Getae and Dacians? Are they the same? Or is this unknowable?

[Alanus]

It seems then, that the term Dacian was correct in describing a "person from Dacia" or "a person from the Dacian tribe." But the term Getae lumbered off into ambiguity. We don't know when this nebulosity occurred, but it arrived before Jordanes, perhaps before Cassiodorus, where we see the mistaken conclusion that the Goths were related to (or offshoots of) the Massagetae... originally a northeast Iranian tribe. :roll:

Following up on the observation of Vortigern Studies: The relationship between the Geats and Goths might be an old one, perhaps continuing. This can be seen in the Legend of Hervar, where she raises the sword Tyrfing from the grave of her father Argantyr. Then, she has a granddaughter (also called Hervar) who commands a fort against the Huns. This tale is a direct extension of Gothic tradition, even though it was finally written down in Icelandic. To me (and Wolfram), it's a link to a continued Geatic-Gothic interchange between these originally Scandian tribes. And I don't see much that is Dacian involved here. :wink: