The epithet "Bavarian Geographer" ( la, Geographus Bavarus) is the conventional name for the
anonymous
Anonymous may refer to:
* Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown
** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author
* Anony ...
author of a short Latin
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
text containing a list of the tribes in
Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...
-
Eastern Europe, headed ().
The name "Bavarian Geographer" was first bestowed (in its French form, "") in 1796 by Polish count and scholar
Jan Potocki. The term is now also used at times to refer to the document itself.
It was the first Latin source to claim that all Slavs have originated from the same homeland, called the
Zeriuani.
Origin and content
The short document, written in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
, was discovered in 1772 in the
Bavarian State Library,
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...
by
Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...
's ambassador to the Saxon court, Comte
Louis-Gabriel Du Buat-Nançay. It had been acquired by the
Wittelsbach
The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...
s with the collection of the antiquarian
Hermann Schädel (1410–85) in 1571. The document was much discussed in the early 19th-century historiography, notably by
Nikolai Karamzin
Nikolay Mikhailovich Karamzin (russian: Николай Михайлович Карамзин, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ kərɐmˈzʲin; ) was a Russian Imperial historian, romantic writer, poet and critic. He is best remembered for ...
and
Joachim Lelewel
Joachim Lelewel (22 March 1786 – 29 May 1861) was a Polish historian, geographer, bibliographer, polyglot and politician.
Life
Born in Warsaw to a Polonized German family, Lelewel was educated at the Imperial University of Vilna, where in 181 ...
.
The provenance of the document is disputed. Although early commentators suggested that it could have been compiled in
Regensburg
Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the ...
,
Henryk Łowmiański
Henryk Łowmiański (August 22, 1898 near Ukmergė - September 4, 1984 in Poznań) was a Polish historian and academic who was an authority on the early history of the Slavic and Baltic people. A researcher of the ancient history of Poland, Lithu ...
, ''O pochodzeniu Geografa bawarskiego'', Roczniki Historyczne, R. 20, 1955, s.9–58 the list seems to have been taken from , recorded in the 9th century in the library of the
Reichenau Abbey
Reichenau Abbey was a Benedictine monastery on Reichenau Island (known in Latin as Augia Dives). It was founded in 724 by the itinerant Saint Pirmin, who is said to have fled Spain ahead of the Moorish invaders, with patronage that included Charl ...
and named after a local librarian. Based on these findings,
Bernhard Bischoff
Bernhard Bischoff (20 December 1906 – 17 September 1991) was a German historian, paleographer, and philologist; he was born in Altendorf (administrative division of Altenburg, Thuringia), and he died in Munich.
Biography
He was the son of Em ...
attributes it to a monk active at Reichenau from the 830s to 850s.
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.
Henryk Łowmiański
Henryk Łowmiański (August 22, 1898 near Ukmergė - September 4, 1984 in Poznań) was a Polish historian and academic who was an authority on the early history of the Slavic and Baltic people. A researcher of the ancient history of Poland, Lithu ...
demonstrated that the list consists of two parts, which may be datable to different periods and attributed to distinct authors.
[Henryk Łowmiański, ''O identyfikacji nazw Geografa bawarskiego'', Studia Źródłoznawcze, t. III: 1958, s.1–22.]
In modern times, some scholars attribute the information from this document to be limited, because it is largely geographic in nature, and its understanding of eastern europe geography is limited, so it may be a case of
Cosmography.
Content
The document has a short introductory sentence and a list of 58 tribal names in
Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...
-
Eastern Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, East of the
Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Re ...
and North of the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
to the
Volga
The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catch ...
river to the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
and
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central A ...
(most of them of
Slavonic origin, with ''
Ruzzi'', and others such as ''
Vulgarii'', etc.).
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, as well
Dulebes
The Dulebes, Dulebs, Dudlebi or Dulibyh ( uk, Дуліби) were one of the tribal unions of Early Slavs between the 6th and the 10th centuries. According to medieval sources they lived in Western Volhynia, as well as southern parts of the Duch ...
,
Volhynians The Volhynians ( uk , Волиняни, Volyniany, pl , Wołynianie) were an East Slavic tribe of the Early Middle Ages and the Principality of Volhynia in 987–1199.
Historiography
Russian Perspective
Russian historiography on regions ...
and
White Croats
White Croats ( hr, Bijeli Hrvati; pl, Biali Chorwaci; cz, Bílí Chorvati; uk, Білі хорвати, Bili khorvaty), or simply known as Croats, were a group of Early Slavic tribes who lived among other West and East Slavic tribes in the ar ...
, but instead mentioning several unknown tribes hard to identify.
There is also some information about the number of strongholds ( la, civitates) possessed by some of the tribes, however the number in several instances seems exaggerated.
The list consists of two parts, first describing the tribes in the Eastern neighborhood of
Francia
Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks du ...
(''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.
