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Ly^b^ — 

CONTRIBUTIONS  TOWARD 

A  HISTORY 

OF 

ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

VOLUME  III 

TACITUS'  GERM  AN  I  A 
OTHER  FORGERIES 


By  LEO  WIENER 

PROFESSOR  OF  SLAVIC  LANGUAGES  AND  LITERATURES  AT 
HARVARD  UNIVERSITY;  AUTHOR  OF  "A  COMMENTARY  TO 
THE  GERMANIC  LAWS  AND  MEDIAEVAL  DOCUMENTS." 
■'CONTRIBUTIONS  TOWARD  A  HISTORY  OF  ARABICO- 
GOTHIC  CULTURE."  "HISTORY  OF  YIDDISH  LITERATURE." 
"HISTORY  OF  THE  CONTEMPORARY  RUSSIAN  DRAMA." 
"ANTHOLOGY  OF  RUSSIAN  LITERATURE."  "INTERPRETA- 
TION OF  THE  RUSSIAN  PEOPLE;"  TRANSLATOR  OF  THE 
WORKS  OF  TOLSTOY;  CONTRIBUTOR  TO  GERMAN.  RUSSIAN. 
FRENCH.  ENGLISH.  AND  AMERICAN  PHILOLOGICAL 
PERIODICALS.  ETC..   ETC. 


INNES  &  SONS 

129-135  N.  TWELFTH  ST.,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 
MCMXX 


Copyright,  1920,  by  Innes  &  Sons 


0.15 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Page 

I.  FOREWORD IX-XI 

II.  SOURCES  QUOTED XIII-XX 

III.  ULFILAS 1-64 

IV.  JORDANES 65-173 

V.  PSEUDO-BEROSUS 174-218 

VI.  HUNIBALD 219-272 

VII.  THE  GERMANIA  OF  TACITUS 273-299 

VIII.  PSEUDO-VENANTIUS 300-314 

IX.  WORD  INDEX 316-320 

X.  SUBJECT  INDEX 321-328 

XI.  TABLES 331 


FOREWORD 

My  Commentary  to  the  Germanic  Laws  and  Mediaeval 
Documents,  I  must  confess,  suffers  from  a  serious  draw- 
back— it  is  too  conservative.  When  I  wrote  it,  I  was 
dimly  conscious  of  the  geological  fault  underlying  the 
structure  of  Germanic  history,  philology,  palaeo- 
graphy, and  allied  subjects,  but  I  could  not  tear  myself 
away  from  many  accepted  scientific  conclusions,  be- 
cause it  had  not  occurred  to  me  that  the  stupendous 
scientific  structure  was  reared  exclusively  on  a  foun- 
dation that  would  collapse  the  moment  the  geological 
fault  led  to  an  earthquake.  Therefore  I  quoted  Taci- 
tus, Jordanes,  and  Auxentius  as  authorities,  or,  at 
least,  did  not  disturb  the  conclusions  to  which  they 
led.  As  my  investigation  proceeded,  it  became  clearer 
and  clearer  that  there  was  something  wrong  in  the 
cherished  authors,  but  I  was  totally  unable  to  account 
for  the  positive  references  to  Goths  in  the  Greek 
authors,  such  as  Procopius,  and  in  the  Greek  synax- 
aries  and  martyrologies.  It  seemed  incredible  that 
such  a  distant  subject  as  that  dealing  with  the  Goths, 
who  had  little  in  common  with  the  Greeks,  should 
have  found  its  way  so  permanently  into  Greek  thought. 

A  series  of  fortunate  discoveries,  many  of  them  quite 
accidental,  solved  the  puzzling  questions  beyond  any 
expectation.  The  Graeco-Gothic  relations  became 
obvious  at  a  flash,  when  the  Tetraxite  or  Crimean 
Goths  turned  out  to  be  a  fraud.  The  whole  history 
of  the  Crimean  Goths  is  based  on  the  definite  account 
of  John,  the  son  of  Photina,  the  bishop  of  the  Goths, 
who  was  sent  to  the  Tetraxite  Goths  at  the  end  of 
the  eighth  century.     All  authors  who  have  written  on 


X        HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

the  subject  have  taken  pains  to  elaborate  on  the 
importance  of  the  story,  and  the  presence  of  this  saint 
in  the  Greek  synaxaries  under  June  26.  When  I 
discovered,  quite  accidentally,  that  this  saint  was 
purloined  from  John  Bar-Aphtonia,  the  Syrian  saint, 
given  in  the  Syrian  synaxaries  under  June  26  as  a 
Syrian  bishop  in  the  first  half  of  the  sixth  century,  all 
the  other  Gothic  entries  in  the  Greek  calendars  be- 
came invalidated,  such  as  the  burning  of  the  Gothic 
church  and  the  references  to  Ulfilas.  There  was  no 
escape — the  Spanish  Goths  of  the  eighth  and  ninth 
centuries  not  only  furnished  wholesale  literary  and 
documentary  frauds  to  the  western  world,  but  also 
inspired  interpolations  and  more  important  frauds  in 
Greek  literature. 

I  still  clung  to  Tacitus.  I  had  been  brought  up  in 
the  worship  of  Tacitus,  especially  of  his  Germania. 
The  more  than  seven  hundred  pages  of  A.  Baum- 
stark's  Ausfiihrliche  Erlduterung  des  allgemeinen  Thei- 
les  der  Germania  des  Tacitus,  and  the  more  than  three 
hundred  pages  of  his  Ausfiihrliche  Erlduterung  des 
hesondern  volkerschaftlichen  Theiles  der  Germania  des 
Tacitus,  filled  me  with  awe.  But  one  day,  while  con- 
fined to  my  room  by  an  attack  of  the  grippe,  I  picked 
up  the  Germania,  to  use  it  as  an  anodyne.  Now,  after 
I  had  become  acquainted  with  the  literary  and  lin- 
guistic balderdash  of  the  Hispericists  and  had  studied 
minutely  Virgil  Maro  the  Grammarian  and  Aethicus, 
I  was  struck  by  the  amazing  similarity  in  method  in 
the  Germania  and  the  writers  who  had  fallen  under 
Arabic  influence,  and  at  a  glance  recognized  that  the 
Germania  was  merely  an  elaboration  of  Caesar's 
De  hello  gallico,  where  he  deals  with  the  manners  of  the 
Gauls  and  Germans  and  the  mysterious  animals.  The 
investigation  which  followed  proved  this  assumption 
correct  down  to  the  minutest  detail. 


FOREWORD  xi 

The  very  great  mass  of  material  before  me  makes 
it  impossible  to  treat  it  all  in  one  volume,  hence  I  only 
summarily  refer  to  the  forgeries  and  interpolations  in 
Cassiodorus,  Bede,  and  Ammianus.  All  these  and 
many  more  will  be  analyzed  in  a  future  volume.  The 
next  volume  will  give  the  proof  that  the  Physiologus 
is  of  Syrio-Arabic  origin,  and  incidentally  will  confirm 
the  fact  that  Gregory  of  Tours  has  come  down  to  us 
highly  interpolated  and  that  a  series  of  other  works, 
ascribed  to  Rufinus  and  others,  are  eighth  century 
forgeries.  Meanwhile,  I  beg  the  reader  to  concentrate 
his  attention  on  Jordanes'  Getica  and  Tacitus'  Germania, 
where  the  conclusions  are  final. 

Again  and  again  must  I  express  my  thanks  to  Mr. 
J.  B.  Stetson,  Jr.,  of  Philadelphia,  through  whose 
assistance  my  labors  have  brought  such  early  fruition. 
The  last  chapter,  on  an  interpolation  in  Venantius 
Fortunatus,  is  by  Mr.  Phillips  Barry,  who  has  followed 
my  investigations  for  years,  and  is  now  collecting 
material  on  the  origin  of  the  Celtic  Antiquitas. 

The  Author. 


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xviii     HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 


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ULFILAS 

Not  a  single  one  of  the  contemporary  writers  on  the 
conversion  of  the  Goths  knows  either  of  their  early 
Arianism  or  of  Ulfilas,  the  Arian  or  Semi-Arian  bishop 
of  the  Goths. 

Socrates  mentions  in  his  Historia  ecclesiastica  (11.41) 
the  Gothic  bishop  Theophilus,  who  was  one  of  the 
signers  of  the  Nicene  creed.  We  shall  later  see  that 
this  passage  is  an  interpolation  of  the  eighth  century, 
but  the  fact  is  apparently  correct,  for  Theophilus 
Gothiae  Metropolis  is  given  as  a  signer  for  Provincia 
Gothia  in  the  Nicene  Council  of  325,  and  if  this  list  is 
genuine,  the  mention  in  Socrates  is  equally  genuine. 

Epiphanius  tells  how  Audius,  the  founder  of  the 
Audian  monasteries,  was,  in  the  middle  of  the  fourth 
century,  relegated  to  Scythia.  He  penetrated  into 
the  interior  of  Gothia  and  taught  Christianity  to  many 
of  the  Goths,  at  the  same  time  establishing  there 
monasteries,  at  which  strict  discipline  was  maintained. 
In  spite  of  the  peculiar  practices  instituted  by  Audius, 
Epiphanius  praises  him  as  a  good  Christian  and 
Catholic.  After  his  death  Silvanus  was  bishop  of 
Gothia.  Then  the  Catholic  Goths  were  driven  from 
Gothia,  and  they  settled  in  Chalcis,  near  Antioch,  and 
on  the  Euphrates.  This  violent  persecution  was 
instituted  by  a  pagan  king  who  hated  the  Romans 
and  so  transferred  his  hatred  to  the  native  Christians, 
who  in  his  mind  belonged  to  the  same  category  as  the 
Romans.  But  the  persecution  did  not  avail  much, 
because  wisdom  cannot  be  eradicated.^ 

^  «'YjtE(iTT)  81  xol  e|o^iav  m)x6<;  6  yiQcav  AvSiog,  slg  xd  m-^OTJ  tfis  2x\)- 
^as  vnb  xoO  6aaiki(o<;  l|o<?icrfrelg,  8id  t6  dqrrjvid^siv  TMobg,  xal  vnb  xSrv  i- 
m.ax6ma\  T(p  6aotlei  dvrrvlx^*  'Elxei  8^  \i6Xiaxa  biaXQl6ayv  xQ&voni  It(ov, 


2        HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

As  Epiphanius  says  that  the  Goths  had  emigrated 
four  years  before,  and  his  work  on  the  heresies  was 
written  between  374  and  377,  it  is  clear  that  he  refers 
to  the  persecution  by  Athanaric,  which  is  supposed  to 
have  driven  Ulfilas  into  exile.  Yet  there  is  no  reference 
here  either  to  Ulfilas  or  to  Arians.  Indeed,  St.  Augus- 
tine in  his  De  civitate  Dei,  distinctly  says  that  there 
were  none  but  Catholics  there  at  the  time:  "Perhaps, 
however,  it  was  not  to  be  reckoned  as  a  persecution, 
when  the  king  of  the  Goths,  in  Gothia  itself,  persecuted 
the  Christians  with  wonderful  cruelty,  when  there  were 
none  but  Catholics  there,  of  whom  very  many  were 
crowned  with  martyrdom,  as  we  have  heard  from  certain 
brethren  who  had  been  there  at  that  time  as  boys,  and 
unhesitatingly  called  to  mind  that  they  had  seen  these 
things?  "1 

OVK  Ixw  ^i-iysiv,  Kal  elg  xa  ngdaoi  6aivo>v,  xal  elg  ra  iaiaraxa  Tfj?  FoT'Oiag, 
noX.>.oi)5  T(bv  FoT^tov  'iiaxi\xr\ae-v'  dqp'  o^jieq  >4al  novaortrieia  Iv  Tfj  avTfj 
roT&iQi  iyivExo,  xal  jco'kLXEiai  xai  naodevia  Te  xal  aoxTjoig  ovx  "H  xvxovaau 
"EoTi  yaQ  T(p  ovTi  touto  to  xay]ia  Jtdw  Iv  dvaoroocpfi  d^aujiaotfi'  xal  xd 
jidvxa  avx&v  Iv  xotg  avxtov  fAovacmioiois  xaXcog  qteQexai,  Jik^v  x&v  ipiKavsi- 
xicav  xouxtov,  xf\<;  xe  KaQaXXayr[(;  xov   Ilaaxa,  xfjg  xe  xaxd  x6  l6uoxix6v 

iyx6nievf\q  xov  xax'  elxova  ^hoJIoyiods JIoA-A-oi  Se  xal  jiexd  xtiv 

ixEivou  xeA-eimiv  yey6fvaai  crirv  auxoig  xe  xal  ftex*  avx6v  xov  xdYM'a''^05  avxoO 
^i<Txojtoi,  Ovodviog  xig  xfis  Mecrng  xc6v  noxancov  xai  ojto  xfjg  FoxftCas  6^ 
goxe  Tivds,  xal  xaxeoxriaEv  avxoug  djuox6jtoug'  dXXd  xal  2dovav6g  xig,  xai 
aXkoi  xiveg,  &v  cn)^6e6Tixe  xivag  xov  6iov  Jtauaacrd'ai,  \iaXiaxa  O&odviov. 
Hux^i'  Yao  oJxog  dvaneoov  xoiouxov  xdv^axog.  Mexd  fie  xt)v  xcov  ^juoxojkov 
auxtov  xovxxov  Ovpaviou  xai  2dovavoi3  xov  iv.  Foxftiag  xeXevxriv,  jto^Xoi  6i- 
eXvOrioav,  xal  el?  bXiyov  f\X^e  x6  xovxov  (TuoXTina,  ev  xe  xoig  nipeca  XaX- 
X1605  XT)  5  nQb<;  'AvxioxEiag,  xal  ^v  xotg  {xeoew.  xov  Eu(pQdxov.  Kai  ydg  Anb 
xfjs  Foxdiag  ^8i(oxflTi<Jav  ol  jtX,eiovg,  ov  [aovov,  oKka.  xal  oi  ■nM-^teooi  ^xel 
Xoi0xiavoi,  SwoYHoij  \iey6Xov  tvax&vxoq  vnb  damX^co;  'EXXtyvoi;,  Seivov  xe 
YEvoinevov  xal  kq6i;  t^^ov  xcov  'Pa>M.ai(ov,  fiid  x6  xovg  6aaiX.eig  xmv  'Pco- 
(taicov  elvai  Xoicrtiavovq,  x6  otav  Y^vog  xdiv  Xpicrtiavctfv  djt'  ^xeivcov  djcE- 
XaOiivau  Ov  XeIkei  bk  Ai^a  oroqpiag,  ov8l  qrvxEUM-a  jifoxECOs.  *AXXd  xal  el  60- 
xoiJoi  jtdvxEg  ajvt\k6xrdai,  Jtdvxcog  eIoIv  IxetdEv  G.v&Q(onoi.  Oux  iyxtnQtl  ya.Q 
Xeitl'ai  XTiv  jniYTiv  xfjg  Jticrxecog.  IIoXXol  o&v  dvaxfopTiCTavxeg  xwv  avxcov  Av- 
fiiavcov  xfig  Foxdiag,  xal  xc&v  ■nuExeecov  jiEQwv  ivxav^a  iX'^&vxeq,  n;aooixov- 
mv  djto  xov  x(?6vou  xovxov  ixGiv  xeaad<?a)v,»  Adversus  haereses,  in  Migne, 
Patrol,  graeca,  vol.  XLII,  col.  372  f. 

1  "Nisi  forte  non  est  persecutio  conputanda,  quando  rex  Gothorum  in 
ipsa  Gothia  persecutus  est  Christianos  crudelitate  mirabili,  cum  ibi  non 
essent  nisi  catholici,  quorum  plurimi  martyrio  coronati  sunt,  sicut  a  quibus- 


ULFILAS  3 

In  404  St.  Chrysostom  was  already  in  exile.  While 
there  he  heard  from  the  Marsan  Gothic  monks,  where 
Serapion  was  bishop,  that  deacon  Moduarius  had 
brought  news  from  Gothia  that  "that  wonderful  man," 
Unilas,  whom  he  had  ordained  bishop  and  sent  to 
Gothia,  had  died,  after  having  accomplished  many 
wonderful  things,  and  that  the  king  of  the  Goths  had 
sent  a  letter  in  which  he  asked  for  another  bishop.  As 
the  season  for  sailing  was  unfavorable,  St.  Chrysostom 
counseled  delay,  adding  as  another  cogent  reason  that 
he  was  anxious  to  send  the  best  possible  man.^ 

The  Gothic  monks  are  called  Marsan  because  they 
lived  on  the  estate  of  Marsa.  Palladius,  in  chapter  IV 
of  the  Life  of  St.  Chrysostom,  speaks  of  the  woman, 
the  wife  of  Promotus,  as  a  violent  partisan  against 
him.  In  a  letter  to  the  same  Goths  in  the  same  year, 
Chrysostom  speaks  of  them  as  the  monks  in  Promotus* 
field,  and  praises  them  for  having  abstained  from  dis- 
turbances in  the  church  of  the  Goths,  which  were, 
no  doubt,  instituted  by  this  Marsa  with  the  purpose 


dam  fratribus,  qui  tunc  illic  pueri  fuerant  et  se  ista  uidisse  incunctanter 
recordabantur,  audiuimus?"  in  Corpiis  scriptorum  ecclesiasticorum  latinorum, 
vol.  XL2.  p.  356. 

1  c'ESifiXaxjdv  jioi  ol  jtovd^ovreg  oi  MaQtyelg,  ol  rdtdoi,  Ivda  del  neKQVJt- 
To  SeQCUtioov  6  bdayionoz,  oti  MoSoudoiog  ^^•ftev  6  fiidxovog  anayyehav. 
8x1  ObviXaq  6  djticrxojtog  6  daujidaiog  ^xEtvog,  ov  kqivv^v  ixEiQoxcm\aa  xal 
ln;Bfit|>a  dg  Fox'friav  noXkA  xal  neyala  xaToo^cocJag  Ixoinri^*  xal  fjJl^  <p^- 
Qcav  vgd^uara  xou  ^11765  tcov  roT^cov  d^ioijvTa  Jtenqp^vai  auToig  ^Jtioxo- 
nov.  'Ejtel  o&v  ou8^v  Silo  6oc5  nqbt;  xtjv  ajiei'kov\ih/r\\  xaTacrcooq)T)v  owxe- 
hnjfv  el?  8i6o*woiv,  ^  iieXXr\aw  xal  dva6oX'nv  (ou8e  yoQ  8\rvaT6v  avroig 
jtX.evoai  el?  t6v  Bdowooov  wv,  ov8e  el?  xA  ueoii  ^xeiva),  ujte(?fte(yftai  xdco? 
a^ov?  Sid  xov  xeinwva  noQacmtvaaov  aXka  ]ii]  ajt^oa?  avx6  jcaoaSodjixi?, 
xax6od(i>[ia  y&Q  iori  niyiaxov.  Avo  ydp  ioxiv  a  jidXicrxd  ne  Xxwtei  el  vevoixo, 
8  JIT)  viwHXo,  x6  xe  na,Qv.  xouxcov  pi^Xleiv  yivecrf^ax,  xcbv  xocrauxa  xaxd  igya- 
oojievov,  xal  jtap'  &v  ou  O^eni?,  x6  xe  drtXcb?  xiva  yevia^ai.  "Oxi  700  oi 
cfKOfubatflvai  xiva  vewaiov  Jioifioai,  olcr&a  xal  avnri.  E3,  8e  xoCxo  y^voixo,  8  \i.i\ 
yevoixo,  xd  e^fi?  iniaxaaai.  *Iv'  o^  {iTjSlv  xouxcov  yivr\xai,  Jtficrav  crnwuSTiv 
j«)iT)0ai*  dt|)0(piixl  8e  el  8wax6v  ■?iv  xal  X,av&av6vx{0?  xov  Mo8oud^iov  ngbg  ^- 
Hfi?  ^Sganeiv,  \iiyicna  Sv  fivuexo.  ES  81  uti  8wax<W,  ha  xcov  iyrrnQoxrvTrnv  xd 
fiirvaxd  yivicrbvi,-*  B.  de  Montfaucon,  S.  Joannis  Chrysostomi  Opera,  Parisiis 
1837,  vol.  III2,  p.  722. 


4        HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

of  annoying  Chrysostom.^  It  is  quite  likely  that  the 
juxtaposition  of  Mapaelz  ol  Fordoi  had  later,  in  the  eighth 
century,  some  part  in  creating  Germanic  Marsi,  as 
introduced  into  Pseudo-Tacitus.^ 

In  the  contemporary  writers  there  is  no  reference  to 
a  martyrdom  by  fire,  such  as  is  mentioned  later  in 
connection  with  the  burning  of  a  Gothic  church.  I 
have  already  shown  how  the  burning  of  Goths  at  Cor- 
doba has  given  rise  to  the  legend.^  The  discordant 
dates  given  for  the  burning  in  the  synaxaries  and  the 
Gothic  calendar  make  it  certain  that  we  have  here 
only  an  attempt  to  connect  the  burning  with  the  per- 
secution of  Athanaric.  The  Greek  synaxaries^  place 
the  event  under  March  26,  between  367  and  375. 
The  Gothic  calendar  puts  it  on  October  29,  while  the 
Chronicon  Paschale  places  the  killing  of  the  Goths  at 
Laemomacellium  and  the  burning  of  the  Gothic 
church  on  July  12  of  the  year  400,  in  the  reign  of 
Arcadius.^  As  the  Chronicon  Paschale  contains  inter- 
polations up  to  the  eleventh  century,  we  have  only 
late  and  conflicting  reminiscences  of  the  eighth  century 
event,  as  recorded  by  the  Arabic  writers. 

So  far  we  have  not  heard  a  word  of  Arian  Goths. 
The  first  definite  reference  to  them  is  in  Italy,  in  the 
time  of  Ambrose.  In  386  the  court  party  tried  to 
get  Ambrose  to  leave  Milan,  but  he  remained  for  several 
days  in  the  Basilica,  surrounded  by  a  large  congre- 
gation, who  would  defend  him  against  the  soldiery 
without.    In  the  sermon  against  the  Arian  Auxentius, 

^  «Tois  novd^ouoi  rolg  FoT^oig  ev  T015  IIoohcotov  ....  Xolqiv  8e  v\ilv 
Exo)  xal  xfji;  anovby\q  f[v  inebei'^aa^E  iot^q  xov  nnSeva  ^dQv6ov  yevea&ax  iv 
xfj  'ExxA,Tioiqi  Tfi  Toov  roTftcov,*  ibid.,  p.  863  f. 

2'See  p.  160  f . 

3  See  my  Contributions,  vol.  I,  p.  142  ff. 

*  See  Analecta  Bollandiana,  vol.  XXXI,  p.  274  S. 

^  «Kal  avT(p  T^  exei  iaqpaYnoav  Foxdoi  JioXXol  ^v  t(^  AamopioxeX^icp* 
xal  dxari  ■n  hivXriaia  x&\  r<STO(ov  oirv  TdoKKc^  jtX.ridEi  XouKiavoov  UTivi  navi- 
|A(p  KQb  8'  I8c*v  lovXitov.» 


ULFILAS  5 

which  he  then  preached,  he  referred  to  the  Goths  who, 
with  the  soldiers,  assailed  him;  and  in  a  letter  to 
Marcellina,^  written  a  year  earlier,  he  spoke  of  the 
Goths  "who,  as  of  old  they  made  their  waggon  their 
home,  so  now  make  the  Church  their  waggon,"  that 
is,  he  spoke  contemptuously  of  the  Goths,  who  as 
mercenaries  were  serving  the  Arian  empress  Justina 
and  therefore  supporting  the  Arian  cause. ^  We  do 
not  know  what  bishop  was  sent  to  Alaric  after  the 
death  of  Unilas,  but  when  Alaric  came  to  Italy  he 
obviously  favored  the  Arian  cause,  and  naturally  so. 
To  make  his  campaign  more  effective,  he  had  to  assure 
himself  of  the  support  of  the  Italian  Goths  who  had 
already  allied  themselves  with  the  Arians.  But  his 
Arianism  was  not  of  the  rabid  anti-Catholic  kind, 
hence  his  moderation  during  the  sack  of  Rome,  which 
was  praised  by  all  the  Catholic  writers  of  the  time.^ 
St.  Augustine  was  not  inimically  disposed  toward  the 
Goths,  because  of  their  moderation,  and  he  understood 
full  well  that  it  was  chiefly  political  reasons  which 
decided  the  adherence  of  the  Goths  to  the  Arian  party. 
Indeed,  he  saw  clearly  that  the  various  sects  were 
trying  to  get  the  Goths  on  their  side,  even  as  did  the 
Donatists,  "because  the  Goths  were  getting  to  be 
powerful."^ 


1  The  Letters  of  S.  Ambrose,  Oxford  1881,  p.  131. 

2  "Prodire  de  Arianis  nuUus  audebat;  quia  nee  quisquam  de  civibus  erat, 
pauci  de  familia  regia,  nonnuUi  etiam  Gothi.  Quibus  ut  olim  plaustra  sedes 
erat,  ita  nunc  plaustrum  Ecclesia  est.  Quocumque  femina  ista  processerit, 
secum  suos  omnes  coetus  vehit,"  Migne,  Patrol,  lat.,  vol.  XVI,  col.  997. 

'  "Inmanitas  barbara  tam  mitis  apparuit,  ut  amplissimae  basilicae 
inplendae  populo  cui  parceretur  eligerentur  et  decernerentur,  ubi  nemo 
feriretur,  unde  nemo  raperetur,  quo  liberandi  multi  a  miserantibus  hostibus 
ducerentur,  unde  captiuandi  uUi  nee  a  crudelibus  hostibus  abducerentur: 
hoc  Christi  nomini,  hoc  Christiano  tempori  tribuendum  quisquis  non 
uidet,  caecus,"  De  civitate  Dei,  I.  7;  etc. 

*  "Aliquando  autem,  sicut  audivimus,  nonnuUi  ex  ipsis  volentes  sibi 
Gothos  conciliare,  quando  eos  vident  aliquid  posse,  dicunt  hoc  se  credere 
quod  et  illi  credunt,"  Migne,  Patrol,  lot.,  vol.  XXXIII,  col.  793. 


6        HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Only  some  time  after  the  fifth  century  did  the 
perplexed  Greek  church  historians  ask  themselves  how 
it  all  happened  that  the  Goths  became  Arians.  Soc- 
rates says  that  the  Goths  were  divided  into  two  fac- 
tions, that  of  Fritigern,  who  had  fled  to  the  Romans, 
and  that  of  Athanaric,  across  the  Danube.  Fritigern 
received  aid  from  the  Romans  against  Athanaric,  and 
after  a  victory  over  him,  the  Goths  out  of  gratitude 
became  Arians,  like  Valens,  who  had  aided  them.  At 
that  time,  Ulfilas  invented  the  Gothic  letters  and 
translated  the  Bible  into  Gothic;  but  because  he  also 
converted  the  Goths  of  Athanaric,  who  was  a  pagan, 
the  latter  persecuted  them,  so  that  even  Arians  be- 
came martjrrs.^  This  account  is  not  only  in  total 
disagreement  with  the  contemporary  account  of  Athan- 
aric's  persecution  of  Catholic  Goths  only,  but  with 
Socrates'  own  account  of  Ulfilas,  who  had  subscribed 
to  the  compromise  creed  of  Constantinople,  after  hav- 
ing followed  the  Nicene  creed  of  Bishop  Theophilus.^ 
Sozomenus  says  that  the  Goths  fleeing  across  the 
Danube  from  the  Huns  sent  a  legation,  headed  by 
Ulfilas,  the  bishop  of  the  Goths,  asking  permission 
to  settle  in  Thrace.  Then  the  Goths  split  up  into  the 
party  of  Fritigern  and  Athanaric,  and  the  people  of 
Fritigern  became  Arians,  in  gratitude  for  the  aid 
received  from  Valens.  Ulfilas  had  originally  not  in 
any  way  differed  from  the  Catholic  communicants, 
but,  having  come  to  Constantinople  and  having  met 
the  Arians,  either  out  of  policy  or  conviction  turned 
Arian,  drawing  the  whole  people  with  him.  Ulfilas 
gave  the  Goths  a  translation  of  the  Bible.  Then 
Athanaric  persecuted  the  Christians.  He  carried  a 
statue  on  a  carriage  to  the  Christian  sanctuaries  and 
ordered  the  Christians  to  worship  it.     If  they  did  not 

1  Historia  ecclesiastica,  IV.  33. 
>/6tU,  II.  41. 


ULFILAS  7 

do  so,  they  were  burned  in  their  churches.^  Sozo- 
menus,  too,  knows  of  the  presence  of  Ulfilas  at  the 
conciliabulum  of  Constantinople,  where  he  subscribed 
to  the  modified  creed  of  Ariminum. 

When  St.  Augustine  spoke  kindly  of  the  Goths, 
though  they  were  Arians,  it  did  not  occur  to  him  to 
speak  of  Arian  martyrs,  first,  because,  according  to 
his  own  statement,  there  were  only  Catholic  martyrs 
in  Gothia,  and  secondly,  because  it  was  inconceivable 
for  a  Catholic  to  class  Arians  as  martyrs.  The  Arians 
were  Christians,  and  as  such  they  stood  high  above 
the  pagans,  is  what  St.  Augustine  repeatedly  says, 
but,  if  he  had  classed  Arians  who  were  burnt  to  death 
as  martyrs,  he  would  have  had  to  call  Valens  a  martyr, 
since  he  was  burnt  to  death  by  the  pagan  Goths.  Yet 
here,  in  Socrates  and  Sozomenus,  we  hear  of  Arian 
martyrs  who  were  burnt  to  death  in  their  churches, 
an  exceedingly  improbable  statement  for  Catholic 
writers  to  make.  Besides,  neither  St.  Augustine  nor 
the  Greek  synaxaries  nor  the  Chronicon  Paschale  know 
of  anything  but  Catholic  martyrs  who  were  burnt  to 
death.  Obviously  something  is  wrong  in  the  accounts 
of  Socrates  and  Sozomenus. 

Theodoretus  knows  nothing  of  the  martyrdom,  and 
confines  himself  only  to  instructing  the  ignorant  as  to 
how  the  Arian  contagion  reached  the  Goths.  Accord- 
ing to  him,  the  infamous  Eudoxius  persuaded  Valens  to 
try  to  convert  the  Goths  to  Arianism,  although  here- 
tofore they  had  been  true  Catholics.  At  that  time 
Bishop  Ulfilas  was  a  man  of  great  power  among  them. 
Eudoxius  bribed  him  with  sweet  words  and  with  money 
to  accept  fellowship  with  the  Arians.  Hence  the  Goths 
consider  the  Father  to  be  greater  than  the  Son,  but 
deny  that  the  Son  is  created,  although  they  commune 
with  those  who  say  so.    Thus  the  Goths  did  not  depart 

»VI.37. 


8        HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

from  their  ancestral  religion,  although  they  communed 
with  Eudoxius  and  Valens.^  Here  we  have  a  totally- 
different  account.  We  hear  nothing  of  martyrs  and  of 
the  invention  of  letters  by  Ulfilas,  and  Ulfilas  is 
represented  as  a  man  bribed  by  Eudoxius  to  commune 
with  the  Arians,  without  departing  from  the  Catholic 
religion,  although  the  creed  is,  to  say  the  least,  Semi- 
Arian. 

The  most  comfortable  view  would  be  to  assume 
that  the  three  Greek  ecclesiastical  writers  of  the  fifth 
century,  Socrates,  Sozomenus,  and  Theodoretus,  drew 
upon  their  imagination  and  a  hazy  account  of  a 
Gothic  bishop  Ulfilas,  in  order  to  explain  the  origin  of 
Arianism  among  them;  but  there  are  a  number  of 
disquieting  factors  in  such  an  assumption,  which  com- 
pel us  carefully  to  investigate  the  story  of  Ulfilas  as 
to  its  possible  origin  in  the  fifth  century. 

Ulfilas  is  absent  from  Orosius'  Historiae  adversus 
paganos,  and  I  shall  now  show  that  this  work  is  a  for- 
gery, based  to  a  considerable  extent  on  Isidore. 

Many  parallel  passages  have  been  noted  in  Orosius 
and  Isidore,  and  from  the  established  fact  that  Orosius 
died  about  the  year  418,  while  Isidore  died  in  636,  it 
has  been  assumed  that  the  latter  everywhere  bor- 
rowed from  the  Historiae  of  Orosius;  but  an  exami- 
nation of  these  parallel  passages  totally  dispels  such  an 
assumption.  Nothing  can  be  done  with  identical 
passages  in  the  two  or  with  passages  so  divergent  that 
the  borrowing  may  have  gone  in  either  direction.  I 
shall,  therefore,  confine  myself  to  all  such  passages 
only  as  give  us  definite  results  one  way  or  another. 

The  eighth  and  ninth  century  manuscripts  of 
Orosius^  have  for  a  title:  "Haec  insunt  in  hoc  codice 
historiarum   Pauli    Horosii   praesbiteri   adversum  pa- 

iIV.  33. 

2  C.  Zangemeister,  Pauli  Orosii  Historiarum  adversum  paganos  libri  VII, 
in  Corpus  scriptorum  ecclesiasticorum  latinorum,  vol.  V,  p.  1. 


ULFILAS  9 

ganos  libri  numero  septem  lege  feliciter:  Ormista  g 
miser abilis  I  metiens  sonaV  Wild  guesses  have  been 
made  as  regards  the  origin  of  the  title  Ormista,  by 
which  Orosius  was  frequently  quoted,^  but  there  can 
be  no  doubt  jis  to  the  gloss:  ''Ormista  g  miserabilis 
1  metiens."  G  means  **gotice,"  the  glossator  thinking 
of  Goth,  armosta  "very  poor;"  but  the  second  expla- 
nation, ** metiens,"  shows  that  both  the  meaning 
'*poor"  and  ** measuring"  are  derived  from  the  Arabic 
source  from  which  Goth,  arms  and  the  corresponding 
OHGerman,   ASaxon,  etc.,  words  are  obtained.     We 

have  Arab.  (», ^  ^jc  'drim,  'arim  "evil  in  disposition, 
bad,  corrupt,  wicked,  abominable,"  from  r-^  'aram  "to 
bring  calamity  upon,  be  soft;"  r-^  'arim  also  means  "a 
heap  of  grain,"  hence  (^.j"  ta'rlm  "to  heap  up,  fill  up 
the  measure."     In  the  latter  sense  the  word  is  found 

in  all   the   Semitic   languages.     We   have   Heb.     _2. 

'aram    "to    be    heaped,    be    clever,    shrewd,"    Chald. 

5:  ••-:   'ciremtd   "a   heap   of   grain,"  Syr.  >cJiJi^  'arim 

"shrewd,"  >^U  'aram  "he  swelled,  heaped  up,"  etc.  It 
is  evident  that  the  Arabic  sense  of  "hardhearted,  bad, 
miserable"  developed  from  the  idea  "to  swell  up,  be 
shrewd."  The  late  Lat.  gremium  "acervus,"^  found 
in  Bible  translations  of  the  Itala  type,  is  unquestion- 
ably derived  from  the  same  Semitic  word,  if  not  from 
Arabic,  certainly  from  Syriac  or  Phoenician. 

After  the  Prologue,  the  Historiae  begin  with  an  ac- 
count of  the  miseries  of  the  world.  The  oldest  manu- 
scripts here  have  as  a  title,  in  red  letters,  "  Ormestae 

1  Th.  von  Moerner,  De  Orosii  vita  eiusqtie  Historiarum  libris  septem  ad- 
versus  Paganos,  Berolini  1844,  p.  180. 

2  Archiv  fiir  lateinische  Lexikographie  und  Grammatik,  vol.  VIII,  p.  191. 


10      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

incp  uolumen  prium  de  trium  partium  terrae  indicio."^ 
Similarly,  the  second  book  begins  with  "incipit  eiusdem 
secundum  de  mundi  erumpnis.''^  Thus  there  cannot 
be  a  shadow  of  a  doubt  that  the  title  Ormista  is  the 
Gothic  or  Arabic  for  "the  miseries  of  the  world,"  as 
which  the  work  was  known. ^  In  Gothic  only  the 
adjective  armosta  '' kXBuv6repo<:,  most  miserable"  is 
recorded.  From  this  was  formed  by  the  Goths  the 
title  Ormista  "misery,"  or,  rather,  "the  greatest 
miseries."*  Thus  we  have  the  positive  proof  that 
Orosius  was  the  preoccupation  of  the  Spanish  Goths 
in  the  eighth  century. 

The  Arabo-Gothic  arm  passed  into  OHGerman  as 
arm,  aram  "aerumnosus,  pauper,  inops,"  armida 
"penuria,  paupertas,"  etc.  In  ONorse  armr  never 
acquired  the  sense  of  "inops,"  but  preserved  only  the 
Gothic  sense  of  "wretched."  The  AS.  earm,  arm 
"poor,  miserable,  wretched"  remained  only  a  book 
word  and  has  not  survived  in  English.  Thus  the 
artificial  origin  of  the  group  from  an  Arabo-Latin 
gloss  is  made  obvious.  We  now  have  an  additional 
proof,  if  such  were  necessary,  that  the  Gothic  Bible 
could  not  have  been  written  before  the  eighth  century, 
for  it  was  Arab.  *arim  that  led  to  Goth,  arms  "miser- 
abilis,"  and  Lat.  misericorsy  not  Gr.  iXeecUc:,  produced 
Goth,  armhairtei  and  the  whole  Germanic  group 
which  belongs  here. 


'  Zangemeister,  op.  dl.,  p.  8. 

» Ibid.,  p.  79. 

'  Indeed,  as  late  as  the  end  of  the  ninth  century,  ormesta  had  the  meaning 
of  "miseria,  excidium:"  "necnon  et  sanctum  Gyldara  cujus  sagacitate  ingenii 
industriaque  legendi  atque  in  sacris  canonum  libris  peritia,  liber  ille  arti- 
ficiosa  compositus  instructione,  quem  Ormestam  Brittaniae  vocant  declarat," 
Analeda  Bollandiana,  vol.  I,  p.  215. 

*  Of  course,  Lat.  aerumna  "misery"  may  have  aided  in  the  adoption  of 
the  Arabic  word,  but  there  is  no  evidence  of  it.  The  Latin  word  first 
occurs  in  Plautus,  hence  it  is  most  likely  of  Phoenician  origin,  and,  like 
gremium,  belongs  to  our  group. 


ULFILAS  11 

In  the  Prologue  of  Orosius  there  is  an  expansion  of  a 
perfectly  clear  passage  in  the  Etymologiae  of  Isidore: 

Orosius.  Isidore. 

Ex  locorum  agrestium  conpitis  et  Pagani    ex    pagis    Atheniensiura 

pagis  pagani  uocantur  siue  gentiles  dicti,  ubi  exorti  sunt.  Ibi  enim  in 
quia  terrena  sapiunt,  qui  cum  futura  locis  agrestibus  et  pagis  gentiles 
non  quaerant,  praeterita  autem  aut  lucos  idolaque  statuerunt  et  a  tali 
obliuiscantur  aut  nesciant,  prae-  initio  vocabulum  pagani  sortiti  sunt, 
sentia  tamen  tempora  ueluti  malis  Gentiles  sunt  qui  sine  lege  sunt,  et 
extra  solitum  infestatissima  ob  hoc  nondum  crediderunt.  Dicti  autem 
solum  quod  creditur  Christus  et  gentiles,  quia  ita  sunt  ut  fuerunt 
colitur  Deus,  idola  autem  minus  geniti,  id  est,  sicut  in  came  descen- 
coluntur,  infamant,  Prologue,  9.  derunt  sub  peccato,   scilicet  idolis 

servientes    et    necdum    regenerati, 
VIII.  10.  1-2. 

Isidore  got  his  definition  from  a  Servius  gloss  to 
Georgica,  II.  382,  383,  **ingentes  pagos  et  compita 
circum  Thesidae  posuere,"  which  runs  as  follows: 
'*  Pagos  et  compita  circum,  id  est  per  quadrivia — quae 
compita  appellantur  ab  eo  quod  multae  viae  in  unum 
confluant — et  villas,  quae  pagi  dnd  vwu  n-^ycbv  appellan- 
tur, id  est  a  fontibus,  circa  quos  villae  consueverant 
condi:  unde  et  pagani  dicti  sunt,  quasi  ex  uno  fonte 
potantes.  .  .  Thesidae  Athenienses  qui  primi  ludos 
instituere  Liberalia.  .  .  compita  .  .  .  ubi  pagani 
agrestes,  bucina  convocati,  solent  inire  concilia." 

The  gloss  for  conpita  is  given  in  Isidore  in  XV.  16.  12: 
'*conpeta,  quia  plures  in  ea  conpetunt  viae,"  and  in 
XV.  2.  15:  ** conpita  sunt  ubi  usus  est  conventus  fieri 
rusticorum;  et  dicta  conpita  quod  loca  multa  in  agris 
eodem  conpetant,  et  quo  convenitur  a  rusticis."  How 
closely  Isidore  followed  the  Servius  gloss  is  seen  from 
the  fact  that  he  distinctly  says  that  the  pagi  were 
first  established  by  the  Athenians.  The  statement 
that  the  gentiles  placed  groves  and  idols  in  the  pagi  is 
mentioned  by  Isidore  in  another  place,  where  he 
derives  nemus  from  numen:  "nemus  a  numinibus  nun- 
cupatum,  quia  pagani  ibi  idola  constituebant"  (XVII. 


12       HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

6.  6).  This  etymology,  as  well  as  that  of  gentiles, 
shows  conclusively  that  Isidore  did  not  quote  from 
Orosius,  because  there  gentiles  is  left  unexplained  and 
hampering  the  sense.  How  is  gentiles  derived  there 
from  pagusf  Obviously  the  statement  in  Orosius  is  a 
senseless  condensation  from  Isidore.  The  rest  of  the 
passage  in  Orosius  is  a  free  and  stupid  rendering  of 
St.  Augustine's  statement  in  the  Retractationes}  As 
the  Retractationes  were  written  after  426,  when  Orosius 
was  dead,  it  is  obvious  that  Orosius  could  not  have 
quoted  St.  Augustine.  Besides,  in  the  Retractationes 
St.  Augustine  speaks  of  Orosius  as  a  "certain"  Spanish 
presbyter  who  wrote  to  him  about  the  Priscillianists 
and  about  Origen.^  Had  Orosius  really  written  his 
Historiae  at  St.  Augustine's  request,  we  should  have 
heard  something  about  it  from  St.  Augustine,  who  is 
silent  on  the  matter.  He  quotes  Orosius  very  fre- 
quently, but  only  in  connection  with  the  Priscillianist 
and  Pelagian  heresy,  and  would  have  been  the  last 
man  to  characterize  the  author  of  so  wretched  a 
Latinity  as  in  the  Historiae  adversus  paganos  as  "vigil 
ingenio,  promptus  eloquio,"  with  which  he  recommend !j 
him  to  Jerome.^ 

1  "Interea  Roma  Gothorum  inruptione  agentium  sub  rege  Alarico  adque 
impetu  magnae  cladis  euersa  est,  cuius  euersionem  deorum  falsorum  multo- 
rumque  cultores,  quos  usitato  nomine  paganos  uocamus,  in  Christianam 
religionem  referre  conantes  solito  acerbius  et  amarius  Deum  uerum  blas- 
phemare  coeperunt.  Unde  ego  exardescens  zelo  domus  Dei  aduersus  eorum 
blasphemias  uel  errores  libros  de  ciuitate  Dei  scribere  institui.  Quod  opus 
per  aliquot  annos  me  tenuit,  eo  quod  alia  multa  intercurrebant,  quae  dififerre 
non  oporteret  et  me  prius  ad  soluendum  occupabant.  Hoc  autem  de 
ciuitate  Dei  grande  opus  tandem  uiginti  duobus  libris  est  terminatum. 
Quorum  quinque  primi  eos  refellunt,  qui  res  humanas  ita  prosperari  uolunt, 
ut  ad  hoc  multorum  deorum  cultum,  quos  pagani  colere  consueuerunt, 
necessarium  esse  arbitrentur,  et  quia  prohibetur,  mala  ista  exoriri  adque 
abundare  contendunt.  Sequentes  autem  quinque  aduersus  eos  loquuntur, 
qui  fatentur  haec  mala  nee  defuisse  umquam  nee  defutura  mortalibus,  et 
ea  nunc  magna,  nunc  parua  locis  temporibus  personisque  uariari,  sed  deorum 
multorum  cultum,  quo  eis  sacrificatur,  propter  uitam  post  mortem  futuram 
esse  utilem  disputant,"  in  CSEL.,  vol.  XLi,  p.  1. 

2  Migne,  Patrol,  lat.,  vol.  XXXII,  col.  648. 
^Ibid.,  vol.  XXXIII,  col.  720. 


ULFILAS  13 

The  forger  of  the  Historiae  used  for  his  geographical 
material  Isidore's  Etymologiae,  expanding  the  extracts 
with  bits  from  various  authors,  chiefly  Pomponius 
Mela  and  Pliny.  This  is  illustrated  in  the  very  be- 
ginning of  the  geographical  part: 

Orosius.  Isidore. 

Maiores  nostri  orbem  totius  terrae,  Undique  enim  Oceanus  circum- 
oceani  limbo  circumsaeptum,  tri-  fluens  eius  in  circulo  ambit  fines, 
quetrum  statuere  eiusque  tres  partes  Divisus  est  autem  trifarie:  e  quibus 
Asiam  Europam  et  Africam  uocaue-  una  pars  Asia,  altera  Europa, 
runt,  quamuis  aliqui  duas  hoc  est  tertia  Africa  nuncupatur.  Quas  tres 
Asiam  ac  deinde  Africam  in  Europam  partes  orbis  veteres  non  aequaliter 
accipiendam  putarint,  I.  2.  1.  diviserunt.   .    .  Quapropter     si     in 

duas  partes  orientis  et  occidentis 
orbem  dividas,  Asia  erit  in  una,  in 
altera  vero  Europa  et  Africa,  XIV. 
2.  1-3. 

Fortunately  we  have  Isidore's  own  assertion  that  he 
got  the  first  part  of  the  statement  out  of  Hyginus,^ 
and  the  second  part  from  St.  Augustine.^  As  the 
St.  Augustine  passage  is  from  De  civitate  Dei,  XVI.  17, 
which  was  written  about  ten  years  after  the  death  of 
Orosius,  and  Hyginus'  Poeticon  astronomicum  is  un- 
questionably of  a  much  later  date,  it  is  as  clear  as 
daylight  that  the  forger  cribbed  the  whole  out  of 
Isidore,  where  alone  the  two  passages  are  combined. 
Observe  the  shrewd  way  in  which  the  forger  tried  to 
cover  his  tracks.  The  parts  are  transposed;  veteres  is 
changed  to  maiores  nostri;  instead  of  undique  enim 
Oceanus  circumfluens  eius  in  circulo  ambit  fines  we  have 
oceani  limbo  circumsaeptum;  instead  of  divisus  trifarie 
we  have  triquetrum  statuere  (which,  by  the  way,  is  an 


*  De  natura  rerum,  XLVIII.  1. 
2  Ibid.,  XLVIII.  2. 


14      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

idiotic  statement) ;  instead  of  Europa  et  Africa  we  have 
Africam  in  Europam  accipiendam. 

Orosius.  Isidore. 

Europa  incipit  ut  dixi  sub  plaga  Europa  autem  in  tertiam  partem 

septentrionis,  a  flumine  Tanai,  qua  orbis  divisa  incipit  a  flumine  Tanai, 

Riphaei    montes    Sarmatico    auersi  descendens  ad  occasum  per  septen- 

oceano    Tanaim    fluuium    fundunt,  trionalem  Oceanum  usque  in  fines 

qui   praeteriens    aras    ac   terminos  Hispaniae;    cuius  pars  orientalis  et 

Alexandri  Magni  in  Rhobascorum  meridiana  a  Ponto  consurgens,  tota 

finibussitosMaeotidasaugetpaludes,  man    Magno    coniungitur,    et    in 

quarum    inmensa    exundatio    iuxta  insulas  Gades  finitur,   XIV.   4.    2. 

Theodosiam  urbem  Euxinum  Pon-  Gadis  insula  in  fine  Baeticae  pro- 

tum    late    ingreditur.     Inde    iuxta  vinciae  sita,  quae  dirimit  Europam 

Constantinopolim  longae  mittuntur  ab  Africa,  in  qua  Herculis  columnae 

angustiae,  donee  eas  mare  hoc  quod  visuntur,   et  unde  Tyrrheni  maris 

dicimus  Nostrum  accipiat.    Europae  faucibus  Oceani  aestus  inmittitur, 

in    Hispania    occidentalis    oceanus  XIV.  6.  7. 
termino  est,  maxime  ubi  apud  Gades 
insulas  Herculis  columnae  uisuntur 
et  Tyrrheni  maris  faucibus  oceani 
aestus  inmittitur,  I.  2.  4-7. 

Isidore,  XIV.  6.  7  is  directly  borrowed  from  Solinus, 
XXIII.  12-13,  "in  capite  Baeticae,  ubi  extremus  est 
noti  orbis  terminus,  insula  a  continent!  septingentis 
pedibus  separatur,  quam  Tyrii  a  Rubro  profecti  mari 
Erythream,  Poeni  lingua  sua  Gadir,  id  est  saepem 
nominaverunt  .  .  .  sed  Gaditanum  fretum,  a  Gadibus 
dictum,  Atlanticos  aestus  in  nostrum  mare  discidio 
inmittit  orbis.  nam  Oceanus  .  .  Europam  radit,  Africam 
dextero,  scissisque  Calpe  et  Abinna  montibus  quos 
dicunt  columnas  Herculis,  inter  Mauros  funditur  et 
Hispaniam."  That  the  Orosius  passage  is  not  older 
is  proved  by  Isidore's  in  fine  Baeticae  provinciae  sita, 
which  proceeds  directly  from  Solinus'  in  capite  Baeticae, 
which  is  absent  from  Orosius,  and  from  quae  dirimit 
Europam  ab  Africa,  which  is  equally  absent  from 
Orosius.  Hence  Pseudo-Orosius  took  the  last  passage 
from  Isidore,  and  not  vice  versa.  He  did  not  take  it 
directly  from  Solinus,  on  account  of  the  phrase, 
Tyrrheni  maris  faucibus,  which  Isidore,  in  the  same 


ULFILAS  15 

passage,  evolved  out  of  Solinus.  The  beginning  of  the 
passage  is  composite.  It  contains  Isidore,  and  is  filled 
up  with  scraps  from  various  authors,  loosely  hung 
together,  and  by  the  qua  apparently  dependent  on 
"plaga   septentrionis." 

Orosius.  Isidore. 

In  capite  Syriae  Cappadocia  est,  Cappadociam  urba  propria  nomi- 

quae  habet  ab  oriente  Armeniam,  navit.  Haec  in  capite  Syriae  sita  ab 
ab  occasu  Asiam,  ab  aquilone  oriente  Armeniam  tangit,  ab  occasu 
Themiscyrios  campos  et  mare  Cim-  Asiam  minorem,  ab  aquilone  mare 
mericum,  a  meridie  Taurum  mon-  Cimmericum  et  Themiscyrios  cam- 
tem,  cui  subiacet  Cilicia  et  Isauria  pos,  quos  habuere  Amazones;  a 
usque  ad  Cilicium  sinum,  qui  spectat  meridie  vero  Taurum  montem,  cui 
contra  insulam  Cyprum,  I.  2.  25.  subiacet    Cilicia   et    Isauria   usque 

ad    Cilicium    sinum,    qui    spectat 
contra  insulam  Cyprum,  XIV.  3.  37. 

It  is  obvious  that  one  has  copied  the  other.  That 
Isidore  is  the  original  is  made  immediately  clear  by 
the  phrase,  Themiscyrios  campos,  quos  habuere  Ama- 
zones, which  is  taken  from  a  gloss  of  Servius  to  Aeneid, 
XI.  659.  To  "quales  Threiciae"  of  Virgil,  Servius 
writes  "  Quales  Threiciae  Tanais  fluvius  est,  qui  separat 
Asiam  ab  Europa,  circa  quem  antea  Amazones  habi- 
taverunt;  unde  se  postea  ad  Thermodonta,  fluvium 
Thraciae,  transtulerunt :  quod  etiam  Sallustius  testa- 
tur,  dicens  dein  campi  Themiscyrei,  quos  habuere 
Amazones,  ab  Tanai  fiumine,  incertum  quam  ob  causam, 
digressae.'*  But  Thermodon  is  in  the  Pontus,  and 
Themiscyrium  is  nearby,  as  Mela  has  it,  **ad  Thermo- 
donta campus,  in  eo  fuit  Themiscyrium  oppidum" 
(I.  19).  According  to  Mela,  there  was  a  city  Cimme- 
rium  in  Thrace,  near  the  Tanais  River  (ibid.),  and  Ovid 
spoke  of  a  Cimmerian  Sea  somewhere  indefinitely  in 
that  region,  possibly  meaning  the  Azov  Sea.  Now 
Isidore,  in  trying  to  describe  the  border  of  Cappadocia 
as  extending  as  far  as  Themiscyrium,  thought  of  the 


16      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Servius  gloss,  in  which  he  took  the  Themiscyrei  campi 
to  refer,  not  to  the  new  region  whither  the  Amazons 
went  into  the  Pontus,  but  to  a  region  close  to  the 
Tanais  River,  and  so  added  the  "Mare  Cimmericum," 
which  is  not  anywhere  near  Cappadocia,  but  near  the 
Tanais  River.  That  this  mistake  was  made  by  Isidore 
is  made  certain  by  the  reference  to  the  Amazons,  who 
came  from  the  region  of  the  Tanais  River.  Pseudo- 
Orosius  dropped  off  the  reference  to  the  Amazons,  as 
he  generally  avoided  anything  but  strictly  geographical 
references,  and  preserved  both  the  Mare  Cimmericum 
and  the  Themiscyrei  campi^  which  are  quite  absurd 
without  the  omitted  note. 

Orosius.  Isidore. 

Asia  regio  uel,  ut  proprie  dicam,  Asia  minor  ab  oriente  Cappadocia 

Asia  minor  absque  orientali  parte  cingitur,  ab  aliis  partibus  undique 

qua  ad  Cappadociam  Syriamque  pro-  mare  circumdatur;    nam  a  septen- 

greditur    undique    circumdata    est  trione    pontum     Euxinum     habet, 

mari:  a  septentrione  Ponto  Euxino,  ab  occasu  Propontidem,  a  meridie 

ab  occasu  Propontide  atque  Helles-  Aegyptium  mare,  XIV.  3.  38. 
ponto,   ad  meridiem  mari  Nostro, 
ibi  est  mons  Olympus,  I.  2.  26. 

As  the  last  phrase,  a  meridie  Aegyptium  mare,  is 
from  Solinus,  XL.  1,  Isidore  cannot  have  copied  from 
Orosius,  who  changed  it  to  mari  Nostro.  Pseudo- 
Orosius  had  Solinus  before  him  and  from  Isidore  and 
Solinus  created  the  blunder,  Asia  regio  uel,  ut  proprie 
dicam,  Asia  minor.  What  Solinus  says  is  this:  "  Sequi- 
tur  Asia:  sed  non  eam  Asiam  loquor,  quae  in  tertio 
orbis  divortio  terminos  amnes  habet  ab  Aegyptio  mari 
Nilum,  a  Maeotio  lacu  Tanaim:  verum  eam  quae  a 
Telmesso  Lyciae  incipit,  unde  etiam  Carpathius  aus- 
picatur  sinus"  (XL.  1).  But  it  did  not  occur  to  him 
to  say  that  Asia  Regio  was  another  name  for  Asia 


ULFILAS 


17 


Minor,  although  Asia  in  the  poets  frequently  stands 
for  Asia  Minor. 


Orosixis. 

Igitur  a  monte  Imauo  hoc  est  ab 
imo  Caucaso  et  dextra  orientis  parte 
qua  oceanus  Sericus  tenditur,  usque 
ad  promunturium  Boreum  et  fiumen 
Boreum,  inde  tenus  Scythico  mari 
quod  est  a  septentrione,  usque  ad 
mare  Caspium  quod  est  ab  occasu, 
et  usque  ad  extentum  Caucasi 
iugum  quod  est  ad  meridiem, 
Hyrcanorum  et  Scytharum  gentes 
sunt  XLII,  propter  terrarum  in- 
fecundam  diffusionem  late  ober- 
rantes,  I.  2.  47. 


Isidore. 

Postea  vero  minor  effecta,  a  dextra 
orientis  parte,  qua  Oceanus  Sericus 
tenditur,  usque  ad  mare  Caspium, 
quod  est  ad  occasum;  dehinc  a 
meridie  usque  ad  Caucasi  iugum 
deducta  est,  cui  subiacet  Hyrcania 
ab  occasu  habens  pariter  gentes 
multas,  propter  terrarum  infecun- 
ditatem  late  vagantes,  XIV.  3.  31. 


We  see  at  a  glance  that  Isidore  could  not  have  quoted 
from  Orosius,  because  Boreum  promunturium  is,  accord- 
ing to  Solinus,  in  Africa,  and  not  in  Asia,  even  as 
Isidore  correctly  states  in  XIV.  7.  7.  It  so  happens 
that  in  the  particular  passage  of  Solinus  there  is  no 
reference  to  Africa,  hence  Pseudo-Orosius  made  the 
blunder  of  thinking  it  somewhere  in  the  extreme  north. 
Solinus  says  (XXVII.  7):  '' Borion  promunturium 
quod  aquilone  caeditur  Graeci  advenae  sic  vocaverunt." 
A  river  Boreon  is  not  mentioned  anywhere  in  Latin  or 
Greek,  but  Aethicus,  speaking  of  the  region  of  the 
Caspian  Sea,  says,  **in  illis  regionibus  famosissimam, 
gyratam  amnem  Beomaron  usque  duorum  iuga  mon- 
tium,  conlocatam  intra  mare  Caspium  et  oceanum 
horricum''  (LX).  No  doubt  it  is  this  Beomaron,  which 
Pseudo-Orosius  read  as  Boreon  and  placed  in  the  same 
region.  Pseudo-Orosius  quoted  the  whole  passage 
from  Isidore,  and,  as  usual,  added  a  worthless  note. 


Orosius. 

Nunc  quidquid  Danuuius  a  bar- 
barico  ad  mare  Nostriim  secludit 
ezpediam,  I.  2.  54. 


Isidore. 

Provincias  autem  quas  Danubius 
a  Barbarico  ad  Mediterraneum  mare 
secludit,  XIV.  4.  5. 


18      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 


The  a  barbarico  in  Pseudo-Orosius  makes  no  sense 
without  a  further  explanation,  whereas  in  Isidore  it 
is  due  to  his  previous  statement,  which  Pseudo-Orosius 
forgot  to  quote,  "Prima  Europae  regio  Scythia  in- 
ferior, quae  a  Maeotidis  paludibus  incipiens  inter 
Danubium  et  Oceanum  septentrionalem  usque  ad 
Germaniam  porrigitur;  quae  terra  generaliter  propter 
barbaras  gentes,  quibus  inhabitatur,  Barbarica  dicitur" 
(XIV.  4.  3). 


Orosius. 

Thracia  habet  ab  oriente  Pro- 
pontidis  sinum  et  ciiiitatem  Con- 
atantinopolim  quae  Byzantium  prius 
dicta  est,  a  septentrione  partem 
Dalmatiae  et  sinum  Euxini  ponti, 
ab  occasu  et  Africo  Macedoniam,  a 
meridie  Aegaeum  mare,  I.  2.  66. 


Isidore. 

Thraciae  Thiras  laphet  filius 
veniens  nomen  dedisse  perhibetur: 
alii  a  saevitia  incolaptim  Thraciam 
appellatam  dixerunt.  Huic  ab  ori- 
ente Propontis  et  urbs  Constanti- 
nopolis  opposita  est,  a  septentrione 
vero  Ister  obtenditur,  a  meridie  vero 
Aegeo  mari  adhaeret,  ab  occasu 
Macedonia  illi  subiacet,  XIV.  4.  6. 


Isidore  quotes  Solinus  (X.  23),  "finibus  Thraciae  a 
septemtrione  Hister  obtenditur,  ab  oriente  Pontus  ac 
Propontis,  a  meridie  Aegaeum  mare."  Pseudo- 
Orosius  uses  neither  "Hister"  nor  "obtenditur"  (for 
"ostenditur"),  and  introduces  a  number  of  words  not 
found  in  Isidore  or  Solinus. 


Orosius. 

Et  quoniam  oceanus  habet  in- 
sulas,  quas  Britanniam  et  Hiberniam 
uocant,  quae  in  auersa  Galliarum 
parte  ad  prospectum  Hispaniae 
sitae  sunt,  breuiter  explicabuntur. 
Britannia  oceani  insula  per  longum 
in  boream  extenditur;  a  meridie 
Gallias  habet,  I.  2.  75-76. 


Isidore. 

Insulae  dictae  quod  in  salo  sint,  id 
est  in  mari.  Ex  his  quoque  notis- 
simae  et  maximae,  quas  plurimi 
veterum  sollerti  studio  indagave- 
runt,  notandae  sunt.  Brittania 
Oceani  insula  interfuso  mari  toto 
orbe  divisa,  a  vocabulo  suae  gentis 
cognominata.  Haec  adversa  Galli- 
arum parte  ad  prospectum  Hispaniae 
sita  est,  XIV.  6.  1-2. 


It  hardly  needs  any  proof  that  Isidore's  statement 
is  original,  as  introducing  the  general  subject  of  islands. 
Pseudo-Orosius  took  this  for  his  introduction  to  Britain 


ULFILAS  19 

and  Ireland,  producing  a  Latinity  which  was  impossible 
in  the  fifth  century. 

Oroeius.  Isidore. 

Tingitana  Mauretania  ultima  est  Mauretania   Tingitania   a    Tin^i 

Africae.    haec  habet  ab  oriente  flu-  metropolitana  huius  provinciae  civi- 

men  Maluam,  a  septentrione  mare  tate    vocata    est.       Haec    ultima 

Nostrum   usque   ad   fretum    Gadi-  Africae  exsurgit  a  montibus  septem, 

tanum  quod  inter  Auenae  et  Calpes  habens  ab  oriente  flumen  Malvam, 

duo     contraria     sibi     promunturia  a  septentrione  fretum  Gaditanum, 

coartatur,  ab  occidente  Athlantem  ab  occiduo  Oceanxim  Athlanticum, 

montem  et  oceanum  Athlanticum,  a  meridie  Gaulalum  gentes  usque  ad 

sub  Africo  Hesperium  montem,  a  Oceanimi    Hesperium    pererrantes, 

meridie    gentes    Autololum,    quas  XIV.  5.  12. 
nunc    Galaules    uocant,    usque    ad 
oceanum    Hesperium   contingentes, 

1.  2.  94. 

The  Gaulales  is  a  blunder  in  Isidore  for  Autololea. 
Solinus  says,  "Ab  hoc  per  Autolorum  {Auctolorum, 
Tutulorum)  gen  tern  iter  est  in  Atlanticas  solitudines" 
(XXIV.  7).  Pliny  has  '^Autololum  {Autolorum)  gente, 
per  quam  iter  est  ad  montem  Africae  vel  fabulosissi- 
mum  Atlantem"  (V.  5),  '' Autoteles  {Autololes,  Auto- 
lales)"  (V.  9),  "gentes  in  ea  (Tingitana  provincia)  .  .  . 
multoque  validissimi  Autololes  {Autolales,  Autolodes)" 
(V.  17),  *' Autololum  {Autololiam,  Antholiam)"  (VI. 
201).  It  is  clear  that  the  Autololes  were  a  nation  on 
the  western  coast  of  Africa,  beyond  the  Strait  of 
Gibraltar.  The  multiplicity  of  spelling  led  to  a  nation 
Galaulas,  not  further  defined,  in  Prudentius,  Contra 
Symmachum,  808.  Apparently  from  there  Isidore  got 
the  form  Galaulas  or  Gaulales,  as  he  wrote  it.  But 
Isidore  committed  the  blunder  of  deriving  the  name 
from  the  island  of  Gauloe,  south  of  Sicily:  "Gaulalum 
gentes  sunt  a  meridie  usque  Oceanum  Hesperium 
pervagantes.    his   nomen    Gauloe   insula   dedit"    (IX. 

2.  124).  Having  identified  the  Autololes  with  a  nation 
south  of  Sicily,  he  was  obliged  to  make  them  roam  up 
to  the  Atlantic  ocean,  in  order  to  get  them  in  the 
location  where  they  are  unanimously  mentioned  as 


20      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

settled,  and  not  as  roaming.  Pseudo-Orosius,  who 
had  Solinus  and  Pliny  at  hand,  corrected  Gaulales  to 
Autololes,  but  absurdly  added  that  now  they  are 
called  Gaulales,  which  is  quite  untrue,  and  forgot  to 
delete  the  unfortunate  phrase,  "who  roam  as  far  as 
the  Hisperic  Ocean,"  thus  giving  himself  away  com- 
pletely. 

Orosius.  Isidore. 

Ninus   rex   Assyriorum    'primus'  Primus  bella  intulit  Ninus  Assy- 

ut  ipsi  uolunt  propagandae  domi-  riorum  rex.  Ipse  enim  finibus  suis 
nationis  libidine  arma  foras  extulit  nequaquam  contentus,  humanae  so- 
cruentamque  uitam  quinquaginta  cietatis  foediis  inrumpens  exercitus 
annis  per  totam  Asiam  bellis  egit,  ducere,  aliena  vastare,  liberos  popu- 
I.  4.  1.  los  aut  trucidare  aut  subicere  coepit, 

universamque  Asiam  usque  ad  Li- 
byae  fines  nova  servitute  perdomuit, 
XVIII.  1.  1. 

That  Isidore  did  not  quote  from  Orosius  is  proved 
by  "usque  ad  Libyae  fines  nova  servitute  perdomuit," 
which  is  taken  directly  from  Justin,  I.  1.  5,  "terminos 
usque  Libyae  perdomuit."  That  Pseudo-Orosius, 
besides  quoting  Justin,  had  Isidore  before  him,  is  proved 
by  per  totam  Asiam,  which  is  not  in  Justin,  but  appears 
in  Isidore  as  universamque  Asiam. 

Orosius.  Isidore. 

Sciendum    tamen    est    maxime,  Lacedaemonia    condita    a    Lace- 

ipsam  esse  Spartam  quam  et  Lace-  daemone  Semelae  filio.  Sparta  ab 
daemonam  ciuitatem,  atque  inde  Sparto  filio  Phoronei  vocata,  qui 
Lacedaemonios  Spartanos  dici,  I.  fuit  filius  Inachi.  Ipsam  autem 
21.  12.  esse    Spartam    quam    et    Lacedae- 

moniam  civitatem,  atque  inde  Lace- 
daemonios Spartanos  dici,  XV.  1.  47. 

Isidore  did  not  take  the  passage  out  of  Orosius, 
because  it  was  conditioned  by  the  two  previous  etymo- 
logies for  Lacedaemonia  and  Sparta,  both  taken  out  of 
the  Chronicon  of  Eusebius-Hieronymus.  Justin  speaks 
indiscriminately  of  the  Spartans  and  Lacedaemonians, 
taking  it  for  granted  that  anyone   would   know  the 


ULFILAS  21 

identity  of  the  terms.  Pseudo-Orosius  cribbed  the 
passage,  which  is  here  out  of  place,  from  the  ety- 
mologies given  by  Isidore. 

Orosius.  Isidore. 

Urbem  nominis  sui  Romanorum  Constantinopolim  urbem  Thraciae 

regum  uel  primus  uel  solus  in-  Constantinus  ex  nomine  suo  insti- 
Btituit.  quae  sola  expers  idolorum  tuit,  solam  Romae  meritis  et  potentia 
ad  hoc  breuissimo  tempore  condita  adaequatam.  Hanc  conditam  pri- 
a  Christiano  imperatore  prouecta  mum  a  Pausania  rege  Spartanorum, 
est,  ut  sola  Romae,  tot  saeculis  et  vocatam  Byzantium,  vel  quod 
miseriisque  prouectae,  forma  et  tantum  patet  inter  Adriaticum  mare 
potentia  merito  possit  aequari,  VII.  et  Propontidem,  vel  quod  sit  re- 
28.  27.  ceptaculum  terrae  marisque  copiis. 

Unde  et  eam  Constantinus  aptissi- 
mam  condere  iudicavit,  ut  et  re- 
ceptaculum  sibi  terra  marique  fieret, 
XV.  1.  42. 


Misled  by  ''solam  .  .  adaequatam"  and  "conditam 
primum'*  of  Isidore,  Pseudo-Orosius  wrote  the  absurd 
sentence,  "Romanorum  regum  uel  primus  uel  solus 
instituit;"  then,  paraphrasing  St.  Augustine's  De 
civitate  Dei,  V.  25,  "cui  etiam  condere  ciuitatem 
Romano  imperio  sociam,  uelut  ipsius  Romae  filiam, 
sed  sine  aliquo  daemonum  templo  simulacroque  con- 
cessit, ' '  he  wrote,  *  *  quae  sola  expers  idolorum. ' '  Pseudo- 
Orosius  forgot  that  he  had  already  given  a  description 
of  Constantinople,  which  is  correct,  and  does  not 
contain  the  absurd  statement  that  it  alone  had  no 
idols.  He  wrote  in  III.  13.  1,  2:  "Byzantium,  nobilem 
ciuitatem,  aptissimam  iudicauit,  ut  receptaculum  sibi 
terra  marique  fieret,  eamque  obsistentem  ilico  obsidi- 
one  cinxit.  haec  autem  Byzantium  quondam  a 
Pausania  rege  Spartanorum  condita,  post  autem  a 
Constantino  Christiano  principe  in  mains  aucta  et 
Constantinopolis  dicta,  gloriosissimi  nunc  imperii  sedes 
et  totius  caput  Orientis  est."     The  extremely  stupid. 


