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Who were the Goths? — Transcript

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0:00Gothic. What does the word make you
0:02think of? Most likely, it conjures up
0:05imagery of alternative kids with jet
0:07black hair and a plethora of black
0:10clothing. Then again, it may make you
0:13think of grand medieval architecture and
0:15vast cathedrals with elaborate
0:17decoration rendered in stone and glass.
0:21Perhaps the last thing that Gothic would
0:23make you think of would be the late
0:24antique Germanic people known for their
0:27infamous sack of Rome in 410 AD, the
0:32Goths. And yet, it was the Goths who
0:34lent their name to the Gothic subculture
0:37and the Gothic artistic and
0:38architectural movements.
0:41Drawing on the violent history of the
0:42Goths, for it was these Germanic people
0:45who sacked Rome in 410 AD, the name
0:48Gothic, never used by medieval artists
0:50and architects, was brought back into
0:52usage during the Renaissance as a
0:55pjorative. Giorgio Vasari, Italian
0:58architect and historian, used it in the
1:00540s in an attempt to denigrate the
1:03styles of the medieval period, which he
1:05considered to be
1:07barbaric. By the 18th and 19th
1:10centuries, renewed interest in
1:12medievalism led to a revival of Gothic
1:15architecture and a new Gothic movement
1:17in literature with authors taking a
1:20notable interest in the macab such as
1:22Mary Shel's
1:24Frankenstein. By the mid to late 20th
1:27century, Gothic had begun to influence
1:29music too, arguably giving rise to the
1:32Gothic subculture that we see
1:35today. Throughout all these
1:37incarnations, the original meaning of
1:39the word Goth has become
1:41obscured. This Germanic people are
1:44little known beyond their name, but they
1:46had an enormous impact on the fall of
1:48the Roman Empire in the West and a major
1:51part to play in the post-Roman history
1:53of Western
1:54Europe. It is true that they sacked Rome
1:57and never truly lived it
1:59down. However, there is much more to
2:02these Goths than that. They were
2:05craftsmen and artists, producing some
2:07incredibly fine golden
2:09artifacts. They farmed and traded, often
2:12enjoying cordial relations with their
2:15neighbors. Their fierce warriors fought
2:17both against and alongside the armies of
2:20the
2:21Romans. Note that I will briefly discuss
2:23the Visigoths and Ostrogoths, but these
2:26two peoples are certainly worthy of
2:28their own in-depth videos.
2:31Today we will attempt to better
2:33understand this people and answer the
2:35question, who were the
2:41Goths? The earliest origins of the
2:43Goths, as with many peoples in ancient
2:45Europe beyond the borders of the Roman
2:47Empire, are shrouded in mystery and
2:51semi-leend. The earliest written sources
2:53we have which appear to discuss the
2:55Goths are Roman and date from the 1st
2:58century AD.
3:00However, these are somewhat unclear in
3:02their placement of the Goths, probably
3:05owing in large part to the fact that
3:06these regions these Roman authors were
3:08discussing lay far beyond the boundaries
3:11of the
3:12empire. For the earliest origins of the
3:14Goths, we must turn to a later text
3:17penned in the mid6th century by none
3:19other than a Goth, a bureaucrat working
3:22in Constantinople by the name of
3:25Jordanis. In his stunning work known as
3:28Getka, Jordanis offers a glimpse into
3:31the earliest history of the Goths.
3:33Although his account was no doubt
3:35influenced by later texts and histories
3:37which discussed this Germanic people,
3:39Jordanis must have been in close touch
3:42with his Gothic culture and perhaps made
3:44use of oral traditions that were no
3:46doubt passed down through
3:48it. On the homeland of the Goths,
3:50Jordanis has this to say. the mighty sea
3:54which has in its Arctic region, that is
3:57in the north, a great island named
4:00Scanza, from which my tale, by God's
4:02grace, shall take its beginning. For the
4:05race whose origin you asked to know,
4:08burst forth like a swarm of bees from
4:10the midst of this island and came into
4:12the land of Europe.
4:15Located across the Baltic Sea northwards
4:18of the mouth of the Vistula, Jordani's
4:21scanza can be none other than
4:23Scandinavia. It is from here the Gothic
4:26author reports that his people issued
4:28forth, migrating southwards into the
4:31European mainland under their king
4:33Beric, settling in the region he names
4:35as
4:37Gothiscanza. It is natural to be
4:39critical of such a claim given that
4:41Jordanis was writing centuries after the
4:43events that he describes.
4:45Although subject to some debate, it is
4:47generally agreed that what scant sources
4:49we do have concerning the origins of the
4:51Goths do point to a Scandinavian
4:53origin. While Jordanis's claims of a
4:56wholesale migration of the entire Gothic
4:59people is possible, it seems more likely
5:01such a migration would have been a
5:03slower process taking place over the
5:06course of many decades.
5:08Furthermore, it is thought that the
5:10Gothic settlement in Gothyscanza
5:12described by Jordanis may well relate to
5:14the Vilebark culture, a material culture
5:17which flourished around the lower
5:19vistula in the 1st century
5:21AD. The Vbark culture closely associated
5:25with Germanic peoples, in particular the
5:27Goths, replaced the previously resident
5:30Oskiwi culture, and is marked by the use
5:32of stone circles, inhumation, and the
5:35lack of weapons in warrior
5:38graves. There are literary attestations
5:40concerning the Goth's time on the shores
5:42of the Baltic, too. Writing in the late
5:451st century AD, Plenny the Elder
5:47described a group called the Gutonese as
5:50belonging to the Vandalic peoples
5:52whereas Tacitus writing in around 98 AD
5:55explained that a group of Germani known
5:57as Gothones dwelt beyond the Vandals
6:00near the ocean. The location of the chor
6:04culture associated with the Vandals to
6:06the south of the Valbar culture
6:08certainly appears to support this
6:10assertion.
