Ostrogoths

At the turn of the 5th and 6th centuries, the civilitas forming in Italy was ruled by one of the powerful figures of Late Antiquity (or the Early Middle Ages): Theoderic the Great, King of the Ostrogoths, later also King of Italy. Raised in Constantinople,2 he was aware of the power conveyed by imagery and of the significant role of monetary policy. The present article is focused on the preserved medallion of Theoderic and aims to discuss the question of how the image of this ruler affected his position and whether it could have been a political propaganda tool.

The book presents a semiotic approach to the study of power relations in the symbolic space of medieval culture.
A critical analysis of medieval texts was carried out in accordance with the methodology of European structuralist and poststructuralist tradition (Roland Barthes, Michel Foucault, Umberto Eco, Jean Baudrillard), as well as Russian semiotic tradition (Mikhail Bakhtin, Juri Stepanov, Juri Lotman, Boris Uspensky, Viktor Toporov, Sergei Proskurin).
The author analyzes the early medieval historical works of Jordanes, Gregory of Tours, Bede the Venerable, Paul the Deacon, Snorri Sturluson and other authors. The book raises questions of the realiation of the plot of teratomachia (Greek “fight against monsters”) in political culture. The murder of a monster becomes a kind of initiation of an archetypal Hero (for example, such as Theseus, Perseus, Sigurd, Beowulf, etc.), who manifests his individuality and strengthens his authority as a military leader or potential ruler through the victory over the monster. Formation of the comitatus culture and rising power of military leaders is associated with the development of ideas about the kinship of military aristocracy with the world of monsters, which is reflected in the representation of royal power.
The semiotics of power in archaic Germanic culture is identified as being of a physiological nature - the signs of power are represented by various aspects of the ruler’s body, both innate and acquired as a result of certain ritual practices, such as long hair or characteristic features of the body of representatives of the ruling Merovingian family. Such phenomena are explained through the prism of the “quasi-bodily” code of archaic culture. The psychological aspects of the perception of the physiological aspects of power are analyzed through the prism of the methodology of S. Freud, A. Adler and E. Berne.
The formation of medieval culture is considered from the point of view of the transformation of the perception of symbolic structures and the development of the practice of symbolic representation in the space of political communication. The author analyzes semiotic aspects of overcoming physiological limitations and weakening the biological relevance of power, which took place in the form of ideas about the transfer of charisma through the things of the ruler, transmitted within the framework of symbolic redistribution and the medieval gift economy.
In accordance with the methodology of K. Jung, J. Campbell and E. Meletinsky, the archetypes underlying the perception of power in medieval literature (Hero, Wise old man, Father, Shadow, Seeker, Child, etc.) are analyzed.
The author examines the methods of forming political myths in the works of intellectuals of the late antiquity - Flavius Cassiodorus, Severinus Boethius, Isidore of Seville, in particular, myths concerning the categories of equality and freedom. The medieval perception of the “barbarian” world is considered in accordance with the methodology of the Moscow-Tartu semiotic school from the point of view of the dynamics of the processes of semiosphere - the interaction of the cultural core, periphery and border space of the era of late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages.

In this article it is attempted to survey historical developments from 379 through 568 A. D. in the territory of the two southern Pannonian Roman provinces established under the Emperor Diocletian, i.e. Pannonia Secunda or Sirmiensis and Pannonia Savia. The period between the Antiquity and the Middle Ages was marked in Pannonia by a series of short-lived ascendancies of several barbarian conglomerates dominated by various Germanic peoples (Goths, Gepids, Lombards) and by Huns.