22      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

way  in  which  Pseudo-Orosius  pasted  together  passages 
from  Isidore  and  Justin  is  well  illustrated  in  this  pass- 
age: Isidore  took  from  Justin  as  much  as  he  needed 
for  the  description  of  Constantinople,  but  Justin  has 
nothing  whatsoever  to  say  about  Constantine.  He  is 
talking  of  King  Philip:  "ad  cuius  emolumentum 
egregie  pertinere  ratus,  si  Byzantium,  nobilem  et 
maritimam  urbem,  receptaculum  terra  marique  copiis 
suis  futurum,  in  potestatem  redegisset;  eamdem 
claudentem  sibi  portas  obsidione  cinxit.  Haec  namque 
urbs  condita  primo  a  Pausania,  rege  Spartanorum,  et  per 
septem  annos  possessa  fuit"  (IX.  1).  Isidore  quite  sen- 
sibly took  from  Justin  what  could  be  used  in  the  descrip- 
tion of  Constantinople.  He  assumed  that  Byzantium 
was  built  in  a  spot  where  it  could  hold  a  large  fleet, 
even  as  Justin  said,  "receptaculum  terra  marique." 
Hence  he  went  on  to  say  that  Constantine  wanted 
similarly  to  make  this  city  "receptaculum  sihi  terra 
marique,"  a  port  for  himself.  Out  of  this  and  of 
Justin  Pseudo-Orosius  got  the  phrase,  "receptaculum 
sibi  terra  marique  fieret,"  which  in  Isidore  refers  to 
Constantine  and  not  to  Philip.  Then  Pseudo-Orosius 
went  on  to  talk  of  the  city  as  increased  by  Constantine, 
later,  in  VII.  28.  27,  to  make  Constantine  the  founder 
of  the  city,  if  the  phrase,  "urbem  nominis  sui  Romano- 
rum  regum  uel  primus  uel  solus  instituit,"  means  any- 
thing at  all.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  this  extremely  awk- 
ward sentence  is  taken  out  of  Eutropius,  X.  8,  "pri- 
musque  urbem  nominis  sui  ad  tantum  fastigium  evehere 
molitus  est,  ut  Romae  aemulam  faceret,"  where  it  has 
a  perfectly  sensible  meaning.  It  is  obvious  that 
Isidore  took  nothing  whatsoever  out  of  Eutropius, 
and  could  have  made  nothing  out  of  Orosius,  if  such 
had  existed.  Isidore  got  everything  he  needed  out  of 
Justin,  while  Pseudo-Orosius  tried  to  improve  Isidore 


ULFILAS 


23 


with  passages  from  Justin, 
tine. 

Orosius. 

Praeterea  Athanaricus  rex  Goth- 
orum  Christianos  in  gente  sua 
cnidelissime  persecutus,  plurimos 
barbarorum  ob  fidem  interfectos 
ad  coronam  martyrii  sublimauit, 
quorum  tamen  plurimi  in  Romanum 
solum  non  trepidi,  uelut  ad  hostes, 
sed  certi,  quia  ad  fratres,  pro 
Christi  confessione  fugerunt,  VII. 
32.  9. 


Eutropius,  and  St.  Augus- 


Isidore,  Historia  Gothorum,  6. 

Gothorum  gentis  administrati- 
onem  suscepit  Athanaricus,  regnans 
annos  XIII,  qui  persecutionem 
crudelissimam  adversus  fidem  com- 
motam  voluit  exercere  contra  Gothos, 
qui  in  gente  sua  Christiani  habe- 
bantur  ex  quibus  plerique,  quia 
idolis  immolare  non  adquieverunt, 
martyrio  coronati  sunt:  reliqui 
autem  coacti  sunt  de  regno  buo 
exire  et  in  Roman  am  transire 
regionem,  MGH.,  Auctor.  antiq., 
vol.  XI,  p.  269  f. 


That  Isidore  quoted  directly  from  Jerome's  Chroni- 
con,  "Athanaricus  rex  Gothorum,  in  Christianos  per- 
secutione  commota,  plurimos  interfecit,  et  de  pro- 
priis  sedibus  in  Romanum  solum  expellit,"  is  proved 
by  persecutionem  crudelissimam  adversus  fidem  com- 
motam,  which  is  based  on  persecutione  commota  of 
Jerome;  while  Pseudo-Orosius,  on  account  of  crude- 
lissime  and  ob  fidem,  could  have  borrowed  only  in- 
directly through  Isidore. 


Orosius. 

Urbem  Constantinopolim  uictor 
intrauit  et  ne  paruam  ipsam  Romani 
exercitus  manum  adsidue  bellando 
detereret,  foedus  cum  Athanarico 
Gothorum  rege  percussit.  Athanari- 
cus autem  continuo  ut  Constanti- 
nopolim uenit,  diem  obiit.  uni- 
uersae  Gothorum  gentes  defuncto 
aspicientes  uirtutem  benignitatem- 
que  Theodosii  Romano  sese  imperio 
dediderunt,  VII.  34.  6-7. 


Isidore,  Hist.  Goth.,  11. 

Athanaricus  cum  Theodosio  ius 
amicitiamque  disponens  mox  Con- 
stantinopolim pergit  ibique  quinto- 
decimo  die  quam  fuerat  a  Theodosio 
honorabiliter  susceptus,  interiit. 
Gothi  autem  proprio  rege  defuncto 
adspicientes  benignitatem  Theodosi 
imperatoris  inito  foedere  Romano 
se  imperio  tradiderunt,  ibid.,  p.  272. 


Isidore's  account  is  based  on  Hydatius,  chap.  6, 
"  Aithanaricus  rex  Gothorum  aput  Constantinopolim 
XV  die,  ex  quo  a  Theodosio  fuerat  susceptus,  interiit," 
and    Marcellini    Comitis  Chronicon,  sub    381,  "Atha- 


24      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

naricus  rex  Gothorum,  cum  quo  Theodosius  imperator 
foedus  pepigerat,  Cons  tan  tinopolim  'mense  lanuario* 
venit  'eodemque  mense'  morbo  periit,"  sub  382, 
''Eodem  anno  universa  gens  Gothorum  Athanarico 
rege  suo  defuncto  Romano  sese  imperio  dedit  'mense 
Octobrio. '"  Isidore  could  not  possibly  have  derived 
from  Orosius  "  quintodecimo  die,"  etc.,  which  is  not 
there,  but  in  Hydatius;  hence  only  the  reverse  process 
of  a  borrowing  from  Isidore  is  possible. 


Orosius. 

Gothi  antea  per  legates 
supplices  poposcerunt,  ut 
illis  episcopi,  a  quibus 
regulam  Christianae  fidei 
discerent,  mitterentur. 
Valens  imperator  exiti- 
abili  prauitate  doctores 
Arriani  dogmatis  misit. 
Gothi  primae  fidei  rudi- 
mento  quod  accepere  ten- 
uerunt.  itaque  iusto 
iudicio  Dei  ipsi  eum 
uiuum  incenderunt,  qui 
propter  eum  etiam  mor- 
tui  uitio  erroris  arsuri 
sunt,  VII.  33.  19. 


Isidore,  Hist.  Goth.,  7-9. 

Gothi  in  Istrium  adversus  semet  ipsos  in 
Athanarico  et  Fridigerno  divisi  sunt,  alternis 
sese  caedibus  populantes.  sed  Athanaricus 
PYidigernum  Valentis  imperatoris  suflfragio 
superans  huius  rei  gratia  legatos  cum  muneribus 
ad  eundem  imperatorem  mittit  et  doctores 
propter  suscipiendam  Christianae  fidei  regulam 
poscit.  Valens  autem  a  veritate  catholicae 
fidei  devius  et  Arrianae  haeresis  perversitate 
detentus  missis  haereticis  sacerdotibus  Gothos 
persuasione  nefanda  sui  erroris  dogmati  ad- 
gregavit  et  in  tam  praeclaram  gentem  virus 
pestiferum  semine  pernicioso  transfudit  sicque 
errorem,  quem  recens  credulitas  ebibit,  tenuit 
diuque  servavit.  Tunc  Gulfilas  eorum  epis- 
copus  Gothicas  litteras  condidit  et  scripturas 
novi  ac  veteris  testamenti  in  eandem  linguam 
convertit.  Gothi  autem,  statim  ut  litteras  et 
legem  habere  coeperunt,  construxerunt  sibi 
dogmatis  sui  ecclesias,  talia  iuxta  eundem 
Arrium  de  ipsa  divinitate  documenta  tenentes, 
ut  crederent  filium  patri  maiestate  esse  minorem, 
aeternitate  posteriorem,  spiritum  autem  sanc- 
tum neque  deum  esse  neque  ex  substantia 
patris  existere,  sed  per  filium  creatum  esse, 
utriusque  ministerio  deditum  et  amborum 
obsequio  subditum.  aliam  quoque  patris  sicut 
personam,  sic  et  naturam  adserentes,  aliam 
filii,  aliam  denique  spiritus  sancti,  ut  iam  non 
secundum  sanctae  scripturae  traditionem  unus 
deus  et  dominus  coleretur,  sed  iuxta  idolatriae 
superstitionem  tres  dei  venerarentur.  cuius 
blasphemiae  malum  per  discessum  temporum 
regumque  successum  annis  CCXIII  tenuerunt. 
qui  tandem  reminiscentes  salutis  suae  renuntia- 
verunt  inolitae  perfidiae  et  Christi  gratia  ad 
unitatem  fidei  catholicae  pervenerunt. 


ULFILAS  25 

Aera  CCCCXVI,  anno  XIIII  imperii  Valen- 
tis  Gothi,  qui  primum  Christianos  a  'sedibus 
suis'  expulerant,  rursus  ipsi  ab  Hunis  'cum  rege 
suo  Athanarico'  expulsi  sunt  transitoque  Dan- 
uvio  Valentis  imperatoris  potestati  sese  non 
depositis  armis  tradunt  'Thraciam  ad  inha- 
bitandiun  accipiunt.'  sed  ubi  viderunt  se 
opprimi  a  Romania  contra  consuetudinem 
propriae  libertatis,  'ad  rebellandimi  coacti 
sunt:'  Thraciam  ferro  incendiisque  depopu- 
lantur  deletoque  Romanorum  exercitu  ipsum 
Valentem  iaculo  vulneratum  in  quandam  villara 
fugientem  succendunt,  ut  merito  ipse  ab  eis 
vivens  temporali  cremaretur  incendio,  qui  tam 
pulchras  animas  ignibus  aeternis  tradiderat, 
ibid.,  p.  270  f. 

The  account  in  Isidore  is  an  elaboration  of  349  and 
350  of  Isidore's  Chronica:  "Gothi  apud  Strium  bifarie 
in  Fridigerno  et  Atarico  divisi  sunt,  sed  Fridigernus 
Ataricum  Valentis  auxilio  superans  huius  beneficii 
gratia  ex  catholico  Arrianus  cum  omni  gente  Gothorum 
effectus  est.  Tunc  Gulfilas  eorum  episcopus  Gothicas 
litteras  repperit  et  utrumque  testamentum  in  lin- 
guam  propriam  trans tulit."  There  is,  however,  some- 
thing exceedingly  queer  about  these  passages  in  the 
Chronica.  They  are  taken  out  of  the  Historia  tri- 
partita (VIII.  13),  ascribed  to  Cassiodorus.  Now  the 
reference  to  Ulfilas  is  absent  from  manuscripts  BPSVW, 
that  is,  from  the  best  ninth  and  tenth  century  manu- 
scripts of  the  enlarged  edition,  although  it  is  found 
in  all  of  the  abbreviated  manuscripts,  even  of  the  eighth 
century.  The  item  349,  which  is  also  from  the  His- 
toria tripartita,  is  also  absent  from  BPSVW,  where, 
instead,  we  have,  "Gothi  suadente  Valente  haeretici 
efficiuntur."  More  strangely  still,  V  has  no  quotations 
from  the  Historia  tripartita  at  all,  Nos.  337,  347,  349, 
350,  351,  360,  366,  379  being  marked  as  "omitted," 
while,  apparently  by  oversight.  No.  345  is  not  men- 
tioned as  "omitted,"  but  does  not  occur  in  the  notes 
and  so  is  certainly  absent.  There  is  only  one  con- 
clusion possible  from  this  extraordinary  fact,  namely, 


26      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

that  V  represents  an  earlier,  possibly  the  earliest,  text 
of  Isidore's  Chronica,  in  which  the  Historia  tripartita 
was  not  quoted;  also,  that  there  was  an  intermediate 
text,  in  which  the  Historia  tripartita  was  quoted,  but 
the  Ulfilas  passage  was  still  absent.  Of  the  Historia 
Gothorum  no  manuscript  of  an  earlier  date  than  the 
ninth  century  has  come  down  to  us.  It  is  clear  that 
it  contains  interpolations  from  the  enlarged  Chronica, 
after  the  passages  from  the  Historia  tripartita  were 
added  to  it.  Pseudo-Orosius,  however,  must  have  had 
before  him  a  Historia  Gothorum,  which  quoted  passages 
from  the  Historia  tripartita,  but  not  the  one  about 
Ulfilas,  for  most  likely  he  would  have  given  it,  if  it 
had  been  in  his  copy.  In  any  case,  it  is  clear  that 
Pseudo-Orosius  either  misunderstood  or  purposely 
corrupted  Isidore,  for  Isidore  states  that  the  Goths 
were  made  Arians  by  Valens,  that  the  Goths  became 
Arians  only  after  they  had  their  own  written  language, 
that  the  Goths  remained  Arians  for  213  years,  and 
at  last  became  Catholics.  Then  follows  the  story  of 
the  just  burning  of  Valens.  Out  of  the  whole  story 
Pseudo-Orosius  got  the  short  account  that  Valens  sent 
Arian  bishops,  that  the  Goths  held  to  the  rudiments 
of  the  first  faith  which  they  received,  and  that  Valens 
was  justly  punished.  Gothi  primae  fidei  rudimento 
quod  accepere  tenuerunt  either  means  that  they  re- 
mained Catholics,  or,  having  become  Arian,  remained 
Arians.  In  either  case,  it  is  an  impossible  sentence. 
If  it  means  the  first,  which  it  should,  if  Pseudo-Orosius 
did  not  forget  that  he  already  mentioned  Gothic 
Catholics  under  Athanaric,  then  the  Goths  did  not 
become  Arians,  which  is  contrary  to  fact  and  the  state- 
ment that  the  Goths  would  burn  in  hell.  If  it  means 
the  second,  then  the  statement  as  to  Athanaric,  in 
VII.  32.  9,  is  wrong,  for  the  first  faith  they  received 
was  from  the  Catholics.     But  it  is  clear  that  Pseudo- 


ULFILAS  27 

Orosius  merely  botched  matters,  taking  tenuerunt 
from  Isidore's  statement  of  their  having  held  the 
Arian  dogma  for  213  years,  and,  changing  Isidore's 
'*ad  unitatem  fidei  catholicae  pervenerunt"  to  "a 
quibus  regulam  Christianae  fidei  discerent, "  produced 
an  impossible  farrago. 

We  now  have  the  difficult  task  of  explaining  how 
Orosius'  Historiae  adversus  paganos  got  mentioned  in 
works  presumably  of  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries. 
Zangemeister  mentions  one  manuscript  of  Orosius,  the 
Laurentianus  (L),  which  they  claim  to  be  of  the  sixth 
century,  because  of  its  being  written  in  uncials.  But 
uncial  manuscripts  cannot  be  dated  by  the  script  alone, 
and  the  Laurentianus  is  by  no  means  a  good  copy,  as 
far  as  the  text  goes.  At  the  end  of  Book  V  there  is 
the  following  notice:  "Confectus  codex  in  statione 
magistri  uiliaric  antiquarii  ora  pro  me  scribtore  sic  dnm 
habeas  protectorem."  Thus  we  see  that  a  Goth  was 
the  copyist.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  it  was  a 
Spanish  Goth  of  the  eighth  century,  one  of  those  who 
used  the  title  Ormista  for  the  book. 

We  can  pursue  the  interpolations  about  Orosius 
step  by  step.  We  first  find  one  in  the  Decretum  Gela- 
sianum  de  libris  recipiendis  et  non  recipiendis'}  "item 
Orosium  virum  eruditissimum  conlaudamus,  quia  valde 
necessarium  nobis  adversus  paganorum  calumnias  or- 
dinavit  historiam  miraque  brevitate  contexuit."^  But 
the  Decretum  Gelasianum  is  a  well-known  forgery,  of 
which  the  oldest  manuscript  is  of  the  eighth  century.^ 
The  same  statement,  taken  out  of  the  Decretum,  is 
found  in  Pseudo-Isidore's  De  numeris,'^  the  oldest 
manuscript   of  which  is   also   of   the   eighth  century. 

^  E.  von  Dobschiitz,  in  Texte  und   Untersuchungen  zur  Geachichte  der 
altchriatliehen  Literatur,  Dritte  Reihe,  vol.  VIII,  part  3. 
2  Ibid.,  p.  46. 
» Ibid.,  p.  136. 
*  Ibid.,  p.  72. 


28      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

The  strange  thing  is  that  "one  would  have  expected, 
in  connection  with  the  preceding  titles,  not  the  mention 
of  the  Historiae,  but  his  apologetic  writings;"^  but  it 
was  the  school  of  forgers  that  forced  Orosius  into  the 
Decretum  and  into  Pseudo-Isidore.  In  the  real  Isidore 
the  name  of  Orosius  does  not  occur. 

Gennadius'  De  viris  inlustribus  has  a  whole  chapter 
(XL)  on  Orosius.^  The  oldest  manuscript  is  A, 
Codex  Parisinus  B.  N.  Lat.  12161,  a  palimpsest, 
supposedly  of  the  seventh  century.'  The  lower 
writing,  where  Gennadius  is  found,  has  the  Codex 
Theodosianus  and  the  Leges  Visigothorum,  and  hence  is 
of  Spanish  origin.  Another  old  manuscript  is  T, 
Codex  Vaticanus  Regin.  Lat.  2077,  supposedly  of  the 
sixth  or  seventh  century.*  Now  the  superscript  of  A 
is  in  Merovingian  cursive,  **of  the  end  of  the  seventh 
century,"^  that  is,  it  may  as  well  be  of  the  beginning 
of  the  eighth  century.  The  story  is  clear:  a  Spanish 
Goth,  no  longer  having  any  use  for  the  Leges  Visigo- 
thorum on  French  territory,  wrote  out  the  more  inter- 
esting Gennadius,  introducing  Orosius  into  Gennadius. 
But  Gennadius  has  admittedly  come  down  to  us  inter- 

1  Ibid.,  p.  281. 

*  "Orosius  presbyter  Hispani  generis,  vir  eloquens  et  historiarum  cog- 
nitor,  scripsit  Adversus  quaerulos  Christiani  nominis,  qui  dicunt  defectum 
Romanae  reipublicae  Christi  doctrina  invectum  libros  septem,  in  quibus 
totius  paene  mundi  temporis  calamitates  et  miserias  ac  bellorum  inquie- 
tudines  replicans,  ostendit  magis  Christianae  observantiae  esse,  quod  contra 
meritum  suum  res  Romana  adhuc  duraret  et  pace  culturae  Dei  pacatum 
teneret  imperium.  Sane  in  primo  libro  descripsit  positionem  orbis  Oceani 
interfusione  et  Tanais  limitibus  intercisam,  situm  locorum,  nomina  et  nume- 
rum  moresque  gentium,  qualitates  regionum,  initia  bellorum  et  tyrannidis 
exordia  finitimorum  sanguine  dedicata.  Hie  est  Orosius,  qui  ab  Augustine 
pro  discenda  animae  ratione  ad  Hieronymum  missus,  rediens  reliquias 
beati  Stephani,  primi  martyris,  tunc  nuper  inventas,  primus  intulit  Occi- 
dents Claruit  extremo  Honorii  paene  imperatoris  tempore,"  E.  C.  Richard- 
son, Gennadius,  Liber  de  viris  inlustribus,  in  Texte  und  Uviersuchungen, 
vol.  XIV,  p.  76. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  XII. 

*■  Ibid.,  p.  XIII. 

^  Archiv  der  Gesellschaft  fiir  altere  deutsche  Geschichtskunde,  vol.  VII, 
p.  719. 


ULFILAS  29 

polated,  hence  a  number  of  chapters  have  been  brack- 
eted;^ and  the  information  about  Orosius  is  unusually 
meager.^  There  is  no  choice  in  the  matter;  the  chapter 
on  Orosius  is  an  interpolation,  like  so  many  other 
chapters.  Manuscript  T  need  not  trouble  us,  as  the 
superscription  is  in  uncials,  of  which  naturally  the 
date  must  be  established  on  internal  evidence  alone. 
A  paraphrase  from  Gennadius  on  Orosius  is  found 
in  Marcellini  Comitis  Chronicon,  under  the  year  416.^ 
It  is  generally  assumed  that  this  Chronicle  was 
written  in  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century.  The 
palaeographic  proof  is  based  on  manuscript  T,  sup- 
posedly of  the  sixth  century.^  Fortunately  we  have 
a  reproduction  of  this  manuscript.^  A  glance  at  it 
shows  that  it  cannot  be  earlier  than  of  the  eighth 
century,  on  account  of  the  use  of  long  ^  in  the  uncials. 
On  the  historical  side,  the  proof  is  based  on  the  fact 
that  it  quotes  Orosius  profusely.  If,  indeed,  Marcel- 
linus  quotes  Orosius,  and  not  vice  versa,  Marcellinus 
cannot  be  earlier  than  the  end  of  the  seventh  or  of 
the  eighth  century.  Marcellinus  is  generally  unknown 
in  the  Middle  Ages.^  He  is  apparently  excerpted  by 
Jordanes,  but  Jordanes  is  an  eighth  century  forgery. 
The  citations  in  Bede  are  too  late  to  be  of  any  use; 
besides,  Bede  has  come  down  to  us  in  interpolated 
editions  of  the  end  of  the  eighth  century.'  Similarly, 
the  quotations  in  Paulus  Diaconus  are  of  no  avail. 
There    is    reference    to    Marcellinus    in    Cassiodorus' 

1  B.  Czapla,  Gennaditis  als  Litter arhistoriker,  Munster  i.  W.  1898,  p.  3. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  87  S. 

'"Orosius  presbyter  Hispani  generis  septem  libros  historiarum  de- 
scripsit.  missus  ab  Augustino  episcopo  idem  Orosius  pro  discenda  animae 
ratione  ad  Hieronymum  presbj^erum  reliquias  beati  Stephani  tunc  nuper 
inventas  rediens  primus  intulit  Occidenti,"  MGH.,  Auctor.  antiq.,  vol.  XI, 
p.  73. 

<  Ibid.,  p.  56. 

« Ibid.,  after  p.  506. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  55. 

^  In  a  future  work  I  shall  prove  this  by  documentary  evidence. 


30      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

De  institutione,  chapters  XVII  and  XXV,  but  this 
work,  to  say  the  least,  is  full  of  interpolations.  In 
this  Chronicon  there  are  quotations  from  the  expanded 
Gennadius,  which,  as  I  have  shown,  is  of  a  late  date. 

Orosius,  in  a  quotation  from  Gennadius,  is  also 
mentioned  in  the  Chronicon  of  Prosper  of  Aquitaine, 
but  as  this  also  contains  interpolations  from  Paulus 
Diaconus,  the  date  of  the  Orosius  interpolation  cannot 
be  ascertained  from  it.  That  he  was  not  in  the  original 
Prosper  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  a  large  number 
of  items  from  Prosper  have  found  their  way  into 
Isidore's  Chronica,  such  as  references  to  Priscillianus, 
Martin  of  Tours,  St.  Jerome,  John  the  Anchorite,  St. 
Augustine,  Theophilus  of  Alexandria,  Pelagius,  Cyril 
of  Alexandria  and  Nestorius;  but  of  Orosius,  the 
Spanish  historian,  whom  he  should  have  mentioned 
above  all,  there  is  nowhere  a  trace  to  be  found  in 
Isidore. 

We  can  now  approach  the  interpolations  and  for- 
geries connected  with  Cassiodorus,  at  least  such  as 
refer  to  the  Historia  tripartita  and  the  De  institutione. 
Of  neither  have  we  any  early  texts,  the  manuscripts 
of  the  latter  not  remounting  above  the  twelfth  century, 
and  of  the  first  not  much  farther  back. 

In  the  Preface  of  the  Historia  tripartita^  we  are 
informed  that  Cassiodorus  read  Socrates,  Sozomenus, 
and  Theodoretus  and  found  that  there  was  too  much 
material  in  them,  also  that  by  the  aid  of  Epiphanius 
Scholasticus  he  reduced  the  three  to  one  work.^    This 

'  I  quote  from  Garet's  edition  of  Cassiodorus,  Rotomagi  1679. 

*  "Haec  igitur  historia  Ecclesiastica,  quae  cunctis  Christianis  valde 
necessaria  comprobatur,  a  tribus  Graecis  auctoribus  mirabiliter  constat 
esse  conscripta;  uno  scilicet  Theodoreto,  venerabili  Episcopo,  et  duobus 
disertissimis  viris,  Sozomeno,  et  Socrate;  quos  nos  per  Epiphanium  Scho- 
lasticum  Latino  condentes  eloquio,  necessarium  duximus  eorum  dicta  de- 
florata  in  unius  stili  tractum,  Domino  juvante,  perducere,  et  de  tribus  auc- 
toribus unam  facere  dictionem.  Sciendum  plane,  quod  praedicti  scriptores 
a  temporibus  divae  memoriae  Principis  Constantini  usque  ad  augustae 
recordationis  Theodosii  junioris,  quae  sunt  gesta,  digesserint.    Nos  autem 


ULFILAS  31 

is  contradicted  by  the  statement  in  De  institutione 
divinarum  literarum  that  he  ordered  Epiphanius  to 
translate  the  works  and  bring  them  together  into  one 
volume.^  It  is  now  generally  admitted  that  Cassio- 
dorus  could  not  have  written  such  horrible  Latinity 
and  have  committed  the  many  blunders  contained  in 
the  Historia  tripartita,  and  that  Epiphanius  Scholasti- 
cus  must  be  guilty  of  the  atrocious  translation,  Cassio- 
dorus  being  merely  responsible  for  its  edition.^  But 
it  is  inconceivable  that  Cassiodorus,  with  his  limpid 
style,  could  have  fathered  a  work  which  Beatus 
Rhenanus  calls  a  perversion,  not  a  version.^  Curiously 
enough,  in  De  orthographia,  where  Cassiodorus  gives 
a  list  of  all  the  books  written  by  him,  there  is  no 
reference  to  the  Historia  tripartita,  although  De 
institutione  is  mentioned.  Worse  still,  a  Historia 
tripartita,  composed  from  the  same  three  ecclesiastic 
writers  in  Greek  by  Theodorus  the  Reader  in  the 
beginning  of  the  sixth  century,  was  already  in  existence,* 
and  it  is  quite  impossible  that  Cassiodorus  would 
have  claimed  to  be  the  first  to  have  such  a  work  done, 
the  more  so,  since  Cassiodorus  translates  verbatim 
and  most  shamelessly  up  to  chapter  7  of  Book  II  from 
Theodorus'  Tripartita.  Only  after  that  does  the 
Latin  Tripartita  begin  to  differ  from  Theodorus,  and 
"it  would  take  a  monograph  to  enumerate  and  de- 
corum relectis  operibus,  et  unumquemque  cauta  mente  tractantes,  cog- 
novimus,  non  aequaliter  omnes  de  unaquaque  re  luculenter  ac  subtiliter 
explanasse:  sed  modo  hunc,  modo  alterum  aliam  partem  melius  expediisse. 
Et  ideo  judicavimus  de  singulis  doctoribus  deflorata  colligere,  et  cum  auctoris 
8  i  nomine  in  ordinem  collocare,"  ibid.,  vol.  I,  p.  203. 

*  "Post  historiam  vero  Eusebii  apud  Graecos  Socrates,  Sozomenus,  et 
Theodoretus  sequentia  conscripserunt,  quos  a  viro  disertissimo  Epiphanio 
in  uno  corpora  duodecim  libris  fecimus,  Deo  auxiliante,  transferri:  ne  in- 
sult et  se  habere  facunda  Graecia  necessarium,  quod  nobis  judicet  esse 
suttracum,"  chap.  XVII,  ibid.,  vol.  II,  p.  550. 

^  A.  Franz,  M.  Aureliiis  Cassiodorus  Senator,  Breslau  1872,  p.  106  ff. 
» Ibid.,  p.  108. 

*  J.  Bidez,  La  tradition  manuscrite  de  Sozomdne  et  la  Tripartite  de  Theodore 
le  Leeteur,  in  Texte  und  Untersuchungen,  Dritte  Reihe,  vol.  II,  part  2  b. 


32      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

scribe  the  varieties  of  nonsense  committed  by  him."^ 
When  we  consider  that  there  is  no  evidence  that 
Isidore  knew  of  the  existence  of  the  Tripartita  of  Cas- 
siodorus,  which  is  first  mentioned  only  in  Sigebert  of 
Gemblaux,  and  observe  the  decadent  and  faulty 
Latinity  of  the  translation,  we  are  forced  to  the  con- 
clusion that  it  cannot  be  of  any  earlier  date  than  the 
eighth  century,  when  it  appears  in  extracts  in  all  of 
Isidore's  Chronica  but  one,  and  in  the  Historia  Gothorum 
only  in  the  passage  in  which  Ulfilas  is  mentioned, 
that  is,  in  7  and  8.  It  is  even  doubtful  whether  the 
Ulfilas  episode  existed  in  Greek  in  Socrates,  Sozomenus, 
and  Theodoretus,  until  introduced  there  synoptically 
from  an  eighth  century  interpolation  of  the  Tripartite 
History  of  Theodorus  the  Reader.  The  total  silence 
of  all  but  the  synoptic  writers,  and  also  of  John 
Chrysostom,  who,  if  anybody,  should  have  known 
about  Ulfilas,  is  a  potent  reason  for  such  an  assump- 
tion. What  is  remarkable  is  that  the  reference  to 
Ulfilas  having  been  present  at  Ariminum,  as  given  in 
Socrates,  is  found  in  a  detached  form  and  ascribed  to 
Theodorus  the  Reader,^  although  it  apparently  was 
absent  from  at  least  some  of  the  manuscripts  of  his 
Historia  tripartita. 

Orosius  is  several  times  mentioned  in  Gregory  of 
Tours.  Cointe  has  long  ago  pointed  out  that  there 
were  interpolations  in  Gregory  of  Tours,  but  Arndt 
and  Krusch  think  that  Cointe's  theory  has  been 
exploded,  because  we  possess  uncial  manuscripts  of 
Gregory's  works.'  This  is  the  weak  point  in  the 
reply,  since  it  must  now  be  accepted  as  settled  that  no 
uncial  manuscript  can  be  dated  on  the  basis  of  its 
script.  The  Orosius  passages  all  sound  like  interpol- 
ations.   After  the  statement  that  Eusebius  and  Jerome 

1  Ibid.,  p.  73. 

2  Migne,  Patrol,  graeca,  vol.  LXXXVI,  col.  225  ff. 
*  MGH.,  Scrip,  rer.  merov.,  vol.  Ii,  p.  17  ff. 


ULFILAS  33 

had  written  chronicles,  comes  the  limping  sentence, 
"Nam  et  Horosius  diligentissime  haec  inquaerens, 
omnem  numerum  annorum  ab  initio  mundi  usque  ad 
suum  tempus  in  unum  coUigit"  (Prol.  I).^  Similarly, 
after  the  mention  of  Babylon,  comes  an  Orosius 
passage,  again  beginning  with  the  tell-tale  et:  '* Et^ 
sicut  Horosi  narrat  historia"  (I.  6).^  Another  queer 
sentence  is  "Hucusque  Hieronymus,  ab  hoc  vero 
tempore  Horosius  presbyter  plus  scripsit"  (1. 41).^ 
The  same  tell-tale  et  (this  time  as  atque)  is  found  in 
"Sic  et  Eusebius,  Severus  Hieronimusque  in  chronicis 
atque  Horosius  et  bella  regum  et  virtutes  martyrum 
pariter  texuerunt"  (Prol.  II).*  The  same  tail  end 
addition  is  found  in  II.  9,  where,  after  all  the  sources 
have  been  given,  we  get:  "Haec  hi  de  Francis  dixire. 
Horosius  autem  et  ipse  historiograffus  in  septimo 
operis  sui  libro  ita  commemorat:  Stilico,  congregatis 
gentibus,  Francos  proteret,  Rhenum  transit,  Gallias 
pervagatur  et  ad  Pyrenius  usque  perlabitur."^ 

In  this  case  we  can  study  the  progress  of  the  forgeries. 
The  same  passage  is  found  in  Isidore's  Historia  Van- 
dalorum,  71,  where  we  have  correctly:  "transiecto 
Rheno  Gallias  inruunt.  Francos  proterunt  directoque 
impetu  ad  Pyrenaeum  usque  perveniunt."®  Orosius 
puts  the  cart  before  the  horse  and  makes  them  destroy 
the  Franks,  then  cross  the  Rhine,  etc.'^  In  the  con- 
tinuation of  this  passage  in  Orosius  we  have  a  good 
illustration  of  Pseudo-Orosius'  idiotic  expansions.  Isi- 
dore says  simply  and  directly:  "sed  postquam  iidem 
fratres,  qui  privato  praesidio  Pyrenaei  claustra  tue- 

1  Ibid.,  p.  34. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  36.  The  same  passage,  but  in  full,  is  also  found  in  De  curau 
stellarum  ratio,  ibid.,  p.  858. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  52. 
*  Ibid.,  p.  58. 
6  Ibid.,  p.  76. 

"  MGH.,  Auclor.  antiq.,  vol.  XI,  p.  295. 
'  VII.  40.  3. 


34      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

bantur,  ob  suspicionem  tyrannidis  insontes  et  nulla 
culpa  obnoxii  a  Constantio  Caesare  interfecti  sunt." 
Out  of  this  we  get  in  Pseudo-Orosius :  "duo  fratres 
iuuenes  nobiles  et  locupletes  Didymus  et  Verinianus 
non  assumere  aduersus  tyrannum  quidem  tyrannidem 
sed  imperatori  iusto  aduersus  tyrannum  et  barbaros 
tueri  sese  patriamque  suam  moliti  sunt."  Then  comes 
a  discussion  in  impossible  Latinity  on  what  "tyrannis" 
is,  and  ultimately  "absque  cuiusquam  inquietudine  ad 
Pyrenaei  claustra  tendebant,"  etc.  It  is  clear  that 
Pseudo-Orosius  is  an  elaboration  of  Isidore,  and  not 
vice  versa. 

In  the  Prologue  of  Book  V  of  Gregory  of  Tours  we 
have  a  long  reference  to  Orosius,  but  it  is  chiefly  the 
Prologues  that  Cointe  considered  as  interpolated. 
There  is  also  an  added  note  to  Orosius  in  Gregory's 
Liber  de  virtutibus  S.  luliani} 

The  passage  in  his  Liber  de  gloria  confessorum, 
"lubet,  inquid,  fieri,  ex  annonis  aqua  infusis  atque 
decoctis  messoribus  poculum  praeparavi,  hanc  enim 
coctionem  Orosius  a  coquendo  caeliam  vocari  narravit,''^ 
gives  us  a  good  chance  to  study  the  devious  ways  of 
Pseudo-Orosius. 

Speaking  of  the  Numantians,  Pseudo-Orosius  says, 

"larga  prius  potione  usi  non  uini,  cuius  ferax  is  locus 

non   est,   sed   suco   tritici   per   artem  confecto,   quem 

sucum  a  calefaciendo  caeliam  uocant, — suscitatur  enim 

igne  ilia  uis   germinis   madefactae   frugis    ac    deinde 

siccatur  et  post  in  farinam  redacta  molli  suco  admis- 

cetur,  quo  fermento  sapor  austeritatis  et  calor  ebrie- 

tatis  adicitur."^    The  story  of  the  Numantians  going 

to  battle  after  filling  themselves  with  food  and  all,  is 

told  in  Florus'  Epitoma,  II.   18.  12,  where  we  have 

"caeliae,  sic  vocant  indigenam  ex  frumento  potionem." 

1 MGH.,  Scrip,  rer.  merov.,  vol.  I^,  p.  568. 
*  Ibid.,  p.  748. 
» V.  7.  ia-14. 


ULFILAS  35 

Isidore  has  no  such  story,  but,  after  discussing  all  kinds 
of  wines,  he  gives  etymologies  for  cervisia  and  caelia: 
"Cervisia  a  Cerere,  id  est  fruge  vocata;  est  enim 
potio  ex  seminibus  frumenti  vario  modo  confecta. 
Caelia  a  calefaciendo  appellata;  est  enim  potio  ex 
suco  tritici  per  artem  confecta.  Suscitatur  enim  igne 
ilia  vis  germinis  madefactae  frugis  ac  deinde  siccatur 
et  post  in  farinam  redacta  molli  suco  admiscitur,  quo 
fermentato  sapor  austeritatis  et  calor  ebrietatis  adicitur. 
Quae  fit  in  his  partibus  Hispaniae  cuius  ferax  vini 
locus  non  est."^  Isidore  derived  cervisia  from  **  Ceres," 
and,  with  as  much  justice,  caelia  from  "calefacere." 
Pseudo-Orosius  never  gives  etymologies,  and,  con- 
sidering the  enormous  mass  of  etymologies  of  Isidore's 
own  invention,  it  is  absurd  to  assume  that  he  would 
have  gone  out  of  his  way  to  find  a  description  and 
etymology  for  caelia.  We  might  as  well  look  in  Orosius 
for  Isidore's  etymology  for  sicera,  which  precedes  it, 
and  where  we  find  the  sentence,  "ex  suco  frumenti  vel 
pomorum  conficiatur,"  which  gave  him  the  parallel 
sentence,  "ex  suco  tritici  per  artem  confecta."  Thus 
it  is  seen  that  we  have  in  Gregory  of  Tours  a  late 
interpolation. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  how  the  story  about  Ulfilas 
may  have  made  its  way  into  the  synoptics  and  the 
Historia  tripartita.  At  a  time  when  there  was  a  revival 
of  Greek  interest  in  the  Goths,  which  was  when  they 
once  more  appeared  in  the  eighth  century,  this  time 
as  Catholics,  in  Ravenna  and  in  Greek  territory  in 
general,  stories  of  their  Catholic  ardor,  such  as  the 
burning  of  the  Goths  in  the  church,  found  their  way 
back  into  Greek  synaxaries.  The  same  interest  brought 
out  the  question,  never  insisted  upon  at  the  time  of 
their  conversion,  as  to  why  they  had  become  Arians. 

1  XX.  3.  17-18. 


36      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

The  Historia  tripartita^  in  its  tenth  book,  chapters 
5  and  6,  has  an  account  of  Gaina,  the  barbarian  leader 
of  Roman  foederati  and  rebels  about  the  year  400. 
Chapter  5  has  the  title,  "De  conversione  Celticorum 
per  Joannem,"  and  claims  to  be  a  translation  or  extract 
from  Theodoretus,  V.  30.  Similarly,  chapter  6  bears 
the  title,  "De  Gaina  magistro  militum  ejusque  rebel- 
lione,"  and  claims  to  be  based  on  Theodoretus,  V.  32,  33 
and  Socrates,  VI.  6.  We  are  told  that  the  Celts  had 
become  Arian,  and  that  John  Chrysostom,  to  bring 
them  back  to  Catholicism,  ordained  presbyters,  deacons, 
and  lectors  who  knew  their  language.  That  the  trans- 
lator confused  the  Scythians  with  the  Celts,  is  evident 
from  his  frequently  using  "Scythians"  instead  of 
"Celts"  in  the  same  fifth  chapter.  Gaina,  a  Celt, 
that  is,  a  Scythian,  was  then  "magister  militum," 
who  had  not  only  men  of  his  own  race  under  him,  but 
also  Romans.  He  asked  the  emperor  to  give  him  an 
Arian  church  in  the  city.  John  Chrysostom,  who  was 
called  in,  declined  to  give  him  a  church,  saying,  among 
other  things,  "See  what  garment  you  used  before  you 
crossed  the  Ister,  and  what  garment  you  use  now." 
Gaina  plotted  against  the  emperor  and  sent  his  bar- 
barians to  burn  the  palace,  which  was  saved  by  a  host 
of  angels  appearing  as  soldiers.  He  went  to  Thrace. 
There  he  collected  a  band  of  soldiers  against  Con- 
stantinople. John  Chrysostom  was  sent  to  him  and 
succeeded  in  assuaging  him. 

We  have  precisely  the  same  account  in  Theodoretus, 
but  the  caption  of  chapter  30  is  "nspc  r^c  ^xxX-^aia^  r&v 
rdrdtov,''  instead  of  " De  conversione  Celticorum."  It 
is  inconceivable  that  the  Latin  translator  of  the  pas- 
sage would  have  omitted  to  state  that  the  Scythians 
were  Goths,  if  he  had  found  such  a  caption.  Nor  would 
Theodoretus  consistently  have  used  ^xudrj<:,  if  he  had 
the  slightest  idea  that  Gaina  was  a  Goth.     Gaina  is 


ULFILAS  37 

mentioned  in  the  excerpts  from  Eunapius,  but  not  as  a 
Goth.^  Zosimus,  who  wrote  some  time  in  the  fifth  or 
sixth  century,  says  that  Gaina  and  Saul  were  placed  in 
charge  of  the  barbarians,  and  that  with  them  was 
associated  Bacurius,  an  Armenian.^  Gaina  was  sent 
by  Eutropius,  the  eunuch,  to  Thrace  and  the  Hellespont, 
to  fight  Tribigildus.  Later  Gaina  rebelled  against  the 
empire  and  went  back  to  wage  war  against  the  city.' 
More  than  seven  thousand  barbarians  were  caught  in 
the  city,  and  they  retired  to  a  church,  hoping  to  get  there 
an  asylum.  No  one  dared  to  drag  them  out  of  the 
asylum,  for  fear  the  barbarians  would  defend  them- 
selves. Hence  it  was  decided  to  destroy  the  roof  and 
to  throw  burning  fagots  down  on  the  barbarians. 
Thus  they  were  killed.  But  the  Christians  thought 
that  a  great  crime  had  thus  been  committed.^ 

Zosimus  does  not  call  Gaina  a  Goth,  and  Theo- 
doretus  calls  him  a  Scythian,  and  his  people 
Sxodcxbc:  o/ido(:,  a  Scythian  crowd.  While  a  Goth  was 
a  Scythian,  it  appears  from  all  the  writers  of  the  time, 
a  Scythian  was  not  identical  with  a  Goth.  Thus,  for 
example,  Zosimus  speaks  of  the  Scythians,  who, 
uniting  with  the  Heruli,  Peuci,  and  Goths,  made  an 
invasion  in  the  Pontus.^  He  justly  calls  Athanaric 
the  chief  of  the  Scythian  region,^  because  there  were, 
no  doubt,  others  than  Goths  under  his  dominion. 
Photius,  in  his  r^sum^  of  Philostorgius,  refers  to  Gaina 
as  a  barbarian,  while  Tribigildus,  with  whom  he  was 
associated,  is  referred  to  as  a  Scythian,  of  those  called 
Goths  (for  there  are  many  different  tribes  of  Scyth- 

*  Corpus  scriptorum  historiae  byzantinae,  vol.  XIII,  pp.  91,  92,  103,  117. 

2 IV.  57,  ibid.,  vol.  XXIX,  p.  242. 

»  V.  18,  ibid.,  p.  270. 

« v.  19,  ibid.,  p.  272  f. 

» I.  42. 

®  «'AdavdQtx<W  TS  Jca'VT6g  xoC  6aaiXeiou  tcov  Sxvdcav  aQ^ovxa,*  IV.  34. 


38      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

ians).^  Philostorgius  tells  of  the  massacre  of  Gaina's 
soldiers,  but  of  the  burning  of  the  church  there  is  not 
a  trace. ^ 

The  story  about  burning  the  Goths  in  the  church, 
as  given  by  Zosimus,  is  obviously  a  later  interpolation. 
It  is  quite  improbable  that  the  right  of  asylum  should 
have  been  so  flagrantly  violated,  without  a  word  of 
it  occurring  in  contemporary  writers  or  in  Theodoretus. 
Besides,  the  story  in  Zosimus  is  in  conflict  with  what 
precedes  and  follows.  Zosimus  says  that  when  Gaina 
appeared  before  the  gates  of  Constantinople,  the 
Greeks  killed  the  barbarians  in  the  city  with  swords, 
stones,  or  anything  they  could  lay  their  hands  on, 
then  withdrew  within  the  walls  and  by  hurling 
weapons  on  Gaina  and  his  soldiers  without,  averted 
the  calamity.  Gaina,  having  failed  in  his  attempt, 
now  became  an  open  enemy  to  the  state.  Just  before 
talking  of  Gaina's  failure  and  after  having  mentioned 
that  the  barbarians  had  been  killed,  we  get  the  grue- 
some and  impossible  story  that  more  than  seven  thou- 
sand barbarians  took  refuge  in  a  church,  where  they 
were  burnt.  The  story  is  incredible,  because  it  is 
unlikely  that  a  church  holding  seven  thousand  people, 
even  closely  packed,  existed  in  Constantinople. 

Indeed,  Philostorgius,  who  would  have  reveled  in 
telling  of  such  an  act  of  cruelty  against  the  Arians, 
has  not  a  word  to  say  about  it.  Theodoretus  does  not 
know  a  thing  about  it.  Neither  the  Historia  tripartita, 
with  Theodoretus,  Socrates,  and  Sozomenus,  nor  the 
Greek  Tripartita,  before  the  translator,  knows  of  it. 
Marcellinus,  apparently  quoting  Zosimus,  says  that 
the  barbarians  rushed  up  to  "our"  church,  where  they 
were  killed  by  stones  being  hurled  upon  them  from 

1  c'AvTio  2xv6ii5  n^v  yivoi;  x&v  vvv  ImxaXovn^vcov  r6Tfl'cov  (TtXEuna 
ycLQ  -Kox  6iA(pooa  tovtcov  iaxhr  xGyv  "S-nv^atv  yiyn\)  ,*  XI.  8,  in  J.  Bidez,  Phi- 
lostorgius Kirchengeschichte,  Leipzig  1913,  p.  138. 

*  «Kal  q)6vos  avrcov  eQQvi\  jtoWg,*  ibid.,  p.  139. 


ULFILAS  39 

the  church  through  the  dismantled  roof;^  that  is,  the 
whole  story  is  reversed,  the  Greeks  being,  as  well  might  be 
the  case,  within  the  church,  and  the  barbarians  without. 
Neither  Socrates  nor  Sozomenus  has  anything  to 
say  about  the  burning  of  Goths  in  the  church.  So- 
crates says  that  Gaina  pretended  to  go  to  the  church 
of  the  Apostle  John,  which  was  seven  miles  from  the 
city.  Many  barbarians  tried  secretly  to  carry  arms 
out  of  the  city,  and,  being  caught  by  the  guards, 
killed  the  guards.  Such  of  the  barbarians  as  were  in 
the  city  were  ordered  by  the  emperor  to  be  killed. 
The  barbarians  fled  to  the  church  of  the  Goths.  The 
church  was  burnt  and  many  Goths  were  killed.'^ 
Precisely  the  same  is  told  by  Sozomenus,  but  whereas 
Socrates  says  that  the  church  of  Apostle  John  ''knra.  dk 
ai^fxdoez  dnij^ei  tooto  t7j<^  ttoXswi;,^'  Sozomenus  says  "o  rob 
^aacXicoi;  KUTTjp  (jJXod6fjtrja£7rp6(:  T(jj  'E^do/Kp/^^  Apparently  the 
interpolator  of  Zosimus  had  before  him  a  Latin  trans- 
lation of  the  story  where  "septem  milibus"  was  used 
instead.  He  thought  there  were  seven  thousand  men 
in  the  church,  which  he  wrongly  placed  near  the 
palace,  and  from  the  eighth  century  account  of  the 
burning  of  the  Goths  in  the  church  at  Cordoba  and 
the  Gaina  rebellion  arose  the  story  of  the  burning  of 
the  Goths  in  the  church  in  Constantinople  in  400,  as 
recorded  in  the  Chronicon  Paschale.  Indeed,  we  are 
not  certain  that  Gaina  was  a  Goth,  even  though  So- 
crates and  Sozomenus  say  that  he  drew  the  Goths 
from   his   country   to    Constantinople.*     These   refer- 

^  "Gaina  comes  apud  Constantinopolim  ad  praeparandum  civile  bellum 
barbaros  suos  occulte  ammonet:  ipse  valitudinem  simulans  urbe  digreditur. 
coepto  adversum  Byzantios  proelio  plurimi  hostium  cadunt,  ceteri  fugientes 
ecclesiae  nostrae  succedunt  ibique  detecto  ecclesiae  culmine  iactisque 
desuper  lapidibus  obruuntur,"  MGH.,  Auctor.  antiq.,  vol.  XI,  p.  66. 

2  VI.  6. 

3  VIII.  4. 

*  <Kai  Jtav  jjiv  t6  r6T-0-oyv  eOvoq  iy.  xr\z  axnov  xtoo«S  nexejt^lxtpaTo, 
Socrates,  VI.  6;  «Tot)s  b'\wq)vXov(;  avtou  FoTftov?  iy,  twv  ISicov  \6\ioyv  eiz 
'Poonaiovg  nexeniy.y^a.To,^  Sozomenus,  VIII.  4, 


40      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

ences  to  Goths  may  have  been  made  by  Socrates  and 
Sozomenus  through  a  mistake,  or  they  may  be  later 
interpolations,  even  as  the  reference  to  the  Gothic 
church  which  was  burnt  sounds  like  an  interpolation. 

It  is  only  in  Socrates  and  Sozomenus  that  we  have 
the  specific  reference  to  a  Gothic  church.  If  Gaina 
was  a  Goth,  or  even  a  Scythian  of  some  undefined 
nationality,  it  is  extremely  curious  that  all  authorities 
agree  that  he  went  to  worship  in  a  Greek  church.  It 
certainly  indicates  that  at  least  there  existed  no  sharp 
division  between  the  churches  of  the  Greeks  and  the 
barbarians.  We  have  the  specific  statement  that 
Gaina  asked  St.  Chrysostom  for  a  separate  church, 
not  because  he  was  a  Goth,  but  because  he  was  an 
Arian,  and  that  St.  Chrysostom  definitely  declined  to 
let  him  have  a  church.^  Again,  while  in  Theodoretus 
the  heading  to  V.  30  is  ";:£/>«  r^c  ixxXrjoiai:  xiov  rbzdiov^^'' 
the  corresponding  heading  in  the  Historia  tripartita  is 
"De  conversione  Celticorum  per  Joannem."  Whoever 
the  author  of  the  Tripartita  was,  he  did  not  know 
anything  about  the  Gothic  church  in  Constantinople. 

But  John  Chrysostom  himself  gives  us  all  the 
necessary  information  on  the  subject.  We  learn  from 
his  eighth  homily^  that  he  was  present  in  a  church 
where  there  was  some  reading  in  a  foreign  language. 
Chrysostom  says  that  the  Bible  was  translated  in 
Scythia,  Thrace,  Sarmatia,  Mauretania,  and  India. 
It  was  he  who  told  the  barbarians  to  get  up  and  speak 
in  the  church.^  In  the  beginning  of  the  homily 
Chrysostom  says  he  wishes  the  Hellenes  were  present 
to  hear,^  and  it  is  clear  from  what  follows  that  he 
uses   "EU^vei:  in   the   then   usual   sense   of   "ancient, 

1  Theodoretus,  V.  32. 

2  Op.  cii.,  vol.  XII,  p.  512  flf.^ 

'«Mti  Toivirv   axdiinrft   xiz,  fiYei<Tft(o  Tfjs    ixxXtjoias,  oti    6ao6do(n)g  eI? 
\i,iao\  dvaaxfjvat  xai  e'uteiv  naosCTxeudaa^ev,*  ibid.,  p.  514. 
*  Ibid.,  p.  512. 


ULFILAS  41 

pagan  Greeks."  It  is,  therefore,  clear  that  the 
homily  was  addressed  to  the  Greeks  present,  and  that 
the  reading  in  the  foreign  language  was  intended  to 
captivate  the  foreigners  present.  In  any  case,  we  have 
not  a  distant  reference  to  a  Gothic  church,  and  we  are 
absolutely  sure  from  Chrysostom's  answer  to  Gaina 
that  there  was  no  Arian  Gothic  church  in  Constanti- 
nople in  his  time. 

The  heading  of  this  homily  reads  as  follows:  "  Too 
auTOU  bfidia  Xtydtiaa  Iv  r^  ixxXrjaiq.  ttj  Ittc  Ilaukov,  Fordwu 
duayvovTiov^  xai  7:pta^OTepou  Fordou  7zpooficX7jaa'uTO(^.''^  There 
is  no  certainty  that  the  foreign  language  was  Gothic, 
and  from  the  corroborative  account  of  Theodoretus 
in  V.  30  it  appears  that  only  barbarian  presby- 
ters, deacons,  and  readers  were  ordained  by  him  in 
Constantinople,  while  he  himself  addressed  them  with 
the  aid  of  interpreters.  The  heading  was  put  in  at  a 
later  time,  when  the  Scythians,  mentioned  by  Theo- 
doretus, were  identified  with  the  Goths,  who  undoubt- 
edly were  then  present  in  Constantinople,  but  had 
neither  any  representation  by  a  bishop,  nor  any  Arian 
Gothic  church. 

We  can  see  in  another  place  in  the  Historia  tripar- 
tita and  its  antecedents  how  a  Gothic  tradition  at  a 
later  time  found  its  way  into  them.  The  Historia 
tripartita  in  IX.  40  quotes  from  Socrates,  V.  22,  23, 
and  24,  where  we  are  told  of  the  division  in  the  Arian 
church  at  Constantinople,  caused  by  Marinus,  who 
insisted  that  God  could  be  called  Father,  even  if  the 
Son  did  not  exist.  This  sect  was  called  Psathyriani  or  of 
the  Goths,  the  first,  because  a  Syrian  vender  of  rolls 
favored  it,  the  second,  because  Selenas,  the  bishop  of 
the  Goths,  followed  it.  Selenas  was  of  double  birth, 
his  father  being  a  Goth,  his  mother,  a  Phrygian,  there- 
fore he  taught  both  languages  in  the  church.  After 
twenty-five  years  the  division  of  the  Arians  at  Con- 


42      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

stantinople  was  made  up,  but  the  sects  continued  to 
exist  outside  the  city.  The  same  account  is  given  by 
Sozomenus,  but  we  have  the  fuller  statement  that  the 
Goths  obeyed  Selenas  the  more  readily,  since  he  was  the 
amanuensis  and  successor  of  Ulfilas,  their  former  bishop, 
and  was  particularly  fit  to  teach  them  in  the  church, 
not  only  in  their  own  language,  but  also  in  Greek. 

As  usual,  there  is  absolutely  nothing  about  it  to  be 
found  in  Theodoretus,  but  in  his  Alpsrtxrj  xaxojuudca  we  have 
the  story  of  a  heretical  sect  of  the  Arians  called  Psythy- 
riani  at  Antioch,  who  called  God  the  Father,  because  the 
Son  was  always  created  by  God.  This  is  in  total  dis- 
agreement with  Socrates  and  Sozomenus  as  to  the  creed 
of  the  sect  and  its  habitat.  It  is  clear  that  the  original 
Socrates  and  Sozomenus  had  no  story  about  the  Psythy- 
riani,  any  more  than  it  is  in  Theodoretus '  Ecclesiastical 
History.  At  a  later  time,  before  the  Tripartite  was 
made  up,  a  Goth,  drawing  from  an  Antiquitas,  put  into 
Socrates  and  Sozomenus  the  incorrect  story,  and  added 
the  totally  out  of  the  way  statement  that  Selenas 
spoke  two  languages,  hence  the  Goths  had  particular 
faith  in  him,  and  became  Psythyriani.  No  wonder 
that  Philostorgius  does  not  know  anything  about 
Psythyriani,  Marinus,  Selenas,  or  anything  connected 
with  the  story.  Indeed,  we  have  already  seen  that  there 
was  no  Arian  Gothic  bishop  at  Constantinople,  and 
if  Selenas  was  somewhere  else,  he  was  not  in  Gothia, 
where  in  404  we  find  Unilas,  and  his  knowledge  of  two 
languages  could  have  had  nothing  whatsoever  to  do 
with  the  fabulous  Psythyriani  at  Constantinople. 

We  can  now  investigate  the  presence  of  Ulfilas  at  the 
conciliabulum  of  Constantinople.  As  usual,  Theo- 
doretus knows  knothing  of  Ulfilas.^  Ten  bishops 
were  called  to  Constantinople,  among  them  Eustathius 
of   Armenia,    Basil   of    Galatia,    Silvanus    of    Tarsus, 

»  II.  23. 


ULFILAS  43 

and  Eleusius  of  Cyzicus.  Socrates  speaks  of  fifty 
bishops  who  were  present,  among  them  Maris  of 
Chalcedon.  After  an  account  of  the  creed,  there  comes 
a  recapitulation  of  the  nine  creeds,  ending  with  the 
one  adopted  at  Constantinople;  and  here  we  are  in- 
formed that  this  was  the  creed  signed  by  Ulfilas, 
bishop  of  the  Goths,  who,  before  that,  following  The- 
ophilus,  bishop  of  the  Goths,  had  subscribed  to  the 
Nicene  creed.  Sozomenus  begins  at  once  by  telling  us 
that  they  called  for  the  bishops  from  Bithynia,  among 
whom  were  Maris  of  Chalcedon  and  Ulfilas,  the  bishop 
of  the  Goths.  Philostorgius  mentions  Maris,  Basil, 
Eustathius,  Eudoxius,  but  has  no  reference  to  Ulfilas. 
As  Sozomenus  is  generally  made  up  from  Socrates, 
we  have  here  only  one  reference  to  Ulfilas,  and  that 
only  in  the  recapitulation,  where  it  is  obviously  the 
same  kind  of  interpolation  as  we  found  in  the  passage 
mentioning  Selenas. 

This  brings  us  now  to  the  general  passage  on  Ulfilas, 
found  in  the  four  writers.  According  to  Socrates^ 
and  Sozomenus,^  Ulfilas  was  the  bishop  of  the  Goths 
when  they  were  still  across  the  Danube,  and  petitioned 
Valens  to  allow  his  people  to  settle  in  Thrace.  It  was 
then  that  he  became  an  Arian.  In  Theodoretus  we 
have  a  totally  different  story.  When  Valens  made 
his  expedition  into  Scythia,  the  bishop  of  all  of  Scythia 
was  Bretanio.  He  tried  to  dissuade  Valens  from  the 
expedition  and  to  bring  him  back  to  orthodoxy.  But 
Valens  paid  no  heed  to  him  and  made  the  attack. 
Being  defeated,  he  fled  to  a  village,  where  the  bar- 
barians burnt  him  alive  in  a  house.  ''Thus  he  was 
punished  in  this  life  for  his  misdeeds."^ 

Everything,  as  usual  in  Theodoretus,  is  direct  and 
plausible.    The  Scythians  had  only  one  bishop,  and  this 

» IV.  33. 
» VI.  37. 
» IV.  31-32. 


44      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

we  know  to  be  correct  from  a  statement  made  by 
Sozomenus.  The  Scythians,  as  far  as  they  were 
Christians,  were  Catholics.  Valens  received  his  just 
punishment,  because  of  his  Arianism.  After  this  per- 
fectly clear  account  we  get  in  Theodoretus  a  chapter, 
the  last  in  that  book,  which  begins  with  the  words: 
"I  think  it  my  duty  to  inform  those  who  may  not 
know  how  the  barbarians  were  infected  by  the  Arian 
pest."  After  the  Goths  had  crossed  the  Danube,  the 
infamous  Eudoxius  persuaded  Valens  to  give  the  Goths 
his  communion.  Valens  proposed  this  to  the  Gothic 
leaders,  but  they  would  not  give  up  their  paternal 
doctrine.  Then  Ulfilas,  the  Gothic  bishop,  was  bribed 
by  Eudoxius  with  money,  and  so  Ulfilas  persuaded 
them  to  commune  with  the  Arians;  hence  they  even 
now  say  that  God  is  greater  than  the  Son,  but  they 
deny  that  the  Son  is  created,  although  they  communi- 
cate with  those  who  say  so. 

After  we  are  informed  that  Bretanio  was  the  sole 
bishop  of  the  Scythians,  we  hear  of  Ulfilas,  the  bishop 
of  the  Goths,  who  persuades  his  people  nominally  to 
have  communion  with  the  Arians,  although  remaining 
Catholics.  This,  however,  is  far  from  being  an  ex- 
planation of  how  the  Arian  pest  reached  them.  It  is 
merely  an  insoluble  contradiction.  Leaving  out  the 
account  about  Ulfilas,  we  have  the  identical  state- 
ment as  in  Orosius,  which  would  indicate  that  Theo- 
doretus was  interpolated  independently  of  Socrates  and 
Sozomenus.  The  Historia  tripartita  gives  the  ac- 
counts from  Socrates  and  Theodoretus  side  by  side, 
making  it  quite  impossible  to  see  how  they  justify 
the  reading,  "quemadmodum  se  Gothi  contulerint 
ad  Valentem,  et  quomodo  ad  Gothos  pestis  Ariana 
pervenerit."^ 

» VIII.  13. 


ULFILAS  45 

We  have  the  same  account  about  Bretanio  in  Sozo- 
menus.  "Wherever  the  churches  were  in  charge  of 
good  and  honorable  men,  the  people,  as  is  natural, 
did  not  change  their  former  faith.  For  that  reason, 
they  say,  the  Scythians  remained  in  their  old  faith. 
This  province  has  many  cities,  villages,  and  fortresses. 
Its  metropolis  is  Tomes,  a  large  and  prosperous  city, 
situated  on  the  sea,  on  the  left  of  the  Euxine  Sea.  The 
old  custom  still  prevails  there,  that  one  bishop  rules 
the  churches  of  the  whole  province.  At  that  time 
Bettranio  was  in  charge  of  the  churches,  when  Valens 
approached  the  city  of  Tomes.  When  he  entered  the 
church,  and,  as  was  his  wont,  tried  to  persuade  the 
bishop  to  have  communion  with  the  Arians,  Bettranio 
spoke  to  him  constantly  and  freely  of  the  Nicene  creed, 
and,  leaving  him,  went  to  another  church,  followed  by 
his  people.  Nearly  the  whole  city  had  come  there,  in 
order  to  see  the  emperor,  and  because  they  thought 
something  new  would  happen.  Valens,  being  left  with 
his  own  men,  resented  the  insult.  Therefore  he  ordered 
Bettranio  to  be  seized  and  sent  into  exile.  But,  after 
a  while,  he  allowed  him  to  return,  because  he  saw  the 
anger  of  the  Scythians  and  was  afraid  that  they  would 
start  a  revolt.  He  knew  that  they  were  brave  and 
considered  them  useful  to  the  empire,  on  account  of 
their  situation,  as  serving  as  a  barrier  to  the  neighbor- 
ing barbarians.  Thus  Bettranio  overcame  Valens, 
he  being  a  good  and  irreproachable  man,  as  the  Scyth- 
ians themselves  testify."^ 

There  is  no  place  anywhere  for  Ulfilas.  That  the 
Scythians  here  mentioned  include  Goths  is  clear  from 
the  mention  of  their  city,  Tomes,  for  later,  in  the  ninth 
century,  Walafrid  Strabo  claimed  that  Gothic  was 
still  preached  in  the  church  of  Tomes.  When  we  look 
at  the  Pseudo-Orosius  reference  to  the  Goths  in  Valens' 

» VI.  21. 


46      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

time  we  have  an  amazing  coincidence,  except  for  the 
last  sentence,  where  it  is  said  that  Valens  was  burnt 
by  the  Goths,  who  in  death  would  burn  for  their 
Arianism.  Up  to  this  last  sentence  the  accounts  in 
Pseudo-Orosius  and  Sozomenus  are  identical.  From 
this  it  may  be  concluded  that  the  original  Isidore  had 
the  story  from  Sozomenus,  which  was  followed  by  the 
statement  that  the  Goths  became  Arians,  hence  suf- 
fered after  death.  It  is  exactly  what  appeared  to  have 
been  in  Isidore,  before  the  Ulfilas  account  from  the 
Historia  tripartita  reached  it. 

One  would  expect  to  get  some  kind  of  reliable  account 
of  Ulfilas  from  Philostorgius,  but  one  is  disappointed 
at  every  step.  The  statement  made  that  the  Goths 
became  Arians  or  Semi- Arians  from  the  start  and  that 
Ulfilas  was  their  first  bishop,  is  flatly  contradicted  by 
every  contemporary  source.  That  Ulfilas  did  not 
translate  the  Book  of  Kings  is  obviously  apocryphal. 
The  rest  is  a  rehash  of  a  laudatory  account  of  Con- 
stantine,  the  apocryphal  growth  of  which  we  can 
follow  in  detail.  Eusebius  of  Caesarea  in  his  De  vita 
Constantini  tells  how  Constantine  conquered  the 
Scythians  and  Sarmatians,  who  formerly  exacted 
tribute  from  the  Romans  and  now  were  made  to  pay 
tribute  to  them.  Constantine  wisely  brought  the 
barbarians  from  a  savage  life  to  one  of  civilization.^ 
Not  a  word  is  said  here  of  their  being  converted  to 
Christianity.  Socrates  has  the  same  story,  but  here 
the  Scythians  are  called  Goths,  and  we  are  informed 
that  the  barbarians  then  for  the  first  time  became 
Christians.^  Sozomenus  has  a  much  enlarged  account. 
In  Constantine's  time  the  nations  along  the  Rhine, 
the  Celts,  the  Gauls,  the  Goths,  and  their  neighbors 
near  the  Danube,  having  been  Christianized  earlier, 

» IV.  5. 

« I.  18. 


ULFILAS  47 

now  became  civilized  and  meek.  The  barbarians  had 
become  acquainted  with  Christianity  during  the  wars 
waged  by  the  Romans  with  them  in  the  reign  of  Gal- 
lienus  and  the  subsequent  emperors.  When  an  in- 
numerable host  of  them  crossed  over  from  Thrace  to 
Asia,  many  Christian  priests  were  captured  by  them 
and  taken  back  to  their  country.  These  cured  the  sick 
and  drove  out  unclean  spirits,  and  on  account  of  the 
miracles  thus  performed  among  them,  the  barbarians 
became  Christians.^ 

This  development  and  embellishment  of  the  original 
story  in  Eusebius  is  obviously  apocryphal,  since  Justin 
Martyr^  and  TertuUian^  know  of  Christianity 
among  the  Scythians  much  earlier;  but  the  account  in 
Philostorgius  is  so  clearly  a  development  of  the  chance 
references  in  Sozomenus  to  Gallienus,  Asia  Minor,  and 
captives,  that  the  first  can  only  have  borrowed  from 
the  second.  Sozomenus  wrote  about  450,  when 
Philostorgius  was  most  likely  dead.  At  any  rate,  the 
history  of  Philostorgius  goes  up  to  424,  that  of  Sozo- 
menus, at  least  up  to  439.  It  is,  therefore,  certain  that 
Philostorgius  had  nothing  whatsoever  to  do  with  the 
account  of  Ulfllas.  Photius  was  not  above  distorting 
facts,  and  his  lying  propensities  have  been  fully  dis- 
cussed. His  tendency  to  insert  passages  of  his  own 
into  the  work  of  other  people  is  well  known.*  Just 
as  he  appropriated  whole  passages  from  Theodoretus,^ 
without  even  mentioning  the  fact,  so  we  may  be  quite 
sure  that  he  similarly  plagiarized  Sozomenus  for  his 
passage  in  Philostorgius.  The  testimony  of  Photius, 
for  we  have  not  the  original  Philostorgius,  is  worthless 
and  must  be  abandoned. 

1 II.  6. 

*  Dialogus  cum  Tryphone,  CXVII. 
3  Adversus  Judaeos,  VII. 

*  Migne,  Patrol,  graeca,  vol.  CI,  col.  6  fif. 

*  Ibvi.,  col.  7. 


48      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

We  now  come  to  the  last  stronghold  of  those  who 
have  written  on  Ulfilas.  Here  we  have  a  very  detailed 
work  on  the  source,^  and  so  can  investigate  the  great 
forgery  minutely,  and  in  the  same  order  in  which 
Kauffmann  has  discussed  the  work. 

Cod.  Paris,  lat.  8907  contains,  in  two  columns, 
Ambrosius'  De  fide  and  Gesta  Aquileia,  written  in 
beautiful  uncials.  Around  the  margin  there  is  the 
account  of  Auxentius  about  Ulfilas,  written  in  semi- 
uncials.  Both  the  uncials  and  semiuncials  have  been 
located  anywhere  from  381  to  the  seventh  century.^ 
Fortunately,  we  have  a  "splendid"^  reproduction  of 
an  uncial  part  and  of  fol.  342'  in  semiuncial  in  Delisle's 
Le  Cabinet,  Planche  VIII.  Here  we  can  study  the 
palaeography.  The  uncial  part,  with  its  flourishes 
and  ivy  leaf  ornamentation,  bears  a  striking  resem- 
blance to  the  Ada  Manuscript^  and  to  the  Utrecht 
Psalter,^  hence  cannot  be  of  an  earlier  date  than  the 
end  of  the  eighth  century.  This  is  emphatically 
proved  by  the  semiuncial  writing,  which,  being  replete 
with  instances  of  the  long  i,  cannot  be  of  an  earlier 
date.  Thus  the  question  of  palaeography  is  settled, 
at  least  as  regards  the  semiuncial  writing,  with  which 
we  are  dealing. 

Kauffmann  finds  a  confirmation  of  the  Italian  origin 
of  the  writing  in  the  sixth  century  in  the  writing 
Hisdrael,  which  he  compares  with  Sdrael  in  the  Brixi- 
anus.^  As  Hisdrael  is  also  a  Spanish  form  and  the 
Brixianus  is  of  the  eighth  century,^  Kauffmann's 
argument  falls  flatly  to  the  ground.    He  finds  another 

'  F.  Kauffmann,  Aus  der  Schule  des  Wulfila.     Auxenti  Dorostorensia 
Epistula  de  fide,  vita  et  obitu  Wulfilae,  Strassburg  1899. 
2  Ibid.,  p.  XIX. 
"  Ibid.,  p.  XX. 

^  See  my  Contributions,  vol.  II,  pp.  272-3,  276. 
» Ibid.,  p.  277. 
6  Op.  cit..  p.  XXII. 
^  Contributions,  vol.  II,  p.  271;  see  also  Index,  s.  v. 


ULFILAS  49 

confirmation  in  the  Itala  readings  of  Bible  quotations. 
As  I  have  already  shown  their  presence  in  Joannes 
Scottus,^  and  have  similarly  pointed  out  that  the 
Codex  Bezae  and  similar  Latin  texts  are  of  the  eighth 
century,  it  is  useless  to  adduce  this  as  a  proof  of  anti- 
quity. 

When  one  comes  to  the  subject  matter  itself,  one  is 
perplexed  at  the  whole  performance.  Around  the 
borders  the  semiuncial  writing  begins  by  repeating  the 
Gesta  Aquileia  up  to  fol.  303',  where  it  breaks  off 
with  "et  reliqua"  and  enters  upon  an  original  com- 
position, beginning  with  "si  quis  uult  legere  sequen- 
tiam,  que  abrupte  et  stulte  prosecuti  sunt,  legat  intus 
in  plenario  qui  in  hoc  ipso  corpore  et  inueniet  quod 
rectum  est  sanctum  Palladium  prosecutum  fuisse." 
Kauffmann  thinks  that  "qui  in  hoc  ipso  corpore"  is  a 
late  addition,  there  having  existed  an  older  text.^ 
If  this  is  so,  the  older  text  must  equally  have  been 
written  around  the  text  of  the  Gesta  Aquileia,  other- 
wise the  words  "legat  in  plenario,"  "let  him  read  in 
the  full  text,"  have  no  meaning,  as  there  is  no  refer- 
ence to  the  title  of  another  text.  Incidentally,  ple- 
narium,  in  the  sense  of  "full  text,"  as  opposed  to 
"breviarium,"  is  in  Ducange  recorded  only  from  the 
ninth  century  on. 

