Varni
Encyclopedia
The Varni Varini (Tacitus), Varinnae (Pliny the Elder), Wærne/Werne (Widsith) and Warnii (the Thuringian Law) probably refer to a little known Germanic tribe. The name would have meant the "defenders". They lived in northern Germany
. They are often called Warni and Warini in English.
They may have originated in the south Scandinavia
n region by their name Värend
.
The earliest mention of this tribe appears in Tacitus
' Germania
, where he wrote:
Pliny the Elder
wrote Germanorvm genera qvinqve: Vandili, qvorvm pars Bvrgodiones, Varinnae, Charini, Gvtones meaning that there were five Germanic races: the Vandals
whom the Burgundians
were part of, the Varinnae, the Charini and the Gutones (Goths
).
It is likewise mentioned in passing by Procopius
who wrote that when the Heruls (Eruli) had been defeated by the Lombards
, they returned to Scandinavia
(Thule). They crossed the Danube
(Ister), passed the Slavs (Sclaveni) and after a barren region, they came to the Varni. After the Varni they passed the Dani
, and crossed the sea. In Scandinavia, they settled beside the Geats (Gautoi). Procopius: Book VI, xv.
They also appear in the Anglo-Saxon poem Widsith
as the Werns.
On Ptolemy
's map, they are placed in the area of Mecklenburg
, where one of the main rivers is Warnow
and a town is called Warnemünde
. They were crushed by the Franks
in 595
. When the Slavs arrived, they called themselves the Varnes, perhaps having assimilated remaining Varni.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. They are often called Warni and Warini in English.
They may have originated in the south Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n region by their name Värend
Värend
Värend was in the Middle Ages the most populous of the constituent small lands of the province Småland, in Sweden. Early on, Växjö became its center. Around 1170, Värend broke out of the diocese of Linköping, and formed its own diocese of Växjö...
The earliest mention of this tribe appears in Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
' Germania
Germania
Germania was the Greek and Roman geographical term for the geographical regions inhabited by mainly by peoples considered to be Germani. It was most often used to refer especially to the east of the Rhine and north of the Danube...
, where he wrote:
(Original Latin) "ReudigniReudigniThe Reudigni were one of the Nerthus-worshipping Germanic tribes mentioned by Tacitus in Germania. Schütte suggests that the name should be read Rendingi or Randingi and then the name would be the same as the Rondings of Widsith. They have otherwise been lost to history, but they may have lived in...
deinde et Aviones et Anglii et Varini et Eudoses et Suardones et NuithonesNuithonesThe Nuithones were one of the Nerthus-worshipping Germanic tribes mentioned by Tacitus in Germania. Schütte remarks that the name is probably corrupt and suggests that the correct forms were Teutones or Euthiones ....
. Nec quicquam notabile in singulis, nisi quod in commune Nerthum, id est Terram matrem, colunt eamque intervenire rebus hominum, invehi populis arbitrantur. ..." --Tacitus, GermaniaGermania (book)The Germania , written by Gaius Cornelius Tacitus around 98, is an ethnographic work on the Germanic tribes outside the Roman Empire.-Contents:...
, 40.
(English translation) "There follow in order the ReudigniansReudigniThe Reudigni were one of the Nerthus-worshipping Germanic tribes mentioned by Tacitus in Germania. Schütte suggests that the name should be read Rendingi or Randingi and then the name would be the same as the Rondings of Widsith. They have otherwise been lost to history, but they may have lived in...
, and Aviones, and AnglesAnglesThe Angles is a modern English term for a Germanic people who took their name from the ancestral cultural region of Angeln, a district located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany...
, and Varinians, and Eudoses, and Suardones and NuithonesNuithonesThe Nuithones were one of the Nerthus-worshipping Germanic tribes mentioned by Tacitus in Germania. Schütte remarks that the name is probably corrupt and suggests that the correct forms were Teutones or Euthiones ....
; all defended by rivers or forests. Nor in one of these nations does aught remarkable occur, only that they universally join in the worship of Herthum (NerthusNerthusIn Germanic paganism, Nerthus is a goddess associated with fertility. Nerthus is attested by Tacitus, the first century AD Roman historian, in his Germania. Various theories exist regarding the goddess and her potential later traces amongst the Germanic tribes...
); that is to say, the Mother Earth."--Tacitus, GermaniaGermania (book)The Germania , written by Gaius Cornelius Tacitus around 98, is an ethnographic work on the Germanic tribes outside the Roman Empire.-Contents:...
