Gothic Online
Lesson 6
Todd B. Krause and Jonathan Slocum
Gothic Social Organization
Determining the social structure of the Goths during the first centuries in which they come into history is particularly difficult because few sources have any direct knowledge of the Goths -- and those that do, unfortunately, do not treat the topic directly or in any depth. The majority of sources in the fourth century discuss the Tervingi, Goths located in the area of the Danube, to the west of the Greuthungi. An important source, albeit an indirect one, is the translation of Wulfila: the Bible offers a wealth of social and political institutions of Jewish society of a few centuries earlier, and their interaction with Roman political institutions. Comparing our understanding of these institutions with how Wulfila chose to translate the Greek text offers a window into the societal structure of the audience of Wulfila's translation.
Etymology offers a picture of the long-term survival and development of cultural institutions as preserved in a language; but this picture is generally coarse-grained because of the timespan over which regular and specifiable linguistic changes occur. In addition, the vagaries of cultural change and idiomatic language habits imply that at any given moment a term may be applied to a thing or circumstance which is not predictable as the accumulation of the linguistic history of the word up to that point: for example, English broadcast, though a sensible compound for the intended purpose, is not predictable in its current use for 'radio or television program' as a result of the combination of meanings 'wide' and 'throw (a net)'. This unpredictability may occur for no other reason than that the required apparati, the radio and television, did not exist in any prior period: references to new technology may make novel use of old vocabulary.
Specifying through solely etymological methods precisely how a word was used at any specific point in its history generally requires knowing both its history before and after the period in question, so that a sort of triangulation method may be applied to refine possiblities for the meaning of the word in any given intermediate period. Such methods are limited when attempting to discover how the Gothic language, as found in Wulfila's translation, is applied by its speakers to their current social institutions for the simple reason that Wulfila's translation is the terminus of our information about the Gothic language.
To complement the results of etymological investigation, scholars may thus turn to methods of textual comparison. Specifically, they may focus on how Wulfila translated elements of Biblical culture, and estimate how these would be understood by Wulfila himself, and how these are mapped onto Gothic social structure. Combining this with the history of the terms involved provides another method of triangulation in order to pinpoint Gothic social institutions concurrent with Wulfila's translation. This may be further compared with other socio-cultural depictions found in contemporary literature.
The following are estimates of the meaning of various Gothic terms at the time of the Biblical translation, based on the above method of textual comparison, coupled with crossreferencing from contemporary sources. These are necessarily imperfect and tentative. To limit their inaccuracies further, it must be said that this only necessarily applies to the Tervingi, and extension to the social structures of other Goths such as the Greuthungi, for whom there is scant cultural information, is precarious at best.
Collective units, in rough order of importance, are as follows:
- Gutthiuda: in origin 'the Gothic people', this came to signify those people living within Tervingian territory, whether enthnically Goths or not. This probably included the Taifali, a perhaps Celtic or Vandalic group of nomadic horsemen who were evidently averse to permanent settlement, but who formed a tribal confederation with the Tervingi.
- gafau'rds: the chief 'tribal council', composed of representatives of each kuni, most importantly the reiks, but also the sinistans and ma'istans.
- kuni: in origin 'race' or 'generation', this had come to signify a social subdivision, ruled by an individual reiks. There were several such kunja within the confederation, though one kuni would be distinguished as 'royal' and exercise more influence than the others. This was the most active political unit, and a member of the kuni was called an inkunja. Each kuni would typically have its own shrines and priests.
- harjis: an 'army'. At the time of Wulfila, this signified a military unit whose size was on the order of a Roman legion, and so roughly three thousand men. Such an army could be raised by individual kunja, or by the Gutthiuda as a whole.
- hansa: 'troop', a military unit. The size of a hansa is undefined, ranging in size from the equivalent of a Roman maniple to a Roman cohort.
- ha'ims: the organized village. This is the basic center of agriculture and commerce.
- weihs: essentially equivalent to the ha'ims as the organized village and basic center of commerce.
Individual offices and titles, in rough order of importance, were as follows:
- thiudans: designating a 'king', particularly a monarchic king. This institution had evidently fallen into disuse by the time of Gothic texts. The office probably not only included military and political authority, but a sort of judgeship as well.
- reiks: a 'ruler', in particular the head of a kuni. The title conferred political authority, but lacked the power residing in the judgeship. Such a personage would own a house, and be fra'uja 'master' of this house and the dependents, as well as over his armed retainers, the andbahto:s and sipo:njo:s.
- *drau'htins: not extant in Gothic texts, but able to be inferred from words such as drau'hti-wito:th 'military service' and drau'htino:n 'perform military service'. This signified a military leader probably on par with the reiks, the two terms likely being alternates for one another emphasizing different characteristics of the same office.
- kindins: in origin the 'ruler' of a community related by descent, the term came to have the sense of 'governor' over a barbarian confederation, in particular a magistrate appointed by another official.
- ragineis: a 'counselor'. Probably equal in status to kindins, if the two are in fact distinguishable.
- sinista: in origin 'oldest', hence an 'elder'. These were members of the gafau'rds.
- ma'ists: in origin 'greatest', hence 'chief' or 'noble, magnate'. These were members of the gafau'rds.
