An Universal History From The Earliest A PDF
An Universal History From The Earliest A PDF
An Universal History From The Earliest A PDF
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THIS BOOK.
FORMS PART OF THE
ORIGINAL LIBRARY
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
BOUGHT IN EUROPE
XO
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A N/; u ' iS&-<^ij
Universal History,
FROM THE
Earliest Account of T i m e.
Compiled from ' \V
Original Author^
AND i*.
VOL. XIX.
LONDON:
Printed for T. Osborne, in Gray's-Inn ; A. Mular, in
the Strand ; and J. Osborn, in Pater-nojier Row.
M.DCC.XLVI1I.
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A N
Universal History,
FROM THE
BOOK IV.
The Hijiory of the Germans.
CHAP. XXVI.
The History of the antient Germans, to their breaking
into the Roman empire, invasion os Gaul, and ex
pulsion out of it by the Franks.
s B a them»
le The History of the Germans. B. IV.
•hem, such a great variety of people are comprehended, that it
would be dangerous to apply that to the antient Germany which
they write of them under those other names, without some con
curring circumstances to confirm it. Yet we may venture to
affirm, after no small number of modern b, and some of the
antient writers c, that they were originally one and the fame
nation with the Celtet and Gauh, and both descended from the
antient Gomerians, or deseendents of Gamer, the eldest son of
but inter- Japhet. Only the Germans were very much intermixed with
mixed (he 0](] Scythians and Sarmatians, on that fide which joined their
nvitbtbe trerr i toriers, and particularly, as we hinted in the last chapter,
Scythians. ^etween tf,e two great rjvers Rhmeznd Danube*: and these, n«
doubt, had adopted a great many of their customs among them,
as well as intermingled some of their language with their own ;
but in all other parts of Germany we find such an exact confor
mity in their religion, laws, customs, and (what may appear
still more surprising to the generality of readers, but has been
fully proved by some of the modern authors last quoted) in their
very language % as leaves scarce any room to doubt but that
they were descended from the same antient stock with the Celtet
or Gauls, and came, by gradual migrations, from /f/ia, as we
have already shewn these did f (A).
How
b Cluver. Bochart.Phalec.Pezron. antiq. Celt. Relig. des
Gaul. Pelloutier. hist. Celt. Calmet. comment, in Genes. &al.
c Joseph, antiq. l.i. c. 7. Eustat. Antioch. in Hexamer.
Hieron. tradit. Hebr. Jos. Ben. Gor. ap. Bochart. Isidor.Orig.
Euseb. Cæsar. Chronic. Zonar. &al. d Vol. xviii: p. 533, 534.
1 Pelloutier. hist. Celt. l.i. c. 15. p. 165, & seq. Pezron.
antiq. Celt. Keyzler. antiq. septentr. pass. f See before,
vol. vi. p. 3P.
(A) The truth is, as Pliny ( 1 ) moderns who have with indefa-
rightly observes, that the Ger- tigable pains endeavoured to
mum were little known to the. strike light out of darkness:
Romans, or, indeed, to any but among whom, besides those al-
their very neighbours.till along ready mentioned, we may add
tune after the coming of M. two celebrated ones, to wit, Re-
jfgripfa into those parts ; and ner and Moscow, whose curious
many things which even Tacitus discoveries, in many points, have
has written of them, pretendedly added no small evidence to those
from their own relation, are ap- who had written before them on
parently fabulous : so that we this head. So that, abating the
must fetch our intelligence from almost unavoidable fondness with
another quarter, even from those which they have all of them en-
(1) N.biJU.iy.c. jS.
deavoured
C. XXVI. The History of the Germans. 5
How this country came to be called Germans, and its mhz-Wbence
bitants Germans, is not easy to guesi, nor hardly worth ir.quir- named
ing j the most probable conjecture is, that they were so called, Germans,
either from their near affinity to the Celtes, or from the Celtic
words Gharman, a warlike man, to which last their after-name
of AUman likewise alludes, and signifies a complete man. But
jt is plain, it was not their original name, but is of a more mo
dern date, and seems to have had its rise on the other fide of the
Rl)im, when the Condruji, Eburones, Ceerafi, and Pamani,
crossed that river, after the example of some others of their
countrymen, and went to settle in Gaul. These, it seems, Who were
were the first to whom the name of Germans was given, andfirst so
which therefore extended no farther than the Kbenijh shore on called.
the Gallic fide, but soon after pasted over to the other, and be
came common to other nations of the fame original language
and customs, till at length it became the general name of the
whole nation, and the country called, from them, Germania,
or Germany 8. But whether it was given to them by the Gauls
on their coming over to their assistance against the Romans, or
by these on account of the affinity of their religion and customs,
or, lastly, whether assumed by them on their settling themselves
among the Gauls, and claiming by it a kindred to them, we
will not venture to determine. One thing is plain, that it is
not of Dutch extract ; so that if they really called themselves by
it, as Tacitus fays the)' did, it is surprising it should not have
been rather preserved by them, and handed to us in their own
language.
IF we may be allowed to offer a conjecture as to their pri
mitive and general name, both from what we have observed
from their original descent from the ancient Gomerians or Celtes,
and from several monuments they have left in several parts of
Germany, especially towards the north, soch as Cimbrica Cher-
Jonefus, and such-lilce; it is not impiobable, that they called
themselves Cimri, or Cymbri, which is but a harsher pronun- Cimbri
cation of the origiiul Gomerai: for these Cimbri are allowed toprobably
have been an antient, if not the antientest people of Germany, the oldtst
and inhabited, a very considerable part of that country. inbahr-
W£ have already hinted, that they gave their name to the """ V
Cimbrica Chir/ane/us, which was a kind of peninsula extendingGc'many-
(6) Pcpifc. in vit. Prot. c. iS. (7) I'tl. x». f>. 475. 50-). Nat. h'tjf. I. it.
*. 4. r. Germ. t. 46.
($) Gtogr. I, iii. p. 306. Mar. (9) fide I'luur.b.
in vit. Ærut. Appiait. dt till. Mitbrjd. p. 365, (?) Sit Ltditrd, W. ii.
■idJ. XXX. p. it J.
i and
j2 The History of the Germans. B.^V.
and some others, who are placed by our geographers along
rhe forest above-mentioned, between the Danube and the Vistula.
The Burii are reckoned the seme with the Borades, and are
mentioned as assistants to the Marcomani in their war against
Lygii, M. Antoninus ; and the Lygii, or Logiones, as assisting Vibillius,
•whereJitu-Wm^ of the Hermunduri, against the haughty Vannius, king of
ated. the Suevi: and their bordering one upon another is collected
from a passage of Pliny which places the latter between the
Danube and the forest above-mentioned ', but with no sufficient
exactness to lead us to the right situation of either : only the
Silejian historians affirm, that the Lygii, and part of the Quadi,
remained still in their own original country k. The last we
(hall mention on this fide the Hercynian forest, wer« the famed
Rhxtii. Rhcctii, now Grifons, who were seated on the Alps: their coun
try, which was antiently called Wejlern Illyricum, was divided
into Rbeetia Prima, or Propria, and Secunda, and was then of a
much larger extent, spreading itself towards Swabia, Bavaria,
and Austria. This country, and that of Noricum, and others,
became a Roman province, and belonged to the kingdom of the
Ostrogoths in Italy ; but upon the declension of it they fell under
the dominion of the Franks, about which time the name of
Bavarians first became noted in history '.
Suevi. On the other side of the Hercynian forest were the antient
feats of the Suevi, whom we have (hewn above to have been
an old tribe of Germans, and spread themselves from the Vistula
to the Elbe, and beyond, though they in time did, at least a
great part of them, either penetrate through that forest, or wind
themselves about it, and came and settled in the more pleasant
southern parts of Europe, such as Belgium, Gaul, and even
Spain, as (hall be seen in a subsequent chapter.
Loneo- The most famous of these were the Longobardi, (b called,
bardi. according to some, on account of their wearing long beards;
but, according to others, on account of their consisting of two
nation?, "«• the Bardi and Lingones ; these dwelt along the
river Elbe, and bordered southward on the Cbauci, mentioned
a little higher, and both these were reduced by Tiberius, as we
have (hewn in a former volume m. But the Longobardi, having
pasted the Danube, invaded and defeated the Heruli'-'1, afterwards
crossed the Zips, and settled in haly, where they founded the
kingdom of Lombardy0, and, in process of time, quite forgot
Burgundi their antient German, and adopted that of Italy?. The Bur-
the history of the Celtes and Scy- variety of foil and climate added
tbians; and which, it appears to the horror of it from the
by this, was still rife among a dreadful forests, stinking and un*
vast many nations of their de- wholsome bogs, the inclemency
scendents so many ages after of its winds, dampness of its
their embracing Christianity. As seas, lakes, and rivers, and harsh-
to the Gcfidæ, we have nothing ness of its soil. But as, qn the
to add concerning them, but one hand, we must allow for ex-
that they professed Jriani/m in aggeration in historians, who
common with the Goths[z), as plainly sought in every thing to
will be seen in some of the sol- magnify their own courage and
lowing chapters. prowess, by the difficulties and
lO) According to them, it hardships they met with in the
was barren, uncultivated, and conquests of those countries and
frightful all over ; and even its nations 1 so we must grant, on
{?) Pruop. ttl!. Vandal, I. i. c. 2,
the
G. XXVI. The History of the Germans.' 19
owned, that the coming of the Romans into Germany, as Well
as into Gaul, contributed much to the fertilizing and enriching
of those two countries, which, till then, had been wholly neg
lected by both nations, who, as we hinted in the last chapter,
thought this, and every occupation, besides the martial trade,
too much below their fierce and warlike genius. We are told,^7»«,
in particular, that the emperor Probus Was the first who permit- 'when siffi
ted vines to be brought into Gaul and Germany, and to besought
planted along the Rhine and Moselle, and other parts". thither.
Among those many woods and forests with which this Fastfor<sij
country abounded, perhaps, more than any other on this side in Germa-
the Rhine; was that famed one called the Hercynian, and,'byny.
the Greeks, Orc'inian forest, the longest and thickest in Europe,
and reckoned by Julius Cafar to have extended sixty days
journey in length, and nine in breadth. We have given an
account of it in a former volume, to which we refer ° : all that
we need to add is, that not only this, but all the forests, woods,
and groves, in Germany, even the trees, boughs, and leaves Why not
were reckoned (acred ; and this is the reason why the antientfujserea' to
Germans made it a piece of their religion not to cut them down,& cut
unless it were some branches of the oak, and some other trees^14"'
which they carried with them, on particular solemnities ' ; but
since their conquest by the Romans, a good many were cut down,
partly for conveniency, and partly out of a dislike of those super
stitious and bloody rites, which were performed in them. Many Many of
more were destroyed, since their embracing of Christianity, them since
upon the fame account, and some are still remaining; and, destroyed.
amongst others, one which is known by the name of the BlackTbe Black
forest : the Baceman is another famed one, which parted the forest.
Suevi from the Chermfci, by some supposed to be that of T"hu- Tit Cx-
ringia, and by others the Black forest last mentioned. The"*11-
Caftan forest,- or Costa Syha, was also very famous : some
suppose it to have likewise been a remnant of the Hercynian,
and part of it remains still in the duchies of Cleves and tPest~
■ Vonscin vit. Prob. c. 18. ° Vol. xiv. p. 14, (M\
p. 91, (U). I VideCLAUDlAN. in laud. Stilic. Lucan. 1. iii.
ver. 429. AcATHiAshist. l.i. Keyzler. antiq. septentr. e. 4. *}. 7.
the other, that the Romans proved readers, that this pretended bar-
thc- means of cultivating those, renness and unhealthiness was
till then, barren and inhospitable rather owing to the supineness of
territories, by cutting down great the inhabitants, than to any de-
numbers of forests, draining of sect in its foil or climate, since
wet and marshy grounds, and we find it now capable of bear-
other such-like improvements as ing all forts of grain, vines, fruit,
they were able to admit of. So and even foreign plants, in great
that we need not now tell our abundance, and due maturity.
C a fhalia.
20 The History os tbt Germans. B. IV.
phalia. Tacitus ttlls us of a famous one dedicated to Hercules,
The Her- and called, from him, the Herculean forest 1 ; but it doth not
culcan. appear that they had, as yet, adopted either that, or any other
Roman deities : so that if there was any such forest of that name,
it must have been called so upon some other account than a
religious one. For, as we have observed in the last chapter,
the Germans made a much longer stand against the Raman
polytheism than the Gauls r.
Rivtrt. Rivers of note they had in abundance, of which we shall
only mention the most considerable ones, and what is most re
markable in them. At the h ad of these may justly be placed
Danube. the Danube, now Jster, by far the largest in Europf. It has
its rife in Swabia, and flowing through that province, and those
of Bavaria, Austria, Hungary, Servia, Bulgaria, Moldavia^
Bejferabia, and part of Tartary, and receiving about sixty other
rivers in its course, falls into the Ettxine or Black Sea, in two
arms. It was once the boundary between Sarmatia and Ger
many, but became afterwards subject to the Romans to its very
source, under the emperor Trajan (P).
lUrne. The Rhine, another famous river, which antiently divided
Germany from Gaul, and springs from the Rhatian Alps in the
western borders of Switzerland, and northern of the Gri/ons :
as it rises from two springs, which unite their waves near Cbur,
Its two now C**rt 5 f° lt divided itself into two streams, one of which
branches. fa^ *nto ^ Maefe, and the other into the German ocean :
upon both accounts, perhaps, it is called, by Virgil, Rhenui
bicornis, or btcorniger. It has now no passage into that ocean,
but with the Maese above-mentioned, below Briel, unless that
branch of the one part of it called the Yjscl, which empties itself
into the Zuyder-Zce, may be said to do it *.
Mcutb. This mou:h, which was antiently known to the Romans
by the name of Flavum, and still retains that of I lie, or File,
had a strong castle built by it, to guard the pafiage out of the
Zuyder, or south, into the north sea (QJ.
The
1 L. ii. c. »2. ' See vol. xviii. p. 560. &seq. » See Mascov.
German. & Lediard. ibid, sub ind.
C 3 The
<hi The History of the Germans. B. IV.
Lippe hnd Tfi e Luppia, now Lippe, and Isah, or Yfel, fall, the one
Yfel. into the Rhine, below Cologne, and divided the Brufieri and
Marst from the TJsipii ; and the other into the Fojsa Drusuna.
The rest, being of less note, we shall pass by.
Cities of any consideration the Germans did not begin to
build till after the coming in of the Romans, but were divided
into cantons and districts, like the Gauls, and lived in vilhges
like them : even those famous large ones they now have, were
either most of them built by the Romans, or inlarged, beautified,
Cologne, and enfranchised by them. Such was the city of Cologne, of
which we have given an account in a former volume ', and of
its being called Agrippina. It was formerly called Colonia
XJbiorum, and was their metropolis. It is commodioufly situated
on the Rhine, and in the circle of the lower Rhine, and is now
the metropolis of the archbishoprick of that name, an imperial
city, and a famed university. To this may be added,
Colonia Trajana, another antient Roman colony, be
low the former, by some thought to be the present Keyserswaert.
Colonia Ulpia, now Clcves, the capital of Cleveland in Lower
Germany, supposed to have been built by Julius Co-far, as well
as that of Bonne, antientlv Bomia 'Julia, situate above Cologne^
and on the same river. This last is now the residence of the
electors of Cologne.
Ausburgh Ausburgh, i.e. Augujlus-burgh, antiently called Augujia
Vmdclicorum u, now the Capital of Suabia. This is likewise an
imperial city, very populous and trading, situate on the Lech,
not far from the Danube, and famed, among other things, for
the Augujlan confession, or confession of Ausburg, which is that
of the Lutherans.
Stras- Argentoratum, now Slrasburgh in Alzacia, the an-
burgh. tient capital of the Trebochion the Rhine, is reckoned one of the
antientest cities in Germany (R), and is now famed for its mag
nificent
(R) And well it may, is what was used for the washing and
some German antiquaries p.e- purifying of the victims which
tend be true, that it was built were offered up by their priests,
53 years before Abraham. But it and was from thence called Blot-
will be time enough to believe it kc.fn, and Blotabrum, from the
when they give us some further antient word /■/«/, which signifies
proofs of it than they have a bloody sacrifice. Hence some
hitherto. infer, that human victims were
This place, we are told, was thrown alive into the well ;
chiefly famed, in antient times, others, that they were first dash-
fora living well, or spring, which ed tp death against, the stones,
ana!
C. XXVI. Tie History of the Germans. 23
nificent cathedra], and the spire and curious clock of it, of
which we (hall soy something more in the sequel ; but, above
all, for a living well, inclosed in that church, which was origi
nally dedicated to superstitious and heathenish uses, such as we
have mentioned in the last note.
Triers, another antient city of Lower Germany, said to Triers.
have been built by Trebesas, the brother of Ninus, 1496 years
before Christ, and made a Roman colony in the time of Au
gustus. Jt became afterwards the most famed city of Gallia
Belgica, and was, for some time, the feat of the western em
pire, in the reign of Constantius w. Here Valentinian triumphed,
in a magnificent manner, over the Alemani x. Triers had been
formerly the seat of the Gallic prefects, or of the prafelluraGaU
liarurn r, and obtained the right of coinage from the Romans z ;
at present it is only the metropolis of the ecclesiastic electorate
of that name, though the bishops of it were formerly filled
primates of those of Gaul, on account of its having been once
the feat of the prefects of it, which was afterwards removed to
Aries, on occasion of the former being destroyed by the Franks ».
Ratiseon, in the circle of Bavaria, said to have been first Ratisbon.
built by Tiberius, and now famous fpr the diet of the empire
being helJ there.
Mentz, now famous for the invention of printing by y«/,>» Mentz.
Fust, alias Faujlus, a gentleman of that city b, and for being
the residence of one of the ecclesiastic electors, in the lower
circle of the Rhine, and situate on the banks of it ; was for
merly inkrged and fortified by Drusus, with several others on,
that river ; such as Bonne, Andernach, and many others on the
tune river, as well as upon the Maefe, Elbe, and IVestr (S).
SECT.
w Vide cod Theodos. & epist. ad pop. Alex. ap. Socrat. 1. ii.
c. 2. * Auson. inlaud. Moscl. v. 420. VideMAScoy. I. vii.
c. 5. r See Mascov's list of them, 1. v. c. 29. z Poi.lio
apad eund. » See Paci anna!, ad an. 332. ap. Mascov. 1. vi.
c. 32. b Vide Malincrot & Palmer hist, typogr.
and then flung into it (7). This ed to from all parts: but since
well was, after the conversion of the reformation it hath been
the Germans to Christianity, in- opened, for common use (8).
closed with a wall, and conse- (S) He built, likewise, bridges
crated, to serve for a baptismal over them, especially at Mentz
foot; and the waters of it be- and Bonne, and kept a fleet, for
came so famous, for some mira- the security of those parts (9) :
culous power attributed to them, near the former of these was
that they were fetched or resort- erected a monument, in form qf
(?) V<dtK,}xltr. tv.tiq. srpr. hfin. c. 3. (8) V'dt
Vide Of.
Os. Scb<td.
Scbtd. drscr. tetuff.
rttifl.
■Arjct. 1017 />. 35. (9) fttr. l.ii.e.ult.
C 4 »f»
24 The History of the Germans. B. IV*.
a funeral pile, in memory of him, which this country abounds, but
by those legions which he had which retain neither inscriptions
there commanded, some remains nor any other indices, by which
of which are still te be seen, and they may be fixed to 'their origi-
are mentioned by several antient nal design. As we mentioned
and modern authors ( i ), and de- these cities only on account of
scribed by Hutichius (z). It is their being either bnilt, fortified,
known by the name of Eichel- or celebrated by the Romans, we
jlein, and stands in the noweita- shall not take upon ourselves to
del-yardofthccityabove-named ; go any farther with the rest, be-
but that this was the fame that cause we confine our geography
was erected for that prince, we to the antient, and not to the
must depend wholly upon tradi- modern Geittany, which latter is
tion, as [we must for a vast num- too well known to our readers,
ber of other such structures, with to need our expatiating upon it.
(l) Die, Sucttm. in C.iud. Otti Trig. etna. Strrar^rer. lYicguxt. (j)C«M.
aniq.
SECT. II.
Of the Religion, Government, Laws, and Policy of
the antient Germans.
THIS subject hath been already so copiously bandied in the
last chapter, as it is so naturally knit and interwoven with
it, that we hope we may save ourselves the pains of a needless
repetition. The G<j«/r and Germans, as nearly allied toeach other
originally, received their religion, laws, and customs, from the
fame hand, and both retained them, some few particulars ex
cepted, during a long series of ages, with an invincible tena-
ciousnefs ; and we have had occasion to observe, that the latter
continued much longer inflexible against introducing the Roman
The rcli- superstition, than the former : so that, with regard to their
gion of the antient religion, they exactly agreed, in worshiping the Supreme
antimt Deity, under the name of Ffus, or Hefus, falsly said, by Roman
Germans authors, to have been Mars, or Mercury. They worshiped
almrft the him under the emblem of an oak, consecrated that tree more
some with peculiarly to him, and had a great veneration not only for the
that of the tree itself, but for its leaves and fruit, especially the misleto,
Gauls. wnich they call, to this day, by the eld name of guihyl, or
* ,n"'"t""> gutbtyl, that is, good htal, and ascribe extraordinary virtues to
(l't '• '*' t,Pec'a"y 'n eP'lePt'c ""'teases*. Their method of, and time
tmj e o , ^^ g u]ier j„g jtj was t|ie farae which was observed by the Cauls k.
{1) Pit: Taeie. uiijufra. Kiyxkr, Coleietcb, Ought, & al. devisee. Ijlan-
Jaram my'b leg. c. 43. (1) side Kejmler. nil jiura, (3) Viic Tacit.
German, e 8. f<$ tifier. /. v. Comment. I. i. c. 50. Strut. I- »ii. Plutarch, in
Car/ar. Ar-ia: £? Cltm. Al'xand. strem. L i. fif al. (4.1 Vide Po/y*«./lrata<r,
i. y*. i3 W. xv. /. 3'9» lT). 489, (N). 1%) See m*i. Xviii. /. 591, (K.)."
The
%G The History of the Germans." B. IV.
from Casarzni Tacitus, subject to, and obliged to receive their
SuhjeSr to directions, like the Gauls, from that grand druid, who, as we
the grand hinted in the last chapter, had his residence in England, or some
British one of the Britijh isles. If there was any difference between
Jruid. the Gauls and Germans in point of religion, it consisted only
in this, that the latter, being more fierce and untractable, were
not only more full and tenacious of their superstitious rites, but
Cruelty to likewise more cruel and inhuman in them. They not only
their hu- offered the same expiatory human victims, and used them in
gtan -vie- their auguries, and other parts of their religion, but treated
//au. them much more cruelly than they, and made them undergo
many grievous indignities and torments, before they dispatched
them, some instances of which we have given in the Gaulijh
Eacrilees history0, that will hardly bear repeating. Other victims they
»f beasts, likewise offered of domestic animals, and of these the horse was
reckoned the most acceptable. The flesh of them was, it seems
to be boiled, stewed, or dressed in some other way, in the heart
of their groves ; the fat and the flesh were served to the votaries,
by way of feasts, and the blood was sprinkled upon the altar,
•trees, and by-standers, by way of ablution ; but though they
did the fame by that of human victims, it doth not appear,
that they eat the flesh of them. We have formerly observed-;
likewise, from Ca/ar, Tacitus, Diodorus Siculus, Straho, jfthe-
The Ger- tarn, and otheV antient authors, that the Germans had no tem-
xnans had pies, but performed their religious rites in groves erected for
antiently that purpose, or in woods, forests, and desert places ; tho' this
no temples, latter seems to have been practised after their conquest, and to
avoid the penalties of those severe edicts which the Raman em
perors had issued out against the druids, and their inhuman lacri-
c See vol. xviii. p. 555,
(E) It seems from some fe- religion and history in such kinis
pulcral inscriptions, and funeral of poems, and conveyed them
orations, still extant, that in some down from one generation to
of the northern regions they be another. To this we may, how
queathed the souls of the de ever, add this collateral proof,
ceased to Odin, in words to this from the general agreement of
effect : Odin preserve thee, a Greet and Roman authors, that
dear child, faithful friend, an the antient Celtet and Scythians
honest servant, and the like, made use of the skulls of their
even after their embracing Chri slain enemies to carouse with,
stianity : and the sending any and that they were in general,
one to Odin, was reckoned a but none more than the Germans,
very kind and good wish, th6' very fond of drinking to excess.
it is since looked upon, especially So that it is very natural to sup
by the Suevi, as bad as sending pose, the druids would carry this
one to the devil (c). notion of happiness beyond the
(?) We have properly no an- grave, in order to inspire the
tient author to vouch for this people with courage, and a con
their belief of a furiijh paradise ; tempt of death.
our authority for it is only taken Accordingly, the famous king
from some of the oldest northern Lodbrog is introduced singing his
poets (6), who quoted it from own requiem, in these words, as
more antient longs and verses of translated out of Edda, by Bar-
their druids, w.,n, as we have tholine.
often observed, couched all their
Pugnt)<vimus enfthns
Hoc ridtre me facit semper
(;5 Se? He'ig. dis Givl. vol. ii, c. 4. {') EJAt mjtkol. 30, Usfe}. Csrm. in
/•fj. Lidbrtg. supra ciut. & aU
jo The History of the Germans.' B. IV,
According to this notion, we need not wonder at their conse
crating so great a share, and sometimes all the plunder of their
enemies, making him heir of all their wealth, keeper of all their
treasure, and often vowing their own lives to him ; since they
expected to be so amply rewarded by him in the next life,
and witli such a kind of happiness as best suited with their
genius S (GJ.
How
* Vide inter al. Bartholin. de contempt, mort. in Dan. 1. ii.
e. 12.
Quod Balderi (Odin) patris scamna
Paratascio in aula
Bibemus cerevijiam brevi
Ex concwvis crateribus craniorum
Non gemit vir fortis contra mortem
Magnifici in Odini domibus
Non -venio desperabundis
Verbis ud Odini aulam (7).
(G) The German, and other hero, whom they bring from
old historians, have since trans- Jlsta into Scandinavia, where,
frrmed tliis deity into a northern after a long and bloody prowess,
(7) Idem ibid. Jiropb. z$. (8) Stropb.ig. (9) Vidt strait literat. Run,
p. zx%, (Sfif-'^f Kcyxltr. axtij./rpt, c, 1. §. 13.
6 and
C. XXVI. The History of the German*. 31
How much of this kind of idolatry they may have had before Other dei-
their becoming acquainted with the Romans, is not easy to say ;''" «war^
and we shall gladly refer our readers to what has been already '**"•
hinted on that head in the history of the Gauls ; but after that
time, especially aster their being subdued by them, there is no
doubt but they adopted many of their other deities, as well as a great
number of their ceremonies and superstitions. However, it_, .
plainly appears, upon the whole, that their antient theology dis- jjjjfaj^
sered much from the mythology of the Romans and Greeks. crem ^
The Germans, even according to the testimony of Romau wri-Qj.^1^
ters, neither presumed to confine their deities within temples, &c%
nor to represent them under any forms h, nor admitted into that
number any but such as they saw, and received assistance and
benefit from ; such as the fun, moon, and Fulcan J, or the god
of sire (H). Their veneration for their deified heroes and he
roines,
and a reign stuffed with the as Hcrcuks among the men, and
greatest wonders, during which Hcrtba, and Fria or Friga, among
he gave them a body of laws, the women. Their mythologists,
some of which we shall speak of on the other hand, have split tlii*
in a proper place, that he might Odin into two ; the anticntclt ■
end as he began, and inspire his of the two some suppose to
people with the fame contempt have been Mars, others the fun,
of death, he gave himself a flight and the youngest to have been
wound with an arrow, because one of their deified heroes : yet
he would not go into the other there is no doubt but that1 one
world without one, and soon af may find a great resemblance be
ter died ; and, aster a magnificent tween the antient Germctrs,Siu<vi.
funeral, in which his corpse was Æstii, Scq. and other most distant
laid on a large and magnificent nations : such, for instance, we
pile, that the brighter and higher may reckon the worship of the
the flames ascended, the greater goddess //<r/£a,mcntioned a little
might be his glory among the higher, which agreed with that
gods, he was deified as the pro which the Romans and others paid
tector and rewarder of those to the earth, under the name of
who die in battle (1). This Magna deornm mater ; or, as Ta
may, perhap;,bave been trumped citus fays of the latter (2), their
up to wipe off the imputation of worship of Fria, ot Frige, under
their having given into the Grid that denomination.
and Roman idolatry, and to shew, (H) So, at least, that author
that they only paid a more than is understood by most writers.
ordinary veneration to their he We are, indeed, told, by Plu
roes and heroines, some ofwhom tarch (3), that Viridomarus, a
they ranked in the fame number king of the Gauls, who lived
(i) Siurrex. Yr^ti^a /"£", <. 8. (:) Ctrn. c. j, 6^45. (?) h "">'■ Marcil.
above
34 ¥be History of the Germans. 6. IV,
roines, ant! the encomiums they gave them in their poetical
performances, extended no farther than to their virtues and
heroic exploits, their strength and courage, victories and con
quests k ; whereas the Greeks and Romans not only attributed
to their deities all their own imperfections, but even sanctified
their most monstrous and unnatural vices '.
Bilieved The Germans, as well as Gauls., were early taught, by
a preu:- tneir druids, two momentous truths, to wit, an over-ruling
denci and providence, and the immortality of the soul. The misfortune
future was, that these two noble springs of virtue and religion did not
lift. run long uncorrupted ; for Us, on the one had, a too eager de
sire in the people of prying into futurity, and a fatal ambition in
2?«s£:w»their druids and diviners of being thought more intimately ac-
to horrid quajnted with the ways of that providence, introduced an infinite
super/it- variety of auguries and superstitions ; and some of them, as we
'"""• have elsewhere hinted, were of the most inhuman and diabolical
kind; so, on the other, the belief of a future life and immor
tality proved but too fatal a spur to rashness, ambition, and
cruelty, especially after they came to imbibe that poisonous no
tion hinted a little higher, that the surest way to that happiness
was, to die in the field of battle ; and that their felicity in the
next world was to rife according to the number of enemies they
had destroyed in this. For this not only inspired them with a
barbarous courage and cruelty in their wars, but made them less
k German, c. z. ' Lactant. Minut. Fel. Clem. Alex.
& al.
above 200 years before our Sa- intricate, that it can hardly be
viour,having declared war against relied on.
the Romans, made a vow to con- Some inscriptions mew, that
scerate all the arms he took from they had a deity called Volian,
the enemy to Vulcan : so that if or Volianus, according to the
that author be right in the name, Roman termination. Hence some
the worship of that deity must authors have concluded, that the
have been very antient among two branches of the K. were worn
the Gauls and Germans. But the out, and that the name was ori-
missortune is, as a late writer ginally Volkanus, which suppo-
observes {4', that the Roman sition is natural enough. But
writers either mistook the names Volian being a Celtic word,which
of thole heroes or deities, or signifies either a furnace, or a
mentioned them by the names firy forge, the latter may, pro
of such of their own gods as they bably, have been the original
imagined them to resemble most; name, though haidened since
by which mcars, that part cf into Vulcan.
Git man antiqui'y is become so
(5) Set vtl. »i. p. 1*. (6) Set wl. jxiii. f. 563, 564, ite.&sif. 574.
<7) Tteit. Gerfi. £..%.& *M>, faff.
V«v. XIX.
34 t.Tbt History of the Germans. . B. IV.
Their layui As for their antient laws and government, we can only fay,
and go- that they discover those evident marks by which men, by degrees
•vernmcnt. wcre forced to form themselves into societies for their general
. . good and preservation ; to have magistrates to govern and pro
tect them in times of peace, and generals to command and lead
them in war. This, considering the extent of their territories,
and their fierce and warlike genius, prevented their being long
united into one common state, whatever they might have been
» originally. But every tribe of them had its own form of go
vernment, independent from the rest, except, perhaps, that
they had some laws in common, for the better union and pre-
, servation of the whole body against foreign enemies, or to keep
lip a kind of balance amongst themselves, that one nation
National should not grow too strong for the rest : in other things each
councils, canton held their national councils at least once a year, that is
in the spring, and oftener, if need required ; and there delibe
rated about peace or war, the choice of magistrates, and other
annual officers, both civil and military; the sending out of co
lonies or auxiliaries, and other such points, according to their
' Idem ibid. & c. 1 1, & seq. * See Voss. de idololatr. lib.
iii. c. 22. ' Tacit, c. i i . ■ Ibid. c. 15, & scq. c Ibid.
c. 14, & seq. ■ Ibid. en.
(8) tutsan. Piarsal. 1. tu. v. 430. Tacit.utiftpra, c. yj. (y) Idtm ibid.
t- 12. .
D a commit
%6
-
Tbe History of the Germans.
commit any thing to writing. But that some such laws they
1
B. IV,
had, is apparent from this, that they still retained many of them,
even after those of the Ramans had been introduced among
Judges, them. Judges they likewise had of their own, and their offise
was held in such esteem, that men of the highest rank were
promoted to it, as well as those of the greatest probity, years,
and discretion : even their princes sometimes took it upon them,
fcvery judge had, it seems, a number of assessors, with whom
he might consult upon occasion ; whence, probably, the office
offeabinus, or sheriff, had its rise w.
Their state Th^se general assemblies were antiently held in the open
ofivar. country; for the Germans despised cities and fortresses, as mo-
," *"' numents of servitude, rather than places of defence x ; and were
e ' ' some of the latest of the Europeans that either built any for
trePes themselves, or would take refuge in them : so that, whenever
they were obliged to sight an enemy, they always chose to do it
iii the open field, and, when worsted, to retire into woods,
marshes, and inaccessibfc places, where they could get provision for
their cattle, and keep their pursuers at a distance, rather than to
shelter themselves in towns, and fortified places, where they might
be caught, as in a trap. It was, moreover, acommon sayingamong
them, that even wild beasts would lose all their strength and
courage, if penned up i. And we are tokl, that this custom
» subsisted in Gaul till the eighth century, and much longer in
Germany1. The whole nation being moreover, naturally of a
But a sin- warlike genius, and esteeming cowardice as the greatest reproach
guiarcon- and disgrace that could be thrown upon them, all such fenced
tempt for cities and fortified places were looked upon by them as so many
them. shameful asyla for the weak and pusiHanimous to flee to, and
they, consequently, despised them, as unworthy a brave people,
who always scorned to take any advantage of their enemy,
whether in weapons, intrenchments, discipline, stratagems, or,
indeed, in any other kind but those of strength and bravery,
intrepidity, and an invincible love of liberty.
Ytath, It was in these that they solely trained up their youth, lear-
h<m> edu- ing all other arts of gaining a superiority to those of their enem ies
cited. to whom the want of these martial virtues rendered them more
neceflary. Accordingly, no nation could take more care than
they did to inure them to all hardships (M), to inspire them with
aeon*
* Sec Mascov. German. 1. ii. c. 38. * Tacit, aim, 1. iv.
c. 64. y Cæs. comment. 1. iii. c. 29. l.iv. c. 19. & 29. ■ Vi"
Pelloutier. hist. Celt. 1. ii. c. 5. sect. 4.
(M) We are even told, that their children, as soon as boi
those who lived nearest the Rhine, into them, in order to knit a
or any other riven, used to dip harden their limbs (1). We ban
( 1 ) Vii. Arifl. dt refai. 1. vii.
t ir.dice:,
C. XXVI. she Histdry of the Germans. 3?
a contempt of danger, and even of death, and to rear them up
to martial deeds. This was their chief and surest road to
wealth, honour, and preferment, and, as their priests taught
them, even to the greatest happiness in a future life '. It v/aiArmiu
for this that the ambitious amongst them neglected agriculture,">fijy
and despised all mercantile and mechanic employments b, hov/ra'/ltl "'"*
necessary and advantageous soever, and obliged all who were*'/' uf'
able to bear arms to go into the field. Hence it was that they
were never at a loss how to raise, in a very short time, such
powerful and numerous armies either to repulse an enemy, or
to assist their friends and allies c : for whenever any country
was disengaged from a war, the ablest soldiers were sent into fo
reign service, not singly, or according to their own option, but
in considerable bodies, and under the command of such officers
as were set over them by the state ; by which means, the whole
nation not only shared in the honour of their exploits, but was
likewise furnished with more experienced generals. Another
advantage was reaped from it, to wit, that, when a canton
or state became too populous, they could draw out such numbers
as could be spared, to go and seek out new habitations ; and these,
by being trained up to the trade of war, could the better fight
their way through, and maintain themselves in those countries
which they had the good fortune to settle in d.
They had but little cavalry, in proportion to their foot, laTheir ea-
which they placed the main of their strength ; but what tbeywlry, "*'
had of the former was extremely well disciplined, though their/0"'-
horses were inferior to those of the Romans, either in bigness,
swiftness, or dexterity, as well as in those evolutions which were
so artfully used by the latter e. As for saddles and stirrups, they
» Cæs. com. 1. vi. c. 22, & srq. b Idem ibid. See also Eslay
on those countries, &c. which helped to pull down the Roman em
pire, p. 13-16. c Idem ibid. See Mascov.'I. ii. c. 37. * Ta
cit, ann.l.iv. c. 12. Cæs. conun. I. vi. c. 23. " Tacit.
Germ. c. 6.
indeed, formerly observed from other, we cannot affirm ; but it
jsuliaa the apostate (2), that the is very probable, that if any such
waters of that river were supposed custom they had, it was rather
to have some peculiar virtue introduced on a persuasion, that
above others, insomuch that they such children who were not proof
threw their children into it when- against the severity of such a trial,
ever they had any suspicion of were not worth the rearing up,
their mothers fidelity. Whether and might as well be left to be
our authors mistook the design, overwhelmed by the waves.
or confounded the one with the
(.*) Su v*/.xvul.p. 552,(1*). QCUndum. in Ruf.v.iog,(g Nmn. ff.tcdiard.
Qt'm. 1. 11.(137. «. 1.
D 3 were
38 The History of the Germans. B. IV.
were quite neglected, by both Gauls and Germans, who were ac
customed to mount and dismount by their own agility, and could,
whenever occasion requited, fight as well on foot as on horfe-
, V- . back (N). In their prder of battle, every canton and district
M • £• were p)ace(j together, that every one of them might reap either
the gbry or disgrace of fighting valiantly or cowardly, which
was no small spur to them to behave in such a manner as might
be a credit to their own tribe; and, by this means, they com
monly fought in several distinct bodies. We are told, indeed,
that some of them, especially the Ct'mbri, formed their whole
infantry into one square battalion, and placed their wives,
children, and baggage, behind a fence made of their waggons :
as soon as every thing was ready for the onset, the signal was
given, which was answered by an universal shout, which was
redoubled in a most dreadful manner, till they came to close en-
Wlth «»>*gagement. They used no art or stratagems in fighting, but
u "r P^aced their whole confidence in a joint and furious onset on
than art. fne enemy5 antj continuing it with a desperate intrepidity, till
they had either won or lost the day; by which means, if they
once met with a stout repulse, or were put into disorder, they
seldom knew how to rally again, but became stupefied and de
sperate, and either fought till they died, or else betook them
selves to flights for it was reckoned so inglorious among them
. to yield themselves prisoners, that we read but of few instances
K ' of their doing so, in comparison to those in which they died with
sword in hand. Time and experience did, indeed, at length
teach them to trust lefe to their own strength and courage, and to
study a little more the Roman discipline, and art of fighting.
But they began too late : had they done so from the beginning,
they might, perhaps, have continued unconquered to this day.
(VcapKS. Their weapons were likewise vastly inferior to those of the
Romans; the cavalry had their shields and spears in common
with the foot, but the latter had, besides, their darts, bows and,
stings, and seldom had recourse to their pikes and swords *'.
Helmets, armour, and coats of mail, were generally despised
among them ; some of them even affected to fight naked :
so,that if any such armour was worn among them, it was' ra-
• f Tacit- & Cæsar, ubi supra. Plutarch, in Mar. 'Valer.
Max. 1. ii. c. 6. See vol. xviii.' p. 6 1 2, & seq. * Tacit, ubi supra.
PtUTARCH. ubi supra.
• %(N) This plainly appears, by them in most of his wars ; and
Cesar's own confession (3), who often boasts of the great services
owns, moreover,- that he had he received from them (4).
(3) Cimm, I. iv. c. 2. (4) Ibid. I, yii. e. 1 3. rid. Uirt. am. dt bell. Ahx-
ei.ertn. c. ij. _ •
the}
C. XXVI. The History x>f the German*;. 3f,
thcr for distinction, than defence: upon which account, they - "
adorned them with the horns and heads of some wild beasts;
Hence those frightful figures which Plutarch observed among And me-
the Cimbrian cavalry h, some of which are still to be seen upon /Wo/"
the seals and arms of those antient times. Their shields, which using tbim.
they distinguished only by different colour?, or some particular *
emblem, were reckoned so sacred among them, that they
looked upon it as the greatest disgrace to lose them in fit»ht; '
because none durst appear either at their religious ceremonies,
public assemblies, or even funerals, without them (O). Their
arms were esteemed their favourite furniture, and chiefest or
nament ; they never appeared in public without them, and no
thing was so earnestly wished for by their youth, as the day mExetJpvt
which they became qualified to bear them '. The sword was/*"'*"/*
so sacred among them, . that no oaths were reckoned more/0'" ***"'
binding than those they took upon a naked onek; neither didar."V'
they appear in public, or assist at any solemn rite, without their* *
sword, shield, and spear '. We are even told, that they wore
them at their familiar visits, banquets, religious dances, and the
like. When they fat down, they had their sword by their side,
and a servant behind, to hold their shield and spear 5 and when
they rose, every one took them up again m : in a word, they
looked upon themselves as wedded to their arms; and when they
had worn them from their youth to their extremest old age, they
commonly caused them to be burnt or buried with them, when
they died » (P),
Iw
/ ■
h Idem ibid. ' Tacit, ubi supra, c. 13. k Am. Mar
cel. J. xvii. c 12. ' Nic. Damasc. ap. Stob. serm. 164. Livy i
hist. 1. xxi. c. zo. Cæs. comro. i. vii. c. 21. m Tacit. Germ,
e. 2, 13, 22. Annal. 1. iv. c. 64. Athen. ex Posid. l.iv. c. 12.
*' Ci au m an. de hell. Get. v. 501. Comment. 1. vi. c. 19. Tacit.'
Germ. c. 13, 27.
(O) TacitMi adds, that they and the reason he gives is, that
were forced to live in disgrace they lived under arbitrary princes, -
all the remainder of their days, who, to maintain themselves in
and excluded from tiie company their tyranny, stripped their sub-
of men ; insomuch that they jests of them, and put them un-
chose often to put an end to both der the custody of their favourite
by a voluntary death (;). He creatures (6).
tells us farther, that the Suivi (P) It was on account of this
were the only people in all Cer- excessive regard they paid to their
innny' where private men had not warlike weapons, as well a? from
the liberty to wear their arms, or their antient custom of rearing a
even to keep them at home ; sword, pike, or spear, at the
. (}) Taut. Qtrm.4. 6. (6j Ibid. f.44..
D 4 head
4© 'The History of the Germans.- B. IV.
Sieges ear In their sieges of places they were likewise vastly inferior to
ried on the Greeks and Romans, whether in the offensive or defensive,
without being strangers to those destructive instruments which were used
art, tic. by the latter, such as towers and circumvallations, battering-
rams, mining and countermining; and, placing the stress of
their confidence in their missile weapons, as darts and stones,
and their vigorous assaults and scaling?, or in a resolute and in
trepid resistance, if these failed, as they too often did, especially
when they were engaged against the Well-disciplined and artful
Romans (who, besides that they used all these, and many other
such warlike engines, in the greatest perfection, were likewise
expert in a great variety of stratagems, with which the Germans
were wholly unacquainted), they fell immediately into confu
Valour. sion, and became an easy prey to them. Hence the native
strength and valour of the latter is the more conspicuous, as
they defended themselves so long, and so bravely, against such
powerful and dextrous enemies, and not only held out against
them above 200 years, but at length conquered them by their
own arts ".
funijb- Th e Germans in general, however, observed a strict disci
tntnts. pline with their soldiery ; and cowardice and neglect of duty
were severely punished among them: they were not, indeed,
so strict in other cases, but adapted their punishments to the dif
ferent purposes of the commonwealth ; were severe against some
Murder offences, and remiss towards others ; insomuch that eyen murder
not casI was not esteemed capita] amongst them P, but was punished by
tal. such a fine, of great or small cattle, as was deemed a sufficient
Disputes compensation to the family for their loss* In disputes and accu-
decided by sations, whenever the cafe appeared dubious or intricate, they
tbejhvord. had two expeditious ways of deciding the matter; the one by
their pretended divine auguries, and the other by single combat ;
for in either of these they looked upon Providence as the chief
head of their army, round about but, upon the whole, it appears,
which they all gathered them that both Ceites and Scythians,
selves to perform their devotions, and all their deseendents, were
that they were supposed to wor accustomed to wear their arms,
ship them (7), though it is plain, as well in the time of the pro-
that they only worshiped the soundest peace, as in war ; which
Deity, or, at most, the god Afar/, was also practised by all the
since adopted their grand patron Greeks, Persians, and other an-
and protector, under these types : tient nations (8).
(-, ) Sec tiit. Dafdtrt. ap. du Cbefne, tern. >. c. 3 1. /fiiam Bremc*f.& al. (ZJjfri-
ft.t. fipluic. 1. ii. e. i. IbiKyiid. I. i. c. 6. Ammian. Marcel. 1. xxia. c. 6.
■ directory
C. XJfcVI. The Pfistoty of the Germans. 41
director, and therefore submitted to its unerring judgment.
When, therefore, VarUs endeavoured to introduce the Roman
laws among them, we are told, that they refused it ; alleging,
that it was their way to decide all their controversies by the
sword ' ; and this custom continued among them several
hundred years r.
Sciences they were altogether strangers to, if we except Sciences.
those who lived by the sea- coasts, and had made some consider
able progress not only in navigation, and building of (hips, but
probably also in some branches of astronomy, as well by obser
vation, as by their converse with other more polite nations:
the rest were all rude and ignorant, and it is even doubted
whether they knew the use of letters (QJ. Their greatest skill 5&T7 in
in physic consisted in the knowlege and use of certain plants zn&physic,
roots found out by observation and experience, in which these
pretenders intermixed a deal of superstitious trash j such as the
time of the moon for gathering and applying them, charms,
and other occult quackeries, which served only to amuse and
raise the admiration of the vulgar. Music and poetry werejsro/fr, an
much better cultivated among them, though one would be apt/M/rj.
to judge their tongue too harsh and inharmonious for the one,
and for the other. But, besides that such foreign languages
appear more so to us than to the natives, we may reasonably
(oppose, that both their music and poetry being adapted to 'the
genius of the German nation and tongue, their harshness might
be looked upon rather as a majestic beauty, than a defect : how
ever that be, they had a set of men whose business it was to
1 VfL. Patirc. I. ii. c. 188. r In vet. leg. Aleman.
tit. 44. ap. Mascov. 1. ii. c. 38.
(R) These were called by se- And here it will not be amiss
veral names, according to those to take notice of a merry jest-
nations among which they were which some Greeks, settled in
worn. In some parts of Ger- Scytbia, had endeavoured to im-
matty they were called reno,which pose upon Herodotus, as a serious
Clwverius thinks is derived from truth, t/z. that the Neuri, a
the rein-deer, whose skins they northern nation, were once a
made their garments of (5) j in year changed into wolves, and,
others, majlruga ; supposed to after some time, resumed their
have been called so because it own shape (8). He doth indeed .
made those who wore them ap- own, that he could hardly give
pear like monsters (6), or brutes credit to it; but it is plain they
in human shape. Tacitus adds, only imposed on his too great
that the only distinction between credulity in this point, as they
men of quality and the vulgar did in some others, particularly
consisted in the richness and fine- where they told him that on the
ness of those furs (7). other side tsizDanube the air was, .
. ft.) Germ. tut. f. Mo. (6) IJUor. erig. l.xix. e. 2J. (7) tfit,
Gon. c. 17. ( i) HtreJct. I. iv. c. 105.
«
C. XXyi. The History of the Germans.
the last who exchanged them for cloaths made of flax and wool :
*?.
these they did not wear long and full, as the Sarmatians, but
short and strait, and fit to display every limb of their body".
As they became more acquainted with the Romans, they not
only improved in their dress, and the manner of weaving,
flowering, and embroidering those stuff's of which they were
made y, but adopted a great number of manufactures, in which
they have since excelled other nations ; for it was their contempt
of such trades, and not their want of a capacity for them, which
made them be so long neglected, as beneath a martial genius j
but when they came to take them up, they soon convinced the
world, that their country seemed formed to produce the best
artificers ; and we may add, that, in the number and variety
of curious mechanic inventions, they have outdone all the
world (S). They did not so soon give into the liberal arts, or
even
* Tacit, ubi supra, c. 17. y Idem ibid.
at some seasons, so fall of fea since famed for; but for none
thers, meaning of snow, that a more than for the noble art of
man could scarce see two yards printing, which was found out
before him. Wolves, it is cer at Mentx, soon after the year
tain, were in such quantities, 1440. by John Fust, or Faust,
and so dangerous, in all these a citizen of that place, and im
northern countries, that the in proved by his son-in-law, Pettr
habitants were forced to destroy Shoeffer, and from thence pro
them as fast as they could. Their pagated, by some of his coun
ikins they probably drefled, and trymen, through all the famous
made them into close garments, cities of Europe, in less than half
to wear during the winter, and, a century (9}.
when spring came on, they ex In speaking of this noble and
changed them for some lighter useful invention, we cannot pass
habit : and this is all that could by a pathetic reply which a Go»-
be meant by this pretended man made to a Frenchmen, who
transformation. Unless we will allowed, indeed, that the Ger
suppose, not without some pro mans were generally good me
bability, that those Gretki had so chanics, but in other cafes, said,
far corrupted (heir native lan that they had but a low and
guage, by their long abode in groveling genius, and no wit.
Hcjthia, that our author, natural On which the German gravely*
ly fond os wonders, understood asked the following question :
them quite different y from what " Pray, Sir, which of the two
they meant. " nations (hewed the brighter
(S) Among these, that of " genius ; ours, which invented
clocks, watches, and other such "• the art of printing; or yours,
kjiid os useful and curious ma " which condemned the in-
chinery, they have been long " ventor of it to the flames for
(9) Su Pilmsi't bijttrj ef frititiitg, 1. \. e. 1, t& sf. I. ii. c, 1,&srj.
4^ the History of the Germans. B. IV.
Writing, even that of writing : we are told, that Charles the Great caused
some of their old barbarous poems which they till then only
fung by heart, and contained the actions of their antient kings
arid heroes, to be committed to writing for their use, and to
encourage them to learn to read *. The Saxons had such a
contempt for letters, that they refused to learn to read the gospels
till they were put into verse, and set to such tunes as they could
easily sing1. Even their laws were not, it seems, reduced to
writing till about the 12th or Mth century &: which plainly
ffiews that their runœ> or letters which were used by the Franks,
and appear from some inserip'tions to have been a coarse character,
partly Roman and partly Greek, are not of so antient a date as
some moderns have imagined, since Venantius, who lived in
the sixth century, is the first author we know of that hath
made any mention of them c.
Before
x Ecinhard in vit. Carol. Mag. c. 29. * Vide Du Chesne
rer. Franc, torn. ii. p 326. b SeeScHOTTEL. deantiq. Germ.
jur. p. 254. Pelloutier. hist. Celt. 1. ii. c. 10. c De his vid.
Celsius's letter to Mr. Vignoles, A. D. 1733. ap. Pelloutier, ubi
sup. Relig. des Gaules, 1. i. c. 4. Bouteroue traite des monnoies,
P%43, 62, & scq. Mascov. Keizler. & al.
cloaths, and other lumber, and help them off with any share os
a chiKl or two in their arms. the burden. And what appear
We have ourselyes taken upon ed ' still more surprising' was,
us to reprove their husbands for when these poor women have
it, and told them, in a friendly been offered a draught of ale or
manner, that our nation was beer to refresh them, they ha»e
much offended at it ; but have desired it might be given to their
lieen gravely answered, by their husbands, for that themselves
passive dames, that jt was the could drink water: so great is
fashion of their country, ai)d the force of education ' and
$hat it would cast, a much greater custom. •'
disgrace on their- good .men to
- tations
C. X^VI. The History os the Germans. 4jf
tations which have been written upon them by several learned
moderns of that nation, a list and account of which the reader
may see in the author last quoted °. One thing We may ob
serve, in general, that, whatever sacrifices they offered for
their dead, whatever presents they made to them at their fune
rals, and whatever other superstitious rites they might perform
at them, all was done in consequence of those excellent notions .
which their antient religion had taught them, the immortality
of the soul, and the bliss or misery of a future life P.
It is impossible, indeed, as they did not commit any thjngjvfrfaf of
to writing till very lately, and as none of the antient writers thefate of
have given us any account of it, to guess how soon this/Wj after
belief of their great Odin, and his paradise, was received zmongdeatb.
them. It may, for ought we know, have been older than the
times of Tacitus, and he have knownViothing of it, by reason of
their scrupulous care of concealing their religion from strangers :
b-Jt as they conveyed their doctrines to posterity by songs and
poems, and most of the northern poets tell us, that they have
drawn their intelligence from those very poems which were still
preserved among them ; we may rightly enough suppose, that
whatever doctrines are contained in them, were formerly pro
fesied by the generality of the nation, especially since we find
their antient practice so exactly conformable to it. Thus, since yaiour
the sorest road to this paradise was, to excel in martial deeds, zn&and arms
to die intrepidly in the field of battle, and since none were ex- tire ready
eluded from it but base cowards, and betrayers of their country, roadto su
it is natural to think, that the signal and excessive bravery of sure bap^
the Germans flowed from this antient belief of theirs: and, if/"'ȣ/i.
their females were so brave and faithful, as not only to share
with their husbands ail the dangers and fatigues of war, but, at
length, to follow them, by a voluntary death, into the other
world ; it can hardly be attributed to any thing else but a strong
persuasion of their being admitted to live with them in that
place of bliss. This belief, therefore, whether received origi
nally from the old Celtes, or afterwards taught them by the
since deified Odin, seems, from their general practice, to have
been universally received by all the Germans, though they might
differ one from another in their notions of that future life (X).
We
• P. 109, & scq. P Vid. Diod. Sicul. hist. I. v. Am.
Max-cel. 1. xv. Cæs. comro. 1. vi. c. 14. Strab. Mel. & al.
SECT. III.
The History os the antient Germans."
The an- \T7 E have taken notice, at the beginning of this chapter,
, „. kifio- W that the most antient historians, both Greek and Roman*
tient
ry of the have so injudiciously confounded the whole German nation under
Germans, the names of Scythians and Celfes, and that Tacitus himself,
who had conversed so much among them, is, in some cases,
dark and so manifestly fabulous, and, in many others, so obscure and
uncertain, inconsistent, that no tolerable certainty can be expected, either
with relation to their origin, or antient history, except we can
strike out some light from better hands, and from such concur
ring circumstances as may add weight to their testimony.
This, we hope, we have done, in some measure, with
relation to the first of these two points ; but it is much more
difficult to adjust the latter to any satisfaction, considering what
a vast number of nations are comprehended in the general name
of Germans, their constant fluctuations, and driving each other
from place toplace, their various intermixtures with each other,
till the name of the one was quite swallowed up in the other ;
especially considering that they had no written records, and that
both Romans and Greeks had but a very confused, if any, know-
]e<re of them, till the Romans did, by their wars and commerce
wtth them, open a more easy way to it (A). Upon these ac
counts,
£ 3 »»
54 The History as the Germans. • B. IV.
and hatred to all kinds of invasion ; and could not, but with
Growjea-jealousy and resentment, behold the daily encroachments which)
hut os /£«tbe Romans continually made on all their neighbours, or, con-
Romans, sequently, without uniting themselves more closely against them,
and assisting those of their neighbours, who were likely to fall
the next sacrifice to their ambition ; as we have seen they did,
with respect to the Gauls, Helwtii, and other neighbouring
states. Hence arose those wars and conquests which ended in
,T . their total reduction ; for the politic Romans soon took the ad
vantage of their being divided into ib many different republics i
and by fomenting jealousies among some of them, bribing and
'j corrupting others, and by using all their force and art against
the rest, they found means to subdue them gradually, and by
piece- meal: so that one state aster the other fell a prey to their
conquering arms, till the whole country was reduced into a
Roman province. This part, therefore, of their history, is not
to, be looked upon as a general one of a whole nation, but as
a separate one of such a number of different states subdued one
aster the other, and in a great measure independently one on
the other, till we come to that period of time the Franks brought
and united all the other Germans, who remained in those coun
tries, together with many other Roman provinces, under their
dominion. For this reason, and because a full and particular
account has been given of all these conquests in former parts of
this work, we (hall, to avoid all unoeceflary repetitions, content
ourselves with giving a chronological summary of the reduction
os each of these nations, till we come to the grand epocha of
the Franks above-mentioned ; and, refer our readers to the
volume and page where each of them is more fully and severally
Tit <fr/g*rmentioned. For the Roman history being not only the most
of /^^-considerable one in this whole work, in all respects, but being,
tint, '*.$ it were, the basis, or pivots on which that of all the nations,
they subdued principally turns, we thought it would render it
more complete, useful, and instructive, to give them all in
'one view, or series, in that part of it, than if we had detached
them from the main body, and branched them out into so many
distinct parts of history ; which could hardly have been done
..without either great confusion, or endlese repetitions. From the
-conquest of Germany by the Romans, our next point in view
will be, to shew by what means they regained their liberty,
-and made such ample reprisals upon their conquerors under the
Franks ; and as the defection of these gave rise to the German
empire, which will make a considerable part in our modern
history, we shall, to avoid confusion, give the history of all
. those several nations, and of those kingdoms which they erected
in other countries, in their several trasmigrationi, each in a
distinct chapter, and confine ourselves, in the latter part of this,
. ? 5 W
C.XXVI. Tbe History of the Germans. 55
to mentioning the most considerable of those other countries
which have been since conquered and possessed by the Germans
who bow inhabit the empire, at least as far as will be necessary
to open the way to the modern history of it, which began at the
emperor Charlemagne.
But, before we come to the Raman invasion, it will be ne-The Gaul*
ceflary to mention some transactions, relating to the antientA/^ exPe~
Germans, which are previous to it, and have yet been but*"^* '*"
touched upon ; the first of which is, the Gaulijh irruption into'""erma*
their territories, under the conduct of Segovefus, whilst hisn^*
brother Bellovefus made the like over the Alps. These two
valiant princes were sons to the sister of Ambigatus, a king of
the Celta, or Gauls, about the time of Tarquinius Prifcus. That
monarch, finding his subjects increased too fast for the extent
of his territories, resolved to send two large colonies out of it, to
settle somewhere else, under the conduct of his two nephews. • '
These being directed, as the Gaulijh manner then was, by the
flight of birds, the former of them was directed over the Rhine,
and fettled in the Hercynian forest b, whilst the other went and
penetrated into Italy, as we have seen in a former volume c (B).
Whether the Germans had any hand in this latter expedition,
does not clearly appear, for the reasons mentioned in the last
note. Only if the regions lying at the foot of the Apennine hills-
were at that time inhabited by Germans, or semi Germans, as
Livy calls them d, there is no question to be made but they might
be hurried, by those Gaulish swarms, to follow them in those
excursions, and {hare in those devastations and pillages, which
they committed. But hitherto it does not appear, that the rest
of the German nation were at all concerned in them, since
Tacitus gives them this peculiar character, that they rather
h Liv. decad. I. v. c. 34. c See vol. xviii. p. 640.
* Decad. 1. xxi. c 28.
(B) We find, however, no intirely conformed themselves to
farther mention of the former the customs and manners of that
colony, and their settlement in country (7). Tacitus, likewise,
Germany, unless we suppose, that by placing the Boii and Helvetii
it is of them which Julius Cxsar much about the very fame spot
speaks, when he informs us of a of ground, and making them
Gaulijh nation, which in his both to be descended from the
time inhabited the heart of Ger- Gauls[i), does, in all probabi-
tnany, along the Htrcjnian forest, lity, mean the very fame nation
and all the most fertile parts of and colony with Ca/ar and
that country between the Rhine Livy.
and that famed wood, and had
(7) Cimmatl, I. vi. c. 24, (8) Girman, f. -.3.
£ 4 studied
56 The History of the Germans. B. IV.
Aniitnt studied how to preserve their own, than how to invade the ter-
Germans ritories of others c ; and it is most likely, that they did not
notfond e/begin to act offensively against the Romans, at least, till they
conquest, were a]armcd at the greatness of their power, and the daily
tillgrown encroacnrnents they made round about them. Swarms of
J'? "Z' "* colonies they must be supposed to have sent abroad, to prevent
' °" the want of room, as they multiplied so fast ; but there was
so much of that to spare towards the north parts of Europe,
and so little on the south parts, where they were, moreover,
sure to meet with a stout opposition, that they poured most of
them towards the other way, at least till the Gauls did, m some
measure, oblige them to make reprisals upon them.
The first of these we meet with, and which, in all appearance,
is of much later date than that of Segovesus into Germany, is
Belg*./£/-that of the Belgts, one of the fiercest, and most warlike nations
f/e in Bel-0f Germany ; who, having passed the Rhine, and driven the
gic Gaul. Qauis out 0f a canton of it, seated themselves so firmly in it,
that neither their neighbours, whom they continually annoyed,
nor any other nation, could ever drive them out of it. Casar
adds, that they were not a little proud of this their settlement,
and that they assumed an high hand over all their neighbours ( ;
and we have elsewhere observed, that they were, probably,
Wbeme so called Belga, upon that account, that word, in the old Teutonic,
cfi/led. signifying fierce and quarrelsome S (C). They afterwards
peopled the coasts of Britain, drove the natives into the
inland parts, and waged continual wars with the Germans*1.
We have already given an account of these Belga, of their
origin, wars with the Ramans, and reduction to their yoke, in
a former volume, to which we refer our readers l. From this
irruption of the Belga: into Gaul, which is the first the German
nation made upon them, at least that we read of, these two
nations continued in a kind of alternate state of hostility and
friendship, as occasion served ; sometimes invading each other's
territories, at other times assisting each other against the Romans,
as we have had frequent occasion to hint in the last chapter,
• Germ. c. 35. f Comment. I. ii. c. 4. s See vol. xviii.
p. 528, (A). " Comment. 1. i. c. 1. ' See vol. xiii. p. 163,
& seq. & (H). p. 177, Sc seq.
(C) This is the fame character Gaul, and having few or no
which Casar gives them, who foreign merchants to trade with
attributes this roughness oftheirs them, and bring them such corn-
to their living at a distance from modities as serve to effeminate
the more civilized provinces of mankind (9).
\<j) Cmmeitt. I. i. r. r.
and
C. XXVI. the History of tbf Germans." Sj
and {hall again in this : but it is time that we should speak of
those wars which the several German nations waged against the
Remans, and the defeats they received from them, and by
which they were subdued by them, in the succinct method
and order of time, as we have promised.
The first we read of, who ventured to invade the Roman'Cimbn
territories, were the Cimbri and Teutones: we have already inwadt
spoken of their antient settlement, the former in the Cimbrica Italy.
Cherfonesus, and the latter on the coasts and isles of the Baltic k ;
but, whether for want of room there, or, perhaps, invited by
the beauty of a warmer clime, both these (D) marched, with
their wives and children, through, and ravaged Noricum and
Illyricum, penetrated into Italy, defeated the Romans in several
pitched battles ', and threw all Italy into the greatest conster
nation m. In the first of these actions they vanquished the
famed consul, Pafyrius Carbo ; in another, M. Junius Silanus,
another consul, who was soon after called to a severe ac-
count for it ; in the third, L. CaJJius ; and, in a fourth, the
brave M. Aurelius Scaurus, whom they took prisoner, and
fc 6ee before, p. 6, & alib. ' Vol. xii. p. 452, &seq. vol.
jdii. p. 12, &seq. m Vol. xiii. p. 14, & seq.
(1) See W. xii. p. 4"-- v>L xiii. p. lo, & fej. (ij Vol. xiii- f. 13,
put
J8 The History os the Germans. B. IV.
put to death, by order of their king Bslos (E), for (peaking too
boldly in praise of the Romans: but, after several other successes
Defeated in Italy, they were totally defeated and destroyed by the policy of
fy Marius. the consul Mar'tut n. For this general took care to post himself
so advantageously on the day of battle, that the Cimbri had
not only his army, but the fun, wind, and dust, to combat
with, and were the more easily overthrown by that subtle
stratagem (F). How greatly the Romans esteemed this victory,
inay be seen by the triumph, and other singular honours, which
they decreed both to Marius, and to Catulus, as well as by the
monuments which these caused to be reared in memory of
it°(G). Those Cimbri who escaped this dreadful flaughter,
did,
(ft) This is, in all likelihood, wise lest an account of his con
the fame whom Plutarch calls sulship ; and, perhaps, some other
Boiorix king of the Gauls (4), helps he might have had besides.
but Liity, Bolts king of the The description which he and
Cimbri (5). We have formerly some others (8) give us of the
mentioned the murder of the order of battle of the Cimbrians,
brave Scaurus, by that young their accoutrements, Weapons,
hot-headed prince, and the oc valour, and intrepidity to the
casion of it (6) ; and there we last, plainly (hews what brave
followed the former of these au warriors they were, and that
thors, though, most likely, the they only wanted some parts of
latter is in. the right. We lately the Roman discipline and policy
took notice, how apt the Greeis to have made them, in all points,
and Romans were to confound superior to the conquerors of the
the Gauls and Germans ; the world.
Cimbri were, doubtless, antient We are told, farther, that
Celtes, a.s their name imports,with their wives behaved, in this
respect to their origin ; but Gauls action, with incredible bravery ;
they could not be, since they in and at length preferred an ho
habited the most northern parts nourable death for themselves,
of Germany. and their children, to a dis
(F) This circumstance we are honourable captivity (9) : and
beholden to Plutarch for (7), Seneca adds, that, after their
and need the less question it, death, their very dogs fought in
seeing that author had it out of defence of the carriages, which
Sylla's memoirs, who was him these heroines had lost their live*
self in Marius's army, and had for.
written a description of this vic (G) Among these was the
tory, besides Catulus,' who like- famed temple of Virtue, built by
(4) Plutarch, uliisufrj. (5) F.pit. Ixvii. (<) Vol. xii. f>. 499.
(7) In Marh. (8) VaUr. Max. I. ii. e. 6. ViJe & Ankiir.. dr
fi,T.ui»^t, mert, of, Danost (9) Fixtard; vbi supra. Set aljovcl, xiii. f.,i8.
tbo
C. XXVI, The Hi/lory of the Germans. 59
did, in ajl likelihood, return ipto their own country ; for they
are said to have sent afterwards a submissive embassy to Au
gustus'' ; and are likewise mentioned, by authors of later date,
as the most warlike of all the northern Germans q, down to
Claudian's time, who calls the north sea by their name r. But
it is likely the Saxons, their neighbours, joining with them in
their excursions, and growing, by degrees, more famous, the
Cimbrian name was swallowed up in theirs s,
The next excursion we find recorded of the Germans, isAriovishu
that which happened in Julius Cafar's time, on occasion of the/e/t/et in
jealousy, which it is justly supposed that politic conqueror so- Gaul, and
mented between the Ædui and the Arverni, the then two most/«« o.
potent nations in Gaul ; the former of whom being in kingdom
friendstiip with Rome, and the latter allied with the Sequani, 'btre*
these thought fit to call in the neighbouring Germans to their
assistance. At first, only 15000 came over to them ; but they
became so enamoured with this delightful country, that, to keep
their footing in it, they sent for fresh supplies from over the
Rhine, insomuch that they amounted, at last, to 1 20000. The
Sequani, by their assistance, soon subdued the Ædui, as we have
formerly seen ' ; but their victory cost them dear; for they were
forced by Ariavijlus, the German king, to evacuate one third
part of their kingdom, to settle his troops in. He soon after
obliged them to yield another third to him, as a settlement for
40000 Harudes, who crossed over to him, and, at the (ame
time, by his address, induced Julius Casar, then consul, Confirmed
to allow him the title and honour of a king u. But it proved a »* *"' h
ihort-lived kingdom, and Casar, who only caressed him forCxsar.
his own ends, soon found a specious pretence to dispossess him
of it. The vast numbers of Germans which Ariovistus had
brought into Gaul, and the success which their bravery had
gained them, could not but raise the Roman jealousy, and alarm
not only the Sequani, but the greatest part of the Gauls, who
the former, and the brazen bull, any other author : some think,
which the latter is said to have that the Cimhrians had it upon
taken from them, and caused it their standards, as the Romans
to be preserved in his own had the eagles ; others, that it
houses i}. What this bull was, was only a bullock's head (2);
has puzzled most antiquaries, but all this is mere conjecture,
because it is not mentioned by and not worth dwelling upon.
(1) Pliny, N. bift. I. Tui. c, 41.J {2) See M'Jcev. & Udiari. I. i.
1. j j, «. 1j ar/'|.
». thereupon
6o The History of the Germans. B. IV.
thereupon applied to the consul with bitter complaints against
the German devastations, and the danger they were in of being
quickly swallowed up by them. Cæsar, turned all this to his
own advantage, and sent to desire an interview with the Ger
man prince, who found means to excuse himself from it, and
to get six other nations, or cantons, to join with him, besides
his own Suevl (H), and a fresh reinforcement of those which
were hastening over to him ; upon which, Cafar made what
speed he could towards him, to prevent their joining.
His inter- A conference was at length agreed upon, in which Cafar
i>ie<w used some threats to him, and plainly told him, that the Romans
•with him. would doubly resent his tyrannic use of their old friends the
Ædui, after they had shewed him so much regard, and bestowed
such honours upon him ; and therefore insisted, that he should
restore their hostages to them, send back part of his German
Answer to troops, and forbear all future, hostilities. To all this imperious
*"' language, Ariov'ijlus, in vain, pleaded the right of conquest, his
threats. being invited into Gaul, and his treaties with the Sequam\ and
even offered his services and friendship to Cafar himself: the
conference was broken, and followed with a dreadful engage
ment, in which the Roman policy got the advantage of the
German bravery (I), gave them a total overthrow w, and forced
them
w Cæs. comment, Li. c. 52, & feq.
things but what Casar has been tween them, kill those who
pleased to give us, who is evi lurked under them, till they had
dently partial to his own nation, opened a passage for their com
and much more to himself. Had panions tocomeinupon them (5).
they been written by a more im But Casar was not the only
partial hand, it is likely we Roman writer who betrays such
should find them in a very dif fond partiality for the glory of
ferent light from what he has that nation ; the account which,
given them. However, even as some of them give of the total
we have them from him, it is overthrow of such a vast army as
not difficult to discover such in that of the brave Cimhrians, and
consistencies as seem to us to their allies, mentioned a little
carry their own confutation. higher, and with the loss of only
Such as is that which he fays of 300 men on Manas's side (6),
the Germans at this action ; to seems no less stretched beyond
wit, that they formed themselves all probability, especially con
into such a thick and impene sidering how bravely they tell us
trable phalanx, and held their the enemy behaved on this occa
shields so close over their heads, sion, and how much superior
that the Romans were forced to they had proved in all former
leap upon them, and tear them actions. But, of this, fee also
asunder, and, sinking down bc- the next note.
(5) Csww/tf. Hid. c. 5*. (6) Vidt Eulrcf. & FUr. I. i. c 14.
one
€t Vhi History of the Germans. B. IV.
one of she deirest victories he had ever got : so that the whole
Tie Belgæ Belgic nation was forced to submit to the Roman yoke *. Cofnius,
subdued, a faithful dependent upon Cæsar, was, by him, made king of
the Atrebates, and soon gained a considerable authority Over all
that country b. TheAtuati, about the fame time, hearing of these
swift conquests, came in one body to the succour of the Atre-
bates, and entertained no small contempt of the Romans, when
they found them so far inferior in stature : they were, however,
soon undeceived, to their cost, when, being briskly besieged
by them in their capital, into which they had been forced to
retire after the defeat of the Atrebates, and unable to obtain
better terms than to surrender at discretion, both their city, arid
53000 all the garison of it, to the number of 53000, .were sold by the
Atuati conqueror c (K).
fold far Cæsar was, not long afterwards, forced Into a war with
starves. two ot|ier German nations, to wit, the Tencleri, and Vfipetes (L) .'
these, having been forced out of their own territories by the
Suevi, the fiercest and most warlike of all the northern Germans,
and of whom we shall speak in a subsequent chapter d, had
passed into Gaul, and settled themselves in the neighbourhood of
the Eburones and Condrufe. Casar was then at Rome, to ob
struct the cabals of Lucius Domitius against him; but was obliged
to hasten into Gaul, to prevent their joining with that nation
against the Romans. Upon his arrival, they sent an embassy to
acquaint him with the reasons of their coming into that country,
* Comment. I. ii. pass. See vol. xiii. p. 163, &seq. p. 177, & seq,
b Comment. 1. iv. c. si. c Ibid. c. 33, & seq. d See
hereafter, p. 356, & seq.
(K) Casar, in his account of got against those who fell under
this action, seems to intimate, his hand.
that he had extirpated the whole What this capital was, he doth
nation by it (7) : for he fays, not tell us: Cl&verius thinks it
that they had all abandoned their to have been Namur. If so, it is
cities and towns, and had shelter, strange, that Cæsar, when he
ed themselves in this capital, describes the strength of the
where those who escaped being place (8), should say nothing of
killed in the siege, were all sold the Macse, on which that place
for (laves. But they are found, is situate, and which could not but
in process of time, to have made add considerable strength to it.
such powerful head against the (L) We have given an ic-
Romans, as (hews plainly enough count of these two nations, and
how apt that conqueror was to their country, in a former vo-
exaggerate every advantage he lume (9).
{-) Commtnt. I. ii. c. 19, &sn}. (8) /*/'</. c. 14. (9) Pi/, xiii./. 168,
and
C. XXVI. tbt History of the Germans. 6$
and to beg, that he would allow them settlements there, pro
mising him, if he did, to serve him upon all occasions ; other
wise, that they would maintain their ground by force of arms.
Cafar not only refused to grant them their request, but fellTencteri
suddenly and furiously upon them, and made a terrible slaughter WUsipe-
oftbem, together with their wives and children ; and of those *** 'sfa'-S
who escaped, the greatest part perished, in endeavouring to' *
cross the Maese* ; only their cavalry, who happened not to be
in the battle, crossed the Rhine, and fled to the Sicambri, whose
territories were sited between those two rivers. This, and the
assistance which the Ubii about Cologne sent to beg of him against
the threatening Suevi, afforded him a pretence for building a
bridge over the Rhine, to the great surprize of all the Ger--£ _**4*
mans(M), but especially of the Sicambri, whose country ^t"i'ltR^'er
ravaged at an unmerciful rate, set fire to their houses, cut down 'K,*UttC»
their corn, and returned to the Ubii; while they, at his ap
proach, ran, with all their effects into their forests, and ex
horted the Tenfleri and Ufipetes to do the fame f.
This was the first time, in all likelihood, that the Romans
set foot on the German territories, which became afterwards the
scene of much bloodshed on both sides, both under that con
queror, and his successors, and which ended in the almost total
conquest of this brave nation. The Treviri were the first whoTbe Tre-
gave an occasion to that general to invade their country, who™" bring
does not appear to have had any intention, upon his first entering Cæsar »'»*»
Germany, to carry on a war against them, but only to keep^ermany«
them in awe, by convincing them, that he was not afraid to
come and attack them in their own territories (N). However
e Comment. !. iv. c. i, & scq. See also vol. xiii. p. i6S, ic scq.
f Comment, ubi supra, c. 7, & seq.
(M) The Ubii, indeed, offer- side of it. The reader may see
ed to wast him over in their this famed fabric described by
boats; but the politic general himself d).
told them, that it would be more (N) Cafar had two other
for the honour of the Romans to views, the one to shew the Ger-
build a bridge over that river ; mam, by the example of the Si-
which, it seems, was the first at- cambri, how dangerous it was to
tempt of that kind, being used exasperate the Romans j and the
before to cross ic in floats, and other, by the timely assistance
other flight and flat vessels, he gave the Ubii against the Sxrvi,
What increased their surprize, if though for his own ends, to in-
his account can be credited, was, duce them to set an high value
that he finished it in ten days, upon Roman friendship.
and set a strong guard on each
(1) Gemmtnt, I. h. e. 17,
that
u The History of the Gerrtians."
that be; the freviri, grown jealous of the Romans, and of their
B. IV.'
own liberty (O), had, by their credit and valour, well nigh
stirred up a general revolt in Gaul, which had groaned some
Labie- time under the Roman yoke. This obliged Cæsar to fend La-
nas'sfue- bienus against them, whilst he went to the assistance of Cicero,
reJs *£a'"J' mho was, in some measure, besieged by the Nervii. We have
them given already a full account of all these transactions, in two former
volumes ; for which reason, we shall refer our readers to them,
as they are quoted below, to avoid needless repetitions t.
Germans For the fame reason we shall content ourselves with just re
endea capitulating the principal and brave efforts which they made,
vour to upon all favourable conjunctures, for the recovery of their liberty,
recover and the desperate wars which they renewed, and carried on,
their li upon all proper occasions, against several Roman emperors, and
berty. during several centuries, till they had accomplished their end,
and subdued their conquerors; and refer our readers to those parts
of the Roman history, where they have been as fully treated of
as could be done in a work of this extensive nature (P).
CHAP. XXVlI.
The antlent State and Hijlory of Britain, to its
Desertion by the Romans, and the Invajion of
the Angles and Saxons.
SECT. I.
Description of Britain. The first Inhabitants. The Cu
stoms, Religion, Government, &c. of the antient Bri
tons. The State of Britain under the Romans.
Britain '-pHE island which is now called Great Britain, and com-
' '". •*• prehends the two kingdoms of England and Scotland, with
more anti- ^ prjncjpa]jty 0f JVales, was, in more antient times, by
.... ' way of distinction, stiled Albion, the name of Britain being
then common to all the islands that lie round it. Hence
Agathcmerus speaking of the Britist) islands, they are many in
number, fays he ; but the most considerable among them are Hi-
bernia and Albion '. And Ptolemy, to the chapter wherein
he describes the island now called Great Britain, prefixes the
following title; Thesituation of Albion, a British island*. But,
* as this far excelled the other Britijh islands, the name of Albion,
in process of time, was quite laid aside, and that of Britain,
by way of excellency, used in its room. By this name it was
known in Pliny's time, and even in Cæsar's. The stand of
Britain, fays Pliny, so much celebrated by the Greek and Latin
•writers, was formerly called Albion, the name of Britain being
then common to all the 'stands round it c. And Cæsar, The other
angle os Britain, /hooting out to the ivcst, lies over-against Spain ;
on which fide is Hibernia, an stand thought to be half as big as
Britain, and about the fame distance from Britain, as Britain is
from Gauld. Hence it is manifest, that the name of Britain,
once common to all the islands in our ocean, was, in Cæsar's
time, and Pliny's, become peculiar to the island which is still
Various known by that name. Whence it had the name of Albion is
eonjeriurei uncertain, some deriving it from the Greek word alphon, which,
concerning according to Festus, signifies white, the chalky cliffs that in
tbeorigi- several places rife on our coasts being of that colour; while
nil of this others pretend this name to have been borrowed from a giant,
name. feigned to have been the son of Neptune, and mentioned by
several antient writers. Some of our etymologists have re-
Et penitus toto £<uifos, Sec. White hist. Brit. I. ii. not 2. Bur
ton, comment, in Anton, p. 18, 19. Twin, de reb. Albion.
Sammbs Brit. 1. i. c. 4. Verstecan. 1. i. c. 4. ' Cæsar,
\. v. c. 16. ni Tacit. vit.Agr. n Idem ibid.
F 4 covered
72 The History of Britain. B. IV,
covered no affinity in their language, manners, customs, &c<
with those of Gaul, and the southern parts of Britain.
The origin A s for the Picls, who held the eastern parts of Britain,
es the which lay north of the Tine, the venerable Bede tells us, that
Picts. they came out, of Scytbia in long ships, and landed first in the
north of Ireland ;. but, not being suffered to settle there by
the Scots, who then possessed that island, they were advised
to plant themselves in the north part of Britain ; which they
did accordingly, with the assistance of the Scats, who more
over supplied them with wives to perpetuate their colony ;
but upon this condition, that, in all disputes concerning the
succession to the crown, the Picls should prefer the female,
to the male line of their former kings ; which is observed
among them, says Bede, to this day °. By Scytbia, Bede
perhaps meant the northern parts of Germany ; for that Scan
dinavia, now comprehending the kingdoms of Sweden, Den
mark, and Norway, was, by the best writers of the middle
ages, stilcd Scytbia, is shewn by the learned UJberp, and Stil-
lingfleeti, of whom the latter admits, as not improbable, the
conjecture of Hec~tor Boetius, deriving the Bids from the Aga-
thyrfi, who, from Sarmatia, came into Cimbrica Cbcrfonefus ,
Whether and from thence into Scotland'. As no Roman author makes
thePi&s mention of the Pi£ls before Ammianus Marcellinus, who lived
and Bri about the end of the fourth century, some writers are of opi
tons one nion, that the Pitts were not a distinct people from the Bri
and the tons, but such of that nation as, to avoid the tyranny of the
fume peo Romans, had retired into the northern parts of the island,
ple. where continuing to paint their bodies, they were by the Ro
mans called Pitii, to distinguish them from those, who, sub
mitting to Rome, had laid aside that custom, and adopted the
Roman manners. To confirm this opinion, they allege the
authority of Camden, who, in his introduction, endeavours to
shew, that the names of places, formerly held by the Pitts in,
the south and west parts of Scotland, are Britijh ; and conse
quently, that one and the same was the language of the Bri
tons and Pitts. But that these two nations spoke different
languages, is manifest beyond dispute from Bede, who tells
us, that, in his time, God was served in five several lan
guages in Britain ; to wit, of the Angles, of the Britons, of the
Scots, of the Picls, and of the Latins ; which latter was com
monly used in divine worship '. Now this difference of lan
guage, which Bede, who lived so near a neighbour to the
Picls, could not be ignorant of, weighs down with us all the
1 Bed. 1. i. c. 1. •
(B) Thus Co-far. But from they were strangers to that lan-
hence we must not conclude, gaage. Sclden thinks the word
that they had any knowlege of Grœrcis has crept into the text,
the Greek tongue, since Cæsar the meaning of Cæsar being, that
himself, when he wrote to ^\ the Druids never committed
Cicero, besieged among the Ner- their learning to writing, but,
•vii, penned his letter in Greek, on all other occasions, made use
to prevent its giving, if inter- of letters ; which opinion doe9
cepted, any intelligence to the not appear to us ill-grounded,
enemy; .which plainly shews,
in
C. XXVII. The History os Britain. 7£
in verses, which they fung to the harp. The Bards were still
in Britain, after the Romans had intirely abandoned it.
The 6me form of government prevailed in Britain, as in?'be civil
Gaul; that is, the whole country was divided into several smalliesre
states, with an head over each, dignified by authors with the ""**<>/
name of king. Of these heads or kings, Cæsar mentions four ""tain,
in the small compass of Kent. Whether these states were here
ditary, or elective, we find no-where recorded. On great and
imminent dangers, one of these heads or kings was, in a general
assembly, and by common consent, chosen commander in chief
of all their forces. Thus, when Cæsar invaded the island, the
chief command of all the Briti/h forces was conferred upon Cas-
stbelanus; and when the Britons revolted in the time of Claudius,
Caraftacus, king of the Silures, was chosen general. As in,
other cases, the several states, into which Britain was divided,
had no dependence upon each other, they had, no doubt, quar
rels and contests among themselves. But of their affairs before
Casar's invasion we have no account, but such as may be
deemed fabulous ; and therefore at that period, and no higher,
ought the Englijh historian, as Camden well observes, to begin
his history.
That part of Britain, which comprehends the present Division
kingdom of England, and the principality of Wale's, was in an- °f tht
tient times divided into seventeen petty states, whereof the in- cotmtry.
habitants were distinguished by the following names, to wit,
the Danmonii, the Durotriges, the Belga, the Attrebatii, the
Regni, the Cantii, the Dobuni, the Cattieuchlani, the Trino-
bantes, the Iceni, the Coritani, the Cornavii, the Silures, the
Dimetæ, the Ordovices, the Briganles, the Ottadini. That part
of Britain, which extends a great way to the west, and is
bounded on the north by the Severn sea, on the south by the Bri
ti/h ocean, and on the west by St. George's chanel, was antiently
inhabited by those Britons, who are called by Solinus, Dunmtnii, The Dau
by Ptolemy, Domnonii, and, in the more correct copies, Dan- jnonii.
monii. In this tract, or, as we may call it, peninsula, now
comprehending the counties of Cornwall and Devon, the fol
lowing places are mentioned by Ptolemy5, to wit, the estuary
Vexalla, formed by the confluence of the two rivers Pedredus
and Ivellus, now the Parret and the ///; the promontory of
Hercules, about half-way between that estuary and another
promontory, called by Ptolemy Bolerium, and by Diodorus Sicu-
lus ', Belerium. The promontory Belerium, which is by Pto
lemy called also Ant'tvejlaum, is the most western point of Bri
tain, now known by the name of The Lan/Ts-end. Not far from
this (hoots out to the south the promontory Danmonium,oiOcri-
(1) Sown, fxrti andfont. p. 3, 4. (2) Viit Camd. Brit. p. 244. (3) Vide
hutan. /. vi. v. 67. Juven. fatir. iv. ver. iyj.3, Alison, parental, xviii. & dt ctar. wl.
Zos. I. iv. e. 25. 46. Amman- Marcel. I. xx. c. 1, & 1. XXvii. (, it. Tacit, -uit,
Agric. c. 38. (4) Juvcn. <jf Austn, ibid.
You. XIX. G famow
82 The Histcry os Britain. B. IV.
reckons Londinium, London, among the cities of the Cantii ; but
he was therein certainly mistaken. When the Roman govern
ment was established in Britain, the sea-coast of Kent, which
they termed litui Saxonicum, or the Saxon shore, had, from
the time of Diocleftan, a particular governor, called by Mar-
Count of cdUnus, count of the Jea-coajl, and by the Notitia, count of the
the sea- Saxon Jhore, whose province it was to prevent the barbarians,
coaji. especially the Saxons, who began then to infest Britain, from
plundering the country. In imitation of the Romans, our an
cestors set over this coast a governor or portreve, commonly
called the warden of the cinque ports, from his presiding over five
ports. Cæsar landed, when he invaded Britain, in the country
of the Cantii, and, as is commonly believed, at Deal, on the
twenty- sixth ok August, in the afternoon, fifty-four years before
the birth of Christ b. Cantium is parted from the continent by
a narrow sea, called by Solinus, Fretum Gallicum ; by Tacitus
and Ammianus Marcellinus, Fretum Oceani, and Oceanus Fre-
talis. Thus far of that part of Britain which is bounded by the
ocean, the Severn sea, and the river Thames.
