The Oera Linda Forum

A cordial Yuletide greeting is extended to all. Recent contemplation concerning the origins of the Jutes prompted me toward an examination of the Oera Linda Book, which offers a number of clues to the subject. The following is a direct quotation from chapter 47.06:

Those who lived in the east of the Denmarks were called Jutters (JUTTAR), because almost all they did was to ‘jut’ (or: collect) (JUTTA) amber (BÀRNSTÉN) on the shores.

The term JUTTAR has evolved into the Dutch strandjutter, signifying "beach thief," a designation that likely emerged due to the pejorative connotations associated with beach collection over time.An alternative interpretation of JUTTA is "burn" or "polish," a notion stemming from the meaning of Fryas BÀRNSTÉN, which literally translates to "burnstone." The process of burning amber results in the emission of a pleasant scent, and its transformation into jewelry involves burning, grinding, and polishing.

Old historians identified the Old Norse "jótar" (Jutes) with "jotnar" (Jötunn), the giant supernatural beings depicted in Norse Mythology. It was believed that the Jutes were the oldest people in the North of Finnish ancestry, contrasting with the Goths, the Fryas people in the North. However, the OLB portrays the Fryas as the oldest inhabitants.

The Jutes described in chapter 47.06 were still inhabiting the Baltic region at the time. Chapter 145.25 provides a detailed account of their subsequent migration to modern-day Jutland.

After the great flood of which my father wrote, many Jutters (JUTTAR) and Lets (LÉTNE) had been carried out of the ‘Balda’ (Baltic) or ‘Angry’ Sea with the ebb. Near Kate’s Gate, floating in their boats with the ice, they ran aground at the Denmarks, and there they remained. Because they did not see any people there, they took possession of the land and named it Jutterland, after themselves. Later, many Denmarkers did return from the highlands, but they resettled more to the south. And when the navigators who had not perished came back, they joined together and went to the Sealands, or ‘Ealands’. Through this turn of events, the Jutters were able to hold the land whither Wralda had carried them.

The OLB asserts that the Jutes and Lets were long-standing neighbors, suggesting a relationship between the two groups. The term "Let" is related to Latvia (also known as "Letland" in Dutch) and Lithuania (known as "Lettow" in Old Saxon). The term "Estland" in Dutch, which translates to "Eastland," is a reference to Estonia, and it is reported in the OLB that the Jutes inhabited the "east of the Denmarks." This suggests that the Jutes' homeland may have been situated in the vicinity of modern Estonia, while the Lets' homeland was approximately equivalent to the modern-day territories of Latvia and Lithuania. Furthermore, the Estonian language belongs to the Finnic branch of the Finno-Ugric language family, suggesting ethnic mixing between the Jutes and the Finns.

Wholesome wheeltide indeed.

Dutch does have the verb jutten for beachcombing, which etymologists think to be derived from the ethnonym, contrary to what OL suggests.

The term became well known in NL from a 1976 TV series.

There indeed exists a linguistic argument that ancients thought for the jätte/jättiläinen ('giant'), ettin, Jute/juutti, Goth, Getae all come from one root tribe, or are the descriptors for further tribal split-offs of it. The Finnish etymology for giant is somewhat similar, from jättää or jätti 'to leave behind'. There is also the 'jute cloth', perhaps from a similar naming practise as the 'Hessian cloth'?

Paul the Deacon of the Langobard/Lombard/Longbeard lineage details the movement of peoples ouf of Scandinavia (equated with toponym 'Germany' in his book), describing a movements of peoples along the Baltic Sea coastline. The first two Ibor and Aio (Old Norse, Rígsþula Ái, Finnish and SKVR Äijä 'Old Man' for Ukko) are followed by Lamissio/Laiamicho/Lamicho battling the Amazons, with the veiled swan-maiden element noted by William Foulke, believed by academics to be based on Kvenland Finns (Latin Lammekinus 'Lemminkäinen', in Bible OT language Lamech/Lemek), in poetry Lemminkäinen dies while on mission by Louhi (Laufey) mistress of North hunting for Underworld swan (lines 140-145 here). This is followed by king Lethu, who shares the name with the Oera Linda LÉTNE people. Edit: it was pointed to me that the previous Lamissio-Lemminkäinen's full title is Lieto Lemminkäinen, perhaps due to the same narrative roots.