- inkunja: an individual member of a kuni.
- fra'uja: a 'lord'. Such an individual was a landed noble, owning a gards 'house(hold)', and responsible for the persons and activities in it.
- bau'rgja: an individual member of a bau'rgs.
- ingardja: an individual member of a gards.
- andbahts: in origin 'servant', though likely in particular an armed retainer.
- sipo:neis: an armed retainer.
- skalks: a slave.
- *thius: a slave belonging to the family.
- asneis: a day laborer generally employed at harvest time.
Structures and their environs, in rough order of importance, were as follows:
- bau'rgs: at the time of Wulfila, a walled fortification. A reiks would have set himself apart from other nobles by living in such a fortified structure.
- gards: in origin 'fenced property', in the time of Wulfila this is an unfortified house, equivalent to a Roman manor. Nobles of less stature than the reiks would have lived in such structures. The head of such a household is the fra'uja. The term stood for the structure, as well as those in it, such as the wife, children, relatives, and dependents.
- gawi: in origin 'meadow', this denotes the lands surrounding the bau'rgs.
Reading and Textual Analysis
The following passage is Mark 4:1-12, the parable of the Sower and the Seed. Looking at Mark 4.1, we find swaswe: ina galeithandan in skip gasitan in marein 'so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea'. The construction is actually an infinitival result clause, at its most basic swaswe:... ina... gasitan 'so as... (for) him... to sit'. The participle galeithandan is a masculine accusative modifying ina, '(for) him going'.
The verse Mark 4.5 is interesting for its peculiar uses of the genitive. In the first instance, there is the phrase in thizei 'on account of which, on account of this that'. The occurence of the genitive itself in a phrase with this meaning is not surprising: the genitive is often used to denote cause in Germanic languages, a feature of its adoption of the role of the ablative case found in other Indo-European languages. What is striking is its use with a strictly locative (hence dative in Germanic) or accusative preposition in, which rarely if ever occurs in other Germanic languages. Mark 4.5 also contains the phrase ni haba'ida diupa'izo:s ai'rtho:s, literally 'it did not have of deep earth'. As encountered in a previous reading, the genitive often serves to replace a predicate nominative or accusative in negated clauses. Gothic shares this feature with Old Church Slavonic.
Mark 4.9 provides examples of the Gothic use of the subjunctive: saei haba'i a'uso:na ha'usjando:na, gaha'usja'i, literally 'he who has hearing ears, let him hear'. The latter verb, gaha'usja'i, shows the subjunctive in a hortatory function. But note also the use of the present subjunctive haba'i in a clause giving a general characteristic, rather than the indicative of Modern English.
Note also Mark 4.11: izwis atgiban ist kunnan ru:na thiudangardjo:s gudis, literally 'it is for you to know the rune of the kingdom of God'. Here we find an instance of the Gothic reflex of the word for 'rune'. The word ru:na, along with its cognates, is eventually charged with deep significance in Germanic languages, and seemingly appropriate for the power of the Biblical statement made here. The meaning of its cognates in Germanic ranges anywhere from 'counsel, advice' to 'secret counsel' to 'secret' to 'mystery', or from 'secret counsel' to 'secret writings' to 'sacred writings' to 'writings' to 'runes'. Compare the Old Norse phrase ru'nuom inom reginkunnom 'runes of divine origin' in verse 80 of the Ha'vama'l. This sentiment is also present in the runic inscription in the Noleby Stone, c. 450 AD: runo fahi raginakudo tojeka 'I prepare the suitable divine rune...'.
Of course runes as a writing system seem to have been in origin solely utilitarian, likely lacking any particularly divine overtones. But over time in the North and West Germanic traditions, as the above references illustrate, they came to develop a sort of mystique, if for no other reason than that they were associated with the inspirational step that led to the initiation of writing in general. It is difficult to say to what degree such mystique should be read into the Gothic term, since Wulfila's translation actually predates both the Ha'vama'l and the Noleby Stone by quite a span of time. If we must then have recourse to a translation of ru:na devoid of mystical import, it is nevertheless a powerful term if understood as the 'privy counsel' due a noble from his advisors.
4:1 - Jah aftra dugann laisjan at marein, jah galesun sik du imma manageins filu, swaswe ina galeithandan in skip gasitan in marein; jah alla so managei withra marein ana statha was.
- jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - aftra
-- adverb;<aftra> back, again-- again - dugann
-- strong verb class 3; third person singular preterite of<duginnan> to begin-- he began - laisjan
-- weak verb class 1; infinitive of<la'isjan> to teach-- to teach - at
-- preposition;<at> at, by, to, with, of-- by... side - marein
-- weak noun; dative singular feminine of<marei> sea, lake-- the sea - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - galesun
-- strong verb class 5; third person plural preterite of<galisan> to gather-- was gathered # the collocation gale:sun sik is literally 'gathered themselves', and not strictly passive as the English - sik
-- reflexive pronoun; accusative of<sik> himself, herself, oneself-- ... - du
-- preposition;<du> to, towards; against; in-- unto - imma
-- personal pronoun; dative singular masculine of<is> he, she, it-- him - manageins
-- weak noun; genitive singular feminine of<managei> crowd, multitude-- multitude - filu
-- strong noun; nominative singular neuter of<filu> much, many-- a great - swaswe
-- conjunction;<swaswe:> as, just as; so as; so as to, so that-- so that - ina
-- personal pronoun; accusative singular masculine of<is> he, she, it-- he - galeithandan
-- strong verb class 1; accusative singular masculine of present participle of<galeithan> to go, travel-- entered... (and) - in
-- preposition;<in> into, towards; on account of; in, among, by-- into - skip
-- strong noun; accusative singular masculine of<skip> ship-- a ship - gasitan
-- strong verb class 5; infinitive of<gasitan> to sit-- sat - in
-- preposition;<in> into, towards; on account of; in, among, by-- in - marein
-- weak noun; dative singular feminine of<marei> sea, lake-- the sea - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - alla
-- adjective; nominative singular feminine of<alls> all, every-- whole - so
-- article; nominative singular feminine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- the - managei
-- weak noun; nominative singular feminine of<managei> crowd, multitude-- multitude - withra
-- preposition;<withra> against, over against; by, near; to, in reply to, in return for; on account of, for-- by - marein
-- weak noun; dative singular feminine of<marei> sea, lake-- the sea - ana
-- preposition;<ana> in, on, upon, at, over; to, into; against-- on - statha
-- strong noun; dative singular masculine of<staths> place; land-- the land - was
-- strong verb class 5; third person singular preterite of<wisan> to be-- was
2 - jah laisida ins in gajukom manag jah qath im in laiseinai seinai:
- jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - laisida
-- weak verb class 1; third person singular preterite of<la'isjan> to teach-- he taught - ins
-- personal pronoun; accusative plural masculine of<is> he, she, it-- them - in
-- preposition;<in> into, towards; on account of; in, among, by-- in - gajukom
-- strong noun; dative plural feminine of<gajuko:> parable-- parables - manag
-- substantive adjective; accusative singular neuter of<manag> much, many-- many things - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - qath
-- strong verb class 5; third person singular preterite of<qithan> to say, speak-- said - im
-- personal pronoun; dative plural masculine of<is> he, she, it-- unto them - in
-- preposition;<in> into, towards; on account of; in, among, by-- in - laiseinai
-- strong noun; dative singular feminine of<la'iseins> doctrine, teaching-- doctrine - seinai
-- possessive adjective; dative singular feminine of<seina> one's own-- his
3 - hauseith! sai, urrann sa saiands du saian fraiwa seinamma.
- hauseith
-- weak verb class 1; second person plural imperative of<ha'usjan> to hear, listen-- hearken - sai
-- interjection;<sa'i> lo, behold-- behold - urrann
-- strong verb class 3; third person singular preterite of<urrinnan> to rise, come from, go forth-- there went out - sa
-- article; nominative singular masculine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- a - saiands
-- strong verb class 7; nominative singular masculine of present participle of<saian> to sow-- sower - du
-- preposition;<du> to, towards; against; in-- to - saian
-- strong verb class 7; infinitive of<saian> to sow-- sow - fraiwa
-- strong noun; dative singular neuter of<fra'iw> seed-- (seed) - seinamma
-- reflexive pronoun; dative singular neuter of<*seins> one's own-- (his)
4 - jah warth, miththanei saiso, sum raihtis gadraus faur wig, jah qemun fuglos jah fretun thata.
- jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - warth
-- strong verb class 3; third person singular preterite of<wai'rthan> to become, to happen-- it came to pass - miththanei
-- conjunction;<miththanei> while, during, when-- as - saiso
-- strong verb class 7; third person singular preterite of<saian> to sow-- he sowed - sum
-- indefinite pronoun; nominative singular neuter of<sums> some, one-- some - raihtis
-- adverb;<rai'htis> indeed-- ... - gadraus
-- strong verb class 2; third person singular preterite of<gadriusan> to fall, fail-- fell - faur
-- preposition;<fau'r> for, before, by-- by - wig
-- strong noun; accusative singular masculine of<wigs> way, road, journey-- the way side - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - qemun
-- strong verb class 4; third person plural preterite of<qiman> to come, arrive-- came - fuglos
-- strong noun; nominative plural masculine of<fugls> bird, fowl-- the fowls (of the air) - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - fretun
-- strong verb class 4; third person plural preterite of<fraitan> to devour-- devoured... up - thata
-- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- it
5 - antharuth-than gadraus ana stainahamma, tharei ni habaida airtha managa, jah suns urrann, in thizei ni habaida diupaizos airthos;
- antharuth-than
-- adjective; nominative singular neuter of<anthar> other, another; second + enclitic conjunction;<-uh> but, and, now, therefore + conjunction;<than> when, as (long as); then, at that time; but, and, however-- and some # the final -h of -uh has assimilated to the initial th- of than - gadraus
-- strong verb class 2; third person singular preterite of<gadriusan> to fall, fail-- fell - ana
-- preposition;<ana> in, on, upon, at, over; to, into; against-- on - stainahamma
-- substantive adjective; dative singular neuter of<sta'inahs> stony-- stony ground - tharei
-- adverb;<thar> there + relative particle;<ei> that, so that; whether; (relative particle)-- where - ni
-- adverb;<ni> not-- not - habaida
-- weak verb class 3; third person singular preterite of<haban> to have-- it had - airtha
-- strong noun; accusative singular feminine of<ai'rtha> earth-- earth - managa
-- adjective; accusative singular feminine of<manag> much, many-- much - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - suns
-- adverb;<suns> at once, soon-- immediately - urrann
-- strong verb class 3; third person singular preterite of<urrinnan> to rise, come from, go forth-- it sprang up - in
-- preposition;<in> into, towards; on account of; in, among, by-- ... - thizei
-- relative pronoun; genitive singular neuter of<saei> who, he who, which-- because - ni
-- adverb;<ni> not-- no - habaida
-- weak verb class 3; third person singular preterite of<haban> to have-- it had - diupaizos
-- adjective; genitive singular feminine of<diups> deep-- depth - airthos
-- strong noun; genitive singular feminine of<ai'rtha> earth-- of earth
6 - at sunnin than urrinnandin ufbrann, jah unte ni habaida waurtins, gathaursnoda.