Dobum. qn tne nortn flcje 0f tne shames, near its head, are placed
by Ptolemy the Dobuni, the antient inhabitants of Glocejlerjhire
and Oxfordshire. In their country that writer mentions but one
city, namely Corinium, called by Antoninus, so far as we can
conjecture from the distances set down in his itinerary, Duro-
cornovium, which stood in or near the place, where the present
town of Cirencejler stands. Two other places are taken notice
of by Antoninus, to wit, Altone, or Avone, and Clevum, or
Glevum, built by the Romans, as a curb upon the Silures, now
Alvington and Glocester. To the east of the Dobuni lay the
Catti- ^ country of the Catticuchlani, Calyeuchlani, Cattidudani, Catbi-
euchlani. cludani, as they are stiled in different copies of Ptolemy's works.
Dio calls them Cattuellani, and also Caffii. In their country,
which comprehended Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, and Hert
fordshire, the following places are named by Antoninus ; Laclo-
dorum, Bedford ; Magiovinium, Ajhwell ; Durocobrivis or Durt-
cobrivts, Hertford ; Pontes, placed in the itinerary twenty-two
miles from London ; and Verulamium, mentioned not only by An
toninus, but by Ptolemy, and all the Roman writers, who speak of
Britain. Camden conjectures Verulamium to have been the town
h Vide Halley philosoph. transact. N°. 193.
Avjonay
C XXVII. the History of Britain. 85
Aufona, or Avona, which name was, according to him, com
mon to the Nen and Avon m.
To the west of the Coritani were situated the Cornavii, who„Corna-
according to Ptolemy's description of their country, seem to have vii,
poslefled Warwick/hire, Worcester/hire, Stafford/hire, ShropJhirey
and Cheshire. Their chief towns were Branonium, or, as
Ptolemy caHs it, Branogenium, Worcester ; Presidium on the
Aufona or Avona, Warwick, where the prefect or commander
of the Dalmatian horse was posted, by the appointment of the1
fovernor of Britain, as we read in the Notitia ; Pennocrucivm,
'mkridge; Viroconinum or Uricomlum, as Ptolemy calls it, the
metropolis of the Cornavii, probably built by the Romans, when
they fortified the banks of the Severn, which is here fordable,
and no-where lower. It is now a small village, called Wrock-
tester. Out of its ruins rose the present town of Shrewsbury.
Deva, or Deuna, as Ptolemy calls it, on the river Deva, from
whence the town borrowed its name, now Chester. It was an-
tiently a Roman colony, and the station of the twentieth legion,
surnamed Viclrix. Condate, Congleton ; and Rutunium, now
Routon.
The principality of Wales, formerly comprehending theSilures.
whole country beyond the Severn, was, in the Reman times,
inhabited by the Silures, the Demetœ, and the Ordovicts. To
these belonged not only the twelve counties of Wales, but like
wise the two others lying beyond the Severn ; -to wit, Hereford
shire and Mortmouthfliire, now reckoned among the Englijh
counties- The Silures and Demeta, according to the description
Ptolemy givfs us of them, inhabited that part which is now
known by the name of South-Wales, and comprises the follow
ing counties, Radnorshire, Breckrjickpire, Clamorganjlnre, with
Herefordjlnre and Mcnncuthjhire. .As to the origin of the
people, Tacitus is of opinion, that they came originally from
Spain, on account of their ruddy complexion, their curled hair,
and their situation over-against that country. They were a
warlike people, of great intrepidity and resolution., utterly averse
to servitude, and great sticklers for their liberties, as will appear
from their wars with the Romans unJer Ostorius, Veranius, and
Julius Frontinus, who in the end subdued them. In Hereford-
Jbire stood Bletium, now the Old Town on ihe Munnv ; and
about three stiort miles west of the present city of Hertford,
near the village of Kenchester, Ariconium, mentioned by Anto
ninus. In this country are to be seen the vestiges of several Ro
man camps. In Brecknock/hire, towards the north, where it is
divided from Radnor/hire by the Wye, some place Bullaum Silu-
TWn j but others think it stood in Glamorgan/hire. Brecknock.,
■ Vide Camd. Brit. p. 404.
G 3 the
86 <Tht History of Britain. B. IV.
the chief town of the county, was inhabited in the Roman times,
as appears from several Roman coins found there, from a Ro
man brick discovered, with this inscription, Leg. II. Aug. and
from a square camp near this place, called by the natives Gaer,
that is, fortification.
Venta Si- JN Monmouthjhire, about three miles from Chepstow, which
lurum. stands near the fall of the Wye into the Severn, is placed by all
our antiquaries Venta Silurum, called to this day Kaer-wcnt,
that is, the city Venta ; but now only some ruins of it arc to be
seen. On the north-west border of the county stood Goban-
nimn, mentioned by Antoninus, at the confluence of the Ifca,
now IVyjk or VJk, and the Govenni ; whence it took the name
of Gobannium, which, with a small alteration, it retains to -this
day, being called Aber-Gavenni, that is, the confluence of the
Gavenni or Gobannium. About twelve miles from Gobannium,
Antoninus places Burrium, where the Birdhin or Birtbin falls
into the XJjk. This place is now known to the Welsh by the
name of Brynbiga, and to the Englijh by that of U/k. On the
other fide the U/k, twelve miles from Burrium, ' stood Jsca Silu
rum, where the second legion was stationed ; whence it is stiled
by Antoninus, Legio Secunda, and by the Britons to this day
Kaer-Lheion or KaerWyfk, that is, the city of the legion, or
of the rivers. The Legio Secunda, called also Britannica Se
cunda, was raised by Augustus, and removed out of Germany
into Britain by Claudius, under the conduct of Vespasian, to
Whom, upon his aspiring to the empire, it secured the British
legions. It was placed in garison at Jsca by Julius Frontinus
against the Silures; and long after that, that is, in the reign of
Valtntinian, translated from thence by count Theodostus, the fa
ther of Theodostus the Great, to Rutupia, as we read in the No-
titia, and in Marcellinus'" . At Ifca Silurum, many monu
ments of antiquity have been discovered, as the reader will find
in Camden °. The most southern county, formerly belonging to
the Silures, is Glamorgan/hire, where, at a small distance from
the Remney, which divides it on the east from Monmouthshire,
is to be seen Kaer philycastk, in the opinion of Camden, the most
noble and antient piece of architecture remaining in Britain.
That this castle was built by the Romans, seems highly probable,
though we have no other reason to conclude it Roman, but the
statelinefs of its structure, no Roman inscriptions, statues, coins,
or other monuments of antiquity, having ever been discovered
there. Camden thinks it was the Bullaum Silurum^ of which
we have spoken above.
(;) Strabo, Hi. p. 13S. (6) Cas. I. v. r. ix. (7) Suet, is Clad.
c.4. -
2 OUT
C. XXVII. The History of Britain: 33
our best antiquaries, placed between Solwayrsrith-aad Tinmouth ;
and truly, considering its extent, it caa be placed no-where else.
This wall or rampart (for some writers stile it murus, and
vallum) was made, fays Spartian, in modum muralis sepisy or
Jepti, that is, after the warmer ofa mural hedge, with large stakes
fixed deep in the ground,, and fastened together. Upon it stood
Pans Ælia, perhaps Pont- Eland in Northumberland, ClaJJis Ælia%
Cohan Ælia, and Ala Sabiniana, which took their names from
Ætius Adrianus,. and his wife Sabina. In the reign of Antoni
nus Pius, the successor of Adrian, the Brigantes revolted ; but
Lollius Urbicus, then governor of Britain, having overcome
them, and driven back the barbarians, built another wall of
turf or earth, soys Capito/inus in the life of Antoninus Pius z.
As no antient writer mentions the place where this second Antoni-
wall was builr,ir is impossible to determine it with any certainty. nusV
Some learned antiquaries, whom we have followed in our Ro-wH-
man history *, place it between the friths of Forth and Clyde.
Hut Camden and Brietius, upon the authority of a very antient
chorographica] table, are of opinion, that it began at the mouth
of the Taus or Tweed, and was carried southward to the head
of the Efk in EJkdale, so as to secure the east coast, and inclose
part of the country of the Ottadini. Upon second thoughts, this
opinion does not seem to us improbable, since Antoninus begins
his itinerary from the mouth of the Tweed, as the most northern
boundary, at that time, of the Roman empire. The first wall
was built, according to our best chronolo^ers, in the year of
the Christian aera 125. the fourth of Adrian's reign, Glabrio
and "torquatus beinz then consuls; and the other in 142. the
third of Antoninus Pius, then consul with Marcus Aurelius An
toninus b.
That a third wall was built by the emperor Sevens, isSeverusY
plain from Spartian, who, in the life of that prince, tells us, -wall.
that he secured Britain with a wall carried on crofe the island
from sea to sea ' (E). The hithermost wall was, as we have
observed
1 Cafit«l. in Anton. Pio, c. 5. » Vide Univers. hist. vol.
xv. p. 201. b Vide Alford, annal. p. 108, & 116. ' Start.
in vit. Sever, c. 18.
(E) There is a great disagree- before. Bat. we cannot help
raent among antiquaries about disagreeing herein with that
the place where this wall was learned antiquary, since Eutro-
bnilt. Camden maintains, that pius, in the life of Sfwnw,writes, ■.'
Sevtrui'i wall was raised in the that he built a wall thirty-two
lame place, where Adrian had miles in length, reaching from
creeled his about eighty years sea to. sea; whereas Adrians wall
extended
54: she History os Britain. B. IV.
, observed already, built by Adrian^ not with stone, but turf or
earth, and defended by a rampart, and {harp slakes driven deep
into the ground. However, it is certain, that afterwards a
stone wall was built in the fame place ; but when, or by what
Remains ^emperor, we cannot determine. The remains of this wall were
a stone still to be seen in Camden's time (F). On the north side of the
•wall.
extended eighty, to wit, from cola secured with castles and sons
Soliuay-fritb to Tinmouth. Be placed at convenient distances,
sides, we cannot persuade our that the forces might easily draw
selves, that Se-verus, after having together upon the first apprehen
overcome in several battles the sion of danger. In building af
barbarians, after having marched terwards the wall, those who
from one end of the island to the were employed in the work, took
other, and been at an immense the most direct line ; which must
trouble and charge, not to men be the cause why some of the
tion the loss of fifty thousand forts are at a distance from it.
men, in draining marshes, cut They began it where the rivers
ting down woods, and making are narrow, and carried it along
highways, should haveabandoned the neck of land between the
so extensive a country, which friths. It begins between the
Agricola had formerly reduced, Shteensferry and Abereorr., and,
and Antoninus inclosed with a for the space of thirty-six Scots
wall, and this at a time when miles, runs westward to Dutitbri-
the enemies of Rome were quite ton, with a great ditch on the
despirited, and suing for peace. north side of the wall, and many
Jt must therefore be placed on square fortifications in the form
the isthmus between the friths of a Roman camp. It is called
of Forth and Clyde; and indeed, by the inhabitants of the neigh
if it was but thirty-two miles in bouring country Graham's dyke.
length, it could stand in no other (F) That learned antiquary-
part of the whole island, that traced it with great care, and,
was ever possessed by the Ro according to the account he gives
mans. But the hithermost wall, us of it, it began at Blatobulgium,
fays Camden, is still called Gual or Bulness, on the Irijh sea, kept
Setter, that is, Severus's wall. along the side of Solntiay-frith by
May not those, who call it so, Burgh-uson-sands to Lugo<vallum,
be mistaken ? Is it not well now Carlisle, where it passed the
known, that many appellations, Ituna or Eden. Thence it was
or, as we may stile them, tradi carried on cross the little river
tions, of this nature, when nar of Cambeck, where the ruins of
rowly examined, prove quite a great castle were to be seen.
groundless, ? Such is this, if we Afterwards passing the rivers
believe the Scots writers, who, Irtbing and Poltrofe, it entered
as Camden himself observes, have Northumberland, and thro' those
always called the hithermost wall mountains along the river South'
Adrian's wall. The neck of Tine, was continued by a bridge
land between the two friths of over North-Tine, and ended at
Forth and Clyde is not above six \2n&German ocean.
teen miles over. This tract Agri
wall
C. XXVII. tte History of Britain. 95
wall was a ditch twelve yards broad. In some places it is fix
yards deep, hewn out of the solid rock. The wall itself was
about eight feet thick, and in very few places built upon that
of Adrian, Camdpn takes this to be the wall, that was built by
the Romans about the middle of the fifth century, upon their
abandoning the island. But one legion only was then sent over,
and that was soon after recalled : and could one legion, in a very
short time, and in great haste to return, build, even with the
assistance of the Britons, a stone wall eight feet in breadth,
twelve in height, and eighty miles in length ? This to us seems
incredible, and therefore we are inclined to think, that this last
wall was built upon that of Sevsrus between Bodotria andGhta,
where, in Buchanan's time, were discovered the remains of a
stone wall d. This is the opinion of the learned Vjher, who
maintains, that Bedt was mistaken in placing the last wall be
tween the Eden and the Tine r. The last legion, sent to the
assistance of the Britons, drove out the barbarians with great
slaughter, and recovered the country they had seized. Is it
therefore probable, that, abandoning such a vast tract to the
enemy, they would have chosen to build a wall eighty miles in
length, though in great haste to return to the continent, when
they might have inclosed a much larger country with a wall not
half so long?
But, of all the noble works in Britain, the famous one ofStone-
Stonehinge in IViltjhirt is justly esteemed by all antiquaries the henge, a
most antient, as well as the most curious* both for the stupendous druiayb
size and the elegant disposition of the stones that form that ra-'u""'*»
brie, and of which we promised in a former chapter f to give our
readers such an account, as might help them to form an idea of
the excellent taste of those druids, who were the projectors and
conductors of it ; and might serve to shew the nature and design
of all other works of this kind, that are extant in any parts of
Europe (G), where they bore any sway ; and herein we shall
make
6 Bvchak. rer. Scot. 1. iv. sub rege 27. ' Uss. rer. Brit,
p. 1024, 1027. f See vol. xviii. p. 559, 560.
(G) Though there are many are to be seen in all the island*
of these to be found in Germany, between Scotland and Ireland, in
France, Spain, Brabant, Holland, the isle ot Man, in all the Ori-
&c. yet they are no-where so nrys, and are numerous in Jrt-
frequent sa in these Britijb isles, land; and all pretty near after
even, as our author observes, the fame design, being generally
from the very Land's endin Com- arches of rude stones, of different
•wall to the utmost promontory diameters, upon elevated ground,
in Scotland, where the Roman open heaths and downs, and
power never reached. They chiefly mndeof stones taken from
the
96 The History os Britain. & IV.'
make ho difficulty to follow a late learned author's description of
it in every cafe but that we have formerly excepted its being a
Britijh temple, seeing it is, in all other respects, the most exact
and accurate we have ; tho' we shall refer those who desire a
fuller account of it, to his late elaborate description here
cited 8.
end net The name of Stonehenge, being of Saxon extract, and sig
built by nifying barely an heap of hanging or gallows stones, is so con
either temptible a one for so noble a work, that it plainly shews it to
Saxof|s or have been reared long before their coming into England. Had
Danes. they been the builders of it, or capable of judging of the mag
nificence of that work, or had any traces of its builders, and
their design in it, remained in their time, they would doubtless
have called it by a much more honourable name. The antient
Britons, in the time of the Romans invading them, spoke of it
only by long and immemorial tradition, and as of a work far
above human power; and called it, in their language, Choir
Ghaur, which some interpret the choir or dance ofgiants, on
The notion account of a general notion that ran through all those countries,
of in be where such heaps of vast stones were set up, that it was done by
ing a Ro giants, though others, more absurdly, ascribed it to the assistance
man tern' of dæmons, probably from the reputation which the druids were
fie con in for their skill in magic, and by the help of which they were
futed. supposed to have reared those stupendous piles in the form they
Why call stood ; though our author very judiciously observes, that Chtir
ed by the Ghaur might be more properly rendered the grand choir, as
Eiitons it exceeded all other works of this kind in bignese, and, not un
Choir likely, indignity, on account of the archdruid, or of his holding
Ghaur. his grand assembly of all the inferior ones in this place. This
« Stukeley Stonehenge.
(8) See before, vol. xii. p. 49+,S'/»f . (9) Fid. rt'ig. detGaul. lii.'u cap. 13.
KejxUr anti-j. J'ftenir, tit.
etymon
C. XXVII. tie History of Britain; 97
etymon is altogether suitable to the grandeur of the fabric, and
the design of it, whether we suppose it, with our author, to ■
have been a temple, or, as seems more probable to us, for some
other public use, in either of which it appears equally grand and
noble. And this will go a great way to convince us,, that it
never was reared by the Romans ; for the antient Britons would
hardly have given such a grand name to a fabric of theirs, in
their own language : but our author has taken a much more
effectual way to convince us, that it could be none of their work, ,
much less such an one as our famed architect Inigo Jones (if he >-M&0^
really was the author of that plan and performance which Mr. Jones '
Webb published under his name, and has been so amply confuted * "*. °l\
by Dr. Cbarlten h and Keyzler) has endeavoured to prove it, and 7
in which he asserts it to be a round Roman temple, like the Pan-
tbeon (H).
Dr. Charlton, though he fully exploded that notion, Dr.Charl-
yet failed in proving his own, which attributed it to the Danes \ ton ' P°~
upon which he was soon after confuted by Olaus Vormius ', there "*" """
being really no such monuments to be found among the Gothic^ '
nations. Besides, this of Stonebenge is mentioned in some ma
nuscripts of Ninnius, who wrote two hundred years before they
set soot in Britain ; all which is a sufficient confutation of its
being a Danijh work. Keyzler, for want of being thoroughly KeizJcr
acquainted with our Britijb antiquities, after having confuted ""sited.
the notion of Inigo Jones, of its being a Roman temple, or having
any relation to public worship, and the vulgar error of its being
built by giants, or by magic art, or of its being some old broken
remains of the flood (I), endeavours to prove it a sepulcral mo
nument
h Chorea gigant. • Fast. & monument. Danic.
(0 Stf vsl. xviii. />. 638. ' (2) Sc ml. vi. *. 67, Sfs'J- •
Hi -:*»*:
ioo The History of Britain. B. IV.
TbtcinS- The whole is inclosed within a circular ditch, which being
ure and crossed, one ascends thirty-five yards before be comes to the
area. work; (b that the area, as it is inclosed by the ditch, is three
times the diameter of the building; and therefore the distance
from the ditch within- fide, quite round, to the fabric, is equal
to the diameter of the fabric. When you enter the building,
whether on foot or horseback, you are struck with astonishment
- at the sight of the vast stones, whether you view those that are
still standing in their antient site, or those which lean forward,
and are ready to fall, or those which lie down, and by their im
mense weight have crushed a number of others under them,
Altar- especially that which our author supposes to have been the altar-
fioit- stone (M), and is broken into three large pieces by the fall of
one of the large architraves. What increases the wonder, espe
cially to a man versed in these antique works, is, that, among
those dreadful dilapidations, in which every stone lies, like the
carcase of a giant, with a number of horrid ruins under it, there
remains still as much of it undemolished^ as enables one to re
cover an idea of what it was when in its perfect state, and
enough of every part to give one a notion of the whole. To all
this we may add the beautiful contrast, which the view of the
inside gives you, when joined to the vast and beautiful prospect of
Pfi/peSt the country about it. The one, if you look up to those huge
/"•"• -stones, and the vast ponderous imposts over them, the chasm of
atone- fljy between tne jambs of the cell or inner circuit, you imagine
enSe- you see whole quarries mounted in the air ; and if upon the rude
havock below, it looks like the bowels of a mountain turned
inside out. The other gives you a most spacious and variegated
prospect of the country round about, bounded only by the ho
rizon. One of them is what they call Vespasian's camp ; a beau-
but little opinion of, and rather numbers in all those solemnities,
mentions their account of it to and an altar cannot but be sup-
confute them, than to rectify his posed to have been fixed in some
own by them. We confess, that convenient part of the building ;
he has very judiciously exploded but why so close to one part of
both their notions, as well as all the cell or nich as Mr. Jones has
those other vulgar ones, which made it, and not in the centre,
ascribe the rearing of this odd where Keyxler would rather have
edifice, as he thinks it, to any it, this reason may be well enough
hut the antient Britons. assigned, that it is most likely
(M) And so it may really have to have stood where we find the
been, let the fabric be supposed huge fragments still lying, and
a temple, a sepukral monument, crushed by one of the large im-
a grand court or council, or any posts falling upon it ; for, had it
thjng of the like nature, seeing stood in the centre, it would have
that, as we have observed be- bten out of the reach of it, and
fore, sacrifices were used in great have remained whole to this time.
<■ - tiful
C. XXVII. fie History of Britain.' *oi
tiful prospect it is! another the antient hippodrome, or place
for horse and chariot-races ; a third the grand avenue to the
fabric, which, as our author supposes, begins some miles from
it. The plain is here-and-there interspersed with a vast number
of mounts, or, as they are called, barrows, some larger than **' br
others. The largest of them is inclosed about with a ditch an r°™s or
hundred cubits in diameter. These are set thicker and closer in u'yint'
one place, and thinner at another ; and, upon digging some of' "
them up, there have been found human bones, urns, and some
kinds of beads, and other pieces of glass, crystal, jet, amber,
and such-like female trinkets, of different colours and metals ; as
also some swords, hatchets, and other weapons ", have been Weapmt,
dugout of them ; which, plainly shew them to have been burying- and other
places; but whether of the antient Britons, Romans, Saxons, 't'"^,
or Danes, is not easy to determine, though the first seems most '&' '"*
probable upon one account, which the reader will find in the*' m'
note (N). These barrows,however,are so thick about the neigh
bourhood
■ Stonehenge restored, p. 10, 43,&seq.
(N) The author observes, that Gauls, that their drujds used one
the •via Icenia, or Ikening-ftrert, made of gold for that purpose (4).
a road made by the Romans, which In one of the female barrows
reached from Norfolk into Dor- was found, besides some other
fttjbire, infringes upon one of ornaments and trinkets, the head
those barrows, and crosses some of a j avelin of brass, at the socket
part of it ; from which it is rea of which were two holes for the
sonable to conclude, that these pins, that fastened it to the staff,
barrows were older than that and a (harp bodkin, round at
road (3). one end, and square at the other,
Besides those human and other where it went into an handle.
bones, and materials, which have Some of the trinkets seem to have
been digged out of these bar been originally coverci with me
rows, there was a broad sword tal ; and one of them had still a
taken out of one, and sent to thin film of gold : all which suf
Oxford; in another was found a ficiently shew this barrow to have
weapon of the fame metal like a been the sepulcre of some he
pole-ax, which weighed twenty roine.
pounds, and given to colonel Those materials, as well as the
Wyndham; out of a third was bones, appear to have suffered
dug a brass instrument, called the sire in some, though not in
celt, and is supposed to have be others. In some likewise the
longed to some druid, and to ashes were deposited in a small
have been used for cutting the urn of reddish earth unburnt ;
misleto off the oaks. We have and, in other?, the bodies were
taken notice in the history of the buried at full length, generally
being
C. XX-VII. The History os Britain. 107
being between twenty and twenty-one feet high, and lessening
a little upwards to the top, and the cornice computed about
three feet and an half, making up the complement of twenty-four
feet. These imposts, on the outward face, bore the fame sweep Form os
with the oval which they composed ; but on the inside within'**""/0/*'
a strait line. They seem likewise to have been somewhat broader
on the top than at the bottom ; so that their sides bear a little
flant downwards, whether to preserve them the better from the
weather, or to make up the shortening, which is caused by their ;
elevation from the sight. The gradual ascent of these three Height and
orders, as they may be termed, of trilithons, is, according to breath of
our author ', thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen druidish cubits. The the tiili-
breadth of each trilithon is computed, in a medium, about ten ibons.
cubits of the lame measure, and is consequently the length at
least of the impost. Each upright is about three feet nine inches
thick, and twice that, j. e. seven feet and an half in breadth,.or
four cubits and an half druidish. Each trilithon, which com
poses this oval cell, stands at such convenient distance from the
other, as to yield a beautiful prospect into it, which is not a Dimen-
little heightened by the space which stands between the two/""' ofthe
uprights, and which widens upwards, as these lessen in their *"*$*•
breadth, and form an oval from its two centres, whose longest
radius is fifteen, and shortest twelve, druidish cubits ; so that
the ellipsis is formed by a line of sixty cubits ; which, being
joined at the two ends, and turned round the two centres, give
a diameter of thirty cubits at the longest, and twenty-five at the
shortest, five cubits being the supposed distance between the two
centres (R).
This was the figure and greatness of that which Mr. Jones
called the cell, and our author the adytum or the concha of the
supposed temple, and which we have taken the more pains in
• P. 26.
s describing,
'ioS Tie History of Britain. B. IV.
describing, as it is indeed the grandest part of the whole. As
for the remainder of the structure, though it bears an exact
and beautiful proportion with it, we {hall content ourselves with
mentioning the most remarkable parts of each, without entering
into a detail of all the particulars. Within this grand oval, is
LfJser another of much lesser, though harder and finer stones. This
*™i. , circle (together with the long stone now broken, which is sup-
*""'" posed to have been the altar, and is of a darkish-blue marble,
great one. j-^ as js 0ften rgi Up0n common altar-tombs, and about sixteen
feet in length) consists of twenty stones, the greatest part of
which are broken and mangled ; but not so much as to hinder
a curious observer from recovering the order in which they stood,
though their use and design is hard to be guessed at. Another
circle or oval of forty stones surrounded the cell or adytum at a
proper distance. These were likewise of a much lefler size ;
aster which one comes out to the greatest or outer circle, com
posed of thirty stones, likewise harder, and somewhat of a
pyramidal form. It seems as if the sounders had wisely pro.
vided, that their lesser bulk should be compensated by their so-
Difference lidity. The difference between this outward circle, and that
between of the cell or adytum, consisted in this, that the architraves of
them. the trilithons of the latter did not touch one another, but pre
served the same distance with the two uprights, on which they
were locked ; whereas, in the former or outward circle, tlie
standers were joined by a continued cornice. Each stander or
upright here had two tenons, at equal distances on the top, by
which the two imposts were locked by their mortises, and so
continued quite round, in the form of a crown or cornice. The
The val- whole was surrounded by a vallum or deep ditch at a propor-
lumor tionate distance, as we have hinted above; and this, with the
<?'' grand avenue, and the gradual ascent up to the fabric, afforded
r°"/', ' ' a noble prospect, both as you advanced towards it, and much
more when you viewed from it all the champaign country
round it.
And thus much (hall suffice for us to fay on this stupendous
Britijh fabric, which has astonished and puzzled all the archi
tects, antiquaries, and curiosoes, that have either seen or read
of it. We hope, that the accurate author, from whom we have
taken the most considerable and curious part of this account, wiH
not take it amhs, that we have not followed his hypothesis of its
having been a druidish temple, when he considers the reasons
we have given for our asserting, that neither Gauls, Germans^
nor antient Britons, had ever any such buildings, till long after
their being conquered by the Romans, and being forced to in
troduce a foreign religion amongst them, that is, the worship
of Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, and a great number of other in
ferior deities.
The
C XXVII. rbe History of Britain. 109
The three walls, which we have spoken of above, were, in Britannia
different times, the boundaries of the Roman empire, dividing Superior
Britannia Romana from Britannia Barbara; which last appella- ""^ lo
tion they gave to that part of Britain which was not subject to*er'or-
Rome. Britannia Romana was divided into Britannia Superior,
and Britannia Inferior, or Upper and Lower Britain. The for
mer reached from the Chanel at least as far as Chester, compre
hending both England and Wales, as they are now sliled ; fory
on one hand, we read in Die CaJJius, that the legiosecunda Au
gusta was quartered in Upper Britain w ; and on the other, in
Ptolemy, that it had its station at I/ca Silurum, now Caer Lheon,
about four miles from the Severn in Monmouthjhire x. Tha
fame Dio CaJJius tells us, that the Legio vige/ima, called likewise
Valeriana and Vitlrix, was quartered in Upper Britain ; and
both Ptolemy and Antoninus determine the place, to wit, Deva,
now Chester, on the Deva, now the Dee. The Legio fexta
Vitlrix is placed by Dio CaJJius in Lower Britain \ and by Anto-
, ninus, as well as by Ptolemy, at Eboracum or York, which, as it
is plain from hence, stood in Lower Britain. Under this divi
sion was comprised only that part of Britain which was subject
to the Romans, the other more northern part being by them di
stinguished with the name of Britannia Barbara. This division
owed, without all doubt, its origin to the emperor Severus,
who, having settled the affairs of Britain, divided it, as we read
in Htrodian 1, into two prefectures. Before that prince's reign,
no mention is made of any division of Britain ; and Ptolemy,
•who divides Germany, Pannonia, and Mcefia, into Upper and
Lower, takes no notice of any such division in his description of
Britain ; a convincing proof, that, when he wrote, that is, in
the reign of Marcus Antoninus, this division was not yet intro
duced. If Severus was, as he seems to have been, the author of
this division, Britannia Inferior extended to the isthmus between
Glota and Bodotria, where he built a wall, parting Britannia
Romana from Britannia Barbara.
Britannia Romana, comprehending the Upper andBritain
Lower Britain, was first divided, probably by Constantine the divided
Great, into four governments ; to wit, Britannia Prima, Bri- int0 fe'
tannia Secunda, Flavia Ctefaritnfis, and Maxima Cœsariensis.i1""""
Britannia Prima lay between she Chanel on one side, and the'*"'""
Thames and the Severn on the other ; Britannia Secunda reached
from the Severn to the Irijb sea ; Flavia Cafarienfts was in
closed by the Themes, the Severn, and the Humber ; and Maxi
ma Cafarienfts extended from the Humber to Adrian's wall. To.
these was added afterwards the province of Valentia, probably so
'•DioCass. I. K-. p. 564. *Ptol. l.'ii. c.3. rHi-
*Pdia*, 1, hi. c, 8. I
1 called
no the History of Britain. B. IV.
called by the emperor Valentinian from his brother Valens ; for*
in the reign of Valentinian, this country, extending from
Adrian's wall to the friths of Bodotria and Glota, was recovered
by "fheodof.us, father to the emperor of that name. This division
we have copied from the breviary which Sextus Rufus wrote,
and dedicated to t\]e emperor Valentinian. Of this work, some
imperfect copies leave out Flavid Cajarienfis j and one of these
Camden has followed.
the firm Each of these provinces had its particular magistrate, some a
cs the consular, others only a prases or president. They were all, ac
Roman cording to the Notitia, subject to the vicarius of Britain, as he
govern was to the prmfeclus prtetorio of Gaul, one of the four prafcEii
ment in prætorio instituted by Conjlant'ne. The vicar of Britain had
Britain.
several officers under him, for the better and more expeditious ad
Their ci
vil go ministration of civil affairs ; to wit, his princeps or lieutenant j
vern a cornicularius, who published the sentences and decrees of the
ment. vicar and other magistrates, and was so called from cornu, znforn,
with the sounding of which he commanded silence in the court;
two numerarii or accountants, whose province it was to set
down die sums of the public revenues ; a commentarienfis or gaol
er, so called from the commentaria or kalendarsof the prisoners,
which he kept, and delivered to the judges ; officers called alt
atlis, that is, public notaries, who wrote testaments, contracts,
and other instruments ; secretaries called de cura, and it curd
tpijiolarum, whose office it wns to write and fend letters and di
spatches from the governors of the provinces to the emperor, of
to each other. Besides a great number of petty officers, to wit,
informers, pursuivants, apparitors, tsfe. the vicar had under him
the governors of the five above-mentioned provinces, who were
three presidents, and two confulars ; for by presidents were go
verned Britannia Prirna, Britannia Secunda, and Flavia Casa-
rienjis ; and the other two, Maxima Casarienfts and Valentia^
by confulars ; as appears from the Notitia, and was agreeable to
the custom of the Romans, who, on the decline of the empire,
committed to confulars the care of those provinces only, that,
lying next to the enemy, were most exposed to their attempts.
The vicar had the power of reversing the judgments and decrees
of the other governors ; and with the fame power was the pra-
fettus praterio of Gaul vested, with respect to the judgments and
decrees of the vicar. The ensigns of the vicar's office were a
book of mandates in a green cover, and five castles placed on the
triangular form of the island, with the names of the five above-
mentioned provinces which they represented *.
By the vicar, and the governors of the five provinces under
him, was the civil government administred. As to the inili-
7 Vide Pakcirol. in notit. imperil.
tary,
C. XXV1I/ tbe History of Britain.' ut
tary, it was executed by three chief officers under the magtfler
militum of the west ; to wit, the comes Britanniarum, the comes
litoris Saxonici, and the dux Britanniarum. No mention is Comes
made in the Notitia of the troops under the command of the Britannia-
count of Britain, nor of the places under his jurisdiction ; but rum.
as the other two commanded on the coasts, and in the northern
parts of Britain , as anhears from the places where their forces
were quartered, we conclude from thence, that the inland and
south part of the island was subject to his command. The comes Comes
litoris Saxonici, or count of the Saxon shore, whose province it litoris
was to cover the eastern coast lying over-against Germany, and Saxonici.
prevent the Saxon pirates from ravaging the country, had no
fewer than eight prapostti under his command, and one tri
bune; to wit, the prapositus or csmmander of the numerus or
cohort of the Fortenjies, quartered at Othona, thought to be
Hajiings ; the prapositus of the Tungricani at Dubris or Dover ;
the prapositus of the Turnacenses at Lemanis or Lime ; the pra
positus of- the Branodunenfes, who were Dalmatian horse, at
Branodunum or Brancajier in Norfolk ; the prapositus of the
Stablesian horse at Gariannonum or Ca/lor, near Yarmouth ; the
prapositus of the second legion, called Augusta, quartered at Ru-
tupia or Richborough ; the prapositus of the Abulci at Anderida
or Newenden ; and the prapositus of the exploratores, whose
office it was to discover the state and motions of the enemy, at
Pcrtus Adurni, or Ederingion in Suffix. The tribune com
manded under the prapositus of the legion.
The dux Britanniarum had under him fourteen prapostti ; DuxBri-
to wit, the prapositus of the sixth legion quartered at York or tannia-
Eboracum ; the prapositus of the Dalmatian horse at Prasidium, rum.
or Patrington in Holierness ; the prapositus of the Crispian horse
at Danurn or Doncafltr ; the prapositus of the Catafraclarian
horse at Morb'mm, perhaps Moresby in Cumberland; the praposi
tus of the Barcarii Tigritensts at Arbeia or Jerby in the fame
county ; the prapositus of the Nervii Diclenses at Diclis or Di-
ganzvy in Caernarvonshire ; the prapositus of the Vigiles or scouts
at Concangii or Kendal in Westmorland ; the prapositus of the
Exploratcres at Lavatres or Z?<w« in Torkjhire ; the prapositus of
the Direcli at Vetera or Burgh- upon-Stanmore in Westmorland ;
the prapositus of the Desensores at Broconiocum or Bougham in
the fame county ; the prapositus of the Sa/«»/« at Magona,
thought by Camden to be Machleneth in Montgomeryshire ; the
frapositus of the Pacenses at <W<7£i or Otf Radnor ; the praposi
tus of the Longonicarii at Longonicus or Langcheffer, in the bi-
shoprick of Durham ; and lastly, the prapositus of the Derventio-
nensis, so called from Derventio, where they were quartered, a
town upon the Derwcnt, seven miles from Kr/f, thought to be
AuldJy.
m The History of Britain. B. IV.
Auldby. All these prapstti are named in the Notitia, with the
places where they were quartered.
A etuird Besides the above-mentioned forces, a strong guard or
kept on watch was kept on the wall, or, as the Notitia expresses it,
the wall, along the line of the wall, per lineam valli. Here was posted
the tribune of the fourth cohort of the Largi, at a place'called
Segodunum, now Seaton, on the sea-coast of Northumberland.
The tribune of the cohort of the Comeniih&d his station at Pens
Æiii or Portland in Northumberland. This bridge was probably
made by order of the emperor Ælius Adrianus. The tribune of
the ala of the Ajlores was quartered at Condercum or Chester-
upon-the-Jheet, in the bifhoprick of Durham. Next to him
was stationed the tribune of the first cohort of the Frixagi at
Vindobala, as we read in the Notitia, or Vindomora, as it isstiled
in the itinerary, the former name importing, in the Britijb
language, finis muri, and the latter finis valli ; and hence the
place is now called the WaWs-end, in Northumberland, the river
Tine serving;, perhaps, instead of a rampart, from this place to
the sea. The prefectt.of the ala Saviniana was posted at Hun-
jutm, which Camden conjectures to be Seven/hale in the fame
county. The prefect of the second ala of the Astoreshy at Ci-
hirnum, which some take for Cillerford, and some for Scilicester-
en-the wall, likewise in Northumberland. The tribune of the
first cohort of the Batavi was stationed at Procolitia, according
to some, Colchester upon the "Tine. The tribune of the first co
hort of the Tungri was quartered at Borcovicus or Berwick in
Northumberland. The tribune of the fourth cohort of the
Gauls at Vindofoni, or Winchester-onthe-wall. The tribune of
the first cohort of the Ajlores at Æsica, thought to be Netherfy
on the Efk in Cumberland. The tribune of the second cohort of
the Dalmata at Magni, a place without all doubt near the
wall, and not Radnor, called by the same name. The tribune
of the first cohort Ælia at Amboglanna, according to some, Wil-
hford in Cumberland, according to Camden, Amblefide in West
morland. The prefect of the ala Petriana.it Perith in Cum
berland. The præsect of the Mauri Aureliani at Aballaba, or
jlpleby in Westmorland. The tribune of the second cohort of
the Largi at Congavata, or Rose-castle near Carliste in Cumber-
land. The tribune of the cohort of the Nispani at Axelodunumy
now Hixham in Northumberland. The tribune of the second
cohort of Thracians at Gabrosentum, Gate/head, close to New
castle. The tribune of the first cohort, called Ælia CLijfica,
at Tunnocellum or Tinmouth. This cohort, Camden thinks, was
employed in naval affairs, induced thereunto by the surname of
Clajfica given it in the Notitia.
That
C. XXVII. The History of Britain; iij
that the Romans kept some vessels on the Tine, to hinder Seme -vef-
the Caledonians from making descents on their territbriesj is riot felt kept by
improbable; for that they maintained a fleet in the ports bf^'Ro-
this island, is manifest from a law still extant in the pandects, mans on
wherein mention is made by Javolenus of one Seius Saturninus, *™ Tine.
archigubernus, or admiral, of the Britijh fleet ». The tribune
of the first cohort of the Morini was stationed at Qlannobcmta,
thought by Camden to have stood on the Wentjbeek in Cumber
land. The tribune of the third cohort of the Nervii at Alione\
now IVhitlcj -cajlle in Wejlmorland. The cuneus of the Arma-
turte is placed by the Notitia at Brementuracum, a station near
the wall, and not in the neighbourhood of Prejlon in Lanca
shire, sixty miles distant from the wall, as Camden would have
it. The prefect of the first ala Herculea had his station at
Olenacum, or Ellenberougb in Cumberland, where many monu
ments of antiquity have been discovered. The tribune of the
sixth cohort of the Nervii is mentioned last of all in the Notitia,
and plactd at Verofidium, thought to be Werrwich upon the
Bden, near Carlile. All these forces Were appointed to defend
the limit, that isj to secure the Wall, under the command of
the dux Britanniarum. These three officers, to wit, the comes
Britanniarum, the comes litbris Saxonici, and the dux Britan
niarum, were equal in power, but subordinate to the vicar.
The forces maintained in Britain, under the two latter officers,
amounted; according to Pancirolus, to nineteen thousand two
hundred foot* and seventeen hundred horse. Of the troops
under the tomes Britanniarum, We find no accouht in the No
titia; Pancirolus thinks, because the greater part of the island
was then in the power of the barbarians. But this reason might
have served against enumerating the forces under the two other
.commanders ; for, at the very time the Notitia was compiled,
the Britons were, by frequent embassies, soliciting the empe
ror, and his officers in Gauli for aid ; which they could not
have -wanted, had the fourth part of the troops, set down in
the Notitia, been quartered towards the wall. In the times
before the Notitia, no mention is made of the comes Britannia
rum, but only of the dfix, and the antes trdilus maritimi;
called comes litoris Saxonici, whert the Saxon pirates began to
infest the coasts. The first vicar of Britain we find mentioned
In history, and probably the first who, with that title, governed
here, is Pacatianus, to whom We find an edict directed irt
3 1 9. enacting, that one decurio should not be bound to pay the
taxes that Were due from another k. The authority of the
count of the Saxon shore was thought to have been confined
. » Pand. SC. ad Trebell. "> Lib. ii. de exact. Cod. Theod.
lib. xii. tit. 7. dat. 12 calend. Decemb. A.D. 319.
Vol.. XIX. I within
1 14 The History of Britain." B. IV.
within Britain, till it was, by the learned Selden, extended
to the opposite coasts of Cimbria, Batavia, Belgica, and Ar-
morica c j for to them he finds the name of litus Saxonicum
given by the writers of those times, no doubt, from their be
ing infested by the Saxon pirates.
"Ensigns of The count of Britain had for his ensigns a book of man-
the Ro- dates, and the island represented in a triangular form : the
man offi- count 0f the Saxon shore a purple book, with nine castles, re-
ctrs here. prefenting the nine places where the prapo/iti and tribune un-
• der his command were quartered : and the dux likewise a pur
ple book, with the fourteen places where the prefects under
him were stationed. Of these munitions or forts, fourteen
have over them the names we have mentioned ; but the first
has only the v/otdfextœ, signifying, we suppose, the station of
the sixth legion, which was quartered at Tori ; whence that
city is stiled by Antoninus, in his itinerary, Eboracum legiosex-
ta ; and, in a coin of Severus, Col. Eboracum Legio vi. Vi-
ftrix. If the power and jurisdiction of the count of the Saxon
shore had extended to the opposite coasts of Gaul and Germany,
as Selden maintains, mention would have been made in the
Notitia of the forces under his command in those places ; but,
as the Notitia is quite silent upon that head, and, in the en
signs of that officer, we find only the names of nine Britijh
towns or garisons, we conclude from thence, that his autho
rity was confined to this island. His troops were quartered in
several towns or stations along the coast from Kent to the most
northern p2rt of Norfolk. The more northern coasts, and that
facing Ireland, with the inland countries in those parts, were
under the jurisdiction of the dux Eritanniarum ; for Danunt,
now Doncajlcr, seems to have been the most southern station
of his troops. These stations, designed at first for camps, called
in Latin cajlra, grew, by degrees, into cities ; and this is the
origin of almost all our great cities and towns, built either in
the fame places where the Roman camps were, or at a small
distance from them. This observation holds especially in those,
the names of which end in chejlcr or cejler, derived from the
Latin word cajlra; for, to this day, the stations or forts near
the PiUs wall, the remains of which are to be seen in several
places, are, by the common people, called chejlers A.
The Ro- To maintain a communication between one station and an-
man high- other, and for the convenience of the armies when they
Kvays. marched, or of the governors when they visited the provinces,
the troops, in peaceable times, were employed in making
roads or causways, called via militares, confulares, prœtoria-,
c Vide Seld. in man' clause * Vide Burton, comment.
In Aritonin. itiner.
Jlrattc,
C.XXVtt. . The History of Britain: pS
Jlratœ, public*, &c. As no fewer than an hundred and four
teen mansions through fifteen different roads are mentioned in
the Itinerary, and in the Notitia forty-six garifons, to wit,
nine on the sea-coast, under the command of the comes litoris
Saxonici, fourteen more inland, and twenty-three per lineam
valli, or along the wall, under the jurisdiction of the dux Bri-
tanniarum, many highways must have been made for passing,
according to the Roman custom, from one place, however di
stant, to another. Our historians, indeed, mention only four
of note ; but, in a province so abounding with stations, camps,
fortresses, and cities, there must, without all doubt, have been
a great many more. Had the Notitia given us an account of
the forces and places under the command of the dux Britannia-
rum, as well as of the other two great officers, we should have
had knowlege of more cities and places of note in this ifland ;
for Bede tells us out of Gildas, who flourished about the time
the Notitia was composed, that, in those days, there were
twenty-eight most stately cities, besides innumerable castles,
fortified with strong walls, towers, and gates e. '
The four ways, or, we call them, streets, mentioned by The four
our historians, are, Watling-Jlreet, so called, as is conjectured, great
either from Vitelliams a Roman, perhaps employed in making roads.
it, or from a Saxon word signifying a beggar, it being much
frequented by beggars. This way is thought by some to have
reached from Dover to Cardigan in Wales ; by others to have
extended from Dover to the coast over-against Anglesey, passing
through London, Dunjlable, Towcejler, Æer/ion, and crossing
the Sevtrn near the Wrekin in Shropshire. iheFofs-ivay, so
called perhaps, because, in some places, it was never perfected,
but left like a ditch. This way is thought to have reached
from Totness in Cornwall to Lincoln, and from Lincoln to Cath-
ness, the most northern point in Scotland. Ikenildjlreet, so
called, perhaps, from Icenu It led from Southampton to Torkt
and from thence to Tinmoutk. Ermine, or Erminage-Jlreety
reaching from St. David's to Southampton f. Besides these,
we find two others mentioned in history, to wit, Julia Strata
in Monmouthjhire, made, as Camden conjectures, by Julius
Frontinus, who subdued the Silures ; and Strata Marcella,
mentioned by Giraldus Cambrenjis, as lying at a small distance
from Julia Strata. The former is thought to have been the
•work of Ulpius Marctllus, proprætor of Britain it. the reign
of Commodus.
The forces, employed in the defence of Britain, were all Several
foreigners, as the reader must have observed, the Romans not corps of
* Bed. hist. lib. i.e. i. f Vide Barton, cotnrnent. in itintr.
Antonia.
I St • think-
MS The History os Britain. B.I\T,
Britons in thinking it safe to trust the natives,- who, perhaps, would have
the Ro- defended their country with more vigour and resolution against
man ar- th« barbarians ; but might, when masters of all the strong
"""' places, have turned their arms against their masters, and shaken
i off the yoke. To prevent this, the Romans transplanted into
other countries the numerous levies raised here. It appears
from the Natitia, and several antient inscriptions, that bodies
of British troops were dispersed almost over the whole empire :
for we find the following corps mentioned ; to wit, Ala Bri-
. tannica milliaria, Ala quarta Britonum in Ægypto*, Cohort pri<-
ma Ælia Britonum, Cohort tertia Britonum, Cohort septima
Britonum^ Cohort vicestma sexta Britonum in Armorica, Bri-
■ tanniciani sub magiftro peditum, Inviftijuniores Britanniciani,
Excubitoresjuniorts Britanniciani, Britones cum magijiro equi-
turn Galliarumi Invicli juniortt Britonet intra Hispaniam,
Britones seniores in Illyrico. These different corps were sup
plied, from time to time,- out of this ifland. No wonder there
fore, that Britain, exhausted and deprived of its youth by so
numerous levies, became, upon the withdrawing of the foreign
troops quartered there, a prey to the northern barbarians.
Having thus described the state of Britain before and after the
,. arrival of the Romans, we shall now proceed to the history of
that part of it, which was subject to Rome, from the time of
its being first invaded by "Julius Cæsar, to its desertion by the
Romans, in the reign of yalentinian I1L containing the space
of about five hundred years.
SECT. 11.
The History of Britain, from the first Coming of Julius
Cæsar, to its Desertion by the Romans.
CæsarV jDR 1TAIN was but little known to the Romans fill the time
first expe- *-* of Julius Cæsar (A), who, having carried his victorious
dition into. arms to the opposite coast of Gaul, parted from Britain by a
Britain, narrow chanel, there formed the design of bringing the Bri
tons,
(A) We must ingenuously con- his country, they were no-where
fefs, that we have no accounts, to be found in his timej being
but such as are evidently fabu- either destroyed by the enemy,
lous, of what passed in this or carried into foreign countries
iiland before the Romans were by the banished Britons. How -
acquainted with it. Gildas, who ever, Amius of Viterbo, in his
flourished in the latter end of the Biro/us, gives us a long succes-
sixth century, freely owns, that, sion of Celtic kings, whom he
as for the antient monuments of derives from Samothtti one of
7 the
C. XXVII. The History of Britain fit
tons, as he had already done the most warlike nations of Gaul,
under the dominion of Rome. Whatever was the real motive
that
(B) Cæsar tells us elsewhere the druids, used to pass over in-
[1), that Divitiacus, one of the to Britain, to study it there. How
most powerful men in Gaul, was could Britain therefore, at that
not only master of a considerable time, be so utterly unknown in
part of that country, but had Gaul, or only known to mer-
some footing likewise in Britain ; chants, nay, and to them so little,
that several provinces of Britain that, being called together by
were peopled by colonies from Cæsar from all parts, they could
Gaul; that the Britons had assist- not give him any tolerable ac-
ed the Gauls in most of their count of the people, of their
wars ; and lastly, that such of customs, manners, laws, method
the Gauls as were desirous to be of lighting, &c. nay, not even
perfect masters of the learning of of their ports and harbours }
(l) Cæsar, cmment. lib. ii. c. z.
I 4 about
120 The History of. Britain. B. I\C
•with fwo about eight miles off, to convey over the cavalry, weighed
legions. anchor about the third watch, commanding the cavalry to em
bark at the port, where the vessels lay ready to receive them,
and follow him ; which orders were too slowly executed. Cæ
sar himself arrived in a few hours on the British coast ; byt,
finding the hills and cliffs hanging over the sea covered with'
armed men, who from thence might, with their darts, easily
prevent his landing, he lay by till three in the afternoon, wait
ing for some of his ships that were not yet come up, in order-
to look out for some other place, where he might land his1
troops with less danger. Upon their joining the fleet, he sum
moned the chief officers to a council of war ; and having ac
quainted them with the intelligence he had received from Vo-
lusenus, and given them such orders as he thought properfor the
occasion, he set fail, and arriving at a plain and open shore
about eight miles farther, he there came to an anchor.
The Tin- The Britons, apprised of Cafar's design, sent their ca-
tons op- valry and chariots before, the rest of the army hastening after
pose the them, in order to oppose his landing. l The main difficulty irt
landing of getting to land proceeded from the largeness of the strips, which
the Ro- required a considerable depth of water ; so that the Roman
mans. soldiers were obliged, loaded as they were- with heavy armour,'
to leap into the sea, and at the same time to struggle with the
waves, and encounter the enemy, who, having their hands
disengaged, as they either stood on dry land, or waded but a
little way into the water, could boldly cast their darts, and
drive back an enemy thus incumbered. This disadvantage so'
discouraged the Romans, as Cæsar himself owns, that they
did not appear so chearful, nor so eager to engage the enemy,
as in their former conflicts on dry land ; which being perceiv-;
ed by the general, he ordered his long ships or galLes to ad
vance with their broad sides towards the shore', in order to
force the Britons, with their flings, arrows, and engines, to'
retire from the water-side. This had, in some degree, the
desired effect ; for the Britons, surprised at the make of the
gallies, a fort of shipping they had never seen, and over
whelmed with showers of darts and arrows thence discharged'
upon them, began to give ground. But the Romans still be
traying great backwardness to throw themselves into the water,
the standard-bearer of the tenth legion, having first invoked the
she Ro- gods, cried out aloud, Fellow-soldiers, unless you will forsake
mans land yaur colours, and suffer the Roman eagle to fall into the hands
•with ofthe enemy, follow me ; for Iam resolved to discharge my duty
great dis- tg fa commonwealth, and my general. Having thus spoken, he
Jitulty. leaped into the sea, and advanced with the eagle towards the
enemy. Hereupon the soldiers in the fame ship, encouraging
each other not to suffer so great a disgrace as the loss of their
ensign,
C. XXVII. The History os Britain. *af
ensign, followed his example ; which those in the other ships Year of
perceiving, they too cast themselves boldly into the sea, and,' the stood
pressing forward, began the fight, which proved very sharp ot\ z*94-.
both sides, and, for some time, no,-ways favourable to the Bef.Christ
Romans ; for not being able either to keep their ranks, get 54-
firm footing, or, leaping out of several ships, follow their par- °fRome
ticular standards, they were put into great confusion by the 94-
'Britons, who being acquainted with the shallows, when they ^7^
saw them coming in small numbers out of their ships, spurred
their horses into the water, and attacked them incumbered and
Unprepared; which Cæsar observing, he caused several boats
to be manned, and sent them to the assistance of those whom
he saw most distressed. By this means, the Romans, having
at length gained firm footing, charged the enemy so briskly,
that they put them to flight; but could not pursue them for
want of horse, the cavalry not being yet arrived : which, Cæ-
sar saySj was the only thing wanting to complete his wonted
success «.
Upon this defeat, the Britons immediately sent embessa- 73, Bri-
dors, and with them Comius, whom they had committed to tonsyair
prison, to sue for peace. This treatment they endeavoured tofor peace.
Excuse, by laying the blame on the multitude. Cæsar, having
upbraided them with their breach of faith, in making war
upon him after they had sent embassadors to him into Gaul,
desiring peace, promised to forgive them, on condition they
delivered a certain number of hostages. Part of these they
brought immediately, promising to return in a few days with
the rest, who lived at some distance. Peace being thus con
cluded four days after Cæsar's landing in Britain, the Britijh
princes, having disbanded their men, and sent them back into
their several countries, came to submit themselves and their
states to Cæsar. In the mean time the eighteen transports,
that were conveying over the Roman cavalry, being overtaken
by a violent storm, were driven back to the ports of Gaul.
By the fame storm, Cæsar's fleet, which lay in the road, was CæsarV
gready damaged, several of them being dashed to pieces, zn&Jleet great-
others, by the loss of their anchors, cables, and rigging, ren- lydamag-
dered wholly useless ; which caused a great consternation in the **"h a
army ; for they wanted materials wherewithal to refit them, \nftorm-
older to return to the continent, and provisions to support them
any considerable time in the island, Cæsar having all along in
tended to pass the winter in Gaul. What added to the mis
fortune, the same night, it being then full moon, the tide rose
so high, that the gallies, which had been drawn ashore, were
filled with water. This caused a new panic, the Roman ma
riners being quite unacquainted with the tides.
The
e Cæs. comment, lib. iv.
'tzz The History os Britain." B. IV;
The British chiefs, who were astembled to perform their
agreement with Casar, perceiving his want of horse, ships,
and provisions, and judging of the number of his men from the
smalnefs of his camp, which was narrower than usual, because
the legions had left their heavy baggage behind them, resolved
to take arms again, in order to protract the war till winter,
persuading themselves, that, if they could cut off the few Ro
mans that were come over, or prevent their return, they would
she Bri- thereby deter others from invading Britain for the future. The
tons break plot being thus laid, they began to steal out of the camp by
tbi peace; degrees, and privately to list again their disbanded troops. Cts-
Jar knew nothing of their design ; but nevertheless, suspect
ing an alteration from their delay in delivering their hostages
after the lose of his (hipping, resolved to prepare against all
events. Accordingly he caused all the provisions that could be
found in the neighbouring country, to be brought into his
camp ; and gave orders, that those fliips which had been the
least damaged by the storm, should be refitted with the mate
rials of those that had been shattered to pieces. He sent like
wise to Gaul for what things were farther necessary ; which
were so well applied by the soldiers, who, on this occasion,
laboured with uncommon diligence, that, only twelve fliips
being lost, the rest were soon in a condition to put to lea
again.
In the mean time the seventh legion being sent out to fo
rage, while part of the soldiers, having quitted their arms as
under no apprehension of danger, were employed in reaping
the corn, and the rest in gathering it, and conveying it to the
camp, the Britons, who had lain all night concealed in the
neighbouring woods, not questioning BVit the Romans would
come and forage in tjiat place, the harvest being brought in
mndsall every-where else, fell upon them unexpectedly ; and, having
upon the killed some of them, drove the rest into a small compass, and
seventh surrounded them with their horse and chariots in such manner,
legion. t)lat not a single man would have escaped, had not the ad
vanced guards, observing a greater dust than usual rising from
that quarter, acquainted Casar therewith ; who, suspecting
the Britons had begun hostilities anew, hastened to the assist
ance of the legion, with the two cohorts that were upon guard,
ordering two others to supply their room, and all the rest to
repair to their arms, and follow him with all expedition. Upon
his arrival, the Britons gave over the attack, and the Romans.
resumed their courage. However, Casar, not thinking it
adviseable to eng.ige the enemy, stood som% time with his
troops drawn up in battle-array, and then retreated to his
camp. After this, the heavy rains, which continued several
6 days
C. XXVII. The History of Britain; 12£
days successively, kept the Romans in their camp, and hinder
ed the Britons from attempting any thing against them.
Th e latter, however, were not idle in the mean time ;
but having dispatched messengers into all parts of the island, to
inform their countrymen how small an army the Romans had,
how great a booty they might get, and what a favourable op
portunity offered of freeing themselves for ever, by forcing the
Roman camp, they drew together a great body of horse and
foot, and boldly advanced to the Roman intrenchments. Upon They at*
their approach, Cæsar drew up his legions in order of battle tack the
before the camp, and gave the Britons so warm a reception, Roman
that they immediately turned their backs, and fled. Cæsar camP> out
pursued them with great slaughter, till his men were out 0farere'
breath, burnt several towns and villages in the neighbourhood, t"V'*
and then returned to his camp. The Britons, disheartened ^'tA^ea*
at the loss they had sustained, sent the same day embassadors-^""^'"1'*
to sue for peace ; which Cæsar readily granted, upon their
Eromising to send him over into Gaul double the number of
ostages he had required before. His want of horse, and the
fear of exposing his fleet to another storm, if he staid till the
equinox, made him hasten his departure. The fame night
therefore, the wind proving favourable, he weighed anchor, Cæsar rt-
arid arrived safe in Gaul-, whence he immediately wrote to the turns U
senate, acquainting them with his exploits in Britain ; for Gaul.
which a supplication, or general thanksgiving, was decreed for
twenty days d.
The Britons, it seems, were not much awed by Cæsar's
arms ; for of all the states, into which the island was then di
vided, two only sent him hostages. Provoked at this neglect
or contempt, he resolved to make a new descent the following
spring, with a far .more powerful fleet and army. With this
view, before he left Gaul to return to Italy, where he used
to pass part of the winter, he ordered his lieutenants to refit
t'.e old (hips, and build as many new ones as they could. His
orders were executed with such diligence, that, upon his re
turn, he found six hundred (hips, and twenty-eight gallies,
ready to launch in a few days. Having therefore commended CzsarV
the application and diligence of his soldiers, and the supervisors, s'cond ex.
he commanded them to repair, with the fleet, to Pontus Itius fr&titn
(C), while he marched, with four legions, and eight hundred '"'" Bri"
horse, tain'
0 Cæs. comment, lib. iv.
(Q C/uwnus, and Somner, in others sook for the Portus Itius
his dissertation ac Portu Iccio, at Calais, or in that neiehbour-
will have Bologne to be the Par- hood. Ilorsdy observes, that
(V Itiui mentioned by Cæsar ; Cæsar calls the passage from
Portut
H Tie History of Britain. B. IV.
Year of horse, into the country of Treves, to prevent a rebellion there ;
the flood which he had no sooner done, than he hastened to the above-
229S. mentioned port ; and, leaving Labienus there, with three le
Bef.Christ gions, and two thousand horse, to secure it, to provide corn,
55- ' and to send him intelligence from time to time of what might
Of Rome happen on the continent, he embarked, with five legions, and
695. two thousand horse, and, weighing anchor about sun-set, ar
rived, with his whole fleet, the next day by noon, on the
He lands Britifly coast, where he landed, without opposition, in the
without fame place, which he had found so convenient the year before.
opposition ; The Britons had assembled in vast multitudes to oppose his
landing, as he afterwards understood from the prisoners ; but,
being terrified at the sight of so numerous a fleet, amounting,
with the vessels which several persons had provided for their
own use, to eight hundred, and upwards, they had left the
shore, and retired to the hills. Cæsar, being informed, after
landing his troops, where the Britons were lodged, left ten
cohorts, and three hundred horse, to secure the fleet, and, with
the rest, marched in quest of the enemy, whom he found
posted on the other side of a river, about twelve miles from the
place where he had handed (D). Their design wag to oppose
%Anidt- his passage; but, notwithstanding {he advantage of the ground,
fe'ats the they were obliged, by the Roman cavalry, to quit their post,
Britons. and retire to a wood, whereof all the avenues were blocked up
with huge trees cut down for that purpose. Out of this place,
which seemed to have been fortified in some former war, they
never ventured, but in smaH parties ; but, notwithstanding
their utmost efforts to prevent the Romans from entering is,
the sokliers of the seventh legion, having cast themselves into a
testudo, and thrown up a mount againlt their works, obliged
them to abandon their asylum, and save themselves by flight.
But, the day being far spent, Cæsar, who was quite unac
quainted with the country, thought it more adviscable to re
turn, and fortify his camp, than to pursue the fugitives e.
Por/us hint to Britain the shortest was fought on the banks of that
and easiest, being about thirty river, to the north of the town.
miles. Now, by an accurate Horsely is of opinion, that the
survey, the distance at Calais strong place, to which the Bri~
from land to land is twenty fix tons retreated after their defeat,
Englijb miles, or twenty-eight must have been Durovcmum,
and an half Roman. now Canterbury, distant twelve
(D) This river is supposed to miles from the place where C&*
be the Stour, the Thames being far landed (z).
too distant ; so that the battle
(2) Horsely, p. 14.
Early
&XXVII. The History os Britain. 125
Early next morning, Caser- dispatched both his horse
and soot, divided into three bodies, in pursuit of the enemy ;
but, when he was already come in fight of their rear, he was
acquainted by some horsemen from i^. Atrius, that, by a dread- Tbi Ro-
ful storm, which had happened the night before, most of his taaxa/us-
fliips were dashed to pieces, or driven ashore. Upon this in- ta>" a
telligcnce, he hastened back to the sea-side, where he was an grta,^sS
fcye-witnefs of the misfortune, which he had heard from th« v *ft»rm»
messengers ; for forty ships were intirely lost, and the rest so
damaged, that they could not be resitted without great trouble
and labour. However, having, without loss of time, set all
the carpenters in the fleet and army to work, and sent over to
Caul for others, ordering at the fame time Labienus to build as
many ships as he could with the legions that were there, to
prevent the like misfortune for the future, he resolved upon a
very difficult undertaking ; which was, to draw all his ships
ashore, and inclose them within the fortifications of his camp.
This stupendous work being completed in ten days, the sol
diers labouring the whole time night and day without inter
mission, and the camp being strongly fortified, Cæsar, leaving
the fame guard as before to defend it, marched with the reft
of his forces to the place, whence he had returned from pursu
ing the enemy.
Upon his arrival, he found their numbers greatly increased,
under the conduct of Gajstbelan, king of the Trinobantes,
whose territories lay about eighty miles from the sea. He had
formerly made war on his neighbours ; but, upon the arrival
of the Romans, they had all unanimously committed the whole
management of the war to him, as the most proper person to
head them at so important a conjuncture. While the Romans Cassibelaa
Were on their march, they were attacked by the Britijh horse ra//s „*,,«
and chariots, whom they repulsed with great flaughter, and the Ro-
drove into the woods ; but, pursuing them too eagerly, they mans;A«f
lost some of their own men. Not long after, the Britons isrrtulfii.
made a sudden sally out of the woods, and fell upon the ad
vanced guard, while the Romans were busied in fortifying their
camp. Cæsar immediately detached two cohorts to their
assistance; but the enemy, while the Romans stood amazed
at their new Way of sighting, boldly broke through the two
cohorts, and returned again, without the loss of a man.
S^uintus Laberitis Durus, a tribune, was slain in this action ;
but, some fresh cohorts coming to the relief of the Remans,
the Britons were, in the end, put to flight. The next day,
they kept on the hills, at a considerable distance from the Ro
man camp, till about noon ; when three legions being detached &t Bri*
by Ceesar, with all the cavaliy, under the command of C. Tre- ^tafatl
hmiutt to forage, they fell upon the foragers with great fury ; ut°* tkrl*
but
126 The History of Britain; & ttf;
Roman but, meeting with a vigorous resistance, they betook them
legions ; selves to flight ; and, being pursued by the Reman cavalry so
but are close, that they had not time to rally, to make a stand, or to
defeated. get down from their chariots, according to their custom, great
numbers of them were cut in pieces. Upon this overthrow,
the auxiliary troops that had come from all parts, abandoning
Cafftbelan, returned to their respective countries : nor did the
Britons ever after engage Cæsar with their united forces f.
After this victory, Cæsar marched towards the Thames,
with a design to cross that river, and enter the territories of
Cajstbelan ; but, when he came to the only place where the
river could, though not without great difficulty, be forded, he
saw the enemy's forces drawn up in a considerable body on the
opposite bank, which was fortified with sharp stakes. They
had likewise driven many stakes of the fame kind so deep into
the bottom of the river, that their tops were covered with the
water. Though Casar had intelligence of this from the pri
soners and deserters, yet he ordered the cavalry to ride in, and
the legions to follow ; which they did with such resolution and
Cæsar intrepidity, that, though the foot were up to the chin in wa
soffit the ter, the enemy, not able to sustain their assault, abandoned the
Thames. bank, and fled (E). Cafftbelan, now despairing of success by
a battle, disbanded the greatest part of his forces, retaining
only about four thousand chariots, to observe the motions of
the Romans. With these he kept at some distance in the
woods, or in such places as were scarce accessible to the Ro
mans, carrying off the corn and cattle from those countries
through which the Romans were to march. As he was well
acquainted with the roads and by-ways, if the Roman cavalry
ventured a little too far to lay the country waste, he detached
part of his chariots to attack them ; which they could not en-
(t,) Lips, in Tacit. Hi. xii, t. 31, (6J litn Hid, (7) Tbm. Sa-
vii, in efift. 1 j. tACam.
Bibrtci.
I ft 8 'The History of Britain; B.IW
ivho takes therefore he niarched with his legions ; and, though fie Found
Gaffibe- the place strongly fortified both by nature and art, he ordered
lan'j chits it »;0 be stormed at two different places ; which was done with
«HF> futh resolution,- that the Britons, not able to sustain the violence
of the assault, fled out at one of the avenues of the wood (for
this town was only a thick wood, surrounded with a ditch, and
fortified with a rampart). Many of the Britons were over
taken as they attempted to make their escape, and cut in pieces.
Here Casar found great store of cattle K
FourJsent- To repairs in some degree; this loss, and divert Casar from
isti kings pursuing his conquests, Gaffibelan', by his messengers, persuaded
attack the four petty princes of Kent, Cingetorix, Carvilius, Taximagulus-y
Roman ancj Segonax, whom Casar stiles kings, to raise what forces
camp -, but ^^ coujj^ ancj attack the camp, where the ships were laid
W/v" UP ' kut tne ^■omtinii having made a sally, repulsed them with
cri. grcat flaughter, took Cingetdrix prisoner, and returned, with-
Caffibelan out any j0fS> to tne;f trenches. Upon the Hews of this defeats
sues for CaJJibelan, considering the many losses he had sustained, how
^ht'' °"t n'S country was 'a'd waste^ and", above all; that several states
e ' ' had already submitted to the conqueror, resolved tb follow their
example ; and accordingly sent embassadors to treat of a sur
render, who were introduced by Comius of Attrebatum or Ar
ras. As the summer was already far spent, Ca/ar, who was
determined to winter in Gaul', to prevent sudden insurrections
there, readily hearkened to their proposals : so that a treaty
was soon concluded upon the following conditions; to wit;
that the Britons should pay an annual tribute to the people of
Rome ; that CaJJibelan should leave Mandubratius in the quiet
possession of his dominions, and riot molest the 7rinolantesi
and that he should deliver a certain number of hostages. These
Casar ho sooner received,, than he marched back td the sea
side, where he caused his fleet, which he found refitted^ to be
launched. As he had a great number of captives, and some of
his (hips had been lost in the storm, he resolved to transport his
army at two voyages. But most of those vessels, which were
sent back from Gaul after they had landed the soldiers that were
first carried over, and of the sixty that Labienus had taken care
to build, being driven back by contrary winds, Casar, after
having long expected them in vain, lest the winter mould pre-
(G) Such is the account Ca- tells us, that Cxsar rather sliew-
sar himself gives us of his two ed the Romans the way to Bri-
satnous expeditions into Britain ; tain, than put them in possession
but other authors have spoken of it (9) ; and Lucan more plain-
more doubtfully of *is victories ly, that he turned his back to
here. Dio Caffius writes, that the Britons, and sled. Be that
the Britons utterly routed the as it will, upon his return to
Roman infantry ; but were after- Rome, he offered to Venus, as
wards put into disorder by the Pliny tells us, a breast-plate en-
cavalry. Horate undTibullus, in riched with Britijh pearls, as a
several places of their works, trophy of his conquests in this
speak of the Britons as a nation island.
not yet conquered (8).- Tacitus
(8) Hwat. ifod. viii. (£ edar. lit. j, c. 35. Tibul. lit. iv, (9) Tacit, vie,
jlgrical. ■ •
Vol. XIX. K| Cuno-
13° The History of Britain. B. IV.
Cunobe- Cunobr line, who is said to have succeeded Tenuantius
line main the successor of Cajfibelan, maintained a correspondence with
tains a Rome, and even caused coins to be stamped, after the manner
correspond- of the Romans, some of which are still to be seen, and, among
ence nuith the rest, one with the word tafc on the reverse, signifying,
Rome. according to our antiquaries, tribute; whence they conclude,
that this money was designed for the payment of the tribute ;
for though brass and iron rings, of a certain weight, served, as
Casar informs us, for their current coin, yet the Romans ex
acted the tribute in gold or silver ; and of the latter metal is
the coin we are here speaking of (H). Thus Britain, by de
grees, became well known to the Romans, even in Augustus's
time. That prince, however, satisfied with the small tribute
that was yearly sent him from Britain, forbore any further
attempts upon the island, either thinking the friendship or en
mity of the Britons of no moment to the Romans, as Strabo
insinuates k ; or being, out of a state-maxim, resolved to set
bounds to the empire, lest it should grow too great and un
wieldy '.
Tiberius Tiberius, who succeeded Augustus, being more inclined
suffers the to contract than inlarge the bounds of the empire, followed
Britons to the example of Augustus, and never entertained the least
enjoy their thought of conquering Britain ; but, satisfied with the respect
litersits. the British princes shewed him in sending back some oi Germa
nicus'* soldiers, who had been shipwrecked on their coast m,
and with their paying the usual customs for such commodities
as they brought into Gaul, suffered them to enjoy their liber
ties, and live according to their own laws. These customs the
Roman officers collected in a precarious manner, fearing to
provoke the Britons, as Strabo tells us P. Caligula, the siic-
k Strabo, lib. ii. ' Tacit, in vit. Agric. Julian, in
Cæs. m Tacit, annal. lib. ii. n Strabo, lib. iv.
The
t. XXVlI. lie History os Britain. [*4j|
The same summer, a cohort of Usipians, levied by the /?*-
rranr in Germany, and thence transported to Britain, having
llain the centurion, and some Reman soldiers, placed among
them to teach them the discipline, embarked in three vessels,
■with a design to return to their own country, forcing the pilots
to conduct them : but, one of these forsaking them* and ma
king his escape, or bringing them back, as we read in Did
Cqsjius, to Britain, they suspected, and therefore killed, the
other two, and abandoned themselves to the mercy of the winds
and waves ; which, after having long tossed them at large, Britain
carried them quite round about Britain ; insomuch that, de- discovered
.parting, according to Dio, from the eastern, they returned to to be an
the western coast, where the Roman army was then encamp- ifiatid.
*d ' (L). .
The following year, Domitian being consul the tenth time,
with Jppius, or, as others call him, Oppius Sabinus, the brave
Jgricola pursued his conquests in Caledonia with wonderful suc
cess.. In the beginning of the summer, he lost, to his great
grief, his son, about a year old ; a misfortune which he nei
ther bore with an ostentation of sirmncse and constancy, like
many other great men, nor with lamentations and tears, wdrthy
only of women. Against this affliction war proved his chief
remedy : having therefore sent forward his navy, in order to
spread a mighty terror, by committing devastations in several
places, he put himself at the head of his army lightly equipped,
and to it added some of the bravest Britons, whose fidelity had
been well proved by. long experience in peace. Thus he ar
rived at the Qranypian hills, upon which the enemy were
already encamped ; for the Caledonians, nothing daunted by *** Cal*-'
the issue of the iate battle, and boldly waiting either to take donians
revenge, or to suffer bondage, had, by embassies and confe- "ra?" t0'
deracies, drawn together the forces of all their communities, SMer.
(L) Tacitus tells uf, that, hav- that Britain was an island. Their
ing failed quite round the ifland, provisions had soon failed them ;
they were driven on the coasts of lb that they were obliged to make
Germany, where their vesiels be- frequent descents, and engage
ing lost, they were seized as pi- with several of the Bririfo na-
rates by the Suivicns and Friji- tions, in which conflicts they
ans; and, being sold tor slaves, often proved victorious, and were
• some of them, by change of sometimes defeated. They were
masters, were brought over to at length reduced to such
the RcJiian side of the Rlxne, streights, as to feed upon one
where they became famous by another, first upon the weakest,
relating such an extraordinary then upon whomsoever the lot
adventure, and by discovering, fell.
Vol. XIX. . L to
k *& Tbe History os Britain. B. IV.
thirty to the number of thirty thousand ; and their youth from every
thousand quarter were continuing to flock in, as were also such of their
men. elderly men as were yet vigorous, and had signalized themselves
^r j m war> carrying with them their several ensigns of honour
the flood former]y gained in the field.
nr nf ft Upon the approach of the Roman army, the Caledonians.,
. ' with great eagerness, prepared for battle ; and Galgacus, who
Of Rome ^urPa"^ au* tne'r other leaders both in valour and descent, h
g said to have encouraged them with the following speech, which
tf—s\j ^e learned Lip/ius looks upon as one of the finest pieces of
'Galga- eloquence ever committed to the Roman language k : When I
casV consider the causes of the war, and the necessity to which we are
speech to, reduced, great is my confidence, that this day, and this your
them. union, will give an happy beginning to the liberty of the whole
island. Bondage we have never borne ; and we are so beset,
that beyond us there is no farther land, nor any security lest us
from thesea, while the Roman fleet is hovering upon tur coasts.
Tims, what brave men covet for glory, is to cowards become the
sasejl expedient os all others ; / mean, present recourse to battle
and arms. The other Britons, in their former conflicts with
the Romans, hadstill a remaining source os hope and succour in
this our nation : for, of all the people of Britain, we are the most
noble, placed in its remotest regions, and at a great distancefrom
those nations that are held in bondage by the enemy ; so that our
eyes are yet unpolluted with thefight of lawless and usurped power.
To us, who are the utmost inhabitants of the earth, and the lajl
who enjoy liberty, this extremity of the globe, this remotest recess,
unknown even to common fame, has proved the only protection
and defence. At present, the utmost boundary of Britain is laid
open : beyond us no more people are found, nor ought but seas
and rocks ; and already the Romans have advanced into the heart
of our country. Against their pride and ambition you will in
vain seek a-remedy or refuge from any obsequiousness, or Immble
behaviour. Tlufe plunderers of the earth, these ravagers of the
universe, finding countries to fail them, endeavour to rifle the
wide seas, and the ocean. If the enemy be wealthy, he inflames
their avarice ; if poor, their ambition. Neither the eastern
world, nor the wstern, vast as they are, can satiate these gene
al robbers. Of all men, they alone thirst after acquisitions,
both poor and rich, with equal avidity and pajfion. Devasta
tions, murders, and universal destruction, they, ly a lying name,
side empire and government ; and, when they have spread a ge
neral devastation, they call it peace. Dearest to every man, by
the i/i/linct of nature, are his children and kindred. ^Thefe are
snatched from us to supply their armies, and doomed to bondage
.k Lips, invit. Agric. c. 31. not. 46.
in
C. XXVII. The History of Britain. 147
in other parts of the earth. Our wives, daughters, andsisters,
however they escape violence from them as from open enemies,
are debauched under the appearance offriendjhip. Our goods are
their tribute, our corn their provifion, our bodies and limbs their
tools for the drudgery of making cuts through woods, and drains
in bogs, under continual blows and outrages. Otherstaves, whom
nature andfortune have destined to servitude, are but once fold,
and thenceforward nourijhed by their lords. The Britons ate
daily paying for their servitude, are daily maintaining andfeed
ing their imperious lords and oppressors. Moreover, as, in a
tribe of domesticstaves■, he, who comes last, is scoffed by his fel
lows, andserves for sport to them ; so, in this antientstate of
stavery, to which the world is reduced, we, as the latest staves',
and thence held the most contemptible, are now destined to destru
ction ; for we have no fields to manure, no mines to dig, no ports
to make ; ivories for which they might be tempted to reserve us.
Besides, magnammy and a daring spirit, in subdued nations, is
always distasteful to jealous and arbitrary rulers : and truly our
situation, so solitary and remote, the more security it affords to us,
the greater jealousy it raises in them. Sine* therefore you are
thus bereft of all hopes of mercy, rouse your courage in defence
both ofyour lives and glory. The Brigantes, even under the con-
duel ofa woman, burnt their colony, stormed their intrenchments,
and, had not such auspicious beginnings degenerated into stoth,
might have, with ease, cast off the yoke, and recovered theirfor
mer liberty. Let us, who are yet unsubdued, who still preserve
our forces intire, and want not to acquire, but only to secure
liberty, jhew at once, in the very first encounter, what kind of
men Caledonia has reservedfor her own vindication and defence.
Doyou believe the Romans to be equally brave in war, as they art
vicious and dissolute in peace ? No ; not from their valour have
they derived their renown, but from our quarrels and divisions,
which they have dextroustyconverted to the glory oftheir own army; m
an army compounded of 'a motly multitude of different nations,
which, by success alone, are held together, and consequently
cannot sail to dissolve upon any misfortune or disaster ; unless \
you suppose the Gauls and Germans, and many of the Bri
tons, whom with Jhame I mention, to be attached to them with
any real affection : they have been all longer their enemies than \
theirfriends ; and what restrains them at present is nothing but
awe and terror, which being once removed, those who cease to
fear, will immediately begin to give proofs oftheir hatred. What
ever can incite men to victory, isfound on ourfide. The Romans
have no wives to encourage and urge them : they have here no
fathers or mothers to upbraid them forflyings In number they
are but few, ignorant of the country, and thence struck with .
dread, whilst whatever they behold around them, is wild and
h 2 strange,
148 the History of Britain." B. IV k
strange, even the air and the sky, with the -woods and the sea ;
so that the gods seem to have delivered them up, inclosed and fet
tered, into our hands. Let not the vain Jhew and glare ofgold
andstiver terrify us ; this is what can neither wound nor save.
In the very army ofthe enemy we stallfind many on our own side ;
the Biitons will own and espauje their own cause, and abandon
one foreign and unnatural to them ; the Gauls will remember
their former liberty ; what the Ufipians have lately done, the
other Germans will do, and abandon the Romans. And what
else have we to fear ? Their forts are ungarifoned ; their colonies
peopled with the aged and hifirm ; the municipal cities are weak
ened, and rent into parties and factions, while the people are
averse to obedience, and the magistrates rule with injustice.
Here you fee a general, here an army ; there tributes and mines,
with a long train of calamities and curses ever attending a slate
ofslavery. Whether all these are to be for ever imposed and
borne, or we forthwith avenge ourselves for the attempt, this
very day must determine. As therefore you advance to battle,
look back upon your ancestors, who lived in the happy slate os
liberty ; look forward to your posterity, who, unless you exert
your valour in this very field, must live for ever in a miserable
slate ofservitude '.
This speech was received with songs, according to the cu
stom which then prevailed among the Caledonians, with joyful
shouts, and a terrible din. Already their bands moved, and
the glare of their arms appeared, whilst the most resolute were
running to the front. As the army was forming in battle-array,
Agricola, though he saw his men full of alacrity, and hardly
to- be restrained, yet chose to discourse them in the following
Agricola'* strain : It is now the eighth year, myfellow-soldiers, since, thro'
speech to the auspicious fortune of the Roman empire, and by your own
his men. valour, you have been pursuing the conquest of Britain. Info
many marches, in so many battles, you have had constant occa
sion to exert your bravery again/1 the enemy, or your patience
against the obstacles of nature. During all these struggles, we
havefound no cause of mutual regret, 1 to have conduced such
soldiers, or you to have followed such a captain. IP'e have both
passed the limits which we found, I those known to antient go
vernors, you those offormer armies. The utmost bound of Bri
tain is found, not by fame only and report ; but we possess it
with our arms and camp:. Britain is intirely discovered, and
. intirely subdued. White we were marching, andfatigued with
posting mountains, rivers, and bogs, I have often beard every
man remarkably brave cry out, fvfyen shall we see the enemy,
when be led to battle ? Already they are come, rousedfrom their
1 Tacit, in vit. Agric. c. 30— 32.
fastnesses
G. XXVII. The History of Britain.' H9
fastnesses and lurking-holes. Here you fee the end of all ytttr
wishes ; here is room for all your valour, and all things promis
ing and propitious, ifyou conquer; but equally disastrous, should
you he overcome. To have thus marched over a trail of country so
immense, to have passed through thick and gloomy fores}s, to have
crossed arms of the sea, is matter of great glory and apptauset
while we advance against the enemy ; but, if we fly from tbemx
whatever is now most to our advantage, wiH prove most to our
disadvantage and ruin. IVe are not so well skilled in the country
as the enemy, nor have we the like store of provisions ; but we
have hands and weapons, and in these all things. For myself,
I have been longfince convinced, that neither for the soldiers, nor
for the general, is there any safety in turning their backs upon
the foe. Hence an honourable death is far preferable to a lift
with reproach ; and security is inseparable from renown : neither
would it be a fate void of glory to fall in this utmost verge of the
world and natures Were people unknown to you now arrayed
against you, were you to engage men never before tried, I would
annimate you by the examples of other armies. At present, only
recollect and'enumerate your own exploits ; only ask and consult
your own eyes. These are the same men, who but the last year,
trusting to the darkness of the night, attacked by stealth a single
legion, and were, by the terror of your Jhouting, utterly over
thrown. These, ofall the Britons, are the most timorous, and
most prone to flight ; and therefore have thus survived all the
rest. As in forests and woods, beasts of the greateststrength are
driven thence by superior force, and the timorous andspiritless are
scared even at the cry of the pursuers ; so all the bravest Britons
are long sincefallen by the sword, and only the most fearful and
dastardly remain, whom at length you have sound, not because
they intended to stay and make head against you, but because they
are overtaken andsurprised. Theystand in the feldstruci with
dread, and bereft of all spirit ; whence you may, without much
danger, gain over them a glorious and memorable victory. Here
conclude your warfare ; here complete your expeditions and efforts,
and put an end to a struggle offifty years with one great and
important day ; so that the army may not be charged either ivith
protracting the war, or with any cause for reviving it ra.
Agricola had scarce ended his speech, when the soldiers, Heengagei
transported with joy, flew to their arms. Agricola, feeing them the Caie-
sufficicntly animated and inflamed, drew them up in battle- donians
array, placing the auxiliary foot, to the number of eight thou- under the
sand men, in the centre, and three thousand auxiliary horse in command
the wings. The legions he would not suffer to advance ; but °f Galga-
commanded them to stand in battle-array close to the intrench- ?US>
■ Tacit, in vit. Agric, c. 33, 34,
L 3 mentsj
150 The History of Britain.' B. IV.
merits ; for the victory, he thought, would be the more glo"
rious, were it, by sparing them, gained wjthout spilling any
Roman blood ; and, on the other hand, they were still a sure
succour, should the rest be repulsed. The Caledonians were
ranged upon the rising grounds in such manner, that the first
band stood upon the plain, and the rest rose successively upon
the brows of the hills, one rank close above the other, as if
they had been linked together. The enemy's chariots of war
and cavalry filled the interjacent field. Then Agricola fearing,
as the enemy far surpassed him in number, lest he should be at
tacked at once in the front and on each flank, opened and ex
tended his front. .As thence his ranks proved more weak,
many advised him to bring on the legions ; but he, in all diffi
culties more prone to hope than to fear, without hearkening
to their advice, dismissed his horse, and advanced on foot be
fore the ensigns. The onset was begun at a distance, wherein
the Britons displayed great courage, and eqqal skill, eluding,
with their huge swords, and small bucklers, the missive wea
pons of the Romans, whilst of their own they poured a torrent
upon them, till Agricola encouraged three Batavian cohorts,
and two of the Tungrians, to close with the enemy, and bring
them to an engagement hand to hand, as what to the veteran
soldiers, by a long experience, was become familiar, but
proved to the enemy very uneasy and embarassing, as they
■ were armed with little targets, and with swords of enormous
size ; for the swords of the Britons, as they were blunt at the
end, were quite unfit for a close encounter. Hence the Bata-
tians doubled their blows, wounded the enemy with the iron
bolles of their bucklers, mangled their faces, and beating down
all who opposed them in the plain, were carrying the attack
up to the hills ; insomuch that the other cohorts, encouraged
by their example, fell upon the enemy with equal ardour, and
made a dreadful havock of all who resisted them ; nay, such
was the hurry of the conquerors, that they left many of the
enemy behind them but half-dead, and others not so much as
wounded. In the mean time, their cavalry betook themselves
to flight, and their chariots of war, mixing with the battalions
of foot, and intangled with the unevenness of the place, oc
casioned in the plain a general disorder and confusion. The
engagement had not the least appearance of a combat of cavalry ;
for, standing obstinately foot to foot, they pressed to over
throw each other by the weight and bodies of their horses.
Besides, the chariots abandoned and straggling, and likewise
the horses destitute of managers, and thence wild and affright
ed, were running to and fro, just as the next fright drove them ;
insomuch that all of their own side who met them, or crossed
their way, were beaten down by them.
