Tracing the Language of the Vandals

Tracing the language of the Vandals * * In: The Vandals and the Sueves, ed. by G. Ausenda/ S. Barnish / A. Rodolfi, San Marino-Woodbridge (in corso di stampa). Nicoletta Francovich Onesti (Siena) The existing linguistic evidence. There is no record left of a text in the Vandalic language long enough to contain a group of phrases forming at least one complete sentence. The unfortunate circumstance that no written text in Vandalic has survived (if this language was ever actually written down) has certainly not helped draw the attention and interest of scholars over the years toward the language of the Vandals. And, above all, it has surely prevented our acquisition of sufficient knowledge of this language, which however must have belonged, like Gothic, to the East Germanic group. As is also the case with the language spoken by the Lombards, the limited examples of existing Vandalic mostly consist of scattered, isolated words and personal names. In a sense, the extant records of the Vandal language are even less, and less important, than those of the Lombard language, since no legal terms are left, no corpus of Vandal laws remain, and no hints of Vandal juridical institutions or traditions seem to exist. What we have instead are a few religious expressions, very few single words mentioned in Latin or Greek texts, and one hundred and forty personal names. Owing to the religious debate that took place in North Africa during the fifth and sixth centuries between Catholics and the Arian Church of the Vandals, it is not surprising that some of the Vandalic terms we can find in late antique sources are related to religious life and Christian liturgy. So the only complete sentence that has been handed down to us is a two-word religious formula, the acclamation “Domine Miserere” (in Greek Κύριε ελέησον, in English “Lord have mercy”), which was rendered as froia arme in Vandalic. We know about this from an anti-Arian tract, written in form of a debate, usually referred to as Collatio beati Augustini cum Pascentio ariano, dating back to the first half of the fifth century (approximately between 430 and 450 AD). It is supposed to have been composed at Hippo Regius, and was attributed to Vigilius of Thapsus, but actually its author is unknown. Mandouze (1982): 628, 827-829. It was first published by J.-P. Migne in Patrologia Latina, 33, Paris 1845, col. 1156-1162; the Vandal formula is in col. 1162. In this text the Vandal formula froia arme appears in this Latin sentence: si enim licet dicere non solum Barbaris lingua sua, sed etiam Romanis . froia . arme . quod interpraetatur ‘Domine miserere’. The anti-Arian Collatio beati Augustini is best preserved in a sixth-century manuscript now in Turin (Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria, MS G.V. 26, fol. 15r-27r), which is the oldest extant copy of this fifth-century North African text. The Vandal acclamation recorded in this version of the text was studied very well by Tiefenbach in 1991, who also published the picture of the MS page (fol. 25v) where the Vandal words occur. As Tiefenbach clearly shows, the Turin manuscript certainly preserves the best variant form of the Vandalic formula froia arme, which is the nearest and closest to the fifth-century original. The form reported in Patrologia Latina, on the basis of later MSS, was sihoraarmen; Wrede (1886): 18, 71 ff. reconstructed *frôja armês, while the form given by Reichert (1987: I, 270) fhrotiarmes actually has no philological or textual basis. What this religious formula shows is a noun, froia (= Lat. ‘Domine’) and a verb in the imperative, arme (= Lat. ‘miserere’), perfectly corresponding to the Latin or Greek original. Roman letters in this case render the sound of a liturgical acclamation as it was heard in the Arian churches of North Africa. In Wulfila’s Gothic alphabet it would correspond to <frauja *armai>, from P-Gmc. *frawja- ‘lord’ (> Goth. frauja, OE. frea, OHG frô, ON Freyr), and the verb *armjan- ‘to have mercy’ (cp. OE earmian), *armên- (cp. Goth. arman, OHG armên). Feist (1939): 57, 166; De Vries (1977): 142. But this very peculiar “sentence” is the only one we have. A different case is that of line 1 of Epigram No. 285 of Anthologia Latina Anthologia Latina is an early sixth-century collection of Latin poems put together in Carthage during the Vandals’ rule. See Rosenblum (1961)., entitled “De Conviviis Barbaris”, where five Vandalic words are mentioned all in a row: Inter ‘eils’ gothicum ‘scapia matzia ia drincan’/ non audet quisquam dignos edicere versus. In this case we cannot be sure they make up one sentence. They could, on the contrary, be merely cited as a list of different and isolated terms. It is very interesting however that this epigram records common words, and not just proper nouns (personal names, ethnic groups, etc.). The five words are usually understood as ‘hail!’ (eils), ‘to shape’ or ‘create’ (scapia), and ‘to eat and drink’ (matzia ia drincan), and the verse apparently alludes to the barbarians’ feasting. Another possible interpretation is that they could allude to a community or ritual meal where Vandalic words were used, probably with polemical implications and a hidden allusion to the Arian liturgy and religious customs This particular interpretation was suggested by Scardigli (1974).. In such a case, the text would also owe its existence to the fact of being related to religious life and to the cultural tension present in the Vandal kingdom. Both the Vandalic liturgical acclamation and Epigram No. 285 were well known to Ferdinand Wrede, the scholar who in 1886 collected and analysed all surviving traces of the Vandal language that were known to his time. Wrede (1886); in his book however he did not consider the form froia arme in the Turin MS, but he reconstructed *<frôja armês> on the basis of Migne (1845). His book was the first serious attempt to treat all Vandalic linguistic evidence in a comprehensive and exhaustive way. Other scattered, and sometimes problematic, words are to be found in late antique literary sources. See the complete list of Vandalic terms in Francovich Onesti (2002): 139-143. Among these we can mention Vand. Baudus ‘master’, also used as a nickname (Anthologia Latina No. 307, l. 5) and the compound Vandalirice ‘king of the Vandals’, a royal epithet for King Hilderic (523-530; also in Anthologia Latina No. 215). This latter form could be made up of a first element in the genitive plural *wandalê with Late Latin spelling <i> for long /e:/. But since Wrede’s study of 1886 much new linguistic material has emerged from the area of the Vandal kingdom in North Africa for the period 429-534 and the immediately following years, which calls for a new general investigation and reassessment of what we know about Vandalic. This new material consists of ninety new personal names, quite a few if compared to the fifty or so names known in Wrede’s time, when he could have at his disposal only names mentioned in traditional historical or literary sources, or occurring on a few coins and inscriptions. It is in fact from newly excavated inscriptions that these new ninety Vandal personal names come, because during the twentieth century many mosaics, tombstones and engraved objects were discovered and their inscriptions published, providing more Vandalic names. Then in 1928 the so-called “Tablettes Albertini” were found along the border between Algeria and Tunisia, in the area of ancient Numidia. They are rather well-preserved fifth-century wooden tablets, written with ink, containing a number of legal documents dating back to 493-496, during the reign of King Gunthamund (484-496) They are now in Algiers at the Musée National des Antiquités, and were published in 1952 by C. Courtois et al.. They are composed in an everyday Latin, written down by non-professional scribes, and contain a few personal names, some of which are of possible Vandal origin, like Sigibali (Francovich Onesti [2002]: 172) or Gudulus (see infra, § 3). The corpus of Vandalic names is liable to be still further increased with forthcoming publications and future archaeological activities. So far, we have at the moment 141 personal names, of which 90 could not have been mentioned in Wrede’s book. Sueves and Alans in Vandal Africa. Out of the total number of personal names from the fifth and sixth-century Vandal kingdom, five do not belong to the Vandals, but to the Sueves. They bear great historical importance, since there is no other evidence of Sueves having migrated to Africa with the Vandals, outside of these particular burial inscriptions with Suevic names. The five names were all found in the two towns of Hippo Regius and Ammædara (and published between 1951 and 1975), which suggests that the Sueves were few, and probably settled in small numbers in a limited area of the Vandal kingdom. The names of Suevic (West Germanic) origin are: 1- Ermengon suaba: she was a Suevic woman married to Ingomaris (their gravestone, dated 474, is from the basilica of Hippo Regius). Courtois (1955): 375; Francovich Onesti (2002): 182. The inscription reads die iii. idvs septembres recessit Ermengon svaba bone memorie in pace ann. xxxv conivves Ingomaris. Her name is found once again in that of another woman called Ermengon in Spain. Inscription of 624 AD, from Pontevedra (Galicia, Spain), in the area of the ancient Suevic kingdom. Reichert (1987): I, 253. 2- Ingomaris was Ermengon’s husband (same gravestone from Hippo Regius); the form –maris (< P-Gmc. *mêrija-z ‘famous’) clearly denotes its West Germanic origin. 3- Hildiger appears on a gravestone from Ammædara [h]ic in pace Hildiger positus; see Duval-Prévot (1975): 52, fig. 35., probably from the late 5th century, showing in its second element (< P-Gmc. *gaiza- ‘spear’) the West Germanic development [r] < P-Gmc. *-z-, as well as the continental West Germanic development –e- from P-Gmc. *-ai-. 