There are some inhabitants in Lithuania having such surnames as: Arminas, Armana-vicius, Armonas etc. There is one noted Lithuanian writer whose name is Petras Arminas.
21. REIKAREDAS (Reikareda). His name is composed of two words: the Gothic term reika (= reika in Lithuanian also) means commander or chief, and reda (= redas, u-redas in Lith.) means administrator or magistrate.
There are many inhabitants in Lithuania, in whose names we find the word "reika", for example: Reikis, Reika-sius, Reikaus-kas, Ba-reika, Mu-reika, No-reika, Va-reika etc., etc.

Reikaredas was the son of Liobagiltis, and after his father's death he took the Spanish government into his hands in 587 A.D. In order to strengthen his dominions, he became a Catholic. The majority of the Balthagoths, following the example of their chief, forsook Arianism. One of the Arian bishops, and two Balthagothic noblemen, revolted against Reikaredas, but they were speedily crushed.

During the reign of Reikaredas, a body of 60,000 Germans (Franks) invaded Spain, but Reikaredas' army inflicted on the Germans such a crushing defeat, that as long as the Balthagothic kingdom lasted, the Germans never dared to set their foot in Spain.

Reikaredas died in the year 601.
22. VITERIKIS (Vittericus in Latin) occupied the throne of the Balthagothic king in 603.
His name is composed of two words: Vitis (= Vytis in Lithuan.; vitiaz in Russian, which term is borrowed from the Lithuanian) means "a fighter" or "a knight"; and the word rikis (= in Lithuanian also) means "commander" or "chief".

A number of the inhabitants of Lithuania have such names as: Vitrikis, Vi-reika etc.

Viterikis was a very cruel king and people despised him. During the seven years of his reing, Spain suffered all kinds of calamities. In the year 610, he was murdered by somebody at a banquet. His body was buried without any Church ceremonies, in unhallowed ground, without any pomp, because he made attempts to restore Arianism.
23. GUNDAMIERS (Gunthamers) reigned from 610 till 612. He didn't achieve anything of importance, therefore it wouldn't pay to dwell upon him. I have never seen coins bearing his name.
24. SISEBUTAS (Sisebutus) was chosen king in 612.
The name of Sisebutas is purely Lithuanian, and is composed of two words: Sise means "here", and butas means "he lives". There are still some people in Lithuania having such names as: Sisebutas, Sesbutas. One of the distant relatives of the writer has the name of Sisebutas. In Lithuanian history we note one of the dukes by the name of Sesbutas: "Eodem anno & tempore Sesbuto Lethowinus cum quingentis viris praelectis intravit Poloniam, & praeter multa mala, quae ibidem gessit, duxit secum tam hominum quam alliarum rerum magnam praedam. Iste Sesbuto licet esset cum infidelibus, occulte tamen dilexit fratres, antequam exiret cum isto exercitu, praemunivit eos". Petri de Dusburg. Chronicon Cap. CCXXXIV, p. 318. Jenae 1679.

Some Germans foolishly attempted to "Germanize" the name of Sisebutas into "Sisebert" (1)), but the inscription on his coins "SISEBVTVS" tells us plainly how that king was called in the Balthagothic language. This we consider the strongest evidence in proving that the Balthagoths were as near kinsmen to the Lithuanian people as the Latvians are at present.

King Sisebutas has distinguished himself for his valor, wisdom, and mercy. He was a capable commander in the battlefield, and in every war he was victorious. During his reign, the Byzantians moved out of Spain entirely. Sisebutas always proved to be a generous patron of such institutions of learning as existed in Spain in his days, and he encouraged everybody to study something. Another of his virtues was that he used to ransom slaves with his own money and set them free.

The Jews, however, abhorred Sisebutas, because he was the first Gothic king to persecute them. Later, the Jews "repaid" the Balthagoths for the persecutions by becoming allies of the Moors, the worst enemies of Spain. And even up to our times the Jews curse the Spaniards by saying: "May cholera take you...... may darkness fall upon you."