6:11Intriguingly, Tacitus also details in
6:14his annals how the Gothones assisted a
6:17certain noble named Katualda in
6:19overthrowing the hegemony of the Mara
6:23Mani. The second century brought with it
6:25enormous upheaval for the Goths as the
6:28Valbach culture appears to have begun a
6:30wholesale geographical shift
6:32southeastward towards the shores of the
6:34Black Sea. This migration did not happen
6:37in isolation either, but was rather a
6:40part of the wider southern movement of
6:42Germanic tribes in the second and third
6:44centuries
6:45AD. The reasons for these migrations are
6:48heavily debated and include the desire
6:50for more fertile lands, massive
6:52population growth, and military and
6:54social pressure from other migrating
6:56tribes, which caused the domino effect.
7:00It was likely the migrations of groups
7:02such as the Vandals and the Goths which
7:04precipitated the beginning of the
7:06Marammanic Wars lasting from 166 to 180
7:10AD. These conflicts saw Germanic Kadi
7:12and Marammani tribes crossing the Danube
7:15frontier into the Roman Empire in search
7:17of new lands in which to settle
7:20themselves having been ejected from
7:21their homelands by the Vandals and
7:24Goths. According to Jordanis, the Goths,
7:28led by a king named Filmer, eventually
7:30reached the land north of the Black Sea,
7:32named in antiquity as
7:35Cyia. This part of the Goths, which is
7:37said to have crossed the river and
7:39entered with Filmer into the country of
7:41OM, came into possession of the desired
7:44land, and there they soon came upon the
7:46race of the Spari, joined battle with
7:49them, and won the victory.
7:52Hence the victors hastened to the
7:53farthest part of Cyia which is near the
7:56sea of Pontis. For so the story is
7:58generally told in their early songs in
8:01almost historic
8:03fashion. Defeating the resident Spali
8:05who are perhaps Sarmatians, the Goths
8:08settled in the fertile regions north of
8:10the Black Sea largely within the modern
8:13borders of Ukraine.
8:15Although the history of Filmer is
8:17debated, Jordani's account appears to be
8:19largely borne out by the archaeological
8:21record. For by the mid3rd century AD,
8:24the southern movement of the Vilebark
8:26culture seems to have led to the
8:28formation of the Churnyakov
8:30culture. And although not exclusively
8:32comprised of Goths, the Churnyakov
8:34culture, attested from evidence
8:36discovered at some 3,000 sites, is
8:39certainly believed to have been
8:40dominated by them.
8:44So began a period of sedentary
8:46settlement by the Goths during which
8:48their society developed an agricultural
8:51focus. So too began the Goth's
8:53relationship with the Roman Empire. A
8:56sometimes collaborative, often
8:58antagonistic relationship, which saw
9:00regular Gothic raids into Roman
9:02territory.
9:04This is also the period in which Roman
9:06sources began to write in earnest on the
9:08subject of the
9:09Goths. Beginning with a sack of Histria
9:12on the mouth of the Danube in 238 AD,
9:15the Goths embarked upon decades of
9:17raiding into Roman lands, even defeating
9:19and killing the emperor Desus at the
9:22battle of a Britus in 251 AD, led by a
9:25chieftain named
9:27Nivea. These Germanic incursions were
9:29not limited to land either. Gothic ships
9:32ravaged the Roman coastal settlements
9:34along the shores of the Black Sea,
9:37referred to by the Romans as the Sea of
9:40Pontis. It is likely in such a raid that
9:43the progenitors of Ulas, the Gothic
9:46Christian responsible for proatizing his
9:48people, were carried off from Anatolia,
9:51taken as slaves to live in Gothic lands.
9:55Gothic raids became such an issue that
9:57successive emperors conducted campaigns
10:00in order to secure the Danube
10:02frontier. Galianus, Claudius II, and
10:05Aurelian all fought extensively in the
10:08northern Balkans and largely succeeded
10:10in checking Gothic movements in the
10:12region by the close of the 3rd century.
10:16The frontier thus secure, the Goths and
10:18Romans enjoyed largely peaceful
10:20relations for some decades, interspersed
10:23with the odd outbreak of
10:25warfare. Now well within the Roman
10:27sphere of political influence, the Goths
10:30found themselves involved in internal
10:32imperial politics at times. The outbreak
10:34of civil war at the beginning of the
10:36reign of Constantine the Great saw the
10:38Goths side with the losing Leinius and
10:41suffer defeat at the hands of the
10:42victorious Constantine as a result. And
10:45in the 360s, the Goths once again
10:47intervened in Roman civil conflict,
10:49continuing their track record of backing
10:51losers when they fought on the side of
10:53the usurper Precopius against the rule
10:56of Eastern Emperor
10:57Valins. Valon's subsequent campaigns
11:00against the Goths concluded with a peace
11:02treaty in 369 between the Roman Emperor
11:05and the Gothic chief Athanaric, known to
11:07have been from the Tvingi tribe.
11:10This treaty certainly appears to have
11:12only deepened Roman Gothic links as a
11:15great deal of Roman goods and coinage
11:16have been found in Gothic lands beyond
11:18the
11:19Danube. It would appear that by the late
11:224th century AD, the Goths and Romans
11:25lived in relative peace. Trading
11:27benefited both peoples. Gothic troops
11:30regularly served under Roman banners and
11:32Gothic chieftains enjoyed ever closer
11:34political relations with Roman imperial
11:37power.
11:38The westward movement of the Huns, whose
11:41progress across the Eurasian step
11:42brought with it enormous upheaval, had a
11:45dire impact upon the
11:47Goths. The nomadic Huns were fiercely
11:49warlike, fighting on horseback and armed
11:52with highly effective composite
11:54bows. Although they had encountered step
11:57peoples before, Roman authors recognized
11:59the Huns as a uniquely dangerous threat.
12:02Roman attitudes towards them are nicely
12:05reflected in a passage from the resest
12:08of the 4th century Roman historian
12:10Amianis
12:11Marcelinus. He described the Huns as
12:13having squat bodies, strong limbs, and
12:17thick necks and are so predigiously ugly
12:20and bent that they might be two-legged
12:22animals or figures crudely carved from
12:25stumps which are seen on the parapits of
12:27bridges.
12:30The arrival of the Huns was an
12:31unmititigated disaster for the Goths.
12:34Hanik attacks on the Allens put them to
12:36flight and a combination of Han and
12:39Allen pressure easternmost Goths known
12:42as the Greythongi to abandon their lands
12:45north of the Black Sea following a
12:47period of resistance, joining the Tvingi
12:49Goths further west, who at this time
12:52were still led by the chieftain
12:54Athanoric.
12:56Despite Athanoric's desire to resist the
12:58Huns, near constant attacks proved to be
13:01overwhelming, and the Goths were sent
13:03into a headlong westward
13:06flight. Petitioning the Emperor Valins,
13:09the Goths requested permission to settle
13:10in the Roman controlled Balkans.
13:13The Eastern Roman Emperor, realizing the
13:16threat that such large numbers of Goths
13:18could pose, attempted to divide them,
13:21granting only the Tvingi the right to
13:22cross the frontier in 376 AD.
13:26However, this policy was to prove
13:28disastrous when the Turvingi, apparently
13:31agitated by a lack of food supplies and
13:33perhaps also by corrupt Roman officials
13:36attempting to exploit their weakness,
13:38rose in open revolt against imperial
13:40authorities in early 377
13:43AD. The Gthungi took their chance and
13:46crossed the frontier, joining their
13:48compatriots in the Balkans. For over a
13:51year, the region remained in a state of
13:53ferment until in the summer of 378, the
13:56Eastern Emperor Valins, finally able to
13:59marshall his forces, marched upon the
14:01Goths with his nephew, the Western Roman
14:04Emperor Gracian, approaching from the
14:06west. On the 9th of August 378 AD, the
14:10emperor Valins, eager to secure the
14:12victory and therefore the plaudits,
14:15engaged the Gothic forces at Adrianople
14:18in the
14:19Balkans. Possibly acting on false
14:21intelligence that the Goths only
14:23numbered some 10,000 men. The battle was
14:25an utter defeat for the Romans, perhaps
14:28on par with the massacre at the Battle
14:30of the Tutubberg Forest.
14:32Led by a Tvingi king Fritigan, the Goths
14:35completely routed an impetuous and
14:37unprepared imperial field army, largely
14:40aided by their heavy
14:42cavalrymen. Roman casualties are
14:44estimated to have been as high as 10 to
14:4715,000 men. Perhaps even more
14:50embarrassing was the death of Valins
14:52himself on the battlefield. It is
14:54unknown exactly how the emperor
14:56perished, but it seems likely that he
14:58would have been separated from his
14:59bodyguard and slain in the
15:02route. Adrianople was a turning point,
15:05not just for the Goths, but for the
15:07entire Roman Empire. Arguably, it was
15:10this defeat which set in motion a chain
15:12of events which eventually led to the
15:14downfall of the Roman Empire in the
15:17West. Following the battle, the Goths
15:19found themselves as masters of the
15:21Balkans. In 382 AD, the new Eastern
15:25Emperor, Theodosius I, realizing that
15:27defeating the Goths by military means
15:29would be incredibly difficult, made
15:31peace. The treaty allowed the Goths to
15:34freely settle in the Balkans under their
15:36own leaders in return for pledges of
15:39military support to the Eastern
15:41Emperor. The peace brought with it some
15:44semblance of the stability that the
15:45Goths had been seeking for decades.
15:48Ensconced in their new lands, these
15:50Germanic people were once again able to
15:53resume their agricultural
15:55society. It was in this violent
15:57aftermath of the Hunik invasions that a
15:59split emerged in the Goths. The majority
16:02of those who had crossed the frontier
16:04into the empire came to be known as
16:06Visigothths, literally Western Goths,
16:09whilst the bulk of those that remained
16:11subject to the Huns were known as
16:13Ostrogoths or Eastern Goths.
16:16This uneasy peace was not to last,
16:18however. The actions of two Gothic
16:20chieftains by the names of Ratagisus and
16:23Allaric once again threw the Roman
16:26Empire into chaos and culminated in an
16:28event which gave the Goth their
16:30reputation as
16:32despoilers. The 410 AD sack of
16:35Rome. We shall return to the historical
16:38narrative later. For now, we shall take
16:40a look at the society and culture of the
16:43Goths.
16:46Gothic society, like the vast majority
16:48of contemporary societies, was highly
16:51stratified and appears by the 3rd and
16:53fourth centuries AD to have been divided
16:56into clans or kindreds, usually based
16:59around the rule of associated great
17:01families who inhabited roughly
17:03delineated geographical areas forming
17:06single economic, social, and political
17:09units. Generally, each village was
17:11dominated by one such great family.
17:14Wealthy Gothic villages often owned
17:16considerable portions of land, whilst
17:19the majority of the population were
17:20common peasants, surviving through
17:22subsistence
17:24farming. Slaves of various kinds, either
17:27indentured servants or prisoners of war,
17:30performed many of society's menial
17:32tasks. Councils did exist, often led by
17:36elders, and would convene in villages
17:38under special circumstances.
17:41True political power appears to have
17:43been primarily concentrated in the hands
17:45of warlords known as Reichkes, who were
17:47often the heads of clans or great
17:49families. The kings or Reichkes drew
17:53their power from the great landowning
17:55families and ruled in a somewhat
17:57centralized fashion. Certainly, there
17:59seem to have been disagreements between
18:01Reichkes and local clan nobles which
18:03portray this.
18:06Excavations of Gothic sites on the
18:07Pontic step appear to show small
18:09settlements in which the vast majority
18:11of the population lived in houses or
18:14huts constructed of wood and earth with
18:16the ground floor partially sunken into
18:18the ground to aid in protection against
18:20the elements. Many Gothic sites appear
18:23to have been located in close proximity
18:25to rivers and Roman trading outposts.
18:29The significance of animal raising is
18:30clear to see in the fact that houses
18:32often contain spaces for both humans and
18:35animals, so-called buyer houses, which
18:39allowed Gothic farmers to shelter both
18:41themselves and their livestock from the
18:43harsh winters of the Black Sea step.
18:46I will not venture into too much detail
18:48on the society of Ostrogothic Italy or
18:50Visigoththic Spain, but it is important
18:53to note that the Gothic inhabitants of
18:54these realms became increasingly
18:56Romanized as the decades and centuries
18:59wore on. The divide between the Gothic
19:01ruling class and Roman subject peoples
19:04became increasingly faint as the
19:06Germanic invaders adopted localized
19:09customs. These are perhaps most visible
19:11in the art and architecture of these
19:13kingdoms.
19:17Many elements of Gothic society were
19:19changed a great deal through increasing
19:21contact with the Roman Empire. Gothic
19:23warfare was no
19:25exception. Armies comprised mostly of
19:27heavily armed infantry soldiers were the
19:30order of the day amongst the Goths.
19:32Warriors were customarily equipped with
19:34a wooden shield and a straight long
19:36sword or a scramax, a kind of small
19:39sword or fighting knife often used by
19:42Germanic warriors. Throwing weapons such
19:45as axes and pole arms such as spears
19:48were often used. The Goths did not have
19:51standing armies in the Roman style.
19:53Instead, the vast majority of Gothic
19:55warriors would have been farmers raised
19:58as levies on a short-term basis and sent
20:01home to their farms upon the conclusion
20:02of a campaign.
20:05This system was relatively cheap and
20:06easy to operate, but did mean that
20:09Gothic armies could usually not rove
20:11abroad for long periods of time, at
20:13least not during the periods in which
20:15the Goths were a sedentary agricultural
20:18people. The majority of Gothic troops
20:20would have been lightly armored, relying
20:22primarily on their shields for defense.
20:25Richer warriors such as noblemen made
20:27use of metal armor, particularly as the
20:29Goths became settled in the land north
20:32of the Black Sea, and links with Romans
20:34became ever closer. Indeed, as the
20:36centuries progressed, well-armed Gothic
20:39troops became near indistinguishable
20:41from their Roman counterparts, making
20:43use of chain mail or lamela shirts,
20:46greaves, van braces, and helmets
20:48constructed of either iron or steel,
20:51often in the Roman ridge helm style.
20:54Despite inhabiting Cyia, a land long
20:57ruled by peoples known for their
20:58horsemanship such as the Sarmatians,
21:01Roxalani, and Allens, the Goths did not
21:04make extensive use of
21:06cavalry. This may perhaps be largely
21:08down to the expense involved in
21:10outfitting cavalry warriors for combat
21:12compared to infantry
21:13soldiers. Gothic cavalry appear to have
21:16favored the heavy lance, although no
21:18doubt would have been armed with swords
21:20as an additional defensive weapon.
21:22The effectiveness of Gothic horsemen was
21:25certainly a proven fact as at the battle
21:27of Adrianopople, it was the late arrival
21:29of the cavalry which helped to carry the
21:31day for the Goths. It may well be the
21:33case that Gothic horsemen were
21:35responsible for the ignominious death of
21:37Emperor
21:38Valins. It is important to note that the
21:41Goth's ever deepening relationship with
21:42the Romans during the 3rd and fourth
21:44centuries saw large numbers of Gothic
21:47troops serving in Roman armies.
21:50These postings doubtless not only
21:52increased Gothic marshall prowess, but
21:54gifted the Goths with an intense
21:56familiarity with Roman weaponry and
21:58warfare techniques. A knowledge that the
22:01Goths were certainly able to make use of
22:03during their many periods of warfare
22:04with the empire. Gothic troops served
22:07both in Roman units as individuals and
22:10in separate Gothic units or Fodorati.
22:14Large numbers of Gothic troops were
22:16known to have participated in the battle
22:18of the frigidus on the side of the Roman
22:20Emperor Theodosius I as he quashed the
22:23rebellion of the usurper
22:28Eugenius. Discoveries made at the sites
22:31associated with the Churnyakov culture
22:33paints a picture of a society which
22:35primarily revolved around subsistence
22:37farming.
22:39Settlements were usually located in
22:41fertile river valleys so as to increase
22:43crop yields and cereals such as wheat,
22:46barley, and millet were most commonly
22:49grown. As with most contemporary
22:51cultures, animal husbandry was crucial
22:53to the lives of many Goths. The
22:56discovery of large numbers of cattle
22:58bones would suggest that these animals
23:00were most often raised, but sheep,
23:02goats, and pigs were also kept,
23:05providing not only food, but hides and
23:07wool for clothing.
23:09Craft production was certainly carried
23:11out by the Goths, but likely on a very
23:13local scale. Evidently, metal working
23:16was practiced by the Goths, as
23:17implements used for agriculture, have
23:19been found, including plowshares,
23:22sickles, and sides, as well as other
23:24items such as brooches and belt
23:27buckles. Fibuli, metal brooches for the
23:30fixing of clothing, and combs made of
23:32bone are commonly found at Gothic
23:34settlements.
23:36Pottery was also produced. Relatively
23:39simple storage jars and cooking pots, as
23:41well as wide, shallow bowls, possibly
23:44used for drinking, have been found
23:46throughout Chernyakov cultural
23:48sites. Craft items appear to have been
23:50somewhat basic and were likely not
23:52traded abroad. Trade did form a part of
23:55the Gothic economy during their period
23:57of settlement north of the Black Sea.
24:00Exports were primarily in the form of
24:02slaves sent to the slave markets of the
24:04Roman
24:05Empire. In return, the Goths purchased a
24:08variety of Roman goods. Glassear and
24:11empori have been found along with large
24:14numbers of Roman coins which only
24:16increase in number as the 4th century
24:18progressed. Wine and oil would have been
24:21common imports. So important was trade
24:24that Amianis Marcelinus noted how in
24:27times of war the interruption of trade
24:29caused severe shortages of goods amongst
24:32the Goths. The savages since commerce
24:35was cut off were so distressed by
24:37extreme scarcity of the necessities of
24:39life that they often sent suppliant
24:42deputations to beg for pardon and
24:48peace. The Gothic language is
24:51fascinating. It is primarily known to us
24:53from a small number of Gothic documents.
24:56The majority of these are translations
24:58of other languages and it is therefore
25:00important to note that the Gothic in
25:02these texts is highly likely to have
25:04been influenced by these foreign
25:06languages. Most of these surviving
25:08codices are biblical texts deriving from
25:11the translation of the Bible overseen by
25:13the Aryan missionary and bishop of the
25:15Goths Oras.
25:18Many of the surviving fragments we do
25:20have are pages of parchment where the
25:22Gothic script has been erased and
25:24overwritten, but where the original
25:25lettering can still be faintly
25:28discerned. These are known as
25:31palimpetss. Part of the Indo-Uropean
25:33language family, Gothic is an Eastern
25:35Germanic language. It has the
25:38distinguishing feature of being the
25:40oldest Germanic language with a decent
25:42number of extant texts. However, Gothic
25:45does not appear to have any modern
25:47descendants, having apparently begun to
25:49decline in usage in the mid6th century
25:52AD through a waning of Gothic political
25:54power and the victory of nyine
25:57Christianity over Aryanism, which saw
25:59the busy Goths convert from the latter
26:01to the former. This conversion saw
26:04Gothic lose what was perhaps its only
26:07major function as a church language.
26:10It is worth noting that a very small
26:12number of Gothic runic inscriptions do
26:14survive which predate the Gothic
26:17alphabet. However, the identification of
26:19these is subject to some debate. It was
26:22all felas adept in Greek, Latin and
26:25Gothic who devised the Gothic script,
26:28apparently basing it off the Greek
26:30script with Latin and runic elements
26:32thrown in. It was this new script into
26:36which Ulas's Bible was translated. Of
26:40the Gothic texts that do survive, the
26:42Codeex Argenteus is surely the finest
26:45and best known. A 6th century
26:48illuminated manuscript containing parts
26:51of Ufilas's 4th century translation of
26:53the Greek Bible into Gothic. It was
26:56through Ulas and his Bible that the
26:58Goths became the first Germanic people
27:00to develop a literate culture.
27:03That said, Gothic does not ever appear
27:06to have become much of a literary
27:08language and beyond biblical
27:09translations was not generally used by
27:12authors. The leading writers in the
27:14Gothic kingdoms in Spain and Italy such
27:17as Sidonius Appalonaris and Isiodor of
27:20Seville wrote in Latin. Even ethnic Goth
27:24Jordanis penned his text on the history
27:26of the Goths in Latin.
27:31We know relatively little of early
27:33Gothic artistic work. Much of what we do
27:36know concerns items found at sites
27:38associated with the Churnyakov culture.
27:42Although this archaeological culture is
27:44strongly associated with the Goths, it
27:46is also important to remind ourselves
27:48that it appears to have included a
27:49number of other groups as well, such as
27:52the Germanic Gepids and Heruli and the
27:54Iranian nomadic peoples who previously
27:56inhabited the region, the Cyians and
28:00Sarmatians. These diverse origins do
28:02appear to be reflected in elements of
28:05Gothic art. Pottery was certainly
28:07produced, although the primary reason
28:09for the vast majority of these pieces
28:11would have been practical, such as
28:13cooking or
28:14storage. Pottery was created both by
28:16hand and by wheel and is similar in
28:19style to equivalent sarmatian pieces
28:22whilst also displaying some Roman
28:24influences. Handmade pieces have a
28:27greater variety of form and were
28:29sometimes decorated with linear designs
28:31cut into the surface of the clay.
28:34Metalwork is the artistic field in which
28:36the early Goths appear to have excelled.
28:39A variety of pieces have been found,
28:41mostly rendered in gold, including
28:43figures both of animals and of humans,
28:46and objects such as bowls, vasees, and
28:49cups.
28:51The Petraelle treasure, a late 4th
28:54century Gothic horde of some 22 objects
28:57discovered in Romania in 1837, provides
29:00us with the most famous and perhaps the
29:02finest of all examples of early Gothic
29:05art. An intricate bowl depicting figures
29:08in relief displays helenic influences.
29:11Winding gold wrought baskets feature
29:13designs very similar to comparable
29:15Cisanian works. And it has been
29:18suggested that the elaborate eagle
29:20brooch or fibula found in the horde
29:23could be the result of Hanchinese
29:25artistic styles potentially transmitted
29:28by the Huns. Eagle motifs in this period
29:31are often associated with Eastern
29:33Asia. A ring from the horde known as the
29:36ring of Petroasa even features an
29:39example of very rare Gothic runes.
29:42Later Gothic art such as the works
29:44created by the craft of the Visigothths
29:46and Ostrogoths followed a similar vein.
29:50Heavily influenced by their neighbors
29:52and subject peoples, the Goths continue
29:54to produce various kinds of metal work,
29:57including many incredible pieces in laid
29:59with precious gems.
30:02The Germanic artistic traditions of the
30:04Visigothths and Ostrogoths appear to
30:06fade by the mid-f century and beyond
30:08with local Roman styles combined with
30:10Baantine influences becoming the
30:13norm. Germanic motifs were replaced by
30:16plant and animal motifs originating from
30:18the Mediterranean and near east. The
30:21crosses found at the so-called treasure
30:23of Gurazar. The work of 7th century
30:26Visigothths is an excellent example of
30:28this. There is evidence of Germanic
30:30metal working here, but the
30:32ornamentation of these crosses is a
30:34total departure from early Gothic art.
30:36Encrusted with sapphires, pearls, and
30:39other precious stones in a fashion very
30:41reminiscent of Baantine
30:45style. Prior to the missions of Alfelas
30:48in the 4th century AD and the subsequent
30:50conversion to Aryan Christianity, the
30:52Goths practiced a form of Germanic
30:54paganism.
