Talk:Denmark–Norway
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Archive of talk page prior Aug 10th, 2006 (Troll warning)
[edit] Wends and Goths
I venture to reintroduce the term "Goths" in the title of the kings of Denmark-Norway, instead of "Geats". It seems to me that the formula "de Venders og Goters Konge", as used in the official title of the Danish kings until 1972, is more precisely rendered in English as "Wends and Goths". The commonly used Latin translation was "Vandalorum et Gothorum". Most likely, the term "Goters" refers not to the inhabitants of Götaland in Sweden, but to the Goths, the East Germanic tribe that may originally have migrated from Sweden, but during the first centuries inhabited parts of present day Poland and Russia, later to split into the Visigoths and Ostrogoths who established successor states to the Roman Empire. While Denmark-Norway existed, both titles were of course recognised as empty titles of pretension, and the peoples referred to were more or less mythical.
The Swedish kings, by the way, claimed dominion over the same peoples, usually in the opposite order: "Götes och Vendes Konung". When Norway entered into a personal union with Sweden in 1814, the king's Norwegian title was "Konge til Norge og Sverige de Goters og Venders". Roede 18:34, 18 November 2006 (UTC)
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- The title refers to Gotland, not Götaland, despite of the historical connections between Denmark and Västergötland. Valentinian (talk) / (contribs) 02:07, 10 December 2006 (UTC)
