Introduction
This AAR is the spiritual successor to the original Ƕar Baris Standiþ, which ran from 5 September to 3 December, 2017.
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"Baris standiþ bairht uf sunnon;
Augona meina audags luka;
Miduhwagja mik maurginis winda.
Ufarmunno nu, unmundonds nu."
Edmund Fairfax — Baris Standiþ
—————|TABLE OF CONTENTS|—————
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—————|INTRODUCTION|—————
(this post)
—————|BOOK I — THE REIGN OF WAGNAS|—————
—————| 867—(???) |—————
- CHAPTER I -
Episode I
Episode II
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—————|INTRODUCTION|—————
One such people to build a home in this land were the Goths, a people from the far north of Europe in the mythical land of Scandza. In this land they flourished, building a mighty kingdom which stretched its mighty hand from the Baltic to the Caspian Steppes. Like many others, however, they were driven on westward by the incursions of the Huns. Most were resettled in the Roman Empire, founding great empires and dynasties in Italia and Hispania, but in the process losing the very tongue and culture that made them what they were. Those who remained under the cover of the Carpathians took a very different route — the Bastarnae would emerge after the passing of the Hunnish menace, though they were much fewer than the previous rulers of the land.
The legends of the Bastarnae don't say a great deal about their origins — the departure of the Goths and the upheavals of the migration era leave a gap lasting up to the 7th century, when the first inarguably Bastarneian runestones emerge. By the 8th century, the Rus', the Varangians, and the Byzantines all note the presence of a people in the eastern Carpathian mountains who spoke a tongue that was neither Turkic, Scythian, or Slavic — rather, their language was somewhat recognisable as similar to the Varangians coming from the north, though obviously twisted by time and separation. During these early contacts, these people were ruled by a singular chieftain named Theuda — and Theuda is considered to be the first King of the Bastarnae.
—————|Theuda, King of the Bastarnae|—————
Very little is known of the Bastarnae under the rule of Theuda, other than their residence in the Carpathian mountains and foothills, surrounded by Slavic peoples. According to his legend, Theuda had three sons: Amal, who married the Varangian Halfdan's daughter Thora; Haginreiks, who departed for Imeretia with a host of soldiers (whose existence is dubiously confirmed by the existence of the Imereti Runestone); and Sigisward, who settled in the basin of Pannonia with part of his father's tribe.
—————|Amal the Left-Handed|—————
Amal "the Left-Handed" was the first of the semi-legendary Sons of Theuda. He came to rule over those Bastarneians who resided east of the Carpathian summits after the death of his father. Amal was married to Thora, who was either the daughter or sister of Halfdan the Varangian. He fought three waves of invasions from the steppes, but was ultimately ousted from power by his younger brother Haginreiks.
—————|Sigisward|—————
Sigisward was the second of Theuda's three sons and led a minor migration into Pannonia. His host came to be ruled by the White Croats, and this would still be the case in 867 AD.
—————|Haginreiks|—————
Haginreiks was the youngest of Theuda's sons, who came to rule in the lands east of the Carpathian summits after returning from the lands of Old Iberia, where he purportedly raised a standing stone in memory of his mother Aelia. Notably, the diminutive form of Theuda appears on the stone.
