Editing Openai/695cbe16-0090-800b-bbf2-787fa1a57a6b (section)

=== Assistant: The image you shared is directly related to the idea of explaining Visigothic kings’ names, but it does so in a very sp… ===
The image you shared is directly related to the idea of explaining Visigothic kings’ names, but it does so in a very specific and non-standard way.

===== What the image actually is =====

It is a Lithuanian nationalist / Baltist reinterpretation of the Visigothic kings of Spain (531–711), presented as:

: “Baltų karaliai Ispanijoje”
: “Baltic kings in Spain”

The list rewrites Visigothic (Germanic) royal names into Lithuanian-looking forms and then implicitly interprets them using Baltic roots, not mainstream historical linguistics.

So it is not a neutral academic list, but an alternative etymological system.

==== How it relates to explaining kings’ names ====

===== 1. Same kings, different linguistic framework =====

Most names correspond clearly to real Visigothic kings:

| Image name (Lith.) | Historical name |
| ------------------ | --------------- |
| Tautis             | Theudis         |
| Eígila             | Agila           |
| Aukštanagaila      | Athanagild      |
| Lieluva (Liuva)    | Liuva           |
| Lieluvigaila       | Leovigild       |
| Rikių Rėdas        | Reccared        |
| Gundemaras         | Gundemar        |
| Sisebutas          | Sisebut         |
| Vamba              | Wamba           |
| Eígikas            | Egica           |
| Vytisius           | Wittiza         |
| Rėda Rikis         | Roderic         |

So historically, it is the same royal sequence.

===== 2. What is different: the name explanations =====

In academic history, these names are explained as East Germanic (Gothic):
* reiks = ruler
* gild = battle / sacrifice
* winth = strength
* sigis = victory

In the image, the names are reshaped to look Baltic (Lithuanian) and are then implicitly explained via:
* tauta (people)
* vytis (knight / chaser)
* rikiuoti / rikiuotė (to arrange / army)
* gaila / gailus (strong, sorrowful, forceful)
* eiga (movement)

This creates the impression that:

: Visigothic kings were “Baltic” and their names are Lithuanian in origin.

===== 3. This is not mainstream scholarship =====

Important to be clear:
* Mainstream linguistics: Visigothic names are Germanic, closely related to Gothic, Old High German, Old Norse.
* The image’s approach: Uses Baltic folk etymology and phonetic similarity, not sound laws or historical documentation.

This method is ideological / speculative, not accepted by:
* historical linguistics
* medieval studies
* archaeology

===== 4. Why it still “works” superficially =====

Germanic and Baltic languages are both Indo-European, so:
* some roots sound similar
* warrior-culture vocabulary overlaps
* meanings like people, strength, rule, battle recur

That makes the reinterpretation sound plausible, especially to non-specialists.

==== Bottom line ====

How is it related?
* ✔ It uses the same Visigothic kings
* ✔ It attempts to explain their names
* ✖ It does so using Baltic reinterpretation, not Gothic linguistics
* ✖ It is not historically accepted, but ideological / nationalist

If you want, I can:
* Compare one name (e.g. Leovigild) in Gothic vs Baltic explanation
* Mark which names are most distorted
* Explain why this theory appeared historically
* Translate the entire list into standard historical equivalents

Just tell me.