Götaland (Swedish: [ˈjøːtaland], also Gothia, Gothland,Gothenland, Gautland or Geatland) is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises ten provinces. Geographically it is located in the south of Sweden, bounded to the north by Svealand, with the deep woods of Tiveden, Tylöskog and Kolmården marking the border.

Götaland once consisted of petty kingdoms, and their inhabitants were called Gautar in Old Norse. It is generally agreed that these were the same as the Geats, the people of the hero Beowulf in England's national epic, Beowulf.

Etymology

The earliest possible mentions of the götar is Ptolemaios (2nd century AD) who mentions the goutai. Later, Beowulf (8th–11th century) partially takes place among the Géatas. Norwegian and Icelandic sources sometimes use Gautar only for the people of Västergötland, but sometimes as a common ethnic term for both the people of Västergötland and those of Östergötland. Västergötland appears in medieval Icelandic and Norwegian sources as Gautland (Götland), a form which is not etymologically identical to Götaland.