Bavarian Geographer
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').
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.
Origin and content[]
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.[2] It had been acquired by the Wittelsbachs with the collection of the antiquarian (1410–85) in 1571. The document was much discussed in the early 19th-century historiography, notably by Nikolai Karamzin and Joachim Lelewel.[3]
The provenance of the document is disputed. Although early commentators suggested that it could have been compiled in Regensburg,[4] 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.[5] Based on these findings, Bernhard Bischoff attributes it to a monk active at Reichenau from the 830s to 850s.[6] 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.[7] Henryk Łowmiański demonstrated that the list consists of two parts, which may be datable to different periods and attributed to distinct authors.[8]
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.).[4] 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,[9] as well Dulebes, Volhynians and White Croats, but instead mentioning several unknown tribes hard to identify.[10] 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.[4][8] 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.[4][8]
List of tribes[]
According to Łowmiański (1958), in the first list are mentioned 1. Nortabtrezi (Obotrites), 2. Uuilci (Veleti), 3. Linaa (Linones), 4.-6.Bethenici-Smeldingon (Smeldingi)-Morizani, 7. Hehfeldi (Hevelli), 8. Surbi (Sorbs/Serbs), 9. Talaminzi (Daleminzi-Glomacze), 10. Beheimare Bohemians, 11. Marharii (Moravians), 12. Uulgarii (Bulgars), 13. Merehanos (Nitra Moravians).[8]
In the second list are mentioned 14. Osterabtrezi (other Obotrites), 15. Miloxi (uncertain), 16. Phesnuzi (unknown), 17. Thadesi (uncertain, Tadeslo), 18. Glopeani (Goplans), 19. (uncertain), 20. Busani Buzhans, 21. Sittici (uncertain), 22. Stadici (uncertain), 23. Sebbirozi (uncertain), 24. Unlizi (Ulichs), 25. Neriuani (uncertain), 26. Attorozi (uncertain), 27. Eptaradici (uncertain, Seven Slavic tribes), 28. Uuilerozi (uncertain), 29. Zabrozi (uncertain), 30. Znetalici (Netolice and Neletici), 31. Aturezani (unknown), 32. Chozirozi (uncertain), 33. Lendizi (Lendians), 34. Thafnezi (unknown), 35. Zeriuani (uncertain), 36. Prissani, 37. Uelunzani (Wolinians), 38. Bruzi (Prussians), 39. Uuizunbeire (Volga Bulgaria), 40. Caziri Khazars), 41. Ruzzi (Rus' people), 42.-43. Forsderen-Liudi (uncertain, Drevlians), 44. Fresiti (unknown), 45. Serauici (unknown), 46. Lucolane (uncertain), 47. Ungare (Hungarians), 48. Uuislane (Vistulans), 49. Sleenzane (Silesians), 50. Lunsizi (Lusatians, 51. Dadosesani (Dziadoszanie), 52. Milzane (Milceni), 53. Besunzane (Bežunčani or Pšovans), 54. Uerizane (unknown), 55. Fraganeo (Prague), 56. Lupiglaa (uncertain), 57. Opolini (Opolans), 58. Golensizi.[8]
References[]
- ^ J. Potocki. Fragments historiques et geographiques sur la Scythie, Sarmatie, et les Slaves. Brunsvic, 1796.
- ^ Le comte du Buat. Histoire ancienne des peuples de l'Europe. T. 11. Paris, 1772.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d Henryk Łowmiański, O pochodzeniu Geografa bawarskiego, Roczniki Historyczne, R. 20, 1955, s.9–58
- ^ The codex contains Boethius's treatise on geometry. See: Novy R. Die Anfänge des böhmischen Staates, 1: Mitteleuropa im 9. Jh. Praha, 1969.
- ^ Bernhard Bischoff. Die südostdeutschen Schreibschulen und Bibliotheken in der Karolingerzeit. Bd. 1.2. Aufl. Wiesbaden, 1960.
- ^ А. В. Назаренко. Древняя Русь на международных путях: Междисциплинарные очерки культурных, торговых, политических связей IX–XII веков. Moscow, 2001. Pages 52–70.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Henryk Łowmiański, O identyfikacji nazw Geografa bawarskiego, Studia Źródłoznawcze, t. III: 1958, s.1–22.
- ^ Andrzej Buko: Archeologia Polski wczesnośredniowiecznej: odkrycia, hipotezy, interpretacje. Warszawa, 2005.
- ^ Koncha, S. (2012). Bavarian Geographer On Slavic Tribes From Ukraine (PDF). Ukrainian Studies. 12. Bulletin of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. pp. 15–21.
Bibliography[]
- Le comte du Buat, Histoire ancienne des peuples de l'Europe, T. 11. Paris 1772
- Jan Potocki, Fragments historiques et geographiques sur la Scythie, Sarmatie, et les Slaves, Brunsvic 1796
- V. von Keltsch, Der bairische Geograph, Alpreussische Monatsschr., 23 (1886), s. 507 n.
- A. Králiček, Der s.g. bairische Geograph und Mahren, Zeitschr d. Vereins f. die Geschichte Mahrens u. Schlesiens II (1898), pp. 216–235, 340–360
- S. Zakrzewski, Opis grodów i terytoriów z północnej strony Dunaju czyli tzw. Geograf bawarski, Lwów 1917
- E. Kucharski, Polska w zapisce karolińskiej zwanej niewłaściwie "Geografem bawarskim", [w:] Pamiętnik IV powszechnego Zjazdu historyków polskich, t. I, Lwów 1925, sekcja II, s. 111;
- E. Kucharski, Zapiska karolińska zwana niewłaściwie "Geografem bawarskim", Sprawozdania Tow. Nauk. we Lwowie, t. V (1925), s. 81–86
- A. V. Nazarenko. Nemetskie latinoyazychnye istochniki IX–XI vekov: teksty, perevod, kommentarii. Moscow, 1993
- W. Fritze, Die Datierung des Geographus Bavarus, Zschr f. Slavische Philologie, 21, Heft 2 (1952), pp. 326–242
- Henryk Łowmiański, O pochodzeniu Geografa bawarskiego, Roczniki Historyczne, R. 20, 1955, s. 9–58; reed: w: Studia nad dziejami Słowiańszczyzny, Polski i Rusi w wiekach średnich, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, Poznań 1986, s. 104–150, ISSN 0554-8217
- Henryk Łowmiański, O identyfikacji nazw Geografa bawarskiego, Studia Źródłoznawcze, t. III: 1958, s. 1–22; reed: w: Studia nad dziejami Słowiańszczyzny, Polski i Rusi w wiekach średnich, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, Poznań 1986, s. 151–181, ISSN 0554-8217
- Gerhard Billig, Zur Rekonstruktion der ältesten slawischen Burgbezirke im obersächsisch-meißnischen Raum auf der Grundlage des Bayerischen Geographen, Neues Archiv für sächsische Geschichte 66 (1995), pp. 27–67
- , O nowszym ujęciu problematyki plemion słowiańskich u "Geografa Bawarskiego". Uwagi krytyczne, Slavia Occidentalis, T. 60 (2003), s. 9–6
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- 9th-century geographers
- Medieval German geographers
- 9th-century Latin books
- Early Slavic people
- Anonymous works
- 9th-century manuscripts
- Slavic history
- Writers of the Carolingian Empire
- 9th-century Latin writers
- Lists of ancient Indo-European peoples and tribes