- at
-- preposition;<at> at, by, to, with, of-- when - sunnin
-- weak noun; dative singular feminine of<sunno:> sun-- the sun - than
-- conjunction;<than> when, as (long as); then, at that time; but, and, however-- but - urrinnandin
-- strong verb class 3; dative singular feminine of present participle of<urrinnan> to rise, come from, go forth-- was up - ufbrann
-- strong verb class 3; third person singular preterite of<ufbrinnan> to scorch-- it was scorched - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - unte
-- conjunction;<unte:> for, because, since, until-- because - ni
-- adverb;<ni> not-- no - habaida
-- weak verb class 3; third person singular preterite of<haban> to have-- it had - waurtins
-- strong noun; accusative plural feminine of<wau'rts> root-- root - gathaursnoda
-- weak verb class 4; third person singular preterite of<gathau'rsnan> to be withered-- it withered away
7 - jah sum gadraus in thaurnuns; jah ufarstigun thai thaurnjus jah afhwapidedun thata, jah akran ni gaf.
- jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - sum
-- indefinite pronoun; nominative singular neuter of<sums> some, one-- some - gadraus
-- strong verb class 2; third person singular preterite of<gadriusan> to fall, fail-- fell - in
-- preposition;<in> into, towards; on account of; in, among, by-- among - thaurnuns
-- strong noun; accusative plural masculine of<thau'rnus> thorn-- thorns - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - ufarstigun
-- strong verb class 1; third person plural preterite of<ufarsteigan> to spring up, to mount up-- grew up - thai
-- article; nominative plural masculine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- the - thaurnjus
-- strong noun; nominative plural masculine of<thau'rnus> thorn-- thorns - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - afhwapidedun
-- weak verb class 1; third person plural preterite of<afhwapjan> to choke-- choked - thata
-- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- it - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - akran
-- strong noun; accusative singular neuter of<akran> fruit-- fruit - ni
-- adverb;<ni> not-- no - gaf
-- strong verb class 5; third person singular preterite of<giban> to give, yield-- it yielded
8 - jah sum gadraus in airtha goda jah gaf akran urrinnando jah wahsjando, jah bar ain .l. jah ain .j. jah ain .r.
- jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - sum
-- indefinite pronoun; nominative singular neuter of<sums> some, one-- other - gadraus
-- strong verb class 2; third person singular preterite of<gadriusan> to fall, fail-- fell - in
-- preposition;<in> into, towards; on account of; in, among, by-- on - airtha
-- strong noun; accusative singular feminine of<ai'rtha> earth-- ground - goda
-- adjective; accusative singular feminine of<go:ths, go:ds> good-- good - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - gaf
-- strong verb class 5; third person singular preterite of<giban> to give, yield-- did yield - akran
-- strong noun; accusative singular neuter of<akran> fruit-- fruit - urrinnando
-- strong verb class 3; accusative singular neuter of present participle of<urrinnan> to rise, come from, go forth-- that sprang up - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - wahsjando
-- strong verb class 6; accusative singular neuter of present participle of<wahsjan> to grow, to increase-- increased - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - bar
-- strong verb; third person singular preterite of<bai'ran> to bear, to carry-- brought forth - ain
-- indefinite pronoun; nominative singular neuter of<a'ins> one, alone, only; one, a certain one-- ... - .l.
-- numeral;<threis tigjus> thirty-- thirty - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - ain
-- indefinite pronoun; nominative singular neuter of<a'ins> one, alone, only; one, a certain one-- some - .j.
-- numeral;<sai'hs tigjus> sixty-- sixty - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - ain
-- indefinite pronoun; nominative singular neuter of<a'ins> one, alone, only; one, a certain one-- some - .r.
-- numeral;<tai'hunte:hund> hundred-- an hundred
9 - jah qath: saei habai ausona hausjandona, gahausjai.
- jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - qath
-- strong verb; third person singular preterite of<qithan> to say, speak-- he said (unto them) - saei
-- relative pronoun; nominative singular masculine of<saei> who, he who, which-- he that - habai
-- weak verb class 3; third person singular present subjunctive of<haban> to have-- hath - ausona
-- weak noun; accusative plural neuter of<a'uso:> ear-- ears - hausjandona
-- weak verb class 1; accusative plural neuter of participle of<ha'usjan> to hear, listen-- to hear - gahausjai
-- weak verb class 1; third person singular present subjunctive of<gaha'usjan> to hear-- let him hear
10 - ith bithe warth sundro, frehun ina thai bi ina mith thaim twalibim thizos gajukons.
