in opposition to the excesses of Pope Gregory VII and in support of the Emperor Henry IV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drevlians</span> Ethnic group

The Drevlians or Derevlianians 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 eastern Polans and along the lower reaches of the rivers Teteriv, Uzh, Ubort, and Stsviha. To the west, the Drevlians' territories reached the Sluch River, where the Volynians and Buzhans lived. To the north, the Drevlians' neighbors were the Dregovichs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polabian Slavs</span> Collective term applied to a number of West Slavic tribes

Polabian Slavs, also known as Elbe Slavs and more broadly as Wends, is a collective term applied to a number of Lechitic tribes who lived scattered along the Elbe river in what is today eastern Germany. The approximate territory stretched from the Baltic Sea in the north, the Saale and the Limes Saxoniae in the west, the Ore Mountains and the Western Sudetes in the south, and Poland in the east.

<i>Pro Archia Poeta</i>

Cicero's oration Pro Archia Poeta is the published literary form of his defense of Aulus Licinius Archias, a poet accused of not being a Roman citizen. The accusation is believed to have been a political move against Lucullus through Archias. The poet was originally Greek but had been living in Rome for an extended period of time. A letter from Cicero to Titus Pomponius Atticus in the year following the trial makes mention of Archias, but there is no conclusive evidence about the outcome of the trial. The oration was rediscovered in Liège by Petrarch in 1333.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slavník dynasty</span>

The Slavniks/Slavníks or Slavnikids was a dynasty in the Duchy of Bohemia during the 10th century. It is considered to be of White Croats origin. The center of the semi-independent principality was the gord of Libice located at the confluence of the rivers Cidlina and Elbe. The Slavníks competed with the Přemyslid dynasty for control over Bohemia and eventually succumbed to them.

Podaga is a Polabian deity who had his statue in a temple in Plön. Mentioned only in Helmold's Chronicle, which does not give a depiction or function of the deity.

Among the Slavs there are many modes of idolatry and not all of them coincide with the same kind of superstition. Some create in their temples statues of fantastic forms, such as the idol of Plön, who is called Podaga, others live in forests and groves, as is the case of the god Prone of Oldenburg, of whom no image exists.

A responsory or respond is a type of chant in western Christian liturgies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurices</span> Rabbit fetus eaten as a meat dish

The term laurices refers to the fetus of the rabbit prepared without evisceration and consumed as a table delicacy. The word is the plural of the Latin word laurex, assumed to have been borrowed from an Iberian source. The word is normally found in the plural number, since, due to their size, more than one would be served at a time. The rabbit was adopted by the Romans from Hispania, whence it spread over western Europe, as did likewise the custom of consuming laurices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lendians</span>

The Lendians 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 Europe geography was often vague, they were recorded by different names, which include Lendzanenoi, Lendzaninoi, Lz’njn, Lachy, Lyakhs, Landzaneh, Lendizi, Licicaviki and Litziki.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eustorgius I</span>

Eustorgius I was bishop of Milan from 343 to about 349. He is honoured as a Saint in both the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. His feast day is on the September 18.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1185 papal election</span> Election of Pope Urban III

The 1185 papal election was a convoked after the death of Pope Lucius III. It resulted in the election of Cardinal Uberto Crivelli of Milan, who took the name of Urban III.

<i>Theatrum Chemicum</i>

Theatrum Chemicum is a compendium of early alchemical writings published in six volumes over the course of six decades. The first three volumes were published in 1602, while the final sixth volume was published in its entirety in 1661. Theatrum Chemicum remains the most comprehensive collective work on the subject of alchemy ever published in the Western world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dusios</span> Celtic divine being

In the Gaulish language, Dusios was a divine being among the continental Celts who was identified with the god Pan of ancient Greek religion and with the gods Faunus, Inuus, Silvanus, and Incubus of ancient Roman religion. Like these deities, he might be seen as multiple in nature, and referred to in the plural (dusioi), most commonly in Latin as dusii. Although the Celtic Dusios is not described in late-antique sources independently of Greek and Roman deities, the common functionality of the others lay in their ability to impregnate animals and women, often by surprise or force. Dusii continue to play a role in the magico-religious belief systems of Gaul and Francia as a type of incubus in early-medieval paganism and Christianity.