30:56We know precious little about Gothic
30:58paganism, not least because of the short
31:00time frame between their appearance in
31:02the historical sources in the 3rd
31:04century and their abandonment of Gothic
31:06paganism in the 4th century.
31:09Pre-Christian Gothic religion, like
31:11other forms of Germanic paganism, was
31:13polytheistic and appears to have
31:15involved the worship of not only gods
31:17but of nature and ancestors. The Amali,
31:21a leading Gothic ruling clan or dynasty,
31:23certainly claimed descent from the
31:25divine as mentioned by Jordanis, who
31:27explains that the Amali believed the
31:29father of the gods, gout or gout, to be
31:32their progenitor. Their genealogy I
31:35shall run through briefly, telling the
31:37lineage of each and the beginning and
31:39end of his line. And do thou, O reader,
31:42hear me without repining, for I speak
31:45truly. Now, the first of these heroes,
31:47as they themselves relate in their
31:49legends, was Gout, who begat
31:52Ulm. It may well be that the Goths
31:55themselves considered Gout to be their
31:56common ancestor. In any case, Gout was a
32:00mythical ancestor deity and a creator
32:02god, and apparently father of the
32:04Pantheon, drawing parallels to the later
32:06Norse god, Odin. Nordrren certainly
32:09believes this to be the case, asserting
32:11that Gout was an earlier Indo-Uropean
32:13Odinistic god from whom Odin may well
32:16have developed. He notes that Gout
32:19appears to at times have had a female
32:21aspect, suggesting a pairing of male and
32:24female divinities from whom the universe
32:26issued forth, naming this female goddess
32:29as Gaudin.
32:31Aside from these scant facts, we know
32:33almost nothing of further divinities of
32:35Gothic paganism, save for the god Tis,
32:39associated with the Germanic god Tiwas
32:41and the Norse god Tier, a war god
32:44identified as Mars by the
32:47Romans. Finally, the Gothic name
32:49Fraunuseus also survives. A weather god
32:52believed by scholars to refer to an
32:54early iteration of Thor. The Romans
32:57identified Ferguneas as Jupiter.
33:01Pre-Christian Gothic religious practices
33:03are rather hard to discern too. Although
33:06it seems highly likely that they would
33:07have worshiped in a similar fashion to
33:09other Germanic pagans, venerating idols,
33:12ancestors, and nature itself through the
33:14performance of ritual
33:17sacrifice. Burial practices varied,
33:19although cremation slowly gave way to
33:22inhumation.
33:23However, in one particular behavior,
33:25Gothic paganism does differ marketkedly
33:27from other forms of Germanic paganism.
33:30Grave
33:31weapons. Whilst grave goods are a
33:33feature of Gothic paganism, the Goths do
33:36not appear to have buried warriors with
33:38their weapons in the fashion of almost
33:40all other Germanic
33:41pagans. However, this may have more to
33:44do with the early Christianization of
33:45the Goths. Grave weapons become most
33:48prominent in the fifth and sixth
33:50centuries AD, long after the Goths
33:52abandoned the old
33:54gods. It was Gothic raiding in the Black
33:57Sea region in the mid 3rd century AD
33:59embarked upon with the intention of
34:01carrying off precious goods and
34:03treasures which ultimately brought an
34:05unexpected element back to these
34:06Germanic tribesmen, Christianity.
34:10Slaves carried off northwards in such
34:12Gothic raids as these included many
34:15Christians from the coastal regions of
34:16Anatolia such as Capidoshia and Bethnia.
34:20Once taken off to Gothic lands, many of
34:22these Christians refused to give up
34:24their faith and were apparently
34:26permitted to continue to practice their
34:28religion amongst the pagan Goths. It was
34:31into a family of such Christian Roman
34:33prisoners that the man who was to become
34:35the apostle of the Gothic people was
34:37born.
34:39Ulas likely born in around the year 311
34:42AD. Ulas was raised in a community of
34:45Capidosian Christians living within the
34:48realms of the Tvingi, a Gothic people
34:50who ruled the lands north of Lower
34:52Danube and west of the
34:54Denista. Reaching the rank of Lecter
34:56within his local church, Ulas was chosen
34:59to accompany a diplomatic mission to
35:01Constantinople during the reign of
35:03Constantine the Great. He may have even
35:05lived in the city for a time. Exactly
35:08how Felas's consecration occurred is
35:11unclear. However, what we do know is
35:13that the Gothic clergyman was anointed
35:16as bishop of the Goths in around the
35:18year 340 AD by the Aryan Archbishop of
35:21Constantinople, Ucius of
35:23Nicomedia. Evidently, the Romans saw
35:26something in the young Goth whom they
35:28charged with returning to Gothic lands
35:30and spreading the
35:31gospel. Until 348 AD, Ufilas dwelt in
35:35Gothic lands, preaching the Aryan
35:37doctrine both to Christians and pagans.
35:40In 348 AD, his activities were arrested
35:43by persecutions and the bishop was
35:46expelled, settling within the Roman
35:48Empire near Nicopolis, where he remained
35:50until his death in 383.
35:53During his period of exile, Ufilas
35:55completed a monumental project, the
35:58creation of the Gothic alphabet and the
36:00translation of the Bible into Gothic.
36:03This translation was a seinal step and
36:05one which helped to accelerate the
36:07spread of Christianity amongst the
36:09Goths. The conversion to Christianity
36:12appears to have been a relatively swift
36:14process, perhaps aided by the fact that
36:16groups of Anatolian Christians in
36:18diaspora already lived amongst the
36:20Goths.
