Origin of the Anglo-Saxon race : a study of the settlement of England and the tribal origin of the Old English people by Shore, Thomas William

[Геннадий Воля]

https://archive.org/details/originofanglosax00shoruoft

CHAPTER  VI. 

RUGIANS,   WENDS,   AND   TRIBAL   SLAVONIC   SETTLERS. 

THE  name  Wends  was  given  by  the  old  Teutonic 
nations  of  Germany  to  those  Slavonic  tribes  who 
were  located  in  the  countries  east  of  the  Elbe  and 
south  of  the  Baltic  Sea.  It  is  the  same  as  the  older  name 
used  by  Ptolemy,1  who  says  that  'the  Wenedae  are  estab- 
lished along  the  whole  of  the  Wendish  Gulf.'  Tacitus  also 
mentions  the  Venedi.  There  can,  therefore,  be  no  doubt 
that  these  people  were  seated  on  the  coast  of  Mecklenburg 
and  Pomerania  before  the  time  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  settle- 
ment. That  there  were  some  differences  in  race  between 
the  Wends  of  various  tribes  is  probable  from  the  existence 
of  such  large  tribes  among  them  as  the  Wiltzi  and  Obo- 
driti,  who  in  the  time  of  Charlemagne  formed  opposite 
alliances,  the  former  with  the  Saxons,  the  latter  with  the 
Franks.  The  Wends  who  still  exist  in  Lower  Saxony 
are  of  a  dark  complexion,  and  are  of  the  same  stock  as 
the  Sorbs  or  Serbs  of  Servia.  They  are  Slavonic,  but 
many  tribes  of  Slavonic  descent  are  fair  in  complexion. 
Procopius  tells  us  that  those  Vandals  who  were  allies 
of  the  ancient  Goths  were  remarkable  for  their  tall 
stature,  pale  complexion,  and  blonde  hair.2  It  is  there- 
fore by  no  means  improbable  that  the  ancient  Slavic 

tribes  of  the  Baltic  coast  were  distinguished  by  differences 
in  complexion. 

[Геннадий Воля]

The  Vandals  are  commonly  thought  to  have  been  a 
nation  of  Teutonic  descent  like  the  Goths,  but  there  is 
certain  evidence  that  the  later  Vandals  or  Wends  were 
Slavonic,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  these  later 
Vandals  were  descended  from  some  of  the  earlier. 

In  Germany,  east  of  the  Elbe,  no  earlier 
inhabitants  than  the  Slavonic  have  been  discovered, 
excepting  those  of  a  very  remote  prehistoric  age.  At  the 
dawn  of  German  history  no  traces  are  met  with  of 
enthralled  people  of  Teutonic  descent  among  the  Slavs 
east  of  the  Elbe,  and  there  are  no  traditions  of  such 
earlier  occupants,  while  the  oldest  place-names  are  all 
Slavonic. 

Ethnology  and  history,  therefore,  alike  point  to  people  of 
Sarmatian  or  Slavic  descent — i.e.,  brachycephalic  tribes — 
as  the  earliest  inhabitants  of  Eastern  Germany,  and 
indicate  some  misunderstanding  in  this  respect  by  the 
commentators  of  Tacitus.3  In  Eastern  Germany  place- 
names  survive  ending  in  -itz,  so  very  common  in  Saxony ; 
in  -zig,  as  Leipzig ;  in  -a,  as  Jena ;  and  in  -dam,  as  Pots- 
dam. All  these  places  were  named  by  the  Slavs.

The  statement  of  Bede  that  the  Rugini  or  Rugians  were 
among  the  nations  from  whom  the  English  were  known 
to  have  descended  was  contemporary  evidence  of  his  own 
time.  The  Rugi  are  also  mentioned  by  Tacitus.5  Their 
name  apparently  remains  to  this  day  in  that  of  Riigen 
Island,  situated  off  the  coast  which  they  occupied  in  the 
time  of  the  Roman  Empire. 