4- Ildiger is the same name (but belonging to another person): again from Ammædara (6th century), with loss of initial h- due to Romanization of P-Gmc. *hildjô ‘battle’. 5- Suabila on a gravestone from Hippo Regius Février (1972): 144., showing the West Germanic development /a:/ from P-Gmc. *ê1 (< *Swêba- ‘Sueve’), as in Ingo-maris. Such material clearly shows how valuable onomastic studies can be, when names – as in this case – constitute a particular kind of historical source and linguistic evidence. There are other names from Vandal North Africa that are not Vandalic at all, indeed they are not even Germanic, but seem to have an Alan (Iranian) origin. This is the case of about ten onomastic forms such as Basa (from a 6th-century stone slab found in 1941 at Ammædara), Baza (from Ammædara These two names are related to Middle Persian bâz ‘falcon’; see Francovich Onesti (2002): 179. ), Safrac (from Carthage Cf. Wagner (1979): 15-16.), Sersao (a relation of King Geiseric’s He is mentioned in the 5th-century History of Victor of Vita, I, 35. Wrede (1886): 66-67; Maenchen-Helfen (1957): 281.), Tzazo (King Gelimer’s brother) Cp. Wrede (1886): 83-84; according to Mitzka (1967): 257, this name is probably a cognate of the Ossetic (Iranian) name Tsata., and others See the complete list of all possible Alan names in Francovich Onesti (2002): 179-182.. Vandalic Names. We shall now proceed to treat the Vandalic names themselves. They are mentioned in Latin and Greek historical sources A useful list of classical, late antique and early medieval historical and literary sources containing Vandal words and proper nouns is to be found in Wrede (1886): 20-35. , or else they appear on 5th and 6th-century inscriptions, on coins, and even on other archaeological finds (like ostraka from Algeria, a golden ring from Ibiza See Bonnal - Février (1966-67) for the ostraka, and König (1981): 345 for the Ibiza ring.). A few examples will suffice to illustrate their characteristics: that is, what name-elements and types of compounds were preferred, what their phonetics was like, and their degree of adaptation to Late Latin sounds and spelling. Among the new names, which obviously could not be discussed in Wrede’s book as they were found and published only in the 20th century, we can list the following examples: 1- Agisild, a feminine name from a Carthage inscription CIL viii, 10540: Agisild[is?] fidelis.. vixit.. Courtois (1955): 385; Reichert (1987): I, 15. (< P-Gmc. *agiz ‘fear’ + *hildjô ‘battle’); 2- Arifridos from a basilica mosaic in Thuburbo Maius (Africa Proconsularis) In his tomb jewels were also found, which Courtois (1955): 382, planche x, and König (1981): 301, 311-312, 324, 328, fig. 6d, 11, plate 48c, considered as Vandalic; Reichert (1987): I, 65. : Arifridos in pa[ce] vixit annos.. (< P-Gmc. *harja- ‘army’ + *friþuz ‘pacifier’); 3- Beremut from a gravestone in Carthage From the basilica of Sainte Monique, see Ennabli (1975): 215-216; not cited by Reichert.: Beremut /Beremuda fid[eles] (< P-Gmc. *bera- ‘bear’ + *môða-z ‘courage’); 4- Dagili[a] from a woman’s gravestone in the basilica of Hippo Regius Année Epigraphique 1958, No. 293; König (1981): 301, 304-5, 334. (< P-Gmc. *daga- ‘day’ + suffixes) is very similar to Vand. Dagila (see below, and § 5.; Wrede [1886]: 62, Francovich Onesti [2002],: 151); 5- Feua appears as “cognomen” on the gravestone of Ponponius Feua CIL viii, 21698; Courtois (1955): 380., and it is the same hypocoristic name designating the Rugian king Fewa, in turn a reduction of his full name ‘Feletheus’; 6- Fridila on an inscription from Cherchel (ancient Caesarea) CIL viii, 21424; Courtois (1955): 387; Reichert (1987): I, 290. is the diminutive of P-Gmc. *friþu- ‘pacifier’ + suffix –ila; 7- Geisirith Mentioned by the 6th-century African poet Corippus in his Johannis, II, 188; Reichert (1987): I, 314; Francovich Onesti (2001): 35. from P-Gmc. *gaiza- ‘spear’ + *rêðaz ‘advice, counsel’; 8- Gudulo from a 6th-century Numidian inscription From Aïn el-Ksar (Algeria), near ancient Casae; Courtois (1955): 387. and Gudulus in the 5th-century “Tablettes Albertini” Francovich Onesti (2002): 160. are both derived from the P-Gmc. stem *gôða- ‘good’ with a Latin suffix; 9- Guiliaruna appears on a burial mosaic from Hippo Regius (second half of the 5th century) In the ‘Great Basilica’ of the town: Année Epigraphique 1958, No. 290; König (1981): 301, 303, 334, plate 48.: Gvi+liarvna presbiterissa qviebit in pace (< P-Gmc. *wilja- ‘will’ + *rûnô ‘secret’); 10- Guitifrida from a 6th-century inscription in Ammædara (Proconsularis) is formed with P-Gmc. *wîti- ‘struggle’ + *friþu- ‘pacifier’; 11- Gunda from Cirta CIL viii, 7394: Gvnda v.a. lxvii cum filio s[uo ..]remiro; Reichert (1987): I, 395. and Guntha On a mosaic inscription from Sidi Bou Ali (Tunisia), Année Epigraphique 1961, No. 202; Reichert (1987): I, 402. are masculine hypocoristic forms from P-Gmc. *gunþjô ‘battle’; 12- Guntari from the same 6th-century inscription of Gudulo (see No. 8 above; < P-Gmc. *gunþjô ‘battle’ + *harja-z ‘army’); 13- Iuliateus is a hybrid made up of Lat. Iulius, Iulia and the P-Gmc. stem *þewaz ‘slave, dedicated’ He was a friend of St. Fulgentius of Ruspe in 518-519 AD, see Mandouze (1982): 617.; 14- Merobaudes from an inscription of Proconsularis CIL viii, 27545; Reichert (1987): I, 505. (< P-Gmc. *mêrija- ‘famous’ + *bauðiz ‘master’); 15- Muritta is formed with Lat. Mor-, Maurus ‘Moor’ and the East-Gmc. suffix –itta Mentioned by Victor of Vita (History II, 36-7); the –itta suffix is also employed in Gothic names like Nevitta, Fravitta (4th and 5th century).; 16- Scarila lived in the early 6th century, He is mentioned in St. Fulgentius’ Epistolae, see Mandouze (1982): 1044; Wagner (1982): 368. his name is the diminutive of P-Gmc. *skara- ‘band’; 17- Sifila from a Leptis Magna inscription Reichert (1987): I, 600. is a masc. diminutive of *sibjô ‘kindred’ with the suffix -ila; 18- Sigisteus lived in Carthage at the end of the 5th century Mandouze (1982): 1077; Francovich Onesti (2002): 172. His name is not mentioned by Wrede or by Reichert. (< P-Gmc. *segiz ‘victory’ + *þewaz ‘slave, dedicated’); 19- Silibudi, from an inscription of Tebessa (Numidia), Courtois (1955): 386. is perhaps composed with the ethnic name Sil-(ing) + P-Gmc. *buða- ‘messenger’; 20- Sindivult from a mosaic inscription in Tipasa Courtois (1955): 387; Reichert (1987): I, 611. (< P-Gmc. *sinþa- ‘travel, path’ + *wulþu- ‘glory’); 21- Tanca, from an early 6th-century Carthage gravestone Tanca fidelis in pace vixit annos… Courtois (1955): 384., is the hypocoristic of *þanka- ‘thank’; 22- Theudo[... vi]xit incomplete name from a Carthage inscription Courtois (1955): 384; Reichert (1987): I, 693. (< P-Gmc. *þeuðô ‘people’); 23- Trigari from a gravestone of Sétif CIL viii, 8650; Reichert (1987): I, 721. (< P-Gmc. *triwwa- ‘loyal, true’ + *harja-z ‘army’); 24- Trioua From a Carthage epitaph: Trioua fidelis in pace deposita, Courtois (1955): 384. is a fem. hypocoristic < P-Gmc. *triwwa ‘loyal, true’; 25- Untancus From a 5th-century inscription of Sétif, CIL viii 8650; König (1981): 302. is composed with the prefix *un- + P-Gmc. *þanka- ‘thank’; 26- Valilu is a fem. name from a burial inscription of Hippo Regius König (1981): 301-6, plate 48b: Valilv fidelis in pace A+w. In the 1950s two golden earrings were found in her grave in the ‘Great Basilica’. (< P-Gmc. *walja- ‘choose’ + fem. suffix *-ilô); 27-Vifrede is carved on a golden ring from Ibiza (Balearic Islands) König (1981): 345-6: In D(omi)no benedicto tec(um) Vifrede vita., from P-Gmc. *wih- ‘struggle’ + *friþuz ‘pacifier’; 28- Vilimut from a Carthage inscription Courtois (1955): 384. (< P-Gmc. *wilja- ‘will’ + *môða- ‘courage’). Among the names traditionally known from literary and historical sources, that were gathered and analyzed by Wrede in 1886, we can mention the following: 1- Anduit was a 5th century Arian priest (< P-Gmc. prefix *and- ‘against’ + *wîti- ‘combat’) Wrede (1886): 62.; 2- Ariarith was a 6th-century soldier of Vandal origin Wrede (1886): 89; Schönfeld (1911): 25. (<P-Gmc. *harja- ‘army’ + *rêðaz ‘counsellor’); 3- Blumarit is mentioned by the poet Luxorius Anthologia Latina No. 326; Happ (1986): 292; Wrede (1886): 76. (P-Gmc. *blôma-n ‘bloom’ + *rêðaz ‘counsellor’); 4- Dagila lived in the fifth century under King Huniric Victor of Vita III, 33; Wrede (1886): 62. (< P-Gmc. *daga- ‘day’ + suffix –ila); 5- Euageis is only recorded in the Greek accusative form Euagein Eujagevhn in Procopius’ Bellum Vandalicum I, 9 and 17. Its reconstructed nominative must have been Eujagevhß with Late Greek <eh> for the diphthong [ei], see Francovich Onesti (2002): 152; Wrede (1886): 77, 79. (<P-Gmc. *ehwa- ‘horse’ + *gaiza- ‘spear’); 6- Fredbalum was king of the Silings in the 5th century (< P-Gmc. *friþu- ‘pacifier’ + *bala- ‘shining’ Wrede (1886): 52-53 offers a different interpretation.); 7- Fridamal is mentioned by Luxorius Anthologia Latina No. 304; Wrede (1886): 75. (< P-Gmc. *friþu- ‘pacifier’ + Amal ‘Amal’); 8- Gaisericus 5th-century Vandal king (< P-Gmc. *gaiza- ‘spear’ + *rîka-z ‘mighty, king’) This form regularly occurs in the 5th-century Chronicle of Hydatius; in later sources his name appears as Geisericus (Victor of Vita and other African authors), then Gezericus (Jordanes) and Geze-, Gizevricoß (Priscus, Procopius), and finally Gensericus (Cassiodorus); Schönfeld (1911): 99-101.; 9- Geilamir /Gelimer was the last Vandal king Geilamir was the official form used on coins and on contemporary inscriptions; Procopius has Gelivmer, gen. -meroß, dat. -meri, acc. -mera. Francovich Onesti (2002): 156-7. (< P-Gmc. *gaila- ‘joy’ + *mêrijaz ‘famous’); 10- Geilaridos is the genitive of *Geilarith Bellum Vandalicum I, 9: Geilavridoß. Wrede (1886): 73. (< P-Gmc. *gaila- ‘joy’ + *rêðaz ‘counsellor’); 11- Gibamundus belonged to the Hasding