Sisebutas died in the year 621.
25. SVINTYLA (Svinthila) was chosen king of Spain in the year 621.
This name is also Lithuanian and not Germanic. The Germans may corrupt the name of this king just as they please, but on the coins we see it inscribed "SVINTHILA". And the real meaning of this name, in Gothic as well as in Lithuanic languages, is the "Divine peace".

Svintyla was very generous to the poor and never allowed the noblemen to prey upon the weaker subjects. The people nicknamed him "the Father of the Poor". For such reasons, the noblemen despised him and conspired against him. In the year 633, the conspirators rose in revolt, and obtaining the aid of the German (Frankish) king Dagobert they removed Svintyla from the throne.
26. SISENANDAS (Sisenandus) usurped the throne of Svintyla in the year 633.
Same year, a council of 69 bishops was held at Toledo, and they recognized king Sisenandas "de jure". Besides, at the same council the bishops decreed that in the future the kings should be chosen only by the nobles and the bishops at their general meeting; and those that would show any opposition, were liable to be excommunicated from the Church.

Sisenandas reigned for about five years and died in the year 638.
27. KINTYLA (Chinthila) was chosen king in the year 638. The name of Kintyla is derived from the Lithuanian verb "kinteti", and it means "an enduring man". The Lithuanian word "kanta" or "pa-kanta", means "patience" or "capable of enduring pain".
There is a vast number of peasant in Lithuania having such names as: Kintyla, Kint-vilas, Kint-rimas, Kinstu-tis, Kentis, Kantas, Kant-tautas etc. I must remark here that the forefathers of the famous philosopher Kant were old Prusso-Lithuanians, and his name is not of German origin, but of Lithuanian. Strange to say in Greece we also find plenty of inhabitants having the name KANTAS; the explanation is this, that they are the descendants of Heruli, for in ancient times, Radagaisius, the king of Heruli, conquered certain Greek territories and settled there. And the fact is that Heruli belonged to the Prusso-Lithuanic stock. To prove that these facts do not come from my own fancy, I would refer my readers to "THE GREEK DIRECTORY for 1926-1927" published by Greek Directory Publ. Co., Chicago, Illinois, where just a glance at the names found there will be convincing.

The Balthagothic king Kintyla procured a decree from the bishops, that in the future kings should be elected from the ranks of the Gothic nobles only. At the same time a law was passed that anyone who had the dress of a monk, had no right to be a king.

Kintyla died in the year 640.
28. TULGA (Tulga) was chosen king soon after the death of his father Kintyla, in 640.
There are some inhabitants in Lithuania having such surnames as: Tulga, S-tulga, Tul-eikis, Tul-uikis, Tul-minas etc.

King Tulga gave promise to heed the wishes of the bishops, and in return the bishops promised to support Tulga. But the Balthagothic chieftains didn't want him. All the efforts of the bishops to prevent the Balthagothic uprising were in vain. Ausvintas, the leader of the rebels, unexpectedly captured Tulga and clothed him in a monk's habit. According to the recent law a monk had no right to be a king, therefore Tulga instead of wearing the crown had to account for the monk's habit......
29. AUSVINTAS (Ausvinthus) became king in 640. Historians call him "Kindaswinth" or "Chindasvinth", but on his coins we see the legend "AVSVINOVS RIX".
There are some peasants in Lithuania having such surnames as: Ausvintas, Ausra, Aus-ris etc. I know one Lithuanian man living in Detroit, Mich., by the name of Ausvintas. And Ausvintas is a purely Lithuanian name. The word "Aus" is derived from "Aus-ra" which means "Dawn", and the word "svintas" is derived from "svinta" meaning "dawning" or "glowing". I would be greatly obliged to any German who would inform me where we could find a genuine German having the surname "Ausvintas."

Ausvintas was a very energetic man, although he was 80 years old, and was very popular amongst the Goths. Some of the Balthagothic nobility considered him the "unlawful king", and they revolted against him. But Ausvintas speedily crushed the opposition, 200 of the Balthagothic nobles were put to death, their property was confiscated, and those that were less guilty of treason were banished. The heads of the Church were prudent enough to decree that any priest who would conspire against the king should be degraded and excommunicated.