In
C XXVII. Tie History os Britain. 15 1
In the mean time, the Britons, who were lodged upon the
ridges of the hills, and had hitherto no share in the encounter,
looking with scorit upon the small number of the Roman forces,
began to descend slowly, and to surround them in the rear,
while they were pursuing their victory. But Agricola, who
had apprehended this very design, detached against them four
squadrons of horse, which he had reserved near him for the
sudden exigencies of the field. These, falling upon the enemy
with great vigour and intrepidity, obliged them to retire, and
put them in great disorder : then turning against the Caledo
nians their own devices, they wheeled about, and attacked
the enemy in the rear. Hereupon the Caledonians began to re- TbeCdLe-
tire in great confusion, and nothing was to be seen all over the donians
open fields but pursuits, wounds, and captivity, and the pre- are utterly
sent captives always slaughtered when others occurred to be routed;
taken. Some of the enemy fled in large troops, with all their
arms, before a smaller number, who pursued them ; others,
quite unarmed, rushing into danger, offered themselves thro'
despair to instant death. On all sides lay scattered arms and
carcases, and mangled limbs ; and the ground was dyed with
blood. Some bands of the vanquished still fought with incre
dible resolution and bravery ; and, when they drew near the
woods, they rallied, and surrounded the foremost pursuers,
who, without knowing the country, had ventured too far :
whence the conquerors must have suffered some notable "dis
aster, had not Agricola, who was constantly flying from one
quarter to another, ordered the bravest cohorts lightly equipped
to invest the enemy on all sides, and some of the cavalry to.
dismount, and enter the narrow passes, while the rest of the .
horse advanced into the more open and passable parts of the
wood. The Caledonians, perceiving the Romans to continue
the pursuit with regular and close ranks, betook them
selves to flight, not in united bodies, as before, but quite scat
tered, no man regarding or awaiting another, but all in the
utmost confusion making towards the deserts, and the most re
mote places. The Romans followed them close ; and the pur- and pur-
suit was not ended but with night, and a satiety of slaughter, sued by the
Of the enemy, ten thousand were slain ; of the Roman army, Romans
three hundred and forty, among whom wzs Aulus Atticus, w»/»
commander of a cohort, who by his own youthful heat, and Vtat
also by a firy horse, was hurried into the midst of the exi<t-flavl"ur'
my n (M).
The
» Tacit, in vit. Agricol. c. 35 — 3S.
(M) We will not take upon of this memorable action, our
n» to ascertain the precise place antiquaries being greatly divided
L j in
'.I5a &>e Hi/tory of Britain. B. IV,
Thi following night proved a night of great joy to the con"
querors, both from victory and spoil. But the Caledonians,
\n their opinions about it. How foot which Tacitus says Agricola
ever, we cannot help observing, had with him at the battle of
that the chief argument, which Mons Grampius, to wit,, eight
the author of the hinerarium. thousand auxiliaries ; and that
Seftentrionale makes use of to the other square, where he sup
confute the opinions of other poses the horse lay, contained
antiquaries, equally concludes exactly three thousand horsemen.
against his. own. For he ap. For Tacitus, says he, plainly in
preves of no place, but where forms us pf the number of Agri
some vestiges are still to be s?en cola's army at that battle ; for,
pf a Roman camp, capable of speaking os his disposing of the
Containing the army which Agri- troops, he fays thus: hsiinSot
tola had with him at this battle. ruentcfque ita difposuit, ut pedi-
Hence he rejects the opinions of tum auxilia, qua olio miIlia crant,
those who pretend that the battle medians aciem jirmarent, equitum
was fought in the Mearns, or at trta miIlia cornibus ajfundercntur :
the Blair of Athol, because no that is, Thus encouraged, and-
remains of a Roman camp are to rujhing forward, Agricola formed
be seen in either of these places. them so, that the body of auxiliary
Against such as maintain Ardcch foot, who were eight thousand
in Strathallan, and Inntrpeffery, men, composed the centre, andthree
to be the spot on which tie fate thousand horse were placed in the
pf Caledonia was determined, he •wings. But were these eight
alleges, that the camps, which are thousand auxiliary soot, and three
to be seen there, were not capablp thousand horse, all the troops.
pf containing the army which Agricola had with him at this
Agricola led out against the Cale battle ? Does not Tacitus to the
donians. Having thus confuted words we have just quoted sub
{he opinions of other antiqua join, Legimes pro tiullo Jletere,
ries, he offers his own, which is, ingens iiiQorife decus citra Roma-
that the real place where the tai'm faxguinem beHanti, & auxi-
pattle whs sought, is in Strath- Hum, si fellerentur ? that is, The
ern, half a mile south of the legions flood just without the in-
kirk of Comerit, there being still trenchments, that the viclory might
to be seen in that place a be the more glorious, were it gain
Roman encampment divided in ed without Roman blood; and that,
to two partitions or squares, the legions might be ready to sue
which are joined together with cour the auxiliaries, if repulsed.
a vast rampart of stone and Hence it is evident, that Agri
earth. Our learned antiquary cola, besides the eight thousand
tells us, that, having calcu- auxiliary foot, and three thou
Jitcd the number of men con sand horse, had some legions
tained in the southmost camp, with him, for which there was
according to the allowance of no rpom, according to our anti
ground made by Polybius for c- quary's own calculation, in the
vsry foot-soldier, he was most above-mentioned camp. U there
agreeably surprised to find it fore his chits argument has any
contained the precise number of force, it confutes, without lcav-
in|
C. XXVII. the History of Britain. 153
both men and women, crying and howling, wandered In de-?
spair : some dragged away their wounded ; others were heard
calling their lost friends ; all abandoned their houses, and some
in rage even set sire to them : not knowing where to shelter
themselves, they fled from one lurking-hole to another ; then
met to consult, and from tneu" counsels gathered some hope ;
sometimes, at the sight of their dearest pledges of nature, they
were moved to pity, sometimes to resolution and fury : nay,
some out of compassion and tenderness murdered their children
and wives. The next day displayed more fully the greatness
of the victory ; on all sides a profound silence, solitary hills, a
thick smoke rising from the houses on fire, and not a living
soul to be found by the scouts. When from these, who had
been dispatched out into all quarters, it was learnt, that no
certain traces could be discovered whither the enemy had fled,
and that they had no-where rallied in bodies, Agricola, con
sidering that the summer was already far spent, and conse
quently that he could not pursue the operations of the war, led
his army into the country of the Horejlians, that is, as is com
monly supposed, into Angus. Having there received hostages, He orders
lie ordered the admiral of the fleet to fail round Britain, fur- hissett to
nishing him with proper forces for that expedition, which he fail round,
happily accomplished ; and thence proved Britain to be, as it theijland.
was thought before, an island. On this occasion were dis
covered and subdued the isles of Orkney, till then unknown.
Thule, now called Ifiland, or, as others will have it, Shetland,
was likewise found, hitherto hid, to use the expression of Ta
citus, by winter, under eternal snow. In the mean time,
Agricola himself led on the foot and horse with a slow pace,
that the minds of these new-conquered nations might be awed
ing room to any reply, his own have been overturned, and ut-
opinion, as must evidently ap- terly destroyed, by the devourer
pear to every reader. Besides, of all things, time ; insomuch
to us it seems quite absurd to that antiquaries are at a lose a-
suppose, as tliat writer does, that bout the places where they stood,
some vestiges must still remain of But, admitting our author's sup-
all the Roman camps in this position, it is evident from his
island, and indeed elsewhere, own arguments, that the battle
notwithstanding the innumerable was not fought in the place for
changes and alterations that must which he contends, the camp
have happened, unknown to us, there being capable of contain-
in the course of so many ages, ing only eight thousand foot,
How many camps were made by and three thousand horse ; besides
the Romans in Get-many, Gaul, which, Agricola had with him
and Italy, of which no traces - several legions, as is plain from
Remain in our days I Great cities the words of Tacitus (2).
(1) Tacit, in vit, /fgrie. c. 35,
ao.4
15* The History of Britain.' B. IV,
He puts bis and dismayed by prolonging his march through them. He
troops into then put his army into winter quarters. Soon after, the fleet
•winter- having sailed round the island, returned with great fame to the
marttrs. port wnence jt had departed (N). Thus, after many struggles
Britain in- an(j contestSj Britain was at length intirely reduced ; but the
t?e*ire~ Romans did not long continue masters, at least of Caledonia,
Year of' wnat Agricola won being soon after lost by Domitian. The
the flood Poet Juvenal speaks of a Britijh king, by name Arviragus,
za.%2 w'1° was at war w'tn t'1e Romans m Domitian's reign ° ; and
Of Christ a" the Scots historians tell us, that, upon the departure of Agri-
84. tola, the Caledonians possessed themselves of the castles and
Of Rome forts raised by him in their country. As for the Roman histo-
83 z. rians, they scarce take any notice of the Britijh affairs till the
V/yO reign of the emperor Hadrian, who came over into Britain,
where he built a wall eighty miles in length, in order to sepa
rate the Romans from the barbarians, as Spartianus stiles
them p.
Agricola immediately acquainted Domitian by letters
with the success that had attended his arms in Britain, and the
situation of affairs there. The account he conveyed to him
was plain and modest, without all ostentation, or any pomp
Domitian of words. The emperor received it with joy in his counte-
is stung nance, but with anguish in his heart, being well apprised, that
•with en-vy ]-,;S Jate mock-triumph over the Germans was held in public
at the derision j whereas now a true and mighty victory, gained by
news of tne f]aUghter of so many thousands of the enemy, was every-
"«"*. where sounded by the voice of fame, and received with uni-
. * '■'''" versal applause. He could not brook, that the name of a pri
vate man should be exalted above that of the prince : to the
emperor alone, he thought, properly appertained the glory
and renown of being a great general. Tortured with these
anxious thoughts, and indulging his humour of being shut up
in secret, a certain indication that he was meditating seme
bloody design, he at last judged it the best course, upon this
occasion, to smother his rancour till the fame of these con
quests, and the affection of the army to Agricola, were fome-
yet causes what abated. To him, therefore, he caused to be decreed by
triumphal the senate the triumphal ornaments, a statue crowned with
honours to laurel, and whatever else is bestowed instead of a real triumph,
to
Cv XXVII. The History of Britain: 157
to keep them quiet, relinquished to them all the country be
tween the77«? and the two friths ; but, at the fame time, to
restrain them from making incursions into the Roman province, His will,
he caused a wall to be built, extending from the Eden in Cum
berland to the Tine in Northumberland, eighty miles in length '.
Having thus settled affairs in Britain, and reformed many
abuses there, he returned to Rome,, where he was honoured
with the title of Restorer of Britain ; which was stamped on
bis coins (CJ).
To Adrian succeeded Antoninus Pius, in whose reign the
Brigantes revolted} and the Caledonians, having, in several
places, broken down Adrian's rampart, began anew to ravage
the Roman territories. Against them was sent Lollius Urbicus,
Prifcus Lkinius, whom Adrian had appointed governor of
Britain, being, in all likelihood, dead ; for Antoninus, as Ju~
lius Capitolinus informs us ", removed none of the governors
whom Adrian had preferred.
Lolllus obliged the Brigantes to submit anew to the LoIIhu
Roman yoke ; and having driven back the northern barba- Urbicus
nans, he confined them within narrower- bounds than before, huildt a
by a new wall, extending, as Camden and Brietius conjecture, tiewwalL
from Bremenium, now Brampton in Cumberland, to the river
Esk. For these atchievements, Antoninus received the surname
of Britannicus, tho' he had never seen Britain himself w (P).
Ik
1 Sfartian. in Hadrian p. 6. ■ Jut. Cap. in Antonin.'
C. 5. w Idem ibid.
> (R) This we learn, notwith- wife, and the whole imperial fa-
' Handing the silence of the Roman mily, set up by the Roman horse
historians, from an antient in- quartered in Britain, under the
scription found t a place, by the command of Æmilius Crifpinas,
Romans called Cajtra Explora- a native of Tuidrum in Africa,
torum, and by us Old Carlile. It The words of the inscription are
is a votive inscription for the as follow :
health of the emperor, of his
/. 0. M.
Pro Salute Imperatoris
M. Antoni. Gordiani P. F.
limiitli Aug. et Sabin.r Tur
\<e Tranquiht conjugi ejui To-
taque Domu Di'vin. eorum Ala
Augg. Gordia ob Virtutem
Appellata pofuit ; cui praeefi
Aemilius Cri/pinus Praif.
Eqq. natus in Pro. Africa Dt
Tuidrofub cur. Nonnii Phi-
lippi Leg. Aug. Propreta
Attico et Prttextato
Coff.
In two other inscriptions found tain in the reign of the fame em«
at Lanchefscr in the county of peror Gordian III.
• Durham, mention is made of (S) This appears from the
Ma-cilius Fufcus, and Cneius £»- following inscription found in
eilianus, both proprætors of Bri- Northumberland:
Pro Salute
Destdicni Æliani Prtt • • 4
et Sua S.
Pofuit Vot.
' • co. Solwit Libe-
m Tufco et Bas
so Cos.
Vol. XIX. M cr.
r History of Britain.
1 62 The
. B.rt;
or, as they are stilcd, tyrants, besides Poflhumut, the following
were acknowleged in Britain ; to wit, Lollianus, Viftorianut)
and Tetricus, of whom the last being overcome by the emperor
Constan- Aurelian, Britain submitted to the conqueror, who sent hither
tius, the Conjlantius, the father of Conjlantine the Great, to establish his
father of authority in the island c. Aurclian was succeeded by Tacitus,
Constan- and he, after a short reign of about six months, by Probus, in
tine the whose time Bono/us, descended of a Spanijh family, but born
Great, in Britain, usurped the sovereignty, and was acknowleged
sent into here, as well as in Gaul and Spain ; but, being, after several
Britain. battles, reduced by Proius to great streights, he chose rather
to strangle himself, than fall into the hands of the conque
ror (T). Probus was, according to Vopifcus f, the first that
allowed the Britons, Spaniards, and Gauls, to plant vines.
Burgun- The fame emperor having, in an engagement on the banks of
dians and the Rhine with the Burgundians and Vandals, taken their king
Vandals Igillus prisoner, with many others of these two nations, he
in Britain. transplanted them into Britain %.
Caraufius In the beginning of Dioclefian's reign, Carau/ius,z native of
and Al- Gaul, passing over into Britain, took upon him the title of
lectus emperor, and was acknowleged by all the troops quartered
usurp the here ; nay, by a treaty concluded between him and Maxi-
sovereign mian, whom Diocleftan had taken for his partner in the empire,
ty of Bri Britain was given up to Caraufius, who governed it with the
tain. title of emperor for the space of six or seven years ; but was in
the end killed by Alleclus, as was Alletlus, who had caused
himself to be proclaimed emperor in Britain, in a pitched
battle with Afclepiodctus, one of Conjlantius's officers. Upon
his death, Britain was reunited to the empire, after it had
been held about seven years by Caraufius , and three by Alleftus,
The two emperors Diocleftan and Maximian having resigned
the empire to Galerius and Conflantiusf the latter, to whose
share fell the western provinces, soon after his accession to the
empire, passed over into Britain, to make war, fays Eume-
nius h, on the Caledonians and PiUs, whom he overcame \
but, not long after, died at York ', where he had the satis
faction to see his son Conftantint before he expired, and to ap-
SECT.
170. The History of Britain. B. }V;
SECT. III.
fbc History of Britain, from its Desertion by the Ro«
mans, to the Invasion of the Angles and Saxons.
fbt Scots TT H E Remans having abandoned Britain, with an intention
om/Picts * to return no more, as we have related in the foregoing
treat into section, the Siots and Picls no sooner heard of thejr departure,
the Bri- than, landing in swarms from their leather vessels on the lands
tifli ttrri- 0f t)le Britons, they committed greater ravages than ever, de-
tints. stroying all with fire and sword. These two nations, differing
somewhat in manners, but equally greedy of spoil and booty,
seeing the cowardly Britons fly like sheep before them, resolved
to attack the wall, which had been lately repaired, not doubt
ing but they should become masters of it without great loss,
since it was defended by such a faint-hearted enemy. At their
approach, the Britons, instead of preparing for a vigorous de
fence, stood trembling on the battlements, till the enemy,
more bold and active, pulling some of them down with long
iron hooks, and driving the rest, with showers of darts and
arrows, from their stations, made themselves masters of the
wall. The Britons betook themselves to flight, which, how
ever, could not save them ; for the Scots and Pitls, pursuing
them close, made a dreadful havock of the fugitives, and took
pofleslion of the frontier towns, which they found deserted
by the inhabitants. As the enemy met with no opposition,
they over-ran the whole country, putting all to fire and sword
without controul. This general havock and devastation bred
a dreadful famine} which occasioned new mischiefs, and a
kind of civil war among the Britons themselves, obliged, for
their support, to plunder each other, and take from their
friends the little the common enemy had left tnem. The whole
country being thus ruined, the famine became general, and
raged to such a degree, that the Britons, who remained, were
obliged to betake themselves to the woods, and there live upon
what they could get by hunting *. In this deplorable condi
tion they continued some years. The Britons had already
kings of their own ; for Gildas, in his usual melancholy strain,
finds fault with his countrymen for raising to the throne such
only as were remarkable for their cruelty b. Perhaps they judged
them best qualified to redress the disorders, and put a stop to
the robberies, that prevailed all over the island. The same au
thor adds, that those, who had raised the'm to the throne,
* Gild. c. 15, 16. p. 118. b Idem, c. 19. p. 119.
♦ 1 caused
C. XXVII. The History °f Britain. 171
caused them soon after to be murdered, not because they had
found them guilty of any crime, but that they might choose
worse men in their room. If any of their princes proved more
mild and humane than the rest, he was abhorred by all as a
coward, and persecuted as a public enemy «. The unhappy
Britons, thus at variance among themselves, and, at the fame
time, pressed with famine, and pursued by a merciless enemy,
had recourse once more to the Hemans for assistance, writing Tit Bri-
to Aetius, who was then consul the third time, and governed tonsivritt
the Western empire almost with an absolute sway. To move mournful
him to compassion, they directed the letter thus : The groans of liters ta
the Britons to the consul Aetius. And in the letter ; The bar- Aetius.
barians, said they, drive us to the sea, and the sea forces us
back to the barbarians; between which we.have only the choice of
two deaths, either to be swallowed up by the waves, or to be cru
elly massacred by the enemy. What answer they received is un
certain : all we know is, that they could not prevail upon
Aetius, who was then in Gaul, to lend them the least assist
ance, the emperor Valtntinian III. being then, as U/her thinks,
under apprehension of a war with Attila d, who had not yet
broken into the Western empire.
The Britons, now despairing of any relief from the Ro- Tieir mi-
mans, and, on the other hand, reduced to the utmost extre- ferable
mity by the famine, which increased daily, knew not what condition.
measures to take to free themselves from their unfortunate cir
cumstances. Great numbers of them fled over to Armorica,
where those Britons, who attended Maximus into Gaul, are
supposed to have settled • : others submitted to the Scots and
Pi£fs, purchasing a miserable sustenance with everlasting slavery.
Some however, more resolute, placing their confidence in God,
fays Gildas, since they found themselves abandoned by men,
betook thejnselves to their arms, and, sallying out in parties
from their woods and caves, fell upon the enemy, while they
were roving up-and-down the country, cut great numbers of
them in pieces, and obliged the rest to retire. The Picls Thtydrfrve
withdrew, in all likelihood, to the country about the wall, back their
either abandoned by the Britons, or inhabited by such of them enemies.
as had submitted to their new masters. The Scots, as Usher
conjectures f, returned to Ireland, whence they originally
came j but Gildas and Bede only tell us, that they returned
homeS.
And now the Britons, having some respite, began anew to
cultivate their lands ; which, aster having for some time lain
c Gild. ibid. * Uss. p. 1 104. • Vol. xvi. p. 378, 379,
(U). f Uss. p. 609. 1105. < Gilp. p. 119. Bep. chron.
p. 114.
fallow,
17* The History of Britain." B. IV;
fallow, produced all sorts of provisions in such plenty, as in
They a- no age had been remembred. This plenty was attended with
bandon luxury, wantonness, and all manner of vices incident to hu-
tbemselves man nature; but what above all contributed to the immorality
** *M and irreligion that prevailed all over the land, was, according
manner of t0 GiHas, the hatred of truth, and love of lyes, evil being
*"(C' miscalled good, and good evil, and every thing transacted di
rectly contrary to the common welfare, and public safety.
The clergy, who should have reclaimed the laity with their
example, proved the ringleaders to every vice, being, for the
most part, addicted to drunkenness, envy, contention, l$c.
and incapable of discerning between good and evil h. In the
mean time, the Britons were alarmed anew with a report, that
the Scots and Pills were returning with a greater force than
ever, being determined utterly to extirpate the natives, and
plant themselves in their room from one end of the island to
the other. This report occasioned a general consternation \
which, however, was not sufficient to reclaim them from
their wicked ways, fays Gildas : and therefore they were vi-
Adread- sited with a dreadful plague, which, raging with uncommon
/ulplague, fury> fwcp1 away most of those, whom the sword and famine
had spared ; insomuch that the living were scarce sufficient to
bury the dead. But this calamity likewise proving ineffectual,
the contagion no sooner ceased, than the enemy, returning
with incredible fury, and putting all to fire and sword, soon
reduced the unhappy Britons to the utmost extremity. Vorti-
gtrn was then the chief, if not the only king of Britain, a
proud, covetous, and debauched tyrant, quite regardless of
the public welfare, and no less incapable of promoting it in the
field, than in the cabinet. However, being awaked by the
clamours of the people, and finding it was absolutely necessary
for his own preservation to repulse the enemy, he summoned,
a council, to deliberate with the chief men of the nation about
the proper means to deliver the country from the calamities it
then groaned under, and prevent the like misfortunes for the
future. In this council, they all agreed, being, in a manner,
infatuated, on the most pernicious expedient that could be
imagined, and what, in the end, proved the utter destruction
The Bri- of the nation; which was, to invite the Saxons into the island,
tons under a people at that time famous for their piracies and cruelty, and
Vortigern dreaded, even by the Britons, as death itself ! (A). The ex
pedient
h Gild. c. 19. p. 119. ' Idem ibid. Bed. hist. c. 16. p. 157.
■ (A) The first Saxon troaps though, by some, this event is
are said, by most historians, to placed a sew. years former j l»y
have lar.drd in the year 449. others, a few > cars later, . 'Jyra
1 Proffer
C. XXVII. The History of Britain. 173
pedient being approved, embassadors were dispatdied in all agree to
haste into Germany, to represent to the Saxons the request of invite the
the Britons, and osser them advantageous terms, provided they Saxoas
would come over to their assistance (B). e*""*
The Saxons were highly pleased with the proposal, the more
as they were foretold by their soothsayers, that they should
plunder the country, to which they were called, for the space
of an hundred and fifty years, and quietly possess it twice that
Proffer supposes the Saxons to " have hitherto lived under the
have been masters of the island " protection of the Roman em-
in 444. and consequently to have " pire j but our antient masters
landed many years before. But " having abandoned us,we know
that writer was therein grofly " no nation more powerful than
mistaken, as is manifest from " you, and better able to protect
Gildas, Bede, and all the histori " us. We therefore recur to
ans who speak of this event. " your valour. Forsake us not
Bede places the arrival of the " in our distress, and we shall
Saxons and jingles in the reign of " readily submit to what terms
Marcian, before the death of " you yourselves shall think fit
Valentinian III. that is, between " to prescribe to us." If the
the year 450. and 455. and Britons made such a frank sur
seems to suppose the resolution render, and promised such an
of the Brittns to call them in, absolute subjection, as is insi
to have been taken before the nuated in this speech, it is strange,
reign of Marcian ; so that, ac that neither Bede nor Etbehvnd,
cording to Bede, their arrival both Saxons, mould take any no
may be well placed in 450. and tice of it ; nay, the latter writer
in that year it is accordingly, by tells us, that the Britons promised
the learned Vjher, supposed to to live in perpetual friendship
have happened (1). and amity with the Saxons ; and
(B) Witichind, a Saxon histo friendship and amity are incon
rian, who lived in the ninth cen- sistent with absolute subjection.
tury, in his history de geftis Sa- Besides, when the Saxons, de
xonum, introduces the Britijh signing to make themselves mas
embassadors making the follow ters of the island, wanted a pre
ing speech before an assembly of tence to quarrel with the natives,
the Saxons : " Illustrious Saxons, they did not urge the promise of
" the fame of your victories the Briti/b embassadors, which
«' having reached our ears, the they would certainly have done,
•« distressed Britons, harassed by had any such promise been,
«' the continual inroads of a made ; but alleged, for a pre
" neighbouring enemy, fend us tence, their short diet, and bad
" to implore your assistance. We pay, as Gildas tells us in ex-
" have a fertile and spacious press terms ; which plainly
" country, which we are com- shews, that they came over
" manded to submit to you. We only as mercenary soldiers."
(1) Bed, lift. c. t}.f. 157. Cbrtm, f. 114, UJJir. f. 1107.
5 tirne.
174 W* History of Britain. B. IV.
time k. Having therefore fitted out three long ships, called
in their language ehiules, they put to sea, under the conduct of
Hengift and Her/a, the sons of IVitigifil, great-grandson to
the celebrated IVoden, from whom all the royal families of the
Saxons pretended to derive their pedigree '. These, arriving
The ar- at Ebbesf.eet in the ifle of Thanet, were received there, both by
rivalof the prince and people, with the greatest demonstrations of
the Sa- ^y. The ifle itself was allotted them for their habitation, and
xons. a ]eagUe was immediately concluded with them, in virtue of
>!fl A ""hich the Saxons were to defend the Britons against all foreign
™e °° enemies i and the Britons, on the other hand, to allow the
Of Christ Faxons, besides their place of abode, pay and maintenance.
Historians have not told us what the number was of these Saxon
Of Rome aux'"a"eS '' kut *c7 cou'd not be above fifteen hundred, since
1 198. tnev aH came over in three ships ; and we cannot well suppose
y ,-i.J any of those ships to have carried above five hundred men.
But, before we proceed farther in this history, it will be
necessary to give some account of the origin, manners, go
vernment, and religion of the people, who, being called in by
the Britons to their assistance, made themselves masters of the
The feats island, and hold it to this Jay. The Saxons were, according
of the Sa- iq ^he most probable opinion, a colony of theCimbrians, that
xons, An- js> ^- tj,e inhabitants of the Cimbrian Cher/one/us, now Jut-
gles, and ^^ . wno, iinding their country overstocked with people,
Jutes. ^em out^ muc}, about the fame time, three numerous bands to
seek for new settlements. To one of these bands was after
wards given the name of Suevians, to another that of Franks,
and to the third the name of Saxons. The Suevians took their
j-oute towards Italy, the Franks advanced to Belgic Gaul, and
the Saxons possessed themselves of the whole country between '
the Rhine and the Elbe ; nay, by degrees, extending their
conquests along the coast of the German ocean, when the Bri
tons sent to implore their assistance, they were masters not only
of the present Wejlphalia, Saxony, Eajl and West Fristland,
but likewise of Holland and Zealand. The first place they set
tled in, upon their leaving the Chersonesus, was the present
duchy of Holjlein ; which is thence called the antient feat of
the Saxons. Between this country and the Chersonesus, or
Judand, dwelt a people, known, even in Tacitus's time, by
the name of Angles m. According to this account, which we
have copied from Bede n, the Angles inhabited that small pro
vince in the kingdom of Denmark, and duchy of Slefivick,
which is called at this day Angel, and of which the city of
Flensburg is the metropolis. Lindcbergius, in his epistles, stues
•
k Gild. c. 23. p. 119, 120. ' Bed. hist. c. 15. p. 1J7.
■ Tacit, de Germ. mor. c. 40. p. 136. ■ Bed. lib. i. c. 15.
this
C. XXVII. the History of Britain.' i?5
this country LilHe England ; and Ethelwerd, who wrote about
trie year 950. speaking of the antient habitation of the Angles;
Old Anglia, says he, lies between the Saxons and G'ws. The
metropolis of this country is, by the Saxons, called Sleswick, but,
by the Danes, Haithby. Britain took the name of those by whom
it was conquered, and is therefore now calhd Anglia. The fame
writer adds, that Hengijl and Horfa came from the country of
the Angles into Britain °. When the Saxons came first out of
the Cherfonefus, going in quest of new settlements, the Angles
joined them, and, in process of time, became one nation with
them. Hence they are, by most authors, comprised under
the general name of Saxons, though some distinguish them by
the compound name of Anglo-Saxons P.
Some time after the Saxons, Franks, and Suevians, had left
the Cherfonefus-} the Goths, having driven out the Cimbrians
that were remaining, made themselves masters of that penin
sula, which was thenceforth called Gothland, or Jutland, Gothland
from its new inhabitants the Goths, or Jutes (C). Great num- crjutland.
bers of these Giota or Juta, mixing with the Saxons and
Angles, came over with them into Britain, to share in their
conquests. This is the most probable account of these people,
after their settling in Jutland arid Germany, that we have been
able to gather from the several authors, who have studied this
subject. Of their origin, which Cltetierius indFer/legan derive
from the Germans, but Grotiu's and Sherringham, with more
probability, from the antient Geta or Goths, of their va
rious migrations before they settled in the Cimbrian Cherfone
fus, and their conquests under their several kings, especially
under the celebrated Woden, we shall speak at large in the
histories of Sweden and Denmark. As the Saxons were, by
their piracies on the coasts of Gaul and Britain, better known
at the time of their settling in this island, the conquest of jBr/-
tain is, by the antient writers, ascribed to them, and not to
the Angles, or Jutes ; nay, Britain was for some time, from
them, called Saxony .-'but, in the end, the name of Anglia,
from the Angles, prevailed. The Jutes were less known, tit
• Ethelwerd. chron. lib. i. p Vide Alford, ad ann.449.
(H) Neither Gildas nor Bede avoid sailing into the hands of
name his parents ; which has gi- Vortigirn, who, it seems, had
▼en room to many conjectures ; usurped his right (2) ; nay, feme
some maintaining him to have writers tell us, that the fear of
been the son of Gonsiantint, who Ambrofius induced Vortigeru to
was chosen "emperor by the Ro- call in the Saxons. Matthew oF
mans in Britain about the year Westminster adds, that the Bri-
407 (1). Others think he was tons, no longer able to bear Vor-
descended from some of the Bri- tigern, sent for Ambrofius, and his
tijh kings, who reigned in the brother; who, complying with
island after the departure of the their invitation, landed with a
Romans ; for it is manifest from considerable body of men in the
Gildas, that the Britons had se- island ; upon which Vortigcrn
veral kings at the fame time, retired to the mountains of that
Matthew of Westminster tells us, part of Britain, which is now
that Ambrofius had fled, with his called Wales; and Ambrofius was
brother Uterpendragus, whom o- declared king,
thers call Uther, into Armorica, to (I) Gtoffery oiMonmoutb tells us,
ibid.
that, on this occasion, Ambro/im and Walter of Coventry sets it
erected the famous monument down as a thing not to be que-
known by the name of Stone- stioned, adding two circumllan-
tenge, in honour of the British ces to render it the more pro-
nobles treacherously slain there, babie, to wit, that Ambrofius was
as he suppose?, by Hvngift. It is crowned, and, not long after,
surprising, that any of our histo- buried there. PolyJore Virgil sup-
rians should have followed him ; poses it to be the monument of
and yet Matthew of Westminster Ambrofiui ; and John of Tin-
fopjes the main of his account j mouth calls it Mont Ambrojli.
'' forces,
iS6 The History of Britain. B.IV.
Ambro- forces, marched in quest of the enemy, and, coming up with
sms cb- them, gave them a total overthrow h. 'The following year
tainsafeg- 467. died Hengijl king of Kent, and was succeeded by his son
nal liclo- Elk, called also Oisc and Osric, who reigned twenty-four
ry over years, without attempting to inlargehis dominions' (K).
the Sa In the mean time Ella, having received frelh supplies from
xons.
Germany, laid siege to Andredchejler, supposed by Camden to
The Sa
xons, un be Newenden in Kent ; by Somner to be Pemsey or Hastings.
der the On the other hand, the Britons, having raised a great army,
conduit of advanced to the relief of the place, and, with frequent attacks,
Ella, be harassed the Saxons to such a degree, that they were obliged
siege An- to abandon the siege. Hereupon the Britons withdrew to the
dredchest- woods, not caring to venture a battle ; but the Saxons were
no sooner returned to the siege, than the Britons, sallying out
upon them anew, forced them to quit it. Thus the Saxons
lost great numbers of their men, and made but a small progress
in the siege. But Ella having at last divided his army into two
bodies, one of which pursued without intermission the siege,
while the other observed the enemy's motions, the citizens,
quite spent with hunger and fatigue, could ' no longer with
ixihieh stand the efforts of the aggressors. The town was therefore
they take, taken, and by the merciless conquerors leveled with the
and level ground, after they had put to the sword all the inhabitants,
•with the without distinction of sex or age. Such is the account Henry of
ground. Huntingdon gives us of this siege k. Thus in the year 491. thirty-
'Thesecond four years after the beginning of the kingdom of Kent, began
Saxon the second kingdom in the island, called the kingdom of the
h Hunting, lib. ii. ad ann. 487. ' Idem, lib. ii. Ethelw.
ad hunc ann. MalMesb. de reg. lib. i. c. 1. k Hunting.
lib. ii.
(K) Some writers tell us, that this account is generally looked
Hengift was taken prisoner in the upon as an arrant fable. Hen-
above-mentioned battle by Eldol gist, as we have observed above,
duke of Claudioctstria, and be withdrew from Britain, after his
headed by him, pursuant to the landing there, to recruit his ar
sentence which had been pro my, which was greatly diminish
nounced against him in a great ed. Cornelius Kempius, in his
council, at the instigation of El- history of Frijia, tells us, upon
dadus, brother to Eldol, and bi what grounds we know not, that
shop of Claudioeestria, who de Hengijl retired to Hulland, and
clared, that, if the rest spared there built, on the banks of the
him, he would, with his own Rhine, the city of Leyden (4).
hands, cut him in pieces (3). But
(3/ f"li-!'. ad ann, 4S9. (4.) Ccrn. Kerrp, !i Fri/ia, lib. ii.
South
C. XXVII. ?be History os Britain. 187
South-Saxons, which comprised at first only Sussex; but was Kingdom in
extended by Ella before his death (for he reigned twenty-four Britain,
years) to all the provinces lying south of the Number 1. The South
News being carried into Germany of the good success that Saxons,
attended the Saxons in Britain, new adventurers flocked over Mo,e Sa-
daily to share with them their good fortune. Among the rest x?ns ar~
came Cerdick, the tenth indescent from IVodcn, with his son r£"t£n?sr
Cenrick, and as many men' as he could transport in five ships. "JcS
These landing at a place, which, from their leader, was call- "year of
ed Cerdick's-Jhore, now, according to Brompton, Yarmouth in ^ fj00cj
Norfolk, were vigorously attacked by the Britons, whom, 2830.
after a short engagement, they put to flight. Several other of Christ
battles were fought; but fortune proving ever favourable to ^gi.
the Saxons, the natives were forced to retire, and leave them Of Rome
in possession of the sea-coasts m. About six years after, Porta, izjo.
another Saxon, with his two sons Bleda and Magla, arrived .•*V">«*.
at Portsmouth, so called, as some imagine, from him ; and,
having defeated with great slaughter the Britons, who attempt
ed to oppose his landing, and killed a -young Britijh prince,
who commanded them, he possessed himself os the neighbour
ing country ". But the progress made by Cerdick most of all
alarmed the Britons ; and therefore, seven years after the ar
rival of Porta, and sixty after the first coming of the Saxons,
Nazaleod, whom Henry of Hutitington stiles the greatest of
the Britijh kings, assembled the whole strength of Britain to
put a stop to his conquests. On the other hand, Cerdick,
aware of the danger that threatened him, had recourse to Esk
king of Kent, to E/la king of the South-Saxons, and to Porta
and his sons, who all sent him powerful supplies. With these
he advanced against the Britons, leading the right wing him
self, and his son Cenrick the left.
As the two armies drew near, each other, Nazaleod, per
ceiving the enemy's right wing to be by far the stronger of the
two, charged it with the flower of his army, and obliged Cer-
eiici, after an obstinate resistance, to save himself by flight ;
but, as he was pursuing the fugitives with more heat than cau
tion, Cenrick, falling upon his rear, renewed the battle with Naza-
such vigour, that the Britijli army was utterly defeated, and le°d, a
Nazaleod himself slain, with five thousand of his men ". Who British
this Nazaleod was, is much controverted: some think it may ''".?« " ''"
be the Britijh name of Ambrofius, who, as Gildas informs \.\s,fia["*"n*
fought, about this time, several battles with the Saxons ;■£*'* . '
others will have it to be the name of his brother Usher Pcndra- er IC '
gon. But the story of Uther Pendragon is now deemed a fable
(5} Yiit Usser. wpiiir.ad. p. 116, SV. &GerilJ- Cambr. in spec. tccUs. lib. it
We
C. XXVII. tbe History of Britain. 191
Nennius, who lived about three hundred years after him, He h said
tells us, that he overthrew the Saxons in no fewer than twelve to have
battles. The first of these was fought near the mouth of a cer- wer-
tain river, called Glein, or Gleni, placed by some in Devon- thrown
Jhire; by others in Lincolnshire: the second, third, fourth, the Saxons
and fifth, near the river Duglas, in the country of Limits% or "» <W»
Limit. This river some suppose to be the Dug or Due in oattut.
Lincolnjhire ; others the Dugles near Wigan in Lancashire.
The sixth battle was fought on the banks of a river called Bas
sos, supposed by some to run by the town of Boston in Lin
colnshire ; the seventh in the wood of Chelidon, called in the
British language Cattoit Celidon. Matthew of Westminster
gives us a very particular account of this battle -, but, in our t
opinion so fabulous, that it does not deserve a place in history 1.
The eighth battle was near the castle of Suinnion ; the ninth
near the city of Lergis or Leogis, called in the British tongue
Kaerleon ; the tenth in the neighbourhood of the river Ribrot
or Arderic ; the eleventh on the hill Brenion, supposed to be
somewhere in Somersetshire ; and the twelfth on the hill of
Baden. Gale thinks these battles were fought in the space of
forty years, under Vortigern, Ambrosius, and others, though
they have been all ascribed to Arthur.
Cerdick, having sustained great losses in the many battles Ncwfep*
that were fought with the Britons, sent over to Germany for p/iej 0f
new supplies j which, arriving in three ships, under the conduct Saxons
9 Hunting.1. ii.
side Gauls or W,alls, gave after- be seen in several parts ; and all
wards the fame appellation to all the towns, situated on the east
strangers ; and hence, according side of it, have names ending in
to that writer, the Walloons in ton or ham ; an evident proof
the Low Countries, and the Wal- that they were inhabited by Sa-
lachians on the Danube, received xom ; nay, the inhabitants of
their denominations. them are by th&Welfo still called
(O) This ditch, called by the Guyry Mers, that is, the men of
Wel/h to this day, Claudh Ufa, Mercia,
or the ditch of Ufa, is still to
But
C. XXVII. The History of Britain. 201
But Gddai tells us, that some of them, committing them
selves to the mercy of the waves, sought for shelter beyond
the sea ; and it is the general opinion, that they fled to their
countrymen in Armorica. That some Britons had settled in Some of
Armorica, now Bretagne, before this time, is past dispute, the di-
though thtfe is a great disagreement among authors as to the stressed
precise time of their first settling there (P). They are said to Britons
nave passed over to, and settled in, Armorica at three different tatejbrl-
times ; to wit, in the reign of Conjiantius Chlorus, the father ttr '" At~
of Constantine the Great, during the usurpation of Maximus, monca-
and when the Saxons made themselves masters of the island.
No antient historian makes any mention of their settling in
that country, either in the reign of Conjiantius, or of Maxi
mum ; which gives us room to question the truth of what the
moderns have written on that head. All we know for certain
is, that the Britons were settled in that part of Gaul, which,
from them, was called Britany, before the Saxons and Angles
made themselves masters of the whole country now called Eng
land (QJ.
The
(P) The first mention we find shew, that they were not at all
of the Britons in Armorica is in mended by the calamities they
the year 46 1 . when Man/uetus had suffered at home. Sidonius,
bishop of the Britons subscribed, after he was made bishop, had
among the other prelates of Gaul often occasion to complain of
and Armorica, to the articles them to their prince (3). An
established in the first council of anonymous writer, who was a
Tours (9). It is manifest from native of Armorica, and wrote
Sidonius Apollinaris, that, in 469. the life of St. Wingalof, not
they were already settled on the long after the Saxons had made
banks of the Loire (1). About themselves masters of Britain,
the year 470. the Britons in Ar tells us, that the Britons, em
morica had a king of their own, barking on floats, arrived in
named Rhtbam, who, at the re Armorica, being driven out of
quest of the emperor Anthcmius, their native soil by the Saxons, a
marched at the head of twelve fierce and barbarous nation. He
thousand men against Euric, king adds, that the Britons, being
of the P'rjigotbs ; but was defeat worn out with misfortunes and
ed by that prince in the province fatigues, continued quiet for a
of Btrri (2). Sidonius Apollina while, without engaging in any
ris highly commends the mode wars (4).
ration of Riotbam ; but speaks (QJ William of Malmtjbury
of his men in such terms, as writes, that the Britons, who
(9) Ctmcil. tun. iv. (r) Sidon. lib. i- if>. 7. p. 16, (») jforrmnd.
Ttr. Q rb. c. 45. p. 678. Greg. Tur. hist, frart. lib. ii. c. 8. f. aft. (^ i»-
dvt. lib. iii. tf. 9." p. 73, 74. 14) side Camd. &' VJs. in primorj. p. 441.
went
202 We History of Britain. B. IV.
they male The Britons, who settled in Armorica, having, by degrees,
tbcmsifou got the better of the natives, treated them much in the fame
masters of manner, as their countrymen, whom they had left behind in
it. the island, were treated by the Saxons : for, not to allege other
testimonies, Regalis bishop of Vannes, speaking of the unhappy
condition of the Armoricans, JVe live, says he, in' captivity
under the Britons, and bear a most grievous and heavy yoke.
The Armoricans, thus overpowered by the Britons, were
blended with them under the common appellation of Britons,
their country being called Britannia Armorica, and Britannia
Cismarina, in the fame manner as the Gauls, in other parts of
Gaul, were blended under the common name of Franks, and
their country called Francia. The Armorican Britons defended
themselves with great bravery against the Franks, first under
petty kings, and afterwards under counts and dukes, as we
ssull relate in a more proper place. But to return to our
distressed Britons at home : those who had taken refuge among
the mountains beyond the Severn, attempted, from time to
time, to recover the countries they had lost ; but their efforts
proved ineffectual, as did the endeavours of the Anglo-Saxons
to extend their conquests beyond the mountains. Such of the
Britons as submitted to, and lived among, the Saxons, were
treated by them as slaves, and employed in the most servile
offices.
Thus, omitting such accounts as are generally deemed fa
bulous, we have related the most remarkable events, that hap
pened in Britain, from the arrival of the Saxons, to the retreat
of the Britons into Cambria, or Wales. The venerable Bede
takes no notice of what was transacted here, from the battle
on Badon-hill, to the conversion of the Saxons in the time of
pope Gregory the Great ; which does not a little incline us to
question the truth of what we read in the writers, who came
after him. These had not better records or memoirs than that
venerable author, but less discernment, and more credulity j
which perhaps may have prompted them to relate, and even
believe, such things, as did not appear to that judicious au
thor so well attested, as to deserve a place in his history. With
these, however, we have been forced to take up, for want of
CHAP.
204 she History of the Hunns. B. IV.
CHAP. XXVIII.
The aniient State of the several Northern Nations, to
their breaking into the Roman Empire ; and their
several Expeditions, and mutual Expulsions, till the
Settling of the Hunns in Hungary, the Vandals,
Visigoths, and Sueves, in Spain, the Vandals in
Africa, the Franks in Gaul, the Ostrogoths in Italy.
SECT. I.
The antient State, Sec. of the Hunns, till their fettling
in Hungary.
The anti- T^HE Hunns, a fierce and savage nation, inhabited that part
tntfeats of ■*■ of Asiatic Sarmatia, which bordered on the Palus Maotis,
/&Hunns. and the Tanais, the antient boundary between Europe and
Asia*. Their country, as described by Procopius b, lay north
of mount Caucasus, which, extending from the Euxine to the
Caspian sea, parts Asiatic Sarmatia from Colchis, Iberia, and
Albania, lying on the isthmus between the two above-men
tioned seas. In this mountain, or rather ridge of mountains,
were two narrow passes leading out of Astatic Sarmatia into
. Iberia, one of which was antiently called Porta Caucasia, but,
in Procopius's time, Tzur, and the other Porta Cafpia ; which,
however, we must distinguish from the famous Porta: Cafpiec,
or the narrow passes in mount Cafpius, which, at a great
distance to the south of mount Caucasus, divided Media from
Parthia. The two pastes in mount Caucasus let the neigh
bouring Hunns, fays Procopius c, into the territories of the
Romans and Parthians ; whence it is manifest, that, accord
ing to Procopius, the antient feats of the Hunns lay north of
mount Caucasus, and at a small distance from it. In those
scats, called by Procopius the EuUfian region, dwelt the Hunns,
divided into several tribes, but all comprised under the general
name oiUgri, changed afterwards into that of Hunni or Unni.
Different Jn the authors, who wrote after the year of the Christian æra
tribes of ^76. when the Hunns first broke into Europe, mention is
Hunns. made of the Ulurgurian, Cuturgurian, Onugurian, Fultinxu-
h Jorn. rer. Goth. c. 24. p. 643. ' Zos. lib. iv. p. 747.
k Ammian. lib. xxxi. p. 435—437—615—618. Zos. lib. iv. p.
747. Isidor. car. ii. p. 297. Jorn. rer. Goth. c. 24. p. 643, 644.
Salvian. lib. iv. p. 89.
(1) Jernand. rer. Gctb. c. 24. p. 64. (3) Idem ibid. t. 48. p. 681.
(4) VnUs. rer. FrtK. lib. iii. p. 154. Phct. e. So. (5) Prise, de legat. p. 48.
(6; Jem. ibid. c. 3. p. 66. (7) Idem ibid. Prise, p. «9.
we
208 The History of the Hunns." B. IV.
eeptus seems to insinuate, that they were descended from the
Albanians, and that they removed from Albania, lying on the
Caspian sea, into Astatic Sarmalia, where they settled. Jor-
nandes, an irreconcilable enemy to the Hunns, who had driven
his countrymen the Goths from their antient habitations, gives
us the following account of their original, an account intirely
owing to the hatred he bore them. Filimer, the son of Gan-
daric the Great, and the fifth king of the Goths after their going
out of the peninsula Scanzia, or Scandinavia,' having entered
the Scythian territories, discovered among his people a great
number of witches, called, in the language of his country,
aliorumna. These he drove into the wilderness far from his
army, where the unclean spirits, who haunted those wild and
solitary places, being taken -with their charms, kept them com
pany, and from their conversation sprung the nation of the
Hunns °. We are almost ashamed to allow a place in our ,
history to such a ridiculous fable, though very gravely related
by Jornandes f, and, with no less gravity, confuted by a mo
dern writer «.
Their ori- As for the name of Hunns, some authors will have them to
gin. have been so called from one of their leaders named Hunnor ;
but of this Hunnor no mention is made by any antient writer.
They are frequently ftiled Ugri by Procopius, and other wri
ters ; and the word Ugre, in the Sclavonic language, signifies
aquatic, that is, living in or near the water; a name well
adapted to a nation living in wet or marshy places ; and such
were the antient seats of the Hunns bordering on the Palus
Maotis, and the Tanais r. Ptolemy, in his Sarmatia Europaa,
mentions a people, whom he calls Chuni, dwelling in his time
tin the banks of the Borysthenes. These the Hunns subdued,
and settled in their country ; whence, from their name Chuni,
some derive that of Hunni. But, to dwell no longer on con
jectures, we shall now give a sucoinct account of the several
migrations and expeditions of the Hunns, from their first com
ing into Europe, to their settling in Pannonia, called after-
we must not confound, as some ral of the Hunns, who was killed
have done, Rods, whom Priscus with a flash of lightning in 426.
calls Roua (8\ and Tyro Pro/per, while he was making war upon
Rugula{c,), with Rougas, gene- TheodofiusW. (l).
(%) Prise, f. 47. (9) Vide Secret, lib. vii. c. 43. f. 387. & Bucber. Lift.
Sllpt. />. 588. ( J) Prise, f. 47.
wards
C. XXVIII. Tbt History of the Hurms.7 209
wards from them Hungary, following therein Ammianas Mar-
cellinus, the most antient author that speaks of them, at least
among such as have reached our times, and other credible
writers, who lived in or near those times.
The Hunns, as we have observed above, dwelt on the east Tb/ypasi
side of the Palus Maotis, now the sea of Zabache, quite unac- tbt Palu*
quainted with the people and countries lying on the opposite Mæotis ;
lide, till an hind pursued by some hunters, or; as we read in ^ear °f
other authors, an ox stung by a gad-fly, having passed the "^ &0°d
marsh, some Hurms followed their guide to the opposite side, n^^'.A
where they discovered a country far more agreeable than their t-hnst
own. Hereupon, returning to their own country, they ac- o^p
quainted their countrymen with what they had seen ; and, at c
the same time, informed them, that what they had till then i_JTj
looked upon as a deep sea, was only a marsh, and might be
passed without the least danger *. Encouraged with this ac-r
count, and desiring to settle in a more kind soil, they passed
the marsh ; and, entering the country of the Alans, who dwelt «»J fob-
on the banks of the Tanais, and were thence called Tanaites, due tbt
they bid it waste far and near, made a dreadful havock of the ^'»ns.
inhabitants, and obliged such of them as were left alive, and
able to bear arms, to join them. Thus reinforced, they fell Tbryfalt
upon the Goths, by Ammianus called Greuthangi, and by for- upon the
nandes OJirogoths 5 and spread every-where such terror among OstrO-
them, that Ermtnric their king, though a warlike prince, gothsj
and conqueror of many nations^ laid violent hands on himself,
to avoid seeing the calamities that threatened his people, and
to him seemed unavoidable '. Jornandes tells us, that Ermen-
ricy whom he calls Ermanaric, having punished with death a
woman named Saniolk, of the nation of the Roxolani, for the
murder of her husband, her two brothers, Sarus and Ammiust
conspiring against him, gave him a dangerous wound in the'
side ; which, with the concern he was under in seeing his
country over-run by the Hunns, occasioned his death, in the
hundredth and tenth year of his age °. He was succeeded by Vi-
thimir, who, having hired a body of Hunns, with them, and
his own troops, made, for some time, a vigorous resistance ;
but was in the end, after many losses, slain in battle. He left
behind him a son named Vitherit or Vider'u± whom, as he was
underage, he committed to the care of Alathcus and Sapbrax;
but these, though men of known valour and experience in
war, foreseeing all their efforts would prove unsuccessful against
the numerous and formidable forces of the enemy, thought it
(%) Claud, In Ruf. lit. ii. p. zo. (g) Socrat. Ut. vi. e. 1, p. 300.
(1 ) S;a. lit. viii. c. i.p. 75 j. (?) Zos. lit. v, p. 782. ( j) riot
Baron, annul, ad ann. 404, ($J Scæ. Philostorg. ibid.
* 3- number
214 ***' History os the Hunns. B.1V.
Uldin number of an hundred thousand men 1 (F). Uldin was well
king ofthe known to the Romans before this time, from the vigorous op-
Hunns. position he had made in the year 400. against the famous Gai-
nas, commander of the Goths in the Roman service, of whom
we have spoken at large elsewhere m.
Uldin ra- No prince had hitherto deserved better of the empire than
•oaget Uldin. But, two years after the signal victory obtained
Thrace ; cnjefly by his means over Radagaisus, he became, on what
3fl A Provocat'on we know not, an irreconcileable enemy to the
the 00 Romans j and) passing the Danube, entered Thrace, at the
Of Christ ncac^ °^a numerous army, consisting of Hunns and Squiri, or
a Seyri, a northern nation, subject, in all likelihood, to the
Of Rome Hunns. As this irruption happened during the minority of
1 1 c6. Theodojius II. Anthemius, who had taken upon him the admi-
{S"*f>J nistration, did all that lay in his power to appease Uldin ; but
he confiding too much in his own strength, and insisting upon
conditions that could not be honourably granted, Anthcmius
ordered a body of Roman troops to march against him ; at
whose approach several of his officers, offended at his haughty
and imperious behaviour, laid hold of that opportunity to
lut is abandon him, and side with the Romans. This alarmed Ul-
fercedto din, who thereupon retired with great precipitation, and re-
ritirc. pasted the Danube, after having lost, on his hasty march,
many of his men. As for the Squiri, the emperor's troops
coming up with them before they reached the Danube, they
were all to a man either killed or taken. The prisoners were
fold, and dispersed all over Asia, to prevent their ever return*
ing to their own country ". By this overthrow, and one they
had received in 381. from Theodostus the Great, grandfather
to the reigning emperor Theodosms the younger, that nation,
once very numerous, was almost utterly extirpated °.
1 7-ot. p. 803. Prost, chron. Aug. civ. p. 63. m Vol. xvi.
r. 482—487. ' n Socrat. lib. ix. c. 6. p. 806, 807. ° Idem
ibid. Soz. lib. iv. p. 759. Zos. 1 iv. p. 759.
(F) Orofiut ascribes this victo- famine, and the rest submitted .to
ry not to the Hunns, but to a pa- the Romans. Thus the victory,
nic, which, spreading all on a says the lame writer, was owing
sudden throughout the camp, to the Lord of hosts, £n.d not to
obliged Radagaisus to withdraw his enemies the Hunns ( 5J. But
from before Florence, which he to them it is ascribed by St. Au-
had invested, to the neighbour- Jlin, Zofimus, and Proffer, whose
ing mountains of Firsoli, where authority is of far greater weight
most of his men perished with with us than that of Qresius.
by Tyro Proffer (7), and the first cannot help thinking Jornanda
by countAfar^///'a«j(8) ; whence therein miltaken ; since not to
authors conclude, that he was B/eda, but to Attila, the prin-
the elder brother. Jornandci cess Honoria applied, as we shall
thinks, that, to his share, fell relate anon, stirring him up to
the provinces bordering on the make war upon her brother A«.
western empire, and to Attila % Lntinian emperor of the west,
the more eastern (9). But we
(7) Pn(p, cbrut. (8) JUartel. ctrui. ad am, 44:, {9) Jtm. c. 43.
the
220 The History of the Hunns. B. IV.
the countries belonging to the other Acatzirian princes to his
Attila as-eldest son, named Ellac, appointing him king over all the na-
pointi bis tions bordering on the Euxine sea. The young prince, in
fin Ellac going to take possession of his new kingdom,, had the mis-
king over fortune to break his right arm by a fall from his horse ra.
all the Attila, having, with the assistance of his brother Bleda,
«K7 ions brought under subjection all the northern nations, began, as
"Tih"v '1IS amD't'on knew no bounds, and his arms had been hitherto
• f attended with wonderful success, to entertain thoughts of re-
Resok'ci during, not oruv tnc Goths settled in Thrace, but the Romans
en a new themselves, and making himself master of the whole empire.
•war tuiihWith this view, having drawn together a very numerous and
the Ro- formidable army, without any regard to the above-mentioned
mans. treaty, he passed the Danube, and, entering Thrace, put all
to fire and sword, without distinction of sex, age, or condi
tion. At this time perhaps happened what we read in Pris
ms, to wit, that, during a fair, the Hunns fell upon the Ro
mans, killed a great many, of them, and made themselves
masters of a castle. The Romans complained of these hostili
ties ; but the Hunns pretended, that the Romans had been the
aggressors, the bishop of Margum having plundered, they
said, their treasure; on which account they insisted upon his
being delivered up to them, with all those of their nation who
had taken refuge in the Roman dominions. The bishop de
nied the charge ; but the Hunns, who wanted only a pretence
to quarrel with Tljeodosius, engaged at this time in two trouble
some and expensive wars with the Persians and Vandals, with
out offering to prove it, entered the empire in an hostile man
ner n. Vorburgus supposes Attila to have been stirred up by
Genseric king of the Vandals, powerfully attacked at this time
by Theodojius0.
Attila and Be that as it will, Attila and his brother Bleda took scveraj
Bleda towns and castles, which the Romans had built on the banks
ip'T" o( the Danube, to awe the barbarians, and restrain them from
' lEfftern entering the empire P. Among the other towns, they made
*ire ' ■ themselves masters of Vlminacium, a place of great importance
on the Danube in Upper Mcesta. The Romans, alarmed at
this sudden inundation of the Hunns, advised the emperor to
comply with their request, and deliver up to them the bishop
c& Margum; which he no sooner understood, than he repaired
to the enemy's camp, and found means to put them in posses
sion of the city ■*. Attila, elated with this success, dispatched
(M) This is all we find in the that Attila, after the famous de-
antient writers concerning the feat he received in Champagne,
celebrated Attila, and his nume- mindful of the saying of the
rous issue. The modern authors hermit, added to his other titles
add many things, and, among that of fiagellum Dei, or the
the rest, that, while Attila was scourge os God (^). But \vh3t
in Gaul, an holy hermit told him, we read in the modern histories
that he was the scourge of God, of Hungary concerning those
who had put the sword of justice early times, is, for the most
into hb hand, to punish the vices part, either quite groundless,
of the Christians ; but would highly improbable, or evidently
snatch it from him as soon as sabulous.
^jtfaey were reclaimed. They add,
($) Olab. in Attil. p. 869. Ecnfn. ter. U'lar. p. 1 8,' (£i.
Q^ 2 ncrous
228 <Ihe History of the Hunns; B. IV.
nerous to such a degree, that no one doubted, but, with his
Attila rich presents, he would soften Attila. It happened accord
spares the ingly ; for Attila not only promised to live in peace and amity
conspira with Theodosius, but relinquished his claim to the countries on
tors. the Roman side of the Danube, pardoned Chrysaphus, set Vigi-
lius at liberty, sent back many Roman captives without ran
som, and dismissed the embassadors loaded with presents. Thus
Prisms, who was an eye-witness of what he relates, having
attended Maximinus to the court of Attila c (O).
The following year 450. Theodosius 11. died, and was suc
ceeded by Marcian ; which Attila no sooner understood, than
he dispatched embassadors to the new emperor, demanding the
The empe pension paid him by the deceased prince. Marcian, not think
ror Mar- ing himself bound by the shameful treaty, which his predeces
cian re sor had concluded with the barbarians, dismissed the embassa
fuses lo dors with this answer, That Theodosius was no more ; and, as
pay him for himself, he had gold for his friends, and fleelfor his ene-
the usual
pension. c Puisc. p. 70 — 72.
(O) The fame author writes, him, that Conslantius must either
that Conslantius, secretary to At have the daughter of Saturninus,
tila, being sent embassador to or another of equal wealth ; and
the court of Constantinople, pro that it was a stiameful thing in a
mised to befriend the Romans, prince to fail of his word, charg
and do all that lay in his power ing him at the fame time to tell
to divert his master from break his master from him, that he was
ing anew into the empire, pro amazed to find he had thus gone
vided Theodosius procured him back from his word, and forfeit
some rich heiress in marriage. ed his honour ; that, from his
Hereupon the emperor promised not punishing Zeno, he conclud
him the daughter of Saturninus, ed that general to have been
whom Eudqxia had caused to be countenanced by him in what he
put to death is 444. aster he had done ; but if he was there
had been for some years comes in mistaken, if Theodosius durst
domeflicorum, or captain of the not resent such insults from his
guards. But Zcno, commander own subjects, he was ready to
in chief of all the emperor's teach them the respect, submis
force?, without any regard to the sion and obedience they owed
word or honour of his prince, their sovereign. Theodosius, pi
took her by force out of the qued with this reproach, caused
- castle, where (he was kept, and the estate, not of Zcno, whom he
gave her in marriage to a friend was afraid to provoke, but of
of his, named Ru/'us. Of this Saturninus, to be confiscated,
Conslantius complained to Attila, thinking to cover his weakness
and Attila to Maximinus, who with this piece of injustice (7).
was then at his court, telling
(■-; Fr:j:,p.6g. Mire, drop. p. 16.
mies.
C. XXVIII. tbe History of the Hunns." 2a$
mies. Attila, provoked at this answer, began to draw toge
ther his troops, in order to break into the empire. Hereupon
Marcian, who had found the affairs of the empire in a most
deplorable condition, to gain time, sent a solemn embassy to
Attila, at the head of which was Apollonius, a gcperal of no
small renown, perhaps the fame person to whom Theodores
wrote his seventy-third and three hundred and third letter s.
But the king of the Hunns, understanding he had not brought
with him the usual pension, would neither speak to him, nor
see him. However, he commanded him, on pain of death, to
convey to him the presents, which the emperor had sent him.
To this message Apollonius answered, " That the king needed
" not demand, with menaces, things which he might have
*' when he pleased, either as presents, if he was determined to
" live in amity with the Romans., or as spoils, if, forgetful
" of the right of nations, he thought fit to use violence with
" an embassador." Hereupon Attila, choosing rather to lose
the presents, than declare himself a friend to the Romans, or
offer the least violence to an embassador, ordered him to quit
his dominions, and return home g.
However, not thinking it adviseable, at that juncture, to
engage in a war with Marcian, and, on the other hand, im
patient of peace, he resolved to turn his arms against theWest- Attila re-
orn empire, then governed by Valentinian III. a weak and un- solves to
warlike prince. Roua, uncle to Attila, had concluded a peace "">ke war
with Falentinian a little before his death, that is, about the uPon, Ya'
year 433. as we have related above. Attila, who succeeded sennman
him, had no sooner taken possession of the crown, than he *•
was, with repeated letters and messages, pressed by Jasta Grata Heisftir-
Honoria, Valentinian's own sister, to break the peace, and red up by
invade the Western empire. Honoria had been honoured with Honoria.
the title of Augusta, to divert her from marrying, there being, Year of
at that time, no man in the whole empire, whose rank an- the "00<^
swered her high station ; for it was thought proper, that she ?799-
fliould continue unmarried, as the sisters oiTheodofius II. had ^* Christ
done. But celibacy had been their choice : whereas Honoria p.$\t'
had no inclination to lead a single life ; but was forced to it, ome
and closely watched by Valentinian's orders, or rather by her . J+jL*
mother Placidia's h. The young princess therefore, no longer
able to bear this restraint, dispatched privately one of her eu
nuchs to Attila, pressing him to enter Italy at the head of a
powerful army, and marry her ' ; nay, Ihe sent him, either ar,
{ Theodoret. ep. 73. p. 942. *Prisc. p. 72, 73. h Jorn.
reg. c. 44. p. 673. Canc. Byzant, fam. p. 67. 73. ' Jorn.
ibid, p 653. .
Q, 3 this
no The History of the Hunns. B. IV »
this time or afterwards, a ring, as a pledge of her fidelity *.
She was then about sixteen or seventeen, being born before her
brother Valentinian in 417. or 418. Attila, who had then
just begun to reign, not caring to engage in this enterprize,
Her incon Honoria suffered herself to be debauched by one of her own
tinence. domestics, named Eugenius. Placidia no sooner perceived her
with child, than she caused her to be shut up in a private house,
and soon after sent her to Theodojius at Constantinople K This
happened in 434. three years before Valentinian married the
daughter of Theodojius m (P). Honoria continued pressing
Attila to make war upon her brother ; but he, it seems, not
giving ear to her solicitations, prayers, and intreaties, lived in
peace with Valentinian till the year 451. when, upon his re
fusing to give him in marriage his sister Honoria, as we have
'elated elsewhere n, he entered Gaul at the head of a formi
dable army, giving out, that his design was to make war upon
the Visigoths ; that he was determined to live in friendship with
the Romans ; and that he only wanted to cross Gaul, and pass
the Loire at Orleans, in order to fall upon his enemies the
Goths in Guyenne and Languedoc0. Being therefore looked
upon as a friend by the credulous and unwary Romans, several
cities opened their gates to him ; but his men behaving, in the
cities that had received them, more like enemies than friends,
He takes the other towns refused to admit them P. Hereupon Attila,
and de pulling off the mask, besieged, took by storm, and plundered,
stroys ft- many places in Gaul 1. The cities that suffered most on this
•veral ci occasion were, Tongres ' (Q_), Treves, formerly the metropo
ties. lis
k Prisc p. 40. ' Jorn. rer. Goth. p. 653. " Mar-
cell, chron. ■ Vol. xvi. p. 566. ° Prosp. Du Chesne,
torn. ii. p. 521. v Prosp. Idat. p. 28. ' Idat. ibid.
' Cointii annal. eccles. Franc, ad ann. 451. Allissiodor. chron.
p. 62.
(P) Valestus writes, that Va that, when it was first heard in
lentinian caused Eugenius to be Gaul, that Attila'1* design was to
put to death, which is highly pass through that country, die
probable, but, we may venture pious bishop of Tongres, named
to fay, not affirmed by any of Arcvacui, or Ar<vacus, went to
the antients. The fame author visit the holy places at Rome,
maintains, that' Honoria was not where, with fervent prayers, and
sent to Constantinosle, and,what is many tears, he begged Heaven
surprising, quotes Jornandes, who to avert the calamities that"
fays in express terms (he was (S). threatened his flock, and all
( QJ Gregory of Tours writes, Gaul. But St. Peter, appearing
(6) Jttrn, rtr. Cttt. p. {53,
to
C. XXVIII. The History os the Hunns. 231
lis of Gaul, which had been four times pillaged before the year
440. and was now laid in ashes by the Hunns s, Strasbourg,
Spires, Worms, Mentx, Andernach, and most of the towns in
that neighbourhood '. Attila, advancing thence into the
country, and dividing his numerous army into several bodies,
took, pillaged, and laid in ashes, many other cities, and among
the rest Arras ", Be/artson, Toul, and Langrcs w. The bar
barians attacked the town of Laon ; but were repulsed with
great slaughter x. At Mentz. they arrived the night preceding
the solemnity of Easier, which in 451. fell on the eighth of
April ; and, having soon forced the gates, and entered the city
sword in hand, they made a dreadful havock of the inhabit
ants, massacred the priests at the altars, and set sire to the
place, which soon reduced all the private and public buildings
to ashes 1, sparing only the chapel of St. Stephen, if Gregory of.
Tours is to be credited, where some reliques of that faint were
lodged *.
Attila, thus putting all to, fire and sword, arrived at He lays
length before Orleans, which he immediately invested, the in- fiege to
habitants refusing to admit him into the city. In the mean Orleans,
time Aetius, arriving from Italy at Aries, took care to encou
rage, by frequent messengers, the inhabitants and garison of
Orleans to make a vigorous defence, assuring them, that, in
a short time, he would march to their assistance. He had
brought with him but a small number of troops, not doubting
but the Visigoths would join the Romans in opposing the furious
torrent, which threatened both nations alike ; but, finding the
Visigoths resolved to wait for the enemy in their country, he
used all kinds of arguments, in order to persuade them to
change that resolution, sending to them for that purpose Avitui,
who was raised to the imperial dignity a few years after *. The
• Du Chesne, p. 694. ' Buch. p. 512. ■ Alcoin.
apud Bolland. p. 797. w Allis. chron. p. 67. * Rui-
nert. hist. Vand. persceut. p. 408. 1 Idat. Du Chesne, torn.
i. p. 694. * Greg. Tur. hist. Franc, lib. ii. c. 6. p. 276.
* Sid. car. vii. p. 341. Prosp. chron. •
to him, told him, that the Al- turned to Tongres, and thence re-
roighty had, in his justice, im- paired to Matstricht, where he
mutably decreed, that the Hunns died soon after (9). The cre-
fhould come into Gaul, and ra- dulity of this excellent writer is
vage the whole country ; but as the effect of his great piety,
for him, he should not live to fee which often gets the better of his
the miseries of his distressed good sense and understanding,
flock. With this answer he re-
(i) G"i' fur. btst. Franc. Hi. ii. c. 56. p. 175, *jt.
Q_4 ep'ito-
232 . The History of the Hunns. B. IV.
epitomizes of ldatius, supposed to have lived in the lime of
Charlemagne b, tells us, that, on this occasion, the holy bishop
of Orleans, St. Agnan, was likewise sent by Aetius to Thea-
Aetius is doric king of the Visigoths c. Be that as it will, Tkcodoric
joined by yielded at length to the reasons alleged by the deputies of Ae-
thc Visi- tins, which the reader will find in Jornandes d, promising to
goths, and j0;n the Remans with all his forces against the common enemy.
several 'pj^ c^^ge 0f measures in the king was highly acceptable
other na- both to tj,e ,10Di]ity and his people, who received the news of
"""' it with loud acclamations of joy, occasioned by the eager de
sire they had to try their strength with the Hunns c (R). In
the mean time Aetius assembled what troops he could in Gaul,
which were reinforced by the powerful succours brought him
by Thecdorie, who commanded them in person, attended by
his eldest and second sons, Thorismund and Theodoric r. Besides
the Vistgofhs, the following nations are mentioned among the
troops that composed the army of Aetius, to wit, the Franks,
under the conduct of their king Merouee, the Sarmatians, Bur-
gwtdians, Saxons, Armoricans, the Lifians, dwelling on the
banks of the Lis in Flanders g, the Reverins, or Ripuarians,
inhabiting the banks of the Rhine towards Cologne, the lhri-
ens, by Valejius called Brians and Breons, and placed by him
in Vindelicia, now Suabia and Bavaria h, and several other
nations of Celtic Gaul and Germany, whom the Romans had
formerly commanded as their subjects, but were now glad to
reckon among their auxiliaries and allies '. Thus Aetius
aslembled an army not much inferior in number, according to
Prosper, to that of Attila k.
Attila While Aetius was thus busied in assembling his troops,
takes Or- Attila pursued the siege of Orleans with great fury, battering
leans j the walls night and day with an incredible number of warlike
($) I'ul. mtit. Gall p. ^14. ($) Uem ibiit. ((,) Du Cheste, p.
*°5' ill Ctitii. torn. i. p. 75. (%) Jon. c. 4i./>. 670.
able
C. XXVIII. The History of the Hunns. *35
him close, would come up with him before he could repass
the Rhine.
The Roman general, being informed by his scouts, that
Attila was waiting for him in those vast plains, resolved, not
withstanding the enemy's advantageous situation, to advance,
and put the whole to the issue of a battle. As he arrived late Ablooij
at night in the plains where Attila was encamped, the Gepida, encounter
who served under Attila, and the Franks, who followed Aetius, S^et\
meeting in the dark, engaged with such fury, that, on both *, J?" ■*
sides, above fifteen thousand men were left dead upon the , ™
spot '. We are told, that Attila, desirous to know before
hand the issue of the approaching battle, consulted his aruspices,
who, after having narrowly examined the entrails of the beasts
offered in sacrifice, and, according to their custom, scraped
their bones, returned the following answer : " That the event
" would not prove favourable to him ; but, on the enemy's
" fide, their chief man would fall in the engagement." This
answer greatly encouraged Attila, who did not in the least
doubt, but by the chief man was meant Aetius, whose death
he was glad to purchase at any rate, since he looked upon tha^
great commander as the only person in the whole empire ca
pable of defeating his vast designs ". He therefore resolved to
(<i) Caplf. p. 6+5, 646. (x) J„k. e. 36. p, 665. (2J fjl. rtr.
Tram. p. 1 9j.
r.endes
240 'The History of the Hunns. B. IV.
Gaul, so much spoken of by the writers of those'timcs. The
ravages he committed there were, no doubt, very great ; but
posterity has not a little increased them, charging Attila and
his Hunns with all the devastations, that were afterwards com
mitted by the Franks, the Alemans, and other barbarous na
tions '. It was a long time before the towns he had ruined
were rebuilt or repeopled ; nay, so great was the consterna
tion of the inhabitants, that Lupus, the famous bishop of Troies,
returning to his fee, after he had attended Attila to the banks
of the Rhine, found the city quite abandoned, though Attila,
out of regard to him, had spared it ; insomuch that he was
obliged to retire to a mountain named Latifco, about fifteen
leagues from Troycs ; where he endeavoured to persuade his
people, who had taken refuge there, to return to their antient
habitations : but, not being able to remove their fears, after
he had continued two years among them, he left them, and
retired to Mascon "'. Actius pursued Attila as far as the Rhine ;
but never offered to attack him, thinking it, as most authors
conjecture, impolitic to weaken him too much, lest he should
no longer be in a condition to awe the Franks and Goths, and
divert them from raising disturbances in the empire.
Attila, rather enraged than disheartened at the disappoint
ment he had met with, and the loss he had sustained, in Gaul,
resolved to make an irruption into Italy, where he hoped to find
more booty, and less opposition, there being no Gctbs, Franks,
This,
C. XXVIII. The History os the Hunhs. 243
Thus, he was justly punished, fays 'Jornandti *, with a
dishonourable and ignominious death, for the cruel and unna
tural murder of his brother, and the streams of blood, which his
unbounded ambition had prompted him toflied. His body was His sum-
conveyed, with great solemnity, from the place where he died, ral.
to the fields, and there laid under a silken tent ; which some
horsemen, often riding round, fung, in a doleful strain, the
noble achievements of their king. This mournful ceremony
was succeeded by. a joyful one, a great banquet on the de
ceased prince's tomb, which lasted till the night was far spent,
when his body was secretly interred, being inclosed in three
cofHns, the first of gold, the second of silver, and the third of
ttoh. The latter was to signify, that he had subdued many
nations with his sword ; and the two former, that he had ob
liged the Roman emperors to share their treasures with him. In
the fame grave with him were buried the arms, and rich spoils,
which he had taken in war from other princes, and great com
manders. In the end, all those were put to death, who had
been employed about his grave, lest their avarice should, some
time or other, prompt them to plunder it *. This is all we
find in the antients concerning Attila the renowned king of the
Hunns (A).
Attila had by his last will, as we read in Jornandes ?, He it/uc-
appointed Ellac, his eldest son, to succeed him, and to wAzccedtdby
over his other children, as well as over the many nations he Ellac.
had conquered. Ellac was, it seems, a man of great boldness, Year of
intrepidity, and experience in war, and consequently capable t^le fl°°d
of maintaining, and even extending, the conquests of his father ; *8°' '
but as he had an incredible number of brothers, and they all ° Cnrlst
jointly insisted upon an equal division of their father's domi- pJ'V''
w John. c. 35. p. 661. * Idem ibid. p. 684. * Idem 1201.
ibid. p. 686.
(A) We might have added much blood and treasure, sound-
many things from the chronicles ed in the north ; for, a civil war
of Hungary, from Caithnachus, being kindled upon his death a-
and Olaus, who have written mong his numerous issue, the se
ttle life of that prince, and filled veral nations he had subdued laid
whole books with his exploits ; hold of that opportunity to stiake
but as their accounts are not off the yoke, and recover their
vouched by the antients, and antient liberty. Thus the Hunns
their authority is of no weight ceased to be the terror of both
in itself, we have not thought empires, and, for several ages,
any thing they relate worthy of performed nothing which histo-
netice. With .<*/:/<* ended the nans have thought worthy of
empire, which he had, with so mentioning.
R 2 nions,
244' &e History os the Hunns. B. IV.
Civil nions, a bloody war was kindled, which involved in the ut-
ivarsbt- most confusion not only the northern provinces, but both
tnvcen him Pannonias, and the other countries on the Danube, where the
and bis Romans had allowed them to settle. But while they all strove
brothers, to be sovereigns, they all lost the sovereignty for which they
strove ; for Ardaric king of the Gepida, hearing that they
proposed to divide among them by lot the nations which their
father had conquered, and not able to bear, that powerful
kings, and warlike people, should be thus treated like the
meanest slaves, openly declared, that he would not obey the
sons of Attila, but rescue himself and his people from the yoke
they so shamefully groaned under.
His example was followed by several other nations that
hastened to join him. Ellac, leaving for the present his bro
thers, marched against him, at the head of all his forces. Here-
Ellac and upon a battle ensued on the banks of the Netad in Pannonia,
bis army in which the Hunns were utterly routed, and thirty thousand
cut off by of them killed on the spot, with their king Ellac, who is said
the Gepi- on that occasion to have performed wonders, and to have be-
da\ haved like a true son of the great Attila z. The Hunns were so
disheartened with this dvertlvrow, and the general revolt of
the nations they had conquered, that, being pressed by the Ge
pida; they retired to the country which they had taken from
the Goths in 376. towards the Euxine sea, and the mouths of
the Danube ; and the Gepida remained masters of all antient
Dacia, lying north of that river, which the Hunns had pos
sessed ever since their first irruption into Europe. The Gepida
begged the friendship of the Romans, and a small annual pen
sion to support them ; which was readily granted, and conti
nued to be paid even in the time of the emperor "Justinian '.
Several other nations, thus delivered from the yoke of the
Hunns, begged and obtained leave of Marcian, or his succes
sor Leo, to fettle in the Roman territories. Among these men
tion is made of the Squiri, Satagaira, and Alans, who, un
der the conduct of Candax, their king or leader, settled in
Lester Scythia and Lower Maefia. To the Rugians, Sarma-
tians, and Cemandrians, lands were granted in lllyricum, near
a place called the Castle of Mars. To the Ostrogoths Marcian
granted all Pannonia, from Sirmium, now Sirmijh in Sclavo-
ma, to / indobona, at present Vienna in Austria. Even Er-
vac, Attila'ti youngest son, and with him several Hunns, sub
mitted to the Romans, who granted them lands on the. most
distant borders of Lester Scythia, in Dacia, and amongst the
• •. Sarma-
C X^CVIII. tte History ef the Hunns, 245
Sanitations in lllyrkumb. The Other sons of Attilir, uniting
their forces, attempted to drive the Goths out of Panncnia,
and recover that province ; but Valanir king of the Goths, Tbry are
meeting them with only an handful of men, fays Jornandes, utterly
put them to flight, and pursued them with such slaughter, that rout, <i by
few of them escaped'. About eight years after, while the '/''Goths;
Goths were engaged in a war with the Sataga, Dinzio, one of
jfttila's sons, and stiled by Jornandes king of the Hunns, hav
ing assembled what forces he could, entered the territories of
the Goths, putting all to fire and sword, and laid siege to Ba-
fiana, thought to be the present city oi-Pssega, the metropolis
of a country bearing the fame name, and lying between the
Save and the Draw &. This the Goths no sooner understood,
than, leaving the Satagx, they marched against the Hunns,
and drove them out with such slaughter, that they never after
offered to molest them e.
The Hunns, thus weakened by their intestine wars, and
the great losses they had sustained in the two above-mentioned
irruptions, continued quiet till the year 466. when, passing the
Danube in the depth of winter on the ice, they broke into Da-
cia, under the conduct of one Hormidac, and committed
tlreadful ravages in that province, putting all to sire and sword.
But Anthemius, who was afterwards emperor, marching against «r-d h '*'
them with another general, whom our author does not name, Romans,
gained several advantages over them, and at last defeated them
in a pitched battle, during which the other general went over
to the enemy ; but his men, probably the cavalry (for Anthemius
Was general of the foot), not following him, Anthemius, with
out betraying the least fear or surprize, continued the engage
ment, and in the end gained a complete victory. However,
he suffered the Hunns to retire unmolested, upon their putting
to death the general who had gone over to them f . The Hunns
were no sooner returned to their own country, than the chil
dren of Attila sent deputies to Leo, then emperor of the East,
to propose a peace, and beg he would appoint a market to be
held on the Danube, to which the Hunns might freely resort,
and trade with the Romans. To this Leo would by no means
consent ; which Dengizic, one of the sons of Attila, by Jor
nandes S called Dinzio, and by others Dinziric h, resented to
such a degree, that lie was for continuing the war. But his
brother Rernac, who, as we said above, had been allowed by
the emperor Marcian to setde in Lester Scythia, and was then
t> Procop. bell. Goth. lib. iv. c. 4. Joan. Antioch. apud Ale-
man, p. 52. Acath. lib. v. p. 155.
we
C. XXVIII. Tie History of the Hunns. 24a>
we have related elsewhere % the barbarians, who wer* hasten
ing back to their own country, no sooner heard, that he was
"no more to be employed against them, than they returned be
fore the royal city, committing dreadful ravages in all the
countries through which they passed. But one Germanus, a
youth of great expectation, putting himself at the head of the
imperial troops, fell unexpectedly upon them, cut great num- and by
bers of them in pieces, and obliged the rest to save themselves Germa
ny a precipitate flight. The victory had proved complete, nus.
had not young Germanus, by exposing his person more than a
prudent general would have done, received a dangerous wound,
which prevented him from pursuing the fugitives. Soon after,
that party, which had taken their route towards Greece, finding
the streights of Thermopylæ guarded by the natives, returned
to Thrace, and there joined Zamerga, who, being thus rein
forced, threatened to renew his ravages, and to put to death
all the prisoners he had taken, unless a sufficient sum was sent
forthwith to redeem them. 'Justinian, not caring to provoke
the barbarians, and, at the fame time, pitying the condition
of the unhappy captives, sent a considerable sum to Zamerga ;
who no sooner received it, than he set the prisoners at liberty,
and, putting a stop to all hostilities and depredations, returned
beyond the Danube.
In the mean time the emperor privately dispatched embassa- The emf^
dors to Sandilichus, king of the Uturgurian Hunns, to whom rorstirs up
he paid an annual pension, . acquainting him with the late in- thcUtm-
roads of the Cuturgurians, to Whom, he said, he had paid the gur,an
sum that was due to him, and was resolved to do so for the fu- Hunns
ture, unless he shewed himself, by a speedy revenge, worthy nSawJ
of his friendship. Upon this message, Sandilichus, highly in- cm'
censed against the Cuturgurians, broke into their territories at
the head of a powerful army, and, falling upon Zamerga as
he was returning from Thrace, cut great numbers of his men
in pieces, and obliged him to quit the rich booty with which
his army was loaded. This gave rife to a bloody war between
the two nations, which lasted many years, fays Jgathias r,
from whom we have borrowed this whole account, and ended
at last in the ruin of both; for, being greatly weakened by •
their civil wars, they became a prey, fays that writer, to other
nations, insomuch that they lost their very name, and were
blended with the nations they served. But the utter destruction
of that people, continues our historian, happened afterwards,
as mall be related by us, according to the order of time. With
these words he closes the fifth book of his history, the last of
we have seen in the course of this made of any other nation dwell
history, speak frequently of the ing in that country. As for the
irruptions of the Hunns, of their name of Hungari, most writers
pasting the Danube, and laying will have it to be compounded of
waste the Roman provinces, long Hunni and Atiares, two names of
'after the death of Attila and his one and the fame nation (3).
children. Besides, the inhabit But, on this subject, nothing can
ants of Pannonia are, by the be offered, but what is founded
■writers of those times, constantly on mere conjecture.
ftiled Hunns, and no mention is
SECT.
C. XXVni. The History of the Goths? 255
SECT. II.
The antient State and History ofthe doths, till the Settling
of the Visigoths in Spain, and the Ostrogoths in
Italy.
THE Goths, a warlike nation, and, above all others, fa- Scandina-
mous in the Roman history, came originally, according via, the
to fornandes a, out of Scandinavia, a country rightly stiled country of
by him officina gentium, and vagina nationutn, on account of theGotia.
the incredible multitudes of people, that, issuing from thence
in swarms, over-ran and stocked with inhabitants other as well
distant as neighbouring countries. Scandinavia, comprising
the present Sweden, Norway, Lapland, and Finnmark, was,
by the antients, thought to be an island b ; but is now well
known to be a peninsula. It is by Pliny called Scandinavia c,
or, as Vojfms d, and after him Gronovius, will have it, Scandi
navia ; by Xenophon Lampsacenus, Baltia ' ; by Titnaus, Ba\-
silea ; and by Pytheas, sometimes Bastlea, and sometimes
Abalus i. The writers of the middle ages stile it Scanza, Scan- '
zia, Scantia, and Scandia ; which names, as well as that of
Scandinavia, some derive from the German or Gothic word
Scanzen, signifying cajllcs ; for the first inhabitants, fay they,
turned the high and steep rocks, with which the country
abounds, into castles ; and hence came the word Scandinavia,
that is, a country filled with cajllcs S. Others will have the
names Scandinavia, Scanzia, &c. to come from the word
Seekanten, importing the fea-coajl or Jhore h. As for the Greet
word Baltia, it signifies a treating in of the sea. What we
call the Baltic, was known to Tacitus by the name of the Sue-
vian sea ; and to Mela and Pliny by that of the Cedan gulf.
The bay into which the Vijlula, now the Weijfel, empties it
self, is called by Ptolemy the Venedic bay, no doubt from the
neighbouring Venedi, the antient inhabitants of Livonia, Li
thuania, and part of Poland. In antient times the Vijlula was
the boundary on the east between Germany and Sarmatia.
In Scandinavia Tacitus places two different nations, the Nations.
Suiones, and the Sittones, of whom the former inhabited the placed
present Sweden, and the latter Norway ; for they were tepz-* there by
■ Jork. rer. Get. p. 83. b Plin. lib. iv. c. 13. c Idem
ibid. d Voss. in c. 3. lib. vi. Pomp. Mel. ' Plin. ibid.
f Idem, lib.xxvii. en. * Grot, inpræfat. ad script. Goth,
p. 13, & seq. h Prætor. inorbeGoth. lib. i. c. 4. p. 34.
fated,
•*54 'rt* History of the Goths. fe. IV.
Tacitus rated, according to Tacitus., by mount Aw, now Scagen ;
eniYvo- which mountain, or rather ridge of mountains, parts Norway
lemy. from Sweden. The Suiones were divided, according to Ptole
my, into the following tribes, to wit,' the Chedini, Phavohi%
Phirasi, Daudones, Hilleviones, Scritofinin or Seritobani,
mentioned also by Procopius •, and the Gutcs. But these were
either Gothic nations, or had fettled in the country after the
Goths were masters of it, it being certain, that, long before
Tadtus's time, Scandinavia was inhabited by the Goths, tho'
not yet known to the Romans by that name ; nay, the learned
Grotius, and after him Sheringham, and most of the northern
writers, maintain with arguments which have not yet been
confuted, that the Cimbrians, Getes, and Goths, were one and
Scandina- the fame nation ; that Scandinavia was first peopled by them j
viafirst and that from thence they sent colonies into the islands in the
peopled by Baltic, the Chcrsonesus, and the adjacent places, yet destitute
the Goths, 0f inhabitants. The islands were called by them with one
.'"'" common name Wetallahccdh, signifying, in the Gothic lan-
"-& J ' Suaoc> ^»rf surrounded on all sides with water ; but the Ro-
tk Baltic man*i a^ter tncv became acquainted with the Goths under the
tj ' name of Cimbrians, called them the Cimbrian islands ; which
appellation they gave likewise to the Chcrsonesus, now "Jut
land k. The time when the Goths first settled in Scandinavia,
and the time when they first peopled with their colonies the
islands, the Chcrsonesus, and the neighbouring' places, are
equally uncertain, though the Gothic annals suppose the latter
to have happened under the conduct of king Eric, whom they
make cotemporary with Saruch, the great grandfather of
Abraham. But it is not at all probable, as Sheringham well
observes, that Scandinavia, a country of no small extent,
fhoulJ, in the time of Saruch, who died soon after the con
fusion of languages, abound with people, so as to send colo
nies into other countries '. Of this migration of the Getes or
Goths from Scandinavia into the above-mentioned places, un
der the conduct of king Eric, mention is made in all the an-
tient Gothic chronicles; and it is moreover vouched by the Da-
r.ijh, as well as the Sivedijh writers, who agree all in this, thor
they disagree, as it generally happens between neighbouring
and rival nations, in most other points. The Danes ingenu
ously confess (and confess it they must, unless they give the lye
to their own chronicles), that their country was first peopled
by the Goths of Scandinavia j that to them they owe their ori-
1 Procop. rer. Goth. lib. .\i. c. !j. k Vide Grot, proleg.
In hist. Goth. & Sherikch. de Ang. gent. orig. c. 7. p. 143.
