- The population on Gotland cannot ever have been big enough to account for the size of Goth armies and regional domination.
- What little there is of recorded Goth language indicate that they spoke a Germanic language closer related to German than Swedish.
While this looks well reasoned, it's far from convincing. It relies on the assumption that the Goths operated as a modern nation. It presumes a central organization that may never have existed. Once we open for the possibility that the Goths operated more in the vein of a modern corporation, with franchises, rather than a nation, we see that evidence weighs heavily towards the original and literal interpretation of history, namely that the Goths had their origin on Gotland.
The first thing to note is the unusually rich archaeological finds of treasures on Gotland. Gold and silver coins from as far away as Arabia, Persia and Rome have been found in great quantities, indicating that Gotland has for ages formed an important trading hub. Pelts, steel, and tools produced in Scandinavia were sent south, with spices, silk and gold going the other way. To safeguard the trade, people from Gotland would have had to establish strongholds along the trading routs. A system of private security forces would have been established.
The business culture of these security forces would have been austere, pragmatic and forward looking, reflecting the nature of business in Scandinavia. With long winters and long supply lines, careful planning and pragmatic calculations are a must. There is austerity in all things as one never knows how severe a winter might be, nor how delayed a particular delivery of goods may be. Capital is invested and re-invested. There's little room for frivolity apart from that which can be had without much cost.
Trust is essential, and a code of honor related to private property and fairness in business is central. There's no room for cheaters and layabouts. Justice is handed out on basis of natural law where property rights are held in high regard.
Being both well armed and reasonable in business, the security forces must have had a predominantly positive effect wherever they established a stronghold, especially in places exposed to invasions by armed robbers from the east. Franchises adhering to the same code of justice may well have formed. People who never set foot on Gotland may nevertheless have called themselves Goths. People from Gotland, settling in foreign places would adopt local language and customs. What defined the Goths was not so much their language and ethnicity as it was their code of law and honor.
Goths had a very successful business culture that spread all the way to present day Austria in the east and present day France to the west. The east Goths and west Goths were essentially Germans and Frenchmen. They were both genetically and linguistically Germans and French. What made them Goths was their approach to business.
Seen in this light, both the linguistic and demographic puzzle is solved. Goths did not speak Swedish because the vast majority of them were not ethnic Swedes. They were numerous, not because of intense breeding, but because of a rapid adoption of the business culture emanating from Gotland. The success of the Goths was cultural rather than demographic.
While this may sound speculative, we know that this sort of things happen periodically through history. Successful empires leave a cultural and legal legacy behind even if their genetic contribution to the populace is minimal. Just look at the legacy of the colonial era. There is English, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese and French law practiced all over the world.
A few hundred years after the peak of Gothic influence in Europe, we have a very well documented episode that supports the above thesis. A band of well armed mercenaries left a tiny island outside present day Ålesund in Norway. Their destination was what is known to this day as Normandy in France. Sensing that the French king was weak, they sought to capture this landmass to have as their own.
The raid was successful. A great swath of French coastline fell to the Normans who ruled it independently from France for several hundred years before it once again fell under French rule. But before that happened, the Normans invaded England. In the year 1066, England fell to the Normans. However, these Normans did not speak Norwegian, nor were they genetically Norwegian. They were genetically and linguistically French. What made them distinct from other French people was their laws and their austere and militaristic culture.
What happened to Normandy and England appears to have been something of a repeat of what had happened farther east a few centuries earlier. A relatively small group of well armed individuals achieved outsize success with their particular version of austerity and law. While their demographic effect was limited, their influence on European culture was great and lasting.
The first thing to note is the unusually rich archaeological finds of treasures on Gotland. Gold and silver coins from as far away as Arabia, Persia and Rome have been found in great quantities, indicating that Gotland has for ages formed an important trading hub. Pelts, steel, and tools produced in Scandinavia were sent south, with spices, silk and gold going the other way. To safeguard the trade, people from Gotland would have had to establish strongholds along the trading routs. A system of private security forces would have been established.
The business culture of these security forces would have been austere, pragmatic and forward looking, reflecting the nature of business in Scandinavia. With long winters and long supply lines, careful planning and pragmatic calculations are a must. There is austerity in all things as one never knows how severe a winter might be, nor how delayed a particular delivery of goods may be. Capital is invested and re-invested. There's little room for frivolity apart from that which can be had without much cost.
Trust is essential, and a code of honor related to private property and fairness in business is central. There's no room for cheaters and layabouts. Justice is handed out on basis of natural law where property rights are held in high regard.
Being both well armed and reasonable in business, the security forces must have had a predominantly positive effect wherever they established a stronghold, especially in places exposed to invasions by armed robbers from the east. Franchises adhering to the same code of justice may well have formed. People who never set foot on Gotland may nevertheless have called themselves Goths. People from Gotland, settling in foreign places would adopt local language and customs. What defined the Goths was not so much their language and ethnicity as it was their code of law and honor.
Goths had a very successful business culture that spread all the way to present day Austria in the east and present day France to the west. The east Goths and west Goths were essentially Germans and Frenchmen. They were both genetically and linguistically Germans and French. What made them Goths was their approach to business.
Seen in this light, both the linguistic and demographic puzzle is solved. Goths did not speak Swedish because the vast majority of them were not ethnic Swedes. They were numerous, not because of intense breeding, but because of a rapid adoption of the business culture emanating from Gotland. The success of the Goths was cultural rather than demographic.
While this may sound speculative, we know that this sort of things happen periodically through history. Successful empires leave a cultural and legal legacy behind even if their genetic contribution to the populace is minimal. Just look at the legacy of the colonial era. There is English, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese and French law practiced all over the world.
A few hundred years after the peak of Gothic influence in Europe, we have a very well documented episode that supports the above thesis. A band of well armed mercenaries left a tiny island outside present day Ålesund in Norway. Their destination was what is known to this day as Normandy in France. Sensing that the French king was weak, they sought to capture this landmass to have as their own.
The raid was successful. A great swath of French coastline fell to the Normans who ruled it independently from France for several hundred years before it once again fell under French rule. But before that happened, the Normans invaded England. In the year 1066, England fell to the Normans. However, these Normans did not speak Norwegian, nor were they genetically Norwegian. They were genetically and linguistically French. What made them distinct from other French people was their laws and their austere and militaristic culture.
What happened to Normandy and England appears to have been something of a repeat of what had happened farther east a few centuries earlier. A relatively small group of well armed individuals achieved outsize success with their particular version of austerity and law. While their demographic effect was limited, their influence on European culture was great and lasting.
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