Various groups of tribes who inhabited part of the territory currently belonging to Poland from the first to the forth century A.D., can be distinguished from others by the burial rites and grave goods that were specific to their way of life. This archaeological culture is known in current scholarly literature as the Wielbark culture. The name originates from a cemetery located in Malbork-Wielbark. The archaeological investigations conducted in the last decades proved beyond all doubt that this culture can be identified with the Goths themselves. The term Wielbark culture is often used interchangeably with Goths' culture.
          The evidence of the Goths' presence in what is currently Poland is still not well-known and is connected, first of all, with the cemeteries in which rich graves have been often discovered. Among the many goods with which the dead were equipped, one can find delicately ornamented and perfectly made pendants, necklaces, bracelets and jewellery clasps. The objects were often made of silver or gold using complicated goldsmith techniques, like gilding, filigree and granulation. Unfortunately, despite the evidence of such elaborate jewellery technology, no goldsmith workshops have been discovered.
          Inspiration for this exhibition dedicated to Goths' jewellery has come from the recent discoveries made in the little village of Kowalewko near Oborniki Wielkopolskie. Archaeological excavations undertaken during the construction of the transit gas pipeline from Russia to Western Europe resulted in the discovery of an extensive cemetery composed of 496 graves, some of which contain quite unique contents. It is worth mentioning that this site is the largest thoroughly examined necropolis in Greater Poland (Wielkopolska) and one of the largest in the entire country.
          Besides the archaeological artifacts discovered in Kowalewko, objects from many other Gothic cemeteries in Northern Poland have also been presented in this exhibition.


Goths in ancient written sources

          Pliny the Elder, an ancient Roman scholar who lived in the first century A.D., mentioned the tribe Gutones in his work entitled Historia naturalis. Strabo, an ancient Greek geographer, historian and traveler composed in the first century A.D. a seventeen-volume "encyclopedia" known as Geografica in which he mentioned the tribe Butones. The Roman historian Tacitus produced in the first century A.D. a description of ancient Germanic tribes entitled De origine et situ Germanorum (often cited in the abbreviated form Germania) in which he also named a certain tribe which he referred to as Gotones. Ptolemy, a Roman geographer who composed his work entitled Geografica in the second or third century A.D. mentioned the tribe Gytones, and the Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea (490-562), named a certain tribe called Gautones in his Bellum Gothicum. According to linguists, all these names, although different in form, refer to the same Germanic tribe known as the Goths.
          The very famous work entitled Historia Getica was composed in the sixth century by Cassiodor, a dignitary in the court of king Theodoric of the Ostrogoths, and his personal secretary to the king. Even though this treatise did not survive, we can use the extensive summary made by the Gothic historian and chronicler monk Jordanes in order to glimpse what Cassiodor might have written. It is commonly known that Cassiodor's composition was given to Jordanes to read and that Jordanes made extensive notes, which he later used to produce his own treatise in 551 A.D. known as De origine actibusque Getarum, or simply Gethica. This work is the main source for all studies concerning Gothic history beginning with the period when they settled on Polish land. We have based our discussion of some important questions on Jordanes' work.


Where did the Goths living on Polish land come from?

          Now from this island of Scandza, as from a hive of races or a womb of nations, the Goths are said to have come forth long ago under their king, Berig. As soon as they disembarked from their ships and set foot on the land, they straightway gave their name to the place. And even today it is said to be called Gothiscandza. (Jordanes, Gethica 25)
          Scholars who study the beginnings of the great migration of the Goths have been disputing for many years where the "mythological" lands of Scandia and Gothiscandia are located. Despite many controversial hypotheses regarding the location of Scandia (for example, in the provinces of Västergotland, Őstergotland, island of Gotlandia), the fact that the Goths arrived on Polish land from the North after crossing the Baltic Sea by boats is certain. A similar problem of interpretation concerns the region where the Goths first set foot on Polish land - Gothiscandia. The following are various places often mentioned as possible landing points: Jutland Peninsula, Odra river mouth, Vistula river mouth or Riga's Bay. Archaeological investigations conducted in the recent years indicate that the Goths most likely landed somewhere in the Gdańsk Bay region.