} Idem ibid. p. 146, 147.
G. XXVIII. The History of the Goths. 255
gin; and that Dan, the son of Humelus, king of the Goths\
from whom their country was called Dania, and they Dani,
was the founder of their kingdom m. This is agreeable to
what we read in Jornandes and Freculphus, who tell us, that
the Danes were the dependents of the Ostrogoths dwelling in
Scanzia n. The peopling of the islands in the Baltic sea, of
the Cberfonefus, and the adjacent places on the continent, is
called, by the northern writers, the first migration of th«
Goths or Gctes.
The second migration is related by Jornandes, and sup
posed to have happened several ages after the first, when the
above-mentioned countries being overstocked with people, Be-
rig, at that time king of the Goths, went out with a fleet in They fend
quest of new settlements ; and, landing in the country of the a colony
Ulmerugians, now Pomerania, drove out the antient inhabit- '*" "er*
ants, and divided their lands among his followers. He fell manv »
next upon the Vandals, whose country bordered on that of the
Ulmerugians, overcame them, but instead of forcing them, as
he had done the Ulmerugians, from their antient feats, he only
obliged them, probably because they were of Gothic extraction,
to share their possessions with the new-comers °.
The Goths who had fettled' in Pomerania, and the adjacent
parts of Germany, being greatly increased, insomuch that the
country could no longer maintain them, they went out in
great numbers under Filimer, surnamed the Great, their fifth
prince after their leaving Scandinavia ; and, taking their route a"" into
eastward, entered Soythia, advanced to the Cimmerian Bo/po- -f^ *
rus, and, driving out the Cimmerians, settled in the neighbour- M r£ce'
hood of the Maotic lake. Thence, in process of time, they ^.œ **
sent numerous colonies into Thrace, Dacia, and Mœfia, and
lastly, into the countries bordering on the Euxine sea, forcing
every-where the antient inhabitants to abandon their native
feats. Thus Jornandes f, and Ablavius, a celebrated writer
among the Goths, who flourished long before him. In the
neighbourhood of the Mtsotic lake, they had Filimer for their
icing, a warlike prince ;- in Thrace, Mœfia, and Dacia, Xat
tnolxis, a great philosopher ; and in the countries on the Euxine
sea, princes of the illustrious families of the Balthi and the
jfmali, the Vifigoths being subject to the former, and the Ostro
goths to the latter 9. In all these countries they were one and
the fame people, though subject to different princes, and known
by different names. Thus, in Cimmeria, Sarmatia, Scythia,
m VideSniRiNCH. ibid. p. 145, 146. a Ereculph. torn,
i. lib. ii. c. 26. ° Torn. rer. Get. lib. iv. p Idem ibid.
Cfi-j, « Idem ibid.
5 they
3 5.6 The History of the Goths. B. IVV
they were called Cimmerians, Sarmatians, Scythians; in
Thrace, Dacia, and Mœsta, Thracians, Dacians, and Mœ-
' fians ; and in the neighbourhood of the Ister and the Pontus,
JJirians and Parities.
As for the appellations of Wejlrogoths, softened by the La-
Cflro- tins into that of Visigoths, and Ostrogoths, they were distin-
goths and guifhed by these names, as Grotius shews from Jornandes, be-
Vifigoths. fOFe they left Scandinavia, being called Wejlrogoths and Ostro
goths, or Wejlern and Eastern Goths, from their situation there
to the east and weft, the former inhabiting that part of Scan
dinavia which borders on Denmark, and the latter the more
eastern parts, lying on the Baltic r. What Jornandes writes
of the various migrations and settlements of the Goths, is in-
tirely agreeable to what we read in the antient Greek and Latin
authors concerning the various migrations and settlements of
The Goths thcGetes \ And truly that the Goths and Getes wereoneand
end Getes the fame people, is supposed by all the writers who flourished
oneandthe in or near the times in which both empires were over-run by
fame na- them. These authors, without all doubt well acquainted
tion. wjtn tne;r origin, call them sometimes Goths, sometimes
Getes, and sometimes Scythians j nay, several writers, namely
Orofius l, who flourished in the reign of Arcadius and Hono-
rius, when the Goths broke into Italy, under the conduct of
the famous Alaric, St. Jerom ", St. Austin w, Synefius *, Pho-
tius i, Capitolinus T, Popi/cus », Spartian b, tell us in express
terms, that the Getes and Goths were one and the fame na
tion ; and that they had been long known to the Romans, and
likewise to the Greeks, by the former name, but not by the
latter, till their breaking into the empire (A).
The
r Grot, in proleg. &c. * Vide Shbrinch. c. 8. p. 156,
157. ' Oros. lib. vii. c. 4. p. 29. " Hier. de fide,
lib. ii. c. 4. & tradit. Hebr. in Gen. w Auo. de civit. Dei, lib.
xx. c. 10. x Stnes. orat.de regno. x Phot, in epit.
Philostor. x Capitol, in Maximo. * Vopisc. inProb.
b Spart. in Carac.
(A) That this opinion was and comprises the Taurica Cher'
not, as some modern authors sonefus, with the countries lying
have been pleased to call it, a between the Tanais, the Ma-otic
vulgar error, may be plainly lake, and the Euxine sea. On
proved ; for, in the first place, the other hand, it is no less evi-
it is evident from all the an- dent from all the writers who
tients, that the Getes inhabited speak of the Goths, that, from
that part of Scythia, which is by those very countries, they broke
Ptolemy called Astatic Sarmatia, into the empire. Since therefore
.the
C. XXVIII. the Hyicry os the Goths.' 257
The Gcti'js, .being in process of time greatly increased in,
Scythia, resolved to seek new settlements ; and accordingly,
• , taking
the Goths dwelt in the countries try i in the fame cities, and with
where all the antiems place the in the fame walls ? How came
Getes, we cannot help concluding the Getes to be so early known to
from thence, that they were one the Romans, and the Goths, living
and the fame people, tho' known among them, utterly unknown
by different names. Ptolemy, till their breaking into the em
who lived in the time of the em pire ? It seems to as a paradox,
peror Antoninus, mentions no that the Romans, who were con
Goths in Scythia, Thrace, Mafia, stantly at war with those nations,
or Pannonia; and nevertheless, and had both colonies and gari-
scarce was half a century passed, sens among them, should be well
when the Goths, coming in acquainted with the Getes, and
swarms from those very coun utterly unacquainted with the
tries, over-ran great part of the Goths, a warlike and numerous
empire. These Goths therefore, nation, inhabiting the fame coun
if we will not allow them to have tries. Besides, Mela tells us in
dropt all on a sudden from the express terms, that Thrace, the
clouds, must have been the very banks of the Tanais, Sarmatia,
people who are by Ptolemy called and the countries lying east of
Getes, Poetics, Iftrians, Trape- the Maotic lake, were inhabited
trites, Gelonians, and Saurorxattr, by one and the fame people,
aud were soon after known to tho' known by different names
the Romans by the common name (l) ; and Strabo, that the Iftri
of Goths. Were all those nations ans. Dacians, Moefians, and Thra-
utterly destroyed, and their feats cians, spoke the same language,
seized, by the Goths ? Of this and consequently were the same
general slaughter no. mention is people (2). To these we may
made by. any historian ; and we add Procopius, and Amnianus
cannot persuade ourselves, that, ,Marcellinus, of whom the former
if it happened, the .writers of writes, that there were several
those times, who speak, of the nations of the Goths, some being
Goths, would have passed over in called by the antients Sauromatæ,
silence such a memorable event. Others Mclancltrni, and some
Cluvtrius, who will have the Getes ; but that these nations dif
Getes &ttd.Go/bs to be two differ fered only in name (3) ; and the
ent nations, believes, or at least latter, speaking of the Goths,
would make us believe, that they says, that they inhabited Thrace,
dwelt together in the fame coun Mœfia, and Dacia, and wore
tries. But is it at all probable, sprung from the fierce nations
that two nations, obeying diffe that dwelt before in those coun
rent princes, should live peace- tries, that is, from the Getes (4).
. ably together in the fame coun That the Getes and Goths were
( 1) Mil. dt fit. orb. lib. ii. c. 2. (;) Strab. lib. i. e. so. (3) Pncop.
Vandal, lib. i. (4; Amman, lib. XXvii.
Vol. XIX. S on*
a58 The History os the Goths.' B. IV.
The mi- taking their route eastward, and traveling through several
gration of countries, they returned at length into Germany. Their leader,
the Goths in this migration, was the celebrated Woden, called also Vo-
underWo- den, Oden, Othen, Godan, and Guodan. Of xbUsJVoden many
A°"
den. strange and wonderful things are related in the Sueo-Gothtc
chronicles. He was king of the Asgardiani, whom the
northern writers will have to be the fame people with the As-
purgians, mentioned by Strabo and Ptolemy. They were call
ed Aspurgians from the city of Aspurgia, placed by Strabo
near the Bosporus Cimmerius c ; and in the fame place stood,
according to the northern writers, the city of Asgardia : and
truly that these were but two different names of one and the
fame city, is highly probable, the word gard signifying, in the
one people, and not two differ language, but call themselves
ent nations living in the fame Goths, and their country Gothia
country, as Clwverius would have (9). Scaliger adds, that the Chri
it, may be further confirmed by stian Tartars of Precop still have
the great conformity of their the Scripture written with the
laws, manners, and institutions ; fame characters that were in
for, if we compare the accounts vented by Wulphilas the first bi
which the antients give us of the shop of the Goths ; and that they
manners of the Getes, we shall read it in the very language they
find them intirely agreeable to spoke in the time of Oisid [ 1 ).
those of the more modern writers This is agreeable to what we read
describing the customs and man in Lucian and Proeopius, of whom
ners of the Goths (5). Their the former tells us, that the
language was likewise the same, language pf the Alans, who were,
the Gothic being spoken by the without all doubt, a Gothic na
Getes and Maffagetes in Srythia, tion, was common to all the
Thrace, Pontus, &c. as Grotius (6), Scythians ; and the latter, that
and after him Sheringham (7), the Sauromatit and the Melan-
have shewn ; nay, Busbequius as clteni, by most writers called
sures us, that, in his time, the Getes, were Gothic nations, and
Gothic language was still spoken, spoke the language of the Goths
though with some variation in (2). Of the antient language of
the dialect, by the Tartars of the Getes only the names of a
Precop(S); and Jofaphat Bar- few kings have reached us, and
barui, a nobleman of Police, these Boxhornius shews to be all
who lived among them, that they Gothic (3).
not only speak the antient Gothic
(5) yiJeSberingb. c. 10. p. 197. (6) Grot, inpraftt. ad Pmep. {7) Sbf
rir.gb. c. 11. p. 198. (S) Bujbta. epift. 9. p. 244,14s, (?)Grt>t. itprm-
ftt. adPiocop. {1) ScjHf. ifagog. lit. iii. p. 138. (2) Precop. bist.
Vend. lib. i> (3) Boxbirn. bij), univirs. ad ar.n, 201.
Gothic
C. XXVIII. the History of the Goths. 259
Gothic language, the fame thing as purgos in the Greek, to
wit, a fortress or castle. Jfpurgia was the metropolis of a
province which Strabo calls Jfta ; and Woden, and his follow
ers, are stiled by the antient Gothic writers /isa, Jfiani, and
Jstota. The kings of Jfpurgia were, masters of all that part
of Scythia that lay west of mount Imaus, and was by the La
tins called Scythia intra Imaum, or Scythia within mount Imaus.
In this large tract of ground are placed by Ptolemy three dif
ferent nations, the Jufones, the Syebi, and the lota ; but they
are all blended by Strabo under the common name of Jf-
purgians.
Of this Jfpurgia or Jfgardia, Woden was king, who, Woden
committing the government of the kingdom to his two bro- king of
thers, Ve and Velir, went out, with incredible multitudes of Asgardia.
his people, in quest of new settlements, foreseeing by his ma
gic, fey some antient chronicles, in which art he excelled all
men, that he and his posterity should reign for many ages in
the northern parts of the world. He first entered Riijland j H' reducet
and having, with great success and expedition, obliged the in- R°xala-
habitants to submit, he appointed his son Bo to reign over nia*
them. Riijland, called by the Latins Roxalania and Russia,
extended from the mouth of the Vistula to the Palus Mteotis,
the banks of the Tanais, and the Riphaan mountains, and
comprised PruJJia, Livonia, and great part of Muscovy. From
Riijland he went by sea into the north parts of Germany, and,
landing in Saxony, he reduced that country, and divided it Saxony,'
amongst his children, appointing Vegdegg king of Eajl-Saxony,
Begdegg of Westphalia, and Sigg of Franconia. Johannes
Martinus, Witteiindus, Cranxius, and all the Saxon writers,
assure us, that, time out of mind, a tradition has universally
obtained among the Saxons, that their ancestors came first by
sea into those countries. From Saxony, Woden passed into
Reidogotbland, now Jutland, which he likewise subdued, and and Jut-
gave to his son Siiola, from whom descended the kings of Den- land.
mark, thence called Skiolldungar, thai is, the posterity o/"Skiold.
Leaving Jutland, after he had settled his son there, he advanced
into Suiihiod, now Sweden, where he was kindly received by
Gylfus or Gylvo, king of the country, and, being allowed to Settles in
settle there with his followers, he built the city of Sigtunum, Sweden.
where he reigned to his death, and became so famous, that his
name reached all countries, and he was, by the northern na
tions, ranked among the gods, and worshiped with divine
honours. He is supposed to have brought with him out of
Æa the Runic characters, and to have taught the northern na
tions the art of poetry ; whence he is stiled the father of the
Scaldi or Scaldri, who were their poets, and described in verse
S 2 the
z6o The History of the Goths." B. IV.
the exploits of the great men of their nation, as the bards did
those of the Gauls and Britons (B).
That the Goths, under the conduct of Woden, came out
of Scythia into the north parts ot Germany, is a received opinion
among the northern writers, and confirmed by an immemorial
tradition, by all the antient chronicles of those countries, and
by a great many monuments and inscriptions in Runic charac
ters, some of which are still to be seen in Sweden, Denmark,
and the neighbouring islands : and truly that there were such
migrations, can hardly be questioned, since we find the fame
names common to the inhabitants of Scandia, and Asiatic Scy
thia, and likewise the same language, as Grotius, and after
him Sheringham, have shewn dj nay, the antient language of
the Goths is spoken at this very day by the Tartars of Precop,
as we have observed above : so that, upon the whole, we may
conclude the Scandian Goths and the Asiatic Scythians to have
Woden. rhad one and the fame original. As to Woden, there was,
without all doubt, a famous hero of this name, •who became
Wonderfully revered by all the northern nations ; but we will
(B) They were called Scaldi their room, the Swedes being
or Scaldri, according to Locce- persuaded thereunto by the pope,
nius (4), from the sound skal, and by Sigsrid, a Britijb bishop
often heard in their verses and (5). In Spain they were forbid
poems. The dialect in which den in 1136. by Alphonso king of
they wrote was called Asamal, Castile ,and Nwvar, and con
that is, the Asiatic dialect, be demned by the Council of Toledo
cause brought by Woden out ot in 1 1 1 5 (6). They were called
Afia. As for the Runic letters, Runic letters, according to some,
the Goths used them in all their from the Gothic word Ryn or Ren,
' spells andinchantments, to which signifying a furrow ; according
they were greatly addicted; to others, from Ryne, signifying
whence, after embracing the art, especially that of magic (7).
Christian religion, out of a blind One Fimbul, Fimhu/tyr, or Fim-
and indiscreet zeal, they destroy bulthular, is supposed to have in
ed several antient monuments, vented these characters (8). Wul-
and burnt a great number of philas, the first bishop of the
books, because written with those Goths, invented other characters,
characters. At length, in the which he made use of in translat
year 1001. the Runic characters ing the Scripture into the Gothic
were quite laid aside in Sweden, tongue.
and the Roman letters taken in
(4.) Lxccn. amis. Suugctb. c. 15. (5) Idem ii'i. e. 14. (6) Wormiut
lit.Rm.c.%%. (7) Hem Mi, c. 1. (6) >ferm. iiii, e, JO, & $**-
rirgb, 1. 13. p. 286. £g c, 8. p. 171.
. POt
C. XXVIII. the History, os, the Gotbs. 2f7i
not take upon us to vouch the strange things that are related of
him in the Sueogothic and Sacogothic chronicles. Some writers
suppose the migration of the Scythian Gotbs into the north parts
of Germany, under the conduct of Woden, to have happened
about twenty-four years before the birth of Christ ; for at that
time, fay they, Pompey laid waste Syria, and great part of
Asia; and it is not improbable, that the Scythians, flying from
him, went out in quest of new settlements. But Skiold, who
was by his father Woden appointed king of Reidogothland, or
"Jutland^ as we have related above, lived, according to the
Danish chronology, about a thousand years before Pompey ; so
that, according to this account, Woden must have been more
antient than Homer (C).
The descendents of the Scythians, or Asiatic Goths, who, The Cim-
under the conduct of Woden, settled in the north parts of Ger- hrians de-
many, were first known to the Romans by the name of Cim- scended
brians, derived, according to the opinion, which seems to us from tit
the best grounded, from the Gothic word Kimber, signifying Asiatic
valiant. The Cimbrians held antiently the iflands in the Bal- Goths j
tic sea, the Cherfonefus, and the neighbouring countries, and
by degrees extended their conquests along the German ocean ts
both the mouths of the Rhine. The inland countries in that
tract were likewise inhabited by them ; but, in the different
countries where they dwelt, they were distinguished by differ
ent names, some of them being called Saxons, others Suevians,
some Angles, Sicambrians, Jutes, &c. but, by the Romans,
they were all blended under the common name of Cimbrians,
till the Saxons, placed by Ptolemy in the north part of the
Cherfonefus, became known to them by their conquests ; and
then the name of Cimbrians was quite laid aside, and that of
Saxons used by the Latin writers in its room, which they gave and like-
Iikewisc to the nations the Saxons had subdued, calling Saxony i»'f' *bt
that part of Germany which lies between the Rhine and the Saxons.
(C) 0" the other hand, how West. Saxons, the tenth by de.
can this be reconciled with the scent from him. To reconcile
genealogies of our Saxon kings, these seeming contradictions/ome
the founders of the heptarchy, authors are of opinion, and their
who all derived their pedigree opinion does not at all seem to us
from Woden f Hengist, the first improbable, that several persons
that came into Britain, did not or great men bore the name of
arrive in this island till the year Woden, and what was done by
449. of the Christian æra; and all, was abscribed to one, in the
nevertheless he is said to have same manner as it happened a
been the abmpos or great-grand- mong the Greeks, with respect to
child of Woden, as Cerdic, the Hercules.
founder of the kingdom of the
Elbe,
2 62 The History of the Goths. B. IV.
Elbe, and had been reduced by them. Thus far of the mi
grations of the Goths out of Scandinavia into the neighbouring
islands and continent, thence into Germany, from Germany into
Asia, and from Jfia back again into Germany (D).
As
(1) Zeii. in difcript. Sueciæ. (») Bur, in orb. Arctoi itscript. (3) Suan.
in cbronot. Danica, ad ann. muni* 1264. (4) Worm, in Gotbianiicis, lib. v,
(5) Frecn/p. lib. ii. e. 17. (6) Grot, inprdeg. in Proeof. (7) Vide Goidast.
Alan, amis. tun. ii. fart. i. (8) Taeit. it morib. German,
S4 the
2S4r Me History of the GotKs. r if IV.
ners of the the Chriftiah religion •, nay, from their being eminently good,
Goths. they were called by the neighbouring nations Goths, that
name being, according to Grotius, and most other writers,
derived from the German word goten, signifying good e. They
encouraged, says Dio, the study of philosophy, above all other
b'arbarouS'or foreign nations, and often chose their kings from'
among their philosophers. Polygamy was not only allowed,
but countenanced among them, every one b&ng valued- and/
respected, according to the number of hisv vtfvesf. By so
ijiany wives they had an incredible number1 or children, of
whom they kept but one at home, fending out the rest, when
c,ome to merts estate, in quest of new settlements g ; and
hence those swarms of people, that over-ran so many coun
tries. With them adultery was a capital crime, and irremis-
sibly punished with death h. This severity, and likewise poly
gamy, prevailed among them, when they were known to the
Greeks and Romans only by the name of Getes, as appears
from the poet Mena-ider, who was himself a Gete ', and from
Horace k, who bestows great encomiums on the virtue and
chastity of their women. As for their laws, they do not fall
much short of those of the antient Romans, as will appear when
we come to speak of the Alaric code, and the laws of the Visi
goths in Spain, and the Ostrogoths in Italy.
Their government was monarchical ; for, as we have ob
served above out of Jornandes, in the neighbourhood of the
Palus Maotis, they had Filimer for king ; in Dacia, Mœsia,
and Thrace, Xamolxts ; and, in that part of Scythia, which
bordered on the Euxine sea, princes sprung from the illustrious
Series of families of the Amsli and the Balthi. Of the latter Jornandes
their gives us the following series, to wit, Gaptus, Hulmul, Augesy
kings, Amalus, Jfarna, Ojirogotha, Cniva, Araric, Auric, Giberict
Hermanaric. To these princes were subject both the Visigoths
• Grot, in proleg. adProcop. f Adam. Bremens. in Sueo-
goth. s Idem ibid. & Walsincham. in hypodig. Neustr.
h Adam. Bremens. ibid. * Menand. apud Strab. lib. vii,
* Ho rat. lib. iii. od. 34.
the origin of the Goths from Ger- thentic writers, and supporting,
many, seemed so absurd to Gro- without the least regard to truth,
tins, that he could scarce forbear what he thought would be best
reviling those who maintained it, relished by his countrymen (9),
especially Clwvcrius, whom he Thus far of the origin of the
taxes with introducing new opi- Goths from the best antient as
niQns, in defiance to the most au- well as modern writers.
(F) Jornandes tells us, that, in (G) Eutropius, and after him
this irruption, they destroyed the St. Jerom (3), and Orcfius (4),
city of Chalcedon, which, though mention the ravages committed
afterwards rebuilt, fays he, by by the Goths in Pontus and Asia ;
one Cornelius A-vitus, and en and Philostorgius names several
riched by the neighbourhood of cities ruined by them in Galatia
Constantinople, yet, for the space and Cappadocia (5). We learn
of three hundred years and up from St. Bast/, that Dionyfius,
wards, shewed the dreadful marks who was raised to the see of
of its former ruin (2). Rome in 259. and died in 270.
(2) Jam. rer. Gctb. c. lo. p. 619. (3) Bier, cbron. (4) Orts. lib. vii.
c. 12./. 214. (5) Pbilfitrg.lii, ii, t. 5./. 170, »; I,
wrote
C. XXVIII. The History of the Goths. «7i
In the mean time, the brave Odenatus, of whom we have
spoken at large in a former volume *, pitying the miserable
condition to which Afia was reduced by the Goths, hastened
to the relief of that province. But the Goths, unwilling to hut retire
engage so renowned a commander, re-embarked at Heraclea, at the ap-
and, by the Euxine sea, returned home with an immense proach of
booty, and an incredible number of captives'. Many of them, Odenatus.
however, were drowned, being attacked on their return by
the Roman fleet u. The following year, they embarked anew
on the Euxine sea, and, landing at the mouth of the Danube,
laid waste great part of Mafia ; but were defeated by the TJ,„ re.
troops and generals who guarded Byzantium. However, they eeivefe-
advanced as far as Illyricum ; but, being informed there, that <veral
the Heruli had received a dreadful overthrow in Greece, they over-
began to retire, when Marcian and Claudius, whom Gallienus throws.
had sent against them, pursuing them close, cut great numbers
of them in pieces w j nay, Claudius was for cutting off their
retreat, as might have been easily done, and putting them all
to the sword ; but Marcian thought it more adviseable to suffer
them to retire x.
To be revenged on Claudius, they no sooner heard, that he
was raised to the empire, than, stirring up all the northern na
tions against him, they assembled on the banks of the Tyras,
now the Niejler, and there built, fays Zofimus v, six thousand
ships j but Pollio, who makes the most of this war, writes,
that their vessels amounted only to two thousand z ; and he is
therein followed by Ammianus Marcellinus *. Having em- They in-
ployed the whole yeax 268. in making the neceflary prepara- vade the
tions, they embarked, to the number of three hundred and tmpire
twenty thousand fighting men, and, landing in LeJJer Scythia, *•*'*.*
laid siege, at the same time, to the city of Tomi in that pxo-f°*mda°}e
vince, and to Marciancpolis in Mœjia ; but being, in several-^"' ani
attacks, repulsed at both places, they re-embarked on thcEuxine arm3m
Hi
C. XXVIII. The History of the Goths. 275 ,
He was succeeded by his brother £>uhitillus ; during whose
fljort reign the Goths, who had made their escape from mount
Hamus, plundered the city of Anquialum in Thrace, and made They plun-
an attempt upon Nicopolis in Lower Mæsia ; but were driven der '**
out of that province by the Roman troops quartered there u. "0' °f
Ammianus speaks of their talcing both Anquialum and Nicopo- Aclula"
Us w ; but this must have nappened in some other irruption.
The same year 270. the Goths, notwithstanding the losses Make new
they had sustained, broke anew into the empire, and, entering inroads in-
Pannonia, laid waste that province ; which Aurelian, who to the em-
had been just raised to the empire, no sooner understood, than pin i bus
he left Rome, and, putting himself at the head of the army, are driven
marched against them. As the enemy did not retire at his0B'/j|Au"
approach, a battle ensued, which lasted, till night coming on re^an-
parted the two armies, without the least advantage on either }e*n° j
fide. However, the Goths, not caring to renew the combat, , g
repassed the Danube in the dead of the night, and sent embas- qC q^m
sadors the next morning to sue for peace x ; which was readily 2„0
granted them, the Alemans being at that time in arms, and qc Rome
ready to invade Italy ; which they did accordingly, as we have 1018.
related elsewhere *. But tliis peace was not of long duration ;
for, two years after, that is, in 272. Aurelian, on his march
into the East against the celebrated Zenobia, found them ra
vaging Thrace, and drove them out of that province ; nayj
he even passed the Danube, and, having engaged Cannabaud,
a Gothic prince, flew him, and five thousand of his men z. It
was, perhaps, on this occasion, that the emperor took a cha
riot drawn by four stags, which he afterwards made use of in
his triumphal entry into Rome; for he is slid to have taken it
'from a Gothic prince *. Amonn; the prisoners were ten wo
men, who had fought in che h?.bit of men, and a great many
more were found among the dead. The emperor, in a letter
to Gallonius . Ivitus governor of Thrace^ mentions some Gothic
women of distinction, whom he had sent to Perinthus to be
kept there, and entertained in a manner suitable to their
rank b. Among these was a woman of the blood royal, named
Hunila, whom the emperor gave in marriage to B;nosus, one
of his generals, who, in the reign of Probus, usurped the so
vereignty, as we have related elsewhere c.
T 2 Two
276 the History es the Goths." B.IV
They settle Two years after, the Goths settled in Dacia beyond the
jnDacia. Danube, abandoned by Aurelian, who was well apprised, that
vfaj he could not maintain it, without an immense charge, in the
- midst of so many barbarous nations d. The following year
Of Ch 'st 275' l^ey entere^> 'n separate and numerous bodies, Pontus,
Cappadocia, Galatia, and Cilicia, pretending to have been
Of Jtome 'nv'tec* Dv Aurelian, who died some months before, to serve
1022. as aux'''aries against the Persians, but Tacitus, who had sue-
tx-vrvj ceeded that prince, not thinking it adviseable to trust them, en
deavoured, by fair means, and even by offering them consider
able sums, to induce them to return home. His offers were
accepted by some; but others refusing to retire upon any terms,
the emperor, and his brother Florianus, fell upon them, cut
great numbers of them in pieces, and drove the rest quite out
of the empire e. Of this victory mention is made on one of
Tacitus's medals f ; and from an antient inscription may be
gathered, that he took the surname of Gothicus %.
In 278. the second of the reign of Probus, they broke into
Thrace, and advanced as far as lllyricum, laying waste the
country with fire and sword ; but they no sooner heard, that
the emperor was marching against them, and had already en
tered Rhatia, than they withdrew, leaving their booty behind
They con- them. From Rhatia the emperor pursued his march into
elude a lllyricum, and thence into Thrace, where he was met by de-
fcacewitb pUt;es from £\ tne G0thic nations, either suing for peace, says
rrobus. y0piscus h, or submitting to his power. No further mention
I? Yd *s made °f tne Goths till the year 289. the fifth of Dioclesan's
b Dio- re'Sn' wno 's said to have gained a complete victory over the
clefian Sarmatians, that is, the Goths i ; nay, Eumenes writes, that the
Year after whole nation of the Sarmatians was cut off, and the province
Christ of Dacia beyond the Danube, which they had seized, reunited
289. to the empire k. For this victory Dioclesian assumed the sur
name of Sarmaticus, as appears from several antient coins and
inscriptions1 (I).
From
(M) The Goth, fays Soxomen made use of the very ravages
(2), and the other barbarous na- they committed under Gallium',
tions dwelling on the banks of and his successors, to convert
the Danube, had embraced the them to the true faith ; for, hav-
Christian religion long before ing crossed over from Thrace in-
Constantine was sole master of to Asia, and there taken an in-,
the empire* Providence having credible number of captives*
(1) Entrap, p. ;88. (>) Eufcb. vil, tynjtant. Ut, iv. e. 7. p. 530.
(+J 'Ibcmijl. wat.xv. p. 191.
6 of
2g^ The History os the Goths." B. IV.
of troops had been sent to the assistance of Procopius by Atha-
naric, whom Ammianus calls sometimes one of the most
powerful men among the Goths k, and sometimes the judge of
the Thervingian Goths ', that is, according to Jornandes, of
the Visigoths m. He was a man of great courage, and yet his
courage, sap Themistius ", fell short of his penetration, elo
quence, and address. He no sooner received the news of the
captivity of his men, than he dispatched embassadors to Valmst
requiring they might be set at liberty, since they had been sent
by a friend and ally of the Romans to the assistance of a Roman
emperor. At the same time the letters were produced, which
he had received from Procopius. On the other hand, Valens
sent Viitor, general of the horse, to complain of Athanarict
for assisting a rebel against his lawful sovereign. The Goths
answered, that they had looked upon Procopius as the kinsman
of Conflaniine ; and that it was not their business to examine,
■whether he was, or was not, a lawful prince y and therefore,
if they were deceived therein, the emperor ought to excuse
them °.
But Valens could not be prevailed upon to set the captive
Goths at liberty, being bent, as he was then engaged in no
iv* other wars, upon humbling that powerful nation P. With this
Zwrifi view, great preparations were made throughout the empire ;
TaZ which Occasioned no small consternate among the^people
mntb Va- who, as they had a mighty opinion of the valour of the Goths
lens; dreaded the issue of this war *. At the fame time, in the dis
mantling of Chalcedon, certain verses were found engraved on.
a stone, which doubled their fears; for they seemed wUient,
and foretold a dreadful inundation of barbarians in Thrace '.
The emperor himself seems to have been under no small appre
hension of this war; for Theodoret tells us, that, before he
set out on so dangerous an expedition, in order to render
Heaven propitious to his undertaking, he received the sacra
ment of baptism*. The Goths, on the other hand, finding
the emperor bent npon war, began to draw together their
forces, with a design to attack him the first ; wh.ch Valens no
' sooner understood, than he ordered his troops to take the held,
though in the depth of winter, and soon after came in person
embassies,
284 The History of the Goths. B. IV.
The Goth* embassies, for peace, he was at last prevailed upon, by the
Jut for senate of Constantinople, to hearken to their proposals b. What
peace, andinduced the senate to become mediators in behalf of a nation
obtain it.by them so much dreaded, and now reduced to the utmost: %
Year of distress, we are no-where told. Valens, after returning a fa
the flood
vourable answer to the embassadors, approached the Danube,
2717.
Of Christ and appointed Vitlor and Arintheus to treat with the Goths.
369. After some conferences, a peace was concluded, highly ho
Of Rome nourable for the Romans ; for, in virtue of this treaty, the
11 17. Goths were not, for the future, to pass the Danube, or set foot
on the Roman territories, on any account whatsoever, barring
that of trade, which was now confined to two cities on the
Danube; whereas they had been formerly allowed to carry it
on with what cities of the empire they pleased. They were
not to expect or claim the pensions which had been paid them
annually by other emperors ; but Valens consented to continue
Athangric's pension to him. This peace was ratified and signed
by Valens and Athanaric, who met for that purpose in boats in
the middle of the Danube, the latter absolutely refusing to pass
that river, by reason his father had obliged him, as he pre
tended, solemnly to swear never to tread on Roman ground c.
Valens, having thus concluded a peace with the Goths, ordered
the forts on the Danube to be repaired, and some new ones to
be built ; and then, leaving strong garisons in them, as if he
distrusted the barbarians, he returned to Marcianopolis, and
from thence to Constantinople *.
Henna- At this time Hermanaric was king of the Goths, as we have
naric, a hinted above. He was descended from the noble family of
great con the Amali, and had signalized himself in several wars ; inso
queror. much that he was compared to Alexander the Great. Jornan-
des names the many northern nations he subdued ; but he might
as well have spared himself that trouble, most of them being
utterly unknown e. Among the rest he mentions the Heruli
dwelling near the Palus Maotis ; the Venedi on the German
ocean ; and the ÆJlii on the borders of the present PruJJia
and Poland ; nay, Ablavius, as quoted by Jornandes f, assures
us, that Hermanaric was obeyed by all the nations both of
Scythia and Germany. However, not thinking himself in a
condition to withstand the Hunns, who, passing the Palus
when
2s86 fbe Hijlory of the Goths. B. IV.
when dispersed among the Roman troops (O). What chiefly
induced the Goths to lay down their arms, and suhmit to 7kco-
elosius, was, if Orosms is to be credited, that prince's generous
behaviour to Athanaric ; who being, by a faction at home,
driven out of the country^ which he had kept, in spite of the
Athana- Hunns, beyond the Danube, came to Constantinople, notwith -
ric takes standing his pretended oath never to tread on Roman ground.
refuge The emperor went out to meet him^ received him with great
(P) Pro/per writes, that Atha- have let flip this opportunity
tiaric was killed (9'. But he of upbraiding that prince .with
was therein certainly mistaken ; treachery and perfidiousness,
for Ammiunus, who lived in had he only suspected him to
those times, and count Marcel- have been any-way accessory
linui, tell us, in express terms, to the death of Athanarie,
that he died a natural death . 1 ) ; who had put himself under
and Zofimus, with all the other his protection. The manner
writers, only that he died, which he speaks of this death plain-
must be understood of a natural ly shews, that no one enter-
death; for, had it been violent, tained the least suspicion of
they would have expressed them- any violence. Hence De Pon-
selves in a different manner : tuc thinks we ought to read
Zofimus especially, a declared in St. Prosper, occidit, instead os
enemy to Tbcodofius, would not occiditur.
7 them.
288 The History of the Goths. 6. IV,
them. The emperor, however, was appeased after a few
hours, and the order he had given revoked r.
The Goths, who were allowed by Theodofius to settle in
Thrace, were, for the most part, Thervingians, or Visigoths.
As for the Greuthongians, or Ostrogoths, they continued in their
antient seats, but subject to the Hunns, who, as we have
hinted above, suffered them to be governed by their own kings<
ThcOho- However, great numbers of them, not able to brook that sub
gotbs jection, in the year 386. broke into the empire under the
break into conduct of Odotheus, whom Claudian honours with the title
the emsire; of king 1. Their design was to settle, as their countrymen
the Vistgitbs had done, in some of the Roman provinces ; but
but^are de Theodofius, fearing the empire might be thus over-run by the
feated by barbarians, marched against them in person, with his son Ar-
Tbeodo- cad'tus, gave them a total overthrow, and returned, with an
sius.
incredible number of captives, to Constantinople, which he
entered in triumph on the twelfth of October of the year 386 '
(QJ. This, according to Zofimus, is all the share Theodofius
had
C. XXVIII. The History of the Goths. 289
had in that victory : but all other authors suppose the emperor Year of
to have commanded his troops in person ; nay, Claudiun tells the flood
us, that he engaged Odotheus himself, who was killed in the 2734-_
battle '. The far greater part of this numerous army being Of Christ
either cut in pieces, taken prisoners, or drowned in the Da- nf'|
nube, the emperor ordered Majoranus, who commanded un- Kome
der him, to cross the Danube, and lay waste the enemy's . M34-
country ; which he did accordingly, without meeting with the v-^v>"'
least opposition c. Tkeodofius ordered all the prisoners to be
set at liberty, and even made them rich presents, in order to
entice them into his service, says Zostmus u, and employ them
against Maximus, of whom we have spoken at large else
where v.
The Goths continued quiet from this time to the year 395. The Goths
the first of Arcadlus and Honorius, when they were stirred up stirred up
by the famous Rusinus to invade the empire. Rufinus governed by Rusinus
with an absolute sway in the East under Arcadius ; and Stilicho, t0 invade
with the same arbitrary sway, ruled in the West under Hono- "' ""fire.
rius; but, as the latter pretended to have been appointed by Year of
Theodosius guardian to both his children, he was preparing to °"
march into the East, to dispossess his rival of the authority he of 7rh"-ft
had usurped. Rusinus therefore, to divert this storm, resolved "
to set all in a flame, and involve the whole empire in the utmost of Rome
confusion. With this view, he privately stirred up the Hunns, , , .,
who advanced as far as Antioch, destroying all with fire and 1 '*
sword, as we have related above. At the fame time, he en
couraged the celebrated Alaric to put himself at the head of his
countrymen the Visigoths, and to break into Greece. Alaric
was descended from the family of the Balthi, the most illu
strious of the Gothic nation, after that of the Amali. He passed
the Danube in 376. with his countrymen driven out of their
own country by the Hunns, and served with great reputation
in the war between the Remans and Goths, which lasted from
that time to the year 382. when they all submitted to Theodo
sius, and were allowed to settle in Thrace, upon condition of
their serving;, when wanted, in the R.oman armies. Pursuant
to this agreement, they attended Theodosius in his expedition
against the usurper Eugenius ; on which occasion Alaric com
manded a body of his countrymen. A s Theodosius had pre
ferred him to no higher rank, he was highly diilatissied, and
the
C XXVIII. The History of the Gbehs. 291
the camp, with a peremptory order from Arcadius to fend him but is or.
forthwith the Oriental troops, and return with the rest into the dared ly
West. This order Rufinus had procured, concluding, that, Arcadius
if the barbarians were overcome and repressed, the storm would to return
fall upon his own head. However, Sr/7; cho, not daring to disobey to tbt
it, sent back the troops belonging to the Eastern empire, under West.
the conduct of one Gainas, by nation a Goth, and his intimate
friend, and returned with the rest to Italy, leaving the Goths
to pursue their ravages without controul * (R). Thus the
Goths continued in Greece, and the other Roman provinces, all
the year 395. and part of 396. destroying all with sire and
sword, and sending into their own country an incredible num
ber of captives, with the whole wealth of the ravaged pro
vinces.
As Arcadius, to whom these provinces belonged, seemed Stilicho
intirely to neglect them, Stilicho, pitying the condiiion to which returns to
they were reduced, set out anew with the Western troops to the re-
relieve them. He embarked on the Adriatic sea, and, land lief of
ing in Peloponnesus, cut off great numbers of the barbarians in Greece 3
* Zos. p. 781. Claud, in Ruf. lib. ii. p. 24. Soz. lib. viii.
P- 754*
(R) Zofimus writes, that they Athens till that time (8). Thus
spared the city of Athens, de the remains of idolatry, which
fended, says he, by Minerva and the Christian princes had never
Achilles, whose power Alaric been able to abolish with their
dreaded ; and therefore entered laws, were at length utterly ex
the city as a friend, and. would tirpated by Alaric and his Goths.
hot suffer his men to commit During these ravages, several
any ravages in Attica. But St. philosophers, over-zealous for
'Jerom, who wrote at that very the worship of their gods, were
time, tells us, that the Athenians, either put to the sword by the
and all the other Greeks, sub Goths, or died of grief in see
mitted to the barbarians (6). ing their mysteries despised,
Claudian names the Athenians a- their gods trod trnder-foot, and
mong those Who were carried in their altars pulled down. Among
to Captivity (7) ; and Eunapius the former were Proterui, Hila-
ascribes to the ravages commit rius, and Prifcus, a celebrated
ted by Alaric the intire suppres magician, who had been one of
sion os the ceremonies, religion, the emperor Julians chief fa
and sacrifices of Ceres and Pro vourites (9).
serpine, which had continued at
(6J Hier. ep. ill. p. 26. (7) ClauA. in Ruf. lit. ii. p. 24. (tj Eunip.
<• 5- P- 74. 75- (9) '<*""• '• 6- 1- 93. 94-
u% several
292 The History of the Goths. B. IV.
several encounters, and obliged the rest to take refuge on a
mountain in Arcadia, named Pboloe, at a small distance from
butsuffers Pisa. But, after he had shut them up on all sides, and even.
Alaric to turned the course of a river, that supplied them with water,
e/cape, he suffered them, by his misconduct, says Zosimus, to escape,
to withdraw out of Peloponnesus unmolested, and to ravage
Epirus in their retreat k. After this, he returned to Italy,
suffering his soldiers to destroy and carry off whatever had
escaped the avarice and fury of the Goths c (S). The poet
Claudian tells us, that Stilicho would have put Alaric and all
his men to the sword, as he had already killed great numbers
of them on the mountains of Arcadia, had not Arcadius taken
them under his protection, and ordered Stilicho to withdraw
his troops out of Greece, a province belonging to the Eastern
empire d. Arcadius had, without all doubt, been induced to
conclude a peace with the barbarians by the eunuch Eutropius,
who had succeeded Rufinus, not only in his power and em
ployments, but in his cruelty, avarice, and other detestable
qualities. He was no less jealous of Stilicho's great power than
his predecessor had been ; and therefore, to rob him of the
glory of delivering the empire, and triumphing over the barba
rians, he persuaded the emperor to conclude a peace with
them, and order Stilicho, to whom he must otherwise have
been highly indebted, to leave the barbarians, and return with
Alaric his forces into the West. Soon after, Alaric was appointed,
preferred no doubt in virtue of this treaty, commander of the troops in
by Area- East Illyricum, which comprised Greece, and the other pro-
dius ; vinces he had laid waste e. Claudian complains, and indeed
with a great deal of reason, that the barbarian, who, in de
fiance to the most sacred ties, had turned his arms against the
empire, should be preferred and enriched, and the person, to
whom the empire owed its safety, stripped of all his honours,
and reduced to poverty f ; for Stilicho, though he immediately
retired
C. XXVIII. The History os the Goths. 293
retired with his troops out of Greece; pursuant to the orders and Sti-
of Arcadius, yet that prince caused him to be declared a public licho.<£-
enemy by the senate of Conjlantinople, and the lands he had in ttared a
the East to be seized and confiscated S. It was, without all Pu^'c
doubt, after Alaric had been raised to this dignity, and not ttt""J'
during the war, that, coming to Athens with a small attend
ance, he was received by the inhabitants, as we read in Zosi-
mus h, with all possible marks of honour.
About three years after, new disturbances were raised in
the East by two Goths, subjects of the empire, and in the Ro
man service, to wit, Gainas and Tribigild. But, of the disturb
ances they raised, we have given a full account in a former
volume «.
During the above-mentioned disturbances raised by the Alaric
Goths in the East, the Western provinces were alarmed with breaks in-
a sudden irruption of the same barbarians, under the conduct to Italy,
of Alaric. Arcadius, as we have related above, entered into
a treaty with him, and appointed him commander in chief of
all the Roman forces quartered in Eajl-Jllyricum. The Goths,
who were subject to the empire, created him, according to
"Jornandcs k, about the same time, their chief and general,
with the title of king of the Visigoths. He was, in this very
year 400. when he first broke into Italy, general of the Illy-
rian troops ; whence some have thought he made that irruption
by order of Arcadius, and as his general ; for Arcadius never
well agreed with his brother Honorius : but it is not at all pro
bable, that Arcadius should choose to make war upon his bro
ther, while most of his forces were employed against Tribigild
and Gainas. What "Jornandes writes seems to us far more
probable, to wit, that the Goths, despising both Arcadius and
Honorius, and discontented because they had not sent them the
usual presents, resolved to make war on the empire, in order
to enrich themselves with the spoils of so many wealthy pro
vinces ; and with this view it was, that they chose Alaric for
their chief, and even gave him the title of king '. However H* enters
that be, it is certain, that, in the year 400. the Goths, under *ta'y
the conduct of Alaric, entered Italy, and committed there anew *
dreadful ravages, laying the country waste far and near, and
carrying off with them an incredible number of captives, as we
U 3 hav»
294 ?Jk History of the Goths. B. IV.
Year of have related elsewhere m. Two years after, Ataric entered
the flood Italy anew, and ravaged, without controul, the provinces of
2748. Venetia and Liguria, there being then no army in Italy to op-
Of Christ p0fe hjfn. The emperor Honorius, who then resided at
400. Milan, not thinking himself safe there, retired to Ravenna 9
°me which thenceforth became the usual place of his residence.
. \I*s. In the mean time Stilicho, having assembled what forces he
«^P^"\ could, marched against the enemy, whom he found encamped
at Pollentia on the Tanaro in Piedmont. There the two armies
engaged ; but, as to the issue of the battle, there is a great
disagreement among authors, as we have observed in a former
Volume «.. The wife of Alaric, with his children and daugh
ters-in-law, fell into the hands of the Romans ; which he no
sooner understood, than he sent deputies to Stilicho to sue for
peace j which was readily granted him, and the captives sent
back, upon condition of his marching forthwith out of Italy.
Pursuant to this agreement, he repasted the Po ; but, having
lut is plundered the country in his retreat, Stilicho detached a strong
driven out body of barbarians against him, by whom he was defeated,
by Stili- anc' obliged to take refuge among the mountains, where they
cho. kept him blocked up, till, most of his men forsaking him, and
joining the Romans, he privately withdrew in the night-time,
and returned through by-ways into Thrace °. Three years
after, Radagaifus invaded Italy with an army of two hundred
thousand Goths, and other barbarians dwelling beyond the
Danube and the Rhine, who were then all blended under the
common name of Goths; but this numerous army was defeated
and cut in pieces, and Radagaifus himself taken prisoner, by
Stilicho, with the assistance of a body of Hunns and Goths,
who served the Romans as auxiliaries, under the conduct of
Uldin and Sarus P. Of this invasion we have given a particu
lar and distinct account in a former volume, to which we re
fer the reader 1.
This storm was scarce blown over, when another was
raised by Stilicho, who, in order to kindle a war between Ar-
cadius and Honorius, persuaded the latter, that not only TVeJl-
lllyricum, but the whole province, belonged to the Western
empire ; nay, he even prevailed upon the weak prince to ap
point Alaric general of all the Roman troops in Wijl-lllyricumy
in
C. XXVIII. The History os the Goths. 295
in order to recover, with them and his own Gctb', that part
of the province, which he pretended to be unjustly with-held
from him by his brother Arcadius. StiH.b?, in thus setting t!ie
two brothers at variance, had nothing less in view thrrti the
raising of himself to the cm pie ; for, while the Gctbs invad.d
the Eastern empire, his countryman the Vandals, and their
allies, were to break into the Western provinces, and there
second his treacherous and wicked design '. At the fame time
that he acquainted Alaric with his promotion, he caused a con
siderable sum to be transmitted to him, to defray the charges
of the war; which he no sooner received, than, leaving Pan-
nonia and Dalmatia, where lands had been granted to him and
his Goths, he entered Epirus, then belonging to the Eastern
empire, and there waited for orders from Stilicho to beain ho
stilities. Birt, while that general was upon the point of setting
out from Ravenna to join him with the Roman forces, he was
stopped by letters from Arcadius, acquainting him with the
revolt of Conflantine in Britain, and, by a false report, with
the death of Alaric '. Hereupon Marie, aster having long
continued inactive in Epirus, lest at length that country, and,
bending his march towards Italy, arrived it Æ.mona, now Lan-
bach, between Upper Pannonia and Nerium. Thence he con- Alaric
tinued his route, and, passing the river Aquila, and the streights nchtancej
of ths mountains that bound Pannovia on that side, where an i»'<> Nori-
handful of men might have stopped his vv'iole army, he entered cam.
Nori:um '. From thence he dispatched a messenger to Arca
dius, demanding a sum os money for the time he had spent in
Epirus, and the trouble of marching his troops into Noricum.
Upon this demand the senate being assembled (for Honorius
was then at Rome), Stilieho pleaded so warmly in his favour,
that it was agreed four thousand pounds weight of gold stiould
be sent him u : but, the emperor putting off from time to time He besieges
the payment of this sum, Alaric entered Italy, and, marching Rome ;
strait to Rome, laid siege to that metropolis, and, in a fliort
time, reduced it to such streights, that the unhappy inhabit- itibich is
ants, afflicted both with the plague and famine, were obliged redeemed
to redeem themselves with an immense sum ; which Alaric no ''"*"' ""
sooner received, than he raised the siege, and retired with his >mmens*
army into Hetruria w. Jum'
' Zos. lib. v.p. 802. Soz. p. 792, 793. Phot. c. 80. p. 180.
• Soz. ibid. Zos. p. 802, 803. • Soz. Zos. ibid,.
Pmr.osTORC. lib. xii. c. 2. p. 532. Rutil. lib. ii. p. 141.
u Zos. p. 805, 806. " Soz. p. 808. Zos. p. 817. So-
crat. p. 88. Univers. hist. vol. xvi. p. 503, 504.
U 4 But
296 The History of the Goths. B.1V.
Year of But, soon after, he returned anew before Rome, the empe-
the flood ror shewing great backwardness to execute the articles of the
2756. treaty between Alaric and the Romans, which he himself had
Of Christ ratified. On this occasion, the Romans, aster a few days
4°8, siege, opened their gates to Alaric, who entered the city at-
' K-°me tended by a small guard, obliged the Romans to renounce their
. l J 5 " allegiance to Honorius, and acknowlege Attains, then prefect
v«'v^-' 0f iJijOT*, for emperor. But Honorius having, in the m?an
time, declared, that he was ready to comply with the terms
proposed by the Goths, Alaric deposed Attalus, and, leaving
Rome, approached Ravenna, where the emperor then was, in
order to put the last hand to the treaty of accommodation ;
but, the emperor refusing to comply with the terms prop6sed
to him, Alaric departed, in a great rage, from the neighbour-
Alaric hood of Ravenna, and, returning before Rome, took and plun-
takes and dered that wealthy metropolis, as we have related at large else-
flundcrs where x. From Rome Alaric marched into Campania, and,
Rome. having ravaged that and the neighbouring provinces of Luca-
vsCflr a "'a' ^amn'umi ^Kfulia^ and Calabria, he approached the
the Hood strejghts of Sicily, with a design to pass over into that island,
Of Oi 'ft an(^ tncnce 'nt0 Africa ; but he was seized, in the neighbour
hood of Rhegium, with a fit of sickness, which carried him off
Of Rome m a ^ew days.
' 8 The Goths chose Ataulphus, whose sister the deceased prince
{y-V\j had married, king in his room ; for to Alaric, as we have
observed above, the Goths had given the title of king of the
Atanl- Visigoths. Ataulphus, leaving Italy after he had quite drained
phus, his it of its wealth, marched into Gaul, and there reduced the
successor, cjties 0f Narhonne and Toulouse f. Soon after, he married
tn-vades wjtn great solemnity Placidia, the sister of Honorius, who
* had been taken, with many other captives, at Rome, and
treated, both by Alaric and him, with all the respect due to
her rank and sex. After this marriage, Ataulphus seemed
very desirous of concluding a peace with Honorius, and
turning his arms against the Alans, Vandals, Suevians, Bur-
gundians, Franks^ and other barbarous nations, that had
broken into Gaul; but all the measures that were taken by
him, and his wife Placidia, to bring about an accommodation,
being defeated by Conjlantius, and his party, who bore a
great
C. XXVIII. the History of the Goths. 297
great sway at court, the war was renewed, and Ataulphus in Being dri-
the end obliged to retire with his Goths into Spain, where he *>en out of
was soon after murdered, in the manner we have related in a Gaul, be
former volume z. Before his death, he charged his brother, ritir" "
not named by any historian, to fend back Placidia to the Ro- Spain,
mans, and live in friendship with them ; but the Gotbs, instead ™l:ere &*
of his brother, chose for their king Sigeric, or Sergeric, "J""rJtr'
brother to Sarus, whom Ataulphus had put to death. Sigeric 'v f
was no sooner proclaimed king of the Visigoths, than, to re- tke flood
venge the death of his brother, he caused the six children 276,
Ataulphus had by a former wife to be inhumanly murdered *. of Ctyait
Trie seemed inclined to live in peace and amity with the Ro- -,,
mans, and desirous of being employed by them in driving out Of Ronw;
the Vandals, Alans, and Sucvians, who had entered Spain in n6t.
409. and, in the space of two years, reduced almost the whole Ky^r^
country, and divided it among them ; but he was assaifinated Sigeric
by his own people the seventh day after his election, perhaps his sue-
on account of his cruelty to the children of his predecessor eejjbr,mur-
Ataulphus K dered.
In his room was chosen Vallia, aster he had caused all those
to be assassinated, who stood in competition with him for the
crown c. As the chief provinces of Spain were already pos
sessed by the Vandals, Alans, and Suevians, he resolved to pass
over into Africa, and attempt the reduction of that country,
which still continued subject to the Romans ; but, the fleet he
was sending thither being shipwrecked, and a great number of
Goths on board of it drowned, he not only concluded a peace, Vallia
but entered into an alliance, with the Romans, upon the sol- concludes a
Jowing terms ; to wit, that Placidia, whom the emperor had peacetuitb
promised to Conjlantius, should be sent back j that the Goths the Ro-
should make war upon the barbarians, who had fettled in mans.
Spain, restoring to the Romans the places and territories they
should recover out of their hands ; that, on the other hand,
the Romans should reward the Goths with lands within the *
empire, and fend them forthwith six hundred thousand mea
sures of corn. Pursuant to this agreement, the promised corn
was immediately sent to the Goths, who were then in the ut
most distress; and they no sooner received it, than Vallia
sent back Placidia to her brother, arid began to make the ne-
cessary
298 Tl'e History os the Goths. B. IV.
cesiary preparations for the intended war with the barbarians
in Spain '• (T).
Hh sue- An alliance being thus concluded between the Romans and
tefssul the Goths in Catalonia, in 416. Vallia, without loss of time,
•war with fc\\ first on the sandals called Silingians, who had settled in
the Silin- fiatica, or Andalusia ; and having, in several successful en-
gians and counters, cut off great numbers of them, he obliged the rest
Alans in tQ at>a.r»don their country, and take refuge among the Alans in
Spam. Celtiheria, now the kingdom of Arragon. Against these he
marched next, and made such a dreadful havock of that na
tion, that, their king Ata being killed, the few who remained,
instead of choosing him a successor, fled for protection toGon-
dcric king of the Vandals, who had settled in Galicia, and
He is "I- submitted to him c. To reward these eminent services of
lowed to Vallia and his Goths, Honorius bestowed on them Aquitania
fettle in Secunda, comprising the present archbifhoprick of Bourdcaux,
Aquitain. and some neighbouring cities, that is, the whole tract from
Year of Toulouse to the^sea •, to which was added, soon aster, Novem-
the flood p0pulania, or'AquitaniaTertia, that is, the provinces of Auch
27o6\ and Gascony f. ' Vallia * on the other hand, yielded to the Ro-
Of Christ mans^ not on]y tne country he had taken from the Vandals and
+'8' Alans, but likewise Catalonia, which the Goths had held ever
fifi"16 *"ince t'le'r enter'ng Spain, under the conduct of Ataulpbus
. ', their second king. Vallia fixed his residence at Toulouse,
v-/"v">*-' which by that means became, and continued to be, for the
space of eighty-eight years, the metropolis of the kingdom of
the Visigoths. Vallia died soon after he had brought his Goths
dark,
300 The History of the Goths. B. IV.
doric, who was in the place, sent several bishops to Litorius,
hoping, by their mediation, to prevail upon the Roman gene
ral to accept the advantageous terms which he offered ; but
Litorius, who thought the Goths reduced to the last extremity,
openly declaring, that he would hearken to no proposals, Theo
doric marched out at the head of his men, and offered him
battle ; which he not declining, as a more prudent commander
would have done, both armies engaged with the utmost fury.
Victory continued a long time doubtful, the loss being equal
on both sides ; but Litorius having in the end advanced too far
at the head of his Hunns, in whose valour he chiefly confided,
The Ro the Goths, making a last effort, cut most of them in pieces,
mans de put the rest to flight, and, having surrounded Litorius, who
feated, had received a dangerous wound, took him alive, and carried
and the him, with his hands tied behind his back, into the city, which
Jiege rais he had hoped to enter that very day in triumph. Theodoric
ed, by
caused him to be exposed for some time to the insults and out
Theodo
ric; rages of the populace and children, and then to be thrown
into the public prison, where, after he had undergone inex
pressible hardships, he was, by the king's order, put to death •".
After this victory the Goths might have extended their con
quests to the Rhone ; and this resolution they had taken, ac
cording to Sidonius, Aetius, who, at that time, had neither
men nor money 1, being no-ways in a condition to oppose
them. However, Theodoric, at the request of Avitus, then
prefect of Gaul, and by him held in great esteem, readily
•who eon- hearkened to the proposals that were made to him, and con
eludes a cluded a peace with the Remans on the fame terms he had of
peace fered them before the battle '.
•with the Some years after, that is, in 453. Theodoric, entering into
Romans. an alliance with the Romans, assisted them powerfully against
the Hunns who had entered Gaul, and, heading his own troops
in person, distinguished himself in the famous battle of Cha
He i, hill lons ; but, falling unluckily from his horse, he was, according
ed in the to some, trod to death by his own people, who did not know
battle of him ; according to others, killed by a Goth named Andagus,
Chalons. who served under Attila, and was descended from the royal
family of the Amali *. He was succeeded by his son Thorif-
mund, who had fought under his father, and had been wound
ed
C.XXVI1I. The History os the Goths. 301
ed in the fame battle. The young prince was for revenging Year of
the death of his father on the Hunns, and attacking Attila in the flood
his camp ; but Aetius, fearing the Hunns, whom he consider- _2^OI'._
ed as a check upon the Goths and Franks, might be thus in- °' Christ
tirely cut off, craftily advised him to return home, lest his nf^l}'
brotners should raise disturbances during his absence, and, seiz- " om'
ing on the royal treasures, give rife to a civil war. Thoris- ty^L*
mund followed his advice, and, returning with his troops to
Toulouse, was there received as king with the greatest demon
strations of joy imaginable '. Being soon after apprised of the Thoris-
deceitful advice given him by Aetius, he broke the alliance he mund, hit
had made with the Romans, and laid siege to Aries ; but was r'c"l°r'
prevailed upon by Ferreolus, prefect of Gaul, to drop that r'.a, ' ,
enterprize, and retire ■ (U). Romans'
The fame year Thtrismund had a favourable opportunity of
revenging, on the Hunns, the death of his father ; for, Attila
having invaded Gaul anew, with a design to make war upon
the Alans, next neighbours to the Visigoths, and, by reducing
them, get footing in Gaul, Thorisrnund joined the Alans with
all his forces, engaged Attila, and, having gained a complete Defeats
victory over him, obliged him to return with sliame and dis- Attila.
grace into his own country w. Gregory of Tours writes, that
he overcame and subdued the Alemans and the Alans x. It Extends
appears from Sidonius, that his dominions extended to the his domi-
Rhone t : that writer stiles him the haughty and untractable nioni.
king of Gothia z ; for in his whole conduct he betrayed great
pride and arrogance, was incapable of living himself, or suffer
ing others to live, in peace, and seemed to delight in nothing
but wars and (laughter. On the other hand, his brothers
Theodtric, Frederic, Turic, or rather Euric, Rotemer, and
2 Himnarit,
302 The History os the Goths. B. IV.
Himnarit, were inclined to peace; which occasioned daily
quarrels between them and the king. At length, his brothers,
especially Theodoric and Frederic, finding they could by no
other means divert him from engaging in new wars, resolved
to dispatch him. Being therefore one day let blood on account
of some flight indisposition, while his vein was still open, one
of his officers, named Ascaleru, having first removed privately
his arms, cried aloud, that assassins were coming in to murder
the king, and, at the fame time, threw himself upon him with
several others. Tborismund, missing his weapons, with the
only arm he had free, laid hold of a footstool, and with it di
spatched some of the conspirators ; but was in the end over
powered and slain *.
Theodo- Thorismund was succeeded by his brother Tiieodoric, a
ric II. prince, according to Sidonius \ whom he honoured with his
intimacy, of uncommon parts, and great accomplishments,
but in point of religion a mere hypocrite. The fame writer
calls him elsewhere a martial prince, who even surpassed his
A friend illustrious parent, the glory of the Gothic nation, and the sup-
to the Ro- Port °f 'he Roman empire, not able to maintain itself without
mans. the assistance of the barbarians, whom the Romans had so often
overcome £. He was, it seems, a man of some learning, and
well veised in the Latin poets d. In the beginning of his reign
he not only concluded a peace, but entered into an alliance,
with the Romans, sending his brother Frederic, with a chosen
body of troops into Spain, to make war upon the Bagaudtr,
who, driving out the Romans, had seized on great part of
Hispania Tarraconenfis. Frederic recovered several places out
of their hands, which he restored to the Romans e. However,
in the year 455. the emperor Maximus, apprehending that
Theodoric designed to break with the empire, sent Avitus, who
was greatly esteemed and respected by the Gotbs, to the court
of Toulou/e, to divert that storm. Avitus was received by the
king with the greatest marks of friendship and esteem, and the
peace between the two nations confirmed. But in the mean
time Maximus dying, Theodoric pressed Avitus to assume the'
sovereignty, promising to assist him to the utmost of his power.
Causes Avitus, encouraged with this promise, suffered himself to be
Avitus t» proclaimed emperor by the Goths at Toulouse, on the tenth of
July ;
C. XXVIII. The Histoi-y os the Goths. 30$
July; and was, on the eighth of August., acknowleged and be pro-
proclaimed anew at Aries by the Roman soldiery, and all the claimed
persons of distinction in Gaul. Theodoric went immediately, emperor at
attended by his brothers, to Aries, to congratulate the new 1 oulouse.
prince on his accession to the empire, and was received by him
as one to whom he was chiefly indebted for the dignity he en
joyed f.
The following year, the Suevians, taking advantage of the The Sue-
confufion which the aflassination of Valentinian III. and Maxi- vians///-
mus had bred in the empire, over-ran and pillaged the province lage tbt
of Cartagena, with a design to drive the Romans quite out o\~ province
Spain. Hereupon Avitus dispatched count Fronto to Requiarius °1 <-art«a-
their king, putting him in mind of the treaties concluded be- Zena~
tween him and the Romans : Theodoric likewise interposed his
good offices, conjuring Requiarius, who had married his sister,
not to disturb the public tranquillity; and at the fame time
acquainting him with the engagements which he had entered
into with Avitus 8. What answer Requiarius returned to the
embassadors, our historian docs not tell us ; but he had no' sooner
dismissed them, than, assembling his forces, he entered the
province of Tarruco, which then belonged to the Romans,
and there committed unheard-of ravages, without any regard
to the faith of treaties, or the laws of justice. Upon this,
Theodoric sent him a second embassy, to which he answered,
with great haughtiness, that he did not understand, why the
king of the Goths should concern himself with his affairs ; that
if he found fault with his conduct, he would soon give him an
account of it at Toulouse. Theodoric, piqued at this answer,
began to prepare for war ; but in the mean time Requiarius,
entering anew the province of Tarraco, laid it waste far and
near, carrying with him into Galuia a great number of cap
tives l».
Soon after, Theodoric, having concluded a peace with all Makes
his neighbours, left his own dominions, and, with the consent "war "f"n
and approbation of rfvitus, entered Spain at the head of a nu- '** Su^-
merous army, consisting of Goths and Burgundians ; the lat- £ians '*
ter, whom he had called to his assistance, being commanded SPaln"
by their king Hilperic or Chilperic. Requiarius met him about
twelve miles from AJlorga on the Urbicus, now the Orbegua.
Hereupon a battle ensued, in which the Suevians were utterly fates
defeated, and their king, who was dangerously wounded, their king
obliged
3°4 The History of the Goths, B<IV,
prisoner, obliged to fly for shelter to the most distant corner of Galicia '.
andputs This battle was fought on the fifth of Oclober, and Theodoricy
him to pursuing the fugitives, entered Braga on a Sunday, the twenty-
death. eighth of the fame month, and gave it up to be plundered by
his soldiers, who abstained from {laughter, and spared the sa
cred virgins, but committed all other disorders k. Requiarius
had retired to a place called Portucal, thought to be the pre
sent city of Porto on the Dauno ; and from thence attempted
to make his escape by sea ; but, being driven back by a storm,
he was taken and delivered up to Tbeodoric, who kept him un
der close confinement till December, and then ordered him to
Recovers be put to death '. The Suevians, disheartened by the cap
several tivity of their king, and destitute of a leader, were most of
provinces them either taken prisoners, or put to the sword ; tho* Theo-
from the doric had strictly injoined his men to spare all who laid down
Suevians » their arms, and submitted na. Thus was the power of the
Suevians reduced by the Goths to the lowest ebb (W). The
•which he king of the yijigotbs, appropriating to himself the countries he
retains. had taken from the Suevians, appointed one Aquiulpbus to go
vern them. Aquiulpbus, or, as others call him, Acliulphus,
was not a Gotb, as Jornandes takes care to tell us, but born in
the country of the IVarni, who are thought to have passed
about this time from Lower Saxony into Frisia and Holland n.
He therefore, without any regard to the most sacred ties, aban
doned the Gotbs, and, retiring into Galicia, endeavoured to
persuade the Suevians dwelling there to acknowlege him for
their king ° ; but a powerful army being sent against him by
Tbeodoric, he was overcome in battle, taken, and beheaded P.
Thus Jornandes ; but Idatius only fays, that he died in the
month of June of the following year 456. at Porto <l. The
Suevians, who, refusing to submit to Tbeodoric, had retired
to Galicia, upon the news of the death of their king, chose one.
of their own nation, named Maldra, in his room '.
the too great power of the Gotbs, selves masters of the city of Ly
to have made war upon them ; ons, and in 478. reduced the
and that this is the year of which whole province called Lugdunen-
Jornandei speaks, where he tells fis Prima. Jornandes writes, that
us, that a war was kindled be in the present year 48 z. the Getis
tween two nations in Gau/($) 5 gained great advantages over
for he speaks soon after of the them (6). However, it appears
war between the Burgundians and from the acts of the council of
Gotbs. The Burgundians, sprung Agde held in 526. and of the
originally from the Vandals, had council of Epaune in 527. that
entered Gaul in 406. with the no fewer than twenty-eight cities
Vandals and Alans ; and, having or dioceses belonged to the Bur-
some years after made them gundians, in which number were
selves masters of the country Lyons, Vienne, Befan^on, and Em-
now known by the name of Al- brun (7) ; so that the Gotbs were
face, they were allowed to settle not, as "Jornandes supposes them
there as friends and allies of the to have been, masters of all the
Roman people. They were re south part of Gaul (8).
moved from thence in 43 1 . by (B) Sidonius, speaking, in 476.
'Aetius to the present duchy of of the court of thjs prince then
Savoy. In 456. they seized on at Bourdtaux, describes the Sa
part ot Spain, and made them- xons, the Trunks, the Heru/i, the
(5) J4m. f. Mi. (6) Idem ibid. {7) Notit.Gall.fr Adrian. Va-
Its. f. 105, <i) Jtrn. f, 680.
X 4 Burgu*
jii The History os the Goths. B. IV.
The first Eoric was the first who gave written laws to the Goths,
•who gave governed, till his reign, by customs only g (C). The person
Euric
t Isidor. chron.
were
C. XXVIII. The History of the Goths. 313
Euric chiefly employed in compiling his laws was Leo, his written
prime minister, and one of the most learned men, and best lawstatbe
civilians, of his timeh (D). Some Spanijh writers tell us, Goths.
that,
h Sid. l.viii. ep. 13. p. Z15.
foj
§ i4 ?te History ef the Goths." B. IV?
that, besides Leo, he employed seventy bishops, among whom
was one Severus, bishop of Barcelona, whom he afterwards
put to death, with a countryman named Emeterius, on ac
count of their zeal for the cathoiic faith. But what these au
thors write is founded on an antient tradition, which Bollan-
dus thinks quite groundless '. Euric married one Ragnabild
or Ragnachild, the daughter of a king, for whose use in
bathing Evodius caused a silver vessel to be made, on which
were ingraved some verses composed by Sidoniusk. By her
he had a son named Alark, by whom he was succeeded, and
a daughter, who Was married to a barbarian prince named Si-
gi/mer '. From the description which Sidonius, who saw that
prince, gives of him, Valefius concludes him to have been by
ration a Frank ; and that Euric gave him his daughter in mar
riage, hoping by that means to gain the nation of the Franks,
which began to be very powerful in Gaul. But by that very
nation the son he had by her was killed in battle, and a pe
riod put to the kingdom of the Vijigotbs in Gaul, who, being
driven from thence, fixed their royal feat at Toledo in Spain.
But, as in Euric's reign they firmly established their domi
nion in the latter of these countries, we shall, in compliance
with our plan, leave them for the present, and, reserving for
their modern history an account of their affairs from the time
they settled in Spain to the loss of that country to the Arabiy
return to the Ostrogoths, who, as we have observed above,
upon the departure of their countrymen the Visigoths admitted
by Valens in 376. into the empire, continued in their antient
seats, but subject to the Hunns, who nevertheless allowed
them to be governed by their own kings of the illustrious
family of the jtmali.
The history The Ostrogoths, as we have related above, upon the death
»f the Of- of Ermenric or Hermenaric their king, chose Vithimir, by some
trogoths. called IVinithar, in his room. The new king gained at first
Their some small advantages over ,the Hunns ; but was in the end
kings. overcome, and killed in battle, by Balatnir or Balamher, king
1 Bollasd. 8. Mar. p. 144, 245. k Sid. 1. iv. ep. 8. p.
97,98. 1 Idem, ep.20.p-n5.
for it (8). St. Gregory of Tours he advised him to lower the
tells us, that Alaric the son of churchy which was done accord-
Euric having once complained in ingly. Gregory of Tours adds,
she presence of Leo, that a fine that Leo paid dear for this advice,
view from his palace was obstru- having soon after intirely lost his
cted by the church of Narbonnc, eye- sight (9).
(8) Idem, I. iv. rp~ 12. f>. IlS,, Tic. (9) Grtg. lur, dt glor, mirtyr. e. 91.
f. 108, 2CQ.
Of
C. XXVIII. the History of the Goths. 3lfi
of the Hutmsm . His son Vitheric withdrew, attended by
great numbers of his subjects, into the plains between the Bo-
rysthenes and the Danube, that is, into the present Podolia.
Of him no further mention is made in history. He was suc
ceeded by Hunimund the son of Ermenric, who submitted to
the Hunns, and is said to have made war upon, and gained
a signal victory over, the Suevians. His son Thorismund
reigned next, who defeated with great slaughter the Gepidte ;
but was soon after killed in the flower of his age by a fall from
his horse. The Goths so lamented the loss of this prince, that,
for the space of forty years, they chose no king in his room.
After so long an interregnum, Wandalar, son to the brother
of Ermenric, was raised to the throne ; but of him no further
mention is made in history. He was succeeded by his three
sons Valemir, Theodomir, and Vidimir, who reigned jointly,
and attended Attila in most of his expeditions. Upon that
prince's death, several nations, by him formerly subdued,
revolting from his children, begged and obtained leave
from Martian, then emperor, to settle in the Roman terri
tories, almost quite dispeopled by the frequent incursions
of the Hums, and other barbarians. Among these, mention
is made of the Squirt, Satagaira, and Alans, who settled in
Lester Scythia, and Lower Mœfia. To the Rugians, Sarma-
tians, and Cemandritms, lands were granted in lilyricum, near
a place called the Castle of Man. To the Ostrogoths Mar- They are
cian granted all Pannonia, from Sirmium, now Sirmijh, in allowed ta
Sclavonia, to Vindobona, now Vienna in Austria n. The Goths, fettle in
as well as the other barbarians, acknowleged the authority Pannonia.
of the Canstantinopolitan emperors, and were subjects of the ^ear °f
empire ; but at the fame time governed by their own princes, tne "°°d
to whom the emperor agreed to pay an annual pension, upon 0? p/ '.»
their promising to guard the frontiers of the empire, and serve,
when wanted, in the Roman armies °. Pannonia being granted qc Rome
to the Ostrogoths, the three brothers divided that country j2oi.
among them, Valemir settling in the eastern part of it, Theo- y. -¥- .j
domir in the western, and Videmir between the other two p.
They were scarce settled in their new territories, when the
sons of Attila, pursuing them even into Pannonia, fell upon
Valemir in the neighbourhood of Sirmium ; but that prince, with They gain
an handful of men, overthrew them with great slaughter, and tmioviSo-
obliged them to take refuge in that part of Scythia which bor- riet over
dered on the Danube's. About eight years after, the Goths theHunns,
■ Joan. rer. Goth. p. 644. ■ Idem, c. 48. p. 683. Phot.
I. i. c. 242. p. 1041. Theoph. p. 112. * JofcN. c. 57. p.
696. » Idem, c. 50—52. p. 688, 689. * Idem ibid. p. 690.
being
316 The History of the Goths. .. B. IV.
being engaged in a war with the Sataga, Dintzio, one of At-
tila's sons, laying hold of that opportunity, entered Partnonia
at the head of a considerable army ; and, having ravaged the
country, laid siege to Bajstana, thought to be the present city
of Posega, which gives name to a county in Hungary between
the Save and the Draw. But the Goths, leaving the Sataga,
marched with all their forces against the Hunns, who readily
engaged them ; but received such an overthrow, that they ever
after stood in awe of the Goths, and never offered to molest
them'. In the year 455. the emperor Leo refusing, under
several pretences, to pay to the Ostrogoths their usual pension,
They ra- they entered lllyricum, and there committed dreadful ravages;
vage Ely- but Anthemius, son-in-law to the emperor Marcian, having
ricum. assembled the troops quartered in that province, obliged them
to retire with no small loss *. Soon after, Leo sent deputies
to Valemir, to upbraid him with his late conduct, and renew
They eon- the antient treaties'. The treaties were accordingly renewed,
elude a and the peace re-established, upon the emperor's promising to
feaceiuith pay to the Goths what was due to them to that time, and for
Leo, and the future three hundred pounds weight of gold a year. On
fend him the other hand, Valemir sent to Conjlantinople, by way of ho-
Theodo- fragC) tne famous Theodoric, afterwards king of Italy, but then
ric as an only eight years old (E). Leo received him with the greatest
bofiage
marks of esteem and affection, maintained him for the space of
ten years at his court, in a manner suitable to his rank, and
took care to have him instructed by the best masters in every
branch of polite literature".
In the year 466. the tenth of Leo's reign, a war breaking
out between the Goths in Pamionia and the Squirt, whom the
emperor Marcian had allowed to settle in Lejser Scythia and
Lower Mcefia, both nations had recourse to Leo, whose sub
jects they were, imploring his assistance. A/par, Leo's chief
favourite, was for aiding neither, but suffering them to destroy
each other. However, the emperor wrote to the governor of
r Idem ibid. p. 691. ' Idem, p. 690. Sid. car. ii.p. 296.
Prisc. p. 74. ' Prisc p. 74, 75. ■ Jorn. Prisc, ibid.
w Jorn. rer. Goth, c 55. p. 693, 694. Theoph. p. 612.
chief
32© The History of the Goths. B. IV.
chief of the Roman cavalry, which post was then held by king
Theodoric, but, in virtue of this treaty, taken from him, and
bestowed on the other '.
Se breaks In the mean time king Theodoric, who was still with his
noitb Ze army among the mountains of Thrace, not receiving from the
no, and Romans either money or provisions to support them, marched
ravages down into the province of Rhodope on the Ægaan sea, and,
Thrace being highly provoked at the emperor's conduct, laid waste
WMa- the most fertile places of Thrace, destroying with fire and
cedon. sword what he could not carry off. The emperor sent seve
ral generals to oppose him ; but though he lost, as we are
told, a great many men in skirmishes, yet the loss on the side
of the Romans must have been far more considerable, since,
in the end, all the emperor's generals declined the command
of the army in Thrace k. From Thrace Theodoric marched
into Macedon, and, having pillaged the open country, made
himself master of Stopi on the river Axius. From thence he
marched into the neighbourhood of Thejsalonica ; which threw
the inhabitants into such consternation, that, thinking them
selves abandoned by the emperor, they pulled down and broke
in pieces all his statues, and were ready to fall upon their go
vernor, named John ; but, in the end, contented themselves
with taking from him the keys of the city, and delivering
them to the bifliop '.
Theodoric, without making the least attempt on Thejsa
lonica, led his army from thence to Heraclea, where he was
Proposals met by embassadors from Zeno, with proposals for an accom
for an ac modation ; which he being willing to conclude, sent others to
commoda Constantinople, and, in the mean time, ordered his men to
tion. forbear all hostilities. The person employed by Zeno to treat
with Theodoric was the patrician Adamancus, who, as appears
from some laws, had been governor of Constantinople, and was,
on this occasion, honoured with the consular ornaments, but
not with the consulship. During the negotiations, Theodoric
found means of making himself master of Duras on the Adria
tic sea, that he might have some place of strength to retire to,
in case the negotiations should not have the desired effect.
Wiicbare Hereupon the conferences were broken off, Adamancus de*
rtjeBed by daring, that he could not treat with the Goths, till they had
Zeno. restored the city of Duras to the empire. Theodoric could not,
by any means, be prevailed upon to part with that important
place during the winter ; but promised to abandon it early in
the spring, to march against the other Theodoric, who had
raised new disturbances in the empire ; and, that the emperor
(J) This prelate died in 494. and terms in Ravenna (6); which
there it still extant the original expression we da not well corn-
act of a donation made to him in prehend, it being altogether in-
January 491(4). Jomandes writes, credible, thatTbeodoric, who wa*
that Odoat 1 1 only begged his life; already master of all Italy, and
which Theodoric bound himself had reduced Odoacer to the last
by a solemn oath to grant him extremity, should suffer him to
(5). Procopius tells us, that they reign jointly, and have an equal
agreed to live together on equal fiiarc of power, with himself..
(4) Ugb. tim- ii. £.333. Makil.it. pal. p. IQl, (5) Jwn.p. 6j8.
($} freap. ttlh Gill/. I, i. c, l.f, 319.
Y 4 palace,
348 The History of the Goths. B. IV.
Year of palace, according to others in a grove of laurels adjoining per-
the flood haps to the palace ' (K).
2841. Theodoric had sent, some months before, Faujlus A/il-
Of Christ ger^ a leading man \a the senate of Rome, to obtain of the
493- emperor Zeno the ensigns of royalty. But Odoacer having sub-
™ mitted before the return of the embassador, Theodoric, with?
t_3-!. out wait'ng for the emperor's permission, caused himself to
Theodo- ^e proclaimed by his Goths king of Italy ". However, he dis-
ric pro- patched soon after Fc/lus or Faujlw, his magijier officiorum,
claimed by ar>d Irenaus, both distinguished with the title of illustrious, to
Afe*Goths, Constantinople, to excuse the liberty he had taken*. The
and ac- embassadors were received in a very obliging manner by Ana-
knawle- stafius, the successor of Zeno, who readily confirmed the
grd by the peace which his predecessor had made with Theodoric, ap-
emptror, pr0Ved of what he had done, and sent him the ensigns of roy
s'''.? V alty x. Hence it is manifest, that Theodoric himself owned he
*W ^* held the kingdom of Italy of the emperors of the East, by
whom he suffered even the Roman consuls to be named x (L).
Theodoric, now master of all Italy, began to make the
necessary preparations for reducing the ifland of Sicily, which,
refused to acknowlege him; but the inhabitants were per
suaded by Cajfiodore to submit to their new lord without blood-
Sicily sub- ^eu* After this, Theodoric, sheathing his sword, endea-
miti to voured, in the first place, to establish himself in his new king-
him. dom, by alliances with the neighbouring princes. With this
view he sent Festus to Constantinople, to confirm the peace h«,
1 Procop. Anonym, ibid. ■ Anonym, p. 408. w Con-
cil. torn. iv. p. 1 181. * Procop. 1. ii. c. 6. p. 402. x Idem
bid.
i
( K ) Some authors pretend, Aonulphus, and a few more, who,
that Odoacer had formed a design having had the good luck tq
upon the life of Theodoric ; which make their escape, retired be-
he being acquainted with, resol- yond the Danube (9).
ved to be beforehand with him (L) There is still extant a letter
(7). But the dead are always '{torn Theodoric to Anaftafius, con
found guilty. Jornandes, though cerning one Felix, who was con-
himself a doth, seems to insinu- sul in 5 1 1 . wherein he acquaints
ate, that Odoacer was murdered the emperor, that he had named
upon a bare suspicion, and that, as Felix for the consulship, and at
was then believed, quite ground- the fame time intreats him to
less (8). All his servants and re- confirm, by his suffrage, that
lations were massacred at the dignity to so deserving a per-
iame time, except his brother son (1).
(l) fide Vales, rer. Franc, f. 344. (%) Jorii. tfe res. c. 47. f. &S5-
(9J 4fjm, f. 480. JJidw. (trot, t' 7lt: (lJ CaJ/iod$r, I. ii. tf. 1.
1 had
C. XXVIII. The History es the Goths. 329
had made with Anajiastus, marrying at the fame time Ande- He secures
fleda, the daughter of Clodoneus king of the Franks, and be bis new
stowing his own two daughters, whom he had by a concu kingdom by
bine, on Alaric king of the Visigoths in Gaul, and on Sigis- alliances.
mund the son of Gundobald king of the Burgundians. Having
thus secured his new kingdom, he made it his chief study to
govern it with salutary laws, following therein the advice of
Cajfiodore, a man of great learning and integrity, whom he
had created a patrician, and raised to the dignities of count,
of consul, and even to that os prafeflus pratorio. He first
placed all his Geths in the castles and strong-holds, with their
officers who were to command them in time of war, and go
vern them in time of peace. The Roman laws he retained, He retains
»nd commanded them to be inviolably observed, and to have the Ro
the same force which they had had under the emperors of the manlanus,
Weft » (M). .
Theodoric not only retained the fame laws, but the fame and the
form of government, the fame distribution of provinces, the fame ma-
fame magistrates and dignities. As the emperors had, before gi/lrates.
his time, translated the imperial feat from Rome to Ravenna ,
(M) In the first five books of left some of their own laws, or
Cafiiodore, consisting of the let rather customs ; but, in all mat
ters and edicts of Theodoric, no ters of moment, such as succes
thing is so much recommended sions, testaments, adoptions, con
to the judges and magistrates as tracts, penalties, crimes, and in
the due observance of, and re whatever belonged to public or
spect for, the Roman laws. Io private property, the Roman laws
these books are quoted many were common to all. All law
constitutions of the Tbeodofian suits and disputes between a Ro
code, and many novella of The- man and a Goth, or a Goth and a
odofius, Valentinian, and Majori* Roman, were to be decided by
ttnus (2), Theodoric declaring, that the Roman laws, as appears from
he did not intend to introduce one of 'Theodoric's rescripts to Ja-
any new laws into Italy, the Ro nuarius, president of Samnittm($).
man laws, by which it had been But when the dispute arose be
so long governed, being the most tween Goth and Goth, they were
equitable that could be enacted : to have recourse to their proper
nayi f° great was the respect he judge, who decided it according
bore to the Roman laws, that he to Theodoric's own edicts, which
ordered them to be observed, not did not much differ from the Ro
only by the Romans, but likewise man laws, and were given to
by the Goths who lived among those who were sent into the pro
the Romans. To his Goths he vinces as judges of the Goths (4).
(\) Vide Cm. iMfrcUg. '•3- (l) Edi0, Tbtodtr. ofud Ctstodir.
(♦) Ctjptdor. /. ii. var, tf, 13. & U vii. (.
to
33© The History of the Vandals. B. IV.
to be near at hand, and ready to put a stop to the irrup
tions of the barbarians, who, on that side, broke into Italy,
he likewise chose that city for the usual place of his residence,
governing from thence the provinces by the fame magistrates
that had presided over them in the times of the emperors, to
wit, by the consulares, the correilores, and the prastdes. But,
besides these, he sent, according to the custom of the Goths, to
each city inferior judges, distinguished with the title of counts,
who were to administer justice, and decide all controversies
and disputes : and herein the polity of the Goths far excelled,
as Grotius observes, that of the Romans ; for, in the Roman
times, a whole province was governed by a consularis, a cor-
reitor, or a prases, who resided in the chief city, and to whom
recourse was to be had at a great charge from the most remote
parts ; but Theodork, besides the consularis, the carreElor, or
the prases, appointed, not only in the principal cities, but in
each small town and village, inferior magistrates of known in-
tegrity, who were to administer justice, and, by that means,
save those who had law-suits the trouble and expence of recur
ring to the governor of the whole province', no appeals to
distant tribunals being allowed, but in matters of the greatest
importance, or in cafe of manifest injustice b. Thus Italy,
from the dominion of the Romans, came under that of the
Goths, almost without perceiving the change. But of the emi
nent virtues of Theodork, of his glorious reign, and the reigns
of the Gothic kings of Italy his successors, to the expulsion of
the Goths by Narses, we (hall, pursuant to our plan, speak at
large in a more proper place, and, in the mean time, pro
ceed to the history of other antient nations.
* Grot, in proleg. hist. Goth. Cassiodor. 1. vi. c. 7.
* Grot. ibid.
SECT. III.
7he antient State of the Vandals, till their settling in
Spain and Africa.
The origin >-pHE Vandals were originally a Gothic nation ; for Proco-
'\ **'! P'USy w^° cou'd not '5e a stranger to tne'r descent, be-
Vandals. jng wcjj aCqUaintea wjth Gelomir their king, and the other
Vandals, who were brought prisoners to Constantinople in the
reign of fu/linian, tells us in express terms, that the Goths and
Vandals were one and the fame people, distinguished in names,
but agreeing in original and manners a. ' He adds, that they
spoke the Gothic language, as did likewise 'the (Jepidœ, Lctn-
a Procop. bell. Vaad.l. i.e. j.
