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Geatish kings (Latin: Rex Getarum/Gothorum; Swedish: Götakungar), ruling over the provinces of Götaland (Gautland/Geatland), appear in several sources for early Swedish history. Today, most of them are not considered historical.
This list follows the generally accepted identification between the names Götar (modern Swedish), Gautar (Old Norse) and Geatas (Old English), which is based both on tradition, literary sources and on etymology. However, unlike some translations[1] it does not identify this tribe with the Goths. Both Old Norse and Old English records clearly separate the Geats from the Goths, while still depicting them as closely related to each other.
From the Middle Ages until 1974, Swedish monarchs claimed the title King of the Geats as "King of Sweden and Geats/Goths" or "Rex Sweorum et Gothorum". Danish monarchs used the similar title "King of the Goths" from 1362 until 1972.
Some names appear in Norse mythology and in Germanic legend and in at least one case, they were probably historical (Hygelac). Their order of succession is uncertain (if they ever lived).
Kings of East Gotland (Östergötland)
Chronologically assigned to the 8th century, but poorly attested historically, the Battle of Bråvalla (in a location legendarily between West and East Gothenland) was fought between the "King of Sweden" (Sigurd Hring) who is said to have ruled Westrogothians, and the "King of Denmark" (Harald Wartooth) whose realm is said to have included Ostrogothians.
When sources become more reliable, Götaland is an integrated part of the Swedish kingdom and from Stenkil and onwards most of the medieval Swedish kings actually belonged to Geatish clans (House of Stenkil, House of Sverker and the House of Bjelbo, possibly also the House of Eric). In the early High Middle Ages some kings in Sweden were titled rex Visigothorum and rex Gothorum, failing to hold the Swedish core provinces in Svealand. The non-Geatish King Ragnvald Knaphövde was killed by the Geats as he despised them and travelled among them without Geatish hostages.
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Barbarian kingdoms established around the Migration Period
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Attested in Antiquity (ca. 3,000 BC–500 AD), Migration Period (c. 300–538 AD), and the Germanic Iron Age (c. 476–793) | |||||||
| Cherusci (c. 9 BCE–21 CE) |
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| Marcomanni (c. 9 BCE–37 CE, c. 166–c. 172) |
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| Suebi |
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| Goths |
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| Visigoths |
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| Ostrogoths |
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| Anglo-Saxons |
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| Vandals |
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| Burgundians |
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| Lombards |
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| Franks |
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| Bavaria |
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| Frisians |
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| Norse |
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