As  Ptolemy  tells  us  of  the  wenedae  seated  on  this  same 
Baltic  coast,  and  as  they  were  Sarmatians  or  Slavs,  it 

is  clear  that  the  Rugians  must  have  been  of  that  race. 
Some  of  the  nations  mentioned  by  Tacitus  were,  he  says, 
of  non-Germanic  origin.  Riigen  Island  was  the  chief 
place  of  worship  for  the  Wendish  race,  the  chief  centre 
of  their  religion.  On  the  east  side  of  the  peninsula  of 
Jasmund  in  Riigen  are  the  white  chalk  cliffs  of  Stubben- 
kammer,  and  on  the  north  side  of  the  island  is  the  pro- 
montory of  Arcona,  where  in  the  twelfth  century  we  read 
of  the  idol  Svantovit,  and  the  temple  of  this  Wendish 
god..  No  traces  of  Teutonic  worship  have  ever  been 
found  in  Riigen.  They  are  all  Slavonic.  Saxo  tells  us 
of  the  worship  of  Svantovit  at  Arcona  with  the  tributes 
brought  there  from  all  Slavonia.

[Геннадий Воля]

The  probability  of  some  very  early  settlers  in  Britain 
having  been  Wends,  and  consequently  that  there  was 
a  Slavic  element  in  the  origin  of  the  Old  English  race, 
is  shown  in  another  way.  The  settlement  of  large 
bodies  of  Vandals  in  Britain  by  order  of  the  Emperor 
Probus  is  a  fact  recorded  in  Roman  history.  The 
authority  is  Zosimus,2  and  this  settlement  is  said  to  have 
taken  place  in  the  latter  part  of  the  third  century  of  our 
era,  after  a  great  defeat  of  Vandals  near  the  Lower  Rhine. 
They  were  accompanied  by  a  horde  of  Burgundians, 
and  as  they  were  apparently  on  the  march  in  search  of 
new  homes,  it  probably  suited  them  as  well  as  it  suited 
the  Romans  to  be  transported  to  Britain.  Unless  it 
can  be  shown  that  the  Vandal  name  is  to  be  understood 
to  mean  only  certain  tribes  of  Teutonic  origin,  this 
arbitrary  settlement  of  Vandals  in  Britain  is  the  earliest 
record  of  immigrants  of  Slavic  origin.  It  is  not  possible 
to  ascertain  the  parts  of  the  country  in  which  they 
settled,  but  as  they  were  known  to  Roman  writers  by 
the  names  Vinidse  and  Venedi,  it  is  possible  that  the 
Roman  place-names  in  Britain — Vindogladia  in  Dorset, 
Vindomis  in  Hampshire,  and  others — may  have  been  con-

nected  with  their  settlements.  It  is  possible  also  that 
during  the  time  between  their  arrival  and  that  of  the 
earliest  Anglo-Saxon  settlers  some  of  their  descendants 
may  have  maintained  their  race  distinctions  apart  from 
the  British  people,  as  descendants  of  some  of  the  Roman 
colonists  apparently  did  in  Kent. 

The  names  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  charters  which  appar- 
ently marked  settlements  of  Rugians  in  England  are 
Ruanbergh  and  Ruwanbeorg,  Dorset  ;  Ruganbeorh  and 
Ruwanbeorg,  Somerset ;  Ruwanbeorg  and  Rugan  die, 
Wilts  ;  Rugebeorge,  in  Kent ;  and  Ruwangoringa,  Hants.2 
These  will  be  referred  to  in  later  chapters. 

The  chief  Old  English  names  which  appear  to  refer 
to  them  in  Domesday  Book  are  Ruenore  in  Hampshire, 
Ruenhala  and  Ruenhale  in  Essex,  Rugehala  and  Rugelie 
in  Staffordshire,  Rugutune  in  Norfolk,  and  Rugarthorp 
in  Yorkshire.  Close  to  Ruenore,  in  Hampshire,  is  Stub- 
bington,  which  may  have  been  an  imported  name,  as  it 
resembles  that  of  Stubnitz  in  the  Isle  of  Riigen. 

[Геннадий Воля]

The  part  which  the  ancient  Wends,  including  Rugians, 
Wilte,  and  other  Slavonic  people,  took  in  the  settlement 
of  England  was,  in  comparison  with  that  of  the  Teutonic 
nations  and  tribes,  small,  but  yet  so  considerable  that  it 
has  left  its  results.  During  the  period  of  the  invasion 
and  the  longer  period  of  the  settlement,  the  southern 
coasts  of  the  Baltic  Sea  were  certainly  occupied  by 
Slavonic  people.  Ptolemy,  writing,  as  he  did,  about  the 
middle  of  the  second  century  of  our  era,  mentions  the 
Baltic  by  the  name  Venedic  Gulf,  and  the  people  on  its 
shores  as  Venedi  or  Wenedae.  He  describes  them  as  one 
of  the  great  nations  of  Sarmatia,1  the  most  ancient  name 
of  the  countries  occupied  by  Slavs,  but  which  was  re- 
placed by  that  of  Slavonia.  Pliny,  in  his  notice  of  the 
Baltic  Sea,  has  the  following  passage  :  '  People  say  that 
from  this  point  round  to  the  Vistula  the  whole  country 
is  inhabited  by  Sarmatians  and  Wends.'2  Although  he 