royal clan He died in 533; in Procopius’ Greek spelling: Gibamou`ndoß (Bell. Vand. I, 18). (< P-Gmc. *geba- ‘gift’ + *munduz ‘defender’); 12- Godigisclos was Geiseric’s father He died in 407. In Latin letters Godegisilus (Gregory of Tours, Hist. Franc. II, 9), in Greek Gwdigiskloß (Bell. Vand. I, 3). Wrede (1886): 51. (< P-Gmc. *gôða- ‘good’ + *gîsila- ‘arrow’); 13- Gunthimer was King Geilimer’s brother Wrede (1886): 84. (< P-Gmc. *gunþjô ‘battle’ + *mêrijaz ‘famous’); 14- Hildimer lived under Hilderic (523-530) Corippus, Johann. III, 198. Wrede (1886): 105., his name is made up of P-Gmc. *hildjô ‘battle’ + *mêrijaz ‘famous’; 15- Hildirix king 523-530 (< P-Gmc. *hildjô ‘battle’ + *rîkaz ‘king’) Hildirix is the official form appearing on coins and inscriptions (see for ex. Duval – Prévot [1975]: 273-76); other spellings are Hildericus, Ildirix. Wrede (1886): 32, 78.; 16- Hunirix king 477-484 (< *huni- ‘Hun’ + *rîkaz ‘king’) Hunirix is the official form recorded by his contemporary Victor of Vita (History, II, 2), who also employs the Romanised form Huniricus (II, 1).; 17- Oageis is mentioned by the poet Luxorius Anthologia Latina No. 345. Tiefenbach (1991): 262; Wrede (1886): 77. (< P-Gmc. *hauha- ‘high’ + *gaiza- ‘spear’); 18- Obadus was “praepositus regni” in 483 under King Hunirix Victor of Vita II, 43-4. The <ob> spelling, like <ub>, <uu>, stands for the initial [w-] sound, as in Visig. Ubili-gisclus for <Wili-gisclus> (from 6th-century Spain, see Reichert [1987]: I, 779). Wrede (1886): 67; Francovich Onesti (2002): 169. (< P-Gmc. *wadaz ‘walker’); 19- Raginari from a Carthage inscription Courtois (1955): 384; CIL viii, 22655. (< P-Gmc. *ragina- ‘destiny’ + *harjaz ‘army’); 20- Stilico, a Roman general of Vandal origin (360-408) Other forms are Stillico, Stelicho, Istiliconis, Stelivcwn, Stiliconoß; Schönfeld (1911): 209-11; Wrede (1886): 49; Reichert (1987): I, 618-26; Francovich Onesti (2002): 172-3., probably formed with *P-Gmc. *stelan- ‘to steal away’ + suffix –ika-n; 21- Theodoricus was King Geiseric’s son Victor of Vita I, 44; Wrede (1886): 61-66. (< P-Gmc. *þeuðô ‘people’ + *rîkaz ‘king’); 22- Thrasamunds king (496-523) This form appears on coins minted at Carthage; other forms: Thrasamundus, Trasamundus, Thrasamuds, Transamundus, see Wrede (1886): 74; Francovich Onesti (2002): 174-5. from P-Gmc. *þrasa- ‘challenge’ + *munduz ‘defender’; 23- Vitarit was the royal “notarius” in Carthage In 480-483, see Victor of Vita, History, II, 3-5, 41. Wrede (1886): 68. (< P-Gmc. *wîti- ‘struggle’ + *rêðaz ‘advice’). Main features. The typical East Germanic name elements appearing in the above mentioned Vandalic personal names are the following: 1) as the first elements of compounds: *and- (see for ex. Ostrogothic Andela, Anduit), *blôma-, *gaila- (cp. Visigothic Gaile-svinda, Geilanem, Gili-mirus), *geba- (cp. Ostrog. Gevica, Gibila, Gibi-mer, Ghive-ric), *hauha- (cp. Goth. Ao-ricus, Visig. Au-redus), *sibjô (Ostrog. Sibia, Sive-gerna, Sifilo), *sinþa- (Ostrog. Sindila, Sinthilanis), *skara-, *stelan-, *swarta- ‘black’ (cp. Herulian Swartya; see below § 5, note 88), *triwwa- (Ostrog. Triggua, Triuuila, Triuuane), *þanka- (Ostrog. Tancila, Tancane), *wada- (Ostrog. Waduulfo), *walja- (Visig. Valia), and *wilja- (Ostrog. Wilja-rith). 2) As the second elements of compounded names: Amal- (cp. Ostrog. Amala-frida), *bala- (Visig. Vini-bal), *buða- (Ostrog. Hos-but, Visig. Sisi-butus, Burgundian Frede-bodus), *friðô (Ostrog. fem. Ricci-frida, Amala-frida), *gisila- (Ostrog. Witi-gisclus, Uli-gisalos), *wada-z (Ostrog. Sunhi-vadus, Visig. Traso-vado), *wîti- (Ostrog. And-uit), *wulþu-z (Ostrog. Sigis-vultus, Visig. Sis-uldus), and the East-Gmc. forms –rith, -mer, -mir from *rêða- and *mêrija- respectively. Although these stems are not exclusively East Germanic, it is nonetheless in East Germanic name-forms that they all occur most frequently. The same is true of the Gmc. diminutive suffix –ila, which is frequently employed in East Gmc. onomastics. The suffix –itta, though, (see Muritta above and note 34) seems to be exclusively East Germanic. Vandal linguistic forms also clearly show a few characteristic East Germanic developments, such as: P-Gmc. long *ê1 is normally preserved, as in Vand. Gunthi-mer, Hildi-mer, Oa-mer, Geili-mer, Mero-baudes; in unstressed conditions it can produce i: Vand. Geila-mir, Aria-rith, Bluma-rit, Vita-rit. This clearly contrasts with the Suevic (West Germanic) development of *ê1 > /a:/, cp. Suevic Ingo-maris, Suabila, respectively < P-Gmc. *mêrijaz ‘famous’ and *swêba- ‘Sueve’. P-Gmc. short *e > Vand. i, unless it was followed by original */r, h, w/; thus for example Giba-mundus, Sigis-teus, Stilico. Spellings like Geba-mundus and Stelicho also exist, though they are much less frequent. But Bere-mut (< *bera-), Eua-geis (< *ehwa-) and Sigis-teus (< *þewaz). P-Gmc. *z is always preserved and has not shifted to > r. So we have for example Gaise-ricus, Geisi-rith