- ith
-- conjunction;<ith> but, however, if-- and - bithe
-- conjunction;<bithe:> while, when, after that, as soon as; then, thereupon-- when - warth
-- strong verb class 3; third person singular preterite of<wai'rthan> to become, to happen-- he was - sundro
-- adverb;<sundro:> alone, apart-- alone - frehun
-- strong verb class 5; third person plural preterite of<frai'hnan> to ask, question-- asked - ina
-- personal pronoun; accusative singular masculine of<is> he, she, it-- him - thai
-- demonstrative pronoun; nominative plural masculine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- they that (were) - bi
-- preposition;<bi> by, about; concerning; around, against; according to, on account of; for; at; after; near-- about - ina
-- personal pronoun; accusative singular masculine of<is> he, she, it-- him - mith
-- preposition;<mith> with, among, together with, through, by, near-- with - thaim
-- article; dative plural masculine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- the - twalibim
-- numeral; dative plural masculine of<twalif> twelve-- twelve - thizos
-- article; genitive singular feminine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- of the - gajukons
-- weak noun; genitive singular feminine of<gajuko:> parable-- parable
11 - jah qath im: izwis atgiban ist kunnan runa thiudangardjos gudis, ith jainaim thaim uta in gajukom allata wairthith,
- jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - qath
-- strong verb class 5; third person singular preterite of<qithan> to say, speak-- he said - im
-- personal pronoun; dative plural of<is> he, she, it-- unto them - izwis
-- personal pronoun; dative plural masculine of<thu> thou, you-- unto you - atgiban
-- strong verb class 5; nominative singular neuter of preterite participle of<atgiban> to give, deliver-- given - ist
-- strong verb class 5; third person singular of<wisan> to be-- it is - kunnan
-- preterite present verb; infinitive of<kunnan> to know-- to know - runa
-- strong noun; accusative singular feminine of<ru:na> mystery, secret-- the mystery - thiudangardjos
-- strong noun; genitive singular feminine of<thiudangardi> kingdom-- of the kingdom - gudis
-- strong noun; genitive singular masculine of<guth> God-- of God - ith
-- conjunction;<ith> but, however, if-- but - jainaim
-- demonstrative pronoun; dative plural masculine of<ja'ins> that, yon-- unto them - thaim
-- demonstrative pronoun; dative plural masculine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- that (are) - uta
-- adverb;<u:ta> out, without-- without - in
-- preposition;<in> into, towards; on account of; in, among, by-- in - gajukom
-- weak noun; dative plural feminine of<gajuko:> parable-- parables - allata
-- substantive adjective; nominative singular neuter of<all> all, every-- all these things - wairthith
-- strong verb class 3; third person singular of<wai'rthan> to become, to happen-- are done
12 - ei saihwandans saihwaina jah ni gaumjaina, jah hausjandans hausjaina jah ni frathjaina, ibai hwan gawandjaina sik jah afletaindau im frawaurhteis.
- ei
-- conjunction;<ei> that, so that; whether; (relative particle)-- that - saihwandans
-- strong verb class 5; nominative plural masculine of present participle of<sai'hwan> to see-- seeing - saihwaina
-- strong verb class 5; third person plural present subjunctive of<sai'hwan> to see-- they may see - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - ni
-- adverb;<ni> not-- not - gaumjaina
-- weak verb class 1; third person plural present subjunctive of<ga'umjan> to observe, perceive, see-- perceive - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - hausjandans
-- weak verb class 1; nominative plural masculine of present participle of<ha'usjan> to hear, listen-- hearing - hausjaina
-- weak verb class 1; third person plural present subjunctive of<hausjan> to hear-- they may hear - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - ni
-- adverb;<ni> not-- not - frathjaina
-- strong verb class 6; third person plural present subjunctive of<frathjan> to understand-- understand - ibai
-- conjunction;<iba'i> lest, that not-- lest - hwan
-- adverb;<hwan> at any time-- at any time - gawandjaina
-- weak verb class 1; third person plural present subjunctive of<gawandjan> to bring back, return-- they should be converted - sik
-- reflexive pronoun; accusative plural masculine of<sik> himself, herself, oneself-- ... - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - afletaindau
-- strong verb class 7; third person plural passive present subjunctive of<afle:tan> to leave, to forgive-- should be forgiven - im
-- personal pronoun; dative plural masculine of<is> he, she, it-- them - frawaurhteis
-- strong noun; nominative plural feminine of<frawau'rhts> sin-- (their) sins
Lesson Text
4:1 Jah aftra dugann laisjan at marein, jah galesun sik du imma manageins filu, swaswe ina galeithandan in skip gasitan in marein; jah alla so managei withra marein ana statha was. 2 jah laisida ins in gajukom manag jah qath im in laiseinai seinai:
3 hauseith! sai, urrann sa saiands du saian fraiwa seinamma. 4 jah warth, miththanei saiso, sum raihtis gadraus faur wig, jah qemun fuglos jah fretun thata. 5 antharuth-than gadraus ana stainahamma, tharei ni habaida airtha managa, jah suns urrann, in thizei ni habaida diupaizos airthos; 6 at sunnin than urrinnandin ufbrann, jah unte ni habaida waurtins, gathaursnoda. 7 jah sum gadraus in thaurnuns; jah ufarstigun thai thaurnjus jah afhwapidedun thata, jah akran ni gaf. 8 jah sum gadraus in airtha goda jah gaf akran urrinnando jah wahsjando, jah bar ain .l. jah ain .j. jah ain .r. 9 jah qath: saei habai ausona hausjandona, gahausjai.
