321 



among tin- other < if I manic peoples, though tlic\ 

 still iftainfd their freedom. lie relates tliat in 

 the reign of TilM-rius a Marcomannic exile iuiiii('<l 

 ; ilil.i, who was resident among tlif Gotonea, 

 collfcif.l mi anus uiiil ma.lf himself king of the 

 Marcnmanni. The indications given ly TacitiiH 

 -,-.111 iu imply that In- regarded the GotliH aw the 

 nmost iifoplf of Germany (the boundary of 

 \\liii-li \\as tin- VUtnla!, and that their territi\ 

 .<! to tlie Baltic. Their southward emigra- 

 tions must have com ..... n.-i-il soon afterwards, for 

 the geographer Ptolemy (-'<! century) a-signs to 

 tin* Gx (hones' a position in Sarmatia (on the 

 ri'ilit hank of the Vistula), divided from the sea hy 

 tin- Slavonic Wen. Is. The history of their south- 

 ward wandering is unknown, the story told hy 

 .lonlanis being ohviously mythical. What seems 

 certain is that early in the 3d century the Goths, 

 vastly increased in nuinlnjrs hy the accession of 

 main conquered peoples, were occupying a territory 

 ii'Tiii of the Hlack Sea and the Danube mouths. 

 The eastern portion of them received the distinctive 

 naraea Oatrogotha ( ' l-'.ast Goths') and GreuthungB 

 ( ' dwellers on the sand '), while the western portion 

 were called Visigoths ( ' West < Joths')and Thervings 

 (prohahly 'dwellers amqng the trees'). Mingled 

 with the Goths proper, or adjoining them, were a 

 numher of other East Germanic peoples who, like 

 them, had emigrated from the Baltic coasts. 

 Chief among these were the Vandals and the 

 Gepidw, the neighbours of the Goths on the west 

 and on the north respectively. The geographical 

 position of the Heruli, Burgunds, Scirians, Rugians, 

 and Turcilings at this time cannot be determined. 

 All these nations were often classed together under 

 the general name of Goths. 



In the reign of the Emperor Philip the Arab 

 .is l!) the (loths are said to have been ruled by 

 a king named Ostrogotha. (There is no strong 

 rea-oii for regarding this name as an etymological 

 figment : it does not mean ' Ostrogoth, but is to 

 he compared with such Teutonic names as Austro- 

 wald, hasterwine, Earcongota.) In his reign a war 

 broke out tatween the Goths and the Roman 

 empire ; at the battle of Abritta the Romans were 

 totally defeated, and the Emperor Decius and his 

 sun were killed. For eighteen years the eastern 

 provinces of the empire suffered terrible ravages 

 bom the Goths, but these calamities were avenged 

 by the victories of the Emperor Claudius (thence 

 surnamed Gothicus). After the death of Claudius 

 in 270, his successor Aurelian conceded to the 

 Goths the province of Dacia, on condition of 

 furnishing a hotly of 2000 men to the imperial 

 army. Such of the native inhabitants as did not 

 choose to remain as subjects of the Goths were 

 provided with new settlements south of the Danube. 

 With some interruptions, the peaceful relations 

 between the Goths and the Romans continued for 

 more than a hundred years. During this period 

 the oltl names Visigoth and Ostrogoth received a 

 new sense as expressive of a national distinction. 

 The Visigoths or Thervings of later history are the 

 descendants of the people established by Aurelian 

 in Dacia; the Ostrogoths or Greuthungs are the 

 dfs ..... idantsof the Goths who remained in southern 



In the 4th and succeeding centuries writers who 

 affected classicality of diction frequently a])]. lied to 

 the < ioths the <>lulf te names of ( if t,f and Scythians, 



which in antiquity belonged to the inhabitant! of 



the regions in which the Goths were now settle.!. 

