History With RCS: Many have known the Baltic Sea including: Dane, Swede, Finn, Viking, Russian, Slav, Krivichs, Latvian, Estonian, Prussian, Pole, Jute, Cimbri, Celt, Irish, German, and more.
The Baltic Sea opens on the Atlantic Ocean and is in the northwestern part of Europe. It has had a complex geographic history. It seems best to begin with some of its most recent geographic history.
The Baltic has been called a brackish inland sea with a geological history which has prove difficult to clarify. We know that it is a marginal sea of the Atlantic and that it drains into the Atlantic through the Danish straights by way of the little Kattagat sea. Some of its major surface features include thee Gulf of Bothnia and the Bay of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland, the Gulf of Riga, and the Bay of Gdansk.
It is brackish because of the following major rivers flowing into it: the Oder, Vistula, Neman, Daugava, and the Neva. Brackishness is aided by the fall of rain and snow and by the flow of smaller rivers and streams.
Not far from the the Baltic Sea entrance to the Atlantic Ocean, one may encounter the Kattagat, and area of somewhat shallow sea. This small sea is bounded by the Jutland Peninsula in the West, the Danish Straights and the rest of the Baltic Sea, and to the east by the shores of Sweden.
The Gulf of Bothnia:
The word "bothnia" seems to have referred to lowland shores or to lowlands in general. The Gulf of Bothnia is bordered by lowland shores. The Gulf is not shallow, but the land beneath it continues to rise since its release from its Ice Age burden of ice. The Gulf still freezes over in winter.
I hope to research the history of Sweden and Finland to learn more of the people who have lived along the Gulf of Bothnia. Please share with us any info you may have about this Gulf. You can use the "comments" section below to do so. I can say now that it seems that in the 9th century, Ottar, a viking adventurer, referred to the Gulf as the Kven Sea. In the 15th century a Danish navigator may have referred to it as the Mare Gotticus. Bothnia Bay is a northern extension of the Gulf.
The Gulf of Finland:
The Gulf of Finland is the easternmost branch of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland on the north and Estonia on the south; then on to Saint Petersburg, Russia, where the Neva River drains into it. Other major cities on the Gulf are Helsinki and Tallinn.
In the early post Ice Age, the Gulf of Finland was preceded by the Littoriana Sea. That sea stood as high as 30 feet above the present sea level. A lot of ice had melted. By some 4,000 years ago the sea had receded to near present levels.
Archaeology:
Archaeologists have found the lands along the Gulf of Finland began to be settled(again?) about 9,000 BC by people physically very like us. To me Archaeology is a continuance of history. some would call it prehistory. So, we do seem to be moving from geography to history; history is about the doings, learnings and happenings of those who preceded us. So, onward. As early as 1905 AD eleven neolithic settlements had been found along the Gulf of coast. The early cultures found there include the Finnic, Eesti/Chud, Votes. and Korela. Neolithic means new stone age. Don't fee to smug about Stone Age people. We are finding that some of them were able to do things with stone that we are unable to do.
Later, into more historic times, about between 700 AD and 900 AD, East Slavs, Ilman Slavs, and Krivichs settled along the Neva River and pars of the Gulf of Finland. They practiced agriculture and animal husbandry. Between about 700 AD and 1,200 AD the river Neva and the Gulf were part of the waterway from Scandinavia to the Byzantine Empire!
Historic information for this area becomes more abundant from about 850 AD. About that time they may held in Russian hands until 1219 AD when the Danes took control. In this same period the city of Reva was established in the area of the present city of Tallinn. There is a lot to learn about this whole Baltic area and I intend to write more about it in a future post.
The Gulf of Riga:
The Gulf of Riga lies between Latvian and Estonia on the Baltic Sea. I will find out more about this area and write of it in a future post after a review of the early histories of Latvia and Estonia. A look at the histories of the the cities: Riga, Parnu, and Jumala will help me to give you fuller details.
The Bay of Gdansk:
The Bay of Gdansk has history which may include my Prussian, Polish, and German ancestors. The Vistula River flows into this bay. Some consider the bay as extending to the Russian city of Kaliningrad and to the coast of Lithuania.
There be Kursenieki:
There are Kursenieki on the Bay of Gdansk. They have been there long, They call their language Curonian. Some linguists see it as related to Latvian so Latvian could be related to it. Kursenieki have also been called Prussian Latvians. Who are these people? They live on a well visited sea coast and near to the outlet of a navigable river. So, they are, and have been, subject to much social and cultural exchange.
Let's travel back to where the Baltic Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. Near there is the little Kattagat Sea. The name Kattagat may be of Swedish origin. I have a vague memory of a queen Kattagat who may have been a Swede. This little sea is certainly a Scandinavian area.
Jutlandic Peninsula:
The Jutlandic Peninsula juts into the Kattagat Sea and is part of was once Jutland. The peninsula was once called the Cimbric or the Cimbrian Peninsula. It is now part of Denmark. Jutes and Cimbri have lived there.
Jutes are named among powerful Germanic invaders of England. I might not have called them Germanic, but rather have called them Vikings, Norse. Scandinavian, or even Celtic, but I have a lot to learn. Still, it dose seem that a few others feel some confusion too. There is a reason the peninsula has been called Jute. Maybe we can find out who the Jutes are. That peninsula was an area of a lot of trade and activity before during and after the Roman Empire. Any there it is at the Kattagat Sea.
The Cimbri:
Let's not pass by the Cimbri too Quickly. I just learned of them recently. It seems that they were on the Jutland Peninsula before the Jutes. Some authorities have thought the Cimbri were what we have called Gaulish or Celtic. I have seen that the Jutland Peninsula was called the Cimbrian Peninsula earlier. There is something interesting to be discovered/learned here. Perhaps we can learn more about things Cimbrian. So far I have found little documentary evidence of their nature or doings. I have yet to see any archaeological evidence.
I do find that there is evidence that for a very long time there was a seasonal migration from the Baltic area to the Iberian Peninsula. The migration may have somehow included England and Ireland and may have ext+ended to the Balearic Islands! So, there was probably travel from this Peninsula to that one; Cimbric to Iberian and back. It sounds right, but I am surprised; even pleasantly amazed.
This is getting good. There was a Cimbrian military expedition against 1st century Rome! Who are these Cimbri? Who were they. Ah, history! If you know anything about the Cimbri or find out anything, please feel free to tell us about it in "comments" below.
I see it written that there were Belgians of Cimbrian origin. The Romans might have called them Germans, but they called everyone in the area German. I am not really sure who the Celts or Gauls were other than they almost certainly had Indo-European origins. I do have a faint memory of reading of a people who could have been Cimbrians, but who some called Celts, joined Carthaginians to resist Rome.
Okay, I had best stop here until I get some more information, or until I hear from you. Remember blogs are supposed to have some interactivity.
Please feel free to correct my spelling or other errors, or to add pertinent information to the content of this essay.
Thank you for reading.
rcs
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