Reiks (; pronunciation ; Latinized as ''rix'') is a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

title for a tribal ruler, often translated as "

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

". In the

Gothic Bible The Gothic Bible or Wulfila Bible is the Christian Bible in the Gothic language spoken by the Eastern Germanic (Goths, Gothic) tribes in the early Middle Ages. The translation was allegedly made by the Arianism, Arian bishop and missionary U ...

, it translates to the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

'' árchōn'' (ἄρχων). It is presumably translated as '' basiliskos'' (βασιλίσκος "petty king") in the ''Passio'' of

Sabbas the Goth Sabbas the Goth ( ro, Sava Gotul, gr, Σάββας ο Γότθος; died 12 April 372) is a Christian martyr and saint. Life and persecution Sabbas (also Saba) was born in 334 in a village in the Buzău river valley and lived in what is now ...

. The Gothic

Thervingi The Thervingi, Tervingi, or Teruingi (sometimes pluralised Tervings or Thervings) were a Goths, Gothic people of the plains north of the Lower Danube and west of the Dniester River in the 3rd and the 4th centuries. They had close contacts with ...

were divided into subdivisions of territory and people called ''kunja'' (singular '' kuni'', cognate with English ), led by a ''reiks''. In times of a common threat, one of the reiks would be selected as a ''

kindins Kindins is a Gothic word (attested only in the Gothic Bible, translating Greek ἡγεμών) that is identified by some scholars as the vernacular title for what may have been a political or judicial position among the 4th century Goths, identified ...

'', or head of the empire (translated as "judge", Latin ''iudex'', Greek δικαστής). Herwig Wolfram suggested the position was different from the Roman definition of a '' rex'' ("king") and is better described as that of a

tribal chief A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categorized as ...

(see

Germanic king Germanic kingship is a thesis regarding the role of kings among the pre-Christianized Germanic tribes of the Migration period (c. 300–700 AD) and Early Middle Ages (c. 700–1,000 AD). The thesis holds that the institution of feudal mon ...

). A reiks had a lower order of ''

optimates Optimates (; Latin for "best ones", ) and populares (; Latin for "supporters of the people", ) are labels applied to politicians, political groups, traditions, strategies, or ideologies in the late Roman Republic. There is "heated academic dis ...

'' or ''megistanes'' (μεγιστάνες, presumably translating ''mahteigs'') beneath him on whom he could call on for support.Béla Köpeczi, ''History of Transylvania: From the beginnings to 1606'', Social Science Monographs, 2001, p. 163. It also figures prominently as second element in Gothic names, Latinized and often anglicized as ''-ric'', such as in

Theoderic Theodoric is a Germanic given name. First attested as a Gothic name in the 5th century, it became widespread in the Germanic-speaking world, not least due to its most famous bearer, Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Overview The name ...

(''Þiuda-reiks''). The use of the suffix extended into the

Merovingian dynasty The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

, with kings given names such as Childeric, and it survives in modern German and Scandinavian names such as ''

Ulrich Ulrich (), is a German given name, derived from Old High German ''Uodalrich'', ''Odalric''. It is composed of the elements '' uodal-'' meaning "(noble) heritage" and ''-rich'' meaning "rich, powerful". Attested from the 8th century as the name of Al ...

'', '' Erik'', '' Dietrich'', ''

Heinrich Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...

'', ''

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

'', ''

Friedrich Friedrich may refer to: Names * Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' * Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other * Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Year ...

''.

References

{{Reflist Positions of authority Titles Early Germanic law Goths

See also

References