History With RCS: Toward an exploration of Baltic Sea Cultures.
Before getting into the cultures active in the area I would like to introduce some of its geological and geographic features. But as a taste of doings and happenings to come I'll mention a few. Amber has long been collected and traded there. River and sea commerce has long been very active. Even now Russian and Dane meet there, Finn and Swede too, and a good many more. Ancient cultures there were Scythian, Celt, and Slav to name a few. Norsemen learn viking their and reach Byzantium.
Th Baltic Sea is an important feature on the face of Earth and on the course of world history. It has been called a brackish inland sea the geological history of which is unclear. You can check it out a Google Maps and elsewhere.
If you look at the Atlantic Ocean and looked to its northeast margin and there looked landward you would see a large body of water with outlet to the Atlantic. It drains into the Atlantic through the Danish straights by of the little, somewhat shallow, Kattagat sea If you were a seaman you might note passing through the Great Belt and the Little Belt. Once well within the Sea you could find some prominent gulfs and bays. There is the Gulf of Bothnia and the Bay of Bothnia, The Gulf of Finland, the Gulf of Riga, and the bay of Gdansk.
That shallow little sea called Kattagat is bounded by the Jutlandic Peninsula in the west, the Danish Straights and the Baltic Sea to the south and the shores of Sweden to the east. It's okay if you feel more disoriented then oriented. You will begin to remember the names and that is a good start.
The word bothnia seems to have referred to lowlands or to lowland shores. The Gulf of Bothnia is fairly deep, but geologically the land beneath it is still rising from its release from its Ice Age burden of ice. It can still freeze over in winter.
Take a breath, there are more geographic references to come, but finally with some admixture of history.
You could help us with info about the Gulf of Bothnia. I am sure that it is important in the stories of both Finland and Sweden. A 15th century navigator may have referred to it as the Mare Gotticus. Ottar, a viking age adventurer in the 9the century may have referred to it as the Kven Sea.
Bothnia Bay may be thought of as a northern landward extension of the Gulf of Bothnia. Both Bay and Gulf may freeze over in winter.
The Gulf of Finland is the eastern most branch of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland on the north, and Estonia on the south, to Saint Petersburg, Russia in the east where the river Neva flows into it. Other major cities on that gulf are Helsinki and Tallinn.
I am checking many facts with Wikipedia but errors here are surely mine. Please feel free to correct errors and to make useful additions by way of "comments" at the end of this post.
In the Post Ice Age of the Gulf of Finland that gulf was preceded by the Littorina Sea. The level of that sea was about 30 feet above present sea level. By some 4,000 years ago, the Littorina Sea had receded to about present level.
Archaeologists have found that the lands along the Gulf of Finland began to be settled in about 9,000 BC, not long after the last Ice Age. Returning to our own Age, as early as 1905 AD, eleven neolithic settlements had been found along the Gulf. Among the early cultures were Finnic, Eesti, Votes/Chud, Izorians, and Korela.
We have begun to talk pre-historic. So, now we are considering people!
There is evidence that between about 700 AD and 900 AD East Slavs, Ilman Slavs, and Krivichs were along the Neva river and the Gulf of Finland. These cultures practiced agriculture and animal husbandry. Between 700 AD and 1,200 AD the river Neva and the gulf were part of the inland waterway from Scandinavia to the Byzantine Empire. Norsemen were practicing viking along these waterways.
Now we have entered historic times and there are documents to prove it!
Historic information becomes more abundant from 850 AD when the Gulf of Finland was held by Russians and after 1229 when Danes took control. During this period the city of Reval was established on what was to become the area of Tallinn. There is a lot to find out about this Baltic area and the finds are becoming more abundant.
The Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea lies between modern Latvia and Estonia. We can learn more of this gulf through a study of the histories of these two lands. A look at the cities of Riga, Parnu, Jumala, and Kuressare could help too. I bet we can learn more about their earliest days.
The Bay of Gdansk is taking my interest already. It's history may may touch on the lives of some of my Prussian, Polish, and even German ancestors. The Vistula River flows into it. Some consider the Bay widening to include Russian Kaliningrad and the coast of Lithuania.
There be Kursenieki on this bay. They have been there long. They call their language Curonian. There are those who the language as related to Latvian. They have been called Prussian Latvians. They are a mystery to which their language may be a clue. They are certainly not a geographically isolated people. They are on a well visited sea coast and near the mouth of a long navigated river and so have witnessed much trade and commerce.
Before 1,200 AD a Curonian people held a privileged position on the Baltic Sea. The Coruland Peninsula was theirs. However, by the mid 1600s they are not mentioned. The Curonian Peninsula is now western Latvia so one supposes that those of Curonian blood are now mostly of Latvian culture, but bet Latvian culture is now a bit Curonian. There is some discussion as to whether they originally came from the east or the west. I believe that they may have been the first to arrive on the Sea of all who are now there.
We are still looking at a lot of geography. Geography does effect culture and the story of culture is history. As we progress we may see the people more clearly in their backdrop of Baltic Sea and surrounding lands. We begin to see how people can be grounded in their geography. We have already learned the names of some of the people who have found their home here around this sea.
Let's get back to where the Baltic waters meet the Atlantic ocean. Kattagat, the name of the little sea area near the Baltic entrance to the Atlantic is probably Swedish origin. I seem to remember a queen Kattagat who may have been a Swede. This sea is certainly placed so as to be Scandinavian. The Jutland peninsula juts here. It is part of Jutland. Long ago this same peninsula was called the Cimbric or Cimbrian peninsula. Now it is part of Denmark; Jutes and Cimbri used to live there.
Waite a minute, the Cimbri are a people new to me. They are the first people, we know about, to live on this peninsula not far from the Baltic entrance to the Atlantic. I find that they have been thought to be Gaulish or Celtic and the Jutland peninsula was once Cimbrian peninsula. The meaning of Celt is a bit broad, but they are generally accepted to be early Indo-Eurpoean arrivals. Gaulish often refers to and early Celtic language. It may prove interesting to learn more of these guys, and gals. Is there any archaeological evidence of them on the peninsula? I'll try to be alert to historical documentation of them. There name is a big hint.
It does seem that there is evidence of there being a long period of of annual migrations from the Baltic area and perhaps England and Ireland to the Iberian peninsula and back with the seasons from pre- Roman times. It sounds right and amazing at the same time. There was a whole lot of motion going on. There was even a Cimbria military expedition against 1st century Rome! Who are these Cambrians? Were they some of the Celts who joined Carthaginians to resist Rome. Some of those Celts where from Ireland.
It has been said that there were Belgians of Cimbrian origin. I see no evidence of Cimbrians being German, other than the Romans calling everyone in the area German.
Scythian has been called Cimerian. Could Cimerian be Cimbrian? Cimbrians seem to have been a trading people and Scythians were great traders even before their Hellenization. I may be reaching to far.
This brings us to the end of these preliminary words here. I intend there to be more. When you are interested please tell me so. Also if you know or find info on the Cimbri, PLEASE tell us about it here. Use the "comments" section just below. If you are one who has not yet explored this blog, get busy.
Thank you for reading.
rcs
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