After  a  short  discussion  of  the  Arian  creed,  we  get 
the  sentence,  "hoc  secundum  diuinum  magisterium 
Arri  cristiana  professio;  hoc  et  Theognius  episkopus, 
hoc  et  Eusebius  storiografus  et .  .  .  quorum  professiones 
et  nomina  in  seque  .  .  eenda  sunt  nam  et  ad  oriente 
perrexisse  memorato  episcopos  cum  Ulfila  episkopo  ad 
comitatum  Theodosi  inperatoris  epistula  decla  .  ."^ 
After  that,  two  lines  are  cut  off.  Kauffmann  supplies 
them  as  follows:    "rat  Auxenti  episkopi  Dorostorensis, 

1  Ibid.,  p.  270  f . 

2  Ov.  at.,  p.  XXII. 

3  Fol.  304,  ibid.,  p.  15. 


50      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

ibique  imperatorem  adisse  adque  eis  promissum  fuisse 
concilium.  Erat  quidem  Ulfila  conuersacione  epis- 
kopus  satis  p  .  .  eloquio."^  This  emendation  or 
reconstruction  is  not  merely  problematic,  but  it  is 
false,  for  toward  the  end  of  the  semiuncial  writing^ 
we  have  the  phrase:  *'et  quamuis  aucxenti  ita  me- 
ministi  ut  non  indicares  de  quo  dixeris  utrum  de  super- 
stite  id  est  Dorostorensi  an  de  Mediolanensi  qui  sine 
successore  decessit  tamen  scito  tarn  Palladium  Rati- 
arensem  Auxentium  inter  ceteros  consortes  sancto  et 
omni  reverentia  digno  ac  fidelissimo  doctori  Demofilo 
ubicumque  examen  haberi  placuerit  domino  omnipo- 
tente  per  unigenitum  suum  lesum  dominum  nostrum 
auxilium  ferente  glorioso  ac  salutari  certamini  non 
defuturos." 

Obviously  there  was  no  statement  made  before  that 
Auxentius  was  from  Dorostorum.  If  it  was,  then  the 
whole  commentary  is  a  worthless  jumble  from  the 
start.  One  can  see  how  the  forger  (for  it  can  only  be 
a  forger  who  wrote  this  Commentary)  came  to  make 
the  final  statement.  He  made  Auxentius,  the  friend 
and  associate  of  Demophilus,  write  the  letter  about 
Ulfilas,  and  later^  made  both  accompany  Ulfilas  to 
Constantinople.  Now,  the  Auxentius  who  was  the 
associate  of  Demophilus  was  Auxentius  of  Milan, ^ 
who  died  in  374.  The  forger,  noticing  toward  the  end 
of  his  Commentary  that  he  had  made  a  blunder  in 
date,  created  a  new  Auxentius,  of  Dorostorum,  to 
present  a  letter  about  Ulfilas  in  or  after  381,  although 
no  such  Auxentius  is  known  to  history. 

The  forger  speaks  of  the  first  Auxentius  as  having 
died  without  a  successor.  Kauffmann  finds  in  this 
the  *' objective  proof"  that  the  Commentary  was  first 


1  Ibid.,  p.  73. 

2  Fol.  348',  p.  56. 

3  Fol.  349,  p.  57. 

*  Socrates,  II.  37. 


ULFILAS  51 

composed  before  385,  when  the  second  Bishop  Auxen- 
tius  of  Milan  was  ordained.  But  the  conclusion  is 
absurd.  "A  bishop  died  without  a  successor"  is 
merest  nonsense.  It  could  have  been  written  only 
by  a  forger  who  knew  that  there  was  another  Auxentius 
later.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  confusion  arose  in  him 
through  the  statement  made  by  Ambrose,  "Palla- 
dium uel  Demofilum  adque  Auxentium  uel  perfidiae 
eius  heresis  (for  heredes),''^  which  made  him  believe 
that  Auxentius  had  an  heir. 

The  two  passages  quoted  from  the  Commentary  are 
replete  with  stupidities.  Eusebius  is  mentioned  as  a 
historiographer.  Kauffmann  observes  correctly  that  this 
is  impossible,^  and  so  concludes  that  storiographus  is 
a  later  insertion.  After  what  we  have  heard  of  Aux- 
entius of  Dorostorum  we  need  not  assume  anything 
more  than  a  blunder  by  the  forger.  Indeed,  in  the 
Historia  tripartita  Eusebius  is  mentioned  in  this  context 
without  specifying  where  he  came  from,^  hence  the 
forger,  who  may  have  had  the  History  before  him, 
made  the  confusion.  That  the  forger  had  some  such 
source  before  him  is  the  more  likely,  since  the  same 
passage  in  the  Historia  tripartita,  quoting  from  Sozo- 
menus,  III.  1,  says  "praecipue  vero  Arii  sectatores 
Eusebius  et  Theogonius,  cuius  dogma  se  firmare 
credebant,"  which  led  the  forger  to  say  "hoc  secundum 
diuinum  magisterium  Arri  cristiana  professio;  hoc  et 
Theognius  episkopus,  hoc  et  Eusebius  storiografus." 
Kauffmann^  says  that  Arri  is  a  blunder  of  a  later 
copyist,  because  Ambrose  quotes  Palladius  as  saying 
(fol.  302'),  "dicitis  quod  Arrium  non  sequamini." 
There  is  no  blunder  here.  The  forger  simply  quoted 
from  the  Historia  tripartita  or  a  similar  source. 

1  Fol.  336',  p.  32. 

2  Op.  cit.,  pp.  XXIV,  XLIX. 
3 IV.  1. 

*  Op.  cit.,  pp.  XXIV,  96. 


52      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

''Ad  comitatum  Theodosii"  is  a  late  expression.  In 
the  fourth  century  ad  comitatum  meant  "at  the  court." 
But  Sievers  had  already  noticed,  though  timidly,  that 
here  it  must  mean  "a  journey  with  the  intention  of  pre- 
senting a  petition."^  This  expression  occurs  again  on 
folio  282:^  "Nam  et  ad  Oriente  perrexisse  memoratos 
episkopos  cum  Ulfila  episcopo  ad  comitatum  Theodosi 
imperatoris  epistula  declarat."  We  have  it  also  on 
folio  327,^  "unde  et  cum  sancto  Hulfila  ceterisque 
consortibus  ad  alium  comitatum  Constantinopolim 
venissent  ibique  etiam  et  imperatores  adissent,  adque 
eis  promissum  fuisset  concilium,  ut  sanctus  Auxentius 
exposuit."  Here  it  is  clear  that  "  ad  comitatum  venire" 
means  "to  go  to  petition."  Sievers  correctly  draws 
the  conclusion  that  it  means  "to  go  with  a  petition," 
because  we  have  instead  postulate  on  folio  286,'* 
"sanctorum  episkoporum  nostrorum,  ut  non  solum  in 
partibus  occidentalibus  de  Illirico  advenirent  postulantes 
concilium  (dari  ut?)  gesta  ab  ipsis  ereticis  confecta 
indicant,"  and  again,  folio  286,  "recitatae,  etiam  ad 
orientem  perrexerunt  idem  postulantes."  What  Sievers 
did  not  notice  is  that  ad  comitatum  is  clearly  defined 
in  the  Commentary  itself.  Maximinus  objects  to  Am- 
brose's assumption  of  authority  over  the  Arians. 
"Do  you  not  know  that  Peter's  see  is  equal  and  com- 
mon for  all  bishops,  since  that  holy  apostle  dedicated 
it  with  divine  consecration  not  only  for  the  bishop  of 
Rome,  but  also  for  all  others?  He  did  not  vindicate 
to  himself  any  special  prerogative,  but  was  obliging 
to  those  whom  he  considered  to  be  elected  by  an  equal 
consecration  of  the  Lord  to  the  apostolic  office.  He 
was  obliging  when,  joining  unto  himself  John,  he  was 
sent  to  Samaria  ad  comitatum,  as  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 

1  Paul  und  Braune,  Beitrage,  vol.  XX,  p.  310  ff. 

2  G.  Waitz,  Vber  das  Leben  und  die  Lehre  des  Ulfila,  Hannover  1840,  p.  9. 
'  Ibid.,  p.  23,  and  fol.  349,  Kauflfmann,  op.  cit.,  p.  57. 

*  Sievers,  op.  cit.,  p.  312. 


ULFILAS  53 

teach  us,  saying:  *Cum  audissent  autem  qui  Hiero- 
solymis  erant  apostoli,  quod  Samaria  quoque  recepit 
uerbum  dei,  miserunt  ad  eos  Petrum  et  Johannem, 
qui  descenderunt  et  orauerunt  pro  eis,  ut  acciperent 
spiritum  sanctum.'  "^ 

It  is  clear  that  here  comitatus  means  "a  meeting  at 
which  one  speaks  or  prays."  One  will  look  in  vain 
for  such  a  meaning  in  the  fourth  or  fifth  century. 
We  find  it  in  the  Graeco- Latin  glosses,  "comitatus 
ffuvodia,''^  in  Isidore,  "synodum  autem  ex  Graeco 
interpretari  comitatum  vel  coetum,"  in  Eucherius' 
Instructiones,  "synodus  comitatus  vel  coetus,"^  in  the 
Leyden  glosses  De  canonihus,  "synodus  graece,  latine 
comitatus  vel  coetus,"*  in  the  Placidus  glosses, 
"synodus  comitatus  vel  coUectio."^  Wherever  we  have 
the  word,  we  have  a  mere  etymological  speculation, 
namely,  (tuu  +  odo^  =  com  +  itus,  co  +  etus.  The  un- 
mistakable meaning,  **  meeting,  convention,"  which 
it  has  in  our  Commentary,  marks  the  language  of  the 
Commentary  as  of  a  much  later  date  than  the  fourth 
century. 

We  know  nothing  of  Auxentius,  except  what  appears 
here.  The  case  is  no  better  with  Maximinus,  who, 
apparently,  is  the  first  writer  of  the  Commentary. 
Kauffmann  has  shown  conclusively  that  this  Maxi- 
minus is  identical  with  the  bishop  who  in  427  or  428 
had  a  dispute  with  St.  Augustine  at  Hippo. ^  As  he 
speaks  of  St.  Augustine  **aetate  praecedis  et  auctori- 
tate  maior,"  and  Augustine  was  at  that  time  74  years 
old,  Maximinus  can  at  most  have  been  24  years  old 
in  381,  when  the  meeting  at  Aquileia  took  place.     He 

1  Fol.  344',  Kauffmann,  op.  cit.,  p.  87. 

2  Goetz,  II.  104,  446,  510,  etc. 

3  C.  Wotke,  Sancti  Eucherii  Lugdunensis  Formulae,  etc.,  in  CSEL.,  vol. 
XXXI.  p.  161. 

*  Goetz,  V.  412. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  150. 

« Op.  cit.,  p.  LIV  ff. 


54       HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

cannot  possibly  have  been  a  bishop  at  that  time,  **  hence 
an  interpolator  put  in  the  frequent  references,  'Maxi- 
minus  episcopus  disserens  dixit. '"^ 

The  more  natural  conclusion  is  that  the  forger 
blundered  and  put  words  into  the  mouth  of  a  man  who 
could  not  have  said  them  at  Aquileia.  Indeed,  H. 
Bohmer,^  who  has  no  doubt  about  the  authenticity 
of  the  Commentary,  says  of  Maximinus  that  he  did 
not  know  what  he  was  talking  about,  when  he  said 
that  Theodosius  was  influenced  by  Ambrose  of  Milan 
to  go  back  on  the  promise  made  to  Ulfilas  and  Pal- 
ladius  of  calling  a  council ;  because  we  know  for  certain 
that  Theodosius  did  invite  the  heretical  bishops  of 
his  realm,  consequently  also  Ulfilas,  but  not  Palladius 
and  Secundianus,  and  because  we  also  know  that  it 
was  Nectarius  of  Constantinople,  and  not  Ambrose, 
who  persuaded  him  to  abandon  the  council.  Still 
worse  informed  was  the  glossator  of  Maximinus,  who 
makes  Theodosius  pass  two  laws,  one  of  the  year  388, 
the  other  of  386,  in  order  to  frustrate  the  meeting 
many  years  earlier. 

But  the  case  is  far  worse  still.  The  Commentary 
ends  by  quoting  a  law  from  the  Codex  Theodosianus, 
which  was  not  published  until  438.  Even  Kauffmann 
has  to  exclaim:  ''This  law  (XVI.  4,  1,  of  the  year  386) 
could  have  been  quoted  only  by  a  silly  man  who  stood 
so  far  away  from  the  things  treated  at  that  time  that 
he  was  unable  to  comprehend  the  ecclesiastic  and  polit- 
ical legislation  of  Valentinianus.  Thus,  contrary  to  all 
sense,  he  referred  to  a  law  which  was  in  favor  of  the 
Arians  and  threatened  the  followers  of  Ambrose  with 
punishment,  for  this  law  was  promulgated,  not  in 
order  to  deprive  the  Arians  of  the  right  of  meeting, 

1  IMd.,  p.  LVI. 

^  Realencyklopddie  fur  protestantische  Theologie  und  Kirche,  Dritte  Auflage, 
vol.  XXI,  p.  553  f. 


ULFILAS  55 

but  in  order  to  leave  it  unimpaired.  The  two  laws  are 
as  useless  in  this  place  as  the  false  conjecture."^ 

Sievers  tried  in  vain  to  harmonize  the  contradictions 
between  Maximinus,  Philostorgius,  and  Auxentius.^ 
Thus  by  rejecting  as  interpolations  everything  which 
interfered  with  the  assumption  of  the  Ulfilas  legend, 
and  building  on  d.7ia^  Uybyitva^  such  as  on  an  unknown 
Auxentius  of  Dorostorum,  who  is  mentioned  immedi- 
ately before  the  "silly"  quotations  from  the  Codex 
Theodosianus,  have  the  Germanic  scholars  saved  from 
the  wreck  what  was  not  worth  saving. 

What  happened  in  all  probability  is  this.  The  forger 
had  before  him,  not  only  the  Gesta  Aquileia,  but  also 
some  Arian  commentary  on  the  text.  To  this  he  added 
from  his  imagination,  or,  more  likely,  from  a  Gothic 
Antiquitas,  the  story  of  Ulfilas,  and,  jumbling  together 
dates  and  persons,  came  to  discordant  and  impossible 
conclusions.  Thus  he  had  to  stretch  the  years  of 
Maximinus,  to  create  a  new  Auxentius,  to  send  Ulfilas 
on  journeys  impossible  in  the  days  before  the  railways 
and  steamboats,'  to  adduce  the  Codex  Theodosianus, 
which  appeared  nearly  fifty  years  later,  and  to  quote 
ex  post  facto  laws,  which  unfortunately  had  the  oppo- 
site effect.     Idiocy  cannot  go  farther. 

The  story  about  Ulfilas  in  Auxentius  is  as  meager 
and  useless  as  all  the  rest.  Sievers  has  already  shown 
that  the  division  of  Ulfilas'  life  into  thirty  years  up  to 
his  ordination  as  a  bishop  and  forty  years  afterwards, 
is  merely  schematic  and  improbable.^  What  Auxen- 
tius tells  of  Ulfilas  is  this:  he  was  learned,  a  true  con- 
fessor of  Christ.  Then  we  get  an  overlong  account 
of  his  creed.  He  was  bishop  for  forty  years,  writing 
in  Greek,  Latin,  and  Gothic.     A  Gothic  king  perse- 


1  Op.  cit.,  p.  109. 

2  Op.  cit.,  p.  321. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  318. 
*Ibid.,  p.  321, 


56      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

cuted  the  Christians,  and  Ulfilas,  driven  from  his 
country,  as  Moses  drew  his  people  away  from  the 
violence  of  Pharaoh,  took  his  Goths  across  the  Danube 
and  made  them  worship  God  in  the  mountains  as  did 
the  saints.  He  taught  on  Roman  soil  for  thirty-three 
years.  After  preaching  for  forty  years,  he  was  called 
to  Constantinople  to  fight  some  heretics,  and  there  he 
died.  Then  comes  his  own  Creed,  where  he  says  that 
he  has  always  believed  that  way. 

One  would  have  expected  from  a  pupil  and  follower 
of  Ulfilas  to  hear  something  about  the  city  where  he 
was  bishop,  about  the  writings  which  were  attributed 
to  him,  some  incidents  in  his  life  beyond  the  mere 
skeleton  of  his  ordination  and  death.  Of  all  that  there 
is  not  a  word.  There  are  many  statements  in  this 
account  which  resemble  those  of  Philostorgius,  as,  for 
example,  the  reference  to  Ulfilas  being  a  Moses.  One 
can  see  how  this  phrase  arose.  We  learn  from  Jordanes 
that  Ulfilas  took  his  people  across  the  Danube  into 
Moesia.  Reading  Moesia  as  Moises,  we  get  the  pretty 
story,  that,  like  Moses,  Ulfilas  took  his  people  across 
the  Danube.  But  not  a  single  one  of  the  old  accounts 
connected  the  crossing  of  the  Danube  with  Ulfilas. 
This  event  took  place  between  369  and  373,  and  if 
Ulfilas  lived  thirty-three  years  after  that,  he  must  have 
died  about  404.  This  coincides  entirely  with  the  story 
of  Unilas,  the  Catholic  bishop  of  the  Goths  in  Gothia, 
whom  John  Chrysostom  had  ordained  and  sent  there, 
"admirandum  ilium  episcopum  Unilam,  quem  non 
ita  pridem  ordinavi  atque  in  Gotthiam  misi,  multis  ac 
magnis  rebus  gestis,  diem  suum  extremum  clausisse."^ 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  we  have  here  a  confusion, 
a  misreading,  of  Ulfilas  for  the  Unilas  of  John  Chry- 
sostom, and  transference  of  the  true  account  of  the 
death  of  the  Gothic  bishop  to  the  imaginary  person 

*  Montfaucon,  Joannis  Chrysostomi  Opera,  vol.  Ill',  p.  722. 


ULFILAS  57 

who  invented  the  Gothic  letters  and  wrote  so  much 
in  three  languages. 

When  we  examine  Ulfilas'  creed,  and  keep  in  mind 
that  Socrates  and  Sozomenus  said  that  Ulfilas  sub- 
scribed to  the  creed  of  Ariminum,  we  at  once  see  why 
the  forger  expanded  so  lavishly  on  the  creed  and  last 
will  of  Ulfilas.  Here  he  could  easily  follow  the  re- 
corded opinion  of  Bishop  Maximinus,  the  very  man 
who  is  made  to  contradict  Ambrose  on  all  points. 
That  the  language  of  Auxentius  has  amazing  resem- 
blances, though  in  a  much  inferior  style,  to  that  of 
Maximinus,  has  already  been  noticed  by  Kauffmann, 
but  it  has  never  occurred  to  him  that  the  whole  Com- 
mentary is  to  a  great  extent  a  plagiarism,  with  profuse 
additions,  from  Maximinus'  defence  before  St.  Augus- 
tine. I  shall,  therefore,  go  into  greater  detail  on  this 
point. 

The  Arians  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  and  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  fifth  century  renounced  Arius^  and  claimed 
adherence  to  the  compromise  creed  of  Ariminum. 
Maximinus  says:  "si  fidem  meam  postulas,  ego  illam 
teneo  fidem  quae  Arimini  a  trecentis  et  triginta  epis- 
copis,  non  solum  exposita,  sed  etiam  subscriptionibus 
firmata  est."^  Similarly  Auxentius  of  Milan  said: 
"ex  infantia,  quemadmodum  doctus  sum,  sicut  accepi 
de  Sanctis  Scripturis,  credidi  .  .  sic  credidi,  et  credo.  .  . 
omnes  ergo  haereses,  quae  adversus  catholicam  fidem 
veniunt,  semper  quidem  congregati  episcopi  catholici 
condemnaverunt  et  anathematizaverunt,  specialiter  au- 
tem  ccnvenientes  Arimino,  et  inde  condemnavimus."^ 
For  that  reason,  the  juxtaposition  in  our  Commentary 
of  "hoc  secundum  diuinum  magisterium  Arri  cristiana 

1  "Numquam  scivi  Arium,  non  vidi  oculis,  non  cognovi  ejus  doctrinam," 
Auxentius  of  Milan,  Migne,  Patrol,  lat.,  vol.  X,  col.  617;  "Palladius  dixit: 
Arrium  nee  uidi  nee  scio  qui  sit,"  Kauffmann,  op.  cit.,  p.  92. 

^  Migne,  Patrol,  lat.,  vol.  XLII,  col.  710. 

3  lUd.,  vol.  X,  col.  617  f. 


58      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

professio"  with  a  creed  which  is  based  on  the  com- 
promise creed  of  Ariminum,  is  absurd  and  cannot 
belong  to  that  period.  The  confession  "semper  sic 
credidi  et  in  hac  fide  sola  et  uera  transitum  facio  ad 
dominum  meum,"  is  contradicted  by  the  statement 
made  by  the  Greek  historians  that  Ulfilas  first  followed 
the  Nicene  creed.  It  contradicts  itself,  since  Ulfilas 
could  not  have  been  brought  up  in  the  beginning  of 
the  fourth  century  in  a  creed  which  did  not  yet  exist. 
It  is  simply  a  formula  compounded  from  Maximinus 
and  Auxentius  of  Milan,  where  the  two  claimed 
adherence  to  the  same  creed  of  Ariminum,  in  order 
to  avoid  the  accusation  of  being  fullfledged  Arians. 
The  forger  did  not  notice  that,  although  being  Arian, 
neither  Maximinus  nor  Auxentius  could  have  said 
''  Arri  professio,"  although  this  is  found  in  the  Historia 
tripartita,  that  is,  in  a  Catholic  source. 

The  Credo  of  Ulfilas  is  made  up  from  statements  of 
Maximinus.  Ulfilas  says:  "Credo  unum  esse  deum 
patrem;  solum  ingenitum  et  inuisiuilem  et  in  unigeni- 
tum  filium  eius  dominum  et  deum  nostrum,  opificem  et 
f  actorem  uniuerse  creature  non  habentem  similem  suum 
ideo  unus  est  omnium  deus  pater,  qui  et  dei  nostri  est 
deus."^  Christ  is  God,  the  Maker  of  all  creatures. 
So  Maximinus  says:  "Nos  Christum  colimus  ut  Deum 
omnis  creaturae,"^  and  "Pater  enim  in  ilia  immensa 
potentia  potentem  creatorem  genuit."^  Hence 
"Christ  is  our  God,"  "an  solus  Pater  unus  Deus 
dicendus  est,  cujus  Filius  Christus  noster  est  Deus."^ 
God  is  not  merely  "one,"  he  is  "solely  one,"  even  as 
Maximinus  says,  "ego  Patrem  solum  secundum  ante- 
lata  testimonia,  non  cum  altero  et  tertio  dico  quod 


1  Kauffmann,  op.  cit.,  p.  76. 

«  Migne,  Patrol,  lat.,  vol.  XLII,  col.  724. 

» Ibid.,  col.  729. 

*  Ibid.,  col.  738. 


ULFILAS  59 

unus  est,  sed  quod  solus  unus  est  Deus,"^  and  "quo- 
modo  ergo  solus  potens  Pater?  sed  solum  dicit  ob 
hoc,  quia  nullus  ei  comparatur,  quia  solus  est  tantae 
magnitudinis,  tantae  potestatis,  tantae  potentiae."^ 
God  is  invisible,  "invenies  quemadmodum  est  unus 
invisibilis  Deus  Pater.  "^  Similarly,  Christ  is  uni- 
genitus,  ''consideranda  est  virtus  Unigeniti  Dei,  et  in 
ipso  admiranda  est  magnitudo  omnipotentiae  Dei 
Patris,  qui  tantum  ac  talem  genuit  Filium."*  That 
God  is  ingenitus  follows  from  "verus  innatus  Pater 
verum  genuit  Filium."^  Ulfilas'  "qui  et  Dei  nostri 
est  Deus"  follows  from  the  same  statement,  and  from 
the  preceding  sentence,  "Deus  Deum  genuit."  That 
Christ  has  no  one  similar  to  Him  is  expressed  thus: 
"nihil  est  in  coelo  quod  non  genu  flectat  Christo."^ 
Ulfilas  says  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  "et  unum  spiritum 
sanctum,  uirtutem  inluminantem  et  sanctificantem  .  .  . 
nee  deum  nee  dominum  sed  ministrum  Cristi  (fidelem) , 
nee  (equalem)  sed  subditum  et  oboedientem  in  omni- 
bus filio."  We  find  in  Maximinus,  "unus  est  Spiritus 
sanetus  paracletus,  qui  est  illuminator  et  sanctificator 
animarum  nostrarum,"'^  and  "nos  enim  Spiritum 
sanctum  eompetenter  honoramus  ut  doctorem,  ut 
ducatorem,  ut  illuminatorem,  ut  sanctificatorem,"^ 
where  the  very  words  are  used  as  in  the  Commentary. 
To  the  statement  made  by  St.  Augustine  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  equal  to  the  Son,  Maximinus  says: 
"Dicis  Spiritum  sanctum  quod  aequalis  sit  Filio. 
Da  testimonia,  ubi  adoratur  Spiritus  sanetus."^  When 
Ulfilas  further  says,  "  et  filium  subditum  et  oboedientem 

1  Ibid.,  col.  728. 

2  Ibid.,  col.  729. 

3  Ibid.,  col.  728. 
*  Ibid.,  col.  727. 
"  Ibid.,  col.  733. 
« Ibid.,  col.  724. 
'Ibid.,  col.  711. 

8  Ibid.,  col.  725. 

9  Ibid.,  col.  724. 


60      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

suo  in  omnibus  deo  patri,"  we  at  once  get  this  from 
Maximinus'  **si  parentibus  subditus,  ut  divinarum 
Scripturarum  auctoritas  luce  clarius  praedicat,  quanto 
magis  utique  illi  suo  genitori  est  subditus,  qui  tantum 
ac  talem  genuit."^ 

The  creed  in  regard  to  the  Holy  Ghost  is  greatly 
reduced  in  Ulfilas,  for  in  another  place  Auxentius 
says,^  "uno  enim  deo  ingenito  extante  et  uno  domino 
unigenito  deo  subsistente  spiritus  sanctus  aduocatus 
nee  deus  nee  dominus  potest  dici,  sed  a  deo  per  domi- 
num  ut  esset  accepit:  non  auctor  neque  craeator,  sed 
inluminator  et  sanctificator,  doctor  et  ducator,  adiutor 
et  postulator,  pre  .  .  tor  et  (informa)tor,  Cristi  minister 
et  gratiarum  diuisor,  pignus  hereditatis  in  quo  signati 
sumus  in  diem  redemtionis."  The  phrase,  "inlumina- 
tor et  sanctificator,  doctor  et  ducator,"  is  identical 
with  that  of  Maximinus  already  quoted.  The  ampli- 
fications in  Ulfilas  are  due  to  quotations  from  Arian 
texts,  which  are  adduced  in  full  by  Kauffmann.  But 
it  must  be  clear  from  what  has  already  been  said  that 
the  relation  between  our  Commentary  and  Maximinus 
is  far  more  intimate  than  between  the  Commentary 
and  any  other  known  source.  It  is  inconceivable  that 
Maximinus,  in  his  dispute  with  St.  Augustine,  should 
have  quoted  from  the  unknown  and  blundering  Auxen- 
tius, who  wrote  fifty  years  earlier.  The  deposition  of 
Maximinus  before  the  ecclesiastic  court  was  spon- 
taneous and  it  was  taken  down  by  Antonius,  the  notary, 
so  that  St.  Augustine  himself  had  to  refer  to  the 
deposition.^  It  is,  therefore,  more  natural  to  suppose 
that  the  forger,  who  made  Maximinus  annotate  the 
Gesta  Aquileia,  also  quoted  his  language  and  arguments 
whenever  his  other  Arian  sources  failed  him. 


1  Ihid.,  col.  735. 

2  Fol.  306,  Kauffmann,  op.  cit.,  p.  74. 

3  Migne,  Patrol,  lat.,  vol.  XLII,  col.  713. 


ULFILAS  61 

The  forger  was  not  an  Arian,  because  then  he  would 
not  have  confused  the  creed  of  Ariminum  with  an 
Arian  profession  of  faith.  Least  of  all  could  he  have 
written  as  an  Arian  in  the  fifth  century,  when  the 
Arians,  like  Maximinus  and  Auxentius  before  him, 
renounced  Arius  and  claimed  adherence  to  the  creed 
of  Ariminum,  We  can  now  see  how  hopelessly  bad 
the  accounts  of  Socrates  and  Sozomenus  are  about 
Ulfilas.  According  to  both,  Ulfilas  subscribed  to  the 
Ariminum  creed  at  Constantinople.  Yet  Sozomenus 
tells  us  that  Ulfilas  became  Arian  when  he  came  to 
Constantinople,  and  persuaded  his  people  to  become 
Arians.  Theodoretus  more  specifically  says  that 
Ulfilas  was  bribed  to  hold  communion  with  the  Arians, 
when  Valens  invaded  his  country,  but  that  he  did  not 
depart  from  his  paternal  religion. 

Apart  from  the  hopeless  contradiction,  the  story  is 
impossible.  If  Ulfilas  subscribed  to  the  Ariminum 
creed,  he  was  an  Arian  from  the  Catholic  standpoint, 
but  considered  himself  to  be  a  true  Catholic,  even  as  did 
Auxentius  of  Milan  and  Maximinus.  Hence,  neither 
from  his  nor  from  the  Catholic  standpoint  did  he 
become  an  Arian  when  he  went  to  Constantinople  or 
when  Valens  came  to  Moesia. 

On  the  other  hand,  while  the  account  of  the  per- 
secution of  Athanaric  and  the  Gothic  settlement  in 
Moesia  are  given  correctly  as  to  date  in  Socrates, 
Sozomenus,  and  Theodoretus,  it  is,  as  connected  with 
Ulfilas,  removed  to  about  the  year  348,  instead  of 
approximately  371,  in  Auxentius.  Here  Auxentius  is 
totally  wrong. 

One  can  see  how  the  whole  series  of  blunders  arose. 
The  chronicles,  including  the  first  edition  of  Isidore's 
Chronica  and  Historia  Gothorum,  had  a  correct  account 
of  Athanaric,  the  Gothic  settlement  in  Moesia,  and, 
possibly,  the  Arianism  of  the  Goths  after  Valens.     In 


62      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

the  beginning  of  the  eighth  century  a  Gothic  Anti- 
quitas  related  the  story  of  Ulfilas,  the  famous  Gothic 
bishop  who  invented  the  Gothic  alphabet  and  trans- 
lated the  Bible  into  Gothic,  the  name  Ulfilas  arising  from 
a  misreading  of  the  name  of  the  Catholic  Gothic  bishop, 
Unilas,  who,  according  to  John  Chrysostom,  had  done 
so  much  for  the  Goths  and  died  in  404,  in  conjunction 
with  the  fact  that  the  newly  invented  Gothic  alphabet 
was  ascribed  to  the  famous  Gothic  bishop. 

As  the  Goths  had  been  Arians  before  becoming 
again  Catholics,  the  conclusion  was  drawn  that  Ulfilas 
was  an  Arian,  and  from  the  specific  statement  of  Maxi- 
minus,  the  bishop  of  the  Arians,  who  was  accessible  to 
Catholic  writers  in  St.  Augustine,  that  he  subscribed  to 
the  Ariminum  creed,  it  was  concluded  that  Ulfilas'  Arian- 
ism  was  of  the  same  kind.  Thus  there  must  have  been 
a  stage  preceding  that  of  Auxentius  (of  Dorostorum), 
in  which  we  had  a  correct  account  of  Athanaric  and 
the  migration  of  the  Goths  to  Moesia,  connected  with 
the  spurious  Arianism  of  Ulfilas  and  his  subscription 
to  the  creed  of  Ariminum. 

The  editors  of  Socrates,  Sozomenus,  Theodoretus, 
and  the  Historia  tripartita  interpolated  the  account  of 
Ulfilas,  his  signing  the  Ariminum  creed  of  Constanti- 
nople, and  his  Arianism  in  the  correct  account  of  Athan- 
aric and  the  migration  to  Moesia.  But  the  forger  of 
the  Commentary  to  the  Gesta  Aquileia  wanted  to  be 
more  clever  than  these,  and  got  himself  inextricably 
into  a  bog. 

He  knew  that  thirty-three  years  had  passed  between 
the  migration  of  the  Gothic  Moses  (instead  of  "into 
Moesia")  across  the  Danube  and  the  death  of  Ulfilas 
(Unilas),  also  that  Ulfilas  had  been  in  Constantinople. 
Placing  his  presence  in  Constantinople  in  383,  and  let- 
ting him  die  there  instead  of  Athanaric,  he  subtracted 
33  years  from  381,  and  found  that  Ulfilas  must  have 


ULFILAS  63 

crossed  the  Danube  under  Constantius,  having  suf- 
fered then  persecution  under  a  Gothic  "judex." 

To  make  his  camouflage  perfect,  he  quoted  all  of 
the  arguments  of  the  Ariminum  creed  from  Maximinus, 
and  ascribed  to  him  also  the  criticisms  on  the  Gesta 
Aquileia,  without  observing  that  the  bishop  who  was  less 
than  70  years  old  in  428  could  not  possibly  have  been  a 
bishop  at  Aquileia  in  381.  The  forger  also  knew  that 
Auxentius  was  a  good  name  for  an  Arian  bishop,  and 
so  he  made  him  the  student  of  Ulfilas.  It  was  only 
when  his  forgery  was  completed  that  he  observed  that 
Auxentius  of  Milan  died  "without  heir"  in  374  and 
that  he  had  made  him  write  a  letter  to  Bishop  Maxi- 
minus, who  in  381  was  at  most  24  years  old.  So  he 
promptly  corrected  the  blunder  by  inventing  an 
Auxentius  of  Dorostorum,  in  Thrace,  closer  to,  but 
not  in,  the  Gothic  country,  to  make  the  case  more 
plausible.  Pour  la  bonne  houche,  he  finished  up  his 
work  by  quoting  from  the  Codex  Theodosianus,  pub- 
lished after  438,  two  laws,  one  of  386,  the  other  of  388, 
which  proved  precisely  the  opposite  of  what  he  intended 
to  say. 

Philostorgius  is  obviously  based  on  Auxentius. 
Here  we  have  the  same  reference  to  Moses  and  to 
Eusebius,  who  now  is  made  to  baptize  Ulfilas.  We 
have  here  also  the  apocryphal  story  of  not  translating 
the  Canonical  Book  of  the  Kings,  and  the  pretty  story, 
told  by  the  older  historians  of  all  the  Barbarian  Chris- 
tians, of  having  derived  his  Christianity  from  Asia 
Minor,  more  especially,  from  Cappadocia. 

When  all  the  impossible  and  contradictory  accounts 
are  eliminated  from  all  these  sources,  we  return  to 
the  authenticated  and  absolutely  uniform  story  that 
the  Goths  were  chiefly  Catholic  in  the  fourth  century, 
that  as  late  as  404  they  had  a  Catholic  bishop  Unilas, 
that  there  was  in  Gothia  a  persecution  of  Catholic 


64      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Goths  under  Athanaric,  that  only  the  soldier  rabble 
in  Constantinople,  more  especially,  in  Rome,  adhered 
to  the  Arian  court  party,  and  that  Alaric  did  not 
seriously  consider  the  Arian  party  until  his  expedition 
into  Italy  and  sack  of  Rome. 

Of  Ulfilas,  the  Arian  bishop,  who  discovered  the 
Gothic  alphabet  and  translated  the  Bible  into  Gothic, 
not  a  trace  is  left.  It  is  true,  there  is  a  poem  ascribed 
to  Eugene  of  Toledo  in  which  Ulfilas  is  mentioned: 

"Moyses  primus  Hebraeas  exaravit  litteras, 
mente  Phoenices  sagaci  condiderunt  Atticas; 
quas  Latini  scriptitamus,  edidit  Nicostrata, 
Abraam  Syras  et  idem  repperit  Chaldaicas; 
Isis  arte  non  minori  protulit  Aegyptias, 
Gulfila  promsit  Getarum  quas  videmus  ultimas."^ 

This  poem  is  not  found  in  the  important  Madrid  Codex, 
and  the  fragment  in  J,  in  which  only 

**M(oyses 

re)perta  est 

mine  cepit 

discit 

Gulfila  Gotus" 

can  be  read,  shows  that  the  verses  were  handled  freely 
by  interpolators,  for  here  not  a  line  agrees  with  the 
above.  Besides,  it  is  clear  that  all  but  the  last  line 
are  taken  directly  out  of  Isidore's  Etymologiae,  I.  3.  5 
and  I.  4.  1,  but  the  reference  to  Ulfilas  is  absent  from 
the  Etymologiae.  It  is  found  only  in  the  Chronica  350, 
and  this  has  already  been  shown  to  be  an  interpolation. 
The  poem  is  repeated  in  Julian's  Ars  grammatica,  in 
which  it  is  unquestionably  as  much  an  interpolation 
as  in  the  poems  of  Eugene. 

» MGH.,  Aucior.  antiq.,  vol.  XIV,  p.  257. 


JORDANES. 

Mommsen  ventured  the  guess  that  Jordanes'  Getica 
was  known  to  Secundus,  who  in  612  wrote  a  History  of 
the  Langobards,^  but  he  cautiously  added  that  the 
passages  thus  borrowed  are  too  few  in  number  to  admit 
anything  more  than,  a  conjecture.  Since  Jordanes 
supposedly  used  Cassiodorus'  work  for  his  Getica,  such 
borrowing  may  have  been  made  directly  from  Cassi- 
odorus, and  Secundus  cannot  be  adduced  as  a  proof 
that  Jordanes  was  already  known  in  612. 

The  next  mention  of  Jordanes,  according  to  Momm- 
sen,^ is  to  be  found  in  the  Scholia  Statiana,  where 
strava  of  Jordanes'  Getica,  XLIX  (258)  is  quoted. 
Mommsen  himself  admits  that  the  Scholia  must  be 
later  than  Lactantius,  or  are  interpolated  in  the  sixth 
century.  Now  Jahnke^  is  far  more  careful.  He 
does  not  undertake  to  determine  what  is  genidne  and 
what  is  interpolated  later.  As  the  oldest  MS.  of  the 
Scholia  is  of  the  eleventh  or  twelfth  century,  the 
Scholia  are  no  evidence  for  the  age  of  Jordanes. 

Next  Mommsen  finds  a  reference  to  Jordanes  in 
the  Gesta  abbatum  Fontanellensium  (MGH.,  Scrip- 
tores,  vol.  II,  p.  287),  where  it  says  that  Wando,  who 
was  abbot  from  742  to  747  and  died  in  756,  left  to  the 
Monastery  of  S.  Wandregisilus  his  library,  and 
among  these  books  was  "Historia  lordanis  episcopi 
Ravennatis  ecclesiae  Getarum."^  As  among  these 
books  we  also  find  a  commentary  to  the  Gospels  by 

*  Neues  Archiv,  vol.  V,  p.  75. 

2  MGH.,  Audor.  antiq.,  vol.  Vi,  p.  XLV. 

'  Lactantii  Placidi  qui  dicitur  Commentarii  in  Statii  Thebaida,  Lipsiae 
1898,  p.  IX. 

*  MGH.,  op.  cit.,  p.  LXIII.  , 


66      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Sedulius,  obviously  Sedulius  Scottus,  who  lived  in  the 
middle  of  the  ninth  century,  and  the  Gesta  were 
written  after  833,  the  reference  to  Jordanes  is  value- 
less. 

Mommsen  assumes  that  Paulus  Diaconus  quoted 
Jordanes  in  his  Historia  Lang ohar dor um,  which  was 
written  before  774.  That  is  possible,  but,  of  course, 
he  may  have  quoted  from  the  same  sources  from  which 
Jordanes  drew  his  information,  namely,  from  the 
Antiquitas,  Ablabius,  and  Cassiodorus.  The  oldest 
and  best  MS.  of  Jordanes  is  of  the  end  of  the  eighth 
or  beginning  of  the  ninth  century  (Heidelbergensis) , 
and  the  oldest  definite  reference  to  Jordanes  is  found 
in  the  Cosmography  of  the  Ravenna  Anonymus.^ 
Thus  we  have  so  far  only  the  definite  proof  that  Jor- 
danes was  known  before  the  ninth  century,  possibly 
at  the  end  of  the  eighth  century. 

In  the  Getica  there  is  a  reference  to  Jordanes'  origin, 
but  when  we  consider  that  the  very  introduction  to 
the  work  is  a  bold  forgery,  as  has  long  ago  been  recog- 
nized by  Sybel,^  we  cannot  place  any  faith  in  what 
the  author  has  to  say  about  himself.  According  to  his 
statement,  he,  although  **agrammatus,"  that  is,  with- 
out knowledge  of  letters,  had  been  a  notary  of  Gunthiges 
or  Baza,  a  nephew  of  Candac,  apparently  an  Alan 
chief, ^  although,  according  to  his  own  statement,  he 
himself  was  a  Goth.  He  also  says  that  he  wrote  his 
book  in  the  year  551.  All  these  statements  may  have 
been  cribbed  by  the  author  from  older  sources,  even  as 
he  cribbed  the  introduction  out  of  Rufinus. 

Mommsen  has  given  a  list  of  the  sources  mentioned 
or  used  by  Jordanes.     Among  these  are  Fabius,  who 

^  "Quam  et  lordanus  sapientissimus  chronographus  Scanzan  appellat," 
Pinder  and  Parthey,  Ravennatis  Anonymi  Cosmographia,  Berolini  1860, 
p.  29;  also  pp.  168,  179,  185,  205,  221,  422. 

2  MGH.,  op.  ciL,  p.  53. 

»/6id.,  p.  VI. 


JORDANES  67 

wrote  of  Ravenna,  and  of  whom  we  know  nothing,  and 
Ablabius,  who  is  three  times  mentioned  as  a  historian 
of  the  Goths,  of  whom  we  equally  know  nothing.  But 
the  information  they  give  us  is  insignificant  and  need 
not  trouble  us.  Far  more  important  is  the  informa- 
tion which  Jordanes  drew  from  the  legendary  lore, 
which  he  claims  to  have  received  from  the  Antiquitas. 
That  the  Antiquitas  was  a  real  collection,  now  lost,  is 
proved  by  the  references  to  it.  Speaking  of  the  Gothic 
bards,  Jordanes  says  that  the  "miranda  Antiquitas" 
hardly  boasts  of  any  heroes  equal  to  them.^  Here 
"miranda,"  as  an  epithet  of  Antiquitas,  can  refer  only 
to  a  book,  and  not  to  a  tradition.  Speaking  of  the 
Huns,  the  author  quotes  Orosius  with  the  words, 
"ut  refert  Orosius."  Immediately  afterwards  he 
goes  on  to  give  an  elaborate  account  of  the  Huns  as 
born  of  witches,  "ut  refert  Antiquitas."  Obviously 
this  account,  which  is  not  mentioned  in  any  history, 
is  taken  from  a  legendary  book  account.^  We  have 
also  the  definite  statement  that  the  Antiquitas  relates 
marvelous  and  extraordinary  accounts.^ 

In  a  similar  way  Paulus  Diaconus  speaks  of  a  collec- 
tion of  stories,  when  he  says,  "in  this  place  the  Anti- 
quitas tells  a  ridiculous  story.  "^  It  has  been  assumed 
that  the  reference  is  to  the  Origo,  attached  to  the 
Langobard  laws,  but  even  so,  why  does  Paulus  talk 
not  of  the  Origo,  but  of  the  Antiquitas?  Besides, 
Meginhard  similarly  quotes  the  Antiquitas  for  the 
origin  of  the  Saxons,  and  this  obviously  cannot  be 
identical   with    the   Origo   Langohardorum}     Thus  it 

1  "Quales  vix  heroas  fuisse  miranda  iactat  Antiquitas"  V  (43). 

*  "Post  autem  non  longi  temporis  intervallo,  ut  refert  Orosius,  Hunnorum 
gens  omni  ferocitate  atrocior  exarsit  in  Gothos.  nam  hos,  ut  refert  Antiquitas, 
ita  extitisse  conperimus,"  XXIV  (121). 

*  "Bellum  atrox  multiplex  immane  pertinax,  cui  simile  nulla  usquam 
narrat  Antiquitas,  ubi  talia  gesta  referantur,"  XL  (207). 

*  Historia  Langobardorum,  I.  8. 

^  "Saxonum  gens,  sicut  tradit  Antiquitas,  ab  Anglis  Britanniae  incolis 
egressa,"  MGH.,  Scriptores,  vol.  II,  p.  674. 


68      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

is  evident  that  the  Antiquitas  was  a  collection  of 
legendary  Germanic  lore  in  general,  from  which  the 
Origo,  Meginhard's  account,  and  Jordanes'  history  of 
the   Goths   drew   their  information. 

Jordanes  several  times  refers  to  Dio,  the  historian, 
as  his  source  of  information,^  but  since  some  of  the 
references  are  to  Dio  Cassius,  one  to  Dictys,  and  at 
least  one  to  Dio  Chrysostom,  it  is  certain  that  Jor- 
danes did  not  quote  at  first  hand.^  The  assumption 
that  the  source  from  which  he  drew  had  extracts  from 
a  work  of  Dio  Chrysostom,  called  Getica,  is  not  borne 
out  by  the  evidence.  There  never  was  such  a  work,  and 
Dio  is  credited  with  it  on  the  basis  of  interpolated 
passages.  The  reference  in  Jordanes  to  the  Getica  of 
Dio'  is  false,  because  the  story  of  Telephus  is  found 
in  Dictys.  Philostratus  says  that  Dio  Chrysostom 
wrote  a  Getica,^  but  this  is  not  supported  by  any  other 
evidence  and  is  contradicted  by  Suidas,  in  whose 
dictionary  some  manuscripts  have  no  reference  to 
it  at  all,  while  others  credit  Dio  Cassius  with  it.  On 
the  other  hand,  all  the  passages  in  Jordanes  which 
are  certainly  from  Dio  Chrysostom,  are  all  from  his 
known  orations. 

**Ut  ergo  ad  nostrum  propositum  redeamus,  in 
prima  sede  Scythiae  iuxta  Meotidem  commanentes 
praefati,  unde  loquimur,  Filimer  regem  habuisse  nos- 
cuntur.  In  secunda,  id  est  Daciae,  Thraciaeque  et 
Mysiae  solo  Zalmoxen,  quem  mirae  philosophiae  eru- 
ditionis  fuisse  testantur  plerique  scriptores  annalium. 

1  "Dio  auctor  est  celeberrimus  scriptor  annalium,"  II  (14);  "ut  refert 
Dio,  qui  historias  eorum  annalesque  Greco  stilo  composuit,"  V  (40);  "Dio 
storicus  et  antiquitatum  diligentissimus  inquisitor,  qui  operi  suo  Getica 
titulum  dedit,  .  .  hie  Dio  regem  illis  post  tempora  multa  commemorat 
nomine  Telefum,"  IX  (58);   "Dio  storico  dicente,"  X  (65). 

2  J.  de  Arnim,  Dionis  Prusaensis  quem  vacant  Chrysostomum  quae  exstant 
omnia,  Berolini  1896,  vol.  II,  p.  IV  ff. 

'  IX  (58). 

*  "  'Qi;  be  xal  icrxootav  Ixavoc  -fiv  |i>YY0«<pei'v,  8ti1oi  xa  rexijcd,  xal  ya.Q 
tr\  xai  elg  rexag  fiXd^ev,  bnoxe  f)XaTo,»    Bioi    aoqjiOTtov,     ^'. 


JORDANES  69 

Nam  et  Zeutam  prius  habuerunt  eruditum,  post  etiam 
Dicineum,  tertium  Zalmoxen,  de  quo  superius  diximus. 
Nee  defuerunt,  qui  eos  sapientiam  erudirent.  Unde  et 
pene  omnibus  barbaris  Gothi  sapientiores  semper 
extiterunt  Grecisque  pene  consimiles,  ut  refert  Dio,  qui 
historias  eorum  annalesque  Greco  stilo  composuit. 
Qui  dicit  primum  Tarabosteseos,  deinde  vocatos  Pil- 
leatos  hos,  qui  inter  eos  generosi  extabant,  ex  quibus  eis 
et  reges  et  sacerdotes  ordinabantur "  (Getica,  V.  39-40). 

One  reference  is  to  Dio  Cassius,  LXVIII.  9.  1:  ''ou 
6  dzxe^aXoc;  i^rsno/Kpei  [xku  xal  Tzpo  Trj(;  rjzvyj^  Trpecr^si^,  ouxin  xoiv 
xofxTjrcov  wamp  npozepov,  dXXd  tcov  7:do(p6pa)u  voh^  dpcffvoui;;^' 
"Decabalus  sent,  not  haired  messengers,  as  before, 
but  the  best  of  the  hat-wearers."  The  borrowing  from 
this  source  is  made  clearer  in  one  fragment  of  Petrus 
Patricius:^  '^Ttpiffj^ec^  e7T£/jt</>£  rrdocpopou^.  ouzoc  ydp  elac  nap'' 
ahTolz  o\  Tcpccortpoc.  rtporepov  yap  xopijra^  iTtepne,  euTeXearipoo^ 
Soxouurat:  nap'  auroic:  dvac^  The  name  Tarabosteseos,  also 
spelled  strabostes  eos,  zarabostereos,  etc.,  can  only  be  a 
corruption  of  roue  dpcazou;:  of  the  text.  The  statement 
made  in  Jordanes  as  to  the  superiority  of  the  pilleati 
over  the  capillati,  repeated  from  Dio  Cassius,  is  based 
on  a  misconception.  The  passage  in  Dio  Cassius  is 
unquestionably  interpolated,  for  in  the  corresponding 
extract  of  Xiphilinus  we  read,  *'nip<pa<;  roue  dpiazoo<:  zwv 
ndo(p6p(ou,''  and  there  is  no  reference  to  the  inferiority 
of  "haired"  men;  and  in  another  fragment  of  the  same 
passage  in  Petrus  Patricius  there  is  not  even  any  ref- 
erence to  nd6(popoi,^  nor  is  there  anything  said  about 
them  in  the  corresponding  passage  in  Zonaras,  XI.  21. 

We  have  here  in  Jordanes  a  confusion  of  Dio  with 
his  grandfather,  and,  apparently,  the  same  confusion 
was  introduced  into  the  Greek.     In   his   Bopuadtvczcx6<; 

^  U.  p.  Boissevain,  Cassii  Dionis  Cocceiani  Historiarum  Romanarum  quae 
supersunt,  Berolini  1901,  vol.  Ill,  p.  194. 
» Ibid.,  p.  195. 


70      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Dio  Chrysostom  tells  of  the  Greeks  of  Borysthenis 
that  they  imitated  the  older  Greek  fashion  of  Homer's 
time.  When  Dio  visited  that  city,  the  citizens  invited 
him  to  talk  to  them  near  the  temple  of  Jupiter.  "The 
oldest  and  most  distinguished  of  the  Borysthenitae 
sat  in  a  circle  on  the  steps.  The  rest  of  the  people 
stood  up,  for  there  was  a  large  plain  in  front  of  the 
temple.  Any  philosopher  would  have  taken  pleasure 
in  the  sight,  because  they  all  wore  long  hair  and  beards 
in  the  old  fashion,  even  as  Homer  tells  of  the  Greeks, 
and  there  was  only  one  among  them  who  was  shaven, 
and  he  was  the  butt  of  ridicule  to  all."^  All,  both 
nobles  and  simple  folk,  wore  their  hair  long.  In  his 
oration,  Hspl  zoo  afrjuaroa^  he  refers  to  Thracian  Getae 
who  wear  hats,  while  others  wear  tiaras  and  trousers.^ 
It  did  not  occur  to  him  to  oppose  the  pilleati  to  the 
capillati,  for  it  was  the  Greek  Borysthenitae  who  wore 
long  hair  and  the  Getae  who  wore  hats.  It  is  only  in 
the  passages  quoted  from  Dio  Cassius  and  Jordanes  that 
the  juxtaposition  exists.  In  another  place  Jordanes 
says;  "nomen  illis  (sacerdotibus)  pilleatorum  contra- 
dens,  ut  reor,  quia  opertis  capitibus  tyaris,  quos  pilleos 
alio  nomine  nuncupamus,  litabant:  reliquam  vero 
gentem  capillatos  dicere  iussit,  quod  nomen  Gothi  pro 
magno  suscipientes  adhuc  odie  suis  cantionibus  reminis- 
cent."^ The  two  passages  put  together  at  once  show 
us  that  the  confusion  arose  in  Jordanes'  source  from  a 
total  miscomprehension  of  Dio  Chrysostom. 

1  <Kal  ol  n^v  n;oE06irtaToi  xal  ol  yvoQiiKoxaxoi  xal  ol  iv  xaig  doxal; 
KuxX(p  xa^i^ovTo  iai  6ddo(ov  to  8^  Xouiov  rtA.fjdog  eqpEtnrixeaav  ■f]y  y«(?  ev- 
QV/,(OQia  noWi]  nQo  toC  veto*  Jtdvu  ovv  S.y  Tig  rio^  Tfj  oiIjei  q>iX6o'oqx)i;  dvriQ, 
OTi  ojtavTE?  fiaav  toy  dp^xaiov  xQonov,  dig  qjTiai'v  "Oixrioog  xovg  "EXXriva?, 
xojMOVTeg  xal  Td  veveia  dqpeixoTcg,  tig  8e  tv  avxoiq  jiovog  e^uoil'^iEvog,  xal 
TovTov  iXoiSoQoirv  TE  xal  i\jdaovv  &xavTEg,>op.  cit.,  p.  5. 

^  ♦"Evi&a  ydo  eviote  ^Xinovaiv  dv&Q<jojtovg,  Tovg  ^iv  xivag  JtiXovg  im 
xaig  xz(paXalq  exovtoc,  (bg  vOv  t65v  ©pqixtbv  Tiveg  tcov  FEToiv  Xeyoixevcov, 
nQoxEQOfv  be  AaxEfionnavioi  xal  MaxE6avEg,  dXX.oug  be  Tido^av  xal  dva^x)- 
Oi8ag,>  ibid.,  p.  184  f. 

'XI  (71,  72). 


JORDANES  71 

The  long  hair,  according  to  Dio,  is  a  sign  of  their 
primitiveness,  which  a  philosopher,  that  is,  one  versed 
in  the  lore  of  antiquity,  could  not  help  but  admire, 
because  Homer  called  the  Greeks  the  longhaired  ones. 
From  this  arose  the  absurd  statement  that  the  Goths 
still  speak  in  their  songs  with  respect  to  the  longhaired 
ones.  Indeed,  the  very  passage  where  the  forger  or 
Jordanes  speaks  of  the  pilleati  (V.  40),  contains  the 
statement  that  the  Goths  are  wiser  than  nearly  all 
the  barbarians  and  almost  similar  to  the  Greeks,  a 
statement  which  refers  to  the  love  of  Homer  found 
among  the  Borysthenitae,  and  which  is  taken  out 
directly  from  Dio  Chrysostom's  Bopoadtvatxdz. 

Dio  went  to  Borysthenis  in  order  to  travel  further 
into  Scythia  and  study  the  Getae  on  the  spot.  "The 
city  of  the  Borysthenitae  is  not  as  large  as  it  was  reputed 
anciently  to  be,  on  account  of  the  frequent  wars  and 
having  been  captured  so  often.  Lying,  as  it  does,  amidst 
the  barbarians,  and  having  existed  in  the  most  warlike 
of  times,  it  has  always  been  waging  war,  and  has  fre- 
quently been  captured.  The  last  and  greatest  defeat 
it  suffered  not  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  years 
ago.  It  was  the  Getae  who  seized  it,  together  with 
other  cities  on  the  left  of  the  Pontus,  as  far  as  Apollonia. 
Thus  the  Greeks  living  there  were  in  sore  straits, 
since  there  were  as  yet  few  colonies  and  most  of  them 
were  overrun  by  the  barbarians.  Many  parts  of  the 
Greek  country  fell  into  their  hands,  because  the  Greeks 
were  scattered  over  a  large  territory.  Then  the 
Borysthenitae  again  colonized  the  city,  with  the  per- 
mission of  the  Scythians,  I  think,  because  these  were 
in  need  of  commercial  relations  with  Greece.^     But 

^  This  very  sentence  from  Dio  Chiysostom  was  incorporated  by  Jordanes: 
"in  eo  vero  latere,  qua  Ponticum  litus  attingit,  oppidis  haut  obscuris  in- 
volvitur,  Boristhenide,  Olbia,  Callipolida,  Chersona,  Theodosia,  Careon, 
Myrmicion  et  Trapezunta,  quas  indomiti  Scytharum  nationes  Grecis  permi- 
serunt  condere,  sibimet  commercia  prestaturos,"  V  (32). 


72      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

the  newcomers  had  to  stop,  because  there  was  a  revolt 
in  the  city  and  they  could  find  no  countrymen  of  their 
own  to  help  them,  and  the  Scythians  could  not  and 
would  not  help  them  to  build  an  emporium  in  the 
Greek  fashion.  The  result  of  this  revolt  was  a  shrinking 
of  the  city  to  its  present  form."^ 

The  forger  whom  Jordanes  quoted  misunderstood 
this  very  simple  and  correct  account,  because  he  knew 
from  Herodotus  that  Borysthenitae  was  the  name  of 
agricultural  Scythians  above  Borysthenis;^  hence  he 
jumped  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Borysthenitae,  that 
is,  the  inhabitants  of  Borysthenis,  whom  Dio  visited, 
were  those  very  Getae  who  were  almost  like  Greeks. 
That  the  source  which  Jordanes  quoted  drew  directly 
from  Dio  Chrysostom  is  proved  by  the  continuation 
of  the  passage  in  Jordanes,  where  we  suddenly  hear  that 
the  Getae  or  Gothi  worshiped  Mars,  which  made  them 
very  warlike  and  bloodthirsty,  but  it  was  only  along  the 
Pontus  that  they  became  more  civilized  and  wise  and 
were  divided  into  families,  the  Visigoths  being  of  the 
family  of  Balthi,  the  Ostrogoths,  of  the  family  of  Amali. 


'  «'H  6e  KoXiq  r\  tcov  Boqi'o^fvitwv  to  jievE^og  eoriv  ov  jtQog  ttiv  jta- 
Xcadv  86|av  8ia  tag  mrvexeig  ahaaen;  xal  xovg  jtokE\iov<;'  axe  yaQ  ev  ne- 
aoiq  olxoOaa  Toig  6ao6docRg  toooutov  ^br]  XQ&vav,  xal  toutoi?  oxtbov  ti 
Toig  jtoXEfiixcoTaxotg,  del  nev  n;o^eM.eiTat,  noXkoMic,  be.  xal  ed^co*  ttiv  8e  te- 
X.EUTaiav  xal  neyiavf]v  dXcoaiv  ov  kqo  jiXeiovow  ti  rtEvrnxovTa  xal  exaTov 
Itcov  elXov  8^  xal  Taurnv  Fexai  xal  xdg  SXXaq  xdg  iv  xoig  doiaxEooig  xov 
IIovTou  KoXeiz  \iexQi  ' AKoXXcawiaq'  o#ev  bi]  xcd  ocpoSpa  TajtEivd  Td  ngdy- 
^aTa  xaxEOTti  tcov  xaiJTxi  'E^^tivcov,  twv  uev  ouxeti  cnrvoixiadEiCTcbv  toXecov, 
xGyv  be  qjauXcog,  xal  tcov  nXelcnoiv  6ao6doa)v  slg  awdg  ouoquevtcov  jtoXXai 
ya.Q  8t|  xivEg  dJtcooEig  xaTa  Jto^d  \ieQr\  YEYOvaoi  Tfjg  'EXXdSog,  cite  hr  rtoX- 
Jioig  Tojtoig  8iean;aonEVTig.  'AXovTEg  8e  tote  ol  BogvcrftsviTai  jidXiv  cnrv4>- 
XTyaav,  e^eXovtcov  ehoI  8o%eIv  twv  2xirda)v  6id  to  Selo^ai  Tfig  djiTtoQiag  xal 
Tov  xaxdjtXou  TCOV  'EXXrivcov  IjiaucravTO  yaQ  Elare^EovTEg  dvatTTaTou  Tfig 
jio^Ecog  YEvonevng,  Ste  ovx  Ixovxeg  a^ocpoovovg  xovg  um>8£xonEvoug  ou8e  xtov 
Sxv^cov  d^iomrtcov  ov8e  dmcxajiEvoov  Ejutooiov  auxcov  xaTaaxEvdaaaf^ai  tov 
'EXXtivlxov  TQOJtov.  Stiueiov  8e  xfig  dvacrxdoEcog  y\  xe  q)auX,6xTig  xcov  (hxo8o- 
UTindxcov  xal  x6  mrvECTxdXdai  xtjv  noXw  ig  6oaxu,»  oP-  cit.,  p.  2. 

^  «'Ajt6  8e  xauxTig  uvo)  lovxi  olxEoum  2xi)^ai  yeuiQyoi  xoiig  "EXXTivEg 
ol  (KXEovTEg  EJtl  x(p  'Yjtdvi  jtoxanQ*  KaXeovcn  Boov<TftevEtxdg,  ocpiaq  be  av- 
Tovg  'OX.6iojio>.ixag,»  IV.  18. 


JORDANES  73 

This  reference  to  Mars  and  the  warlike  spirit  of  the 
Goths  is  again  due  to  a  misunderstanding  of  a  passage 
in  Dio  Chrysostom.  He  says  that  the  Borysthenitae 
are  particularly  fond  of  Homer,  whom  they  know  by 
heart,  because  they  themselves  are  still  warlike,  and  that 
they  for  the  same  reason  built  a  temple  to  Achilles  on 
an  island  of  that  name.  Then  Dio  asked  Callistratus, 
to  whom  he  was  speaking,  whether  Homer  was  a 
better  poet  than  Phocylides;  to  which  Callistratus 
answered  that  he  did  not  even  know  that  name  and 
that  he  only  knew  Homer,  whom  all  their  poets  men- 
tioned in  their  poems,  especially  when  they  were  about 
to  go  to  war."^ 

The  forger,  Jordanes  or  his  source,  showed  no  critical 
acumen  when  he  made  Dicineus  precede  Zamolxis, 
because  Zamolxis  is  already  mentioned  by  Herodotus 
and  in  another  passage  Jordanes  tells  us  that  Dicineus 
lived  in  the  days  of  Sulla.  This  passage  runs  as  follows : 
"When  Buruista  was  king,  Dicineus  came  to  Gothia, 
in  the  days  when  the  Roman  Sulla  seized  the  govern- 
ment. Buruista  received  Dicineus  and  gave  him 
almost  royal  power.  By  his  advice  the  Goths  laid  waste 
the  lands  of  the  Germans  which  the  Franks  now  occupy. 
But  Caesar,  who  was  the  first  to  vindicate  to  himself 
the  Roman  Empire  and  subjected  nearly  the  whole 
world  to  his  rule  and  conquered  all  kingdoms,  so  that 
he  occupied  the  islands  of  the  sea  beyond  our  world 

^  <2xe86v  8e  xai  Jtdvrei;  ol  Bogucr&Evixai  jteqI  tov  jtoiiittiv  e0ro)u8dxacriv 
lortog  8id  to  JtoXenixoi  elvai  eti  vvv,  el  jiti  aga  xal  8id  ttiv  jtQog  tov  'Axik- 
"kea  evvoiav  toOtov  \iev  vdp  iijreoqa'djg  xi\L<bcfi,  jtai  veojv  tov  nev  ev  Tfj  vr|cr(p 
Tfi  'AxiKXimq  xoiXounevn  iSQuvTai,  t6v  8^  ^v  Tfj  ndXei*  &axs  ovbt  dxo-uEiv 
ujtEO  ovSevog  akXov  deXouaiv  t]  'Om-tiqcv  xal  TdX,Xa  ouxexi  aacpcog  eA.^T|Vi- 
^vTEg  8id  TO  iv  (iEoroig  oIxeIv  Toig  6ao6dooi5  oucog  rnv  ye  'IX.id8a  oXiyav 
jidvTeg  iaaaiv  ojtb  OTOnaTog.  Elnov  ouv  regoartai^oyv  nobq  avxov,  Hoteoov 
ooi  8o%Ei,  &  KakXiaxQortE,  d|xetva)v  jtoiriTTig  "OnriQog  f]  ^vncvXibriz;  xal  og 
yeXaaaq  ecpr\,  'AXX'  ovbs  ejticrtanai  eyioys  tou  irzQOv  jtoititou  to  ovojxa,  ol- 
nai  8e  tA"n8e  tovtcov  ^'n8Eva*  ov8e  yaQ  TjYovne^a  finei?  &XXov  Tivd  ^oitittiv  ^ 
"OnTiQOv  TOUTOV  8e  oxebov  Ti  ou8e  dX.Xos  ou8elg  dYvoer  jtovov  vdp  "OjiriQou 
HvriixovEt'ouaiv  ol  JtoiT^Tal  auToiiv  ev  xoig  jtoirinaoiv,  xal  aXXax;  jiev  Elcodaoi 
Xiytw,  del  8^  6ji6Tav  [liXXcoai  fidxEcrdai,»  op.  cit.,  p.  3  f. 


74      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

and  made  those  tributaries  of  Rome  who  had  never 
heard  the  name  of  Rome,  none  the  less,  in  spite  of 
frequent  trials,  was  unable  to  subjugate  the  Goths. 
Gains  Tiberius  now  rules  as  the  third  over  Rome, 
but  the  Goths  persevere  even  under  his  reign."  Then 
follows  a  long  list  of  things  which  Dicineus,  the  con- 
siliarius  of  the  Goths,  taught  the  people.  He  instructed 
them  in  philosophy  and  ethics.  "He  taught  them 
physics  and  made  them  live  naturally  by  their  own 
laws,  which  were  written  down  and  still  exist  under  the 
name  of  belagines.^'  He  taught  them  logic,  theoretice, 
practice,  astronomy.  He  elected  the  noblest  and 
wisest  among  them,  instructed  them  in  theology,  and 
appointed  them  priests,  and  "gave  them  the  name  of 
pilleati,  because,  I  think,  they  sacrificed  with  their 
heads  covered  with  tiaras,  which  we  call  by  another 
name,  pillei.  But  the  rest  of  the  people  he  ordered 
to  be  called  capillati,  which  name  the  Goths  considered 
honorific  and  still  praise  in  their  songs.  "^ 

1  "Dehinc  regnante  Gothis  Buruista  Dicineus  venit  in  Gothiam,  quo 
tempore  Romanorum  Sylla  potitus  est  principatum,  quern  Dicineum 
suscipiens  Buruista  dedit  ei  pene  regiam  potestatem;  cuius  consilio  Gothi 
Germanorum  terras,  quas  nunc  Franci  optinent,  populati  sunt.  Caesar  vero, 
qui  sibi  primus  omnium  Romanum  vindicavit  imperium  et  pene  omnem 
mundum  suae  dicioni  subegit  omniaque  regna  perdomuit,  adeo  ut  extra  nostro 
urbe  in  oceani  sinu  repositas  insulas  occuparet,  et  nee  nomen  Romanorum 
auditu  qui  noverant,  eos  Romanis  tributarios  faceret,  Gothos  tamen  crebro 
pertemptans  nequivit  subicere.  Gaius  Tiberius  iam  tertius  regnat  Romanis: 
Gothi  tamen  suo  regno  incolume  perseverant.  quibus  hoc  erat  salubre, 
hoc  adcommodum,  hoc  votivum,  ut,  quidquid  Dicineus  eorum  consiliarius 
precepisset,  hoc  modis  omnibus  expetendum,  hoc  utile  iudicantes,  effectui 
manciparent.  qui  cernens  eorum  animos  sibi  in  omnibus  oboedire  et  natura- 
lem  eos  habere  ingenium,  omnem  pene  phylosophiam  eos  instruxit:  erat 
namque  huius  rei  magister  peritus.  nam  ethicam  eos  erudiens  barbaricos 
mores  conpescuit:  fysicam  tradens  naturaliter  propriis  legibus  vivere  fecit, 
quas  usque  nunc  conscriptas  belagines  nuncupant;  logicam  instruens 
rationis  eos  supra  ceteras  gentes  fecit  expertes;  practicen  ostendens  in 
bonis  actibus  conversare  suasit;  theoreticen  demonstrans  signorum  duo- 
decem  et  per  ea  planetarum  cursus  omnemque  astronomiam  contemplari 
edocuit,  et  quomodo  lunaris  urbis  augmentum  sustinet  aut  patitur  detri- 
mentum,  edixit,  solisque  globum  igneum  quantum  terreno  orbe  in  mensura 
excedat,  ostendit,  aut  quibus  nominibus  vel  quibus  signis  in  polo  caeli 
vergente  et  revergente  trecentae  quadraginta  et  sex  stellae  ab  ortu  in 
occasu  precipites  ruant,  exposuit.    qualis  erat,  rogo,  voluptas,  ut  viri  for- 


JORDANES  75 

The  story  of  King  Buruista  and  Dicineus  arose  in 
an  amusing  way  out  of  Dio's  Bopuadevatx6(:.  Dio 
says  that  the  city  of  the  Borysthenitae  was  seized  by 
the  Getae  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago. 
As  Dio  lived  at  the  end  of  the  first  century  A.  D.,  this 
incident  falls  in  the  days  of  Sulla.  Borysthenis  pro- 
duced the  eponymous  hero,  Buruista,  but  whence 
comes  Dicineus,  who  is  not  mentioned  by  anyone  else? 
We  know  of  but  one  great  Dacian  who  extended  his 
rule  very  far  and  was  considered  with  awe  by  his 
people,  and  that  was  Decebalus,  that  very  man,  who, 
in  the  interpolated  passage  in  Dio  Cassius,  at  first  sent 
capillati  as  messengers,  and  then  sent  the  nobler 
pilleati.  This  is  precisely  what  Dicineus  does,  when 
he  divides  his  people  into  pilleati  and  capillati.  There 
cannot,  therefore,  be  a  shadow  of  a  doubt  that  Dicineus 
and  Decebalus  are  one  and  the  same  person. 

This  Decebalus  lived  at  the  end  of  the  first  century 
A.  D.  Dio  Cassius  says  that  he  was  a  remarkable  man, 
a  great  engineer,  and  a  worthy  antagonist  of  the 
Romans.  "I  call  them  Dacians,  although  I  am  aware 
that  some  Greeks,  whether  right  or  wrong,  call  them 
Getae,  but  I  know  that  the  Getae  live  above  the  Haemus, 
near  the  River  Ister."^     Apparently,  Decebalus,  also 

tissimi,  quando  ab  amis  quantolumcumque  vacassent,  doctrinis  philo- 
Bophicis  inbuebantur?  videris  unum  caeli  positionem,  alium  herbarum 
fruticumque  explorare  naturas,  istum  lunae  commoda  incommodaque, 
ilium  solis  labores  adtendere  et  quomodo  rotatu  caeli  raptos  retro  reduci 
ad  partem  occiduam,  qui  ad  orientalem  plagam  ire  festinant,  ratione 
accepta  quiescere.  haec  et  alia  nonnuUa  Dicineus  Gothis  sua  peritia  tradens 
mirabilis  apud  eos  enituit,  ut  non  solu  mediocribus,  immo  et  regibus  im- 
peraret.  elegit  namque  ex  eis  tunc  nobilissimos  prudentioresque  viros, 
quos  theologiam  instruens,  numina  quaedam  et  sacella  venerare  suasit 
fecitque  sacerdotes,  nomen  illis  pilleatorum  contradens,  ut  reor,  quia  oper- 
tis  capitibus  tyaris,  quos  pilleos  alio  nomine  nuncupamus,  litabant:  reliquam 
vero  gentem  capillatos  dicere  iussit,  quod  nomen  Gothi  pro  magno  sus- 
cipientes  adhuc  odie  suis  cantionibus  reminiscent,"  XI  (67-72). 