36:22Conversion was obviously not a universal
36:24or monolithic process. However, bouts of
36:27persecution periodically broke out, most
36:30notably in 348 AD under the Tingi king
36:33Aoric and again in the mid 360s until
36:36the late 370s AD under his son
36:40Athanoric. These later persecutions
36:42included the creation of a number of
36:44Gothic
36:45martyrs. By the advent of the fifth
36:48century AD, the Goths appear to have
36:50largely converted to
36:52Christianity. However, as we have
36:54already noted, the particular form of
36:56Christianity to which the Goths
36:57subscribed was
36:59Aryanism. It is important to understand
37:01the differences between Aryanism and
37:03so-called Nyen
37:05Christianity. The Orthodox belief system
37:08formulated at the first ecumenical
37:10council of Nika in 325 AD. While the
37:14orthodoxy agreed at Nika held that God
37:16existed in the Trinity as three persons,
37:19co-eternal and conssubstantial, Aryans
37:22instead believed that Jesus had been
37:24created by God. First preached by the
37:27Alexandrian priest Arias, Aryanism
37:30insisted that God was eternal and
37:32uncreated, but had in fact created
37:34Christ, who in turn created the Holy
37:37Spirit. Although the first council of
37:39Nika had rejected this idea in 325 AD,
37:43Aryans enjoyed a certain amount of
37:45tolerance. It was not until the second
37:47council held in 381 AD that Aryanism was
37:51formally declared a heresy. This
37:53official rejection of Aryanism had
37:55important ramifications for the newly
37:57Christianized Goths. Despite Aryanism
38:00falling from imperial favor, the Goths
38:03clung to their faith. It has been
38:05suggested that this is partly down to
38:07the Goths and other Germanic peoples
38:10viewing their Aryan faith as being
38:12intrinsic to their
38:13identity. Aryanism was not especially
38:16widespread within the Roman Empire,
38:18particularly following the declaration
38:19of the doctrine as heresy in 381 AD.
38:22Though it appears to be the case that
38:24Aryanism came to be closely associated
38:26with being Germanic.
38:29However, Aryanism was eventually
38:31abandoned by the Visigothths of Spain
38:33during the late 6th century. Attempts to
38:36reach a doctrinal compromise between
38:38Catholics and Aryans within the kingdom
38:40during the reign of King Louvigild
38:42failed with his successor Recared
38:45renouncing Aryanism in favor of
38:47Calcedonian Christianity in 587 AD. The
38:525893rd Council of Toledo formalized the
38:55conversion of Visigoththic Spain.
38:58Persecutions of Aryans ensued. The
39:01disappearance of Aryanism removed a
39:03major point of contention between the
39:05increasingly Romanized Visigothths and
39:07the Hispano Roman
39:11subjects. Following the Gothic victory
39:13at Adrianopel and the settlement of
39:16large numbers of Goths within the Baltic
39:18regions of the empire, the Goths had
39:20achieved some modicum of stability, at
39:22least when compared with the chaos that
39:24they had endured due to the Hunik
39:26invasions. The Goths, increasingly
39:28Romanized, enjoyed freer commerce with
39:31the Romans, but began to utilize Roman
39:33farming techniques. However, all was not
39:36plain sailing. The traditional power
39:39structures of the Goths upended by the
39:41flight from the Huns left these Germanic
39:43people without strong leadership and
39:46less able to resist the overtures of the
39:48imperial authorities who pressed
39:50thousands of Gothic warriors into
39:52service. What is more, the Balkans were
39:55not a particularly verdant territory for
39:57an agricultural people used to the
39:59fertile soils of the Pontic
40:01step. Into this power vacuum stepped a
40:04Goth named Allaric. We know little of
40:07his early life, but he does appear to
40:09have participated in the battle of the
40:10river Friidus in which thousands of
40:13Gothic troops died in the service of the
40:15emperor
40:16Theodosius. 395 was a seminal year for
40:19all Alaric for two reasons. For one, the
40:22emperor Theodosius died. The last
40:25emperor to rule over a united empire.
40:28Upon his death, the empire was split
40:30between his sons. Arcadius in the east
40:33and Anorius in the west with the Goths
40:36conspicuously in the middle. It was also
40:39in this year that the Goths rose in open
40:41revolt with Allaric as their chief,
40:43demanding better treatment from the
40:45Imperial authorities.
40:47Raiding in Greece ensued throughout the
40:49late 390s. And in late 401 or early 402,
40:53all Alaric's forces invaded Italy, only
40:55turning back after fighting two
40:57inconclusive engagements with the Roman
40:59general
41:00Stilico. By 406 AD, the pressure of the
41:04westward-moving Huns had set off a chain
41:06reaction of migrating barbarian peoples
41:09who entered the Western Roman Empire by
41:11force, seeking safety and new lands in
41:14which to settle.
41:16These migrations permanently
41:18destabilized the Western Empire,
41:20arguably directly leading to its
41:22collapse several decades later. In the
41:25spring of 406, an Ostrogothic king named
41:28Ratagisus led a confederacy of Germanic
41:30and Celtic peoples on an invasion of
41:33northern Italy and was only defeated
41:35with great difficulty by Stilico in the
41:38August of 406.
41:40The Roman general had to pull
41:41considerable numbers of garrison troops
41:43from the Rine frontier in order to
41:45achieve
41:46this. In December, the great barbarian
41:49Rin crossing saw vast numbers of
41:52Vandals, Allens, and Swaybe pour into
41:55the Western Empire, causing chaos across
41:57Roman
41:58Gaul. All Alaric saw his opportunity and
42:01once again marched on Italy in the
42:03spring of 408. His campaign was
42:06unexpectedly aided by imperial
42:08machinations when in the August of 408
42:11the half vandal Roman general Stilico
42:14was murdered on the orders of the
42:16emperor
42:16Anorius. The death of Stilico, perhaps
42:19the Western Empire's most capable
42:21general was a disastrous turn of events.
42:24Still's German Fodorati troops deserted
42:27on mass to join Allar along with the
42:30last remnants of Radagisus' defeated
42:32Goths, further swelling his ranks. The
42:36Greek historian Zosimus, writing at the
42:38end of the fifth century, noted all
42:40Alaric's intentions as he marched
42:42towards the vulnerable city of Rome.
42:45Allaric's demands were as follows. that
42:48each year he be paid a fixed sum of gold
42:50and be supplied a certain measure of
42:52grain and that he and all his followers
42:55settle in both Venitius in Noricum and
42:57in
42:58Dalmatia. These demands Jovius who was
43:02Anorius's pritorian prefect wrote down
43:04in all Alaric's presence and dispatched
43:06to the emperor.