Notre article propose une bref présentation et défense du concept d'Antiquité tardive. Afin d'illustrer comment cette périodisation relativement récente peut influencer positivement notre analyse, nous examinerons le cas du royaume ostrogoth. Le concept de haut Moyen Âge est en effet plutôt lacunaire et rend difficilement la réalité de l'Italie ostrogothe. En premier lieu, nous aborderons l'idée de continuité politique et culturelle avec l'Empire tardive, démontrée notamment avec le concept de romanitas et la mémoire de l'Empire romain utilisés par Cassiodore dans ses correspondances. En second lieu, d'un point de vue religieux, le royaume arien de Théodoric s'apparente beaucoup plus à l'Antiquité qu'au Moyen Âge catholique, ce qu'on peut constater en analysant les positions politiques de la papauté au VI e siècle. Il sera donc démontré comment le concept d'Antiquité tardive permet une meilleure compréhension du royaume ostrogoth, mais aussi comment une bonne lecture des sources vient appuyer et légitimer ce concept. Définitions et contexte général Cet article, à la suite de notre présentation au colloque d'histoire 2017 de l'Université de Sherbrooke, traite de l'Antiquité tardive. Cette périodisation relativement nouvelle est de plus en plus acceptée sans toutefois faire l'unanimité. Nous allons présenter le concept et tenter de défendre sa pertinence en prenant l'exemple du royaume ostrogoth, qui selon nous illustre très bien comment cette nouvelle périodisation peut influencer positivement notre analyse. Puisqu'il s'agit d'un royaume qui se trouve chronologiquement soit vers la fin de l'Antiquité tardive, soit au tout début du haut Moyen Âge, la périodisation tient une place importante dans son étude.

F. Cenerini - I. G. Mastrorosa (ed.), Donne, istituzioni e società fra tardo antico e alto medioevo, Lecce-Brescia, Pensa Multimedia, 2016  -  Collection of papers focusing on some aspects and historical events in order to ascertain the evolution of women’s attitudes and possibility of intervention in Late Antiquity as well as to demonstrate that through various methodological approaches, gender history can offer a pluralistic interpretation of society of such an important period of transition.

From the period of the Ostrogothic rule in Italy and Western Illyricum appeared brooches with three oval gemstone settings on a semicircular head , which are probably originated in Central Europe and could be connected with Alemannian or Thuringian groups.

Théodebert Ier de Metz, roi d’Austrasie de 533/4 à 547/81, rompit avec la tradition centenaire de la monnaie pseudo-impériale en Gaule en devenant le premier roi en Occident à frapper une monnaie d’or à son nom, plutôt qu’à celui de l’empereur byzantin. La plupart de ses légendes monétaires sont extraordinaires par la titulature qu’elles adoptent et les solidi de sa dernière série se trouvent très proches des séries byzantines. Ces caractéristiques, propres au monnayage de Théodebert Ier, font de ses séries en or des groupes séparés du reste de monnaies frappées en Gaule

Etymology: From Goth (of a Germanic culture), influenced by Gothic in the sense of a black horror novel. The Visigoths asked the Roman emperor for protection which he granted. The Visigoths had to make many concessions to the Romans for this protection. They grew to resent the way they were treated and finally rebelled against the Romans. The Visigoths defeated the Romans at the Battle of Adrianople in 378. In 410 the Visigoth chieftan Alaric led the Visigoths into Rome. They looted and sacked the city. The West Goths moved on Spain, drove out the Vandals, ended Roman rule of Spain, and set up their own kingdom.

Experts have recently reported false bronze nummi with large reverse monograms of late Roman Imperial and Ostrogothic leaders. The experts include Alain Gennari and other members of Lamoneta.it, but not the present author. He is simply presenting this supplement to his paper “The Ricimer Monogram with Its Mysterious Additional A” and informing readers about the likelihood of spurious pieces thought to be of modern Serbian origin. His previous paper presented two Ricimer pieces, and here he presents two pieces with monograms interpreted as Eraric’s by some sources, but as mere fantasies by others. Some disagreement regarding authenticity appears to remain among some  experts and dealers.

This discusses how the Ostrogothic kingdom of Italy and Sicily was defended by King Theodahad from 535-6 against the aggression of the eastern Roman Emperor Justinian as part of his conquest of the West, led by General Belisarius. It compares sources regarding Theodahad’s decisions and actions in detail and deals briefly with modern interpretations of them. That Theodahad’s defence of Italy ultimately failed is beyond doubt but here I shall argue that, contra several modern historians who seem to follow Procopius almost indolently, he did indeed organise and lead a very sensible military defensive strategy, which came very close to succeeding. In addition, it will be shown that he understood regional political strategy and put a policy in place which, after his assassination, was effectively implemented by the usurper, and then king, Witiges. We shall see that Theodahad’s failing was not in his military defence planning but in not commanding the loyalty of enough of the right people in the right places at the right time. Above all, it will be demonstrated that his strategy was hampered by his very poor, and his opponent’s extremely good, luck.

