[Search for users]
[Overall Top Noters]
[List of all Conferences]
[Download this site]
| Title: | All about Scandinavia |
|
| Moderator: | TLE::SAVAGE |
|
| Created: | Wed Dec 11 1985 |
| Last Modified: | Tue Jun 03 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 603 |
| Total number of notes: | 4325 |
13.0. "Why do we call them Swedes?" by TLE::SAVAGE () Mon Dec 16 1985 15:05
In the 'Germania,' which he wrote in 98 A.D., the Roman historian
Tacitus mentions the "Suiones" (s'wee-own-ees) as a people living
in the vicinity of Lake M�laren. This was a latinization of the
name the people used, "Svea" - meaning "we, ourselves." From Latin
came the English "Swedes," while the country went on to be called
Sverige (s'very-a), meaning 'realm of the Svear.'
Sweden could just as easily have been named for the Goths, who
dominated the south-central part of Sweden. But that, at least, is no
worse than naming England after the Angles (leaving out the Saxons)
and a darn sight better than naming an entire hemisphere (America)
after an obscure Italian cartographer.
The Goths didn't do too badly: Two important Swedish provinces,
Sweden's second largest city, and a major river got named after them.
| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 13.1 | Not everyone calls it Sweden | GALAXY::JJOHNSON | | Mon Dec 16 1985 17:32 | 4 |
| Not everyone calls the country Sweden, or a variation of that.
The Finns refer to Sweden as "Ruotsi", which, I believe, is
derived from the stone road markers used in the late middle
ages.
|
| 13.2 | Sweden it is,because of this! | STKTSC::AHLGREN | | Tue Feb 10 1987 04:12 | 16 |
| I'm not so sure that the explanation given above is the reason for
us to be called Swedes. Sweden is divided into three parts, The
southern part called G\TALAND (Land of the Goths), The middle part
called SVEALAND (Land of the Swedes) and the northern part called
NORRLAND (The northern land). About 1000 years ago the thing we
called Sweden was a collection of small kingdoms. They fought against
each other and the country started to unite. The most powerful of
the regions was the middle country. The place where SVEARNA (The
Swedes lived). About 900 years ago every region of Sweden was united
into a kingdom. The leaders came from SVEALAND.
They of course named the country SVE from SVEALAND and RIGE from
the swedish word for state or kingdom (Compare German: REICH).
That's why its called SVERIGE (Sweden).
Paul Ahlgren
|
| 13.3 | Need a Friend? | WR2FOR::FERNANDEZ_JE | | Thu Aug 23 1990 16:44 | 4 |
| I would like to make friends to Male Swedes ages 18 to 30 years
if your interested write to me at this address..632 East Carribean
drive ,Sunnyvale,California.U.S.A.. My name is jericho, 30 years
of age...Single.
|