Empires and Barbarians (112 page)
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Authors: Peter Heather
56
For the Rugi joining Theoderic in 487: John of Antioch fr. 214.7; on their still
being identifiable in 541: Procopius,
Wars
7.2.1ff. (they had swapped sides twice during the Gothic conquest of Italy). Heruli: Procopius,
Wars
6.14–15.
57
The account of the Heruli is doubted by Goffart (1988), 84ff.; that of the Rugi by Halsall (1999). See
Chapter 1
above for general comments on modern understandings of group identity.
58
The Gundilas papyrus (translated by him as Appendix 1) is central to Amory (1997). But see also Heather (1996),
chapter 9
, and Appendix 1, (2003).
59
Malchus fr. 20, p. 446.215ff. (the 6,000 men), p. 440.83ff. (non-combatants and baggage). Cf. Jordanes,
Getica
55.281–2 (Theoderic had earlier also used 6,000 men in the expedition that proved his manhood following his return from being a hostage in Constantinople). For further commentary, see Heather (1991),
chapter 7
.
60
See Amory (1997); but see also, in addition to Procopius,
Wars
5.1.6ff., Ennodius,
Panegyric on Theoderic
26–7 and
Life of Epiphanius
118–19 (cf. 111–-12).
61
The east Romans captured 2,000 wagons in a surprise attack (Malchus fr. 20), but there is nothing to suggest that this was the total baggage train. The Goths were offered ‘unoccupied’ land, which strongly implies that they were to do their own farming, as do all the negotiations between Theoderic and Constantinopolitan representatives: Malchus fr. 18.3, p. 430.5ff.; fr. 20, p. 438.55ff., p. 446.199ff.; cf. Heather (1991), 244ff.
62
For fuller discussion and complete references, see Heather (1991), 259–63; for Bigelis, see note 22 above.
63
For pay and rations for 13,000, and 910 kilos of gold per annum, see Malchus fr. 18.4, p. 434.12ff. and fr. 2, p. 408.22ff. For full discussion and references, see Heather (1991), 253–6.
64
For Strabo’s death, and Recitach’s assassination, see John of Antioch fr. 211.4 and fr. 214.3. For Theoderic’s forces in Italy, see Hannestad (1960). For full discussion, see Heather (1991), 300–3.
65
For references, see notes 22 and 23 above.
66
On Herule numbers in 549: Procopius,
Wars
7.34.42–3. It is generally tempting to think that the Heruli were smaller than the Amal-led Goths because the latter are portrayed as so victorious in the post-Attilan competition on the Middle Danubian plain. Our only source for this, however, is Jordanes, and it may be that Theoderic’s following only acquired superpower status when he added the Thracian Goths to his following.
67
The migration topos entirely suffuses Paul the Deacon’s
History of the Lombards
: the brothers Ibor and Agio lead the first move from Scandinavia, Agilmund the second into Bohemia, Godo takes them into Rugiland, Tato fights the Heruli, and Wacho leads the annexation of part of Pannonia. For modern secondary comment, see the works cited in note 27 above.
68
See especially Jarnut (2003), with references, and for the thought – as note 55 above – that early Lombard kings may fundamentally have been expedition leaders; cf. Christie (1995), 14–20.
69
See Curta (2001), 190–204, with his figure 18.
70
On various occasions, groups of Ostrogoths, Heruli, Huns, Rugi, and Lombards all fall into this category of mass migration. Lombard migration may well have taken the form of an initial flow that had to reorganize itself in mass form when
it was necessary to fight the Heruli head-on. In this, it resembles the third-century Goths: see
Chapter 3
.
71
Vidimer: Jordanes,
Getica
56.283–4. Procopius,
Wars
1.8.3 explicitly names Bessas and Godigisclus among the Thracian Goths who didn’t follow Theoderic; see Heather (1991), 302 for some other contenders.
72
The Amal-led Goths were receiving 136 kilos of gold per annum in the 460s (Priscus fr. 37), while the Thracian
foederati
pulled in 910 (see note 63 above). On Theoderic and the wealth of Italy, see Heather (1995b).
73
For Hun-generated wealth, see note 31 above. It is possible, however, given their seemingly non-centralized political structures, that the further spread of Lombard groups south of the Danube into old Roman Pannonia may have again taken the form of a variegated flow rather than a single directed movement.
