Reidgotaland

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The oldest regions labelled Reidgotaland. The dark blue area is the Roman Empire

Reidgotaland, Hreidgotaland or Hreiðgotaland was a land in Scandinavian mythology, which usually referred to the land of the Goths. Oddly, hreiðr meant "bird's nest" and perhaps it was a kenning for the Goths tradition of moving and "nesting" in new territories. Another possibility is that it was originally reið "ride, journey" (see Raidô). The use of the prefix is simple as the same tribal name was used for the Gotlanders, the gutar or gotar. The identification of the territory varies between the sources. This is the list of meanings given by Nordisk familjebok:

1. The Island of Gotland.
2. Götaland.
3. The land of the Goths, i.e. Gothiscandza and their later territories. In Hervarar saga, it was the same as Oium and bordered the land of the Huns from which it was separated by Myrkviðr.
4. The territories of the Goths in southern Europe, according to Anglo-Saxon sources.
5. Denmark and Sweden (according to Snorri's Edda it was the earthly kingdom of Odin).
6. Denmark.
7. Jutland.

The second edition of Nordisk familjebok explains that Hreidgoths was originally applied to the Ostrogoths in south-eastern Europe. It appears as hraiþkutum on the Rök Stone in Ostrogothia. In Hervarar saga, the name Hreiðgotaland is applied to the territories of the Ostrogoths in south-eastern Europe. In Snorri's Edda, it is either applied to Jutland or to the Danish islands which are called Eygotaland.

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