The term Götaland theory (Swedish Västgötaskolan) is a local patriotic view which challenges established history and archaeology, and which claims that the foundation of Sweden was not in East Sweden, but in Västergötland. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative Provinces of Sweden ( landskap in Swedish situated in the southwest of Sweden. The adherents use wide ranging methods from controversial ones such as dowsing and asking mediums to contact the dead, to less controversial ones such as etymology, but also claim that the established academic material consists of lies and forgeries. Dowsing, sometimes called doodlebugging, divining or water witching, is a practice whereby dowsers attempt to locate hidden Water wells Mediumship is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Louisiana Voodoo, and Etymology is the study of the History of Words &mdash when they entered a language from what source and how their form and meaning have changed over time Although well-known in Sweden and fervently preached by its adherents, it has never been accepted by scholars. [1]
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The Nazi origin
The Götaland theory was the only "successful" result of the Nazi infiltration of Swedish archaeology during 1933-1945. [2]Carl-Otto Fast, the founder of the "Västgötaskolan" was a notorious nazi who collaborated with SS Ahnenerbe, Richard Walther Darré and eugenic "specialists" from Hadamar in Germany. The Ahnenerbe was a Nazi German Think tank that promoted itself as a "study society for Intellectual Ancient History Richard Walther Darré (born Ricardo Walther Oscar Darré, 14 July 1895 - 5 September 1953 was an SS - Obergruppenführer and one of the leading The idea that the craddle of the "germanic" was located in Västergötland, was the un-disputable "truth" in Nazi Germany. Archaeologist Magnus Alkarp, who has studied classified and semi-classified documents from the post-war era, has showed that the "Västgötaskolan", among other regional, right-wing separatists movements in Scandinavia, was an important part of the Operation Gladio. Magnus Alkarp (born March 31, 1959) is a Swedish Archaeologist, Author and Screenwriter from Uppsala, Gladio ( Italian, from Latin Gladius, meaning Sword) is a code name denoting the clandestine NATO " Stay-behind
Putting the theory to the test
Several times, laymen have tried to prove what they considered important aspects of the theory. The barrow at Skalunda was claimed to be the burial site of the hero Beowulf of the Beowulf epic, and by applying the dowsing technique with a pendulum, they established that the barrow was indeed the burial site of the Geatish hero. Skalunda is a village in Västergötland, Sweden. Skalunda was one of the eight royal estates of early medieval Västergötland (cf Beowulf (ˈBeɪoʊwʊlf/ /ˈBeɪəwʊlf Old English ˈbeːo̯wʊlf is a legendary Geatish hero and later king in the Old English epic poem named after him Beowulf is an Old English Heroic epic poem of anonymous authorship dating as recorded in the Nowell Codex manuscript from between Dowsing, sometimes called doodlebugging, divining or water witching, is a practice whereby dowsers attempt to locate hidden Water wells [3] Later, professional archaeologists drilled into the barrow to extract a sample for C14 dating. Radiocarbon dating is a Radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring Radioisotope Carbon-14 (14C to determine the age of [3] The barrow was from c. 700, c. 150 years too late for being a candidate for Beowulf's burial site. [3]
The locality Sätuna at the small lake Hornborgasjön in Västergötland was commonly claimed to be the true Sigtuna, where king Olof Skötkonung had his coins made. Lake Hornborga (Hornborgasjön is a Lake in Västergötland in Sweden. Sigtuna is a city in the Uppland part of Stockholm County, central Sweden. Olof Skötkonung ( Old Icelandic: Óláfr sænski, Old Swedish: Olawær skotkonongær) was the son of Eric the Victorious and [4] A protrusion in the ground was pointed out by the adherents as the king's mint. [4] However, when archaeologists examined their claims it turned out to be the remains of an uncompleted barn from the 1890s. [4]
History
The Götaland theory originated in the late 19th century with claims that the ancient city Ubsola (Uppsala) was situated in the province of Västergötland in the old lands called Uplanden. Gamla Uppsala ("Old Uppsala" is a parish and a village outside Uppsala in Sweden. is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative Provinces of Sweden ( landskap in Swedish situated in the southwest of Sweden. Additionally, the theory's supporters also held the view that Västergötland and the region of Lake Vänern was in fact the land of Sithun, translated to modern day language as Sigtuna, where Odin and his Aesir companions supposedly settled when they came to Scandinavia. Vänern (IPA) is the largest Lake in Sweden and the third largest lake in Europe. Sigtuna is a city in the Uppland part of Stockholm County, central Sweden. Odin (ˈoʊdɪn from Old Norse Óðinn) is considered the chief god in Norse paganism. In Old Norse, áss (or ǫ́ss ás, plural æsir, feminine ásynja, feminine plural ásynjur) is the term denoting one of the principal Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well
An early advocate was Pehr Tham (1737-1820), who during the 19th century unsuccessfully tried to promote ideas such as the village Sätuna being the location of Old Sigtuna, and the ancient town of Birka being somewhere around Lake Hornborgasjön. Fornsigtuna ( forn means ancient) Old Sigtun, Sithun, Sign(hildsberg or Signesberg ( is located in the parish of For a group of islands in the Gulf of Finland, see Berezovye Islands. Lake Hornborga (Hornborgasjön is a Lake in Västergötland in Sweden. He is regarded as an ideological successor of Olof Rudbeckius, the professor of medicine, who was convinced that Sweden was the true location of the sunken Atlantis. Olaus Rudbeck (also known as Olof Rudbeck the Elder, to distinguish him from his son and occasionally with the surname Latinized as Olaus Rudbeckius) (1630-1702 Atlantis (in Greek,, "island of Atlas " is the name of a Legendary Island, first mentioned in Plato 's dialogues
