The Immense Ones

 Piotr writes:
<<Spellings like <hermunduri>, <hermondoroi> point to Germanic
*ermVn(a)-duro:z, the latter element, *dura-, certainly with <d> and a short
vowel, whatever it means. BTW, *ermVn- is not just a vague compound element
whose meaning is deduced from the context. It occurs in Old English as an
unbound, independently inflected adjective, in phrases like <ofer/geond
yrmenne grund> (<yrmen> is a spelling variant of <eormen> and -ne is the
acc.sg. ending), and <eormen-> is on several occasions glossed in Latin,
always as "immensus" or "permagnus"...>>

A Quick Note:
When Jordanes uses <immensus populus> with regard to the "Lesser Goths", he
is obviously not calling them great in the accomplishment sense, since he
describes them as being pretty "minor" in a lot of ways. Neither is he
talking about population, since he says else where that there are many of
them (gens multa).

So, he is either talking about the fact that they occupy a vast amount
territory, or that they are "immensus" in physical stature -- either very big
or very fat or both.

Now, the Hermunduri may have called themselves "the Immense Ones". Tacitus
says they are the only Germanic group who allowed in to trade on Roman
territory because the Romans considered them highly trustworthy and loyal.
Now I know all early Germanic names are supposed to mean shining, bright or
great. And I don't think that they would have called themselves the Very Fat
Ones. They don't seem to cover a lot of territory EXCEPT that they traded
extensively, apparently being the only ones who could carry Roman goods into
Germania.

So consider that the OE meaning may have been a later meaning.

Words like titanic, romantic and gothic evolved from proper names. Possibly
the Hermurundi or someone before them represented something that was vast in
territory (or very fat), i.e., far-reaching, apparently everywhere. As the
#1 traders north of the Danube, their name may have come to mean "vast,
boundless" - in the sense of not cut off by the Roman gatekeepers, a large
trade presence -- in OE. Or perhaps they had some time before adopted the
name of the Greek god of territory, boundaries, marketplaces, trade routes
and messengers, signaling their license to have a wide range and claim a
large territory under their economic and/or military protection.

Just a quick thought.

Steve