Tribes Mentioned in the Poem

1. Brondings. Breca was a Bronding. After his famous swimming-match with Beowulf (Chapter VIII.), he is said to have sought out his ‘pleasant fatherland the land of the Brondings.’ Arnold suggests that they were located in Mecklenburg or Pomerania.

1. Brondings. Breca was a Bronding. After his famous swimming match with Beowulf (Chapter VIII.), he reportedly sought his ‘pleasant homeland, the land of the Brondings.’ Arnold suggests that the Brondings lived in Mecklenburg or Pomerania.

2. Danes, also called Bright-Danes, Ring-Danes, Spear-Danes, because of their warlike character; and North Danes, South Danes, &c., because of their wide distribution. They are said to have inhabited the Scede lands and Scedenig and ‘between the seas’; that is, they were spread over the Danish Islands, the southern province of Sweden, and the seas between them.

2. Danes, also called Bright-Danes, Ring-Danes, and Spear-Danes because of their warlike character. They were also called North Danes, South Danes, and so on because they lived across a wide area. The Danes are said to have lived in the Scede lands and Scedenig and ‘between the seas’. That is, they were spread across the Danish Islands, the southern province of Sweden, and the seas between them.

3. Jutes (Eotenas), probably people ruled over by Finn, King of Friesland, and identical with the Frisians.

3. Jutes (Eotenas), probably people ruled by Finn, King of Friesland, and the same people as the Frisians.

4. Franks and Frisians. The Franks were ancestors of the modern French. After the conversion of Clovis (A.D. 496), they gradually encroached on the Frisians.

4. Franks and Frisians. The Franks were ancestors of the modern French. After Clovis converted (A.D. 496), the Franks gradually took over Frisian territory.

5. Frisians include the Frisians, the Franks, the Hetware, and the Hugs. Friesland was the country between the River Ems and the Zuyder Zee.

5. Frisians include the Frisians, the Franks, the Hetware, and the Hugs. Friesland was the country between the River Ems and the Zuyder Zee.

6. Geats. They dwelt in the south of Sweden between the Danes and the Swedes. Bugge sought to identify them with the Jutes, and held that Gautland was Juteland. He based this theory on certain phrases: e.g. Chapter XXXIII., where the Swedes (the sons of Ohthere) are said to have visited the Geats ‘across the sea,’ and again in Chapter XXXV. the Swedes and the Geats are said to have fought ‘over wide water’; but, as Arnold points out, these phrases can be interpreted in such a way as not to be incompatible with the theory that they dwelt on the same side of the Cattegat, i.e. on the northern side, and in the extreme south of Sweden.

6. Geats. They lived in southern Sweden, between the Danes and the Swedes. Bugge tried to identify the Geats as the Jutes and argued that Gautland was Juteland. He based this theory on certain phrases. For example, Chapter XXXIII. says that the Swedes (the sons of Ohthere) visited the Geats ‘across the sea.’ Again, Chapter XXXV. says that the Swedes and the Geats fought ‘over wide water’; but Arnold points out that these phrases can be read differently. Such readings need not conflict with the theory that both peoples lived on the same side of the Cattegat. That would place them on the northern side, in the far south of Sweden.

The question as to whether they are identical with the Goths of Roman history is still an open one. Arnold says, ‘There is a great weight of evidence tending to identify the Geats with the Goths,’ and he quotes evidence from Gibbon (chapter X.). Pytheas of Marseilles, in the fourth century, says that, passing through the Baltic Sea, he met with tribes of Goths, Teutons, and Ests.

Whether they are the same people as the Goths of Roman history remains an open question. Arnold says, ‘There is strong evidence suggesting that the Geats and the Goths were the same people.’ He cites evidence from Gibbon (chapter X.). Pytheas of Marseilles says he traveled through the Baltic Sea in the fourth century. On that journey, he encountered tribes of Goths, Teutons, and Ests.

Tacitus, in chapter XLIII. of Germania, speaks of the Goths as dwelling near the Swedes. Jornandes traces the Goths to Scanzia, an island in the Northern Sea. It is probable, then, that the Goths had a northern and indeed a Scandinavian origin. If so, Beowulf the Geat was probably a Goth.

In chapter 43 of Germania, Tacitus says the Goths lived near the Swedes. Jornandes traces the Goths’ origins to Scanzia, an island in the Northern Sea. So the Goths probably came from the north, specifically Scandinavia. If the Goths came from Scandinavia, Beowulf the Geat was probably a Goth.

7. Healfdenes. The tribe to which Hnaef belonged.

7. Healfdenes. The tribe Hnaef belonged to.

8. Heathoremes. The people on whose shores Beowulf was cast up after his swimming-match with Breca.

8. Heathoremes. The people on whose shores Beowulf washed up after his swimming contest with Breca.

9. Ingwine. Friends of Ing—another name for the Danes.

9. Ingwine. Friends of Ing, another name for the Danes.

10. Scyldingas. Another name for the Danes, as descended from Scyld.

10. Scyldingas. Another name for the Danes because they descended from Scyld.

11. Scylfingas. Name for the Swedes.

11. Scylfingas. A name for the Swedes.

12. Waegmundings. The tribe to which both Beowulf and Wiglaf belonged.

12. Waegmundings. The tribe that both Beowulf and Wiglaf belonged to.

13. Wylfings. Probably a Gothic tribe.

13. Wylfings. Probably a Gothic tribe.