Gothic Online
Lesson 9
Todd B. Krause and Jonathan Slocum
Gothic Wanderings, 376-401
In the year 376, the Goths sent a request to cross the Danube into Roman territory. The clearest source for events of the Gothic crossing into Roman territory is Ammianus Marcellinus. According to his account, in 376 the Tervingi under Fritigern and Alaviv were allowed to cross the Danube into Roman territory and settle in Thrace. They may have been ordered to disarm as a condition of entry, but if so, the Roman officials in charge seemed to ignore this. They were not allowed to settle as a separate group with their own territory, and they had no autonomous status within the empire. The mass move strained Roman resources in terms of manpower and equipment to ferry the Goths across the Danube; it likewise caused shortages of food.
Lupinicus, a Roman commander in Thrace, was dispatched with some troops to provide an escort to the Goths, weakening Roman forces along the Danube. As a result, other tribes subsequently forced their way across the Danube: Greuthungi under Alatheus and Safrax; Greuthungi under Farnobius; Taifali from the region of Walachia. The Taifali and Greuthungi under Farnobius coalesced into one group; those under Alatheus and Safrax joined with Fritigern. Lupicinus invited the mutually antagonistic Fritigern and Alaviv to a feast, but a quarrel ensued in which Roman soldiers killed the Gothic escorts of Fritigern and Alaviv. Fritigern escaped, but Alaviv's name is no longer mentioned by Ammianus; likewise the name Tervingi is no longer mentioned, only Goths.
The Goths began to ravage the land. Lupicinus went to put down the revolt, but he was killed and his forces were wiped out. Other Goths in Roman employ joined in the revolt, leading to an unsuccessful Gothic siege of Adrianople, led by Fritigern. Emperor Valens in the Eastern Empire sent troops led by Traianus and Profuturus to meet the Goths in Thrace; coemperor Gratian of the Western Empire sent troops under Frigeridus and together they tried to starve the Tervingi under Fritigern. Meanwhile Frigeridus suffered an attack of gout and command fell to Richomeres. Both Gothic and imperial forces could finally wait no longer and attacked one another, but the outcome was inconclusive.
Fritigern subsequently convinced Alatheus and Safrax to join him, adding Greuthungi, Alanic, and Hunnic cavalry to his troops. Frigeridus returned to Thrace in 377 and killed Farnobius in a battle against Greuthungi and Taifali troops. Fritigern called a general retreat; later in 378 he sent a priest to Valens demanding all of Thrace, but simultaneously sent a secret letter offering himself as a Roman ally. Valens, sensing Fritigern's weakness, attacked the Goths, leading his troops along with the commander Sebastianus, who had replaced Traianus. The Roman troops left from Adrianople. Fritigern's cavalry quickly routed the Roman cavalry, and shortly afterward the infantry, with the result that the battle ended in a Gothic victory. Valens was seriously wounded in the fight and subsequently died.
Bolstered by their victory, the Goths continued to pillage the surrounding areas. But ironically the newfound success led to a concomitant sense of self-satisfaction among the Goths, with the result that Fritigern lost some of his troop's cohesion. To drive off the Gothic plunderers, the emperor Theodosius enlisted the help of the Goth Modares-Modaharius and later Athanaric to fight Fritigern's forces. With their aid they overcame the latter and struck a treaty with Fritigern's former subjects in 382.
As part of the treaty, the Goths were settled in Dacia and Thrace. They received land for their own use and were considered autonomous, but did not own property according to imperial law. They were obliged to enter Roman military service, but could only receive subordinate commands. They were exempt from taxation.
Soon the empire was again in turmoil. Out of the destabilization caused by the would-be usurper Maximus, a Goth from Moesia by the name of Alaric headed an uprising in 391. His forces were eventually defeated, but Alaric was released on the orders of Theodosius, a scenario which was to happen four more times between 392 and 402. Eventually Alaric returned to serve Theodosius in putting down another attempted usurpation by Eugenius in 394. After Theodosius died in 395, the Gothic troops were discharged, but lack of supplies led to pludering on their trip home.
In 394-395 the Huns finally pushed across the Danube and drove the major part of the Gothic forces to seek a safe haven. This majority, under Alaric, pushed to Constantinople and reached an agreement with the top imperial advior Rufinus in which Alaric was allowed a high military post and his Gothic followers granted entrance into eastern Illyricum. They eventually forced their way south as far as Larissa, then fought and plundered until they reached the Peloponnesus. The Romans were eventually pressured into a treaty in 397, granting the Goths land in central Macedonia between the Haliacmon and Axius rivers, and granting Alaric a high military post with Illyrian troops under his command, integrating him into the Roman military hierarchy once again.
In this position Alaric consolidated his power: he became the ward of Gothic ethnic identity, and had the authority to punish acts of desertion by opportunistic Gothic chiefs. It is not clear if Alaric was elevated to a true king, a thiudans, but his status as reiks reached a new height, with monarchic overtones.