Der folgende Katalogteil ist ein leicht überarbeiteter Auszug der von mir am 16.10.2012 eingereichten Magisterarbeit im Fach Prähistorische Archäologie an der Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg (MLU). Die Abbildungen wurden ausgelassen.

Contents:
I. Introduction (pp. 1-40) - II. Ostrogothic coinage in museums and other collections (pp. 41 - 73) - III. Catalogue of the coins (pp. 75 - 123) - IV. Notes on the coins (pp. 125 - 160) - V. Identical dies (pp. 161 - 166) - VI. Finds and sites (pp. 167 - 190) - VII. Survey of the material (pp. 191 - 206), Appendices (pp. 207 - 263) - Collectors, donors and dealers (pp. 265 - 282) - Bibliography (pp. 282 - 287) - Indexes ( pp. 299 - 323).

Clothing and outward appearance as a means of expressing individual and collective identity were of great importance in Late Antiquity. This publication is the first interdisciplinary overview of source material and provides a critical view of opposing statements on the value of written sources, images, and archaeological finds on habitus barbarus  . Based on these sources, the book develops not only a new perspective on the meaning of “barbaric” clothing but also sheds new light on the Late Roman “barbarians” themselves.

The period characterised by the coexistence of Late Antiquity and the beginning of the Early Middle Ages, in its turn distinguished by migrations of Barbarian tribes, is one of the most intriguing epochs in the history of Europe. Cultural production and social organisation of the 5th and 6th centuries left their strong mark on this period, but also on Europe’s modern outlook.
Since the context for most of the finds is unknown, the spatial and temporal distribution of particular Barbarian peoples in the territory of modern-day Croatia can be defined only in combination with historical literary sources. Nevertheless, even this poor state of research allows the interpretation of the data as suggesting a high assimilation rate of Barbarian peoples by the late Roman cultural frame.

This study offers a review of the complicated and intractable debates surrounding the question of Gothic identity in Ostrogothic Italy. There are various nuanced approaches, but ultimately there are those who believe that the Goths were a coherent collectivity with a distinctive Gothic identity, and those who think that such a thing did not really exist and that the notion of the Goths as “a people” is a rhetorical distortion of our sources. This study begins by tracing the politically fraught history of 19th- and 20th-century scholarship on barbarian identity and then sorts through the specific nodes around which contemporary debates have formed in the Ostrogothic context. Finally, some concluding remarks take stock of the heuristically beneficial results of these trenchant disagreements while also recommending ways to shorten distances between oppositional models.

This dissertation argues that martial virtues and images of the soldier’s life represented an essential aspect of early Byzantine masculine ideology. It contends that in many of the visual and literary sources from the fourth to the seventh centuries CE, conceptualisations of the soldier’s life and the ideal manly life were often the same. By taking this stance, the dissertation challenges the view found in many recent studies on Late Roman masculinity that a Christian ideal of manliness based on extreme ascetic virtues and pacifism had superseded militarism and courage as the dominant component of hegemonic masculine ideology.

The third and fourth century confederation of Germanic tribes known to the Roman world as the Goths occupied the steppes of the Black Sea from the Don River to the mouth of the Danube. During the fourth and fifth centuries they played an important part in Roman history by contributing to the fall of the Western Roman Empire. They controlled the Apennine Peninsula until the Byzantines in the middle of the sixth century defeated them. 1 The Getica, a sixth century history of the Goths written by the Gothic writer Jordanes, implies that they originated in Scandinavia. Jordanes mentioned their place of origin as the "island of Scandza". 2 This has been often identified with various places in Scandinavia such as the region of Scania or the area around Götaälv in Sweden or the island of Gotland on the Baltic Sea. 3 Jordanes' account has been accepted by many historians in the past and still has many supporters today. The main problem with the credibility of this story is that the beginning of the alleged Gothic migration and the Jordanes account is separated by around five hundred years. Oral tradition always played an important part in non-literate societies, however it is often mixed with myths and legends. Hence, to be accepted, it requires to be confirmed by independent sources. The following paper will explore the emergence and question of the Gothic origins in the course of the first five centuries of the Common Era. The origin of the Goths could have been solved by the acceptance of the simple notion that the Goths originated on the steppes of the Black Sea. This is a genuine claim, taking into consideration the following. The Goths, as the Romans knew them, formed an ethno-political entity as a result of amalgamation of various Eastern Germanic groups that had migrated there in the first half of the third century. 4 Archaeological evidence as well as written sources suggests that those Eastern Germanic tribes were clan-based groups with no wider ethnic or political unity. At that stage their political or ethnic affiliation did not go beyond small tribal units comprising a number of clans. 5 The presence of Eastern Germanic peoples on the Pontic steppes in the third and the fourth century was manifested by the culture known as the late Chernyakhov 6 that clearly shows many Eastern Germanic elements. 7 Nevertheless, the association of archaeological culture with a particular ethnic or linguistic group is a tricky business. Also in this case, equation of the Chernyakhov culture with the Goths is a gross oversimplification.