did  not  write  from  personal  knowledge  of  the  Wends, 
this  passage  is  weighty  evidence  that  they  must  have 
been  located  on  the  Baltic  in  his  time. 

During  the  time  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  period  the  Slavs 
in  the  North  of  Europe  extended  as  far  westward  as  the 
Elbe  and  to  places  beyond  it.  On  the  east  bank  of  that 
river  were  the  Polabian  Wends,  and  these  were  apparently 
a  branch  of  the  Wilte  or  Wiltzi.  This  name  Wiltzi  has 
been  derived  from  the  old  Slavic  word  for  wolf,  wilk, 
plural  wiltzi,  and  was  given  to  this  great  tribe  from  their 
ferocious  courage.  The  popular  name  Wolf  mark  still 
survives  in  North-East  Germany,  near  the  eastern  limit 
of  their  territory.  These  people  called  themselves 
Welatibi,  a  name  derived  from  welot,  a  giant,  and  were 
also  known  as  the  Haefeldan,  or  Men  of  Havel,  from  being 
seated  near  the  river  Havel,  as  mentioned  by  King 
Alfred.  The  inhabitants  of  the  coast  near  Stralsund, 
who  were  called  Rugini  or  Rugians,  and  who  are  men- 
tioned by  Bede  as  one  of  the  nations  from  whom  the 
Anglo-Saxons  of  his  time  were  known  to  have  derived 
their  origin,1  must  have  been  included  within  the  general 
name  of  the  Wends.  As  these  Rugians  must  have  been 
Wends,  the  statement  of  Bede  is  direct  evidence  that 
some  of  the  people  of  England  in  his  time  were  known 
to  be  of  W^endish  descent .  This  is  supported  by  evidence 
of  other  kinds,  such  as  the  mention  of  settlements  of 
people  with  Wendish  or  Vandal  names  in  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  charters,  the  numerous  names  of  places  in  England 
which  have  come  down  from  a  remote  antiquity,  and 
the  identity  of  the  oldest  forms  of  such  names  with  that 
of  the  people  of  this  race.  We  read  also  that  Edward, 
son  of  Edmund  Ironside,  fled  after  his  father's  death 
'ad  regnum  Rugorum,  quod  melius  vocamus  Russiam.' 

It  is  also  supported  by  philological  evidence.  As  a  dis- 
tinguished American  philologist  says  :  '  The  Anglo-Saxon 

was  such  a  language  as  might  be  supposed  would  result 
from  a  fusion  of  Old  Saxon  with  smaller  proportions  of 
High  German,  Scandinavian,  and  even  Celtic  and 
Slavonic  elements.'

Редактирано Март 7 от Геннадий Воля

[Геннадий Воля]

The  \Vilte 
or  Willa  tribal  name  survived  in  England  as  a  personal 
name,  like  the  national  name  Scot,  and  is  found  in 
the  thirteenth-century  Hundred  Rolls  and  other  early 
records.  In  these  rolls  a  large  number  oi  persons  so 
named  are  mentioned — Wiltes  occurs  in  seventeen  entries, 
Wilt  in  eight,  and  Wilte  in  four  entries.  Willeman  as 
a  personal  name  is  also  mentioned.9'  The  old  Scando- 
Gothic  personal  name  Wilia  is  well  known.10 