5 tardst
C. XXVIII. The History of the Vandals. 33X
bards, Burgundians, and Alans. They were called Vandals Their
from the Gothic word Vandelcn, which signifies to wander, be- name*
cause they often changed their seats, wandering from one
country to another b. They are supposed to have come ori- •
ginally out of Scandinavia with the other Goths, under the con
duct of king Eric, of whom we have spoken in the foregoing
section, and to have settled in the countries now known by the
names of Mecklenburg and Brandenburg. Several ages after,
another colony of the Goths, leaving Scandinavia under the
conduct of king Berig, settled in Pomerania, after having
driven out the Rugians, by Jornandes called Ulmerugians. At
the same time Berig subdued the Vandals inhabiting the above-
mentioned countries ; but, instead of driving them from their
antient feats, he only obliged them, as they were a Gothic na
tion, to share their territories with the new-comers'. In the
reign of Augustus, part of the Vandals, streightened in their
own country for want of room, settled on the banks of the
Rhine ; but were driven from thence by Tiberius and Drusus^
and obliged to return home.
' As their country was overstocked with people, great num- Their dis-
bers of them soon left it anew, and, taking their route east- />>■«*
ward, entered the country lying between the Bosporus Cim-f*att*
menus and the Tanais, inhabited at that time by the Sclavi,
whom they drove out, and, seizing on their country, took
the name of the antient inhabitants, calling themselves Sclavi.
Some of these, several ages after, that is, in the reign of
Mauritius, which began in 586. settled in Dalmatia and Illy-
ricum, which from them were called Sclavonia *. Others
seated themselves in the eastern parts of Dacia beyond the
Danube, which province comprehended the present countries
of Transylvania, Moldavia, Wallachia, and the eastern parts
of Upper Hungary. From those who remained in Germany,
the present Poles and Bohemians are said by most writers to de
rive their origin c. But the Vandals, who, under Godcgefilus
their king, broke into Gaul, and afterwards settled in Spain
and Africa, came, according to Procopius\ from Dacia, and
the neighbourhood of the Palus Maotis. As the Vandals were a
Gothic nation, the fame customs, manners, religion, form of
government, &c. obtained among them as among the Goths.
They had, without doubt, their own kings long before Their
they were known to the Romans ; but Godegestius, under kings.
nan
C. XXVIII. The History of the Vandals. 335
man dominions, had the good luck to escape the general
slaughter '.
No farther mention is made of the Vandals, till the year
291. the eighth of Diccle/ian's reign, when we find them en
gaged in a war with the Goths. The Taifalee assisted the
Goths, and the Gepidæ the Vandals : but as the Romans were
no-W3y concerned in this war, authors only tell us in general
terms, that it was carried on with great vigour ; and that the
barbarians were so weakened by it, that, for a considerable
time, they suffered the Romans to live in peace, not being in
a condition to molest them u. As for the Vandals y they seem Tbeylreai
to have continued quiet till the year 406. the twelfth of Ho- into Gaul.
tiorius's reign, when, stirred up by Stilicho, who hoped, by Year of
their means, to raise his son Eucherius to the empire, they the flood
broke into Gaul with the Alans and Suevians. The Vandals, -ffffiv.
in attempting to cross the Rhine, were attacked by the Franks, j1
who cut twenty thousand of them in pieces, with their king of Rome
Godigiscles ; and would have put them all to the sword, had , , . .
not the Alans and Suevians come seasonably to their relief. i^y>^/
These, joining the Vandals, obliged the Franks to retire ; and,
crossing without opposition the Rhine, entered Gaul on the last
day of the present year 4.06 ". Procopius writes, that the
Vandals, who entered Gaul, had been obliged, by a famine
that raged among them at home, to abandon their own coun
try, and seek new settlements ; but that the greater part of
the nation continued in their antient feats beyond the Da
nube *. Having passed the Rhine, they first ravaged Germanitt
Prima, took by storm, and leveled with the ground, the city
of Ment%, the metropolis of that province. From Germania
Prima they passed into Gallia Belgica, and from thence inta
Aquitain, the most fertile and opulent province of all Gaul.
Having advanced to the Pyrenean mountains, which they did
not at first venture to pass, they over- ran all the neighbouring
provinces, committing every-where unheard-of ravages. The
Vandals, Alans, and Suevians, were soon joined by the Bur-
gundians, and other barbarous nations, stirred up. partly by
Stilicho, partly by the desire of booty, and hopes of enriching
themselves with the spoils of so many wealthy provinces r.
" An incredible number of barbarians," fays St. Jerom, writing
about this time, " have spread themselves all over Gaul: the
T Prob. vie. p. 240—245. a Paneg. xi. p. 13$ — 138.
w Greg. Tur. hist. Franc. 1. ii. c. 9. p. 62. Oros. c. 40. p. 223.
Vales, p. 98. * Procop. bell. Vand. 1. i. c. az. p. 227.
f Zos. 1. vi. p. 825. Salvias, 1. vjj. p. 167. Oros. 1. vii. <;,
40. p. 22 J.
'* whols
336" tbt History os the Vandals. B. IV.
" whole country between the Alps, the Pyrenean mountains,
** the ocean, and the Rhine, is held by them *."
Constan- In the mean time, Conjiantine, being proclaimed emperor
tine»i//£«by the Britijh legions, from Britain passed over into Gaul,
them tosue taking with him all the Roman forces quartered in the island,
for ftact. an(i the flower of the Britijh youth, who were joined, soon
after his landing at Bologne, by the Roman troops quartered in
Gaul. With these he overcame the Vandals, and other barba
rians, in several battles ; and, in the end, reduced them to
such {freights, that they were forced to sue for peace ; ■which
he granted, without obliging them to quit Gaul, probably be
cause he hoped to maintain himself, by their means, in the
power he had usurped *. Sopn after, Geroncius, to whom
Conflow, the son of Conjiantine, ' had committed the govern
ment of Spain, revolting upon some disgust, and setting up
one Maximus for emperor, the Vandals, Alans, and Sueviahs,
flew to arms, probably at the instigation of the usurper, and
made themselves masters of several cities in Gaul. Hereupon
the natives, expecting no relief either from Honorius or Con'
Jlantine, resolved to defend themselves ; and accordingly,
uniting their forces, they fell upon the barbarians, and de
feated them in several encounters. The barbarians, meeting
with greater opposition than they expected, and at the fame
time acquainted with the distracted state of Spain, which was
represented to them as a wealthy and fruitful country, resolved
to try whether they could settle there. With this design, they
bent their march towards the Pyrenees, which they pasted
without opposition, the guards, who had been placed there,
either abandoning their posts at the approach of such multi
tudes, or joining them, in order to avoid the punishment due
to the ravages they had committed in those provinces before
their arrival b.
Year of Thus the Vandals, Suevians, and Alans, first entered Spain
the flood '" 4°9- according to some, on the twenty-eighth of Septtm-
i-jcn. herz; according to others, on the thirteenth of Oftober d.
Of Christ They soon made themselves masters of several cities and strong-
409. holds ; defeated the troops, which Conjiantine had sent, under
Of Rome the conduct of his son Conjlans, to suppress the rebellion of
i'S7- Geroncius; and before the end of the year 4.10. obliged Constant
O'W^ himself to abandon the country, and retire to his father at
Aries *. As for Gerontiust he entered into a kind of alliance
(H) Some writers tell us, that with her second daughter Plac'*-
Marcian, finding he could ob dia, to have been sent back to
tain nothing 0/ Gensric by fair Marcian (5) ; but he was therein
means, resolved to make war certainly mistaken ; for Cvfiric
upon him ; but died before he set those two princesses at liberty
could put his design in execu several years after, at the request
tion (2). sornandes, as quoted of the empcrorZ.<-7. Priscusv/rites,
by other writers, supposes him that Genseric obtained of the em
to have concluded a peace with peror of the East, Marxian, or
the Vandal: (3). Prociipins,v/ho his successor Leo, part of the ef
greatly extols Marcian in other fects of the deceased emperor
respects, blames him for neglect Falentinian, as the portion of
ing the affairs of Africa, and Eudccia, that prince's daughter,
scrupling to make war upon married to Hunneric the son of
Genseric, by reason of the oath Genseric (6). But we do not well
he had been obliged to take, comprehend what right the em
when prisoner in Africa, that he peror of the East had to dispose
would never molest the Vandals of what belonged to the empe
(4.). JSW^r/a/ supposes Eudoxia, ror of the West.
(*) Tbndur. Leil. I. ii. p. 5^2. (3) frist. P-41- *#•?• »p8. (4) Pro,
1 ;.. bill. Vtni. I. u c, 4. p. 1S6. (5; Ev/[r. I, ii. c. 7. /». ;ijS. (b) er.fij.
t-f.:
taking i
348 lit History of the Vandals. B. IV.
takmg } the Gauls, though greatly exhausted by heavy im
posts, contributing with joy their share towards them 8. Of
these military preparations mention is made by Procopius h,
and likewise by Castiodore ', who tells us, that Majorianus
spent the whole year 457. and the three following, in making
the necessary preparations for driving the Vandals out of
Year of Africa. At length, in the year 460. Majorianus leaving
the flood Aries, where he then resided, soon after Easter, which that
r>f 1Ph st }ear on tne twenty"^eventn °f March, bent his march to-
, n wards Spain, which he entered in the month of May, with a
Of Rome ^e^'Sn to cr0^s over fr°m thence into Africa k. Pracopiut.
1 208. wr'tes, that Majorianus, the better to inform himself of the
<-^«y"V^ strength of the enemy, went in disguise to the court of Gen-
' /eric, pretending to be an embassador sent by the Raman em
peror with proposals for an accommodation : he adds, that*
while Genferic was shewing him his arsenal, all the arms
moved of their own accord with a dreadful noise '. The Rv-
mans did not in the least doubt of success, having Majorianus
for their leader j and the Vandals, dreading the issue of a war
under the conduct of so renowned a commander, did all that
lay in their power to avoid it. Genferic sent embassadors with
—• proposals for concluding a peace with the empire, which he
promised to observe with the utmost fidelity ; but these being
rejected by the emperor, he laid waste all Mauritania, and
even poisoned the waters, being informed, that Majorianus
designed to land there, and thence march to Carthage m.
Uls feet In the mean time, the Roman fleet being assembled in the
surprised bay of Æicant, and Majorianus ready to embark, a squadron
iytbtVan-o{ Genferic's best ships appeared unexpectedly, and, falling
dais. upon the Roman vessels at anchor, funk a great number of
them, disabled others, and returned with some in triumph to
Africa. This misfortune, which, we are told, was owing
to the treachery of some on board the Roman fleet, discon
certed all the emperor's measures, and put a stop to the en-
terprize. However, Majorianus, persisting in his resolution
of invading Africa, ordered the ships to be repaired, and in
the mean time returned to Aries, to pass the winter there.
Genferic, finding the late misfortune had not diverted Majori
anus from his former resolution, and dreading the arms and
valour of so great a general, dispatched embassadors to him,
with new proposals, which he in the end accepted n. Thus a
(7) Cedrtn.p. 350. (%] Praop. lull. Vmi3. I. i. e. 6. p. 191. (<)) tU-
tpb. p. yg, ( 1 ) Proup. Hid. (%) tfUipb. p. 6ji, (j) Prcup.
f. 191. (±) Ctdrtti, tkd,
7 passions }
35* The History cs the Vandals; B. IV.
passions ; to wit, avarice and ambition. The latter even
prompted him to aspire to the sovereignty, which he hoped to
attain by means of J/par, who governed under Leo with al
most an absolute sway ; but, as he profesied the doctrine of
Arius, he was himself, on account of his religion, excluded
from the imperial dignity. He had lately quarreled with Leo;
and therefore fearing, lest that prince, if he got the better of
the sandals, should, by his victory, be enabled to reduce his
power, and punish him, as he well deserved, for his arrogance,
he is supposed to have entered into a private treaty with Baft-
iiscus, promising to raise him to the throne, provided he spared
Genseric, for whom he might likewise have some regard, aj
for one who professed the same tenets with himself d.
The ifland of Sicily was appointed the place of the general
rendezvous e. From thence Marcellinus was to set sail for
Sardinia, which the Vandals had lately seized ; Htraclius of
Edelfa, a brave and experienced officer, for Libya ; and Ba-
fJiscus, with the greatest part of the fleet, and the flower of
Sardinia the troops, to steer his course strait to Carthage f. Pursuant
and Tri- to this plan, Marcellinus landed in Sardinia, and made himself
polis re master of that island, while Heraclius, with the troops quar
covered tered in Egypt, in Thebais, and Cyrenaica, landing unexpectedly
from the in the province of Tripalitana, reduced Tripoli's, and the other
Vandals. cities in that country. From thence he began his march by
land, with a design to join Bastliscus at Carthage %. That
commander, sailing from Sicily, arrived with his fleet at cape
Mercury, but fourteen leagues from Carthage, soon after Gen
seric had received the disagreeable news of the loss of Sardinia
and Libya. The arrival of so formidable a fleet, and thelofles
he had already sustained, struck him, though a man of great
intrepidity, with such terror, that, looking upon himself as
irretrievably lost, he is said to have had some thoughts of eva
cuating Africa, and retiring elsewhere : and truly, if Baft-
lifcus had marched directly to Carthage, during the panic
which had seized the barbarians, he might, in all likelihood,
have made himself master of that city, and put an end to the
war at once, by an intire reduction of the country h. Some
authors write, that he had already gained conlderable advan
tages over the fleet of Genseric ' j and Jornandes, that he at
tacked Carthage several times by sea ; but either for want of
skill, or because he was willing to favour Genseric, his attacks
d Procop. ibid. Theoph. p. too. Theodor. Lect. p. j;5-
e Phot. c. 242. p. 1041. f Theoph. p. 101. * Pro-
cop, p. 192. Theoph. ibid. b Procop. ibid. ' The
oph. p. 100. Phot. c. 79. p. 174. Candid. Isaur". p. 18.
were
C XXVIII. The History of the Vandals. 353
were not so vigorous as the barbarians expected k. Hereupon
Genseric, recovering from his late consternation, sent deputies
to the Roman admiral, begging a truce of five days, to fettle
with him the conditions, on which he was to submit to
Leo l (K). Genseric demanded the above-mentioned truce,
hoping a favourable wind might spring up during that time for
sailing upon the Roman fleet ; for his men were all on board
»he (hips of war, which were to tow other light and empty
vessels.
The wind proving as favourable as the Vandah could wish, Tl* Ro-
before the truce was expired, they weighed anchor, and, man fieet
drawing near to the Roman fleet, set fire to the empty ships, '." . "c*
which, being, by the wind, driven upon the Roman fleet, 'V'Vj
spread to many of their ships, and threw their whole navy in
to the utmost confusion. While the Romans were thus in
disorder, and busied either in keeping off the fire- ships, or ex
tinguishing the flames on board their own, the Vandals, fall
ing upon them, overwhelmed them with showers of darts,
took several of their ships, funk others, and obliged the rest
to save themselves in the best manner they could m. Several
Romans distinguished themselves on this occasion in a most emi
nent manner ; but above all John,vth6m we mentioned before,
who finding himself surrounded on all sides by the enemy, at- ■
tacked them one after another, and killed a great number of
them on board their vessels ; but, not being able to prevent
their boarding his, when he saw himself overpowered, he
threw himself, armed as he was, on a plank, into the sea.
Genfon, the son of Genseric, admiring his courage, and gal
lant behaviour, begged he would not abandon himself to de
spair, offering him at the fame time his life and liberty; but
the brave commander, answering, John Jhall never fall into the
hands ofsucb dogs, quitted his plank, and was drowned n (L).
Heraclius,
(K) Some writers tell us, that, mean time, inactive in his camp
with the embassadors, Genseric (5).
sent privately a considerable sum ( L ) Tbfopbanrs writes, that
to Bafili/cui, hoping to induce Genseric fell upon the Romans in
him, by that means, to grant the night ; and that, finding them
him his request ; which he did not upon their guard, but asleep, '
accordingly, continuing, in the as they depended upon the truce,
SECT. IV.
The antient State, &c. of the Sueves, till their Settling
in Spain.
The name, "THE Sueves were, in Cæsar's time, the greatest and most
feats, ori- •*■ warlike nation of all Germany a. 'Tacitus divides them
gin, &c. into several tribes or nations, known by different names, com-
of the prehending, under the common name of Sueves, the follow-
Sueves. jng people ; to wit, the Longobardi, the Semnones, the Rheu-
dingi, the Aviones, the Angli b. Ptolemy mentions only three
nations of the Sueves ; to wit, the Sueyi Longobardi, the Suevi
Samnones, and the Suevi Angili, whom Tacitus, and other wri
ters, call Angli. Some writers will have the Vandals and
Sueves to be one and the fame people, called Vandals from
the word Wandrende, and Sueves from the word Schwacbende,
both which signify wanderers ; for Strabo tells us, that the
Sueves often changed their feats, wandering from place to
place c. In the time of the emperor Nero, they dwelt be
tween the Rhine and the Elbe ; for Strabo, who flourished
under that prince, speaks of them thus : The Sueves are a
great and powerful people ; for their country extends from the
Rhine to the Elbe ; nay, some of that nation dwell beyond
the Elbe. Some years after, that is, in the time of Tacitus
the historian, they were seated between the Elbe and the Fi
jiula or Weijscr ; for there they are placed by that writer d.
•From them the Suevus, now the Oder, took its name ; and
the Baltic was called the Suevian fez. Solinus is of opinion,
that they were called Suevi from mount Suevio, parting Ger
many from Sarmatia. As to their origin, nothing has been
alleged by authors, but what is very uncertain, and no-way
to be depended upon ; some deriving their origin from Scandi
navia, some from Sarmatia, some from Hungary, and some
endeavouring, with several arguments, and monuments of an
tiquity, to convince us, that they were originally a Gerna*
nation c. Some writers tell us, they came out of Scandina
via, and fettled on the banks of the Albis or Elbe ; that they
were there subdued by the Saxons, and thence blended under
their name, as were all the other nations conquered by that
people. However, the Sueves retained at the fame time their
(C) Isidore writes, that he in- princes, till the time of king
fjcted the whole nation with the '1 beodomir, who, about an hun-
pestiferous tenets of Ariut; and dred years after, brought them
that they continued in their er- back to the true faith (7).
rors dui'kg the reigns of several
I?) V,J"
the
C XXVIII. The History os the Sueves; #5$
the city of Coimbra, gave it up to be plundered by his soldiers. Th/ysur-
He likewise ravaged and laid waste the territory of Aunona be- prise a se
longing to the Galicians ; who thereupon sent deputies to Eu- c<">d 'm
ric king of the Visigoths, begging his mediation and good offices fndplun
with the king of the Sucves. Accordingly Euric prevailed 'r. ,
upon Remismund to grant a peace or truce to the people of im
Aunona ; but, in the mean time, he himself committed dread
ful rayages in Lusitania, made himself master of Pampclona and
Saragoja, and, having overcome and put to slight the nobi
lity of the province of tarraco, who continued faithful to the
Romans, made himself master of all Upper Spain *■ . Thus
were the inhabitants of Spain, who could not prevail upon
themselves to withdraw their obedience to the Romans, and
submit to the barbarians, in a most cruel manner plundered
and harassed on one fide by the Goihs, and on the other by
the Suews, while the Romans were no-ways in a condition
to relieve them ( D ). The following year 688. they made
themselves masters of Lisbon, which was betrayed to them by
one Lustdes, who was a native of the place, and commanded
in the town. As Listen was at that time held by the Goths,
the troops of that nation, entering Lusitania, committed
daeadful ravages on the territories belonging to the Sueves, as
did the Sueves on those of the Coths. However, Euric, be
ing wholly bent upon driving the Romans quite out of Spain,
with a design to fall afterwards upon the Sueves, concluded,
for the present, a peace with Remismund, and then, turning
his arms against the Romans, made himself master of all the The great-
places that had been hitherto held by them, as we have re- er part of
lated above, in the history of the Visigoths ; but he died be- Spain re-
fore he could put in execution the design he had formed against dutedby
the Sueves. Remismund, finding he could no longer cope ' ^"*
with the Visigoths, who were now masters of almost all Spain, 80t"s*
retired into Galicia, and there, giving over all thoughts of
new conquests, ended his days. His successors followed his
example, contenting themselves with the kingdom of Gali
cia, and observing a strict neutrality in the disputes that arose
* Isidok. chron. p. 619.
SECT. V.
The antient State of the Franks, /;'// their fettling in,
Gaul.
AS the antients, by whom mention is first made of the
~~ Franks, have given us no account of their origin, and
Valefms, a most diligent and curious inquirer into the antiqui
ties of his nation, has prudently waved this subject, it cannot
be expected we should say any thing relating thereto, that
The origin may be depended upon. Of the various opinions, or rather
and name conjectures, that have been offered on this head by the mo-
»f the dern writers, and which it would be too tedious to relate,
r ranks. tjla{ qC ^ucherius seems to us the most probable ; to wit, that
the Franks were originally a motly multitude of several antient
nations dwelling beyond the Rhine, who, uniting against the
Romans in defence of their common liberty, stiled themselves
Franks, that word signifying, in their language, as it still
does in outs, free'. It is certain, that under the name of
Franks are comprised in history several nations, whose names
were known long before theirs, to wit, the Acluarii, Cha-
mavi, Brucleri, Salii, Frisii, Chauci, Amftvarii, and Catti.
The Franks are sometimes called Sicambrians, because they
inhabited the country formerly possessed by tnat nation, of
which the far greater part was cutoff by Augujius, and the rest
transplanted into Gaul, as we have related above ( Aj.
Bodin
* Bvch. 1. vi. c. 13. p. 1 10.
(A) As for the opinion ofthose may be allowed toTise that term*
writers, who derive the name and is the opinion of the abbat Vr-
origin of the Franks from one Jfurgenfis, and several others, who
Francio, the son of Ikflor, it is suppose the name of Franks to
too fabulous to be seriously con- have been first given them by the
futed. No less ridiculous, if we empertr Valcntinian. The ori-
■ - " ginal
C. XXVIII. The History os the Franks. 37?
Bodin will have the Franks to have been descended from
the Gauls, who, being increased to such a degree, that the
country was too narrow for them, sent colonies beyond the
Rhine into Germany. Some of these colonies settled on the
banks of that river, and, in process of time, conquered their
antient country. Cæsar indeed tells us, that the Gauls sent
colonies into Germany ; but upon what authority can we sup
pose the Franks to have been descended from those Gauls, ra
Frtdi*
C. XXVIII. The History of the Franks. 377
Frtd'tgarius supposes him to have been killed by count Cajl't-
mis, who was sent against the Franks, by the emperor hhno-
rius, about the year 421 b. at which time all other writers
suppose Pharamond to have reigned (C).
Having thus given the reader the best account we have
been able to gather from the most authentic writers of the first
kings of the Franks, without taking upon us to ascertain the
order of their succession, or their descents, we shall now pass
to their wars and exploits, from the time they are first meiiT
tioned in history to their settling in Gaul.
The first historian, by whom mention is made of the Tb'y break
Franks, is Vopifcus, in the life of the emper ot Ærelian; where '""> Gaul;
that writer tells us, that the Franks made an irruption into
Gaul, and, though few in number, committed there dreadful
ravages. But Aurelian, thea only tribune of the sixth legion, hut art
quartered at that time in Mentz, marching against them, killed rrprrffed
seven hundred of them, took three hundred prisoners, whom h Aurc-
be fold for slaves, and obliged the rest to quit their booty, and uan-
retired(D).
hi
b VideVAL. J. iii. p. 112. * Vopisc. vit Aur. p. ziz.
but
384 The History of the F"ranks. ." B. IVV*
but Conjlantine marching against them upon the first news of
their motions, they dispersed5. In 310. all the nations
known by the name of Franks, taking arms, approached the
banks of the Rhine, and there dividing their army, which
was very numerous, into several bodies, attempted to break
into Gaul at different places. Conjlantine marched in person
against them, and, not depending upon the relations of others,
ventured in disguise into the midst of their army, pretending
to be a deputy sent to them by the emperor. As he found,
that, not caring to put the whole to the issue of a general en
gagement, they designed to carry on the war in separate bo
dies, which would have rendered it more tedious, be allured
them, that the emperor was not then with the army ; which
they no sooner understood, than they dismissed the pretended
deputy, and, uniting all their forces, marched against the ene-
Thcy are my. Conjlantine received them at the head of his army, put
defeated them to flight at the first onset, and made a dreadful havock
•withgreat of them in the pursuit '. Eusebius writes, that he not only
slaughter drove the barbarians out of Gaul, but utterly subdued those
by Con- wh0 dwelt on the banks of the Rhine, and near the ocean %
flantme; that iSj fo Franks.
Year of However, three years after, taking advantage of the em-
the flood peror's absence, who was gone to Rome, they began to as-
2658. semble anew on the banks of the Rhine ; which Conjlantine
Of Christ no sooner understood, than, leaving Italy, he hastened into
3'°- Gaul. The Franks, who had not yet pasted the Rhine, with-
Rome jrew at njS approach; but Conjlantine, giving out that the AU-
. j_*_ . rnans too were ready to break into Gaul, left some troops con
cealed among the woods at a small distance from the river,
and retired with the rest. The Franks no sooner heard of his
departure, than they passed the Rhine ; but the Ramans,
rising unexpectedly out of their ambuscade, fell upon them
before they could draw up their forces, cut great numbers of
them in pieces, and obliged the rest to repass the river in the
•who pu- utmost confusion. Conjlantine followed them in person with
nijhtsthem his whole army, and, entering their country, laid waste their
tuithgreat lands, burnt their habitations, and, having taken a great num-
feventy. her of prisoners, exposed them all to be devoured by the wild
beasts. This severity towards a perfidious and faithless enemy
is commended by his panegyrist ; but it does not answer the
character of a mild, generous, and good-natured prince, winch
is given to Conjlantine by most writers of those times. For
(I) All authors agree, that the faithful to Gratian (1). And truly
unhappy prince was betrayed by Pacalus upbraids Maximus for
his own people j and Prosper, in hating Mallobaudes, and reducing
his chronicle, names Mallobaudes him to the fatal necessity of lay
among those, who kept a private ing violent hands on himself, for
correspondence with the usurper no other crime than that of an
(9). But Barvtiius maintains, that inviolable fidelity to Gratian,
Prosper \vas therein mistaken, and whose cause he had maintained
that Mallobaudes continued ever to the last (a).
(9 J ?«>}}• ctrta, (1) Btr, td atm. -fij. (1) Pocat. p. 16?.
These
C. XXVIII. The History of the Franks. 389
These were defeated by Narmius and ghtinti/tus, the two ge
nerals or" Maximus, who cut great numbers of them in pitces
in the province of Hainault. ^uintinus, not satisfied with this
advantage, passed the Rhine ztNuys, contrary to the opinion
of Nannius, who refused to follow him ; and, entering the
enemy's country with the troops under his command, burnt
several villages, which he found abandoned by the inhabitants.
Encouraged with this success, he advanced far into the coun
try ; but being, on his return, cunningly drawn into
marshes, woods, and unpassable places, by the enemy pre
tending to fly before him, he found hjmself on a sudden
surrounded on all sides by great multitudes, who, falling
upon his men while they were entangled in the woods
and marshes, cut most of them in pieces, and obliged the
rest to shelter themselves in the woods ; where they perish- A Roman
fd with famine, only §>uintinus, and a few more, having, ar">y cut
with the utmost difficulty, found means to make their escape, °ff h '*»
and return to Gaul, after suffering inexpressible hardships in cranks
the enemy's country. The loss sustained by the Ramans on ^ffl10!
this occasion was very great, and is, by some, compared to ,•
the disaster of Varus and his legions, in the time of Augujlus ". Qf ^^hrist
This happened while the Franks were governed by Genobald, ,gg
Marcomir, and Sunno, who, being elated with this victory, of Rome
broke anew into Gaul the year following ; which obliged Theo- 1 1 36.
dojius to fend Valentinlan to make head against them. Upon '
that prince's arrival in Gaul, Arbogastes, general of the troops
in those provinces, advised him to march into the enemy's
country, and force them to testore the booty they had carried,
off the year before, and deliver up the authors of the
war °. Whether Valentinlan followed his advice, we are not
told. All we know is, that he had a conference with Mar-
comir and Sunno, who delivered up hostages 5 and that he after
wards retired to Treves, and there passed the winter p.
Three years after, that is, in 392. Arbogastes, having put
Valentinlan II. to death, persuaded Eugenius, whom he had
raised to the empire in his room, to make war upon the Franks.
Arbogastes, of whom we have spoken at large in our history of
the Eastern and Western empire q, was himself by nation a
Frank ; but, as he bore an old grudge to Marcomir and Sunno,
he not only induced Eugenius to make war upon them, but,
taking upon himself the whole management of it, be passed
■ Greg. Tur. hist. Franc. 1. ii. c. 9. p. 58, 59, 60. ° Idem
ibid. r Idem ibid. p. 60, 61. ? Univ. hist. vol. xvi.
P- 434. 435-
C C. j tli*
jgo The History of the Franks. B. IV.
the Rhine near Cologne, in the depth of winter, and laid waste
the countries of the Bru/Ierians and Chamavians, without
meeting with the least opposition, Marcomir only shewing
himself at a distance on the hills with some parties of the Anfi-
varii and Chatti. But, as to the issue of this war, historians
only tell us, that Arbogajles, after having put many of his
countrymen to the sword, concluded in the end a peace with
them ; and that Eugenius himself approached the Rhine to re
new the antient treaty with the kings of the Franks and Alt-
mans '. From this account it appears, that the Franks had se
veral kings at the fame time, and that under the name of
Franks were comprised several antient German nations. Great
numbers of the Franks listed themselves among the troops of
Eugenius ; for Oro/ius tells us, that he led against Thcodofius an
infinite number of Franks, and other barbarians *.
Two years after, Thiodosius died, and, by his last will,
divided the empire between his two children, bequeathing the
East to his eldest son Arcadius, and the West to Honorlus,
Thiy re- Stilicbo, who was prime minister to the latter, advised him,
new tie in the first place, to renew the antient alliances with the
oatient al- franks, and other German nations, which they had broken,
"i'tt by assisting the usurper Eugenius sgainR Tlwde/ius. Thispro-
nxin Ho- vjnce Stilicbo took upon himself, and, repairing to the banks
^y'ar of °f l'le ^ine, accomplished it in a very short time '. How-
the flood ever> Marcomir and Sunno attempting to raise new disturb-
274-. anccs soon after the conclusion of the peace, one of them,
Of Christ fays Claudian, was taken, and, after having been kept some
595. time in prison, confined to Tuscany. The other was for re-
Of Rome venging on the Romans the affront they had offered his bro-
• '43- thcr ; but his own people, unwilling to engage in a war with
\~/~v^J the empire, put him to death. Claudian adds, that Honorius
appointed other kings over the Franks in their room ". An
antient historian supposes Marcomir to have outlived Sunno \
and consequently that it was he, who was banished into Tus
cany". Marcomir, or, as the antients call him, Marcomer,
is supposed to have been the father of Pharamond, the first in
the catalogue of the French kings x.
They cut In the year 4.06. the Franks, falling upon the Vandals, as
0^20,000 they were attempting to break into Gaul with the Sueves and
0; theVan- Alans, cut near twenty thousand of them in pieces, with their
dais at- Wing Godigiscles ; and would have put them all to the sword,
tempting naj not t]ie jiarJS come seasonably to their assistance. These
' Greo. Tur. 1. ii. c. 9. p. 61. S Oros. I. vii. c. 35. p.
220. ' Claud, p. 128. " Idem, p. 129. w Vide
Val rer. Franc. 1. iii.p. 1 19. x Idem ibid. Sc I. ii. p. 92.
1 two
C. XXVIII. . The History of the Franks. '• 39i
two nations, together with the Sueves, opened themselves a to enter
way, in spite of the Franks; and, passing the Rhine, entered Gaul.
Gaul*. Great numbers of Franks followed them, to have Year of
some (hare in the spoils of those wealthy provinces ; but far t"e &00&
greater numbers of the fame nation entered Gaul four years [jpXt'-i,
after, being invited thither by the usurper Conjlantine, of , *
whose forces the commander in chief was one Edobic, a Frank of Rome
by nation*. In the year 413. they made an irruption into ,,..
Gaul, and not only pillaged, but burnt, the city of Treves the t^z-v^J
second time, says Frigetid, an antient author quoted by Gre
gory of Tours*. When this first irruption happened, we are
no-where told ; but that unhappy city was the third time
plundered, and set on fire, by the Franks about the year 420.
as Salvian informs us, who was an eye-witness of the deplo
rable condition to which it was reduced on that occasion b.
Our author greatly complains of the insensibility and hardness
of heart, which he discovered in the inhabitants, who, having
Jost all their effects, and escaped at the utmost hazard of their
lives, instead of applying themselves to works of piety, pressed
the emperor to cause the sports of the circus to be exhibited
among the ashes and ruins of their demolished city c.
About this time Pharamond must have reigned over the The Begin-
Franks. He is said by Vitalis to have been the son of Sunno ; ning of
but all other writers suppose him to have been the son of Mar- Phara-
comir, the brother of Sunno (K). He was one of the most mond'j
powerful reiS» "*•
tertain.
y Grec. Tur. 1. ii. c. 9. p. 62. Oros. c. 40. p. 22-3. * Soz.
1. ix. c. 13. p. S14. a Grec. Tur. p. 63. b Sal. l.vi.
p. 145—147. c Idem ibid.
was mistaken, in supposing the the fame side of that river, which
year 4! 8. to have been the twen country was afterwards called .
ty-sixth of Honoriui, that year Ripuaria ; but he alleges only a
being, according to the best few conjectures to support his
chronologers, only the twenty- opinion (5). Gregory of Tours
third or twenty-fourth of his supposes them to have settled a-
.reign. Father Le Cointe will have bout this time in Thongria, that
Pharamond to have begun his is, in the territory of Tongres,
reign the fame year in which the where they were governed, as-
eclipse happened ; others, and a- we have hinted above, by as
jnong the rest father Labbe in'his many kings, as they had cities-,
chronology, maintain, that he or cantons (6). ,
began to reign in 410. and not (L) The learned U/her is of
before (4). But it is impossible opinion, that, in this war, Pha-
to fix, with any certainty, the cuwWwas killed (7). Chifletim,
precise time in which this prince a learned antiquary, will hare- .
began his reign, since Prospers Pharamond to have made himself
chronicle, on which we must master ofall BelgicaSecunda, and
chiefly depend, is full of mis to have died at Rbeims, the me
take;, and differently read in tropolis of that province. He
this very place. It is even un founds his opinion on the autho
certain, whether it was in his rity of an old manuscript gene
reign, or some time before, that alogy lodged in the palace at
the Franks, passing the Rhine, first Brujjcls, in which Pharamond is
settled in Gaul. Bucherius is of saidto have been buried utRheims,
opinion, that, about this time, according to the custom of the
Honorius, entering into a treaty barbarians, without the city, to
with their chiefs, yielded to them wards Laudunum, on a little hill
the country bordering on the (8). But we can hardly believe,
Rhine towards Cologne, and on that all the antients would have
(*) Vide Val. rer. Frtnc. I. iii. p. tiS. Buch. dt Be/g. p. 4.53. Ccitt. ttm.i.
?• 44, 4v Cbild-r. p. 4. (s>) Bucb. p. 45". (6) Greg. 7ur. I. ii.
/■ <>4. (7J UJs. rer. Brit. p. <0X, 403. v8) V+diMirgi chren. B.lj. p. <;»«.
passed
£. XXVIII. The History os the Franks. 393
Pharamond was succeeded by his son Clodia in the year Clodio.
428. the fourth of the reign of raltntinian III. Gregory of Year of
Tours calls him a most illustrious prince, and one to whom his the "sood
people, whose interest he had at heart, were highly indebt- ^VL, '•,,
ed « (M). We know hut ycry little from the antients of what _n
happened in this prince's reign.. Jdatius tells us, that, in the qC j^ome
year 431. Aetius was employed in an expedition to Gaulh. u76.
This expedition was, without all doubt, undertaken, against
(P) The words of Gregory of tween these cities and the Rhine,
Tours are : Cblogio (for so he calis and at the fame time had a free
him), having sent spies as far as communication with Tongria,
Camhray to view the country, with the IVahal, and conse
set out with his army, upon their quently with the antient Fran-
return, and, marching through eia ; for the country between
the country which they had Tournay and the IVahal, which
viewed, overthrew the Romans, is now so well peopled and cul
and made himself master of the tivated, was, even in the fifth
city, in which residing some time, century, almost destitute of in
he extended his conquests as far habitants, and covered withwoods
as the Sommt (1). The author and forests. It was under the
of the grjls of the Franks adds, successors of Clm/is and Charle
that Clodio, entering the Carbo- magne, that the cities of Bruges,
■narian forest, marched to the Ghent, Antwerp, Brussels, Ma-
city of Tournay, which he took ; lines, Louvain, &c. were built,
and from thence advancing to the country between the Artois,
Camhray, he likewise made him the ocean, and the Rhine, being,
self master of that place, put the till their time, filled with woods
Roman garison to the sword, and, and marshes. As therefore Tour
in a short time, reduced the whole nay and Camhray were, in the
country between Camhray and the days of Clodio, the only cities in
Somme (2). The Syl<va Carbona- that tract, by the reduction of
ria was part of the Sy/va Ardu- them the Franks became masters
tnna, which extended, as we read of the whole country. This ex
in Cæsar (3), from the Rhine to pedition is placed by Peta-vius in
the ScheU, and the country of 445 (5). but by Father Daniel
the Ner-vii, that is, to Tournay. before the year 428. in which
Gregory of Tours supposes Clodio year, Felix and Taurus being
to have resided at Dispard, or consuls, the Franks were over
Doefiurg, before he set out on come by Actius, as we read in
this expedition : and truly from Prosper, driven out of Gaul, and
that place, if situated in the obliged to repass the Rhine. But
country of Tongres, the shortest that writer is certainly mistaken ;
route he could take was through for Majorianus, afterwards em
the Carbonarian forest (4). By peror, who performed wonders
the taking of Camhray and Tour in the battle of Lens or Hesdin,
nay, the Franks became absolute if Sidonius is to be credited, was
masters of the whole country be still a young man in 458. since
(1) Grtg. Tar. I. ii. f. 5. (t) Gest. Front, e. 5. apod Du Ch. torn. i. f. 699.
(1) Ctej. t. v. c. 3. & /. vi. e. 29. (4) Vide Vol. in mtit. GV. ad me. Sjl,
Cirfon. (5) I'd av, rat. temp. I. ti. p. 343.
Sidoniui,
2g6 ?he History os the Franks." -B. IV.
Gambray, Valesius supposes him to have made the above-
mentioned irruption into the Artois, and to have been surprised
by Aetius and Majorianus at Lens.
Heextends Notwithstanding that overthrow, he extended his
his con- conquests as far as the Somme \ Some add, that he took
quests as Tournay, Amiens, and several otlier cities °. But we (hall
far as the content ourselves with what we find in the best and most cre-
Somme. dible writers, among whom we do not reckon De Guise, the
author of the annals of Hainqult, tho' Bucbcrius has copied,
many things from him. Aetius is supposed to have afterwards
concluded a peace with the Franks, and to have left them in.
possession, at least, of some part of the country they had con
quered, since he granted the like favour tq other nations,
whom he dreaded less *. Priscus, who flourished in those
days, tells us, that he saw at Rome the second sop of the king
(1) Grig. Tur. I. ii. c. 9. p. 65. (3) VjI p. 144, 14;. (4) Dm Ch.
p. 801. (5; Bub. p. 510, {21. (6) Greg. Tar. I. iii. c. 9. p. 6<>
(7) Pnk. Itgat. p. 40. (8; D» Cb. p. 14 (j) Vdl. p. 145. J3«4.
Mtlg. p. 50j.
Proffer,
4©o she History of the Pranksl 6. 1"V i
Childerlc. Merovæus was succeeded by his son Cbilderic. When
he was but a youth, he was taken prisoner by Attila, with his
mother,
Prosper, we can hardly deny Me- 448. but only in 451. and con
rovius to have reigned in 451. sequently bring in another king
whcnAttila broke into Gaul, and between him and Clodio, for
consequently to have been one which there is not the least foun
of the two sons of Clodio. For dation in history, or allow Me-
Prifius does not fay, that a con rovaus to have been the son of
test arose among three princes ; Clodio. Father le Cointe allows
but only, that the two brothers MeroziÆus to have been the son
contended for the kingdom: and of Clodio ; but will have him to
it is certain, that this contest was have been the elder brother, and
not ended in 45 1 . forAttila came adds, that he was acknowleged
Co make war on the Franks in fa king ; that the younger brother
vour of the elder brother (1). It had recourse to the Romans, and
appears from Pri/cus, that the to Attila ; and that the Romans.
king of the Franks, who fided hearing Attila was coming with
with Actius against Attila in 45 1 . a formidable army, abandoned
fought at the fame time against the younger brother, and decla
liis brother, and the king of the red for the elder, who thereupon
Hunns (2). The very expression fided with the Romans against At
used by Pri/cus, to wit, that At tila (4). But is it at all proba
tila came to make war on the ble, that Meroti/rus would have
Franks, in favour ofthe elder bro dared to abandon, nay, to betray
ther, shews, that the bulk of the Attila, at a time when all na
nation acknowleged the younger; tions, the Romans not excepted,
and, since Attila was obliged to trembled at his name ? Besides,
retire, it is not at all likely, that it is certain, that Attila was as
the elder brother, supported by sisted by the Franks, and that
him, got the better of the young several of that nation served in
er, supported by the Romans, by his army (5). The above-men
whom Attila was overcome, and tioned writer could not persuade
forced to abandon Gaul. The himself, that the younger son of
king of the Franh had, accord Clodio, who was a beardless youth,
ing to Gregory of Tours (3), a when he came to Rome, was the
share in the victory ; and in hi father of Cbilderic, who, as early
story we find no mention made as the year 456. had abandoned
of any but Merov<rus, who in himself to all manner of lewd-
45 1 . could be stiled king of the ness and debauchery ; and this is
Franks. Gregory of Tours knew what induced him to embrace
of no other king between him the aforesaid opinion. Some
and Clodio, who died before the chronologers suppose the son of
irruption of the Hunns. We must Clodio to have gone to Rome in
therefore either suppose Mcro'vttus 439. and others ptace his jour
not to have begun his reign in ney to that metropolis still late*
■ 'il Prise, p. 40. [t) IJtm ibid. (3) Greg. Tur. i. ii. c. t. p. 5&
(4) Cant. p. jx. (5) SiJ. car. rii. p. 541.
7 If
C. XXVIII. The History of the Franks. 401
mother, and other persons of distinction ; but delivered from Year of
captivity by the fidelity, courage, and address, of a Frank, the flood
named Wiomald, as we read in Fredigarius *. This happen 2804. '
ed in the year 453. when Jtti/a, attempting to p3ss the Rhine, Of Christ
456.
in order to enter Gaul, was opposed by Merovetus, at the head
Of Rome
of the Franks who had espoused his cause against his competi 1*04.
tor. Cbilderic no sooner ascended the throne, than he began
to think of inlarging his dominions, the more, as Aetius, who
had kept the barbarians in awe, was now dead. He is said to He ex
have extended his conquests as far as the Loire, and to have tends bis
reduced the city of Paris, after a siege, according to some, conquests
of five, according to others, of ten years h. In the year 470. to the
Loire.
he made himself master of Angers, after having killed count
t Du Ch. torn. ii. p. 726. h Bolland. 3. Jan. p. 140.
conditions of the treaty, which, ror, should propose now that os-
about this time, the king of the fensive alliance against the Bur-
Burgundians concluded with the gundians, which they concluded
empexorAnestastus; and it is not three years after, as we shall re-
mprobable, that Theodoric, who late presently.
was at variance with the empe-
tlut
C. XXVIII. The History of the Franks.' 413
tliat he must, in the first place, renounce the worship of the
gods he had till then adored, he told the bishop, that he was
ready to comply with his instructions ; but, being afraid, lest
the Franks, attached to the religion of their forefathers, might
thence be prompted to revolt, he begged leave to acquaint
them first with his design, and to try, whether the arguments,
that had convinced him, might not be of equal weight with
them. Having therefore, with this view, assembled the Franks,
he no sooner began to speak, than they all cried out, with one
voice, IVe renounce the worstnp of the false gods, and are ready
to acknowlege the GOD whom the bijhop of Rheims preaches.
Hereupon the holy prelate, transported with joy, ordered
every thing to be got ready for the baptizing of the king ; and *" bat~
the ceremony was performed with the greatest pomp and so- a? *'
lemnity. When the bishop was upon the point of administring yearof
the sacrament, he addressed the king thus : Bow your head tj,e jj00(j
with humility, O Sicambrian ; adore what you formerly burnt, 2845.
and burn what youformerly adored. Remigius, adds Gregory of Of Christ
Tours, from whom we have copied this whole account, was, 497.
by all his cotemporaries, held in great veneration for the ho- Of Rome
liness of his life; nay, he was even said to have raised one l245-
from the dead b. With Clevis were baptized, according to V^"VN^
the same writer, three thousand of his subjects able to bear
arms, and one of his sisters, named Albofleda. At the fame
time, another sister, by name Lantildis, renounced the errors
of Arius, and was received into the church. Albofleda died a
few days after (he had been baptized ; and upon her death
Remigius wrote a consolatory letter to the king, whereof the
beginning has been transmitted to us by Gregory of Tours c,
and some fragments of it gathered from other writers by Du
Chefne6, to whom we refer the reader (A).
From
b Grec. Tur. 1. ii. c. 31. c Idem ibid. d Du Cn.
torn. i. p. 849.
(A) Clows was not baptized history of the Franks tells us, .
during the solemnity of Easter, that Remigius having preached
ai Hincmar{<)) and Flodoardswxe. to Clo-vis, and those who had
written (1); but in that of Christ-' been baptized with him, a ser-
mas, as is evident from the let- mon on the passion of our Sa-
ter which Alcimus Auitut bishop viour, the king, in hearing him,
of Vienne wrote to Clovis, con- could not forbear crying out, If
gratulating him upon hrJ con- / had been there with my Franks,
version. The epitomizer of the that Jhould not have happened ( 2 ) .
(9) Hinewiar. fit. Rimif. (I) Vhi. his. ret/if. Rem. I. ii. c. 13. (1) Hist.
Tram. tfit. e. xx.
1 Before
4i4 "» History os the Franks. B. IV.
From the whole account of the conversion and baptism of
Clovis, which we have copied from Gregory of Tours, the
reader must conclude him to have Been, in religious matters,
a very credulous writer; but, credulous as he is j he makes no
The holy mention of the holy phial said to have been sent from heaven,
phial. wherein is kept the oil with which the French kings are still
anointed at their coronation. Of this phial Hlncmar gives us
the following account : Clovis and St. Remigius were no sooner
entered into the baptistery, than all the avenues to it were ib
filled with the croud, that the ecclesiastic, who carried the
holy oil, and was not gone in with them, could by no means
find a way through the multitude. Hereupon the holy pre
late, not finding the bil when he was to use it, had recourse
to heaven, begging with a short, but fervent prayer, that the
want of what was necessary to accomplish the ceremony might
be supplied by some means or other. He had scarce done,
when a dove, exceeding the very snow in whiteness, was seen
carrying a phial filled with oil ; which the bishop had no sooner
received, than the dove disappeared, and was never afterwards
seen. With this oil Remigius anointed the king ; and the
odour it spread was sweet beyond imagination or expression e.
Of all this, not a word in Gregory of Tours, tho' a great be
liever of miracles ; which plainly shews, that in his time this
* fable was not yet invented (B).
But
1 IIincm ar. in vit. Remig.
Before his conversion, he had she adored, till, with the mira-
two sons by Clothilda, of whom culous assistance of Heaven, stie
the eldest, named Ignomcr, was brought about his conversion
baptized, by the care of his pious (3).
mother; but died a few days as- (B) It is to be observed, that
ter ; which greatly provoked the Clovis was at this time the only
king, who ascribed his death to catholic prince in the Roman
his being offered to the God of world. Anaftastus, emperor of
Clothilda, and not to those of the East, was greatly inclined ta
his forefathers. However, the the doctrine of Arius. fheodoric
zealous queen caused the other king of the Ostrogoths in Italy,
likewise, by name Clodomire, to Alaric king of the Visigoths, ma-
be baptized ; who soon after was ster of almost all Spain, and of
seized with a dangerous distem- the third part of Gaul, the king
per, which incensed the king of the Burgundians, and the king
anew against his consort; but of the Vandals in Africa, were
the child recovered, and the avowed and zealous followers of
queen never ceased to preach to that heresiarch : as for the other
her husband the true God, whom kings of the Franks settled in
(3) Greg. Tor. L u. f. 29.
Gaul,
C. XXVllI. The History os the Franks. 415
But to return to the military achievements of Clevis: The The Ar-
year after his conversion, the Armor iei, that is, the people morici
dwelling on the coast of the ocean between the Loire and the/**"'? '*
Seine, who had shaken off the Roman yoke, and formed ^•'ovl'')
themselves into a republic, submitted of their own accord to -/
Clevis, and became one nation with the Franks f. Hereupon j v
the Roman troops, that were still in Gaul, finding themselves 1
surrounded on all sides by the enemies of the empire, and not
caring to serve under the Arians, fays Procopius, that is, the
Burgundians and Vistgotbs, capitulated with the Franks and
Armories, and, surrendering to them the places they held, en
tered into their service. These, adds Procopius, still observe,
both in their attire, and manner of marching and fighting, the
antient customs and discipline of the Romans*. Thus ended The end of
the dominion of the Romans in Gaul, after they had been ma- f£*Romaa
sters of that country for the space of five hundred years and dominion
upwards, which was now held by three different nations ; to '" Gaul.
Wit, the Franks, the Vistgotbs, and the Burgundians. To the Teao°£,
above-mentioned union of the Armorici with the Franks, Pro- a ?
copius, who flourished soon after, ascribes the great Power or A ft
which the Franks had already attained in his time (C). The g
year Of Rome
f Procop. bell. Goth, c, iz. * Idem ibid. 1246.
Caul, they were still pagans. No rid($); except Father Daniel, "
wonder therefore, that not only who, contrary to the opinion of
Anastafius II. then bishop of all those who wrote before him,
Rome, but several other bishops, maintains, that in the reign of
though subject to different prin- Claris there was a people in
ces, wrote to the king of the Gaul called Arborici. But, in
Franks, congratulating him on the first place, that nation was
his conversion, and testifying utterly unknown to Clwverius,
their joy for so happy an event who, speaking of them, expresses
(4). himself thus : Who these Arborici
(C) The union of the Armo- were, no writer has been yet able
rid with the Franks is sounded to discover (6). Father Daniel,
chiefly on the authority of Pro- in the map which he has prefixed
eefius j but, in the text of that to his history, places them be-
writer, the people, who submit- tween the Mcuje, the ocean, and
ted to the Franks, arc called Ar- the Efcault. But he is therein
borici. However, all those, who certainly mistaken ; for in none
have had occasion to speak of of the notitia's, or descriptions
this event, read, as we have of Gaul, which have reached our
done, Armorici instead of Arbo- times, and were composed under
(4) Vide he dir.ti anr.. rrtles. Fran. torn. i. p. 194. Qf ep'.ft. Avit. ep. 41.
tin. .SirnumJ. p. V4« ( s) sales. Ter. start, torn. i. ft. 178. (g mt. Gill. p. 44.
Vignitr ar.citn t'tat dt la settle Bretagne. Cluiier. Gtrm. I. ii. c. io. p. 2»6.
(6j Cluver. ibid.
..... she
4-iS the History of the Franks. B. IV.
Clovis en year after the union of the Armirici with the Franks, Thetda-
ters into ric king of Italy, being resolved to make war on the Burgun
an alliance dians, in order to recover that part of Gaul which was held by
tvithThe- them, and had been formerly subject to Rome, entered into
od^4c a- an offensive alliance with Clovis, at that time the most power
gainst the
ful prince in Gaul. In virtue of this treaty, they were to fall
ling es the
.'Jurgun- upon the king of the Burgundians at the fame time, "and, if
dians. attended with success, divide his dominions between them :
if either of them should fail to take the field at the time ap
pointed, and the other, by that means, be obliged to - fight
alone against the king of the Burgundians, he, who had not
fulfilled his engagement, should pay to the other a certain sum,
and not receive any share of the conquered king's dominions,
till he had paid it h. Of this war Gregory of Tours gives us
the following account : At this time Gundebald and his brother
Godegiselus reigned over the Burgundians, who were masters of
the countries lying on the Rhone, and the Saone, and of the
province of Marseilles. Both princes were Arians, as well as
their subjects. However, as the two brothers were at vari
ance, Godegiselus privately concluded an alliance with Clovis,
h Idem ibid.
(D) Some writers are of opi pius should not mention the al
nion, that Gregory of Tours and liance of the Franks with Gode
Procopius speak of different wars, giselus, nor Gregory of Tours that
Clovis, according to them.waged of the Ostrogoths with the Franks.
■war with the Burgundians at two It is true, both historians agree
cifFerent times. In the first of in some particulars ; to wit, that
these wars he had Godegiselus the in the very beginning of this war
brother of Gundtbald for his ally, a decisive battle was fought, in
and, in the second, Theodoric which the Burgundians were ut
king of the Ostrogoths. But this terly defeated by the Franks ; and
does not at all agree with what that, after their defeat, they took
we read in Marius Aventiccnsts, refuge in their fortified towns,
a cotemporary writer, who, situated on the most distant bor
speaking of the war in the year ders of their country. Besides,
500. in which Gundtbald was de it appears, from the acts of a
feated in the neighbourhood of conference held at Lyons on reli
Dijon, that is, of the war de gious matters, in the year 499.
scribed by Gregory of Tours, con that Clovis, who was then pre
cludes thus : Gundtbald, there paring to make war on the Bur
fore, having recovered, upon the gundians, had already entered
death of his brother, his own into an alliance with a prince
dominions, and likewise made who was then at war with them.
himself master of those that had This ally could neither be Gode
belonged to Godegiselus, govern giselus, nor Alaric king of the Vi
ed them with great prosperity to sigoths ; for the alliance of the
the day of his death (1). This former with the king of the
we cannot persuade ourselves the Franks was kept secret till the
bishop of A<vranchts would have battle of Dijon, fought, accord
written, had Gundtbald, after his ing to the bishop of Avranches
restoration in 500. been engaged (2), and the best chroaologers,
in such an unsuccessful war as the following year 500. As for
that of which Procopius speaks. Alaric, he was not at war with
However, we cannot help think the Burgundians ; since their king
ing it very strange, that Proco sent, as we have related above,
(1) Maria: Aver.tU, tbren. tiinn. 500. (1) Mem ibid,
E e 2 the
420 the History of the Franks. B. IV?
and some adjacent places, which Gundebald perhaps yielded to
him, in virtue of a treaty of marriage concluded this year be
tween Sigistmmd the son of Gundebald, and OJirogatha one of
Theodoric'% daughters. »
Clovis Clovis had scarce concluded a peace with the Burgundi-
«W Alaric anSf when, some differences arising between him and Alaric
quarrtl: jcjng 0f tne Fijigotbs, both princes began to prepare for war ;
Theodo- which theodoric king of the Ojlrogoths no sooner under
lie inter- fto0j5 than he interposed his good offices, and offered his me-
**%"', diation, sending both to them, and to the kings of the Bur
's eral iun^tans-> *^e fieruli, the Farm, and the Thuringians, letters
princes on on tnat subject, which are still to be seen in Cajstodore ". He
tbissubjeS. advises Alaric not to be too confident on the reputation of his
To Alaric. Visigoths, for the great things formerly atchieved by them ;
but bids him consider what an alteration long peace and idle
ness may have wrought in them : he tells him, that passion is
a bad counsellor, and not only prompts men to take perni
cious resolutions, but to make choice of the worst means to
put them in execution ; that war ought to be looked upon as
the last resource, and never ought to be entered into by princes,
till all other methods ofobtaining what is due to them in justice
have proved unsuccessful : he therefore exhorts him to forbear
all hostilities against the king of the Franks till the return of the
embassadors, whom he designed to send to that prince with an
offer of his mediation, in order to prevent either of the two
princes, so nearly allied to him, from aggrandizing himself at
the expence of the other. He closes his letter thus : It is not
to revenge the blood ofyour fathers, or to recover part of your
dominions unjustly seized and detained by either of you, that
you take arms against each other, but only on account of
some unguarded words : so that your differences may be easily
composed, if not heightened by unseasonable hostilities. Give
a Cassiod. variar. 1. ii. ep. 3.
■
the Franks, whom he had taken blame, the former for taking no
at Viennc, to be kept by him. notice of the second war, and
As it appears, therefore, from the latter for being quite silent
hence, that Clovis had Theodoric as to the first. Clovis was so far
for his ally in the war which he from revenging the death of Go-
waged with the Burgundians in degiselus his friend and ally, that,
500. we may well suppose Pro- on the contrary, he restored to
copius to have spoken of this war Gundebald, no doubt in virtue
without recurring to a second, of some treaty unknown to us,
To conclude ; if Gregory of Tours that part of his dominions which.
and Procopius speak of different had fallen to his share
wars, they are both highly to
me
C.XfcVIII. The'History of the Franks. 4*1
me leave, therefore, to acquaint Clovit, before you come to
an open rupture, that he {hall have me too for his enemy, if
he makes war upon you. When justice speaks to princes
with a sword in her hand, they readily hearken to her. We
have therefore dispatched embassadors to you, who will farther
acquaint you, byword of mouth, with our intention. We
have ordered them to repair afterwards to the courts of the king
of the Burgundians, and pf such other princes as you shall
think proper, and to act there pursuant to the instructions they
shall receive from you. Above all things, take care you be
not the first in committing hostilities ; lest you should incur
the hatred which all men bear to the violators of treaties.
Persuade yourself, that we are so far from sowing the seeds of
discord among our neighbours, in order to take advantage of
their misfortunes, that we shall look upon those, who fall
upon you, as a common enemy, and act accordingly ".
In his letter to Luduin (for so he calls Clevis) he tells that TeClovis."
prince, that he cannot but wonder he should be so easily pro
voked, and, upon so flight an occasion, make war upon Ala-
ric, being uncle to his wife Theodogotba ; that, their common
enemies wished for nothing so much as to fee the Franks and
yifigoths weakening and destroying each other : he bids him
consider, they are both kings of powerful nations, and in the
flower of their age ; and therefore that they ought the more
to be upon their guard against evil counsellors, lest they should,
by rashly entering into a war, bring their kingdoms to the
brink of ruin. He proposes the mediation of the neighbour
ing princes, and advises him to sheath his sword, which he
could not in honour see drawn by either of them : he con
cludes by threatening to make war upon the first, whether
Luduin or Alaric, who should commit hostilities against the
other j and by assuring both, that the advice he gave them
proceeded from the most sincere friendship, since none but a
true friend, who was far from envying their prosperity, would
advise them as he had done.
In his letter to Gundebatd, he tells that prince, that he T» Gun-
thinks himself bound in duty to moderate the ardour of two debald.
young princes, whose conduct is condemned by all men of ex
perience and prudence ; that they ought to hearken to those,
who, by their age and experience, are intitlcd to advise them ;
that he cannot suffer two princes, who are both nearly allied
to him, to destroy each other ; and therefore is resolved to de
clare against him, who shall first commit hostilities : he adds,
that he has dispatched embassadors to him, with orders to re-
■ Idem ibid. ep. 1.
Ee3 pais
422 she History os the Franks: % lV,
pair afterwards to the court of the king of the Franks, with
the deputies of the other princes his friends and allies, to ne
gotiate an accommodation between the contending parties.
He closes his letter with advising the king of the Burgundians
to act in concert with him, and do all that lies in his power to
prevent a war, which, should they be remiss in their good
offices, the world will bdlieve to have been underhand kindled
by them.
In these letters Theodcric pretends to stand quite neuter, and
to have taken no other resolution, but that of declaring against
And to tne aggressor, whether Clevis or Alaric ; but in the letter he
erberprin- wrote t0 tne three brothers, Hermanafred, Baderic, and Ber-
*"' thier, who at that time reigned jointly over the Heruli, the
Varni, and the Thuringians, he betrays great partiality for
Alaric, and no small prejudice against Clevis. It was couch
ed in the following terms : The proud are detested by Hea
ven, and it is incumbent upon every man to curb their arro
gance. He who seeks to oppress a people, whom every na
tion would-be glad to have for neighbours, shews but too
plainly, that he only wants an opportunity of treating all other'
princes in the like manner. A prince, who pays no regard to
the laws of equity, thinks every thing lawful, when he has
been once attended with success in an unjust attempt : such a
prince ought to be abhorred by all mankind. It behoves
therefore you, whose valour is capable of stemming the most
unbounded ambition, to prevent the execution of such iniqui
tous projects. Begin with joining your embassadors to those
whom king Gundebald and we have dispatched to the king of
the Franks.) in order to divert him from falling upon the Visi
goths, and persuade him to pay due regard to the laws of equi
ty, and right of nations. If he refuses to submit to the arbi
tration of so many powerful princes, let him be deemed the
common enemy of mankind. And? truly, what else can a
prince, who is actuated by good principles, wish for, than to
have such mediators, who readily take upon them to fee justice
done him, if he has been wronged ? To speak my sentiments
openly ; a prince, who pays no regard to the law of nations,
must necessarily be hatching dangerous projects, which may
end in the ruin of other states. Let us therefore stem the tor
rent at its source, and cover the countries that are exposed to
his ravages, lest they should feel, before they are aware, the
direful effects of his fury. You remember, without all doubt,
the many favours you have received at the hands of Euric, the
father of Alaric, the magnificent presents he often sent you,
the efforts he made, and the vast charge he was at, to prevent
the neighbouring nations from making incursions into your
teiri-
C. XXVIII. Tie History os the Franks. 423
territorics. It is now time to repay to the sort the good offices
of (he father. If the king of the Franks is suffered to aggran
dize himself at the expenceof his neighbours, the must distant
nations will be no longer safe. These are the motives that
have induced us to dispatch embassadors to you, who will far
ther inform you of our sentiments by word of mouth, and to
whom, after seeing their credentials, you may give intire cre
dit. We exhort you, therefore, to enter into the measures
we have taken to secure the public tranquillity, and to con
cern yourselves in what passes in the neighbouring countries,
that you may not have a war in your own °.
From these letters it appears, that Theodoric entertained no
small jealousy of Clovis, and was greatly prejudiced against
him. But the king of the Franks, not thinking it adviseable
to break with the Visigoths at this juncture, forbore all hostili
ties till five years after, that is, till the year 507. and in the
mean time probably consented to that interview with Alaric,
which Gregory of '■fours speaks of : for, according to that hi
storian, Alaric, alarmed at the conquests Clovis was daily
making, dispatched embassadors to him, inviting him to an
interview. With this invitation Clovis readily complied ; so An inter.
that the two princes met in an island formed by the Loire, •virw be-
over against AmboiJ'e, a place in the territory of Tours. There tmieenQXor
they conferred, and, having dined together, they parted, v's an^
promising to live in friendship and amity with each other p. •"•lane.
This is all we find in Gregory of Tours concerning this inter
view. But to his account historians, who came after him,
have added several particulars, which we look upon as fabu
lous, since they have not been mentioned by him ; namely,
that Alaric laid snares for Clovis, which he happily escaped ;
a circumstance that seems to have been invented to justify the
war which Clovis made, a few years after on Alaric, that is,
in 507.
Of this war Gregory of Tours gives us die following account : Clovis
In those days most people in Gaul were desirous of living under maiestvar-
the dominion of the Franks, and, among the rest, §>uintionus ontbeVifi-
biihop of Rhodes ; which the Visigoths being well apprised of, gotn«i
they resolved to. dispatch him, lest he should betray that city
to them. But the holy prelate, receiving timely notice of
their design, made his escape in the night, and retired into
jfuvergne. When Clovis heard of the treatment §)uintianus
had met with from the Visigoths, It grieves me, said he, turn
ing to his people, that these Avians should hold any thing in
Gaul: let us march against them, and, with the assistance of
0 Idem ibid. ep. 3, p Greo. Tur. l.-ii. c. 3S- Vaies.
i/k. Fran. 1. yj. p. 291,
EC 4 Heaven^
424 The History of the Franks. . B. IV.
Heaven, make ourselves masters of the fine country they pos
sess. His speech being received by all with loud acclamations,
be began his march without loss of time, bending his route to
Poitiers, where Alark then was. On his arrival at the Vienne he
found the enemy encamped on the opposite bank, and that ri
ver so swelled with the heavy rains that had fallen for several
days together, that it was not then fordable, nor could he at
tempt to lay bridges over it, or convey his men in boats to the
opposite bank, without exposing them to the greatest and al
most inevitable dangers, the other side of the river being all
along lined with the enemy's troops. This gave Clevis great
uneasiness, who thereupon continued all night in prayer ; and
the next morning an hind of an extraordinary size was seen bv
the whole army to enter the river, and ford it, as if sent by
Heaven on purpose to point out to the Franks the place where
the Vienne, notwithstanding the depth of its waters, was ford-
able. The whole army followed their guide, and, having
crossed the river without the loss of a man, encamped in sight
of Poitiers.
While he lay there, he observed, one night, a globe of
fire over the church of St. Hilarius, in the crty of Poitiers,
darting rays towards his camp, and, as it were, inviting him
to engage, without loss of time, the king of the Vijigoths, who
had his head-quarters in that city. Accordingly Clovis imme
diately set out anew on his march, and, coming up with the
enemy in the plain of Vougle, about ten miles from Poitiers,
ivbom he he gave them a total overthrow. In this battle most part of
defeats, the enemy's troops were cut off, and the rest obliged to take
"if- I* refuge in their strong- holds and fortified towns. Clevis di-
thetr king. ftj„gUjfhe(j himself on this occasion in a most eminent manner,
, ea,J ° , and killed, as all writers agree, the king of the Vijigoths with
o his own hand ; but was himself in the utmost danger, two of
Of Christ Clark's guards having attacked him while he was engaged with
j 07 their king; but, his breast- plate being proof against their lances,
Of Rome he happily escaped *. Gregory of Tours does not mention the
1255, number of the dead ; but only tells us, that most of the in-
{y\T\J habitants of Auvergne, who, under the conduct of Apollinaris,
came to the assistance of Alaric, were cut off, and that among
the dead there were many senators and persons of distinction (E).
1 Greo. Tur. 1. ii. c. 37.
( E ) Apollinaris, who com- the battle of Vougle', but he had
manded the troops of Auvergne, the good luck to escape the ge-
was the son of the celebrated neral slaughter. He was a few
Apollinaris Sidonius by Papianilla years after chosen bishop of Au-
daiighter to the emperor A-uitus. vergne, but lived only three
Most of his men were killed in months after his election. •i
* Of
C. XXVIII. The History of the Franks. 445
Of this battle Procopius gives us a very succinct account.
That writer, after relating what we have inserted above of the
war which Clevis and Theodoric made jointly on the Burgundi-
ans in the year 5 00. continues thus : The power of the Franks
being considerably increased, they no longer paid any regard
to Theodoric ; but, free from all fear, made war upon Alaric
king of the Visigoths. That prince was no sooner acquainted
with their design, than he had recourse to Theodoric, who im
mediately put himself at the head of his army, zi\9 marched
to the assistance of his son-in-law. In the mean time the Visi
goths, upon intelligence that the enemy began to appear on
the frontiers of Poitou, posted themselves under the walls of
Poitiers, and kept some days within their trenches, waiting
the arrival of the Ostrogoths. This highly affronted the Vifi-
goths, who, thinking themselves a match for the Franks
without the assistance of any other nation, forced Alaric in
the end to engage the enemy before he was joined by 'Theodo
ric. But the Visigoths were defeated, and great numbers of
them killed on the spot, and, among the rest, their king r.
We are told by several writers, who lived in those times, or
soon aster, that Clevis had for his ally in this war Gundebald
king of the Burgundians ' ; and from Gregory of Tours it ap
pears, that a body of Ripuarian Franks joined him before the
battle, under the conduct of Chloderic, the eldest son of Sige-
bert king of that tribe'. The battle of Vougle was fought in
the year 507. the emperor Anaslafius being consul the third
time in the East, and Venantius Decius in the West. As Cle
vis was chiefly prompted by his zeal for the catholic faith to
make war upon Alaric an Arian prince, no wonder that Gre
gory of Tours, an ecclesiastic and credulous writer, should be
lieve, and gravely relate, the miracles that were said to have
been wrought by Heaven in his favour, but were utterly un»
known to Procopius.
Clovis, taking advantage of the consternation the Vifigoths she
were in on the defeat of their army, and the death of the Franks
king, dispatched his son Theodoric, with part of his forces, to makethem-
reduce the Albigeois, Rovergne, and Auvergne ; which he did selves ma-
accordingly, making himself master of all the places in that fter' ofse-
tract between the confines of the Visigoths and those of the vera^ /'*"
Burgundians". Clovis, with the rest of the army, advanced to ■*'"•
Carcassone, and laid close siege to that place ; but being in
formed, that Theodoric was drawing near at the head of the
Ostrogoths, he thought it adviseable to retire. However, he
iert, and were unwilling to re- under the kings of the second
ceive Clovis for their king (3*. race. But all the other tribes.
The Ripuarian Franks seem to aster they had submitted to Clt-
have been, next to the Salians, -vis, were incorporated, and be-
the most powerful of all the came one people with the tribe
tribes of that nation settled in of the Salians, of which Clovis
Gaul; for, even after they had was king, no further mention
acknowlegedOWw for their king, being made in history of the
they continued a distinct tribe, Cbatti, Cbamavi, Ampsivarii, '
separated from that of the Saii- &c. whose names so often occur
ans, had their own code of laws, in the historians, who wrote be-
and lived according to them.even fore that time.
(j) LM, Hi/, torn, i. f>, 87, Du CUsne, tm, i, f. 5JI. Sfieil, ttm. iii. /.
307.
7 fall
43* The History of the Franks. B. IV.
fall upon him, being well apprised, that, if he were once re
moved, the king* of the other tribes would be no-ways in a
condition to make head against him, even with their united
forces. Ragnacbarius, as Gregory of Tours takes care to tell
us, was a most wicked prince, abandoned to all manner of
lewdness, not sparing his own relations, and intirely governed
by a favourite minister named Fare, whom he treated rather
as his equal than his servant. His debauched life, and the
exorbitant power he allowed to his wicked favourite, who was
the object of the public hatred, raised an universal discontent
among his subjects. This Clevis resolved to improve to his ad
vantage, and, in order to gain over the discontented party,
he sent to the leading men among them bracelets of gilt brass,
pretending they were of pure gold. When he found he could
Clovis /*- depend upon those, who had received his presents, he entered
vades the unexpectedly the dominions of Ragnacbarius at the head of a
dominions powerful army ; which Ragnacbarius no sooner understood,
o^Ragna- ^^ jJe tOQ^ {[ie ^j w;tn wjjat troopS jje cou^ assemble, in
.. ml order to oppose the attempts of his rival. When Clovis drew
Cambrav near r^e P'ace wnerc ne was encamped, he sent out some par-
ties to reconnoitre the enemy ; but these, being gained over
by Clovis, assured him on their return, that the troops he dis
covered ata distance were his own subjects, coming, pursuant
to his orders, to join him. In the mean time Clovis advanced,
and, falling upon Ragnacbarius before he could draw up the
few troops he had with him, put him to flight. The unhappy
prince attempted to make his escape j but was taken, together
with his brother Richarius, by the traitors he had about him,
and both delivered up, with their hands tied behind their
backs, to Clovis, who thus addressed Ragnacbarius : It was
base and scandalous in you to suffer one of our illustrious race to
be thus bound, like a public nialefailor. You ought to have
avoided, at the expence of a thousand lives, such an ignominious
•whom be treatment. He had scarce uttered these words, when, with a
futs to blow of his battle-ax, he cleft his head, and laid him dead at
death, and njs peet jn the same manner he treated Richarius, after up-
,.' " r°, braiding him with cowardice, for not defending his brother
F: nks • ' w'tn ' courage ar,d resolution, which became one of his
and seizes bl*od. In the mean time those, who had betrayed Ragna-
on their do- charius, discovering that their bracelets were not of gold,
minions. complained thereof to Clovis, who is said to have returned
them the following answer : You well know what you have
done ; and therefore ought not to complain, but deem it a great
favour, that Isuffer you to live. Clovis, continues our historian,
was nearly related to Ragnacbarius and Richarius, who had
3 another
C. XXVIII. the History of the Franks. 433
another brother named Regnomer, king of the Franks settled
at Mans ; and him too Clovis caused to be murdered, making
himself master of the dominions and treasures of the three
brothers. By the murder of these, and several other princes,
of whom, as they Were his kinsmen, he entertained some
jealousy, he extended his dominion all over Gaul. Having
thus dispatched all the princes, who were any-way related to
him, he one day, in the presence of his nobles, bemoaned
his condition, faying, That he was, in a manner, a stranger
among his own people, having no kinsman to stand by him,
in cafe he wanted his assistance. But this he said, not because
he was concerned for their death, but to try whether any one
would own himself for his relation, that he might dispatch
him, as he had done the others k. This is the account Gre
gory of Tours gives us of the manner, in which Clovis caused He is ac
himself to be acknowleged king of all the tribes of the Franks knowleged
in Gaul. Whether his intention could be upright, as that *'*g of all
writer is pleased to express himself, and his conduct pleasing '*' tr'l>t>
to Heaven, we leave our readers to judge. p u
Clovis did not long enjoy his new conquests ; for he died ,sa" .
soon after the reduction of the several tribes of Franks settled y '«.
in Gaul. Clovis, says Gregory of Tours, having transacted these ^ g j
things, that is, having forced all the tribes of the Franks in 28cq.
Gaul to acknowlege him for their, king, died soon after at Of Christ
Paris, and was buried there in the church of the holy apostles jn,
St. Peter and St. Paul, which had been built by him and queen Of Rome
Clothildis, or, as our historian stiles her, Crothildes. He died 1259-
in the forty-fifth year of his age, five years after the battle of V^vO
Vougle, having reigned thirty years. After his death, Clothil
dis retired into Touraine, and there passed the remaining part
of her life at St. Martin's tomb '. This is all we find in Gre
gory of Tours concerning the death of Clovis. He left four His issue.
sons behind him, to wit, Theodoric, Clodomir, Childebcrt, and
Clothar'ms. The three last he had by Clothildis, and the eldest
by a concubine before his marriage with that princess. The
odoric, at his father's death, had already a son named Theode-
bert, a youth of great expectation m. As to the age of the
other three, all we know is, that Clodomir the eldest was born
before the battle of Tolbiac in 496. so that, at the time of
his father's death, he must have been about seventeen. The
four brothers divided their father's dominions equally among
them. Theodoric reigned at Metz ; Clodomir at Orleans j
SECT. VI.
The antient State of the Burgundians, Alemans, He>
ruli, Gepidæ, &V.
The origin T" H E Burgundians, who, upon the decline of the empire,
cftbeBaT- -*• seized on a considerable portion of Gaul, and founded a
gpndians. new kingdom there, were, according to Ammianus Marcelli-
nus ' , originally descended from the Roma/is. Orofius, who
wrote about the year 420. was of the fame opinion : We are
told, fays that writer, that Drusus Nero, and his brother 77-
berius, the adopted sons of Ccesar Augustus, having subdued
the inner parts of Germany, left several camps in the country,
and part of their army, to keep the neighbouring people in
subjection. From the Roman soldiers, who Were on this occa
sion left to guard the camps, are descended the Burgundians.
The castles and strong-holds, built for the defence of 9
country, are by the Germans called burgts; and hence the Ro-
'■ mans who guarded them, and their descendents, were stiled
Burgundians. Their conquests in Gaul, continues our histo
rian, speak them both a numerous and warlike nation. As
they have embraced the catholic faith, our ecclesiastics, whose
spiritual jurisdiction they acknowlegc, have rendered them
mild and tractable ; for, in the countries where they have
settled, they treat the natives, not as strangers whom they
have subdued, but as brothers in Christ b. Thus Orofius, who,
had he lived thirty years longer, would not have commended
the Burgundians on account of their gentle treatment of the
natives ; for, upon their embracing the tenets of Arius, which
happened about the year 450. the natives, who professed the
catholic faith, were treated by them more like (laves than bre
thren. But to return to their origin : Pliny the elder sup
poses them to be a German nation, descended from the Vindiliy
whom most writers take to be the fame people with the Van
dals c. VuUfius distinguishes the Burgundians of Germany from
those of the same name who dwelt more to the east, on the
banks of the Danube*.
1
state of virginity ; the other was this occasion, bishops first fortl-
Clothildis, who was married to fied their mansions, that, on any
Qo-vtj king of the Franks, as we sudden irruption of barbarian;,
have related in the foregoing se- they might serve as a place of
ction. refuge for those who dwelt in
(C) Authors observe, that, on the country (3),
(3) B)r. *i mn. 4S9,
44z Ihc History of the Burgundians. B. IV.
no-where told. Two letters have reached us, both written
in 497. the one by the emperor Anajlafius to Clavis, intreat-
ing him to prevail upon Gundcbald to allow one of Lencren-
tius's sons to repair to his father at Conjiantimple ; the other
by Clevis to Gundcbald, who readily complied with the empe
ror's request and his0. In the history of the Franks, we have
spoken of the war which Gundcbald waged with Clovis, and
his brother Godcgiscles, whom in the end he overcame, and
put to death. Being restored to his dominions, he reigned,
without disturbing his neighbours, or being disturbed by them,
He d'us. I'll his death, which happened in the year 516 °. Some years
Year of before his death, he was for renouncing privately the errors of
the flood Arius ; but could by no means be prevailed upon, fays Gre-
2864. gory of Tours, to acknowlege publicly the mystery of the
Of Christ^Hoh/ Trinity 1.
5' Gundebald was succeeded by his son Sigifmund, who
ome had no sooner taken possession of his father's dominions, than
i—JTi he dispatched embafladors to the emperor Anajlafius at Cott-
Sieis- Jlantinofle, acquainting him with his accession to the crown.
mund. J" tne letter he wrote on this occasion to the emperor, he
stiles his father one of Anajlasius's most faithful subjects ; and
adds, that the nation which he governed had ever acknow-
He ac- leged Anajlafius for their liege lord ; that he himself deemed
kntrxlcgcs it a greater honour to obey his commands, than to be obeyed,
himself a 0y a whole nation ; that these sentiments were hereditary in
subjea oj njs famjiy . tnat his ancestors had ever had hearts truly Ra-
e emstie. man^ thinking themselves more honoured by the titles, which
the emperors had been pleased to confer upon them, than by
those, however specious, which they had received by birth ;
that the country, which it was now his lot to govern, though
lying at a great distance from the capital of the empire, was
was not, on that account, less subject to the imperial crown,
than those that lay near it, isfe. He closes the letter thus ;
" The East is governed by your presence, the West under
" your auspices. By this letter, therefore, I offer iriy duty
" to the greatest of princes, and wait, with submission, your
" august commands ' (D)." Sigismund wrote a second let
ter
0 Idem, ep. xlii. p. 98. & ep. xliv. p. 99. r Vales, rer.
Franc. 1. vi. p. 328. "• Greg.Tur. 1. ii. c. 3|. ' Avir.
ep. xciv. p. 139.
customs,
^48 ■ tbt History of the Alerfians. 8. IV."
customs, as they had paid to Godemar, and bis predecessors' .
One of the conditions, on which they submitted to the
Franks was, though not mentioned by Prtcopius, that they
fliould live according to their own laws ; which they actually
did to the reign of Lewis surnamed the Debonnair, as we {hall
relate in a more proper place. Thus the Franks, prompted
by their boundless ambition, extended their dominions at the
expence of their neighbours, till they became masters of all
Gaul.
1 Procop. bell. Goth. l.i. c. 13.
The Alemans.
7he Ale- 'T'HE Alemans, a nation, which, in process of time, be-
nuns. -"* came so famous in history, made their first appearance
about the year 214. the fourth of the emperor Caracalla't
reign a. Agathias, upon the authority of Afinius ^uadratus
a Roman historian, who wrote in the reign of the emperor
Philip, about she year 247. tells us, that the Alemans were
Their ori- originally a motly multitude, consisting of several nations, as
£•». appears, adds that writer, from their very nameb; so that,
according to Afinius §>uadratus, the Alemans were so called,
because they consisted of all men, that is, of men of aJJ na
tions. Some German writers, displeased with this etymology,
. . derive the name of Alemans from the word Atelman, signify
ing a man of distinction' . But the other derivation is both
more natural, and better grounded. The Alemans, according
to the most common opinion, consisted chiefly of Sucves,
who, in process of time, were joined by several other German
nations, and some Gauls ; for we are told by "Tacitus, that a
considerable number of Gauls, abandoning their own country,
" went to settle beyond the Rhine, in the country which had
fbeir formerly belonged to the SueVesi . The Alemans are placed
country, by Aurelius Victor, St. Jerom c, and other writers, between
the Danube, the Upper Rhine, and the Mein, that is, in the
present duchy of Wirtemberg. They were a numerous and
warlike nation, and are chiefly commended for fighting with
great skill and dexterity on horseback'. They had such an
aversion to slavery, that even their women, some of whom
were taken prisoners by Caracalla, chose rather to die, than
to be sold for slaves. Caracalla, however, ordered them to be
sold j but, preferring death to flavery, they laid violent hands
• Var. p. 47 j. B Agath. 1. i. p. 17. « Ludewjc.
vit. Justin, p. 501. d Vide Buch. Belg. 1. vi. c. 7. p. 199,
200. -• Hier. vit. Hilar. p. 246. f Aur. Vict.
• on
C. XXVIII. The History of the AJemans. 449
on themselves, some of them having first dispatched their chil
dren g . Their government was monarchical ; for we find Their go-
scveral of their kings mentioned in history, of whom we shall iiemment
soon have occasion to speak. As to their religion, they wor- audnli-
fhiped the fame deities as the other German nations. £»'«*•
We shall now acquaint the reader with what we have
been able to gather from the antients concerning this nation.
In the year 214. Caracalla is said to have made war upon the
Cenni, or, as some read it, the Chatti, the Alemans, and
other German nations. The Alemans, it seems, had joined
the Chatti or Catti ; and Caracalla, under pretence of succour- Thty are
ing another nation, with whom they were at variance, made overcame
war upon them, and is said to have defeated the Alemans on fy Cara-
the banks of the Mein \ He afterwards concluded a peace ca'la.
with them, distributed large sums among them, listed great Year 0I"
numbers of them in his army, and even among his guards, "»e stood
choosing rather to trust his life to them, than to the Romans '. n^5^
Aurelius Victor adds, that he often appeared in the dress pe- n
culiar to those barbarians, wearing false hair of the same co- qc >>'
lour with theirs k . For the victory he gained over the Ale- Q^2
mans, he took the surname of Alemannicus ' . In the year 234. t^rv-O
the thirteenth of the emperor Severus Alexander, the Alemans,
and other German nations, having passed the Rhine, made
themselves masters of the forts built on the banks of that ri
ver, and, entering Gaul, committed dreadful ravages there.
Alexander, who was just then returned from Persia, where
he had gained great advantages over Artaxerxes the Persian
king, upon the news of this irruption, hastened into Gaul,
and advanced, without loss of time, to the banks of the Rhine.
But the enemy having repassed that river upon the news of
his approach, he ordered a bridge to be laid over it, with a
design to attack them in their own country, as soon as the sea
son would allow him to take the field.
But he being in the mean time assassinated by the muti
nous soldiery, Maximinus, who had stirred them up, and was
chosen in his room, entered Germany early in the spring, at
the head of a mighty army, ravaged the country far and wide, fbeir
burnt the enemy's habitations, carried off their corn and cat- country
tie, and took an incredible number of prisoners. We are ravaged
told, that several battles were fought in the woods and ty Max*
marshes, in each of which the emperor killed many of the niin^s.
7 which
C. XXVIII. the History os the Alemans. '455
which restored Gaul to its antient liberty 1. Mamertinus fays,
that, by this single battle, the war was ended, and Germany
ruined '. It is at least certain, that the barbarians were in-
tirely driven out of Gaul. Julian, from the field of battle,
returned to Saverne ; and, having finished the works there,
advanced with his whole army to Mayence, where he built a
bridge over the river, and, entering Germany, continued ra
vaging the countries of the Alemans, and their allies, till after
the equinox, when the snow preventing him from advancing
farther, he returned to Gaul, after having repaired the castle
of Trajan, which stood at a small distance from the present
city of Francfort, and granted to the Alemans, and their al
lies, a truce for ten months, upon their promising to store
with provisions the fort that was building in their country*.
The truce no sooner expired, than Julian, passing the Rhine
on a bridge of boats, entered anew the country of the Ale-
mans, and obliged two of their kings, Suomarius and Horta-
rius, to sue for peace ; which he granted them, upon their
sending back all the Roman captives, and furnishing timber,
iron, atid other materials, to repair the cities which they had
ruined '. We are told by Zostmus, that, in this expedition,
Julian got two thousand Romans set at liberty u.
Several other very considerable advantages were gained
over them by Julian, of which we have spoken at large else
where w . Having been often defeated by him while he was
yet Cæsar, they continued quiet the greater part of his reign ;
but they no sooner heard of his death, than they renewed Upon the
their ravages in RJnetia and Gaul. Hereupon Valentinian I. &"'? "f
then empercr, dispatched Dagalaiphus, one of his best gene- J""111
rals, against them ; and, leaving Italy, hastened in person into theyra~
Gaul, in order to make head against the numerous forces "q^
which the Alemans, and other barbarous nations, were said
to be raising with a design to invade Gaul. The emperor ad
vanced as far as Rheims ; but the Alemans retiring at his ap
proach, he returned back, and took up his winter-quarters at
Paris *.
In the mean time the Alemans, having in the depth of win^ They dt-
ter passed the Rhine on the ice, defeated in a pitched battle feat the
the Romans, who attempted to oppose them, took the stand- Romans j
G g4 arda
456 Me History of the Alemans. B. IV.
ards of the Batavians and Heruli, killed count Charietta, and
wounded count Severianus, who had the command of a body
of troops r. Zojimus supposes Valentinian himself to have been
present at this battle. But it is plain from Ammianus, that he
was then at Paris ; whence, upon the first news of the defeat
of his troops,' he dispatched Dagalaipbus, to prevent the evil
consequences that were likely to attend the late overthrow.
Dagalaipbus, pretending he had not sufficient strength to en
gage the enemy, who were roving about the country in seve
ral great bodies, did not so much as offer to restrain them.
lut are Hereupon he was recalled, and Jovinus, general of the horse,
dtfeated fent jn his room ; who defeated the Alemans in three battles,
"jjtthgreat w}jereof the first was fought at a place called Scarf>onna,
*T*J T now Charpeigne, between Toul and Metz ; the second in the
^* ' neighbourhood of the Moselle; and the third near Chakns on
Year of tne Marne. In the last of these three engagements, the ene-
the flood m7 f°ught with much resolution and intrepidity, and the Ro-
1714. mans wei"e once in great danger of being utterly defeated, the
Of Christ sudden flight of a tribune having disanimated the troops under
366. his command. However, Jovinus, inspiring them with fresh
Of Rome courage, led them on to the charge, while they were ready
1 1 14. to turn their backs; and, pressing with great resolution and
S^\/>-' intrepidity upon the enemy, obliged them to give ground,
and in the end to betake themselves to a precipitate flight. On
the enemy's fide, six thousand were killed on the spot, and
. four thousand wounded ; and of the Romans only two hundred
killed on the spot, and as many wounded * . The enemy
withdrew in the night-time; but were intercepted in their re
treat by several parties sent out by "Jovinus for that purpose ;
insomuch that few of them had the good luck ,to make their
eseape. One of their kings was taken prisoner, and imme
diately hanged by those who took him ; which base action
provoked Jovinus to such a degree, that he would have pu
nished with death the tribune who commanded the party, had
he not found, upon a strict inquiry, that he had done all
that lay in his power to restrain the fury, of the incensed sol
diery a . Of this victory 1Julius must, without all doubt, be
understood, where he writes, that the Alemans were utterly
defeated by Valentinian b.
