gítar

Götar, known in English as the Geats, were a North Germanic tribe inhabiting the southern Swedish region of Götaland. The ethnonym is the source of the region’s historic name and of the later geographic term Götaland. In contemporary terms, they are tied to the areas broadly corresponding to present-day Västra Götaland and Östergötland, though political boundaries shifted over time.

Historically, the Geats formed a significant early medieval polity in southern Sweden. They are best known from literary and later medieval sources, including Beowulf, where Hygelac is described as king of the Geats and the hero Beowulf hails from Geatland. In Norse and Icelandic tradition, the Geats participated in regional alliances and conflicts with neighboring groups such as the Svear (Swedes) and Danes. By the High and Late Middle Ages, the Geats were progressively incorporated into the expanding Swedish kingdom, and as a distinct political entity they ceased to exist as an independent realm.

Culture and society among the Geats reflected common North Germanic practices. They spoke a North Germanic language and adopted Christianity during the late first millennium and into the second millennium. Law codes attributed to the Geats, such as the Westrogothic law, illustrate their legal and societal organization, including kinship-based leadership, tribute, and customary dispute resolution. Archaeological evidence, including burial traditions and settlement patterns, complements literary sources in reconstructing their social structure and economy, centered on agriculture, trade, and regional centers.

Notable figures associated with the Geats include Beowulf, Hygelac, and Hygd. The Götar are a key part of the historical tapestry of early medieval Scandinavia and the formation of what became the Kingdom of Sweden.