I found this interesting website:
http://www.geocities.com/troels_brandt/heruls.html
However the thing that interests me more w. r. to their identity, is
why the Dani drove them away.
The interesting thing is that they enter history at the same time.
So, one day I thought: in 2000 years, when some researcher looks into
Spanish 20th century history (to take an example), he will think:
where did the Falangist tribe and the Republican tribe come from? And
if he is very smart, he will conjecture some link between Basques and
Catalans with Republicans, but others will argue against him. And why
did the Basques and Catalans suddenly reappear? All very mysterious.
So I thought: if there was a strife, presumably over some theological
question (I think socialism, if anyone remembers it, belongs in that
league) would then faction names become tribal names? Then the Heruli
could be the old believers in Odin ("Odin" the leader being long
dead) and the Dani those that were getting tired of their theocracy
(some Swedish website equates Dani with Vani, cf.
Danakvisl/Vanakvisl). The Dani letting the Heruli pass without
hindrance later on would fit into that theory, all they wanted was to
get them out, but, since they are long familiar, no unnecessary
enmity? Perhaps the Dani even feel bad about having thrown them out.
All classical writers that mention the Heruli agree that they were a
very nasty piece of work, picking unprovoked fights eg. with the
Langobards. Also, the Heruli going (ie. returning) to Pannonia would
make more sense.
(And of course, since they represented a southern culture, they would
have drunk wine; some beautiful glass and tin Roman drinking vessels
have been found here. And Roman wine contained lead... Beer didn't.
The Germani under Ariovist, according to Caesar's Gallic Wars, did
not import Roman wine, since they believed it lead to debauchery. The
Gallic tribes were very fond of wine, I recall reading of the
excavation of a dunum the hill-sides of which was littered with
broken amphoras).
Also consider this:
West Rome fell to the Germani. The Germani drink beer (still do).
East Rome fell to the Muslims. They don't drink at all.
So stay off Roman wine! It was lead-infested (sapa).
Torsten