I thought Beowulf was a "Geate", which I understood as the AS
rendering of "Goth". The Goths seems to have continued in southern
Sweden, long into the medieval period, though I know little about how
they became divided between the Danes and Swedes. I think the Goths
were known for their spears, but I thought this had to do with their
becoming steppe cavalrymen before the Huns came - just my assumption.
Their name similarity with that of the Getae of the western steppe is
intriguing, since the Getea were neighbors or part of the Cimmerian
confederation in early iron age times. Could it be that the
descendants were found centuries later and still neighbors in
Scandinavia with the Cimbri and Geates/Goths.
I've noticed this before: contingents of neighbor and allied tribes
seem to migrate together to colonize new lands. What comes to mind
are the Boii and Senones of northern Italy. Caesar also found them as
near neighbors in central Gaul - near Cenabum, which could have been
the homeland for the Cenomani of northern Italy? In central Europe
there were the Boii of Bohemia and the Semnones of eastern Germany.
The latter were identified as a German people in the first century
AD. Perhaps instead they were Germanicized?
--- In cybalist@..., "Joseph S Crary" <pva@...> wrote:
> I recently found information on the Gaete and/or Tyran-Gaete. A
> tribal confederation that primarily occupied the region between the
> Deniester and Danube. It seems everyone classifies them as
> everything. At times called Thracian, at others called Scythian. I
> just noticed they occupied the area the Kimmer were last reported.
> I'm wondering if they may have been one of the tribal groups that
> made up Kimmeria? Also Gaete appears similar to gais- gai-, gae-
tae
> as in Gaestae-spearmen. Just found this interesting as Beowulf is
> called a Gaete who are also called Spear-Danes with the whole
> Cimbrae, Kimmer, Himmer thing.
>
>
> JS Crary