Sweden/ History Outline

[Ann Little]

The following is an extract from  Sweden-ancient and modern published by the Swedish Traffic Association in 1938. The book was planned and edited by Rolf Grauers, Phil.Cand., who himself has written the greater part of the text.
 
 The first literary mention of Sweden is to be found in the celebrated work  Germania (98 A.D.) by the Roman historian Tacitus. One of the two chief tribes, the Svear, then inhabiting the land round Lake Mälaren, is referred to by Tacitus under the name 'Suiones'; their kingdom is described by him as being already well established and  mighty in ships and arms. It can consequently hardly have been constituted later than the pre-Roman Iron Age (about 550 B.C.-the Birth of Christ).
 
The other principal Swedish tribe, the Goths (Sw.Götar), whose lands lay south of those of the Svear, is first mentioned under the disignation GOUTOI by the Greek geographer Ptolemy (circa 150 A.D.). These Goths who inhabited what is today Västergötland, Östergötland and the Island of Gotland, emigrated in great numbers, probably as early as the 3rd century B.C. to the estuaries of the Oder and the Vistula. During the Roman Iron Age (Birth of Christ-A.D. 400) many of these Goths, together with other East Germanic tribes, wandered still farther south and settled down on the shores of the Black Sea, where they came under the influence of the Greco-Roman civilisation. Connections with the mother country were, nevertheless, maintained and fresh reinforcements sometimes arrived from the North, while, on the other hand, numbers of emigrants returned home during the third and fourth centuries A.D., bringing with them precious lore and introducing into Sweden, amongst other things, the runic script.
 
South of the Goths dwelt a tribe called the Herules, and in the 3rd century A.D.in the course of their migrations they ravaged the coasts of the Roman Empire, finally settling down along the lower Danube. The Herules, like the Goths, received reinforcements from the land of their origin, and the Greek historian Prokopios mentions that as late as the 6th century A.D.they sent envoys to the people at home, requesting them to send out a ruler of the old dynasty. The chosen chieftain, accompanied by 200 warriors, is said to have found his way down to his kinsmen, who at that time inhabited what is now modern Hungary.
 
The civilisatory currents reaching Scandinavia from the outside world became stronger during the ensuing Period of the Folkwanderings, 400-800 A.D., when the East and West Germanic peoples swept over the decaying Roman Empire and founded new states on its ruins. Emigrations, as mentioned above, had previously taken place from Scandinavia, and many East Germanic tribes no doubt owed their origin to these movements, the settlements being reinforced over a long period by fresh reserves. The Goths, the Herules, and probably also the Burgundians and the Vandals, sprung up in this way. It is therefore not surprising that in the 6th century A.D. the Gotic historian Jordanes speaks of Scandinavia, Skandza, as being the matrix and mould of the (East Germanic) peoples.
 
Sweden's first contribution to world history also exercised a deep influence on her inner political development. Though the Goths enriched their country with plunder from abroad, they suffered a disastrous diminution of their numbers, whereas this was not the case with the Svear. The Anglo-Saxon Saga 'Beowulf', which is based on contemporary Swedish tradition, tells of mighty wars between the kingdom of the Svear (Swiorice)and that of the Goths during the 6th century, and according to other less authentic sources, the Goths were completely vanquished in the battle of Bråvalla Heath. They retained their independance, however, for a long time to come and probably only acknowledged the suzerainty of the King of the Svear.  
One of the medieval Provincial Laws that rest on age-old oral tradition declares that  through the union of the land of the Suiones and the land of the Goths in heathen times, the kingdom of Sweden was founded. It is now impossible to say exactly when these two realms were united into one great state, but it was in all probability about the year 600 or at all events not later than 650; consequently Sweden as a national political unit is of more ancient foundation than any other state in Europe.
 
 
Ann Little

[Joakim Ekberg]

It should be added that this is indeed interesting, but merely as a description of how one would outline the early Swedish history in 1938. Most (though not all) of the ideas are abandoned today. The notion that the Göter are the same people as the Goths was common already in the 16th century, but there is no evidence for this.
 