"This paper examines Procopius’ descriptions of Roman, Persian and Gothic strategies to control Dara in 530 and Rome in 537-8 by reconciling texts with the landscapes of the areas concerned drawing on satellite imagery, cartography and field visits. The traditional approach to this history has been to use written sources only, but, as will be shown, these are subject to multiple interpretations. Study of the landscape provides a different, complementary perspective which is in some ways more reliable, as the physical features have not changed too significantly over the centuries, and modern technology has opened up new ways of reading them.

The first part of the paper is concerned with Procopius’ account of the battle of Dara. There has been scholarly debate about some of the units of measurement within his Wars, and this had led some people to doubt the reliability of Procopius. However, by considering the practicalities of the battle, such as the space needed to accommodate the Roman and Persian armies within the landscape and the size of the fortress, plus analysis using Google Earth, it will be shown that his figures are feasible and therefore, he is reliable.

The second part of the paper concerns strategies used in the Gothic War, for which Procopius is a major source. In particular, the siege of Rome will be analysed, and the identity of a crucial anonymous bridge will be discussed. Based upon a combination of textural analysis and topography (field-work plus Google Earth), it is proposed that this is the Salarian Bridge over the Anio, rather than the Milvian Bridge over the Tiber, as has been traditionally accepted.

These two case studies strongly suggest that Procopius is reliable when he is interpreted carefully, and this has implications for studies of the many other events for which he is the main source."

378 yılında Roma İmparatorluğu ile bir Germen topluluğu olan Gotlar arasında günümüz Edirne ili sınırları içerisinde vuku bulan Hadrianapolis Savaşı, Geç Roma İmparatorluğu döneminde yaşanan en önemli olaylardan biridir. Nitekim bu zamana kadar Tuna Nehri’nin kuzeyinden gelen Germen göçlerini bir şekilde kontrol altında tutabilen Roma İmparatorluğu, bu tarihten itibaren Germen kabilelerine topraklarında yerleşim izni vermeye başlamıştır. İlerleyen süreçte yerleştikleri bölgelerde nüfuz kazanan Germen toplulukları gayri resmî bir şekilde imparatorluktan bağımsız hareket ederek Roma’nın zayıflamasına neden olmuştur. Ünlü Roma tarihçisi Gibbon’a göre de bu Germen baskısı Batı Roma İmparatorluğu’nun yıkılışına giden yoldaki en önemli unsurlardan biridir. Hadrianapolis Savaşı’nda çoğunluğu üzengi kullanan süvarilerden oluşan Got ordusunun üstün gelmesi, askeri anlamda da derin etkiler yaratan bir husustur. Piyade ağırlıklı Roma ordusunun Got süvarileri karşısında adeta ezilmesi Roma ordusunun süvari ağırlıklı bir düzene geçmesine neden olmuştur. Ayrıca ilerleyen süreçte Germen asıllı askerlerin orduya alınması ve ordu kademelerinde yükselmelerine izin verilmesi özellikle imparatorluğun batı yakasında savaş lordlarının ortaya çıkmasına zemin hazırlamıştır.

Kırklareli Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Tarih Ana Bilim Dalı Yüksek Lisans Tezi - "Hunların Doğu Avrupa'ya Gelişleri ve Got Toplulukları ile Münasebetleri"  -  (2021) | Kırklareli University Institute of Social Sciences History Department Master's Thesis -  "The Migration of Huns to Eastern Europe and Relations With Gothic Tribes"  -  (2021).