In 399 the Goth Tribigild led an uprising in Phrygia, his forces consisting in large part of Greuthungi who had formerly been loyal to Odotheus. They ravaged Asia Minor until they met with defeat in Pisidia. Tribigild escaped with 300 men. Gainas was eventually sent with Roman forces to stamp out the rebellion, but sometime around 400 he changed sides and helped the Goths cross the Bosporus. Tribigild was killed shortly thereafter, but Gainas soon occupied Constantinople itself. The imperial palace was burned, and the populace rallied against the numerically inferior Goths. Seven hundred sought refuge in an Orthodox church, but were killed by order of the emperor Arcadius.
Gainas escaped and tried to cross back into Asia Minor, but a fellow tribesman, Fravitta, led a Roman fleet to destroy their makeshift rafts. Gainas evidently turned north seeking to lead his remaining Goths back to their homeland across the Danube. They met with the Huns and suffered defeat; the Hunnic commander Uldin sent the head of Gainas to Constantinople. The emperor received it on January 3, 401.
Reading and Textual Analysis
The following passage is Mark 16.1-12. The first section, Mark 16:1-8, recounts how two of the women in Jesus' entourage were preparing to enter the borrowed tomb in which the Savior was buried, remove the death shroud, and anoint his body with the customary burial spices; but they found the tomb empty. Verses 9-20, of which 9-12a are included here, seem to constitute an addition to Mark's gospel; this ending, written in another style, was supplied by a much later writer, as it exists in none of the best Greek manuscripts. It is nevertheless already present in the 4th century manuscript used to produce the Gothic Bible.
In the first verse we find an example of a genitive absolute: inwisandins sabbate dagis 'when the day of the sabbath was past' (Mark 16.1). These genitive constructions are relatively rare in Gothic, this being an imitation of the Greek diagenome'nou tou sabba'tou. Unfortunately such slavish adherence to the morphologically more robust Greek original creates awkard sense in the Gothic, since the Greek aorist participle denotes a completed action, while the Gothic present participle ostensibly has the sense of an on-going action.
In Mark 16.5 we find the term tai'hswa'i 'right (side)'. This derives from the adjective *tai'hswa 'right'. The phrase tai'hswo: handus 'right hand (side)' has been shortened simply to the weak feminine adjective alone: tai'hswo:, as encountered in Matthew 6.3 in Lesson 5; or less frequently to a strong feminine adjective as here. The same process has left the Greek cognate adjective he: deksi'a 'the right (hand)' with the same denotation. Latin similarly uses the feminine adjective to denote the right side: dextra (manus) 'right (hand)', so ad dextram 'to the right', and hence Modern Spanish derecha 'to the right' -- but derecho 'straight'. The suffix -w- is the same as that found in Greek, i.e. *deksiwos > deksios (compare Mycenaean de-ki-si-wo). The suffix is absent in the Latin cognate, though present in laevus 'left'.
Mark 16.6 provides an interesting grammatical gem: sai thana stath 'behold the place'. The particle sai generally functions as a weak exclamatory, equivalent to 'lo!'. Such a function commends one scholarly theory as to the origin of the interjection, namely that it derives from a compound of the Gothic demonstrative sa with the PIE deictic particle i, as found in, e.g., Greek houtos-i' 'this one here' or vuv-i' 'just now'. Another theory suggests that the form is in fact the locative of the sa- pronoun. The above phrase, however, contains sai followed by an accusative, which is difficult to construe according to the above theories. A third possibility exists, namely that sai is an apocopated form of the 2nd person singular imperative of sai'hwan, thus sai'hw 'look (at)!', with loss of the final consonant -hw. Although not without its problems, this interpretation makes good sense of the accusative -- now the direct object of a verb -- in this phrase.
Another interesting construction is found in Mark 16.8: dizuh-than-sat ijos reiro jah usfilmei, literally 'and then a trembling beset them, and amazement'. Note here the interpolation of -uh and than between the prefix and root of the verb dis-sitan 'settle upon'. In intervocalic position, the -s of the prefix voices to -z-. Such insertion of conjunctions between verb and preverb is not uncommon in Gothic, and may even include nominal elements such as hwa 'anything'. See also the discussion of the ga-prefix in Lesson 8, Section 40.1.
16:1 - jah inwisandins sabbate dagis Marja so Magdalene jah Marja so Iakobis jah Salome usbauhtedun aromata, ei atgaggandeins gasalbodedeina ina.
- jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - inwisandins
-- strong verb class 5; genitive singular masculine of present participle of<inwisan> to be present, near at hand-- when... was past # inwisandins... dagis genitive absolute - sabbate
-- strong noun; genitive plural masculine of<sabbatus> Sabbath-- the sabbath - dagis
-- strong noun; genitive singular masculine of<dags> day-- ... - Marja
-- noun; nominative singular feminine of<Marja> Mary-- Mary - so
-- article; nominative singular feminine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- ... - Magdalene
-- noun; nominative singular feminine of<Magdale:ne:> Magdalene-- Magdalene - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - Marja
-- noun; nominative singular feminine of<Marja> Mary-- Mary - so
-- article; nominative singular feminine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- the (mother) - Iakobis
-- strong noun; genitive singular masculine of<Iako:b> Jacob, James-- of James - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - Salome
-- noun; nominative singular feminine of<Salo:me:> Salome-- Salome - usbauhtedun
-- weak verb class 1; third person plural preterite of<usbugjan> to buy-- had bought - aromata
-- noun; accusative plural neuter of<aromata> (pl.) spices-- (sweet) spices # Greek borrowing; this is the only occurrence of this word in Gothic - ei
-- conjunction;<ei> that, so that; whether; (relative particle)-- that - atgaggandeins
-- strong verb class 7; nominative plural feminine of present participle of<atgaggan> to come, go-- they might come and - gasalbodedeina
-- weak verb class 2; third person plural preterite subjunctive of<gasalbo:n> annoint-- annoint - ina
-- personal pronoun; accusative singular masculine of<is> he, she, it-- him
2 - jah filu air this dagis afarsabbate atiddjedun du thamma hlaiwa at urrinnandin sunnin.
- jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - filu
-- adverb; accusative singular neuter of<filu> much, many-- very - air
-- adverb;<a'ir> soon, early-- early (in the morning) - this
-- article; genitive singular masculine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- the - dagis
-- strong noun; genitive singular masculine of<dags> day-- day - afarsabbate
-- strong noun; genitive plural masculine of<afarsabbatus> day after the Sabbath, Sunday-- first... of the week # this is the only occurrence of this word - atiddjedun
-- weak verb class 1; third person plural preterite of<atgaggan> to come, go-- they came - du
-- preposition;<du> to, towards; against; in-- unto - thamma
-- article; dative singular neuter of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- the - hlaiwa
-- strong noun; dative singular neuter of<hla'iw> grave, tomb-- sepulchre - at
-- preposition;<at> at, by, to, with, of-- at - urrinnandin
-- strong verb class 3; dative singular neuter of present participle of<urrinnan> to rise, come from, go forth-- the rising of - sunnin
-- weak noun; dative singular neuter of<sunno:> sun-- the sun
3 - jah qethun du sis misso: hwas afwalwjai unsis thana stain af daurom this hlaiwis?
- jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - qethun
-- strong verb class 5; third person plural preterite of<qithan> to say, speak-- they said - du
-- preposition;<du> to, towards; against; in-- among - sis
-- reflexive pronoun; dative of<sik> himself, herself, oneself-- themselves - misso
-- adverb;<misso:> reciprocally, the one the other, one to another-- ... - hwas
-- interrogative pronoun; nominative singular masculine of<hwas> who, what-- who - afwalwjai
-- weak verb class 1; third person singular present subjunctive of<afwalwjan> to roll away-- shall roll... away - unsis
-- personal pronoun; dative plural of<ik> I-- us - thana
-- article; accusative singular masculine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- the - stain
-- strong noun; accusative singular masculine of<sta'ins> stone-- stone - af
-- preposition;<af> from, of-- from - daurom
-- strong noun; dative plural feminine<dau'r> doorway-- the door - this
-- article; genitive singular neuter of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- of the - hlaiwis
-- strong noun; genitive singular neuter of<hla'iw> grave, tomb-- sepulchre
4 - jah insaihwandeins gaumidedun thammei afwalwiths ist sa stains; was auk mikils abraba.
- jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - insaihwandeins
-- strong verb class 5; nominative plural feminine of present participle of<insai'hwan> to look upon, regard-- when they looked - gaumidedun
-- weak verb class 1; third person plural preterite of<ga'umjan> to observe, perceive, see-- they saw - thammei
-- conjunction; dative singular neuter of<saei> who, he who, which-- that - afwalwiths
-- weak verb class 1; nominative singular masculine of preterite participle of<afwalwjan> to roll away-- rolled away - ist
-- athematic verb; third person singular present of<wisan> to be-- was - sa
-- article; nominative singular masculine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- the - stains
-- strong noun; nominative singular masculine of<sta'ins> stone-- stone - was
-- strong verb class 5; third person singular preterite of<wisan> to be-- it was - auk
-- conjunction;<a'uk> for, because; but, also-- for - mikils
-- adjective; nominative singular masculine of<mikils> great-- great - abraba
-- adverb;<abraba> strongly, excessively, very, very much-- very
5 - jah atgaggandeins in thata hlaiw gasehwun juggalauth sitandan in taihswai biwaibidana wastjai hweitai; jah usgeisnodedun.
- jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - atgaggandeins
-- strong verb class 7; nominative plural feminine of present participle of<atgaggan> to come, go-- entering - in
-- preposition;<in> into, towards; on account of; in, among, by-- into - thata
-- article; accusative singular neuter of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- the - hlaiw
-- strong noun; accusative singular neuter of<hla'iw> grave, tomb-- sepulchre - gasehwun
-- strong verb class 5; third person plural preterite of<gasai'hwan> to see-- they saw - juggalauth
-- strong noun; accusative singular masculine of<juggala'uths> young man-- a young man - sitandan
-- strong verb class 5; accusative singular masculine of present participle of<sitan> to sit-- sitting - in
-- preposition;<in> into, towards; on account of; in, among, by-- on - taihswai
-- substantive adjective; dative singular feminine of<tai'hswa> right; (fem. subst.) right hand, right side-- right hand - biwaibidana
-- weak verb class 1; accusative singular masculine of preterite participle of<biwa'ibjan> to clothe, to wrap-- clothed - wastjai
-- strong noun; dative singular feminine of<wasti> garment-- in a (long)... garment - hweitai
-- adjective; dative singular feminine of<hweits> white-- white - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - usgeisnodedun
-- weak verb class 4; third person plural preterite of<usgeisnan> to be amazed, astonished-- they were affrighted
6 - tharuh qath du im: ni faurhteith izwis, Iesu sokeith Nazoraiu thana ushramidan; nist her, urrais, sai thana stath tharei galagidedun ina.
- tharuh
-- conjunction;<tharuh> therefore, but, and; there; now-- but - qath
-- strong verb class 5; third person singular preterite of<qithan> to say, speak-- he saith - du
-- preposition;<du> to, towards; against; in-- unto - im
-- personal pronoun; dative plural feminine of<is> he, she, it-- them - ni
-- adverb;<ni> not-- not - faurhteith
-- weak verb class 1; second person plural imperative of<faurhtjan> to fear, to be afraid-- be... affrighted - izwis
-- personal pronoun; dative plural of<thu> thou, you-- ... - Iesu
-- strong noun; accusative singular masculine of<Ie:sus> Jesus-- Jesus - sokeith
-- weak verb class 1; second person plural of<so:kjan> to seek, ask-- ye seek - Nazoraiu
-- adjective; accusative singular masculine of<Nazarai'us> Nazarene, of Nazareth-- of Nazareth - thana
-- article; accusative singular masculine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- which - ushramidan
-- weak verb class 1; accusative singular masculine of preterite participle of<ushramjan> to crucify-- was crucified - nist
-- adverb;<ni> not + athematic verb; third person singular present of<wisan> to be-- he is not - her
-- adverb;<her\> here-- here - urrais
-- strong verb class 1; third person singular preterite of<urreisan> to arise-- he is risen - sai
-- interjection;<sa'i> lo, behold-- behold - thana
-- article; accusative singular masculine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- the - stath
-- strong noun; accusative singular masculine of<staths> place; land-- place - tharei
-- adverb;<thar> there + relative particle;<ei> that, so that; whether; (relative particle)-- where - galagidedun
-- weak verb class 1; third person plural preterite of<galagjan> to lay, put-- they laid - ina
-- personal pronoun; accusative singular masculine of<is> he, she, it-- him
7 - akei gaggith qithiduh du siponjam is jah du Paitrau thatei faurbigaggith izwis in Galeilaian; tharuh ina gasaihwith, swaswe qath izwis.
- akei
-- conjunction;<akei> but, yet, still, nevertheless-- but - gaggith
-- strong verb class 7; second person plural imperative of<gaggan> to come, go-- go (your way) - qithiduh
-- strong verb class 5; second person plural imperative of<qithan> to say, speak + enclitic conjunction;<-uh> but, and, now, therefore-- tell # final -th of qithith voiced between vowels and written as -d- = [dh] - du
-- preposition;<du> to, towards; against; in-- to - siponjam
-- strong noun; dative plural masculine of<sipo:neis> disciple-- disciples - is
-- personal pronoun; genitive singular masculine of<is> he, she, it-- his - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - du
-- preposition;<du> to, towards; against; in-- ... - Paitrau
-- strong noun; dative singular masculine of<Pai'trus> Peter-- Peter - thatei
-- conjunction;<thatei> that, because, if-- that - faurbigaggith
-- strong verb class 7; third person singular of<faurbigaggan> to go before-- he goeth before - izwis
-- personal pronoun; dative plural of<thu> thou, you-- you - in
-- preposition;<in> into, towards; on account of; in, among, by-- into - Galeilaian
-- noun; accusative singular feminine of<Galeilaia> Galilee-- Galilee - tharuh
-- adverb;<thar> there + enclitic conjunction;<-uh> but, and, now, therefore-- there - ina
-- personal pronoun; accusative singular masculine of<is> he, she, it-- him - gasaihwith
-- strong verb class 5; third person singular of<gasai'hwan> to see-- shall ye see - swaswe
-- adverb;<swaswe:> as, just as; so as; so as to, so that-- as - qath
-- strong verb class 5; third person singular preterite of<qithan> to say, speak-- he said - izwis
-- personal pronoun; dative plural of<thu> thou, you-- unto you
8 - jah usgaggandeins af thamma hlaiwa gathlauhun; dizuh-than-sat ijos reiro jah usfilmei, jah ni qethun mannhun waiht; ohtedun sis auk.
- jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - usgaggandeins
-- strong verb class 7; nominative plural feminine of present participle of<usgaggan> to go out-- they went out (quickly) and - af
-- preposition;<af> from, of-- from - thamma
-- article; dative singular neuter of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- the - hlaiwa
-- strong noun; dative singular neuter of<hla'iw> grave, tomb-- sepulchre - gathlauhun
-- strong verb class 2; third person plural preterite of<gathliuhan> to flee-- fled - dizuh-than-sat
-- strong verb class 5; third person singular preterite of<dissitan> to seize upon + enclitic conjunction;<-uh> but, and, now, therefore + conjunction;<than> when, as (long as); then, at that time; but, and, however-- ... - ijos
-- personal pronoun; accusative plural feminine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- they - reiro
-- weak noun; nominative singular feminine of<reiro:> trembling-- trembled # subject of diz-...-sat, literally 'and then a trembling beset them, and amazement' - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - usfilmei
-- weak noun; nominative singular feminine of<usfilmei> amazement-- were amazed # subject of diz-...-sat - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- -either - ni
-- adverb;<ni> not-- n- - qethun
-- strong verb class 5; third person plural preterite of<qithan> to say, speak-- said they - mannhun
-- indefinite pronoun; dative singular masculine of<mannahun> (always with negative) (no) one, (n)one-- to any man - waiht
-- strong noun; accusative singular feminine of<wai'hts> thing-- any thing - ohtedun
-- preterite present verb; third person plural preterite of<o:gan> to be afraid-- they were afraid - sis
-- reflexive pronoun; dative of<sik> himself, herself, oneself-- ... - auk
-- conjunction;<a'uk> for, because; but, also-- for
9 - usstandands than in maurgin frumin sabbato ataugida sik frumist Marjin thizai Magdalene, af thizaiei uswarp sibun unhulthons.
- usstandands
-- strong verb class 6; nominative singular masculine of present participle of<usstandan> to stand up, rise-- when... was risen - than
-- conjunction;<than> when, as (long as); then, at that time; but, and, however-- now - in
-- preposition;<in> into, towards; on account of; in, among, by-- ... - maurgin
-- strong noun; dative singular masculine of<mau'rgins> morning-- early... day - frumin
-- intensive adjective; dative singular masculine of<fruma> former, first-- the first - sabbato
-- indeclinable noun;<sabbato:> Sabbath-- of the week - ataugida
-- weak verb class 1; third person singular preterite of<ata'ugjan> to show, to appear-- he appeared - sik
-- reflexive pronoun; accusative of<sik> himself, herself, oneself-- ... - frumist
-- intensive adverb; accusative singular neuter of<frumists> first; foremost, best-- first - Marjin
-- noun; dative singular feminine of<Marja> Mary-- to Mary - thizai
-- article; dative singular feminine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- ... - Magdalene
-- noun; nominative singular feminine of<Magdale:ne:> Magdalene-- Magdalene - af
-- preposition;<af> from, of-- out of - thizaiei
-- relative pronoun; dative singular feminine of<saei> who, he who, which-- whom - uswarp
-- strong verb class 3; third person singular preterite of<uswai'rpan> to cast out, to reject-- he had cast - sibun
-- numeral;<sibun> seven-- seven - unhulthons
-- weak noun; accusative plural feminine of<unhultho:> unclean spirit, evil spirit-- devils
10 - soh gaggandei gataih thaim mith imma wisandam, qainondam jah gretandam.
- soh
-- demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular feminine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the + enclitic conjunction;<-uh> but, and, now, therefore-- and she - gaggandei
-- strong verb class 7; nominative singular feminine of present participle of<gaggan> to come, go-- went and - gataih
-- strong verb class 1; third person singular preterite of<gateihan> to tell-- told - thaim
-- demonstrative pronoun; dative plural masculine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- them - mith
-- preposition;<mith> with, among, together with, through, by, near-- with - imma
-- personal pronoun; dative singular masculine of<is> he, she, it-- him - wisandam
-- strong verb class 5; dative plural masculine of present participle of<wisan> to be-- that had been - qainondam
-- weak verb class 2; dative plural masculine of present participle of<qa'ino:n> to lament-- as they mourned - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - gretandam
-- strong verb class 7; dative plural masculine of present participle of<gre:tan> to weep-- wept
11 - jah eis hausjandans thatei libaith jah gasaihwans warth fram izai, ni galaubidebun.
- jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - eis
-- personal pronoun; nominative plural masculine of<is> he, she, it-- they - hausjandans
-- weak verb class 1; nominative plural masculine of participle of<ha'usjan> to hear, listen-- when they had heard - thatei
-- conjunction;<thatei> that, because, if-- that - libaith
-- weak verb class 3; third person singular present of<liban> to live-- he was alive - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - gasaihwans
-- strong verb class 5; nominative singular masculine of preterite participle of<gasai'hwan> to see-- seen - warth
-- strong verb class 3; third person singular preterite of<wai'rthan> to become, to happen-- had been - fram
-- preposition;<fram> from, by, since, on account of-- of - izai
-- personal pronoun; dative singular feminine of<is> he, she, it-- her - ni
-- adverb;<ni> not-- not - galaubidebun
-- weak verb class 1; third person plural preterite of<gala'ubjan> to believe-- believed
12 - afaruh than thata ...
- afaruh
-- adverb;<afar> after, according to + enclitic conjunction;<-uh> but, and, now, therefore-- after - than
-- conjunction;<than> when, as (long as); then, at that time; but, and, however-- ... - thata
-- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- that
Lesson Text
16:1 jah inwisandins sabbate dagis Marja so Magdalene jah Marja so Iakobis jah Salome usbauhtedun aromata, ei atgaggandeins gasalbodedeina ina. 2 jah filu air this dagis afarsabbate atiddjedun du thamma hlaiwa at urrinnandin sunnin. 3 jah qethun du sis misso: hwas afwalwjai unsis thana stain af daurom this hlaiwis? 4 jah insaihwandeins gaumidedun thammei afwalwiths ist sa stains; was auk mikils abraba. 5 jah atgaggandeins in thata hlaiw gasehwun juggalauth sitandan in taihswai biwaibidana wastjai hweitai; jah usgeisnodedun. 6 tharuh qath du im: ni faurhteith izwis, Iesu sokeith Nazoraiu thana ushramidan; nist her, urrais, sai thana stath tharei galagidedun ina. 7 akei gaggith qithiduh du siponjam is jah du Paitrau thatei faurbigaggith izwis in Galeilaian; tharuh ina gasaihwith, swaswe qath izwis. 8 jah usgaggandeins af thamma hlaiwa gathlauhun; dizuh-than-sat ijos reiro jah usfilmei, jah ni qethun mannhun waiht; ohtedun sis auk.
9 usstandands than in maurgin frumin sabbato ataugida sik frumist Marjin thizai Magdalene, af thizaiei uswarp sibun unhulthons. 10 soh gaggandei gataih thaim mith imma wisandam, qainondam jah gretandam. 11 jah eis hausjandans thatei libaith jah gasaihwans warth fram izai, ni galaubidebun.
12 afaruh than thata ...
Translation
From the King James version:
16:1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. 2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. 3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? 4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. 5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. 6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. 7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. 8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.
9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. 10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.
12 After that ...
Grammar
41. The Third Weak Conjugation
The third weak conjugation is characterized by the suffix PIE *-oi- > PGmc *-ai- added to the verbal root. The verbs of this class are typically not derived from other sources, and are generally durative or stative (see Section 40). For example, Gothic thula'ith 'puts up with, endures' (compare also Old High German dole:t), Gothic sila'ith 'is silent', Gothic thaha'ith 'is silent' (compare Old High German dage:t).
The verb haban 'to have' serves to illustrate the forms of class iii weak verbs. The forms are as follows.
| Class iii | Active | Mediopassive | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indicative | Subjunctive | Imperative | Indicative | Subjunctive | ||||||
| Present | ||||||||||
| 1 Sg. | haba | haba'u | habada | haba'ida'u | ||||||
| 2 | haba'is | haba'is | haba'i | habaza | haba'iza'u | |||||
| 3 | haba'ith | haba'i | habada'u | habada | haba'ida'u | |||||
| 1 Du. | habo:s | haba'iwa | ||||||||
| 2 | habats | haba'its | habats | |||||||
| 1 Pl. | habam | haba'ima | habam | habanda | haba'inda'u | |||||
| 2 | haba'ith | haba'ith | haba'ith | habanda | haba'inda'u | |||||
| 3 | haband | haba'ina | habanda'u | habanda | haba'inda'u | |||||
| Past | ||||||||||
| 1 Sg. | haba'ida | haba'ide:dja'u | ||||||||
| 2 | haba'ide:s | haba'ide:deis | ||||||||
| 3 | haba'ida | haba'ide:di | ||||||||
| 1 Du. | haba'ide:du | haba'ide:deiwa | ||||||||
| 2 | haba'ide:duts | haba'ide:deits | ||||||||
| 1 Pl. | haba'ide:dum | haba'ide:deima | ||||||||
| 2 | haba'ide:duth | haba'ide:deith | ||||||||
| 3 | haba'ide:dun | haba'ide:deina | ||||||||
| Infinitive | haban | |||||||||
| Pres. Ptc. | habands | |||||||||
| Past Ptc. | haba'iths |
The origin of the present forms is unclear. Some scholars propose PIE *kape:ti or *kape:je'ti, though this is less likely than proposing a PIE middle ending *kap-oi. This was then extended by the third singular ending *-ti: *kap-oi > *kap-oi-ti > Gothic haba'ith. Such a middle construction is also consonant with the stativity of many of the verbs of this class.
