were a fifth and early sixth century tribe, believed to be inhabiting the Gotaland region of Southern Sweden. This certain tribe has many terms attributed to its people that has been around for years on end, some of which many Americans have not even heard about. These names include, “Sea-Geats,” “Geatland,” and “Weather-Geats.” These particular names have been in existence ever since the Middle Ages, but of course the actual spelling has developed over time.

Though much can be said of the Geats, there still remains the prominent question whether or not the Geatish people actually existed. “It is a curious fact that the people most prominently mentioned in Anglo-Saxon epic poetry are not yet certainly identified. As late as 1907 the nationality of the Geats was still being discussed, and even to-day the question would seem to be an open one” (Gudmund Schütte).

Scholars of today’s time have attributed the Geats’ origin to that of the Gotland. This land was an independent state until middle of the sixth century, other claim their independence might have ended before that time period. It is possible that the proper way to pronounce the word Geats/Geatas, would be to understand the English language in the 16th century. The following statement describes the notion of certainty of one thing about the Geats and another that may be contradicting the opposing claim. “It is obvious that this suppression makes nonsense of the argument that Alfred’s ‘Geatas’ for Bede’s ‘Iutae’ is some mistake or other¬¬¬—scribal confusion of eo with ae, Alfredian uncertainty, or what not” (Malone). In this era, the tribe’s name would have been “zeats,” but when you take into consideration the pronunciation of such a word, it is certain that the precise spelling would be “Yeats.”

“Their name was sometimes confused by medieval writers with that of the Jutes, but while they are almost certainly a separate group, there is always the possibility that they and the Jutes were related. To the north-west of the Geat lands lay the kingdom of Alfheim, while the Swedes and the small territory of Nærríki lay to the north and Scania lay to the south” (Peter Kessler).