Editing Geats (section)

====Gutnish hypothesis====
Since the 19th century, there has also been a suggestion that Beowulf's people were [[Gutes]] (from the island of [[Gotland]] in Sweden). According to the poem, the ''weather-geats'' or ''sea-geats'', as they are called are supposed to have lived east of the Danes/Dacians and be separated from the Swedes by wide waters. Some researchers have found it a little far-fetched that ''wide waters'' relates to [[Vänern]] in Västergötland or Mälaren. The ''weather'' in ''weather-geats'', and ''sea-geats'' marks a people living at a windy, stormy coast by the sea. The Geats of Västergötland were historically an inland people, making an epithet such as ''weather-'' or ''sea-'' a little strange. Moreover, when Beowulf dies he is buried in a mound at a place called ''Hrones-naesse'', meaning "the cape of whales". Whales have for obvious reasons never lived in Vänern, where, according to [[Birger Nerman]], Beowulf is buried. However, an expanse of water separates the island of [[Gotland]] from the Swedes. The island lies east of Denmark/Dacia and whales were once common in the Baltic Sea where Gotland is situated. The name of the Gutes in Swedish, ''[[Gutar]]'', is an ablaut-grade of the same name as that of the Geats in Beowulf. These facts made the archaeologist [[Gad Rausing]] come to the conclusion that the ''weather-Geats'' may have been Gutes. This was supported by another Swedish archaeologist [[Bo Gräslund]]. According to Rausing, Beowulf may be buried in a place called ''Rone'' on Gotland, a name corresponding to the ''Hrones'' in ''Hrones-naesse''. Not far from there lies a place called ''Arnkull'' corresponding to the ''Earnar-naesse'' in Beowulf, which according to the poem was situated closely to Hrones-naesse.

This theory does not exclude the ancient population of Västergötland and Östergötland from being Geats, but rather holds that the Anglo-Saxon name ''Geat'' could refer to West-geats (Västergötland), East-geats (Östergötland) as well as weather-geats (Gotland), in accordance with Jordanes account of the Scandinanian tribes Gautigoth, Ostrogoth and Vagoth.