The  great  Wendish  tribe  which  occupied  the  country 
next  to  that  of  the  Danes  along  the  west  coast  of  the 
Baltic  in  the  ninth  century  was  the  Obodriti,  known 
also  as  the  Bodritzer.  From  their  proximity  there  arose 
an  early  connection  between  them  and  the  Danes,  or 
Northmen.  In  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century  we  read 
of  a  place  on  the  boundaries  of  the  Northmen  and  Obo- 
drites,  '  in  confinibus  Nordmannorum  et  Obodritorum.' 1] 
The  probability  of  Wendish  people  of  this  tribe  having 
settled  in  England  among  the  Danes  arises  from  their 
near  proximity  on  the  Baltic,  their  political  connection 

in  the  time  of  Sweyn  and  Cnut,  historical  references  to 
Obodrites  in  the  service  of  Cnut  in  England,  and  the 
similarity  of  certain  place-names  in  some  parts  of  England 
colonized  by  Danes  to  others  on  the  Continent  of  known 
Wendish  or  Slavonic  origin.  Obodriti  is  a  Slavic  name, 
and,  according  to  Schafarik,  the  Slavic  ethnologist,  the 
name  may  be  compared  with  Bodrica  in  the  government 
of  Witepsk,  Bodrok,  and  the  provincial  name  Bodrog  in 
Southern  Hungary,  and  others  of  a  similar  kind.

The  map  of  Europe  at  the  present  day  exhibits  evidence 
of  the  ancient  migration  of  the  Slavs.  The  Slavs  in  the 
country  from  Trient  to  Venice  were  known  as  Wendi,  and 
hence  the  name  Venice  or  the  Wendian  territory.3 
Bohemia  and  Poland  after  the  seventh  century  became 
organized  States  of  Slavs  on  the  upper  parts  of  the  Elbe 
and  the  Vistula.  The  Slavonic  tribes  on  the  frontier 
or  march-land  of  Moravia  formed  the  kingdom  of  Moravia 
in  the  ninth  century.  Other  scattered  tribes  of  Slavs 
formed  the  kingdom  of  Bulgaria  about  the  end  of  the 
seventh  century ;  and  westward  of  these,  other  tribes 
organized  themselves  into  the  kingdoms  of  Croatia, 
Dalmatia,  and  Servia.4  In  the  North  the  ancient  Slav 
tribes  of  Pomerania,  Mecklenburg,  Brandenburg,  and 
those  located  on  the  banks  of  the  Elbe,  comprising  the 
Polabians,  the  Obodrites,  the  Wiltzi,  those  known  at  one 
time  as  Rugini,  the  Lutitzes,  and  the  Northern  Sorabians 
or  Serbs,  became  gradually  absorbed  among  the  Germans, 

who  formed  new  States  eastward  of  their  ancient  limits. 
These  have  long  since  become  Teutonised,  and  their 
language  has  disappeared,  but  the  Slavonic  place  -  names 
still  remain. 

What  concerns  us  specially  in  connection  with  the 
settlement  of  England  and  the  Vandals  is  that  these 
people  were  Slavs,  not  Teutons  or  Germans,  as  is  some- 
times stated.  They  are  fully  recognised  as  Slavs  by 
the  historian  of  the  Gothic  race,  who  tells  us  that  Slavs 
differ  from  Vandals  in  name  only.1  It  is  important,  also, 
to  note  that  the  Rugians  mentioned  by  Bede  were  a 
Wendish  tribe.  Westward  of  the  Elbe  the  Slavic  Sorabians 
had  certainly  pushed  their  way,  before  they  were  finally 
checked  by  Charlemagne  and  his  successors.  The  German 
annals  of  the  date  A.D.  7822  tell  us  that  the  Sorabians 
at  that  time  were  seated  between  the  Elbe  and  the  Saale, 
where  place-names  of  Slavonic  origin  remain  to  this 
day. 

Those  WTends  who  were  located  on  the  Lower  Elbe, 
near  Liineburg  and  Hamburg,  were  known  as  Polabians, 
through  having  been  seated  on  or  near  this  river,  from 
po,  meaning  'on,'  and  laba,  the  Slavic  name  for  the  Elbe. 

The  eastern  corner  of  the  former  kingdom  of  Hanover, 
and  especially  that  in  the  circuit  of  Liichow,  which  even 
to  the  present  day  is  called  Wendland,  was  a  district 
west  of  the  Elbe,  where  the  Wends  formed  a  colony,  and 
where  the  Polabian  variety  of  the  Wendish  language 
survived  the  longest.  It  did  not  disappear  until  about 
1700-1725,  during  the  latter  part  of  which  period  the 
ruler  of  this  ancient  Wendland  was  also  King  of  England. 