Mats G. Larsson, archeologist at the University of Lund, has written some interesting books on the creation of a Swedish realm. His theory is that the Svear were prevailing at sea and in the immediate proximity of navigable water, but the Östgötar and Västgötar were mostly left alone in their agricultural inlands. Of course the tribes had much contact (for trading, if nothing else), and in the course of the centuries became intermingled.

[Ann Little]

Another extract from above mentioned book;
 
 From the 9th century onwards, historically dependable sources become more frequent, and the history of Sweden may really be said to begin with the Viking period (800-1050 A.D.). The expeditions of the Vikings that form such a remarkable chapter in the history of the Nordic peoples were of a more specifically national character than the wanderings of the Germanic tribes established on the continent. Here it was not a case of tribal migration but of carefully planned warlike and commercial expeditions with definite aims in view.
 
During the Viking Age the Scandinavians were masters of the European Seas. Their long narrow ships, generally equipped with a single square sail and twenty pairs of oars, and manned by fifty or more warriors, found their way to such distant lands as Greenland, North America, Africa and Asia. From Denmark and Norway, which countries were at this time consolidated as national units, the Vikings went West. There are authentic accounts in English history (the Anglo-Saxon Cronicles), dating as far back as 793, telling of the ruthless plundering raids of the Vikings, and shortly after this, the Carolingian Empire was subjected to similar ravagings.
 
No independant expeditions were undertaken from Sweden in a westerly direction, though many Swedish Vikings are known to have taken part in these exploits. It was to the East that the Swedes made their biggest thrust. The Baltic became for the first time practically a Swedish inland sea, a situation that was to arise again for a short period 800 years later.
The Swedes made their way across the Baltic lands and proceeded up the rivers to the very heart of Russia, and during the latter half of the 9th century one of their chieftains, Rurik founded at Novgorod a state that later, under his successors, was to comprise the whole mighty realm of Russia. Indeed, Russia received its name from the Swedish conquerors, the Rus* or Rusi as they were called, after the district on the east coast of Sweden, Roden, Ruotsi or Rots, whence they came ( the modern Roslagen north of Stockholm). Fresh expeditions were continually setting out from the home country and as late as 1034 a Swedish force aided Jaroslav, a descendant of Rurik, to unite the country under his sway after a series of bloody dynastic struggles. Gradually, however, the ruling class came under the influence of the Slavs and widespread chaos supervened.
 
The Russian adventure is to be regarded first and foremost as a big mercantile achievement, but these expeditions naturally brought in their wake many cultural influences through the intimate contact of the Swedish warriors and traders with the peoples of Byzantium and the Orient. Runic inscriptions at the Piraeus and Arabian gold coins found in the soil of Gotland, still bear witness to the time when Swedes (Varangians) formed the bodyguard of the Byzantine Emperors, and it was kinsmen of these warriors who in 907 vainly attempted to carry Constantinople by assault.
 
* In  The Vikings, Lords of the Seas by Yves Cohat, 1992, it states that Rus was a name borrowed from the Finns to designate the Swedes.
 
 
Ann Little

[Ann Little]

Thomas, that's a strange comment to make. What I are you referring to?
 
Ann

[Thomas Vikander]

I was, of course, referring to the spam entry immediately above my own. I've done similarly three times in the last week.
That way if the spam goes off the main greeting screen after 24 hours, my 'heads up' would likely still be there to warn the moderators and the public that a spam message has entered the archives.
 
All those messages have been deleted.
Thank you moderators!

[Ann Little]

Oh, I see! As it wasn't made obvious which posting you found boring, I thought that maybe it had to do with my postings about Swedish history. Glad to hear that wasn't the case.  
 
Kind regards,
Ann

[Thomas Vikander]

Heavens no, I'm very fond history, unlike my  daughters who roll their eyes at my interests but are nontheless (and inexplically to me ! ?) quite  bright.
 
Best regards,
Thomas