1  tMeyiOTog  6e  8ti  jtoXEfioi;  'Pwiaaioiq  xoxe  jtQog  xovq  Aaxovg  iyiyexo, 
&v  TOTE  Ae)tE6a>.05  i6aaiXevz,  beivbg  |xev  oWEivai  Tot  noXeiiia  Seivog  8^  xal 
jiQoL^ai,  imTj&Eiv  euatoxo?  dvaxcoQfjaai  xaipio?,  IvEfiQag  texvitt)?  ^iCLxr^q  sq- 
YoiTTjg,  xai  xa^cog  hev  vixxi  xO'HC'tto^oii  xa^dig  8e  xai  fixtav  fiio'&Eoiftai  el- 


76      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

written  Decibalus,  reached  the  forger  in  the  form 
Deciualus,  which  he  read  Decinaius,  which  produced 
Decinaeus  and  Dicineus,  as  recorded  in  Jordanes. 

Buruista,  read  Burvista,  produced  Bopt^iara<:^  Boipe- 
/9/<Trac  in  several  interpolated  passages  in  Strabo, 
where  he  is  also  associated  with  Decaeneus.  After 
telling  the  story  of  Zamolxis,  who  lived  in  a  cave, 
where,  as  a  counselor  of  God,  he  promulgated  his 
edicts  and  himself  became  a  counselor  of  the  king, 
there  comes,  as  a  postscript,  the  statement  that  when 
Byrebistas  was  king  of  the  Getae,  against  whom  divine 
Caesar  fought,  Decaeneus  held  that  office.^  In  an- 
other passage  we  have  a  more  elaborate  account  of 
Byrebistas  and  the  magician  Decaeneus.  Here  the 
statement  that  Byrebistas  was  oppressed  by  sedition 
at  once  shows  that  the  sedition  of  Borysthenis  has  now 
become   a  sedition   against   Byrebistas.^     In   another 

8a)S*  acp'  ov  8ti  xai  a.vtay(i)vi<nr\i;  d|i6M.axos  ^Jtl  reoXu  toii;  'Pcoixaioig  iyi- 
VETO.  Aoxous  88  avTovg  n;oooraYooEvo>,  &okeq  jtou  xai  auxoi  eatrtovg  xal  ol 
'Pojfwxioi  oqpa?  6vond^oiKnv,  om  dYvo&v  oxi  'E^A.r|vo)v  xivfeg  Tsxaq  auxou? 
Xiyovaw,  eixe  iQ^&g  eixe  xai  ^e  Xeyovxei;'  iyto  y«0  olba  F^xoig  xovg  vnkQ 
xov  Ainou  jtaod  xov  "Itrxgov  olxoOvxac;,*  op.  cit.,  p.  170  f. 

1  «AEYExai  Ydp  i^iva  xcov  FExoav,  ovona  Za\io'ki,iv,  bovXevaai  'n.v^ay6- 
Qq.,  xai  xiva  xcov  ovQavi(ov  koq'  Ixeivou  ^lafl'eiv,  xd  88  xal  naq'  Alyvnxioiv, 
nXaviT&Evxa  xal  \iixQi  Bevoo*  ^jtavEXfrovxa  8*  elg  ttiv  olxEiav  ajtou8a<j©fivai 
Jtaod  X0I5  'r\ye\wai  xal  x(p  edvEi,  jtQo^EYOvxa  xdg  iKior\\iaaia(;'  xE^Evxcovxa 
8e  jtEioai  xov  6aai,XEa  xoivcovov  xfig  dpx^S  auxov  latelv,  (bg  xd  rtaod  xaiv 
Oecov  i^ayyt'K'ktw  lxav6v  xal  xax'  dox«?  M*v  lEQ^a  xaxaoxadiivai  xov  jid- 
Xiaxa  xt|j,(0|XEVOu  Jtap'  auxolc;  deoij,  jAExd  xavxa  8e  xal  ©eov  KQoaayoQev- 
dfjvai,  xal  xaxaXa66vxa  dvxowSE?  xi  xiOQiov  d6axov  xoi^  dX^oig  ivxaT3da 
8iaixd(Td^ai,  OJidviov  ivxvyxoycyvxa  X0I5  Exxog,  jtXrjv  xoi5  6aoikioiq  xal  xc6v 
©EQaJtovxcov  (Tu^JtQdxxEiv  8^  xov  6aoiXEa,  OQC&vxa  xoix;  dv&of^^ov?  Jtooae- 
xovxag  Eaux(p,  noXv  nXiov  ti  rtooxEpov,  wg  ExqpEQOvxi  xd  jtooaxdYnaxa  xaxd 
(Tuji6ou^T|v  ■&E(bv.  Tovxl  8e  x6  £§05  8iEXEivev  dxQi  xal  Elg  i)\iaq,  ati  xivog  £u- 
Oioxonevov  xoiouxot)  x6  fjfl^og,  og  xtp  hev  6aaikti  (Ti)(x6ouXog  vjtf[Qxe,  Jiagd  bk 
xoig  FExaig  wvondtExo  SEog*  xal  x6  oQog  vjtE^riq)^  Ieqov,  xal  jiQOcaYOOEU- 
ouaiv  ovxcog*  ovona  8'  auxcp  KooYaiovov,  6|xa)vujA0v  xcp  KagaQQiovxi  Jtoxajxcp' 
xal  8ti  oxe  Bx)OE6L0xag  floxe  xcov  rEXoiv,  iq>'  ov  ribt]  jtapEcwtEudaaxo  KaiaaQ 
6  ©Eog  oxoaxEUEiv,  AExaivEog  elxs  xavxriv  ttiv  xiiiiyv  xai  Jtcog  x6  xcov  i\Ly^- 
XO)v  djtEXEOI^ai  nu^aYOQEiov  xou  Za^o^liog  eheive  jtaQa8o^ev,»  VII.  3.  5. 

='«T(bv  8f)  Fexcov  xd  jiEv  jtaXaid  dqpEiodo,  xd  8'  Elg  fifidg  Ti8n  xoiauxa 
viJcfiQlE.  BoiQE6i(Txag,  dvrio  FEXTjg,  ^jtioxdg  im.  xriv  xoij  EOvoug  Irticrxacriav, 
dvEXa6E  xExaxwjiEvoug  xovg  dvftQCOKOvg  vjtb  (Tuxvcov  jto7.EH(ov  xal  xoaouxov 
ijtfjeEv  d(Txr|0Ei  xal  vr|\|>ei  xal  x(0  itoooEXEiv  xoig  jtoo<rxdYJAa(Jiv,  &ax'  bXiymy 


JORDANES  77 

place,  where  there  is  reference  to  great  seers,  we  have 
the  interpolation:  ^^rtapa  toIq  Fdrai^  ^eoc,  to  fxkv  nalacbv 
ZdfioX^a;-,  nudayopuo!;  tk;,  xad^  ^/^oi^  Se  6  T(p  Bupe^cffT^  deam^wv 
Atxaiv£.o(^y^ 

As  Decinaeus,  from  his  association  with  the  pilleati 
and  capillati,  could  have  arisen  only  from  the  inter- 
polated passage  in  Dio  Cassius,  through  a  misunder- 
standing of  Dio  Chrysostom's  reference  to  hairy 
Borysthenitae  and  Getae  wearing  hats,  the  passage  in 
Strabo  can  be  nothing  but  an  interpolation,  because 
Strabo  died  before  either  of  them  wrote.  As  the  state- 
ment in  Jordanes  that  the  reign  of  Buruista  fell  in  the 
reign  of  Sulla  is  identical  with  the  statement  in  Dio 
Chrysostom  that  Borysthenis  was  captured  by  the 
Getae  about  the  time  of  Sulla,  the  assertion  of  Strabo 

ixcov  nEYtt^iTv  aox'Hv  xatEcrxriaaTO,  xal  t(ov  6}i6ooyv  Towg  nXziaxovg  vnixa^e 
tolg  Fexaiq*  tiSt)  be  xal  'Pconaioig  (poSeQog  riv,  8ia6aivcov  dSeto^  xov  "Iotqov 
xcd  TT|v  QQ-iy.Y\v  Xer\kaT(bv  jxexQi  MaxeSoviag  xal  xfj?  'IXX.V01805,  xoug  xe 
KeX,xo{)5  xoug  dvanejuvM'Evovg  xoi?  xe  Oo<y|l  xal  X015  'IA.Xvowhs  i^en6Q{h\at. 
Botov?  6e  xal  aoStiv  "nqpavLoe  xovq  ujto  Koii-xaxTio<t)  xal  TavQioxovg-  jigog  be 
XTjv  eiJJtetO^eiav  xovi  e^ovg  cmvaYMvicrxTiv  e<Txe  AexaCveov  fivfi^a  y6i\xa,  xal 
n;EJtXavT|nevov  xaxa  xtjv  Aivujixov  xal  Jtooorpaaiag  EX|xena^iix6xa  xivdg,  61' 
&v  vKEKQwexo  xd  •fl-eia-  xal  61'  oXiyov  xaMaxaxo  ©eog,  xaftdjtEg  eqpanEv  ne- 
ol  xov  Za^o^^Ecog  SiTiYouixevof  xfjs  8'  EUJtEidEiag  oriifiEiov  ejieicrSriaav  y«C 
ixx6\l)ai  xi^v  dnjreXov  xal  t;fiv  oivou  xtOQi?'  6  \iev  ouv  BoioeSiaxag  e<p&Ti  xa- 
xoXvOelg  in;ava(rxdvx(ov  auxQ)  xivoov,  jtQiv  r\  'PojAaioug  oxeiXai  ax^axEiav 
in'  avx&v  <A  be  SiaSE^d^Evoi  xriv  doxV  Elg  jt^Eio)  n^Qfl  6iE(JTTi0av  xal  br\ 
xal  vuv,  Tivixa  ercEntpev  en'  avxoug  oxoaxEiav  6  2e6a(n;65  Kaloag,  Elg  jtEVxe 
|XEQi6ag,  xoxE  6e  Elg  xeaoagag  SiEdxwxEg  exvyx^'vov  oi  ixev  ovv  xoiovxoi  [le- 
Qianoi  JtoooxaiQoi  xal  oXXox'  dXXoi.  Feyove  8e  xal  &X.Xx>g  xfjg  xt^oa^  ne- 
QiG\Ji6g  av\i\iev(av  ex  jca^aioii-  xovg  \iev  ya.Q  Aaxovg  nQoaayoQevovai,  xoug  8^ 
Fexag.  FExag  jaev  xovg  itpog  xov  itovxcv  xex^inevovg  xal  JtQ^g  xtiv  eoo,  Aa- 
xoug  8e  xovg  Elg  xdvavxia  rtgog  xtiv  Feojiaviav  xal  xdg  xou  "laxQOv  nriYdg, 
oCg  ol|xai  Adoug  xaXeioOai  x6  nakaiov  a.(p'  ov  xal  naga.  xoig  'Axxixoig  ^e- 
fioXaoe  xd  xwv  olxexoav  6v6naxa  Fexai  xal  Adoi*  xoCxo  yaQ  md^avcoxEQOv  fj 
djto  x{bv  Sxv^cbv,  oBg  xaXoijm,  Adag*  noQQm  ya.Q  exeivoi  jieqI  xr\v  'Ygxa- 
viav,  xal  oux  Elxog  ^xei^ev  Ko\iiC,ecTdax  dv8Qdjto8a  elg  xfiv  'Axxixr|v  e|  &v 
yag  ^xohl^exo,  fi  xoig  e#veoiv  EXEivoig  oncovufxoug  ExdXotrv  xovg  olxExag,  cog 
Au66v  xal  Suqov,  r\  xoig  EJTijtoX.d^ot)oiv  exfi  ovonaoi  nQ0<Tr\y6Qev(yv,  (bg  Md- 
vTiv  fi  Mi8av  xov  ^quyoi,  Ti6iov  8e  xov  Ilaqj^aYdva'  ^l  xooovxov  8'  VTxb 
xov  BoLQeGioxa  x6  eflvog  E^apdEv  Exajteivtodri  XEX,ea)g  vjto  xe  xcbv  (ndcretov  xal 
Twv  'PoHtaifflv  Ixavol  6'  ojiwg  elcAv  exi  xcd  virv  oxeXXew  Texragiag  |ivQid8ag,> 
VII.  3.  11-12. 
'  XVI.  2.  39. 


78      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

that  Byrebistas  lived  in  his  time  is  impossible,  even  if 
there  existed  such  a  king.  Hence  the  whole  story  is 
a  late  interpolation  in  Strabo. 

Who  does  not  see  that,  according  to  Jordanes,  Dicin- 
eus  teaches  the  Goths  the  Aristotelean  categories  as 
understood  by  the  Arabs?  The  forger  fortunately 
gives  himself  away  when  he  informs  us  that  the  laws 
given  by  Dicineus  still  exist  in  written  form  and 
are   called    helagines,    for    here   we    have    a   Koranic 

story.  Here  we  frequently  find  the  word  t?^.  haldgun 
"the  bringing,  conveyance,  delivery,  or  communi- 
cation of  a  message ;  what  is  communicated  or  announ- 
ced of  the  Koran  and  of  the  statutes  and  ordinances." 
Even  Muellenhoff  had  to  acknowledge  that  it  was 
quite  impossible  for  the  statement  in  Jordanes  to  be 
true,  because,  according  to  Isidore  of  Seville,  there 
were  no  written  Gothic  laws  before  484.^  Thus  we 
get  the  positive  and  incontrovertible  proof  that  Jor- 
danes wrote  his  Getica  after  711. 

It  is  most  likely  that  AS.  lagu  "law"  is  merely  a 
contraction  of  belago.  Lagu  does  not  occur  in  ASaxon 
before  the  end  of  the  tenth  century,  and  bilage  "by- 
law," recorded  later,  is,  no  doubt,  older.  The  total 
absence  of  the  word  from  OH  German  and  the  presence 
of  bylag  in  Scandinavian,  by  the  side  of  ONorse  log 
"law,"  make  it  certain  that  AS.  lagu  is  a  late  book 
word,  which  passed  into  ONorse. 

The  sources  from  which  Jordanes  quoted  had  made 
a  mess  of  Decebalus,  by  associating  him  as  Dicineus 
with  Buruista,  on  account  of  the  statement  in  Dio 
Chrysostom  that  the  Getae  sacked  Borysthenis  in  the 
days  of  Sulla.  The  forger  still  had  Decebalus  on  hand 
in  connection  with  Domitian's  Dacian  wars.  To  fill 
out  the  space  from  Sulla  to  Domitian,  he  invented  two 

^  MGH.,  op.  cit.,  p.  181,  sub  belagines. 


JORDANES  79 

Gothic  kings,  Comosicus  and  Coryllus,  of  whom 
Jordanes  has  not  much  to  say.^  He  merely  uses  them 
as  fillers  to  pass  over  to  Decebalus  in  the  days  of 
Domitian,  through  the  significant  phrase,  **longum 
namque  post  intervallum  Domitiano  imperatore  reg- 
nante."  Here  we  can  again  see  that  the  original 
source  from  which  Jordanes,  or  Ablabius,  whom  he 
quotes  as  a  historian  of  the  Goths,  drew  his  information, 
was  written  in  Arabic.  Decebalus  is  once  recorded  as 
Aexi^avo^}     This  dtxi^avo(:  would  be  written  in  Arabic 

as  u-^^.  Reading  o  as  ->  this  cr^^  would  be  trans- 
cribed as  Durpanus,  or  some  such  word.  So,  all  of  a 
sudden,  we  have  in  Jordanes  a  story  about  King 
Dorpaneus,  who  defeated  the  Romans  under  Domitian. 
The  Goths  then  seized  much  booty  and  called  their 
chiefs,  by  whose  fortune  they  carried  off  the  victory, 
not  simple  men,  but  demigods,  that  is,  Anses.^ 

Here  the  forger  once  more  gave  himself  away,  for 

Anses  is  nothing  more  than  Arab,  r^  '  'anas,  ^J^  I  Hn^ 
"a  chosen,  select,  particular  friend  or  companion,  one 
with  whom  one   is    sociable,"    ^J^'^  'anls  **a  sociable, 

companionable,     familiar     person,"     u^  '     'anas     **a 

1  XI  (73),  XII  (74,  75). 

*  Boissevain,  op.  cit.,  p.  191. 

'  "Longum  namque  post  intervallum  Domitiano  imperatore  regnante 
eiusque  avaritiam  metuentes  foedus,  quod  dudum  cum  aliis  principibus 
pepigerant,  Gothi  solventes,  ripam  Danubii  iam  longe  possessam  ab  iniperio 
Romano  deletis  militibus  cum  eorum  ducibus  vastaverunt.  cui  provinciae 
tunc  post  Agrippam  Oppius  praeerat  Savinus,  Gothis  autem  Dorpaneus 
principatum  agebat,  quando  bello  commisso  Gothi,  Romanos  devictos, 
Oppii  Savini  caput  abscisum,  multa  castella  et  civitates  invadentes  de 
parte  imperatoris  publice  depraedarunt.  qua  necessitate  suorum  Domitianus 
cum  omni  virtute  sua  lUyricum  properavit  et  totius  pene  rei  publicae 
militibus  ductore  Fusco  praelato  cum  lectissimis  viris  amnem  Danubii 
consertis  navibus  ad  instar  pontis  transmeare  coegit  super  exercitum 
Dorpanei.  tum  Gothi  haut  segnes  reperti  arma  capessunt  primoque  con- 
flictu  mox  Romanos  devincunt,  Fuscoque  duce  extincto  divitias  de  castris 
militum  spoliant  magnaque  potiti  per  loca  victoria  iam  proceres  suos, 
quorum  quasi  fortuna  vincebant,  non  puros  homines,  sed  semideos  id  est 
Ansis  vocaverunt,"  XIII  (76-78). 


80      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

closer  companion."  Freytag  translates  'ins  by  "inti- 
mus,  socius,"  'anas  by  "is  quo  familiariter  uteris," 
'anls  by  "eiusdem  quasi  indolis  et  spiritus,  consue- 
tudine  et  moribus  coniunctus,  familiaris  sodalis."  The 
Latin  translator  of  the  Arabic  source  found  Decebalus 
addressing  his  chiefs  with  one  of  these  forms,  from  the 

root   (j-^l    'anisa   "familiariter   usus   est,"   instead   of 

the  more  common    o^i   'insdn  "man,"  and  jumped 

to  the  conclusion  that  the  Goths  called  their  heroes  by 
a  more  select  name,  which  he  rendered  into  Latin  by 
"semidei."  This  anses  produced  the  ONorse  ass,  AS. 
OS  "god,  divinity,"  which  is  not  represented  in 
OHGerman. 

The  story  of  Dorpaneus  is  told  already  in  Orosius, 
where  it  is  ascribed  to  Cornelius  Tacitus.^  We  shall 
later  see  that  the  Germania  of  Tacitus  is  a  forgery, 
and  that  his  Annales  and  Historiae  are,  to  say  the 
least,  full  of  interpolations,  hence  this  reference  in 
Pseudo-Orosius  is  of  no  avail.  The  total  absence  of 
the  name  in  the  Latin  writers,  for  Suetonius^  and 
Eutropius^  mention  the  Roman  generals,  Fuscus  and 
Sabinus,  given  by  Jordanes,  but  not  the  name  of  the 
Dacian  king,  is  fatal  to  the  assumption  that  Tacitus 
had  any  such  story.  Dio  Cassius  has  no  reference 
whatsoever  to  Dorpaneus,  but  we  can  see  how  this 
name  has  backed  from  the  Latin  into  the  Greek 
sources.  Petrus  Patricius  connects,  as  he  should, 
Fuscus  with  Decebalus,  but  the  Fragmenta  Valesiana, 
misled  by  the  Arabicized  Durpaneus,  split  the  person 
into   two,   into   Duras   and   Decebalus,    and,   without 

^  "Nam  quanta  fuerint  Diurpanei  Dacorum  regis  cum  Fusco  duce  proelia 
quantaeque  Romanorum  clades,  longo  textu  euoluerem,  nisi  Cornelius 
Tacitus,  qui  hanc  historiam  diligentissime  contexuit,  de  reticendo  inter- 
fectorum  numero  et  Sallustium  Crispum  et  alios  auctores  quamplurimos 
sanxisse  et  se  ipsum  idem  potissimum  elegisse  dixisset,"  VII.  iO,  4. 

^  Domitianus,  VI. 

» VII.  23. 


JORDANES  81 

rhyme  or  reason,  inserted  into  Dio  Cassius  a  phrase 
about  Duras  of  his  own  free  will  transferring  his 
hegemony  to  Decebalus.^ 

Isidore  of  Seville  has  a  delightful  etymology  for  the 
name  of  the  Gipedes:  "  Gipec?es  pedestri  proelio  magis 
quam  equestre  sunt  usi,  ex  hac  causa  vocati."^ 
Because  Gipedes  breaks  up  into  gi  +  pedes,  therefore 
they  fight  on  foot  rather  than  on  horseback.  The 
natural  conclusion  is  that  they  are  slow  and  inferior 
to  men  using  horses.  The  Arabic  prototype  of  Jor- 
danes  has  vastly  improved  on  Isidore.  According  to 
him,  the  Gepidae  and  Goths  were  relatives,  who  came 
in  three  ships  to  Gothiscandza.  One  of  these  ships, 
which  was  slower,  gave  the  name  to  the  nation,  for 
in  their  language  "slower"  is  called  gepanta.  From  a 
corruption  of  this  word  came  the  name  of  the  Gepidae, 
who  are  of  slow  intelligence  and  slow  in  movements. 
These  Gepidae  demanded  lands  from  Ostrogotha,  the 
king  of  the  Goths,  or  they  would  wage  war  upon  them. 
Ostrogotha,  being  of  solid  mind,  said  that  he  preferred 
war.  The  greater  vivacity  of  the  Goths  made  them 
victorious  over  the  slower  Gepidae,  who  were  defeated 
once  for  all.^ 

'  «"Oxi  Aovgag,  o\i  r\yE\ium.a  iyiyvsxo,  £xd)v  aurfj?  jtaoexcoQTioe  T(p  Ae- 
xE6dA.(p  T(o  Aaxoiv  6acaXEt  oti  fiEivog,*  Boissevain,  op.  cit.,  p.  170. 

2  Etymologiae,  IX.  2.  92. 

'  "Abhinc  ergo,  ut  dicebamus,  post  longam  obsidionem  accepto  praemio 
ditatus  Geta  recessit  ad  propria,  quern  cernens  Gepidarum  natio  subito 
ubique  vincentem  praedisque  ditatum,  invidia  ductus  arma  in  parentibus 
movit.  quomodo  vero  Getae  Gepidasque  sint  parentes  si  quaeris,  paucis 
absolvam.  meminisse  debes  me  in  initio  de  Scandzae  insulae  gremio  Gothos 
dixisse  egressos  cum  Berich  rege  suo,  tribus  tantum  navibus  vectos  ad 
ripam  Oceani  citerioris,  id  est  Gothiscandza.  quarum  trium^  una  navis, 
ut  adsolet,  tardior  nancta  nomen  genti  fertur  dedisse;  nam  lingua  eorum 
pigra  gepanta  dicitur.  hinc  factum  est,  ut  paulatim  et  corruptae  nomen  eis 
ex  convicio  nasceretur  Gepidas.  nam  sine  dubio  ex  Gothorum  prosapie  et 
hi  trahent  originem;  sed  quia,  ut  dixi,  gepanta  pigrum  aliquid  tardumque 
designat,  pro  gratuito  convicio  Gepidarum  nomen  exortum  est,  quod  nee 
ip)sud  credo  falsissimum:  sunt  etenim  tardioris  ingenii  et  grayiores  corporum 
velocitate.  hi  ergo  Gepidae  tacti  invidia,  dum  Spesis  provincia  commanerent 
in  insulam  Visclae  amnis  vadibus  circumactam,  quam  patrio  sermone  dice- 
bant  Gepedoios.    nunc  earn,  ut  fertur,  insulam  gens  Vividaria  incolit  ipsis 


82      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

But  gepanta  is  merely  a  transliteration  of  Arab.  <J  ^ 

gabdnat  "to  become  deficient  in  judgment,  to  be  weak, 
to  lose  one's  mind,  weakness  of  judgment." 

Jordanes  tells  of  Geberich,  the  son  of  Hilderith,  the 
king  of  the  Goths,  who  wished  to  extend  his  rule  into 
the  Vandal  country,  which  then  was  in  the  region 
now  occupied  by  the  Gepidae,  somewhere  north  of  the 
Danube.  So  he  decided  to  wage  war  against  Visimar, 
their  king,  who  was  of  the  race  of  Asdingi,  which 
famous  race  is  most  warlike,  according  to  Dexippus, 
the   historian.^     In   another   place    the    Astringi    are 

ad  meliores  terras  meantibus.  qui  Vividarii  ex  diversis  nationibus  ac  si  in 
unum  asylum  collecti  sunt  et  gentem  fecisse  noscuntur.  ergo,  ut  dicebamus, 
Gepidarum  rex  Fastida  quietam  gentem  excitans  patrios  fines  per  arma 
dilatavit.  nam  Burgundzones  pene  usque  ad  internicionem  delevit  aliasque 
nonnuUas  gentes  perdomuit.  Gothos  quoque  male  provocans  consangui- 
nitatis  foedus  prius  inportuna  concertatione  violavit  superba  admodum 
elatione  iactatus,  crescenti  populo  dum  terras  coepit  addere,  incolas  patrios 
reddidit  rariores.  is  ergo  missis  legatis  ad  Ostrogotham,  cuius  adhuc  imperio 
tam  Ostrogothae  quam  Vesegothae,  id  est  utrique  eiusdam  gentes  populi, 
subiacebant,  inclusum  se  montium  quaeritans  asperitate  silvarumque 
densitate  constrictum,  unum  poscens  e  duobus,  ut  aut  bellum  sibi  aut 
locorum  suorum  spatia  praepararet.  tunc  Ostrogotha  rex  Gothorum  ut 
erat  solidi  animi,  respondit  legatis  bellum  se  quidem  talem  horrere  durumque 
fore  et  omnino  scelestum  armis  confligere  cum  propinquis,  loca  vero  non 
cedere.  quid  multa?  Gepidas  in  bella  inruunt,  contra  quos,  ne  minor 
iudicaretur,  movit  et  Ostrogotha  procinctum,  conveniuntque  ad  oppidum 
Galtis,  iuxta  quod  currit  fluvius  Auha,  ibique  magna  partium  virtute  cer- 
tatum  est,  quippe  quos  in  se  et  armorum  et  pugnandi  similitudo  com- 
moverat;  sed  causa  melior  vivacitasque  ingenii  iubit  Gothos.  inclinata 
denique  parte  Gepidarum  proelium  nox  diremit.  tunc  relicta  suorum  strage 
Fastida  rex  Gepidarum  properavit  ad  patriam,  tam  pudendis  obprobriis 
humiliatus,  quam  fuerat  elationis  erectus.  redeunt  victores  Gothi  Gepidarum 
discessione  contenti,  suaque  in  patria  feliciter  in  pace  versantur,  usque  dum 
eorum  praevius  existeret  Ostrogotha,"  XVII  (94-100). 

'  "Nam  hie  Hilderith  patre  natus,  avo  Ovida,  proavo  Nidada,  gloriam 
generis  sui  factis  illustribus  exaequavit.  primitias  regni  sui  mox  in  Vandalica 
gente  extendere  cupiens  contra  Visimar  eorum  rege  qui  Asdingorum  stirpe, 
quod  inter  eos  eminet  genusque  indicat  bellicosissimum,  Deuxippo  storico 
referente,  qui  eos  ab  Oceano  ad  nostrum  limitem  vix  in  anni  spatio  pervenisse 
testatur  prae  nimia  terrarum  inmensitate.  quo  tempore  erant  in  eo  loco 
manentes,  ubi  nunc  Gepidas  sedent,  iuxta  flumina  Marisia,  Miliare  et 
Gilpil  et  Grisia,  qui  omnes  supra  dictos  excedet.  erat  namque  illis  tunc  ab 
oriente  Gothus,  ab  occidente  Marcomanus,  a  septentrione  Hermundolus, 
a  meridie  Histrum,  qui  et  Danubius  dicitur.  hie  ergo  Vandalis  commoranti- 
bus  bellum  indictum  est  a  Geberich  rege  Gothorum  ad  litus  praedicti  amnis 
Marisiae,  ubi  nee  diu  certatum  est  ex  aequali,  sed  mox  ipse  rex  Vandalorum 


JORDANES  83 

mentioned  together  with  the  Carpi,  a  most  warlike 
kind  of  people.^ 

This  account  of  the  Vandal  war  of  the  Goths  is  based 
on  no  historic  fact,  except  as  to  the  haphazard  choice 
of  names.  Dexippus,  whom  Jordanes  quotes,  knows 
only  of  the  defeat  of  the  Vandals  beyond  the  Danube 
by  Aurelianus,  and  Hilderith  is  recorded  as  Hildericus, 
a  Vandal  king  in  531  in  Africa,  when  he  is  brought  in 
contact  with  the  Asdingi;  but  Asdingi  is  an  Arabic 
word,  and  all  the  passages  where  the  word  occurs  are 
interpolations  or  forgeries. 

Isidore's  Chronicle  refers  to  Childericus,  the  son  of 
Valentinian's  captive  daughter,  who  took  up  the  reign 
among  the  Vandals  in  523.^  This  account  is  given 
in  full  in  Victor's  Chronicle,  where  it  says  that  this 
daughter  of  Valentinian  had  been  captured  by  Giseric 
and  married  to  Ugneric'  It  is  right  here  that  we 
have  a  series  of  interpolations  in  the  De  hello  vandalico 
of  Procopius.  Gelimer,  the  warlike  Vandal,  persuaded 
his  nation  to  depose  Hilderich  and  put  him  on  the  throne; 
then  he  seized  Hilderich  and  Hoamer  and  his  brother 
Euagees,  and  imprisoned  them.^     Some  of  the  manu- 

Visimar  magna  parte  cum  gentis  suae  prostemitur.  Geberich  vero  Gothorum 
ductor  eximius  superatis  depraedatisque  Vandalis  ad  propria  loca,  unde 
exierat,  remeavit.  tunc  perpauci  Vandali,  qui  evasissent,  coUecta  inbellium 
suorum  manu,  infortunata  patria  relinquentes  Pannoniam  sibi  a  Constantino 
principe  petierunt  ibique  per  LX  annos  plus  minus  sedibus  locatis  impera- 
torum  decretis  ut  incolae  famularunt.  unde  iam  post  longum  ab  Stiliconae 
mag.  mil.  et  ex  consule  atque  patricio  invitati  Gallias  occupaverunt,  ubi 
finitimos  depraedantes  non  adeo  fixas  sedes  habuerunt,"  XXII  (113-115). 

1  "Qui  excipiens  eos  eorumque  verbis  accensus  mox  tricenta  milia  suorum 
armata  produxit  ad  bellum  adhibitis  sibi  Taifalis  et  Astringis  nonnuUis, 
sed  et  Carporum  trea  milia,  genus  hominum  ad  bella  nimis  expeditum,  qui 
saepe  fuere  Romanis  infesti;  quos  tamen  post  haec  imperante  Dioclitiano 
et  Maximiano  Galerius  Maximinus  Caesar  devicit  et  rei  publicae  Romanae 
subegit,"  XVI  (91). 

2  MGH.,  Auctor.  antiq.,  vol.  XI,  p.  475. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  197. 

*  cOuTco  6ti  reA,iiieo  rfig  TiYEiioviag  ejtiXa66n8VO?  'IX8^o<'X'i^  ts»  s68o|iOv 
2x05  Bav8iX.o()v  dplavra,  xal  'Odjieoa  jtal  xov  d8eX(p6v  Euaveiiv  tv  tpvka- 
xij  Ia3cev,>  I.  9.  9,  J.  Haury,  Procopii  Caesariensis  opera  omnia,  Lipsiae 
1905,  vol.  I,  p.  352. 


84      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

scripts  write  ^^"^Odfiepa  tou  ddeX<p6v  xat  Ebafirjv,''^  making 
Hoamer  Hilderich's  brother.  A  little  further  down  we 
are  told  that  Gelimer  deprived  Hoamer  of  his  eyes.^ 
In  the  beginning  of  the  account  of  Hilderich  there  is 
the  statement,  inserted  without  rhyme  or  reason,  that 
Hoamer,  Hilderich's  nephew,  was  a  good  man,  who  was 
in  charge  of  the  armies  whenever  the  Vandals  waged 
war,  and  that  the  Vandals  called  him  Achilles.^ 

Nothing  can  be  clearer  than  that  the  interpolation 
is  taken  out  of  the  Gothic  Antiquitas,  where  Homer, 
Achilles,  and  the  leadership  in  war  were  ascribed  to 
the  Goths,  through  the  misunderstanding  of  the 
passage  in  Dio  Chrysostom,  as  discussed  before.  The 
story  must  have  found  its  way  into  Procopius  before 
the  ninth  century,  because  Theophanes  quotes  it  in 
full,'  if,  indeed,  it  was  not  inserted  in  Procopius  from 
Theophanes;  but  Zonaras,  who  directly  refers  to 
Procopius  in  quoting  the  story,  has  nothing  to  say 
about  Hoamer  or  his  blindness  or  his  being  an  Achilles. 

Now,  the  Gothic  Antiquitas  distorted  another  pass- 
age from  Dio  Chrysostom,  by  making  the  hat-wearing 
Goths  the  noblest  of  the  race,  whom,  by  distorting  the 
Gr.  robe:  dpi<TToo(:,  Jordanes  called  Tarahosteseos.  It 
appears,  from  a  large  number  of  interpolated  passages, 
that  the  Antiquitas  also  had  the  Arabic  name  for 
these  noblest  of  the  race,  namely,  »^Jl  ,r^  'azlm-il-gah 

"esteemed  great,  glorious,  incomparable,"*  which  pro- 
duced the  Latinized  Astingus,  Asdingus  "the  glorious." 


1  ^TeXivieQ  8e  xovq  jiQiatEiq  djiodxTOug  aitEJtE.n\|>e,  xal  tov  re  'Odneoa 
8|eTuq)X(oo'E  tov  xe  'IXSepixov  xal  Evayir)iv  iv  \iEii,o)n,  qyuXaxfj  e;toiT|aaTo,>  I. 
9.  14,  ibid.,  p.  353. 

*  «'Odjieo  Yovv  dvetjjiog  te  cov  avxcp  xal  dvfie  dyadA?  td  reoXema  eoTga- 
TriYei  ^qj'  oBg  civ  OToareuoivto  Bav5  X(H,  ov  Stj  xai  'Axi-^a  BavSiXcov 
|>tdX.o\rv,>  I.  9.  2,  ibid.,  p.  351. 

'  Chronographia,  in  Corpus  scriptorum  historiae  byzantinae,  vol.  XXXVIII, 
p.  289  flf. 

*  So  given  in  the  Glossariwn  latino-arabicum  (Seybold),  sub  nobilis. 


JORDANES  85 

This  term  was  originally  applied  to  Hoamer,  who 
is  mentioned  as  Asdingus  in  the  Chronica  of  Victor 
Tonnenensis  under  the  year  531:  "Geilimer  apud 
Africam  regnum  cum  tyrannide  sumit  et  Carthaginem 
ingressus  Hildericum  regno  privat  et  cum  filiis  custodiae 
mancipat  atque  Oamer  Asdingum  multosque  nobilium 
perimit."^  Isidore  of  Seville  not  only  knew  this 
Chronicle,^  but  also  quoted  this  in  full  in  his  Historia 
Vandalorum.  Here,  however,  there  is  no  reference 
whatsoever  to  Asdingus,^  because  Isidore  did  not 
find  it  in  his  text;  hence  it  can  only  be  an  insertion 
in  the  other  Chronica^  for  which  we  have  no  early 
manuscripts. 

Asdingus  at  first  was  taken  in  its  glossarial  sense  of 
** noble,"  and  as  such  entered  as  an  interpolation  into 
Joannes  Lydus'  De  magistratihus,  where  Justinian  is 
made  to  exhibit  Gelimer  with  his  nobles,  "whom  the 
barbarians  call  Astingi.'"^  Immediately  after  the 
Vandals,  Lydus  refers  to  the  Sygambri,  after  which 
comes  another  interpolation,  "whom  those  near  the 
Rhine  and  Rhone  call  Franci  from  their  leader,"  a  state- 
ment of  doubtful  genuineness  in  Isidore,  since  it  is  first 
recorded  in  the  writings  of  the  eighth  century.  This 
Asdingus  was  also  smuggled  into  Dracontius'  Satis- 
faction where  the  lines, 

Ut  qui  facta  ducum  possem  narrare  meorum, 

Unde  mihi  possent  dona  venire  simul, 
Praemia  despicerem,  taeitis  tot  regibus  almis, 


1  MGH.,  Auctor.  antiq.,  vol.  XI,  p.  198,  and  again:  "superans  Gunthimer 
et  Gebamundum  Asdingos  regis  fratres,"  ibid. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  178. 

»  "Gilimer  regnum  cum  tyrannide  sumit  multos  nobilium  Africae  pro- 
vinciae  crudeliter  extinguens.  .  .  .  Gunthimerum  et  Gebamundum  regis 
fratres  primo  proelio  superatos  interficit,"  ibid.,  p.  299. 

*<naoeoTrioaTo  xfl  taaiktlq.,  TeXi\iEQa  avxiv  ovv  xois  IvSo^oig  xov 
Idvous,  ovg  exdXow     aaxlyyovg    oi  6a.o6(xeoi,>  III.  55. 


86      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

of  a  manuscript  as  published  by  Sirmond,  were  cor- 
rected to  the  adopted  reading,  as  genuine  (!): 

Ut  qui  facta  ducum  possem  narrare  meorum, 
Nominis  Asdingui  bella  triumphigera, 

Unde  mihi  merces  posset  cum  laude  salutis 
Munere  regnantis  magna  venire  simul, 

Praemia  despicerem,  tacitis  tot  regibus  almis.^ 

It  is  obvious  that  a  later  hand  broke  up  one  line  into 
three,  in  order  to  introduce  the  precious  word  Asdingus. 
I  shall  at  a  future  time  show  how  this  Asdingus  of  the 
Gothic  Antiquitas  led  in  England  to  the  clito  and 
apeling  of  the  legal  documents. 

In  Jordanes  the  Asdingi  are  taken  to  be  a  warlike 
tribe  somewhere  to  the  north  of  Byzantium.  This  is 
precisely  the  meaning  ascribed  to  the  "'Aartxyot  in 
two  extracts,  one  ascribed  to  Petrus  Patricius,^  the 
other  in  the  Ursiniana,^  both  supposed  to  be  sixth 
century  excerpts  from  Dio  Cassius.  As  they  are  not 
mentioned  anywhere  else,  and  as  Jordanes  speaks  of 
a  "stirps  Asdingorum  quod  inter  eos  eminet  genusque 
indicat  bellicosissimum,"  there  cannot  be  any  doubt 
that  we  have  before  us  much  later  interpolations,  or 
corruptions,  for  some  other  word.  That  they  are 
most  likely  interpolations  is  to  be  assumed  from  the 
reference  in  Cassiodorus'  Variae  to  Hilderich  as  "inter 
H asdingorum  stirpem,"^  where  the  Asdingi  are  again, 
as  in  Procopius,  correlated  with  the  Vandal  Hilderich. 
But  the  Variae  are,  to  say  the  least,  boldly  interpolated, 
if  not  entirely  a  forgery,  as  will  be  shown  at  another 
time. 

The  Huns,  according  to  the  Antiquitas,  had  the  fol- 
lowing mythical  origin:  Filimer,  the  king  of  the  Goths, 

1  F.  A.  de  Lorenzana,  Dracontii  Carmina,  Romae  1790,  p.  371. 

2  Boissevain,  op.  cit.,  p.  253. 
'  Ibid.,  p.  254. 

« IX.  1. 


JORDANES  87 

found  among  his  people  certain  witches,  whom  he  him- 
self called  in  his  native  language  Haliurunnae  {halui- 
runnae,  aliorumnae).  Suspecting  them  of  something, 
he  drove  them  far  away  from  the  army  and  let  them 
wander  in  the  desert.  The  impure  spirits,  roving 
through  the  wilderness,  saw  them  and  had  intercourse 
with  them,  and  they  gave  birth  to  that  most  ferocious 
race  that  at  first  lived  in  the  swamps.  It  was  these, 
the  Huns,  who  came  to  the  country  of  the  Goths. 
According  to  Priscus,  they  settled  beyond  the  Maeotide 
Swamp,  given  to  hunting.  A  deer  once  led  some  Hun- 
nish  hunters  across  the  swamp,  and  revealed  to  them 
the  lands  beyond.^ 

The  story  about  the  deer  leading  the  Huns  across 
the  Maeotide  Swamp  is  also  told  by  Agathias,  Cedrenus, 
and  by  Procopius,^  and  is  apparently  old,  for  it    is, 

1  "Post  autem  non  longi  temporis  intervallo,  ut  refert  Orosius,  Hunnorum 
gens  omni  ferocitate  atrocior  exarsit  in  Gothos.  nam  hos,  ut  refert  antiquitas, 
ita  extitisse  conperimus.  Filimer  rex  Gothorum  et  Gadarici  magni  filius 
qui  post  egressu  Scandzae  insulae  iam  quinto  loco  tenens  principatum  Geta- 
rum,  qui  et  terras  Scythicas  cum  sua  gente  introisse  superius  a  nobis  dictum 
est,  repperit  in  populo  suo  quasdam  magas  mulieres,  quas  patrio  sermone 
Haliurunnas  is  ipse  cognominat,  easque  habens  suspectas  de  medio  sui 
proturbat  longeque  ab  exercitu  suo  fugatas  in  solitudinem  coegit  errare. 
quas  spiritus  inmundi  per  herimum  vagantes  dum  vidissent  et  eorum 
conplexibus  in  coitu  miscuissent,  genus  hoc  ferocissimum  ediderunt,  quae 
fuit  primum  inter  paludes,  minutum  tetrum  atque  exile  quasi  hominum 
genus  nee  alia  voce  notum  nisi  quod  humani  sermonis  imaginem  adsignabat. 
tali  igitur  Hunni  stirpe  creati  Gothorum  finibus  advenerunt.  quorum  natio 
saeva,  ut  Priscus  istoricus  refert,  Meotida  palude  ulteriore  ripa  insidens, 
venationi  tantum  nee  alio  labore  experta,  nisi  quod,  postquam  crevisset 
in  populis,  fraudibus  et  rapinis  vicinarum  gentium  quiete  conturbans. 
huius  ergo  gentis,  ut  adsolet,  venatores,  dum  in  interioris  Meotidae  ripam 
venationes  inquirent,  animadvertunt,  quomodo  ex  inproviso  cerva  se  illis 
optulit  ingressaque  paludem  nunc  progrediens  nunc  subsistens  index  viae 
se  tribuit.  quam  secuti  venatores  paludem  Meotidam,  quem  inpervium  ut 
pelagus  aestimant,  pedibus  transierunt.  mox  quoque  Scythica  terra  ignotis 
apparuit,  cerva  disparuit.  quod,  credo,  spiritus  illi,  unde  progeniem  trahunt, 
ad  Scytharum  invidia  id  egerunt.  illi  vero,  qui  praeter  Meotidam  alium 
mundum  esse  paenitus  ignorabant,  admiratione  ducti  terrae  Scj/thicae  et, 
ut  sunt  sollertes,  iter  illud  nullae  ante  aetati  notissimum  divinitus  sibi 
ostensum  rati,  ad  suos  redeunt,  rei  gestum  edocent,  Scythiam  laudant 
persuasaque  gente  sua  via,  qua  cerva  indice  dedicerant,  ad  Scythiam  prope- 
rant,  et  quantoscumque  prius  in  ingressu  Scytharum  habuerunt,  litavere 
victoriae,  reliquos  perdomitos  subegerunt,"  Getica,  XXIV  (121-125). 

2  MGH.,  Auctor.  antiq.,  vol.  Vi,  p.  90. 


88      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

with  the  history  of  the  origin  of  the  Huns,  all  taken 
out  of  Herodotus.  "Such  is  the  account  the  Scythians 
give  of  themselves  and  of  the  country  above  them, 
but  the  Greeks  who  inhabit  Pontus  give  the  following 
account:  they  say  that  Hercules,  as  he  was  driving 
away  the  herds  of  Geryon,  arrived  in  this  country, 
that  was  then  a  desert,  and  which  the  Scythians  now 
inhabit;  that  Geryon,  fixing  his  abode  outside  the 
Pontus,  inhabited  the  island  which  the  Greeks  call 
Erythia,  situate  near  Gades,  beyond  the  columns  of 
Hercules  in  the  ocean.  The  ocean,  they  say,  beginning 
from  the  sun-rise,  flows  round  the  whole  earth,  but 
they  do  not  prove  it  in  fact;  that  Hercules  thence 
came  to  the  country  now  called  Scythia,  and  as  a 
storm  and  frost  overtook  him,  he  drew  his  lion's  skin 
over  him,  and  went  to  sleep,  and  in  the  meanwhile 
his  mares,  which  were  feeding  apart  from  his  chariot, 
vanished  by  some  divine  chance.  They  add  that  when 
Hercules  awoke,  he  sought  for  them,  and  that  having 
gone  over  the  whole  country,  he  at  length  came  to 
the  land  called  Hylaea;  there  he  found  a  monster 
having  two  natures,  half  virgin,  half  viper,  of  which 
the  upper  parts,  from  the  buttocks,  resembled  a  woman, 
and  the  lower  parts  a  serpent:  when  he  saw  he  was 
astonished,  but  asked  her  if  she  had  anywhere  seen 
his  strayed  mares.  She  said  that  she  herself  had  them, 
and  would  not  restore  them  to  him  before  she  had  laid 
with  him:  Hercules  accordingly  lay  with  her  on  these 
terms.  She,  however,  delayed  giving  back  the  mares, 
out  of  a  desire  to  enjoy  the  company  of  Hercules  as 
long  as  she  could;  he,  however,  was  desirous  of  recover- 
ing them  and  departing.  At  last,  as  she  restored  the 
mares,  she  said,  'These  mares  that  strayed  hither  I 
preserved  for  you,  and  you  have  paid  me  salvage,  for 
I  have  three  sons  by  you;  tell  me,  therefore,  what 
must  I  do  with  them  when  they  are  grown  up?  whether 


JORDANES  89 

shall  I  establish  them  here,  for  I  possess  the  rule  over 
this  country,  or  shall  I  send  them  to  you? '  She  asked 
this  question,  but  he  replied,  they  say,  '  When  you  see 
the  children  arrived  at  the  age  of  men,  you  can  not 
err  if  you  do  this;  whichever  of  them  you  see  able 
thus  to  bend  this  bow,  and  thus  girding  himself  with 
this  girdle,  make  him  an  inhabitant  of  this  country; 
and  whichever  fails  in  these  tasks  which  I  enjoin,  send 
out  of  the  country.  If  you  do  this,  you  will  please 
yourself  and  perform  my  injunctions.'  Then,  having 
drawn  out  one  of  his  bows,  for  Hercules  carried  two  at 
that  time,  and  having  shown  her  the  belt,  he  gave 
her  both  the  bow  and  the  belt,  which  had  a  golden  cup 
at  the  extremity  of  the  clasp,  and  having  given  them, 
he  departed.  But  she,  when  the  sons  who  were  born 
to  her  attained  to  the  age  of  men,  in  the  first  place 
gave  them  names:  to  the  first,  Agathyrsis;  to  the 
second,  Gelonus;  and  to  the  youngest.  Scythes;  and, 
in  the  next  place,  remembering  the  orders,  she  did 
what  had  been  enjoined;  and  two  of  her  sons,  Agathyr- 
sis and  Gelonus,  being  unable  to  come  up  to  the  pro- 
posed task,  left  the  country,  being  expelled  by  their 
mother;  but  the  youngest  of  them.  Scythes,  having 
accomplished  it,  remained  there.  From  this  Scythes, 
son  of  Hercules,  are  descended  those  who  have  been 
successively  kings  of  the  Scythians,  and  from  the  cup, 
the  Scythians  even  to  this  day  wear  cups  from  their 
belts.  This  thing  only  the  mother  did  for  Scythes. 
Such  is  the  account  given  by  the  Greeks  who  inhabit 
Pontus"   (IV.  8-10). 1 

Though  Hercules  is  changed  into  an  evil  spirit,  his 
mares  have  become  a  deer,  the  siren  is  changed  to  a 
witch,  and  the  Scythians  are  identified  with  the  Huns, 
yet  the  story  is  essentially  the  same.  That  the  story 
has  gone  through  an  Arabic  redaction  is  proved  by  the 

'  H.  Gary,  Herodotus,  New  York  1857,  p.  239  ff. 


90      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

name  of  the  witches,  which  in  the  reading,  haliurunnae, 
haluirunnae,  at  once  shows  that  the  original  form 
was  alivruna  =  alibruna  or  alviruna  =  albiruna,  for 

Arab,  ^j^l  albairuhun    or     ^j^'    alyahruhun    *'the 

mandrake."  AS.  hurhruna  "sorceress"  has  preserved 
the  Arabic  form  almost  intact,  while  in  OHGerman 
alruna  has  preserved  only  the  meaning  "mandrake," 
which  at  once  settles  the  matter.^  In  Jordanes  it  has 
the  meaning  of  the  witch  who,  like  Circe,  uses  the 
love-filter,  made  of  the  roots  of  the  mandrake,  in 
order  to  entice  men  and  take  them  to  their  doom. 
Even  so  we  have  in  Greek  xcpxaia  "the  witches'  plant," 
which  is  derived  from  Kipxrj  "Circe."  In  OHGerman 
we  have  helliruna  "necromantia,"  as  though  it  were 
composed  of  hella  "hell"  and  runa  "mystery,"  and 
similarly,  in  ASaxon,  helirun,  hellrun  "sorcerer."  In 
O Norse  we  have  olrun,  apparently  only  in  the  sense  of 
"swanmaiden."  The  story  of  the  poison-maid  is  not 
specifically  Greek,  but  originates  in  India^  and  was 
known  to  the  Arabs  in  the  eighth  century.^  In  any 
case,  aliurunna  shows  conclusively  that  we  have  here  a 
connection  of  the  Circe  story  with  the  love-filter  made 
from  the  mandrake.  We  shall  later  meet  these  witches, 
or  magic  women,  in  other  forgeries,  such  as  Tacitus' 
Germania. 

There  is  still  another  interesting  Arabic  word  in 
Jordanes.  Speaking  of  the  wake  at  Attila's  death, 
Jordanes  says,  '' stravam  super  tumulum  eius  quam 
appellant  ipsi  ingenti  commessatione  concelebrant."* 
The  Germanic  and  Slavic  languages  have  taken  especial 
liking  to  this  word,  and  to  the  idea  of  "wake"  which 

'  But  there  is  here  also  a  confusion  with  the  arum.    See  my  Africa  and 
the  Discovery  of  America,  Philadelphia  1920,  vol.  I,  p.  225. 

2  A.  von  Gutschmid,  Die  nabat&ische  Landwirthschaft  und  ihre  Geschwister, 
in  Zeitschrift  der  deutschen  morgenldndischen  Gesellschaft,  vol.  XV,  p.  96. 

3  Ibid.,  and  vol.  XI,  p.  325. 
*  XLIX  (258). 


JORDANES  91 

it  connotates,  and  have  adopted  it  in  a  variety  of  ways. 
I  shall,  however,  begin  at  the  beginning  and  shall 
show  the  successive  development  of  the  word. 

The  Lat.  turpis  is  generally  related  to  Sansk.  trap- 
"to  be  ashamed;"  but  the  Pers.  tarfenda  "a  lie,  false- 
hood,   fraud"    shows    that    the    Talmudic    ^^    tSrap 

"to  act  shamefully,"  which  is  not  recorded  in  Hebrew 
or  any  early  Semitic  document,  is  a  derivation  from 
the  Persian,  or  rather.  Old  Persian,  for  in  the  Zenda- 

vesta  we  have  tarep  "to  steal."  In  the  Talmud  ^IS^pD 
(arpu^  means  "a  place  of  shame,  the  market 
place  where  idolatry  is  practiced."  In  Arabic  ^-^J 
tarifa  means  "he  enjoyed  a  plentiful,  easy,  soft  life," 
"-»y  *atrafa  "he  persevered  in  transgression,  wrong 
doing,  deviation  from  the  right  way,"  ^y  iurfat 
"  plentif ulness,  a  life  of  ease,  good  food,  a  gift  to  a 
friend,"  hence  <-*j^  mutraf  "one  left  to  do  what  he 
will,  who  behaves  proudly,  insolently."  The  latter 
word  is  common  in  the  Koran,  and  quotations  from  it 
will  show  what  precise  meaning  was  ascribed  to  it  by 
the  Arabs:  "We  have  sent  no  warner  unto  any  city, 
but  the  inhabitants  thereof  who  lived  in  affluence  said, 
Verily  we  believe  not  that  with  which  ye  are  sent; 
and  those  of  Makkah  also  say,  We  abound  in  riches 
and  children  more  than  ye,  and  we  shall  not  be 
punished  hereafter,"  XXXIV.  33,  34;  "thus  we  sent  no 
preacher  before  thee  unto  any  city,  but  the  inhabitants 
thereof,  who  lived  in  affluence,  said.  Verily  we  found 
our  fathers  practising  a  religion,  and  we  tread  in  their 
footsteps,"  XLIII.  22;  "for  they  enjoyed  the  pleasures 
of  life  before  this,  while  on  earth,  and  obstinately 
persisted  in  a  heinous  wickedness,"  LVI.  44,  45;  "and 


92      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

when  we  resolved  to  destroy  a  city,  we  commanded 
the  inhabitants  thereof,  who  live  in  affluence,  to  obey 
our  apostle,  but  they  acted  corruptly  therein,  where- 
fore the  sentence  was  justly  pronounced  against  that 
city,  and  we  destroyed  it  with  an  utter  destruction," 
XVII.  17;  "until  when  we  chastise  such  of  them  as 
enjoy  an  affluence  of  fortune,  by  a  severe  punishment, 
behold  they  cry  aloud  for  help,"  XXIII.  65. 

From  these  quotations  it  appears  clearly  that  '*ij 

turf  at  means  "abundance  of  food,  superabundance  of 
food,  generally  connected  with  heathenish  manners, 
food  used  at  a  feast,"  etc.  Now,  the  reference  to 
strava  (where  the  s  is  apparently  due  to  the  final  s  of 
the  preceding  word,  "defletus")  shows  that  it  means 
"a  feast  at  which  a  great  deal  is  eaten,  a  heathenish 
feast,"  Strava  found  its  way  from  Jordanes  into 
Codex  Vaticanus  1468  and  Codex  Casinensis  90,  ^'stra- 
bam  tumulum  sepulchrum,"^  where  it  is  wrongly 
glossed.  It  was  used  in  the  form  treho  in  a  tenth 
century  addition  to  the  Leges  Baiuwariorum,  where  it 
has  the  meaning  of  "food  used  in  heathenish  sacrifice," 
"quisquis  idolothita  quod  treho  dicitur,  vel  obtulerit 
aut  manducaverit,"^  which  is  precisely  the  meaning 
it  has  in  Arabic  and  in  Jordanes. 

Arab,  ^y  t(i''rifa  was  felt  as  a  foreign  word  and  was 
confused  with  v-^"  tO'fiba  "it  became  dusty,"  because 
tarh  "deceit,  fraud"  is  recorded  in  Persian,  by  the 
side  of  tarfenda.  Hence  we  have  not  only  "-^^ 
mutraf  "a  rich  man,"  but  also  v-r^  mutrib  "possessing 
much  wealth,  rich,  without  want,  having  wealth  like 
dust,"  by  the  side  of  its  very  opposite,  recorded  in 
the    Koran,    \j^   mutrabat    "the    suffering    loss,    be- 

1  Goetz,  vol.  V. 

2  MGH.,  Leges,  vol.  Ill,  p.  487. 


JORDANES  93 

coming  poor,  so  as  to  cleave  to  the  dust,  poverty, 
neediness;"  but  even  v-^  mutrib  means  "possessing 
little  wealth."  Hence  we  have  verbal  derivatives 
from  ^J  tariba,  which  mean  both  "he  became  rich" 
and  **he  became  poor,"  hence  v«/    tarih  "poor,  needy, 

in  want." 

The  confusion  of  the  two  words  in  Arabic  produced 
the  same  confusion  in  the  Germanic  languages,  but 

the  Gothic  records  only  the  forms  from  Arab.  ^J 
tariba.  By  the  side  of  paurp  "earth,"  which  I  have 
already  discussed  in  fuU,^  we  have  paurfts  "need, 
necessity,"  parbs  "in  need,"  parba  "beggar,"  paurban 
"to  be  in  need."  In  OHGerman  we  have  derb  (brot), 
recorded  in  the  Hrabanian  glosses  as  "azymae  obla- 
tiones,"  that  is,  as  "sacrificial  bread."  Thus  derb 
came  to  mean  "pure,  solid,"  hence  bidarbi  "fine,  useful, 
advantageous,"  while  unbidarbi  is  "useless,  vain, 
empty,  superfluous."  We  have  also,  as  in  Arabic,  the 
opposite  meaning,  darben  "to  want,"  durfti  "want," 
bidurfan  "to  need,"  darj  "I  need."  There  is  no 
necessity  of  discussing  the  ASaxon  and  ONorse  words 
of  the  same  group.  The  philologist,  who  will  be  shocked 
at  the  appearance  of  a  preterite  present  verb  among  the 
borrowings  from  the  Arabic,  will  find  his  pet  theory  of 
the  antiquity  of  such  verbs  shattered  by  the  study  of 
this  borrowing  in  the  Slavic  languages.  In  OBulgarian 
treba,  treba  means  "sacrifice,  prayer,"  tribe  "to  be 
necessary,"  trebovati  "to  need,"  which  show  the  same 
relation,  while  derived  from  the  Bavarian  trebo,  that  we 
find  in  the  OHGerman  words,  derived  directly  from  the 
Arabic.  At  the  same  time,  Jordanes'  strava,  no  doubt 
for  traba,  has  produced  the  OBulg.  strava  "food," 
which  is  also  found  in  the  other  Slavic  languages. 

1  See  my  CorUribtUions,  vol.  I,  p.  190  ff. 


94      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Speaking  of  Scandzia,'^  the  island  from  which  the 
Germanic  tribes  came,  Jordanes  refers  to  Ptolemy  as 
his  authority.  He  says  that  Ptolemy  mentioned  seven 
nations  in  Scandzia.  In  reality  only  one  manuscript 
of  Ptolemy,  out  of  a  large  number,  mentions  seven 
nations,  the  0ivvoc  being  omitted  from  the  rest.^  As 
Ptolemy  mentions  a  tribe  of  0ivvoc  in  Sarmatia 
(III.  5.  20),  it  is  impossible  for  him  to  have  made  the 
statement  that  they  occupy  the  north  of  Thule.  The 
Finni  are  again  mentioned  in  Tacitus'  Germania;  but 

1  "In  Scandza  vero  insula,  unde  nobis  sermo  est,  licet  multae  et  diversae 
maneant  nationes,  septem  tamen  eorum  nomina  meminit  Ptolemaeus. 
apium  ibi  turba  mellifica  ob  nimium  frigore  nusquam  repperitur.  in  cuius 
parte  arctoa  gens  Adogit  consistit,  quae  fertur  in  aestate  media  quadraginta 
diebus  et  noctibus  luces  habere  continuas,  itemque  brumali  tempore  eodem 
dierum  noctiumque  numero  luce  clara  nescire.  ita  alternato  merore  cum 
gaudio  benificio  aliis  damnoque  impar  est.  et  hoc  quare?  quia  prolixioribus 
diebus  solem  ad  orientem  per  axis  marginem  vident  redeuntem,  brevioribus 
vero  non  sic  conspicitur  apud  illos,  sed  aliter,  quia  austrinis  signis  percurrit, 
et  quod  nobis  videtur  sol  ab  imo  surgere,  illos  per  terrae  marginem  dicitur 
circuire.  aliae  vero  ibi  sunt  gentes  Screrefennae,  que  frumentorum  non 
queritant  victum,  sed  carnibus  ferarum  atque  ovis  avium  vivunt;  ubi 
tanta  paludibus  fetura  ponitur,  ut  et  augmentum  prestent  generi  et  satie- 
tatem  ad  cupiam  genti.  alia  vero  gens  ibi  moratur  Suehans,  quae  velud 
Thyringi  equis  utuntur  eximiis.  hi  quoque  sunt,  qui  in  usibus  Romanorum 
sappherinas  pelles  commercio  interveniente  per  alias  innumeras  gentes 
transmittunt,  famosi  pellium  decora  nigridine.  hi  cum  inopes  vivunt,  di- 
tissime  vestiuntur.  sequitur  deinde  diversarum  turba  nationum,  Theustes, 
Vagoth,  Bergio,  Hallin,  Liothida,  quorum  omnium  sedes  sub  uno  plani  ac 
fertilis,  et  propterea  inibi  aliarum  gentium  incursionibus  infestantur.  post 
hos  Ahelmil,  Finnaithae,  Fervir,  Gauthigoth,  acre  hominum  genus  et  at 
bella  prumtissimum.  dehinc  Mixi,  Evagre,  Otingis.  hi  omnes  excisis 
rupibus  quasi  castellis  inhabitant  ritu  beluino.  sunt  et  his  exteriores  Ostro- 
gothae,  Raumarici,  Aeragnaricii,  Finni  mitissimi,  Scandzae  cultoribus 
omnibus  mitiores;  nee  non  et  pares  eorum  Vinoviloth;  Suetidi,  cogniti  in 
hac  gente  reliquis  corpore  eminentiores:  quamvis  et  Dani,  ex  ipsorum 
stirpe  progressi,  Herulos  propriis  sedibus  expulerunt,  qui  inter  omnes 
Scandiae  nationes  nomen  sibi  ob  nimia  proceritate  affectant  praecipuum. 
sunt  quamquam  et  horum  positura  Grannii,  Augandzi,  Eunixi,  Taetel, 
Rugi,  Arochi,  Ranii.  quibus  non  ante  multos  annos  Roduulf  rex  fuit,  qui 
contempto  proprio  regno  ad  Theodorici  Gothorum  regis  gremio  convolavit 
et,  ut  desiderabat,  invenit.  hae  itaque  gentes,  Germanis  corpore  et  animo 
grandiores,  pugnabant  beluina  saevitia,"  III  (19-24). 

*  «KaX.eiTai  bk  l&icog  xal  auxi]  2xav8ia,  xal  xaxexoucJiv  aurfji;  rd  jiev 
Sirtwca  XaSeivoi,  td  8'  dvato^ixd  $au6vai  xal  $ioai0oi,  [xa  be.  doxtixd 
^woi,]  td  8e  fieai)M,6Qivd  FoiJTai  xal  AaiJxitoyes,  rd  6e  jxeaa  Aeu(bvoi,>  II. 
11.  16,  C.  MuUer,  Clatidii  Ptolemaei  Geographia,  Parisiis  1883,  vol.  Ii,  p. 
276. 


JORDANES  95 

that  is  a  forgery,  so  we  are  left  with  no  basis  whatso- 
ever for  the  race  to  which  later  the  name  of  Finni  was 
attached. 

Jordanes  tells  of  the  race  of  Adogit  in  the  north, 
where  the  sun  does  not  set  for  forty  days  in  the  sum- 
mer. In  Procopius  the  same  story  refers  to  Thule, 
where  Pliny  says  long  days  are  followed  by  long  nights.^ 
These  Adogit  are  very  likely  Ptolemy's  'AXoxcac^  who 
are  mentioned  immediately  before  the  people  of 
Scandia,  if  they  are  not  the  Attaci  of  Pliny,  the  Hyper- 
boreans of  Asia.^  But  the  Finni  owe  their  origin  to 
a  series  of  misunderstandings.  The  rare  note  in 
Ptolemy  was  due  to  a  desire  to  supply  the  lacking 
northern  region  with  a  tribe.  But  the  usual  con- 
ception of  the  extreme  north  was  one  of  mist  and 
stench,  so  that  even  Jordanes  speaks  of  the  stagnant 
ocean  which  surrounds  it  and  quotes  Strabo  to  the 
effect  that  the  sea  exhales  such  mists  and  the  soil  is  so 
damp  from  the  constant  onrush  of  the  sea,  that  the 
cloud-covered  sun  hardly  ever  offers  a  whole  serene 
day  to  view.^  Apparently  an  Arabic  note  to  Ptolemy 
had  the  statement  that  in  the  north  there  is  "putre- 
faction, miasma,"  J^  'afan,  or  "putrescent,"  J^ 
*afin,    ^    'afani.     The    interpolator,    mistaking   the 

latter  for  the  name  of  a  tribe,  wrote  in  the  Codex  Vati- 
canus  191,  ra  dk  dpxuxa  0ivvoc.  What  aided  in 
the  adoption  of  this  word  by  the  Germanic  and 
Romance  peoples  was  one  of  those  strange  coinci- 
dences which  so  frequently  have  decided  the  fate  of  an 

1  VI.  219,  IV.  104. 

2 IV.  90. 

'  "Mari  tardo  circumfluam,  quod  nee  remis  facile  inpellentibus  cedat, 
nee  ventorum  flatibus  intumescat,  credo,  quia  remotae  longius  terrae  causas 
motibus  negant:  quippe  illic  latius  quam  usquam  aequor  extenditur.  refert 
autem  Strabo  Grecorum  nobilis  scriptor  tantas  illam  exalare  nebulas,  made- 
facta  humo  Oceani  crebris  excursibus,  ut  subtectus  sol  per  ilium  pene  totum 
fediorem,  qui  serenus  est,  diem  negetur  aspectui,"  II  (12). 


96      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Arabic  word.  In  Jerome's  Onomastica  we  have  the 
gloss,  ''Abel  luctus  aut  vapor  siue  uanitas."^  One  of 
the  Bible  glosses,  given  in  Graff,  wrote  ''Abel  lutus  aut 
vapor  aut  vang.^'  The  substitution  of  lutus  for  "luctus," 
aided  by  the  following  "vapor,"  made  it  certain  that 
vang,  that  is,  vani,  for  "vanitas,"  also  meant  "swamp," 
the  whole  combination  exactly  fitting  the  description 
of  the  extreme  north.  Thus  there  arose  a  tribe  of 
Finni,  utterly  unknown  before.  It  is,  again,  probably 
no  accident  that  the  Finnish  name  of  Finland,  Suomi, 
should  be  derived  from  a  Finnish  word,  suo  "swamp." 
To  this  I  shall  return  later.  But  the  Arabic  word  gave 
'rise  to  Goth,  fani,  OHG.  fenna  "mud,"  ONorse  fen 
"quagmire."  In  its  form  vanga,  fang  a  it  gave  Ital. 
fango,  Fr.  fange,  etc. 

Procopius  has  an  account  of  Scandinavia  which  does 
not  inspire  any  confidence  in  its  genuineness.  After 
speaking  of  the  expedition  of  Narses  and  Belisarius, 
in  which  more  than  two  thousand  Heruli  took  part, 
we  get  a  long  digression  on  the  Heruli  and  Scandinavia. 
The  Heruli,  according  to  this,  originally  lived  beyond 
the  Danube,  worshiping  many  gods  and  sacrificing 
men.  They  never  grew  old  or  died  from  disease,  be- 
cause when  death  was  impending  they  had  themselves 
killed  by  friends,  after  which  they  were  burned  on  a 
funeral  pyre,  the  favored  wife  of  each  following  him 
into  death.  After  conquering  the  Christian  Lango- 
bards,  they  settled  down  to  live  in  peace,  but  their 
king,  Rodulphus,  again  attacked  the  Langobards. 
After  the  death  of  Rodulphus,  the  Heruli  settled  in 
Italy.  Then  they  again  crossed  the  Danube,  when 
Anastasius  was  king,  and  settled  in  Roman  territory. 
Justinian  favored  them,  and  they  became  friends  of 
the  Romans.  They  killed  their  king,  Ochos,  and,  being 
unable  to  live  without  a  king,  they  resolved  to  send  to 

*P.  de  Lagarde,  Oruymastica  sacra,  Gottingae  1887. 


JORDANES  97 

Thule  for  a  king.  They  crossed  the  desert,  came  to 
the  Danes,  who  did  not  trouble  them,  and  set  sail  for 
Thule.  Then  we  get  an  account  of  the  long  days  and 
nights  in  Thule,  which  Procopius  claims  to  know,  not 
from  personal  experience,  but  from  the  accounts  of 
those  who  had  been  there.  There  are  thirteen  nations 
in  Thule,  of  which  only  one,  the  Scrithifini,  are  savage. 
They  wear  no  clothes,  drink  no  wine,  plough  no  fields. 
Their  babies  are  fed  on  the  marrow  of  animals.  The 
rest  of  the  Thulitae  are  just  like  other  people.  They 
worship  Mars  and  kill  their  captives.  To  these 
ThuHtae  came  the  noblest  of  the  Heruli  to  find  some- 
body of  royal  blood.  They  found  one  and  started 
back  with  him,  but  he  died  when  they  reached  the 
Danes.  Another  king  was  brought  them  from  Thule, 
by  the  name  of  Datius.  But  the  Heruli,  who  came 
from  Singidonus,  were  afraid  that  Justinian  would  not 
approve  their  choice.  Indeed,  Justinian  sent  them 
another  king,  Suartuas  by  name,  whom  they  accepted.^ 
The  whole  account  is  fishy.  Leaving  out  of  consider- 
ation the  mythical  stories  about  the  Heruli  and  Thul- 
itae, the  historical  account  of  what  happened  in  the 
sixth  century  is  not  found  recorded  anywhere  else, 
except  as  part  of  the  Antiquitas,  as  we  shall  soon  see. 
What  is  fatal  to  the  whole  story  is  the  fact  that  it  is 
referred  to  once  more  in  a  passage  in  Procopius,  which 
is  absent  completely  from  one  manuscript.  Suartuas 
is  referred  to  in  IV.  25,  11-13,  beginning  with  the  words, 
"the  army  was  in  charge  of  Justin  and  Justinian,  the 
sons  of  Germanus,  and  Aratius  and  Suartuas,  who 
formerly  had  been  the  leader  of  the  Heruli,  whom 
those  who  returned  from  Thule  accepted,  as  I  told  in 
my  former  writings,"  and  ending  with  the  words, 
"as  I  shall  later  show  in  my  work."  That  this  is  an 
insertion  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  Procopius  did  not 

^  De  bello  gothico,  II.  14,  15. 