In the close of the following year 367. the Alemans, not
withstanding the loss they had sustained the year before, pass-
r«
C. XXVHL 'she History of the Gepidæ.' 461
The Gcpidæ.
THE Gepidæ were, without all doubt, a Gothic nation. 7iS» Ge-
-*• Jornandes, speaking of them, gives us the following ac- pidæ.
count of their name and origin : The Goths, fays that writer, Their ori-
Jeaving Scandinavia under the conduct of king Berith, put to g'» «*&
sea with three ships only. One of these, sailing flower than name-
the other two, was thence called Gepanta, signifying in the
Gothic tongueflow ; and hence the name of Gepantie and Ge-
pidtt, which was first given to that people by way of re
proach *. Procopius likewise tells us in express terms, that
the Goths, the Vandals, the Vijigoths, and the Gepidæ, were
originally one and the fame nation ; that they had the fame
customs, manners, religion, and language ; and that they
only differed in names, borrowed perhaps, fays he, from their
different leaders b. And Paulus Diaconus ; " The Goths, the
" Gepida, and the Vandals" soys he, " agree in language,
** manners, and religion, and differ only in name c." They Theiraun-
entered Scythia, according to Jornandes, with the other Goths, try.
and settled in the neighbourhood of the Tanais, and Pahs
Maotis A. There they continued fill the reign of Arcadius and
Hinorius, when their numbers being greatly increased, they
approached the Danube, and, having some time after crossed
that river, they settled in the neighbourhood of Singidunum
and Sirmium, about the year 400. where they still were when
Procopius wrote his history '. They had kings of their own,
and formed a separate and distinct nation both from the Ostro
goths and Visigoths ; but perhaps not from the Lombards, who
were afterwards masters of Italy f.
As for what we find of them in the antient writers, Jor
nandes tells us, that, under the conduct of their king Fastida, Theydefeat
they gained a complete victory over the Burgundians about the '•» Bar-
year 24.5*. The Burgundians whom they overcame, and al- gundians;
most utterly extirpated, were, according to Valelius, as we
have observed above, a different nation from the Burgundians
who afterwards settled in Gaul. Be that as it will, Fastidat
elated with his success against the Burgundians, dispatched a
messenger to Ostrogotha king of the Goths, acquainting him,
that as the Gepida were greatly streightened for want of room,
he must either grant them lands, or prepare for war. Ostro
gotha answered, That he should be very unwilling to make
» John, de reb. Goth. p. 89. b Procop. bell. Vand. 1. i.
c. 2. c Paul. Diac. misc. 1. xiv. p. 429. d Jorh. ibid,
p. 84. * Idem ibid. s Vide Grot, proleg. in hist. Goth.
P Si- * Jgrn. I xvii. p. 635.
war
461 the History of the Gcpida*. B\ tW
war upon his kinsmen ; but was determined to part with no
land. Hereupon Fajlida, entering the terjr,ories of the Gotbs,
began to lay them waste; which Ojirogotha no sooner under
stood, than* leaving Mœfia, which he was then ravaging, be
hastened back to the defence of his own country, and, meet-
tut are Je- fag Fajlida, gave him a total overthrow; but, contenting
stated by Himftrlt" with the victory, did not so much as pursue the flying
'V f Gepida, looking upon them rather as his kinsmen, than an
, ea j enemy S. The Gepida joined the Goths, and other northern
26 nations, in the famous irruption which they made with their
Of Christ un'ted forces into the empire in 269. the second of the reign
24g_ of Claudius ; but they were defeated by that prince with great
Of Rome slaughter, as we have related at large elsewhere h.
996. In the year 279. the emperor Probus granted to them, and
Ks~v^sJ likewise to the juthongians, Vandals, and Franks, lands in
Thrace, upon^ their prornifing to live as the other subjects of
the empire. But while the emperor was engaged in war with
Saturninus, who had revolted in die East, they laid hold of
that opportunity to ravage the neighbouring provinces. Here
upon Probus, having successfully ended his other wars, march-
eaf .ed against them in person, anil, in several encounters, cut
*/"" ^rJ^- such numbers of them in pieces, that only a small body of
Av'probus Fra"k; h-ac* tne g00c* l"ck t0 escape the general slaughter, and
Year of returr> home '. In 291. a war broke out between them and
the flood tne Gotbs, in which the Gepida were assisted by the Vandals ;
2627. and the* Goths by the Taifala, another Gothic nation. But all
Of Christ we know of this war is, that both parties were greatly weak-
279. ened, an J pur out of a condition of disturbing, for someyears,
Of Rome the peace of the empire k. The Gcpida are mentioned by St.
1027. 'Jeram among the other nations of barbarians, that in 407.
J"s~sr^ broke into Gaul, and over-ran those provinces '. They were
rij ji afterwards subdued, with the other northern nations, by Atula,
Arila. and in 451. served under him in his famous expedition into
Gaul; on which occasion the Franks and they meeting in the
dark, both parties engaged with such fury, that above fifteen
thous.ind were left dead on the spot m.
Upon the death of Aitila, the Gcpida shook off the yoke
under the conduct of their king Ardaric ; which occasioned
a bloody war between them and the Hums. But at length
Defeat the Ardaric having gained a complete victory over the Hunns, of
Hunns. whom thirty thousand were killed on the spot, with their king
Ellac, the Gcpida not only recovered their antient liberty,
b Idem, p. 636, 637. h Claud, vit. p. 207. & Univ. hist,
vol. xv. p. 447, 448. ■ Prob. vit. p. 240. fc Panegyr.
xi. p. 131. 13*. -"Hier. ep. xi. p. 93. i» Jorn. rer.
Goth. c. 46. p. 664. > • '
but
C. XXVIII. the History of the Gepidae. 463
but the country whence they had been driven by Attihx, that Year of
is, all antient Dacia, lying north of the Danube ". This me- 'be flood
morable battle, which, in a manner, put an end to the empire of n?8p^".„
the Hunns, was fought on the banks of the Netad in Pannonia, ° £-h«"
about the year 480 °. The Gepida, thus settled in Dacia, 0f4£0'me
entered into an alliance with the Romans, who agreed to pay Jz2g
them an annual pension. Dacia beyond the Danube was ,_ - -' j
thenceforth called, from its new inhabitants, Gepidia, as we
read in Jornandes '. Some years after, part of Illyricum was
likewise granted them, with the city of Sirmium ; whence
their kings are by Theopkanes stiled kings of Sirmium q. There
they continued quiet till the year 537. when, joining the He-
ruli, they began to plunder the neighbouring provinces.
Hereupon Justinian, then emperor, having ended the war in They are
Italy with the Golhs, dispatched his best generals against them, driven out
who, having overcome them in several encounters, obliged e/"Myri-
them to abandon what they held in Illyricum, and content cum h
themselves with North Dacia, or Dacia beyond the Da- J^wan.
nube '.
In the year 550. a contest arose between the Gepida, and Theyquar-
the Lombards descended from them, says Paulus Diaconus ', reJ '""'^
about their confines j for the Lombards held part of Dacia be- f . ra*
yond the Danube, having been allowed to settle there by the y * -
Roman emperors, who indeed had abandoned that province, ^ a .
but claimed a right of disposing of it to whom they pleased. zg g
Both the Gepida and Lombards, before they came to an open of Christ
rupture, dispatched embassadors to 'Justinian, soliciting sue- rr0.
cours, in virtue of their alliance with the empire. The em- Of Rome
peror, after hearing the embassadors of both nations, declared, 1298.
that, in cafe of a war, he was determined not to suffer the ^s^T\J
Lombards to be oppressed by their encroaching neighbours,
ordering, at the fame time, ten thousand horse, and fifteen
hundred foot, to march to their assistance, under the com
mand of Constantianus, Buzes, Aratius, and other generals ;
which the Gepida no sooner understood, than they concluded
a peace with the Lombards1. But the Roman troops were
scarce returned home, when the Gepida, refusing to stand to
' the articles of the treaty, took the field anew, under the con
duct of their king tborijinus.
Auduinus, then king ot' the Lombards, having drawn to-
ether what troops he could, went out to meet the enemy ;
.ut both armies, seized with a panic while they were ready t»
n Idem ibid. p. 133, 134. ° Idem ibid. r Idem, p.
93, 94. 1 Theoph. ad ann. Justin. 13. ' Procop. bell.
Goth. 1. iii. c. 33. * Paul. Diac. 1. xiii. p. 429. ' Pro-
cop, ibid. c. 34. 39. "
engaje,
'464 The History of the Gepidæ. B.
engage, betook themselves at the fame time to a precipil
flight j which both kings looking upon as a prodigy, they 0
eluded a two years truce ° ; which was no sooner expirl
than the Gtpida, calling in the Heruli to their assist*]
broke unexpectedly into the territories of the Lombards,
TbeGc- stroying all with fire and sword. But the Lombards, recei
pidae n- j timely reinforcement from "Justinian, fell upon the Gtfi
"**' a anc] gave them a total overthrow". We are told, that Ju
greatvotr- mgn j^j promjfej t0 observe a strict neutrality in this w
f , and that his promise was confirmed by the oath of twelve
Lorn- riators : but nevertheless, as the Gepidte had not kept than
bards. word with him, he did not think himself bound, either by hp
Year of own promise, or the oaths of the senators, who had sworn jft
the flood "his name *. This defeat was followed by a peace between
2900. the two nations, which was concluded by the mediation of
Of Christ Justinian, unwilling that either should aggrandize themselves
5S2- at the expence of the other. Thorifinus was at this time king
Of Rome 0f the Gtpida, and Auduinus of the Lombards ; but neither
1300. jjgj any rjgjlt to jjjg crownhe wore." The lawful heir to Eli-
v-rv>fc' mund the late king of the Gtpida ■waslJ/lrigothus, that prince's
only son j but Elemund dying while he was yet under age,
Tboristnui had caused himself to be acknowleged in his room.
In the fame manner Auduinus, king of the Lombards, had ex
cluded Ildigtsal the lawful heir from the crown, and placed it
upon his own head. The above-mentioned peace between the
two nations was scarce concluded, when Ildigtsal took refuge
among the Gtpida, and Ustrigothus among the Lombards.
Both princes were demanded with great earnestness and
threats by!their respective nations; but, neither caring to com
ply with the request of the other, they both began to prepare
for war. However, the two kings, or rather usurpers, be
fore hostilities were committed on either side, agreed to dis
patch each other's rival ; which they did accordingly, deem
ing it less dishonourable to assassinate than betray those, who
had put themselves under their protection y. Not long after,
the two kings dying, Thorifinus was succeeded by Cunimundus,
and Auduinus by Alboinus.
Cunimundus had scarce ascended the throne, when, rcrUJ
viving some antient claims upon the Lombards, which they re-1
fused to comply with, he took the field at the head of a very
numerous army, and, entering the country of the Lombard*,
committed there unheard-of ravages. On the other hand,
Alboinus, having drawn together a no less numerous army, re
solved to put the whole to the issue of a battle ; which Cum-
9 Procop. I. iv. c. 18. w Idem ibid. c. 25. * Idem
ibid. * Idem ibid. c. 27.
mundus
• C'. XXVIli: The History of the Gepidæ.' 465
mundus not declining, the two armies engaged With a fury Art de-
hardly to be expressed. The victory continued long doubt- seated by
ful ; but, in the end, the Gepida were put to flight, and pur- the (amt
sued by the victorious Lombards with such slaughter, that ***'J*
scarce one was left alive of so numerous a multitude. Æboinus "f?1 j/eat
killed Cunimundus with his own hand, and, cutting off his^ "^ er'
head, turned his skull into a cup called by the Lombards, says
Paulus Diaconus, /chain, and by the Latins patera. This
scbala or cup he ever afterwards used at all public banquets and
entertainments. After this victory, the Lombards seized on 'the end of
all Dac'ia, obliging the Gepida cither to submit to them, ot their king.
retire elsewhere. Thenceforth they had no king of their own ; dom.
but lived in subjection either to the Lombards, who Were ma- Year of
sters of their country, or to the princes of the neighbouring the flood
nations, especially of the Hunns settled in Pannonia *. Thus ~f9~°\
Paulus Diaconus in his history of the Lombards. Lazius adds, tnnll
that, among the present Hungarians, the descendents of the Qc7n'
Gepida are easily distinguished from those who are sprung
from the Hunns*. The ruin of the kingdom of the Gepida is i_«i
placed by Pagi in 553. while 'Justinian was still living ; but by
others more rightly in the year 57a. Justin, the successor of
Justinian, being then emperor j for we are told, that the
treasures of the deceased king were conveyed to Justin at Con
stantinople by TraJ/aicus an Arian bishop, and by Reptilanes^
the late king's grandson b. Alboinus afterwards married Ro/a-
mund the daughter of Cunimundus ; which made the Gepida
bear the yoke more patiently c (A).
Their to- The Heruli had kings of their own ; but their kings, fays
•vernment, Procopius, were such only by name ; for they scarce had anj
authority, and were almost upon a level with every private
1 Zos. 1. i. p. 652. b Syncet.. p. 382. c Jorn. ret
Goth c. 3. p. 613. d Procop. dc bell. Goth. 1. ii. c Idem
ibid. c. 14. p. 42. f Idem ibid.
The Marcomans.
73* Mar- "T" HE Marcomans are, by all the antient writers, reckoned
comans. among the German nations. They dwelt originally near
Ikeir ori- the springs of the Danube ; but removed from thence, under
gin, toun- the conduct of their king Maroboduus, into the country which
try, tec. was then held by the Boians, and is still called from them Bo
hemia, as it was by the antients Boiobemia and Boioheimia,
that is, the country of the Boians. The Boians were, ac
cording to Casar, a Gaulijh nation, but from Gaul passed into
5 Germany^
C. XXVIII. The History os tbe Marcomans: 471
Germany, and, settling in the present Bohemia, continued
there till they were driven out by the Marcomam *. The mi
gration of the Marcomam, from their original country into
that of the Boiam, is mentioned by Velleius Patirculus b. Pto
lemy, in describing the country of the Marcomans, mentions a
city there called Marobudum, which name it took, without
all doubt, from its founder Maroboduus (A). The Marco
mans agreed in customs, manners, religion, &c. with the
other German nations, were a very numerous and warlike
people, and ever ready to prefer death to slavery. Of all the
German nations they alone made use of the Runic letters in
their charms and incantations ; whence Lazius and Rhabanus
Maurus conclude them to have come originally from Scandi
navia c ; but, in every thing else, they agreed with the Ger
man nations, and are reckoned among them, as we have hinted
above, by the antient writers.
A s for their history ; in the reign of Augustus, Tiberius,
having crossed the Rhine at the head of a very numerous and
powerful army, gained great advantages over them, and the
other German nations ; which obliged them to fend deputies
to Augustus, and sue for peace. The emperor received the The Mar-
embasladors of the Marcomans with particular marks of di- comans
stinction, and granted them their request ; but obliged the obtain a
other German nations to retire beyond the Elbe, and the Si- P'a" °f
cambrians, with such of the Sueves as were not subject to Ma- Augu"US-
roboduus, to abandon their native country, and people some
places in Gaul, that were destitute of inhabitants d. In the
year 17. the fourth of Tiberius, n war broke out between the Tbeywagt
Marcomans and the Cheruscans dwelling between the Elbe and wr 'with
the Weser. The former were commanded by Maroboduus, fl" Che-
and the latter by the celebrated Arminius, who, a few years ru'cans'
before, had cut off the legions of Varus. But all we know
of this war is, that the Cktruscans gained considerable advan
tages over the Marcomans '. Two years after, Tiberius
having, by his emissaries, stirred up the subjects of Maroboduus
» Cæsar, 1. vi. c. 24. * Vell. Patsrc 1. ii. c. 108.
c Goldast. Alam. antiq. torn. ii. par. 1. i Suet. 1. ii. c. at. ,
p. 178. Tacit, annal. 1. ii. c. 26. p. 47. Strab. 1. vii. p. 29.
c Tacit, annal. 1. ii. c. 42. p. 53. & c. 44. 46. p. 54, 55.
(A) This our modern geogra- sided, Bwiafimtm ( 1 ) j but Ci
phers take to be the present city versus thinks we ought to read
of Prague. Strabo calls the city, Dui.cum.
where Maroboduus usually re-
The Quadians.
The Qua- ^T^XT t0 ^e Marcomans dwelt the Quadians, a German
dians. nation often mentioned by the antients, especially by
Their Eutropius and Capitolinus. Their country is at present known
country, by the name of Moravia ; for it extended from the moun
tains of Bohemia to the river Marus, now the March, and
consequently comprised that province. Ptolemy mentions the
following cities in the country of the Quadians j to wit,
Eburodunum, or, as others read it, Robodunum, Eburum,
Medojhnium, and Celemantia, now, according to Cheverius,
, Brin, Olmutz, Znaim, and Kalminz. The Quadians were a
warlike people, had kings of their own, and agreed in cu
stoms, manners, and religion, with the other German nations.
Their The Quadians joined, without all doubt, their countrymen
■warsavith against Lollius, Germanicus, Caius, and Galba, attempting to
the empire, reduce Germany, and bring under subjection the several na
tions inhabiting that extensive country. The emperor Domi
tian, while engaged in a war with the Dacians, turned unex
pectedly his arms against them ; but, before the Quadians
could draw their troops together, the emperor was defeated,
and put to flight, by the Marcomans, as we have related above.
They submitted, it seems, to the emperor Titus Antoninus ;
for they received and acknowleged a king named by that prince,
as appears from some of Antoninus's coins, supposed to have
Theyjoin Deen struck about the year 1 39 a. They joined the Marca-
the Mar- mans in the memorable war, which that nation made on the
comans empire in the reign of M. Aurelius, as we have hinted above,
againfiM. and related a large in our Roman history b. The Quadians,
Aurelius. being, by that war, which had lasted fifteen years, reduced
to great ftreights, sent in the end embassadors to sue for peace,
and with them all the Roman deserters, and thirteen thousand
prisoners, whom they had taken during the war. By that
means they obtained a peace, upon condition that they should
not traffick for the future within the Roman dominions, nor
settle within six miles of the Danube. But, disliking these
conditions, they renewed the war, in conjunction with the
Marcomans ; and, having driven out Furtius, whom the em
peror had appointed to reign over them, they appointed one
Ariogeses in his room ; which M. Aurelius resented to such a
degree, that tho' the Quadians promised to set at liberty fifty
thousand Roman captives, upon condition that he confirmed
to Ariogeses the title of king, the emperor would not hearken
a Birag. p. 194. Spanh. 1. ix. p. 831, 832. b Univ. hill,
vol. xv. p. 218—223.
to
C. XXVIII. The History of the QuadiansT 475
to the proposal ; but, on the contrary, proscribed the new
prince, and set a price upon his head. Hereupon the Ojhadi-
ans, being joined by the Marcomans, and several other na
tions, attacked the Ramans ; but, after a long and bloody
dispute, were put to the rout, and utterly defeated. Ario-
geses himself was taken prisoner ; but the emperor generously
spared his life, and contented himself with confining him to
the city of Alexandria, the metropolis of Egypt.
After this victory, the other nations submitted, and ob
tained a peace ; but the Quadians seem to have continued in
arms till the reign of Commodus, who granted them a peace They oh-
upon the following terms : I. That they should keep at the di- tain a
stance of five miles from the Danube. 2. That they should Pea" "f
deliver up their arms, and supply the Romans with a certain Commo-
number of troops, when required. 3. That they should as- U8'
semble but once a month in one place only, and in the pre
sence of a Roman centurion. And, lastly, That they should
not make war upon the neighbouring nations, without the
consent of the people of Rome c. This peace was concluded
in the year 180. the first of the emperor Commodus''s reign.
In the year 214. the ^uadians had one Gaiobomar for their
king, who was murdered by the order of Caracalla ; but upon
what provocation, we are not told. Of this assassination the
emperor used to boast, as of a glorious action d. In 257. the
fourth of the emperor Valerian's reign, the §htadians, joining
the Sarmatians, broke into Illyricum, and ravaged part of that
province ; but they were defeated by Probus, afterwards em- Defeated
peror, but at that time only tribune of a legion. On this oc- £y Probus,
casion Pybus rescued out of the hands of the Radians Vale
rius Flaccus, a youth descended from an illustrious family,
and nearly related to the emperor Valerian, who publicly
commended Probus for so glorious an action, and presented
him with a civic crown, which, in the times of the republic,
was bestowed on those, who had saved the life of a citizen e.
In 260. the seventh of the emperor Gallienus, they made a
sudden irruption into Pannonia ; but were obliged by Regilli-
anus, who commanded there, to quit then: booty, and return
home. That commander is said to have gained several victo
ries over them in one day f. Some years after, that is, about Year of
the year 283. Probus, who had kept the barbarians in awe, the flood
being dead, the §)uadians, in conjunction with the Sarmatians, 2^\l\
broke into Illyricum and Thrace, and, after having ravaged ^' C-hnst
those provinces, were advancing towards Italy ; but Carus, nfp'
who had succeeded Probus, meeting them on the borders of
t Dio, 1. lxxii. p. 806. 817. d Dio, Val. p. 754. 757. {^ys/^J
•Prob.vit. p. 234,235. f Trig, tyran. vit. p. 188.
Illyricum,
476 The History of the Quadrans. B. IV.
andbyCa-Illyricum, gave them a total overthrow, killed sixteen thousand
rus, ivitb of them on the spot, and took twenty thousand prisoners *.
great In the year 355. the nineteenth of the emperor Conjiantius^
/laughter, the Quadians broke into Pannonia and Mœsia ; and, having
pillaged both provinces, without meeting with the least oppo
sition, returned home unmolested, carrying with them an
immense booty h. Of this irruption, no mention b made by
Ammianus. Two years after, they returned anew, and laid
waste Valeria, while the Sueves committed dreadful ravages in
Rhætia, and the Sarmatlans over-ran Lower Pannonia and
Vpper Matfia. Hereupon Conjiantius, leaving Milan, where
he then was, advanced to the coiifines of the Shwdians, and
there conferred with their chiefs, who excused, in the best
manner they could, the past ravages, and promised, for
the future, to live in peace and amity with the empire '<
Notwithstanding the promises they had made, the following
vear 358. in conjunction with the Sarmatians, they laid waste
great part of Pannonia and Mœfia ; but, at the approach of
Ctm/lantius, who marched against them in person, they repassed
the Danube, and returned home. The emperor resolved
to punish them for their treachery, and, having passed the Da
nube on a bridge of boats, began to lay waste their country.
The Radians, not finding themselves in a condition to make
head against the numerous forces Conjiantius had with him y
sent deputies to sue for peace ; which the emperor readily
granted them, upon thejr delivering up hostages, and setting
at liberty all the prisoners they had taken k.
Their Hug In the year 374. their king Gabinius being treacherously
Gabinius murdered by Marcellianus duke of Valeria, they pasted the
murdered J)anuBI \n the utmost rage ; and, falling upon the reapers, it
by the Ro- being then harvest- time, cut most of them in pieces, laid waste
mans" the country to a great distance, and took an incredible number
of captives. Equitius, general of the troops in llfyricum, not
finding himself in a condition to stem this furious torrent, re
tired into Valeria ; but the Quadians, looking upon him as the
chief author of the murder of their king, followed him thither,
committing dreadful ravages in the countries through which
They cut they passed. In their way they met two legions, the Pannu-
tff twa man and Mœstan, who had been sent to oppose them ; but,
Roman the legions falling into an unseasonable contention about pre-
Itgitui, cedency, the barbarians, taking advantage of their disagree-
andeom- ment} cut them both in pieces. Thus all the open country
mit great was abandoned to them, the Romans remaining masters only
1 Carin. vit. p. 250. Zonar. p. 242. h Zos. p. 70a.
1 Ammiah. p. 72. Jul. ad Ath. p. 513. k Ammian, 1. xvii.
p. 105.
1 of
C. XXVIII. *Tbe History of the Quadiatvs. 477
of the fortified places '. The Sarmatidns, who had joined the ravages in
$htadiant in this irruption, having entered Upper Mœfia, were the empire.
defeated there with great (laughter by Theodofius, afterwards Year of
emperor, but then very young, and only duke of Mafia. the flood
Against the £>uadians Valentinian I. then emperor, marched 0?7pu "ft
in person; and, arriving at Carnutum'in lllyricum, which most n
geographers take to be the present city of Hamburg on the Qf Rome
Danube in Austria, about thirty miles east of Vienna, conti- ll2Z.
nued there three months, making vast preparations for his in- i^s>r\J
tended expedition into the country of the ^uadians. At length
he took the field, and, having pasted the Danube at Acincum,
now Gran, or, as others will have it, Buda in Lower Hun
gary, he entered the enemy's country, and laid it waste, de
stroying all with fire and sword. Having thus passed the sum
mer, and great part of the autumn, he took up his winter-
iquarters at Bregetio, which some take to be a village on the
Danube, now called Bregnitz, and others the present city of
Komare in the isle of Schut. There he gave audience to the
embassadors of the ^uadians, come to sue for peace ; but,
while he was speaking to them with great warmth, and threaten
ing to extirpate their whole nation, he fell all on a sudden to
the ground, as if his life and voice had failed him at once.
Being immediately conveyed into his chamber, he was there
seized with convulsion-fits, and violent contorsions of all his
limbs, in the agonies of which he soon expired m. Socrates
Writes, that, being offended at the mean and beggarly appear
ance of the embassadors of the §>uadiam, he asked them, If
their country afforded men of no better quality to appear before
him. They answered, That the first men in the nation were
in his presence. Hereupon he fell into a violent passion, up
braiding their whole nation with arrogance, for daring to in
sult the majesty of the Roman people. He delivered himself
with so much heat and violence, that, his veins bursting, he
was instantly suffocated in his own blood n.
Upon his death, the officers of the army proclaimed Valen
tinian, his second son, emperor, though he was then a child
of four or five years old. At the fame time they concluded a
truce with the Ijhtadians, and recalled the troops, which, un
der the conduct of Merobaudes, and count Sebastian, were
laying waste their country. In the year 379. the J$>uadians
broke anew into lllyricum; but were driven out with some loss
by the emperor Gratian. In the year 407. they entered Gaulfi,ty entcr
With the other barbarians, and over-ran those provinces, com- Gaul,
mitting every-where dreadful ravages, of which we have
• Idem, I. xxix. p. 408, 409. Zos. 1. iv. p. 745. m Ammian.
I. xxx. p. 68. " Socrat. p. 284.
spoken
478 The History of the Sarmatians." B. IV.'
spoken at large elsewhere0. From this time no further men
tion is made in history of the Quadians ; whence Lazius con
cludes them to have been either subdued, or utterly extir
pated, by the Goths, who had settled in Pamtonia and lllyri-
cum.
0 Univ. hist. vol. xvi. p. 318, 319.
The Sarmatians.
fie Sar- TTfJE Sarmatians were a very numerous and warlike na-
matians. uon, divided mto many tribes, each of them having their
Their own king, and masters of a large and extensive country. Sar-
country. matia Euraptea, or Sarmatia in Europe, of which alone we
design to speak here, extended from the Vistula, now the
Weljfel, parting it from Germany, to the Euxine sea, the Bos
porus Cimmerius, the Palus Maotis, and the Tanais, dividing
it from Asia and the Astatic Sarmatia. In this vast tract of
land, comprehending the present Poland, Russia, and great
They con- part of Tartary, dwelt the following nations ; to wit, the
fiftc<*0sse- Burgiones, Carionh, Sudeni, Geloni, Hamaxobii, Agathyrsty
<veraldis- goruja^ Melanchlana; Alauni or Alani, lazyges, Roxo-
•' . " ' lani, Baslarna, Carpi or Carpates, Sidones, Boranij and Ve-
nedi, by Jornandes called Winida and Vinidi. The five Jail-
named nations are thought to have come originally from Ger~
many, especially the Baslarna ; for even in the time of Tacitus ^
who is at a lose whether he ought to place them among the
German or the Sarmatian nations, they agreed with the farmer
Their ori- in dress and language a. The Gehnians were, according to
gin. Herodotus b, of Greek extraction ; but had, even in his time,
adopted, in a great measure, the customs and manners of the
Budini, among whom they had settled, especially the custom
of painting their bodies, as we read in Virgil'1 and Claudian'-.
The Budini dwelt near mount Budinus, from which springs
the Boryjlhenes, called by more modern writers the Danaprisj
and thence the Dnieper or Nieper. The other nations, which
we have mentioned above, were all Gothic ; and of the otigin
of the Gothic nations we have spoken at large in the history
of the Goths. These various nations were blended by the Re
mans under the common name of Sarmata ; by the Greeks un
der that of Sauromata , and sometimes by both, under the de
nominations of Scythis or Scythians, and Getee. Each of them
had, it seems, their own king ; for mention is made in histo
ry of the kings of the Roxolaui, of the Bajlarna, of the
lazyges, &c. Ammianus Marcellinus, speaking of the Sarma-
1 Tacit, de mor. German, c. 46. b Herodot. 1. iv. c. 108.
• Virc. georg. ii. ver. 1 15. ' Claud. 1. i. in Rufiij, ver, 315.
turns
C. XXVIII. The History of the Sarmatians. 479
tians in general, tells us, that they were a savage people, and
infamous for their lewdness e. The Melanchlana are said,
both by Ammianus f and Herodotus *, to have fed on human
flesh ; and are thence called by them, as well as by Mela and
Pliny, Anthropophagi and Androphagi.
The Sarmatians began first to threaten the empire in the
reign of Nero, about the year of the Christian sera 63. that
is, about seventeen years after Thrace had been by Claudius
reduced to a Roman province ; for, till its reduction, it had
been governed by its own princes, and served'as a barrier on
that side between the Sarmatians and Romans. A few years
after the latter became possessed of it, the Sarmatians began
to appear in great numbers on the confines, as if they intended
to make themselves masters of that province ; which was then
guarded by a small number of troops, under the command of
Plautius SUvanus Ælianus, who had sent the rest to the assist-
. ance of Corbulo, then making war in Armenia. But, the Ro
man general having gained over the kings of the Bajlarnians
and Roxolanians, the rest soon dispersed h.- However, six years
after, that is, in 69. Otho being then emperor, the Roxola- The Roxo-
nians, who dwelt on the west side of the Palus Maotis, en- lanians de-
tering Mœfia, defeated there two Roman cohorts ; and, \\zu-feat ''""'
ing pillaged that part of the province, which bordered on the ^°mai1
Danube, they repassed the river, and returned home unmo- coboJts>
Jested. Animated with this success, they appeared anew the "" rf^
fame year with nine thousand horse. But Marcus Aponius Sa- g*
turninus, governor of Mœfia, falling upon them with a legion year 0f
and some auxiliaries, cut them off almost to a man '. The the flood
fame yew Vespasian being proclaimed emperor by the legions 241 j.
quartered in the East, the Iazygians, a Sarmatic nation dwell- Of Christ
ing next to the Roxolanians, declared for the new emperor 69.
against Vjtellius. But Vespasian, returning them thanks for Of Rome
the troops they offered him, took with him only their chiefs, 817.
not with a design to employ them, but to prevent them from ^^'
making inroads into the Roman territories during the war k.
Tacitus calls the Iazygians the allies of the Romans.
But the very first year of the reign of Vespasian, whom
they had offered to join a few months before, they broke into
Mcesta; and, having killed Fonteius Agrippa, governor of that They kill
province, who attempted to oppose them, they laid waste the *^e gvwr-
country far and near. Hereupon Ruhrius Gallus, marching*"'''/'^"
against them with the utmost expedition, pursuant to the op- F°v*Kt >
* Amu. Marcel. I. xxxi. p. 443. { Idem ibid. « He-
rodot. I. iv. c. 102. 106. h Tacit, annal. xv. c. 25. p. 248.
& 459. ' Idem, hist. 1. i. c. 79. & 1. ii. c. 85. k Idem ibid.
1. iii. c. 7 p. 63.
ders
480 Tbi History of the Sarmatians. B. IV.
but are ders he had received from the emperor, cut great numbers c:
most os them in pieces in several encounters, obliged the rest to repais
tbtm cut the Danube, and, with great care, fortified the banks of the
pieces. river, to cover the province from their incursions '. In ti:
year 85. the fourth of Domitian's reign, the lazygians^ join
ing the Sueves, armed, with a design, fays Diom, to pafe the
Danube, and lay waste the Roman dominions ; but whether
they put their design in execution, that writer has not
thought fit to tell us. Tacitus indeed writes in one place,
that the Sarmatians and Suevians armed against the empire * ;
and elsewhere, that this very year, soon after the return of
Agricola to Rome, the Roman armies were defeated in Patu»-
nia °, in all likelihood by the Jazygians and Suevians. In the
year 93. the thirteenth of Domitian's reign, the Sarmatiatu
having cut in pieces a Roman legion with their tribune, tits
emperor, who was then in Dacia, marched against them in
person p ; but with what success, we are not told. Domitian
indeed took the title of imperator, as if he had gained sorot
great advantage over the enemy ; but that prince often claimed
the victory when he had been driven out of the field, and
shamefully put to flight, as we have hinted above (A).
A s for the Sarmatians in Europe ; they broke into I/fyri-
turn with great fury in the year 119. the second of A'Ar/an'i
reign ; which obliged that prince to quit Rome, and match
against them in person. Upon his arrival in Mæsta, they re-
passed the Danube with great precipitation, and encamped on
the opposite bank ; but, the Roman cavalry swimming, armed
as they were, cross the river, in order to attack them, the
Theysub- Sarmatians were struck with such terror, that they immedi-
mit to A- atcly submitted q. The horse, to whose intrepidity and boM-
finan. nefS was owjng the submission of the enemy, were the Bata-
vians in the Roman service, as appears from the epitaph of one
of them named Soranus ' (B).
1 Tacit, hist. 1. iv. c. 54. p. 102. Joseph, bell. vii. c. 22. f.
976.. m Dio, l.lxvii. p. 761. "Tacit. 1. i. c. 2. p. 4.
0 Vit. Agr. c 41. p. 151. f Suet, in Domit. c 6. p. 78S.
1 Dio, 1. lxix. p. 792. ' Ger. nov. p. 12.
I i 2 approach,
4g+ Tie History of the Sarmatians." B. IV.
approach, they retired from Thrace, where they had com
mitted great ravages, abandoned the booty they had taken,
and, awed by the fame of his name, sent deputies to sueTa
peace ; which the emperor granted them, upon their promising
to keep beyond the Danube, and supply the Roman armk;
with a certain number of troops, when required g.
They continued quiet during the remaining part of Pn-
Ims's reign , but no sooner heard of his death, than they broke
and are into Jllyricum, destroying all with fire and sword. But Cans,
defeated then emperor, marching against them, cut sixteen thousand
•wttbgreat of them in pieces, and obliged the rest to repase the Danube,
slaughter anJ sue f0r peace h. About seven years after, they returned
by Cams. wjtn a very numerous army, and committed great ravages in
Thrace and Illyricum ; but Dioclestan, hastening to the relic!
of the opprested provinces, defeated the barbarians with great
slaughter. Eumenes writes, that, on this occasion, almost the
whole nation was cut off ' : but he speaks more like a pane
gyrist than an historian ; for some years after, the Sarmatians
dwelling near the Palus Maotis, under the conduct of Crifa
king of Bosporus, broke into the country of the Lazians in
Colchis, and, having pillaged great part of Pontus, advanced
as far as the Halys, a river of Paphlagonia. Conjlantiusy then
only tribune, but soon after declared Ca/er, was sent by
Dioclestan to put a stop to their ravages ; but his army being I
far inferior in number to that of the barbarians, he contented
himself with encamping on the opposite bank of the Halys,
and by that means preventing them from palling that river.
But in the mean time Chrejius, king of the Cherfonefus, anc
valial of the empire, having, at the instigation of Dioclefiax,
broken into Sarmatia, and even taken by stratagem the cirv
of Bosporus, CriJ'co immediately dispatched embassadors to
Gmjlantius, suing for peace ; which was granted him, upon
his restoring the booty, and setting at liberty all the prisoner;
lie had taken. Chrtjlus at the same time restored to him tte
booty he had taken, and the prisoners, among whom were
his wife, and his concubines. For this eminent piece of ser
vice, Dioclestan sent rich presents to the inhabitants of rk
Cherfonefus, declared them free, and exempted them from ail
tribute, customs, and taxes (D).
Ii 3 con-
486 'she History of the Sarmatians. B. IV.
concluded a peace, both with the Romans and the Sarmatians,
Ariaric or Araric their king delivering up his son as an
hostage F, and supplying the Roman armies with a body o;
forty thousand Goths j which corps was, for some ages, kept
intire and complete, and served under the name of fœderati,
or allies i. The Sarmatians, finding they had nothing now
to fear from the Goths, with the utmost ingratitude, turned
their arms against their friends and benefactors, making fre
quent inroads into the territories of the Romans, to whom
PuviJ/jid they owed their deliverance. Conjiantine, highly provoked
by him for at their conduct, marched against them at the head of a
their in powerful army, and, having put them to flight, entered their
gratitude, country, destroying all with fire and sword. However, upon
their submitting, and promising to serve the empire with
fidelity, the emperor put a stop to all hostilities, and, quitting
their country, repassed the Danube '. Two years after, th:
Sarmatians were attacked anew by the Goths, under the con
duct of their king Gcberic, the successor of Araric. The
war lasted some years; but in the end the Sarmatians were
utterly defeated on the banks of the Marifus in Dacia.
In this battle, the Sarmatians lost their king TVistmar,
and with him the flower of their nobility, and such numbers
of men, that they were obliged to arm their slaves ; who
They an- defeated indeed the Goths ; but then, turning their arms
driven out against their masters, drove them quite out of their native
of their country, and seized on their lands and possessions *. These
country by fiavcS are by Ammianus c and St. Jerom " stiled Limigantcs.
t.ieir ync formcr t«ns us? that the free-born among the Sarmatiar.s
J aves. were distinguished by the name of Acaragantes w. The Sar-
matians, thus driven out by their slaves, had recourse to
Co"Jlantine, who received three hundred thousand of them
wuhin the empire, incorporated some among his troops, and
to the others allowed linds in the provinces bordering on the
Danube, and in Italy itself x. Some of them took refrge
amongst other barbarians, by Ammianus called ViHahalts r,
and by most writers thought- to be the ftme people with the
Quadi Ultramontani, or the Quadians beyond the mountains
Sudeti or Suditi parting the country of the Qtiadi from that
of the Afarccmans, at present the mountains of Bohemia.
The Sarmatians, who took refuge among the £>uadians, m
the year 355. made an irruption into Pannonia , in conjunction
The Dacians.
. ^ The Da-
THE Dacians were, according to Jornandes*, a Gothic cians.
nation, came originally out of Scandinavia, and, settling Their
in the neighbourhood of the Palus Maotis, made themselves origin.
masters of Scythia, Mœsia, Thrace, and Dacia, driving out
the antient inhabitants. This seems agreeable to what we
read in Herodotus, to wit, that the antient Scythians, who,
coming out of Syria, had crossed the Jraxes, and settled in
the country which was afterwards called Scythia, were, in
process of time, driven from their feats by the Cimmerians,
that is, by the Goths, who, according to Jornandes, settled
first in Cimmeria. Dio observes, that the fame people were
called Dacians by the Romans, and Geies by the 'Greeks b ; and
Justin, the compiler of Trogus Pompeius, tells us in express
terms, that the Dacians were the offspring of the Getes c.
Now, that the Getes and Goths were one and the fame peo
ple, we have sufficiently proved above, in our history of the
Goths (A). The Dacians, in more antient times, were known
• Jorn. rer. Get. I. v. b Dio, 1. lxvii. p. 761. c Justin, l.xxxii.
(A) Some writers derive the But this opinion is intirely found -
Dacians from the Date, a people ed on the similitude of the names
dwelling, according to Strabo, Daci and Dat.
near Hyrcania in Astatic Scythia.
by
49° The History of the Dacians. B. IV.
bv the name of Davi ; for the termination dava was common
to most of their towns and cities, as Comidava, Sergiderva,
Decidava, Marcidava, &c. and the names of Geta and Davvs
were, among the Athenians, peculiar to flavss, who usually
bore the name of the nation to which they belonged.
Their As to the antient country of the Dacians, it comprised
country. the present Moldavia, Valachia, and part of Transybvanie .
The whole nation was afterwards transplanred into Illyricum
by the emperor Aurclian, and the country they held there is
the Dacia, of which the authors speak, who wrote in the
fourth and fifth centuries, the Goths being then masters of
antient Dacia. The Dacians were deemed the most warlike
and f. rmidable of all the barbarous nations, not only on ac
count of their natural courage, and great strength, which
enabled them to endure the toils of war, but because they
looked upon death, not as the end of the present, but as the
beginning of a more happy life ; whence they were as read}',
fays the emperor "Jidian, to expose themselves to the greatest
Their dangers, as to undertake a journey d (B). The Dacians were
customs, governed by their own king«, and agreed in custom?, manners,
manners, laws, and religion, with the other Gothic nations, of whom
iiC we have spoken above. The first of their kings we find
mentioned in history is Orchs, in whose reign they made war
upon the Bastarna ; but, not having behaved on a certain
occasion with their usual courage, the king, by way of punish
ment, ordered them to lay their heads, when they stept, where
their feet should lie, and to perform the same offices about
their wives, which it was customary for their wives to per
form about them, till such time as, by a more gallant beha
viour, they had retrieved their lost reputation e.
Their ir In the reign of Augustus they broke first into the empire ;
ruptions but in what place, we are not told. All we know is, that,
into the at the approach of Drusus, sent against them by Augustus
empire.
d Jul. Cæs. p. 39, 40. • Justin. 1. xxxii.
The Lombards.
The Lorn- T H E Longobards, Langobards, or Lombards, who, in pro-
bards, "k °f t'me> made themselves masters of Italy, and
from whom pact of that country, formerly known by the
name
C. XXVIII. The History of the Lombards. . 497
name of Cisalpine Gaul, is still called Lombardy, are first
mentioned in history by Prosper Aquitanus, bishop of Rhegium,
in the year 379. That writer, beginning a chronicle of his
own in the said year, after having copied till then the chro
nicle of St. ferom, tells us, that the Lombards, abandoning
the most distant coasts of the ocean, and their native country
Scandinavia, and seeking new settlements, as they were over
stocked with people at home, attacked first, and overcame,
about this time, the Vandals, then in Germany, They were
headed by two chiefs, named Iboreus and Aionus ; upon whose
death, which happened about ten years afcer, they created
Agilmund, son to the latter, their first king, who reigned
thirty-three years *. It is to be observed, that, long before
Prosper'% time, mention is made of a people named Longo-
bards ; for that name occurs in Ptolemy, Tacitus, and Strabo ;
nay, Maroboduus, who was cotemporary with Augustus, is
by Tacitus stiled king of the Sueves, Marcomans, and Longo- •
bards b. In the time of Tiberius they entered into an alliance
with the Cheruscans, under the conduct of the celebrated
Arminius, and made war upon Maroboduus, from whom they
had revolted c. In the year 170. the ninth of M. Aurelius's
reign, six thousand of them, who had passed the Danube,
and, in conjunction with the Marcomans, invaded the Roman
dominions, were defeated by Vindex and Candidus, and ob
liged to sue for peace d.
But these Longobards, by most geographers placed between The Lom-
the Elbe and the Oder, were, according to Grotius, a German bards in
nation, and a quite different people from the Longobards, 'tt'y> a"'
who are mentioned by Prosper, and afterwards settled in Italy r. f , m'
The latter were, according to Paul Warnefrid deacon of 5,
Aquileia, commonly known by the name of Paulus Diaconus, er™any»
and the most credible writers, originally a Gothic nation, and ». a ast_
the fame with the Gepidæ, of whom we have spoken above. //m-
The Gepida, coming, with the other Gotbs, out of Scandi
navia, in three ships, as we have related above, stopped at
the mouth of the Vistula, or the IVieffer. From thence they
advanced to the banks of the Danube, and, settling there,
infested, as we read in Vopiscus, the Roman territories with
frequent incursions. In process of time, the Gepida fell out
among themselves ; and from this division sprung the Longo
bards, who are therefore, as Salmastus f and Constantine Por-
3 l«st
O. XXVin. Tbi History of the Lombards.' 499
least apprehension of danger. But that writer was perhaps
somewhat prejudiced in favour of bis countrymen j for Pro*
zopius writes, that those Lombards, who had served under
N arses against the Goths in Italy, were sent back to their own
country, on account of the disorders they committed j and
pope Gregory, surnamed the Great, who was but too well
acquainted with the Lombards, calls them, in several parts of
his works, a most wicked nation. Perhaps they neither de
served the encomiums of Paulus, nor the reproaches of Gre
gory ; at least it does not appear from their conduct, while
masters of Italy, that they did. Paulus Diaconus, speaking shir
of their dress, tells us, that their cloaths were loose, and for 'rfA
the most part of linen, such as the Anglo-Saxons wore, being
interwoven with various colours ; that their (hoes were open
to the end of their foot, aud that they used to button or lace
them °. From some antient paintings it appears, that they
shaved the back part of their heads ; but that their hair was
long before, their locks being parted, and laid on each side
their foreheads. As for their history, we shall here relate
what we find in Paulus Diaconus ; but will not take upon us
to vouch the truth of what that author writes.
The Goths in Scandinavia, overstocked with people at Their fe-
home, sent out frequent colonies in quest of new settlements, veralml-
One, among the rest, leaving their native country, put to grat ions.
sea in three ships : one of these sailed flower than the other
two, and stopped in the end at the Vistula. The Goths on
board this stiip were called, as we have observed above, Ge-
p\d<t, from a word in their language signifying stow. These
Gepida, unwilling to proceed farther, settled in an ifland
formed by the Fistula, and continued there, till their numbers
were so increased, that the ifland could no longer support
them. They then began to roam about the neighbouring
countries in quest of new feats ; and thence were called
fVmili, or Wanderers. They quarreled at length among them
selves, and agreed to part. Paulus Diaconus writes, that the
country, where they had settled, being no longer able to
maintain them, they divided themselves into three parts, one
whereof, on whom the lot should fall, was to go in quest of
new habitations. But most other writers suppose the Longo-
bards to have sprung from the division of the Gepida quarrel
ing among themselves. Be that as it will, those who went
out, chose for their leaders Iboreus and Aion, the sons of one
Gambara, a woman universally respected on account of her
wisdom. Under their conduct they first settled in a country,
Kk a by
500 The History of the Lombards. B. IV.
by Paulus Diaconus called Scoringa, bordering on that which
was then held by the VancLils, who, soon after their arrival,
gave them to understand, that they must either pay tribute,
or prepare for war. The two leaders, by advice of their
mother, returned answer, That, though they were few in
number, they preferred war to servitude and subjection.
They de- Hereupon a bloody engagement ensued, in which the panda;,
feat the were utterly defeated.
Vandals. gUT tne Gepidœ, whom we shall henceforth call Lombards,
though that name was perhaps given them afterwards, being
sorely distressed with famine, resolved to abandon Scoringa,
They mi- and settle in a more fruitful country. They set out accord-
gratt first ingly for Mauringa ; but the AJfipitti denying them a passage
into Mau- through their territories, they resolved to attempt it by force,
ringa, and In order to strike terror into the enemy, who were far supe-
from rjor t0 them in number, they gave out, that they had among
thence into tnem Qynocephali, or men with dogs heads ; which report so
Gothland. terrifie(j tne AJftpitti, that, not caring to engage so dreadful
an enemy, and having one among them of extraordinary
strength and courage, they resolved to put the whole to the
issue of a single combat ; which they no sooner proposed to
the Lombards, than the proposal was accepted, the two
nations agreeing, that, if the champion of the AJfipitti should
overcome, the passage should be denied ; but, if the Lombard
proved victorious, the rest should be allowed to pass unmo
lested. The two champions engaged in the fight of both
armies; and the Lombard having gained the victory, a passage
was granted to the whole nation, pursuant to the agree
ment. Upon their arrival in Mauringa, to increase the num
ber of their warriors, they set all their slaves at liberty, who,
though of different countries, became one nation with them.
From Mauringa, where they staid but a short time, they
proceeded to Gothland, and there made themselves masters of
Antkabct, Bathaib, and Urgundiab, which our historian con
jectures to be names of towns.
In Gothland died their two leaders Iboretts and Æon, upon
whose death the Lombards resolved to choose a king, after
Agilmund the manner of other nations ; and accordingly conferred that
their first dignity on Agilmund the son of Aion, who is said to have been
*'*g- killed by the Bulgarians, after he had reigned thirty-three
Lamiffio years. He was succeeded by Lamiscus or Lamijfio, so called
succeeds from the word lama, signifying in their language afijh-pond;
him, and tor his mother, by profession an harlot, is said to have thrown
defeats the Yam, with six other males, of whom she was delivered at
Eulgari- the fame time, into a fish-pond. Lamijfio was luckily saved
ans. by Agilmund, who, pasting that way, and observing the chil
dren, stopped his horse ; and, stretching out his spear to them,
one
C. XXVIII. The History of the Lombards. 501
one of them took hold of it, and was by that means saved.
The king, not doubting but he would one day prove a great
man, ordered him to be brought up with great care, calling
him Lamis-Jhon, that is, the fen of a fijh-psnd. He is said to
have gained a victory over the Amazons, and to have behaved,
on several other occasions, with such resolution and intrepi
dity, that, upon the death of Agilmund, the Lombards, with
one voice, proclaimed him king. He no sooner found him
self vested with this dignity, than, bent upon revenging
the death of his predecessor, he marched against the Bulga
rians ; and, though his men gave way at first, yet in the
end, being animated by the words and example of their new
king, they gained a complete victory. Lamijjio was succeeded
by Leta or Leelm ; and he, after a reign of near forty years,
by lldeock or Hildehoc, as was lldeock by Gudeock. In the
reign of the latter, Odoacer king of Italy having killed Felt-
theus king of the Rugians dwelling beyond the Danube, and
either put to the sword, or carried into captivity, the whole
nation, the Lombards came and settled in their country,
then destitute of inhabitants.
During their stay in Rugiland (for so the country of the
Rugians is called by our historian) their king Gudeock died,
and was succeeded by his son Classus, after whom reigned Ta-
tus ; in whose time the Lombards, leaving Rugiland, settled
in the champaign country bordering on the Danube ; where a „. , . ,.
war breaking out between them and the Heruli, the latter ~, "r '"&
were defeated with great slaughter, their king Rodulphus being
slain, with the flower of their nation. The victorious Lorn- £reat „/.
bards divided the rich plunder ; but Tatus their king took for aory e.vir
hij share only the standard of Rodulphus, called bandum, the H«-
with the helmet he used to wear in battle. Not long after, ru|i.
Tatus was slain by Wacho, son to his brother Zuchilo. Ail-
dichus, the son of Tatus, endeavoured to revenge his father's
death, and make good the just claim he had to the crown ,
but was in several encounters defeated by Wacho, and in the
end obliged to take refuge among the neighbouring Gepidœ.
IVacho is said to have subdued the Sueves. He had three wives,
to wit, Ranicunda. daughter of the king of the Thuringians ;
Aujlrigofa, daughter of the king of the Gepida ; and Salin-
ga, daughter of the king of the Heruli. By the latter he had
IValterius, who succeeded him in the kingdom, and reigned
about seven years.
After Walterius came Audoinus, in whose reign a war Audoinus
being kindled between the Lombards and the Gepida, a bloody Jiftatsthi
battle was fought, in which the latter were utterly defeated. Gepidæ.
The signal victory gained on this occasion by the Lombards,
was chiefly owing to Alboinus, the king's son j for, the young
K k 3 prince
>02 she History of the Lombards. B. W.
prince having engaged and killed with his own hand Tbor'ij-
mund, the son of Turlsmd king of the Gipida, the enemy,
who had fought till then with great resolution and intrepidity,
hearing the king's son was killed, betook themselves to a pre
cipitate flight. The victorious Lombards, upon their return
home, begged their king to indulge his son, by way of re
ward for his gallant behaviour, the honour of dining with him ;
which was deemed no less glorious among the Lombards,
than a triumph was among the Romans. The king answered,
That, by an antient and immemorial custom among the Lom
bards, that honour and mark of distinction was not to be
granted, even to the princes of the blood royal, till they had
publicly appeared in the armour of some foreign prince killed
in battle with their own hand. Hereupon Alboinus, attended
only by forty resolute young men, repaired to the court of 7»-
rifind, to demand the armour of that prince's son, whom he
had killed in the above-mentioned battle, being resolved, if
any violence was offered him, to fell his life dear. The king
received him in a most obliging manner, entertained him at
his table, and, admiring his courage and intrepidity, com-
Elied with his demand, and dismissed him not only unmolested,
ut loaded with rich ptesents. Upon his return home, after
he had publicly appeared in the armour of Thorismund, be
was, at a grand entertainment, allowed to sit at table with
the king his father.
fbi Lom- In the reign of Audoinus, the Lombards were, by the em-
bards, un- peror Justinian, allowed to settle in Pannonia P. Thus far
der tbi Paulus Diaconus of the various migrations, wars, and con-
coniuli of quests, of the Lombards, from their first leaving Scandinavia,
Audoinus, to their settling in Pannonia. His account is, as the reader
fittle in must have observed, interwoven with some fables ; but, in the
Pannonia. ma4n, he agrees with Prosptr Aquitanus, who wrote before
YeaJ °* his time ; with Ercbempetus, who flourished after ; and like-
the flood w;fe wjtn prgcgp;USy wno ]jVC(j ]n thc rejgn 0f the emperor
r\e Ph st Juftiman* whose secretary he was, and consequently well
° , acquainted with the Lombards. The latter writer, in speak-
Of*Romem8 or" tne above-mentioned war between the Lombards and
1274.. tne Htruli, tells us, that the Lombards had been formerly
i^y^i obliged to pay tribute to the Heruli*, of which no notice is
taken by our historian. The names of the various countries,
in which the Lombards are said by Paulus Diaconus to have
settled, have occasioned great debates among the later histo
rians and geographers, and several conjectures have been of
fered ; but all we know with any foundation is, that the coun-
before the war was ended, char- assisted, and continued in great
ging the two generals Valerianus credic at Constantinosle. This
and Damianus to accompany they assert upon the authority of
them, with a body of troops, to Cborippus, a poet and gramma
the confines of the empire, in rian of Africa, who flourished
order to restrain them from plun- at that time, and was then at
dering the countries through Constantinople, where he saw Nor-
which they passed ( 1 ). set present at the emperor Justin %
(B) Thus Paulus Diaconus. coronation, and attending him
But Baronius (2), and some other soon after, when he gave audi-
writers, reject this account as fa- ence to the embassadors of the
bulous, alleging, that Narses had Avares. But this objection the
been recalled the year before by learned Pctat/ius has intirely re-
Jvstin, at whose inauguration he moved, (hewing, that Cborippus
(1) Prcccp. tell. Gctb. 1. i». e. 33. (1) Baron, ad ann. 56S.
speaks
C. XXVIII. The History of the Lombards; 505
Alboikus, highly pleased with the opportunity that of
fered of invading Italy, a country with which his Lombards
(3) Cborip, 1. iii. ver. 230. (4.) Paul. Diac, de geji. Longob. lih. it.
'• 5. 6, & ftf. ($) Evgr, I. iv. c. 23. (bj Nic'cpb. I. xvii.
■ »3-
8 were
£06 *** ffj/fary 0/ /£« Lombards. B. IV.
were already well acquainted, began, without loss of time,
to make the necessary preparations for his intended expedi
tion. In the first place, he solicited the assistance of the
Saxons, his old friends and allies, promising to (hare with them
his future conquests. The Saxons readily closed with his
proposals, and sent him twenty thousand men, with their
wives and children u. He likewise received powerful succours
from other nations, namely, from the Gepida, then his sub
jects, from the Bulgarians, Sarmatians, Pannonians, Sutvts,
Noricans, &c w. Having thus drawn together a numerous
and formidable armv, before he set out, he entered into a strict
alliance with the Hunns, the most powerful of his neighbours,
leaving Pannonia to them, upon this condition, that, if the
expedition he was going upon should not succeed, the Lom
bards should be allowed to enter upon their former possessions.
Tie Lom- Having concerted such other measures as he thought neces-
bardyw fay f0f s0 great an undertaking, he set out with his whole na-
Mtf for xaoq, their wives and children, carrying with them all their
5 ^' r moveables, and whatever they had of value ; and, leaving Pan-
, flood non,a a^ter a ^av °f forty-two years there, took their route
2016 towards Italy. They began their march in the month of
Of Christ April, just after Easier, which fell that year on the first day of
c68. t^e month, in the first indiction, in the third year of Justin II.
Of Rome the ninth of John III. bishop of Rome, and in the year of tha
if 16. Christian æra 568. Alboinus, with his army, and the promis-
Vy-y>^cuous multitude that followed it, arrived, by the way of
Enter Ita- IJlria, on the borders of Italy, which he entered without the
ly, and seast opposition, and, advancing through the province of Vt-
mike them- netla to the city of Aquileia, found the whole country aban-
stl>ves ma- ^on^t the inhabitants being fled to the neighbouring islands
fiers of'ft- jn tne Adriatic. He no sooner appeared before Aquileia, than
viralcitit! tne gates were 0pene(i t0 njm by the few inhabitants who had
the courage to stay, the rest having, upon the news of his
approach, sled with their most valuable effects, following
therein the example of their patriarch Paulinus, who, carrying
with him all the utensils of his church, had taken refuge in an
island. From Aquileia Alboinus advanced to Forum Julii,
now Friuli, which likewise surrendred. In this city he passed
the winter, dispersing his troops among the neighbouring vil
lages, where they were plentifully supplied by the natives with
all sorts of provisions. During the winter, Alboinus reduced
the city of Friuli, and its territory, to a dukedom, confer
ring the title of duke on his nephew Gisulphus, whom he ap
pointed to guard and govern those territories, which were, in
■ Paul. Due. degest. Longob. 1. ii.e. 1, 5,6, & seq. * Ano
nym, apud Camil. Pel, 1, ii. c. U.
a man-
C. XXVIII. The History of the Lombards. 507
a manner, the gates of Italy, through which every invader
must first force his paflage. Thus Friuli was erected into a
duchy, and such it has continued ever since.
The following year 563. Alboinus, as soon as the season
allowed him to take the field, moved forward, and, without
the least opposition, made himself master of Trivigi and
Oderzo. From thence he marched to Monte Selce, Vicenza,
Verona, and Trent, which surrendred to him upon the first
summons. In each of these cities he left a strong garison of Thefirst
Lombards, under the command of an officer, whom he di- duktt in
stinguished with the title of duke ; but these dukes were only Italy,
officers and governors of cities, and bore that title no longer
than the prince thought fit to continue them in their command
or government. Such likewise were the first dukes in Gaul,
as Paulus Æmilius well observes x. Æoinus left Padua, and
several other cities, behind him, either because they lay too
much out of his way, or because they were well garisoned,
and it would take up too much of his time to besiege them.
Thus ended the second campaign of the Lombards in Italy.
The third proved no less successful ; for, entering Liguria
upon the return of the spring, the inhabitants were so terrified
at their approach, that, leaving their habitations, they fled,
with such of their effects as they could carry off, to the most
remote and inaccessible parts of the mountains ; so that the
cities of Brescia, Bergamo, Lodi, Como, and the other towns
of Liguria, quite to the Alps, being almost destitute of inha
bitants, received him, without attempting to make the least
resistance. He then advanced to Milan, the capital of Ligu
ria, which, after a short siege, surrendred, most of the inha
bitants, seeing there were not forces in the place sufficient for
its defence, being retired, with Honoratus their bishop, to
Genoa. Upon the reduction of Milan, the Lombards, with Alboinus
joyful acclamations, proclaimed and saluted Alboinus king of proclaimed
Italy, lifting him up upon a shield in the midst os the army, king of
according to the custom of their nation, and presenting himltaty-
with a lance, which, among them, was the ensign of royalty. ^ear °*
From this time historians date the beginning of the kingdom the "otx*
of the Lombards in Italy, which lasted for the space of two ns9' jj-
hundred years, and upwards. Christ
Alboinus, now vested with royal authority, marched from o/r°
Milan to Pavia ; but, meeting there with a vigorous resist- g™'
ance, as the place was well garisoned, and furnished with i^J
great plenty of provisions, he left part of his army to push on
the siege, and with the rest reduced Piacenza, Parma, Mo-
dena, and the other inland cities both in Æmilia and Tu/ca-
umphing
C. XXVIII. The History of the Lom&rds,' 509
umphing over the misfortunes of her family, resolved, at all
events, to make him pay dear for such an inhurrun and af
fronting conduct. Accordingly she immediately discovered
her intention to Helmichild, the king's schilpor, as the Lom-
bards called him, that is, jhield-hearer, a youth of great bold
ness and intrepidity. Helmichild peremptorily refused to im
brue his hands in the blood of his sovereign, or to be any
ways accessory to his death ; and in this resolution he per
sisted, till he was, by a shameful stratagem, forced by the queen
to a compliance : for she, knowing that he carried on an in
trigue with one of her ladies, placed herself one night in her
bed, and, receiving the youth, indulged him, as if she had
been his own mistress, in his amorous desires ; which she had
no sooner done, than, discovering herself to the deceived
lover, she told him, that he must now either put the king to
death, o: be put to death by him. Helmichild, well apprised,
that, after what he had done, his safety depended upon the
death of the king, engaged in the treason, which he otherwise
abhorred. One day, therefore, while Alboinus was reposing
in his chamber after dinner, Helmichild, with some others,
whom he had made privy to his design, breaking in unex
pectedly, fell upon the king with their daggers. Alboinus,
starting up at- their first coming in, laid hold of his sword,
which he had always by him ; but having attempted in vain
to draw it, the queen having beforehand fastened it in the scab
bard, he defended himself for some time with a footstool ;
but was in the end overpowered, and dispatched with many
wounds.
Such was the end of Alboinus, the first king of the Lom
bards in Italy, and one of the greatest princes of the age in
which he lived. He was both a warlike and prudent prince, Hit cha-
being, according to the character the antients give him, noraSer.
less skilled in the arts of government, than in those of war.
His friendship was courted by all the princes of those times,
especially by the emperor Juflinian, who was glad to enter
into an alliance with him while he was still in Pannonia. Ac
cordingly he assisted Narses, as we have hinted above, in his
wars with the Goths, and, so long as that great man conti
nued in favour at court, was ready to serve the Romans
on all occasions. The little opposition he met with in the
reduction of Italy, was, in a great measure, owing to the
new form of government, of which hereafter, introduced
by the exarch Longinus, sent by Justin the younger to suc
ceed Narses, who had driven the Goths quite out of Italy,
and had governed those provinces with great reputation, as
the
5io ^be History of the Lombards. B. IV.
the emperor's lieutenant, for the space of thirteen years
(C).
But to return to Rosamund : she had promised to marry
Helmicbild as soon as he had dispatched the king her husband,
. , and to bestow upon him, with her person, the kingdom of
Koiamuna tne £Æw^slr^J> gne married him accordingly ; but was so far
Al'hni ^rom De'n8 a^'e *° hestow upon him the crown, that they were
flies to tb k°tn °')''Se^ to ^ave themselves by flight, the Lombards being
exarch highly provoked against them for the death of a prince, whom,
tvitb tbt m a manner, they adored, and unalterably determined to
treasure o/bring to condign punishment the authors of so barbarous a
the Lom- murder. Rosamund therefore, with her new husband, and
bards, her daughter Albisvinda, withdrew in the night-time, and
fled to Longinus the exarch, residing at Ravenna, taking with
her all the jewels and treasure of her late husband. Longinus
received her with the greatest marks of friendship and kind-
ness, and assured her of his protection. She had not been
long in Ravenna, when the exarch, judging a favourable op
portunity now offered to make himself king of Italy by means
of Rosamund, and her treasure, imparted his design to her,
and declared his intention to marry her, provided, by some
means or other, she dispatched Helmicbild.
Rosamund, highly pleased with the proposal, to satisfy her
ambition, resolved to get rid of the person, whom she had
married for the sake of her revenge. Accordingly, having
prepared a strong poison, she mixed it with wine, and gave it
Her de- to her husband, as he came out of the bath, and called for
/ervedend. drink, according to his custom. Helmicbild had not half
emptied the cup, when, by the sudden and strange operation
he felt in his bowels, he concluded what it was j and, with
his sword pointed at the queen's breast, compelled her to
drink the rest. The poison had the same effect on her as on
her husband j for, in a few hours, they both died. Longinmy
Tbt Bulgarians.
The Bui- *npHE name of the Bulgarians began to be first heard and
garians. dreaded by the Romans in the reign of the emperor Zeno,
about the year 485. Ennodius, the most antient writer who
mentions them, tells us in the panegyric, which he wrote on
Theodoric king of the Ostrogoths, that they were a warlike
and numerous nation, enured to the toils of war, ever ready
to prefer death to flavery, and never known to have been put
Their an- t0 flight, till they engaged this hero ». They dwelt, in an-
tient /eats, tlent tjmeSj near the Volga, on the north side of the Caspian
languages, rea . wnence their country was called Volgaria, and they
—igw, &c. y0lgari.f which names, in process of time, were changed into
a/
Bulgaria and Bulgari b. Paulus Diaconus calls those coun
tries Bulgaria Magna, which are known at present by the
f Cldren p. 1S9.
and
3%l£ 'she History of the Bulgarians. B. IV.
and requiring him to withdraw his troops forthwith out of the
country of the Hungarians. Simeon, elated with hi"! success*
returned answer, that he would hearken to no terms, till all
the Bulgarians, who had been taken in the late war, were
set at liberty. To this the emperor consented* unwilling to
engage in a new war. But the prisoners were no sooner re
turned him, than Simson made new demands, still more un
reasonable than the former ; which provoked the emperor to
such a degree, that he resolved to fall upon the Bulgarians
with the whole strength of the empire^ and utterly extirpate;
if possible, that perfidious nation. A powerful army wai
accordingly raised, and sent into Bulgaria, under the com-
Ht huts mand of Catacalon, and Theodosius, a pattician. But Simeon,
'the Ro- falling upon them unexpectedly, cut most of them in piece?,
mans to with Theodosius, and a great number of officers of distinction.
flight Thts obliged the emperor to consent to a peace upon the best
•witbgreat terms he could obtain d ; which the Bulgarians seerri to have
Jlaughter. observed during the remaining part of Leo's reign.
Year of Upon that prince's death, they sent embassadors to Alexan-
the flood der, his brother and successor, to renew the treaty concluded
3245-. in the late reign. But Alexander, instead of Cultivating the
Of Christ friendship of that warlike nation, dismissed the embassadors iA
°97* an ignominious manner ; at which Simeon justly provoked^
' Kome invaded the Roman dominions with a mighty army, and, meet-
1
i mS w'tn no opposition, after having ravaged Thrace, advanced
to the very gates of Conjlantinople, which he hoped to surprise ;
but the inhabitants making a vigorous resistance', after several
unsuccessful attempts, Simeon was obliged to drop the enter-
prize, and retire to Hebdomon, at a small distance from thfe
imperial city. From thence he sent embassadors to Constantine*
who had succeeded Alexander, with proposals for an accom
modation ; which were received with great joy by the go
vernors of the young prince, who was then under age. While
the negotiations were carrying on, Simeon was admitted to
dine with the emperor in the palace of Blacbernee, and, when
the entertainment was over, dismissed with rich presents.
Cedrenus supposes a peace to have been concluded ; but Zona-
ras writes, that Simeon would not agree to the terms that
were offered him. Be that as it will, the following year 914.
the king of the Bulgarians broke anew into Thrace, and,
advancing as far as Adrianople, laid siege to that city.
In the mean time the empress Zoe, mother to the young
prince, having got the whole power into her own hands, and,
by the advice of the senate, concluded a peace with the Sa
racens, who had invaded the eastern provinces, resolved to
Mm 3_ and
224. sty History of the Bulgarians. B. IV.
and several other fortified places The ensuing year, Bajihz:
in person made a second inroad into Bulgaria, by the way d
Thejfalonica, took some cities, burnt a great number of vil
lages, and laid the country waste far and near. The city of
Beræa was delivered up to him by Dobromerus, governor or
the place, whom the emperor honoured with the title and,
rank of proconsul. The city of Servia, which was defended
by a numerous garison, under the command ot" Nicolas, made
a long and vigorous resistance ; but was taken in the end by
storm. From Servia the emperor returned to Constantinople,
carrying with him a great number of captives, and among
the rest Nicolas, governor of the place, whom, for his gallant
behaviour, he generously raised to the rank of a patrician.
But Nicolas, preferring the service of his master to all the
honours the emperor could confer upon him, made his escape
soon after to Samuel, and with him laid siege to Servia ; which
the emperor no sooner understood, than he hastened thither
in person, obliged the Bulgarians to retire, and, falling upon
them in their retreat, took Nicolas a second time prisoner, and
sent him to Constantinople, where he was, by the emperor's
order, kept under close confinement. From Servia BafiRta
led his army into Thejfaly, and there repaired such castles is
had been dismantled by the Bulgarians, recovered those that
were still held by them, and reunited that province, after it
had been some time in their hands, to the empire. The
year after, Bafilius, early in the spring, entered Bulgaria
anew, and laid siege to Bqdyna, which held out for the space
of eight months ; but was in the end taken by storm.
Ibeirar- As the autumn was already far spent, the emperor, hav-
my utterly ing left a strong garison in Bodyna, marched back with the rest
defeated, of his troops to Constantinople. When he came, on his return
home, to the river Axius, he found Samuel, with all the
forces he had been able to assemble, encamped on the oppo
site bank. But Bafilius, having discovered a ford, and passed
the river in the dead of the night, fell early next morning
on the enemy, before they could put themselves into a posture
of defence, and gave them a total overthrow. Samuel's army
being thus defeated and dispersed, Romanies, the son of the
late king Peter, and brother to Borises, delivered up to the
emperor the city of Scopia, of which he was governor, and
was on that account rewarded with the dignity of patrician.
• Samuel, no longer able to keep the field, placed strong guards
in all the passes, to prevent the emperor from penetrating far
ther into Bulgaria. However, Bafilius, bent upon the intire
reduction of the country, forced, not without great loss of
men, several passes ; but, in the streights of Cimba Longus,
lie had been cut off with his whole arrpy, had not Nicepho
C. XXVIII: Tie History of the Bulgarians. 53 5
rus Xiphias, governor of Philippopolis, marching with a strong -»
detachment through by-ways, and over a steep mountain,
fallen unexpectedly on the enemy's rear, and by that means
obliged them to abandon their post. Hereupon Basilius, en- They are
tering the streights without opposition, pursued them with deflated
great (laughter, though they retired in good order, and often, anei».
facing about*, skirmished with the Romans. In one of these
skirmishes the king narrowly escaped falling into the hands of
the Romans by the valour and conduct of his son, who rescued
him when he was already surrounded on all sides, and con
veyed him safe to the castle of Prilapus, though closely pur
sued by a body of Roman horse. On this occasion the empe
ror is said to have taken fifteen thousand prisoners, whom,
contrary to his custom, he treated with great inhumanity ;
for he caused their eyes to be put out, and to every hundred
assigning a guide, who had one eye left, sent them in that
condition to Samuel. The king of the Bulgarians, already Samuel
broken with age, and worn out with misfortunes, was so king ofthe
shocked at this dismal spectacle, that he fell into a swoon j Bulgarir
and, though he returned to himself again, yet, not being ans ''« *f
able to bear up against so great a calamity, he died two days£"V"
after n.
Samuel was succeeded by his son Gabriel, whom he had
by a captive of Lariffa. In the beginning of his reign, the
emperor, pursuing the conquest of Bulgaria, made himself
master of a strong castle named Matzucius, and then sat down
before Strumpitza, a place of great strength. During the
siege, he detached TheophylaH, one of his generals, with a
body of chosen men, to reduce the strong-holds among the
mountains, and open a way through the woods. Theopbyla£l
made himself master of several places ; but, being in the end The Bu!-
surprised by the Bulgarians in a narrow pass, where he could garians,
not draw up his men, he was cut off, with the whole body under the
under his command. The emperor, to whom Strumpitza conduit of
had submitted after a vigorous resistance, hearing of this mis- Gabriel
fortune, thought it adviseable to retreat; and accordingly'*'"""™'
marched back to Mosynopolis, and thence to Tbejsalonica. On *inS* {Ht
his route, he took the castles of Prilapus, Stypeius, Melen- "$ P"rt "f
cius, and Budena ; and burnt Buteliana, the royal palace of /*'Romaa
the Bulgarian kings. During the winter, Gabriel was killed, "^"l" ■ i
while he was hunting, by Bladijlthlabus, the son of Aaron, , ,
whose life he had formerly preserved, as we have rel ited ubove. , Bladi-
Bladijlhlabus, being acknowleged king by the Bulgarians, Rhlabuj
immediately acquainted the emperor with the death of Gabriel, WJj, ruc.
and his own promotion, acknowleging himself at the same tMj, him.
ivl m 4 time
V26 We History of the Bulgarians. B. IV.'
time a subject and vassal of the empire. But Bafiliui, suspect
ing his sincerity, returned early in the spring into Bulgaria,
and there made himself master of several strong castles, and
fortified towns, in one of which he took some of the principal
men among the Bulgarians.
In the mean time Bladijihlabus sent a new deputation to
the emperor, offering to submit upon what terms he should
think proper to prescribe. At the same time the emperor re
ceived letters from the Bulgarians, owning themselves his sub-
Basilius :e<3s an(j Vassals. But Bafilius, being informed, that neither
reduces ^ k;ng nor j,^ subjects were sincere in their declarations,
several an(j ^jt they had made an attempt upon Dyrrhacbium, hope-
^r9,jS' ing to surprise that important place, entered Bulgaria anew ;
and, having laid waste the countries of Ojhobus, Gofens, and
Pelagonia, advanced to Achris, the place where the Bulgarian
kings usually resided, which he reduced j and then, leaving
part of his army in Pelagonia, to awe the Bulgarians, he
marched out with the rest to reduce the neighbouring pro
vinces. But he was scarce gone, when Ibatxes, a man of
great distinction among the Bulgarians, and remarkable for
his valour, and experience in war, having drawn together the
Romans left by the emperor into an ambuscade, cut them off,
with their commanders, all to a man. Hereupon Bajilius,
marching back' in great rage, laid several cities in ashes, ra
vaged the open country with fire and sword, and", having
taken a great number of prisoners, ordered their eyes to be
. put out, and, in that condition, sent them to Bladijihlabus.
On the other hand, the Bulgarians, making frequent sallies
from the woods^ cut great numbers of his men in pieces ;
insomuch that, his army being greatly diminished, he thought
it adviseable to return earlier than usual to Constantinople.
On his march, he laid siege to the castle of Pernicus j but,
the garison making a vigorous resistance, he lay before it
eighty days, assaulting it almost every day with his whole
army ; but, being constantly repulsed with great loss of men,
he was in the end obliged to drop the enterprize, and retire.
However, thinking he could not, without forfeiting his repu
tation, drop the war, till he had intirely subdued Bulgaria,
after having so often invaded it in person, he allowed his army
but a short respite ; and then, taking the field again, he hid
siege to Cnstoria, a fortified town in Pelagonia.
But in the mean time the king of the Bulgarians, having
drawn together all the forces he could muster, began to march
towards the frontiers of the empire, in order to oblige the
emperor to abandon Bulgaria, and hasten back to the defence
of his own dominions. Bafilius accordingly, breaking up the
siege of Castoria, marched against Bladijihlabus, who, not
caring
C.' XXVIII. she History of (be Bulgarians. £37
caring to put the whole to the issue of an engagement, re
tired at his approach. Basilius detached Conjlantine Diogenes andputs
in pursuit of the enemy, who put many of them to the sword, their king
took, the horses and baggage of the king, with one of his toflight,
kinsmen, and returned loaded with booty. After this, the*"^0"
emperor took by storm the castle of Satana, where he found *'U*tf>om
a great quantity of corn, which he caused to be removed, andaft,r'
then set fire to the place. Having ended the campaign, he
returned, according to his custom, to Conjiantinople. He was
no sooner gone, than the king of the Bulgarians laid siege to
Dyrrhachium ; but, the garison making a vigorous resistance,
he was stain in an assault. The Bulgarians, who had hitherto The chief
defended their country with an unparalleled valour, and main- *»** among
tained their liberties against the whole strength of the empire, '**_Bul-
in a war which had lasted twenty years and upwards, being ga"an»
now quite disheartened by the loss of their king, sentdeputics-/"**8''"
to the emperor, with offers of a total and unfeigned submission.
Basilius received them in the most obliging manner, and,
hastening into Bulgaria, was met on the confines by the go
vernors of thirty- six castles, which they delivered up to him.
Their example was followed by most of the chief men of
Bulgaria, and even by the wise of the deceased king, who,
coming to the emperor, with three of her sons, and her
fix daughters, renounced all claim to the kingdom of Bulga
ria. She had three other sons by the king ; but they had
. taken refuge on the tops of the Ceraunic mountains, whence
they were soon after obliged by famine, the emperor having
ordered all the passes to be carefully guarded, to come down,
and surrender themselves. Basilius received them in the most
obliging manner imaginable, raised Prosranus, who seems to
have been the eldest, to the dignity of magisler, and the other
five to that of patrician. To the mother, and the daughters,
he allowed a maintenance suitable to their rank, and ever
treated them with the utmost respect.
At Atkris, where the Bulgarian kings usually resided, he
was received by his new subjects with loud acclamations.
There he seized on the immense treasure of the Bulgarian
princes, and found, among other things of great value, seve
ral crowns enriched with pearl, and a great quantity of gold,
which he bestowed as a don»tive upon his soldiers °. There
remained now but one man in the whole country capable of
raising disturbances, who had not submitted to the emperor.
This was Ibalzes, a person nearly allied to the roval familv,
and one who, during the course of the war, had given seve
ral instances of his courage, and implacable hatred to the
• CeDREN. p. 207, &C. ZoHAR. p. 350.
6 Romans.
53 & Tb* History of the Bulgarians. B. IV.
Romans. He, refusing to comply with the present posture of
affairs, seized on a castle standing on the top of a mountain
most difficult of access ; and, having fortified himself there,
declared, that he was resolved to hold out to the last extre-
Bulgaria mity. But in what manner he was seized in his castle, and
intinlj brought to the emperor, we have related at large in our Canstan-
fuhdutd. tinopolitan history p, to which we refer the reader. And now
Year of Bajilius, absolute master of all Bulgaria, took a progress
the flood through the country, receiving every-where the submissions
33°J- of his new subjects, and causing several castles to be demto-
Of Christ jiQjed^ ]est the Bulgarians, seizing on them, should attempt
1017. t0 {^1^ 0ff the yoke. Then, leaving Bulgaria, he repaired
ome tQ /ftj)ms . jjjj^ ascribing the success that had attended his
1 LJLi arms t0 tne protection of the virgin Mary, he enriched her
church in that city with many presents of great value. From
Athens he returned to Constantinople, which he entered in
triumph through the Golden gate, amidst the loud acclama
tions of the multitude, the widow of the late king of the
Bulgarians, with all the princes and princesses of the blood
royal, walking before him. This conquest and final reduction
of Bulgaria, which had been often attempted in vain by
other emperors, was effected by Bafilius in the forty- fourth
year of his reign, and of the Christian æra 1017.
The Bulgarians bore the yoke patiently till 1032. when they
revolted from Michael IV. under the conduct of Deleanus ;
and, being joined by the Dyrrachians, who had likewis- re
volted, put to flight the imperial troops, and even laid siege
to Thejfaloniea. But they were in the end utterly defeated
by the emperor, and their country intirely reduced ; as we
have related at large elsewhere 1. From that time the Bul
garians continued subject to the emperors of Constantinople,
whom they powerfully assisted both against the Latins and
the Turks, and were, on that account, allowed to choose
a king of their own nation, who nevertheless owned himself
a vassal of the empire. Jn 1206. John king of Bulgaria,
marching against Baldwin, the first emperor of the Latins in
Constantinople, while he was besieging Adrianople, defeated
his armv with great slaughter, relieved the city, and, having
taken the empercr himself prisoner, carried him to Tcrnova,
at that time the capital of Bulgaria. There he caused his
hands and feet to be cut off, and then ordered him, thus
maimed, to be thrown into a neighbouring valley, where he
lay in the utmost agony for three days, and then expiring,
was devoured by the wild beasts, and birds of prey. In 1275.
CHAP. XXIX.
The History of the Ostrogoths in Italy, the Exarchs of
Ravenna* and the Lombards in Italy.
SECT. I.
The History of the Ostrogoths in Italy, to their Ex
pulsion by Narses.
TN the foregoing chapter, we brought Theodoric king of
-f- the Ostrogoths into Italy, and there placed him on the
throne of Odoacer. We stall now give the reader a succinct
account of this excellent prince's reign, whom we must not
look
'54<> Tie History of the B. Ps?
Theodo- look upon as an intruder or usurper, but as the lawful sove-
ric lawful reign of the countries he held, especially of the kingdom of
king of Italy ; for, when he first imparted to Zeno his design of in-
Italy, and yading that country, the emperor not only approved of the
acknvw- undertaking, but encouraged him to it, and, recommending
ttgedas to hjs protection the senate and people of Rome, dismissed
/"""* h '** him loaded with rich presents. During the course of the
emperors was^ <jj,eojgr;c sent distinct accounts of all that pasted to the
Zæiio an emperor> wno was highly pleased with the success that at-
fn tended his arms ; nay, when he was informed, that Tkodoric-
only wanted Ravenna to be intire master of Italy, he advised
him to lay aside the Gothic dress, and assume the royal dia
dem, mantle, and other ensigns of majesty ; which was ac
knowledging him king of Italy ». Upon the reduction of Ra
venna, which happened in the second year of the reign of
Anajlajius, the successor of Zeno, he was by the new emperor
acknowleged for a just and lawful prince ; for though the
Goths, as We read in .the anonymus of VaUstus *■, upon the
death of Odoacer, proclaimed him anew king of all Italy,
without the consent and approbation of the emperor, yet
Anajlafius approved of what, they had done, as is manifest
from the letters he wrote to him, and from Theodoric's answer
to them, which have been transmitted to us by Cajsiodore.
Besides, when Theodoric undertook the conquest of Italy, the
Western empire was at an end ; Spain was held by the Vans
dais, the Visigoths, and the Sueves ; Gaul by the Franks and
Burgundians ; Britain by the Saxons ; and Italy lelt a prey
to the Heruli, the Rugians, and other barbarous nations.
He deli- While the last-mentioned country, which, for so many-
•vert Italy ages, had given law to the world, was thus groaning under
from the the yoke of the barbarians, the emperors of the Ealt being
barbari- no-way in a condition to afford it the least relief, Theodoric,
""' with their consent and approbation, undertook the great work }
and, having, at his own charges, and with the troops of bis
own nation, driven out the tyrant, he was, with loud accla
mations, received by the people as their king and deliverer.
The only person, who had then any claim to Italy, was the
emperor of the East ; and both Zeno, and his successor Anajla-
stus, acknowleged Theodoric king of that country, not only
allowing him to wear the royal ensigns, but transferring to
him all their claims and rights, as we read in Proccpius, a
writer no-way favourable to the Goths, not to mention 'Jcr-
nandes, or Ennodius the holy bishop of Pavia, who affirm the
same thing, but may perhaps be thought byased in favour of
* Agath. 1. i. p. 48.
' . and
542 *be History os the B. IY.'
and vast expcnces, they had been at, in the Roman times,
when the power of deciding controversies was vested in the
supreme magistrate alone. The Goths were, as appears from
CaJJiodore, no less scrupulous in the choice of these inferior
magistrates, than of the greater officers, employing only per
sons of known integrity, and acceptable to the people, and
allowing no appeals to other tribunals, but in cafes of manifest
injustice. Of these inferior magistrates some were called can-
cellarii, others canonicarii, comites reserendarii, &c. Pttrta
Ptmtinus wrote a book of the dignities of the Gothic courts j
but, as Grotius well observes e, he might have saved himself
that trouble, since they are minutely described in the sixth
and seventh books of CaJJiodore.
As Theodoric made no alteration in the laws, magistrates,
or form of government, except that which we have just men-
He con- tioned, so he contented himself with the same tributes and
tints him- taxes, which had been levied by the emperors ; but was far
ftlf with more ready than they had ever been to remit them on occa-
tbe taxes fIon 0r any public calamity. Thus, he remitted to the in-
faidto the habitants of Campania the tribute they usually paid, upon
emperors. triejr representing to him, that they had suffered much by
an eruption of mount Vesuvius. The letter or order which
he sent on this occasion to Faujlus, consularis or governor of
Campania, has been transmitted to us by CaJJiodore. In that
letter he tells Faujlus, that the inhabitants of Campania,
having suffered greatly, had petitioned him for relief; that
he was ready to grant them their request, provided he was
rightly informed of the misfortune, and knew how to judge
of the damage they had sustained. He commands him to
fend some person of known integrity into the territories of
Nola and Naples, to view the lands, and take an estimate of
the loss, that he might know how to make a proportionable
allowance out of the tribute f. It was probably on this oc
casion, that the Neapolitans erected, in their great forum or.
market-place, a statue to Theodoric, which is said to have
afterwards presaged the end of the government of the Goths
in Italy (A). In like manner Theodoric exempted the inha
bitants
(A) This statue was made of alive, the head of the statue sell,
small pebbles of various colours, and broke to pieces ; and soon
and so artfully joined together, after Theodoric died. He was
that they represented Theodoric succeeded by Athalaric his grand-
to the life. While he was still son, in the eighth year of whose
reign
C. XXIX. Ostrogoths in Italy. 543
bitants of Sipontum in Puglia from all taxes for the space of
two years, upon their representing to him, that their lands
had been laid waste by the Vandals of Africa, who were con
stantly making descents on the coast ot Italy 8.