[Геннадий Воля]

The  connection  of  the  Slav  tribes  of  ancient  Germany 
with  the  settlement  of  England  is  supported  also  by  the 
survival  in  England  of  ancient  customs  which  were 
widely  spread  in  Slavonic  countries,  by  the  evidence  of 
folk-lore,  traces  of  Slav  influence  in  the  Anglo-Saxon 
language,  and  by  some  old  place-names  in  England, 
especially  those  which  point  to  Wends  generally,  and 
others  referring  to  Rugians  and  to  Wilte.  The  great 
wave  of  early  Slavonic  migration  was  arrested  in  Eastern 
Germany,  but  lesser  waves  derived  from  it  were  con- 
tinued westward,  as  shown  by  the  isolated  Slav  colonies 
of  ancient  origin  in  Oldenburg,  Hanover,  and  Holland. 
The  same  migratory  movement  in  a  lesser  degree  appears 
to  have  extended  even  into  England,  bringing  into  our 
country  some  Slavonic  settlers,  probably  in  alliance  with 
Saxons,  Angles,  Goths,  and  other  tribes,  and  some  later 
on  in  alliance  with  Danes.  The  existence  of  separate 
large  tribes  among  the  Wends  is  probable  evidence  of 
racial  differences,  and  the  alternative  names  they  had  are 
probably  those  by  which  they  were  known  to  themselves 
and  to  their  neighbours.  The  remnant  at  the  present 
time  of  the  dark-complexioned  Wends  of  Saxony,  who 
called  themselves  Sorbs,  shows  that  there  must  have  been 

some  old  Wendish  tribe  of  similar  complexion,  from  which 
they  are  descended.  As  the  country  anciently  occupied 
by  the  Wiltzi  included  Brandenburg  and  the  district 
around  Berlin,  it  joined  the  limits  of  ancient  Saxony  on 
the  west.  There  is  evidence,  arising  from  the  survival 
of  place-names  in  and  near  the  old  Wendish  country,  to 
show  that  these  Wilte  have  left  distinct  traces  of  their 
existence  in  North-East  Germany — for  example,  Wilts- 
chau,  Wilschkowitz,  and  Wiltsch  are  places  in  Silesia ; 
Wilze  is  a  place  near  Posen ;  Wilsen  in  Mecklenburg- 
Schwerin ;  Wilsdorf  near  Dresden  ;  Wilzken  in  East 
Prussia ;  and  Wilsum  in  Hanover.1  Similarly,  names 
of  the  same  kind  which  can  be  traced  back  to  Saxon 
time  survive  in  England.  If  the  existence  of  these  Wilte 
place-names  in  the  old  Wendish  country  of  Germany  is 
confirmatory  evidence  of  the  former  existence  in  that 
part  of  Europe  of  a  nation  or  tribe  known  as  the  Wiltzi 
or  Wilte,  the  existence  of  similar  names  in  England, 
dating  from  the  Anglo-Saxon  period,  cannot  be  other 
than  probable  evidence  of  the  settlement  in  England 
of  some  of  these  people,  for  no  other  tribe  is  known  to 
have  existed  at  that  time  which  had  a  similar  name. 
This  tribal  name  has  also  survived,  in  other  countries, 
such  as  Holland,  in  which  the  Wilte  formed  colonies. 
The  Polabian  Wends  or  Wilte  were  located  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Elbe,  where  some  ships  for  the  Saxon  inva- 
sion must  have  been  fitted  out.  There  were  Saxons  on 
the  left  bank  and  Wilte  on  the  right.  At  a  later  period 
they  were  in  close  alliance,  and  unless  there  had  been  peace 
between  them,  it  is  not  likely  that  a  Saxon  expedition  to 
England  would  have  been  organized. 

The  general  name  of  the  Wends 
survives  in  many  place-names  in  the  old  Wendish  parts 

of  Germany,   such  as  Wendelau,  Wendemark,-  Wende- 
wisch,  Wendhagen,  and  Wendorf.1 

It  is  difficult  to  avoid  the  conclusion  that  the  old 
Slavonic  tribes  not  only  comprised  people  of  different 
tribal  names,  but  of  different  ethnological  characters, 
seeing  that  at  the  present  time  there  are  dark-corn-  £> 
plexioned  Slavs  and  others  as  fair  as  Scandinavians. 
No  record  of  the  physical  characters  of  the  ancient 
Wends  appears  to  have  survived,  but  observations  on 
the  remnant  of  the  race,  who  call  themselves  Sorbs, 
in  Lower  Saxony  have  been  made  by  Beddoe.  The 
Wendish  peasants  examined  by  him  and  recorded  in 
his  tables  2  showed  the  highest  index  of  nigrescence  of 
any  observed  by  him  in  Germany.  These  observations 
have  been  confirmed  by  the  results  of  the  official  ethno- 
logical survey  of  that  country.3 