from P-Gmc. *gaiza- ‘spear-point’ (cp. instead Lombard [West Gmc.] gaire-thinx); as a second element compare on the one hand Vand. Oa-geis, Ostrog. Rada-gaisus, and on the other Suevic (West Gmc.) Hildi-ger, Ildi-ger, Frank. Liut-ger(us), Lombard Leode–garius. In Greek letters the voiced sibilant /z/ is rendered with <z>, which in the sixth century had in fact acquired a sibilant pronunciation: for ex. Gezevricoß. Lack of vowel mutation (Umlaut); see for ex. Vand. Aria-rith, Ari-fridos, Gunt-ari, Ragin-ari < P-Gmc. *harjaz. The conjunction ia ‘and’ (see above § 1, note 4; cp. Gothic jah ‘and’) is almost unknown to West and North-Germanic languages. The epithet Vandali-rice could hint to a Vand. genitive plural ending –ê (= Gothic –ê) in this case written <i>; Wrede (1886): 78, reports the mistaken form <Vandala-rice>, but see Anthologia Latina No. 215. For the specific Gothic gen.plur. ending –ê see Panieri (2000). while non-East Germanic languages have gen. plur. ending < P-Gmc. *-ôn. While in West-Gmc. languages it had disappeared very early, in Vandalic the ending of nominative masc. singular (< P-Gmc. *-z) is preserved in a number of cases, although not regularly, and rendered with –s or –x spellings. Examples are eils, Hunirix, Hildirix, Thrasamunds, Thrasamuds, etc. But this ending was dropped in names like Ariarith, Fronimuth, Geilamir, Vitarit, and in other cases. It seems that the official names of kings as they appear on Vandal coins present an archaized form retaining the –s ending, while more popular and unofficial writings leave it out. In Ostrogothic names from 6th-century Italy the –s ending had already dropped, see for ex. Ostrog. Angelfrid, Optarit, Viliarit, Ghiveric, Sinderith, Gibimer, Felithanc, Ebremud, etc. Lack of West Germanic consonant gemination; see for ex. Vand. Guilia-runa, Vili-mut, Valilu, Sifila, respectively < P-Gmc. *wilja-, *walja-, *sibjô (to contrast for ex. with OE willan, OHG wellen, OE sibbian). The P-Gmc. cluster *-ww- can be strengthened as –g-, see for ex. Vand. Trigari (but also Trioua), to be compared with Ostrog. Triguila (but also Triuuila). A few phonetic developments of Vandalic are similar to those observed in Late Ostrogothic names from 6th-century Italy: As in Ostrogothic, P-Gmc. *ô > Vand. u; thus we have Bluma-rit, Vili-mut, to be compared with Ostrog. Dum-ilda, Dume-rit (< P-Gmc. *dôm-, cp. the different development in Biblical Gothic: bloma ‘bloom’, moþs ‘mood’, doms ‘doom’) Feist (1939): 100, 122, 365; see also Wrede (1891).. As in Ostrogothic names, Vandalic too can present, in many cases, the loss of final -s as the ending of masc. nominative sing.: Geilamir, Oamer, Sindivult, Vitarit, and many more examples (see above at 7). Vandal names tend to preserve the P-Gmc. diphthong *eu, as in Theudo-, Theodo-ricus. The same is also true of most Ostrogothic names (like Theudo-ricus, Theoda-hathus), while Biblical Gothic has –iu- as in þiuda ‘people’. The evidence, though, is not so clear-cut as to allow a division between Vandal and Ostrogothic on the one hand (with *eu > eu, eo) and Visigothic on the other (with iu, ju, as in Wulfila) Schönfeld (1911): 229. Consider however the many Visigothic forms such as Ade-liubus, Ede-liubus, Liuba, Liuva, Liuvigildus, Liuvi-gotoni, Svinthi-liuba, all from 6th and 7th-century Spain (< *leuba- ‘dear’).. At this point we can outline the main Vandalic linguistic characteristics which identify the language within the East Germanic group. P-Gmc. */ai/ can be preserved as ai, then it tends in time to change into > Vand. ei. For ex. the form Gaisericus (king 428-477) Cp. the almost contemporary Ostrogothic name Rada-gaisus (407 AD) with <ai>. is regularly found in a 5th-century Spanish source like Hydatius, and seldom in Victor of Vita. In this author (Africa, 2nd half of the 5th century) and in other North African sources the usual form is Geisericus. Later on, we find the simplified or popular spelling Gesiric From a 6th-century inscription in Sufetula (Byzacena): natus anno xxviii regis Gesiric; Courtois (1955): 373, plate v., in Greek sources <e> (Priscus : Γεζέριχος) and in the 6th century <i> (Procopius: Γιζέριχος). The name of King Gelimer (530-534), son of Geilarith, is officially Geilamir, Geilimer on Vandal coins and inscriptions; then Γελίμερ in Procopius. Other examples of Vand. [ei] (< *ai) are: eils, Geisi-rith, Oa-geis; in Ευα-γεη[ς] the diphthong [ei] is rendered by Late Greek <eh>. This typical Vandalic development clearly contrasts with Suevic name forms such as Ildi-ger, Hildi-ger. The partial maintenance of the nominative –s ending can also be considered a conservative feature of Vandalic, if compared not to Wulfila’s Biblical Gothic, but to 6th-century Ostrogothic names from Italy, where the ending had already disappeared (see examples above at 7). Romanisation The adaptation of Vandalic forms to the Latin linguistic environment began rather early in the fifth century. What