43:09Clearly, all Alaric's initial intention
43:11was not the desoiling of the imperial
43:13city, but the securing of lands, food,
43:16and gold for his followers. Gothic
43:19respect for imperial prestige, despite
43:21the weakness of the Western Empire, was
43:23such that Allaric even sought an
43:25imperial title to legitimize his reign.
43:28Even at this late stage, Rome's fate was
43:31by no means sealed.
43:34However, Rome was by the early fifth
43:36century no longer the capital of the
43:38Western Empire. The transferring of the
43:41capital to Milan in the late 3rd century
43:44and then to Ravena in 401 AD meant that
43:47Rome's political importance had waned
43:49somewhat and Constantine's foundation of
43:51his new capital of Constantinople had
43:54accelerated this process.
43:56As a result, the western emperor
43:58Hanorius, shut up in Revena, refused to
44:01negotiate with all Alaric when the
44:03Gothic king threatened Rome. In late
44:06408, an initial Gothic siege of Rome was
44:09ended when the city agreed to pay
44:10Allaric considerable tribute. Frustrated
44:13by Anorius's obstinate refusal to come
44:16to terms, all Alaric once again marched
44:18on Rome in the summer of 410, facing
44:21almost no
44:22resistance. On the 24th of August 410
44:25AD, the Salarian gate was opened,
44:28whether by treachery or by
44:30starvationinduced desperation, and the
44:32Goths flooded into the eternal
44:35city. The infamous sack of Rome was by
44:38the standards of the day remarkably
44:41restrained. Perhaps owing in large part
44:43to the fact that all Alaric and his
44:45Goths were Christians, the vast majority
44:47of Rome's ancient monuments and
44:49Christian churches were left untouched.
44:52Although the old Senate house was set on
44:54fire, as were two basilicas in the
44:56forum, and all movable loot was
44:58plundered and carried off by the Goths,
45:01the citizens of Rome, however, would
45:03have suffered enormously despite the
45:05lack of wholesale murder. Many
45:08inhabitants were tortured into revealing
45:10the location of hidden treasures,
45:12including the 85-year-old St. Marcela,
45:14and thousands of Romans became refugees.
45:18For the first time in almost 800 years,
45:21the city had fallen to foreign
45:24invaders. Although Rome held little
45:26political or strategic importance
45:28anymore, the psychological impact of the
45:30sack was enormous. Here was the downfall
45:34of a symbolic city from which the great
45:36ancient empire had issued
45:38forth. Contemporary writers such as
45:41Jerome lamented the fall. When the
45:44brightest light of the world was
45:45extinguished, when the very head of the
45:47Roman Empire was severed, the entire
45:50world perished in a single
45:53city. Others, such as St. Augustine of
45:55Hippo, sought to assuage the growing
45:58feeling that it was Rome's abandonment
46:00of the old pagan gods and the embrace of
46:02Christianity which had led to the
46:04downfall of the empire.
46:07All Alaric's sack of the old capital
46:09precipitated a genuine spiritual crisis
46:12and spawned many attempts to understand
46:13or rationalize the fall, including
46:16Augustine's famous city of
46:18God. That said, the western emperor
46:20Norius was apparently
46:22unconcerned. According to the Bzantine
46:24historian Proopius, he received the news
46:27of Rome's fall. Thus at that time they
46:30say that the emperor Norius in Ravena
46:32received the message from one of the
46:34unuks evidently a keeper of the poultry
46:37that Rome had perished and he cried out
46:40and said and yet it is just eaten from
46:42my hands for he had a very large
46:45Rome by the name and the unic
46:47comprehending his words said that it was
46:50the city of Rome which had perished at
46:52the hands of all Alaric. and the emperor
46:54with a sigh of relief answered quickly.
46:57But I thought that my foul Rome had
46:59perished. Despite their apparent
47:01triumph, all Alaric and his Goths were
47:04in a precarious
47:05situation. The sack of the eternal city
47:08effectively ended any chance of a
47:10settlement with Anorius, and with it the
47:12promise of permanent settlement, which
47:14the itinerant Goths so craved. Deep in
47:17hostile territory, the Goths made
47:19southwards, apparently intending to
47:22cross to Sicily or into the rich
47:23provinces of Roman North
47:26Africa. However, stormy weather
47:28scuppered many of the ships that all
47:30Alaric had gathered to facilitate the
47:31crossing. And in early 411, the great
47:34king himself died, perhaps of a
47:37fever. His followers supposedly buried
47:39him beneath the bed of the Bucento River
47:42and afterwards killed the gravediggers
47:44in order to protect his resting place.
47:47Allaric's historical importance is hard
47:49to overstate. Not only did he sack the
47:52eternal city, but it is arguably around
47:55him that the Goths who crossed the Roman
47:57frontier coalesed, going from a
47:59desperate group devastated by the impact
48:01of Hunik raiding in the late 4th century
48:04to a united people who went on to found
48:07the Visigoththic kingdom in southern
48:09Gaul in 418 AD.
48:12The next chapter of Gothic history
48:14centers around the Gothic kingdoms that
48:15emerged during the decline and fall of
48:18the Roman Empire in the west. The busy
48:21Gothic Kingdom in southern Gaul and
48:22latly Spain and the Ostrogothic Kingdom
48:25in northern
48:27Italy. Both of these realms have a
48:29wealth of intriguing history and culture
48:31to consider and deserve videos in their
48:33own right.
48:35Therefore, for now, we will leave the
48:37Goths in the south of Italy, mourning
48:40the loss of their great king, All
48:43[Music]
48:44Alaric. Thank you for watching. If you
48:48enjoy these videos, you can find
48:49additional content on my Patreon. You
48:52can also get early access to future
48:54videos and access to deleted scenes. In
48:57other words, sections that I cut from
49:00the main video.
49:01[Music]
49:10[Music]

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