- Helveconae
The Helveconae, or Helvaeonae, or Helvecones, or Aelvaeones, or Ailouaiones, are names possibly referring to the same ancient population, and possibly further connected to the
Hilleviones ofSweden . The Helveconae as such (manuscript variant Helvaeonae) are one of the tribal states of theLugii inTacitus . [Germania 43:3.] The Lugii were located in theSilesia area (todayPoland ). Their ethnicity is speculative. Subsequent authors, such asJohann Jacob Hofmann , 1635-1706, [In the entry for Helvecones in hisLexicon Universale .] , identified the people of Tacitus with a people ofPtolemy , the Ailouaiones in Greek [Book 2 Chapter 10.] , which has been Latinized to Aelvaeones. Perhaps the scholars innovated Helvecones, which is not attested in classical times. [However, neither is Helveconae, which occurs only in the accusative plural case, Helveconas. Encyclopedists customarily list names in the nominative case, for which Helveconas could have been taken.]Elbing theory
If Ptolemy's Routikleioi and Bourgountoi are the Tacitean
Rugii (who gave their name toRügen ) and the originalBurgundians , then the Aelvaeones were most likely to have resided somewhere between theOder and theVistula in area later called (Pomerania ).A possible connection to the city of
Elbing did not escape Hofmann.The region has changed hands many times over the centuries and therefore the name has many variants: Elving, Elbinc, Elbiogowi,Elblagu, etc. It was named from the Ilfing river (Germanic form), which ran from Lake Dr(a)usen (Slavic:Druzno ) toFrisches Haff . The city was officially founded in 1237 byHermann Balk , master of theTeutonic Order , as Elbing. In the time of the Anglo-Saxon traveller,Wulfstan of Hedeby , ca. 890,Truso was in the vicinity, a name related to Drausen.Language
There is some question as to the language from which Drausen came. It could have been either Slavic, as the Slavic
Venedi once held Pomerania, orOld Prussian . The Truso captured by the Teutonic Order spoke Old Prussian, a Baltic language, and archaeology verifies a putative connection to Viking merchant-adventurers.Etymology
We know that Ilfing (Elving) was the name of the river and that ethnic names are often intimately connected to river names, especially in a country of rivers. It is possible, but speculative, that the Elw- in Elwing came from an earlier people who lived there. The
Goths and theVandals (if indeed they are distinct) both are assumed to have come from Sweden. Many believe, without much evidence, that there is a connection to the Hilleviones of Sweden. The name can probably be segmented Helvec-on-ae, where the -on- is a Latin productive suffix used to generate people and place names. Helvec- might be further segmented as Hel-vec-, where -vec- might be "settlement", as -ing would be "people." As for the Hel-, there are as many possibilities as there are for .These speculative linguistic connections raise as many questions as they answer. We would require more evidence to be as certain as the encyclopedists of the past. In which direction would the migration over the Baltic have occurred? If the Hilleviones were Germanic, what were the Lugii, and why were the Helveconae among them? Could they have been Celtic, Baltic, or Germanized Celts or Balts?
Notes
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