Similarities between buckles found in Scandinavia and South Eastern Europe

The name Marings / Marika

In 2004 a buckle from the end of the 5th century was found
as a part of the war-booties in the bogs of Finnestorp in
Västergötland. It was made by gilded silver and had at the
end of the prong the head of a man, who obviously was
drinking of the water which was depicted at the head plate.
Every time the prong was lifted his mouth touched the
“water”. The leading excavating archaeologist, Bengt
Nordqvist (Nordqvist 2010), has convincingly interpreted the
scenario as the myth of Woden drinking of the well of Mimer.

The face of the head is Asiatic looking with a moustache and

tattoos forming a line from the eye and three circles at each
cheek consisting each of two concentric circles – and maybe
with a blind eye. We also find these circles in the “water” of
the well. Around the well we find small triangles with a circle
at the top. This stamped ornamentation was also placed on
other items and horse gear found in the bogs of Finnestorp
together with small circles with a point in the middle. The buckle has
probably belonged to a king or a chieftain attacking Västergötland where it
has been used as the sacrifice after a Götic victory around 500 AD.

At Yalta in Crimea at the Black Sea another buckle is found with a

human head at the prong – but it is placed at the prong in another
way. It is made of gilded silver with niello. The two heads were not
identical, but also here the face was oriental looking with a
moustache, a beard and tattoos forming a line under the eyes and
three circles at each cheek consisting each of two concentric circles
where the inner circle was just marked as a point in the middle
(maybe due to the small size). At both buckles the faces were
rather small with few features – and these common, few attributes
must therefore have been used to characterize the motive.
Especially the unusual tattoos are too similar to be a coincidence –
and were probably an identification mark. If the first motive was
Woden the motive of the other buckle was probably also Woden –
explaining due to its divine character why a human head was used
instead of the usual animal heads of religious character which were
used especially on the fibulas.

Also a buckle in a similar style and

processing from Sagi near Kherson at the
Dnepr is showing a very simple face without
the above mentioned attributes – but in Sagi at the head plate. The prong is
missing. The rest of the buckles is made in a Mediterranean style – even the
serpents do not look Germanic. Heads were often used in Roman style but not in
pagan Germanic Style, except the divine heads at the bracteats, which are often

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regarded as Woden too (Jensen 2004 p. 131-133) – usually horses and serpents were used especially at the
fibulas.

According to Maxim Levada (Khrapunov 2013, Levada p. 229-232) the buckle at Yalta was made in a
workshop from where we also know buckles in Szabadbattyan in Hungary, Bar in Central Ukraine and
Airan/Moult in France – all made by guilded silver with niello. Maxim Levada first regarded this niello to be
from a North European workshop (Khrapunov 2011, Levada), but he has later changed that view and
pointed at Western Ukraine. Charlotte Fabech and Ulf Näsman (Khrapunov 2013, Levada p. 213) opposed
his suggestion and claimed that they were “made by Romans in imperial territory”. Earlier Joachim Werner
has referred the similar buckle from Sagi to a workshop in the Danubian Basin. It is an ongoing discussion as
the scholars obviously disagree. The very different styles of the buckles with Mediterranean leaves and
Germanic symbols point at a mixture between the style of the artisan and the attributes wanted by his
Germanic customers. Maybe a workshop in the Roman border town, Carnumtum, working for the
barbarians is the most realistic possibility. They are all in another style than the buckle in Finnestorp – only
the attributes of the face (the person depicted) and some of the ornaments are similar. It points at
different artisans but at the same group of pagan travelling East Germanic customers.

According to Maxim Levada (Khrapunov 2013, Levada p. 230) Bar and Yalta had pentagrams scratched at
the backside of the head plate while Szabadbattyan had the runic inscription “marings” carved by the
artisan at the backside.

The syllable “-ings“ is the Gothic syllable for the North Germanic “-ing” – a language which would also be
used in writing by the East Germanic Heruls who did not have their own written langauge. The word is also
known from the Rök Stone in Östergötland as “marika”. “-ika” is a runic version of the North Germanic
diminutive syllable “-ing”. Here “ÞiauríkR ruled,… leader of Marika.” The Marika could be both the Goths
and the Heruls as Theodoric had appointed the Herulian king as his weapon son and spread his protection
over the Herulian people (Cassiodorus Varia V2). The Herulian king Hrodolphos was killed by the Lombards
as he disregarded their agreements and he also disregarded the omens of his gods. This guilt became his
personal feature which was also much later mentioned by Paulus Diaconus at the time of the Rök Stone.
Consequently he may be the person mentioned at the Rök Stone who “lost his life with the Hreidgoths, and
died at them for his guilt”. Due to the defeat in 509 AD the royal family and their supporters travelled north
along the trade route they controlled and settled at the Scandinavian Peninsula next to the Gautoi
(Procopius Book VII). According to Procopius, who was close to the court of Justinian, the royal family was
found at the Scandinavian Peninsula in 548 AD (Procopius 549-553 AD Book VII). Here in Östergötland the
Rök Stone was raised around 815 AD – maybe by a descendant of Hrodolpus.