He not only forgave, but preferred to the rirstemploymentSj
several Italians, or, as they were still called in his time, Ro
mans, who had stood by Odoacer to the last h ; but such as
had declared for him, and afterwards revolted to the enemy»
he punished according to the Roman law, taking from them
the power of making testaments. But, in the third year of
his reign, he was prevailed upon by Laurentius and Epipba-
xius, the one bishop of Milan, the other of Pavia, to for
give them, and publish a general pardon. Upon his becoming
master of Italy, he did not treat the natives as those of the
other Roman provinces were treated by the barbarians, who
conquered them. These stripped the antient proprietors of
their lands, estates, and possessions, dividing them among
their chiefs, and giving to one, as it happened in Gaul, con
quered by the Franks, a province, with the title of duke ;
to another a frontier country, with the title of marquis ; to
some a city, and the title of count ; to others a castle or vil
lage, with the title of baron '. But Theodoric, who piqued He al'mvt
himself upon governing after the Roman manner, and ob- tbt *«-
serving the Roman laws and institutions, left every one mtl'v" "
the full enjoyment of his antient property ; for the feodil enj°y '*"r
tenures, dukedoms, counties, &c. were not introduced into eJlat"**»
Italy by the Gotbs, but by the Lombards, as we shall relate t'ff'I'""-
hereafter. As to religion, Theodoric held, as all the Gotbs
* Cassiod. var. 1. ii. ep. 37. h Idem ibid. ep. 16.
* Loyseau design, c. 3. Cod. deagric. Se cenf. 1. ii. Connan.
in com. jur. civ. 1. ii. tit. c. Leo Ostiens. in chron. Cossik.
gloss, in notis, c. 6. num. 532.
reign the belly of the statue, the thighs and feet of the statue
all on a sudden, fell of itself ; fell to the ground ; from which
and a few days after news were event the Romans concluded, that
brought to Naples of the death the empire of the Gotbs in Italy
of Atbalaric. Not long after, was at an end, and that they
the genitals dropped off ; and an would be soon driven out, as it
account was brought of the un- happened. This presage, says
happy and undeserved end of Procofius, from whom we have
Amalasuntha, the daughter of borrowed the whole account,
Theodoric, and mother of the greatly encouraged the emperor'j
late king. But, when Justinian troops, and gave them certain
declared war against the Gotbs, hopes of victory (1).
* Cassioo. 1. i. ep. 1.
Nn 2 "*> welfare
The History pf the B. IT;
u% welfare and prosperity, cor. firmed to them all the privileges
they had enjoyed under the emperors his predecessors, and
allured them of his protection. He spent several days in
viewing the ant:quities of the city, which he could not suf
ficiently admire. He declared, that, tho' he expected to see
wonderful things, the statelinefs and magnificence of the
public buildings had far surpassed his expectation. He was
grieved to fee the walls in some places quite ruined, and con
tributed large sums for the repairing of them, and of some
other decayed buildings. On the day of his entry, he made
a grand entertainment for the senate, and gave a largess of
corn to the people. Before he left Rome, he composed the
aftairs both of the church and state in the best manner be
could ; and declared, upon his departure, that he was sorry
he could not fix his residence in such an august city, the safety
of the state obliging him to reside, as his predecessors had
done, at Ravenna, where he was near at hand, and ready to
put a stop to the irruptions of the barbarians, who, on that
fide, broke into Italy. He was scarce returned, when news
were brought him, that the Bulgarians had made an irruption
into pannonia, and, advancing as far as Sirmium, had sur
prised that city. Hereupon he dispatched Pitzia with a con
siderable army against them, who, in one campaign, reco
vered Sirmium, and drove them quite out of Pannonia. To
the government of that province Tbeodoric raised one Colaffius,
a comes or count (B).
His <var Theodoric, having thus settled his affairs at home, re
nt,///) the solved to attempt the execution of the project, which he bad
Burgun. formed from the very beginning of his reign ; which was, as
di&ns i we have hinted above, to drive the Burgundians and Franki
out of Gaul, and reunite that country to Italy. His design
was to begin with the Burgundians, and, after having reduced
them, to fall upon the Franks. But, as the Burgundians
were then a powerful nation, and masters of all the pailes
in the Alps, Theodoric, entering into an alliance with Clevis
king of the Franks, prevailed upon him to attack the Bur
gundians on one side, while he attempted to enter their country
(B) From the copy of his com- a sword (2). In the same writer
tnlffipn, which has been trans is a letter written by Tbeodoric,
mitted to us by Cajsiodore, it and directed to all the barbarians
appears, that the power of those and Romam inhabiting Pannonia,
governors extended both to civil wherein he acquaints them, that
and military affairs, and that he had appointed Cohffeui to be
the prince conferred that power their governor, and requires theffl
en theiDj by girdu g them with to obey him as such.
(1) Cafmd. 1. iii. tf. 23.
vn
C. XXIX. Ostrogoths /'» Italy. £4$
on the other. Of the conduct of Theodora in this war, we have
spoken in the history of the Franks ; and therefore shall only add
here, that he acquired on this occasion the city of Alarsillcs, and
its territory, with all the countries lying between the Durance,
the Alfs, the Mediterranean, and the Lower Rhone.
Some years after, a war breaking out between Clevis and "id Clo-
Alar'u king of the Visigoths in Gaul, Theodoric, putting him- vis *'"£
self at the head of his army, marched to the assistance of the °f '"'
latter ; but Clevis having in the mean time killed Alaric in *ranlcs*
battle, and defeated his army, the king of the OJlrogotbs,
jealous of the growing power of the Franks, ordered his
troops to join him from all parts, and, entering Gaul, obliged
the Franks, who had laid siege to Carcajsone, to abandon the
enterprize, and retire. The following year, the Franks be
sieged the city of Aries ; but the siege was raised, and the
Franks defeated with great slaughter, by the army which
Theodoric had sent to the assistance of his countrymen, under
the conduct of one Flibba, distinguished with the title of
count. A peace was soon after concluded between Theodoric
and Clevis, whereof one of the articles was, that the Frank*
should keep the countries which they had taken from the
Visigoths, Theodoric having attempted in vain, as we read in
Procopius, to recover them *.
Amalaric, the grandson of Theodoric, wa9, at this time, He is
king of the Visigoths ; but as he was yet under age, Tlwdoric, guardian
who was his guardian, exercised the fame authority in the '° Amala-
young prince's dominions, as he did in his own. In virtue "c '?$-
of this peace, the Ostrogoths continued masters of the pro-
vince they held before, lying between the Alps, the Mediter- &ot s *
ranean, the Rhone, and the Durance, and appropriated to
themselves the city of Aries for the charges they had been at
in this war. These countries Theodoric transmitted to his
posterity ; but could make no farther conquests in Gaul, being
opposed by the Franks, who were become very powerful in
that country.
Amalaric, the grandson of Tlwdoric by his daughter
Theodegotha, had succeeded his father Alaric in the kingdom
of the Visigoths ; but, as he was only five years old when his
father was killed by Clovis, as we have hinted above, his
subjects, scorning to be governed by an infant, revolted from
him, and raised to the throne Gaselic, the son of Alaric by
a concubine. Hereupon Theodoric, who was guardijn to the
young prince, dispatched Hibba, or, as some call him, Ilia,
into Gtiul with a numerous army, to drive out the usuipa,
. .. i
" Procop. bell. Goth. 1. i. c. 12.
N n 2 and
550 'The History of the B. IV.
ivhom hi and restore Amolaric to the throne. Upon his approach,
testerts to Gafelic fled into Spain ; and from thence, hearing that Hibba
the throne was marching after him, he crossed the Streigbts, and took
refuge in the court of Tlirastmund king of the Vandals in
Africa, who, either pitying his condition, or thinking it high
time to give a check to the overgrown power of the Ojlregotbs,
received him in a friendly manner, though he had married
the sister of Theodoric. After he had continued some time in
Jfrica, he passed from thence privately into Gaul; and, having
gained over some of the leading men among the Vifigothst
he in the end discovered himself, and, being supplied with
money by Thrastmund, he levied an army, and re-entered
Spain ; but, being met and overcome in battle by Hibba.,
about twelve miles from Barcelona, he fled back into Gault
and there died of grief, four years after he had been declared
king (C).
The king of the Ojlrogoths, having settled the affairs of
his grandson in Spain, turned his arms against the Alemam ;
He forces but all we know of this war is, that he in the end obliged
the Ale- them to submit to an annual tribute r, and subdued the in
mans to habitants of Sttevia ; for, in one of his letters directed to
fay tri- them, he acquaints them, that he had appointed one Fridelad
hit. to be their governor, and strictly injoined him to restrain
thefts and robberies, which were very frequent among them.
y Acath. p. 302.
Nn 4 many
■552 The History of the B. IV.
Is accused many enemies, who, in the end, compassed his ruin, by sub-
os bi%h orning three infamous men to accuse him of high treason.
treason. These were Bajilius, Opilio, and Gudentius, of whom the
former had been, for his misdemeanour, dismissed the king';
service, and the other two, for their crimes, condemned to
banishment. They accused Boetius of attempting to raise the
power of the senate above that of the king, and preventing
an informer from bringing an impeachment of treason against
the senators. Theodoric, though well acquainted with the
infamous characters of the accusers, yet upon their deposition,
which is very surprising, ordered, without further inquiry,
the person, of whom he had hitherto entertained the highest
opinion, to be put under arrest ; and soon after confiscated
his estate, and banished him to Pavia, where he wrote his
wonderful book dt confolatione. Symmacbus, father-in-law to
Boetius, a man of extraordinary parts and learning, and who
had, with an unblemished character, discharged the first em
ployments, was likewise banished to Pavia, as privy to the
supposed treason of Boetius. They had not been long there,
when, to the great surprize of all, an order came from Ra
venna for their execution, their enemies at court having per-
• suaded the king, who was advanced in years, and grown
jealous of his power, that he would never be fase so song as
He is Le- they were alive. They were accordingly both beheaded in
headed at pavja ; and of the head of Boetius no ltrss wonderful things
Pavia are related by Martianus, who wrote his life, than those
*""'* which every one must have read or heard of the famous St.
Symma- jyenn\u The cruel and unjust sentence was scarce put in
S- execution, when Theodoric, returning, in a manner, to him
self, and reflecting on his rash conduct in an affair, that re-
Thcodo- quired the utmost circumspection, was affected with such sor-
ric re- row, that his grief may be said to have equaled, if not exceeded,
penis. the injustice of the sentence. Not long after, the head of
a large fish being served up while he was one night at supper,
the injustice of the sentence he had lately pronounced oc
curring to his mind, he fanfied the head of the fish to be the
head of Symmacbus, threatening him in a ghastly manner.
Hereupon, seized with horror and amazement, he was carried
from the table to his bedchamber, where, reflecting anew on
his cruelty and injustice to two such eminent and deserving men,
he died a few days after of grief, this being the first and last
wrong any of his subjects had ever received at his hands b (D).
fame time commending him for dear to his new subjects, than if
the equity by which he had been he bad been of their own race,
governed on every other occasion, and born among them. Tho*
during the whole course of his long he was himself an Arian, and
reign. His putting them to death, had the power in his hands, yet
without making the necessary in he was so far from persecuting
quiries in a matter, that required the orthodox, that, on the con
the greatest circumspection, sa trary, he favoured them no less
vours, without doubt, both of than those of his own persuasion,
rashness and cruelty ; but his extending his protection to both
sincere sorrow, and unfeigned parties, and allowing to all full
repentance, are undeniable testi liberty to profess which of the
monies of his mercy and good- two religions they pleased. Those
nature. However that be, it is therefore are greatly mistaken,
certain, (hat Italy never enjoyed who imagine, that Boetiui was
more happy days than under his put to death on account of the
government, not even in the book he wrote on the Trinity,
height or its greatness. He is and inscribed to his father-in-law
perhaps the only prince, who, Symmacbus. Jornandes takes no
having obtained a kingdom by notice of what we have related
iforce and violence, preserved it above of the head of the sisli,
with mildness and moderation ; upon the authority of Procopius ;
which two virtues eminently ap but supposes Tbeodoric, advanced
peared in all his actions and coun in years, to have died quietly.
cils, and rendered him no less
son
554 **» History of the B. IV.
son Eutharic, from Gaul, removed into Spain, where he
became well known to the officers of Tbcodcric, who governed
that kingdom during the minority of Amalaric. Theodorie,
hearing him much commended, expressed a great desire to
see him ; which satisfaction he no sooner had, than, being
taken with his engaging behaviour, and extraordinary quali
fications, he resolved to give him in marriage his daughter
Amalafuntba, the more as he was of Theodoric's own family,
to wit, that of the Amah, and consequently by his birth not
unworthy of such a match. The nuptials were accordingly
celebrated with the utmost magnificence, and two years after
he was raised to the consulship by his father-in-law ; on which
occasion the emperor Anajlafius presented him with the tunica
palmata, and adopted him tor his son ; an honour which the
late emperors used to confer on persons of distinguished merit.
Eutharic went to Rome, to enter there upon his office, and
was received by the senate and people with the greatest de
monstrations of joy imaginable, every rank and degree of
people inthat great metropolis striving to outdo each other in
honouring one, whom they expected to fee in a short time on
the throne. On the other hand, Eutharic'made it his chief
study to oblige both the senate and people, discharging his
office with great care, and diverting the city with most mag
nificent (hews, having, for that effect, procured out of Africa
such wild beasts, as had never before been seen at Rome.
From Rome Eutharic returned to his father-in-law at Ravenna^
where, by his generosity, condescension, and obliging beha
viour, he gained the affections both of the Romans and
Goths.
Every one expected to find in Eutharic a second 7be«-
doric ; but, to the great grits of all, Eutharic died before
his father-in-law, leaving behind him a sen, named Athalaric,
ten years old ; so that Theodorie had at his death two grand
sons, the children of two of his daughters, to wit, Amalaric
king of the Visigoths, and Athalaric the son of Amalafuntba.
To the former Theodorie, at his death, delivered up all the
countries in Gaul and Spain belonging to the Visigoths, which
he had governed, with a no less absolute sway than his own,
Hi ie- ever since the death of Alaric II. The latter, though the
clans ^ fon 0f tne younger daughter, he appointed to succeed him in
Athalaric tne kingdom of Italy, and in all his other dominions. Tbeodo-
" ' ric, fays Jornandes, being advanced in years, and near his end,
assembled the chief men among the Goths, and, in their pre
sence, declared Athalaric, the son of Eutharic by his daughter
Amalafuntba, his successor, charging them to obey him as such,
to respect the senate and people of Rtme, and, above ali, to cul
tivate
• ».
C. XXIXj Ostrogoths in Italy." $$$
tivate the friendship of the emperor of the East K Tlieohric
died soon after ; but as Athalaric was then only eight years
old, as we read in Proopius *, or ten, as fornandes will
have it h, his mother Amalasmntha took upon her the admi- Amala-
nistration, a princess highly commended by all the writers ofsontha
those times, for her piety, religion, wisdom, and learning. takes "P"*
Thcodotui, who succeeded Athalaric, and by whom she was ^er f^f
afterwards put to death, in a letter which he wrote in her*'*""'"
behalf to the Roman state, stiles her the glory of princes, theftrat""u
jlo-Mer and ornament of his family, the Solomon of women, a
princess endued with every good quality becoming her sex, well
versed in the Latin, in the Greek, and in many other languages,
and thoroughly acquainted with every branch of learning ".
However, she was not free from ambition ; but strove by
all means to maintain, even after her son's death, that power,
which (lie had exercised during his life, as we shall fee
hereafter,
Theodoric was no sooner dead, than Amalasuntha, Sheteritet
mindful of his last advice, wrote in the young prince's name, inher/m's
both to 'Justin then emperor, and to the Roman senate, ac- namt **
quainting them with his accession to the throne. In the letter ™* *mP*"
to the emperor, the young prince, after telling him, that Wisr"r' ant*
grandfather had, before his death, appointed him his heir^s*' "'
and successor, goes on thus : " You formerly honoured in ome"
*« your august city my grandfather with the dignity of consul ;
" you sent into Italy to my father the tunica palmata, and,
*' to attach him the more to you, you adopted him for your
" son, tho' he was almost of the fame age with yourself,
•' The name of son will suit me better than it did him.
*' I shall acknowlege so great a favour, by causing your name
•* to be no less respected, and your authority to be no less
" obeyed, in my dominions, than they are in your own.
*' With this view I have dispatched embassadors to you,
" hoping you will honour me with your friendship, upon
*c the same conditions upon which your glorious ancestors
" granted theirs to my grandfather k." From this letter it
is manifest, that the kings of the Ostrogoths acknowleged in
the emperors of the East a superiority of rank, but not of
jurisdiction ; and consequently that Zeno, when he sent The
odoric to drive Odoaccr out of Italy, renounced in his behalf
whatever claim the empire of the East had to that country.
At the fame time Amalasuntha dispatched embassadors to
Rome with letters from the young prince, both to the senate
kept by the Ostrogoths, should they had, for the space os twenty
have full liberty, eithsr to con- years and upwards, promiscuously
tinue where they were, or to inhabited the same country. 1%
retire into the countries subject was in virtue of a particular
to their respective prinees (4). convention, that they were to
Hence it appears, that the Fist- be deemed citizens of the tribe
goths and Ostrogoths, who were to which they did not originally
originally but two tribes of one belong, though they dwelt witu
and the fame nation, were not their wives and families in the
yet blended together, though fame country.
(4) Prxip.M. Quo. !, i, c. 13. ,
... . who
g58 fit History if tb* B. I V.
who form the rtaanners of youth, instruct them in the liberal
sciences, and render them capable of serving their courrtry n.
Hirjufiice Amalasuntha was so far from invading the rights and
mndcquity. properties of her subjects, that, on the contrary, (he restored
to the children of Boetius and Syrnmachus the estates, which
had been confiscated in the preceding reign. She took great
care to secure the Romans against the avarice and rapaciousncss
of the great men among the Goth, who, looking upon half
as a conquered country, were for enriching themselves at the
expence of the natives. To her nephew Amalark she gave
up that part of Gaul, which, with respect to Italy, lay beyond
the Rhone ; but retained what lay on the other side of that
river. To the Visigoths she remitted the impositions, which
had been laid on them by Theodoric, and restored the treasure
of the kings of the Visigoths, which, by her father's order,
had been conveyed from Carcaffbne to Ravenna °. In the
mean time Justin having taken his nephew Justinian for his
partner in the empire, Amalasuntha no sooner heard of his
promotion, than she dispatched embassadors to the new em
peror, congratulating him upon his accession to the imperial
dignity, and begging a continuance of that friendship and
alfianee, which had long subsisted between the two nations r.
What she desired was readily granted, as is manifest from the
good understanding that passed between the two princes so
long as Athalarh lived, and from the coins stamped at this
time by the king of the Ostrogoths, on one side of which is
to be seen the image of Justinian, and on the other the
name of Athahric 1.
7%'Goths While Amalasuntha was thus governing with the greatest
dissatisfied justice, equity, and prudence, and taking all the neceflary
*«'* precautions for the safety of her son, and the welfare of his
Amala- dominions, the great men among the Goths, not able to bear,
suntha. rhat their young prince should be brought up after the Roman
manner, began to exclaim against learning, as an enemy to
valour, only sit for soft and effeminate princes, and no-way
becoming the king and leader of such an active and warlike
nation as theirs. The princess took no notice of these ground
less complaints ; but, having one day chastised her son, and
he happening to go, with the tears yet in his eyes, into a
room, where some Gothic lords were assembled, they took
from thence occasion to complain more loudly of the queen
(so stie is called by most writers), as if she designed to remove
her son, and reign in her own right ; they exclaimed, with
more boldness than ever, against the learned education of
the young prince ; alleged the example of his grandfather,
' » Cassiod. 1. ix. ep. I. ° Procop. bell. Goth. 1. i. c. 13.
» Cass,od. 1. viii. ep, i. * Vide Baron, ad ann. 527.
who,
C. XXIX. Ostrogoths in Italy. 559
who, tho' utterly ignorant of letters (F), was a warlike and
victorious prince ; and concluded, that his grandson must be
brought up in the same manner, is he would be attended
with the same fortune. They therefore desired A'ma lasuntha
to dismiss the pedants her son had about him, and give him such
companions of his own rge, as might, by their conversation,
make the customs of his nation familiar to him, and incline
him to govern according to their own laws. This they de
manded with so much warmth and importunity, that, appre
hending greater evils, she thought it adviseable to comply
with their request. And now the youth, free from all re
straint, and seduced by wicked companions, abandoned him
self to all manner of lewdness and debauchery, adding to his
Other vices that of undutifulness to the best of mothers, and
unnaturally abandoning her in a faction, which had the arro
gance to command her to retire* from court ; but the queen,
exerting her authority, picked out three of the ringleaders of
the party, and confined them to the most remote parts of
Italy. These, maintaining a private correspondence with
their friends and relations, never ceased, by their means, to
stir up the people against her ; insomuch that Amalasuntha,
apprehending the faction might in the end prevail, wrote to
the emperor "fuftinlan^ begging leave to take refuge in his
dominions. The emperor readily complied with her request,
offering her a noble palace at Epidamnus, now Durazzo, for
r Cassiodqr. 1. x. ep. 3.
2 who
C XXIX. Ostrogoths in Italy. 5$l
who had been sent from Conjiantinop.'e to the bishop of Rome,
to betray Tuscany to the emperor, upon his paying him a
certain sum, and raising him to the dignity or a senator.
However, Amalasuntba, imagining, that so signai a savour, as
her advancing him to the throne, would reconcile him to her,
ofttred to take him for her collegue, on condition he suffered
her to enjoy and exercise her former power. This Thcodotus
promised upon oath to do, and was thereupon declared by
the queen her collegue*. The letters, that were written on
this occasion to the Roman senate by the queen, in commenda
tion of Theodotus, and by Tlicodotus* in commendation of the
queen, are still to be seen in Casstodore '. He acknowleges
himself intircly indebted to her tor his new dignity ; and,
extolling her kindness to him, adds, that he is at a loss how
to make a suitable return for such an high and undeserved sa
vour.
But the unhappy princess was soon sensible of her mistake
in assuming for her collegue a person, who had been formerly
her declared enemy, and was destitute, as she must have
known, of all honour and probity. For he had scarce mount
ed the throne, when, unmindful of the honours she had dona
him, and the promises he had made, and solemnly confirmed
with an oath, he suffered himself to be wholly governed by
the friends and relations of those, wh->, by the princess, had
been put to death for their crimes; and, because she took She is eort-
the liberty to remind him of whit he had promised, he caused fined by
her to be conveyed from Ravenna into Tuscany, and there him to an
confined her to an ifland in the middle of the lake of Bolscna. ifia"d in
As he had reason to believe, that the emperor, who had a '*' ("*' "f
great value and regard for Amalasuntha, would resent this B°l'ena •
treatment, he obliged her to write to him, tint no injury or.
injustice had been done her. This letter he sent to ConJl.in:i-
nople, with one which he wrote himself, filled with heavy
complaints against Amalasuntha. The emperor was so f.»r
from giving credit to what Theodotus urged against her, that
he openly espoused her cause, and wrote a most affectionate
letter to her, comforting her in her distress, and assuring her
of his protection. But, before the letter reached her, the ar^ ,,'trt
unhappy princess was, with the consent, if not by the order, ?*' '"
of Theodotus, barbaroufly strangled in the bith by the friends ds°''-
ef those, whom, in the reign of her son, she had deservedly .LL'ft ,
put to death for r.iising disturbances in the state. Snme writers -jg-
tell us, that the unhappy queen was dispatched by T eolotus at Qt- qU[^
the instigation of the empress Theodora, who, jealous ot' the , 54
„ p. 143. Procop.
' John rer. Get. n 1.. 1,■ c 4. ,0
• C-.ssiodor. OfizSz
R»mc
1. x. ep. 3. & 4. i^-v-N^
Vol. XIX. O 0 love
562 The History of the B. IV.
love the emperor shewed her, began to apprehend he might
Justinian one d.iy forsake her for the queen of the Goths u. Be that as
resolves to jt Wl;|t Justinian, highly provoked against Tbeodotus for the
make -war niUU]cr 0f a person for whom he had the greatest esteem and
upon be veneration, and being at the fame time desirous of reuniting
Goths. jlaiy to tj e en)pjre) res0lvcd to make war upon the Goths, his
troops being just then returned from Africa, which they had
reduced by driving from thence the Vandals.
Justinian, to facilitate the enterprize, used his utmost
enJejvours to induce the Franks to join him, acquainting
them with the motives that had prompted him to undertake
that war. " The Goths," fays he in the letter which he wrote
to their princes, " have not only seized on Italy, which be-
" longs to us, but, without the least provocation, offered us
" such insults as we cannot in honour dissemble. This is
" what induces us to take arms against them j and it is but
" just, that you should lend us what assistance you can against
" a nation that bears as great an enmity to you as to us, the
*' more as we are both of the fame persuasion, and equally
" abhor the doctrine of Arius, which they profess w ." To
the letter the emperor added, fays Procopius, a large sum, pro
mising to the princes of the Franks, especially to Tbeodebert,
a considerable subsidy, to be paid them as soon as they should
btgin hostilities'1. The Franks received the money, and, en
tering into an alliance with the emperor, promised to assist
The trta. him to the utmost of their power ; but, instead of performing
tbirjo/tbt their promise, while Justinian's arms were employed against
Franks, the Goths, Tljcodebert, who was deemed the head of the royal
famiiy of the Franks, being the son of Theodoric, or, as they
call him, Thierri, the eldest son of Clovis, seized on several
cities in Liguria, on the Alpes.Cottia, and great part of the
province ot Venice, for himself.. Of this treachery Justinian
afterwards complained by his embassador Leontius toTheodebald,
the son and successor of Thetdebertl (G). But, to leave that
trta-
■ Procop. anecdot. 71. w Idem ibid. 1. i. c. 5. * Idem
ibid. ' Idem, 1. iv. c. 24.
(G) "Justinian, says Procopius, the son and successor of the de-
no sooner received news of the ceased king, to persuade him to
death of Tbeodebald, who, with- join the Romans against the Ostrc-
oat any regard to his alliance gotbs, and to evacuate the places
with the Romans, had seized on in Italy, which the Franks had
several towns in Tuscany; on the taken, and still held, in defiance
Alpes Cottue\ and on part of JLi- . of the treaty concluded between
guria, than he dispatched the them and the emperor. Leontius,
senator Leontius to Tbeodebert, in the audience he had os that
prince,
C. XXIX. Ostrogoths in Italy. 563
treacherous nation, and return to 'Justinian : Having resolved
to make war upon the Goths, and drive them, if possible, out
of Italy, he named Mundus and Belisarius for his generals.
Mundus, then commander of the troops in lllyricum, was or
dered to march into Dalmatia, which was subject to the
Goths, and attempt the reduction of Salonee, the better to
open a passage into Italy. Belijarius was to make a descent
upon Sicily ; for which purpose a fleet was equipped, on board
of which were four thousand legionaries, three thousand Isau-
rians, three hundred Mauritanians, and two hundred Hunns.
Belisarius was vested with the supreme command, and
an absolute authority. His instructions were, to pretend a
voyage to Carthage, but to make an attempt upon Sicily ;
and, if he thought he could succeed in the attempt, to land
there ; otherwise, to sail directly for Africa, without discover
ing his intentions. Mundus, without difficulty, made him
self master of Salonts ; and Belisarius, landing without oppo- Sicily rt-
sition in Sicily, reduced that ifl-ind with more expedition than duced by
he himself expected. Palermo held out for some time, the Belisariu*.
Goths, who depended upon the strength of the place, which \**T °*
was deemed impregnable by land, defending it with great re- ' "ooa
solution ; but Belisarius attacking it by sea, the garison was r\f %\'-n
forced to surrender upon articles ; so that Belisarius entered n
Of Rome
prince, addressed him thus : •' of fulfilling his engagements, 128?.
" There is no prince, to whom " acted, to the great surprize t^^-v^;
*' unforeseen misfortunes have ■" of the emperor, more like an
«* not happened, and disappoint- " enemy than an ally, seizing
" merits, which he did not ex- " on several countries belong-
" pect ; but the conduct of the " ing to the empire, to which
" Franks towards the Romans is " he had not the least c'aim. I
'.' perhaps, surprising, beyond " do not mention this," added
" any thing that ever happened the embassador, " to reproach
" before. It is well known, that "your nation with what is
" the emperor no sooner re- " past, but to the end that,
" solved to make war on the " by a quite contrary conduct,
" Goths, than he imparted his " you may, for the future, de-
" resolution to your nation. He " serve to be ranked among our
" did not take the field till he " true friends and allies (7) "
" had entered into an alliance 'Justinian, had but too much
«' with your predecessor, and reason to complain of the
" engaged him, by a large sum, Franks, but perhaps not more
" which was paid before- hand, than other princes, who, since
" to act, in concert, with him, his time, have relied on theic
" against the Goths, as a com- friendship.
" men enemy. But he, instead
Ool the
4 64 The History of \'be B. 1Y;
the city on the last of December of the present year 535.
Belisarius, now master of Sicily, from Mejjina, without loft
of time, passed over to Reggio, which opened its gates to
him. From Reggio he pursued his march to Romr, the pro
vinces of Abrutium, Lucania, Puglia, Calabria, and Sam-
nium, readily submitting to him. The city of Naples erf-
durcd a siege ; but, Beltfarius's men having entered it through
an aqueduct, it was in the end taken and plundered z (H).
The««
* Procop. anecdot. 1. iv. c. 24.
(H) The city of Naples held said they, which side might ia
out, as we read in Procopius, the end prevail ; and Belisarius
twenty days. The Castle in the could not blame them for their
suburbs submitted upon terms, fidelity, but, on the contrary,
as soon as Belisarius appeared if they thus tamely submitted,
with his army before it. But would despise them as traitors
Iheodotus having taken care to and cowards, for abandoning and
put a strong garison into the city, betraying their old friends. Be
and they appearing resolved to lisarius, finding he could by no
defend it to the utmost, Belifa- offers prevail upon them to sub
rim, apprehending the difficulty mit, began to batter the city,
of the enterprize, attempted first and made several assaults ; bat
to gain them by the offer of was constantly repulsed with great
molt advantageous and honoura loss. In order to oblige them
ble terms. They sent out one by other means to surrender, he
Stepbanus to treat with the Ro cut the great aqueduct, which
man general, who, returning into supplied the city with water ;
the city, acquainted the citizens but this inconvenience was easily
with the conditions offered them remedied by the wells within,
by Belisarius, and, with many which sufficiently furnished them
arguments, endeavoured to per with water. Hereupon Belisa
suade them not to reject suCh of rius, finding the siege would con
fers. But Pastor and Asclepiodo- tinue longer than he expected,
tus, two orators greatly attached and oblige him to attack Rome
to, and perhaps well paid by, in the winter, resolved to aban
the Goths, in order to cross and don the enterprize, and had al
defeat the treaty, advised the in ready ordered his army to begin
habitants to demand such terms, their march ; when an Isaurian,
as they imagined Belisarius would Curiously viewing the structure of
never grant. But the general, the aqueduct, observed, that is
contrary to their expectation, a passage, which was cut thro' a
complying with their request, rock, was but a little inlarged,
and the citizens being thereupon seme soldiers might easily get
ready to open their gates to the through it, and surprise the city.
Romans, the two orators, with He acquainted the general with
their deluding eloquence, per his observation, who, being
suaded them to change their re highly pleased with it, ordered
solution, since- it was uncertain, some Ijauriani to widen the pass
age ;
C. XXIX. Ostrogoths in Italy. 565
Theodotus, who was an utter stranger to military af
fairs, and had a great aversion from war, alarmed at the un
expected success of the emperor's arms, began underhand to
treat of a peace with an embassador sent by the emperor for
that purpose. In a private conference with him, the king Theodo-
agreed to renounce all pretensions to the island of Sicily ; to tus^ro-
send the emperor yearly a crown of gold weighing three hun- pos*> terms
dred pounds ; to supply him with three thousand men, when/"""*" ac~
required ; to put no senator or ecclesiastic to death, or con- commoda-
fiscate their estates, without the emperor's consent, nor to "'*•
advance any to the dignity of senator or patrician, bat to pe
tition him to confer such honours on those who deserved them.
In all acclamations Justinian's name was to be first men
age j which they did by filing the the gates \ which being opened to,
rock, to avoid by that means all them by those who got over the
noise. When every thing was rea walls, the whole army entered,
dy, Belisarius sent for Stef&anus, and made themselves masters of
whom we have mentioned above; the city. Great slaughter was
told him, that he was sure he made at first of the unhappy in
should, in a very sliort time, be habitants by the Majsagetes, who,
master of the city ; and therefore without regard to sex, age, or
advised him to persuade his fel condition, pat all to the sword
low-citizens to prevent, by a they met with, not sparing even
timely submission, the impending those, who had taken sanctuary
evils. But, the inhabitants giving in the churches ; but Belisarius,
no ear to what Sttphanus said, riding about, restrained their
and defying the Romans from the rage, giving them leave to seize,
walls, Belisarius ordered Magnus, on the effects, but commanding
general of the horse, and Ennes, them to spare the lives, of the
commander of the I/aurians, to inhabitants. He caused all those,
enter the aqueduct in the dead who had been taken prisoners,
of the night with about fix hun to be set at liberty ; and, taking
dred men, some lights, and two the Gothic garison, consisting of
trumpets, to strike terror into eight hundred men, into the em
the city, and give the general peror's pay, he incorporated
notice of their success. These, them among his own troops (8).
having got into the city, in spite Belisarius is highly commended
of the many difficulties they met by Procopius for his clemency
with, advanced silently to the towards the citizen?, though
walls ; and, having killed the others, bat writers of no great
guards on the north side, where authority, tell us, that he put
Belisarius stood with his men most of the citizens to the sword ;
ready for the attack, they gave that he neither spared churches,
the signal with their trumpets ; priests, nor holy virgins ; and
which Belisarius hearing, order that he was severely reprimanded,
ed part of his men to scale the for his cruelty by Sjlverius bi
walls, and the rest to approach shop of Rome[q).
(8) Pnccp. till, Gab, /, i, (. ip, (9) Vide Sunn, eJ ar.-, 53$. C? 536-.
Oe3 tioned.
efi€ - fit History of the B. IV.
tioncd. Whenever a statue was erected to Theodotus, a statue
was to be likewise erected to the emperor, and placed on the
riiht-hand. No coin was to be stamped with the image of
Theodotus alone, but that also of "Justinian, which was always
to hold the most honourable place. These proposals, which
plainly betrayed the meanness of his spirit, were sent by Theo
dotus to Constantinople. But, apprehending the emperor, not
satisfied with them,- might pursue the war, he dispatched an
express to the embassador, now as far on his journey as Alba-
nia, recalling him for farther orders and instructions. These
tie offers werej t0 jedgn the kingdom to "Justinian, and content him-
''\refe" self with a pension suitable to his quality j but he obliged both
' '"£' t.he emperor's embassador, and Agapetus bishop of Rcme,
/lima wnom he sent on his own behalf, to bind themselves by a so-
"» ' lemn oath not to be mention this proposal, till they found
the emperor would not accept of the former. The emperor
rejected, as was expected, the first proposals with scorn:
whereupon the embassadors shewed him the second signed by
the king, who, in his letter to the emperor, told him, among
other things, that, being unacquainted with war, and ad
dicted to the study of philosophy, he preferred his quiet to a
kingdom. Justinian, transported with joy, and imagining
the war already ended, answered the king in a most obliging
manner, extolling his wisdom, and adding to what he demand
ed the greatest honours of the empire. The agreement be
ing confirmed by mutual oaths, lands were assigned to Theo
dotus out of the emperor's domain, and orders dispatched to
Belifarius to take possession of Italy in his name.
In the mean time a body of Goths entering Dalmatia, with
a design to recover Salonœ, Mundus sent his son, with a sinaM
party, to observe their motions ; but the youth, unadvisedly
engaging a detachment from their army far superior in num
ber to his own, was stain, and most of his men cut in pieces.
To revenge the death of his son, Mundus marched against
the enemy with all the forces under his command, engaged
The Ro- them, and put them to flight ; but, his men falling into con-
mans de- fusion in the pursuit, the Goths, facing unexpectedly about,
seated, renewed the fight, killed Mundus himself, and, in their turn,
and Dal- put the Romans to flight, disheartened with the death of their
aiatia re- leader. Upon this defeat, the Romans, abandoning Salemt,
covered by amj M Dalmatia, returned home ; which Theodotus no sooner
tie Goths. underftood, than, elated with so small an advantage, he re
fused, with great haughtiness, to comply with the articles of
the treaty, which he had lately signed ; nay, because the
emperor's embassador, by name Peter, a man of great address
and experience, expostulated with him for his breach of faith,
he told him, that it was not an unusual thing to put even em-
{$ bassadore
C. XXIX. Ostrogoths in Italy. 567
bassadors to death, when they did not shew that respect, which
is due to crowned heads. The embassador answered, That it
was his duty to execute his master's orders ; and that he would
utter what he had been injoined to fay, whether pleasing or
displeasing. Hereupon Theodotus put a strict guard upon the
embassador ; at which yujiinian being highly provoked, he
dispatched Conjlantianus, an officer of great valour and expe
rience, into Illyricum, with orders to raise forces there, and
enter Dalmatic/.
At the fame time he wrote to Belisarius, commanding
him to pursue the war with the utmost vigour. Constantianus,
having, pursuant to his orders, raised an army with great ex
pedition in Illyricum, entered Dalmatia, made himself master
of Salome, and obliged the Goths, with their general, by name TbtGoiht
Grypus, to abandon that province. As for Belisarius, he anew dri-
now drew near to Rome, having reduced all the provinces ven out of
that compose the present kingdom of Naples. Hereupon the Dalmatia.
chief men among the Goths, finding their king took no one
step to avert the impending ruin of their nation, assembled
without his consent ; and, not despairing of being able to
conclude a peace with Belisarius, they dispatched embassa
dors to him, representing the injustice of the war, the just
claim they had to Italy, and the moderation and equity
with which they had hitherto governed that country. As the
embassadors laid great stress on Theodoric's taking Italy, not
from the Romans, but from the barbarians, to whom it was
become a prey, and on their king's being prompted and en
couraged to that enterprize by the emperor himself, Belisa
rius, disliking the conditions they offered, answered surlily,
That Theodoric had been sent indeed by Zeno to rescue Italy
out of the hands of the barbarians, but not to keep it for
himself, since it was the fame thing to the emperor, so long
as it was not restored to the empire, whether it was held by
the Goths, or the Heruli : that whoever detains the goods,
that are not his own, against the will of the owner, is no less
guilty, than he who takes them by force. He concluded,
that he would hearken to no terms, nor sheath his swords till
Italy was reunited to the empire, to which it belonged \
Th e Goths, finding Belisarius unalterably bent upon driving
them out of Italy, and, on the other hand, amazed at the
cowardice and stupidity of their prince, who made no warlike
preparations, as if he either intended to betray Italy to the
emperor, or, despairing of success, had laid aside all thought?
of defending it, assembled at Regeta, a place about thirty-
five miles from Rome ; and, having there, with one consent,
» fascop. 1. i. c. 7, 8, 9,
Q0 4 depod<t
5^3 tbs History of the
Thcodo- deposed Tbeodotus, chose and proclaimed Vitiges king in h
tus de room. Vitiges was not descended from art illustrious famHf
posed, and among the Gsths ; but had distinguished himself by hisvakwr
Vitiges in several wars, especially in thus, which Tbeodoric had 'waged
chosen in with the Gepidcs. Jornandes writes, that he had been former
bii ream. ly armour-bearer to Tbeodoric b. Upon his accession to the
throne, he married Matesuenta, the daughter of Amalafuntbe,
and grand daughter of Tbeodoric, who, despising him on ac
count of his birth, though in every other respect worthy of
the crown, is said to have maintained a private correspondence
with the Romans, and was even suspected of attempting to
betray him into their hands c ; for she had been averse to the
match from the very beginning, and was> in a manner, forced
by the king to give her consent.
Theodot us, who was then at Rome, hearing the Getk
bad chosen a new king, fled from thence towards Ravennc.
But Vitiges dispatched one Optaris after him, with orders to
bring him back dead or alive. Optaris had been highly dis
obliged by him ; and therefore, pursuing him with great ex
Theodo- pedition, he soon overtook him, and, putting him to death,
tus mur brought back his head to the new king d. Such was the end
dered. of this cowardly, ungrateful, and covetous prince, after he
Year of had reigned about three years. Several of his coins have
the flood reached our times, on which he is called Tbeodatus, Theuda-
2885. tus, and Theodahathus c. He left a son, by name Thcudegif-
Of Christ
clus, whom Vitiges caused to be first imprisoned, and at ter-
Of'537-
Rome warc^S t0 be put to death. And now the new king, having no
1285. competitor, applied himself wholly to the re-establisbing of
\y->fs±) the affairs of the Goths. He began with writing a circular
letter, wherein he exhorted his countrymen to exert their
antient courage, and defend with their usual bravery, against .
all unjust invaders, the countries which belonging to them by
right of conquest. From the place where he was chosen, he
marched to Rome ; but, not thinking himself strong enough to
defend that city against Belifarius, who was marching towards
it, he resolved to remove to Ravenna, where he might, with
more ease, reinforce his army, and make the necessary pre
parations for taking the field. Upon his departure, he obliged
the pope, the senate, and the people, to take an oath of
fidelity ; and then, leaving four thousand Goths for the de
fence of the city, he set out for Ravenna with several senators,
whom he took with him as hostages for the rest. Being ar
rived at Ravenna, he assembled the Goths from all parts ;
and, having raised a considerable army, he encamped under
the walls ot that city.
b Joan. p. 144. c Procop. I. ii. c. 10. d Idem, I. i. c,
\i. e Vide Baron. ad ahn. 534. 537. Baxdur. p. 404,
C, XXIX. Ostrogoths in Italy. 5%
In the mean time Belisarius, having garisoned Naples, Ou
tfits, and the other strong places in Campania, approached
Rome. As he drew near, the inhabitants, dreading the treat
ment which the Neapolitans were said to have met with, and
awed by the reputation of so renowned a general, resolved,
notwithstanding the oath they had so lately taken, to open
their gates to the emperor's army. Accordingly, they di
spatched one Fidelias to invite Belisarius to come and take
possession of their city, assuring him, that he should meet with
no opposition. Belisarius no sooner received this invitation,
than he advanced to the gates of the city ; which being opened Belisarius
to him, he entered Rome on the ninth or tenth of December ******
of the year 537. and, taking possession of it in the emperor's RQnie'
name, reunited it to the empire, sixty years after it had been
taken by Qdoaccr, and thirty-four after it had submitted to
Theodoric. The Gothic garison, finding they could not make
head at the same time against the emperor's army and the ci
tizens, retired by the Porta Flaminia, while Belisarius en
tered by the Porta Afinaria. Leudaris, governor of the city,
who staid behind, was sent, together with the keys, to the;
emperor. Belisarius, now master of the city, applied himself
to the repairing of the walls, and other fortifications ; filled the
granaries with corn, which he caused to be brought from Si
cily ; and. stored the place with all. manner of provisions, as if
he were preparing against a siege ; which gave no small unea
siness to the inhabitants, who chose rather, that their city
should lie open to every invader, than be liable to the many
miseries and calamities attending a siege. While Belisarius
was thus employed at Rome, Pitzas, governor of Samnium,
submitting to him, delivered up great part of that country,
with the city os Benevento. Other cities, to wit, Narnia, Several
Spoleto, and Perusta, revolting from the Goths, received Jto- other ci-
man garisons, as did most cities in Tuscany f. ties submit
In the mean time Vifiges, lay not idle at Ravenna ; but, '"bim,
having raised an army of one hundred and fifty thousand men, yy
resolved to march directly to Rome, and engage Belisarius, or,rsl,y
if he declined engaging, to lay siege to the city. But, zv- powerful
prehending that the Franks, who were in confederacy witharw.
the emperor, might fall upon him at the same time, with the
consent and approbation of the great men among the Goths,
he dispatched embassadors to their three kings, Theodebert,
Childebert, and Clotarius, offering to yield to them whatever
the Qjlrogoths held in Gaul, and besides to pay them a consi
derable sum, provided they joined -him against the emperor.
f Procof. \. i. c. 15,
The
570 she History of the B. IV.
He gains The Franks, notwithstanding their alliance with 'Justinian,
over the hearkened with their usual treachery to the proposal, and
Franks, signed the treaty, the articles whereof were immediately exe
cuted by Vitiges, who paid them the sum agreed on, and or-
dered Martias, who commanded a chssenbodyof Ostrogoth
in Gaul, to deliver up to the Franks the cities he held there,
and return with the forces under his command into Italy. The
three princes divided equally among them both the money and
the cities yielded to them by the Ostrogoths. But, when they
were to execute on their side the articles of the agreement,
they declared, that the engagements they had lately entered
into with Justinian not allowing them to make open war upon
the Romans, they could not, by any means, fend an army of
Franks to the assistance of the Ostrogoths ; but they would
cause a body of troops, raised in the countries which they had
subdued, to join them. Accordingly they sent, not imme
diately, but the following year, ten thousand Burgundiaits,
subdued by them a few years before, who, upon their enter
ing Italy, declared, pursuant to their private instructions, that
they came of their own accord, without so much as asking
leave of the kings of the Franks, to whom they paid no re
gard g. Thus early the Franks began to sport with the most
solemn treaties, and elude them with quibbles and equivoca
tions, as their deseendents are well known to do to this
day.
Vitjges Vitiges was no sooner joined by Martias, and the troops
marches "returned from Gaul, than he began his march to Rome, and
£oine. pursued it with great expedition, not attempting to reduce
any of the towns on the road, which, he knew, were well
provided and fortified. Belijarius, being informed of his
march, dispatched messengers to Constantianus in Tuscany, and
to Bejsas, by nation a Goth, but of the emperor's party, in
Umbria, ordering them to join him with all possible expedi
tion, with the troops under their command; for his army
consisted only of five thousand men, the rest being employed
in garisoning the many towns that had submitted. At the
same time he wrote to the emperor, acquainting him with
the danger he was in, and pressing him to fend into Italy,
without loss of time, the necessary supplies (I). Constantia
nus
(I) His letter to the emperor " your orders, with the army
was couched in the following " under my command, have re-
terms: " I have left Sicily, and, " duced great part of that coun-
" landing in Italy, pursuant to " try, and reunited Rome itself
«*t,a
C. XXIX. Ostrogoths in Italy. 57*
nut joined him, pursuant to his orders, and soon after Btjfis,
who, falling in with part of the enemy's vanguard, killed a
considerable number of them, and put the rest to flight. Be
lifarius had built a soft upon a bridge about a mile from Rome,
and placed a strong garison in it, to dispute the passage with •
the enemy ; but the garison, seized with a panic at the ap
proach of so numerous an army, abandoned their post in the
night, and fled into Campania ; so that Vitiges early next morn
ing passed over great part of his army, and marched on, with
out opposition, till he was met by Belifarius., who, knowing
nothing of what had happened, came very early, attended by
a thousand horse, to view the ground near the bridge. He
was greatly surprised, when he beheld the enemy marching up
against him. However, lest jhc should heighten their courage A bloody
by this flight or retreat, he stood his ground, and received the tncomter
enemy at the head of his small body, exposing himself, with- ^"w«»
out his usual prudence and discretion, to the greatest dangers, him and
Had he been killed, Rome must have fallen ; and therefore he E^ik"0*-
is deservedly blamed for thus exposing his own person, since
on him the safety of all depended ; but this perhaps is the
apRocop. bcl. Goth, 1. i.e. 17— 29.&I. ii. c. I — 10. JoRt-'p. 144.
tore
5*6 j& history of 'the B. W:
fore Rimini. Vitigis, hearing that Milan was fallen into the
enemy's hands, dispatched Uraia, his sister's son, at the head
of a strong detachment, to recover that important place, and
the rest of Liguria. Uraia, being joined by the ten thousand
Burgundians, of whom we have spoken above, sent by Theo-
debert king of the Franks, laid close siege to Milan, and, in
a short time, reduced it to the last extremity.
While Vitiges was thus busied in the siege of Rimini, and
Uraia in that of Milan, Belisarius, leaving a small garison in
Rome, marched towards the former place, with a design to
cut off the communication between the Goths before Rimini
and those in Auximum, now OJimo, a strong town held by
them. On his march, he made himself master of Tudera and
Clufium ; and, at the latter place, received intelligence, that
Narses ar- the celebrated Narses was arrived from Conjlantinaple in Pi-
rives in cerium with fresh supplies, to wit, with five thousand Romans,
Italy ivitb an<j two thousand Heruli. They were all commanded in
P&fit" chief by Narses, and, under him, the Romans by Justin, the
' * general of Illyricum, and by Narses the Armenian. The He
ruli were headed by three of their countrymen, Vifigandus,
Aloethes, and Phanatheus. Upon this intelligence, Belisarius
marched into Picenum, and the two armies joined at Firmum,
now Fermo, where a council of war was held, wherein they
deliberated, whether it was most expedient for the em
peror's service to besiege Auximum, or relieve Rimini. If
they marched to Rimini, Belisarius apprehended, that the ene
my from Auximum would harass and lay waste the neighbour
ing country, which had submitted to the Romans. On the
other hand, it was thought unreasonable to suffer the besieged
to perish for want of assistance. As Narses had a great kind
ness for John, who was shut up in the place, he earnestly
pressed Belisarius to deliver him from the imminent danger
both he and the garison were in. Belisarius at first refused to
comply with his request ; but, a messenger seasonably arriving
with letters from John, wherein he declared, that, unless he
was relieved in seven days, he must deliver up the town, Be
lisarius agreed to march to his relief. Having thereforre left
a thousand men at Firmum, under the command of Aratius,
to awe the garison of Auximum, he divided his army into three
bodies, whereof one was embarked on a great number of
vessels, another marched along the shore under the conduct of
Rimini re- Martinus, and the third was led by Belisarius himself, and
lievid. by Narses, over the mountains. This division os the forces
had the desired effect ; for Vitiges, feeing a great fleet appear,
and at the fame time two armies, which, from the many
fires they made in the night, he concluded to be very nume
rous, broke up the siege, and fled in such haste, that the
7 greatest
C. XXIX. Ostrogoths in Italy. 577
greatest part of the baggage was left behind. The confusion
of the Gotbs was so great, that, had not the garison been
extremely feeble for want of sustenance, they might have ea
sily cut them off in their disorderly retreat, and at once put an
end to the war '.
After this success, jealousies began to arise between Bcli- Misunder*
Jarius and Narfes, which were carried to such an height, standing
that the latter, refusing to obey the former, required that between
the army might be divided, that each of them might com- Belisarius
1 nand a separate body, and act independently of one another, «»^Nartcs,
it being reasonable, that they should both have their (hare in
the glory of conquering Italy, and reuniting it to the empire.
This gave great uneasiness to Belisarius, who, apprehending
that the dividing of the army might prove highly prejudicial
to the emperor's service, alleged many reasons against it ; but,
finding Narfes obstinate, he produced the emperor's letter to
him, wherein 'Justinian declared, that he had not sent Narfes
into Italy to command the army, but to serve under Belisa-
riusy and, with the rest of the officers, to obey and execute
his orders in all things relating to his service, and the welfare
of the state. Narfes, laying hold of the last words of the
letter, endeavoured to prove, that what Belisarius proposed
was repugnant to the good of the state, and consequently that
he was not obliged to obey him. >
This animosity and misunderstanding between the two ge
nerals bred such a division in the army, that, Belisarius having
undertaken the siege of Urbinum, "John, with several of the
chief officers, and great part of the forces, encamped at a
distance from him, and, before be began to batter the place,
withdrew with Narfes in the night, and returned to Rimini.
However, Belisarius, thinking he could master the place with- Belisarius
out them, prepared for an asiault ; but, as he was marchings" Ur-
up to the walls, the besieged, to the great surprize of the Ro- binum ,
mans, desired to capitulate, and, upon promise of indemnity,
opened their gates, and submitted. This unexpected submis
sion was owing to their want of water ; for the only fountain
the Gotbs had in the city failed on a sudden, which unfore
seen accident obliged them to submit to the best terms they
could obtain. Narfes, who lay idle at Rimini, greatly sur
prised at this sudden success, and looking upon the reduction
of the place as a reflection upon himself (for he had been per
suaded by John, that it was impregnable), to redeem his re
putation, dispatched John, with part of the forces that had
followed him, against the city of Casena ; but, the garison
making a vigorous resistance, John, retiring from before it in
mans,
C. XXIX. Ostrogoths in Italy. 583
mans, who took possession of the city in the emperor's
name f.
Belisarius did not continue long at Auximum ; but Rayenna
marched from thence with his whole army to Ravenna, which f^f*' &
he invested on all sides, both by sea and land, to prevent the ^"krius.
importation of provisions. The place was defended by a
very numerous garison, commanded by the king in person,
who exerted all his courage and bravery in the defence of the
metropolis of his kingdom ; but, Belisarius pursuing the siege
with incredible vigour, and great success, the kings of the
Franks, especially Theodeberi, alarmed at the progress of the
emperor's arms, and not doubting but, if Italy were united
anew to the empire, he would fall next upon them, dispatched
embassadors to Vitigts, offering to assist him with an army of
500,000 men, on condition he would share the country with
them. Belisarius, informed of this negotiation, in order
to defeat the ambitious views of the Franks, sent embassadors
to Vitigts, to put him in mind of the perfidy of the Franks,
of which he had but a very fresh instance, and to assure him,
that the emperor, on whom he might depend, was ready to
grant him very honourable terms. The king, by the advice
of the great men about him, rejected the proposals of the
Franks, and shewed himself inclined to come to an agree
ment with the emperor. In the mean time Belisarius, to
bring the king to his own terms, bribed with a large sum a
citizen of Ravenna to set fire to a magazine of corn, which
was the chief dependence of the besieged. This was done with
such secrecy, that they knew not whether they ought to im
pute it to chance, or to design. They began to distrust each
other, and some to conclude, that Heaven itself fought
against them. At the same time Belisarius detached one Tho
mas with a body of troops against the Gotbs inhabiting the
Alpes Coitia, who, at his approach, submitted, with Sifigit
their leader. Of this Uraia receiving intelligence while on
his march to the relief of Ravenna with four thousand men,
he changed his resolution, and went to attack Thomas, hopc-
ing to surprise him ; but John and Martinus, who lay en
camped on the banks of the Po, suspecting his design, marched
against him, and obliged him to retire into Liguria, where
he continued, expecting better fortune.
Vitiges, upon his rejecting the offers of the Franks,
had dispatched embassadors to Constantinople, to conclude a
peace with the emperor upon the best terms they could ob
tain. These now returned, and with them two senators,
Dominion and Maximinus, sent by Justinian to conclude a
* Procop. 1. H. c. 27.
P p V peace
584 The History of the B. IV.
Terms pro- peace upon the following terms ; to wit, that the country
posedby the beyond the Po, with respect to Rome, should remain to the
emperor. Gotbs ; but that the rest of Italy should be yielded to the
emperor ; and the royal treasure of the Gotbs (hould be equally
divided between him and the king. These conditions Vitiges
and the Goths embraced with much joy j for they were al-
Belisarius ready reduced to great streights. But Belifarius, not able to
refuses to bear, that he should be thus bereft of the glory of ending the
sign them, war, and carrying Vitiges, as he had lately done Gelimer king
of the Vandals, captive to Constantinople, peremptorily refused
to sign the treaty, and pursued the siege with more vigour
than ever, without hearkening to the complaints of his offi
cers and soldiers, who were quite tired with the length of the
.siege : he only obliged such of the officers, as were of opi-
r'-« , that the town could not be taken, to express what
i ■ .• se u in writing, that they might not deny it afeer-
w Procop. 1. ii. c. 3. .
In
C. XXIX. Ostrogoths in Italy." 5g9
In the mean time the Gotbs, who, hearing that the Ro- hut art
mans were masters of one gate, had fled out at another, and disappoint-
retired to an high rock not far from the city, discovering from id.
thence the small number of the Romans in the town, and the
army yet at a distance, returned into the city by the same gate
they had gone out at, and, falling upon the Romans, obliged
them to abandon the gate, and fly to the battlements, where
they defended themselves with unparalleled valour. By this
time the commanders, having agreed about the plunder of the
city, approached the gates ; but, finding them shut, they
shamefully retired, though their companions, overpowered
with numbers, earnestly called out for their assistance. Arta-
banes therefore, and such of his men as were still alive, feeing
themselves thus basely abandoned, and despairing of succour,
leaped down from the walls. Those who fell on the stones
were killed by the fall, or rendered incapable of saving them
selves by flight ; but Artabanes,vr\ih a few more, having the good
luck to pitch upon the ground, got safe to the camp, where
he upbraided the commanders with their ill conduct, and want
of courage. The Romans, after this disappointment, having
palled the Po, marched to Faventia, now Faenza, where they
were met by Totila at the head of his small army, consisting
only of five thousand men. Hereupon the. Roman generals
having called a council of war, Artabanes advised them not
to despise the enemy, though far inferior to them in num
ber, but to fall upon them before the whole body had passed
the river Lamone, on which stands the town of Faventia.
But the commanders disagreeing among themselves, as it ge
nerally happens when they are equal in power, Totila passed
the river without opposition ; so that the two armies ap
proached each other in order of battle.
While they stood thus drawn up, waiting the signal, one
Valiaris, a Goth of a gigantic size, and proportionable strength, *£"%■"
advancing before the ranks, challenged any Roman to a single f""*""
combat. Artabanes accepted the challenge, and, at the first
encounter, ran him through the right side with his lance ; but,
imagining, as the Goth did not fall immediately, that the
wound was not mortal, he gave him a second wound in the
belly, when the head of Valiaris's lance, which stood up
right, falling upon Artabanes's neck, unfortunately cut one
of the arteries. The brave champion, however, not appre- <s/,e death
hcnding any danger, rode back to the army ; but, as the blood 0f Arta-
could not be stopped, he died three days after, to the great bane9.
grief of all the emperor's true friends, who, from his expe- \
rience, courage, and prudence, promised themselves great
things. He had served first with high reputation in the Per
sian
59o The History of the B/nft
Jian army ; but, being taken prisoner by Belisariut in the
castle of Sisaurium, with all the Persians under his com
mand, and sent to Constantinople, he offered his service to the
emperor, who sent him, with the Persians he had formerly
commanded, to his army in Italy, where he distinguished
himself, as we have related, in an eminent manner. The
single combat was succeeded by a general engagement, in
which the Romans, confiding in their numbers, behaved at
The Ro first with great bravery. But three hundred Goths, who had
mans de- been ordered by Totila to pass the rivet at some distance, fall
stated. ing unexpectedly upon the rear, pursuant to their orders, they
began to give ground, imagining that body to be far more
numerous than it really was. Hereupon Totila charging them
in front with new vigour, they first fell into great confusion,
and then betook themselves to a precipitate flight. The
Goths pursued them with great slaughter, took a great num
ber os prisoners, and all their ensigns, and obliged the few,
who had the good luck to make their escape, to take refuge,
with their commanders, in the neighbouring towns x.
Totila, to improve this victory, marched without loss
of time to Florence, and invested that city ; but a considera
ble army being sent from Ravenna to the relief of the place,
Totila thought it adviseable to raise the siege, and retire to
Micole, a town about a day's journey from Florence. The?
Romans, leaving a small garison in the town, pursued them
with the rest of their forces ; and it was agreed, that one of
the commanders, marching with all possible expedition after
them, should keep them in play till the others came up. The
lot fell upon 'John \ but unseasonable disputes arising among
the commanders, and a report being spread, that John was
The Ro killed by one of his own men, the army halted ; and in the
mans de mean time "John being forced to engage the enemy with his
feated own troops only, he was utterly defeated. When news of
anew. this defeat were brought to the army, seized with a sudden
panic, they all dispersed, every one shifting for himself in the
best manner he could. Totila treated the prisoners he took
in this and the former engagement with so much humanity,
that, most of them entering into his service, his army was by
that means considerably increased y.
Tuscany, Th e following year, the eighth of the Gothic war, Totila,
andseve taking the field early in the spring, made himself master of
ral other all the strong places in Tuscany ; and, marching from thence
provinces, into Campania and Samnium, reduced and dismantled the
recovered strong town of Beneventum, and laid liege to Naples ; during
fy tie which several detachments from his army took Cuma, and
Goths.
s Procop. I. iii. C 9. r Idem ibid. c. id.
reco-
C. XX?5t: Ostrogoths in Italy, 591
recovered all Brutia, Lucan'm, Apulia, and Calabria, where Year of
they found considerable sums, which had been gathered for the flood
the emperor. The Goths having thus seized on tha tributes, 2891.
and the money that had been levied to pay the army, the ®* Christ
emperor's troops were reduced to great streights, and there- -J^l-
upon began to mutiny, and refuse to take the field ; so that Konle
Conjiantianus lay idle at Ravenna, John at Rome, Bejsas at **^*"
Spoletum, "Justin at Fhrence, and Cyprian at Perugia, the
places to which they had fled after the late defeat. The em
peror, informed of the bad situation of his affairs in Italyy
ordered a considerable fleet to be equipped, and a great num
ber of forces to be raised, committing both to the conduct
of Maximinus, whom he honoured with the title of prafeitus
pratorio of Italy ; but, as he was a man quite unacquainted
with military affairs, naturally timorous, and indolent, Justi
nian appointed Demetrius to command under him, who had
formerly served under Belisarius as general of the foot. De
metrius, to retrieve the reputation of the Roman arms in Italy,
resolved to attempt the reiief of Naples, already reduced to
great streights. With this view, leaving Maximinus on the
coasts of Epirus, he failed with part of the fleet to Sicily ;
and there, as he had but a small number of forces with him,
he assembled a great many vessels, with a design to terrify
the enemy, who would conclude, that so considerable ar fleet
had a proportionable army on board ; but his heart failing
him after he had put to fca, instead of sailing directly to Na
ples, he steered his course to Rome, in order to raise soldiers,
and then return to Naples ; but, the Remans refusing to serve
against the victorious king of the Goths, he was obliged either
to lie idle, or to attempt the relief of Naples with the few
troops he had brought with him.
The latter expedient he chesc; but TotHa, having timely 7-^ j^0.
notice of his design, manned with incredible expedition a great n,ans je_
number of light vessels, which, unexpectedly falling upon him seated bt
as he was riding at anchor on the coast of Naples, took orfta.
sank every ship of his fleet, and made all on board prisoners,
except a few, who betook themselves to their boats, among
whom was Demetrius himself. The besieged being greatly
disheartened by this loss, Conon, who commanded in Naples^
dispatched a messenger to Maximinus, acquainting him with
the deplorable condition to which the city was reduced, and
earnestly pressing him to hasten to their relief. Maximinus
was already advanced as far as Syracuse ; but could not be
persuaded to stir from thence for some time. At length, be
ing threatened with the emperor's displeasure, importuned by
xepeated messages from tbe besieged, and openly reviled for
• cowardice
Sgl Tbe History of the B. IV.
cowardice by the soldiers, he sent the fleet to Naples under the
command of others ; but, indulging his natural timidity, staid
Another himself behind. As the fleet put to sea in the depth of win-
Roman ter, it was, by a violent storm, driven ashore near the ene-
stietde- my's camp, who funk the ships, and, without resistance,
stayed. ,mc]e wnat slighter they pleased of the seamen and soldiers.
Few of them escaped being either taken or killed. Among
the prisoners was Demetrius, who, after the loss of his own
fleet, had gone aboard that of Maximiruis. Totila ordered
him to be led, with a rope about his neck, to the town wall,
and there obliged him to exhort the inhabitants to surrender,
by assuring them, that they were to expect no further succours,
and that all hopes of relief were lost with the navy.
At the fame time Totila offered them honourable terms,
Naples upon condition they submitted immediately j which they did
surrenders, accordingly, and were treated by him with the utmost huma
nity. As they had been pinched with along famine, Totila^
apprehending they might endanger their lives by indulging at
first their ravenous appetites, placed guards at the gates to
prevent their going out, taking care at the fame time
to supply them sparingly with provisions, but increasing
their allowance eve^-day. Being thus, by degrees, re
stored to their forme/ jst'rength, he ordered the gates to be
set open, and gave every one full liberty to stay, or retire
to what place he thought fit. He treated Conon, and the
garison, in a most friendly and obliging manner: for, upon
their pretending to return to Conjlantinople, he supplied
them with (hips ; .and, having discovered, that their real
design was to fail to Rome, and reinforce the garison of
that city, which he intended in the next place to besiege, he
was so far from punishing them as they expected, or even
upbraiding them for. thus imposing upon him, that, on the
contrary, the winds not proving lavourable for a long time,
he furnished them with horses, waggons, and provisions, and
ordered a body of Goths to escorte them to Rome. He dis
mantled Naples, as he had done Beneventum, not caring to
weaken his army by garisoning the many strong-holds that
submitted to him*.
Totila, now master of Naples, and most of the for
tresses in those parts, began to turn his thoughts upon Rome.
Totila jn t]le fai\ piace> he wrote a letter to the senate, whom he
«u>n/« to earnest]y desired to draw over to his party, taxing them in
e oman gentje terms w;tn the ingratitude they had shewn to the family
jena e. ^^ nation of the great Tlicodoric and Amalafuntha. He ad
vised and intreated them to return to their duty ; put them in
/■
£94 The History of the' B. sV.
arid march to Pisaurus, now Pesaro, which flood at a smasi
distance, and was still held by the Romans. In their retrta:,
two hundred of them were slain by the besiegers ; but the
rest reached Pisaurus, whither Totila pursued them, hoping
Auxl- to take the place by storm ; but, being vigorously repulsed
mum, by the garison, he returned to the siege of Auximwn ; and at
Fiimum, (he same time, finding that Belisarius was not in a condition
and Ascu-to take tjle fou ne fent out detachments to besiege Firmum
jum, be- an(] jjsculum> two places of great importance in the province
sieged by Qc puenum,
^s" Behsarius, chiefly concerned for Rome, appointed Besfas
governor of that city, and sent Artafiris a Persian, and Bar-
bation a Thracian, men of valour, and great experience in
war, to command under Besfas, strictly injoining them ta
make no sallies, in cafe the town was besieged. Being him
self utterly unable to relieve the besieged towns, or -put a
stop to the progress of the Goths, he dispatched John to Csn-
Jlantinople, with a letter to the emperor, wherein he ac
quainted him with the situation of his affairs in Italy, telling
him at the fame time, that, being destitute of men, arms,
and money, it was impossible for him to prosecute the wax.
Justinian, upon the receipt of this letter, ordered new levies
to be made, the veterans being all employed against the Per-
Home be-Jians. But in the mean time Totila, pursuing his good for-
fiegtd by tune, took several strong-holds and cities of great conse-
Totila. quence, to wit, Firtr.um, Afculum, Auximum, Spoktum, Sec.
and at length approached Rome, which he invested on a!l
sides. As he drew near the city, Artastris and Barbatien,
contrary to the express command of Belisarius, made a sally,
thinking they should surprise the Goths ; but they were them
selves taken in an ambuscade, and, most of their men being
cut in pieces, they narrowly escaped falling into the enemy's
hands. The town had not been long besieged, when Belisa
rius was informed, that a considerable number of troops, sent
by the emperor, were in full march to join him. Hereupon
Belisarius, committing the care of Ravenna to "Justin,
marched with a small body of forces to Epidamnus, where he
met them. Soon after, Narses the eunuch arrived with some
auxiliary troops raised among the Heruli, and commanded by
Philimuih, and other leaders of their own nation. With part
of this reinforcement Belisarius sailed to the port of Romt,
which he was very desirous of relieving ; and sent the rest,,
under the command of John, into Calabria, with orders to
drive the Goths out of those parts, and then join him in the
neighbourhood of Rome. "John took some places ; but, being
afraid to puss by the city of Capuat cr to make ?ny attempt
upon
Z
C. XXIX. Ostrogoths in Italy. 595
upon it, though defended only by three hundre.d Gctbs, he
did not, pursuant to his ordcis, join Belifarius at the time
appointed ».
Iw the mean time Rome being so closely blocked up, that
no provisions could be imported either by land or Water, a A great
dreadful famine began to rage in the city. The unhappy famine in
citizens, having consumed every thing that could give them any Rome,
nourishment, and even the grass that grew near the walls,
were in the end obliged to feed on their excrements. Several,
to avoid the calamities they groined under, laid violent hands
on themselves. In this extremity they flocked in great mul
titudes to Bejfas their governor, earnestly intreating him to
supply them with food, and, if that was not in his power,
cither to give them leave to go out of the town, or to deliver
them from their miseries by putting them to death. Beffas
replied, That to supply them with food, was impossible j to
Jet them go, unsafe ; and to kill them, impious. To raise
their drooping spirits, he assured them, that an army was
hourly expected from Conjlantincph, which, under the com
mand of Belifarius, would oblige the Goths to abandon the
siege, and retire b. Vigilius bishop of Rome sent from Sicily,
where he then was, several (hips laden with corn, to relieve
the city ; but they were all intercepted by the enemy, who,
after the reduction of Naples, kept a great number of vessels
constantly cruising between Sieily and Romet In the end,
Bejfas suffered such of the citizens as were willing to retire,
to go out of the city, upon their paying him a sum of money j
but most of them either died on the road, or, falling into the
enemy's hands, were by them cut in pieces. Belifarius, well
apprised of the miserable condition to which the besieged were
reduced, used all possible means to relieve them ; but fortune,
or rather Providence, seemed to sight against him ; for his
attempts, however well concerted, proved all unsuccessful ;
which gave him so much uneasiness, that he fell into a fever,
and was thought, for some time, to be in great danger.
In the mean time the besieged, no longer able to bear the
miseries with which they were afflicted, and despairing of
relief, began to mutiny, and press Bejfas to come to an agree
ment with Totila ; which he refusing to do, four of the IJau-
rians, who guarded the Porta Jfinaria, letting themselves
down from the wall by ropes fastened to the battlements in
the dead of the night, while their companions were asleep,
went to Totila, and undertook to receive his army into the
city. The king with great joy embraced the overture, and,
; Q_q a fending
596 The History of the B- IY.
sending four Gotbs of great strength, intrepidity, and resolu
tion, into the city with the lfaurians, he silently approached
Rome be the gates with his whole army ; which being opened by tbe
trayed to lfaurians, with the assistance of the four Gotbs within, he
TVila. entered the city at the head of his troops. Upon the first
Year of alarm, Befsas, with the other commanders, and most of the
the flood soldiers, fled out at another gate. Such as remained behind,
2895. took sanctuary in the churches, whither the inhabitants like
Of Christ wise fled. Totila, who had kept his men under arms ah"
547- night, and united in a body, through fear of an ambuscade,
Of Rome finding he had nothing to apprehend, went early in the
1295.
morning to St. Peter's church, to return thanks for the suc
cess of the enterprize. His men, in their way, killed six-
and-twenty soldiers, with about sixty of the inhabitants ; ani
this is all the blood that was shed ; for Pelaglus the deacon,
throwing himself at his feet when he entered the church,
with the book of the gospels in his hand, earnestly intreatec
him to spare the inhabitants.
He spares Totila, highly provoked against the inhabitants, refused
the inha at first to comply with his demand ; but was in the end pre
bitants l vailed upon to forbid his Goths, under the severest penalties
but plun to put any, either of the citizens or soldiers, to death. How
ders the ever, he gave them full liberty to plunder the city, which
city. they did for several days together, stripping the inhabitants of
all their wealth, and leaving nothing in their houses but the
naked walls. Thus many persons of great distinction, and
among the rest RujUciana, the widow of Boetius, and daughter
of Symmachus, a matron of exemplary piety, were reduced
to beg their bread from door to door. In the house of Bcjfas
was found an immense treasure, which he had scandalously
amassed during the siege, by selling to the people, at an ex
orbitant price, the corn that had been stored up for the use
of the garison. The Goths were for putting Rujliciana to
death, because (he had persuaded, as they pretended, the
Romans to pull down the images, and destroy the statues, of
Theodoric, to revenge, by that means, the death of her father
and husband. But Totila, taking her and all the women
under his protection, secured them against the cruelty and in
solence of the soldiery c. Thus was Rome recovered by the
Goths in the year of the Christian æra 547. the twentieth of
Ju/iinian's reign, and the twelfth of the war. Totila, ac
cording to the most probable opinion, entered Rome on the
seventeenth of January.
Totila, now master of the capital of Italy, sent for the
senate i and, putting them in mind of the favours they had
In
C. XXEX. Ostrogoths in Italy. 605
In the mean time Totila, having laid waste great part of
Sicily, fat down with his army before Syracuse ; but Liberius,
whom Jujiinian had sent with a squadron to protect that
coast, having forced his way into the haven, relieved the
garison with a considerable supply both of men and provisions.
However, Totila pursued the (iegc wiih great vigour, though
valiantly opposed by the Romans within, who, hearing that
Artabanet was coming to their relief with a mighty fleet,
would hearken to no terms.
But, the fleet being dispersed on the coast of Calabria by
a violent storm, and Artabanes driven to the island of Malta,
where, with much difficulty, he saved himself, Liberius, de- Syracuse
spairing of relief, abandoned Syracuse to the enemy, and con- taken, and
veyed the garison by sea to Palermo. And now Totila, all Sicily
having no enemy in Sicily to oppose him, intirely reduced reduced by
that island, and, leaving four strong garisons in it to awe the Totila.
inhabitants, returned to Italy, loaded with booty '. Early
in the spring, Jujlin and John, who had pasted the winter in
Salonee, having drawn together their forces, set out on their
march to Ravenna. But in the mean the Sclavi, passing the
Danube, either at the instigation of Totila, or prompted by
a desire of booty, broke into the Roman provinces, commit
ting every-where unheard-of cruelties. This greatly retarded
the march of the army, the Roman generals being obliged to
send strong detachments against them ; which in the end ob
liged them to repass the Danube, and return home. But,
before the two generals reached the confines of Italy, they
received orders from the emperor to proceed no farther, but
to wait the arrival of Narses, whom he had appointed com- Narses <#-
mander in chief of all his forces in those parts with an ab- pointed t»
solute and uncontrolled authority. But, while Narses was command
making the necessary preparations for his intended expedition, »'» Italy.
Totila, having equipped a fleet of three hundred gallies, sent
them to pillage the coasts of Greece, where they got an im
mense booty. They made a descent upon the island of Corfu j
and, having laid it waste, they sailed to Epirus, where they
surprised and plundered the cities of Nicopolis and /Inchialus,
and took upon the coast many ships, and some among the
rest laden with provisions for the army of Narses.
At the fame time Totila blocked up the city of Ancona by Ancona
sea and land, and by that means soon reduced it to great besieged by
streights; which Valerian, who was 'then in Ravenna, being the Gotta,
Well apprised of, he acquainted John, who, pursuant to the
emperor's orders, was waiting the arrival of Narses in Dal
matian with the condition the city was in, earnestly soiieiting
(L) Thus Procopius. But other the cure; aftd that hw men
writers tell us, that Totila was miffing him, and concluding he
mortally wounded in the engage- was killed, betook themselves to
ment ; that he withdrew to have a precipitate flight (2).
his wound dressed, but died under
(2) Evagr. I, iv. t, 24, Nictfb. I. Xvii. C. IJ»
R.r, 4 SECT.
6X6 The History of the Lombards. B. IV.
SECT. II.
Ike History of the Lombards, from the Death of
Clephis, to Desiderius, taken Captive by Charle
magne.
T N the foregoing chapter, we have delivered the history of the
■*-. Lombards , from their first original to the death of Clepkis,
the successor of Alboin, and second king of Italy =» ; and shall
now' proceed to the history of the other princes of that na
tion, to Desiderius their last king, tak«n captive by Charle
magne. The Lombards, upon the death of Clephis, who had
treated them with great cruelty, resolved to be no more go
verned by kings ; and accordingly chose none for the space
of ten years, but, during that time, lived subject to their
7he Lom- dukc-J, as we have related elsewhere b. The most powenul
bards among these dukes, uniting their forces, entered Gaul, and
break into committed there dreadful ravages. Gov.tran king of Orleans
Gaul. dispatched a considerable army against them, under the con
duct of Amutus a patrician ; who engaged them, but was cut
off with the greater part of the army. After this victory,
the Lombards ravaged Burgundy without controul, made a
dreadful slaughter of the Burgundians, who attempted to op
pose them, and then returned home, enriched with an im
mense booty. Encouraged with this success, they returned
soon after, and laying the country waste, advanced as far as
Receive a Elrodunum or Ambrun, where they were met by Ennitts,
great called also Mummulus, at the head of a strong body of Bur-
**""- pundians, who cut them off almost to a man c.
toroiu About this time, that is, about the year 578. the Saxons,
from the wno> as we have related elsewhere d, had attended the Lom-
* S" bards into Italy, and were, by an agreement with Alboinm,
Saxons t0 ^nare w'tn '1'm ^'s ^uturt: conquests, falling out with their
ani Lom- °^ fr'er,ds an^ a"'es» resolved to quit Italy, and return to their
bard.s dis- own country* They pretended to live quite independent of
agree. tne Lombards, and in a distinct body; which the Lombard
pot consenting to, they left Italy with their wives and fami
lies, and took their route homewards through Gaul. But
Mummulus, one of Gontran's captains, meeting them on the
confines, killed a great numher of them, took many prisoners,
and forced the rest to repafs the Alps. However, they re
turned anew; and, having, with a considerable sum, purchased
a passage of Mummulus, who met them at the Rhone, thev
• Vide supra, p. 496— c 1 a. b Vide supra, p. 51 1, 512.
c Greg. Tur. L iv. c. 36. d Vide supra, p. 596.
retu.rr.e
C. XXIX. tbe History of the Lombards. 617
returned to their antient feats ; but found them possessed by The
the Suani, who, unwilling to quarrel wiih them, offered Saxons
them two thirds of the lands. This offer being rejected with return
indignation by the Saxons,, a bloody battle was fought, in home, and
which twenty thousand Saxons were killed, and on the side arc m-fl "f
of the Suani only four hundred and eighty, The Saxons, ,^'m cmt
who remained alive, being about six thousand in number, re- "f fy ***
newed the battle; but were again defeated, and obliged to anl-
submit to the terms, which the Suani were pleased to grant
them e.
But to return to the Lombards : Three of their dukes, to
wit, Amo, Zaban, and Rbodanus, notwithstanding the over
throw their countrymen had lately received in Gaul, broke
anew into that country, and, dividing themselves into three
bodies, laid it waste far and near, But Alummulus, falling The Lom-
upon them before they could unite their forces, cut great bards dt-
numbers of them in* pieces, and obliged the rest to quit theirseated
booty, and return through by-ways into Italy, Thither naneiv in
party of Franks followed them, who made themselves masters Gaul,
of a strong-hold in the neighbourhood of Trent, and, having
killed Ragih, who came to oppose them, .pillaged the coun
try to the very gates of Trent. But Euin, duke of that city,
sallying out unexpectedly against them, cut most of them off,
with their leader Cbarammchis, and pursued the rest to the
Alps, which they passed, leaving their booty behind them,
and returned home'.
At the same time the Lombards extended their conquests They tx-
in Italy, and, having defeated the forces of the exaich Lon-tend their
ginus, reduced the cities of Suiri, Bomarzo, Orta, Todi, conquests in
Amelia, Perugia, Luceoli, and several others of less impur- Italy,
tance. But, in the mean time, Tiberius, who had succeeded
'Justin, dying, Mauritius, who was chosen in his room,
alarmed at the progress the Lombards made in Italy, resolved
to put a stop to their victories, and, if possible, to drive them
quite out. With this view, he recalled Longinus, whom he
judged no-ways equal to such an undertaking, and sent Zama-
ragdus in his room, a person of great prudence, and well
skilled in military affairs. Zamaragdus landed at Ravenna
with a considerable army in the beginning of the year 584.
and, taking the field early in the spring, made himself master
of Broxillus, now Brijfello, a place of great strength on the
Po. He likewise prevailed upon Droflulf, an officer of great
experience, to revolt from the Lombards, who had raised him,
though by nation a Suevian, to the rank of a duke, and tp
bring over with him a considerable number of men. At the
same time Mauritius, concerting olher measures to deliver
c Paul. Diac de gest. i,ong. 1. iii. f Grec. Tur. l.iv. c 36.
July
UiS The History of the Lombards. B. IV.
Italy from the yoke of the Lombards, had recourse to ChiUt-
lert king of the Franks, and, with a large sum, prevailed
upon him to engage in the war against the Lombards.
This confederacy, and the vast preparations made both by
Zamaragdus and Childebcrt, alarmed the Lombards to such a
degree, that, apprehending they should not be able to wiih-
stand two such powerful enemies, so long as -they continued
divided, as it were, into so many petty kingdoms, they resolved
The royal t0 restore their antient form of government, to submit anew to
authority the authority of a single person, and to commit to bim the
restored whole management of so dangerous a war. Pursuant toths
among resolution, they assembled in 585. and, with one voice, raised
them, and Autharis, the son of Clephis, to the throne. Authar'is, with his
Autharis valour and prudence, so established the kingdom of the Litn-
made king, bards, that, in spite of the utmost efforts of the Roman em-
Year of perors, it lasted for the space of two hundred years. He had
the flood no fooner mounted the throne, than he* undertook thereco-
2933- very of Brijsello, being resolved, as it was a place of the ut
s''11'1" most importance, to force it, by all means, out of the enemy's
q5 5' hands. But Droilulf, who was in the town, and expected,
if he were taken, to be treated with the utmost severity by
i^^J the Lombards, made such a vigorous defence, that the siege
Et retakes continued a long time ; but, the garison being in the end re-
Brissello. duce<l to great {freights, Droclulf found means to withdraw
in the night, and repair to Ravenna, with such of his men
as were able to follow him. Autharis, being thus master of
the place, dismantled it, that it might no longer serve as a
place of refuge to the enemy, in cafe it should fall again into
their hands. After the reduction of Brijsello, he put his
troops into winter- quarters, the season being already far ad
vanced, and employed himself till the following spring, partly
in settling the affairs of the kingdom, and partly in making
the necessary preparations for the ensuing campaign g.
In the first place, he took upon him the name of Fit-
vius, and ordered it to be used, in imitation of the Romo»
emperors, by all the Lombard kings his successors h. In the
Bii eon- second place, considering that the dukes, who, for the space
duel to- of ten years, had ruled with an' absolute sway over their re-
•wardt the spective dukedoms, would not willingly part with all their
dukes. authority, he allowed them to continue in their governments;
but obliged them to contribute one moiety of their revenues
towards the maintenance and support of his royal dignity,
suffering them to dispose of the other as they pleased. He
reserved to himself the supreme dominion and authority, and
took an oath of the dukes, that, in time of war, they would
* Paul. Di ac. de gest. Long. 1. iii. c. 7. h Idem, c. 8.
readily
C. XXIX. the History of the Lombards. 6i$
readily assist him to the utmost of their power. Though he
could remove the dukes at his pleasure, yet he deprived none
of their dukedoms, except in cafes of treason, nor gave them
to others, but when their male issue failed '. And this was
the origin of the fiefs in Italy (A). Having settled matters
with the dukes in the manner we have related above, he
enacted several wholsome and seasonable laws against theft, ra
pine, murder, adultery, and other crimes, which, at that
time, prevailed among his subjects. He was the first of the
Lombard kings, who, renouncing paganism, embraced the
1 Paul. Diac. 1. iii. c. 8. Sigon. de reg. Ital. 1. i. Regin. 1. i.
P-5'7-
(A) Some have imagined, that in imitation of the Franks, into
fiefs were first introduced by the Italy (5). However, it must be
Lombards, and, in imitation of owned, that fiefs, in some de
them, adopted by other nations. gree, owe their origin to the
But they are therein certainly Roman emperors, who, for the
mistaken, since it is manifest greater security of the frontiers
from Aimonius (i) and Gregory of the empire, used to grant to
of Touts (a), that fiefs had been the officers and soldiers lands on.
introduced intoGaul by ti\eFranis the confines, as a reward for their
some years before the reign of long service. By this grant,
Autharis, who first cstablistied which was called beneficium, the
them in Italy. Gregory of Tours soldiers were encouraged to de
tells us, that in the year 5 74. that fend, with all their might, the
is, eleven years before Autharis frontiers of the empire, since
was raised to the throne, king they defended, at the fame
Guntran deprived one Erpon of time, their lands and estates (6).
his dukedom, and created an All the customs and laws, which
other in his room {3). Paulas were afterwards introduced and
Æmilius and Cujaccius observe, published concerning fiefs, are
that, when dukedoms were first owing to the Lombards, who gave
instituted in Gaul, the king re them a certain and regular form ;
moved the dukes at his pleasure ; so that, among all other nation;,
but that a custom afterwards ob successions, acquisitions, investi
tained, that they were not to be tures, and every thing else re
removed, unless convicted of lating to fiesi, were regulated by
treason, or some other enormous the customs and laws of the Lom
crime. At last the kings, by an bards. Hereupon a new body
oath, confirmed them in the of laws sprung up, which were
dukedoms, which at first they called feudal laws, and still are
held only during pleasure (4). in some provinces of Italy, espe
Thus were fiefs first introduced cially in the present kingdom of
by the Franks into Gaul, and a Naples, the chief pare of the
few years after by the Lombards, jurisprudence.
(l) Aimin. I. i. c. 14. (2) Greg. 7V. /. iv. t. 4^. (3) Idem, I. vii. i. 12.
ft 7. X. p- 19. ( 4-) Paul. Æmil. tie rtb. Franc. 1. i. (g Cujac. de fmi. in
print, p. 38. (s ) Mulia. in canjutt. Paris, lit. de feud. r.um. 13. (6) t'tdt
Xfdmfrid. 'pud Lojfuiu des ojjiiet, 1. i. t, I, num. 14.
■ • .• Christian
6io The History of the Lombards. B. IV.
He tm- Christian religion ; and his example was followed by most of
bracts the his subjects. But, as they were all instructed by Arian bi-
Chriftian shops, they continued long infected with that heresy ; which
rtlinon. occasioned great disputes between them, and the orthodox
bishops of the cities subject to them.
Autharis, having settled the affairs of his kingdom
during the winter, received news early in the spring, that
Cnilde- Childebert king of the Franks had, pursuant to his agreement
bert king with the emperor Mauritius, passed the Alps at the head of a
cf the powerful army. Hereupon, being well apprised, that he had
Franks not sufficient strength to withstand him in the field, he or-
tnters Ita- dered his dukes to provide their cities with strong garisons, and
ly ; but is t0 wait on tneir walls the arrival of the enemy, sending at the
ftrsuaJed fime tjme embassadors to Childebert, with rich presents, to
by Autha- j-ue for peace# This conduct was attended with the wilhed-
ris 0 re- fQI fuccefs . for Childebert, considering it would prove a very
-- tedious and difficult undertaking to lay siege to so many cities,
accepted the presents sent him by Autharis, and returned home.
