Quote:
Originally Posted by Mynydd
There isn't enough evidence to assert that the Teutons were not Germanics. What you say is just one speculative theory, afaik. As for the Cimbri, yes, they were likely Celtic, not Germanic. And yes too, we have already discussed them.
You see? I have no particular interest of my own in saying that the Danes are (or not) Germanics. If they are, fine. If they are not, fine too. So far I haven't had any problems with the few Danes that I've met. You will agree that I am pretty neutral on this issue.
But as an outsider, when I see a Dane I think "Germanic". They don't look anything else to me. I'll agree that Danes are undoubtedly a kind of their own, if you want, among Germanics. Well, they may have well received other influences and, sure, have a Celtic element. Who has not? But they are still Germanic.
Whatever each and every of the ancient tribes that came into the formation of the modern Danish people were, the fact remains that modern Danes are undisputably Germanics.
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You cannot establish any facts about the Danes without distinguishing between the Jutes and the Danes. I agree; any assertion of the Germanic or Celtic nature of the Teutones is speculative, yet the closest we come to the truth. The Cimbri and the Ambrones were indisputably Celtic (which is proven from archaeological, linguistic and anecdotal evidence), the Teutones being more of a case of uncertainty, due to their seemingly mixed meta-ethnic nature - I consider them a crucial part in explaining the Germanicization of Jutland, e.g. because they represented partially Germanic linguistic elements before any of the other tribes, and likely their legacy will be the name of the Eutones, which is the root of the word Jute or Jut - which was the final unification of the (primarily) Cimbrian and Ambronic populations, together with the Teutones constituting the Germanic Juttish population. Thus it is justified to call Jutes Germanicized Celts. In the case of Danes, it isnt, because they only have Juttish admixture, more so than vice versa, and they are not involved in the formation of modern Juttish ethnology, more than their minimal genetic contributions. I even have a few genetic studies proving a difference between Jutes and Danes, suggesting this exact differentiated ethnology.
I will also remind you that it is not about just one ancient tribe or two, but all the biggest tribes of Jutland and the whole population that we as modern Jutes descend from, at least in the Western, and Northernmost parts of Jutland (Himmerland and Salling being the core areas - which is exactly where I'm from).
What I find interesting about your remarks is that Danes "look" Germanic. There is not a Germanic look. And if there is, it is certainly vague and undefined, and therefore subjective, and thus it is a delusion. The Germanic meta-ethnicity is cultural and linguistic, not sub-racial.
When it comes to interests, I have only one interest in the ethnology of Denmark. And that is my ancestry, and its nature. The truth, so to speak.