ABSTRACT. The research of the names of old Germanic populations cannot be completed without also finding out the origin of the names of its rulers. Around the middle of the 19th century, historiography is enriched with more and more works on the history of Romanians, and Romanian philological and historical research makes notable progress. At the same time, in the first half of the 19th century and a good part of the second half, great progress was made in terms of writing in the Romanian language, moving from the Cyrillic alphabet to the Latin alphabet. During this process, some transitory variants of old Germanic ethnonyms appeared, which would later disappear. Moreover, all Romanian scientific literature (philological, historical, archaeological) aligns with the West and is modernized in terms of methodology and information. Highly prestigious personalities from various disciplines, such as Al. Odobescu, Al. Philippide, A. D. Xenopol or N. Iorga, are just a few edifying examples of the Romanian research modernization process. As a general remark, at the end of the 19th century and throughout the 20th century, old German ethnonyms appear in numerous authors, their stabilization is done gradually, and the brand leaders fixing these ethnonyms are more elected A. D. Xenopol and N. Iorga.

Keywords: Alaric; Ardaric; Carol cel Mare; Hilderic; Odoacru; Teodoric cel Mare

How to cite: Croitoru, I. (2024). “Old Germanic Leaders. A Historiographical Study,” Romanian Journal of Artistic Creativity 12(2): 15-38. doi: 10.22381/RJAC12220242.

Received 19 April 2024 • Received in revised form 12 May 2024
Accepted 10 June 2024 • Available online 30 June 2024