Empires and Barbarians (108 page)

40
The village community at least attempted to protect the Christians in their midst: see
Passion of St Saba
4.4; Heather and Matthews (1991),
chapter 4
.

41
See Ammianus 31.3.8.

42
The law codes again show that social value varied substantially with age, with women’s value famously being highest during child-bearing years. But age was clearly important to men too: older men were buried with spurs but not weapons, for instance, suggesting that there was an age limit to military obligation: see Hedeager (1988). Children were likewise sometimes not buried in cemeteries: see e.g. Siegmund (1998), 179ff.

43
On the general importance of feasting as part of ‘reciprocity’ (see note 27 above), see Earle (1984), (1991). The first-century evidence is discussed in Thompson (1965). On Anglo-Saxon ideologies and realities, see Charles-Edwards (1989); Campbell (2000),
chapter 8
.

44
For the early Roman period, see Thompson (1965), 37ff. On Roman control of assemblies, see Dio 72.19.2; 73.2.1–4. On fourth-century village assemblies, see
Passion of St Saba
; cf. Heather and Matthews (1991),
chapter 4
. On the decision to cross into the Empire, see Ammianus 31.3.8: ‘diuque deliberans’ (see
Chapter 4
below). Thompson (1965), (1966) emphasizes the absence of reference in fourth-century sources (which basically means Ammianus) to regular councils among the Goths and other Germani. While a correct observation, it does not mean they weren’t happening.

45
The literature on sacral kingship is huge, but see e.g. Wenskus (1961) and Wolfram (1994). The terminology and concept of
heilag
is nevertheless clear: see Green (1998),
chapter 7
for the linguistic evidence; and cf. Pohl (2000) and Moisl (1981) for a practical application. On the actual (as opposed to invented) history of the Amal dynasty, see Heather (1991),
chapters 1
–
2
, and part 3; Heather (1996),
chapters 6
,
8
and
9
.

46
See Gregory of Tours,
Histories
2.9; the Chatti are also mentioned at Ammianus
20.10. Salii: Ammianus 17.8; cf., amongst a huge range of possible secondary literature, James (1988),
chapter 1
, and the relevant papers in Wieczorek et al. (1997). The political processes behind the generation of the Alamanni may not have been totally dissimilar. No old names survived into the fourth century, but the confederation does seem to have built up gradually over time. In the third century, for instance, the Iuthingi (itself a new name) seem to have been a separate grouping, but by the fourth were operating as an integral part of the broader confederation: see Drinkwater (2007), 63ff.

47
For Gargilius’ cow, see Boeles (1951), 130, plate 16, cited in Geary (1988), 3; the calculation of legionaries’ demands is from Elton (1996).

48
Julian’s treaties are discussed in more detail in Heather (2001). On the frontier and its operations, see generally Whittaker (1994); Elton (1996); Wells (1999),
chapter 6
; Carroll (2001), of which the two latter focus greater attention on the Roman side of the Rhine.

49
On loan words and trade, see Green (1998), 186f. and chapter 12. On iron production, see Urbanczyk (1997b); cf. more generally Krüger (1976–83), vol. 2, 157ff.

50
On the forced drafts of recruits, see Heather (2001).

51
See Green (1998), chapter 12.

52
Caesar,
Gallic War
4.2; Tacitus,
Germania
5 (who notes, however, that interior Germanic groups still did not value Roman silver coins); cf. Green (1998), chapter 12. On fourth-century coin concentrations, see Drinkwater (2007), 128–35; Heather and Matthews (1991), 91–3.

53
On the Tervingi and trade, see Themistius,
Orations
10, with the commentary of Heather (1991), 107ff. For general orientation on Roman imports and their patterns, see Eggers (1951); Hedeager (1988); von Schnurbein (1995); Wells (1999),
chapter 10
; Drinkwater (2007), 34ff.

54
For Roman goods and social status, see Steuer (1982). For the amber causeways, see Urbanczyk (1997b). For tolls, see Green (1998).

55
See Caesar,
Gallic War
6.17; Tacitus,
Annals
13.57. For the bog deposits, see Orsnes (1963), (1968); Ilkjaer and Lonstrup (1983); Ilkjaer (1995); for more general comment, see e.g. Hedeager (1987); Steuer (1998); Muller-Wille (1999), 41–63.

