The Rugini were a pagan tribe living in or near present day northern Germany in the 9th century. They were only mentioned once, in a list of pagan tribes drawn up by the English monk

Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...

(also called Beda venerabilis) in his ''Historia ecclesiastica'' of the early 8th century:Johannes Hoops, Herbert Jankuhn, Heinrich Beck, Dieter Geuenich,

Heiko Steuer Heiko Steuer (born 30 October 1939) is a German archaeology, archaeologist, notable for his research into social and Economic history of Europe, economic history in early Europe. He serves as co-editor of Germanische Altertumskunde Online. Career ...

, ''Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde'', 2nd edition, Walter de Gruyter, 2004, pp.452ff,

''Sunt autem Fresones, Rugini, Danai, Hunni, Antiqui Saxones, Boructuari; sunt alii perplures hisdem in partibus populi paganis adhuc ritibus servientis.''

Whether the Rugini were remnants of the

Rugii The Rugii, Rogi or Rugians (), were one of the smaller Germanic peoples of Late Antiquity who are best known for their short-lived 5th-century kingdom upon the Roman frontier, near present-day Krems an der Donau in Austria. This kingdom, like t ...

is speculative. The term ''Rugini'' has also been interpreted as the first mention of the Slavic Rani (also ''Rujani''), who in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

dwelled on the isle of Rügen.David Fraesdorff, ''Der barbarische Norden: Vorstellungen und Fremdheitskategorien bei Rimbert, Thietmar von Merseburg, Adam von Bremen und Helmold von Bosau'', Akademie Verlag, 2005, p.55, Joachim Herrmann, ''Welt der Slawen: Geschichte, Gesellschaft, Kultur'', C.H. Beck, 1986, p.265,

References

Early Germanic peoples History of Pomerania West Slavic tribes {{europe-ethno-group-stub

See also

References