Re: was The Finnic issue

> It seems pretty clear to me (but discussion welcome) that for the
> Germanics the term Vened et sim. played a role similar to that of
> "Volcae". There were historical times when it applied to Slavs (and
> not to seafaring ones either).

Sorry, wrong.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valdemar_I_of_Denmark
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarmers_Tower
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_V_of_Denmark#Reign

****GK: Sorry. I meant "not exclusively to seafaring ones".*****

> On the other hand, it seems very arguable that at some time "Vened"
> stood for (at least) primarily "coastal communities".

Only indirectly in the sense that the Veneti were a coastal people, so that copmmunities bearing their name tend to be close to water.

> Ptolemy is a good source for such usage. Then we have to figure out
> how this term came to be applied as an ethnonym to both a Celtic and
> an Italic group (both coastal).

?? 'Wendisch' etc never refers to anything specically Celtic AFAIK.
 

****GK: I'm talking about the Armorican Veneti of course, defeated by Caesar. ****