List of tribes
According to
Łowmiański (1958), in the first list are mentioned 1. ''Nortabtrezi'' (
Obotrites
The Obotrites ( la, Obotriti, Abodritorum, Abodritos…) or Obodrites, also spelled Abodrites (german: Abodriten), were a confederation of medieval West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern Mecklenburg and Holstein in northern Germany ...
), 2. ''Uuilci'' (
Veleti
The Veleti, also known as Wilzi, Wielzians, and Wiltzes, were a group of medieval Lechitic tribes within the territory of Hither Pomerania, related to Polabian Slavs. They had formed together the Confederation of the Veleti, a loose monarchic c ...
), 3. ''Linaa'' (
Linones
The Linones were a small Slavic people first recorded in the early 9th century. They lived north and east of the Elbe, across from Höhbeck in the region around Lenzen, south of the Wilzi and Obotrites, north of the Hevelli and northeast of th ...
), 4.-6.''Bethenici''-''Smeldingon'' (
Smeldingi
The Smeldingi were a small group of Polabian Slavs living on the border of the Old Saxony in the 9th century, probably between the Elbe and the Havel. They were a sub-group of the Hevelli. Their name is etymologically related that of the South ...
)-''Morizani'', 7. ''Hehfeldi'' (
Hevelli
The Hevelli or Hevellians/ Navellasîni (sometimes ''Havolane''; german: Heveller or ''Stodoranen''; pl, Hawelanie or ''Stodoranie''; cs, Havolané or ''Stodorané'') were a tribe of the Polabian Slavs, who settled around the middle Havel river ...
), 8. ''Surbi'' (
Sorbs/Serbs), 9. ''Talaminzi'' (Daleminzi-
Glomacze), 10. ''Beheimare''
Bohemians, 11. ''Marharii'' (
Moravians
Moravians ( cs, Moravané or colloquially , outdated ) are a West Slavic ethnographic group from the Moravia region of the Czech Republic, who speak the Moravian dialects of Czech or Common Czech or a mixed form of both. Along with the Si ...
), 12. ''Uulgarii'' (
Bulgars
The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region during the 7th century. They became known as noma ...
), 13. ''
Merehanos'' (
Nitra Moravians).
In the second list are mentioned 14. ''Osterabtrezi'' (other Obotrites), 15. ''Miloxi'' (uncertain), 16. ''Phesnuzi'' (unknown), 17. ''Thadesi'' (uncertain,
Tadeslo), 18. ''Glopeani'' (
Goplans), 19. ''
Zuireani'' (uncertain), 20. ''Busani''
Buzhans, 21. ''Sittici'' (uncertain), 22. ''Stadici'' (uncertain), 23. ''
Sebbirozi The Sebbirozi was a tribe mentioned by the 9th-century Bavarian Geographer (). It states that the Sebbirozi inhabit 90 settlements (Sebbirozi habent civitates XC).
Linguist Aleksander Brückner related ''Sebbirozi'' with another tribe from the sou ...
'' (uncertain), 24. ''Unlizi'' (
Ulichs), 25. ''Neriuani'' (uncertain), 26. ''Attorozi'' (uncertain), 27. ''Eptaradici'' (uncertain,
Seven Slavic tribes
The Seven Slavic tribes ( bg, Седемте славянски племена, Sedemte slavyanski plemena), or the Seven clans ( bg, Седемте рода, Sedemte roda, links=no) were a union of Slavic tribes in the Danubian Plain, that was ...
), 28. ''Uuilerozi'' (uncertain), 29. ''
Zabrozi Zabrozi was a tribe mentioned by the 9th-century Bavarian Geographer (). It states that the Zabrozi inhabit 212 settlements.
__NOTOC__ Quote
Studies
The Zabrozi are mentioned in BG after the Vuillerozi and before the Znetalici. Their name is dual ...
'' (uncertain), 30. ''
Znetalici Znetalici ( cz, Snětaliči) was a Slavic tribe mentioned by the 9th-century Bavarian Geographer. They are mentioned as inhabiting 74 ''civitates'' (settlements).
While some scholars put them somewhere in Russia, between the Carpathians and the Dan ...
'' (
Netolice
Netolice (; german: Netolitz) is a town in Prachatice District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,500 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.
Administrativ ...
and Neletici), 31. ''Aturezani'' (unknown), 32. ''Chozirozi'' (uncertain), 33. ''Lendizi'' (
Lendians), 34. ''Thafnezi'' (unknown), 35. ''
Zeriuani'' (uncertain), 36. ''
Prissani'', 37. ''Uelunzani'' (
Wolinians
The Wolinians ( la, Velunzani, Uelunzani, pl, Wolinianie) were a Lechites, Lechitic Pomerania during the Early Middle Ages, tribe in Early Middle Age Pomerania. They were first mentioned as "Velunzani" with 70 ''civitates'' by the Bavarian Geograp ...