The  coast  of  the  Baltic  Sea  as  far  east  as  the  mouth  of 
the  Vistula,  and  beyond  it,  is  remarkable  for  having 
been  what  may  be  called  the  birthplace  of  nations. 
Goths  were  seated  east  of  the  Vistula  before  the  fall  of 
the  Roman  Empire,  and  Vandals  appear  to  have  occupied 
a  great  area  of  country  around  the  sources  of  the  Vistula 
and  the  Oder.  In  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century  the 
Burgundians  were  seated  in  large  numbers  between  the 
middle  courses  of  these  rivers,  while  the  Slavic  tribes 
known  as  Rugians  were  located  on  the  Baltic  coast  on 
both  sides  of  the  Oder.  The  name  Rugini  or  Rugians 
thus  appears,  at  one  time,  to  have  been  a  comprehensive 
one,  and  to  have  included  the  tribes  known  later  on  as 
Wiltzi. 

[Геннадий Воля]

The  Wends  were  sea-rovers,  like  their 
neighbours,  and  comprised  the  largest  section  of  the 
ancient  association  or  alliance  known  as  the  Jomberg 
Vikings.3  An  alliance  was  made  between  the  Danes  and 
the  Wends  by  the  marriage  of  Sweyn,  King  of  Denmark, 
to  Gunhild,  daughter  of  Borislav,  a  King  of  the  Wends. 
Cnut,  King  of  England  and  Denmark,  was  actually  King 
of  ancient  Wendland,  and  the  force  of  huscarls  he  formed 
in  England  was  partly  composed  of  Jomberg  sea-rovers 
who  had  been  banished  from  their  own  country.  The 
evidence  of  Wendish  settlers  with  the  Angles,  Saxons, 
and  Jutes  in  England  rests,  as  far  as  the  Rugians  are 
concerned,  on  Bede's  statement,  and  generally  on  the 
survival  of  customs,  place-names,  and  folk-lore.  It  is 
certain  that  large  colonies  of  Vandals  were  settled  in 
Britain  before  the  end  of  the  Roman  occupation,  and 
some  of  them  may  have  retained  their  race  characters 
until  the  time  of  the  Saxon  settlement.  It  is  certain, 
also,  that  there  was  an  immigration  in  the  time  of  Cnut. 
The  evidence  of  a  Wendish  influence  in  the  English  race, 
arising  from  these  successive  settlements,  extending 
from  the  Roman  time  to  the  later  Anglo-Saxon  period, 
cannot,  therefore,  be  disregarded. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  charters4  tell  us  of  Wendlesbiri  in 
Hertfordshire,  Wendlescliff  in  Worcestershire,  Waendles- 
cumb  in  Berkshire,  and  Wendlesore,  now  Windsor — all 
apparently  named  from  settlers  called  Wendel,  after  the 
name  of  their  race. 

In   such   Old   English   place-names   the   tribal   name 

lingers  yet,  as  similar  names  linger  in  North-East  Ger- 
many ;  and  in  the  names  Wilts,  Willi,  Rugen,  Rown,  or 
Ruwan,  and  others,  we  may  still,  in  all  probability,  trace 
the  Wilte  and  Rugians — Wendic  tribes  of  the  Saxon  age. 
In  the  old  Germanic  records  the  Rugians  are  mentioned 
under  similar  names  to  those  found  in  the  Anglo-Saxon 
charters,  Ruani  and  Rugiani.1 

Some  manorial  customs,  and  especially  that  of  sole 
inheritance  by  the  youngest  son,  may  be  traced  with 
more  certainty  to  the  old  Slavic  nations  of  Europe  than 
to  the  Teutonic.  Inheritance  by  the  youngest  son,  or 
junior  preference,  was  a  custom  so  prevalent  among  the 
Slavs  that  there  can  be  little  doubt  it  must  have  been 
almost  or  quite  the  common  custom  of  the  race.  The 
ancient  right  of  the  youngest  survives  here  and  there 
in  parts  of  Germany — in  parts  of  Bavaria,  for  example 
— but  in  no  Teutonic  country  is  the  evidence  to  be 
found  in  ancient  customs  or  in  old  records  of  the 
identification  of  this  custom  with  the  Teutonic  race  as 
it  may  be  identified  with  the  Slavic.  In  the  old  Wendish 
country  around  Lubeck  the  custom  of  inheritance  by 
the  youngest  son  long  survived,  or  still  does,  and  Lubeck 
was  the  city  in  which  during  the  later  Saxon  age  in 
England  the  commerce  of  the  Wends  began  to  be 
concentrated. 

