Hello,
I am curious, did the goth movement (known for wearing black and being disillusioned about everything) knowing take the name from the Goths of antiquity? Or is it more due to a perceived relation to the Gothic literary movement?
Goths - Germanic barbarian tribes. West Goths sacked Rome in 410. East Goths took over Italy in 493, then fought a 30 year war with the eastern Romans/Byzantines that utterly destroyed the Italian peninsula and what was left of old Roman Italy.
Gothic Architecture - Originally called the "French" or "Modern" style of architecture to contemporary builders. Later derisively called German/Gothic style by Renaissance architect Giorgio Vasari who called them "abominations" the result of work from architects not killed in wars by the barbarians.
Gothic revival architecture - Spurred on by by the Romanticists, who sought to contrast themselves architecturally against the rigid formalism that came from the Renaissance and Enlightenment period with the spirituality and mystery of the Medieval period.
Gothic horror - A fictional style also inspired by the Romantics, that while having a debated definition, usually involved elements of the crumbling old architecture (frequently medieval), the supernatural/spiritual, and the evocation of strong emotions.
Goth music - Origins of the usage of the term "gothic" in rock is usually tied to music that is described (by both critics and musicians/their producers themselves) as evoking similar emotions as that described under gothic horror, starting from psychedelic starts like The Doors and the Velvet Underground in the 60s as they looked into making songs "darker", but really kicking off in the postpunk waves of the 80s, notably with Joy Division and Siouxsie and the Banshees.
Goth subculture - A fashion and aesthetic of a subculture evolving alongside the musical genre, forming into a definite and visible community.
Sources:
Criteria of Periodization in the History of European Art Meyer Schapiro, H. W. Janson and E. H. Gombrich New Literary History, Vol. 1, No. 2, A Symposium on Periods (Winter, 1970), pp. 113-125
Vasari, Giorgio, Gerald Baldwin Brown, and Louisa S. Maclehose. Vasari on Technique: Being the Introduction to the Three Arts of Design, Architecture, Sculpture and Painting, Prefixed to the Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects. London: J.M. Dent, 1907. Print.
Roth, Leland M. Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History, and Meaning. Philadelphia, PA: Westview, 2007. Print.
Punter, David. A Companion to the Gothic. Oxford: Blackwell, 2000. Print.
Issitt, Micah L. Goths: A Guide to an American Subculture. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2011. Print.
Literary movement, it's attributed to Siouxsie Sioux(Siouxsie and the Banshees) saying that she wanted to take her music in a "more Gothic direction" referring to the literary movement. This is however debated, Ms.Sioux denies being the source and attributes the term to music journalists.
As far as source, I believe I read it first in "Please Kill Me" by Legs McNeil.
The Goths was a Germanic tribe which invaded and settled in roman territory and sacked Rome in 410. In the view of Renaissance historians, this was a barbaric tribe which destroyed the pinnacle of civilization (Rome) and lead Europe into a dark age of ignorance and superstition (where it had basically remained until the renaissance).
Whether this view is fair or not, it lead to "Gothic" becoming a synonym for "medieval". For example, the Gothic architecture did not really have anything to do with the goths, but since it originated in the medieval period it was called Gothic by renaissance art historians (which didn't like it).
While the Renaissance historians despised the Gothic or medieval period for its lack of rationality, the Romantic literary movement turned this on its head. They didn't really challenge the Renaissance/Enlightenment view of the medieval period as a dark age of ignorance and superstition, rather the idealized it for exactly this reason: A period where emotions and ideals were more important than rationalism, where the supernatural were accepted as a reality.
The novel "The Castle of Otranto" took place in some kind of romanticized medieval setting and introduced some enduring tropes of the genre like old castles, dungeons, fair maidens, an omen, a ghostly knight and on. This started the genre of Gothic Fiction.
Later development of the genre did not necessarily take place in a medieval setting though. Frankenstein and Dracula are considered classic Gothic novels, but takes place in a more or less contemporary (to the time of writing) setting, while they retain the romantic and supernatural elements. So the Gothic genre develops to becomes synonym with "Romantic Horror" rather than "Medieval".
The Goth music genre developed out of punk and post-punk (in the US sometimes called new-wave), but strove for a "dark" ambiance, and embraced themes and images from Horror movies and Gothic horror fiction. The style and fashion of the Gothic subculture draws heavily on fashion from Victorian period, since this was the setting of the classic Gothic horror novels, but combined with punk-elements.