Helveconae
Encyclopedia
The Helveconae, or Helvaeonae, or Helvecones, or Aelvaeones, or Ailouaiones, are names possibly referring to the same ancient population, and possibly further connected to the Germanic
Hilleviones
of Sweden
. The Helveconae as such (manuscript variant Helvaeonae) are one of the tribal states of the Lugii
in Tacitus
. The Lugii were located in the Silesia
area (today Poland
). Their ethnicity is speculative. Subsequent authors, such as Johann Jacob Hofmann, 1635-1706,, identified the people of Tacitus with a people of Ptolemy
, the Ailouaiones in Greek , which has been Latinized to Aelvaeones. Perhaps the scholars innovated Helvecones, which is not attested in classical times.
If Ptolemy's Routikleioi and Bourgountoi are the Tacitean Rugii (who gave their name to Rügen
) and the original Burgundians
, then the Aelvaeones were most likely to have resided somewhere between the Oder
and the Vistula
in area later called (Pomerania
).
A possible connection to the city of Elbing
did not escape Hofmann.
The region has changed hands many times over the centuries and therefore the name has many variants: Elving, Elbinc, Elbiogowi,Elblagu, etc. It was named from the Ilfing river (Germanic form), which ran from Lake Dr(a)usen (Slavic
: Druzno
) to Frisches Haff. The city was officially founded in 1237 by Hermann Balk
, master of the Teutonic Order, as Elbing. In the time of the Anglo-Saxon traveller, Wulfstan of Hedeby
, ca. 890, Truso
was in the vicinity, a name related to Drausen.
and the Vandals
(if indeed they are distinct) both are assumed to have come from Sweden. Many believe, without much evidence, that there is a connection to the Hilleviones of Sweden. The name can probably be segmented Helvec-on-ae, where the -on- is a Latin productive suffix used to generate people and place names. Helvec- might be further segmented as Hel-vec-, where -vec- might be "settlement", as -ing would be "people." As for the Hel-, there are as many possibilities as there are for Hellenes.
These speculative linguistic connections raise as many questions as they answer. We would require more evidence to be as certain as the encyclopedists of the past. In which direction would the migration over the Baltic have occurred? If the Hilleviones were Germanic, what were the Lugii, and why were the Helveconae among them? Could they have been Celtic, Baltic, or Germanized Celts or Balts?
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
Hilleviones
Hilleviones
The Hilleviones were a Germanic people occupying an island called Scatinavia in the 1st century AD, according to the Roman geographer Pliny the Elder in Naturalis Historia , written circa 77 AD...
of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. The Helveconae as such (manuscript variant Helvaeonae) are one of the tribal states of the Lugii
Lugii
The Lugii, Lugi, Lygii, Ligii, Lugiones, Lygians, Ligians, Lugians, or Lougoi were an ancient Germanic tribe attested in the book Germania by the Roman historian Tacitus. They lived in ca...
in Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
. The Lugii were located in the Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
area (today Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
). Their ethnicity is speculative. Subsequent authors, such as Johann Jacob Hofmann, 1635-1706,, identified the people of Tacitus with a people of Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
, the Ailouaiones in Greek , which has been Latinized to Aelvaeones. Perhaps the scholars innovated Helvecones, which is not attested in classical times.
Elbing theory
Rügen
Rügen is Germany's largest island. Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of the Vorpommern-Rügen district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.- Geography :Rügen is located off the north-eastern coast of Germany in the Baltic Sea...
) and the original Burgundians
Burgundians
The Burgundians were an East Germanic tribe which may have emigrated from mainland Scandinavia to the island of Bornholm, whose old form in Old Norse still was Burgundarholmr , and from there to mainland Europe...
, then the Aelvaeones were most likely to have resided somewhere between the Oder
Oder
The Oder is a river in Central Europe. It rises in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland, later forming of the border between Poland and Germany, part of the Oder-Neisse line...
and the Vistula
Vistula
The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
in area later called (Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
).
A possible connection to the city of Elbing
Elbing
Elbing is the German name of Elbląg, a city in northern Poland which until 1945 was a German city in the province of East Prussia.Elbing may also refer to:- Ships :* SMS Elbing, light cruiser of the Imperial Germany Navy...
did not escape Hofmann.
The region has changed hands many times over the centuries and therefore the name has many variants: Elving, Elbinc, Elbiogowi,Elblagu, etc. It was named from the Ilfing river (Germanic form), which ran from Lake Dr(a)usen (Slavic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
: Druzno
Druzno
Drużno is a body of water historically considered a lake in northern Poland on the east side of the Vistula delta, near the city of Elbląg. As it is currently not deep enough to qualify as a lake hydrologically and receives some periodic inflow of sea water from the Vistula Lagoon along the Elbląg...
) to Frisches Haff. The city was officially founded in 1237 by Hermann Balk
Hermann Balk
Hermann Balk , also known as Hermann von Balk or Hermann Balke, was a Knight-Brother of the Teutonic Order and its first Landmeister, or Provincial Master, in both Prussia and Livonia. From 1219 to 1227, he served as the Deutschmeister in the Order's Province of Alemannia...
, master of the Teutonic Order, as Elbing. In the time of the Anglo-Saxon traveller, Wulfstan of Hedeby
Wulfstan of Hedeby
Wulfstan of Hedeby was a late ninth century traveller and trader. His travel accounts, as well as those of another trader, Ohthere, were included in Alfred the Great's translation of Orosius' Histories...
, ca. 890, Truso
Truso
Truso, situated on Lake Druzno, was an Old Prussian town near the Baltic Sea just east of the Vistula River. It was one of the trading posts on the Amber Road, and is thought to be the antecedent of the city of Elbląg . In the words of Marija Gimbutas, "the name of the town is the earliest known...
was in the vicinity, a name related to Drausen.
Language
There is some question as to the language from which Drausen came. It could have been either Slavic, as the Slavic Venedi once held Pomerania, or Old Prussian. The Truso captured by the Teutonic Order spoke Old Prussian, a Baltic language, and archaeology verifies a putative connection to Viking merchant-adventurers.Etymology
We know that Ilfing (Elving) was the name of the river and that ethnic names are often intimately connected to river names, especially in a country of rivers. It is possible, but speculative, that the Elw- in Elwing came from an earlier people who lived there. The GothsGoths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
and the Vandals
Vandals
The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Vandals under king Genseric entered Africa in 429 and by 439 established a kingdom which included the Roman Africa province, besides the islands of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearics....
(if indeed they are distinct) both are assumed to have come from Sweden. Many believe, without much evidence, that there is a connection to the Hilleviones of Sweden. The name can probably be segmented Helvec-on-ae, where the -on- is a Latin productive suffix used to generate people and place names. Helvec- might be further segmented as Hel-vec-, where -vec- might be "settlement", as -ing would be "people." As for the Hel-, there are as many possibilities as there are for Hellenes.
These speculative linguistic connections raise as many questions as they answer. We would require more evidence to be as certain as the encyclopedists of the past. In which direction would the migration over the Baltic have occurred? If the Hilleviones were Germanic, what were the Lugii, and why were the Helveconae among them? Could they have been Celtic, Baltic, or Germanized Celts or Balts?