The beginning of the migration to the Black Sea

          As was already stated, the Goths began sailing at the turn of the first century B.C. and landed off the coast of the Gdańsk Bay in the first century A.D. Migration continued in several stages lasting until ca 70 A.D. They settled in parts of Central and East Pomerania as well as on the land along the Upper Vistula, the Valley of the Nogat River and Chełmno uplands. One of the most characteristic features of the "new period" compared to the previous cultures existing in these territories are the stone circles and accompanying grave-mounds which appeared in Pomerania at that time. The graves were marked in a characteristic way by erecting a pyramidal stone stele. The burials consisted of two different types: those with crematory rites and those with skeletal rites. It is worth mentioning that weapons were never buried in graves, a fact which may be connected with the following note made by Tacitus:
          Beyond the Lygians dwell the Gothones under the rule of a King; and thence held under a subjection somewhat stricter than other German nations, yet not so strict as to extinguish all their liberty (...) Neither here, as amongst other nations of Germany, are arms used indifferently by all, but they are shut up and warded under the care of a particular keeper, who in truth too is always a slave:, the ocean protects them from all sudden invasions and attacks from their foes: besides the armed bands, when they are not employed, they easily grow debauched and tumultuous. The truth is, it suits not the interest of an arbitrary Prince, to trust the care and power of arms with either a nobleman or a freeman, or indeed with any man above the condition of a slave.(Tacitus, Germania, chapter 44)
          Additional territory was settled after ca. 70 A.D. and included: Northern Greater Poland (Wielkopolska), the entire eastern section of Pomerania (Pomorze Wschodnie), Central Pomerania (Pomorze Środkowe) and part of Western Pomerania (Pomorze Zachodnie). Most of the territory inhabited west of the Vistula River was abandoned in the first half of the third century because of still unknown reasons and the Goths moved towards the Black Sea.
          When the Ancient Romans left the province of Dacia, which was soon captured by the Barbarians, a great split in one of the largest Eastern Germanic tribes can be observed. The Goths were divided in 291 A.D. into two groups: Ostrogoths, or Eastern Goths, and Visigoths, or Western Goths. Both of these branches, however, closely cooperated and supported each other in times of need.


The history of the Goths after the invasion of the Huns

          We shall recall here only the most important events from the long-lasting and stormy history of the two divided Gothic tribes:
          In 375-376 part of the Ostrogoths' tribe was conquered by the Huns. They joined the Huns' leader, Attila, in 451 against the ancient Roman Empire and were defeated in the battle of the Catalaunian Plains near Châlons. After the defeat of the Huns in 453 the Ostrogoths settled in Pannonia. They waged a victorious war in 489-493 against Odoacer, a Germanic commander in the service of the Western Roman Empire and established their capital in Ravenna in Italy soon after their victory. The development of the Ostrogoths' state can be observed during the reign of Theodoric I (493-523), who officially became the king of Italy in 493. Military expansion by the Eastern Roman emperor Justinian in 535-561 resulted in weakening and subsequently the collapse of the Ostrogoths' state in Italy.
          The Visigoths escaped the Huns by crossing the Danube River and, with the permission of the East Roman emperor, settled in the province of Tracia. In 378, they defeated the Roman army at the battle of Adrianopolis. They soon captured Rome (the first time in a few centuries), under the command of the king Alaric I on 24 August 410 and plundered it. Two years later, in 412, they began migrating to Southern Gaul where they established their own state with the capital in Toulouse. The King of the Franks, Hlodwig, forced them to leave Southern Gaul 90 years later when he defeated them in 507 at the battle of Vouillé. After this great defeat, the Visigoths, having obtained support from King Theodoric I of the Ostrogoths, captured the territories currently belonging to Spain and they created their own state with the capital in Toledo. This state existed until the beginnings of the 8th century when it was destroyed by an Arab invasion (711-725).


Germanic dress in a report by an ancient author

          For a coat a mantle is what they all wear, fastened with a clasp or, for want of it, with a thorn. As far as this reaches, they are not naked, and lie whole days before the fire. The wealthiest are distinguished with a vest, not one large and flowing like those of the Sarmatians and the Parthians, but gathered close about them and expressing the proportion of every limb. They likewise wear the skins of savage beasts, a dress which those bordering the Rhine use without any fondness or delicacy but about which those who live further in the country are more curious, as void of all apparel introduced by commerce. They choose certain wild beasts, and, having flayed them, diversify their hides with many spots, as also with the skins of monsters from the deep, such as are engendered in the distant ocean and in seas unknown. The dress of the women does not differ from that of the men, save that the women are orderly attired in linen embroidered with purple, and use no sleeves so that all their arms are bare. The upper part of their breast is entirely exposed. (Tacitus, Germania, chapter 17)
          This short excerpt from Tacitus' Germania has been the most complete description of Germanic dress in a written source.
          According to this historian, the most common piece of clothing for all Germanic people was a sagum or mantle, which was similar to the mantle worn by Ancient Roman soldiers. The mantle worn by Germanic tribes could be buckled in two ways: either by a fibulae or a spina, which was a spike made most probably from bone. The fact that the Germanic people buckled their mantles with a spike (spina) was probably included by Tacitus in order to highlight a habit that differed from the Ancient Romans. The subsequent part of Tacitus' report indicates that the poor Germanic people did not wear anything except this mantle. This style of dress fit closely to the body and, according to some scholars, was typical for all Germanic tribes. When writing this account, Tacitus could have been thinking of a shirt and pants - bracae, which was so characteristic for Barbarians.. In next line, the Roman historian has also pointed out that the each barbarian tribe wore their leather clothing differently. The tribes inhabiting areas close to the Roman limes did not reject foreign influences and often mixed their own fashion with that of the "Roman" one. The tribes inhabiting the territory in the far North, kept the more traditional and fanciful way of dressing. Unfortunately, Tacitus did not state which kind of dress he meant. In the last fragment of his description the author turns his attention to the dress worn by Germanic women, which was practically no different from the way men dressed. This similarity, however, might be limited only to the outer garments (mantle ?).
          Tacitus described the clothes of the Germanic people, barbarians inhabiting the territories North of the Rhine and Danube Rivers, in such way. His written account should be compared to archaeological sources.


Development of styles and the differentiation of clothing elements

Translation
Rafał Witkowski