::IMERETI RUNESTONE::
"ᚦᚨᚾᚨ ᛊᛏᚨᛁᚾ ᚱᚨᛁᛊᛁᛞᚨ ᚻᚨᚷᛁᚾᚱᛖᛁᚲ ᛊᚢᚾᚨᚢ ᚦᛁᚢᛞᛁᛚᛟᛊ
ᚠᚨᚢᚱ ᚷᚨᛗᛁᚾᚦᛁ ᚨᛁᚦᛖᛁᚾᛊ ᛊᛖᛁᚾᚨᛁᛉᛟᛊ ᚦᛟᛖᛁ ᚻᚨᛁᚻᚨᛁᛏᚢᚾ ᚨᚷᛁᛚᛁᛃᚨ
ᚲᚹᛖᚾᛊ ᚦᛁᚢᛞᛁᛚᛟᛊ ᚱᛖᛁᚲᛊ ᛒᚨᛊᛏᛃᚨᚾᚨᚦᛁᚢᛞᛟ"
(þana stain raisida haginreik sunau þiudilos
faur gaminþi aiþeins seinaizos þoei haihaitun agilija
kwens þiudilos reiks bastjanaþiudo)
"Haginric, son of Theudila, raised this stone
For the memory of his mother, who was called Aelia,
Wife of Theudila, King of the Bastarneians"
::IMERETI RUNESTONE::
"ᚦᚨᚾᚨ ᛊᛏᚨᛁᚾ ᚱᚨᛁᛊᛁᛞᚨ ᚻᚨᚷᛁᚾᚱᛖᛁᚲ ᛊᚢᚾᚨᚢ ᚦᛁᚢᛞᛁᛚᛟᛊ
ᚠᚨᚢᚱ ᚷᚨᛗᛁᚾᚦᛁ ᚨᛁᚦᛖᛁᚾᛊ ᛊᛖᛁᚾᚨᛁᛉᛟᛊ ᚦᛟᛖᛁ ᚻᚨᛁᚻᚨᛁᛏᚢᚾ ᚨᚷᛁᛚᛁᛃᚨ
ᚲᚹᛖᚾᛊ ᚦᛁᚢᛞᛁᛚᛟᛊ ᚱᛖᛁᚲᛊ ᛒᚨᛊᛏᛃᚨᚾᚨᚦᛁᚢᛞᛟ"
(þana stain raisida haginreik sunau þiudilos
faur gaminþi aiþeins seinaizos þoei haihaitun agilija
kwens þiudilos reiks bastjanaþiudo)
"Haginric, son of Theudila, raised this stone
For the memory of his mother, who was called Aelia,
Wife of Theudila, King of the Bastarneians"
::IMERETI RUNESTONE::
Haginreiks married a Lithuanian woman named Radvile. He is known to have introduced Manicheism to the Bastarnae, which he encountered in his travels in the East.
—————|Ansila|—————
Ansila was the son of Haginreiks and the grandson of Theuda, and the last of the semi-legendary Kings of the Bastarnae. By his death, the Bastarnae were quite decentralised, and many had fallen under the rule of neighbouring Slavic tribes.—————|The Bastarnae|—————
Bastarneian cultural spread by 867 AD
Bastarneian cultural spread by 867 AD
"[The Bastarnae] are of Germanic stock."
— Strabo
"The Peucini, however, who are sometimes called Bastarnae, are like the Germans in their language, way of life, and types of dwelling."
— Tacitus
— Strabo
"The Peucini, however, who are sometimes called Bastarnae, are like the Germans in their language, way of life, and types of dwelling."
— Tacitus
Although they are most certainly Germanic in tongue, the origins of the Bastarnae are much more mixed than one might be led to assume. Even their name, Bastarnae, lends itself to the interpretation of bastard or mongrel — to the support of their legends. Whereas the Goths were the legitimate children of their god Gaut, whereas the Bastarnae were conceived from an illegitimate union between Gaut and a Celtic woman. The Bastarnae, then, may have been a confederation of many tribes that were Germanicised by the influence of the more powerful Gothic state that once reigned over the East. They have since reconciled their traditions and religion to the Slavic peoples which neighbour them on nearly all sides; notably, their particular brand of paganism differs from that of the Anglo-Saxons, Frisians, and Varangians.
Whereas the Germanic peoples of northern and western Europe worshipped Odin or Woden as their primary god, the Bastarneians devote themselves to a God of Thunder and Lightning which in their tongue is called Fiergunii, which the Slavs call Perun and the Prussians call Perkunas. This God, they believe, is the son of Gapț and the Danube, which they call Donău. Also worthy of note is their conception of Mars, which they call Tiv; this is one of their purer Germanic deities. Whether or not this blending of the Slavic and the Germanic mythos helped the Bastarnae survive as a culturally distinct people remains to be speculated.
The Bastarnae of today inhabit the lands along the northeastern Carpathians, easily bisected by the mountain's primary ridges: the Galician Bastarnae to the east, and the Pannonian Bastarnae to the west, who are under the rule of the White Croats. The Eastern Bastarnae fall into three polities: those under the rule of the Lendians, of the Volhynians, and those who are ruled by the last independent Bastarneian polity. On all sides, the Bastarnae are surrounded by foreign powers, and to the southeast, the Magyars advance westward in their search for new lands.
The Ruler of the independent Bastarnae is a young man named Wagnas — a spirited young warrior, adept hunter and avid poet, though perhaps a bit high on his own glories. His sword has tasted blood, but has not yet been met with the wrath of nations on the field of battle. A devotee of the Slavic god Jarilo, who wields his arms in such a way that even Perun would tremble to meet him, and gifted with a steady voice and stern countenance. Wagnas claims descent from the great Gothic Kings of ancient days, the Amali — descendents of Airmanareiks and indeed of Gapt himself.
All that is certain — her standiþ baris, bairht uf sunnon.
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