42. The Fourth Weak Conjugation
The fourth weak conjugation is characterized by the suffix PIE *-na:- > PGmc *-no:- added to the verbal root. The verbs of this class are typically denominative or deverbative. Consider the following examples:
| Nominative | Stem | Meaning | Weak iv Infin. | Meaning | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denominative | ||||||||||||
| fulls | fulla- | 'full' | fullnan | 'become full' | ||||||||
| ha'uhs | ha'uha- | 'high' | us-ha'uhnan | 'be glorified' | ||||||||
| weihs | weiha- | 'holy' | weihnan | 'be hallowed' | ||||||||
| Strong Infin. | Past Part. | |||||||||||
| Deverbative | ||||||||||||
| andbindan | andbundans | 'unbind' | andbundnan | 'become unbound' | ||||||||
| fraliusan | fralusans | 'lose' | fralusnan | 'be lost' | ||||||||
| wakan | *wakans | 'be awake' | gawaknan | 'keep awake' | ||||||||
The verb fullnan 'to become full' serves to illustrate the forms of class iv weak verbs. The forms are as follows.
| Class iv | Active | Mediopassive | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indicative | Subjunctive | Imperative | Indicative | Subjunctive | ||||||
| Present | ||||||||||
| 1 Sg. | fullna | fullna'u | - | - | ||||||
| 2 | fullnis | fullna'is | fulln | - | - | |||||
| 3 | fullnith | fullna'i | fullnada'u | - | - | |||||
| 1 Du. | fullno:s | fullna'iwa | ||||||||
| 2 | fullnats | fullna'its | fullnats | |||||||
| 1 Pl. | fullnam | fullna'ima | fullnam | - | - | |||||
| 2 | fullnith | fullna'ith | fullnith | - | - | |||||
| 3 | fullnand | fullna'ina | fullnanda'u | - | - | |||||
| Past | ||||||||||
| 1 Sg. | fullno:da | fullno:de:dja'u | ||||||||
| 2 | fullno:de:s | fullno:de:deis | ||||||||
| 3 | fullno:da | fullno:de:di | ||||||||
| 1 Du. | fullno:de:du | fullno:de:deiwa | ||||||||
| 2 | fullno:de:duts | fullno:de:deits | ||||||||
| 1 Pl. | fullno:de:dum | fullno:de:deima | ||||||||
| 2 | fullno:de:duth | fullno:de:deith | ||||||||
| 3 | fullno:de:dun | fullno:de:deina | ||||||||
| Infinitive | fullnan | |||||||||
| Pres. Ptc. | fullnands | |||||||||
| Past Ptc. | - |
In the past tense, the forms of class iv weak verbs are thus the same as those of class ii, except for the insertion of the -n- suffix. Mediopassive forms are lacking in Gothic for this class of verbs (not unexpectedly, given the intransitive nature of the verbs and their possible origin in the PIE middle voice). There are also no extant forms of past participles.
43. Preterite-Present Verbs
Preterite-present verbs derive their name from the fact that they are in origin preterites of strong verbs, whose present forms fell out of the paradigm, and whose forms were reanalyzed with present sense. The present tense forms are built on what was the second principal part in the singular, and on what was the third principal part in the plural. Frequently infinitive forms and past participles are lacking. These verbs often acquired new finite past tense forms through the mechanism of the dental suffix found in the weak verbs.
Because of their origin in the strong verbs, there are six original classes or gradations of preterite-present verbs.