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http://www.gedevasen.dk/roekstone.pdf

Before they went to Sweden the Heruls had their kingdom in the Marchfeld at the March River (Tacitus’
Annales, II, 63, 116AD: River Mar – later Mähren/Moravia). Here they controlled the trade route from
Carnuntum via the Moravian Gate to the Baltic Sea. They may therefore also have used the name Marings
in Gothic language to separate them from the Western Heruls. Both groups were famous as mercenaries in
England, in Ravenna and in the later armies of Justinian. The name is also found in the Old English poem
Deor. Here "Þeodric held for 30 winters Maeringa burg; that is known by many". Maringa Burg is
interpreted as the Italian city Ravenna being held by Theodoric for 33 years (Loennroth 1977, p 27).

We shall notice the expression "áhte" (= held, had). "Ruled" was a more natural expression to use regarding
the peaceful period created by Theodoric. This may indicate that Theodoric had conquered this stronghold
of the Maerings. Actually his conquest of Ravenna is a famous legend itself. The former king in Ravenna,
Odoaker, was in several sources called Rex Herulorum (Lakatos 1978) though being a Sciri himself as a
substantial part of his soldiers in Italy were Herulian mercenaries (Jordanes XLVI). After some defeats
Odoaker and his army were sieged in Ravenna in 491 AD. The chancellor of Theodoric, Cassiodorus, told
later about an event during the siege where “Odoaker left Ravenna with the Heruls in the night across the
Candidiani Bridge and met his lord Theodoric in a memorable battle”. That Gothic/Herulic battle became
later famous in the Germanic legends as the “Rabenschlacht”, but the Heruls had no luck to break out and
were sieged for two years in Ravenna (Raben). They never lost, but Odoaker was murdered by Theodoric
under peace negotiations arranged by the bishop of Ravenna. That may be the reason why Ravenna
(Raben) was remembered as the stronghold of the Eastern Heruls in the later OE poems - "Maeringa Burg"
– not capital of Theodorik – Ravenna.

Due to the nationality of Theodoric himself Maerings have been interpreted as his family or his people, the
Goths. The reason is that his father had the ending syllable “-mer”, but also other reasons have been
mentioned for the name. The Goths were known as the best documented and dominating East Germanic
people, but the name Marings has never been mentioned in the Gothic literature – only in the OE Deor and
ON Rök above – often resulting in a circular conclusion in newer Runologic literature as the family name is
believed to be a fact – supported even by the earlier mistake that the Goths were a Scandinavian people,
which is rejected by modern archaeologists as their origin probably is an ethnogenesis in Poland. The idea
about a Scandinavian origin was solely based on the history of Jordanes, but the historians now agree that a
historical source from 551 AD is useless regarding events several hundred years before – it was a
reconstruction with a political purpose.

In Scandinavia the ON word "maeringR" is found in a few Norse poem as "noble men". The word may
appear as a parallel to the runic word "ErilaR" which may be connected with the Heruls and the word "jarl".
At that time the Heruls had disappeared as a separate people in Northern Europe

The Goths had since the fourth century their own written language and had been Arian Christians.
Therefore there are very few runic inscriptions in their area. Probably such inscriptions in the 5th century
were caused by other East Germanic people like the pagan Heruls who operated in the same area. Boris
Magomedov has attributed runic inscriptions in South Eastern Europe to the Heruls (Khrapunov 2013,
Magomedov p. 267). By tradition they have been referred to the Goths due to the Eastgermanic language
and the Pietrossa Ring, which however is from the 3rd and 4th century. The Heruls are the most likely
explanation in the 5th century due to the name of the area of their kingdom, the tales about their defence
of Ravenna (Maringa Burg), and their historically attested travel to the environment of the Rök Stone at the
Scandinavian Peninsula. Of course the mentioning of Theodoric is striking but their role was connected with
the famous Theodoric in those years.