There ,  is  evidence  of  another  kind  showing  the  con- 
nection of  Wends  with  Danes  or  Northmen.  At  Sonde- 
vissing,  in  Tyrsting  herrad,  in  the  district  of  Scanderborg, 
there  is  a  stone  monument  with  a  runic  inscription 
stating  tkat  '  Tuva  caused  this  barrow  to  be  constructed.  • 
She  was  a  daughter  of  Mistivi.  She  made  it  to  her  mother, 
who  was  the  wife  of  Harald  the  Good,  son  of  Gorm.'2 
The  inscription  has  been  assigned  to  the  end  of  the  tenth 
century,  and  Worsaae  says :  '  We  know  that  there 
existed  at  this  period  a  Wendish  Prince  named  Mistivi,

who  in  the  year  986  destroyed  Hamburg,  possibly  the 
same  as  in  the  inscription.'  This  refers  to  a  generation 
earlier  than  that  of  Cnut,  to  the  time  of  Sweyn,  who 
married  the  daughter  of  Borislav,  King  of  the  Wends. 
During  the  period  of  Danish  rule  in  England  there  are 
several  historical  references  to  the  connection  of  the 
Wends  with  England.  In  1029,  Eric,  son  of  Hakon,  was 
banished  by  Cnut.  Hakon  was  doubly  the  King's 
nephew,  being  the  son  of  his  sister  and  the  husband  of 
his  niece  Gunhild,  the  daughter  of  another  sister  and  of 
Wyrtgeorn,  King  of  the  Wends.1  There  was  at  this  time 
an  eminent  Slavonic  Prince  who  was  closely  connected 
with  Cnut,  and  spent  some  time  with  him  in  England — 
viz.,  Godescalc,  son  of  Uto,  the  Wendish  Prince  of  the 
Obodrites,  whose  exploits  are  recorded  in  old  Slavonic 
history.  The  Obodrites  were  the  Wendish  people  whose 
warlike  deeds  are  still  commemorated  at  Schwerin. 
Godescalc  waged  war  against  the  Saxons  of  Holstein 
and  Stormaria,  but  was  taken  prisoner.  After  his  release 
he  entered  the  service  of  Cnut,  probably  as  an  officer  of 
the  huscarls,  and  later  on  he  married  the  King's  daughter. 
There  is  another  trace  of  the  Wends  in  an  English 
charter  of  A.D.  1026,  which  is  witnessed  by  Earls  Godwin, 
Hacon,  Hrani,  Sihtric,  and  Wrytesleof.  The  name  of 
the  last  of  these  is  apparently  Slavonic.2  There  is  also  a 
charter  of  Cnut,  dated  1033,  by  which  he  granted  to 
Bouige,  his  huscarl,  land  at  Horton  in  Dorset.3  Saxo,  the 
early  chronicler  of  the  Danes,  tells  us  that  Cnut's  Wendish 
kingdom  was  called  Sembia,  and  it  was  in  the  Wendish 
war  under  Cnut  that  Godwin,  the  Anglo-Saxon  earl,  rose 
to  distinction.  As  Wendland  was  actually  part  of  Cnut's 
continental  dominions,4  the  migration  into  England  of 
Wendish  people  during  his  reign  is  easily  accounted  for. 