The First Class or First Gradation of preterite-present verbs is typified by the verb wa'it 'I know'. Its evolution was as follows:
| Class I | 1 Sg. Pres. | 1 Pl. Pres. | 1 Sg. Past | 1 Pl. Past | Meaning | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIE | *wo'ida | *widme' | *wi'sso:m | *wissme' | 'know' | |||||
| PGmc. | *wait | *witum | *wisso: (EG -a) | *wissum | 'know' | |||||
The forms of first gradation verbs in Gothic are as follows:
| 1st Gradation | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| wa'it | la'is | |||
| 'I know' | 'I know | |||
| Present Indic. | ||||
| 1 Sg. | wa'it | la'is | ||
| 2 | wa'ist | |||
| 3 | wa'it | |||
| 2 Du. | wituts | |||
| 3 | ||||
| 1 Pl. | witum | |||
| 2 | wituth | |||
| 3 | witun | |||
| Present Subj. | ||||
| 1 Sg. | witja'u | |||
| 2 | witeis | |||
| 3 | witi | |||
| 2 Pl. | witeith | |||
| Past Indic. | ||||
| 1 Sg. | wissa | |||
| 2 | wisseis | |||
| 3 | wissa | |||
| 2 Pl. | wisse:duth | |||
| 3 | wisse:dun | |||
| Past Subj. | ||||
| 1 Sg. | wisse:dja'u | |||
| 2 | wisse:deis | |||
| 3 | wisse:di | |||
| 3 Pl. | wisse:deina | |||
| Infinitive | witan | |||
| Pres. Part. | witands | |||
The Second Class or Second Gradation of preterite-present verbs is typified by the verb da'ug 'it is good for, profits'. Its evolution was as follows:
| Class II | 1 Sg. Pres. | 1 Pl. Pres. | 1 Sg. Past | 1 Pl. Past | Meaning | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIE | *dho'ugha | *dhughme' | *dhu'kto:m | *dhuktme' | 'be valid' | |||||
| PGmc. | *daugh | *dughum | *doxto: (EG *dohta) | *duxtum (EG *dohtum) | 'be valid' | |||||
Only one form from the second gradation survives in the Gothic documents:
| 2nd Gradation | ||
|---|---|---|
| da'ug | ||
| 'profits' | ||
| Present Indic. | ||
| 3 Sg. | da'ug | |
The Third Class or Third Gradation of preterite-present verbs is typified by the verb kann 'I know (how to)'. Its evolution was as follows:
| Class III | 1 Sg. Pres. | 1 Pl. Pres. | 1 Sg. Past | 1 Pl. Past | Meaning | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIE | *go'nna | *gnnme' | *gnnto:m | *gnntme' | 'can' | |||||
| PGmc. | *kann | *kunnum | *kuntho: (EG -a) | *kundum | 'can' | |||||
The forms of third gradation verbs in Gothic are as follows:
| 3rd Gradation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| kann | tharf | ga-dars | ||||
| 'I know' | 'I need' | 'I dare' | ||||
| Present Indic. | ||||||
| 1 Sg. | kann | tharf | gadars | |||
| 2 | kan(n)t | tharft | ||||
| 3 | kann | ga-dars | ||||
| 1 Pl. | kunnum | thau'rbum | ga-dau'rsum | |||
| 2 | kunnuth | thau'rbuth | ||||
| 3 | kunnun | thau'rbun | ||||
| Present Subj. | ||||||
| 1 Sg. | kunnja'u | ga-dau'rsja'u | ||||
| 2 | kunneis | |||||
| 3 | kunnei | |||||
| 1 Pl. | thau'rbeima | |||||
| 2 | kunneith | thau'rbeith | ||||
| 3 | kunneina | |||||
| Past Indic. | ||||||
| 1 Sg. | kuntha | thau'rfta | ga-dau'rsta | |||
| 2 | kunthe:s | |||||
| 3 | kuntha | |||||
| 1 Pl. | kunthe:dum | |||||
| 3 | kunthe:dun | ga-dau'rste:dun | ||||
| Past Subj. | ||||||
| 1 Sg. | kunthe:dja'u | |||||
| 3 | uf-kunthe:di | |||||
| 2 Pl. | kunthe:deith | |||||
| Infinitive | kunnan | ga-dau'rsan | ||||
| Pres. Part. | kunnands | thau'rbands | ||||
| Past Part. | kunths | thau'rfts | ||||
The Fourth Class or Fourth Gradation of preterite-present verbs is typified by the verb skal 'I shall, owe'. Its evolution was as follows:
| Class IV | 1 Sg. Pres. | 1 Pl. Pres. | 1 Sg. Past | 1 Pl. Past | Meaning | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIE | *sko'la | *sklme' | *sklto:m | *skltme' | 'shall' | |||||
| PGmc. | *skal | *skulum | *skultho: (EG -a) | *skuldhum | 'shall' | |||||
The forms of fourth gradation verbs in Gothic are as follows:
| 4th Gradation | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| skal | man | bi-nah | ga-nah | |||||
| 'I shall' | 'I think' | 'it is permitted' | 'it suffices' | |||||
| Present Indic. | ||||||||
| 1 Sg. | skal | man | ||||||
| 2 | skalt | |||||||
| 3 | skal | bi-nah | ga-nah | |||||
| 1 Pl. | skulum | |||||||
| 2 | skuluth | ga-munuth | ||||||
| 3 | skulun | |||||||