Re: [tied] golthescytha: a Baltic perspective

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Nobody who speculates on that seems to be troubled by the fact that the text has <Golthescytha>, not <Golthescythas> (whereas acc.pl. is the expected case). The simplest solutions are the best. I'm now fully inclined to agree with George that what we have here is not a missing letter in the text but a genuine nominative singular to be read at face value. In other words, <Golthescytha> designates the conqueror, and not a conquered tribe, and can only refer to Ermanaric. <Golthescytha> does its job very well both as Latinised *gulthaskythu- and as a pompous epithet for the ruler of a steppe empire.

Piotr

----- Original Message -----
From: Sergejus Tarasovas

To: cybalist@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Thursday, November 22, 2001 2:36 PM

Subject: [tied] golthescytha: a Baltic perspective

Here's a citation from an article in turn cited at a Lithuanian history forum (the authors seem to be Lithuanian historians whose names say nothing to me):

'Reiksminga yra tai, kad beveik po tukstancio metu Jordanas, kalbedamas apie Hermanariko pajungtus krastus pirmiausiai mini „Golthescytha", kurią tyrinetojai linke pripazinti kaip realu etnini faktą ir aiskinti kaip galindu - skitu darini, nusitesusi vos ne iki Okos aukstupio. Sioje zonoje apie Sozes, Desnos ir Seimo upiu baltiskus ir iraneniskus (siuo atveju skitiskus) rysius patvirtina ne tik lingvistikos,bet ir archeologijos faktai.Nieko stebetino, kad galejo buti kuri laiką ir misrus darinys, juk skitu-traku darinys yra istorinis faktas.'

'It's important that nearly a thousand years [after Herodotus - S. T.] later Jordanes, speaking of the territories united by Ermanaric first mentions Golthescytha, which researchers are apt to admit to be the ethnic reality, explainable as a product of Galindo-Scythian synthesis, extended nearly up to the upper reaches of Oka. Both linguistic and archelogical facts confirm the existance of the Balto-Iranian (here Scythian) connections in the Sozh-Desna-Seim zone. It would be small wonder if a fusion would have existed for some time, since the Scytho-Thracian fusion is a historical fact'.

IMO, the golthe- ~ *galind- comparison is far-streched, but can't be ruled out completely.

Sergei