[Геннадий Воля]

There  is  additional  evidence  of  the  intercourse  of  the 
Wendish  people  of  Pomerania  with  the  people  of  Anglo- 
Saxon  England  in  the  objects  that  have  been  found. 
The  gold  ring  which  was  found  at  Coslin,  on  the  Pomer- 
anian coast,  in  1839,  Stephens  says  was  the  first  instance 
of  the  discovery  of  a  golden  bracteate  and  Northern  runes 
on  German  soil.1  The  inscription  is  in  provincial  English 
runes,  the  rune  (  ^ ),  yo,  a  slight  variation  of  ( |  ),  being 
decisive  in  this  respect,  for,  as  Stephens  says,  it  has  only 
been  found  in  England.  The  ring  must  be  a  very  early 
one,  for  it  contains  the  heathen  symbols  for  Woden  and 
also  for  the  Holy  Triskele  (Y)-  Stephens  states  that  it 
cannot  well  be  later  than  the  fifth  century,  and  that  it 
had  been  worn  by  a  warrior  '  who  had  been  in  England, 
or  had  gotten  it  thence  by  barter.'  The  style  is  that 
of  six  centuries  earlier  than  the  eleventh  or  twelfth 
centuries,  when  the  Germans  came  to  Pomerania.  The 
well-preserved  characters  on  the  ring  point  to  its  loss  at 
an  early  date  after  its  manufacture,  and  thus  to  early 
communication  of  some  kind  between  England  and 
Pomerania.  It  may  have  been  the  much-prized,  rare 
ornament  of  a  Wendish  chief,  brought  or  sent  from 
England.  In  any  case  we  know  that  the  Wends,  who 
had  no  knowledge  of  runes,  must  have  prized  ornaments 
such  as  this,  whose  construction  was  beyond  their  skill, 
for  the  relics  of  Vandal  ornaments  we  possess  from  other 
countries  where  Vandals  settled  are  clearly  in  many 
respects  rough  imitations  of  those  of  the  ancient  Goths.2 
With  this  English  golden  finger-ring  there  were  also  two 
Roman  golden  coins,  one  of  Theodosius  the  Great 
(379-395),  and  the  other  of  Leo  I.  (457-474),  thus  fixing 
the  probable  date  of  the  ring  as  the  fifth  century.  At 
that  time  the  Goths  were  settling  down  in  Kent,  with  some 
Wends,  probably,  near  to  them.  They  can  be  traced  in 
both  Essex  and  Sussex.  The  coast  of  the  Baltic,  it  should 
also  be  remembered,  was  not  only  Wendish  in  the  parts 

nearest  to  the  Elbe,  but  also  Gothic  in  those  beyond 
the  Vistula.  The  discovery  of  this  ring  in  old  Vandal 
territory  with  the  Roman  coins,  and  especially  with  the 
very  early  English  runic  characters  upon  it,  assists  in 
proving  that  the  early  Goths  who  settled  in  Kent  were  of 
the  same  stock  as  those  who  overran  so  large  a  part  of 
Europe  during  the  decline  of  the  Roman  Empire.  In 
considering  this,  it  should  also  be  remembered  that 
inscribed  stones  discovered  at  Sandwich,  which  are 
marked  with  very  early  runes,  and  are  ascribed  to  the 
same  early  period,  still  exist  in  Kent.1 

The  evidence  we  possess  relating  to  the  connection  of 
ancient  Wendland  with  both  the  earlier  and  later  Anglo- 
Saxons  thus  points  to  a  continued  intercourse  between 
that  country  and  our  own.  It  is  known  to  have  been  very 
considerable  in  the  time  of  Cnut,  who  was  the  King  or 
overlord  of  the  Baltic  Wendland.  A  large  discovery  of 
coins  was  made  at  Althofthen  on  the  Obra,  in  the  province 
of  Posen,  not  far  from  Brandenburg,  in  1872.  From  sixty 
to  seventy  Anglo-Saxon  coins  of  yEthelred  and  Cnut,  and  an 
Irish  one  of  Sithric,  were  found  in  this  hoard.  These  Anglo- 
Saxon  coins  bear  the  mint  marks  of  Cambridge,  London, 
Canterbury,  Shaftesbury,  Cricklade,  Oxford,  Stamford, 
Winchester,  York,  and  other  places — twenty  in  all.2 

The  local  traces  of  Wendish  settlers  in  various  English 
counties  will  be  stated  when  considering  the  evidence  of 
tribal  settlers  in  different  parts  of  England .  Among  these 
local  traces  are  customs  and  folk-lore,  which  were  of 
great  vitality  among  these  people  of  Wendland.  On  this 
subject  Magnus,  the  historian  of  the  Goths  and  Vandals, 
gives  us  positive  information.  He  says :  '  For,  as 
Albertus  Crantzius  reports  of  Vandalia,  "  great  is  the 
ove  men  bear  to  their  ancestors'  traditions."