Ranrike (
Old Norse
Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
''Ránríki'') was the old name for a part of
Viken
Viken may refer to:
*Viken, Scandinavia, a historical region
*Viken (county), a Norwegian county established in 2020
*Viken, Sweden, a bimunicipal locality in Skåne County, Sweden
*Viken (lake), a lake in Sweden, part of the Göta canal
*IF Viken, ...
, corresponding to southeast Norway (Oslofjord area) and the northern half of the modern Swedish (Norwegian until 1658) province of
Bohuslän
Bohuslän () is a Provinces of Sweden, Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea to the ...
(roughly identical with ''
Álfheimr
In Norse cosmology, Álfheimr (Old Norse: , "Land of the Elves" or "Elfland"; anglicized as Alfheim), also called "Ljósálfheimr" ( , "home of the Ljósálfar, Light Elves"), is home of the Light Elves.
Attestations
Álfheim as an abode of the ...
'' of
Scandinavian mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...
). When folklore and culture is concerned the usage has been revived to refer to northern Bohuslän.
Etymology
The name Ranrike is sometimes said to have derived its name from
Old Norse
Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
goddess of the sea,
Rán. There is no clear etymology of ''Rán''. As the Indo-Europeans did not have a word for 'sea', it may not be
Indo-European
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...
, in which case it would be older than the Nordics in the region. Jordanes does give us a
terminus ante quem
A ''terminus post quem'' ('limit after which', sometimes abbreviated TPQ) and ''terminus ante quem'' ('limit before which', abbreviated TAQ) specify the known limits of dating for events or items..
A ''terminus post quem'' is the earliest date t ...
for the use of ''Ragnaricii''/''Ranii'': One king,
Rodwulf of the Ranii (identified by some with Ranrike), had left his kingdom to join
Theodoric the Great
Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal, was king of the Ostrogoths (475–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy between 493 and 526, regent of the Visigoths (511–526 ...
in
Ravenna
Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...
.
There is a possible parallel in the name
Hålogaland
Hålogaland was the northernmost of the Norwegian provinces in the medieval Norse sagas. In the early Viking Age, before Harald Fairhair, Hålogaland was a kingdom extending between the Namdalen valley in Trøndelag county and the Lyng ...
, if the name means "sacred land" or "land of the sacred". In any case, the position of Ragnaricii next to Raumaricii (Romerike) indicates that it is probably the same as Ranrike, believed to be named after the goddess of the sea,
Rán (''Ran-riki'', "
reich
( ; ) is a German word whose meaning is analogous to the English word " realm". The terms and are respectively used in German in reference to empires and kingdoms. In English usage, the term " Reich" often refers to Nazi Germany, also ca ...
of Ran or, as sometimes translitterated in 19th century sources, Rån"). Another parallel supports this derivation:
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...
's Saevo mountain range, probably meaning "sea land", refers in part to Ranrike (see under
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
). Moreover, ''Rán'' is the name of a dangerous goddess, who raises storms at sea and collects the drowned in her net. Such a name support the "dangerous island" etymology of Scandinavia. However, there is no conclusive evidence for any particular interpretation.
Jordanes
The Gothic scholar
Jordanes
Jordanes (; Greek language, Greek: Ιορδάνης), also written as Jordanis or Jornandes, was a 6th-century Eastern Roman bureaucrat, claimed to be of Goths, Gothic descent, who became a historian later in life.
He wrote two works, one on R ...
mentions two peoples named the ''Aeragnaricii'' (3.23) and the ''Ranii'' (3.24) who lived in
Scandza
Scandza was described as a "great island" by Gothic-Byzantine historian Jordanes in his work ''Getica''. The island was located in the Arctic regions of the sea that surrounded the world. The location is usually identified with Scandinavia.
Jor ...
(Scandinavia). ''Aeragnaricii'' appears in series. It is usually interpreted as a scribal error for *''ac ragnaricii'', "and the Ragnaricii". The latter word is easily open to translation, coming from two segments, ''riki'' "kingdom" and ''ragna'' "of the rulers", meaning the gods (see under
Ragnarök
In Norse mythology, (also Ragnarok; or ; ) is a foretold series of impending events, including a great battle in which numerous great Norse mythological figures will perish (including the Æsir, gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdall, a ...
). Both words come from
Indo-European
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...
*''reg-'', "rule".
Heimskringla
In his
Heimskringla
() is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland. While authorship of ''Heimskringla'' is nowhere attributed, some scholars assume it is written by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (117 ...
,
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...
relates how it first accepted the Swedish king
Erik Emundsson as its ruler, only to be punished by the Norwegian king
Harald Fairhair
Harald Fairhair (; – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from 872 to 930 and was the first Monarchy of Norway, King of Norway. Supposedly, two ...
who spent a winter terrorizing the province from the sea.
[''Heimskringla'' (Snorre Sturlasson, "Snorres kongesagaer", 1979)]
See also
*
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts of ...
*
Norsemen
The Norsemen (or Northmen) were a cultural group in the Early Middle Ages, originating among speakers of Old Norse in Scandinavia. During the late eighth century, Scandinavians embarked on a Viking expansion, large-scale expansion in all direc ...
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ranrike
Petty kingdoms of Norway
History of Bohuslän