, 40, translated 1877 by Church and Brodribb.
Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
wrote Germanorvm genera qvinqve: Vandili, qvorvm pars Bvrgodiones, Varinnae, Charini, Gvtones meaning that there were five Germanic races: the Vandals
Vandals
The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Vandals under king Genseric entered Africa in 429 and by 439 established a kingdom which included the Roman Africa province, besides the islands of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearics....
whom the Burgundians
Burgundians
The Burgundians were an East Germanic tribe which may have emigrated from mainland Scandinavia to the island of Bornholm, whose old form in Old Norse still was Burgundarholmr , and from there to mainland Europe...
were part of, the Varinnae, the Charini and the Gutones (Goths
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
).
It is likewise mentioned in passing by Procopius
Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea was a prominent Byzantine scholar from Palestine. Accompanying the general Belisarius in the wars of the Emperor Justinian I, he became the principal historian of the 6th century, writing the Wars of Justinian, the Buildings of Justinian and the celebrated Secret History...
who wrote that when the Heruls (Eruli) had been defeated by the Lombards
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
, they returned to Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
(Thule). They crossed the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
(Ister), passed the Slavs (Sclaveni) and after a barren region, they came to the Varni. After the Varni they passed the Dani
Dani
Dani is a unisex given name typically truncated from the name Daniel or Danielle.Dani may refer to:-People:* Dani people, a people living in the isolated central highlands of West Papua* Danes -Given name:...
, and crossed the sea. In Scandinavia, they settled beside the Geats (Gautoi). Procopius: Book VI, xv.
They also appear in the Anglo-Saxon poem Widsith
Widsith
Widsith is an Old English poem of 144 lines that appears to date from the 9th century, drawing on earlier oral traditions of Anglo-Saxon tale singing. The only text of the fragment is copied in the Exeter Book, a manuscript of Old English poetry compiled in the late 10th century containing...
as the Werns.
| lines 24–27: | |
| þeodric weold Froncum, þyle Rondingum, | Theodric ruled the Franks Franks The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a... , Thyle the Rondings, |
| Breoca Brondingum, Billing Wernum. | Breoca the Brondings Brondings The Brondings were a Germanic tribe. They and Breca the Bronding are mentioned in Beowulf , as Beowulf's childhood friend, and in Widsith , where Breca is the lord of the Brondings... , Billing the Werns. |
| Oswine weold Eowum ond Ytum Gefwulf, | Oswine ruled the Eow Auiones The Aviones or Auiones were one of the Nerthus-worshipping Germanic tribes of the 1st century mentioned by Tacitus in Germania, and they lived either in the southern Jutland Peninsula, or on Öland... and Gefwulf the Jutes Jutes The Jutes, Iuti, or Iutæ were a Germanic people who, according to Bede, were one of the three most powerful Germanic peoples of their time, the other two being the Saxons and the Angles... , |
| Fin Folcwalding Fresna cynne. | Finn Folcwalding the Frisia Frisia Frisia is a coastal region along the southeastern corner of the North Sea, i.e. the German Bight. Frisia is the traditional homeland of the Frisians, a Germanic people who speak Frisian, a language group closely related to the English language... n-kin. |
On Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
's map, they are placed in the area of Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
, where one of the main rivers is Warnow
Warnow
The Warnow is a river in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany. It flows into the Baltic Sea near the town of Rostock, in its borough Warnemünde....
and a town is called Warnemünde
Warnemünde
Warnemünde is a sea resort and northmost district of Rostock in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, situated on the Baltic Sea in the northeast of Germany at the estuary of the river Warnow.- History :...
. They were crushed by the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
in 595
595
Year 595 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 595 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Theudebert II becomes king of Austrasia.*...
. When the Slavs arrived, they called themselves the Varnes, perhaps having assimilated remaining Varni.
See also
- VärendVärendVärend was in the Middle Ages the most populous of the constituent small lands of the province Småland, in Sweden. Early on, Växjö became its center. Around 1170, Värend broke out of the diocese of Linköping, and formed its own diocese of Växjö...
- FrisiaFrisiaFrisia is a coastal region along the southeastern corner of the North Sea, i.e. the German Bight. Frisia is the traditional homeland of the Frisians, a Germanic people who speak Frisian, a language group closely related to the English language...
- List of Germanic peoples