The early proponents of the Götaland theory suggested ideas on how Västergötland, and the Lake Väner region in particular, was the origin not only of the Geats, but also of the Suiones, the Danes; and furthermore the location of the events Norse mythology, such as Odin's Sithun (Sigtuna), Valhall, and the ashtree Yggdrasil. Geats, Geatas, Gautar, Goths, Gotar, Gøtar, Götar were a North Germanic tribe inhabiting Götaland The Swedes (svear Old Norse: svíar; Old English: Sweonas; Suiones Suehans or Sueones) were an ancient North The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Norse mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and Legends of the Scandinavian peoples including those who settled on Iceland Odin (ˈoʊdɪn from Old Norse Óðinn) is considered the chief god in Norse paganism. Fornsigtuna ( forn means ancient) Old Sigtun, Sithun, Sign(hildsberg or Signesberg ( is located in the parish of Sigtuna is a city in the Uppland part of Stockholm County, central Sweden. In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil ( Old Norse Yggdrasill, ˈyɡˌdrasilː the extra -l is a Nominative case marker is the World These ideas, written in the spirit of Romanticism, were also a reaction to the archeaological research at the time, which arguably neglected other areas of Sweden that were no less rich of archeological remains. Romanticism is a complex artistic literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the The speculations of the adherents of the movement are to a large extent irrelevant for modern academic discussion, which does not pay much attention to Swedish-Geatish wars, Yngling kings, etc. Swedish-Geatish wars refer to semi- Legendary 6th century battles between Swedes and Geats that are described in the Anglo-Saxon Ynglings were the oldest known Scandinavian dynasty It can refer to the following clans: The Scylfings ( Old Norse: Skilfingar) the
Birka speculations
Birka is one of Sweden's historical crown jewels, being a World Heritage Site and a popular tourism attraction. For a group of islands in the Gulf of Finland, see Berezovye Islands. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex Its location is on Björkö in lake Mälaren.
According to the Västgöta theory, Birka as a name meant "merchant town", and could refer to any such town in ancient Sweden. A possible candidate is Köpingsvik on the island Öland in the Baltic Sea, which has several remains from the 9th and 11th century. Köpingsvik is a village on the Swedish island province of Öland in Kalmar County. is the second largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional Provinces of Sweden. The Baltic Sea is a Brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N Latitude and from 20°E to 26°E Longitude. The 9th century is the period from 801 to 900 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era.
Ubsola speculations
Upsalum, or Ubsola, was the main cult center of pagan (heathen) Ása-faith in ancient Scandinavia and Sweden. Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning "country dweller rustic" is a word used to refer to various religions and religious beliefs from across the world The ancient Upsalum was described by Adam of Bremen in the 11th century, and by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century. Adam of Bremen (also Adam Bremensis) was one of the most important German Medieval Chroniclers He lived and worked in the second half of the Snorri Sturluson (1178 – September 23, 1241) was an Icelandic historian poet and politician It is generally considered to correspond to modern day Uppsala, with its location on Uppsala's old location -- Old Uppsala, in east Sweden, the habitat of the ancient tribe called Suiones (Swedes). Uppsala ˈɵpˌsɑːla (older spelling Upsala) is the capital of Uppsala County ( Uppsala län) and the fourth largest city of Gamla Uppsala ("Old Uppsala" is a parish and a village outside Uppsala in Sweden. The Swedes (svear Old Norse: svíar; Old English: Sweonas; Suiones Suehans or Sueones) were an ancient North The Västgöta school however claim that the original site for the temple was located in West Sweden, in the habitat of the ancient Geats (Götar), the tribe which came to name Västergötland. Geats, Geatas, Gautar, Goths, Gotar, Gøtar, Götar were a North Germanic tribe inhabiting Götaland
Especially, the story of Odin and the Aesir's emigration according to the Ynglinga saga is generally considered invalid by the official views and scholars. The Ynglinga saga was originally written in Old Norse by the Icelandic poet Snorri Sturluson about 1225. Other parts of the extensive work of Snorri Sturluson (and other saga writers) may however be considered valid references for finding elements of the ancient history of Scandinavian people and their religious customs and beliefs. Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well
There are however no archeological findings that support the view of Västergötland being the original site of Ubsola, and therefore the views of the Västgöta theory have little or no credibility.
See also
Notes
- ^ Larsson 2002:8:
Bland de akademiska forskarna har denna skola aldrig accepterats, [. Historical lands Sweden was historically divided into the four lands Götaland, Svealand, Norrland and Modern Sweden emerged out of the Kalmar Union formed in 1397 and by the unification of the country by King Gustav Vasa in the 16th century Gothicismus, Gothism, or Gothicism (Göticism is the name given to what is considered to have been a Cultural movement in Sweden. . . ] - ^ Alkarp 2007
The lost Temple [. . . ] - ^ a b c Larsson 2002:90
- ^ a b c Larsson 2002:34
References
Larsson, M. G. (2002). Götarnas riken. Upptäcksfärder till Sveriges enande. Atlantis, Stockholm. ISBN 91-7486-641-9.