Wiltzi the Geloni, their Wolves and Jason?

Adam of Bremen says this (in the Francis Tschan translation as updated by Timothy Reuter):

“In that region too, are those who are called Alani or Albani, in their language named Wizii; very hard-hearted gluttons, born with gray hair. The writer Solinus mentions them. Dogs defend their country. Whenever the Alani have to fight they draw up their dogs in battle line.”

“That region” refers to the shores of the Baltic Sea and the land of the Amazons. This is probably around Mazovia. But who are these Wizzi? The connection with the Alani (Alans, presumably) via the translation of Albani seems dubious though possible. The Albani themselves were, like, Alans, a Caucasian people and the Albani reference seems more to the “whiteness” rather than to the people (but the Alans were blondish too as per Ammianus Marcellinus so who knows).

A scholium (124 or 120) to Adam says:

“In their language they are called Wilzi, most cruel gluttons whom the poet calls Gelani.”

This, itself is a reference to the “Geloni” of Lucan’s Civil War III. 283; and Plliny’s Natural History III. xiv-xv; and Vergil’s Georgics III.461.

The hair reference may be to Solinus’ “Collection of Curiosities” (Collectanea rerum memorabilia), chapter xv. Specifically, according to Tschan/Reuter, to these passages (translation by Arwen (!) Apps) which speak of the Albani (of the Caucasian Albania on the Caspian Sea?) but which may encompass the Geloni/Suavs (see below for the reasoning, such as it is):

“…The Albani, who inhabit the coast, and which themselves to be believed the posterity of Jason, are born with white hair. Their hair is white when it first begins to grow. Thus, the color of their heads gives this people their name. The pupils in their eyes are a bluish grey, so they see more clearly by night than by day. Dogs which excel all other beasts are born among this people. They subdue bulls, overwhelm lions, and hinder whatever they are presented with.  For these reasons, they too merit to be spoken of in these chronicles. We read that as Alexander the Great was making for India, two dogs of this kind were sent to him by the king of Albania. One of them scorned the swine and bulls offered to him, as he was offended by such inferior and ignoble prey. He lay still for a long time, and Alexander, through ignorance, ordered him to be killed for a lazy animal. But the other at the advice of those who had brought the present, dispatched a lion sent to him Soon, seeing an elephant, he rejoiced; first, he cunningly fatigues the beast, and then, to the great wonder of the spectators, threw him to the ground. This kind of dog grows to a very large size, and makes, with awed-inspiring barking, a noise beyond the roaring of lions. The above items were specifically about Albanian dogs; the rest concerns the features common to all dogs. Dogs esteem all masters equally, as is well-known from sundry examples. In Epirus a dog recognized his master’s murderer in a crowd, and revealed him by barking. After Jason the Lycian was killed, his dog scorned food, and died from starvation. When the funeral pure of King Lysimachius was lit his dog there himself into the flames, and was consumed by the fire along with his master. The king of the Garamantes was broght back from exile by his two hundred dogs, who fought those who resisted them .The Colophians and Castabalenses lead their dogs to war, and in battle, build their front lines with them…” 

Now, the Geloni had previously been tied to Suavs via their relationship with the Budinoi or Budini which was first mentioned by Herodotus (we’ll get to that at some point) but here, with the scholiast of Adam’s, there is a separate connection to the Suavic Veltae (the Veltoi first mentioned by Ptolemy), that is the Wieleci or Lutycy, to these same Geloni.

We will also cover the Geloni in more depth earlier but note also that the reference to Solinus’ Albani is too interesting because of the mention of dogs and of Jason. After all Wilcy means “wolves” in Suavic and that may, in fact, have been the origin of the Veltoi name.

Further, the “Jason” discussed by Solinus may, more accurately, be Iasion (the names are cognates and Jason may have come from the earlier Iasion) who may be the Yassa/Jasień of the Poles, the Usenj of the Russians and the Ūsiņš/Jeuseņš of the Latvians. Further, on Jason of the Scythians you can see more here (perhaps it was Solinus that was Isidore’s source).

Whether “Jason the Lycian” can also be seen as the progenitor of the Vindilici or of Lechites is another matter altogether.

Finally, although Solinus seems to refer to the Albani above and treats the Geloni separately, several aspects of the description of these Albani appear to recall the Suavs. Specifically, the Suavs are often blonde in childhood but their great grows darker as they mature. Further, their eyes are certainly, very often, exactly blue-gray.

Now Tschan is also famous for his translation of the Chronicle of the Slavs (see here and here).

Finally, it should be known that Solinus also mentions (though quoting Cornelius Nepos) the Veneti (chapter 44.1):

“Paphlagonia is surrounded in the reasr by the marches of Galatia. Paphlagonia faces Taurica from the promontory of Carambis, and rises to Mount Cytorus, which extends for thirty-six miles. It is famous for the place called Enetus, from which, as Cornelius Nepos holds, the Paphlagonians, soon to be known as the Veneti, crossed over into Italy.”

A different translation is given here.

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