Cp. Sievers 'Grundr.', I, 407-416 ('Geschichte der got. sprache');
II, 1, 65-70 ('Gotische literatur'); Kögel, Geschichte der deutsch.
litteratur, I, 1, 176-195.
§ 220. THE GOTHS.
(a) The Gothic language is the language of the Gothic peple
(=Gut-þiuda=) which, divided into the two great tribes of the East and
West Goths, figured in history in the time of the great migration.
Together with the fall of the East Gothic kingdom in Italy and of the
West Gothic kingdom in Spain the Gothic nation also past away. Only
scatterd remains of the Goths and their language remaind until the
beginning of the modern era in the Crimea. ('Crimean' or 'Tetraxitic'
Goths.)
NOTE 1. The Goth. spelling of the name of the Goths as a peple
is =*Gutans= and =*Gutôs=, with =t=, not with =þ= according to
J. Grimm's suggestion which is supported by Kremer (Beitr., 8,
447). Concerning the form, inflection, and etymology of the name
of the Goths, cp. Zs. fda., 9, 243 et seq.; Grundr., I, 407;
Wrede, 'Ostg.', 44 et seq.; Beitr., 17, 178 et seq.; Ax. Erdmann,
folknamnen 'Götar' och 'Goter', Stockholm 1891 (cp. Litbl. 1894,
249).
NOTE 2. The current interpretation of the two Lt. names Austro-,
Ostrogot(h)æ, -i and Wisigot(h)æ, -i, as East Goths and West Goths,
which dates back to Jordanes, might hold good for the former only;
the name of the Wisigothæ which ar simply calld also Vesi, Visi,
has nothing to do with 'west'. Ep. IF., 4, 300 et seq.
NOTE 3. Concerning the Crimean Goths and the remains of their
language, s. Zs. fda., 1, 345-366; W. Tomaschek, 'Die Goten in
Taurien', Wien 1881; Beitr., 11, 563 et seq.; F. Braun, 'Die
letzten schicksale der Krimgoten'. Program St. Petersburg 1890 (cp.
Anz. fda. 17, 167 f.).
(b) It was for the Gothic peple that the group of Germanic tribes to
which the Goths belongd has been frequently calld the 'Gothic Group'.
For this there has been recently proposed the name 'Vandilians'
(according to Pliny, 'nat. hist.', IV, 99). The most important of
these Vandilians ar the Goths, the Gepidae, the Vandals, the Burgundi,
the Heruli, and the Rugii. At the beginning of the Christian era their
abodes wer between the Elbe and the Vistula. The languages of these
peples wer closely related. The extant literary remains, however,
except in Gothic, ar very few, and these ar almost entirely proper
nouns.
NOTE 4. Concerning the Vandilians, cp. F. Wrede, 'Ueber die sprache
der Wandalen', Strassburg, 1886 (QF., 59), p. 3 et seq.; F. Dahn,
'Urgeschichte der germ. und rom. völker', vol. I (Berlin 1881), p.
139 et seq.; R. Much, 'Goten und Ingvaeonen. (Beitr., 17, 178-221).
(c) The Gothic or Vandilian group of tribes together with the
Scandinavians constitute the 'East Germanic' division as opposed to the
'West Germanic' division which embraces the remaining Germanic tribes.
NOTE 5. Concerning the division of the Germanic race into East
Germanic and West Germanic tribes, cp. H. Zimmer, 'Ostgermanisch
und Westgermanisch', in Zs. fda., 19, 393 et seq.; Beitr. 9, 546 et
seq.; Grundr., I, 362 et seq.; concerning the separate position of
the Scandinavian as compared with the Gothic, s. Noreen, 'altisl.
gr.²', § 2, and Grundr., I, 419 et seq.
§ 221. SOURCES OF THE GOTHIC LANGUAGE.
We know the Gothic language from the fragments of the biblical
translation which is safely ascribed to bishop Ulfilas (or, in Gothic
spelling, Wulfila; cp. Bernhardt, Vulfila, p. VII; Anz. fda., 14, 285;
Grundr., II, 67⁴). Wulfila was born in 310 and died at the end of 380
or erly in 381 after Christ. During the last 33 years of his life
he was bishop of that part of the West Goths which, when persecuted
by their heathen kinsmen, he led across the Danube where they wer
permitted by Constantius to setl in Moesia (Moeso-Goths or Goti
minores).--The fragments of the biblical version hav cum down to us in
the following manuscripts:--
1. 'Codex Argenteus' at Upsala. It containd on 330 leavs the four
gospels in the following order: Matthew, John, Luke, Mark. Of these 330
leavs 187 ar extant. The gospel of Lu. shows yunger forms of speech
which differ in many respects from the normal forms (cp. §§ 7, n. 2;
14, n. 3; 56, n. 1; 62, n. 3; 67, n. 2; a 74, n. 1; 105, n. 2; 204,
n. 1; probably thru the influence of the dialect of the East Gothic
writers; cp. Wrede, 'Ostg.', 200 et seq.).
2. 'Codex Carolinus', a 'codex rescriptus' at Wolfenbüttel, which
contains portions of the 11.-15. chaps. of the epistl to the Romans.
3. 'Codices Ambrosiani', five fragments ('codices rescripti') in the
Ambrosian library at Milan, which contain chiefly St. Paul's epistls.
They are clast as follows:--
Codex A contains on 95 leavs fragments of the epistls to the
Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians, Galatians, Philippians,
Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and a
fragment of a Gothic calendar.
Codex B contains on 77 leavs all of the second epistl to the
Corinthians, fragments of the first epistl to the Corinthians, of
the epistls to the Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians,
Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus.--In contents Codex A and Codex B
ar partly the same, which is important for the criticism of the
text.
Codex C. Two leavs with fragments of Mt. XXV-XXVII.