After reigning for seven years, Ausvintas abdicated in 649, submitted his throne to his son Racesvintas, and died in 652 reaching the age of 90 years.
30. RACESVINTAS (Reccesvinthus) was crowned in the year 649, while his old father was still alive.
A great number of inhabitants of Lithuania have such surnames as: Racas, Raciunas, Rac-kus, Recys, Bu-racas (a Lithuanian cartoonist), Me-recis etc. The name of king Racesvintas is Lithuanian, and has the meaning of "The Glowing Beam".

Racesvintas reigned successfully in Spain for 23 years. People were glad that no wars distressed the inhabitants and that the state enjoyed prosperity. According to the old law, intermarriage between the Balthagoths and the Spaniards was forbidden. Racesvintas abolished that law. Also he abolished from Spain the old Roman codex of laws, and ordered the courts to administer justice only according to the law-books of the Balthagoths.

Racesvintas died in the year 672, at Gertika fortress, deeply lamented by the whole nation.
31. VAMBA (Vuamba) became king of Spain in the year 672.
There are many people in Lithuania with such names as: Vainba, Vamba-ras, Vambo-tas (In Hartford, Conn. I know a Lithuanian priest by name Ambotas), Vambu-tas, Zar-vamba etc. By the way, in 1927 there was a county attorney at Kretinga (in Lithuania) by the name of Vambutas. Judging from the extant names, it is evident that there are many descendants of Vamba in Lithuania.

Vamba was elected king under very unusual circumstances. Bishops and the Balthagothic chieftains were in assembly at Toledo where they discussed for days and days who should take place of the deceased king. Vamba alone should take place of the deceased king. Vamba alone was fit for the throne, but he stoutly refused to accept the crown. Neither entreaties, nor threats, nor expostulations would convince Vamba. Again and again Vamba said that he had no desire, nor was he fit to become a king, and urged them to choose some younger and more capable man for the vacancy. At length one of the Gothic officers, brandishing his spear, exclaimed: "Vamba, thou shalt never leave this chamber save as a dead man, or as a king!" Other Goths also roared and threatened Vamba. And Vamba, seeing that the nation wanted him, at last consented to become king. This was really a queer incident in history, which reminds us of the Lithuanian folklore saying: "I don't know how to write or read, and they want me to become king."

The whole Balthagothic nation was faithful to Vamba, excepting the Greeks, the Gauls, and the Jews, who now and then would conspire against him. In the Gothic province of Gaul, a certain Balthagothic noble named Giltrikis, who had himself aspired to become king, incited the people to rebellion. Vamba was still more surprised, when his "faithful" general named Paulus, whom he sent with an army to suppress the revolution, proclaimed himself as "King of the Goths", and was crowned at Narbonne with the golden crown that Reikaredas had presented to the Church of Gerona. But in a short time the rebels were defeated and their "kings" were captured. From them Vamba took away not only the crowns, but also the scalps, and then he imprisoned them.

Vamba reigned over Spain for eight years. Those were the years of peace and prosperity. Vamba ruled wisely and firmly. The authority of the Church was respected, but he managed to keep the priesthood duly in check. Once a clever trick was played upon Vamba. It happened like this. On the 14th day of October, in 680, Vamba suddenly fell into a stupor, and continued unconscious for the whole day. The physicians declared that the king was dying. Then Vamba's head was shaven and he was clothed in a monk's robe; because in those days it was believed that whoever died in a monk's robe, would surely go to heaven. After 24 hours, Vamba recovered consciousness, and was greatly surprised to see himself in the monk's robe. Vamba realized that he was entraped; and according to the law, now he was a powerless monk instead of a mighty king. So he submitted to his fate and for the sake of formality he signed a document declaring that he abdicated. Vamba's conduct was still stranger, because he surely knew that Arvicius gave him the poisoned wine yet Vamba forgave his enemy and even publicly expressed his desire that Arvicius should be chosen king.

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