--- In cybalist@..., "Piotr Gasiorowski" <gpiotr@...> wrote:
> Do you mean the RusI could be a surviving group of Gothic or
Gepidic origin? What exactly points to the South Baltic (rather than
Sweden or thereabouts) as their homeland?
>
> Piotr
> ----- Original Message -----
Exactly. Some Western medieval chronicles designate RusI as 'Rugi'
(eg, 'Elga regina Rugorum', I quote from memory, where Elga is that
famous OlIga of 'Pove^stI' vre^menInyxU le^tU'). If I'm not mistaken,
Rugi originally were close to Goths or Gepids (at least
geographically).
I've read that out of two different (but issued in Russia) books on
the Russian ethnogenesis. I was too lazy at the time to check the
index of sources, but my impression is that it wasn't mere
speculation. I can't produce stronger testimony to my statement, but
please be aware of this theory at least as an alternative.
Sergei