98      HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

again  refer  to  the  incident,  which  he  said  he  was 
going  to  write  about,  and  that  the  whole  passage, 
which  halts  the  narrative,  just  as  did  the  long  digression 
about  the  Heruli,  is  not  found  in  the  Codex  Ambro- 
sianus  N.  135,  that  is,  in  the  important  Excerpta  Con- 
stantiniana,  which  do  not  go  back  to  the  one  archetype 
from  which  all  the  other  manuscripts  are  derived. 
Of  course,  these  being  merely  extracts,  it  is  difficult 
to  say  whether  or  not  the  original  from  which,  by  order 
of  Constantine,  the  extracts  were  made,  lacked  the 
passage.  But  it  is  certainly  curious  that  the  passage, 
which  sounds  like  a  later  insertion,  possibly  on  the 
basis  of  real  facts,  should  alone  contain  a  reference  to 
Suartuas,  who  is  connected  with  the  very  doubtful 
story  of  the  search  of  a  king  by  the  Heruli  in  Scan- 
dinavia. 

In  the  Origo  gentis  Langohardoruw}  the  account 
begins  with  a  description  of  Scandinavia  and  the  Odin 
story. ^  Then  we  have  a  mythical  series  of  kings. 
After  that  we  come  to  the  war  of  the  Langobards  with 
the  Heruli,  preceded  by  the  curious  statement  that  at 
that  time  the  Langobards  lived  for  three  years  in  the 
fields  of  Feld.  Then  Tato  fought  with  Rodolfus,  the 
king  of  the  Heruli,  and  he  killed  him,  and  took  his 
standard  and  helmet,  after  which  the  Heruli  had  no 
kingdom.^ 

Paulus  Diaconus  follows  and  expands  the  story  in 
the  Origo.  After  telling  of  Scandinavia,  he  says  that, 
since  he  was  talking  of  Germany,  he  must  tell  of  the 
wonderful  thing  that  happens  there.  Then  he  tells  of 
the  Seven  Sleepers  and  passes  over  to  the  Scritobini 
{Scriptofinni,  Cristobini,  etc.),  who  are  their  neighbors. 

^  MGH.,  Scrip,  rer.  lang.,  p.  2. 

*  See  my  Contributions,  vol.  I,  p.  137  f . 

»  "Et  post  ipsum  regnavit  Tato,  filius  Claffoni.  Sederunt  Langobardi  in 
campis  Feld  annos  tres.  Pugnavit  Tato  cum  Rodolfo  rege  Herulorum,  et 
occidit  eum,  tulit  vando  ipsius  et  capsidem.  Post  eum  Heruli  regnum  non 
habuerunt,"  MGH.,  ibid.,  p.  3. 


JORDANES  99 

They  live  like  beasts,  eating  the  flesh  of  animals,  from 
whose  skins  they  make  their  garments.  They  derive 
their  name  from  ''jumping"  in  the  barbarous  tongue, 
for  they  hunt  animals  in  the  woods,  by  using  a  piece 
of  wood  curved  in  the  form  of  a  bow.^  Then  he  tells 
of  the  long  nights  and  days.  After  another  digression, 
he  tells  the  Odin  myth,  then  says  that  the  Langobards 
were  so  called  from  their  long  beards.^  Following  an 
account  of  the  early  Langobard  kings,  we  at  last  come 
to  Tato,  the  seventh  king.  After  leaving  Rugiland, 
the  Langobards  lived  in  open  fields,  which  in  the 
barbarous  language  are  called  feld  {fled,  etc.)^  Then 
there  arose  a  war  between  Tato  and  Rodulfus,  the  kings 
of  the  Heruli.  The  cause  of  the  war  was  this :  Rodulfus* 
brother  had  gone  to  Tato  to  talk  about  peace.  Here 
he  was  killed  by  Tato's  daughter,  who  despised  him 
because  of  his  small  stature.  This  gave  rise  to  the 
war.  The  battle  took  place  in  the  open  field.  Rodulfus 
was  killed,  and  the  Langobard  seized  much  booty, 
among  which  was  Rodulfus'  banner  and  his  helmet. 
Since  that  time  the  Heruli  had  no  kings.* 

Jordanes,  too,  tells  of  the  long  days  and  nights  in 
Scandza,  and  immediately  tells  of  the  Screrefennae 
(crefenne,  rerefenne,  etc.),  who  do  not  eat  corn,  but  live 
on  meat  and  eggs.  There  is  another  race,  the  Suehans, 
who,  like  the  Thuringians,  use  fine  horses.    It  is  they 

^  "Huic  loco  Scritobini — sic  enim  gens  ilia  nominatur — ^vicini  sunt.  Qui 
etiam  aestatis  tempore  nivibus  non  carent,  nee  aliud,  utpote  feris  ipsis 
ratione  non  dispares,  quam  crudis  agrestium  animantium  carnibus  vescun- 
tur;  de  quorum  etiam  hirtis  pellibus  sibi  indumenta  peraptant.  Hi  a 
saliendo  iuxta  linguam  barbaram  ethimologiam  ducunt.  Saltibus  enim 
utentes,  arte  quadam  ligno  incurvo  ad  arcus  similitudinem  feras  adsecuntur," 
I.  5,  ibid.,  p.  49  f. 

2  "Certum  tamen  est,  Langobardos  ab  intactae  ferro  barbae  longitudine, 
cum  primis  Winnili  dicti  fuerint,  ita  postmodum  appellatos.  Nam  iuxta 
illorum  linguam  'lang'  longam,  'bart'  barbam  significat,"  I.  9,  ibid.,  p.  52  f. 

'  "Defuncto  quoque  Claflfone,  Tato,  eiusdem  filius,  Septimus  ascendit  ad 
regnum.  Egressi  quoque  Langobardi  de  Rugiland,  habitaverunt  in  campis 
patentibus,  qui  sermone  barbarico  'feld'  appellantur,"  I.  20,  ibid.,  p.  57. 

*  Ibid. 


100    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

who,  through  the  intermediacy  of  other  nations, 
furnish  the  Romans  with  sappherine  furs.  They  live 
poorly,  but  dress  themselves  richly.  Then  there  are 
some  races  who  live  in  beastly  fashion  in  stone  caves 
as  in  castles.  Then  there  are  some  meek  Finns,  and  the 
Suetidi,  of  huge  size,  and  the  Danes,  who  drove  away 
the  Heruli,  who  consider  themselves  the  chief  race  on 
account  of  their  nobility.  Then  come  the  Grannii 
and  other  nations,  over  whom  Roduulf,  who  abandoned 
his  country  and  fled  to  Theodoric,  was  king  not  many 
years  before.^ 

We  can  now  follow  up  the  whole  Scandia  myth. 
First  of  all,  it  is  obvious  that  the  writer  of  the  original 
Antiquitas  followed  an  Arabic  prototype,  in  which  the 
tribes  of  Arabia  were  described.  We  find  here  several 
Koranic  reminiscences.  The  people  who  live  in  castle- 
like caves  are  mentioned  in  the  Koran  as  the  Thamu- 
dites,  "  Ye  build  yourselves  castles  on  the  plains  thereof, 
and  cut  out  the  mountains  into  houses,"  VII.  75.^ 

The  gigantic  Suetidi  are  like  the  gigantic  Adites,^ 
and  I  have  already  shown  how  the  Odin  myth  arose 
from  the  idol  Wadd  of  the  Arabs.*  For  the  rest,  the 
Antiquitas,  from  which  all  the  writers  on  the  origins  of 
the  Germanic  tribes  drew,  is  a  jumble  of  etymology 
and  fiction.     In  considering  this  part,  it  is  necessary 

1  See  note  on  p.  94. 

2  E.  M.  Wherry,  A  Comprehensive  Commentary  on  the  Qurdn,  London 
1882,  vol.  I,  p.  23. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  22. 

*  See  my  Contributions,  vol.  I,  p.  140  f.  My  book  was  already  finished, 
when  I  discovered  the  positive  confirmation  of  my  guess  in  Mas'udI 
and  the  other  Arabic  historians.  They  all  tell  of  the  Thamudites, 
Adites,  and  Wadd  in  their  histories,  but  the  most  amazfng  account 
is  the  one  given  by  Mas'udI,  from  older  sources.  In  chapter  XXXV  he 
discusses  the  Langobards,  and  ends  with  a  brief  reference  to  Spain. 
Then  there  follows  a  chapter  on  the  Adites,  a  gigantic  people,  with 
whom  no  one  could  compare  iii  strength.  Then  we  get  another  chapter  on 
the  Thamudites,  who  lived  in  houses  cut  into  the  rock.  As  we  hear  in  the 
next  chapter  so  much  of  the  Amalekites,  "the  Arabs  of  pure  origin,"  it  is 
most  likely  that  the  noble  Amali  of  Jordanes  are  nothing  but  the  Amalekites 
of  the  Arabs.    I  shall  return  to  this  subject  in  a  future  work. 


JORDANES  101 

to  take  into  account  the  Ravenna  Cosmographer, 
although  he  generally  quotes  from  Jordanes,  because 
he  also  hints  at  older  sources. 

Much  has  been  written  about  the  anonymous  writer 
of  the  Cosmography,^  but  the  one  important  con- 
clusion which  should  have  been  drawn  from  it  has 
never  been  drawn,  namely,  that  we  have  here  the  work 
of  a  Goth  of  Ravenna  of  the  ninth  century,  who  got 
his  information  about  Gaul  and  the  Germanic  countries 
from  three  Spanish  Goths  of  the  eighth  century,  who 
wrote  in  the  Arabico-Gothic  language  of  the  time. 

Mommsen  has  studied  the  Italian  map  of  the  cos- 
mographer, and  has  assumed  that,  because  of  the 
writer's  mention  of  Pentesilius  and  Marpesius  as 
philosophers,  whereas  they  are  Amazons  mentioned 
by  Jordanes,  the  writer  intended  to  practise  fraud.^ 
But  Mommsen  is  too  severe.  Ignorant  the  writer  was, 
but  it  cannot  be  proved  that  he  practised  wilful  de- 
ception. Indeed,  Charles  Miiller  has  shown  that  the 
other  doubtful  names  of  Roman  authors,  such  as 
Castorius,  LoUianus,  and  Arbition,  are  in  reality  names 
of  consuls,  which  the  cosmographer  had  found  in- 
scribed on  the  Peutinger  map,  which  he  was  copying.^ 
We  have  no  case  against  him  for  the  Roman  and  Greek 
part  of  the  Cosmographia,  and  we  have  reason  to  assume 
that  his  specific  statements  about  the  Gothic  authors 
are  absolutely  genuine.  But  it  can  be  shown  that  the 
information  of  these  Goths  was  based  on  an  Arabic 
source. 


*  See  Le  Ravennate  et  son  expose  cosmographique,  by  M.  d'Avezac,  publie 
par  Jean  Gravier,  Rouen  1888,  pp.  31-117. 

2  Berichte  iiber  die  Verhandlungen  der  koniglich  sdchsischen  Gesellschaft 
der  Wissenschaften  zu  Leipzig,  Philologisch-historische  Classe,  1851,  p.  115; 
see  d'Avezac,  op.  cit.,  p.  83. 

'  D'Avezac,  op.  cit.,  p.  84. 


102    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

The  Ravenna  cosmographer  twice  refers  to  Britain 
as  micosmin}  As  no  Greek  philosopher  has  any  such 
statement  in  regard  to  Britain,  while  the  Latin  writers 
from  Caesar  on  are  full  of  it,  the  reading  ''Gothorum 
philosophi,"  instead  of  ''Graecorum  philosophi,"  is 
unquestionably  the  correct  one.  Finder  and  Parthey 
guessed  that  micosmin  is  Gr.  ^ficxoafxeov,  on  the  ground 
that  Solinus  says,  "nisi  Britannia  insula  non  qualibet 
amplitudine  nomen  pene  orbis  alterius  mereretur,"  and 
Pliny  (IV.  13.  27),  "Scandinavia  insula  alter  orbis 
terrarum  appellatur."  But  ^ifiubayLiov  means  "half 
of  the  world,"  and  is  nowhere  used  in  this  sense. 
Vergil  {Ed.  I.  66)  calls  the  Britons  "penitus  toto 
divisos  orbe,"  and  Isidore  says,  "Brittania  Oceani 
insula  interfuso  mari  toto  orbe  divisa."  It  is,  therefore, 
clear  that  the  chief  characteristic  of  Britain,  as  noticed 
by  the  writers,  is  that  it  is  separated  from  the  rest  of 
the  world.  This  is  precisely  the  meaning  of  micosmin 
in  Arabic.  Alcala  has  ,v-~i*  muqassimun  "medidor 
del  mundo,  the  divider  of  the  world,"  and  we  have  also 
fj-***  maqsUmun  "divided,a  portion, share, "  c'-^migsamiin 
**a  part  of  a  thing  divided,"  (— ^  maqsimun  "a  place  of 
division,"  all  from  the  good  Semitic  verb  r^  qasama 
"he  divided;"  that  is,  micosmin  means  in  the  Ravenna 
geographer  "divided  from  the  rest,  toto  orbe  divisa." 
The  resemblance  to  Gr.  x6afjto(:  is  not  accidental,  for  the 
Greek  word  is  derived  from  the  same  Semitic  stem. 
Indeed,  Leo  Meyer^  has  already  shown  that  the  origi- 
nal meaning  of  Gr.  xoafxeeiv  is  "to  divide." 

The  Sirdifeni  and  Rerefeni  are,  according  to  Aithana- 
rit,  the  philosopher  of  the  Goths,  inhabitants  of  the 

'  "Quam  insulam,  ut  diximus,  quidam  Graecorum  (Gothorum)  philosophi 
quasi  micosmin  appellaverunt,"  M.  Finder  and  G.  Parthey,  Ravennatis 
Anonymi  Cosmographia,  Berolini  1860,  p.  423;  "magna  insula  Brittania 
reiacet,  quam  Graecorum  philosophi  quasi  micosmin  appellant,"  ibid.,  p.  9. 

^Handbuch  der  griechischen  Etymologic,  Leipzig  1901,  vol.  II,  p.  294. 


JORDANES  103 

mountains  near  Scythia,  and  both  their  men  and  women 
live  by  hunting  and  are  ignorant  of  wine  and  food. 
Their  country  is  said  to  be  very  cold.^  The  Ravenna 
eosmographer  obviously  followed  his  Gothic  authority, 
Aithanarit,  who  himself  was  confused  by  the  various 
spellings  of  the  word,  and  so  created  the  Rerefeni 
by  the  side  of  the  Scridofinni.  The  fuller  account  of 
the  Scridofinni  in  Paulus  Diaconus,  in  conjunction 
with  the  etymology  of  the  word,  is  due  to  an  outside 
source,  for  Paulus  Diaconus  calls  it  a  "barbarous" 
word.  Now  there  cannot  be  any  doubt  about  the 
ONorse  skrida.  It  is  certainly  related  to  Scridofinni, 
as  the  explanation  in  Paulus  shows.  If  we  now  take 
all  the  scrid-  words  in  the  Germanic  languages,  we  not 
only  find  a  great  variety  of  meanings,  but  also  an 
irregular  development.  The  word  is  totally  lacking  in 
Gothic.  It  occurs  in  the  Keronian  glosses  as  piscrit, 
the  translation  of  "elabe  (evadere,  efugire),"  while 
"conlabuntur"  is  translated  by  cascritan;  hence  scrit- 
has  here  distinctly  the  meaning  "to  run,  flee."  We  also 
have  scriti,  scritamal  "passus."  In  the  ASaxon  vocabu- 
laries we  have  scrid,  scrida  "a  chariot,"  scridan  "to  go, 
to  go  hither  and  thither,  wander,  glide,"  scride  "a 
course."  It  can  easily  be  shown  how  the  gloss,  ''scrid 
basterna,  carracutium,  vehiculum,"  arose.  Saxo 
Grammaticus  had  some  difficulty  in  explaining  the 
passage  in  Paulus,  for  he  explained  it  as  "quae  gens 
inusitatis  assueta  vehiculis,  montium  inaccessa  ve- 
nationis  ardore  sectatur,  locorumque  complacitas  sedes 
dispendio  lubricae  fiexionis  assequitur;  neque  enim 
ulla  adeo  rupes  prominet,  quin  ad  ejus  fastigium  callida 
cursus   ambage   perveniat;      primo   siquidem   vallium 

'  "Item  iuxta  ipsam  Scythiam  litus  Oceanum  ponitur  patria  quae  dicitur 
Rerefenorum  et  Sirdifenorum.  cuius  patriae  homines  ut  ait  Aithanarit 
Gothorum  philosophus  rupes  montium  inhabitant,  et  per  venationes  tam 
viri  quamque  mulieres  vivere,  cibo  vel  vino  ignari  existentes  in  omnibus 
dicuntur.  quae  patria  super  omnes  frigida  esse  ascribitur,"  Pinder  and 
Parthey,  op.  cit.,  p.  201. 


104    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

profunda  relinquens,  scopulorum  radices  tortuosa  gi- 
ratione  perlabitur,  sicque  meatum  crebrae  declinationis 
obliquitate  perflectit,  donee  per  sinuosos  callium  anfrac- 
tus  destinatum  loci  cacumen  exuperet."^  This  elabo- 
rate explanation  of  the  ski  reduces  itself  to  this — that 
the  runner  combined  a  gliding  with  a  leaping  motion, 
in  his  attempt  to  reach  his  prey.  The  earlier  writers 
were  just  as  much  puzzled  by  the  etymology  in  Paulus 
or  his  source,  as  was  Saxo  Grammaticus  at  a  later 
time.  One  thing  was  certain  to  them,  and  that  was 
that  scrid  in  Scridofinni  referred  to  some  kind  of 
"vehicle,"  on  which  one  could  easily  pass  on,  glide, 
or  jump.  In  the  same  way  developed  the  O Norse 
words,  skridr  **a  creeping  or  sliding  motion,"  scridna 
**to  slip,  slide,"  skrida  "a  landslip,  hillside,"  skrida 
"to  creep,  crawl,  glide,  to  slide  in  snow-shoes."  An 
OHGerman  gloss  to  Prudentius,  "lignoque  plantas 
inserit  divaricatis  cruribus"  {Peristephanon,  V.  251  f.), 
glosses  "divaricatis"  by  screitan,  which  shows  that 
the  glossator  confused  the  torture  with  the  motion  of 
the  ski-runner,  because  here,  too,  it  speaks  of  the  foot 
being  placed  in  a  piece  of  wood ;  hence  he  used  a  deriva- 
tive of  scrit  to  express  the  fact.  Thus  there  evolved 
in  OHGerman  the  idea  of  a  striding  motion. 

In  the  Keronian  glosses  we  find  "delabunt"  glossed 
in  one  manuscript  by  cascritant,  in  others  by  kistritant. 
This  at  once  establishes  the  relation  of  scrit-  and 
strit-,  due  to  a  mere  error  of  reading.  The  ASaxon, 
too,  has  in  the  oldest  vocabularies  stride  "stride,  pace" 
and  stridit  "varicat."  But  in  OHGerman  this  root 
developed  the  meaning  "strife."     The  origin  of  this 

*  Zeuss,  Die  Deutschen  und  die  Nachbarstdrrime,  Munchen  1837,  p.  684  f. 


JORDANES  105 

word  is  highly  interesting.     In  the  Keronian  glosses 
we    have 


Passus  c  scriti 

statium  stucki 


and 


Stadium  stukhi 

passus  CXXV  scritamal  edho  stapho. 

The  Latin  lemma  is  common  enough  in  the  mediaeval 
vocabularies,  but  we  have  also  "ad  stadium  ad  locum 
certaminis.'"  Now  an  OHGerman  gloss  to  Boethius, 
of  the  tenth  century,  translates  "stadium"  by  strit- 
laufo  and  "cursor"  by  stritlauft,  which  is  quite  correct, 
since  we  see  from  the  Keronian  gloss  that  "stadium" 
was  confused  with  "passus,"  the  numeral  CXXV  not 
having  been  observed  by  the  German  glossator. 
To  him  "stadium"  was  a  running-place  of  passi. 
Indeed,  the  St.  Gall  MS.  912  has  ''  stadiodromus 
stadiorum  cursus."  No  wonder,  then,  that  the  Ger- 
man St.  Gall  writer  should  have  created  the  word 
stritlauft.  For  "passi"  we  had  in  the  Keronian  gloss 
scriti — here  we  have  strit.  "Stadium,"  however,  also 
means  "locus  contentionis,"  hence  strit  also  came  to 
mean  "contention,  quarrel,  obstinacy,  altercation," 
etc.  ONorse  strid  "woe,  grief,  affliction,  strife,  com- 
bat," is  a  borrowing  from  the  OHGerman. 

We  have  still  other  corruptions.  Saxo  Grammaticus 
calls  the  Finni  Scricfinni.  Scric-  and  stric-  have  also 
survived  as  roots  for  "quick  motion."  The  Hrab- 
anian  glosses  have  "exilit  scrichit,'^  which  is  identical 
with  Paulus'  etymology  for  Scritohini.  The  Hrabanian 
word  is  retained  in  OHG.  scrican  "to  jump  suddenly, 
shy,"  scric  "leap,"  houscrich  "locust,"  hence  Ger. 
schrecken  "to  frighten."  We  have  also  struchon 
"labare,  elabi,  mere,  efugere,"  and  strecchan  "ire, 
meare."  In  the  latter  case  there  is  a  confusion  with 
stric  "linen,"  with  which  it  has  nothing  to  do.     In 


106    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

ONorse  skrikan  "slipping,  stumbling"  takes  the  place 
of  OHG.  struchon,  while  in  ASaxon  we  have  strlcon 
"to  move,  go." 

We  have  the  Greek  verbs  axaipoj  "I  jump,"  axcprdo) 
"I  leap,  dance,"  with  numerous  derivatives  from  the 
root,  such  as  (Txcptov:6drj<;,  an  epithet  of  the  Satyr. 
The  root  is  not  found  in  the  other  Indo-European 
languages  and  is  of  Semitic  origin,  for  here  we  have  the 
root  sard-,  Sard-  in  a  sense  akin  to  the  Greek.    We  have 

Heb.  '^^t'^  ^arld   "one   who   has  run  away,"  Syr.  »^ 

srad     "he     trembled,     feared,"     hence     ifioa     surddd 

"terror,    fright."      But    it    is    only    the    Arab,  ^j^ 

§arada  "he  took  fright,  shied,  became  refractory,  broke 
loose  and  went  hither  and  thither  by  reason  of  his 
sprightliness,"  which  could  have  produced  the  Ger- 
manic   group,    derived    from    Scritofinni.      We    have 

Arab,    -^'y^  §irdd  "a  taking  fright,  shying  and  fleeing, 

running  away  at  random,"  -^.^^  Sarid  "fleeing,  running 

away,"    ^-^^    sdrid    "shying,    fleeing,    savage."      The 

etymology  suggested  by  Paulus  Diaconus  makes  it 
clear  that  he  quoted,  from  his  source,  an  Arabic  ety- 
mology for  Scritofinni,  We  have  already  seen  that 
from  this  etymology  a  whole  series  of  divergent  roots 
were  started  in  the  Germanic  languages,  and  it  is 
likely  that  a  much  larger  number  of  such  roots  must 
ultimately  be  derived  from  it. 

There  arises  somewhat  late  in  OH  German  a  series 
of  words  with  which  to  designate  a  satyrlike  being. 
We  have  for  "larua,  ephialtes,  faunus,"^  scrat,  scrato, 
scrazzo,  screzzo,^  where  the  variation  in  the  final 
consonant  shows  a  wavering  in  the  borrowed  form. 

1  Steinmeyer  and  Sievera,  II.  469,  472,  518,  534,  550,  558,  678,  III.  317, 
420,  IV.  204,  209,  etc. 

» Ibid.,  III.  220,  244,  278,  IV.  243. 


JORDANES  107 

But  we  have  also  slathe  "larva,"^  sletton  "faunos, "^ 
slezo  "incubus,"^  which  show  a  new  development, 
sclit,  solid,  slit,  slid,  by  the  side  of  scrid,  etc.,  and  which 
must  have  had  an  original  meaning  of  a  motion  de- 
scribed by  Paulus  Diaconus  in  connection  with  the 
Scritofinni.  Indeed,  we  have  AS.  slide  '*a  slip,  fall," 
slidan  **to  slide,"  which  is  recorded  in  OHGerman  as 
sclit  and  sclifh  "lapsus."^  Sclit  has  not  survived  in 
OHGerman,  except  in  slito,  sliddo  "sled;"  and  in  a 
gloss,  "trahas  a  trahendo,  id  slito  curuata  sine  rota,"^ 
we  get  precisely  the  explanation  by  Paulus  Diaconus, 
"saltibus  enim  utentes,  arte  quadam  ligno  incurvo 
ad  arcus  similitudinem  feras  adsecuntur,"  as  mis- 
understood by  Saxo  Grammaticus.^  Sclifh  leads 
similarly  to  OHG.  slifan  "to  fall,  glide,'  slip,"  and  we 
also  get  a  form  sleihha  "sleigh,"  hence  sllhan  "to  slip, 
glide,"  etc.  It  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  follow  out 
this  extremely  rich  group  from  Scritofinni  in  the  other 
languages.  It  is  plain,  from  what  has  already  been 
shown,  that  the  mysterious  Scritofinni  are  responsible 
for  a  large  number  of  words  in  the  Germanic  languages. 
One  can  see  why,  in  the  doubtful  passage  in  Procopius, 
the  Heruli  are  made  to  go  to  Scandinavia  for  a  king. 
Everything  glorious  which  was  ascribed  to  the  Germanic 
races,  according  to  the  original  Antiquitas,  as  recorded 
in  its  various  derivative  sources,  had  its  origin  in  Scandi- 
navia, whence  came  the  Langobards.  The  Heruli 
fought  with  the  Langobards,  hence  it  was  necessary 
to  give  them  an  etymology.  We  have  for  them,  in 
Jordanes,  not  one,  but  two  etymologies,  one  of  them 


1  Ibid.,  IV.  178. 

2  Ibid.,  II.  580. 

"  Ibid.,  III.  489,  501. 

*  Ibid.,  I.  204. 

B  Ibid.,  IV.  271. 

«  See  p.  103  f. 

^  "Delabunt  cascritant,  kistritant,  zasliifant,"  SS.,  I.  110. 


108    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

derived  from  the  Greek/  the  other  from  the  Latin. 
Jordanes  says  that  the  Danes  drove  out  of  their  own 
seats  the  Heruli,  who  of  all  the  nations  of  Scandia  had 
the  highest  name  on  account  of  their  nobility.'^  We 
see  at  once  whence  comes  this  nobility.  The  Liber 
glossarum^  has  a  large  number  of  derivatives  from 
Lat.  herus,  such  as  erile  "filius  dominicus,"  eriles  lectos 
"dominorum  lectus,"  eruli  "domini,"  whence  "eruli 
domini"  found  its  way  into  a  large  number  of  vocabu- 
laries. The  etymology  for  Heruli  was,  therefore, 
unavoidable:  they  are  called  so  from  their  nobility. 
This  Latin  etymology  found  its  way  into  many  Ger- 
manic languages.  The  Corpus  Glossary  has  eruli  still 
on  the  Latin  side,  but  later  we  get  AS.  eorl  **man, 
brave  man,  hero,"  and  ultimately,  "nobleman,  lord." 
In  OSaxon  erl  has  the  meaning  **man,  male,  boy,"  and 
in  ONorse  jarl  is  * 'gentleman." 

Paulus  Diaconus  says  that  the  Heruli  met  the 
Langobards  in  battle  in  the  open  fields.^  There  would 
be  nothing  peculiar  about  this  statement,  were  it  not 
that  the  Langobards  are  distinctly  connected  with  the 
open  fields.  We  have  already  seen  that  the  Langobards, 
according  to  the  Origo  and  Paulus,  lived  for  three  years 
in  the  open  fields,  called  in  the  foreign  language,  feld. 
Campus  Asfeld  (Feld)  is  again  mentioned  in  Paulus  as 
a  Langobard  place.  ^  There  is  no  reason  why  the 
Langobards  should  be  mentioned  as  living  in  the 
open  fields.  Apparently  there  is  a  mistake  somewhere. 
Now,  Procopius  says  that  Justinian  settled  the  Lango- 
bards in  Pannonia  and  gave  them  there  the  city  of 
Noricum,  the  fortified  places  of  Pannonia,  and  many 

1  "Nam  praedicta  gens,  Ablavio  istorico  referente,  iuxta  Meotida  palude 
inhabitans  in  locis  stagnantibus,  quas  Greci  ele  vocant,  Eluri  nominati 
sunt,"  XXIII  (117.) 

2  III  (23). 

3  Goetz,  vol.  V,  p.  194. 

*  "Conveniunt  utrorumque  in  campis  patentibus  acies,"  I.  20. 
"  I.  24. 


JORDANES  109 

open  places.^  The  same  statement  is  made  in  regard 
to  the  Heruli,  who  pillaged  the  open  places  of  Thrace.^ 
In  both  cases  we  have  the  statement  that  the  Lango- 
bards  and  Heruli  occupied  the  fields  as  well  as  the 
fortified  places.  Feld  is,  therefore,  a  translation  of 
Gr.  xo)piov.  In  the  Graeco-Latin  vocabularies  x<opiov 
is  translated  by  "ager,  fundus,  praedium,  villa." 
Feld  is  not  originally  a  Germanic  word,  because  it  is 
absent  from  Gothic.  We  can  ascertain  its  origin  by 
studying  its  appearance  in  ASaxon.  The  Corpus 
Glossary  has  "scamma /eZd,"  "saltuum/eZ^/ia,"  "stabu- 
IvLia.  falaed,''  ' 'hoieWum.  falud.''  To  this  must  be  added 
AS.  fold,  folde  "earth,  turf,"  which,  however,  does  not 
appear  until  a  later  time.  **Scamma/eZd"  shows  that 
the  word  got  into  ASaxon  only  from  Paulus  Diaconus 
or  the  Origo,  since  scamma  means  "a  field  in  which 
athletes  wrestle,"^  from  Gr.  erxdnro)  "I  dig,"  because 
such  a  ground  was  generally  lower  than  the  surrounding 
land.  It  is  precisely  in  this  sense  that  we  found  it  in 
the  conflict  between  the  Heruli  and  the  Langobards, 
who  fought  in  open  fields.  Such  a  low  place,  surrounded 
by  a  natural  fence,  was  particularly  fitted  for  a  cattle 
fold,  hence  feltha  is  glossed  by  "saltuum,"  that  is, 
* 'woods  for  cattle,"  whence  we  at  once  come  to  falud, 
falaed,  fold  "a  fold."  We  have  OPort.  faldra  ''plains" 
and  OFr.  falde  "sheep  pasture,"  which  show  how 
"field"  and  "pasture"  are  here  related.  In  OH  German 
feld  "campus"  is  not  often  recorded,  but  OSax.  faled 
"fold"  adds  to  the  proof  that  the  original  form  of  the 
ASaxon  word  from  which  feld,  fold  are  derived,  was 
nearer  to  falaed,  which  is  recorded  for  "fold."     This 

^  cAavYoSttoSag  5e  6acaA,eu5  'louonviavog  IScogridaTo  NcoQistcBv  re  Jt6- 
Xei  xal  Toi5  ejd  Ilawoviag  6xvQ&\iacA  re  xal  aX^oig  xfOQioig  nolXoiq  jcal 
Xormaci  nEyaXoig  dvav,*  De  bello  gothico,  III.  33.  10. 

*  <Kal  SXXa.  fievToi  Aaxiag  xviQia  Sortog  6amXe(os  "EoovXoi  toxov  a.\i(fi 
nohv  2iYYi8avcov,  o5  8fi  iSowrai  vuv,  'IVMQOvg  xe  xal  rd  im,  B09.XT15  xm- 
Qia  xaxadeovxeg  xal  XTii^o^evoi  Ix  xoij  ini  n:^Eioxov,>  III.  33.   13. 

'  "Locus  ubi  anthletae  luctantur,"  Goetz,  vol.  V,  p.  388,  etc. 


110    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

is    from    Arab.     ^^  falahat,    pi.   oUij  falahat    "field, 

land  furrowed  for  cultivation,  campus  patens."  We 
have,  therefore,  in  the  Origo  and  in  Paulus  Diaconus, 
an  Arabic  gloss  to  Gr.  ;fw/)(;'ov,  as  given,  no  doubt,  in 
the  original  Antiquitas. 

We  have  still  another  Arabic  word  in  the  passage 
about  Scandia.  Jordanes  says  that  the  Suehans 
(Sueans,  Suethans)  have  excellent  horses  and  transmit 
sapphirine  furs,  famous  for  their  blackness,  through 
other  nations  to  the  Romans.  This  account,  if  nothing 
else,  proves  that  Jordanes'  Getica  is  a  forgery,  for 
sappherinus  is  not  derived  from  Lat.  sapphirus,  but 

from    Arab.    >^'    ^a^far,    fem.     '>>*    ^afrd'u     "black, 

applied  to  a  camel,  as  in  the  Koran,  LXXVII.  33, 
because  a  black  camel  always  has  an  intermixture  of 
yellow."  The  reference  is  to  beaver  or  sable  furs,  which 
the  Arabic  geographers  specifically  mention  as  coming 
from  the  country  of  the  Isu,  that  is,  Suiones.  Abti 
Hamid  says:  "The  merchants  go  from  Bui  gar  to  a 
country  of  the  infidels,  called  Isti,  whence  the  beaver 
comes.  They  takejbo  it  swords  with  unpolished  blades 
which  they  buy  at  Adherbeigan.  They  buy  them  there 
four  for  one  dinar.  These  are  frequently  moistened  with 
water,  so  that  they  will  make  a  metallic  sound  when 
they  are  suspended  from  a  string  and  are  struck.  That 
is  what  they  want.  For  these  blades  they  buy  beavers. 
The  people  of  Isu  go  with  these  swords  to  a  country 
near    to    darkness,   which  lies    near    the    Dark    Sea 

(ij«.VI  j>^\  'albahr  'alaswad)  and  sell  these  swords  for 

sable  furs.  These  take  the  blades  and  throw  them  into 
the  Dark  Sea.  Then  Allah  lets  a  fish  come  out  for 
them."^     It   is  not  possible   to   locate   these  Arabic 

'  G.  Jacob,  Welche  Handelsartikel  bezogen  die  Araber  des  Mittelalters  aus 
den  nordischrbaltischen  Ldnderni,  Berlin  1891,  p.  76  f. 


JORDANES  111 

Isu,  but  they  are  most  likely  the  modern  Finns.  If 
so,  Isu  must  be  the  root  of  the  modern  Finnish  word 
for  ''Finland,"  Suomi,  which  is  generally  connected 
with  Fin.  suo  "swamp,"  even  as  we  have  seen,  in- 
dependently of  this,  that  the  Finns  have  been  connected 
with  the  country  of  swamps  by  all  the  writers  on 
Scandia. 

I  shall  now  show  that  the  division  of  the  Goths  into 
Ostrogoths  and  Visigoths,  as  told  in  Jordanes,  was 
unknown  before  the  existence  of  the  Gothic  Antiquitas, 
and  that  all  works  before  the  eighth  century,  where 
there  is  mention  of  them,  have  been  corrected  in  keeping 
with  the  Antiquitas. 

Jordanes  quotes  Ablabius,  that  is,  the  Antiquitas, 
to  the  effect  that  the  Goths  lived  in  Scythia,  where 
the  eastern  tribes  had  a  king  called  Ostrogotha,  whence 
the  Ostrogothae  were  so  called,  or  because  they  were  the 
eastern  people,  while  the  others  were  called  Vesegothae, 
that  is,  the  western.^  Then  Ostrogotha  crossed  the 
Danube  and  devastated  Moesia  and  Thrace,  in  the 
days  when  King  Philip  ruled  over  the  Romans.^ 
This  valiant  King  Ostrogotha  ruled  over  both  Ostro- 
goths and  Visigoths  and  was  victorious  over  the 
Gepidae.^  The  Ostrogoths  separated  from  the  Visi- 
goths in  the  days  of  King  Hermanric.^  While  Bal- 
amber,  the  king  of  the  Huns,  waged  war  on  the  Ostro- 
goths, the  Visigoths,  that  is,  the  western  settlers,  sent 
a  delegation  to  Valens,  asking  for  permission  to  settle 
in  Thrace  or  Moesia.  Valens  hoped  to  create  a  bul- 
wark against  the  northern  barbarians  by  admitting 

*  "Ablabius  enim  storicus  refert,  quia  ibi  super  limbum  Ponti,  ubi  eos 
diximus  in  Scythia  commanere,  ibi  pars  eorum,  qui  orientali  plaga  tenebat, 
eisque  praeerat  Ostrogotha,  utrum  ab  ipsius  nomine,  an  a  loco,  id  est  ori- 
entales,  dicti  sunt  Ostrogothae,  residui  vero  Vesegothae,  id  est  a  parte 
occidua,"  XIV  (82). 

» XVI  (89  ff.) 
» XVII  (97  ff.) 

*  XXIV  (130). 


112    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

the  Visigoths  into  Roman  territory.  It  was  then  that 
the  Visigoths  became  Arians  and  also  persuaded  the 
Ostrogoths  and  Gepidae  to  become  Arians.^  After 
shuttlecocking  the  Ostrogoths  and  Visigoths  over 
Europe,  Jordanes  returns  once  more  to  the  history 
of  their  division,^  and  at  last  settles  the  Visigoths 
in  Spain.  ^ 

We  have  in  the  story  of  Ostrogotha  obviously  a 
mythical  account  of  the  eponymous  hero  of  the  Ostro- 
goths, hence  the  name  Ostrogoths  must  precede  the 
name  of  the  king.  Apparently  the  Antiquitas  tried  to 
explain  the  later  division  of  the  Goths  into  those  who 
seized  the  reign  in  Rome  and  those  who  seized  it  in 
Spain.  This  led  back  to  the  division  of  the  Goths 
between  Fritigern  and  Athanaric,  where  Paulus  Dia- 
conus  stopped.*  But  when  we  turn  to  any  earlier 
writer,  we  are  perplexed  to  find  that  not  a  single  his- 
torical writer,  except  Procopius,  has  anything  to  say 
about  Visigoths,  and  not  even  Procopius  knows  of  the 
name  Ostrogoths.  He  opposes  the  Goths  to  the  Visi- 
goths, and  distinguishes  between  the  Goths  of  Italy 
and  Alaric's  Obcaiyordoc  who  settled  in  Spain, ^  which  is 
in  keeping  with  Jordanes,  who  makes  Alaric  the  first 
Visigoth. 


1  XXV  (131  flf.) 

» XLVIII  (246  fl.) 

» XLVIII  (251). 

*  "Exigit  nunc  locus  dicere,  quam  ob  causam  Gothorum  alii  Ostrogothae, 
alii  vero  Wisegothae  sint  dicti,  oportunumque  est  aliquantulum  ad  superiora 
tempora  regredi,  quatenus  horum  ratio  vocabulorum  possit  exponi.  tem- 
poribus  Valentiniani  superioris  Augusti  cum  intra  Traciae  fines  Gothorum 
tunc  populi  communiter  habitarent,  bifarie  per  Alaricum  ac  Fridigernum 
divisi  decreverunt,  ut  utramque  rempublicam  id  est  Fridigernus  cum  suis 
Orientalem,  Alaricus  vero  cum  suo  exercitu  Occidentalem  opprimeret.  hi 
ergo,  qui  cum  PYidigerno  in  Orientali  remanserant  parte,  lingua  patria  ab 
Oriente  Ostrogothae  id  est  orientales  Gothi  sunt  dicti;  isti  vero,  qui  occiduas 
petierant  regiones,  ab  Occidente  Wisigothae  id  est  occidentales  sunt  appel- 
lati,"  Historic  romana,  XV.  6. 

'  «Kal  an'  axrcov  Foxdoi  re  xai  OmoiYOxdoi  .  .  .  iyyv&yxet;  I?  |\ryY^- 
veiav  ln;EjAiYWVTo,»  De  hello  gothico,  I.  12.  49. 


JORDANES  113 

The  story  of  the  Visigoths  in  Procopius  is  preceded 
by  the  statement  that  the  Gothic  nations  consist  of 
the  Goths,  Vandals,  Visigoths  and  Gepidae,  and  they 
were  anciently  called  Sauromati  and  Blackcoats. 
They  are  also  called  Getae.^  Speaking  of  the  Tetrax- 
ite  Goths,  Procopius  repeats  this  account,  and  ends 
with  the  absurd  statement  that  they  were  also  called 
something  else.^  The  editor  suggests  that  the  whole 
latter  passage  was  written  in  the  margin  and  later 
incorporated  in  the  text,  hence  he  places  it  in  parenthe- 
ses. Yes,  but  the  two  passages  cannot  possibly  be 
by  Procopius,  because  he  could  not  have  committed 
the  same  kind  of  blunder,  based  on  a  misunderstand- 
ing of  the  same  Bopoad£Virtx6(:  of  Dio  Chrysostom,  as 
was  perpetrated  by  the  interpolator  of  Procopius  in 
connection  with  Hoamer,  the  Achilles  of  the  Vandals. 

What  Dio  Chrysostom  says  is  this:  "Callistratos, 
a  stately  old  Borysthenite,  was  dressed  in  black,  as 
is  the  custom  with  the  Borysthenitae,  even  as  many 
Blackcoat  Scythians  are  dressed  in  black,  whence,  I 
suppose,  they  are  so  called  by  the  Greeks."^  The 
forger  had  already  identified  the  Borysthenitae  with 
Goths,  hence  he  quite  naturally  here  identified  them 
with  the  Blackcoat  Scythians  or  Sauromatians,  espe- 

'  «roT^ixa  efrvT}  nolXa  \ikv  xai  oXKa  JtQoreoov  xz  fjv  xal  xawv  ecrci,  xa. 
6e  8fi  rtdvTCDv  jieYiard  te  xal  d^ioA-OYCOTaxa  Foxdoi  te  elai  xal  Bav6i^oi  vjoa 
OuicriYOT^oi  xal  rT|n;ai8E5'  Jtd^ai  nevroi  2auoondTca  xal  MeXdYx^aivoi  obvo- 
nd^ovTO*  eioi  fie  ot  xod  FeTixd  e^Ti  xavx'  exdiouv, »  De  hello  vandalico,  I.  2. 
2. 

*  cIIoXX,^  8^  auTwv  aKodev  Foxdoi  xe  xal  Ouiaivoxdoi  xal  Bav8iXoi  xal 
tA  SXKa  Foxdixa  yiyrt\  Iviutavxa  iSquyxo*  ot  §ti  xal  Sxv^ai  sv  xoig  avto  xqo- 
V015  EJtexaXovvxo,  ejieI  jtdvxa  xd  e^vt),  ojieq  xd  exeivo  %(OQia  eI^ov,  2xu^ixd 
HEv  hd  xoivfjs  6vo}AdtExai,  evioi  8^  avxiov  DavQoiidxai  9\  MEXdyx^aivoi,  1\ 
akXo  XI  insHaXovyxOf-^  De  bello  gothico,  IV.  5.  5-6. 

^«naoE^o>oxo  8e  ndxaigav  lAEvd^Tiv  xcbv  bctixcov  xal  dvaivQiSag  el- 
xe  xal  XT)v  aXKriv  oxoXtiv  Sxirfrixriv,  fivcofl'Ev  6e  xcov  Sfioov  ludtwrv  ^ixq6v 
\iiXav,  X,EJix6v,  m<yjtE(?  Elto^amv  01  BooucrfrEvtxai'  XQWvxai  8^  xal  xfj  SXk-a 
eodfjxi  jiEXaAvti  d)g  x6  jto^u  drto  y^vovc;  xivog  2xijO^(ov  xcov  MfiXaYX^ciivtov, 
&g  i:\x6i  8o«ouca,  xaxd  xouxo  &vo\iaa&evKov  vnb  xcov  'EXXrivcov,*  op.  cit., 
p.  3. 


114    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

cially  since  Dio  Chrysostom  a  few  lines  further  down 
speaks  of  the  wars  of  the  Borysthenitae  with  the 
Sauromatians. 

It  is  quite  impossible  for  Procopius  to  have  talked 
such  nonsense,  and  all  the  references  to  Oucmyordoc 
and  rdrdoi  TsTpa^Tzou  found  in  his  works  are  bold 
interpolations  or  rifacimenti,  made  after  the  invasion 
of  the  Arabs.  Procopius  insists  on  distinguishing  be- 
tween the  Visigoths,  who  followed  Alaric,  and  the  rest, 
who  are  simply  called  Goths.  ^  Among  the  latter  he 
wrongly  places  the  Alani.^  This  mistake  is  also 
found  in  Jordanes,  who  calls  himself  a  descendant  of 
the  Alani.^  That  the  original  Procopius  did  not  have 
any  reference  to  Visigoths  is  proved  by  Zonaras,  who, 
as  we  have  seen,  leans  on  Procopius,  and  yet  knows  only 
of  Alaric  as  the  leader  of  the  Goths  and  Vandals.* 
Similarly,  Georgius  Cedrenus  speaks  of  Alaric,  the 
Goth,  the  leader  of  the  Vandals,^  while  in  the  Excerpts 
of  Olympiodorus  he  is  called  the  phylarch  of  the 
Goths. ^  The  Latin  writers  know  nothing  of  Ostro- 
goths and  Visigoths,  and  it  is  fatal  to  refer  Jordanes 
for  his  history  to  Cassiodorus,  because  in  his  Chronica 
only  the  word  Gothi  occurs,  Alaric  being  specifically 
mentioned  as  the  king  of  the  Goths. ^  The  same  is 
true  of  the  chronicles  of  Hydatius,  Marcellinus,  Victor 

1  De  hello  vandalico,  I.  2.  2. 

» Ibid.,  I.  3.  1  and  5.  21. 

» L  (265). 

*  «'A^A,doixov  Tov  oQxorvxa  xov  xtbv  Ovav8iiX(ov  ^  Tox^ayv  eOvoug,»  XIII. 
21.  ^ 

*«nao£^T|(pOii  be  xal  f|  'Ptojiti  vitb  'AXaQixou  xov  rdrdou,  xov  x&v 
Ovav6iA.a)v  e5dQxovT05,»  Corpus  scriptorum  historiae  byzantinae,  vol. 
XXXIII,  p.  588. 

"^'AX.doixo?  o  x&y  FoTfrcov  q)uA.aoxo?,»  ibid.,  vol.  XIII,  p.  448. 

^  "Gothi  Halarico  et  Radagaiso  regibus  ingrediuntur  Italiam,"  a.  400; 
"Roma  a  Gothis  Halarico  duce  capta  est,  ubi  clementer  usi  victoria  sunt," 
a.  410;  "Gothi  rege  Ataulpho  Gallias  intraverunt,"  a.  412;  "gens  Vanda- 
lorum  a  Gothis  exclusa  de  Hispaniis  ad  Africam  transit,"  a.  427,  etc.,  in 
MGH.,  Auctor.  antiq.,  vol.  XI,  p.  154  S. 


JORDANES  115 

Tonnensis,  Johannes  Biclarensis.^  In  the  fragment  of 
the  Chronica  Caesaraugustana  we  read,  under  a.  490, 
*'  Theudericus  Ostrogotthorum  rex  a  Thracia  et  Pannonia 
Italiam  venit."^  But  as  Gotthi  is  used  in  every  other 
case,  and  the  item  for  the  year  490  is  absent  from 
MS.  E,  this  reference  is  valueless,  since  it  is  certainly 
interpolated.  This  very  item  occurs  in  the  chronicle 
of  Marius  Aventicensis  as  *'his  consulibus  ingressus 
est  Theudoricus  rex  Gothorum  in  Italia  ponte  Isonti."^ 
In  this  chronicle  Gothi  is  used  indiscriminately  for  Goths 
in  Italy  and  Spain. 

In  Isidore's  History  of  the  Goths,  which,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  is  greatly  interpolated,  there  is  no  dis- 
tinction made  between  eastern  and  western  Goths, 
but  Ostrogothi  has  slipped  into  one  place.  Under  era 
545  we  have  two  varying  redactions,  one  reading 
**Theodericus  iunior  dum  iam  pridem,  a  Thracia  et 
Pannonia  veniens,  fugato  Arnulfo  rege  Ostro gothorum, 
regnasset  in  Italia  annis  X  et  octo,  rursus  extincto 
Gisaleico  rege  Gothorum,"  the  other,  "Theudericus 
iunior,  cum  iam  dudum  consul  et  rex  a  Zenone  im- 
peratore  Romae  ereatus  fuisset  peremptoque  Odoacar 
rege  Ostro gothorum  atque  devicto  fratre  eius  Onoulfo 
et  trans  confinia  Danuvii  effugato  XVIII  annis  Italia 
%'ictor  regnasset,  rursus  extincto  Gisaleico  rege  Gotho- 
rum." It  is  not  a  mere  coincidence  that  Ostrogothus 
should  be  used  here  precisely  in  the  same  place  as  in 
the  interpolated  item  in  the  Chronica  Caesaraugustana, 
and  only  there.  Obviously  both  sources  were  corrected 
from  the  same  later  interpolation.  It  is  also  interesting 
to  note  that  one  MS.  of  Isidore  goes  even  further,  and 
here,  and  only  here,  changes  "Gisaleico rege  Gothorum^* 
to    "rege    Guisigothorum    Geselico."^       In    Isidore's 

1  Ibid. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  222. 
'  Ibid.,  p.  233. 
*  Ibid.,  p.  283. 


116    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Chronica  we  have  "In  Italia  quoque  Totila  Ostrogo- 
thorum  rex  a  Narse  Romano  patricio  superatur;"^ 
but  this  item  is  in  only  five  MSS.  out  of  a  vast  number, 
and,  besides,  a  few  lines  farther  down  Totila  is  men- 
tioned only  as  "rex  Gothorum,'^  even  as  he  is  given  in 
Victor,  on  whom  the  first  passage  is  based.  Again, 
in  the  Anonymus  Valesianus,  of  which  the  earliest 
MS.  is  of  the  ninth  century,  Wisigothae  is  mentioned 
in  precisely  the  same  relation  to  Theoderic.'^  It  is, 
therefore,  clear  that  all  the  references  to  Visigoths  and 
Ostrogoths  go  back  to  a  Life  of  Theoderic,  such  as  is 
given  in  the  Anonymus  Valesianus.  Since  Theoderic 
had  been  king  both  in  Italy  and  Spain,  there  was  need 
of  the  distinction,  which,  however,  was  not  made  before 
the  eighth  century. 

In  the  poets,  Ostrogothus  occurs  in  a  few  cases.  It 
is  found  in  a  verse  ascribed  to  Martinus  Dumiensis,' 
because  there  is  a  reference  to  such  a  poem  in  Gregory 
of  Tours.  ^  One  of  the  manuscripts  reads  Histrogothus 
instead  of  Ostrogothus.  But  as  this  reference  to  the 
verses  and  to  Martinus  is  absent  from  MSS.  B  and  C  of 
Gregory,  it  is  certainly  interpolated  and  is  of  no  value 
for  the  determination  of  the  genuineness  of  the  poem. 
We  have  in  Claudian's  poem  In  Eutropium  (XX), 
line  153,  the  words,  ^^Ostrogothis  colitur  mixtisque 
Gruthungis  Phryx  ager."  Several  editors  have  already 
expressed  their  perplexity  at  finding  Ostrogoths  in 
Phrygia,  a  totally  unknown  and  unwarranted  assump- 
tion.   This  passage  was  obviously  corrected  in  the  light 


1  Ibid.,  p.  476. 

2  "Tunc  venerunt  Wisigothae  in  adiutorium  Theoderici,"  ibid.,  vol.  IX, 
p.  316;  "nam  uxorem  habuit  ante  regnum,  de  qua  susceperat  filias:  unam 
dedit  nomine  Areaagni  Alarico  regi  Wisigotharum  in  Gallias,"  ibid.,  p.  322. 

3  MGH.,  Auctor.  antiq.,  vol.  VI2,  p.  195. 

*  Historia  Francorum,  V.  37,  in  MGH.,  Scrip,  rer.  merov.,  vol.  IS  p.  229. 


JORDANES  117 

of   a  later  information.^      Ostrogothus   occurs  several 
times  in  the  poems  of  Apollinaris  Sidonius. 

"Bastarna,  Suebus, 

Pannonius,  Neurus,  Chunus,  Geta,  Dacus, 
Halanus, 

Bellonothus,     Rugus,     Burgundio,     Vesus, 
Alites, 

Bisalta,  Ostrogothus,  Procrustes,  Sarmata, 
Moschus,"  V.  474  ff.^ 
There  is  no  dependence  whatsoever  on  this,  since 
there  are  no  manuscripts  which  are  earlier  than  the 
tenth  century,  and  since  Bellonothus  and  Alites  are 
non-existent  nations  and  Procrustes  is  probably  Pirustes, 
as  Wilamowitz  suggests.  Besides,  Vesus  occurs  here 
for  the  first  and  only  time.  _  If  it  refers  to  any  nation 
at  all,  it  can  only  be  the  Isu  of  the  Arabs,  who  are 
also  given  as  Visu,^  and  hence  cannot  be  earlier  than 
of  the  eighth  century.  To  make  matters  worse,  Sidonius 
mentions  the  Getae,  who  with  him  invariably  mean  all 
the  Goths;  hence  the  reference  to  Ostrogothus  further 
down  is  impossible,  except  as  a  mistake.  Since  Ostro- 
gothus occurs  again  in  Sidonius  in  a  perfectly  correct 
relation,  namely,  in  a  statement  that  the  Ostrogoths 
fought  with  the  Huns,^  there  cannot  be  any  doubt 
that  Sidonius  really  wrote  Ostrogothus.  But  who  is 
Sidonius? 

All  we  know  of  him  is  contained  in  Gregory  of  Tours 
and  in  Gennadius  of  Marseilles,^  but  the  chapter  on 
Sidonius  is  absent  from  many  MSS.  of  Gennadius, 
and  is  totally  lacking  in  Gregory  in  the  tell-tale  MSS. 

^  Since  writing  the  above  I  have  collected  a  great  amount  of  material 
to  show  that  Ostrogothus  and  Greutingus  are,  in  the  writers  before  the  eighth 
century,  bold  interpolations.    Of  this  I  shall  treat  in  another  volume. 
^MGH.,  Anctor.  antiq.,  vol,  VIII,  p.  199. 

^  Zeuss,  Die  Deutschen  und  die  Nachbarstdmme,^  Miinchen  1837,  p.  516. 
*  "Istis  Ostrogothus  viget  patronis 
Vicinosque  premens  subinde  Chunos, 
His  quod  subditur,  hinc  superbit  illis,"  op.  cit.,  p.  137. 
« Ibid.,  p.  XLIV  ff. 


118    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

B  and  C.  If  Sidonius  was  such  a  great  man  among 
the  Visigoths,  how  is  it  that  Isidore  of  Seville  does 
not  mention  him  in  his  De  viris  illustrihusf  To  cap 
the  climax,  Sidonius  speaks  of  Orosius  as  a  great 
writer.^  Thus  we  arrive  at  only  one  conclusion, 
namely,  that  the  works  of  Apollinaris  Sidonius  are 
an  eighth  century  forgery,  made  after  the  forgery  of 
Orosius.^  The  same  forger  is  apparently  responsible 
for  the  poem  ascribed  to  Martinus,  which  bears  in 
its  nomenclature  of  the  nations  a  suspicious  resem- 
blance to  Sidonius.^ 

Thus  we  have  no  reference  whatseoever  to  either 
Ostrogothus  or  Visigothus  except  in  spurious  works. 
I  shall  now  show  how  these  terms  originated. 

Procopius  speaks  in  various  parts  of  his  work  of 
the  Tetraxite  Goths.  There  are  not  many  of  them 
and  they  are  good  Christians.  These  Goths  had 
originally  been  Arians,  like  the  rest  of  the  nation. 
When  Justinian  had  been  emperor  twenty-one  years, 
they  sent  four  elders  to  Byzantium  to  ask  for  a  bishop, 
since  their  preacher  had  lately  died.  Justinian  com- 
plied with  their  wish.*  They  lived  on  a  footing  of 
friendship  with  the  Huns.^ 

One  can  see  at  a  glance  that  we  have  here  a  rifaci- 
mento  of  the  story  from  John  Chrysostom,  whom  the 
Goths  asked  for  a  Catholic  bishop  after  their  preacher, 
Unilas,  had  died.  But  the  same  story  bobs  up  again 
in  the  eighth  century.  The  Greek  Menologion  cele- 
brates on  June  26  the  memory  of  the  Holy  Father 

1  "Ut  Gregorius  consolatur,  ut  Orosius   affluit  ut  Rufinus  stringitur," 
Epistolae,  IV.  3.  7,  ibid.,  p.  55. 

2  To  this  matter  I  shall  return  at  a  future  time. 

3  "Alamannus,  Saxo,  Toringus, 
Pannonius,  Rugus,  Sclavus,  Nara,  Sarmata,  Datus, 
Ostrogotus,  Francus,  Burgundio,  Dacus,  Alanus," 
MGH.,  Auctor.  antiq.,  vol.  VI  2,  p.  195. 
*  De  hello  gothico,  IV.  4.  4  ff. 
« Ibid.,  IV.  5  ff.  and  18  ff. 


JORDANES  119 

John,  the  Bishop  of  the  Goths. ^  The  account  of 
him  given  there  is  substantially  the  same,  though 
much  abbreviated,  as  in  the  Vatican  Codex,  quoted  in 
the  Acta  Sanctorum.'^  According  to  it,  he  lived  in 
the  days  of  Leo  the  Isaurian,  Constantine  (Koprony- 
mos),  and  Irene,  that  is,  at  the  end  of  the  eighth  cen- 
tury. He  was  bishop  of  the  Goths  in  the  Crimea, 
where  he  died.  Nearly  the  same  story  is  told  in  the 
Greek  Synaxary,^  only  the  date  is  transferred  to 
May  31.  In  the  Acta  Sanctorum  there  is  also  mention 
of  an  Arabo-Egyptian  martyrology,  where  under 
June  26  we  have  the  Holy  Father  John,  the  bishop  of 
the  Persians. 

If  the  bishop  of  the  Tetraxite  Goths  in  Procopius  is 
a  blunder,  the  bishop  of  the  Goths  in  the  Acta  Sanc- 
torum is  a  humbug.  He  is  stolen  from  the  Syriac 
martyrology  and  calendar,  and  was  obviously  adopted 
by  the  Spanish  Goths  through  the  Syrians  who  came 
to  Spain  with  the  Arabs,  and  then  was  loaned  to  the 
Greek  synaxaries  and  menologia,  together  with  the 
humbug  of  the  burning  of  the  Goths,  and  Ulfilas,the 
bishop  of  the  Goths.  In  the  British  Museum  Add. 
MS.  14519,  a  Jacobite  Menologion,  we  find,  under 
June  26,  John  bar  Aphtonia.^  Under  the  same  date, 
in  Paris  1^6  and  Vatic.  LXIX,  we  have  Saint  John 
bar  Aphtonia,  superior  of  the  monks  of  Qennesrin.^ 
Similarly,  in  Add.  MS.  17232,  he  is  mentioned  as 
John,  superior  of  Qennesre,  bar  Aphtonia.^  His 
death  is  given  under  November  4.' 


'Mtivalov    ToO    'louvioO,    'Ev  Bevsxiqi  1852,  p.  95. 
2  June  V,  p.  190  ff. 
» Ibid.,  p.  185. 

*  Patrologia  orientalis,  vol.  X,  fasc.  I,  p.  51. 
« Ibid.,  p.  80. 

•  Ibid.,  p.  122.    Similarly,  in  Add.  MS.  14504,  ibid.,  p.  42. 
7  Ibid.,  pp.  35,  47,  65,  98,  114. 


120    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

From  the  Life  of  John  bar  Aphtonia,  by  one  of 
his  disciples,^  and  from  other  sources,  it  appears 
that  John  was  called  bar  Aphtonia  from  his  mother, 
Aphtonia,  who  was  a  pious  woman  and,  after  the  death 
of  her  husband,  put  her  children  to  school  and  took 
good  care  of  them.  She  had  consecrated  her  son, 
John,  by  some  kind  of  prophecy,  while  she  was  still 
pregnant  with  him.  When  he  was  born,  she  brought 
him  up  in  her  house  as  in  a  sanctuary  and  did  not 
let  him  see  the  world. ^  In  the  Greek  story,  John's 
mother  is  Photina,  obviously  a  corruption  of  Aphtonia, 
who  consecrated  her  son  to  God,  even  before  he  was 
born.^  When  Aphtonia  brought  John  to  the  mon- 
astery, and  the  abbot  would  not  receive  him,  because 
he  was  only  fifteen  years  old,  his  mother  said,  **Like 
another  Eli,  o  venerable  man,  receive  my  Samuel,'"^ 
and  a  hymn  on  John  by  John  Psaltes  begins  with 
the  words,  "Like  the  prophet  Samuel,  John  the  illus- 
trious chief  and  director  of  our  community."^  In 
the  Greek  version,  John  was  consecrated  to  God  like 
Jeremiah  and  Samuel.^  In  or  soon  after  531  John 
was  in  Constantinople,  where  he  was  in  charge  of  the 
meetings  of  the  monophysite  monks  with  the  emperor 
and  the  orthodox  bishops.'  In  the  Greek  version 
his  predecessor  was  called  to  Constantinople  by 
Emperor  Constantine  to  a  synod  to  decide  against 
the  images,  wherefore  the  Goths  who  were  against 

1  F.  Nau,  Vie  de  Jean  bar  Aphtonia,  Paris  1902,  in  Bibliothdque  hagio- 
graphique  orientale,  tome  2. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  27. 

3«$a)TEivfi5  ye  xfj?  nnxoog  toC  '0<tiou,  eulanevris  T(p  ©ecp  Sodfivai  oii- 
Tfi  xagjiov,  elg  t6  nQoa&^ai  avtov  "KsixovQfbv  Kvpup  ovrcog  <nrveXa6EV 
auTov.  Tex^els  yag  xai  avlirfreig,  xov  d(T}tTiTix6v  Ix  critaQYavcav  ejiecmd- 
caxo  6iov,  eoYfp  xal  ^67(9  jidaav  doexTjv  xaxop^coaas,*  Acta  sanctorum, 
June  V,  p.  190. 

*  Nau,  op.  cit.,  p.  29. 

6  Ibid.,  p.  36.  ^ 

«  «Ouxo5  6  ocriog  'Ia>dwTi5  xadaYLOcrftelg  §x  6<?eq>ou5  6?  6  'leoe^Cag 
jcal  Saiioirf)^  6A,ixc5g  dcpieoacdri  X($  0£(p.> 

^  Nau,  op.  cit.,  pp.  3  and  11. 


JORDANES  121 

the  synod  asked  for  John  to  be  their  bishop.    He  went 
to  Constantinople,  where  he  stayed  three  years. 

It  is  clear  that  no  Gothic  Bishop  John  ever  existed, 
and  that  the  whole  Life  was  made  up  on  the  basis  of 
the  Life  of  John  bar  Aphtonia.  We  have  nothing 
definite  in  the  account  of  Procopius  to  permit  us  to 
trace  a  similar  story  about  the  bishop  of  the  Goths, 
whom  Justinian  sent  to  the  Crimea,  but  it  can  be  shown 
that  the  whole  account  of  the  Goths  in  the  Crimea  is 
based  on  no  fact  whatsoever.  Wherever  the  word 
zerpa^cTcu  occurs  in  Procopius,  MS.L  has  TpamC^rcu. 
The  first  means  nothing,  the  second  means  * 'merchant." 
Now,  Jordanes  has  already  told  us  that  the  beaver  skins 
reached  Rome  from  Scandinavia  through  several 
intermediate  merchants.^  Fraehn^  has  already  shown 
that  there  was  a  lively  interchange  between  Scandinavia 
and  the  Arabic  kingdoms  of  Asia.  On  the  other  hand, 
we  have  abundant  proof  that  a  trade  between  the 
north  and  the  west  took  place  through  the  intermediacy 
of  merchants  going  up  the  Black  Sea  and  trading  with 
the  Bulgars  and  Khazars,  who,  in  their  turn,  traded 
with  the  Scandinavians.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that 
the  western  merchants  bartered  to  the  Bulgars  and 
northern  nations  manufactured  cloth  for  furs.^  As 
trapezita  "merchant"  first  was  employed  in  Spain, 
whence  it  spread  to  the  other  Romance  countries,  it 
is  certain  that  among  the  Arab  traders  in  the  Black 
Sea  regions  were  also  found  Goths,  who  gave  rise  to 
the  mythical  Gothic  kingdom  in  the  Crimea. 


^  "Hi  (Suehans)  quoque  sunt,  qui  in  usibus  Romanorum  sappherinas 
pelles  commercio  interveniente  per  alias  innumeras  gentes  transmittunt," 
III  (21). 

*  IbvrFoszlan's  und  anderer  Ardber  Berichte  iiber  die  Russen  alterer  Zeit, 
St.  Petersburg  1823. 

'  "Itaque  pro  laneis  indumentis,  quae  nos  dicimus  faldones,  illi  offerunt 
tam  preciosos  martures,"  Adam  of  Bremen,  Gesta  hammenburgensis  ecclesiae 
pontificae,  lib.  IV,  cap.  18. 


122    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

In  the  Ley  den  Glossary  we  have  'Hrapezeta  et  num- 
mularius  et  colobista  idem  sunt  qui  nummis  fenerantur 
et  uilis  negotiis,"  which  is  a  development  of  a  state- 
ment made  by  Jerome  in  his  Commentary  to  Matthew, 
XXI.  12:  "Sed  quia  erat  Lege  praeceptum,  ut  nemo 
usuras  acciperet,  et  prodesse  non  poterat  pecunia 
fenerata,  quae  commodi  nihil  haberet,  et  interdum 
sortem  perderet,  excogitaverunt  et  aliam  technam,  ut 
pro  nummulariis,  Collybistas  facerent,  cujus  verbi 
proprietatem  Latina  lingua  non  exprimit.  Collyha 
dicuntur  apud  eos,  quae  nos  appellamus  tragemata, 
vel  vilia  munuscula.  Verbi  gratia,  frixi  cieeris,  uvarum- 
que  passarum,  et  poma  diversi  generis.  Igitur  quia 
usuras  accipere  non  poterant  Collybistae,  qui  pecuniam 
fenerati  erant,  pro  usuris  accipiebant  varias  species, 
ut  quod  in  nummo  non  licebat,  in  his  rebus  exigerent 
quae  nummis  coemuntur."^  Jerome  completely  mis- 
understood the  case,  for  a  collybista  was  in  reality  a 
merchant  who  exchanged  large  coin  for  small  coin, 
called  in  Greek  xoXXo^ov,  hence  a  collybista  was  as  much 
a  money-changer  as  a  trapezita. 

But  the  fatal  confusion  of  collybista  and  colobista,  as 
though  from  colobium  * 'garment,"  led  early  to  the 
identification  of  trapezita  with  a  cloth  merchant. 
We  find  early  in  the  thirteenth  century  in  Catalonia 
drapes,  that  is,  trapezita,  for  "cloth  merchant,"  for  he 
is  mentioned  immediately  after  a  mercer.^  But  long 
before  that,  trapus  meant  "cloth"  in  Catalonia  and 
Aragon,  and  in  Aragon  molendinum  traparium  "cloth 
mill"  was  described  in  full.^     As  we  find  in  Catalonia 

1  Migne,  Patrol,  lot.,  vol.  XXVI,  col.  150  f. 

*  "Unaquaeque  tabula  de  drapes  dat  unam  unciam  piperis  ad  Pascha,  et 
aliam  ad  Pentecostem,  et  aliam  Natalis  Domini"  (1221),  Capmany,  Me- 
morias  historicas  .  .  .  de  la  arUigim  ciudad  de  Barcelona,  Madrid  1779, 
vol.  II,  p.  8. 

'  Forum  Turolij,  in  Coleccion  de  documentos  para  el  estudio  de  la  historia  de 
Aragon,  Zaragoza  1905,  vol.  II,  p.  153  ff. 


JORDANES  123 

draparius^  by  the  side  of  traparius  just  mentioned,  the 
derivation  of  drapus  "cloth,"  recorded  from  the  ninth 
century  on  by  the  side  of  trapus,"^  from  trapezita 
would  seem  to  be  assured.  But  that  is  doubtful, 
because  the  transference  of  the  meaning  trapezita, 
even  under  the  influence  of  colobium,  is  not  sufficient 
to  settle  the  fate  of  a  word  which  is  not  recorded  before 
the  eighth  century.  Indeed,  it  is  claimed  that  drapus 
occurs  in  a  seventh  century  translation  of  Oribasius. 
That  is  not  true.  The  editor^  calls  it  a  VII- VIII  cen- 
tury codex.  The  word  is  also  found  in  the  Notae 
Tironianae,  but  these  were  also  written  in  Carolingian 
times  and  prove  nothing.  The  chief  reason  why  the 
primary  derivation  from  trapezita  is  doubtful  is  the 
fact  that  the  form  drap-  and  not  trap-  prevailed.  To 
get  at  the  history  of  the  word  we  must  first  investigate 
the  history  of  cloth  mills  in  Europe. 

Of  course,  the  Romans  and  Greeks  must  have  had 
some  idea  about  cloth  mills  long  before  the  arrival  of 
the  Arabs  in  Europe,  but  it  is  certain,  from  the  Arabic 
constituent  in  the  cloth  manufacturing  vocabulary, 
that  the  art  of  utilizing  water  power  for  cloth  mills, 

1  "Consimiles  illis  porchis  quos  ego  dono  per  molendino  drapario  mer- 
catalis"  (1166),  Balari  y  Jovany,  Origenes  histdricos  de  Cataluna,  Barcelona 
1899,  p.  642;  "de  .i.  molendino  drapario  quod  est  apud  auzeda"  (1181), 
ibid.;  "ad  faciendum  ibi  molendina  tam  blataria  quam  draparia"  (1191), 
ibid.;  "ad  construenda  molendina  quotacumque  facere  uolueritis  et  potueritis 
tam  blataria  quam  draparia"  (1194),  ibid. 

2  "Drappos  ad  discum  parandum"  (812),  MGH.,  Leges,  vol,  I,  p.  179; 
"laneas  drapas  variis  coloribus  intertinctas"  (857),  Morice,  Memoires  pour 
servir  de  preuves  d  Vhistoire  .  de  Bretagne,  Paris  1742,  vol.  I,  col.  303;  "pallio 
defundato,  et  drapo  cum  serico,  et  linteo  et  casulas  duas  .  .  .  batrino  ad 
luminaria,  drappo  plumato  a  forma  I,  tapeto  I  .  .  .  bursa  cum  brisdo  et 
simiama,  drappe  plumato  super  luitrino  I,  buxta  iburnea  minore  I"  (876), 
Prou  and  Vidier,  Recueil  des  Charles  de  I'abbaye  de  Saint-Benoit-sur-Loire, 
Paris  1900-1907,  vol.  I,  p.  64  f.;  "drapis  tam  lineis  quam  laneis  vel  siricis" 
(905),  Bernard  and  Bruel,  Recueil  des  chartes  de  I'abbaye  de  Cluny,  Paris 
1876,  vol.  I,  p.  99;  "trapos  polemitos"  (957),  Villanueva,  Viage  literario 
d  las  iglesias  de  Espafla,  Valencia  1821,  vol.  VI,  p.  274;  "granum,  vinum, 
drapos,  ferros,  caballos"  (950),  HPM.,  Codex  diplomaticus  Langobardiae, 
col.  1014. 

