Editing Vandals (section)

== Name ==
[[File:Halsring neck ring with plug clasp from the Vandalic Treasure of Osztrópataka displayed at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria.jpg|thumb|right|Neck ring with plug clasp from the Vandalic [[Treasure of Osztrópataka]] displayed at the [[Kunsthistorisches Museum]] in [[Vienna]], Austria.]]
The [[ethnonym]] is attested as ''Wandali'' and ''Wendilenses'' by [[Saxo Grammaticus|Saxo]], as ''Vendill'' in [[Old Norse]], and as ''Wend(e)las'' in [[Old English]], all going back to a [[Proto-Germanic]] form reconstructed as *''Wanđilaz''.{{Sfn|de Vries|1962|pp=653–654}}{{Sfn|Orel|2003|p=446}} The etymology of the name remains unclear. According to linguist [[Vladimir Orel]], it may stem from the Proto-Germanic adjective *''wanđaz'' ('turned, twisted'), itself derived from the verb *''wenđanan'' (or ''*winđanan''), meaning 'to wind'.{{Sfn|Orel|2003|p=446}} Alternatively, it has been derived from a root *''wanđ-'', meaning 'water', based on the idea that the tribe was originally located near the [[Limfjord]] (a [[Sound (geography)|sea inlet]] in Denmark).{{Sfn|de Vries|1962|pp=653–654}} The stem can also be found in [[Old High German]] ''wentilsēo'' and Old English ''wendelsǣ'', both literally meaning 'Vandal-sea' and designating the [[Mediterranean Sea]].{{Sfn|de Vries|1962|pp=653–654}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Corazza|first=Vittoria Dolcetti|title=Il mare dei Germani|date=1986|publisher=Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei|page=487}}</ref>

The Germanic mythological figure of ''[[Aurvandil]]l'' has been interpreted by [[Rudolf Much]] to mean 'Shining Vandal'. Much forwarded the theory that the tribal name ''Vandal'' reflects worship of Aurvandil or the [[Divine Twins]], possibly involving an [[origin myth]] that the Vandalic kings were descended from Aurvandil (comparable to the case of [[List of ancient Germanic peoples#Mythical founders|many other Germanic tribal names]]).<ref>R. Much, ''Wandalische Götter'', Mitteilungen der Schlesischen Gesellschaft für Volkskunde 27, 1926, 20–41. "R. Much has brought forth a relatively convincing argument to show that the very name ''Vandal'' reflects the worship of the Divine Twins." Donald Ward, ''The divine twins: an Indo-European myth in Germanic tradition'', University of California publications: Folklore studies, nr. 19, 1968, p. 53.</ref>

Some [[Middle Ages|medieval]] authors equated two classical ethnonyms, "Vandals" and [[Vistula Veneti|Veneti]], and applied both to [[West Slavs]], leading to the term [[Wends]], which has been used for various Slavic-speaking groups and is still used for [[Sorbs|Lusatians]]. However, modern scholars derive "Wend" from "Veneti", and do not equate the Veneti and Vandals.<ref>[[Annales Alamannici]], 795 ad</ref><ref>[[Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum]] by [[Adam of Bremen|Adam Bremensis]] 1075 ad</ref><ref>Roland Steinacher "[http://homepage.uibk.ac.at/~c61705/DISSERTATION-Volltext.pdf Studien zur vandalischen Geschichte. Die Gleichsetzung der Ethnonyme Wenden, Slawen und Vandalen vom Mittelalter bis ins 18. Jahrhundert] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070119061857/http://homepage.uibk.ac.at/~c61705/DISSERTATION-Volltext.pdf |date=2007-01-19 }}", 2002</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Lenček|first=Rado L.|author-link=Rado Lenček|year=1990|title=The Terms Wende-Winde, Wendisch-Windisch in the Historiographic Tradition of the Slovene Lands|journal=Slovene Studies|volume=12|issue=2|doi=10.7152/ssj.v12i1.3797|issn=0193-1075|doi-access=free}}</ref>

The name of the Vandals has been connected to that of [[Vendel]], the name of a province in [[Uppland]], Sweden, which is also eponymous of the [[Vendel Period]] of Swedish prehistory, corresponding to the late [[Germanic Iron Age]] leading up to the [[Viking Age]]. The connection is considered tenuous at best and more plausibly the result of chance, though [[Scandinavia]] is considered the probable homeland of the tribe prior to the [[Migration Period]].<ref name ="History Files">{{cite web| url = http://epns.nottingham.ac.uk/browse/id/53282b41b47fc407a900034a|title = Vandali (Vandals) (Germans): Incorporating the Asdingas & Silingi|work = Kingdoms of the Germanic Tribes| date=31 December 1999 |publisher = English Place-name Society |access-date=10 June 2022}}</ref>