56
For a thoughtful critique of the importance of trade, see Fulford (1985). On ninth- and tenth-century beneficiaries, see
Chapter 10
above. For an introduction to ‘agency’, and its more particular problems, see Wilson (2008).

57
For a detailed report of the find, see Kunzl (1993); for an English summary, see Painter (1994).

58
For a more detailed account, with full references, see Heather (2001).

59
Ammianus 17.12–13, with Heather (2001). On the removal of potentially dangerous leaders, see Ammianus 21.4.1–5; 27.10.3; 29. 4.2 ff.; 29.6.5; 30.1.18–21.

60
On the rationale of hostage-taking, see Braund (1984). On subsidies, Klose (1934) collects the evidence from the early period, Heather (2001) for that of the later Empire.

61
‘So eagerly did our forces’: Ammianus 19.11. For further comment on the balance between resettlement and exclusion, see
Chapter 3
above; and cf. e.g. Heather (1991),
chapter 4
, on standard Roman immigration policies; and Carroll
(2001), 29ff., on the amount of organized restructuring of adjacent populations that went on as Rome created its German frontier.

62
Valentinian’s reduction of gifts: Ammianus 26.5; 27.1. For commentary, see Heather (2001); and Drinkwater (2007),
chapter 8
(who seeks, in my view damagingly, to demonstrate that the Alamanni could never have represented any kind of threat).

63
On the Rhine–Weser, see Drinkwater (2007), 38–9. On fifth-century economic expansion in Alamannia, see ibid., 355–44.

64
See Wells (1999),
chapters 10
–
11
, following von Schnurbein (1995), who stresses the increase in imports of Roman weaponry into Germanic contexts after the mid-second century.

65
Athanaric: Ammianus 27.5; Macrianus: Ammianus 30.3. In both cases, though, the relevant emperor was being pressed by problems elsewhere – Valentinian in the Middle Danube, and Valens in Persia: see Heather and Matthews (1991),
chapter 2
.

1
‘They were expecting . . .’: Dio 32. 8–10.

2
For a good introduction, see Birley (1966),
chapters 6
–
8
, with Appendix III; see also Böhme (1975).

3
See Dio 72.20.1–2 (on the stationing of troops); 72.11–12, 72.20.2, 72.21 (on the movements of the Asdingi, Quadi, and Naristi respectively); 72.15, 72.16.1–2, 72.19.2, 73.3.1–2 (on trading privileges and neutral zones); 72.19.2, 73.2.1–4 (on assemblies).

4
‘Not only were . . .’:
Historia Augusta
: Marcus Aurelius 14.1; for an introduction to the trickeries of this text, see Syme (1968), (1971a), (1971b). For Roman aggression, see Drinkwater (2007), 28–32, who adds further thoughts on the possible impact of the plague, and Marcus’ sense of duty, to the argument.

5
On Rhine frontier damage, see Carroll (2001), 138; and cf., on the legions and Marcus’ self-monumentalization, Birley (as note 2 above). See also
Chapter 2
, note 28 above.

6
For the first-century homeland of the Langobardi, see Tacitus,
Germania
40. That group of 6,000 clearly did not represent more than a subgroup, and they would be followed south by more Langobardi in the fifth century (see
Chapter 5
below). These later Langobardi invaded the Middle Danube proper from intermediate settlements in Bohemia, but it is unknown whether this was true also of the second-century group. For references to permanent displacements, see note 3 above.

7
See Dio 72.3.1a.

8
See e.g. Barford (2001), introduction and
chapter 1
.

9
Of fundamental importance here is the work of the late Kazimierz Godlowski, especially his general treatment of north-central Europe in the Roman period: Godlowski (1970). Shchukin (1990) supplies a good general survey, building on Godlowski’s pioneering work. The argument continues over details, and many more ‘cultures’, and phases within ‘cultures’, have acquired much more precise
and absolute dates. In pioneering days, only Roman coins provided any indication of absolute chronology. Since 1945, the chronological development of Roman wheel-turned pottery became better understood, both for fine wares (dinner services) and amphorae (storage jars for olive oil and wine). Two later techniques supply still more precise dates: carbon-14 (which produces a date-range) and dendrochronology, based on tree rings (which tells you precisely when a given tree was cut down). Combined with Godlowski’s general method, these technical advances have generated a wealth of knowledge that would have astonished previous generations of scholarship.

10
In technical dating terms, the expansion occurred in Roman Iron Age periods B2, B2/C1a. These paragraphs distil information in two important collections of papers:
Peregrinatio Gothica
1 and 2; and cf. Shchukin (2005).

