ATT 



with a fteady eye, on the divine majedy of the king of th: 

 Huns. In his garb and mode of hving, the king of tlie 

 Kuns affefted ho peculiar diftinAion, but rigidly adhen-d 

 to the firr.pHcity of his Scythian anccftors. His drcfs, his 

 arms, and t!ie furniture of his horfe, were plain, without 

 ornament, and of a fingle colour. I'he royal table was 

 ferved in Wooden cups and platters ; flefh was his only food ; 

 and the conqueror of the north never tafled the hixiir\' of 

 broad. His palace, though it furpalTcd all other 

 houfes in his dominions, was built entirely of wood ; aiid 

 it contained, within a pallifadoed inclofure, a variety of fepa- 

 rate buildings, appropriated to his numerous wives. When 

 the Rorn?.ii ambaHadors were intioduced into the private 

 ajiartraent of Cerca, the principal queen, (he received their 

 vifit, reclining on a couch ; her donieflics formed a circle 

 round her; and her darnfds, fe?.ted on the ground, were 

 employed in working the variegated embroidery which 

 adoriied the drefs of the Barbaric warriors. The other 

 wives of Atlila politely adrr.itt.d them to their prefence and 

 table, nor v.as there any appearance among them of the 

 ri^id and illiberal confinement impofcd by Afiatic jealoufy. 

 When thefe ambafiadors had audience of Attila himfclf, he 

 was furroiinded by a formidable guard; and when they 

 were invited to the royal feaft, they had reafon to praife 

 his politenefs and hofpitality. On this occafion the com- 

 pany were diverted by a variety of buffooneries, which pro- 

 doced loud and licentious peals of laughter; but Attila 

 himfclf maintained an inflexible gravity, and never relaxed 

 his features except on the reception of his favourite fon, 

 Irnac, who, by the aflurance of his prophets, was to be the 

 future fupport of his family and einpire. Thus did this 

 powerful iriOnarch live familiarly among his people, and 

 pride himfelf in trampling upon the pomp and parade of 

 kings and emperors. 



After the laft peace with Theodofius, Attila fent various 

 embaffies, 'with complaints^ and threats, to Conftatitinople; 

 and, to the difhonour of the impe-rial court, a b?.fe dcfign 

 was formed, with the privity and fanftion of the emperor, 

 of murdering Attila, under the difguife of a fole-mn em- 

 baffv. The confpiracy was difcovcred, and the king of the 

 Huns, with a fingu'ar moderation, contented himfelf with 

 cxafting a large ranfom for the immediate agent in the 

 bufinefs, and with feverely reprimanding Theodofius. The 

 treaty with the eaftern emperor was renewed, at the expence 

 of frelTi payments. On the acceffion of Marcian, in 450, 

 Attila's demand of tribute was refuftd; upon v>-hich he lent 

 a threatening meflage to the emperors of the eafl and weft, 

 which was dehvercd by hi: envoys in thefe terms: " Attila, 

 iny lord, and thy lord, commands thee to provide a palace 

 for his immediate reception." He propofed, however, to 

 direcl his arms, in the fir.1 inllance, againfi: Valcntinian III. 

 a weak and unwarlike prince. The pretext of this holU- 

 lity was founded on the following circumllance. Honoria, 

 the filter of Valentinian, having diflionoured herfelf by an in- 

 trigue with her chamberlain, was banifhed to the court of 

 Conftantinople. Here fhe found means to fend an offer of 

 her pcifon to Attila, with a ring, ar.d an urgent requeft that 

 he would march and claim her for his fpoufe. Thefe over- 

 tures were at full received wilh coolnefs on the part of 

 Attila, but afterwards conceiving that he might derive ad- 

 vantage from them, he made a formal demand of Honoria, 

 with an equal (hare of the imperial patrimony, before he 

 proceeded on his intended iiTuption into Gaul. His demand 

 was refufcd, and Honoria was married to an obfeure perfon 

 in Italy, and there configned to perpetual imprifonmcnt. 

 Attila,' profeffing to be fausficd with refpcft to Honoria, 

 entered Gaul, under a pretence of making war upon Theo- 



VOL. III. 