), 38. ''Bruzi'' (
Prussians), 39. ''Uuizunbeire'' (
Volga Bulgaria
Volga Bulgaria or Volga–Kama Bulgaria, was a historic Bulgar state that existed between the 7th and 13th centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama River, in what is now European Russia. Volga Bulgaria was a multi-ethnic state ...
), 40. ''Caziri''
Khazars
The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...
), 41. ''Ruzzi'' (
Rus' people
The Rusʹ (Old East Slavic: Рѹсь; Belarusian, Russian, Rusyn, and Ukrainian: Русь; Old Norse: '' Garðar''; Greek: Ῥῶς, ''Rhos'') were a people in early medieval eastern Europe. The scholarly consensus holds that they were or ...
), 42.-43. ''Forsderen''-''Liudi'' (uncertain,
Drevlians
The Drevlians ( uk, Древляни, Drevliany, russian: Древля́не, Drevlyane) were a tribe of Early East Slavs between the 6th and the 10th centuries, which inhabited the territories of Polesia and right-bank Ukraine, west of the ea ...
), 44. ''Fresiti'' (unknown), 45. ''Serauici'' (unknown), 46. ''Lucolane'' (uncertain), 47. ''Ungare'' (
Hungarians
Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the ...
), 48. ''Uuislane'' (
Vistulans), 49. ''Sleenzane'' (
Silesians
Silesians ( szl, Ślōnzŏki or Ślůnzoki; Silesian German: ''Schläsinger'' ''or'' ''Schläsier''; german: Schlesier; pl, Ślązacy; cz, Slezané) is a geographical term for the inhabitants of Silesia, a historical region in Central Euro ...
), 50. ''Lunsizi'' (
Lusatia
Lusatia (german: Lausitz, pl, Łużyce, hsb, Łužica, dsb, Łužyca, cs, Lužice, la, Lusatia, rarely also referred to as Sorbia) is a historical region in Central Europe, split between Germany and Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr ...
ns, 51. ''Dadosesani'' (Dziadoszanie), 52. ''Milzane (
Milceni
The Milceni or Milzeni ( cs, Milčané; german: Milzener; pl, Milczanie) were a West Slavs, West Slavic tribe, who settled in the present-day Upper Lusatia region. They were first mentioned in the middle of the 9th century AD by the Bavarian Geogr ...
)'', 53. ''Besunzane'' (Bežunčani or
Pšovans), 54. ''Uerizane'' (unknown), 55. ''Fraganeo'' (
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
), 56. ''Lupiglaa'' (uncertain), 57. ''Opolini'' (
Opolans
Opolans ( pl, Opolanie; cs, Opolané; german: Opolanen) were the West Slavic tribe that lived in the region of upper Odra. Their main settlement ( gord) was Opole. They were mentioned in the Bavarian Geographer, under the name Opolini, as one of ...
), 58. ''
Golensizi
The Golensizi ( pl, Golęszycy, Gołęszycy, Golęszyce, Gołęszyce, Gołężyce, cz, Holasici, german: Golensizen) were a tribe of West Slavs, specifically of the Lechitic tribes (one of the Silesian tribes), living in the Early Middle Ages an ...
''.
References
Bibliography
* Le comte du Buat, , T. 11. Paris 1772
*
Jan Potocki, , Brunsvic 1796
* V. von Keltsch, , 23 (1886), s. 507 n.
* A. Králiček, (1898), pp. 216–235, 340–360
* S. Zakrzewski, , Lwów 1917
* E. Kucharski, ''Polska w zapisce karolińskiej zwanej niewłaściwie "Geografem bawarskim"'',
: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. . Moscow, 1993
* W. Fritze, ''Die Datierung des Geographus Bavarus'', Zschr f. Slavische Philologie, 21, Heft 2 (1952), pp. 326–242
*
Henryk Łowmiański
Henryk Łowmiański (August 22, 1898 near Ukmergė - September 4, 1984 in Poznań) was a Polish historian and academic who was an authority on the early history of the Slavic and Baltic people. A researcher of the ancient history of Poland, Lithu ...
,
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,
*
Henryk Łowmiański
Henryk Łowmiański (August 22, 1898 near Ukmergė - September 4, 1984 in Poznań) was a Polish historian and academic who was an authority on the early history of the Slavic and Baltic people. A researcher of the ancient history of Poland, Lithu ...
,
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,
* 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
*
Jerzy Nalepa, ''O nowszym ujęciu problematyki plemion słowiańskich u "Geografa Bawarskiego". Uwagi krytyczne'', Slavia Occidentalis, T. 60 (2003), s. 9–6
External links
Original Latin text in the Bayerische StaatsbibliothekEnglish translation of text.
{{Authority control
9th-century geographers
Medieval German geographers
9th-century Latin books
Early Slavs
Anonymous works
9th-century manuscripts
Slavic history
Writers from the Carolingian Empire
9th-century Latin writers
Lists of ancient Indo-European peoples and tribes