10 ith bithe warth sundro, frehun ina thai bi ina mith thaim twalibim thizos gajukons. 11 jah qath im: izwis atgiban ist kunnan runa thiudangardjos gudis, ith jainaim thaim uta in gajukom allata wairthith, 12 ei saihwandans saihwaina jah ni gaumjaina, jah hausjandans hausjaina jah ni frathjaina, ibai hwan gawandjaina sik jah afletaindau im frawaurhteis.
Translation
From the King James version:
4:1 And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. 2 And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,
3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: 4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. 5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: 6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. 9 And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. 11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: 12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
Grammar
26. The Third Strong Conjugation
The third strong conjugation comprises verbs whose present system generally shows the vowel i followed by a resonant (l,r,m,n) and one other consonant. The historical evolution of these verbs is shown in the chart below.
| Class III | Root Shape | Present | Past Sg. | Past Pl. | Past Part. | Meaning | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIE | (K)VRC | e | o | zero | zero | |||||||
| *bhe'ndho: | *bho'ndha | *bhndhme' | *bhndho'n | 'tie' | ||||||||
| *we'rbo: | *wo'rba | *wrbme' | *wrbo'n | |||||||||
| PGmc | (K)VNC | i | a | u | u | |||||||
| *bindu (EG *binda) | *band | *bundum | *bundan | 'tie' | ||||||||
| (K)VLC | e/i | a | u (EG u/o) | o (EG u/o) | ||||||||
| *werpu (EG *werpa) | *warp | *wurpum (EG *worpum) | *worpan | 'throw' | ||||||||
| Goth. | i | a | u | u | ||||||||
| binda | band | bundum | bundans | 'bind' | ||||||||
| ai' [e] | a | au' [o] | au' [o] | |||||||||
| wai'rpa | warp | wau'rpum | wau'rpans | 'throw' | ||||||||
In the above, R stands for any resonant l,r,m,n. N stands only for the nasals of this set m,n, while L stands for the non-nasals l,r. The resulting ablaut pattern characterizing the third strong conjugation in Gothic thus falls into two groups.
| Class | Present | Past Sg. | Past Pl. | Past Part. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IIIa | i | a | u | u | ||||
| IIIb | ai' [e] | a | au' [o] | au' [o] |
The difference in ablaut patterns is conditioned by the consonant following the vowel. In the present, the e generally changes to i, except when followed by a non-nasal resonant. Likewise in the past plural and past participle, u generally appears, except when replaced by au' [o] before a non-nasal resonant.
The verb binda 'bind', with prinicpal parts binda -- band -- bundum -- bundans, serves to illustrate the forms of the third conjugation. The forms are as follows.
| Class III | Active | Mediopassive | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indicative | Subjunctive | Imperative | Indicative | Subjunctive | ||||||
| Present | ||||||||||
| 1 Sg. | binda | binda'u | bindada | binda'ida'u | ||||||
| 2 | bindis | binda'is | bind | bindaza | binda'iza'u | |||||
| 3 | bindith | binda'i | bindada'u | bindada | binda'ida'u | |||||
| 1 Du. | bindo:s | binda'iwa | ||||||||
| 2 | bindats | binda'its | bindats | |||||||
| 1 Pl. | bindam | binda'ima | bindam | bindanda | binda'inda'u | |||||
| 2 | bindith | binda'ith | bindith | bindanda | binda'inda'u | |||||
| 3 | bindand | binda'ina | bindanda'u | bindanda | binda'inda'u | |||||
| Past | ||||||||||
| 1 Sg. | band | bundja'u | ||||||||
| 2 | banst | bundeis | ||||||||
| 3 | band | bundi | ||||||||
| 1 Du. | bundu | bundeiwa | ||||||||
| 2 | bunduts | bundeits | ||||||||
| 1 Pl. | bundum | bundeima | ||||||||
| 2 | bunduth | bundeith | ||||||||
| 3 | bundun | bundeina | ||||||||
| Infinitive | bindan | |||||||||
| Pres. Ptc. | bindands | |||||||||
| Past Ptc. | bundans |
For consonant changes before the second person singular past indicative ending, see Section 6.3.