I mean here is not the usual Romanisation of endings in Latin texts handed down to us over the centuries (like Baud-us, Obad-us, Gunthamund-us etc.), but actual grapho-phonetic adaptations to the North African Latin environment or even the admixture of Vandal name-elements with others, giving birth to hybrid names. Romanisation does not seem to have taken place before the Vandals’ final settlement in Africa (429-439). Carthage was taken in 439, after a period when Hippo Regius had been the temporary capital of the Vandal kingdom (435-439). According to the evidence from personal names, it was not yet apparently operating during their stay in the Iberian Peninsula (409-429). From the grapho-phonetic point of view we shall notice the following cases of Romanisation: Loss of h-, as in Arifridos, Ariarith, Gunt-ari (< *harja-), eils (< *hailaz), Oageis (< *hauha-), Agis-ild (< *hildjô), and Asdingi (Jordanes) in addition to Hasdingi (Cassiodorus, < *hazd-). In the very conservative and official spellings of royal names on Vandal coins, h- is never dropped: so we have for ex. Hunirix, Hildirix. Vandal coins minted at Carthage provide a very important and interesting type of linguistic evidence, as they are contemporary to kings and display the intended official form of their names. In Greek writing, initial h- can be rendered with a rough breathing, as in JOavmer (Procopius; < *hauha-). The frequent development of P-Gmc. fricatives *þ, *ð into > t or d; examples are: Tanca, Untancus, Fridila, Fridamal, Gunda, Guntari, Sindivult, Vitarit, Blumarit, Sigisteus, Trasamundus besides the unchanged forms Thrasamundus, Guntha, Gunthimer, Fronimuth, Ariarith, Oujlivqeoß. The development of initial P-Gmc. *w- into [gw-]: thus for ex. Guiliaruna (< *wilja-), Guitifrida (< *wîti-), and Guandalorum In Dracontius, a poet who lived in King Gunthamund’s time (484-496). besides the more usual Vandali. This [gw-] sound for the Vandalic is only recorded in North Africa, and not before the second half of the fifth century, the first example being Guiliaruna, from Hippo Regius The inscription on her gravestone was first published in 1958, see König (1981): 334; the later Guitifrida inscription, from Ammædara, dates to the sixth century and was published in 1941.. In the verb matzia ‘to eat’ (< P-Gmc. *matjan-) mentioned in Epigram No. 285 of Anthologia Latina (see above § 1, note 4) there is perhaps an early trace of the Late Latin development of [-tj-] > [-tsj-], which was common in 6th-century Italy The earliest example is the Latin loan-word kawtsjon that entered Ostrogothic, recorded in the 551 Gothic signature of papyrus Tjäder 34 now preserved in Naples, Biblioteca Nazionale (see Scardigli [1969]: 24 = [1973]: 277). In Africa too, the parallel development of voiced [dj] > [dz] is recorded by such spellings as zaconus for Lat. diaconus (6th century inscription from Cirta, see Francovich Onesti [2002]:184). and still characterizes modern Italian. What this spelling exactly means is not completely clear: it could perhaps indicate that the Vandal word was reproduced by Afro-Roman speakers the way they heard it and tried to repeat it. So, strictly speaking, this may not be evidence of ‘Romanisation’ of Vandalic, but of Late Latin local phonetic developments. A special kind of Romanisation is the emergence of mixed names, formed with Vandalic elements or suffixes, combined with Latin (or other) elements or suffixes. On this particular aspect of Afro-Vandalic onomastics see Francovich Onesti, “Latin-Germanic Hybrid Names from Vandal Africa and Related Problems”, in: ICOS 21 (Uppsala, 19-24 August 2002) [forthcoming]. This process began to take place in the second half of the fifth century, after the Vandals had spent about fifty years in Roman provinces and in a Latin-speaking environment. A few examples are given here to illustrate this phenomenon. A Latin suffix could be applied to a Vand. name, as in Dagilia, Gudulus, Gudulo; “Movierung” produced feminine names from originally masc. forms: Beremuda, Abiarica; From a Carthage inscription, Courtois (1955): 385; her name is formed with P-Gmc. *awja- ‘fortune’ + masc. *rîka-z ‘powerful, king’. Beremuda is derived from masc. Beremut, see above § 3, note 22. a Vand. suffix could be applied to a Latin name: Muritta; Vand. suffix applied to a Greek name: Cyrila; Cyrila was the patriarch of the Arian church in Carthage in the 480s (Victor of Vita II, 8 etc.); in his name a Gmc. suffix –ila is applied to a Greek stem Kuri-oß, or Kurilloß (Reichert [1987]: I, 230; Francovich Onesti [2002]: 151). Vand. suffix applied to an Alan name: Vasila. From a Carthage inscription, Ennabli (1975): 151. In this name the Gmc. suffix –ila is applied to the Alan name Basa, see above § 2, note 13. Hybrid names were formed with Latin and Vand. elements: for ex. Iulia-teus, Maio-ricus, Victor of Vita III, 24; his name is made up of Lat. maior + P-Gmc. *rîka-z ‘powerful’. Bicto-ricus; From