The paper is dedicated to the image of Maria Regina on the “palimpsest wall” in S. Maria Antiqua church in Rome. Traditionally dated to the sixth century, the attribution of the image has rarely been the focus of special attention, although it has been mentioned regularly in general publications on the ancient Forum basilica. The paper opens with a general review of the status quaestionis, providing a systematic overview of known opinions and studies. The discussion continues with a nuanced analysis of the iconography and formal characteristics of the Maria Regina image, as well as of the historical realities of sixth-century Rome. This leads the author to conclude that the earliest figurative image on the “palimpsest wall” was most probably created during the Ostrogothic rule in the city, i.e. in the first third of the sixth century. As a working possibility, it is argued that besides Theoderic, who resided in Rome and was engaged in a number of building and renovation activities, another plausible commissioner of the image could be his daughter Amalasuntha, who acted as a regent and a queen of Ostrogoths in the years between 526 and 535.

As the title suggests, the present paper offers an analysis of selected letters from Cassiodorus’ Variae, which are important for late antique history of Dalmatia and Pannonia. The study is intended to be twofold: on the one part, it examines the information that can be derived from the letters about both provinces’ political, administrative, economic, social and ethnic picture in the time of Ostrogothic rule over the Eastern Adriatic and Middle Danube regions; on the other part, it explores
literary and political contexts and underlying ideologies that are present in the selected letters.

Cassiodorus wrote a Gothic History in twelve books, which was lost shortly after the middle of the sixth century. It is known only thanks to an epitome written by Jordanes (the so-called Getica). The reasons of this loss have never been fully investigated, because it is generally believed that there would have been little interest in preserving the history of the Goths after the end of their kingdom. Cassiodorus’ Variae, however, survived and the same is true for his Chronica, an historical work written on behalf of the Gothic court, and for Jordanes’ Getica. This paper argues that the loss of the Gothic History was by no means accidental: it was decided by Cassiodorus himself, who did not want to circulate a book written mainly to please the Gothic kings. Moreover, he was not interested any more in a work serving a political purpose after his conversion. He preserved the Variae because they were a source of epistolary formulas and his chronicle because it helped to understand Biblical chronologies, but he hoped that his Gothic History would fall into oblivion, because it was a testimony of the original sin of its author, the long years spent by him at the court of Ravenna while pursuing a glittering but fallacious secular career.

The settlement of the Ostrogoths in Italy has long been regarded as a clear break by historians, who have lingered on the ethnic, linguistic and religious otherness of Theoderic's people. In recent decades, however, these positions have been challenged by a growing number of studies, which stress the rapid assimilation between Ostrogoths and Romans. An essential aspect of this process of acculturation is represented by religion. Unlike the Vandalic rulers, Theoderic and his successors, although Arian, maintained good relations with the Catholic clergy and advocated a policy of tolerance. The religious affiliation of individuals, which has been often associated mechanically with ethnicity, was in reality much less predictable: there were Roman or non-Gothic Arian communities and, vice versa, there were several Catholic Ostrogoths. Far from being one of the pillars of Gothic identity, Arianism was a residual element, destined to disappear as a result of the process of ethnogenesis which led to an almost complete assimilation of Ostrogoths and Romans within a few generations.

Until 535, the Ostrogothic Kingdom was an example of peaceful coexistence between two different peoples: the Ostrogoths had managed to settle down without alienating the Italians and had quietly begun to adopt a Roman lifestyle. However, the Gothic War put an abrupt end to this process, seemingly turning the Ostrogoths from (more or less) welcome neighbours into dangerous strangers. This paper aims to study the interactions between these peoples from 535 to 552, taking into consideration language, religion, customs and self-representation, as well as their political goals. Sixth-century sources indicate that the Ostrogoths spoke Latin and Arianism or their eligibility to serve in the army were never divisive factors during the war. Ostrogoths and Romans did not always have the same goals, yet their “loyalties” were by no means obvious, since there were Gothic nobles who sided with Constantinople and Italians who supported the Ostrogoths. The  hatred for strangers is nowhere to be found in sixth-century sources. Theoderic’s people had been part of Italian society for almost fifty years and what was in question during the Gothic War was not their right to live in Italy, but only their right to rule over it.