The Zeriuani or Zeruiani was an unknown Slavic tribe mentioned by the 9th-century Bavarian Geographer (BG). 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 trace their origin". It was the first Latin source to claim that all Slavs have originated from the same homeland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sorbs (tribe)</span>

The Sorbs, also known as Serbs or White Serbs in Serbian historiography, were an Early Slavic tribe settled between Saale-Elbe valley up to Lusatian Neisse. They were part of the Polabian Slavs and Wends group of Early Slavs. In the 7th century, the tribe joined Samo's Empire and part of them emigrated from their homeland White Serbia to the Southeast Europe. The tribe is last mentioned in the late 10th century, but its descendants can be found among Germanized people of Saxony and Slavic ethnic group of Sorbs in Lusatia, and Serbs in Southeastern Europe.

The Merehani was a Slavic tribe mentioned by the Bavarian Geographer. They are often connected to the Moravians (Marhari), although some scholars believe that the tribe was separate.

The Sebbirozi was a tribe mentioned by the 9th-century Bavarian Geographer (BG). It states that the Sebbirozi inhabit 90 settlements.

Ablabius is thought to be either a historian, a geographer or ethnographer, who had written about the Goths, and whose work is cited by the influential 6th century historian of the Goths, Jordanes. Since Jordanes himself states that he based his own work on recollections of reading a work on Gothic history, now lost, composed by Cassiodorus, Ablabius has traditionally been thought of as a source also for the latter work, though this view has met with considerable scepticism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Svarozhits</span> Slavic god of fire

Svarozhits, Svarozhich is a Slavic god of fire, son of Svarog. One of the few Pan-Slavic gods. He is most likely identical with Radegast, less often identified with Dazhbog.

References

  1. ↑ J. Potocki. Fragments historiques et geographiques sur la Scythie, Sarmatie, et les Slaves. Brunsvic, 1796.
  2. ↑ Curta, Florin (2019). Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages (500-1300) (2 Vols). Boston: BRILL. p. 44. ISBN   978-90-04-39519-0. OCLC   1111434007.
  3. ↑ Le comte du Buat. Histoire ancienne des peuples de l'Europe. T. 11. Paris, 1772.
  4. ↑ J. Lelewel. Winulska Sławiańszczyzna z Geografa bawarskiego, Tygodnik Wileński, nr 47, z dn. 8 paźdzernika 1816, s. 333, i w nastęnych numerach 48–50. Also: Joachim Lelewel, Geographe du Moyen Age III, Bruxelles 1852, s.21–45.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Henryk Łowmiański, O pochodzeniu Geografa bawarskiego, Roczniki Historyczne, R. 20, 1955, s.9–58
  6. ↑ The codex contains Boethius's treatise on geometry. See: Novy R. Die Anfänge des böhmischen Staates, 1: Mitteleuropa im 9. Jh. Praha, 1969.
  7. ↑ Bernhard Bischoff. Die südostdeutschen Schreibschulen und Bibliotheken in der Karolingerzeit. Bd. 1.2. Aufl. Wiesbaden, 1960.
  8. ↑ А. В. Назаренко. Древняя Русь на международных путях: Междисциплинарные очерки культурных, торговых, политических связей IX–XII веков. Moscow, 2001. Pages 52–70.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Henryk Łowmiański, O identyfikacji nazw Geografa bawarskiego, Studia Źródłoznawcze, t. III: 1958, s.1–22.
  10. ↑ Curta, Florin (2019). Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages (500-1300) (2 Vols). Boston: BRILL. p. 26. ISBN   978-90-04-39519-0. OCLC   1111434007.
  11. ↑ Andrzej Buko: Archeologia Polski wczesnośredniowiecznej: odkrycia, hipotezy, interpretacje. Warszawa, 2005.
  12. ↑ Koncha, S. (2012). "Bavarian Geographer On Slavic Tribes From Ukraine" (PDF). Ukrainian Studies. 12. Bulletin of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv: 15–21.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.