a Leptis Minor mosaic inscription, Béjaoui (1994). His name is formed with Lat. Victor + P-Gmc. *rîkaz. but also with Vand. and Berber elements, as in Svarti-fan; It is probably no coincidence that Svartifan was a Berber (Corippus, Johannis iv, 861); his name is made up with Gmc. *swarta- ‘black’ and Berber –fan (as in Guenfan, who was chief of Berber troops in Byzacena about 500 AD). and even with Berber (or Punic?) and Vand. elements: Supse-rik. Epitaph from Tebessa: Supserik fidelis in pace vixit annis xxxxi (2nd half of the 5th century; Reichert [1987]: I, 643); the first element is of unknown origin, the second < P-Gmc. *rîkaz. Finally, double names of heterogeneous origin, that is a Latin first name with the addition of a Vandal “cognomen”, are recorded in North Africa, such as Ponponi Feua, Sallusticius Manno, CIL viii 9746, from Mauretania Caesariensis; cp. Frankish and Lombard Manno, Ostrog. Manna < P-Gmc. *mann(a)- ‘man’. and also Flavius Vitalis Vitarit. From gravestones (respectively CIL viii 21698, CIL viii 9746, and Février 1972: 148-150, from Tebessa); for the name Vitarit see above § 3, note 70. This last three-name formation in the classical style combines a typical Vandalic name, well known in 5th-century Carthage, that deliberately alliterates with Lat. Vitalis, one of the most frequent and popular names in Roman Africa. Conclusions What we can say then, after the above analysis, is that the Vandals spoke a language that was closely related to Gothic, but with a few characteristics of its own. These were mostly due to some conservative features, in accordance with the early date of our evidence: that is from about the fourth to the early sixth centuries. Not very “early” indeed if compared to Biblical Gothic, but only if compared to Ostrogothic onomastic records of the sixth century, and to Visigothic names from Spain, the latter going on into the early eighth century. In addition the peripheral position of Vandalic, which in Africa was far removed from its sister languages of the Germanic family, and its separate and autonomous development, all contributed to the shaping of its linguistic features, where both archaisms and early Romanisation are together at work. The scarce linguistic materials available can perhaps suggest a vague similarity between Vandalic and the Late Ostrogothic onomastic materials from Italy. The traces and remains of the Vandals’ language emerged in increasing number throughout the 20th century and their study has contributed to filling up the gaps and lacunae in the linguistic puzzle of the early Germans. Just like Gothic, Vandalic disappeared too, and had probably already vanished and was lost at the time of the Byzantine conquest in 534, when the Vandal kingdom came to an end. Since Latin was the language of royal administration at least from about 480 AD, and all known grave epitaphs and North African inscriptions in general are in Latin, we may perhaps surmise that the Vandal idiom had died out even earlier than 534, or at least had already begun to fall into disuse in certain sectors of North African society from the second half of the fifth century onwards. A bilingual period is however to be assumed for the descendants of the Vandal invaders, especially in larger towns such as Carthage, and in areas of more populated Vandal settlements such as the sortes Vandalorum in the Proconsularis. From the analysis of personal names we can deduce the existence of bilingual and indeed multilingual realities in North Africa, which took shape in the last decades of the Vandal kingdom. The noteworthy linguistic exchange between Latin and Vandalic probably followed the absorption of Alans into the Vandal group, revealed by Alan names within the Hasding royal clan. Then the contact and alliance between Berber and Vandal troops must have been responsible for the creation of such names as Svartifan and Supserik. Different social groups exchanged their cultural traditions at different levels, as names like Cyrila, Bictoricus, Muritta and Flavius Vitalis Vitarit reflect. In churches, where minority groups of North African Arians after 429 met with the Arian invaders, double and bilingual liturgies had to be adopted for the Roman and Vandal public. It is precisely in this milieu that religious formulas both in Latin and Vandalic were heard at one time by local people and newcomers. Afro-Romans could also learn some fragments of Vandalic expressions and titles, such as Vandalirice, at the royal court of Carthage. At the same time administrators had had to master rather quickly written Latin for legal purposes. Since the language of the Vandals died out earlier than Gothic, which was still spoken in the Ostrogothic kingdom of Italy in the 550s, only the Vandal onomastic traditions survived for a while in North Africa after the Byzantine conquest, sometimes mixed with other heterogeneous elements. 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