^  H.  Hagen,  De  Oribasii  versione  latina  Bernensi  commentatio,  in  Sollemnia 
anniversaria  conditae  universitatis,  Bernae  1875,  p.  22. 


124    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

which  was  practised  to  a  great  extent  by  the  Arabs, 
totally  revolutionized  the  manufacture  of  cloth  in 
Europe. 

The  Persian  word  for  "bleacher,  fuller"  is  gdzur. 
There  cannot  be  the  slightest  doubt  that  this  is  a 
derivative  from  gdz  "shears,  scissors,"  which  itself  is 
from  Assyr.  gizzu  "shearing,"  hence  lut  gizzu  "wool 
carder's  shop."  The  large  family  of  Semitic  derivatives 
from  this  root  need  not  trouble  us.  We  shall  only 
pursue  the  fate  of  the  Pers.  gdzur.  That  Pers.  gdzur 
is  a  derivative  is  proved  by  the  verb  gdzurl  kardan 
"to  wash,  bleach,  or  full,"  which  is  only  derived  from 
the  noun.  This  Persian  word  was  taken  into  Syriac, 
where  we  have  a  large  number  of  derivatives:  ^ 
qgar  "he  bleached,"  ]{^  qagdrd  "a  fuller,"  \i^  qagrd 
* 'castle."  Hence  we  have  Arab,  ^j^  qUdrat  "the 
art  of  bleaching,  beating  and  washing  clothes,"  -r^ 
qa^r  "a  palace,  a  pavilion  or  kind  of  building  wholly 
or  for  the  most  paBiiilolated,  sometimes  on  the  top  of 
a  larger  building,  a  belvedere,  and  sometimes  pro- 
jecting from  a  large  building,  and  generally  consisting 
of  one  room,  if  forming  a  part  of  a  larger  building  or 
connected  with  another  building."  In  the  Arabic  the 
relation  of  fulling  to  shearing  is  preserved,  in  that 
j^  qa^ara  also  means  "it  was  short."  The  meaning, 
"chamber,  palace,"  needs  an  explanation,  as  it  is 
given  quite  incorrectly  in  Dozy.^ 

In  the  Persian  dictionary  we  read  of  two  market- 
places or  squares,  where  saints  are  buried,  mentioned 
as  gdzur-gdh  "bleaching  ground."  It  would,  therefore, 
be  quite  natural  for  the  bleachers'  quarters  to  be  con- 
fused with  the  bazaar  in  general,  but  there  is  a  particu- 
lar reason  for  changing  a  fuller's  booth  into  a  belvedere. 

1  Glossaire  des  mots  espagnols  et  portugais  derives  de  Varabe,  Leyde,  Paris 
1869,  p.  79,  sub  alcaiceria. 


JORDANES  125 

The  history  of  the  fullers'  mills,  which  may  be  garnered 
from  the  quotations  given  later,  shows  that  the  fullers 
had  their  shops  over  the  narrow  channel  into  which 
the  water  was  forced  from  the  reservoir.  The  water 
went  through  a  series  of  chambers,  in  each  of  which 
a  special  process  of  washing  took  place.  Hence  a 
fuller's  shop  was  exactly  like  an  outlying  belvedere, 
or,  more  correctly,  a  long  corridor  or  balcony,  covered 
and  latticed  off  or  of  solid  walls,  to  keep  out  the  dust. 
This  is  proved,  beyond  a  shadow  of  a  doubt,  from  the 
Spanish  documents,  where  an  alcazar  is  either  an 
appurtenance  of  a  milP  or  a  place  where  venders' 
booths  are  found. ^  In  Lisbon,  according  to  Viterbo,^ 
there  is  still  a  tanners'  place,  called  alcagarias, 
which  is  a  large  building,  with  many  houses  and 
merchants'  booths,  and  Ducange  records  from  Navarre 
a  place,  alcazaria,  where  the  Jews  sold  their  wares. 
The  fullest  account  of  the  alcazar  comes  from  south- 
ern Italy,  where  we  get  a  most  interesting  and  most 
important  group  of  words.     Here  alcazar,  from  Arab. 

./^'  alqa^r,  is  changed  to  arcatura,  arcaturia,  and  has 

the    meaning    of    a    mill-gallery   over    the    channel.* 

*  "Dedit  etiam  et  otorgavit  uniquique  vecino  de  Caceres  suas  casas, 
haereditates,  hortos,  molinos,  alcazares,  et  totas  partitiones  quas  fecerint 
per  suos  Quadrillarios"  (1231),  Coleccion  de  privilegios  .  .  de  la  Corona  de 
Castilla,  Madrid  1833,  vol.  VI,  p.  92. 

2  "Nos  similiter  habeamus  partem  nostram  praedictorum  secundum 
numerum  militum,  et  hominum  armatorum,  qui  nobiscum  fuerint,  retentis 
nobis  alcaceriis  et  staticis  regnum  in  civitatibus  ultra  debitam  porcionem 
nobis  competentem"  (1229),  Villanueva,  op.  ciL,  vol.  XIII,  p.  314;  "cum 
aliquis  ludaeus  emerit  aliqua  supellectilia  siue  vestes,  et  propterea  de  furto 
ab  aliquo  fuerit  accusatus:  tenetur  de  eis  plenarie  respondere  sicut  quilibet 
Christianus:  nisi  in  alcagaria  tendam  locatam  tenuerit  domini  Regis,  et  ea 
emerit  coram  tenda  locata"  (1247),  Fueros  del  reyno  de  Aragon,  Caragoga 
1624,  vol.  II,  Fori,   .    .  quibus  ad  praesens  non  utimur,  fol.  8b. 

^  Eliicidario  das  palavras,  termos  e  frases  que  em  Portugal  antigamente  se 
usaram,  Lisboa  1865. 

^  "Ecclesia  beati  laurentii  in  arcatura,  portionem  meam  de  hortum  qui 
ponitur  in  ipso  loco;  volo  enim  et  iuveo  hut  pro  ipsum  hortum  quod  dedi 
a  theofilum  filio  anatolii  levesivi  fratris  mei  parim  bice  pro  ipsum  hubi- 
cumque  in  ipso  loco  abuero  sive  in  salinolas  sivi  in  arcatura"  (831),  Codex 
diplomaticns   cajetanus,    in    Tabularium   casinense,    Monte   Casino    1887, 


126    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

The    word    is    corrupted    to    varicatoria,^    barcaturia,^ 

balcatorium,^  halcheteria,'^  halkeria} 

vol.  I,  p.  8;  "licentiam  et  potestatem  abeatis  de  ipse  sorti  nostra  de  predicta 
aqua  clausurie  ibidem  mictere  et  iamdicta  aqua  rebocare  in  ipso  curso  de 
ipsa  arcatura  nostra,  qualiter  vobis  necessum  fuerit  iusta  ratione"  (980), 
Codex  diplomaticits  cavensis,  Mediolani,  Pisis,  Neapoli  1875,  vol.  II,  p.  152; 
"inclitum  ipsum  molinum,  cum  mole  et  arcaturia,  et  ferraturia,  et  trasita 
et  exita  sua,  et  curte  de  ipso  molinum  ipsius  musandi  tradidimus"  (996), 
ibid.,  vol.  Ill,  p.  47;  "de  alia  parte  coniuntum  est  cum  arcaturia  de  molinum 
exinde  pertinente  predicte  nostre  hecclesie,  quod  ille  similiter  compreensum 
abet  .  .  de  una  parte  fine  ipsa  harcaturia"  (1002),  ibid.,  vol.  IV,  p.  7  f.; 
"a  meridie  fine  archaturia  de  ipso  molinu  de  fluvio  saltera,  sunt  inde  passi 
centum"  (1006),  ibid.,  p.  67;  "inclita  ipsa  molina,  qualiter  conciata  vel 
edificata  sunt,  cum  mole  et  ferraturia  sua,  et  cum  arcaturiis,  et  iscle,  et 
aquarum  usibus,  et  transita  et  exita  sua  .  .  et  si  ipsa  arcaturia  de  ipsa 
molina  plena  vel  rupta  fuerit,  ubi  nos  inde  scire  fecerint,  da  presentis  illam 
conciare  faciamus,  sicut  meruerit,  et  quantum  opera  perdiderit  pro  ipsa 
ruptura  et  mole  et  pro  generationem,  nobis  illut  imputemus"  (1018),  ibid., 
vol.  V,  p.  3;  also  ibid.,  p.  174  (1029),  p.  241  (1033),  vol.  VI,  p.  138  (1040), 
etc.;  "molinos  cum  aquis  et  arcaturias  earum  seu  et  cum  omnibus  aquilla- 
tionibus"  (1033),  Capasso,  Monumenta  ad  neapolitani  ducatus  historiam 
periinentia,  Neapoli  1892,  vol.  11^,  p.  26;  "escatorias  et  infosarias  et  molinas 
cum  aquis  et  arcaturias  earum  seu  et  cum  omnibus  aquillationibus  et  maris 
piscationibus"  (1097),  ibid.,  p.  61;   also  ibid.,  pp.  40,  58,  60. 

'  "Medietatem  vestram  de  ex  integrum  molinum  .  .  una  cum  Integra 
medietate  de  omnes  fossatas  et  de  arcaturias  et  de  hereditas  et  de  molas  et 
ferroras  et  de  alias  omnes  conciaturias  simul  vel  in  eodem  molino  per  quovis 
modum  pertinentibus  seu  cum  aquis  et  cursoras  suas  et  cum  varicatorias 
et  viis  et  anditas  et  introitas  suas"  (1060),  ibid.,  p.  39. 

^  "Inclitu  molinu  .  .  una  cum  fossatas  et  arcaturias  et  reditas  et  molas  et 
ferroras  et  omnes  conciaturias  simul  ad  eodem  molinu  pertinentes  seu  et 
aquis  et  cursoras  suas  et  cum  barcaturias  et  biis  et  anditas  et  introitas  suas 
omnibusque  ad  suprascriptum  integrum  molinum  per  quobis  modum  gen- 
eraliter  pertinentibus"  (1097),  ibid.,  p.  63. 

'  "Indulsimus  eidem  sacro  Monasterio  quod  habeat  munite  in  perpetuum 
libertatem  ab  omni  personali  potestate  sacerdotal!  et  laicali  in  omni  dioecesi 
sua,  in  nemoribus,  campis,  terris,  aquis,  balcatoribus,  molendinis,  incisione 
lignorum,  pascuis  animalium,  herba,  glandibus  arborum,  usufructu  fluminis, 
piscaria,  annuo  absonio  de  tonnaria  Oliverii  tonnine  barrilia  decern"  (1092), 
Garufi,  /  documenti  inediti  dell'  epoca  normanna  in  Sicilia,  Palermo  1899, 
p.  5;  "item  dixit,  quod  nuUus  de  eodem  castro  potest  construere  Montanum 
ad  aquam,  vel  ad  siccum  ad  macinandum  olivas  in  eodem  castro,  vel  terri- 
torio  ejusdem  castri,  seu  molendinum  aud  Balcatorium,  yel  quodlibet  aliud 
edificium  in  aquis  publicis,  seu  juxta  ipsas  aquas,  seu  deri\.~re  de  ipsis  aquis 
publicis"  (1267),  Gattola,  Ad  Historiam  abbatiae  cassinensis  accessiones, 
Venetiis  1734,  vol.  I,  p.  7. 

•»  "A  Monachis,  et  personis  dictorum  locorum  decimas  extorquere  de 
molendinis,  balcheteriis,  piscariis,  hortis,  pascuis,  virgrultis,  et  nutrimentis 
animalium  eorundem  locorum  contra  indulta,  et  privilegia  Romanorum 
Pontificum"  (1303),  Ughelli,  Italia  sacra,  Venetiis  1717,  vol.  I,  col.  383. 

*  "In  quo  molendino  facta  est  balkeria  ad  faciendum  cartas  bombiginas 
et  de  papiro"  (1380),  Camera,  Memorie  storico-diplomatiche  dell'  antica 
cittd  e  ducato  di  Amalfi,  Salerno  1876,  vol.  I,  p.  566. 


JORDANES  127 

But  we  have  also  baricatorium  in  the  sense  of  "gal- 
lery" or  ** tower, "^  and  balchonus  "grocer's  booth. "^ 
From  this  we  get  the  common  balchio,^  balco,'^ 
valco^     "balcony,"     ballatorium    "common    gallery."^ 


1  "Et  cum  ilia  terra  que  est  foris  ipsas  turres  et  predictum  murum  qualiter 
vadit  ipsa  terra  usque  ad  ilia  porta  de  calcara  cum  tota  ipsa  plagia  de  ipso 
angulo  et  qualiter  vadit  ipsa  plagia  et  illu  baricatorium  usque  ad  memorata 
porta  de  calcara"  (1075),  Capasso,  op.  cit.,  vol.  II^,  p.  54. 

^  "De  datio  balchonorum.  Quelibet  persona  vendens  vel  que  vendiderit 
in  Leuco  vel  eius  districtu  formagium,  bedulum,  mascharpam,  oleum, 
sonziam,  sipum  vel  sallem  aut  rem  aliquam  de  rebus  predictis  in  minuto 
teneatur  et  debeat  dare  et  solvere  dicto  comuni  sive  incantatori  dicti  datii 
singullo  anno  soldos  quindecim  tertiolorum"  (14.  cent.),  Statuti  dd  Laghi  di 
Como  e  di  Lugano,  Roma  1915,  vol.  II,  p.  67. 

3  "Item,  statuimus  quod  nuUus  audeat  vel  presummat  de  die  vel  de  nocte 
per  aliquam  fenestram  seu  hostia  domus  vel  a  balchione  vel  aliunde  in  viis 
vel  stratis  publicis  seu  plateis  comunis  Forlivii  proycere  aquam,  brodam  vel 
aliquam  inmunditiam  vel  turpitudinem  vel  proyci  facere"  (1359),  E.  Rinaldi, 
Statuto  di  Forli  dell'  anno.  MCCCLIX.,  Roma  1913,  p.  242. 

^  "Vendidi  ipsam  predictam  medietatem  meam  .  .  .  una  cum  parietibus 
ostie  fenestre  et  balcones  suos  cum  lignaminis  tectuminis  et  guttis  tuis  et 
cum  trasitis  et  exitis"  (1091),  Codice  diplomatico  barese,  Bari  1902,  vol.  V, 
p.  32;  "tradidi  ei  ipsas  duas  sortiones  qualiter  sunt  coniuncte  cum  parietibus 
suis  ostiis  fenestris  et  balconibus  suis,  tectis  tegmentis  et  guttis  suis  cum 
trasitibus  et  exitibus  suis  et  cum  omni  sua  pertinentia  intus  et  de  foris  ut 
prelatum  est"  (1113),  ibid.,  p.  106;  "una  cum  solo  ubi  posite  sunt  cum  parieti- 
bus proprihis  et  communibus  ostiis  et  balconibus  et  fenestris  suis  tectum 
tecmen  et  guttis  suis  cum  gaifis  suis  ab  utraque  parte"  (1135),  ibid.,  p.  146. 

*  "Casa  et  casalinello  .  .  cum  parietibus  ostie  fenestre  et  valcones  eorum 
cum  lignamina  tectumina  et  guttis  eorum  et  cum  trasitis  et  exitis  eorum" 
(1099),  ibid.,  p.  52;  "quartam  de  tota  iamdicta  domo,  et  de  curte,  et  scala, 
et  astrago,  et  mediam  quartam  de  tota  sortione  .  .  cum  omni  edificio  et 
labore  suo,  trasitibus  et  exitibus  suis,  omnique  ordine  suo,  omnibusque 
intra  se  habentem  et  continentem  parietibus,  ostiis,  fenestris  et  valconibus 
suis,  lignamine  et  tectumine  et  guttis  suis,  ascensis  et  descensis  suis  omnibus- 
que suis  pertinentiis"  (1102),  ibid.,  p.  61. 

8  "De  ballatorium  commune  cum  aheribus  et  aspectibus  .  .  inter  ipse 
grade  communes  et  inter  ibsum  ballatorium  commune  .  .  simul  et  regia 
communis  qui  exiet  in  ibso  ballatorio  commune"  (982),  Regii  neapolitani 
archivi  monumenta,  Neapoli  1849,  vol.  Ill,  p.  28  f.;  "vos  ponere  debeatis 
de  ipsum  solareum  que  ego  tibi  dedi  una  medium  pede  et  f  aciamus  ipsum 
parietem  ud  super  legitur  et  a  parte  meridiana  super  ipsa  curte  commune 
super  ipsa  ballatorias  quantum  est  ipse  solareus  tuus  memorati  leoni  que 
ego  tibi  dedi  ud  super  legitur  iterum  facere  debeamus  in  altum  podium  usque 
ad  pectus  omminis  at  omni  communi  expendio"  (996),  ibid.,  p.  152;  "idest 
unam  portionem  de  transenda,  et  de  casa  communi,  et  de  gradis  marmoreis 
et  de  ballatorio  communi  cum  aheribus  et  aspectibus  .  .  a  parte  meridiana 
coheret  pariete  de  ipso  cubuculo,  ubi  abet  fenestras  et  regia  sua,  quamque 
ballatorium  commune  de  illo  et  anditum  subter  et  super  ipsum  cubuculum  est 


128    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

I  reserve  for  a  future  time  the  interesting  development 
of  this  group  in  the  Romance  and  Germanic  langu- 
ages. Here  it  is  sufficient  to  point  out  that  in  Italy 
the  great  variety  of  words  have  received  precisely  the 
same  development  as  did  alcazar  in  Spain.  Hence 
it  is  in  Spain  that  the  cloth  mills  were  developed  by 
the  Arabs.  And  it  is  here  that  we  find  another  name 
for  the  fullers'  mill,  molina  traparia  or  draparia.  It  is 
fair  to  expect  here  also  an  Arabic  origin.  Indeed,  we 

have  Arab,    v-^  daraba  "he  struck,  beat,  flagellated." 

The  fullers'  mills  are  frequently  called  batatoria, 
from  the  important  process  of  beating  the  cloth,  to 
give  it  a  close  texture,  hence  the  molina  draparia  was 
merely  a  translation  for  batatorium,  used  elsewhere. 
Indeed,  the  Germanic  languages  have  preserved  this 
Arabic  root  in  the  same  or  nearly  the  same  significance. 
We  have  Goth,  gadraban  "to  wallop,"  hence  dreiban 
"to  drive,"  draibjan  "to  annoy."  The  particular 
form  of  Goth,   dreiban  "to  drive"  is  due  to  Arab. 

vi^  darib  "beaten,  struck,  a  tent  peg  struck  so  as  to 

be  firm  in  the  ground."  OHG.  drlban,  AS.  drifan 
"to  drive"  have  preserved  the  latter  meaning,  but 
ONorse  drifa  "to  startle,  move  rapidly"  shows  better 

the  relation  to  Arab,    v-r^  daraba. 

If  a  molina  draparia  was  a  fullers'  mill,  where  cloth 
was  made,  drapus  naturally  was  applied  to  the  average, 
more  generally  to  the  coarsest,  kind  of  cloth.  Draperius 
became  the  word  with  which  to  designate  the  man 
who  manufactured  and  sold  the  cloth,  for  at  that 
early  time  the  occupation  of  the  merchant  was  not 
yet  separated  from  that  of  the  manufacturer.     The 

cohopertum  cum  ticulis  .  .  et  a  parte  orientis  coheret  parietem,  qui  exfinat 
ipsum  triclineum  et  inter  ipse  grade  communes  et  inter  ipsum  ballatorium 
comune,  simul  et  regia  communis  que  exiet  in  ipso  ballatorio"  (982),  Capasso, 
op.  cit.,  vol.  Ill,  p,  148. 


JORDANES  129 

history  of  the  cloth  manufacture  in  Europe  has  yet 
to  be  written,  but  enough  may  be  gathered  from  the 
above  and  the  subsequent  data  to  lead  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  cloth  manufacture  in  Europe  received 
a  renewed  impetus  from  the  Arabs  in  Spain,  whence 
it  spread  in  the  ninth  century  to  Flanders,  Italy,  and 
Germany.  The  first  cloth  merchants  could  have  been 
only  Arabs  and  Spanish  Goths,  hence  the  appearance 
of  so  many  Gothic  colonies  in  Italy  in  the  eighth  and 
ninth  centuries  must  to  a  great  extent  be  due  to  the 
mercantile  propensities  of  the  Goths,  which  had  been 
fostered  by  the  Arabs.  It  is  only  at  the  end  of  the 
ninth  century  that  the  Venetians,  and  still  later,  that 
the  Pisans,  Genoese,  etc.,  took  up  the  Levantine  trade, 
which  was  opened  up  by  the  Arabs  and  must  have 
been  carried  on  to  a  great  extent  by  the  Arabicized 
Goths.  It  is  unquestionably  these  that  found  their 
way  into  the  Crimea  and  the  south  of  Russia,  where 
they  have  been  met  up  to  the  sixteenth  century. 

Tomaschek^  has  built  up  a  whole  history  of  the 
Crimean  Goths,  with  the  account  of  John,  the  bishop 
of  the  Goths,  for  his  main  source.  We  have  already 
seen  how  this  story  has  collapsed.  It  remains  to  show 
that  the  mention  of  a  Gothic  country  in  the  Crimea 
before  the  end  of  the  eighth  century  is  devoid  of 
historical  value.  In  the  Life  of  Bishop  John,  Doros 
is  mentioned  as  a  chief  city  of  the  Goths.  It  occurs  in 
various  Greek  authors,^  but  with  the  exception  of 
Procopius  all  these  authors  wrote  after  the  eighth 
century  and  cannot  be  adduced  as  a  proof  of  the  ex- 
istence of  such  a  city  much  earlier.  Procopius  says 
that  there  is  a  region  along  the  sea  which  is  called 
Dory,  where  the  Goths  lived  who  did  not  follow  Theo- 


^  Die  Goten  in  Taurien,  Wien  1881. 
2  Ibid.,  pp.  15,  20,  23. 


130    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

deric  into  Italy,  and  that  this  region  is  rich  in  fruit.  ^ 
Here  Dory  is  distinctly  mentioned  as  a  region  in  which 
there  is  no  city,  but  where  walls  are  built  in  the  passes 
of  the  mountains.  And  yet,  in  Priscianus,  who  wrote 
at  about  the  same  time,  we  have  twice  a  reference  to 
Dory  as  a  city  on  the  Pontus.^  Obviously  something 
is  wrong.  What  makes  matters  worse  is  that  outside 
of  the  Gothic  references  no  such  town  or  region  has 
been  found.  As  the  Priscianus  manuscripts  are  of  a 
date  not  earlier  than  the  ninth  century,  the  reference 
to  Dory,  as  a  city  on  the  Pontus,  can  only  be  an  inter- 
polation. But  Procopius  himself  is  utterly  unreliable, 
because  we  have  already  found  so  many  interpolations 
in  him.     What,  then,  is  Doryf 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  bishop  of  the  Goths 
was  purloined  from  Edessa.  Edessa  had  been  connected 
with  Gothic  exploits  before,  as,  for  example,  in  the 
story  of  Euphemia  and  the  Goth}  Hence  it  was 
natural  to  make  Edessa  also  a  city  of  the  Goths  in 
the  Crimea.  In  the  Life  of  John  bar  Aphtonia,  as 
elsewhere,  this  city  is  called  in  Syriac  Urhoi.  Either 
the  written  form  was  misread,  ^»n»o?  for  -^avic],  that 
is,  Dorhoi  for  Urhoi,  or,  what  is  more  likely,  the  constant 
use   of  w.oijol?   Daurhoi   **of   Edessa,"   as,    for  example, 

^  cAiatpeoovTcog  8e  ttjv  B'6a;tooov  xqi  igiSnaTi  iy,QaTvvaxo,  fjvjteo  in 
naXaxov  6e6ao6aotonevrjv  xal  vnb  xoig  Ovwoig  oteinevriv  ^5  t6  'Po>(AaC(ov 
auTog  HExrivEYte  xpoiTog.  "Ecrti  6e  xig  IvTaxida  xcoqo  xatd  xfiv  jcapaA-iav, 
AoQV  ovofia,  iva  6ti  Ik  ndkaxov  FoTdoi  vKf\vxax,  ot  Oeu8eoixcp  ig  'Ixa^uiv 
lovxi  ovw  ixiOKoiLEVOi,  aikX'   i^eXovaioi  avzov  vtEivavreg,   'PojiaCoyv  xal  elg 

i\ii  elcav  evanovboi avtri  8^.  f|  xwQoi  to  A6<?u  Tfjg  jiev  y^S  ^v  v- 

tl^TjA-tp  XEitai,  ov  fievToi  ovxe  XQaxeia  ovxe  cmXriQa  ioxvM,  aXk'  dvaOri  xs 
xai  eC(pocos  >taojt(ov  xtov  deidxcov.  IIoXiv  iikv  oCv  i]  (poouQiov  ouSanfj  xfj? 
Xtogag  6  6aaiX.EX)S  E8eiM.aTo  xavrn?,  Kaxsigyea^ax  mQi66Xoi<;  xiolv  ovx  dvE- 
XonEvov  xcov  xfjSE  dvdoroncov,  aiX'  iy  mbi(fi  doftEVEtrxaxa  vxtijievcov  de£* 
on,r[  JtoTE  88  xcov  ^xeivn  x«>Oi(«>v  66.cfi\xa  eujiexco?  xotg  ^jrioCcriv  d86xft  Elvai, 
xauxog  6e  xtixla^iaai  naotooig  xdg  El(j68oug  jtEoi6aXa)v,  xdg  dx  xiig  l(p68ov 
<P0»vxi.6as  dvEOXEiXE  Fox'froig.  Tavxa  hev  ovv  xfjSE  m\  exei,,»  De  aedificiis, 
III.  7.  12- 17. 

2  "In  Graecis  autem  invenitur  etiam  y,  ut  'Dory,'  nomen  oppidi  Pontici, 
et  'Aepy,'  "  VI.  1.  2;   "hoc  Dory,  hoc  Aepy,  nomina  civitatum,"  VII.  1.  1. 

*  F.  C.  Burkitt,  Euphemia  and  the  Goth,  London,  Oxford  1913. 


JORDANES  131 

in  the  Edessa  Chronicle,^  produced  the  form  ^6pu,  in 
Latin  Doroy,  as  recorded  in  some  Priscianus  MSS. 
But  the  best  proof  of  such  a  transference  from  Mesopo- 
tamia to  the  Crimea  is  given  by  Procopius  himself, 
for  he  describes  the  city  of  Edessa  in  precisely  the 
same  way  as  Dory.^  He  tells  of  the  marvellously 
fruitful  region  in  which  there  were  many  gardens, 
surrounded  by  a  wall  that  went  from  mountain  to 
mountain  and  through  which  there  were  many  gates. 
In  the  interpolated  part  of  Procopius  we  have  the  same 
story,  after  it  passed  through  a  Gothic  source.  Once 
it  became  the  firm  belief  that  such  a  place  existed  in 
the  Crimea,  it  was  readily  quoted  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
and  the  name  may  really  have  been  attached  to  some 
locality.  This  is  made  certain  by  the  signature  of  a 
Gothic  bishop  at  the  Conciliabulum  of  TruUo,  held  at 
the  end  of  the  seventh  century,  as  Ftibpycot:  iTtiaxonoz 
Xtpacivot:  r^f  Jdipauro^,  which  Tomaschek  thinks  is  a  mis- 
take, through  an  omission  of  xal  before  r^c  J(opauTO(:,^ 
but  which  in  reality  indicates  that  all  the  Gothic 
country  along  the  sea  was  known  as  ^6po.  We  do 
not  know  the  date  of  the  signatures.  The  docu- 
ment in  which  they  occur  is  of  a  much  later  date 
than  the  Conciliabulum  of  TruUo,  and  so  we  cannot 
tell  what  stood  in  place  of  r^c  Jw;oavroc  originally,  or 
if  there  was  any  such  name.  But  this  much  is  certain, 
since  the  name  is  applied  now  to  a  city,  now  to  seashore, 
now  to  a  whole  region,  and  since  it  is  not  found  any- 
where outside  of  the  Gothic  references,  it  is  due  to  the 
transference  of  the  martyrdom  of  John  bar  Aphtonia 
to  that  of  John,  the  bishop  of  the  Goths. 


^  L.  Hallier,  Untersuchungen  iiber  die  Edessenische  Chronik,  in  Gebhardt 
and  Harnack's  Tezte  und  Untersuchungen  zur  Geschichte  der  altchristlichen 
Literatur,  vol.  IX. 

*  De  aedificiis,  II.  7  and  De  bello  peraieo,  II.  27. 
»  Op.  cit.,  p.  20. 


132    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

That  there  were  Goths  in  the  south  of  Russia  in 
the  eighth  century,  there  cannot  be  the  slightest  doubt ; 
but  they  were  Spanish  Goths,  who  were  there  in  the 
interest  of  trade.  The  chief  trade  of  the  Spaniards 
at  that  time  was  in  cloth,  hence  most  of  the  Goths 
who  were  in  that  region  must  have  been  draperii 
"cloth  merchants,"  which,  since  the  merchants  were 
also  bankers,  became  in  Greek  Tpaizs^trac. 

In  the  'Eizap-^cxov  Bt^Xiov  of  Leo  the  Wise^  we  have 
the  laws  in  regard  to  the  merchants  at  Constantinople. 
First  in  importance  come  the  TpaTte^Tvac,  the  money- 
changers, and  it  is  interesting  to  observe  that  other 
merchants,  such  as  the  perfumers,  illegally  changed 
money.  ^  The  next  in  importance  after  the  trapezitae 
were  the  vestiarii,  called  in  Greek  ^sffuoTrpdrai.  These, 
we  are  told,  sold  silk  garments,  and  that  many  of 
them  were  foreigners  is  clear  from  a  law  directed 
against  foreigners  in  the  trade.  ^  But  what  is  most 
important  is  that  the  vestiarii,  ^effuoTTpdrac,  were 
distinguished  from  the  npavdconpazac^  who  sold  eastern 
silk  wares.  Here  we  are  specifically  told  that  such  wares 
were  imported  from  Syria,  Seleucia  and  Bagdad,  and 
that  these  merchants  were  known  as  Syrians.  The 
words  used  here  for  silk  and  various  silk  articles  are 
Arabic,*  hence  under  Syrians  are  to  be  understood 
all  eastern  Arabs. 

^  J.  Nicole,  Le  Livre  du  Prefet,  Geneve  1893-1900,  in  Memoires  de  I'ln- 
stitut  national  Genevois,  vol.  XVIII. 

^  «:Et  TIC,  [ivQe\])6z  cpcoQaOeiT]  r\  vo^dayiaxa  ^iayv  t|  alJaA-i^cov,  tj  dnootQe- 
qjcov  vdixicjia  TexaQXTiQov  rj  8uo  xeTdpTtov  av,i6b'r\Kov  exov  xov  6aoi^ix6v 
jcaeaxxfiQa,  r\  XQa/uvcov  xd  emcmvavojAEva  vovnict  xal  jat)  emSiSous  xaOxa 
xoiq  xQajtetixatg,  ttjv  exeivcov  emtrtriiiTiv  axravel  l8u)jrou>un,evog,  xfj  ngoei- 
QTiiievn  VTCoxeicr&(0  8uftwi;),»  ibid.,  p.  42  f. 

'  «'AxQi6oA.ovEicrdai  jxQocrrixei  xovg  cnnrSiifiixa?  xai  mxaxeuofie'voui;  htj 
diooveicrdai.  fi  u£xo>7.vM-eva  r[  dopacpa  Ijidxia,  n'kr\w  el  uti  8l'  olxEiav  jt8Qi6o- 
Xr\v,  xal  xauxTiv  ev  xfi  Saoiksvovaw  ovy^onxaiiivryv  eiAqpavi^Ecr&cooav  8e  xw 
8JtdQxct>  EV  x(p  iJjtoxcoQElv,  &g  av  etSTiaiv  e/oi  xfjg  nQay\iaxeiai;  fiv  8|a)VT|- 
oavxo*  6  8e  xovxovg  ovyy,aXvnxoiy  naibevzohm  xal  eloxo}AitEcr&a),»  ibid.,  p. 
28. 

"  Ibid.,  p,  29,  note. 


JORDANES  133 

This  leads  then  to  a  certainty  that  among  the 
vestiarii  were  chiefly  western  nations,  and  if  there  were 
Goths  among  them,  they  were,  like  the  Pordoe  rpaTrs^rai, 
Vestgothi,  Goths  who  sold  silks,  from  vestis  used  in  this 
particular  sense.  But  such  an  etymology,  which  sur- 
vived in  reality  and  gave  rise  to  the  Germanic  words 
for  "west, "  was  not  good  enough  for  the  contemporary 
historical  forgers.  They  had  to  get  an  Arabic  ety- 
mology. This  readily  offered  itself.  The  Goths  in  the 
Levant  mediated  in  the  trade  between  the  Visu  and  the 
west.  It  was  they,  who,  to  judge  from  Jordanes, 
brought  the  black  beaver  furs  to  Rome.  The  Arabic 
geographer  Yakut  says  that  the  merchants  went  up 
the  Volga  to  the  country  of  the  Visu,  to  get  beaver, 
sable,  and  squirrel  furs;^  and  from  various  accounts^ 
it  appears  that  it  was  not  the  Visu  who  came  to  the 
markets  of  the  Bulgars,  but  that  the  Arabs  and  Bulgars 
and,  obviously,  other  merchants  proceeded  from  the 
south  northward.  Hence  it  was  natural  enough  to 
identify  the  Vestgothi  with  Visigothi,  Goths  who  carried 
on  a  trade  with  the  north,  through  Russia.  But  in 
either  case  we  had  a  set  of  traders  who  were  distinct 
from  those  coming  from  eastern  Arabic  countries. 
They  were  the  Westgoths,  hence  Visigothi  became  the 
appellation  for  the  western,  that  is,  Spanish  Goths. 
To  the  Arabs  all  those  who  were  from  the  east  were 
iy\jj^\  a§§rdqut  **  Levantines,  Orientals,"  that  is, 
Ostrogothi.  This  Arabic  word  is  still  in  use,  it  being 
an  irregular  plural  from  ^yJ'  aS-Sariqiy  "Oriental, 
Levantine,"  in  Alcala,  "levante  viento  oriental." 

This  brings  us  at  once  to  the  important  conclusion 
that  all  works  pretending  to  be  of  an  earlier  date,  in 
which  Ostrogothi  and  Visigothi  occur,  were  either  inter- 

1  Fraehn,  op.  ciL,  p.  208. 
^Ibid.,  p.  211  flf.,  218. 


134    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

polated  after  711  or  are  downright  forgeries.  From 
this  there  is  no  escape.  Now  it  is  necessary  to  prove 
that  none  of  the  Germanic  denominations  of  the  four 
regions  of  the  earth  can  be  of  any  native  origin. 

OHG.  nort,  nord  "north"  is  recorded  early.  It  is 
found  in  a  Latin  form  in  all  the  works  which  drew 
on  the  Antiquitas.  Jordanes  says,  "habet  quoque  is 
ipse  inmensus  pelagus  in  parte  artoa,  id  est  septentri- 
onali,  amplam  insulam  nomine  Scandzan,"^  that  is, 
he  refers  to  the  northern  region  of  the  sea  as  "pars 
artoa,''  that  is,  arctoa.  The  northern  ocean  is  distinctly 
called  "Oceanus  arctous.''^  The  northernmost  nation 
in  that  region  is  ''arctoa  gens."'  Paulus  Diaconus 
in  the  very  beginning  of  his  Historia  Langobardorum 
speaks  of  "tantae  populorum  multitudines  arctoo 
sub  axe,"^  while  the  Anonymous  Cosmographer  of 
Ravenna  constantly  uses  these  terms  for  the  northern 
region  of  the  sea.^  The  word,  of  course,  is  not  rare 
in  the  Latin  poets,  but  the  distinct  use  made  of  it 
in  reference  to  the  region  now  known  as  Norway, 
makes  it  certain  that  some  such  expression  as  Oceano 
artoo  produced  the  nort  of  the  OH  German. 

The  expression  for  "south"  in  OHGerman  is  directly 
due  to  an  Arabic  gloss.  In  the  eighth  century  we  meet 
in  Italy  with  sundrium  or  "curtis  sundrialis."^     From 

'  I  (9). 

*  "Est  in  Oceani  arctoi  salo  posita  insula  magna,  nomine  Scandza,"  III 
(16). 

'"In  cuius  parte  arctoa  gens  Adogit  consistit,"  III  (19);  also  "arctoi 
gentes,"  XXIII  (116). 
«I.  1. 

*  "Sol  sub  profunditate  Oceani  arctoam  (artoam)  partem  noctu  exambulat," 
Pinder  and  Parthey,  op.  cit.,  p.  22;  "arctoae  partis  descriptorem,"  ibid., 
p.  23;  "sol  igniformus  partem  arctoam  (arttoam)  ambulat,"  ibid.;  "in  arctoam 
partem  infra  Oceani  mare,"  ibid.,  p.  24;  "per  latum  Oceanum  arctoae 
regiones  ponuntur,"  ibid.,  p.  27;  "quando  litus  totum  arctoum  Oceanum 
ambulavit,"  ibid.,  p.  32. 

®  "Tam  de  sundro  quam  et  de  casas  trivutarias"  (747),  Memorie  e  docu- 
menti  per  servire  all'  istoria  del  ducato  di  Lucca,  Lucca  1837,  vol.  V^,  p.  25; 
"angaria  ad  sundro  domnico  facere  debeamus"  (759),  ibid.,  p.  40;  "sala 
unam  swndrialem  seu  et  unam  casa  massaricia"  (782),  ibid.,  p.  110;  "unam 


JORDANES  135 

the  quotations  it  appears  that  it  is  not  a  tributary 
possession,  since  it  is  opposed  to  "tributaria,"  nor  a 
"massaricia,"  which  is  of  a  higher  degree,  but  not  yet 
an  immunity,  since  it  is  opposed  to  "massaricia." 
From  the  fact  that  it  is  quoted  in  the  second  place, 
after  **domo-cul tiles,"  which  is  apparently  land  held 
by  immunity,  it  would  seem  to  be  a  piece  of  land  at- 
tached to  an  immunity,  and,  possibly,  possessing 
rights  of  immunity.  This  would  seem  to  be  clearly 
the  case  in  the  Lucca  document  of  the  year  759,  where 
corvee  is  due  on  the  lord's  sundrium.^     In  two  docu- 


casella  sundriale  qui  fuit  cella  meraria"  (782),  ibid.;  "ipsa  vinea  sondriale" 
(788),  ibid.,  p.  133;  "omnia  et  in  omnibus  quantum  ad  ipse  suprascripte 
case  est  pertinentes,  vel  in  jamdicte  locas  abere  videor,  tarn  sundrialibus 
casis  et  rebus,  quam  et  massaricias"  (794),  ibid.,  p.  146;  "tam  sundriales 
res,  quam  et  massaricias"  (801),  ibid.,  p.  174;  "tres  petie  de  clausura 
inter  terra  et  vinea  quod  sunt  sundrialibus  .  .  medietate  silva  in  tua 
reservasti  potestatem  sundriale"  (824),  ibid.,  p.  276;  "sundrio  illo  tuo, 
quas  in  suprascripto  loco  Casule  abis"  (827),  ibid.,  p.  295;  "quod  est  inter 
predictas  ambas  petias  de  vinea  sundriale  .  .  de  orto  sundriale,  quem 
habuet  Pertilo  ante  casa  sua"  (762),  ibid.,  vol.  IV^,  Documenti,  p.  97;  "curtes 
sundriales,  casas  massaricias,  et  aldionales"  (763),  ibid.,  p.  99;  "tam  casis 
domo  cultiles,  et  sundriales,  quam  et  casas  massaricias"  (771),  ibid.,  p.  121; 
"silvas  sundriales"  (779),  ibid.,  p.  140;  "res  meas  sundriales  et  massaricias, 
adque  aldiaricias  casas"  (789),  ibid.,  p.  166;  "movilia  atque  immovilia, 
ta.m  fundriales  res,  quam  et  massaricias"  (809),  ibid.,  p.  21;  "campo  nostro 
sundriale"  (762),  C.  Troya,  Codice  diplomatico  longobardo  dal  DLXVIII 
al  DCCLXXIV,  Napoli  1855,  vol.  V,  p.  165;  "fundamento  nostro  sundriale" 
(762),  ibid.;  "curtes  sundriales"  (764),  ibid.,  p.  248;  "coloni  de  ipsa  curte  de 
Taurento  .  .  cum  omni  sondro  suo,  ex  integro"  (766),  J.  Mabillon,  Annales 
ordinis  S.  Benedicti,  Lucae  1739,  vol.  II,  p.  661. 

1  "In  Dei  nomine.  Regnante  dn.  nostro  Desiderio  et  Adelghis  regibus. 
Anno  regni  eorum  tertio  et  primo,  mense  octubri,  per  inditione  XIII. 
feliciter.  Repromittimus  adque  manus  nostra  facimus  nos  Gumfrid  et 
Baruncio  germani  filii  qd.  Barucci  tibi  dn.  Peredeo  in  Dei  nom.  Episc.  de 
casare  et  res  ilia,  quem  nobis  ad  resedendo  dedisti  in  loco  Saltucclo,  casa 
cum  curte  et  orto,  vineis  terris  silvis  olivetis  omnia  ad  ipsa  casa  pertenente, 
qualiter  ipsa  casa  Barruccio  ad  manum  suam  abuit,  nobis  ad  resedendo 
et  meliorando  dedisti.  In  tali  tenure  ut  per  omne  annum  tibi  reddere 
debeamus  uno  soldo  bono  expendibile,  et  medietatem  vino  et  angaria  ad 
sundro  domnico  facere  debeamus,  qualiter  ibidem  utilitas  fuerit  in?^ipso 
loco  Saltucclo,"  Memorie  e  documenti  .    .  di  Lucca,  vol.  V^,  p.  39  f. 


136    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

ments,  of  the  year  798^  and  806,^  peculiarina 
is  used  for  the  corvee  due  the  owner.  As  ^' peculiar e 
prato"  occurs  already  in  722,^  it  is  clear  that  sundrium 
and  peculiare  are  identical.  Fortunately  we  have  the 
term  suntelites,  from  Gr.  tryvreA/rsyc,  used  specifical- 
ly* in  the  sense  of  the  Frankish  king's  officer  who 
determines  land  questions  and  collects  the  dues.  This 
proves  that  the  term  aui^zeXuv  *'to  pay  taxes"  was  a 
current  term  over  a  wide  territory.  But  we  have  the 
very  common  Graeco- Latin  gloss,  "immunis  dre-^j^'c," 
and  specifically  "immunes  fundi  daowtlrj  y^uipia'^ 
which  show  that  sundrium,  sundriale  developed  from 
aovvtX^  or  dauvTsX^^  and  was  referred  to  a  parcel  of 
land  Jbelonging  to  the  immunity,  but  lying  in  the  out- 
lying district;  hence  it  was  also  known  as  peculiaris} 

^  "Exemplar.  In  Dei  nomine.  Regnante  dn.  nostro  Carolo  rege  Francorum 
ec.  ac  Patricio  Romanorum,  anno  regni  ejus  quo  Langubardiam  coepit 
vigisimo  quarto:  et  filio  ejus  dn.  nostro  Pipino  rege,  anno  regni  ejus  septimo 
decimo,  nono  kal.  aprilis,  inditione  sexta.  Repromitto,  et  manus  mea  facio 
ego  Hosprando  cler.  filium  qd.  Calvuli  tibi  dn.  venerabili  Johannem  in  Dei 
nom.  Episcopo,  ut  ego  cunctis  diebus  vite  mee  resedere  et  abitare  debeam 
in  una  casa  Eccl.  vestre  S.  Martini,  que  est  ipsa  casa  in  loco  Ligori,  ubi 
antea  Ghitiolo  resedit;  et  ipsam  predictam  casam,  una  cum  omni  res  ad 
earn  pertenentem  in  omnibus  bene  lavorare  et  meliorare  promicto,  non  alibi 
peculiarina  faciendo,  et  per  singulos  annos  ego  vel  meis  hered.  tibi  vel  success, 
tuis  exinde  reddere  debeamus  et  persolvere  omnem  usum  vel  reddito  ipse 
case,  sive  et  angaria.  Unde  spondeo  ego  q.  s.  Hosprando  cler.  una  cum  meis 
heredibus  tibi  dn.  Johanni  in  Xti  nom.  Episc.  et  subcess.  tuis,  ut  si  nos  in 
ipsa  casa  non  abitaverimus,  et  omnem  ipsa  res  bene  non  lavoraverimus  et 
non  melioraverimus,  et  vobis  per  singulos  annos  omnem  justitiam  vel  angaria, 
ut  usum  fuit,  de  predicta  casa  non  adimpleverimus,  aut  exinde  foris  exire 
quesierimus  alivi  ad  avitandum,  spondeo  cum  heredibus  meis  tibi  et  success, 
tuis  comp.  penam  auri  solid,  numero  viginti:  et  hec  mea  promissio  in  predicto 
ordinem  firmiter  permanead,"  ibid.,  p.  157  f. 

2  lUd.,  p.  196. 

3  Ihid.,  p.  8. 

<  MGH.,  Leges,  sec.  V,  Formulae,  p.  56. 

5  It  so  happens  that  the  Syriac  law  in  which  trvvrfKeia  is  used  gives  us  a 
precise  account  of  what  a  sundrium  was.  This  law  says  that  the  mountain 
land  is  recorded  by  special  officers  and  country  people  from  other  districts, 
who  determine  how  much  wheat  or  oats  the  mountain  land  may  produce. 
Similarly,  they  record  the  pasture  land  for  the  sheep,  on  which  a  ffwriXeia  is 
to  be  paid  into  the  treasury,  which  is  determined  at  one,  two,  or  three  denars, 
and  is  collected  by  the  Romans  in  April  for  the  horses  of  the  army  (J.  P.  N. 
Land,  Anecdota  syriaca,  Lugduni  Batavorum  1862,  vol.  I,  p.  154,  E.  Sachau, 
Syrische  Rechtsbiicher,  Berlin  1907,  vol.  I,  pp.  135,  197).    As  sundrium  does 


JORDANES  137 

This  gave  rise  to  Goth,  sundro  "separate,"  OHG. 
sundaric  **  separate,  distinct,"  suntriga  "pecuUum, 
privilegium,"  and  the  large  number  of  words  from  this 
root  represented  in  all  the  Germanic  languages. 

But  in  OHGerman  we  have  also  sundar  "south," 
later  contracted  to  sunt,  sund,  giving  rise  to  AS.  sud. 
It  did  not  occur  to  anyone,  as  far  as  I  know,  to  connect 
this  word  with  sundar  "separate."     We  turn  to  the 

Arabic  and  find  there  v>^  ^anub  "the  south  wind," 

from  the  Lat.  Canopus,  the  southern  star,  with  which 
the   south   is   connected.      But   this   word   happened 

popularly  to  be   derived   from   the  root   ^^    ganaba 

"he  placed  a  distance  away,  removed,  went  aside," 

v-^    gunub   "distant,   remote,"    hence    v^-   gandb   "a 

vicinage,  or  tract  adjacent  to  the  place  of  abode  or 
settlement,"  etc.  Thus  the  corresponding  word  for 
"apart,"  namely,  OHG.  sundar,  under  the  influence  of 
some  Arabic  glossary,  was  used  to  express  also  "the 
south." 

I  have  already  shown  how  "west"  and  "east"  arose. 
We  can  now  turn  to  the  OHG.  ostarun  "Easter." 
In  chapter  XV  of  his  De  temporum  ratione,  Bede  gives 
a  list  of  the  ASaxon  months.^     April  is  here  called 

not  occur  anywhere  before  747,  and  avvrfKeia,  as  the  name  of  the  pasture 
which  is  attached  to  an  immunity,  but  pays  a  certain  tribute,  is  totally 
unknown  in  Roman  or  Greek  law,  it  is  most  likely  that  the  term  appeared 
in  Lucca  through  a  Gothic  source.  I  have  already  pointed  out  the  amazing 
resemblance  in  the  regulations  pertaining  to  mountain  land  in  Italy  to 
those  in  Spain  (Commentary  to  the  Germanic  Laws  and  Mediaeval  Documents, 
Cambridge  1915,  p.  136  ff.)  It  is,  therefore,  more  than  probable  that  the 
term  in  Lucca  is  ultimately  due  to  the  Syriac  law,  where  trvvr^Keia  is 
connected  only  with  the  "ager  peculiaris,"  that  is,  "cattle  land." 

1  "Antiqui  autem  Anglorum  populi  (neque  enim  mihi  congruum  videtur, 
aliarum  gentium  annalem  observantiam  dicere,  et  meae  reticere)  juxta 
cursum  lunae  suos  menses  computavere;  unde  et  a  luna  Hebraeorum  et 
Graecorum  more  nomen  accipiunt.  Si  quidem  apud  eos  luna  mona,  mensis 
monath  appellatur.  Primusque  eorum  mensis,  quern  Latini  Januarium 
vocant,  dicitur  Giuli.  Deinde  Februarius  Sol-Monath,  Martius  Rhed- 
monath,  Aprilis  Eostur-monath,  Maius  Thrimylchi,  Junius  Lida,  Julius 
similiter  Lida,  Augustus  Vueod-monath,  September  Haleg-monath,  October 


138    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Eostur-monath,  and  we  are  told  that  it  was  called  so 
from  the  goddess  Eostre,  whose  holiday  was  celebrated 
in  that  month.  We  have  also  the  Ger.  Ostara,  the  god- 
dess of  spring,  that  is,  the  rising  sun.  We  do  not  have 
to  go  very  far  for  the  etymology  of  this  word.  The 
same    Arabic    word    which    produced    the    Ostrogoths, 

produced    also    Ostara,    for    c3^'  ^a§-§arq  means  "the 

rising  sun."  But  we  have  positive  evidence  that 
either  Bede  was  acquainted  with  the  Antiquitas  from 
the  Arabic  source,  or  else  the  whole  chapter  of  the 
English  months  is  a  forgery  of  a  later  time.  He 
says   that  both   December  and   January   were  called 

Vuinter-fylleth,  November  Blod-monath,  December  Giuli,  eodem  quo 
Januarius  nomine,  vocatur.  Incipiebant  autem  annum  ab  octavo  Calen- 
darum  Januariarum  die,  ubi  nunc  natale  Domini  celebramus.  Et  ipsam 
noctem  nunc  nobis  sacrosanctam,  tunc  gentili  vocabulo  Modranicht,  id 
est,  matrum  noctem,  appellabant,  ob  causam,  ut  suspicamur,  ceremoniarum 
quas  in  ea  pervigiles  agebant.  Et  quotiescunque  communis  esset  annus, 
ternos  menses  lunares  singulis  anni  temporibus  dabant.  Cum  vero  embolis- 
mus,  hoc  est,  XIII  mensium  lunarium  annus  occurreret,  superfluum  mensem 
aestati  apponebant,  ita  ut  tunc  tres  menses  simul  Lida  nomine  vocarentur, 
et  ob  id  annus  ille  Thri-lidi  cognominabatur,  habens  IV  menses  aestatis, 
ternos  ut  semper  temporum  caeterorum.  Item  principaliter  annum  totum 
in  duo  tempora,  hyemis,  videlicet,  et  aestatis  dispartiebant,  sex  illos  menses 
quibus  longiores  noctibus  dies  sunt  aestati  tribuendo,  sex  reliquos  hyemi. 
Unde  et  mensem  quo  hyemalia  tempora  incipiebant  Vuinter-fylleth  appella- 
bant, composito  nomine  ab  hyeme  et  plenilunio,  quia  videlicet  a  plenilunio 
ejusdem  mensis  hyems  sortiretur  initium.  Nee  ab  re  est  si  et  caetera  men- 
sium eorum  quid  significent  nomina  interpretari  curemus.  Menses  Giuli 
a  conversione  solis  in  auctum  diei,  quia  unus  eorum  praecedit,  alius  subse- 
quitur,  nomina  accipiunt.  Sol-monath  dici  potest  mensis  placentarum, 
quas  in  eo  diis  suis  oflferebant;  Rhed-monath  a  dea  illorum  Rheda,  cui  in 
illo  sacrificabant,  nominatur;  Eostur-monath,  qui  nunc  paschalis  mensis 
interpretatur,  quondam  a  dea  illorum  quae  Eostre  vocabatur,  et  cui  in 
illo  festa  celebrabant,  nomen  habuit,  a  cujus  nomine  nunc  paschale  tempus 
cognominant;  consueto  antiquae  observationis  vocabulo  gaudia  novae 
solemnitatis  vocantes.  Tri-milchi  dicebatur,  quod  tribus  vicibus  in  eo  per 
diem  pecora  mulgebantur.  Talis  enim  erat  quondam  ubertas  Britanniae, 
vel  Germaniae,  de  qua  in  Britanniam  natio  intravit  Anglorum.  Lida  dicitur 
blandus,  sive  navigabilis,  quod  in  utroque  mense  et  blanda  sit  serenitas 
aurarum,  et  navigari  soleant  aequora.  Vueod-monath  mensis  zizaniorum, 
quod  ea  tempestate  maxime  abundent.  Haleg-monath  mensis  sacrorum. 
Vuinter-fylleth  potest  dici  composito  novo  nomine  hyemeplenilunium. 
Blot-monath  mensis  immolationum,  quia  in  ea  pecora  quae  occisuri  erant 
diis  suis  voverent.  Gratias  tibi,  bone  Jesu,  qui  nos,  ab  his  vanis  avertens, 
tibi  sacrificia  laudis  offerre  donasti,"  Migne,  Patrol,  lat.,  vol.  XC,  col.  356  f. 


JORDANES  139 

Giuli,  and  that  they  were  so  called  from  the  increase 
in  the  sun's  warmth.  Now,  we  have  in  Gothic  fruma 
jiuleis  for  November,  hence  December  must  also  have 
been  called  jiuleis.  The  writing  Giuli  in  ASaxon  is, 
no  doubt,  due  to  a  borrowing  from  the  Gothic,  where 
j  looks  like  g.     The    Christian   Arabs   call,  from   the 

Syriac,    December    JjVi  o>\^     kdnun    'al-'awwal,    and 

January    .y  Wi  o>^    kdnun    ^as-sdnl.      Kdnun     means 

"warming  pan,  brazier,"  hence  the  two  months  are 
called  respectively  the  first  and  the  second  brazier. 

Jj',  when  left  unaccented,  could  easily  be  read  iul, 

and  it  is  this  which  the  Antiquitas  took  for  the  name  of 
both  December  and  January,  or,  in  the  Gothic  calendar, 
of  November  and  December,  while  kdnun  led  to  con- 
necting iul  with  "log,  that  which  is  burning."  June 
and  July  are  given  in  Bede  as  Lida,  and  he  goes  on  to 
say  that  the  English  had  a  lunar  month,  hence  they 
had  to  add  a  third  Lida  month,  whence  such  a  year  was 
called  thri-lidi.  Who  does  not  see  that  we  have  here 
a  description  of  the  Arabic  or  Syrian  year?  Among  the 
Syrians  October  and  November  had  the  same  name, 
Tihln,  while  among  the  ancient  Arabs  we  have  simi- 
larly two  sets  of  months  by  the  same  name,  namely, 
Rabl''  and  Jumddd}  The  whole  speculation  on  the 
Germanic  months  is  based  on  some  apocryphal  Arabic 
source,  which  it  may  still  be  possible  to  ascertain. 
Thus,  for  example,  Bede  says  that  the  day  corre- 
sponding to  Christmas  was  called  by  the  Germans 
modranicht,  that  is,  "the  mothers'  night."  This  appar- 
ently refers  to  Syr.  Mdrt  Mary  am,  literally  "Lady 
Mary,"  whose  feast  fell  on  the  Friday  after  Christmas,^ 
or  it  may  be  The  Fasting  of  Our  Lady  Mary,  which 
begins  on  Monday  after  Sunday  of  Subbar,  and  ends  on 

1  E.  Sachau,  The  Chronology  of  Ancient  Nations,  London  1879,  p.  70. 
Ubid.,p.  311. 


140    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Christinas  day.^  Meanwhile  the  names  for  April, 
December,  and  January  show  unmistakably  how  the 
Germanic  calendar  was  made  up. 

But  to  return  to  our  Tetraxite  Goths.  We  have  a 
definite  reference  to  them  in  Jordanes,  from  a  source 
which  he  brushes  aside  as  not  trustworthy,  because  it 
is  not  contained  in  the  Antiquitas,  which  he  quotes. 
Jordanes  says  that  at  Cherson,  that  is,  in  the  region 
where  we  have  found  mentioned  the  Tetraxite  Goths, 
there  lived  the  Hunnish  Altziagiri,  who  were  different 
from  the  Saviri.  It  was  to  them  that  the  greedy  mer- 
chants brought  the  goods  of  Asia.  These  Altziagiri 
roamed  about  in  the  summer  and  lived  in  the  winter 
near  the  Pontus.  They  are  the  noted  Hunuguri, 
since  from  them  comes  the  commerce  in  furs,  and  they 
were  enriched  by  the  boldness  of  so  many  men  who  first 
lived  in  Scythia  near  the  Maeotis,  then  inMysia,  Thrace, 
and  Dacia,  then  again  near  the  Pontus.  **  We  were  unable 
to  find  an  account  of  their  story  by  those  who  say  that 
they  were  enslaved  in  Britain  or  some  island  and 
snatched  away  at  the  price  of  one  horse.  Certainly, 
if  anyone  in  our  city  would  say  that  they  were  of  differ- 
ent origin  from  what  we  have  said,  he  would  be  defying 
us;  but  we  prefer  to  believe  what  is  written,  rather 
than  to  follow  old  wives'  fairy  tales.  "^    Even  the  editor 


1  Ibid.,  p.  307. 

2  "Ultra  quos  distendunt  supra  mare  Ponticum  Bulgarum  sedes,  quos 
notissimos  peccatorum  nostrorum  mala  fecerunt.  hinc  iam  Hunni  quasi 
fortissimorum  gentium  fecundissimus  cespes  bifariam  populorum  rabiem 
puUularunt.  nam  alii  Altziagiri,  alii  Saviri  nuncupantur,  qui  tamen  sedes 
habent  divisas:  iuxta  Chersonam  Altziagiri,  quo  Asiae  bona  avidus  mercator 
importat,  qui  aestate  campos  pervagant  effusas  sedes,  prout  armentorum 
invitaverint  pabula,  hieme  supra  mare  Ponticum  se  referentes.  Hunuguri 
autem  hinc  sunt  noti,  quia  ab  ipsis  pellium  murinarum  venit  commercium : 
quos  tantorum  virorum  formidavit  audacia.  quorum  mansione  prima  in 
Scythiae  solo  iuxta  paludem  Meotidem,  secundo  in  Mysiam  Thraciamque 
et  Daciam,  tertio  supra  mare  Ponticum  rursus  in  Scythia  legimus  habitasse: 
nee  eorum  fabulas  alicubi  repperimus  scriptas,  qui  eos  dicunt  in  Brittania 
vel  in  unaqualibet  insularxim  in  servitute  redactos  et  in  unius  caballi  praetio 


JORDANES  141 

had  to  suggest  that  the  reference  was  to  the  Goths. ^ 
What  has  happened  is  clear.  The  forger  knew  full 
well  that  the  merchants  along  the  Pontus  were  the 
Goths  who  had  been  enslaved  in  Spain  by  the  Arabs, 
and  he  knew  that  these  Goths  were  the  same  that  had 
originally  lived  near  the  Maeotis  and  in  Moesia;  but 
that  interfered  with  his  story  of  the  Goths,  so  he  denied 
them  as  a  myth.  Thus  the  myth  became  history,  and 
real  history  was  turned  into  a  myth.  From  what 
follows  it  is  perfectly  clear  that  Jordanes  was  speaking 
of  the  Goths,  for  he  goes  on  to  say  that  they  at  first 
lived  near  the  Maeotis,  then  in  Dacia,  Thrace,  and 
Moesia,  and  the  history,  as  he  finds  it  in  the  Antiquitas, 
begins  to  the  detriment  of  truth.  Jordanes  had  the 
correct  story,  which  he  brushed  aside,  from  an  Arabic 
source,  for  the  Altziagiri,  whom  he  mentions,  do  not 
exist  anywhere  else,  and  are  nothing  but  the  Al-savirif 
of  whom  he  makes  a  separate  race.  But  the  definite 
reference  to  the  Goths  as  cupidi  mercatores  shows  that 
the  TpaTte^iToe  of  Procopius  comes  from  the  same  or 
a  similar  Arabic  source. 

The  hodge-podge  method  of  the  forger,  Jordanes  or 
his  predecessor,  in  concocting  a  Gothic  history,  has 
already  been  made  clear  in  what  precedes.  Anything 
which  even  distantly  could  be  expounded  as  related 
to  the  Goths,  namely,  accounts  of  Thracians,  Dacians, 
Getae,  Massagetae,  Scythians,  etc.,  was  thrown  into 
the  witches'  cauldron  to  be  boiled  into  history.  Tele- 
phus,  the  son  of  Hercules,  who  in  Greek  mythology  is 
connected  with  Mysia,  becomes  a  Gothic  king,  be- 
cause Mysia  is  Moesia,  and  in  Moesia  there  were 
Goths. ^     Tomyris  of  the  Massagetae,  who  is  by  the 

a  quodam  ereptos.  aut  certe  si  quis  eos  aliter  dixerit  in  nostro  urbe,  quam 
quod  nos  diximus,  fuisse  exortos,  nobis  aliquid  obstrepebit:  nos  enim  potius 
lectioni  credimus  quam  fabulis  anilibus  consentimus,"  V  (37-38). 

'  Op.  cit.,  p.  63,  in  note. 

2 IX  (68  flf.). 


142    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Greeks  connected  with  Persia,  becomes  a  Gothic  queen 
who  goes  to  Moesia  and  there  founds  the  city  of  Tomes} 
Sitalces,  king  of  Thrace  in  the  time  of  the  Peloponne- 
sian  war,  becomes  a  leader  of  the  Goths. ^  It  is 
useless  to  waste  time  on  the  investigation  of  such 
perfectly  worthless  stuff.  But  there  is  one  bold  plagi- 
arism which  demands  a  thorough  investigation,  on 
account  of  the  enormous  influence  it  has  had  upon 
Germanic  history,  mythology,  and  literature,  and  be- 
cause it  at  one  fell  swoop  discloses  a  large  number  of 
literary  forgeries,  which  have  been  accepted  as  genuine 
heretofore,  and  which,  in  the  light  of  my  investigation, 
will  tumble  like  a  house  of  cards.  This  plagiarism  deals 
in  Jordanes  with  Hermanric,  who  in  Germany  produces 
Arminius,  the  symbol  of  German  greatness  and  power. 
After  Geberich,  the  king  of  the  Goths,  says  Jordanes, 
came  Hermanric,  the  noblest  of  the  Amali,  who  con- 
quered many  northern  nations  and  made  them  obey 
his  law.  A  large  number  of  nations,  not  recorded 
anywhere  else,  are  then  recorded  as  having  come  under 
his  rule.  He  conquered  the  Heruli;  then  he  carried 
war  into  the  country  of  the  Veneti,  who  now  are  called 
Antes  and  Sclaveni  and  are  now  threatening  "us"  on 
account  of  "our"  sins,  but  then  were  subjected  to 
Hermanric.  Then  Jordanes  proceeds  to  tell  all  about 
the  Huns  and  other  savage  tribes.  Hermanric,  angered 
at  the  misdeeds  of  the  husband  of  a  certain  woman, 
Sunilda,  of  the  race  of  Rosomoni,  had  her  torn  to  pieces 
by  horses,  after  which  her  brothers,  Sarus  and  Ammius, 
avenged  her  death  by  wounding  him  in  his  side.  Mean- 
while the  Huns  attacked  him,  and  he  grieved  over  the 
matter  and  died  in  his  one  hundred  and  tenth  year. 


X  (61). 
X  (66). 


JORDANES  143 

It  is  then  that  the  Huns  prevailed  over  the  Ostrogoths.^ 
As  we  hear  immediately  afterwards  of  Valentinian  and 
Valens,  it  is  clear  that  Jordanes  means  to  place  the 
reign  of  Hermanric  before  364. 


'  "Nam  Gothorum  rege  Geberich  rebus  humanis  excedente  post  temporis 
aliquod  Hermanaricus  nobilissimus  Amalorum  in  regno  successit,  qui  multas 
et  bellicosissimas  arctoi  gentes  perdomuit  suisque  parere  legibus  fecit, 
quern  merito  nonnuUi  Alexandro  Magno  conparavere  maiores.  habebat  si 
quidem  quos  domuerat  Golthescytha  Thiudos  Inaunxis  Vasinabroncas 
Merens  Mordens  Imniscaris  Rogas  Tadzans  Athaul  Navego  Bubegenas 
Coldas.  sed  cum  tantorum  servitio  clarus  haberetur,  non  passus  est  nisi  et 
gentem  Herulorum,  quibus  praeerat  Halaricus,  magna  ex  parte  trucidatam 
reliquam  suae  subegeret  dicioni.  nam  praedicta  gens,  Ablavio  istorico 
referente,  iuxta  Meotida  palude  inhabitans  in  locis  stagnantibus,  quas 
Greci  ele  vocant,  Eluri  nominati  sunt,  gens  quantum  velox,  eo  amplius 
superbissima.  nulla  si  quidem  erat  tunc  gens,  quae  non  levem  armaturam 
in  acie  sua  ex  ipsis  elegeret.  sed  quamvis  velocitas  eorum  ab  aliis  crebro 
bellantibus  evagaret,  Gothorum  tamen  stabilitate  subiacuit  et  tarditati, 
fecitque  causa  fortunae,  ut  et  ipsi  inter  reliquas  gentes  Getarum  regi  Her- 
manarico  servirent.  post  Herulorum  cede  item  Hermanaricus  in  Venethos 
arma  commovit,  qui,  quamvis  armis  despecti,  sed  numerositate  poUentes, 
primum  resistere  conabantur.  sed  nihil  valet  multitudo  inbellium,  prae- 
sertim  ubi  et  deus  permittit  et  multitudo  armata  advenerit.  nam  hi,  ut  in 
initio  expositionis  vel  catalogo  gentium  dicere  coepimus,  ab  una  stirpe  exorti, 
tria  nunc  nomina  ediderunt,  id  est  Venethi,  Antes,  Sclaveni;  qui  quamvis 
nunc,  ita  facientibus  peccatis  nostris,  ubique  deseviunt,  tamen  tunc  omnes 
Hermanarici  imperils  servierunt.  Aestorum  quoque  similiter  nationem, 
qui  longissimam  ripam  Oceani  Germanici  insident,  idem  ipse  prudentia 
et  virtute  subegit  omnibusque  Scythiae  et  Germaniae  nationibus  ac  si 
propriis  lavoribus  imperavit,"  XXIII  (116-120).  "Quod  genus  expeditissi- 
mum  multarumque  nationum  grassatorem  Getae  ut  viderunt,  paviscunt, 
suoque  cum  rege  deliberant,  qualiter  tali  se  hoste  subducant.  nam  Herma- 
naricus, rex  Gothorum,  licet,  ut  superius  retulimus,  multarum  gentium 
extiterat  triumphator,  de  Hunnorum  tamen  adventu  dum  cogitat,  Roso- 
monorum  gens  infida,  quae  tunc  inter  alias  illi  famulatum  exhibebat,  tali 
eum  nanciscitur  occasione  decipere.  dum  enim  quandam  mulierem  Sunilda 
nomine  ex  gente  memorata  pro  mariti  fraudulento  discessu  rex  furore  com- 
motus  equis  ferocibus  inligatam  incitatisque  cursibus  per  diversa  divelli 
praecipisset,  fratres  eius  Sarus  et  Ammius,  germanae  obitum  vindicantes, 
Hermanarici  latus  ferro  petierunt;  quo  vulnere  saucius  egram  vitam  corporis 
inbecillitate  contraxit.  quam  adversam  eius  valitudinem  captans  Balamber 
rex  Hunnorum  in  Ostrogotharum  parte  movit  procinctum,  a  quorum  socie- 
tate  iam  Vesegothae  quadam  inter  se  intentione  seiuncti  habebantur. 
inter  haec  Hermanaricus  tam  vulneris  dolore  quam  etiam  Hunnorum  in- 
cursionibus  non  ferens  grandevus  et  plenus  dierum  centesimo  decimo  anno 
vitae  suae  defunctus  est.  cuius  mortis  occasio  dedit  Hunnis  praevalerein 
Gothis  illis,  quos  dixeramus  orientali  plaga  sedere  et  Ostrogothas  nuncupari," 
XXIV  (129-130). 


144    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

The  accounts  of  the  death  of  Julian  the  Apostate 
have  all  been  collected  and  classified.^  It  appears 
that  up  to  the  end  of  the  fourth  century  the  authors, 
who  knew  of  Julian's  death  from  the  accounts  of  eye- 
witnesses, agreed  to  this,  that  Julian  was  killed  in 
Armenia  or  Persia,  while  making  war  upon  Persia,  by 
a  spear-thrust  from  an  unknown  enemy,  either  a 
Persian,  an  Arab,  or  a  Christian.^  There  is  absolutely 
nothing  mythical  in  the  story  and  no  reference  to  any 
Christian  glorification  in  the  last  moments  of  the 
emperor. 

In  Sozomenus,  Socrates,  Theodoretus,  and  Philo- 
storgius,  we  find  the  statement  that  Julian,  when  dying, 
exclaimed  that  the  sun  had  killed  him,  and  that  the 
Galilean  had  conquered  or  was  about  to  be  satis- 
fied.^ We  have  already  seen  that  these  ecclesiastic 
writers  have  been  interpolated  at  a  later  time,  and  so 
it  is  not  certain  that  these  references  to  the  sun  already 
existed  in  the  fifth  century.  In  fact,  it  is  highly  prob- 
able that  we  have  here  seventh  or  eighth  century  inter- 
polations. If,  however,  it  could  be  proved  that  these 
passages  are  genuine,  we  should  have  the  intrusion  of 
a  Persian  story  through  the  Syriac  at  least  a  century 
earlier  than  authentically  reported  from  Syriac  sources. 

