Article
Article name Videvut, Bruten and Prussian Archeology of the Beginning of the Merovingian Era
Authors Kulakov V.I.Doctor of History drkulakov@mail.ru
Bibliographic description Kulakov V. I. Videvut, Bruten and Prussian Archeology of the Beginning of the Merovingian Era // Humanitarian Vector. 2020. Vol. 15, No. 3. PP. 135–144. DOI: 10.21209/1996-7853-2020-15-3-135-144.
Section
DOI 10.21209/1996-7853-2020-15-3-135-144
UDK 902/904
Article type
Annotation Starting from the 1st century AD various groups of Germans appeared on the Amber Coast in the hope of participating in the amber trade. This fact is restored according to the numerous archaeological realities of German origin, recorded in the funeral rite and the inventory of burials at the burial grounds of Sambia. In the Vth century AD, Vidivarias arrived at the southwestern border of the Estonian range. Finally, in the beginning of the VIth century, prestigious artifacts were found in the funeral antiquities of the Prussians, testifying to the appearance of leaders from the western coast of the Baltic on Sambia. This aspect echoes the information of Simon Grunau about the arrival of the legendary leaders Videvut and Bruten in Prussia. It is possible that the basis for this message was a real historical fact. The most important monument of Prussian folklore is a set of data on the legendary Prussian prince Videvut and his brother Bruten, known to us from the multivolume “Prussian Chronicle” of the monk Simon Grunau. For more than a century, European historical science believed that the text of the initial volume of the Chronicle by Simon Grunau, which tells about the life and work of the first Prussian princes, was completely created by the author and had no historical basis. Analysis of Prussian arвосcheology data allows us to conclude that the real activities of military leaders, one of whom was called Videvut in Prussian legends, can be attributed to the middle of the Vth century. It is obvious that in the minds of the Prussian storytellers, who formed the source of the “Prussian Chronicle” that had not reached us, the images of Vidya/Videvut and Hama/Bruten from the Old English and Prussian legends merged into one and, in the end, appeared on the pages of the manuscript by Simon Grunau.
Key words Videvut, Bruten, Simon Grunau, vidivarii, microregion Hrains-Halba
Article information
References 1. Anfertiev, A. N. Jordan. The code of the most ancient written news about the Slavs. M: Nauka, 1991. (In Rus.) 2. Budanov, V. P. The Barbarian World of the Epoch of the Great Migration of Nations. M: Nauka, 2000. (In Rus.) 3. Vidsid. Old English Poetry. M: Nauka, 1982. (In Rus.) 4. Jordan. On the origin and deeds of the Geths. St. Petersburg: Aletheia, 1997. (In Rus.) 5. Kulakov, V. I. Land of the Prussians and the “Prussian lands”. Balto-Slavic studies 1985. M: Nauka, 1987: 95–101. (In Rus.). 6. Kulakov, V. I. Turks in the Baltic. Materials on the history of Kalmykia. Kalmyk ION of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1991: 137–148. (In Rus.) 7. Kulakov, V. I. Austeraviya. Motherland, no. 2, pр. 25–29, 1996. (In Rus.) 8. Kulakov, V. I. What do we know about the ancient Prussians. East Prussia from ancient times to the end of the Second World War. Kaliningrad: Kaliningrad book publishing house, 1996: 11–73. (In Rus.) 9. Kulakov, V. I. Varnikam. The antiquities of the Prussian leaders. Gistaryna-archealagichny zbornik, pp. 143–171, no. 12, 1996. (In Rus.) 10. Kulakov, V. I. 2003. The history of Prussia until 1283. M: Indrik. (In Rus.) 11. Kulakov, V. I. The gods of Videvut. Letonica, no. 10, pp. 36–64, 2004. (In Rus.) 12. Kulakov, V. I. “Princely” burials in the Baltics of the B1-C1 phases. Brief reports of the Institute of archaeology, vol. 218, pp. 48–64, 2005. (In Rus.) 13. Kulakov, V. I. Population of the Baltic region in the era of the Merovingians. Era of the Merovingians. Europe Without Borders, Munich: Minerva Publishing, 2007: 135–144. (In Rus.) 14. Kulakov, V. I. A series of three-beam fibula with a beast mask on a leg in historical Prussia. Stratum plus, no. 5, pp. 109–122, 2011. (In Rus.) 15. Kulakov, V. I., Crossbow fibula with animal ornament Slavia Antiqua. T. LIII, pp. 131–163, 2012. (In Rus.) 16. Kulakov, V. I. Vessels with calving in the antiquities of the Aestians on the material of the Lauth burial ground. Slavia Antiqua, v. LIV, pp. 117–141. 