Revisionist view that the foundation of Sweden occurred in Vastergotland
The
Gotaland theory
(or "
Westrogothian School
",
Swedish
Vastgotaskolan
) is a view which challenges established history and archaeology, and claims that the foundation of
Sweden
occurred not (as traditionally assumed) in
Eastern Sweden
, but in the province of Westrogothia (
Vastergotland
). The adherents of this idea use wide-ranging methods, from controversial ones, such as
dowsing
and asking
mediums
to contact the dead, to more conventional methods such as
etymology
, but also claim that the established academic material consists of lies and forgeries. Although well known in Sweden and fervently preached by its adherents, it has never been accepted by scholars.
[1]
History
[
edit
]
The Gotaland theory originated in the early 20th century with claims that the ancient city
Ubsola
(
Uppsala
) was situated in the province of
Vastergotland
, specifically in the old lands called
Uplanden
. Additionally, the theory's supporters also held the view that Vastergotland and the region of Lake
Vanern
was in fact the land of "Sithun", translated into modern day language as
Sigtuna
, where
Odin
and his
Aesir
companions supposedly settled when they came to
Scandinavia
.
An early predecessor of the theory was
Pehr Tham
(1737–1820), who during the 19th century unsuccessfully tried to promote ideas such as the village
Satuna
being the location of
Old Sigtuna
, and the ancient town of
Birka
being situated somewhere around
Lake Hornborga
. He is regarded as a successor of
Olof Rudbeckius
, a seventeenth-century scholar who claimed that Sweden was the true location of the sunken
Atlantis
.
The early proponents of the Gotaland theory proposed ideas about Vastergotland, and the Vanern lake region, in particular, being the origin not only of the
Geats
, but also of the
Suiones
, the
Danes
; and furthermore the location of various phenomena in
Norse mythology
, such as
Odin
's
Sithun
(
Sigtuna
),
Valhall
, and the ash tree
Yggdrasil
. These ideas, created in the spirit of
Romanticism
, were also a reaction to the archaeological research at the time, which arguably neglected some areas of Sweden that were nevertheless rich in archaeological remains. The speculations of the adherents of the Gotaland theory movement are largely irrelevant to modern academic discussion, which does not pay much attention to
Swedish-Geatish wars
or the
Yngling
kings.
[2]
Especially, the story of Odin and the Aesir's emigration according to the
Ynglinga saga
is generally considered as false by the official views and scholars. 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.
Birka speculations
[
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]
The town
Birka
is also known from the
Vita Ansgari
, in which
Ansgar
founds a
mission
in the town. It is commonly referred to being on
Bjorko
island in the lake
Malaren
. This location is a
World Heritage Site
and a popular tourist attraction.
According to the Vastgota theory,
Birka
as a name meant "merchant town," and could refer to any such town in ancient Sweden.
[
citation needed
]
Ubsola
speculations
[
edit
]
Upsalir
, or
Ubsola
, was the main cult center of
pagan
(heathen) Asa-faith in ancient Scandinavia and Sweden. The ancient Upsalir was described by
Adam of Bremen
in the 11th century, and by
Snorri Sturluson
in the 13th century. 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). The Vastgota school however claims that the original site for the
temple
was located in West Sweden, in the habitat of the ancient
Geats
(
Gotar
), the tribe which came to name
Vastergotland
.
There are however no archeological findings that support the view of Vastergotland being the original site of Ubsola, and therefore the views of the Vastgota theory have little or no actual credibility.
[
citation needed
]
The theory's Nazi origin
[
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]
The Gotaland theory was the only notable result of the Nazi infiltration of Swedish archaeology during 1933–1945.
[3]
Carl-Otto Fast
, founder of the Westrogothian School ("Vastgotaskolan"), was a known Nazi
[4]
who some claim collaborated with
SS Ahnenerbe
,
Richard Walther Darre
and eugenicists from
Hadamar
in Germany. Archaeologist
Magnus Alkarp
, who has studied classified and semi-classified documents from the
post-war era
, has showed that the Westrogothian School was, among some regional, right-wing separatists movements in Scandinavia, an important part of the
Operation Gladio
.
[
citation needed
]
Testing the theory
[
edit
]
Amateurs have unsuccessfully tried to prove what they consider important aspects of the Gotaland theory several times. The barrow at
Skalunda
was claimed to be the burial site of the hero
Beowulf
known from the
Beowulf
epic
; after applying the
dowsing
technique with a pendulum, they claimed that the barrow was indeed the burial site of this
Geatish
hero.
Later, professional archaeologists drilled into the barrow to extract a sample for
C14 dating
.
The barrow was from around 700 C.E., about 150 years too late for being a candidate for Beowulf's burial site.
The locality
Satuna
at the
Lake Hornborga
in Vastergotland was, according to believers in the theory, the true
Sigtuna
, where king
Olof Skotkonung
had his coins made.
A protrusion in the ground was pointed out by adherents of the Gotaland theory as the king's
mint
.
However, when archaeologists examined it, the protrusion turned out to be the remains of an uncompleted barn from the 1890s.
See also
[
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]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Larsson 2002:8: Bland de akademiska forskarna har denna skola aldrig accepterats, [...]
- ^
Gahrn 1988, Stromberg 1998
- ^
Alkarp 2007 The lost Temple [...]
- ^
"Kategori:Personer inom svensk nazism"
,
Wikipedia
(in Swedish), 2016-10-13
, retrieved
2023-02-06
References
[
edit
]
- Alkarp, Magnus (2007).
Men dari ar ocksa mycken galenskap : Adam av Bremen, arkeologin och Gamla Uppsala = Adamus Bremensis, archaeology and Old Uppsala
. In:
Kult, guld och makt : ett tvarvetenskapligt symposium i Gotene
.
- Gahrn, Lars (1988).
Sveariket i kallor och historieskrivning
. Gothenburg University, doctoral thesis with English summary.
- Larsson, M. G. (2002).
Gotarnas riken. Upptacksfarder till Sveriges enande
. Atlantis, Stockholm.
ISBN
91-7486-641-9
.
- Stromberg, J.B.L.D. (1998).
Svearikets vagga och vastgotaskolan
. Stockholm.
Web edition with an English summary