11
For a fuller discussion, see Heather (1996), 35–8. There is a range of fragmentary references in classical sources indicating that Gothic groups were moving south and east: see Batty (2007), 384–7.

12
The relevant literature is huge. For a brief introduction, with full references, see Heather (2005),
chapter 2
.

13
For a recent comprehensive treatment, with full refererences, see Drinkwater (2007),
chapter 2
. (Note his important argument on pp. 43–5 that a group called the Alamanni clearly existed already in the 210s, a point to which we shall return.) On the brutal violence, see ibid., 78f. (with further examples); Carroll (2001),
chapter 9
.

14
On Alamannic origins, see Drinkwater (2007), 48f., 108–16 (with full references).

15
Argaith and Guntheric: Jordanes,
Getica
16.91 (cf.
Historia Augusta
: Gordian 31.1 on ‘Argunt’, which probably represents a conflation of the two). Cniva: Zosimus 1.23; Jordanes,
Getica
18.101–3; Zonaras,
Chronicle
12.20.

16
The principal source is Zosimus 1.31–5. For additional sources and commentary, see Paschoud (1971–89), vol. 1, pp. 152ff., n. 59ff.

17
Zosimus 1.42–3, 46, with Paschoud (1971–1989), vol. 1, pp. 159ff. n. 70ff.

18
Historia Augusta
: Aurelian 22.2. There is no evidence that he was related to the Cniva who had been operating in the same region a generation before: see note 15 above. On all these third-century attacks, see Batty (2007), 387–95.

19
Eutropius,
Breviarium
8.2.

20
For first- and second-century references to the Goths, see Tacitus,
Germania
43–4; Strabo,
Geography
7.1.3 (‘Butones’); Ptolemy
Geography
3.5.8. Kulikowski (2007),
chapters 3
–
4
; cf. Jordanes,
Getica
4.25–8 (on Filimer: see p. 122).

21
For more detail on the Tervingi, see
Chapter 2
above. Jordanes’ anachronisms were first demonstrated in Heather (1991),
chapters 1
–
2
(where I show my own scepticism of Jordanes,
pace
Kulikowski).

22
On the first and second century, see Shchukin (1990); and cf. Batty (2007), 353ff. on Bastarnae, Sarmatians, and Dacians of various kinds (with full references, and noting the distorting political agendas that have sometimes been applied to these materials). For an introduction to Ulfila and his Bible, see Heather and Matthews (1991),
chapters 5
–
7
.

23
For the first- and second-century placement of Goths, see note 20 above. Rugi: Tacitus,
Germania
44. Vandals: Courtois (1955),
chapter 1
. (Kulikowski does not discuss the broader range of evidence.)

24
Carpi: see note 38 below. On the 330s, see
Anonymous Valesianus
I.6.30.376,
chapter 4
. On the migration habit, see above, p. 30.

25
In technical terms, these transformations occurred in period B2–C1a/b. For fuller discussion, see Heather (1996), 43–50, drawing on the materials mentioned in note 9, and now supplemented by Shchukin (2005). Kulikowski (2007), 60ff. dismisses the importance of the archaeological evidence in very general terms without discussing the phenomenon of Wielbark expansion.

26
For introductions to this material, see Kazanski (1991); Shchukin (2005), with a fuller literature listed at Heather (1996), 47–50.

27
See Kazanski (1991); Heather (1996), 47–50; Shchukin (2005).

28
Jordanes,
Getica
4.25–8.

29
Jordanes,
Getica
16–17.90–100 records the third-century triumphs of the Amal King Ostrogotha. The king is entirely mythical, however, invented to explain why the Ostrogoths were so called, and his name has been added to known historical events: see Heather (1991), 22–3, 368.

30
For more detail, see Heather (1991),
chapter 1
and 84–9.

31
Batavi: Tacitus,
Histories
4.12,
Germania
29. Chatti, Bructeri and Ampsivarii: Tacitus,
Annals
58,
Germania
33.

32
The element of fragmentation under Filimer is quoted on p. 122. Berig:
Getica
4.25–6, with 17.94–5. Goffart (1988), 84ff. is reasonably concerned to undermine old assumptions that Gothic oral history suffuses the
Getica
, but is arguably a little too dismissive: see Heather (1991), 5–6, 57–8, 61–2.