Codex D. Three leavs with fragments of the books of Ezra and
Nehemiah.
Codex E. Eight leavs three of which ar in the Vatican library at
Rome, and contain the fragments of an interpretation of the
gospel of St. John. They wer calld by their editor (Massmann):
=Skeireins aíwaggêljôns þaírh Jôhannên=, and are therefore stil
cited as =Skeireins= (concerning which cp. Zs. fda., 37, 320;
Anz. fda., 20, 148 et seq.).
4. 'Codex Taurinensis', four considerably damaged leavs with scanty
fragments of the epistls to the Galatians and Colossians, which remain
to be deciferd.
NOTE 1. Concerning Wulfila, cp. Waitz, 'Ueber das leben und die
Lehre des Ulfila' (Hannover 1840); Bessell, 'Ueber das leben des
Ulfilas' (Göttingen 1860); G. Kaufmann, 'Kritische untersuchung
der quellen zur geschichte Ulfilas', in Zs. fda., 27, 193 et seq.;
Grundr. II, 68; Kögel, 'Gesch. der dtsch. Litt.', I, 1, 182.
NOTE 2. For more on the Gothic manuscripts, s. Bernhardt's
'Vulfila', Introduction, p. XXXIX et seq.; for the history of
the 'Codex Argenteus', cp. also the recent articls by Schulte,
'Gotthica minora', in Zs. fda., 23, 51. 318 and 24, 324 et seq.:
lastly, J. Peters, 'Germania', 30, 314 et seq.
NOTE 3. Beside the translation of the Bible (and the =Skeireins=)
there ar no Gothic literary monuments of great moment. The most
important ones ar two Latin title deeds with Gothic signatures at
Naples and Arezzo, and the abuv (with Codex A) mentiond fragment
of a Gothic calendar. The editions of Wulfila contain these
remains also. Concerning the Gothic words and alfabets in the
Salzburg-Vienna manuscript (§ 1, n. 5; § 2, n. 2) and other remains
of the Gothic language, cp. Massmann's articl 'Gotthica minora',
in Zs. fda., 1, 294-393.--Concerning Gothic runic inscriptions, s.
Wimmer, 'Die runenschrift' (1887), p. 62 et seq.; R. Henning, 'Die
deutschen runendenkmäler', Strassburg 1889 (and Zs. fdph., 23, 354
et seq.; Wimmer, 'de tyske runemindesmærker, Aarb. f. nord. oldk.
og hist.', 1894, 1 et seq.). The most important inscription is that
of the Bukarest ring ('gold-ring of Pietroassa', Henning, 27 et
seq.): =gutaniowi hailag=.
NOTE 4. The numerous proper nouns in Gothic, which ar containd
in Greek and stil more so in Latin sources, hav been utilized by
Dietrich ('Ausspr.') and by Bezzenberger, 'Ueber die A-reihe der
got. sprache', Göttingen 1874, p. 7 et seq. A monografic treatment
of the East Gothic names has been givn us by F. Wrede, 'Ueber die
sprache der Ostgoten in Italien', Strassburg 1891 (OF., 68); cp.
review of this book in Litbl. 1891, p. 333; Anz. fda., 18, 43 et
seq., 309 et seq.
§ 222. EDITIONS.
The first printed edition of the 'Codex Argenteus' is that by Fr.
Junius, Dortrecht 1665. All the erlier editions (the titles of which
s. in Bernhardt's 'Vulfila', p. LXIII et seq., and in Balg's 'First
Germanic Bible', p. XVII et seq.; cp. also v. Bahder, 'Die deutsche
philologie', Paderborn 1883, p. 44 et seq.) hav now only historical
value. For the study of the Gothic language the following editions ar
of importance:--
(a) The large edition of Ulfilas by +v. d. Gabelentz+ and +Löbe+,
which appeard in 1843-46 in three volumes 4to. Altho the text in the
first volume is antiquated in consequence of Uppström's editions, the
glossary (vol. II, 1) and particularly the grammar (vol. II, 2) ar of
great value for their abundant compilations and syntactic elaboration.
(b) For an exact establishment of the manuscripts ar exceedingly
important the new readings of the learnd Swedish Professor +Andreas
Uppström+ who issued exact reprints of the text according to these
readings: Codex Argenteus, Upsala 1854,--Decem codicis argentei
rediviva folia, Upsala 1857,--Fragmenta gothica selecta 1861,--Codices
gotici ambrosiani 1864-68.--(For complete titles, s. v. Bahder, loc.
cit.; cp. also Balg, loc. cit.).
(c) A critically amended text based on Uppström's readings, with
critical exegetic notes and the original Greek text, is givn in +E.
Bernhardt's+ edition: 'Vulfila oder die gotische bibel'. Halle 1876.
Cp. review of it in Zs. fdph., 7, 103 et seq.
(d) A good manual of Ulfilas, with a glossary and a grammar, is that
by +M. Heyne+, 8th edition. Paderborn 1885. Its text is likewise based
on Uppström's readings, but it is treated more conservativly than
Bernhardt's. The fonological and inflectional parts of the grammar
rest on antiquated views, but the glossary is a recommendabl handbook
containing all the words of the Gothic language.
NOTE. Other later editions of the texts ar: (a) +Bernhardt's+,
Halle 1884 (a reprint of the text of his larger edition, with a
concise glossary); cp. review of it in Zs. fdph., 17, 249 et seq.
(b) The first Germanic Bible translated from the Greek by the
Gothic bishop Wulfila in the fourth century, and the other remains
of the Gothic language, edited (according to Bernhardt's edition),
with an introduction, a syntax, and a glossary, by +G. H. Balg+.
Milwaukee, Wis. 1891.
§ 223. GRAMMATICAL AND LEXICAL HELPS.