27. The Fourth Strong Conjugation
The fourth strong conjugation comprises verbs whose root ends in a single resonant l,r,m,n. The historical evolution of these verbs is shown in the chart below.
| Class IV | Root Shape | Present | Past Sg. | Past Pl. | Past Part. | Meaning | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIE | (K)VR | e | o | e: | zero | |||||||
| *bhe'ro: | *bho'ra | *bhe:rme' | *bhro'n | 'carry' | ||||||||
| PGmc | (K)VR | e/i | a | e: | o (EG o/u) | |||||||
| *beru (EG *bera) | *bar | *be:rum | *boran | 'carry' | ||||||||
| Goth. | i / ai' [e] | a | e: | u / au' [o] | ||||||||
| qima | qam | qe:mum | qumans | 'come' | ||||||||
| bai'ra | bar | be:rum | bau'rans | 'bear' | ||||||||
In the above, R stands for any resonant l,r,m,n. The resulting ablaut pattern characterizing the third strong conjugation in Gothic thus becomes the following.
| Class | Present | Past Sg. | Past Pl. | Past Part. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IVa | i | a | e: | u | ||||
| IVb | ai' [e] | a | e: | au' [o] |
The difference between Classes IVa and IVb lies in the vowels of the present system and of the past participle stems.
The verbs brikan 'break' and trudan 'tread' follow the ablaut pattern of the fourth class though their roots do not end in a resonant.
The verb bai'ran 'bear, carry', with prinicpal parts bai'ra -- bar -- be:rum -- bau'rans, serves to illustrate the forms of the fourth conjugation. The forms are as follows.
| Class IV | Active | Mediopassive | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indicative | Subjunctive | Imperative | Indicative | Subjunctive | ||||||
| Present | ||||||||||
| 1 Sg. | bai'ra | bai'ra'u | bai'rada | bai'ra'ida'u | ||||||
| 2 | bai'ris | bai'ra'is | bai'r | bai'raza | bai'ra'iza'u | |||||
| 3 | bai'rith | bai'ra'i | bai'rada'u | bai'rada | bai'ra'ida'u | |||||
| 1 Du. | bai'ro:s | bai'ra'iwa | ||||||||
| 2 | bai'rats | bai'ra'its | bai'rats | |||||||
| 1 Pl. | bai'ram | bai'ra'ima | bai'ram | bai'randa | bai'ra'inda'u | |||||
| 2 | bai'rith | bai'ra'ith | bai'rith | bai'randa | bai'ra'inda'u | |||||
| 3 | bai'rand | bai'ra'ina | bai'randa'u | bai'randa | bai'ra'inda'u | |||||
| Past | ||||||||||
| 1 Sg. | bar | be:rja'u | ||||||||
| 2 | bart | be:reis | ||||||||
| 3 | bar | be:ri | ||||||||
| 1 Du. | be:ru | be:reiwa | ||||||||
| 2 | be:ruts | be:reits | ||||||||
| 1 Pl. | be:rum | be:reima | ||||||||
| 2 | be:ruth | be:reith | ||||||||
| 3 | be:run | be:reina | ||||||||
| Infinitive | bai'ran | |||||||||
| Pres. Ptc. | bai'rands | |||||||||
| Past Ptc. | bau'rans |
28. The Nominative Case
The nominative case is the case of the subject of a finite verb. If the verb is such that its meaning equates predicate to subject -- e.g. be, become, seem, appear -- then the predicate also takes the nominative case. For example, ik im so: usstass jah liba'ins 'I am the resurrection and the life' (John 11.25); jah was drus is mikils 'and the fall of it was great' (Matthew 8.27); ni ei weis gakusana'i thugka'ima 'not that we should appear approved' (II Corinthians 13.7). Similarly, if a passive verb is such that it equates predicate to subject -- e.g. be named, be called, be considered, be deemed, be made -- then the predicate takes the nominative case. For example, ni thatei... ju garai'hts gado:miths sija'u 'not as though... I were already deemed right' (Philippians 3.12); gasatiths im ik me:rjans 'I am ordained a preacher' (I Timothy 2.7).
With verbs meaning name or call, Gothic often employs the nominative where one might otherwise expect the accusative or another oblique case. For example, jah gasatida Seimo:na namo: Pai'trus 'And Simon he surnamed Peter' (Mark 3.16), where the Greek employs the accusative; fram thiza'i namnido:n bima'it in leika handuwau'rht 'by that which is called circumcision in the flesh made by hands' (Ephesians 2.11), where thiza'i namnido:n is a dative expression modifying the nominative bima'it... handuwau'rht, though in the Greek noun and modifiers are all in the same case. The verbs wisan 'be' and wai'rthan 'become' often employ the preposition du with the dative in place of a predicate nominative.
The nominative case is used in one, possibly two, instances for an absolute construction. In these constructions, a noun is paired with a past participle and forms a unit grammatically distinct (absolute) from the remaining constructions of the sentence. Such absolute constructions are generally in the dative, and sometimes in the accusative, case in Gothic. However in some instances such pairings occur in the nominative, though the noun so modified is not the apparent subject of the finite verb of the main clause. The clearest example is jah wau'rthans dags gatils, than Herodis mela gabau'rtha'is seina'izo:s nahtamat wau'rhta 'And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper...', more literally 'and a convenient day having come,...' (Mark 6.21). Another possible instance is urrann sa da'utha gabundans handuns jah fotuns faskjam jah wlits is auralja bibundans 'And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin', literally 'and his face bound about...' (John 11.44). This last phrase, however, translates a Greek finite verb form peride'deto, and may therefore be an instance of an omitted copula.
