Götaland once consisted ofpetty kingdoms, and their inhabitants were calledGautar inOld Norse. However, the term mainly referred to the population of modernVästergötland. It is agreed that these were the same as theGeats, the people of the heroBeowulf in England'snational epic,Beowulf.
The modern state ofSweden started forming when some provinces of Götaland gradually became more and more politically intertwined with those of Svealand. This process can be traced back to at least the 10th century, and would continue for several hundred years. Other parts of modern Götaland were at that time either Danish or Norwegian. The province ofSmåland, with the historically important cityKalmar on its coast, was sparsely populated and the status of the Baltic island Gotland varied during the Middle Ages.Bohuslän became Swedish first during the 17th century after being taken fromNorway, around the same time asDenmark lostScania,Halland andBlekinge to Sweden.
The earliest possible mentions of thegötar is by the 2nd-century geographerPtolemy, who mentions theGoutai (Γούται inGreek). Later, theAnglo-Saxon epicBeowulf (8th–11th century) is partly set among theGēatas. Norwegian and Icelandic sources sometimes useGautar only for the people ofVästergötland, but sometimes as a common ethnic term for the people of both Västergötland andÖstergötland.[6] Västergötland appears in medieval Icelandic and Norwegian sources asGautland (Götland), a form which is not etymologically identical toGötaland.
The nameGötaland replaced the oldGötland in the 15th century, and it was probably to distinguish the wider region it denoted from the traditional heartland in Västergötland.[7] The name Götaland probably originally referred only to Västergötland and Östergötland, but was later extended to adjoining districts. The nameGötaland is possibly a plural construction and means the "lands of the Geats", whereGöta- is thegenitive plural of theethnonym Göt (Geat). The interpretation that theneuter noun -land is a plural and not a singular noun is indicated byBo Jonsson Grip's will in 1384, where he stated that he donated property inSwerige (Sweden, i.e.Svealand),Österlandom (Finland) and inGöthalandom to monasteries. Here Götaland appears in the plural form of thedative case.[6]
For the etymology of the element Geat/Gaut/Göt and Goth, seeGeat.
Map indicating that the areas of the Geats originally includedVärmland as well
Map of historical Götaland, the areas of theGeats, which politically merged with theSwedes to form Sweden. Note thatVärmland, north ofDalsland andVästergötland, also was a part of Götaland originally, while the large island ofGotland was not. Expansions in dark gray outside the border, including Gotland.
Västergötland andÖstergötland, once rival kingdoms themselves, constitute Götaland proper. TheGeatish kings, however, belong to the domain ofNorse mythology. Both Västergötland and Östergötland have large agricultural areas where villages and towns were established in the past. The large riverGöta Älv drains the third largest lake in Europe, LakeVänern. At its mouth (whereGothenburg emerged during the earlier part of the 17th century) the population in Västergötland had access to theKattegat sea. The Göta Älv estuary also formed the border between the Kingdoms ofNorway andDenmark until the 13th century.
Geatland is the land in which the medieval hero of the poemBeowulf is said to have lived.
It was only late in the Middle Ages that Götaland began to be perceived as a part ofSweden. InOld Norse and inOld English sources, Gautland/Geatland is still treated as a separate country from Sweden. InSögubrot af Nokkrum for instance,Kolmården between Svealand and Östergötland is described as the border between Sweden and Ostrogothia (...Kolmerkr, er skilr Svíþjóð ok Eystra-Gautland...), and inHervarar saga, KingIngold I rides to Sweden through Östergötland:Ingi konungr fór með hirð sína ok sveit nokkura ok hafði lítinn her. Hann reið austr um Smáland ok í eystra Gautland ok svá í Svíþjóð. In 1384Bo Jonsson (Grip) stated in his will that the kingdom consisted ofSwerige (Sweden, i.e. Svealand),Österland (i.e.Finland) andGöthaland (i.e. Götaland, as of the 1384 borders).
The small countries to the south –Finnveden,Kind,Möre,Njudung,Tjust,Tveta,Värend, andYdre[citation needed] – were merged into the province ofSmåland (literally: [the] "small lands"). Off the coast of Småland was the island ofÖland, which became a separate province. Dal to the north west became the province ofDalsland.
Småland, Öland and Dalsland were already seen as lands belonging to Götaland during theScandinavian Middle Ages (12th–15th century).
Småland was full of deep forests, especially in the south, and was of lesser importance to Götaland compared to the agricultural areas in Västergötland and Östergötland. On its Baltic Sea coast lay the important town ofKalmar, where in 1397 theKalmar Union was proclaimed atKalmar Castle, apersonal union of the three countries of Sweden,Denmark andNorway under one ruler.[8][9]
The island ofGotland shifted allegiance between the Swedes and the Danes several times. Although the island may be perceived to have closer links to Svealand, it is counted as part of Götaland.
Värmland originally belonged to the Göta Court of Appeal, but the province changed to become part of the Court of Appeal for Svealand for a period of time in the early 19th century.
Today, Götaland has no administrative function and is thus an unofficial entity, but it is generally considered to be one of threeSwedish lands or parts. It is made up of tenprovinces, based loosely on the area originally under the jurisdiction of the Göta Court of Appeals (established in 1634), to which theScanian lands,Gotland andBohuslän were added in 1658–79:
Deep forests are found in theSmåland province, there is plenty of farmland inScania, and a little bit of both in Västergötland and Östergötland. Coasts are usually relatively flat and consist ofarchipelagoes as well as sandy beaches. The two largestislands of Sweden are included in Götaland. The two largestlakes of Sweden are also situated mainly in Götaland. The total area is 87,712 km2 with about 4.4 million inhabitants including the second and third largesturban areas of Sweden.
Gothia, Sweden, in 1635 (yellow outline), borderingDanishScanian lands to the south and southwest (red outline), andNorway to the west (green outline). Note the inclusion of Värmland.
Map of Sweden's three historical lands, the former Swedish provinceÖsterland inFinland, and the former historicalland of Denmark (Skåneland) in southern Sweden. In the map, the lands have their most recent borders.
Götaland with the Swedish acquisitions of 1645 and 1658 in darker green: Gotland, Blekinge, Halland and Scania from Denmark, and Bohuslän from Norway (then under Danish rule)