74
Life of Severinus
6.6.
75
For references, see note 56 above. Alternatively, it may be , given Theoderic’s subsequent success, that they had no real choice in the matter.
76
For markets, see Priscus fr. 46. For other references, see note 23 above.
77
On Theoderic’s spell as a hostage, and its ending, see Heather (1991), 264–5. On his mention of Italy in 479, see Malchus fr. 20.
78
Rodulf of the Rani: Jordanes,
Getica
3.24.
79
For the route of the 473 trek: Jordanes,
Getica
56.285–6.
VÖLKERWANDERUNG?
2
The old maximalist tradition runs from scholars such as Freeman (1888) to Stenton (1971). It never went unchallenged, but scholars such as Higham (1992) and Halsall (2007), especially 357–68, are representative of the more substantial minimizing tradition of recent years. Recent scholars thinking in terms of large-scale migration include Campbell (1982), Härke (1992), Welch (1992). Hills (2003) is representative of an ultra-minimalist position adopted by some younger archaeologists. A good introduction to the variety of opinion is Ward Perkins (2000).
3
See Woolf (2003).
4
H. R. Loyn, quoted in P. Sawyer (1978). The best introduction to late Roman Britain remains Esmonde-Cleary (1989).
5
For an overview of Anglo-Saxon settlement and the development of place names, see Hooke (1998).
6
See Heather (1994).
7
Esmonde-Cleary (1989) is very balanced on the end of Roman Britain, as is Halsall (2007), 79–81, 357ff. For an introduction to the literature on systems collapse, see amongst others Faulkner (2000); Jones (1996); Higham (1992). Dark (2002) stands against this position.
8
One recent example is Halsall (2007), 519ff., with references to some of the alternatives.
9
For an introduction to such materials, see Dumville (1977).
10
Campbell (1982),
chapter 2
provides a clear introduction to the
Chronicle
.
11
For useful introductions to this material, see Campbell (1982),
chapter 2
; Arnold (1997); Welch (1992).
12
This much is accepted even by such a general anti-migrationist as Halsall (1995b), (2007), 357ff.
13
See e.g. Arnold (1997), 21ff.
14
Ine’s Law
24.2 (cf. 23.3); cf. Arnold (1997), 26ff., with discussion of Warperton.
15
Compare, for example, Weale et al. (2002) with Thomas et al. (2006). The sample was of men whose pre-Industrial Revolution ancestors can be shown to have been living in the same area as the modern descendant.
16
One other line of thought has therefore taken a more indirect route, attempting to identify and analyse so-called ‘epi-genetic’ features of the skeletal remains unearthed from the inhumation cemeteries of the fifth to seventh centuries. Such factors reflect the impact of inherited genes rather than diet or environmental factors. The work was able to establish that the element of the population buried with weapons was noticeably taller than those buried without. The argument continues as to whether the height differences should be explained genetically – i.e. as a sign that the weapons-bearers were an intrusive population – or by something else, such as differences in diet, and no firm conclusions have yet emerged: see Härke (1989), (1990).
17
For 446
AD
, see Bede,
Ecclesiastical History
2.14; 5.23, 24 (after Gildas,
Ruin of Britain
20). For 450
AD
, see
The Greater Chronicle
, year of the world 4410; cf.
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
(449
AD
) for the arrival of the Kentish dynastic founders, Hengist and Horsa.
18
Everything is reasonably clear up to about 409, when Zosimus 6.5 records a British revolt. Controversy really begins with Zosimus 6.10, which is traditionally interpreted as Honorius telling the British provincials to look after their own defence, although the text is corrupt. For an introduction to these events and the historiography, see Salway (2001).
19
Gildas,
Ruin of Britain
23–6.
20
On the Saxon attacks in c.410, see
Gallic Chronicle
of 452 (though this chronicle does not always date events to individual years). For the first datable remains, see Welch (1992),
chapter 8
. The appendix to Halsall (2007) attempts to extend the generally accepted sequence still further, arguing that Gildas’ unnamed tyrant, who issued the invitation, usually thought of as a post-Roman figure, was in fact the usurping Emperor Maximus (383–7), and that it was Maximus who brought the first Saxon mercenaries to Britain. This is not an impossible reading, but neither is it the most obvious, so the jury is still out. The further arguments which Halsall erects on the back of this first hypothesis are unconvincing: see notes 44 and 46 below.