Of this the emperor Mauritius loudly complained, and, re
proaching Childebert with breach of faith, insisted upon bis
returning the money he had received, to wit, fifty thousand
folidi, for making war upon the Lombards, if he did not,
within a time prefixed, perform his engagements. Hereupon
Childebert, unwilling to return the money, and, on the other
hand, thinking himself bound in honour to perform some re
markable service in favour of his ally, worthy of so large a
sum, raised a far more numerous army than he had before ;
and, having supplied them with every thing necessary for the
He re- expedition, he ordered them to march, under the conduct of
turns; but his best generals, into Italy. Autharis had formerly, as we
bis army have related above, declined coming to a battle, and, acting
:s mtirtly on]y defensively, had kept his troops within the fortified towns.
deflated. gut now, considering, that if he should have the good luck
to crush so powerful an enemy, other nations, as well as the
Franks, would be thereby deterred from invading his domi
nions, he resolved to alter his conduct, and meet the enenty
in the open field. With this view, he drew together all the
forces he had ; and, having encouraged them with a seasonable
speech, he marched in quest of the enemy, and offered, them
battle. The challenge being readily accepted by the Franks,
a bloody engagement ensued, in which both armies fought
with a fury hardly to be expressed ; but the Franks were in
the end utterly defeated. The Lombards pursued them in
their flight with great slaughter, and obliged such of them
as had the good luck to escape, to take refuge among the
barren mountains, where mostj of them perished with hunger
and
C. XXIX. The History of the Lombards. 621
and cold •, so that very few of them got safe to "their own
country.
Childebert, to revenge the loss of this army, sent an- Italy »'«-
other, twenty thousand men strong, under the conduct of vadtd
Anduald, Olo, and Cedinus, three generals of known valour, anew fa
and long experience in war. Olo laid siege to a strong castle the
called Bilitio, where he was killed with an arrow, and most Franks;
of his men cut off in a sally by the besieged. Cedinus took
some strong-holds in Cisalpine Gaul, now Lombardy. And
Anduald, advancing as far as Verona, laid some open places in
ashes, carrying with him the inhabitants into captivity, con
trary to the articles of the treaty between him and the em
peror. But, in the mean time distempers beginning to rage
among the Franks, occasioned by the hot season, and want of
provisions, and the Lombards keeping, as they had done for
merly, within their fortified towns, the generals of the
Franks thought it adviseable to return home, lest the Lombards ^a rl- .
should fall upon them, after their army had been considerably turn ^0OTr
weakened by the distempers that daily swept off great num- witbgreat
bers. On their return, they were reduced to such slreights, loss.
that they were forced first to sell their cloaths, and at last
their arms, to purchase provisions k. Autharis, thus delivered
from all fear of so powerful an enemy, resolved to employ
his whole strength in subjecting such provinces of Italy, as
were still held by the Romans. He had already made himself
master of all the hither Italy, except the dukedom of Rome,
and the exarchate, which was at that time governed by Ro-
manus, who had succeeded Zamaragdus, and comprised the
present Bolognefe, Romagna, the duchy of Urbino, and great
part of Picenum, now La Marca. The provinces which
make up the present kingdom of Naples, were still in the
hands of the Romans, the chief cities being governed, ac
cording to the form of government which Longinus had in
troduced, by their dukes, who were all immediately under
the exarch. But the most powerful among them, to wit,
the dukes of Naples, Surrento, Amalfi, Tarento, and Gacta,
despising the exarchs, ruled with an almost arbitrary sway ;
which has induced some to imagine, that these cities were
absolutely free ; whereas nothing is more certain in history,
than that they acknowlcged the emperor for their sovereign,
though they often refused to obey the exarch.
As these provinces lay at a great distance from Pavia, the
royal seat of the Lombards, and could receive speedy succours
by sea, in cafe they were attacked, the emperors kept but small
garisons in the cities, being obliged to employ all the forces
* Greg. Tur. 1. iv. c. 47. Paul. Diac. 1. iii. c. 9.
., they
%zt 'the History of the Lombards. B. IV.
they could spare in the Persian war, which iay heavy upon
them at the same time. Of this Autharis was well ap
prised, and therefore, leaving Rome and Ravenna behind him,
which were defended by numerous garisons, in the spring of
the year 589. he appointed his troops to rendezvous at Spt-
Ictum, and, pretending to march elsewhere, turned all on a
Autharis sudden, and entered Samnium, which province, together
reduces with the city of Benevento, he reduced almost without oppo
Samnium, sition. Encouraged with this success, he over-ran all Cck-
and the bria; and, advancing as far as Rhegium on the farthest point
eitjro/Be-Qf Italy, he rode into the sea ; and, striking with his ranee a
nevento. pi]]arj that ftood near the flj0re> Thus far, said he, shall the
founds of the Lombards extend. This pillar was still standing
in the days of our historian, and known by the name of Ait-
tharis's pillar '. Autharis, on his return into Samnium, re
duced that province to a dukedom, appointing Zoto, or Zotts,
Ibefirst first duke of Benevento, which he made the metropolis of
Samnium m. Thus to the two famous dukedoms of Friuii
duke of
Bene and Spoleti was added a third, which, in process of time,
vento. became as much superior to the other two, as they exceeded
the other dukedoms of Italy (B). Autharis, after the re
duction of Samnium, resolved to carry the war into the
exarchate, and the dukedom of Rome ; but, apprehending he
might be diverted anew by Childebert king os the Franks from
pursuing his conquests, he thought it adviseable to conclude a
peace, if possible, with so troublesome and powerful an enemy.
Accordingly, he dispatched embassadors to Guntran, uncle to
Childebert, hoping, by his mediation, to lay the foundations
of a lasting peace with the king of the Franks. Guntran rti-
dily interposed ; but Autharis did not live to see the success
of the mediation, being in the mean time taken off by
poison.
Autharis He died in Pavia on the thirteenth of September 590. after
dies. having reigned about six years ; but the author of his death
Year of was never known D. Autharis had married Theudelinda, the
the flood daughter of Garibald king of the Boioarians ; but, as he
2938. had no children by her, the Lombards, upon the news of his
Of Christ
5Q0. 1 Paul. Diac. 1. iii. c. 16. m Idem ibid. n Idem, c. iS.
Of Rome
'3?8. (B) Some authors, and among who governed that city and pro
^/W the rest Camillas Peregrinm, are vince with the title of duke.
of opinion, that the dukedom This dukedom, by degrees, ex
of Benfvcnto was founded before tended its limits, so as to com
tbe time of Autharis (7); but all prise the far greater part of the
agree, that Zotto was the first present kingdom of Naples.
(l) Cam, Per, in dijs,rt, dt due, Benevtr.t, dijjirt. 1.
death,'
C. XXIX. The History of the Lombards. 623
death, assembled in Pavia to, choose a new king ; but,
not being able to agree among themselves in the choice,,
they referred the whole affair to Ibeudelindt, having first
settled among themselves, that the person she mould choose of
the dukes for her husband, should be invested with the royal
dignity : so great was the opinion they had of the wisdom
and prudence of that excellent princess ! who, to shew her
self worthy of the confidence they reposed in her, after hav
ing consulted the wisest men of the nation, by their advice,
bestowed herself and the kingdom on Agiluls duke of Turin, •Agi'ulF
a person of extraordinary merit, and nearly related to the late e°*/en
king. Her choice being applauded by the whole nation, Agiluls, *'*£•
after his marriage, was crowned king of the Lombards in a
full assembly held at Milan in the month of May 591.
In the first year of his reign died Zotto, the first duke of
Benevento, of whom we find nothing in history worthy of
notice, except his plundering and destroying the famous mona
stery of Monte Cajino, built about sixty years before by St.
Benedict, and already wonderfully enriched with the dona
tions of several princes °. Upon his death, Agiluls appointed Arechis
Arechis, cousin to Gilulphus duke of Friuli, to succeed him-/"™"'
in the dukedom of Benevento. The dukes, according to the ^ ' °f
regulations introduced by Autbaris, could only in cafes, of Beneven"
treason be deprived of their dukedoms ; and, upon their death, °"
they were succeeded by their male issue, if the king judged
them capable of so great a command. If the duke dad with
out issue male, the king was ar full liberty either ti> choose
another in his room, or to suppress the dukedom : and truly
several dukedoms were suppressed by the present king, the
dukes having attempted to (hake off all dependency, and to
usurp an absolute power in their respective districts. The
example of Agiluls was followed by his successors, who, de
clining to appoint new dukes in the room of those who died
without issue male, reduced, by degrees, the dukedoms
to a very small number. During the government of Arecbis,
which lasted far the space of fifty years, that is, from the
year 591. to 641. the bounds of the dukedom of Benevento
were greatly extended ; for, at that prince's death, the/
reached on one side to the city of Naples, and on the other
to Sipontum, at the foot of mount Garganus in Apulia. .Agiluls
But to return to Agiluls : He was, loon after his election, embraces
persuaded by Tbeudelinda, who had been brought up in the *be <atbo-
catholic religion, to renounce the errors of Arius ; and his I"faith.
example was followed by great numbers of his fulj.cts, some
of them abjuring paganism, and others the doctrine of Arius,
* Greg, Mao. dialo. 1. ri. c. 17. Abb. De NucEchron. Casin.
1. i. c. z.
7 ,"
624 The History os the Lombards.
to embrace the orthodox faith. Hence Theudelinda is
eommended by Gregory the Great, who inscribed to
' four books of the lives of the saints, which he had corns!
She had done all that lay in her power to induce Autim
her first husband, to profess the catholic faith ; but to no
pose, that prince refusing to quit the religion in which he
been brought up p. Agilulf, in the third year of his reij
was forced to turn his arms against his own countrymen ;
Someduhes ^or two °^ l^e dukes, t0 wit, Minulf duke of the island of
rebel; but St. Julian, and Gaidulf duke of Bergamo, revolting from
him, claimed an absolute authority in their respective districts.
duced by Agilulf marched against them, and, having found means to
Agilulf. get Minulf into his power, he put him to death, because he
had formerly revolted to the Franks, and joined Childehert in
the irruption he made into Italy. As for Gaidulf, he besieged
him in the city of Bergamo ; but, upon his suing for peace,
and submitting, he received him again into favour. About
the same time Ulfaris, another duke, but of what place, we
arc not told, refusing to acknowlege the authority of jfgiluifc
raised great disturbances, which were quelled not without
bloodshed ; But Ulfaris not only obtained his pardon, but wi5
confirmed by the king in his dukedoms.
While the arms of Agilulf were thus employed against
the rebellious dukes, Romanus, who, as we have related
above, had succeeded Zamaragdus in the exarchate, hying
hold of so favourable an opportunity, broke the truce which
The ex he had lately made, and surprised several cities belonging to
arch sur- the Lombards. Hereupon the king, drawing together all his
priseise- forces, marched against the exarch, who, at his approach,
•viral ci retired to Ravenna, leaving small garisons in the towns he
ties : had taken. Upon his retreat, Agilulf easily recovered the
•which are cities he had seized. Only the city of Perugia held out for
VCV"Z ,f some time, being defended by Maurifius duke of the place,
y g1 u *• wn0 had delivered it up to the Romans ; but, in the end, the
city was forced to surrender. Maurifius attempted to make
his escape ; but was taken, and, by the king's order, put Kr!
death r. From Perugia Agilulf marched into the Rcmrnl
dukedom, and, having laid it waste, encamped with his armv'
at a small distance from the city ; but Theudelinda, at the!
earnest request of Gregory the Great, then bishop of Rora,
prevailed upon her husband to grant a peace to the inhabitant*
of that city, and retire5. The prisoners taken by the Lam
hards on this occasion, were all ransomed by Gregory tht
Great, the other catholic bishops generously contributing ut
* Paul. Diac 1. vi. c. 2. ' Idem, 1. iv. c. 14. Idea
ibid. » Greg. Mag. 1. iv. ep. 33. & 1. vii. cp. 30.
C. XXIX. The Histery of the hQXnbxdsl ' jSi's
so good a work * (C). In Sicily one Stephen, sent from Con- The. cmpt-
Jiantinifle to guard the coasts of that island, committed such rors/ub-
rapines, so many act' of violence aud injustice, as hardly./'^' *}•
could be contained, fays Gregory the Great, in one volume. trfff'd by
He therefore earnestly intreats the empress to acquaint her *" 9Jp(tr'*
husband with these grievances, that, by speedily redressing
them, he may avert the judgments, that must otherwise fall ,
upon him, and his family. He concludes his letter by tellir'g
her, it Were far better Italy should want supplies of money,
than that they should be raised in so scandalous a manner; and
that the emperor's ministers, being at such a distance from
their master, promised themselves impunity, though guilty of
the greatest extortions ; and therefore defeated all his endea
vours for concluding a peace with the Lombards, which, they
knew, would uke away all pretence of levying such heavy
taxes u. A peace, however, was soon after concluded, by Agiluls
means of the holy prelate, between Agiluls and the exarch ""dudes
Callinicus, who, upon the death of Romanus, had been sent ° teact
from Conjlanthiople to succeed him. ™tb tb*
At the same time Thcodebert, the successor of Childebert, ™,man*
was in the end persuaded, not only to conclude a peace, but £" ,
to enter into an alliance, with the king of the Lombards.
This peace with the Romans and Franks proved very season
able ; for, soon after, three of the dukes, rebelling, raised Three
great disturbances in the kingdom, and gave rife to a civil dates re-
war. These were Zangrutf duke of Verona, Ga'iduls or be/; bui
Ganduls duke of Bergamo, and Warnecaut a third duke, but are over*
of what place, we are not told. Agiluls, marching against come by
them, gave them a total overthrow ; and^ having taken Agiluls,
them prisoners, he ordered them all three to be put to death, "id put H
in order to deter, by their punishment, the other dukes from *«**■•
1 Grec. Mao. L iv. ep. 33. Sc I. vii. ep. 30. » Idem 1. iv.
ep. 33.
(C) Paulus Dlacattus takes no it appears, that the inhabitants
notice of tbe ravage; committed of those parts suffered more frost
by the Lombards in tbe dukedom the emperor's officers, than from
of Rime ; bat supposes them to the Lombards themselves ; that
have returned to Pavia after the the Corficans in particular were
taking of Perugia. However, loaded with such taxes, as ob-
from the letters of Gregory tbe liged them to sell even theif
Great, who flourilhed at that chddren, in order to raise money
time, it is manifest, that they for the collectors ; and that
invaded the Roman dukedom, thereupon they repaired in great
and laid it waste with fire aud numbers to the Lombards in Italy,
sword, for several months toge- leaving the island, in a> manner*
ther. From a letter of this bi- desolate,
mop to the empress Conjlantina
Vol. XIX. Ss following
616 The History of the Lombards. B. IV
following their example. While he was yet engaged intht
domestic war, th# exarch Callinicus, with a manifest brra
of the treaty, which had been lately concluded, surprised tk
city of Parma, in which he found a considerable treasure, aid
took the king's daughter, and her husband Gfdtscalifn-
soners. This breach of faith in the exarch provoked the kinj
The <wor 0f tne Lombards to such a degree, that he resolved to pursue
ivith the the was) which had been thus begun by the Romans, witt
Romans tne utmost vigour, and not to lay down his arms, till he had
renewed; ^tlvcn them, if possible, quite out of Italy. Pursuant lotto
resolution, he entered into an alliance with Chagan iirg of
the Avares, who was to make a powerful diversion inJbrca,
while Agilulf carried on the war in Italy.
The king of the Lombards, having raised a confider&e
army, and sinding that the exarch declined meeting him i
the field, marched from Milan, where his troops had alTeœ-
bled, to Cremona, which city he invested on all sides. Tk
Roman garison made a vigorous resistance ; but, despairing^
relief, they were obliged, after having held out for a month,
frim to deliver up the place, which, by the king's orders, was !(-
nvbmAgi- veled with the ground. From Cremona he led his arm',
lulf takes reinforced by a body of Sclav's sent him by his ally the fc«
several 0f the Avares, against the cities of Padua and Jfote.
atie's. which Were both taken, plundered, and laid in afhe, die
garisons being allowed to retire to Ravenna, and the inhr
bitants to what place they thought fit. While Jgikls^'
pursued his conquests in Italy, Chagan, breaking \mo lirsti,
committed dreadful ravages there ; and, having over-run to
that province, and all Mœfia, approached the imperial cny
with his numerous army ; which alarmed the inhabitants to
such a degree, that they thought of quitting Europt, and re
tiring with their best effects to Chalcedon, and other pUces in
Asia. But, in the mean time, Chagan was obliged to return
home by a plague, which broke out in his army, and carnw
oft" seven of his sons in one day. Upon his departure, »
offered to release all his prisoners, of whom he had t»*(
thousand, at a crown a head ; but his offer being rejected'1,'
Mauritius, who was a prince of a narrow, parsimonious tem
per, Chagan, in great indignation, caused all the capflff>
to be put to the sword. During this war died the exarch Cd-
linicus, who had first begun h, as we have related abotti
and in his room was sent Zamaragdus to govern Italy a se0"1"
time, with orders from the emperor to set at liberty the king '
daughter, with her husband, and to restore the whole ,rfl"(
sure that had been seized by his predecessor in the city o
Parma. By this obliging behaviour, Agilulf was so fas "*
C. XXIX. The History of the Lombards. 627
as to grant the Romans a spruce fror%the month of September A truer
till the following //^i/w. . with the
During the truce, Agilulf, having assembled the chief Romans,
men of the nation ut Milan-, declared, An their presence, his Agilulf
(on.Adaluald, or, as others call him, Aldonald, yet an infant, takt!i>**
his collegue, and caused him to be crowned in the open circus-^**?"?"
With great solemnity. After this, the peace was renewed 'uald/'""
with Theodebert king of the Franks., whose embassadors were ." CB '
present at the inauguration of the young prince, and a per- 'ytir of
petual league concluded between the two nations. And now .^ fjoocj
the truce with the Romans being expired, the Lombards be- 2ae%.
fan hostilities anew, seizing on two important posts, to wit, of Christ
Irbitum and Balnebregium ; but the exarch, with twelve 60c.
thou sand yi//'i#, prevailed Upon the king to restore them, and Of Rome
to renew the truce for a whole year, which the king employed 1353.
in embellishing and fortifying Ferrara, till that time an incon- Ks~*r**)
siderable village, but conveniently situated on the Po, and on Ferrara
that account surrounded by Agilulf with walls, and beautified embellijhed
with several stately buildings ; by which means it became, by h Agilulf.
degrees, one of the most considerable cities in those parts, and
has continued as such ever since. In the mean time the truce
between the king and the exarch expiring, Zamaragdus pre
vailed upon the king to renew it for three years longer.
But, notwithstanding this truce, the inhabitants of Italy
did not enjoy the tranquillity they had promised themselves j
for Cacanus king of the Hunns, leaving Pannonia, made a T^Hunns
sudden irruption into the dukedom of Friuli, destroying all break into
With fire and sword. Hereupon duke Gilulf having drawn *^' duke-
together what forces he could, marched out against him ; but, dom of
in the battle that ensued, he was overpowered by the enemy, Friuli.
and cut off with most of his men. Cacanus, elated with
this victory, laid siege to Forum Julii, the metropolis of the Forum
dukedom, which was betrayed to him by Romilda, the de Ju''» **•
ceased duke's widow, upon his promising to marry her; i~ortrayidf
she is said to have been greatly taken with the comeliness of *&"*•
the young prince in seeing him from the walls ; but he, in
stead of performing his promise, caused her to be put to an
ignominious death, after having abused her himself, and
caused her to be in like manner abused by several of his sol
diers, to gratify, as he said, her vicious inclination. The
duke's sons, Tato, Caco, Rodoald, and Grimoald, found
means to make their escape on horseback ; but the latter,
being yet a child, was overtaken by some of the enemy's
horse, and delivered to the custody of one of them, while
the others pursued the rest. But, while the Hunn rode before
■ Gksc. 1. iv. ep. 33.
Ssa him
628 The History of the Lombards. B. lV.
him leading his hoi fe, he all on a sudden gave him such a
blow on the head with his sword, that he left him dead on
the spot ; and then, riding full speed, overtook his brother:,
and, together with them, reached a neighbouring c&stk.
Their The Hunns, upon their departure, carried with them all the
cruelty to inhabitants who had fallen into their hands, giving out, that
the inba- they designed to allot them lands in Pannonia ; but, having
bitaitts. reached the confines, they put all the men to the sword, and
carried the women and children into captivity x.
While the Hunns were thus ravaging the dukedom cf
Friuli, great disturbances happened in Ravenna ; for jseaxzt:
Lemigius, who had been sent by the emperor HeracSus w
succeed Zamaragdus in the exarchate, levying heavier tap
on the people than they had formerly paid, the multitude,
The ex- rising all on a sudden, broke into the palace, and there ten
arch mur- tj,e exarcn to pieces, together with the judges, whom he ha
dtred. called together for the administration of justice. When news
of this mutiny were brought to Naples, Joannes Conips/ma,
who governed that city for the emperor with the title cf
duke (D), thought he could not have a more favourable op
portunity
* Greg. Mao. 1. iv. ep. 33.
(D) The present kingdom of added to it the islands of IfehU,
Naples was, at this time, held Nifida, and Procida, and after
partly by ths Remans, and partly wards the cities of CumMr,St*bu,
by the Lombards. The dukedom Surrento, and Amalsi (8) ; whka
of Bencvento was governed by were comprised under the duke
its own duke, who was subject dom of Naples till the time of
to the king of the Lombards ; pope ArWas and Charles tbtGrtaf,
Apulia, Calabria, Lucania, the as is evident from a letter of that
country of the Brush',, the duke pope quoted by the learned Ca-
doms of Naples, Gaeta, Sorrento, aillusPellegrinus (9). This duke
Jmalji, and other smaller duke dom being, by such additions,
doms, were governed by their become a province, the name of
dukes, according to the new Campania was given it, and tte
polity introduced by Longinus the duke took the title of dux Cast-
first exarch. These dukes were panire, or duke of Camfeatu;
subject to the exarch, and he to which title Gregory the Grtsl
the emperor. The dukedom of often bestows on Scbolaf.icus ui
Naples had at first very narrow Gudiscalcus, dukes of Nafi'i
bounds ; for it comprised only (1). This dukedom held ot;
the city of Naples, and its territo* against the Lombards, after they
ry. But it was greatly inlarged had reduced almost all the citiei
by the emperor Mauritius, who in that part of Italy ; nay, it
(8) Grrw. Mag. I. 'a. iitd. 4. r^. 53. (9) Camill. Pellegrin. dijftrt. it
fnii. due. itnevtnt.f. 31, (1) Greg* Mag. I i£'iiit. u, tp, 1, 2, & i$.
C. XXIX. The History of the Lombards. 629
Portunity of shaking off all dependence, and making himself
Absolute lord of the city committed to his charge. Accord- The duke
'ngly, he caused himself to be acknowleged by the inhabit- as Naples
»nts for their prince, and provided the city with a strong gzri- rebels.
son, not doubting but forces would soon be dispatched against
him either from Ravenna or Constantinosle. And truly He-
raclius, upon the first notice he had or the murder of the
exarch, and the rebellion of the duke, appointed Ehutherius
his chamberlain, a person highly esteemed tor his prudence and
valour, to succeed Lemiglus in the exarchate, injoining him
to appease the mutiny in Ravenna, and then march, with all
the troops under his command, against Compostnus, the rebel
lious duke of Naples. Ehutherius, arriving at Ravenna, pu
nished with death such as he found guilty of the murder of
his predecessor} and, having thus quelled the tumult, he set
out on his march for Naples, with all the troops he could as
semble. He took his route through Rome, where he was re
ceived with high demonstrations of joy by the inhabitants,
who were greatly attached to the emperors, and bore an ut-
^er aversion to the Lombards. From Rome the exarch pursued
his march to Naples, where he was, for some time, vigo
rously opposed by the garison ; but having, in the end, made Naples
himself master of the city, he put the duke to death, and, reduced,
appointing another in his room, returned to Ravenna > (£). and the
During 'M' put
y Greg. Mag. I. iv. c. 34. Anastas. bibliothec. in DeusJcdit.
Ca.mil. Pel. in dissert, de due. Benevent. p. 33.
was never by them intirely fob- dukedom of Naples, Gregory the
dued, but only obliged to pay a Great, apprehending that, if the
yearly tribute to the dukes of Lombards made themselves ma-
Benevento, who, in process of sters of that dukedom, they
time, became very powerful. The would easily reduce the rest of
dukes, who governed Naples, Italy, and Rome itself, wrote
were usually appointed by the to John bishop of Ravtnna, ear-
emperor himself ; but, upon ur- neitly intreating him to represent
gent occasions, the exarch was to the exarch the danger that
impowered to name a new duke, dukedom was in, and prevail
Thus Eleutberius, having put upon him to fend, without loss
Compo/uiut to death, appointed of time, a new duke (z).
another in his room; and, several (E) Some modern writers tell
years before, the duke of Naples us, thztCempoJiniis not only made
being dead, and the two dukes himself mailer of Naples, but
of Benevento and Spoleto uniting likewise of Apulia, C.alakria, and
their forces, with a design, as several other cities, with their
was supposed, to fall upon the territories ; that he caused him-
(2) Greg. Mag, I. ii. indie. lo. if. 31,
Ss, se*
6^o Vbt History of the Lombards." B. IV.
During these disturbances, Agiluls died in the twenty-
fifth year of his reign. He was the first of the Lombard kings
who embraced the catholic faith ; and, his example being fol
lowed by great numbers of his subjects, the Lombards, by
that means, became less odious to the inhabitants of Italy,
and their government more tolerable. By the advice of his
queen Theudelinda, he rebuilt the churches, which had been
ruined in the former wars, repaired the monasteries, and en
riched both with large possessions, there being few churches
or monasteries in his dominions, which could not shew some
monuments of his piety and munificence z.
Adaluald Agilulf was succeeded by his son Adaluald, whom he had
succeeds taken some years before for his collegue, as we have related
fa!'(.above. As he was yet very young, he suffered himself to be
•^g""lr intirely governed by his mother Theudelinda, who applied hcr-
'* ' ,' -self wholly to works of piety and religion ; so that, during
ing om oj ^jj reign) the Lomlards enjoyed a profound tranquillity. But
, . great disturbances happened in the exarchate ; for Eieuthtriut
Year of tne exarcn» elated with the success that had attended him against
the flood l^e ^uke or" Naples, and forgetting that virtue and mod era -
2q6,. tion, which till then had recommended him to the esteem of
Of Christ tne emperor, and all the Romans, began to entertain thoughts
6ir. of usurping the sovereignty of Italy. The great distance be-
Of Rome tween him and the emperor, the authority he had in those
1363. pans, and the war with the Saracens, in which the emperor
l»^V"N^> was then engaged, offered him, he thought, a favourable op
portunity of accomplishing his design. Having therefore, in
the first place, gained the affection of the soldiery by several
popular acts of condescension, but, above all, by paying them
their arrears, which had been long due, he resolved to set
out for Rome with his whole army, and cause himself to be
* Paul. Dm c. 1. iv c. 15.
5s4 upon
^33 The History of the Lombards. B. IV.
upon himself the administration, ordered matters so, that Gre
gory thought it adviseable to make no further attempts. Gra-
julf kept thj dukedom for himself, and the two brothers Rs-
doald and Grimsald, not thinking themselves safe while in
his power, fled to Arechis the second duke of Bsneverztum,
by whom they were kindly received, and entertained in, a
manner suitable to their rank b. This happened, according
to some., during the exarchate of EUutberius, and soon after
the death of Agilulfz.
In the eighth year of Adaluald's reign, one Euftbius was
sent by the emperor Heraclius, with the character of embas
sador, to conclude a lasting peace with the king of the Lam-
pards, and to settle other affairs of great importance. He,
having gained the confidence of the king, either of his own
head, or in compliance with his private instructions, presented
him, as he came out of the bath, with a draught, which
soon deprived him of the right use of his fenses, and brought
him to a ki id of melancholy madnese. While he was in tha
Condition, Eufebius, pretending that his nobles had entered
into a conspiracy against him, advised him to put the most
powerful among them to death. The king followed his ad
vice, and immediately caused twelve of the chief nobility to
be inhumanly massicred ; which alarmed the rest to such a
Adaluald degree, that, taking up arms, they removed both him, and
deposed, his mother Thtudelinda from the government, and raised to the
and Ari- throne Ariavald duke of Turin, who had married Gundeberg
ovald the sister of Adaluald. This revolution occasioned great dis
ehojen in
turbances among the Lombards, and rent their kingdom into
bit room.
two parties. Ariavald was supported by the nobles, who
Jiomefiic
troubles had deposed Adaluald, and all the bishops beyond the Po,
among who earnestly laboured to draw the rest to their parry. On
the Lom the other hand, Httnorius bishop of Rome espoused with
bards. great zeal die cause of the deposed king, and left no stone
unturned to have him restored to the throne, being prompted
thereto by the regard he had for Thtudelinda, to whose piety
the catholic religion was highly indebted, and by his aversion
to Ariavald, who held the tenets of Arius, and had be*n
brought up in that persuasion. He found means to gain
Isaaccius the exarch over to his party, and prevailed upon him
to join the friends of Adaluald with all the troops under his
command. He likewise obliged, with severe menaces, the
bishops who had espoused the cause of Ariavald, to aban
don that prince, and declare for Adaluald. But, in spite of
the utmost efforts both of the pope and the exarch, Ariavald
maintained
C. XXIX. 'The History of the Lombards.' 633
maimsincd himself on the throne ; and, Adaluald dying sea- Adaluald
fonably, some say of poison, an end was put to the, domestic dies ;
troubles, that threatened the kingdom of the Lombards al
most with utter destruction*1, fheudelinda was so affected
with the misfortunes of her son, that she fell into a consump
tion, which, in a short time, brought her to her grave. She and
was a princess no less commendable for her exemplary piety, Theude-
than for the excellent endowments of her mind, and worthy, linda.
on account of both, to be ranked among the most illustrious Year of
women mentioned in history. the flood
A&iovald reigned nine years after the death of Tbeude- 297S-
linda, during which time the Lombards enjoyed a profound ^" thrift
tranquillity both at home and abroad. Only some disturbances _ '"27-
happened in the royal family, which gave the king no small Rome
uneasiness. One of the chief lords at court, by name Ada- 'MS'
lulf, having solicited the queen, with whom he was passionately ^^^J
in love, to comply with his unlawful desire, and his proposal
being rejected by her with the utmost indignation, the lover,
apprehending she would discover the whole to her husband, re
solved to be beforehand with her, and prepossess the king against
the virtuous princess. Accordingly, pretending great zeal for
his safety, he assured him, that the queen was conspiring against
his life with Tato duke of Etruria, who was to marry her
after his death. Hereupon Ariovald, transported wuh rage
and jealousy, without further inquiry, ordered the innocent
queen to be kept under close confinement in the castle of
Amtllum, where she continued, till Clotair king of the Franks,
pit)ing her condition, expostulated with her husband for
thus treating one of the royal blood of the Franks, and strip
ping her of her dignity, upon the deposition of a single evi
dence. Ariovald replied, That he was fully convinced of her
guilt ; whereupon the embassadors of the Franks, pursuant
to their instructions, proposed the trying of the cause by a
single combat between the accuser, and one of the queen's
friends, according to the custom that then prevailed among
the Lombards, and most of the northern nations. As the
king could not well reject this proposal, Adalulf was obliged
to enter the lists against one Pills, by Paulas Diaconus
called Canll, who having with great ease overcome the ac
cuser, the queen was released, and restored to her former
dignity.
Not long aster, Ariovald died ; and, as he left no issue Ariovald
male behind him, the dukes assembled, upon the news of his fa, ,
death, to choose another in his room ; but, not being able to
agree in the choice, they resolved to pay the same regard to
d Paul. Diac 1. iv. c. 15. * Idem ibid.
Gundtltrgy
634 &* History of the Lombards. B. IV.
Gundeberg, which they had formerly paid to Theudelinda ,
allowing her to choose whom she pleased for her husband, and
and Ro- their king. Hereupon Gundeberg made choice of Rotharis
tbaris duke of Brescia, a person equal in every respect to that sub-
iscboftnin iime station, but tainted with the Arian heresy; whence, in
kit roam. hjS time, there were two bilhops in most cities of Italy, the
isea<s °1a one catholicy and the other Arian f. He is no less commended
the flood ky tjje wrjters 0f tnofe times for his equity and moderation,
2984. t£an fQr njs va]our antj prudence, and was the first who gave
, , written laws to the Lombards. His example was followed by
Of Rome tne ot^er king? his successors ; so that, in process of time,
g. anew volume of laws appeared, called the Longobard laws,
is-^/yj which prevailed in all the provinces subject to that nation,
that is, all over Italy, except the exarchate of Ravenna, and
dukedoms of Rome, Naples, Gaeta, and Amalfi, and the mi-
ritim cities of Apulia, Calabria, and Lucania, which conti
nued subject to the emperors, the Lombards being masters of
Rotharis all the other cities and provinces. The Lombards had no
tbt first written laws till the time of Rotharis ; but had been governed
lawgiver by customs handed down to them by tradition. Rotharis
among the therefore, in imitation of the Romans and Goths, undertook
Lombards, tne publishing of written laws ; and to those he enacted,
many were added by the succeeding princes (F). Rotharis,
the first lawgiver among the Lombards, having summoned, in
the year 643. a general diet in Pavia, enacted, with the ap
probation of his nobles, several laws, which he caused to be
committed to writing, and inserted in an edict. This edict,
I containing no fewer than three hundred and eighty-six laws,
was published in the eighth year of king Rotbaris's reign, that
is, in the year 644. in all the provinces under his dominion,
especially in the dukedom of Btnevento, which was reputed at
(G) To the laws of king Ro- sies, that were not yet decided,
tbarit, comprised in the above- and such as should arise after the
mentioned edict, is prefixed the tienty-second day of November,
following preface : " Here be- the day of the publication of
" gins the edict, which, with the edict, to be determined ac
" the advice of my principal cording to the laws comprised in
*' judges, I have composed, I, it ; but at the fame time forbids'
*' in the name of God, king the causes already decided to be
" Rotharis, the seventh king of re-examined, and orders the par
" the nation of the Lombards, ties to acquiesce to the sentence
" in the eighth year of my reign, given by proper judges. He
" the second indiction, and, concludes by declaring, that no
" since the coming of the Lorn ether copy or copies should be
bards into the province of Italy of any authority, but such as
" under Æboin, at that time, by were written, revised, or approved
" divine clemency, king, the se- of, by Ansuald his notary, to
" venty-sixtb. Given at Pamia prevent, by that means, litigious
" in the palace. Howgreatour persons from taking advantage of
" care and anxiety is, and has the mistakes, to which writers
" ever been, for our subjects, the or copyists are liable (6). In the
" following decree sufficiently famous monastery of the Bene-
"declares" He then fays, that dtSlines at Cava, in the kingdom
he thought it incumbent upon of Naples, is still to be seen,
him to make those laws, in or amongst other monuments of an
der to relieve the poor from the tiquity, an antient manuscript
oppression they groaned under, in Lombard characters, contain
and to restrain the insolence of ing, besides this edict of Rotharis,
the rich, and of men in power, the laws of the other Lombard
that every one might live in kings, and those likewise of the
peace, and enjoy his property French and German emperors,
undisturbed. He declares, that who were kings of Italy. In the
these, and no other laws, should, edict of Rotharis, after the pre
ftr the future, be in force, re face, come the titles of each
serving, however, to himself the chapter, and then the chapters
power os adding such other laws or laws, in all three hundred and
to them, as should be approved eighty-six, according to the or
of by the wife men of the na der of the preceding chapters
tion. He orders all controver To the laws of Rotharis, and
of the other Lombard kings his had any authority, either among
successors, the Roman laws in the the Lombards, or the Fif.gotbs, at
end gave way. Justinian indeed this time masters of Spain. In.
had taken care to have the vo Rome the popes strove with all
lumes of his laws spread all over their power and might to main
Italy, and, annulling all other tain the authority of the Justi
laws, had ordered them alone, nian laws, having much at heart
and the ntmelU constitutions, to the interest of the emperors, to
be observed. But, in spite of whom they chose rather to live,
all the pains he had taken to subject, than to the Lombards.
establish them, their authority Their zeal for the service os the;
ended in Italy almost with his emperors was, as the learned.
life ; for, that country being in Pietro Giannene, a most impartial
great part reduced by the Lom writer, rightly observes, nothing
bards in the reign of Justin, the at the bottom but self-interest.
successor of Justinian, the Roman As the emperors lived at a great
laws were only oblerved in such distance, they could not ealily.
places, as continued subject to the discover or defeat the design the
emperor, that is, in the exarchate popes hadofmaking themseJrr«,
of Ravenna, in the dukedom of by degrees, masters of Rase j *
Romt, in the small dukedoms of whereas, if the Lombards had
Naples, Ga4ta, and Amalfi, and once got possession of that city,
in somemaritim towns of Apulia, they must have laid aside all
Calabria, and Lucania. The thoughts of ever usurping the
Lombards, to the reign of Ro sovereign authority over the me
tbaris, were governed only by tropolis of Italy. Hence Rome
their antient customs. As for was no sooner threatened by the
the natives of Italy subject to the Lombards, than the popes, pre
Lombards, they were allowed to tending great zeal for the empe
retain the Roman laws, but such ror's service, solicited succours
only as were contained in the with great earnestness, both from
Ibeodcfian code, which was in the emperor and the exarch. By
greater repute among the Lom this means they preserved Rome,
bards than the Justinian code. not for the emperors, but for
The former, theretore, and the themselves, as we shall relate
compendium made by order of hereafter.
AiaiU, were the only book: that
to placet,
C. XXIX. The History of the Lombards. ' 6H
places, he broke with great violence into the dominions of the
Lombards, laying them waste with fire and sword. Rotharis
Was then busted in the siege of Perugia : which city he had
no sooner reduced, than he marched with his whole army in
quest of the exarch, whom he met on the confines of Æmilia,
and offered him battle. The exarch accepted the challenge; Gives lit
so that an engagement ensued, in which the Romans were exarch a
utterly defeated, eight thousand of them being killed on the Ma/ovtr-
foot, and the rest obliged to save themselves by a precipitate tirew.
and disorderly flight. From this time to the reign of Luit- Year °f
frond, no acts of hostility pasted between the exarchs and thc °°°^
the kings of the Lombards, the latter being satisfied with their r^c^A
new conquests, and the former glad to enjoy unmolested the ter- , "
ritories that remained under the dominion of the emperors £. Qf R
About this time Mauritius, who had been by Heraclius a,
appointed duke or governor of Rome, taking advantage of the \^*/-Lj
distracted state of the empire, occasioned by the usurpation of
Heracleon, and the invasion of the Saracens, usurped the sove
reignty of the city committed to his charge. But an end was
soon put both to his life and usurpation ; for the exarch Artbellim
Jsaaccias was no sooner informed of what had pasted at Rome, '" Rome
than he dispatched against the usurper one of his officers, a s«ppreffed
person of great authority, with a considerable sum of money, h *hetx-
and at the head of his best troops. This commander, march- arc*-
ing up to the walls of the city, caused a declaration to be
read, wherein Mauritius was proclaimed a rebel, and not only
a pardon promised, but a considerable gratuity, to all who
should quit the traitor, and return to their duty. Upon this
encouragement, Mauritius was abandoned by all his troops,
%and forced, as he had no other resource, to take sanctuary in
a church j but he was dragged from thence, and, by an order
from the exarch, beheaded, after he had been for some time
kept in chains. Not long after, Isaaccius died, and Theodorus
Calllopa was sent by the emperor to succeed him in the ex
archate. Theodorus governed Italy with great applause for
the space of seven years, that is, from the year 643. to 650.
when Olympius was appointed exarch in his room. Olympius
gained several advantages over the Saracens in Sicily, and ac
last drove them out of that island ; but died in the third year
of his exarchate, being quite spent and worn out by the toils
and fatigues he underwent in that expedition. Upon hi9
death, the emperor Conjlans II. sent Theodorus Calliopa to go
vern Italy once more. In the second year of the exarchate
of Olympius, that is, in 652. died king Rotharis, after he had King Ro-
governed the Lombard; for the space of sixteen years with such tharis^/V/.
was
C. XXIX. The History os the Lombards.' 6^
was there slain by the enemy, after he had governed the
dukedom five months with his father, and one year alone.
Rodoald, hearing what had happened, assembled v/hh<wboare
incredible expedition a considerable body of forces ; and, fall- defeated
ing upon the enemy before they had the least intelligence of by Rodo-
his march, he gave them a total overthrow, and drove them a'd, the
quite out of the dukedom. Having thus revenged the death/5'"''*
of Aio, he took, together with his brother Grimoald, pos- duieo/Be>
session of the dukedom, pursuant to the last will of Arechis, neva"»'
who had appointed them to succeed himself and his son '.
These two princes governed jointly for the space of five
years, during which time they laid siege to Surrento, still held
by the Roman? ; but the inhabitants, encouraged by Agapitus
their bishop, made such a vigorous resistance, that the Lom
bards, after having attempted in vain to take the place by
storm, raised the liege, and returned home. Rodoald died in
Benevento, in the year 647. but his brother Grimoald held the
dukedom sixteen years after his death, and is said to have
gained several victories over the Neapolitans and Romans,
and to have greatly extended the bounds of his dukedom. Grimoald
After he had governed the dukedom five years with his bro- the fifth
ther, and sixteen alone, he possessed himself of the throne, duke, in-
and reigned nine years more over the whole nation of the targes tht
Lombards, as we shall relate hereafter. dukedom.
But to return to the Lombard kings : Rotharis was sue- Rotbari*
ceeded by his son Rodoald, who, as he was a prince of a succeeded
peaceable disposition, performed nothing which authors have h bis son
thought worth transmitting to posterity. He was tainted, as Rodoald,
his father had been, with the Arian heresy, which occasioned
some religious contests between him and the orthodox bishops ;
but these disturbances were soon appeased. He had reigned
four years with his father ; but scarce reigned one after his -who is
father's death, being killed by a Lombard, whose wife he had murdered.
debauched. He had married Gundeberg the daughter of Agi-
lulf and Theudelinda ; but, as he had no children by her,
the Lombards, upon his death, assembled, in order to choose
a new king, when the choice fell on Aripert or Aribert the Aripert
son of Gundoald, and brother of Theudelinda. The only chofenking.
thing we find recorded of him in history, is his building in
Pavia the oratory of St. Saviour. He died, after he had
reigned, according to Paulus Diaconus m, nine years, though
Sigonius allows him but five at most. He left two sons be- jje j;vi/t,
hind him, Partharit and Gundebert, between whom he most the kinr-
imprudently divided his kingdom. Partharit, the eldest, Jmbe-
* Paul. Diac. 1. v. c. 2— J.
(I) Some writers tell us, that, tinopolitans bore him, on account
having murdered his brother of his having embraced the te-
Theoiore, he was so haunted with nets of the Mtnothelitei ; and
ghastly spectres, and terrible add, that he designed to transfer
dreams, that, being no longer the feat of the empire from Con'
able to bear the sight of the place stantinople to Rome (7). But the
where the murder had been com- molt credible writers, and among
mitted, he left Constantinople, and the rest Anaflasms Bibliothecarius,
repaired to Italy, hoping to find and Paulus Diacor.us (S), suppose
there some relief for his tormented him to have undertaken his
conscience. Others ascribe his journey into Italy upon no ether
departure from, the imperial feat account, but to drive the Lom-
to the hatred which the Constan- bards quite out of that country.
Tt 2 but,
644 Tie History of the Lombards. B. IV.
but, not being able to take it by storm, on account of its
strong situation, he pursued his march without loss of time
* to Bencvcnto, and invested the place with his whole array.
Romuald the son of Grimoald, at that time duke of Btnt-
vento, immediately dispatched Gesualdy who had been hij
guardian, to acquaint his father with the danger he was in, and
to solicit succours. In the mean time the Lombards not only
repulsed with great vigour the Romans in their repeated as
saults, but killed great numbers of them in the sallies they
daily made. Grimoald no sooner heard, that the city was be
sieged, than he assembled, with incredible expedition, all his
forces, and, putting himself at their head, he marched to
the relief of his son. He dispatched back Gesuald, to give
him notice, that, in a very short time, he should be relieved,
and to encourage him to hold out till his arrival (K).
He raises In the mean time the emperor, hearing the king of the
the siege, Lombards was within a short march of him, raised the siege,
and is de- and began, in great haste, his march to Naples. But ATitula
seated in duke of Capua, meeting him ac the river Calore, cut off great
hisretreat. numbers 0f his men, and obliged the rest, together with the
emperor, to save themselves by a precipitate flight. To re
venge this disgrace, Saburrus, one of the emperor's generals,
* Paul. Di ac. I. v. c. 4.
T t 3 from
646 The History of the Lombards. B. IV.
from Rome, being left in Sicily, was, soon after his death,
the Lom- seized by the Saracens, and carried to Alexandria i. After
bards his departure from Italy, the Lombards, wholly intent upon
make improving their late victories, made themselves masters of
themselves Bari, Tarento, Brindisi, and all the places in the country
masters es n0W known by the name of Terra d'Otranto, which were
several added to the dukedom of Benevento. Grimoald, to reward
cities. jUi tula duke of Capua, who had defeated the Romans in their
retreat from Benevento, gave him his daughter in marriage,
and at the fame time appointed him to succeed the late duke
Zotho in the dukedom of Spoletum ; which two dukedoms he
governed for many years.
While Grimoald was employed against the Romans in the
dukedom of Benevento, Lupus duke of Friuli, taking advan
tage of his absence, oppressed his people in a most enormous
manner ; and, not satisfied with the wealth, which, by heavy
taxes, he extorted from them, he broke into the territories
of the Venetian Lombards, and there plundered the church of
fbeduieef Aquileia of all its rich ornaments. For this the king, upon
Friuli re- his return to Pavia, resolved to call him to a severe account ;
•volts. \vhich he apprehending, renounced his allegiance to Grimoald,
and openly revolted. Grimoald was determined at all events
to punish him with exemplary severity ; but, being unwilling
to lead his Lombards against their countrymen, or suffer them
to imbrue their hands in the blood of each other, he employed
Chagan king of the Hums to make war upon him, who broke
into his territories the following year at the head of an infi
nite multitude, and laid them waste far and near. This Lu
pus did not tamely suffer ; but, drawing together what forces
he could, he marched against the Hunns, and, engaging them
four days successively, made a dreadful havock of the undi's-
He is kill- c'PnneQ' multitude ; but, in the fifih engagement, his men
ed by the being tired out, and quite spent, they were, after a most ob-
fsuwiJ. stinate dispute, in which Lupus himself was killed, overpow
ered, and put to flight. Upon the death of Lupus, and the
defeat of his army, Chagan over-ran the whole country, and
laid it waste without controul. But Grimoald, who had em
ployed the king of the Hunns only to punish the rebellious
duke, sent embafTadots to put him in mind of their agree
ment, and require him to retire with his forces, since there
was no further occasion for them in the dukedom of Friuli,
or the territories of the Lombards. Chagan answered plainly,
That he would not quit a country which he had conquered
with his arms, and the blood of so many of his subjects.
Grimoald, provoked at th is answer, resolved to drive him out
T t 4 the
1
648 The History of the Lombards. B. IV. (
Grimoald the Lombards, unexpectedly snatched away by the following
dies. accident : He had been let blood in one of his arms, and, as
Year of he was, nine days after, bending a bow, the vein opened,
the flood and, all possible means for closing it proving ineffectual, he
3020. Djej t0 deatn w r-je was a prince of uncommon parts, and
®*/~^n in every respect equal to the high station to which, he was
"7Z- raised. Though he had been brought up in the principles of
m Arius, he renounced the errors of that heresiarch, and em-
1J^1- braced the catholic religion, yielding to the arguments of "Jsbm
bishop of Bergamo, a prelate of great piety and learning. The
example of Grimoald was followed by the kings his successors,
who all professed the catholic religion ; so that Arianisin was,
in a short time, forsaken by the whole nation of toe Lom
bards.
Garibald He died in the year 672. the ninth of his reign, leaving
succeeds ; behind him, besides Romuald duke of Betuvento, another
but is dri- son, by name Garibald, to whom, though yet very young,
>uen out by ne bequeathed on his death-bed the kingdom of the Lombards.
Parthant, From his excluding Ramuald, authors conclude that prince
to have been his illegitimate son. Be that as it will, Gari
bald did not long enjoy his new dignity ; for he had scarce
mounted the throne, when Partbarit, who was still in Gaul,
hearing of the death of his rival, hastened into Italy, and,
being received with extraordinary joy by great numbers of
Lombards, he advanced, attended by crouds of followers, to
Pavia, and was there received by the inhabitants, and the
great men of the nation, as their lawful sovereign, Garibald
having withdrawn to his brother in Benevento, after a ihort
reign of three months. Partbarit, thus restored to the
throne, recalled his wife Rodelinda, and his son Cunipert,
who, ever since his expulsion, had been in exile at Bentveit-
nuho takes tt. Having reigned alone in great peace and tranquillity for
Cunipert the space of eight years, in the latter end of the year 680.
for bis ne took his son Cunipert for his partner in the kingdom, and
partner. rEigned with him ten years more. During their joint reign,
Alachis duke of Trent, openly revolting, assumed the title of
king of the Lombards. Hereupon Partbarit, marching against
hiin with all his forces, besieged him in his own city ; but
Alachis, sallying out with the flower of his troops, obliged the
king to raise the siege, and save himself by flight. However,
Alachis, finding himself abandoned by the greater part of his
men, who refused to bear arms against their lawful sovereign,
thought it adviseablc to submit, upon promise of pardon ;
which Partbarit granted him, at the earnest request of his
agreed
f$o fbe History of the Lombards. B. IV.
agreed to seize on the city of Pavia, and recal their lawful
sovereign the first: time Alachis should go out to take the di-
Canipert version of hunting. This they did accordingly, to the great
rtjhrtd. satisfaction of the inhabitants, especially of the clergy, whom
the tyrant had chiefly disobliged.
War be- Alachis, finding upon his return the gates shut against
1-u.ten him hi n7 and Cunipert possessed of the royal palace, fled into
mud Ala- JJlria ; and, having raised a considerable army there, he re-
cfc*- turned at the head of it, not doubting but he should be able
to drive Cunipert anew from the throne. The king, hearing
of his return, drew together all his forces, and, meeting the
usurper in the plains ot Coronata, he challenged him to a sin
gle combat, in order to save the lives of many innocent men,
who must otherwise perish ; but, Alachis refusing the chal
lenge, the two armies began to prepare for a general engage
ment. While they were drawn up, and Cunipert ready to
charge the enemy, one Zeno, a deacon of the church of Pa
via, greatly attached, as were all the ecclesiastics, to the king's
person, and firmly persuaded, that the welfare of the church
depended upon his safety, with the greatest earnestness ima
ginable, begged leave to put on his armour, and counterfeit
his person : If I perish, said he, the loss will be small ; but
upon your safety depends the welfare both of the church and
Jlate. The king being, with difficulty, prevailed upon by
the tears and intreatics of his friends to accept the proposal,
Zeno put on his armour, and appeared in it so like the king,
whom he resembled in shape and stature, that he could hardly
be distinguished from him ; so that, when the two armies
joined battle, Alachis, mistaking him for the king, engaged
him with the utmost fury ; and, having, with great ease, over
come and slain him, in the highest transports of joy imagin
able, he ordered his head to be cut off, and exposed to the
view of both armies on the point of a spear ; but, finding it
was the head of a priest, and not of the king, his joy was
succeeded by a violent rage and passion, in which he vowed to
emasculate all the ecclesiastics, in cafe he obtained the vi
ctory.
In the mean time Cunipert, observing that his men, dis
heartened with the report of his death, began to give ground,
shewed himself to them, and, by shewing himself, encouraged
them to such a degree, that, returning to the charge, they
renewed the fight with fresh vigour. However, Cunipert, to
avoid the effusion of blood, sent a second time to Alachis,
Alachis ipviting him to decide the quarrel by a single combat ; but,
killed, and he declining anew the challenge, the two armies fought with
bis army the utmost fury, till, Alachis being (lain, his men, difheart-
dfftattd, ened
C. XXIX. Tbe History of tbe Lombards. 651
ened by his death, fled in the utmost confusion. Most of
them were cut off in the flight, and the rest drowned in the
Adige. The army of the dukedom of Friuli, which Alacbis
enticed to his party, while they were marching to the assist
ance of the king, withdrew in the beginning of the battle,
scrupling either to fight against him, to whom they had sworn
allegiance, or against their lawful sovereign. Cunipert, after
this victory, which put an end to the civil war, returned in
triumph to Pavia, having first caused the deacon Zeno to be
interred with the greatest pomp and solemnity. He afterwards
built, in honour of St. George, a magnificent monastery in
tbe field where the battle had been fought Y.
Cunipert, having thus happily suppressed so dangerous a Cunipert
rebellion, reigned in great peace and tranquillity till the year dies.
703. when he died, universally lamented ; for he was a prince, Yc*r °*
fays our historian, of a most comely aspect, of a sweet tern- l^e ^°°^
per, engaging behaviour, great courage, and extraordinary 3°S'-
piety *. He had marritd Hermelinda, a princess of the blood ®* Christ
royal of the Anglo-Saxons, and had by her one son, named ?°3-
Luitbert, to whom he bequeathed the kingdom ; but, as he R°me
was then an infant, he committed him to the care of Afprand, . ^S1*
a person of great distinction among the Lombards, and highly j^l^
esteemed for his wisdom. Luitbert, or rather Afprand, had ruccnjs,
scarce governed eight months, when Ragumbert duke of Turin, iut ;s j^_
taking upon him the title of king, defeated Afprand in battle, <venout tv
and caused himself to be acknowleged by the whole nation ; Ragum-
but he died the same year, and was succeeded by his son Art- ben.
pert, in whose reign Luitbert, assisted by several dukes, at- Ragum-
tempted the recovery of his paternal kingdom ; but he was berc sue-
utterly defeated by the usurper, and taken prisoner, in a bat- eeededby
tie fought at a small distance from Pavia. Rotharit duke of*" s0"
Bergamo, who had espoused with great zeal the cause of the Aripert ;
king, fled, after the defeat of the army, to his own city, in
•which he was closely besieged by Aripert, who, having in the
end made himself master of the place, sent the duke to Turin,
where he was soon after put to death by his orders. -
Luitbert, his young competitor, met with no better '"'h puts
treatment ; for he soon alter ordered him to be stifled in a Luitbert
bath. As for Asprand, whom, above all others, the tyrant i0 <*eatb,
was desirous of getting into his power, he fled first to the
above-mentioned island in the lake Larius; but, being in
formed, that a strong detachment was marching against him,
he fled from thence to Ravenna, and from Ravenna to Theu~ v
dekrt
6£t Tie History of the Lombards. B. IV.
debert duke of the Boioarii, with whom he continued for the
space of nine years. Aripcrt's men reduced the island j but*
Hit cruel- not finding Asprand there, they returned to Ariperi, who*
tj. transported with rage at his disappointment, put out the eye*
of Sigihrand the son of Asprand, and at the fame time caused
the nose and ears of his wife Tbeuderata, and daughter Aura-
na, to be cut off. Asprand had another son, by name Luit-
prand ; but the tyrant spared him, as he was yet a child,
and sent "him to his father, Providence reserving him, as our
historian observes, for great things *. Aripert, notwithstanding
the acts of cruelty he practised in the beginning of his reign, is
said to have ruled afterwards with great prudence and equity.
h liberal He was a great friend to the ecclesiastics, and very liberal to
to the the churches, which he enriched with ample donations. To
ebvebes. the church of Rome he restored many lands, especially the
patrimony of the Alpes Cottiœ, which had been seized on by
king Rotbaris. We are told, that he sent the instrument
of this donation to the bishop of Rome written in golden
letters b (L). In the ninth year of his reign, Asprand re
turned
(L) The lands and estates which is made, not only of the patri
the churches acquired, not only mony of the church of Rene,
within the district of their respe but of the church of .Milan, Ri
ctive cities, but in distant coun mini, Raiicnna, and several others.
tries, were stiled patrimonies, as The churches ofgreat cities, such
were likewise the hereditary as Rome, Ravenna, and Milan,
estates both of princes and private where the emperor's officers, and
persons ; but with this difference, other illustrious persons, resided,
that the prince's estate was called acquired patrimonies, not only
patrimonium sacrum, as appears within their own district, but in
from several constitutions of the distant countries ; whereat the
"Justinian code (9). The patri churches of smaller cities, whose
monium sacrum was what we now inhabitants had but moderate for
call the king's domain. As for tunes, and their estates within
the churches, so many profuse their own limits, had no patri
donations were made to them, monies out of their district.'.
both by princes and private per The church of Rome, above all
sons, that, in process of time, others, acquired, by degrees,
they acquired great estates, which, immense patrimonies, not only in
according to the stile of those Italy, but in the most distant
times, were called patrimonies. provinces of Europe (l). In the
Thu% in the letters of pope Gre time of Gregory the Great, that
gory the Great, frequent mention church held ample patrimonies in
♦5) Cid. Jnfli"' !• xii, (i) Viic Anmirat, in opvsc. Jiscp:. tb.
Sidly ;
C. XXIX. Tbe History of the Lombards. 653
turned into Italy at the head of a powerful army, raised hy Asprand
the duke of the Boiwriiy who, having espoused his cause returns in-
with to Italy.
(2) Paul. Disc- I. Ti. c. H, (3} Vide Ait. Matt, man, ad jut ca:
I, iii. lit. 17.
lint
654 'the History of the Lombards. B. IV.
with great warmth, resolved to assist him with all his strength
in revenging the cruel treatment his wife and children had
met with at the king's hands. Aripert met him on the con-
(4) Scip. Ammirtt. cpusc, Jiscrpt. vB. (j) Viii Pittn Citm, hist. fl'Wi &
tfapili, 1. i». JeB. 4.
fines
C. XXIX. .The History of the Lombards. 655
fines with an army no-way inferior to his. Hereupon a bloody
battle ensued, which lasted till night parted the combatants.
The next day Asprand was for renewing the fight ; but Art-
pert, though he had not lost near so many men as his adver
sary, yet, declining, for reasons unknown to our historian, a
second engagement, left the enemy masters of the field
of battle, and retired to Pavia. Being pursued by Asprand,
whose men were no less encouraged by his retreat, than Ari-
pert's were disheartened, he abandoned Pavia, with a design
to pass into Gaul, and there hire a new army, carrying with
him for that effect the best part of his treasures ; but, attempt- Aripert
ing to swim cross the Testno, he was drowned in that river, drowned.
His body was found the next day, and buried with great pomp
in the church of Sr. Saviour, founded by Aripert, the first of
that name. His brother, by name Guntbert, fled to the king
of the Franks, and continued at his court to his death. Ra-
ginbert, the eldest son of Guntbert, governed the city of Or
leans for the king of the Franks in the time of our historian c.
The throne being vacant by the death of Aripert, Asprand Aipnind
was placed on it by the unanimous consent of the whole na- declartd
tion ; but, he dying three months after his accession, his son king.
Luitprand succeeded him in the kingdom of the Lombards.
But, before we speak of his reign, we shall relate whit hap
pened till his time, worthy of notice, in the other provinces
of Italy subject to the Lombards.
In the year 677. died Romuald duke of Benevento, and was The Jutes
succeeded by Grimoald II. his son, to whom he left that duke- of Bene-
dom greatly inlarged by the addition of Tarento, Brindifi, Ba- vento.
ri, and their territories, which he took from the emperor of
the East, as we have related above. Grimoald governed, with
his brother Gi/ulpb, not quite three years ; and, upon his
death, Gisulph held the dukedom alone fourteen years more.
All we find recorded of him in history is his laying waste,
upon what provocation we know not, the territory of Rome.
Gisulph, dying in 694. was succeeded in the dukedom by his
son Romuald II. who ruled twenty-six years, during which
time he greatly harassed the Neapolitans, and, by a stratagem,
made himself master of Cumte, belonging to them. Here
upon Gregory II. then bishop of Rome, apprehending that me
tropolis to be in danger, did asl that lay in his power to per
suade the duke to restore Cuma, offering- him even a consi
derable sum in lieu of it. But his offers, and every- other
fair means, proving ineffectual, the bishop in the end thun
dered against him the sentence of excommunication ; but,
finding that Grimoald made no more account of his excom-
Vot.XIX. U u prefixed
658 . $U History of tbt Lombards. B.IV.
prefixed to it (M); and several others he published the fol
lowing years ; so that his laws amounted in the end to an
hundred and fifty- two. But the wisdom this prince shewed
in settling his kingdom with excellent laws* and his other
extraordinary parts, were not a little eclipsed by his unbounded
ambition ; for* not satisfied with the large and extensive domi
nions left him by his predecessors, he undertook to drive the
(M) The preface is couched in " according to the fear and love of
the following words : " Whcre- " God." Then follow the six
" as our molt mighty predecessor, chapters of the edict, whereof the
" and most eminent king, Ro- first bears this title, De successions
" tbaris, published an edict for filiarum. In the fifth year of
" the Lombards, wherein hepru- his reign he published another
" dently caused the following edict, and a great many more
" words to be inserted j If tbt in the following years, which
" princes of the Lombards, our are all to be seen intire in the
" successors, find any thing fitper- manuscript code lodged in the
" fiuous in this tdiB, they may monastery os Ca-va, with seven
" leave it out, and, with the other chapters added to them,
" assistance of God, add what under the following titles : I. De
" they think wanting : after mercede magiftri. II. De muro.
" him, the most glorious king III. De annona. IV. De opera.
" Grimoald accordingly added V. De caminata. VI. Desurnt.
" and left out what to him VII. De puteo. The laws of
" seemed fit ; and we, following Luitprand are in all an hundred
" his example, and inspired, as and fifty-two, as appears from
" we hope, by God, have de- the above-mentioned code ; bat
" creed to be added and omitted the compiler of the three books
" such things, as, according to of the laws of the Lombards has
" the law of Goo, seemed to thought fit to insert in that work
" us proper : therefore, in the only an hundred and thirty-seven
•• name of the Omnipotent God, of them, to wit, forty eight in
" I Luitprand, the most excel- the first book, and eighty-nine in
«« lent, the Christian and Catho- the second. As for the third
*' lie, king of the nation of the book, it is chiefly composed of
" Lombards, beloved of God, in those laws which were made by
*' the first year of my reign, the the emperors who reigned in
" day before the calends of Italy, as successors to the kings
" March, in the eleventh in- of the Lombards; for several laws
" diction, together with all the were enacted by them, not a*
•* judges from the parts of Au- emperors or kings of France, but
" stria and Neuftria, and bor- as kings of Italy, or of the Lom
" ders of Tbufcia, with others of bards ; and hence the Lombard
" my faithful Lombards, and all Jaws were never of any force in
" the people assisting, am pleased France, nor the French laws in
" with the following regulations, Italy.
** which to us haveappeared good,
foment
C. XXIX. The History of the Lombards. 659
Romans quite out of Italy ; which in the end occasioned the
luiu of the kingdom of the Lombards in that country : for
the popes, growing jealous of their too great power, and
finding the emperors of the East incapable of making head
against them, or putting a stop to their conquests, had re
course to a foreign nation, which raised a new empire in
Italy upon the ruins of the kingdom of the Lombards, as
We shall relate in the sequel of this history.
Luitprand, pushed on by his ambition, watched all op
portunities of inlarging his dominions at the expence of the
emperors; and in the fifth year of his reign a very favourable
one offered : for Leo Isauricus, who at that time reigned in
the East, having, by his famous edict, forbidden the worship
of images, and ordered them to be every-wherc pulled down,
the people were so provoked at that innovation, that, in seve
ral places, they openly revolted, and, falling upon the empe
ror's officers, drove them out of the cities. In the East, Ger-
manus patriarch of Constantinople opposed the emperor's de
sign with great warmth ; but Leo caused him to be deposed,
and Anajlafius to be raised to that see in his room, ordering
at the fame time all the images in the imperial city to be
pulled down, and publicly burnt. He strictly injoined his Difiurl-
officers in the West, especially the exarch of Ravenna, to •» ceca-
see his edict punctually obeyed in their respective governments, fontd in
In compliance with these orders, ScholajUcus, then exarch, Italy i>v£f
began to pull down the images in all the churches and public '''" °f
places in Ravenna ; which incensed the superstitious multi- ." "au"
tudeto such a degree, that, taking arms, they openly drebred riws-
they would rather renounce their allegiance to the emperor,
than the worship of images.
Thus a kind of civil war being kindled in the city, Luit
prand thought he had now a favourable opportunity of make-
ing himself master of the seat of the exarch, not doubting
but the conquest of such an important place would be fol
lowed by that of the whole exarchate. Having therefore Luitprani
drawn together all his forces, he unexpectedly appeared before invadrs
Ravenna, and closely besieged it. The exarch little expected the ix-
such a surprize, as a friendly correspondence had been main- arckate.
tained for many years between the exarchs and the Lombard
kings. However, he defended the place with such courage
and resolution, that Luitprand, despairing of success, broke
up the siege, and led his army against Clajps at a small di
stance from Ravenna, which he took, plundered, and le
veled with the ground. The loss of this place, and the
severe treatment the inhabitants met with from the king,
threw the citizens of Ravenna into the utmost consternation -,
U u a which
66o The History of the Lombards. B. IV;
which Luitprand being informed of, he resolved to take ad
vantage of their fears, and, returning before Ravenna while
the inhabitants were thus disheartened, to attempt once more
the reduction of that place. Accordingly he led his whole
army against it, and, by frequent attacks, tired the inhabit
ants and garifon to such a degree, that the exarch, finding
they could hold out no longer, and despairing of relief, pri-
Hi lakes vately withdrew. Luitprand, informed of his retreat, at-
and plun- tacked the town with more violence than ever, and, having
ders Ra- carried it by storm, gave it up to be plundered by his soldiers,
vcnna. wn0 found in it an immense booty, as it had been for a long
*I°\ time the seat of the Roman emperors, of the Gothic kings,
the flood an(j tne exarcris. The king stripped it of most of its valuable
3°(°" monuments of antiquity, and caused, among the rest, an
rl equestrian statue of an emperor, of wonderful workmanship,
Of Rome to ^e conveyed t0 Povia, where it is to be seen to this day.
The reduction of Ravenna was followed by the surrender of
lyyv) several cities of the exarchate, which Luitprand reduced to
a dukedom, appointing Hildebrand, his grandson, to govern
it with the title of duke, and giving him, as he was yet an
infant, Peredeus duke of Vicenza for his guardian h.
The conquest of Ravenna, and the greater part of the
exarchate, did not a little alarm Gregory II. bishop of Rome.
He was then at variance with the emperor, whose edict against
the worshiping of images he had opposed with all his might,
and by that means provoked Leo to such a degree, that he
had threatened to drive him from the see, and send him into
exile. However, the pope, no less jealous of the power of
the Lombards, than all his predecessors had been, resolved,
by some means or other, to put a stop to their conquests.
The only prince in Italy, to whom he could have recourse,
was Ursus duke of Venice, the Venetians making already no
inconsiderable figure. To him accordingly he wrote a very
pressing letter, conjuring him to assist his worthy son the
exarch, and, for the love of the holy faith, to attempt with
him the recovery of the exarchate, which the wicked nation
of the Lombards had unjustly taken from his sons Leo and
Conjfantine emperors. Ursus and the Venetians, moved with
the pope's letter, and at the fame time greatly alarmed at the
growth of so powerful a neighbour, promised to assist the
exarch with the whole strength of their republic ; and accord
ingly fitted out a considerable fleet, pretending it was designed
for the service of the emperor against the Saracens. At the
same time the exarch, who had taken refuge in Venice, aban
doning that place, as it were in despair ot bringing the duke
(N) The Greek writers (who peror Leo, chose Gregory for
flourished leng aster Gregory, their prince, and took an oath of
Paulas Diaconus, and Anaftafius allegiance to him. They add,
Biblhthecarius) tell U5, that the that the pope readily accepted
Romans, revolting from the cm- the sovereignty offered him j
"' * •■" ■ - _ ~ that
C. tfXIX. ?b: History of the Lombards. 6*5
Eutychius failed in his design upon the life of the pope ;
but, having brought with him from Constantinople a good
number
that he forbad the Romans, and him to revoke his edict. Had
Jhe other inhabitants of Italy, to he likewise excommunicated the
pay tribute for the future to the emperor, we cannot persuade our
emperor; that he absolved all selves, that Anastajius, Paulus
the subjects of the empire from Diaconus. and Dama/cenus, would
their oath of allegiance ; and have passed over in silence such
finally, that, with great solemni a remarkable incident, it being
ty, he excommunicated and de agreed on by all writers, that no
posed Leo. Hence, say the Greek prince or emperor had been ex
writers, to wit, Theophanes, Ce- communicated till that time. As
elrenus, Zonaras, and Niccphoius, fur what Cedrenw, Theophanes,
the temporal dominion of the Zonaras, and Nicephorus, write
popes over Rome, and the Roman of the pope's deposing the empe
dukedom, took its rife ; to which ror, it is evidently false, since Gre
were afterwards added, by Pepin gory acknowleged Leo for empe
and Charles the Great, the ex ror as long as he lived, as did
archate of Ra-venna, Pentapolis likewise Gregory III., his succes
or the Marca fAncona, and se sor, who wrote several letters to
veral other cities of Italy. On him full of respect ; nay, the
the other hand, Paulus Diaconus, dates of most of that pope's let
^nnjlajius Bibliothecarius, and ters bear the years of Lto't reign ;
Dama/cenus, take no notice of and in that, which he wrote to
the pope's deposing or excommu Boniface, he gives Leo the title
nicating the emperor ; of his for of Most pious, Imperante domino
bidding tribute to be paid to piijjlmo Augusta Leone imperii ejus
him ; or of his accepting from xxiii (6). Hence the Punch
the rebellious Romans the sove writers, and among the rest/", dt
reignty of Rome. These writers Marca, Natalis, and Du Pin,
only fay, that he opposed with maintain, that Gregory never ex
all his might the edicts of Leo ; communicated, or attempted to
that he prevented them from be depose, the empeor Leo ; that
ing received by the people ; and what the above-mentioned Greek
that he earnestly exhorted and authors have written on that
conjured the emperor to revoke head, ought to be deemed fabu
them, and give over, as they lous ; and that, in so remarka
stile it, such an impious under ble an incident, the silence of the
taking. Anastajius, after having Latin writers, who flourished in
told u1, that Leo deposed Germa- times les: distant, ought to be of
ntis patrijrch of Constantinople far greater weight with every un-
for opposing his edict, and ap byased reader, than the authority
pointed Anajlasius in his room, of the Greeks, who, out of their
add:., tint Gregory excommuni natural aversion from the Latin
cated the new patriarch, and church, have obtruded such fables
wrote to the emperor, exhorting on the public. But most of our
<fij Greg. HI. ep. iii. P. ie Marca Je con, pc. & imp. I. iii. t. !'• num. c.
protestant
666 The History of the Lombards. -B. IV.
number, of troops, he easily quelled ihe rcoellion in Ravenna*
and severely punished the authors of the late dilturbances-
As
protestant writers seem to give that the pope opposed the edicts
intire credit to the Grteks, and of Leo ; that he excommunicated
by all means will have it, that both the exarch of Ravemia, and
Gregory excommunicated the em the patriarch of Constantinople ;
peror ; that he absolved all his and that he exhorted the empe
subjects from their allegiance ; ror to revoke his edict. Some
that he forbad them to pay him modern writers give intire credit
the usual tribute ; and that, be to the Greeks ; others, from the
ing offered the "sovereignty of silence of the Latins, conclude
Rome by the rebellious Romans, the accounts of the Greeks to be
he accepted the offer, and thence fabulous : and such truly they
forth took upon him all the state appear to us, since Gregory, so
of a temporal prince. ' Spanbt- long as he lived, acftnowleged
mins thinks, that all this was de Leo as emperor ; and Qregory III.
nied by the French writers, lest, his successor, not only wrote re
in the reign of Lewis the Great, spectful letters to him, but dated
they ihould seem to acknowlege those he wrote to others by the
such a power in the popes (7). years of his reign, as we have
The Italian writers, even those hinted above. As for the tem
among them who are most ad poral dominion of the popes ia
dicted o the court of Rome, agree Rome, we (hall (hew in a proper
with the protestants in giving place, that it did not begin till
credit to the Greeks, but with a several years after ; and that their
different view, to wit, to shew, first acquisitions were in the ex
that the power of excommuni archate ; that they became after
cating and deposing princes was wards masters of Pentapolu, of
so early exerted by the popes. several placet in the Roman duke
To conclude, Thcopbanes, Cedre- dom, and lastly of Rome. Am
itui, Zonara:, and Nicepborus, for the famous donation of ai(
fay, that Gregory II. not only ex Italy, said to have been made by
communicated the emperor Leo, Constantine the Great in the year
but absolved his subjects from 324. to pope Sylvester, it is now
their allegiance, declaring, that universally exploded as fabulous.
they were no longer bound to It was indeed formerly defended
obey him ; that on this occasion with great warmth by most as
rhe Remans, shaking off the yoke, the Italian writers, who even
offered the sovereignty of Rome maintained in their works, that
co the pope ; and that he, ac the emperors, who succeeded
cepting the offo, became sove- Constantine, had no title or right
/e:gn lord of that city, and its to any part of Italy, as belong
dukedom. On the other hand, ing to the pope, and being the
Paulas Diaeor.us, Anajiasms, and patrimony of St. Peter ; that
Damaseenus, who flounlhed be from thence the investitures given
fore the Greek writers, only fay, by the popes took their rife ,
(-) Stsxita, ttmra MaiaAwg- in i-^0. ixeg. p. 5:.
on-i
C. XXIX. The Btstory of the Lombards. tby
As for the rebellious Romans, he was well apprised he could
never reduce them, so long as they were soppaiced by the '
king
(8) jiffit. l> etnjlit. in prxhd. y. 1, r.um. 2. & f. «<j, Mm. I. Taffia lit
jitr. reg. 1. i. dt legit. 1. i. r.um. 6. (9) Marca, I. iii. t. 12. 0 I. ri. c. 6.
Xcbtl.Jhat. antif. i*j). fir. ii. dtjs 3. t. %. (ij ftil ZJ. 1. ii. & anonym.
Sirmtnd. ...
TbtoJcjMM
€69 The History of the Lombards. B. IV.
king of the Lombards j and therefore he employed all his
art and policy to take off that prince from the party of the
Romans, and bring him over to his own.
'jfn alii- Luitpr and, for some time, withstood all his offers ; but
enct he- Thrajimund duke of Spolcto revolting at this very juncture,
itfitn tbi tjjC exarch} laying hold of that opportunity, offered to assist
exarch tnc i^g w|tn a]j njs flrertgth against the rebellious duke,
a™'jult~ provided he would, in like manner^ assist him against the
PraBd- pope, and the Romans. With this proposal Luitprand readily
closed ; and, a league being concluded upon these terms be
tween him and the exarch, the two armies joined, and began
their mrch towards Spoleto. At their approach, the duke,
despairing of being able to resist two such powers, came out
with a small attendance to meet them, and, throwing himself
at the king's feet, sued, in that humble posture, for pardon ;
which Luitprand not only granted him, but confirmed him
in the dukedom, tffter he had obliged him to take a new oath
of allegiance, and give hostages for his fidelity in time to
Yiey bt- come. From Spoleto the two armies marched, in pursuance
Ji'ge of the treaty, to Rome, and encamped in the meadows of
Hume. Nero, between the Tiber and the Vatican.
Gregory had caused the city of Rome to be fortified in
the best manner he could ; but, being sensible that the Ro
mans alone could not long hold out against two such armies,
and reflecting on the kind treatment the duke of Spoleto had
met with upon his submitting to the king, he resolved to
follow his example ; and accordingly, taking with him some
of the clergy, and the principal inhabitants of the city, he
went to wait on the king in his camp ; and there, with
a pathetic speech, as he was a great master of eloquence, sofi-
(P) With the death of Luit- brothers, one only, by name La-
prand, Paulus Diaconus closes his pieis, returned to the place of
history of the Lombards. He his nativity, where he married,
was deacon of the church of Fo- and had a son named Artcbi .
rum Julii, in the territory of The son of Arecbis, named
which city his great-grandfather's ffarnesrid, had, by his wise
father settled, when the Lorn- Tbeudelinda, Paul Warnesrid our
bards, his countrymen, first came historian, commonly called Paulus
into Italy. He left five sons, Diaconus, or Paul the Deacon.
who were carried into captivity He betrays, throughout his whole
by the Aiiares, when Forum Ju- work, great partiality for his
hi was betrayed to them, as we countrymen, of which the reader
have related above, by Romilda will find several instances in the
the wife of Gisuls. Of the five learned Camilla Peregrine (4).
(4) Camill. Peregrin, in dlstrt. fin. ducat, Benevenl. ad'fcptiMtim. p. 37.
6 often-
C. XXIX. the History of the Lombards. 67$
often- mentioned code of the monastery of Cava in the king
dom of Naples x.
Having thus provided his subjects with excellent laws,
and settled the affairs of the kingdom to his satisfaction,
though naturally inclined to peace, he turned all on a sudden
his thoughts upon war, and, pushed on by an ambition of
inlarging his dominions, as his predecessors had done, he
raised a considerable army, and, putting himself at the head
of it, he first retook several places in Pentapolis, which had
revolted from him, and then, entering the Roman dukedom, He in-
laid close siege to Perugia. The emperor was at a great vadet the
distance, and did not mind the affairs of Italy. The exarch Roman
was not in a condition to defend himself, if attacked, much dukedom,
less to protect his neighbours. Zachary therefore, instead of f^ byt
soliciting the assistance cither of the emperor or the exarch, si'&"° Pe-
resolved to try, whether, by his own authority and character, ru£'a-
he could divert the king of the Lombards from pursuing his
conquests. As his former journey had proved successful be
yond his expectation, he resolved to undertake another. Ac
cordingly, he went in person to the camp of Rachis, under
the wails of Perugia, and, being received by that prince with
great marks of respect and veneration, he represented to him,
with such force and energy, the punishment that is reserved
for those, who unjustly invade the property of others, that
Rachis, wonderfully affected with his speech, not only raised He raises
the siege of Perugia, 'but restored all the places he held in the siege,
Pentapolis; nay, the presence and authority of the bishop a"i tumi
made such a deep impression on his mind, that the following "tank.
year he went to Rome, with his wife Tafia, and his daughter
Ratruda, to pay him a visit. Being overcome, while he was
in that city, with the secret force of religion, he renounced
his kingdom, and, prostrating himself at the pope's feet, took
the habit of St. BenediSl, and retired to the monastery of
Monte Cajsvio, where he spent the remainder of his days,
and was honoured after his death by those monks as a faint (QJ.
, Tajia
x Eixh. apud Peregrin, in hist, priric. Longob. p. 5.
(5; VilUn. 1. ii. e. 9. (6; BtatiU. list, di St. Satin), f. Sj. (-j) Dt
N»n »d O/Hens. I. i. c. 8.
Vol. XIX. X x prised
674 Me History of the Lombards. B. IV.
Tafia his wife, and Ratruda his daughter, followed his ex
ample, retiring into a monastery of virgins- founded by them
at a small distance from Monte Cajsmo v.
His bro ' The Lombards no sooner heard, that Retchis had resigned
tberASial- than, assembling in Pavia, they chose his brother AfltdpbuL
phus or ÆJiulphui, in his room, a man of great gallantly in the
chosen king field, and wisdom in council. He raised the kingdom of the
in bis room. Lombards to the highest pitch of its grandeur j which gave
Year of
the flood occasion to its total ruin, as we shall soon relate. In the
3099. beginning of his reign, he confirmed the peace concluded
Of Christ
y Erch. apud Peregrin, in hist. princ. Longob. p. e. & Lw»
Of Rome Ostiens. chron. 1. i. c. 8. ^^
1499.
^yVV* Frised the c!ty of Marietta ; and lani, who flourished in the reigns
it is not improbable, fay they, of Charles It. of Anjou, and
that the Lombards of Benewnto Joan I. his niece, when Bar Una
should, in one of their cities, was become one of the most con
erect a statue to their king. They siderable cities ofApulia, thinking
were, it is true, immediately it had been such in the reign of
subject to their own duke j but Raehir, and seeing a statue there,
both he and they were at the called by the natives Arracko,
same time subject to the king- concluded it to be the statue of
the kingdom of the Lombards Racbis. The other reason alleged
comprising not only that country, by Giamone is, that the prince
.. which is now known by the represented by that statue is dressed
name of sLombardy, and the other after the manner of the Rema*
small dukedoms, but likewise the emperors, has in one hand a cross,
three famous dukedoms of Friuli, in the other a globe, and no*
Spoleto, and Benevento. But Pie- beard ; whereas the kings of the
tro Giannor.e alleges two strong Lombards are represented, as ap
arguments against the opinion of pears from the antient code of
Villani, and the two above-men the monastery of Ca<va, with
tioned writers, who have espoused, long beard?, military garments,
without due consideration, his a sceptre in their right-hand, and
opinion. In the first place, it is a crown on their head, none of
altogether improbable, Ciys he, them having either the cross or
that the Lombards of Bincvento the globe. Hence Giannone con
would have erected such a large cludes it to be the statue of some
and magnificent statue in a town Roman emperor, perhaps of Hi-
at that time of no account, and raclius, there being some resem
situated on the very borders of blance between that emperor's
their dukedem, and not in Bent- name, and the name, which,
vento their metropolis, or in some time out of minu, has been givea
other city of note, such as Capua, to the statue by the inhabitants
Salimo, Bari, &c. which were of Barletia (8).
all cities of that dukedom. Vil
between
C.XXIX. the History as the Lombards. 675
between bis brother and pope Zaclwry, who died the follow
ing year 752. and was succeeded by Stephen II. But Stephen,
having held the see three days, died on the fourth, and in
his room was chosen another named likewise Stephen, whom
the antiems call Stephen II. not reckoning his predecessor,
who died before he was consecrated j for, in those days, the
election alone did not make a pope, but the consecration ;
and hence this pope is by Echerempertus, and Leo Ostiensts,
called Stephen II. and not Stephen III. but at present it is a
settled point in the church of Rome, that the pope receives
all authority from his election, contrary to what was believed
by the antients ; and therefore the writers of later times
reckon Stephen, who lived but three dajs, and was not con
secrated, among the popes, altering by that means the num
ber of the subsequent Stephens ; so that the second is by them
called the third, the third called the fourth, &c; and the ninth
called the tenth, which has bred confusion in the history of
the church. Stephen II. or, as the modern writers call him,
the third, three months after his election, dispatched legares
to king Astulphus, with rich presents, to confirm the peace,
which had been lately granted by that prince to Zachary.
The king received the new pope's legates with the greatest Hi con-
respect, and not only ratified the peace, but extended it tofrm' ll>f
forty years more. This he did with no other view, but topeacetuith
divert the pope from thwarting the design he had upon the'"'/0/'*
exarchate, which he was resolved to invade, the emperor
Conjlantine Copronymus being then engaged in a war with the
Saracens and Bulgarians, and all Asia and Greece miserably • . • ;
wasted by a dreadful plague. He thought he could not have
a more favourable opportunity of subjecting Ravenna, and
the rest of the exarchate ; and therefore, having raised a very He in-
considerable army, he marched strait to that city, and closely 'oudtt the
besieged it. Eutychius, who was still exarch, defended the 'xarchaie,.
place for some time with great valour ; but, finding his vt\tt\an(i ,a^"
quite tired out, and despairing of relief, he at last abandoned R*venna»
it to the enemy, and returned by sea to Constantinople. Astul
phus, thus become master of the metropolis of the exarchate,;
reduced, with great ease, the other cities, and all Pentapolis,
which he added to his kingdom, and, by that addition, raised
the pow er of the Lombards to an higher pitch than any of his
predeceslbrs had done. Thus ended the exarchate of Ra- ■** *** *f
venna, and with it the splendor of that city, which, ever since '*' """"
the time of Vakntinian, the emperors had chosen for the /?', .
place of their residence, as it was afterwards the feat of the*1? " .*
Gothic kings, and, upon their expulsion, of the exarchs, who,' a"^'
for the space. of an hundred and eighty-three years, main- . kfaH,
tained the power and authority of the emperors of the East
Xx 2 in
676 The History of the Lombards. B. IV.
Year of in Italy. As the dukes of the other cities of Italy, and of
the flood Rome itself, were under the exarch, who resided at Ravenna,
3 ' °°; the bishops of that fee contended for precedency even with the
Of Christ Difh0pS 0f Rome. But a period was, at the fame time, put to
nf?£2- the exerchate, and to the lustre of that antient metropolis,
ome which was reduced by the Lombards to a dukedom ; so that,
• JL^ 1 by degrees, it decayed, and, in process of time, came to the
deplorable condition in which it is at present. Marquardus
Freherus, in his chronology of the exarchs of Ravenna, writes,
that the exarchate lasted for the space of an hundred and seventy-
five years ■• But he does not reckon well ; for he himself tells
tells us, that it began in 568. and ended in 752. so that, even
according to him, it must have lasted an hundred and eighty-
three years,
Astulphus Astulphus, now master of the exarchate, thought he
invades had a just title to all the places depending on it, and conse-
tbe Ro- quently to the Roman dukedom, and to Rome itself. He
man duke- therefore dispatched a messenger to that city, requiring the in-
dum, habitants to acknowlege him for their sovereign ; and alleging,
in justification of his demand, that the exarchate, which was
his by right of conquest, gave him the fame power which the
emperors had till then in Italy over the inhabitants of Rome,
and the Roman dukedom. At the fame time he marched his
army towards Rome, and, having taken Narhia, now Narni,
he sent from thence to acquaint the pope, that he was deter
mined to plunder Rome, and put all the Romans to the sword,
if they refused to acknowlege him, by paying him yearly a
The pope golden solidus a head. The pope, alarmed at this severe rnes-
endeavours (age, attempted first to divert the king from this resolution by
in vain to a solemn embafly, at the head of which were the two abbats
divert him 0f MgnU Cajjino and St. Vincentius, who, meeting the king
from that at yuiturnum^ a cjty m Campania, standing on a river of that
tnva/ion. name> pUt nim \n mjnd 0f the peace he had lately, concluded
with Stephen and the Romans ; and endeavoured, by argu
ments, prayers, and intreaties, to persuade him not to break
it, but to employ his arms elsewhere ». The two legates had
brought rich presents with them for the king ; but he, reject
ing them, insisted upon his being acknowleged by the pope and
the Romans for their sovereign. This threw Stephen into the
greatest perplexity imaginable ; for he found the king of the
Lombards unalterably determined upon the reduction of Rome,
and the Roman dukedom ; and, on the other hand, the empe
ror was no-way in a condition to defend them, or put a stop
to the conquests of so powerful and warlike a prince. The
(\) Pa/ri .It unsulib. p. 370. & Eul-g. in memorial. sanflor. lib. ii. c. t.
(1)
1) Pagi ibid. (1) Ccjir.. c . 7. num. 9. (\) Pacbimtr. lik.i\.c.$x.
(%) Cregtr, lib. iv. c. 6.
y 4 these
696 the History of the Lombards. B. IV.
In more antient times, only the Farther Calabria was subject
to the patrician of Sicily ; but the cities, which the emperors
held in that part of Italy, being reduced to a very small num
ber, they were all put under the government of the patrician,
who was sent from Constantinople to govern Sicily, as is evi
dent from the themata of Conjlantine PorphyrogenitusJ, and
likewise from one of pope Adrian's letters to Charlemagne,
wherein he complains of the Beneventan Lombards, whom he
_J["fe
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•