The  whole  story  of  the  death  of  Julian  from  an  arrow 
sent  by  the  sun  and  indicating  the  victory  of  the 
Galilean,  that  is,  the  sun,  is  taken  from  the  Bunde- 
hesh,  chapter  VI:  "Of  the  struggle  of  the  creations  of 
the  world  with  the  opposition  of  Ahriman  the  following 
is  told  in  Holy  Writ:  After  Ahriman  ran  in  and  saw 
the  bravery  of  the  Yazatas  and  his  own  weakness,  he 
wanted  to  run  away  again.    The  spirit  of  heaven  was 

» R.  Nostitz-Rieneck,  Vom  Tode  des  Kaisers  Julian,  in  XVI.  Jahresbericht 
des  dffentlichen  Privatgymnasiums  an  der  Stella  Matutina  zu  Feldkirch, 
Feldkirch  1907,  p.  Iff.;  Th.  Buttner-Wobst,  Der  Tod  des  Kaisers  Julian, 
in  Philologus,  vol.  LI,  p.  561  ff. 

"  Nostitz-Rieneck,  op.  cit.,  pp.  1-12. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  12-15. 


JORDANES  145 

like  a  warrior  who  has  on  his  coat  of  mail,  all  ready 
for  the  fray.  Heaven  took  up  the  struggle  against 
Ahriman,  until  Ormuzd  had  built  a  stronghold  around 
him.  Then  the  Fravashis,  that  is,  the  manes,  of  the 
warriors  and  saints,  were  on  horseback,  with  spears 
in  their  hands,  which  spears  hung  from  heaven  like 
hairs  on  the  head,  just  as  warriors  are  behind  a  forti- 
fication. Then  Ahriman  found  no  place  to  which  he 
could  run.  He  saw  the  fall  of  the  Daevas  and  his 
own  impotence,  as  well  as  the  ultimate  victory  of 
Ormuzd  and  the  resurrection  in  eternity."^ 

In  the  sixth  century  the  Syrians  begin  to  connect 
the  death  of  Julian  with  the  martyr  Mercurius.  In 
the  romance  of  Julian  the  Apostate  Saint  Mercurius 
appears  to  Jovian  in  a  dream,  all  accoutered  and 
with  a  bow  and  three  arrows.  He  informs  Jovian 
that  he  will  kill  Julian  in  less  than  three  weeks.  Then 
comes  the  battle  between  Julian  and  Sapor.  A  heaven- 
ly voice  announces  the  outcome  of  the  battle,  when 
Julian  begins  to  blaspheme  the  voice  of  the  Nazarene. 
Then  an  arrow  pierces  his  breast,  and  he  takes  some 
blood  from  his  wound,  and,  throwing  it  up  to  heaven, 
exclaims:  "Be  satiated,  Jesus,  be  satiated,  and  have 
enough,  for  you  have  now  not  only  the  divine  attributes, 
but  also  royal  power. "^  It  is  not  necessary  to  dwell 
on  the  Mercury  motive  in  Malalas,  the  Chronicon  Pas- 
chale,  and  later  writers,^  except  to  mention  that  the 
place  where  Julian  is  killed  is  variously  called  Asia, 
Rasia,  Phrygia}  The  account  given  in  Malalas  is 
practically  the  same  as  in  the  Chronicon  Paschale. 
Julian  asked  what  the  name  of  the  place  was  where 
he  was  hurt,  and,  upon  hearing  that  it  was  called 

^  F.  Justi,  Der  Bundehesh,  Leipzig  1868,  chap.  VI,  p.  8  f. 

*  Nostitz-Rieneck,  op.  cit.,  p.  16. 

'  Ibid.,  p.  17  S.,  and  H.  Delehaye,  Les  legendes  grecques  des  saints  mili- 
taires,  Paris  1909,  p.  96  fif. 

*  Delehaye,  op.  cit.,  p.  99,  note  1,  and  Nostitz-Rieneck,  op.  cit.,  p.  18. 


146    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Rasia  or  Asia,  he  exclaimed,  **0  Sun,  thou  has  con- 
quered Julian,"  and,  throwing  some  blood  in  the  air, 
he  gave  up  the  ghost.  Obviously,  the  sun  has  some- 
thing to  do  with  the  place  where  Julian  was  struck 
down. 

In  the  Bundehesh  Ahriman  sees  that  it  is  all  up  with 
him,  when  the  Fravashis  unite  in  war  against  him. 
The  Bundehesh  is  too  late  to  determine  the  form  of  the 
word  for  "manes"  in  the  fifth  century.  It  is  there 
written  frahvar,  Mod.  Pers.  fravar,  while  in  YaH 
XIII,  where  we  have  the  fullest  reference  to  these 
spirits,  as  elsewhere  in  the  Avesta,  we  have  frava$ay. 
This  would  suggest  to  a  Semite  one  of  the  many  roots 
beginning  with  /r-,  which  mean  "separation,  liber- 
ation." And  truly  in  the  Syriac  story  the  arrow  by 
which  Julian  is  struck  down  is  called  Xxcioaj  \l}!^  gerd 
depurqdnd  "an  arrow  of  salvation."  The  Latin  or 
Greek  borrower  from  the  Syriac  thought  that  this 
meant  "an  arrow  from  Phrygia,"  and  thus  a  particular 
locality,  Phrygia,  Rasia,  Asia,  was  evolved.  But  it  is 
clear  that  Julian-Ahriman,  upon  seeing  that  he  was 
besieged  from  heaven  by  Fravashis,  exclaimed  that 
the  kingdom  of  the  sun  was  now  assured. 

Just  as  in  the  Bundehesh,  so  does  the  Syriac  story 
have  the  voice  of  the  defeat  come  from  heaven,  and 
the  manner  in  which  Julian  is  actually  struck  down, 
namely,  by  Saint  Mercurius,  is  due  to  a  misunder- 
standing, or,  rather,  too  literal  an  interpretation  of  the 
Persian  story.  The  whole  YaSt  VIII  is  devoted  to 
TiHrya,  the  star  Sirius,  the  leader  of  Ormuzd  in  his 
fight  against  Ahriman.  Tistrya  goes  down  to  the  sea 
like  the  swift  arrow  of  the  best  bowman.  He  spurts 
the  water  over  all  evil  things,  and  Ahriman  cannot 
cope  with  him.  He  fills  the  seas  and  the  lands  with 
water,  and  is  the  greatest  good  of  man.  In  the  Bunde- 
heshf  Ahriman,  after  his  encounter  with  heaven,  tried 


JORDANES  147 

his  strength  with  the  ruler  over  the  waters,  Ti§trya. 
Ormuzd  gave  Tistrya  unusual  strength,  so  that  one  of 
the  Daevas  flew  a  whole  parasang  away  from  him, 
whence  it  is  said  that  it  was  the  strength  of  an  arrow 
which  flies  a  parasang  that  Tistrya  had.  Tistrya's 
position  in  heaven  is  that  of  the  cancer,  "wherefore 
the  month  tir  belongs  to  the  cancer,  where  Tistrya 
jumped  in  and  did  his  work  as  the  producer  of  rain. 
Then  the  water  was  carried  upwards  by  the  power  of 
the  wind.  Tistrya's  helpers  were  Vohumano  and  Yazata 
Haoma,  under  the  guidance  of  Yazata  Borz  and  of  the 
Fravashis  of  the  pure."^ 

The  month  which  is  sacred  to  Tistrya  is  called  tir, 
that  is,  "arrow."  But  tir  also  means  "the  star  Mercury." 
Thus  it  is  really  Mercury  who  is  the  arrow  and  strikes 
Ahriman.  In  the  Syriac  story  Mercurius  appears  in 
a  coat  of  mail;  so  do  the  Fravashis  in  the  Bundehesh, 
and  it  is  Tistrya  who  sends  the  arrow,  that  is,  Mercury, 
to  strike  down  the  power  of  Ahriman.  In  the  Bunde- 
hesh, as  in  the  YaSt,  Tistrya  spurts  the  waters  as  high 
as  heaven  and  saturates  the  earth  and  the  seas.  In 
the  Syrian  story,  Julian  throws  his  blood  up,  and  ex- 
claims, "Be  satiated  and  have  enough!" 

It  is  not  merely  parallels  that  we  have  in  both  cases, 
but  the  Syriac  story  is  based  directly  on  the  Persian 
account  of  Ahriman's  fall,  and  was  produced  through 
the  misunderstanding  of  one  term,  fravaSay,  and  the 
pun  of  the  word  tir  in  the  Bundehesh. 

There  is  an  awkward  passage  in  the  account  of 

Julian's  death  in  Ammianus  Marcellinus.     According 

to  this,  Julian  is  struck  in  a  natural  way  by  a  horseman's 

lance.  ^     When  he  saw  that  he  was  dying,  he  asked 

what  the  name  of  the  place  was,  and,  upon  hearing 

that  it  was  called  Phrygia,  he  knew  at  once  that  he 

1  Chap.  VII. 

*  There  is  even  here  an  awkward  word,  "incertum,"  which  makes  no 
meaning  and  is  rejected  by  the  editors. 


148    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

was  going  to  die,  because  he  had  heard  so  in  an  oracle.^ 
As  Phrygia  could  have  arisen  only  from  the  Syriac 
"arrow  of  salvation,"  it  is  clear  that  we  have  here  at 
least  an  interpolation,  if  not  a  downright  forgery. 
We  shall  find  a  still  worse  forgery  in  Ammianus  later 
on.  It  is  certainly  curious  that  not  a  word  was  ever 
written  about  Ammianus  before  the  sixteenth  century, 
except  a  short  reference  to  a  sentence  from  the  four- 
teenth book  in  Priscianus,  XI.  51,  and  that  the  work 
of  Marcellinus,  which  Poggio  claimed  to  have  found  at 
Hersfeld  or  Fulda,  should  almost  begin  with  that 
sentence,  for  he  claimed  to  have  found  Marcellinus 
only  beginning  with  book  XIV.  It  looks  as  though 
Poggio  used  the  sentence  in  Priscianus  as  a  basis  for 
his  fabrication.^ 

The  Syriac  phrase,  jjleiolsj  ]i\Il^  gerd  depurqdnd, 
"an  arrow  of  salvation,  or  separation,"  caused  the  Arabs 
a  great  deal  of  trouble.  The  Syrians  themselves  must 
have  had  difficulty  in  explaining  it.  The  Arabs  trans- 
lated it  literally  as  v-^  r^   sahmun  garbun,  or  sahmu 

garbin,  "the  arrow  of  separation,"^  which  the  lexico- 
graphers had  to  explain  as  "an  arrow  of  which  the 
author  was  not  known,  an  arrow  that  is  shot  and 
strikes  another."  It  is  this  difficulty  which  the  Arabs 
had  in  telling  precisely  what  was  meant  by  the  strange 
phrase  that  later  caused  the  confusion  in  the  Harman 
story,  as  it  reached  the  Teutons. 

If  there  is  any  lingering  doubt  left  as  to  the  identi- 
fication of  Julian  with  Harman,  that  will  be  at  once 
dispelled  by  the  specific  reference  to  Julian  as  Harman 
in  the  seventh  century  Syriac  chronicle,  which  has 

1  "Ideo  spe  deinceps  uiuendi  absumpta,  quod  percunctando  Phrygiam 
appellari  locum  ubi  ceciderat  conperit.  hie  enim  obiturum  se  praescripta 
audierat  sorte,"  XXV.  3.  9. 

^  It  seems,  however,  more  likely  that  it  is  an  eighth  century  forgery. 

^  Th.  Noldeke,  Ueber  den  syrischen  Roman  von  Kaiser  Julian,  in  Zeitschrift 
der  deutschen  morgenldndischen  Gesellschaft,  vol.  XXVIII,  p.  292. 


JORDANES  149 

come  down  to  us  in  an  eighth  century  copy.  Here  we 
are  told  that  Julian  was  killed  by  the  hands  of  the 
Romans,  either  in  Chaldaea  or  in  Aramaea.  At  the 
same  time  the  Lord  was  angry  at  the  cities  of  the 
Gentiles  and  Jews  and  Samaritans,  and  the  southern 
cities  which  taught  Julian's  false  doctrines,  wherefore 
he  destroyed  twenty-one  of  them.  In  June  of  363 
Joyinian  gained  glory  for  himself  to  the  north  of 
Caucaba  and  Ctesiphon  and  established  peace  between 
the  Romans  and  Persians  by  giving  to  the  latter  the 
country  around  Nisibis  and  all  of  Armenia,  which  had 
obeyed  Harman}  Thus  there  is  not  a  particle  of 
doubt  left  that  Julian  was  Harman. 

In  Jordanes  he  becomes  Hermanric,  who  ruled  over 
the  northern  country,  which  he  conquered  and  made 
to  obey  his  law.  But  the  mysterious  arrow  of  the 
Syriac  story  here  becomes  the  two  brothers,  Sarus 
and  Ammius,  who  wound  Hermanric  for  his  cruel 
treatment  of  their  sister,  Sunilda.  This  Sunilda  is 
also  taken  out  of  a  Syriac  romance  of  Julian.^  Here 
Julian  is  represented  as  a  recreant  who  has  cheated 
Eleuthera,  the  daughter  of  the  Roman  counterking 
Licinius  and  a  sister  of  Constantine,  out  of  her  property. 
Eleuthera's  spirit  begs  Constantine  to  avenge  her 
wrongs.  "What  shall  I  do  for  you?"  he  asks.  "Let 
him  swear  to  me  upon  the  column  which  guards  the 
watchtower,  that  he  has  not  done  me  any  wrong,  and 
then  I  will  never  again  accuse  him."  When  Julian 
hears  that  the  Emperor  is  going  to  apprehend  him, 
he  goes  to  his  friend,  the  magician  Magnus,  who 
takes  him  to  the  column,  in  order  to  save  him  from  the 
wrath  of  the  demons.  In  order  to  escape  being  found 
out  as  a  cheat,  Julian  agrees,  at  the  request  of  the  demon, 

^  Libri  chalipharum,  fol.  39v.,  in  J.  P.  N.  Land,  Anecdota  syriaca,  Lugduni 
Batavorum  1862,  vol.  I,  p.  6  of  the  Syriac  text. 

2  Zeitschrift  der  deutschen  morgenldndischen  Gesellschaft,  vol.  XXVIII, 
p.  660  ff. 


150    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

to  sacrifice  to  him.  Three  days  later  Julian  returns  to 
sacrifice  in  front  of  the  column.  After  renouncing  the 
cross,  Julian  meets  the  highest  demon,  who  tells  him 
that  he  will  make  him  Emperor  for  one  hundred  years. 
Then  Julian  sacrifices  on  that  night,  and  the  demons 
come  and  worship  him.  That  very  night  the  magician 
Magnus  takes  with  him  his  maid  servant,  who  is  preg- 
nant. They  undress  her  and  hang  her  up  in  the  temple 
and  slit  her  open  and  take  out  her  nine  months  old 
child.  Then  Magnus  speaks  the  magic  formula,  and 
the  lower  spirits  appear.  After  they  have  promised  to 
aid  Julian,  the  servant  is  taken  down,  and  the  child 
restored  to  her  womb.  She  is  placed  on  an  altar  and 
sacrificed.  The  Emperor  insists  that  Julian  swear 
before  the  column,  but  desists,  at  the  request  of  the 
senate,  who  believe  that  Julian  is  a  Christian  and 
should  not  swear  before  a  column.  Then  Julian  is 
made  general  in  chief,  after  which  he  is  killed. 

In  this  second  story  it  is  a  brother  of  the  woman  whom 
Julian  has  wronged  who  intends  to  avenge  the  woman, 
and  Julian  is  a  participant  in  a  cruel  act  to  the  maid 
servant.  The  two  episodes  are  in  Jordanes  welded 
into  one  in  the  case  of  Sunilda,  whom  he  tears  to 
pieces,  and  whom  the  brothers  avenge.  Eleuthera  is 
the  sister  of  the  Emperor  of  the  Romans,  Sunelda  is 
the  sister  of  the  king  of  the  Rosomons.  It  is  not  clear 
in  Jordanes  whether  Sunilda  is  Hermanric's  wife,  or 
the  wife  of  the  king  of  the  Rosomons,  but  Jordanes  got 
the  story  mixed  up,  because  the  woman  is  here  made  to 
suffer  for  the  husband's  fraudulent  deed,  whereas  in  the 
Syriac  story  it  is  Julian  himself  who  is  the  cheat.  The 
name  Sunilda,  which  is  also  written  Sunihil,  is  ap- 
parently a  corruption  of  Astina,  the  Persian  queen  with 
whom  Jovinian  is  made  to  have  some  relations  in  the 
first  Syriac  story.  As  in  the  Syriac  romance,  so  in 
Jordanes,  Hermanric  lives  more  than  a  hundred  years. 


JORDANES  151 

Noldeke  has  shown^  that  the  two  Syriac  stories 
are  of  native  origin,  and  that  the  second  Syriac  story 
cannot  be  of  an  earlier  date  than  the  beginning  of  the 
seventh  century.  Thus  the  account  in  Jordanes  must 
be  still  later,  to  have  brought  about  such  confusion. 
And  the  reference  to  Ermenerichus,  the  king  of  the 
Ostrogoths,  whose  country  the  Huns  invaded,  as 
given  in  Ammianus  Marcellinus,'^  is  a  downright 
forgery,  taken  out  of  Jordanes  or  indirectly  from  the 
Syriac  Liher  calipharum,  where  the  Huns  invade  the 
cities  of  Caucaba  and  Ctesiphon  in  395,^  that  is,  the 
region  where  Julian-Harman  was  supposed  to  reign  for 
one  hundred  years. 

The  Arabic  romance  of  Julian  is  not  extant,  but  it 
is  certain  that  here  Harman  was  still  further  confused 
with  Hermes.  Two  of  the  leading  personages  of  a 
large  number  of  Arabic  stories  and  beliefs  are  Agatho- 
daemon  and  Hermes,*  who  belong  to  the  Gnostic  and 
Manichaean  beliefs.  Hermes  is  by  the  Arabs  represent- 
ed as  the  builder  of  the   pyramids,  hence  it  may  be 

that  Arab,    c^  hirm,    dual   u^^   hirmdn    "pyramid," 

is  derived  from  the  same  word.  From  the  confusion 
of  "pyramid"  and  "mighty  ruler"  has  arisen  the 
myth  of  the  Irminsul  of  the  Saxons.  The  account  is 
contained  in  the  Translatio  S.  Alexandria  written  by 
Ruodolf  and  Meginhard  in  851.^  As  the  whole  story 
will  be  analyzed  later,  I  give  it  here  in  full. 

"Saxonum  gens,  sicut  tradit  Antiquitas,  ab  Anglis 
Britanniae  incolis  egressa,  per  Oceanum  navigans 
Germaniae  litoribus  studio  et  necessitate  quaerendarum 
sedium  appulsa  est,  in  loco  qui  vocatur  Haduloha,  eo 

» Ihid.,  p.  671  f. 
» XXXI.  3.  1. 
» Ov.  at.,  p.  108. 

*  Th.  Haarbriicker,  Abu-l-Faih' Muh'ammad asch-Schahrastdni's Religions- 
partheien  und  Philosophenschulen,  Halle  1851,  vol.  II,  p.  65,  et  passim. 
» MGH.,  Scriptores,  vol.  II,  p.  674  ff. 


152    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

tempore  quo  Thiotricus  rex  Francorum  contra  Irmin- 
fridum  generum  suum,  ducem  Thuringorum,  dimicans, 
terrain  eorum  crudeliter  ferro  vastavit  et  igni.  Et 
cum  iam  duobus  proeliis  ancipiti  pugna  incertaque 
victoria  miserabili  suorum  cede  decertassent, Thiotricus 
spe  vincendi  frustratus,misit  legatos  ad  Saxones,  quorum 
dux  erat  Hadugoto.  Audivit  enim  causam  adventus 
eorum,  promissisque  pro  victoria  habitandi  sedibus, 
conduxit  eos  in  adiutorium;  quibus  secum  quasi  iam 
pro  libertate  et  patria  fortiter  dimicantibus,  superavit 
adversarios,  vastatisque  indigenis  et  ad  internitionem 
pene  deletis,  terram  eorum  iuxta  pollicitationem  suam 
victoribus  delegavit.  Qui  eam  sorte  dividentes,  cum 
multi  ex  eis  in  bello  cecidissent,  et  pro  raritate  eorum 
tota  ab  eis  occupari  non  potuit,  partem  illius,  et  eam 
quam  maxime  quae  respicit  orientem,  colonis  tradebant, 
singuli  pro  sorte  sua,  sub  tributo  exercendam.  Cetera 
vero  loca  ipsi  possiderunt.  A  meridie  quidem  Francos 
habentes  et  partem  Thuringorum,  quos  praecedens 
hostilis  turbo  non  tetigit,  et  alveo  fluminis  Unstrotae 
dirimuntur.  A  septentrione  vero  Nordmannos,  gentes 
ferocissimas.  Ab  ortu  autem  solis  Obodritos,  et  ab 
occasu  Frisos,  a  quibus  sine  intermissione  vel  foedere 
vel  concertatione  necessario  finium  suorum  spacia 
tuebantur.  Erant  enim  inquieti  nimis  et  finitimorum 
sedibus  infesti,  domi  vero  pacati  et  civium  utilitatibus 
placida  benignitate  consulentes.  Generis  quoque  ac 
nobilitatis  suae  providissimam  curam  habentes,  nee 
facile  uUis  aliarum  gentium  vel  sibi  inferiorum  conubiis 
infecti,  propriam  et  sinceram  et  tantum  sui  similem 
gentem  facere  conati  sunt.  Unde  habitus  quoque  ac 
magnitudo  corporum  comarumque  color,  tanquam  in 
tanto  hominum  numero,  idem  pene  omnibus.  Quatuor 
igitur  differentiis  gens  ilia  consistit,  nobilium  scilicet 
et  liberorum,  libertorum  atque  servorum.  Et  id  legibus 
firmatum,  ut  nulla  pars  in  copulandis  coniugiis  propriae 


JORDANES  158 

sortis  terminos  transferal,  sed  nobilis  nobilem  ducat 
uxorem,  et  liber  liberam,  libertus  coniungatur  liber tae, 
et  servus  ancillae.  Si  vero  quispiam  horum  sibi  non 
congruentem  et  genere  prestantiorem  duxerit  uxorem, 
cum  vitae  suae  damno  componat. 

**Legibus  etiam  ad  vindictam  malefactorum  optimis 
utebantur.  Et  multa  utilia  atque  secundum  legem 
naturae  honesta  in  morum  probitate  habere  studuerunt, 
quae  eis  ad  veram  beatitudinem  promerendam  pro- 
ficere  potuissent,  si  ignorantiam  creatoris  sui  non 
haberent,  et  a  veritate  culturae  illius  non  essent  alieni. 
Coluerunt  enim  eos,  qui  natura  non  erant  dii:  inter 
quos  maxime  Mercurium  venerabantur,  cui  certis 
diebus  humanis  quoque  hostiis  litare  consueverant. 
Deos  suos  neque  templis  includere,  neque  uUae  humani 
oris  speciei  adsimilare  ex  magnitudine  et  dignitate 
coelestium  arbitrati  sunt.  Lucos  ac  nemora  consecran- 
tes,  deorumque  nominibus  appellantes,  secretum  illud 
sola  reverentia  contemplabantur.  Auspicia  et  sortes 
quam  maxime  observabant.  Sortium  consuetudo  sim- 
plex erat.  Virgam  frugiferae  arbori  decisam  in  surculos 
amputabant,  eosque  notis  quibusdam  discretos  super 
candidam  vestem  t^mere  ac  fortuito  spargebant;  mox, 
si  publica  consultatio  fuit,  sacerdos  populi,  si  privata, 
ipse  paterfamilias  precatus  deos  coelumque  suspiciens 
ter  singulos  tulit,  sublatisque  secundum  inpressam  ante 
notam  interpretatus  est.  Si  prohibuerunt,  nulla  de 
eadem  re  ipsa  die  consultatio,  si  permissum  est, 
eventuum  adhuc  fides  exigebatur.  Avium  voces  vola- 
tusque  interrogare,  proprium  gentis  illius  erat.  Equo- 
rum  quoque  praesagia  ac  monitus  experiri,  hinnitusque 
ac  fremitus  observare;  nee  ulli  auspicio  maior  fides  non 
solum  apud  plebem,  sed  etiam  apud  proceres  habebatur. 
Erat  et  alia  observatio  auspiciorum,  qua  gravium  bello- 
rum  eventus  explorare  solebant;  eius  quippe  gentis, 
cum  qua  bellandum  fuit,  captivum  quoquo  modo  inter- 


154    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

ceptum,  cum  electo  popularium  suorum  patriis  quemque 
armis  committere,  et  victoriam  huius  vel  illius  pro 
iudicio  habere.  Quomodo  autem  certis  diebue,  cum 
aut  inchoatur  luna  aut  impletur,  agendis  rebus  auspica- 
tissimum  initium  crediderint,  et  alia  innumera  vanarum 
superstitionum  genera,   quibus  implicati  sunt,   obser- 

vaverint,  pretereo Frondosis  arboribus  f onti- 

busque  venerationem  exhibebant.  Truncum  quoque  ligni 
non  parvae  magnitudinis  in  altum  erectum  sub  divo  cole- 
bant,  patria  eum  lingua  Irminsul  appellantes,quodlatine 
dicitur  universalis  columna,  quasi  sustinens  omnia." 

The  Translatio  S.  Alexandri  begins  with  an  account 
of  the  origin  of  the  Saxons.  We  are  told  that  the  Anti- 
quitas  says  that  the  Saxons  came  from  Britain  and 
settled  near  Haduloha,  and  that  Theodoric,  the 
Frankish  king,  united  with  Hadugot,  the  leader  of  the 
Saxons,  and  defeated  the  Thuringians,  after  which 
he  allowed  the  Saxons  to  settle  on  the  continent.  The 
passage  found  in  Tacitus  follows  immediately  after 
the  statement  that  the  Saxons  had  good  laws,  but 
unfortunately  were  not  Christians.  Then  Ruodolf 
proceeds  with  an  account  of  the  Saxon  war,  and 
refers,  obviously  quoting  from  another  source,  to  the 
fact  that  the  Saxons  worshiped  in  groves  and  at  springs, 
and  revered  a  huge  column  which  they  called  in  their 
language  Irminsul,  which  meant  "universal  column." 
This  account,  no  doubt,  like  the  beginning  of  the 
Translatio,  is  taken  from  a  Saxon  Antiquitas.  That 
such  existed  we  are  informed  by  Trithemius,  who  says 
that  Hermenfrid,  claimed  to  have  lived  in  520  B.  C, 
wrote  many  fabulous  things  about  the  Saxons.  Trit- 
hemius had  made  excerpts  from  his  book  about  the 
year  1486,  but  had  left  the  notes  behind  in  Spanheim, 
where  they  were  lost.^ 

'  "De  saxonibus  atque  doringis  multa  sparsim  leguntur,  de  quorum  origine 
Hermenfrid  quidam  ante  Christi  nativitatem  anno  CCCCCXX  multa 
scripsit  magna  et  partim  fabulosa.     Cuius  fragmenta  per  me  excopiata 


JORDANES  155 

From  the  Antiquitas,  or  from  an  older  source,  the 
story  of  the  column  found  its  way  into  the  forgery 
known  as  Cosmographia  Aethici  Istrici,^  where  it  is 
adorned  fantastically  and  is  ascribed  to  a  nation  in 
the  Euxine  Sea.  Here  the  nation  worshiped  Saturn 
by  making  a  large  heap  of  stones  and  mortar,  on  which 
they  raised  enormous  pillars.  This  structure  they  called 
in  their  language  Morcholom,  that  is,  "stella  Deorum.'"^ 

If  we  now  turn  back  to  Irminsul,  we  find  it  several 
times  referred  to  in  the  ninth  century  chronicles  as 
the  Saxon  sanctuary,  idol,  or  grove,  destroyed  by 
Charlemagne  in  772.^  The  very  variation  indicates 
that  the  information  about  the  irminsul  was  received 
at  second  hand  or  from  a  literary  source,  for  otherwise 
there  would  have  been  some  agreement  as  to  its  mean- 
ing. Later  we  frequently  find  the  glosses  "irmansuli 
piramides,  irminsul  colossus,  altissima  columna." 

That  irman,  for  which  there  is  no  Germanic  root, 
was  taken  to  mean  "very  great,  universal,"  is  proved 
by  the  use  made  of  it  in  the  Hildebrandlied,  where 

ante  XXX  annos  reliqui  in  Spanheim,  que  nescio  si  adhuc  ibi  reperiantur," 
J.  Chmel,  Die  Handschriften  der  k.  k.  Hofbibliothek  in  Wien,  Wien  1840, 
vol.  I,  p.  315. 

»  Edited  by  H.  Wuttke,  Leipzig  1853. 

*  "Diem  festum  nequaquam  nisi  mense  Augusto  mediante.  Colere  Satur- 
num,  ob  hoc  quod  temporibus  Octaviani  Augusti  censum  dederunt  in  auro 
litorico,  nuUi  romanorum  regum  aut  imperotorum  nee  antea  nee  postmodum, 
et  tunc  quidem  sponte,  videntes  quoque  vicinas  regiones  censum  dare: 
arbitrati  sunt  quod  deus  dierum  novus  ortus  fuisset  et  in  ipso  mense  Augusto 
congregaverunt  ad  unam  catervam  generationem  cunctam  seminis  eorum 
in  insola  maiore  maris  oceani  Tareconta,  fecerunt  acervum  magnum  lapide 
ac  bitumine  conglutinatum,  aedificantes  pilas  praegrandes  mirae  magnitu- 
dinis  et  cloacas  subtus  marmore  constructas,  phyrram  fonte[m]  glutinantes 
et  appellaverunt  Morcholom  lingua  sua,  id  est  stellam  deorum,  quo  derivato 
nomine  Saturnum  appellant,"  ibid.,  p.  19. 

»  "Pervenit  ad  locum  qui  dicitur  Ermensul,  et  succendit  ea  loca,"  MGH., 
Scriptores,  vol.  I,  p.  16;  "destruxit  fanum  eorum  quod  vocabatur  Irminsuul," 
ibid.,  p.  30;  "idolum  Saxonorum  combussit,  quod  dicebant  Irminsul," 
ibid.,  p.  88;  "fanum  et  lucum  eorum  famosum  Irminsul  subvertit,"  ibid., 
p.  117;  "ad  Ermensul  (hermensul)  usque  pervenit,  et  ipsum  fanum  destruxit, 
et  aurum  vel  argentum,  quod  ibi  repperit,  abstulit,"  ibid.,  p.  150;  "idolum 
quod  Irminsul  a  Saxonibus  vocabatur  evertit,"  ibid.,  p.  151;  "et  destruxit 
fanum  eorum,  quod  vocabatur  Hirminsuul,"  ibid.,  p.  295,  etc. 


156    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

we  have  irmingot  "the  great  god  of  all,"  irminthiod 
"the  great  nation,  the  human  race."  Similarly,  we 
have  in  Anglo-Saxon,  in  the  Beowulf  and  elsewhere, 
eormen-cyn  "the  human  race,"  eormen-grund  "the 
spacious  earth,"  eormen-strynd  "the  great  generation," 
eormen-peod  "a  great  people;"  we  also  have  OSax. 
irminthiod  "great  people,"  irmingot  "the  great  god," 
irminman  "the  great  man,"  and  ONorse  jormun-gandr 
"the  great  monster,"  jormund-grund  "the  earth." 
The  oldest  of  these  literary  sources  set  the  pace  for 
the  later  one,  but  in  no  case  did  the  word  turn  into  an 
adjective  or  become  popular. 

The  origin  of  the  word  is  strange  enough.  Caesar 
and  Pomponius  Mela  speak  of  the  enormous  size  of 
the  Germans,  which  inspired  fear  in  their  enemies.^ 
But  it  is  only  Isidore  of  Seville  who  made  this  state- 
ment the  subject  of  one  of  his  execrable  etymologies. 
He  writes:  "Germanicae  gentes  dictae,  quod  sint 
inmania  corpora  inmanesque  nationes  saevissimis  dura- 
tae  frigoribus ;  qui  mores  ex  ipso  caeli  rigore  traxerunt, 
ferocis  animi  et  semper  indomiti,  raptu  venatuque 
viventes"  (IX.  2.  97).  He  derived  Germania  from 
inmania,  that  is,  Germania  was  supposed  to  be  equal 
to  Irmania,  Inmania. 

This  etymology  found  its  way  into  a  considerable 
number  of  eighth  century  writings,  no  doubt  through 
the  intermediacy  of  Hunibald's  History,  which,  if  it 
is  the  source  of  all  the  other  quotations,  must  have 
been  written  immediately  before  727,  as  will  later  be 
shown.  There  is  a  possibility,  however,  and  a  very 
serious  one,  that  the  etymology  in  Isidore  is  an  inter- 
polation.   That  there  are  a  few  interpolations  in  Isidore 

^  "Ingenti  magnitudine  corporum  Germanos,  incredibili  virtute  atque 
exercitatione  in  armis  esse  praedicabant  .  .  tantus  subito  timor  omnem 
exercitum  occupauit,  ut  non  mediocriter  omnium  mentes  animosque  per- 
turbaret,"  De  hello  gallico,  I.  39;  "qui  habitant  inmanes  sunt  animis  atque 
corporibus,"  Pomponius  Mela,  III.  3. 


JORDANES  157 

appears  clearly  from  the  gloss  about  the  Gaetuli, 
where  it  says  that  they  were  Getae,  and  that,  therefore, 
there  was  a  blood  relationship  between  the  Goths  and 
the  Moors,  or  Berbers.^  This  sentiment  could  have 
slipped  in  only  after  711,  when  the  conquering  Berbers 
tried  to  claim  a  relationship  with  the  Goths.  This 
is  corroborated  by  an  eleventh  or  twelfth  century 
MS.  of  Isidore,  where  both  Goths  and  Moors  are  given 
as  descendants  of  Japheth.^ 

Unfortunately,  Trithemius  did  not  preserve  all  the 
etymologies  of  Hunibald,  and  it  is  impossible  to  tell 
whether  he  had  said  anything  about  the  Germans; 
but  that  is  more  than  likely,  since  he  several  times 
points  out  that  Germani  was  the  name  given  by  the 
Romans  to  the  Franks.  Trithemius  says  that  they 
were  called  Germani  "foederis  ratione,"  because  they 
were  brothers.^  That  is,  however,  the  opinion  of 
Trithemius,  and  not  of  Hunibald,  for  a  little  further 
down  he  says  that  the  Germans  were  called  so  out  of 
contempt.^  Certainly  Hunibald  transferred  the  terror 
of  the  Germans  to  that  of  the  Franks,^  for  they  were 
called  Franci  because  they  were  feroces.^     We  do  have 

•  "Getuli  Getae  dicuntur  fuisse,  qui  ingenti  agmine  a  locis  suis  navibus 
conscendentes,  loca  Syrtium  in  Libya  occupaverunt,  et  quia  ex  Getis  vene- 
rant,  derivato  nomine  Getuli  cognominati  sunt.  Unde  et  opinio  est  apud 
Gothos  ab  antiqua  cognatione  Mauros  consanguinitate  propinquos  sibi 
vocare,"  IX.  2.  118. 

"  "De  lafeth  nati  sunt  Goti  et  Mauri,"  MGH.,  Auctor.  antiq.,  vol.  XI,  p. 
259. 

'  "Dicti  sunt  igitur  Franci,  qui  prius  ab  alijs,  Sicambri:  ab  alijs  dice- 
bantur,  foederis  ratione,  Germani,"  Johannis  Trithemii  Spanheimensis 
opera  historica,  Francofurti  1601,  p.  14. 

•  "Apud  Romanos,  Gallos  quoque  vel  alios  nationes  .  .  .  sive  ignoratione, 
sive  detestatione  vocabuli,  banc  gentem  Germanam  crebrius  appelauere 
quam  Francam,"  ibid. 

•  "Certum  est  enim,  quod  nomen  Francorum  non  scriptis,  sed  armis: 
non  amore,  sed  timore:  non  assumptione,  sed  subiectione  cognouere  Romani,' 
ibid. 

'  "Statuit  eos  iam  deinceps  non  Sicambros  vocari  debere,  sed  Francos, 
idest,  nobiles,  liberos,  vel  bellicosos,  et  caeteris  nationibus  metuendos," 
ibid.,  p.  69;  "unde  nimium  territae  nationes  in  circuitu  omnes  Francos, 
id  est,  feroces  eos  nominarunt,"  ibid. 


158    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

a  specific  reference  to  Hunibald,  from  which  it  may  be 
seen  that  he  certainly  had  the  etymology  for  Germani, 
for  Trithemius  says,  on  the  authority  of  Hunibald, 
that  the  foreign  nations  out  of  anger  called  the  Franks 
Germans.^  Now,  Isidore  of  Seville  offers  the  same 
etymology  for  the  Franks  as  given  by  Hunibald.^ 
As  neither  this  etymology  nor  the  other  adduced  by 
Isidore,  as  though  derived  from  their  leader,  Francus, 
is  found  in  Gregory  of  Tours,  and  for  the  first  time 
occurs  only  in  Fredegar's  Chronicle,  which,  as  is  shown 
later,  was  written  in  the  beginning  of  the  eighth  cen- 
tury, Isidore's  lemma  is  unquestionably  an  interpolation 
from  Hunibald.  Curiously  enough,  the  etymology  for 
Franci  —  feroces  was  in  the  twelfth  century  made  the 
subject  of  a  national  division  into  ''Franci  nohiles 
Francun,"  and  ''Franci  feroces  merovingi  karlingi."^ 

What  caused  the  Saxon  Antiquitas  to  transfer  irman 
"inmanis,  great"  to  the  column?  Caesar  spoke  of  the 
inmania  simulacra  put  up  by  the  Gauls,  and  this  was 
transferred  to  the  Germans.  This  would  sufficiently 
explain  the  origin  of  the  irminsul.     But  there  is  still 

a  contamination  here  with  the  Arab,  c^  hirm{un), 
dual    d^y>   hirmdn    "pyramid."     The    origin    of    the 

Arabic  word  is  clear,  for  the  pyramids  are  supposed 
to  have  been  built  by  Hermes  I.^  It  is  even  most 
likely  that  the  etymology  Germania-inmania  was  sug- 
gested only  through  the  intermediary  Arabic  word  for 
''pyramid,"  for  which  the  Kamus  gives  also  a  verbal 
meaning,  "to  exalt,  make  large." 

^  "Francos  (testante  Hunibaldo)  liuore  commoti,  non  alio  nominauere 
vocabulo,  quam  Germanos,"  ibid.,  p.  21. 

2  "Franci  a  quodam  proprio  duce  vocari  putantur.  Alii  eos  a  feritate 
morum  nuncupates  existimant.  Sunt  enim  in  illis  mores  inconditi,  naturalis 
ferocitas  animorum,"  IX.  2.  101. 

'  Steinmeyer  and  Sievers,  vol.  Ill,  p.  131. 

*  Ad-Damlrt's  Hay&t  al-Hayawdn,  trans,  by  A.  S.  G.  Jayakar,  London, 
Bombay  1906,  vol.  I,  p.  737;  Fihrist  {Zeitschrift  der  deutschen  morgenldn- 
dischen  Gesellschajt,  vol.  XIII,  p.  648),  etc. 


JORDANES  159 

Aethicus,  as  we  have  seen,  described  the  pyramid  on 
an  island  of  the  sea  and  finished  up  by  saying  that  they 
pasted  fire  together  with  water  and  called  the  structure 
in  their  language  morcholom.  The  mixing  of  fire  with 
water  leaves  no  doubt  whatsoever  behind  that  Aethicus 
is  describing  the  pyramid,  for  Aristotle  in  his  Hepc 
oupavou^  III.  4.  3,  4  and  III.  8.  4,  8  confused  the  fire 
with  the  pyramid.  It  is,  therefore,  obvious  that  in 
marcholo,  by  omitting  the  ending,  we  have  the  Arab. 
*i^VI  'alahrdm  '*the  pyramids,"  read  backwards.  This 
may  be  proved  by  documentary  evidence.  In  the  Life 
of  Saint  Lebuin,  written  by  Hucbald  in  the  tenth 
century,  the  Saxon  Irminsul  is  referred  to  as  Marklo, 
a  place  where  each  year  twelve  select  men  of  the 
Saxons  solemnly  met  to  consult  on  affairs  of  state.  ^ 
The  importance  of  this  confirmation  cannot  be  ex- 
aggerated. It  shows,  beyond  a  shadow  of  a  doubt, 
a  close  relation  between  Aethicus  and  the  Saxon  Anti- 
quitas,  and  between  both  of  them  and  an  Arabic  source, 
from  which  both  are  derived. 

The  writing  of  Harman  backwards,  which,  on  account 
of  the  ending  lo,  from  the  Arabic  article  aZ,  unquestion- 
ably proceeds  from  an  Arabic  source,  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  in  the  Parsi  writings  the  name  of  Ahriman, 
being  the  name  of  the  devil,  is  written  backwards.^ 
As  the  Parsi  writings  coincide  with  the  Arabic  rule 
of  the  country  where  the  Parsis  were  found,  we  at  once 
see  how  the  writing  backward,  to  avoid  the  evil  eye, 
ultimately  found  its  way  into  the  Germanic  tradition. 

Later  on  I  shall  show  how  the  forgery  known 
as  Tacitus'  Germania  was  written  in  the  eighth  century 

1  "Statute  quoque  tempore  anni  semel  ex  singulis  pagis,  atque  ex  iisdem 
ordinibus  tripartitis,  singillatim  viri  duodecim  electi,  et  in  unum  coUecti, 
in  media  Saxonia  secus  flumen  Wiseram,  et  locum  Marklo  nuncupatum, 
exercebant  generale  concilium,  tractantes,  sancientes  et  propalantes  com- 
munis commoda  utilitatis,  iuxta  placitum  a  se  statutae  legis,"  MGH., 
Scriptores,  vol.  II,  p.  361  f. 

*  F.  Justi,  Der  Bundehesh,  Leipzig  1868,  p.  79. 


160    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

and  was  based  on  a  work  of  Pseudo-Berosus,  itself  a 
forgery,  as  preserved  and  annotated  by  Annius  of 
Viterbo.  Here  I  shall  only  adduce  as  much  as  is 
necessary  to  prove  that  the  Arminius  story  in  Tacitus, 
Strabo,  and  other  writers  is  a  bold  forgery  of  not 
earlier  than  the  eighth  century.  According  to  Pseudo- 
Berosus,  Herminon,  a  savage  warrior,  ruled  among 
the  Tuiscones,^  and  a  little  later  we  find  Marsus,^ 
king  of  the  Tuiscones.  Thus  we  have  the  obvious 
correlation  of  Marsi  with  the  i/arman-king.  Histor- 
ically we  know  only  of  the  Italian  Marsi,  who  stood 
in  repute  for  their  magical  arts  and  waged  war  with 
the  Romans.  Hence  they  could  easily  be  coupled  with 
Julian-Harman,  who  was  aided  by  the  magician, 
Magnus.  It  is  only  Tacitus  and  Strabo  who  speak  of 
Germanic  Marsi.  In  the  Annales  of  Tacitus,  I.  56 
and  II.  25,  and  in  I.  50,  51  we  are  told  how  the  Roman 
soldiers  arrived  in  the  evening  in  the  villages  of  the 
unsuspecting  Marsi.  Caesar  divided  his  legions  into 
four  parts,  and  these  laid  waste  fifty  miles  of  territory. 
Neither  sex  nor  age  was  spared.  Their  dwellings  and 
sacred  things  and  that  famous  temple,  which  they 
called   Tamfanae,  were  razed  to  the  ground. 

This  story  is  identical  with  that  of  the  destruction 
of  the  Italian  Marsi,  as  told  in  the  Roman  historians 
and  retold  in  Orosius,  V.  18.  But  the  forger  of  the  An- 
nales got  his  account  of  the  destruction  of  the  temple 
from  Isidore: 

Isidore,  Etymologiae.  Tacitus. 

Marsi  gens  Italiae  dicta  a  comite  Profana  simul  et  sacra  et  cele- 

Liberi  Marsya,  qui  usum  illis  vitium  berrimum    illis    gentibus    templum 

ostendit;    et   ob   hoc   illi   statuam  quod  Tamfanae  vocabant,  solo  ae- 

fecerunt,  quam  postea  Romani  victis  quantur,  I.  51. 
Marsis  tulerunt,  IX.  2.  88. 

^  lohannis  Annius,  Antiquitatum  variarum  volumina.  XVII,  1512,  fol. 
CXXIX. 

*  Fol.  CXXXI. 


JORDANES  161 

"Quod  Tamfanae  vocabant"  can  be  nothing  else 
but  a  gloss  to  tern-plum,  "quod  tamen  fanum  vocabant," 
as,  indeed,  "templum"  is  frequently  glossed  by  "fa- 
num." Just  as  the  Romans  carried  off  the  statue  of 
Marsyas,  when  the  Italian  Marsi  were  destroyed,  so 
Caesar  destroyed  the  famous  temple  of  the  German 
Marsi. 

I  shall  now  show  how  the  Italian  Marsi  became  the 
German  Marsi.  In  Isidore  the  Marsi  are  mentioned 
after  the  Italian  tribes,  Romani,  Itali,  Tusci,  Umbri, 
and  just  before  the  Gothi,  Daci,  Bessi,  Gipedes, 
Sarmatae,  Alani,  Langobardi,  Vandali,  etc.  Those  who 
borrowed  their  material  from  Isidore  mistook  the 
Marsi  as  the  last  of  the  Italians  and  the  first  of  the 
Germans.  Hence  the  interpolation  in  Strabo,  that  the 
Romans  settled  some  tribes  in  Gaul,  while  some, 
xaddnep  Mapaoc,  like  the  Marsi,  penetrated  further 
into  the  German  territory.^  Similarly,  in  Orosius, 
which  is  itself  a  forgery,  the  Marsi  are  spoken  of  as 
having  been  killed  together  with  their  general,  Francus 
(for  which  most  manuscripts  read  Fraucus.Y  As  the 
account  in  Orosius  is  of  the  Italian  Marsi,  this  coupling 
with  a  general,  Francus,  shows  conclusively  that  the 
forger  of  Orosius,  confused  by  the  position  of  Marsi 
in  Isidore,  supplied  them  with  a  German  general,  who 
is  not  mentioned  anywhere  else.  As  Francus,  as  an 
eponymous  hero,  is  not  known  before  the  beginning 
of  the  eighth  century,  we  get  for  the  period  of  the 
interpolation,  as  we  have  already  found,  some  time 
in  the  eighth  century.^ 

This  correlation  of  the  Marsi  with  Arminius  in 
Tacitus,  which  is  identical  with  the  correlation  of 
Herminon  and  the  Marsi  in  Pseudo-Berosus,  if  nothing 

'  Strabo,  VII.  I.  3. 

*  "Decern  et  octo  milia  Mareorum  in  ea  pugna  ciun  Franco  imperatore 
suo  caesa  sunt,"  V.  18. 
'  See  p.  8  ff. 


162    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

else,  condemns  the  Annates  of  Tacitus,  in  the  form  in 
which  we  have  that  work,  as  a  bold  forgery,  and 
Strabo  as  greatly  interpolated.  But  we  proceed  to 
the  Arminius  story. 

The  interesting  work  by  Oldfather  and  Canter^ 
saves  us  the  trouble  of  wading  through  an  endless 
amount  of  trash  that  has  accumulated  in  literature 
and  history  on  Arminius.  I  shall  confine  myself 
chiefly  to  this  work.  In  chapter  II  we  have  an  account 
of  the  sources  in  which  the  Arminius  episode  is  given. 
First  comes  Dio  Cassius,  LVI.  18-23.  He  is  here  men- 
tioned as  **the  only  one  of  the  ancient  writers  who  has 
given  us  anything  like  a  connected  account  of  the 
catastrophe.'"^  I  have  already  shown  that  there  are 
many  interpolations  in  Dio  Cassius.  In  this  particular 
case,  where  there  are  references  to  the  Arminius 
incident  in  Dio  Cassius,  the  passages  are  absent  from 
Zonaras,  who  quotes  Dio  Cassius  as  closely  as  he  can. 
Here  again  we  come  across  the  remarkable  fact  that 
interpolated  passages  in  the  old  authors  were  not 
given  by  Zonaras,  obviously  because  he  did  not  find 
them  in  his  genuine  copies. 

Dio  Cassius.  Zonaras. 

Out'  oCv  xd  axQa.xzv\iax%  &aKe,Q         'O  8^  jaotevcfag  outs  tA  oxqoxzv- 
elxog  iiv   bt  JtoX,enXQt,    mnreixe,   xal      jiaxa  d)s  ^  jioXenXqi  mrvsixe  xol  fiX- 
cbi'   ooircwv  orujcvous  altoCca  xoig  d-      A.0U5  dA,^axoQ  ejrejute. 
6wdxoi5  wg  xal  im.  tpuXcotfi  XtOQicav 
Tivwv  ^  xod  A,xi<Jxo5v  (njA,^T|'»l>ecn  nw- 
QOJto^ai;  x^  xioi  xdav  ImxriSEicov  61- 
eSwjcev  t\oay  bk  oi  yLoXxxna.  ouvo- 
Hooavxes  xal   doxwol  xf]?  xe  Im- 
6ouA.fis   '>^ox  xou   nokiyiov  vevdn-evoi 
aXKoi  X8  jtal  'Aqutivios  xal  2t|yCh«- 
Qog,  ow6vx85  X8  aux(p  del  xal  owe- 
oxw&nevoi  JtoXX,dxig'  daQCJouvxog  o5v 
ovxou,  xal  [iiixe  xi  8Etv6v  nQoabz%o- 

HEvou,  xai  jtaoi  T015  x6  xe  yiyv6-  ©aoooOvxos  oCv  a^oC  xal  \vr\  xi 
fiEvov  un»xojtoii0i.,  etc.,  LVI.  19.  i.         8eiv6v  ujcojaEuovxo?,  X.  37. 

^  The  Defeat  of  Varus  and  the  German  Frontier  Policy  of  Augustus,  in  Uni- 
versity of  Illinois  Studies  in  the  Social  Sciences,  vol.  IV,  No.  2,  June  1915. 

« Ibid.,  p.  21. 


JORDANES  163 

This  leaves  Dio  Cassius  in  a  very  doubtful  position 
as  to  authenticity. 

The  second  source  is  Velleius  Paterculus.  Of  him 
our  authors  say:  "In  his  hasty  sketches  of  military 
campaigns  in  Germany  and  Pannonia,  full  of  blunders 
and  inconsistencies,  it  is  clear  that  he  is  but  little  con- 
cerned with  the  exact  establishment  of  facts.  With  no 
appreciation  of  the  internal  connection  of  things,  and  no 
ability  to  sift  evidence,  he  centers  his  interest  almost 
entirely  upon  individuals  for  purpose  of  praise  or  blame, 
and  excels  as  a  rhetorical  anecdotist,  and  as  a  delineator 
of  individual  actors.  His  inflated  style,  his  straining 
after  effect  by  hyperbole,  antithesis,  epigram,  and 
piquancies  of  all  kinds,  mark  the  degenerate  taste 
of  the  Silver  Age,  of  which  he  is  the  earliest  represen- 
tative. His  reflections  and  observations  generally 
outweigh  the  information  given.  Velleius'  training, 
the  occasion  of  his  composition,  the  attempt  to  satisfy 
the  taste  of  his  age,  all  make  him  a  source,  which, 
because  of  distortions  and  overemphasis,  cannot  be 
accepted  at  full  value.  "^  This  is  bad  enough.  No 
one,  so  far  as  I  know,  has  doubted  his  authenticity, 
but  all  we  know  of  Velleius  is  based  on  a  lost  copy, 
which  was  used  by  Beatus  Rhenanus  in  his  editio 
princeps,  published  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  No  one  before  him  ever  heard  of  Velleius  or 
mentioned  him,  except  once  more  Priscianus,  VI.  11, 
and  the  scholiast  of  Lucan,  IX.  178.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  of  the  existence  of  the  works  of  Velleius 
Paterculus  before  the  tenth  century,  but  we  have  no 
means  of  ascertaining  whether  there  were  not  any 
interpolations  made  after  the  story  of  Arminius  had 
found  vogue,  that  is,  in  or  after  the  eighth  century, 
especially  since  Velleius  is  written  in  an  atrocious 
Latinity. 

» Ibid.,  p.  23. 


164    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

The  next  author  is  Florus,  who  is  supposed  to  have 
written  in  the  middle  of  the  second  century.  Here,  at 
least,  we  have  an  author  who  was  well  known  in  the 
Middle  Ages.  He  was  excerpted  by  Orosius  and 
Jordanes,  but  as  these  works  were  written  in  the 
eighth  century,  we  do  not  know  of  the  condition  of 
the  original  work  at  that  time.  In  the  manuscripts 
which  have  come  down  to  us  numerous  interpolations 
have  been  observed.^  Arminius  is  barely  mentioned 
by  name  (IV.  12.  32),  and  so  does  not  affect  the 
Arminius  story  at  large. 

We  are  thus  left  almost  entirely  to  Tacitus  and  Strabo, 
contradictory  as  they  are  on  the  point  as  to  the  Ar- 
minius story.  According  to  Strabo,^  the  wife  of  Arminius 
is  called  Thusnelda,  and  his  son,  Thumelicus.  Thus- 
nelda  is  the  sister  of  Segimuntus,  who  is  the  son  of 
Segestes.  Of  course,  Thusnelda  is  nothing  but  Sunil- 
da,  of  the  Hermanric  myth,  and  in  form  is  even  nearer 
to  Syr.  \^^^\  Astina,  read,  no  doubt,  in  Arabic  as 
Atusnel,  because  the  final  a  in  the  Syriac  word  is 
easily  confused  with  an  I;  while  Thumelicus,  obviously 
a  non- Germanic  word,  is  nothing  but  r?u/i«A«oc,  from 
-dofiibj  "a  place  where  the  sacrifice  is  brought,"  that 
is,  d^ufisXcxoi;  is  here  used  in  the  sense  of  "the  boy  who 
is  sacrificed  on  the  altar,"  precisely  as  the  child  of 
the  magician's  maidservant  is  sacrificed. 

According  to  Tacitus,  the  story  of  Arminius  is  more 
elaborate.^  "In  the  consulship  of  Drusus  Caesar  and 
Caius  Norbanus,  a  triumph  was  decreed  to  German- 
icus,  though  the  war  was  not  yet  brought  to  a  con- 
clusion. The  prince  had  concerted  his  plan  of  opera- 
tions for  the  ensuing  summer;  but  he  thought  proper, 
early  in  the  spring,  to  open  the  campaign,  by  a  sudden 

^  O.  Rossbach,  L.  Annaei  Flori  Epitomae  Libri  II,  Lipsiae  1896,  p.  XXXVI. 
« VII.  1.  4, 

3 1  shall  quote  from  A.  Murphy,  The  Works  of  Cornelius  Tacitus,  London 
1811,  vol.  I. 


JORDANES  165 

irruption  into  the  territories  of  the  Cattians;  a  people 
distracted  among  themselves  by  the  opposite  factions 
of  Arminius  and  Segestes;  the  former  famous  for  his 
treachery  to  the  Romans,  and  the  latter  for  unshaken 
fidelity.  Arminius  was  the  common  disturber  of 
Germany;  Segestes,  on  the  other  hand,  had  given 
repeated  proofs  of  his  pacific  temper.  When  measures 
were  taken  for  a  general  insurrection,  he  discovered 
the  conspiracy;  and  during  the  banquet  which  pre- 
ceded the  massacre  of  Varus,  he  proposed  that  he  him- 
self, Arminius,  and  other  chiefs,  should  be  seized,  and 
loaded  with  irons.  By  that  vigorous  measure  he  was 
sure  that  the  minds  of  the  common  people  would  be 
depressed  with  fear;  and,  having  lost  their  chiefs, 
none  would  dare  to  rise  in  arms.  The  general,  of 
course,  would  have  leisure  to  discriminate  the  innocent 
from  the  guilty.  But  Varus  was  fated  to  perish,  and 
Arminius  struck  the  blow.  In  the  present  juncture, 
Segestes  was  compelled  by  the  ardour  of  his  country- 
men to  take  up  arms.  He  still  however  retained  his 
former  sentiments.  He  had,  besides,  motives  of  a 
private  nature:  his  daughter,  whom  he  had  promised 
in  marriage  to  another  chief,  was  ravished  from  him 
by  Arminius.  The  father  and  the  son-in-law  were  by 
consequence  inveterate  enemies;  and  that  connection, 
which  between  persons  mutually  well  inclined  forms 
the  tenderest  friendship,  served  only  to  inflame  the 
animosity  of  the  two  contending  chiefs."^ 

"Germanicus,  in  a  short  time  afterwards,  received 
a  message  from  Segestes,  imploring  protection  from 
the  fury  of  his  countrymen,  who  held  him  closely 
besieged.  Arminius  had  been  the  adviser  of  the  war, 
and  was  by  consequence  the  idol  of  the  people.  In  a 
nation  of  savages,  the  man  of  fierce  and  turbulent 
spirit  is  sure,  in  times  of  commotion,  to  be  the  leading 

» I.  55. 


166    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

demagogue.  Among  the  deputies  sent  to  Germanicus, 
was  Segimund,  the  son  of  Segestes;  a  young  man  who, 
in  the  year  famous  for  the  revolt  of  Germany,  was 
made  by  the  Romans  a  priest  of  the  Ubian  altar;  but 
soon  after,  fired  by  the  zeal  that  roused  his  whole 
nation,  he  tore  off  his  sacred  vestments,  and  went  over 
to  his  countrymen.  Conscious  of  this  offence,  he 
hesitated  for  some  time,  willing  to  decline  the  embassy; 
till  at  length,  encouraged  by  the  fame  of  Roman 
clemency,  he  obeyed  his  father's  orders.  He  met  with 
a  gracious  reception;  and,  under  a  proper  guard,  was 
conducted  in  safety  to  the  frontiers  of  Gaul.  German- 
icus thought  it  of  moment  to  change  his  purpose, 
and  march  back  to  the  relief  of  Segestes.  He  no  sooner 
appeared  before  the  place,  than  the  enemy  was  attacked 
and  put  to  rout.  Segestes  was  set  at  liberty,  and 
with  him  a  numerous  train  of  relatives  and  faithful 
followers;  several  women  of  noble  birth;  and,  in  the 
number,  the  daughter  of  Segestes,  then  married  to 
Arminius.  In  her  deportment  no  trace  appeared  of 
her  father's  character:  she  breathed  the  spirit  of  her 
husband.  Not  a  tear  was  seen  to  start;  no  suppli- 
cating tone  was  heard;  she  stood  in  pensive  silence; 
her  hands  strained  close  to  her  bosom,  and  her  eyes 
fixed  upon  her  womb,  then  pregnant  with  the  fruit 
of  her  marriage.  At  the  same  time  was  brought  forth 
a  load  of  spoils,  which,  in  the  slaughter  of  Varus  and 
his  legions,  fell  to  the  share  of  those  who  now  sur- 
rendered to  the  Roman  arms.  What  chiefly  attracted 
every  eye,  was  Segestes  himself,  his  stature  of  superior 
size,  his  countenance  that  of  a  man  who  knew  neither 
guilt  nor  fear.  He  spoke  to  this  effect:  *It  is  not  now 
the  first  time  that  Segestes  has  given  proofs  of  his 
attachment  to  the  cause  of  Rome.  From  the  moment 
when  I  was  enrolled  a  citizen  by  the  deified  Augustus, 
your  interest  has  been  the  rule  of  my  conduct.    Your 


JORDANES  167 

friends  I  embraced;  your  enemies  were  mine.  In 
acting  thus,  I  have  not  been  guilty  of  treason  to  my 
country.  A  traitor  I  know  is  odious  even  to  those  who 
profit  by  the  treason.  I  have  been  your  friend,  be- 
cause I  thought  the  interests  of  Germany  and  Rome 
were  interwoven  with  each  other;  I  have  been  your 
friend,  because  I  preferred  peace  to  war.  Governed 
by  these  principles,  I  addressed  myself  to  Varus,  who 
commanded  your  armies;  before  his  tribunal,  I  ex- 
hibited an  accusation  against  Arminius,  the  ravisher 
of  my  daughter,  and  the  violator  of  public  treaties. 
But  sloth  and  irresolution  were  the  bane  of  that  un- 
fortunate general.  From  laws  enfeebled  and  relaxed 
I  expected  no  relief.  I  therefore  desired,  earnestly 
desired,  that  Arminius,  and  the  other  chiefs  of  the 
conspiracy,  might  be  thrown  into  irons.  I  did  not 
except  myself.  With  what  zeal  I  pressed  the  measure, 
witness  that  fatal  night  which  I  wish  had  been  my 
last.  The  horrors  that  followed,  demand  our  tears: 
they  cannot  be  justified.  Soon  after  that  tragic  event, 
I  confined  Arminius  in  chains;  and  from  his  faction  I 
have  suffered,  in  my  turn,  the  same  indignity.  Ad- 
mitted now  to  an  interview  with  Germanicus,  I  prefer 
ancient  friendship  to  new  connections;  my  voice  is 
still  for  peace.  For  myself,  I  have  nothing  in  view; 
my  honour  is  dear  to  me,  and  I  desire  to  repel  all 
suspicion  of  perfidy.  I  would,  if  possible,  make  terms 
for  my  countrymen,  if  they  can  be  induced  to  prefer 
a  well-timed  repentance  to  calamity  and  ruin.  For 
my  son,  and  the  errors  of  his  youth,  I  am  an  humble 
supplicant.  My  daughter,  indeed,  appears  before  you 
by  necessity,  not  by  her  own  choice:  I  acknowledge 
it.  It  is  yours  to  decide  her  fate:  it  is  yours  to  judge 
which  ought  to  have  most  influence,  her  husband,  or 
her  father:  she  is  with  child  by  Arminius,  and  she 
sprung  from  me.'     Germanicus,  in  his  usual  style  of 


168    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

moderation,  assured  him  that  his  children  and  relations 
should  be  protected;  as  to  himself,  he  might  depend 
upon  a  safe  retreat  in  one  of  the  old  provinces.  He 
then  marched  back  to  the  Rhine;  and  there,  by  the 
direction  of  Tiberius,  was  honored  with  the  title  of 
Imperator.  The  wife  of  Arminius  was  delivered  of  a 
boy,  who  was  reared  and  educated  at  Ravenna.  The 
disasters  which  made  him  afterwards  the  sport  of  for- 
tune, shall  be  related  in  their  proper  place.  The  sur- 
render of  Segestes,  and  his  gracious  reception  from 
Germanicus,  being  in  a  short  time  spread  throughout 
Germany,  the  feelings  of  men  were  various,  as  their 
inclinations  happened  to  be  for  peace  or  war.  Arminius, 
by  nature  fierce  and  enterprising,  seeing,  in  this 
juncture,  his  wife  forever  lost,  and  the  child  in  her 
womb  a  slave  before  its  birth,  felt  himself  inflamed 
with  tenfold  fury.  He  flew  round  the  country  of  the 
Cheruscans,  spreading  the  flame  of  discord,  and  in 
every  quarter  rousing  the  people  to  revenge;  he 
called  aloud  to  arms,  to  arms  against  Segestes,  to 
arms  against  the  Romans.  He  spared  no  topic  that 
could  inflame  resentment.  'Behold,'  he  cried, 
'behold  in  Segestes  the  true  character  of  a  father!  in 
Germanicus  an  accomplished  general!  In  the  exploits 
of  the  Roman  army,  the  glory  of  a  warlike  nation! 
with  mighty  numbers  they  have  led  a  woman  into 
captivity.  It  was  not  in  this  manner  that  Arminius 
dealt  with  them:  three  legions,  and  as  many  com- 
manders, fell  a  sacriflce  to  my  revenge.  To  the  arts 
of  traitors  I  am  a  stranger;  I  wage  no  war  with  women 
big  with  child.  My  enemies  are  worthy  of  a  soldier; 
I  declare  open  hostility,  and  sword  in  hand  I  meet 
them  in  the  field  of  battle.  Survey  your  religious 
groves:  the  Roman  banners  by  me  hung  up,  and 
dedicated  to  the  gods  of  our  country,  are  there  dis- 
played;  they  are  the  trophies  of  victory.    Let  Segestes 


JORDANES  169 

fly  for  shelter  to  the  Roman  provinces;  let  him  enjoy 
his  bank  on  the  side  of  Gaul ;  and  let  him  there  meanly 
crouch  to  make  his  son  the  priest  of  a  foreign  altar. 
Posterity  will  have  reason  to  curse  his  memory;  future 
ages  will  detest  the  man,  whose  crime  it  is,  that  we 
have  seen,  between  the  Rhine  and  the  Elbe,  rods  and 
axes,  the  Roman  habit,  and  the  Roman  arms.  To 
other  nations,  punishments  and  taxes  are  yet  unknown; 
they  are  happy,  for  they  are  ignorant  of  the  Romans. 
We  have  bravely  thrown  off  the  yoke;  we  are  free 
from  burthens:  and  since  Augustus  was  obliged  to 
retreat,  that  very  Augustus  whom  his  countrymen 
have  made  a  god;  and  since  Tiberius,  that  upstart 
emperor,  keeps  aloof  from  Germany,  shall  we,  who 
have  dared  nobly  for  our  liberties,  shrink  from  a  boy 
void  of  experience,  and  an  army  ruined  by  their  own 
divisions?  If  your  country  is  dear  to  you,  if  the  glory 
of  your  ancestors  is  near  your  hearts,  if  liberty  is  of 
any  value,  if  the  enjoyment  of  your  natural  rights  is 
preferable  to  new  masters  and  foreign  colonies,  follow 
Arminius.  I  will  marshal  you  the  way  to  glory  and 
to  freedom.  Segestes  has  nothing  in  store  but  infamy, 
chains,  and  bondage.'"^ 

Then  we  have  the  altercation  between  Arminius  and 
his  brother.  "  The  Visurgis  flowed  between  the  Romans 
and  Cheruscans.  On  the  opposite  bank  Arminius 
presented  himself.  He  was  attended  by  the  principal 
German  chiefs.  His  business  was  to  know  whether 
Germanicus  was  with  the  army;  being  answered  in 
the  affirmative,  he  desired  an  interview  with  his 
brother,  known  to  the  Romans  by  the  name  of  Flavius; 
a  man  of  strict  fidelity,  who  some  years  before,  under 
the  conduct  of  Tiberius,  lost  an  eye  in  battle.  The 
meeting  was  permitted.  Flavius  advanced  to  the 
margin   of   the  river.     Arminius,   from   the   opposite 

1 1.  57-59. 


170    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

side,  saluted  him;  and  having  ordered  his  guards  to 
fall  back,  required  that  the  Roman  archers  should 
withdraw  in  like  manner.  The  two  brothers  being 
left  to  themselves,  Arminius  fixed  his  eyes  on  Flavins; 
and.  Whence,  he  said,  that  deformity  of  feature?  He 
was  told  the  battle  and  the  place  where  it  happened. 
And  what,  continued  Arminius,  has  been  your  recom- 
pence?  I  have  received,  said  Flavins,  an  augmentation 
of  pay,  a  military  chain,  an  ornamental  crown,  and 
other  honours.  Arminius  burst  into  a  laugh  of  scorn 
and  indignation.  'They  are  the  wages,'  he  said,  'of 
a  slave  cheaply  purchased.'  A  warm  altercation 
followed.  Flavins  talked  of  the  majesty  of  Rome,  the 
power  of  the  Caesars,  the  weight  with  which  their 
vengeance  falls  on  the  obstinate,  and  their  clemency 
to  the  nations  willing  to  submit.  He  added,  'Your 
wife  and  son  are  in  the  hands  of  Rome,  and  neither 
of  them  has  been  treated  like  a  captive.'  Arminius, 
on  the  contrary,  urged  the  rights  of  men  born  in 
freedom,  the  laws  of  his  country,  the  plan  of  ancient 
liberty,  and  the  gods  of  Germany.  'Your  mother,' 
he  said,  'joins  with  me  in  earnest  supplication:  we 
both  conjure  you  not  to  desert  your  family;  not  to 
betray  your  friends,  nor  prefer  the  detested  name  of 
traitor,  to  the  vast  renown  of  commanding  armies  in 
defence  of  your  country.'  By  degrees  their  passions 
rose  to  a  pitch  of  fury,  insomuch  that  the  river  could 
not  have  restrained  them  from  deciding  their  quarrel 
by  the  sword,  if  Stertinius  had  not  checked  the  im- 
petuosity of  Flavins,  who  stood  burning  with  resent- 
ment, and  calling  aloud  for  his  horse  and  his  arms. 
Arminius  behaved  with  equal  fury,  in  his  storm  of 
passion  denouncing  vengeance,  and  threatening  the 
issue  of  a  battle.  What  he  said  was  perfectly  under- 
stood. He  had  commanded  the  auxiliaries  of  his 
country,  acting  in  conjunction  with  the  legions,  and. 


JORDANES  171 

having  conversed  in  the  Roman  camp,  was  able  to 
interlard  his  discourse  with  Latin  expressions."^  We 
shall  not  follow  Arminius  through  his  warlike  vicissi- 
tudes. His  end  is  described  as  follows:  "Arminius, 
however,  did  not  long  survive.  The  Roman  army 
being  withdrawn  from  Germany,  and  Maroboduus 
ruined,  he  had  the  ambition  to  aim  at  the  sovereign 
power.  The  independent  spirit  of  his  countrymen 
declared  against  him.  A  civil  war  ensued.  Arminius 
fought  with  alternate  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  and  fell  at 
last  by  the  treachery  of  his  own  relations:  a  man  of 
warhke  genius,  and,  beyond  all  question,  the  deliverer 
of  Germany.  He  had  not,  like  the  kings  and  generals 
of  a  former  day,  the  infancy  of  Rome  to  cope  with:  he 
had  to  struggle  with  a  great  and  flourishing  empire;  he 
attacked  the  Romans  in  the  meridian  of  their  glory.  He 
stood  at  bay  for  a  number  of  years  with  equivocal  suc- 
cess; sometimes  victorious,  often  defeated,  but  in  the 
issue  of  the  war  still  unconquered.  He  died  at  the  age 
of  seven-and- thirty,  after  twelve  years  of  fame  and 
power.  In  the  rude  poetry  of  the  Barbarians,  his  name 
is  celebrated  to  this  hour;  unknown  indeed  to  the 
annalists  of  Greece,  who  embellish  nothing  but  their 
own  story.  Even  amongst  the  Romans,  the  character 
of  this  illustrious  chief  has  met  with  little  justice, 
absorbed  as  the  people  are  in  their  veneration  of 
antiquity,  while  to  the  virtue  of  their  own  times  they 
remain  insensible  and  incurious."^ 

The  relation  of  the  Arminius  story  in  Tacitus  to 
the  Syrian  Julian-Harman  romance  and  the  Persian 
Ahriman  cycle  is  perfectly  plain.  In  the  second  Syriac 
story  the  wronged  Eleuthera  is  the  daughter  of  Licinius, 
counterking  of  Rome,  and  sister  of  Constantine.  So, 
too,  Arminius  has  carried  off  a  woman,  who  is  the 
daughter  of  a  king  or  chief,  Segestes,  and  whose  brother, 

>  II.  9, 10.  » II.  88. 