21
Gildas’ report that Roman Britain’s final appeal to the central imperial authorities came when Aetius was (or had been) consul for the third time (446 or after) might provide some further confirmation that the 440s were a period of
particular disaster. The British leader on the Loire was Riotamus: see
PLRE
2, 945.
22
See e.g. Campbell (1982),
chapter 2
; Higham (1994); Halsall (2007), Appendix.
23
See Dumville (1977).
24
Gregory of Tours,
Histories
4.42; cf. Paul the Deacon,
History of the Lombards
2.6ff.
25
Bede,
Ecclesiastical History
1.15 (Angles, Saxons and Jutes); 5.9 (the others).
26
Higham (1992), 180–1.
27
Gregory of Tours,
Histories
5.26, 10.9; Procopius,
Wars
8.20.8–10; cf. especially Woolf (2003).
28
Famously, the supposed Gothic migration from Scandinavia is also said to have taken place in three ships: Jordanes,
Getica
1.25, 17.95.
30
For Norse DNA evidence, see
Chapter 9
. For language change, see p. 296 above.
31
Gildas,
Ruin of Britain
23–6.
32
On the Saxon attack on Gaul: Ammianus 28.5. For introductions to the ‘Saxon Shore’, see Johnston (1977); Rudkin (1986).
33
On coastal inundation, see the excellent discussion of Halsall (2007), 383ff. On Frankish pressure: Gregory of Tours,
Histories
4.10, 14.
34
Carausius:
PLRE
1, 180. On parallel phenomena in the Viking period, see
Chapter 9
.
35
Gildas,
Ruin of Britain
20. The archaeological evidence for Pictish and especially Scottish (= Irish) intrusion into western Britain is irrefutable, even if there is little in the way of historical evidence. A good recent account is Charles-Edwards (2003), Introduction and
chapter 1
.
36
See Woolf (2003), 345f.
37
On the nautical evidence, see Jones (1996), though his discussion includes neither a consideration of Roman ships nor the extended nature of the Anglo-Saxon migration flow. For Goths and the Black Sea, and Vandals and North Africa, see above
Chapter 4
.
38
For further exploration of these issues, see e.g. Dark (2002); Woolf (2003).
39
See e.g. Higham (1992); Halsall (1995a), (2007), 357ff.
40
An excellent general survey is Hooke (1998).
41
Relevant general surveys include Hooke (1998); Williams (1991). An excellent case study is Baxter (2007),
chapter 7
. On the demotion of the peasantry, see Faith (1997),
chapter 8
.
42
For introductions to this issue, see Hooke (1997); Powlesland (1997).
43
See Esmonde-Cleary (1989), 144–54; cf. Loseby (2000) and Halsall (2007), 358f., both with references, on attempts to generate a substantial post-Roman urbanism.
44
On the peasants’ revolt, see e.g. Jones (1996); cf. Halsall (2007), 360ff.
45
Constantius,
Life of St Germanus
13–18, 25–7. For the Romance-speaking elite, see note 3 above. The famous Llandaff charters may provide further confirmation of essential sub-Roman continuity, although this has been disputed: see Davies (1978).
46
‘Is simply to dispose . . .’: Halsall (1995), 61. This ‘before’ and ‘after’ approach to migration is quite common. For another example, see the comments of Higham in Hines (1997), 179, where a reinterpretation of a set of remains – by Hines
(1984) – is praised as ‘more complex’ because it ejected migration from its usual role in their discussion. See pp. 160 and 192 for two instances where the determination to minimize the importance of migration has led scholars, including Halsall again, to make methodologically problematic choices in their handling of the evidence.
47
There are many parallel examples, but for a recent overview of the decline of Roman structures in the Balkans, see Heather (2007).
48
See the review of the literature in Woolf (2007), 123ff., which draws on, amongst others, Denison (1993) and Hall (1983), which have effectively countered the attempts of Preussler (1956) and Proussa (1990) to detect deeper Celtic influences on Old English. On later medieval cases of language change, see Bartlett (1993), 111ff.
