- Reidgotaland
Reidgotaland, Hreidgotaland or Hreiðgotaland was a land in Scandinavian sagas, which usually referred to the land of the
Goths . Oddly, "hreiðr" meant "bird's nest" and perhaps it was akenning for the Goths tradition of moving and "nesting" in new territories. Another possibility is that it was originally "reið" "ride, journey" (seeRaidô ). The use of the prefix is simple as the same tribal name was used for theGotlanders , the "gutar" or "gotar". The identification of the territory varies between the sources. This is the list of meanings given byNordisk familjebok :#The Island of
Gotland .
#Götaland .
#The land of theGoths , i.e.Gothiscandza and their later territories. InHervarar saga , it was the same asOium and bordered the land of theHuns from which it was separated byMyrkviðr .
#The territories of theGoths in southern Europe, according to Anglo-Saxon sources.
#Denmark andSweden (according to Snorri's Edda it was the earthly kingdom ofOdin ).
#Denmark .
#Jutland .The second edition of
Nordisk familjebok explains that Hreidgoths was originally applied to theOstrogoths in south-eastern Europe. It appears as "hraiðgutum" on theRök Stone inÖstergötland . InHervarar saga , the name "Hreiðgotaland" is applied to the territories of the Ostrogoths in south-eastern Europe. In Snorri's Edda, it is either applied toJutland or toScandinavia as a whole, while the islands are called "Eygotaland". [citation|url=http://runeberg.org/nfcb/0655.html |title=Nordisk Familjebok |year=1915 |contribution=Reidgotaland] In theLegendary sagas however, Eygotaland is used only for the island ofGotland in theBaltic Sea .Footnotes
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