 Usually the Goths were regarded as the actual 

 descendants of these historic peoples, and the name 

 Gothi seems to have been imagined to be a corrup- 

 tion of Getce, In the 6th century Cassiodorus, 

 followed by the Goth Jordanis, endeavoured to 

 blfii.l into one story the facts of Getic history, 

 229 



taken from HerodotiiH and other cbuwical writers, 

 and the Gothic tiadition- of a migration from the 

 extreme north. In nio.lfrn times the hypothettb of 

 tin- idfiitity of Goth* and Geta- has been advocated 

 by -o distinguished a scholar a* Jacob Grimm, but 

 is now generally rejected. 



In the middle of the 4th century the (Jstrogothic 

 king Krmanaric established by comment a jKiwerful 

 empire, extending from the Black Sea to the Gulf 

 of Hothnia. About the year 375 this empire wax 

 subjugated by the Huns. The Visigoths, with a 

 small portion of the Ostrogoths, escaped a similar 

 fate by crossing the Danuln*, and placing them, 

 selves under the protection of the Roman empire. 

 The oppression of the provincial governors >ooii 

 provoked a revolt. The eastern emperor, Valens, 

 collected a great army and marched into Thrace 

 for the purpose of subduing the barbarians ; but 

 at the battle of Adrianople (August 9, 378) the 

 Romans suffered a ruinous defeat, and Yalens 

 himself was killed. The Goths, however, were too 

 ill organised to make effective use of their victory, 

 and Theodosius, the successor of Valens in the 

 empire of the East, and afterwards sole sove- 

 reign of the Roman empire, found it possible in 

 a few years to bring back to their allegiance the 

 whole Gothic people, excepting those who were 

 under the yoke of the Huns. This result was not 

 attained without great and dangerous concessions. 

 The Visigoths received large grants of land in 

 Thrace, and the Ostrogoths in Phrygia. They 

 were permitted to govern themselves by their own 

 laws, and 40,000 of their warriors were embodied 

 into a separate army (called fwderati), receiving a 

 high rate of pay. Many of their nobles also were 

 promoted to nigh positions in the imperial service. 

 So long as Theodosius lived these measures were 

 successful in securing the loyalty of the Goths ; 

 but the excessive favour shown to barbarians who 

 had so lately been enemies provoked serious dis- 

 content. 



The Goths thus incorporated into the Roman 

 empire had for the most part been converted to 

 Christianity ; principally, it is believed, owing to 

 the labours of the Arian bishop Wulfila or Ulphilas 

 (q.v.), a Goth who had received a learned education 

 at Constantinople, and who lived as a missionary 

 among the Visigoths from 340 to 381. The new 

 faith was with extraordinary rapidity accepted, 

 not only by the two great branches of the Gothic 

 people, but by all the smaller nations of kindred 

 race. For two hundred years the Goths remained 

 faithful to the Arian creed taught by Wullila and 

 his disciples. Unlike the Vandals, who were 

 adherents of the same sect, the Arian Goths were 

 honourably distinguished by their freedom from 

 bigotry. Although themselves the object of the 

 most virulent religious hatred, they were, even at 

 the height of their power, very seldom guilty of 

 persecution. 



On the death of Theodosius in 395 the sovereignty 

 of the Roman world was divided between his two 

 sons, Arcadius becoming emperor of the East, and 

 Honoriu* emperor of the \Vest. One of the first 

 acts of the ministers of Arcadius was to lower the 

 pay of the Gothic soldiery. The Visigoths at once 

 rose in reltellion, and, electing as their king a young 

 officer of distinction named Alaric (q.v.), proceeded 

 to overrun Greece. The emperor was compelled to 

 make terms : Alaric was made military governor 

 of Eastern Illyricum, ami remained ouiet for three 

 years, preparing for an irruption into Italy. In the 

 year 400 he entered the peninsula, but apparently 

 met with no great success. After being defeated 

 by Stilicho at Pollentia (Easter Sunday, 402), he 

 retired to Illyria, receiving, however, a large 

 sum of money from the Romans as the price of 

 peace. A second invasion in 408, provoked by the 