A T t 



doric, king_ of the V't'igoths, in I.angucdoc. With ihi? 

 view he alfemblcd, in 451, an inur.enfe army of nonhirn 

 Barbarians, and without oppofition crolfcd the Rhine. In 

 his progrcfs through Qaid, he dtfoktcd the countiY, pil- 

 lagedand burnt fevcral cities, and at length laid (k-^c t j 

 Orleans. Here he was overtaken by the armies of '! 

 doric,and of the empire, under count iErius, who o' , _ i 

 him to retire. After the bloody battle of Chalons, he 

 marched without molcftation to the confines of Thuringia, 

 where he palTcd the Rhine, and continued his progrcfs to 

 Pannoma. At the commencement of the follownng year, 

 Attila, having recruited his forces, paiTcd the Alps, entered 

 It^aly, and inverted AcLixiL EI A, which he utterly dellrovH. 

 He then ravaged Lombardy, fackcd and reduced tn . 



many of their towns ; and thus, by means of the fu^ ....> 

 who fled from the terror cf his name, was unintentionally m- 

 (Irumental in laying the foundation of the Venetian repub- 

 lic. Valcntinian, incapable of refiftancc, fled from Ravcnri 

 to Rome, and fent a depntation to Attila, at the head of 

 which was Leo. bilhip of Rome, for the purpofe of depre- 

 cating his wrath, and propofing terms of acconimodatit>i:. 

 Attila confcntcd to leave Italy, on the payment of a very 

 large fum, as the duwTy of the princefs Honoria, ar.d an 

 annual tribute. But this was only a temporal y truce; af 

 he threatened to return the next year, if Honoria and her 

 t'owry were not puntiuaily tranfn-.itted to him. Altila, 

 however, did not long furvive his return ir.to his own 

 country. Having added to the number of his wives 3 

 beautiful young virgin whofe name was Ildico, he cele- 

 brated his marriage with great pomp and feftivity at his 

 wooden palace beyond the Danube ; and, opprelTtd with 

 wine and llcep, he retired at a late hour to the nuptial bed. 

 In the night a blood-vefiel burft, and as he lay in a fupine 

 pofture, he was fulfocated by a torrent of blood. His 

 attendants found the trembling bride fitting by the fide of 

 the bed, hiding her face with a veil, and lamenting the death 

 of the king, as well as her own danger. His body was ex- 

 pofed in the midll of the plain, under a fiikcn paviiiun; 

 and " the chofen fquadrons of the H\ms, wheeling rouri in 

 mcafured evolutions, chaunted a funeral fong to the mcnr.ory 

 of a hero glorious in his life, invincible in his death, the 

 father of his people, the fcourge of his encn-ies, and the 

 terror of the world. According to their national cu'.lom, 

 the Barbarians cut off a part of their hair, gafiicd their 

 faces with unfecmly wounds, and bewailed their valiant 

 leader as he deferved, not with the tears of women, but 

 with the blood of warriors. The re.-nains of Attila were 

 inclofed within three coffins, of gold, of filver, and of iron, 

 and privately buried in the night; the fpoils of nations were 

 thrown into the grave; the captives who had opened the 

 ground were inhumanly maffacred ; and the fame Hans, 

 who had indulged fuch exce{n\e grief, feafted with diflTohue 

 and intemperate mirth r.bout the recent fcpulchre cf their 

 king." The death of Attila is commonlj- dated in the 

 year 454; by fome in 45 ^. ^Vith him the empire of the 

 Huns terminated; fiu' after his death, his niitncrous foiis 

 either dcllrcyed one another by their mutual cotitc'.!.-, or 

 were difpofieficd by theife bold chieftains \iho .-fpirid to 

 the rank of kings. Anc. Uii. Hid. vol. svii. p. 144 — 159. 

 Gibbon's Hill, vol.vi. p. 40— 13,. 



ATTILE, Attilium, in jintlqvity, denotes the rigging 

 or furniture of a fliip. Fleta, 1. i. c<-25. 



ATTILUS, in Ichtlyok^', a term fynonymous with 

 adelln, adano, and adalus Autorum ; and applied by Fliny 

 and Rondclctius to the variety 3 of die Lianxan a:':l>tnfer 

 fiurio, or common fturgeon. 



ATTINGA Americana, in Cmdoh^, a name by 

 I'p wl-.ieh 