29. The Accusative Case
The direct object of a transitive verb, finite or non-finite, is placed in the accusative case. For example, aththan ik in watin izwis da'upja 'I indeed baptize you with water' (Matthew 3.11); jaba'i a'uk frijo:th thans frijo:ndans izwis a'inans, hwo: mizdo:no: haba'ith? 'For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye?', more literally 'For if ye love those loving you alone, what of rewards have ye?' (Matthew 5.46). Note in the last example that thans frijo:ndans is the accusative object of the finite form frijo:th, while izwis a'inans is the accusative object of the participle frijo:ndans.
Certain impersonal verbal constructions take the accusative. The verbs gre:do:n 'be greedy, hungry', huggrjan 'hunger', thau'rsjan 'thirst' take the accusative of the person affected. For example, jaba'i gre:do: fijand theinana, mat gif imma 'if thine enemy hunger, give him food', literally 'if it hunger thine enemy' (Romans 12.20); thana gaggandan du mis ni huggreith, jah thana gala'ubjandan du mis ni thau'rseith hwanhun 'he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst', more literally 'it shall never hunger one coming to me; and it shall never thirst one believing in me' (John 6.35). The phrase kar' ist or kara 'it concerns' takes the accusative of the person and genitive of the thing. For example, jah ni kar' ist ina thize: lambe: 'and careth not for the sheep', literally 'it concerns him not of the sheep' (John 10.13). The phrase skula wisan 'be guilty, be debtor' takes an accusative of the thing owed: afle:t uns thatei skulans sija'ima 'forgive us our debts', literally 'forgive us that which we owe' (Matthew 6.12).
Occasionally either transitive or intransitive verbs may take an internal or cognate accusative. An internal accusative is any direct object reiterating or specifying the basic meaning of the verb; a cognate accusative futher stipulates that the noun in the accusative be cognate with the verb itself. Consider the following examples: ei wau'rkja'ima wau'rstwa guths 'that we might work the works of God' (John 6.28); ha'ifst tho: go:do:n ha'ifstida 'I have fought a good fight' (II Timothy 4.7); jah o:hte:dun sis agis mikil 'and they feared exceedingly', literally 'and they feared a great fear' (Mark 4.41); na'iteino:s, swa manago:s swaswe: wajame:rjand 'and blasphemes wherewith soever they shall blaspheme', literally 'and blasphemes, as many as they shall blaspheme' (Mark 3.28).
Some verbs in Gothic take a double accusative. The following are some situations in which this occurs:
(1) Personal Object + Predicate: Examples are so: sunja frijans izwis briggith 'the truth shall make you free' (John 8.32); thanzei jah apau'stuluns namnida 'whom also he named apostles' (Luke 6.13); motarjo:s garai'htana domide:dun guth 'the publicans justified God', literally 'the publicans deemed God right' (Luke 7.29).
(2) Personal Object + Internal Accusative: Examples are hwa a'uk bo:teith mannan 'for what shall it profit a man' (Mark 8.36); la'isida ins in gajuko:m manag 'he taught them many things by parables' (Mark 4.2). There are other examples that may be considered as belonging to the category discussed next.
(3) Personal + Material Object: Some examples overlap with the category above. Examples are sa izwis la'iseith allata 'he shall teach you all (things)' (John 14.26); wileima ei thatei thuk bidjo:s ta'uja'is uggkis 'we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire', literally '...whatsoever we shall ask thee' (Mark 10.35).
Viewed more generally, the accusative denotes extent in time or space, usually leading to some eventual endpoint or terminus. A few examples are alla naht thai'rharba'idjandans 'having toiled all night' (Luke 5.5); jah qino: wisandei in runa blo:this je:ra twalif 'And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years' (Luke 8.43); manag a'uk me:l frawalw ina 'for many a time it had caught him' (Luke 8.29); qe:mun dagis wig 'they went a day's journey' (Luke 2.44); jah jaba'i hwaw thuk anana'uthja'i rasta a'ina, gagga'is mith imma two:s 'and if anyone compel thee (to go) one mile, go with him two' (Matthew 5.41).
Related to the above notion of extent is the so-called accusative of specification, or in the terminology of the classical languages, the accusative or respect. The accusative may be used to limit the scope of the surrounding semantic environment. Consider the following examples: jah urrann sa da'utha gabundans handuns jah fotuns faskjam 'and the dead man came forth, bound hands and feet with bandages' (John 11.44); standa'ith nu uf gau'rdana'i hupins izwarans sunja'i 'stand therefore, girt (about) your loins with truth' (Ephesians 6.14).
The accusative, like the more typical dative and very rarely the nominative, is used in absolute constructions. In this, a noun or pronoun together with a particple form a phrase grammatically distinct from the main clause, but are together taken as nearly equivalent in sense to a clause with a finite verb. Consider the following: ith thuk ta'ujandan armaio:n ni witi hleidumei theina, hwa ta'ujithtai'hswo theina 'But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth', more literally 'you doing alms, let not...' (Matthew 6.3). This accusative construction translates a genitive absolute in the Greek text, as does the accusative construction in the next example: jah atgaggandein inn dau'htar Herodiadins jah plins