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The Heruls were first mentioned with an etymology associated with the Swamps of Asov at the Black Sea
behind Crimea (Jordanes) but more likely they lived at the eastern banks of the Dnepr. Most of them went
with the Huns to the March-region in 370 AD and joined Attila to France until their royal family at last in
509 AD travelled to the Scandinavian Peninsula, where they settled next to the Gautoi (Götes). Some of
them may still have operated around Crimea in the 5th century like the Crimean Goths. Another group of
Heruls may have lost an attack on Västergötland with their equipment ending up as a sacrifice in Finnestorp
in the beginning of the 6th century. Therefore we may find the faces with the similar tattoos in Finnestorp
and Yalta and the ornaments with circles on triangles in Finnestorp, Szabadbattyan, at later Scandinavian
fibulas and at the mausoleum of Theodoric in Ravenna.

The concentric circles in the tattoo may be a Herulian symbol, as a

similar sign is known from a medieval copy
of Notitia Dignitarum from around 410 AD
as the shield mark of the mercenary-
company, Herules Seniores, fighting
together with the Bataves in England. A similar sign is found at the
shield of a helmet plate in the later boat grave, Valsgärde 8. The
other shield mark is the one of the Batavi Juniores. Sidonius
Apollinaris told in a letter around 478 AD: ”Here strolls the
Herulian with his glaucous cheeks [blue/green tattoos], inhabitant
of the Ocean's furthest shore, and of one complexion with its
weedy deeps” (Apollinaris, VIII,IX) – it has therefore been agreed
that the Heruls used tattoos at their cheeks as an attribute – just
as the heads at the buckles. However, these Heruls were probably Western Heruls, while the Heruls at the
Danube normally were Eastern Heruls – but they may have used the same customs and identification
marks.

A connection between Woden and the Heruls will not be as surprising as it may appear. In Strängnäs (100
kilometers south of Uppsala) a stone with the runic inscription ".rilaR . WodinR" was found in 1962, where
an Erilar probably shall be regarded as a Herulian mercenary-officer (jarl / earl / herul) – the missing link
between the names is found in Herilungenburg at the Danube close to the Marchfeldt in 832 AD. Maybe
because the connection is unpopular among Swedish runologists and archaeologists the inscription has
been kept secret as a fake for 49 years in order “not to give some runologists whims in their heads”– but
four investigations using ae. X-ray have now revealed that it is genuine (Gustavson 2011). It is the first
known inscription of the name WodenR/Wodan together with the Bavarian inscription in Nordendorf from
the 6th century. The inscription may together with the Asiatic looking face support the theory of Lotte
Hedeager (Hedeager 2011) that one of the shapes of Woden was inspired by Attila – but in that case it was
rather brought to Scandinavia by the Heruls than by an army of Attila as she suggested. The theory by Lotte
Hedeager has been eagerly opposed by Ulf Näsman who earlier wrote in his doctoral theses that Hunnic
armies would not reach Scandinavia at the time of Attila. Actually we know from Procopius that their
Herulian supporters did so 50 years after Attila.

The story in Ynglingesaga (1230 AD) about Woden coming from the Black Sea to settle in Sweden shall not
be used as an argument, as it is an old myth, which is worthless as documentation. It is not improbable,
however, that old stories about Attila and his supporters, the Heruls, may have inspired the Scandinavians
to tell that myth – this will explain how the Herulian myths disappeared – they were converted to a royal
saga with elements both from the Heruls and the Huns.

Troels Brandt, the 25th of April 2015.

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Literature:
Appolinaris, Sidonius (Dalton) 478/1915. Letters
Cassiodorus: Ennodius, Consularia Italica Mommsen Chronica minora saec. IV.V.VI.VII vol 2.
Gustavson, Helmer, 2011, Tre urnordiske runeindskrifter i Fornvännen 106
Hedeager, Lotte 2011, Iron Age myth and materiality
Jensen, Jørgen 2004, Danmarks Oldtid
Jordanes (Mierow) 551/1915, The Gothic History
Khrapunov, Igor and Frans-Arne Stylegar (red.), Inter Ambo Maria I. 2011
Khrapunov, Igor and Frans-Arne Stylegar (red.), Inter Ambo Maria II. 2013
Nordqvist, Bengt 2010, En praktremsölja av kunglig valör, Finnestorp
Notitiadignitarum: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/luke/ueda-sarson/MagisterPeditum.html
Procopius (Dewing) 553/1914, Gotic Wars
Tacitus 116, Annales.

Pictures: Maxim Levada and Bengt Nordqvist