2013. (In Rus.) 17. Kulakov, V. I. East Prussia. Big Russian Encyclopedia. Vol. 27. M: BREB, 2015: 661. (In Rus.) 18. Kulakov, V. I. Introduction to the early medieval archeology of the Prussians. Problems of interregional relations, vol. 10, pp. 15–18, 2015. (In Rus.) 19. Kulakov, V. I. The message of Simon Grünau about the cult center Romov-Rikuiko. Traditions, myths and legends of Ancient Prussia. Olsztyn, 2015: 79–106. (In Rus.) 20. Kulakov, V. I. Treasures of the Amber region. Indicators of foreign cultural influences on antiquities of Sambia and Natangia in the I-IV centuries. Kaliningrad: Kaliningrad book, 2016. (In Rus.) 21. Kulakov, V. I. Archaeological commentary on the legend of Videvute. Historical and archaeological notes. Vol. III. Zimovniki: Zimovnikovskiy Museum of Local Lore, 2016: 86–98. (In Rus.) 22. Kulakov, V. I. Animal style in the land of the Prussians (late IV ‒ X centuries). Historical format, no. 2, pp. 21–58, 2016. (In Rus.) 23. Kulakov, V. I. Change over the twentieth century. A look at the role of the ancient German component in the culture of Sambia of the Roman period. Historical format, no. 1–2, pp. 144–159, 2018. (In Rus.) 24. Kulakov, V. I. Dating of the unique clothing complex from the Skardelies Wald / Aleika-7 burial site. Komunikaty Mazursko-Warmińskie, no. 1, pp. 169–178, 2018. (In Rus.) 25. Kulakov, V. I. The Beginning of the Gothic Path to Eastern Europe. Zapiski IIMK RAN, no. 18, pp. 89–99, 2018. (In Rus.) 26. Nazarenko, A. V. German Latin-speaking sources of the 9th-11th centuries. M: Nauka, 1993. (In Rus.) 27. Prisk Paniysky. Gothic history. Herald of ancient history, no. 4, pp. 675–698, 1948. (In Rus.) 28. Skvortsov, K. N., Makarov, N. A., Khokhlov, A. N., Engovatova, A. V. Soil burial ground Aleika-7 (Kaliningrad region, Zelenogradsky district). Cities, villages, burial grounds. Excavations 2017. Rescue archaeological research materials, vol. 25, pp. 346–353, 2018. (In Rus.) 29. Bitner-Wróblewska A. From Samland to Rogaland. East-West connections in the Baltic basin during the Early Migration Period, Warszawa: Państwowe Muzeum Archeologiczne, 2001. (In Pol.) 30. Bitner-Wróblewska, A., Wróblewski, W. Aestii Tacyta. Kim naprawdę byli. Barbaricum, vol. 11, pp. 65–78, 2015. (In Pol.) 31. Braune, W.. Sammlung kurzer Grammatiken germanischer Dialekte. I. gotische Grammatik, Halle: Max Niemeyer, 1905. (In Pol.) 32. Grunau, S. Preussische Chronik. Bd. I, Leipzig, 1876. (In Germ.) 33. Kulakov, V. La terre prusse entre Scandinavie et Orient. Les centres proto-urbains russes entre Scandinavie, Byzance et Orient, Réalités Byzantines, t. 7, pp. 283–298, 2000. (In French) 34. Kulakov, V. Légionnaires romains et guerriers mérovingies sur la côte d’Ambre. Voies d’eau, commerce et artisanat en Gaule mérovingienne, Namur: Musée archélogique de Namur, 2005: 133–144. (In French) 35. Kulakov, V. Die Enstehung der Dolchmessern. Archaeologia Lituana, vol. 14, S. 36–50, 2013. (In Germ.) 36. Kulakov, V. Zespól dwóch złotych naszyjników/pierścieni z Młoteczna/Hammersdorf i grzywny typu R300 w krajach nadbałtyckich // Pruthenia, t. XIV, Olsztyn: Wydawca Towarzystwa Naukowego Pruthenia, 2014: 45–63. (In Pol.)
Full articleVidevut, Bruten and Prussian Archeology of the Beginning of the Merovingian Era