172    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Segimund,  is  mentioned.  Lieinius  and  Constantine  are 
opposed  to  Julian  for  the  wrong  done  to  his  wife  or 
paramour,  and  so  Segestes  and  Segimund  are  opposed  to 
Arminius,  who  has  wronged  them  by  stealing  his  wife. 
The  son  of  Arminius,  in  Strabo  called  "the  one  who  is 
sacrificed  on  the  altar,"  is  like  the  son  of  the  maid- 
servant whom  Julian  sacrificed  on  the  altar.  But  in 
Tacitus  and  Strabo  the  horrible  practice  of  sacrificing 
unborn  children,  which  is  specifically  told  in  the  first 
Syriac  romance,^  is  mitigated  to  the  appearance  of 
Thusnelda  in  a  high  state  of  pregnancy  and  the  birth 
of  the  son  in  captivity,  to  be  educated  in  Ravenna. 

It  is  interesting  to  observe  that  the  account  in 
Tacitus  agrees,  even  in  small  details,  with  the  eastern 
story.  In  Tacitus,^  Arminius'  uncle,  Inguiomer,  joins 
his  conspiracy.  In  the  first  Syrian  romance,  it  is 
Julian's  uncle,  Julian,  who  carries  his  letter  to  the 
emperor  and  joins  him  in  revolt.^  The  altercation 
between  Arminius  and  his  brother.  Flavins,  who  serves 
the  Romans,  is  based  on  the  Persian  story  of  the  twin 
brothers,  Ormuzd  and  Ahriman,  in  their  mother's 
womb,  from  which  by  stratagem  Ahriman  came  forth 
first,  ever  afterwards  to  be  in  opposition  to  his  brother, 
Ormuzd.*  It  is  probably  no  accident  that  the  brother 
of  Arminius  is  called  Flavins,  for  Flavins  is  the  first 
name  of  Julian  himself,  who  is  no  other  than  Ahriman, 
Arminius.  Like  Ahriman,  Arminius  is  victorious  for 
a  long  time,  and  he  overcomes  the  Romans,  but  ulti- 
mately is  killed  by  one  of  his  relatives,  at  the  age  of 
thirty-seven  years,  while  Julian  was  killed  in  his 
thirty-third  year,  or,  according  to  the  Chronicon 
Paschale,  in  the  thirty-sixth  year  of  his  life. 

1  Zeitsehrift  der  deutschen  morgenldndischen  Gesellschaft,  vol.  XXVIII, 
p.  269. 

*  I.  60. 

»  Loc.  eit,  p.  269. 

*  J.  Darmesteter,  Ormazd  et  Ahriman,  Paris  1877,  p.  327. 


JORDANES  173 

Velleius  Paterculus  says  that  Arminius  was  the  son 
of  Sigimerus  and  that  he  had  served  in  the  Roman 
army,  where  he  had  risen  to  equestrian  rank.  Relying 
upon  his  power,  he  resolved  to  rebel  against  Rome, 
and  Varus  was  informed  of  the  fact  by  Segestes,  who 
remained  faithful  to  Rome.  Although  there  is  not 
much  left  here  of  the  Harman  romance,  we  none  the 
less  have  reminiscences  of  it,  for  Julian,  before  be- 
coming emperor,  according  to  history,  was  a  general 
in  the  army,  and  according  to  the  Syrian  romances, 
rebelled  against  Rome.  According  to  Dio  Cassius, 
too,  Arminius  is  coupled  with  Segimerus.  In  Strabo, 
Segimerus  is  the  father  of  Sesithacus.  The  brother  of 
Thusnelda  is  Segimundus.  In  Jordanes  the  brothers 
who  avenge  the  atrocity  upon  their  sister  are  Sarus 
and  Ammius.  In  all  these  we  have  unquestionably  a 
corruption  of  Arab,  v-^  r^  sahmgarh,  which  would 
have  been  written  Sahmgaru,  and  would  produce 
Segimerus,  who  is  associated  with  Arminius.  It  is  also 
likely  that  sahmun  **the  arrow,"  is  responsible  for 
Segimundus,  who  is  the  brother  of  Thusnelda.  In 
Tacitus  the  slayer  of  Arminius  is  not  named,  but  we 
are  told  distinctly  that  he  fell  by  the  treachery  of  his 
own  relations.  Thus  we  meet  in  the  Germanic  myths 
with  the  substitute  of  brother  or  relatives  for  the 
"unknown  arrow"  of  the  Syriac  and  Arabic  accounts. 

No  doubt  many  more  interesting  myths  may  be 
discovered  in  Jordanes.  In  the  meantime,  I  have 
given  enough  to  show  that  Jordanes  is  an  eighth  or  early 
ninth  century  forgery,  without  a  trace  of  historic 
background,  except  in  a  most  distant  way.  I  shall 
return  to  the  subject  at  some  future  time.  Now  that 
I  have  discovered  and  described  the  condition  of  the 
Gothic  Antiquitas,  from  which  Jordanes  drew  most  of 
his  stories,  I  shall  point  out  the  most  significant  results 
from  this  Arabico-Gothic  forgery. 


PSEUDO-BEROSUS. 

In  the  preceding  pages  I  have  shown  what  the  con- 
stitution of  the  Gothic  Antiquitas  must  have  been,  and 
how  it  was  composed  out  of  scraps  of  Dio  Chrysostom, 
Persian  mythology,  and  Syrian  romances,  many  of  these 
through  Arabic  sources.  The  influence  of  this  Antiquitas 
on  the  works  of  antiquity  has  been  enormous.  Nearly 
all  writings  which  dealt  with  reference  to  the  Goths 
were  in  the  eighth  century  "corrected"  in  the  light 
of  what  was  supposed  to  be  a  genuine  source  of  in- 
formation. I  have  barely  begun  to  trace  the  results  of 
that  baleful  school  of  "correctors,"  who  have  tampered 
with  genuine  works,  and  the  still  more  baleful  school 
of  forgers,  who,  on  the  basis  of  the  Antiquitas,  have 
created  havoc  in  history. 

In  the  following  pages  I  shall  trace  the  other  Ger- 
manic Antiquitates,  which  have  arisen  on  the  Gothic 
foundation  or  independently  of  it.  Fortunately,  we 
have  a  fairly  good  description  of  the  Frankish  Antiqui- 
tas, which  will  give  us  some  of  the  most  important  and 
most  startling  results.  The  only  Antiquitas  which  has 
come  down  to  us  in  the  original,  is  what  may  be 
denominated  as  the  Alamannian  Antiquitas,^  which  I 
shall  give  in  full,  as  it  will  furnish  us  with  an  example 
of  the  forgers'  work.  I  shall  confine  my  discussion  to 
such  parts  of  it  only  as  will  bear  on  the  proof  that 
Tacitus'  Germania  is  a  forgery. 

1  Johannis  Annius,  Antiquitatum  variarum  volumina.  XVII,  1512,  lib.  XV. 


PSEUDO-BEROSUS  175 

DEFLORATIO    BEROSI. 

Liber  I. 

1.  Ante  aquarum  cladem  famosam  qua  universus 
periit  orbis,  multa  praeterierunt  saecula,  quae  a  nostris 
Chaldaeis  fideliter  fuerunt  servata. 

2.  Scribunt  illis  temporibus  circa  Lybanum  fuisse 
Enos  urbem  maximam  gigantum,  qui  universe  orbi 
dominabantur,  ab  occasu  solis  ad  ortum.  Hi  vastitate 
corporis  ac  robore  confisi,  inventis  armis  omnes  oppri- 
mebant,  libidinique  inservientes,  invenerunt  papili- 
ones,  et  instrumenta  musica  et  omnes  delitias.  Man- 
ducabant  homines  et  procurabant  aborsus,  in  edulium- 
que  praeparabant,  et  commiscebantur  matribus,  fili- 
abus,  sororibus,  et  masculis,  brutis,  et  nihil  erat  sceleris 
quod  non  admitterent,  contemptores  religionis  et 
deorum. 

3.  Tum  multi  praedicabant  et  vaticinabantur,  et 
lapidibus  excidebant,  de  ea  quae  ventura  erat  orbis 
perditione,  sed  enim  illi  assueti  corridebant  omnia, 
caelestium  illos  ira  atque  ultione  perurgente  pro 
impietate  atque  sceleribus. 

4.  Unus  inter  gigantes  erat,  qui  deorum  veneratior 
et  prudentior  cunetis,  reliquus  ex  probis  erat  in  Syria. 
Huic  nomen  erat  Noa,  cum  tribus  filiis,  Samo,  lapeto, 
Chem  et  uxoribus  Tytea  magna,  Pandora,  Noela,  et 
Noegla,  is  timens  quam  ex  astris  futuram  prospectabat 
cladem,  anno  .Ixxviii,  ante  inundationem,  navim  instar 
arcae  coopertam  fabricari  coepit.  Anno  septuagesimo 
octavo  ab  inchoata  navi,  ex  improviso  exundavit 
oceanus  et  omnia  maria  mediterranea.  Fluminaque 
ac  fontes  ab  imo  ebullientes  inundaverunt  supra  omnes 
montes  accedentibus,  atque  impetuosissime  et  supra 
naturam  e  coelo  copiosissimis  hymbribus  multis  diebus 
corruentibus.  Ita  omne  humanum  genus  aquis  suffo- 
catum,  excepto  Noa  cum  familia  sua  quae  navi  erepta 


176    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

est.  Nam  elevata  ab  aquis  in  Gordiei  montis  vertiee 
quievit,  cuius  adhuc  dicitur  aliqua  pars  esse,  et  homines 
ex  ilia  bitumen  toUere,  quo  maxime  utuntur  ad  expi- 
ationem. 

5.  Ab  hoc  igitur  anno  salutis  humanae  ab  aquis 
primordio  sumpto,  nostri  maiores  innumeros  scrip- 
serunt.  Nos  vero  taediosum  illorum  sermonem  ab- 
breviaturi  referemus  origines  et  tempora,  et  reges 
eorum  dumtaxat  regnorum,  quae  nunc  magna  habentur. 
In  Asia  quidem  nostrum  omnium  celsissimum  Baby- 
lonicum,  in  Aphrica  Aegyptium  et  Libycum,  quae 
unum  primo  fuerunt,  et  sub  uno  narrabimus.  Pos- 
tremo  in  Europa  quatuor  nostri  enumerant.  Celti- 
berum,  Celtae,  Kytim,  quod  illae  gentes  Italicum 
appellant,  et  Tuysconum  quod  a  Rheno  fluvio  per 
Sarmatas  in  Pontum  finit.  Addunt  quidam  etiam 
quintum  dictum  lonicum. 

Liber  II. 

1.  Necesse  est  igitur  nos  ex  praemissis  confiteri,  quod 
et  Chaldaei  et  Scythae  scribunt,  siccato  ab  aquis  orbe 
non  fuisse  nisi  dictos  octo  homines  in  Armenia  Saga, 
et  ab  his  omne  hominum  genus  in  terris  seminatum, 
atque  ob  id  Scythas  recte  dicere  et  appellare  Noam 
omnium  deorum  maiorum  et  minorum  patrem,  et 
humanae  gentis  auctorem,  et  chaos  et  semen  mundi. 
Tyteam  vero  Aretiam,  id  est,  terram  in  quam  semen 
chaos  posuit,  et  ex  qua  tamquam  ex  terra  cuncti 
prodierunt. 

2.  Praeter  vero  tres  primores  filios,  Noa  post 
diluvium  gigantes  pluresque  filios  genuit.  Quare  ad 
abbreviandum  plurimum  conferet  si  omnium  poste- 
ritates  figurabimus,  ab  ipso  Noa  sumpto  exordio, 
deinde  sigillatim  a  caeteris.  Primum  itaque  dixerunt 
Ogygisan  Sagam,  id  est  illustrem  sacrorum  ponti- 
ficem  Noam  Dysir. 


PSEUDO-BEROSUS  177 

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178    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

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180    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 


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PSEUDO-BEROSUS  181 


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182    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Liber  III. 

1.  Has  igitur  principum  atque  Heroum  origines 
atque  posteritates  abbreviamus  ex  nostris  Chaldaeis 
atque  Scythicis  libris,  quoad  satis  sit.  Nam  et  multos 
alios  memoriae  mandant,  quos  quia  vel  nihil  ad  nos- 
tram  intentam  accurtationem  aut  parum  offerunt,  ob 
id  dimittimus,  resumpturi  illos  ubi  opus  fuerit. 

2.  Quo  pacto  exinanitus  orbis  fuerit  coloniis  et 
hominibus  oppletur  dicendum  est.  Exsiccata  humo  et 
torrefacta  terra,  Noa  cum  familia  de  monte  Gordieo, 
ut  par  erat,  deseendit  in  subiacentem  planitiem  plenam 
cadaverum,  quam  usque  ad  banc  aetatem  appellant 
Myri  Adam,  id  est,  evisceratorum  hominum,  et  in- 
scripsit  in  lapide  in  monumentum  rem  gestam,  et 
vocant  incolae  locum,  egressorium  Noae.  Congressi 
vero  coniugibus,  perpetuo  geminos  edebant  marem  et 
foeminam,  qui  adulti  et  coniuges  effecti  et  ipsi  binos 
partu  liberos  semper  edebant.  Neque  enim  unquam 
Deus  vel  natura  defuit  rerum  necessitati  quae  ad 
universi  orbis  spectat  opulentiam.  Eo  pacto  brevi  in 
immensum  adaucto  humano  genere,  omnique  Armenia 
completa,  opus  erat  eos  inde  recedere,  atque  novas 
sibi  sedes  conquirere. 

3.  Tunc  senissimus  omnium  pater  Noa,  iam  antea 
edoctos  theologiam  et  sacros  ritus,  coepit  etiam  eos 
erudire  humanam  sapientiam.  Et  quidem  multa 
naturalium  rerum  secreta  mandavit  Uteris,  quae  solis 
sacerdotibus  Scythae  Armeni  commendant.  Neque 
enim  fas  est  ilia,  ulli  inspicere  aut  legere  vel  docere 
quam  solis  sacerdotibus,  et  inter  sacerdotes  dumtaxat, 
sicut  et  quos  rituales  libros  reliquit,  ex  quibus  illis 
primum  Saga  nomen  fuit  inditum,  id  est,  sacerdos  et 
sacrificulus  et  pontifex. 

4.  Docuit  item  illos  astrorum  cursus  et  distinxit 
annum   ad   cursum   solis   et   .xii.   menses   ad   motum 


PSEUDO-BEROSUS  183 

lunae,  qua  scientia  praedieebat  illis  ab  initio  quid  in 
anno  et  cardinibus  eius  futurum  contingeret,  ob  quae 
ilium  existimaverunt  divinae  naturae  esse  participem, 
ac  propterea  ilium  Olybama  et  Arsa,  id  est,  caelum  et 
solem  cognominaverunt,  et  illi  plures  civitates  de- 
dicaverunt.  Nam  et  ad  haec  tempora  Scythae  Armeni 
urbes  habent  Olybama  et  Arsa,  Ratha,  et  eiuscemodi. 
Cumque  ivisset  ad  regendum  Kitim,  quam  nunc 
Italiam  nominant,  desiderium  sui  reliquit  Armenis, 
ac  propterea  post  mortem  ilium  arbitrati  sunt  in 
animam  coelestium  corporum  tralatum,  et  illi  divinos 
honores  impenderunt.  Et  ob  id  solum  haec  duo  regna 
Armenum  quidem,  quia  ibi  coepit:  Italicum  vero, 
quia  ibi  finivit  et  docuit  et  regnavit,  naturaliumque 
atque  divinorum  quae  eos  erudivit  libros  plenissime 
illis  conscriptos  reliquit,  ilium  venerantur  simulque 
cognominant  coelum,  solem,  chaos,  semen  mundi, 
patremque  deorum  maiorum  et  minorum,  animam 
mundi  moventem  coelos,  et  mixta  vegetabiliaque  et 
animaHa  et  hominem,  Deum  pacis,  iustitiae,  sancti- 
moniae,  expellentem  noxia  et  custodientem  bona.  Et 
ob  hoc  ilium  utraeque  gentes  signant  in  scriptis  cursu 
solis  et  motu  lunae,  et  sceptro  dominii  quo  malos  et 
noxios  expellebat  a  coetu  hominum,  et  castimonia 
corporis  et  sanctimonia  animi,  duabus  clavibus  reli- 
gionis  et  felicitatis.  Neque  minus  Tytheam  quae 
mater  omnium  erat,  Aretiam,  id  est,  terram  vocabant, 
et  Estam,  id  est,  ignem  post  mortem  cognominaverunt, 
quia  ipsa  regina  sacrorum  fuerat,  et  puellas  docuerat 
sempiternum  ignem  sacrorum  inextinctum  servare. 
Caeterum  Noa  antequam  discederet  ab  Armenia 
docuit  illos  simplicem  agriculturam,  magis  curans 
religionem  et  mores  quam  opulentiam  et  delitias  quae 
ad  illicita  et  libidines  provocant,  et  caelestium  iram 
nuper  induxerant.  Primus  tamen  omnium  invenit 
vites  atque  plantavit  et  vinum  conficere  docuit,  cuius 


184    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

vim  inexpertus  et  vaporem  ebrius  efPectus  minus  pudice 
in  terram  cecidit.  Erat  illi,  ut  diximus,  filius  ex 
tribus  primis  adolescentior  Chem,  qui  semper  magicae 
et  veneficae  studens,  Zoroast  nomen  consequutus  erat. 
Is  patrem  Noam  odio  habebat,quia  alios  ultimo  genitos 
ardentius  amabat,  se  vero  despici  videbat.  Potissime 
vero  idem  infensus  erat  patri  ob  vitia.  Itaque  nactus 
opportunitatem  cum  Noa  pater  madidus  iaceret,  illius 
virilia  comprehendens  taciteque  submurmurans,  car- 
mine magico  patri  illusit,  simul  et  ilium  sterilem 
perinde  atque  castratum  effecit,  neque  deinceps  Noa 
foemellam  aliquam  foecundare  potuit.  Ob  beneficium 
inventae  vitis  et  vini  dignatus  est  cognomento  lano, 
quod  Arameis  sonat  vitifer  et  vinifer.  At  vero  Chem 
cum  publice  corrumperet  mortale  genus,  asserens  et 
re  ipsa  exequens  congrediendum  esse  ut  ante  inun- 
dationem,  cum  matribus,  sororibus,  filiabus,  mascu- 
lis,  brutis  et  quovis  alio  genere,  ob  hoc  eiectus  a  lano 
piissimo  et  castimonia  atque  pudicitia  refertissimo, 
sortitus  est  cognomentum  Chem  esenua,  id  est  Chem 
infamis  et  impudicus,  incubus,  propagator.  Est  enim 
Esen  apud  Scythas  Arameos  infamis  et  impudicus. 
Enua  vero  tum  impudicus,  tum  propagator.  Eum 
inter  homines  huius  dogmatis  sequuti  fuerunt  Aegyptii, 
qui  sibi  ilium  suum  Saturnum  inter  deos  adolescentio- 
rem  fecerunt,  e«t  civitatem  illi  posuerunt  dictam  Chem 
Myn,  a  qua  ad  hanc  aetatem  omnes  cives  illius  ap- 
pellamus  Chemmenitas.  Verum  posteri  hoc  vitiosum 
dogma  neglexerunt,  retento  quod  fuit  primi  moris, 
ut  inter  fratres  et  sorores  coniugium  iniri  posset. 

Liber  IV. 

1 .  Multiplicatum  est  in  immensum  genus  humanum, 
et  ad  comparandas  novas  sedes  necessitas  compellebat. 
Tum  lanus  pater  adhortatus  est  homines  principes  ad 
quaerendas  novas  sedes  et  communem  coetum  inter 


PSEUDO-BEROSUS  185 

homines  agendum,  et  aedificandas  urbes.  Designavit 
itaque  illas  tres  partes  orbis  Asiam,  Aphricam  et  Euro- 
pam,  ut  ante  diluvium  viderat.  Singulis  autem  his 
principibus  singulas  partes  ad  quas  irent  partitus, 
ipse  per  totum  orbem  colonias  se  traducturum  pollicitus 
est. 

2.  Itaque  Nymbrotum  creavit  Babyloniae  Saturnum 
primum,  ut  ibi  primum  aedificaret  cum  coloniis  suis. 
Quare  Nymbrotus  assumpto  filio  love  Belo  cum 
coloniis  furatus  est  rituales  lovis  Sagi,  et  cum  populo 
venit  in  campum  Sennaar,  ubi  designavit  urbem  et 
fundavit  maximam  turrim,  anno  salutis  ab  aquis 
centesimo  trigesimoprimo,  regnavitque  annis  .Ivi.  et 
deduxit  turrim  ad  altitudinem  et  magnitudinem  mon- 
tium,  in  signum  atque  monumentum,  quod  primus  in 
orbe  terrarum  est  populus  Babylonicus,  et  regnum 
regnorum  dici  debet.  Ergo  ab  eo  exordiemur,  et  per 
ipsum  mensurabimus  omnia  regna  et  eorum  reges  ac 
tempora,  abbreviando  ilia  in  hunc  modum. 

3.  Anno  .cxxxi.  a  salute  ab  aquis  prima  omnium 
gentium  et  civitatum,  fundata  est  a  Saturno  Baby- 
lonico  nostro  urbs  et  gens  nostra  Babilonica,  multipli- 
cataque  est  nimis  numero  posteritatis,  magisque  stu- 
duit  paci  et  religioni  Saturnus  deorum,  quam  opulentiis. 
Et  turrim  quidem  aedificavit,  sed  non  complevit,  nee 
designatam  urbem  fundavit,  quia  post  quinquaginta- 
sex  annos  subito  non  comparuit  translatus  a  diis. 

4.  Ab  exordio  huius,  lanus  pater  misit  in  Aegyptum 
cum  coloniis  Chemesenuum,  in  Lybiam  vero  et  Cyrenem, 
Tritonem,  et  in  totam  reliquam  Aphricam  lapetum 
priscum  Atalaa.  In  Asiam  orientalem  misit  Gangem 
cum  aliquot  ex  filiis  Comeri  Galli.  In  Arabiam  Felicem 
Sabum  cognomine  Thuriferum.  Arabum  praefecit  Ara- 
biae  desertae,  et  Petreium,  Petreiae.  Canam  posuit 
a  Damasco  usque  in  extima  Palaestinae.  In  Europa 
regem  Sarmatiae  fecit  Tuysconem  a  Tanai  ad  Rhenum, 


186    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

iunctique  sunt  illi  omnes  filii  Istri  et  Mesae  cum 
fratribus  suis  ab  Adula  monte  usque  in  Mesembericam 
Ponticam.  Sub  his  tenuerunt  Tyras,  Arcadius,  Emath- 
ius.  Italiam  tenuit  Comerus  Gallus.  Samotes  pos- 
sedit  Celtas,  et  lubal  occupavit  Celtiberos. 

5.  Hi  sunt  qui  egressi  sunt  post  Nymbrotum,  singuli 
cum  familiis  et  coloniis  suis,  relinquentes  nomina  sua 
locis  in  signum  expeditionis  a  lano  patre  commissae, 
et  ad  monumentum  posteris  ut  scirent  quis  eorum 
fuerit  conditor.  Hi  iuxta  mandatum  lani  coloniis 
turri  constructa  pro  metropoli,  ipsi  in  veiis  et  cavernis 
casas  habebant.  Solus  noster  Saturnus  idcirco  ex- 
cessit  mandatum,  quia  urbem  urbium  et  regnum 
regnorum  voluit  esse  Babyloniam.  Rursus  his  tem- 
poribus  lanus  cum  omnes  in  colonias  missi  abivissent, 
eos  qui  remanserant  bipartitus  est.  Nam  secum  reti- 
nuit  filios  plurimos,  quos  post  salutem  ab  aquis  genuit, 
et  item  maximam  gentium  multitudinem  quum  secum 
in  colonias  conducturus  erat.  Scytha  cum  matre  sua 
Araxa  et  aliquot  coloniis  qui  Armeniam  incolerent,  rex 
primus  relictus  est  constituto  summo  pontifice  Sab- 
batio  Saga  ab  Armenia  usque  in  Bactrianos:  quae 
longitudo  a  nobis  ad  hanc  aetatem  vocatur  Scythia 
Saga.  Postremus  omnium  ipse  lanus  ab  Armenia  per 
orbem  colonias  seminaturus,  egressus  est.  Haec  nostri 
maiores  multis  libris  tradiderunt.  Nunc  de  temporibus 
eorum  ac  posteritatibus  dicemus,  iuxta  id  quod  in 
nostra  Chaldaica  et  primordiali  Scythica  historia  fideli 
memoria  conservatum  est. 

Liber  V. 

1.  Ut  supra  diximus,  anno  a  salute  humani  generis 
ab  aquis  centesimo  trigesimoprimo,  coepit  regnum 
Babylonicum,  sub  nostro  Saturno,  patre  lovis  Beli: 
qui  imperavit  annis  .Ivi.  Anno  huius  decimo  Comerus 
Gallus  posuit  colonias  suas  in  regno,  quod  post  Italia 


PSEUDO-BEROSUS  187 

dicta  est.  Et  regionem  suam  a  suo  nomine  cognomi- 
navit,  docuitque  illos  legem  et  iustitiam.  Anno  eius 
duodecimo  lubal  condidit  Celtiberos,  et  paulopost 
Samothes,  qui  et  Dis  Celtas  colonias  fundavit:  neque 
quisquam  ilia  aetate  isto  sapientior  fuit,  ac  propterea 
Samothes  dictus  est.  Anno  Nymbroti  .xv.  Oceanus 
ad  Ninum  Aegypti  consedit,  et  multos  ex  sorore 
Tethyde  edidit  liberos.  Inde  supervenit  ille  corruptor 
humani  generis  Chemesenuus,  ubi  Telchines  magicam 
docens,  maxima  opinione  celebratur.  Anno  deci- 
mooctavo  eiusdem  Babylonici  regis,  Gogus  Sabeam 
Arabiam  Felicem  cum  Sabo  suo  patre  puer  tenuit,  et 
Triton  Libyam,  et  lapetus  priscus  Atalaa  Aphricam, 
Cur  Aethiopiam,  et  Getulus  Getuliam.  Anno  eiusdem 
.XXV.  Thuyscon  Sarmatas  maximos  populos  fundavit, 
et  Mesa  cum  filiis  Istri  priscos  Mesios  posuit,  usque 
Ponticam  Mesembriam  ab  Adula  monte.  Anno  tri- 
gesimooctavo  eiusdem  regis  Sagae  Armeni  multiplicati 
possederunt  omnem  Caspiam  regionem,  ab  Armenia 
usque  in  Bactrianos,  et  lanus  pater  laneos  colonos 
traduxit  in  Hircaniam,  et  lanilos  in  Mesopotamia 
versus  mare  sub  Babylonia.  Anno  quadragesimo 
eiusdem  regis  aliquot  coloni  ex  filiis  Comeri  in  Bactri- 
anis  sibi  sedes  quaesiverunt.  Et  Ganges  in  India  sedem 
sui  nominis.  Anno  quadragesimoquinto  eiusdem  regis 
aliqui  ex  filiis  Mesae  ac  Getuli  iuncti  simul  primi  Mesa- 
getas  in  India  propagaverunt.  Eadem  tempestate 
Saturnus  rex  Babyloniae  misit  principes  coloniarum 
Assyrium,  Medum,  Moscum  et  Magogum:  qui  regna 
condiderunt  Assyrium,  Medum,  et  Magogum  in  Asia, 
Moscos  vero  et  in  Asia  simul  et  Europa.  Anameon 
quoque  adolescentulus  Maeones  a  se  dictos  condidit, 
et  regnavit  centum  quinquaginta  annis. 

2.  Secundus  rex  Babyloniae  luppiter  Belus  filius 
dicti  Saturni,  regnavit  annis  .Ixii.  et  fundamenta 
designata  Babyloniae  oppidi  magis  quam  urbis  erexit. 


188    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Pace  fruebatur  usque  circa  finem  imperii  sui.  Anno  .iii. 
huius,  Comerus  more  Scythico  unde  venerat  docuit 
suos  Italos  urbem  curribus  componere.  Et  idcirco 
Veii  appellati  sunt  vocabulo  Sago,  qui  Veias  plaustrum 
appellant,  et  urbem  ex  his  compositam  si  parva  sit 
Veitulam,  si  magna  Ulurdum,  si  metropolis  Cy  Ocho- 
1am  ad  haec  quoque  tempora  Scythae  plaustris  et  curru 
pro  domibus  utuntur.  Et  sub  solario  quidem  stabulum, 
supra  vero  habent  officinas  domus.  Concludit  et  loca 
a  se  cognominata  Tyras,  postquam  Tyrum  fundavit, 
cum  principibus  coloniarum  littora  maris  tenuit,  fun- 
davitque  Thraces  Archadius  Archadiam,  Emathius 
Emathiam  tenuit.  Anno  .xlv.  huius  Beli  lanus  pater 
posuit  colonias  in  Arabia  Felice,  et  a  suo  nomine  unas 
vocavit  Noam,  et  a  cognomine  lanineas.  Qui  vero  ex 
posteritate  Comeri  erant  Galli  ab  Avito  cognomine 
illos  appellavit  Gallos.  Anno  .Ivi.  huius  Beli  Che- 
mesenus  venit  in  Italiam  ad  Comeros,  et  non  com- 
parente  Comero,  coepit  colonias  regere  atque  cor- 
rumpere  suis  impietatibus  et  sceleribus. 

3.  lanus  vero  pater  circa  Arabiae  Felicis  fluvium 
plures  colonias  relinquens,  et  a  se  lanineas  cogno- 
minans,  in  Aphricam  ad  Tritonem  venit.  Hac  aetate 
luppiter  Belus  coepit  libidine  dominandi  torqueri.  Et 
paulo  ante  Araxa  cum  filio  Scytha,  creato  omnium 
gentium  Sagarum  rege  Sabatio  Saga,  atque  in  Armenia 
relicto,  ipsa  occupavit  omnem  partem  Occidentalem 
ab  Armenia  usque  in  Sarmatiam  Europae.  At  vero 
luppiter  Belus  quum  non  possit  alios  subiugare  nisi 
subacto  et  trucidato  Sabatio  Sagarum  rege,  clam 
molitus  est  ilium  perimere.  Cumque  Saturnus  pro- 
spiceret  se  non  posse  evadere  quod  innumeras  insidias 
sibi  paraverat  luppiter  Belus,  clandestina  fuga  se 
tutabat,  in  Sagis  Caspiis  delitescando.  Cumque  natu- 
rae concederet,  iussit  filio  Nino  ut  Sabatium  Sagam 
funditus  deleret,  et  omnes  populos  Babylonico  regno 


PSEUDO-BEROSUS  189 

subiiceret,  quia  omnium  in  orbe  primum  fuisset.  Quo 
accepto  Sabatius  delitescebat  in  Bactrianis  Sagis, 
quousque  cerneret  tempus  idoneum  vel  ad  regnum  vel 
ad  fugam.  Ita  arma  lovis  contra  eum  parata  ilium 
regno  pepulerunt  circa  tempora  Semiramidis.  Eodem 
tempore  Triton  reliquit  filium  Hammonem  regem 
Libyae,  qui  aecepit  coniugem  Rheam  sororem  Camese- 
nui  Saturni  Aegyptiorum,  sed  tamen  ex  Almanthea 
adolescentula  clam  Rhea  Dionysium  sustulit,  et  in 
Nysam  urbem  Arabiae  educandum  misit. 

4.  Tertius  rex  Babyloniae  a  nostris  scribitur  Ninus, 
lovis  Beli  filius,  et  regnavit  annis  .lii.  Hie  omnibus 
suis  viribus  sumptis  armis  patris  sui  lovis  Beli, omnibus 
bellum  intulit,  nuUi  parcens,  et  Sabatium  Sagam  quod 
esset  in  omnium  desiderio  omni  studio  ad  interitum 
quaeritabat,  quare  etiam  toto  huius  tempore  exul  apud 
suos  delituit.  Hie  omnium  primus  ex  nostris  regibus 
Babylonicum  regnum  propagavit,  et  omnium  primus 
templum  Belo  patri,  et  matri  lunoni,  et  Rheae  aviae, 
et  statuas  in  medio  oppidi  Babyloniae  erexit.  Anno 
huius  Nini  .iv.  Tuyscon  gigas  Sarmatas  legibus  format 
apud  Rhenum.  Idipsum  agit  lubal  Celtiberos,  et 
Samotes  apud  Celtas.  Econtra  Camesenus  Saturnus 
Aegyptiorum  Comaros  Italos  nitebatur  corrumpere, 
iuuantibus  ilium  convenis  et  advenis  quos  ille  pro 
Italiae  coloniis  conduxerat,  quos  ipsi  vocant  Montanos 
Aborigines. 

5.  At  apud  Libyam  lis  orta  est  inter  Rheam  et 
Hammonen  ob  stuprum  admissum  cum  Almanthia, 
quaerebatque  Rhea  ubi  Dionysius  esset  ut  eum  per- 
deret,  et  diu  lis  ista  rixaque  perseveravit.  Anno  Nini 
.X.  lanus  pater  ex  Aphrica  in  Celtiberos  Hispalos  venit, 
ubi  duas  colonias  dimisit  a  se  dictas  Noelas  et  Noeglas. 
His  enim  etiam  antea  cognominibus  cognominaverat 
uxores  lapeti  et  Chemesenui.  Nini  anno  .xix.  lanus 
pater  veniens  in  Italiam  cum  comperisset  Camesenuum 


190    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

praeter  opinionem  corrumpentem  iuuentutem,  tribus 
annis  ilium  aequo  animo  tulit.  Deinde  illi  aliquot 
coloniis  assignatis,  eum  Italia  excedere  iubet.  Ipse 
omnes  colonias  divisit.  Etenim  omnes  colonos  Coma- 
ros  corruptos  et  convenas  et  advenas,  montana  trans 
laniculum  amnem  colere  iubet,  illisque  filiam  suam 
Cranam  Helernam,  id  est,  suffragio  ab  his  electam  et 
exaltatam  reginam  cum  sceptro  Albam  dat:  namque 
duos  filios  suos  novissimos  cum  illorum  posteritate 
Cranum  et  Cranam  lanus  cum  Comaro  miserat,  coa- 
Iverantque  in  gentem  atque  posteritatem  maximam, 
quam  nostra  aetate  lanigenam  vocant,  cognominant 
autem  Razenuam,  id  est,  sacram  propagatricem  in- 
cubamque,  contra  impietatem  Camesenui.  Itaque 
suam  posteritatem  separatam  ab  aboriginibus  esse 
voluit  cis  laniculum  amnem  in  planitie  atque  mariti- 
mis.  Cognominavit  autem  eam  Razenuam,  ut  et 
Cranum  Razenuum.  Interea  quum  Italia  discessisset 
Camesenuus,  ad  ilium  Rhea  venit,  et  illi  nupta  ambo 
contra  Hammonem  cum  Titanibus  pergunt,  ibique 
bello  commisso  pellunt  regno  Hammonem  et  in  Cretam 
cogunt.  Cum  in  Libya  Camesenuus  regnat,  parit  ex 
Rhea  sorore  Osirim,  quem  cognominavit  lovem.  Vige- 
simosecundo  anno  Nini  lanus  in  Thuscia  laniculum, 
quod  aetate  Camesenui  condidit,  sedem  sibi  perpetuam 
statuit  usque  Arnum,  ubi  colonias  positas  vocavit  Aryn 
lanuas  .i.  a  lano  exaltatas.  Vetuloniae  iura  dicebat  et 
docebat  atque  regebat  anno  Nini  .xliii.  Sabatius  quum 
adverteret  nuUo  pacto  sibi  licere  uti  regnis,  creato 
Armenis  Sagis  rege  filio  Barzane,  in  Sarmaticum  ponti 
littus  concessit.  Eadem  tempestate  Dionysius  Ham- 
monis  filius  armis  sumptis  Rheam  et  Camesenuum 
regno  paterno  pellens,  et  secum  Osirim  retinens,  in 
filiumque  adoptans,  eum  a  patre  suo  Hammonem 
lovem  cognominavit,  uti  a  magistro  Olympo  Olympi- 
cum,  eique  totius  Aegypti  regnum  tradidit.     Eodem 


PSEUDO-BEROSUS  191 

anno  virgo  Palladon  apud  Tritonidem  lacum  infantu- 
la  exposita  ab  eodem  Dionysio  love  Libyco  etiam 
cognominato,  adoptata  in  filiam  fuit,  quae  omnem 
militiam  prima  Libycos  docuit.  Eodem  tempore 
lanus  pater  lanigenas  Razenuos  docuit  physicam, 
astronomiam,  divinationes,  ritus,  et  rituales  scripsit, 
et  omnia  Uteris  mandavit.  Eisdem  vero  nominibus  et 
veneratione  divina  sunt  prosequuti,  quibus  in  Armenia 
Saga  erant  usi.  Anno  .xlix.  Nini,  Celtiberos  rexit 
Iberus  filius  lubal,  a  quo  Iberi  nominati  fuerunt.  Nini 
.li.  anno  apud  Celtas  regnavit  Samotis  filius  Magus,  a 
quo  illis  oppida  plurima  posita  sunt.  Ultimo  anno 
Barzanes  in  Armenia  a  Nino  superatur. 

6.  Quarto  loco  regnavit  apud  Babyloniam  uxor  Nini 
Ascalonita  Semiramis  annis  quadragintaduobus.  Haec 
antecessit  militia,  triumphis,  divitiis,  victoriis  et  im- 
perio  omnes  mortales.  Ipsa  banc  urbem  maximam  ex 
oppido  fecit,  ut  magis  dici  possit  illam  aedificasse  quam 
ampliasse.  Nemo  umquam  huic  foeminae  compa- 
randus  est  virorum,  tanta  in  eius  vita  dicuntur  et 
scribuntur,  cum  ad  vituperationem,  tum  maxime  ad 
coUaudationem  magnifica. 

7.  Huius  primo  anno  oritur  ex  Rhea  et  Camesenuo 
in  Aegypto  luno  Aegyptia  cognominata  Isis  maxima, 
frugifera,  legifera,  soror  et  uxor  Osiridis. 

8.  Eodem  anno  Sabatius  Saga  a  Ponto  solvit  in 
Italiam  ad  patrem  lanum,  quem  exceptum  hospitio 
post  aliquot  annos  ilium  Coritum  creavit,  et  Aborigi- 
nibus  praefecit.  Anno  sexto  Semiramidis  apud  Rheni 
Sarmatas  regnavit  filius  Tuysconis  Mannus:  et  apud 
lanigenas  Razenuos  Vesta  uxor  lani  sempiternum 
ignem  custodiendum  virginibus  puellis  edoctis  sacra 
tradidit.  Anno  .xii.  Semiramidis,  Sabatius  Saba  cum 
lano  regnat. 

9.  Anno  .xvii.  Semiramidis  Sabatius  Saga  docet 
agriculturam,  et  aliquantulum  religionis. 


192    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

10.  Anno.  Semiramidis  vigesimosecundo  Sabatius 
Sabum  praefecit  Sabinis  et  Aboriginibus.  Ipse  iuxta 
laniculum  cum  aliis  Curetibus  regionem  coluit,  et  ibi 
obiit.  Anno,  xxxiiii.  eiusdem  apud  Celtiberos  regnat 
lubelda,  filius  Iberi,  apud  montem  sui  nominis. 

11.  Quintus  apud  Babylonios  regnavit  Zameis  Nini- 
as,  filius  Semiramidis,  annis  triginta  octo.  In  regno 
Babylonico  hie  parum  resplenduit,  ornavit  tamen 
templa  deorum,  et  Chaldaeos  ampliavit. 

12.  Eius  anno  primo  cum  Sabatius  obiit,  lanus  pater 
senissimus  filium  suum  Cranum  Coritum  creavit, 
octavoque  post  anno  obiit,  expletis  vitae  suae  annis. 
cccl.  et  lanigenae  ilium  Vortumnum  appellantes, 
templum  illi  et  divinos  honores,  ut  par  erat,impenderunt. 

13.  Hoc  anno  Osiris  inventis  a  se  et  a  sorore  Ado- 
lescentula  frumento  et  frugibus,  coepit  docere  ilia  in 
Palaestina,  inde  reversus  in  Aegyptum  et  invento 
aratro  et  his  quae  ad  agriculturam  pertinent,  sensim 
universum  peragravit  orbem,  docens  quaecunque  in- 
venerat,  et  ita  universo  imperavit  orbi,  exceptis  genti- 
bus  quae  iam  in  Babyloniorum  venerant  potestatem. 

14.  His  temporibus  regnavit  apud  Celtas  Sarron, 
qui  ut  contineret  ferociam  hominum  tum  recentum, 
publica  literarum  studia  instituit,  et  apud  Tuyscones 
Inghaeuon. 

15.  Sextus  Babyloniae  rex  Arius  regnavit  annis 
.XXX.  qui  adiecit  imperio  omnes  Bactrianos.  Nam 
paulo  ante  mortem  Niniae  Camesenuus  pulsus  ab  omni 
ferme  orbe  in  Bactrianos  sese  contulerat,  et  illos 
Magico  praestigio  sibi  devinxerat,  adeo  ut  apud  illos 
maximis  viribus  imperaret.  Coacto  autem  Camesenuus 
maximo  populorum  exercitu  invasit  Assyrios,  contra 
quem  Ninus  dimicans  superior  fuit,  et  Camesenuum 
obtruncavit,  inde  paulo  post  ipse  obiit.  Quare  Arius 
collecto  exercitu,  post  patris  Niniae  obitum,  Bactri- 
anos et  omnes  Caspios  subiecit. 


PSEUDO-BEROSUS  198 

16.  Cranus  lanigena  sororem  suam  mortuam  cum 
lanigenis  Razenuis  suis  et  omnibus  simul  Aboriginibus 
solemni  pompa  celebrat.  Et  illi  Lucum  iuxta  lani- 
culum,  amnem,  solemnesque  ritus  et  diem  sacrat,  ipse 
senex  filium  suum  Aurunum  Coritum  creat. 

17.  Arii  .xx.  anno  apud  Celtiberos  regnat  Brygus, 
qui  multa  oppida  suo  nomini  fundavit,  adiectis  nomi- 
nibus  capitum  originum,  quibus  ilia  consignabat. 

18.  Apud  Libyam  regnavit  priscus  Hyarbas,  vir 
ferox  armis  et  militia  Paladuae. 

19.  Anno  .xxiv.  Arii  apud  lanigenas  Razenuos  regnat 
Aurunus  filius  Crani.  Anno  .xxix.  apud  Celtas  Dryius 
peritiae  plenus. 

20.  Septimus  Assyriis  imperat  Aralius  annis  .xl.  vir 
iste  claruit  ingenio  et  studio  militari,  et  primus  adauxit 
pompas  et  gemmas,  et  muliebres  delitias.  Apud 
Libyam  Hyarbas  cum  Paladuis  foeminis  belligerans, 
non  fuit  illis  par.  Quare  donis  occurrens  se  ac  regnum 
illarum  permisit  potestati. 

21.  Apud  Tuy scones  regnabat  Herminon  vir  ferox 
armis,  et  apud  Celtas  Bardus,  inventione  carminum  et 
musicae  apud  illos  inclytus. 

22.  Aralii  anno  .x.  Armeni  lanigenae  Griphonii  cum 
coloniis  suis  ad  Aurunum  lanigenum  venerunt,  quos 
exceptos  hospitio,  etiam  sedem  cum  lanigenis  Razenu- 
is assignavit.  Classe  quoque  Auson  eodem  tempore  ab 
Auruno  fuit  exceptus  anno  octavo  sequente,  et  ipsi 
sedes  in  orientali  Italia  ab  eodem  consignata  fuit. 

23.  Idem  Aurunus  in  Vetulonia  lucum  sacravit 
Crano,  et  inter  Isos,  id  est,  deos  annumeravit.  lano 
quoque  Vortumno  templum  et  statuam  non  procul 
urbe  dedicavit,  et  deo  Razenuo  in  Vetulonia  sacellum 
condidit. 

24.  Novissimis  annis  Aurunus  Malot  Tagetem  filium 
creavit  Coritum,  et  .xxxv.  Aralii  anno  obiit  et  successit 
Malot  Tages. 


194    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

25.  Anno  penultimo  Aralii  classe  venit  ad  Malot 
Tagetem  lanigenum  Razenuum  Phaeton  cum  filiis 
suis,  qui  inveniens  omnia  ab  Ausoniis  occupata  ab 
Oriente,  et  montana  a  Gallis  et  Aboriginibus  possessa, 
planitiem  vero  a  Razenuis  lanigenis  habitatam,  donatus 
fuit  parte  Occidentali,  posseditque  cum  sua  posteritate 
montes  et  totum  Eridanum  usque  in  regionem  proxi- 
mam,  istis  relinquens  nomina  locis. 

26.  Eo  tempore  Italia  in  tribus  locis  arsit  multis  diebus 
circa  Istros,  Cymeos,  et  Vesuuios  vocataque  sunt  a 
lanigenis  ilia  loca  Palensana,  id  est,  regio  conflagrata. 

27.  Octavus  rex  Babyloniae  fuit  Baleus  cognomento 
Xerses  ^t  regnavit  annis  .xxx.  hunc  appellaverunt 
Xersem,  id  est  victorem  et  triumphatorem,  quod 
imperaverit  duplo  plus  gentibus  quam  Aralius.  Erat 
enim  militia  ferox  et  fortunatus,  et  propagavit  regnum 
usque  prope  Indios. 

28.  Huius  Balei  Xersis  temporibus,  regnat  apud 
Celtiberos  Tagus  cognomento  Orma,  ex  quo  patria 
dicta  fuit  Taga.  Apud  Tuyscones  regnat  Marsus, 
et  apud  Lygures  Phaeton,  relicto  filio  Lygure,  re- 
gressus  est  in  Aethiopiam  Maloth  Tages  ritus  sacros  a 
lano  traditos,  et  aruspiciam  auxit. 

29.  Nonus  rex  Babyloniae  Armatritis  imperavit 
annis  .xxxviii.  Qui  magis  ad  voluptates  et  delitias 
eonversus,  ea  quae  ad  libidinem  spectant,  cum  invenit 
turn  maxime  inventa  ampliavit.  Huius  aetate  apud 
Celtas  Longho  regnavit,  et  apud  Celtiberos  Betus,  a 
quo  regnum  habuit  nomen:  et  apud  lanigenas  Sicanus 
filius  Maloth  Tagetis,  a  quo  cognominata  fuit  Vetu- 
loniae  regio. 

30.  Anno  vigesimo  Armatritis  Lygur  misit  Cydnum 
et  Eridanum  cum  coloniis,  cum  fratribus  et  nepotibus: 
et  occupaverunt  usque  Istrum  in  Italia. 

31.  Sicanus  deificavit  Aretiam,  et  nominavit  eam 
lingua  lanigena  Horchiam. 


PSEUDO-BEROSUS  195 

32.  Osiris  in  Thracia  peremit  gigantem  Lycurgum. 

33.  Anno  Armatritis  trigesimosecundo  apud  Celti- 
beros  tyrannidem  assumpsit  Deabus.  Qui  hoc  cogno- 
men turn  promeruit  a  fodinis  auri  et  divitiis,  quas 
primus  ibi  cepit  et  invenit  opprimens  colonias.  Et 
post  duos  annos  apud  Celtas  regnavit  Bardus  iunior. 

34.  Decimus  Assyriorum  rex  imperat  Belochus,  an- 
nis  trigintaquinque.  Qui  idcirco  a  Belo  sumpsit 
cognomen,  quia  cum  imperium  voluit  exercere  maxi- 
mum pontificum  Beli  lovis,  et  maxime  circa  auspicia 
et  divinationes  occupatus  fuit  eius  animus.  Apud 
Tuyscones  regnavit  Gambrivius,  vir  ferocis  animi. 

35.  Apud  Emathios  coepit  regnare  Macedon  filius 
Osiridis,  a  quo  nunc  nomen  retinet  provincial  atque 
circa  hoc  regnum  Osiris  depressit  gigantes,  qui  iam 
tyrannidem  coeperant. 

36.  Vigesimonono  huius  Belochi  anno,  apud  Celti- 
beros  Lomnimi  florebant,  et  aedificaverunt  a  suo 
nomine  urbem  magnam  Lomnimiam.  Anno  autem 
sequente  Itali  oppressi  a  tyrannis  gigantibus  in  tribus 
Palensanis,  advocaverunt  Osirim,  qui  cum  coloniis  ad 
Istri  vicinos  fontes  pervenerat.  Osiris  tota  Italia 
potitus,  decem  annis  illam  tenuit,  et  a  se  nominavit  in 
triumphum:  et  sub  ditione  positis  gigantibus,  regem 
lanigenis  reliquit  Lestrigonem  gigantem,  sibi  ex  filio 
Neptuno  nepotem. 

37.  Anno  .xxxiii.  Belochi,  rex  Lucus  regnare  coepit 
apud  Celtas.  Novissimis  annis  Belochi,  tenuit  mare 
Atticum,  et  ebuUiens  inundavit  Atticam. 

38.  Undecimus  rex  Babylonis  fuit  Baleus  annis 
quinquagintaduobus.  Hie  post  Semiramidem  supra 
caeteros  enituit  fama,  splenduit  imperio  usque  intra 
Indiam.  Libri  multi  de  eius  gestis  sunt  a  nostris 
conscripti.  Huius  anno  decimo  Porcus  Cados  Sene 
insulam  complevit  Vetulonicis  coloniis,  partem  reliquit 
posteritati  Lygures. 


196    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

39.  Huius  Balei  temporibus  Indi  sua  obtulerunt 
Babyloniis,  Osiris  in  Aegyptum  reversus  columnam 
quae  permanet  inscripsit  in  monumentum  expedi- 
tionis  suae  per  totum  orbem. 

40.  Apud  Tuyscones  regnat  Suaevus,  et  apud  Celtas 
Celtes,  a  quo  nomen  habuerunt  montes  illorum  maximi 
a  conflagratione  sylvarum,  qui  dividunt  Celtas  et 
Celtiberos. 

41.  Typhon  Aegyptius,  omnibus  orbis  gigantibus 
consciis,  fratrem  suum  Osiridem  lovem  iustum  Aegyp- 
tium  peremit,  et  ipse  in  Aegypto  assumit  tyrannidem, 
Busiris  in  Phoenicia,  in  Phrygia  vero  alius  Typhon,  in 
Libya  Anteus,  in  Celtiberia  Lomnini,  in  Italia  Lestri- 
gones,  et  in  toto  mari  Milinus  Cretensis. 

42.  Hercules  Osiridis  filius,  cui  nomen  est  Libyus, 
cum  Iside  in  Aegypto  sustulit  Typhonem,  in  Phoenicia 
Busiridem,  alium  vero  Typhonem  in  Phrygia,  Milinum 
in  Creta,  Anteum  in  Libya,  Lomninos  in  Celtiberia, 
a  qua  substituto  illis  rege  Hispalo,  ad  tyrannos  Italiae 
conversus  est.  Cumque  in  Italiam  per  Celtas  transiret, 
permissu  parentum  Galathea  genuit  illis  Galathem 
regem. 

43.  In  Italia  decem  annis  debellavit,  et  expulit 
Lestrigones,  postquam  .xx.  annos  apud  illos  pacifice 
regnavit,  multaque  illis  oppida  a  suo  nomine  et  a  suo 
cognomine  Musarna  sicut  Gedrosiae  et  Carnaniae 
fundavit,  et  loca  aquis  impedita  habitationi  hominum 
commoda  fecit.  Anno  itaque  Balei  .xli.  orsus  in  Italia 
pugnam  contra  gigantes,  biennio  ante  illius  obitum 
illos  delevit.  Ita  ab  Hispalis  Hercules  venit  in  Italiam, 
Lestrigones  et  omnes  tyrannos  sustulit,  Arnos,  Ly- 
barnos,  Musarnos  a  se  cognominatos  condidit,  trigin- 
taque  annis  rexit,  et  accersitum  Thuscum  illis  regem 
reliquit. 

44.  Altades  duodecimus  rex  Babyloniis  fuit,  regnans 
annis   .xxxii.     Hie  interposuit   tempus   suum   dehtiis 


PSEUDO-BEROSUS  197 

existimans  vanum  esse  laboribus,  et  suae  vitae  miseria 
continua  laborare,  non  quidem  aliorum  humanaeque 
gentis  utilitate  ac  beneficio,  sed  exitio  ac  servitute. 
Idcirco  suum  institutum  fuit,  ut  vita  divitiis  et  gloria, 
aliena  stultitia  et  miseria  a  suis  maioribus  partis  sibi 
frueretur  quoad  viveret. 

45.  Huius  Altadis  tempore  Hercules  filium  Thuscum 
ex  Araxa  susceptum,  ex  Tanaide  regione  evocat. 
Galathes  a  quo  Samothei  Galli  dicti,  eius  aetate 
regnavit  apud  Celtas,  et  Vandalus  apud  Tuyscones. 

46.  Hercules  Thuscum  filium  lanigenis  creat  Cori- 
tum  ex  more.  Quo  etiam  illis  rege  relicto,  ipse  senex 
admodum  in  Celtiberos  revertitur,  anno  Altadis  tri- 
gesimonono,  et  regnavit  ibi  atque  obiit.  Cui  Celtiberi 
templum  ad  illius  Gades,  et  sepulchrum  et  divinos 
honores  tribuerunt,  plurimasque  illius  triumpho  et 
nomini  urbes  dedicaverunt,  ut  Libysosonam,  Libyso- 
cam,  Libuncam,  Liboram. 

47.  Galatheum  puerum  ad  Herculem  missum  in 
Siciliam  cum  coloniis  misit  Thuscus.  Idem  Thuscus 
primus  Palatuam  militiam,  et  initiamenta  Razenuos 
lanigenas  docuit. 

48.  Tertiusdecimus  Babyloniae  rex  Mamitus  reg- 
navit annis  triginta.  Is  rursus  milites  exercuit  et  assue- 
fecit  laboribus,  et  interpositis  delitiis,  ungentis,  et 
opobalsamis,  militiam  et  pugnas  exequebatur,  coep- 
itque  formidini  esse  Syris  et  Aegyptiis.  Huius  anno 
vigesimosecundo  Alteus  Thusci  filius  regnat  apud 
lanigenas,  et  biennio  ante  Hesperus  frater  Kitym 
apud  Celtiberos,  rursus  apud  Celtas  Narbon,  et  apud 
Tuyscones  Teutanes. 

49.  Quartusdecimus  rex  Babyloniis  imperavit  Man- 
caleus  annis  .xxx.  Cuius  anno  primo  apud  Celtiberos, 
Kitym  pulso  fratre  Hespero  in  Italiam,  regnavit. 

50.  Duodecimo  vero  anno  Mancalei,  apud  lanigenas 
regnat  Kitym,  relicto  in  Celtiberis  rege  filio  Sicoro. 


198    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Eiusdem  Mancalei  temporibus  apud  Tuyscones  regnat 
Hercules  Alemannus,  apud  Celtas  Lugdus,  a  quo 
provincia  et  homines  eognomenta  sumpserunt. 

51.  Kytim  ob  mentis  excellentiam  lanigenae  sua 
lingua  vocaverunt  Italum  Atala.  Hie  filiam  suam 
Electram  lanigenarum  principi  Cambo  Blasconi  dedit 
coniugem.  Qui  pro  nuptiis  colonias  misit  trans  alpes 
Italiae  proximas,  et  Romam  filiam  suam  Italus  primo 
subreginam  Aboriginibus  sacrat.  Filium  quoque  suum 
Morgetem  Italus  Kitym  creavit  Coritum. 

52.  Quintusdecimus  Assyriis  imperat  Sferus  annis 
.XX.  vir  de  cuius  gestis  et  prudentia  omne  vulgus 
personat.  Huius  temporibus  Morges  filius  Itali  creavit 
Coritum  suum  cognatum  Camboblasconem,  et  paulo 
post  idem  Coritus  manet  Itus.  Apud  Celtiberos  regnat 
Sicanus  filius  Sicori,  post  obitum  Sferi  sub  Mamelo. 

53.  Sextusdecimus  rex  Mamelus  Babyloniis  imperat 
annis  .xxx.  cuius  anno  octavo  Romanessos  filius  Romae 
fit  primus  subregulus  montanorum  Aboriginum,  et 
Sicanus  regnat  apud  Celtiberos. 

54.  Apud  Celtas  Beligius,  a  quo  illi  Beligici  appel- 
lantur,  regnat,  et  apud  lanigenas  tandem  a  patre  lasius 
creatus  est  Coritus. 

55.  lasius  creatus  est  Coritus,  et  anno  sequente  simul 
coeperunt  duo  reges,  videlicet  primus  rex  Atheniensium 
Cecrops  priscus  et  lasius  lanigena  apud  Celtas. 

56.  In  lasii  nuptiis  affuit  lo  Aegyptia.  Sola  enim 
foeminarum  uno  plus  Dodone  centenario  vixit,  et 
universum  ferme  orbem  lustravit  post  viri  interitum. 

57.  Decimus  septimus  rex  Babyloniorum  fuit  Spa- 
retus,  et  regnavit  annis  .xl.  Sub  eo  coeperunt  miranda 
in  orbe.  Nam  terraemotus  Babylonios  terruit.  Athe- 
nienses  regnum  exorsi  sunt  anno  .iv.  eius.  Et  eodem 
anno  lasius  lanigena  imperavit  Italicis,  et  Siceleus 
aliquanto  post  Celtiberis. 


PSEUDO-BEROSUS  199 

58.  Sub  Spareti  imperio  finierunt  Aegyptii  reges 
magni  Orus,  Acencheres,  Acoris,  et  coepit  Chencres 
qui  cum  Hebraeis  de  Magica  pugnavit  et  ab  eis  sub- 
mersus  fuit.  Anno  quoque  huius  .xxxiiii.  et  .xxxv.  in 
Thessalia  diluvium  fuit,  non  solum  ex  imbribus,  sed 
quod  obturatis  montibus  casu,  flumina  planitiem 
impleverunt,  et  subsequuto  terraemotu  apertis  ostiis 
montium,  aquae  in  alveos  regressae.  Et  in  alia  eorum 
parte  post  terraemotum  sequutum  est  incendium,  sub 
quodam  illorum  rege  Phaetonte,  et  noster  rex  Phoe- 
nices  et  Syros  subegit.  Antea  vero  anno  .xx.  huius 
imperii  ab  Italia  lo  in  Aegyptum  regreditur.  Et  lis 
prima  intestina  oritur  pro  regno  inter  Dardanum  et 
lasium.  Aborigines  sequebantur  partes  Dardani,  lani- 
genae  vero  et  Siculi  cum  Siceleo  partes  lasii. 

59.  Decimusoctavus  rex  praefuit  Babyloniis  Asca- 
tades  annis  .xli.  qui  funditus  omnem  Syriam  ditionis 
suae  fecit,  cuius  anno  .xiii.  vitis  inventa  apud  Graecos 
narratur.  Sub  eodem  anno  Dardanus  lasium  dolo 
peremit,  et  fugiens  in  Samothraciam  diu  ibi  latuit. 

60.  lasio  Coribantus  filius  successit. 

61.  Ascatadis  anno.  .viii.  Cancres  victus  Hebraeo- 
rum  magica  periit  in  mari,  cui  apud  Aegyptios  suc- 
cessit Acherres,  apud  Celtiberos  Lusus,  apud  Celtas 
AUobrox,  et  apud  Aborigines  Italos  Romanessus  filius 
Romae  primus  Saturnus  consecratus  mox  obiit,  cui 
successit  filius  eius  Picus  priscus. 

62.  Anno  ultimo  regis  Ascatadis,  Ato  donavit  Dar- 
danum parte  agri  Maeonici,  et  ita  regnum  Troianum 
coepit.  Dardanus  si  qua  iura  in  Italiae  regno  habebat, 
resignavit  Turreno  filio  Atus. 

63.  Turrhenus  adnavigans  in  Italiam  lanigenam  a 
Cybele  et  Coribanto  tamquam  ex  Herculeis  hilari 
hospitio  exceptus,  et  civilitate  Razenua  donatus  est. 

64.  Ipse  Turrhenus  multa  Maeonica  ornamenta 
proferens,  dedit.     Coribantus  vero  et  Cybeles  ornata 


200    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Dynastia  duodecim  ducum  duodecim  populorum  qui 
essent  ex  lanigenis,  ipsi  in  Phrygiam  se  contulerunt. 
65.  Porro  etiam  sub  Ascatade  apud  Aegyptios  fuere 
reges  Cherres  et  Armeus  qui  cognominatus  est  Danaus,  et 
Ramesses  cognomento  Aegyptus.  Itaque  qui  reges  et 
tempora  traduntur  a  nostris  de  primoribus  regnis  orbis  a 
lani  diluvio  primo  usque  ad  Dardaniae  regnum  conditum, 
his  nostris  brevissimisannotationibus  sint  hactenus  dicta. 

Poor  Annius  Viterbensis!  What  obloquy  has  been 
heaped  upon  him  in  the  last  four  hundred  years!  As 
great  a  scholar  as  Trithemius,  to  whom  we  owe  the 
preservation  of  one  of  the  most  important  forgeries  of 
the  eighth  century,  he  has  suffered  even  more  at  the 
hands  of  his  detractors,  as  well  as  his  friends;  but 
it  will  not  be  difficult  to  reestablish  his  reputation  as 
one  of  the  great  Renaissance  writers. 

"Annius  of  Viterbo  (Giovanno  Nanni),  a  Dominican 
monk,"  says  the  Grosses  vollstdndiges  Universal-Lexicon 
of  1732,  "pretended  to  be  well  versed  in  ancient  history 
and  the  learned  languages,  but  it  was  all  idle  bragging, 
and  he  betrayed  himself  most  shamefully  when  he 
edited  certain  lists  of  old  kings  and  history  under  the 
name  of  Berosus,  Manetho,  Megasthenes,  Fabius 
Pictor,  Cato,  Sempronius,  etc.,  whose  true  writings  had 
long  been  lost,  trying  to  persuade  people  that  he  had 
found  them  in  old  manuscripts.  .  .  .  How  little  he  under- 
stood Greek,  may  be  partially  judged  from  the  fact  that 
he  did  not  even  know  the  name  of  Megasthenes,  whose 
books  he  claimed  to  reconstruct,  since  he  ascribed  them 
to  Metasthenes."  After  this  follows  a  story  about  his 
having  faked  inscriptions,  and  a  long  list  of  authors 
who  have  denounced  him  and  the  names  of  a  few  who 
have  taken  his  part. 

Two  years  before,  there  had  appeared  in  Paris 
volume  XI  of  the  Memoir es  pour  servir  a  Vhistoire  des 


PSEUDO-BEROSUS  201 

hommes  illustres,  where  we  have  a  complete  account  of 
the  man  and  of  his  work.  He  was  born  in  1432  and  died 
in  1502.  He  entered  early  the  order  of  St.  Dominic,  where 
he  became  very  famous  for  his  science,  but  still  more  for 
his  impostures  in  matters  of  erudition  and  antiquity. 
The  only  work  of  his  that  interests  us  is  the  Antiqui- 
tatum  variarum  volumina.  XVII,  which  appeared  in 
its  first  editions  in  1498  in  Rome  and  in  Venice,  and 
contained  the  following  books: 

1.  Notitia  generalis  sequentium  sexdecim. 

2.  Institutio  de  aequivocis  circa  Etruscam  originem, 

3.  Vertumniana  Propertii. 

4.  Xenophon  de  aequivocis  hominum  nominihus. 

5.  Quintus  Fdbius  Pictor  de  aureo  saeculo,  et  de 
Origine  urhis  Romae  ac  vocabulorum  ejus. 

6.  Myrsilus  Lesbius  Historicus  de  hello  Pelasgico  et 
origine  Italiae  et  Thyrrenorum. 

7.  Fragmenta  Catonis. 

8.  Fragmenta  duo  Itinerarii  Antonini  Pii. 

9.  Sempronius  de  Divisione  et  Chorographia  Italiae. 

10.  Epithetum  Archiloci  de  Temporibus. 

11.  Metasthenes  Persa  de  judicio  temporum  et  annali- 
um  Persarum. 

12.  De  primis  temporibus  et  XXIV.  Regibus  His- 
paniae,  et  ejus  antiquitate. 

13.  Etrusca  simul  et  Italica  emendatissima  Chrono- 
graphia. 

14.  Philonis  Breviarium  de  temporibus. 

15.  Defloratio  Berosi  Chaldaica  Libris  V. 

16.  Manethonis  Sacerdotis  Aegyptii  supplementum 
ad  Berosum. 

17.  Anniae  quaestiones  ad  consobrinum  suum  F. 
Thomam  Annium  ejusdem  Ordinis. 

The  author  of  the  Memoires  gives  a  long  list  and 
discussion  of  writers  who  have  rejected  or  defended 
Annius,  but  sides  with  the  "best"  critics,  who  assert  that 


202    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

the  whole  book  is  the  invention  of  Annius,  who  did  not 
even  know  the  true  names  of  the  authors  whom  he  pro- 
duced, for  he  called  Metasthenes  an  historian  who  was 
known  in  antiquity  as   Megasthenes. 

The  most  sensible  view  in  regard  to  Annius  was 
given  by  Apostolo  Zeno/  who  after  a  long  and  critical 
review  of  all  opinions,  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  it 
is  unthinkable  that  Annius,  a  most  learned  man,  who 
was  Master  at  the  Vatican,  should  have  tried  to  cheat 
with  his  literary  work,  and  asserts  that  Annius  was 
simply  the  victim  of  some  cheat;  and  Tiraboschi,  in 
his  Storia  delta  letteratura  italiana,  vol.  VI,  Book  III, 
accepts  Zeno's  moderate  view.  But  Ginguen^^  returns 
to  the  old  accusation,  even  repeating  the  slur  that 
Annius  called  Megasthenes  Metasthenes. 

How  ill  founded  is  the  accusation  of  Annius'  ignor- 
ance in  all  the  critics  quoted,  is  proved  by  the  fact 
that  Annius  did  not  make  any  such  mistake  about 
Megasthenes  as  is  claimed  by  the  critics,  who  did  not 
trouble  themselves  about  verifying  their  baseless  state- 
ment. Annius  says  distinctly  in  the  introduction  to  the 
De  iudicio  temporum  of  Metasthenes,  that  Metasthenes 
was  a  Persian  chronographer  and  a  priest,  who  was 
not  in  any  way  to  be  confounded  with  Megasthenes, 
the  Greek  historian  and  layman.^  One  can  look  only 
with  contempt  upon  the  whole  brood  of  critics  who 
were  guilty  of  such  criminal  negligence,  and  who  have 
thrown  down  this  misstatement  as  their  trump  card. 
Far  more  decent  is  Sebastian  Muenster,  who  in  the 
Third  Book  of  his  Cosmographia  has  a  chapter, 
De  antiquis  Germaniae  populis,  where  he  says  that  he 

1  Dissertazioni  Vossiane,  Venezia  1753,  vol.  II,  p.  186  ff. 

*  Histoire  litteraire  d'ltalie,  Paris  1824,  vol.  Ill,  p.  406  flf. 

3  "Corruptissime  tamen  inveni  hunc  in  aliquibus  Megasthenem  pro 
Metasthene,  quia  primus  fuit  Graecus  et  historicus,  hie  vero  Persa  et  chrono- 
graphus,  et  ille  laicus,  hie  vero  sacerdos,  quia  non  seripsit  nisi  publica  et 
probata  fide,  quod  erat  proprium  sacerdotis  offieium,  ut  hoc  loco  ipse 
Metasthenes  indicat." 


PSEUDO-BEROSUS  208 

cannot  agree  with  those  who  reject  Berosus,  because 
it  does  not  agree  with  the  other  authors.  **  However 
it  may  be,  I  know  this  much,  that  as  far  as  the  Hebrew 
words  are  concerned,  of  which  there  is  a  great  number 
in  these  fragments,  no  deception  can  be  discovered, 
and  I  am  obliged  to  have  faith  in  the  book  and  the 
author,  because  at  the  time  when  Berosus  was  pub- 
lished by  a  certain  monk,  there  was  no  one  among 
the  Christians  who  was  expert  in  Hebrew.  Indeed, 
who  among  the  unlearned  monks,  who  knew  almost 
nothing  of  languages,  could  have  known  what  Estha, 
Maia,  Arecia,  and  Ruha  meant?" 

The  works  of  Annius  show  stupendous  learning, 
even  at  a  time  when  the  poly  historians  were  abroad. 
He  supplied  the  texts  which  he  published  with  a  very 
detailed  commentary,  based  on  all  the  classics  access- 
ible to  him,  and  on  the  wisdom  of  the  Talmud.  He 
quoted,  not  perfunctorily,  but  specifically,  and  many 
of  them  very  often,  ^  Aristotle,  Varro,  Livy,  Ovid, 
Virgil,  Ptolemy,  PHny,  Ennius,  Junius,  Propertius, 
Cato,  Suetonius,  Plutarch,  Valerius  Maximus,  Hero- 
dotus, Solinus,  Strabo,  Archilochus,  Hyginus,  etc., 
etc.  He  was  well  acquainted  with  the  works  of 
Jerome,  especially  with  the  Onomastica^  and  quoted 
for  his  information  about  Hebrew  and  Aramaic  his 
friend.  Rabbi  Samuel,  the  Talmudist,  obviously 
Samuel  Zarfati,  the  court  physician  of  Alexander  VI, 
a  most  learned  Spanish  Jew,^  and  two  other  Talmud- 

1 1  give  these  sources  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  mentioned  in  the 
Index  of  the  edition  of  1512, 

2  "Ut  noster  Samuel  dicit,"  fol.  XLa;  "ut  erudite  noster  Samuel  Talmul- 
dista  interpretabat,"  fol.  XLb;  "al  enim  teste  Hieronymo  commixtionem 
significat,  et  ut  Talmudista  doctus  dicebat,  etiam  ligaturam  et  fasciculum," 
fol.  XLVIIIb;  "ut  Rabi  Samuel  interpretatur,"  fol.  Lllla;  "ut  Samuel  noster 
exposuit,"  fol.  LXb;  "teste  Talmudista  Samuele  et  divo  Hieronymo," 
fol.  LXVa;  "ut  Talmudista  noster  interpretabat,"  fol.  LXXIIIa;  "verum 
Aramei  teste  Thalmudista  nostro  Samuele,  unico  verbo  haec  praedicta 
quattuor  concludunt,"  fol.  CLVIIIa;  "similiter  phescem  armatum  equitem 
Aramee  significet,  ut  rabi  Samuel  exposuit,"  fol,  CLXXa,  etc. 


204    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

ists.^  The  extraordinary  care  exercised  by  him  is  proved 
in  one  case  where  he  replied  to  his  cousin's  enquiry  as 
to  the  origin  of  the  name  "  Ascreanum"  and  its  adjoin- 
ing places,  by  saying  that  he  had  not  yet  found  out 
whether  or  not  Ascreanum  was  an  Aramaic  word.'^ 
On  the  other  hand,  he  gave  the  precise  references  to 
passages  in  the  Talmud,  wherever  such  had  been 
furnished  him  by  his  friend  Samuel.^ 

It  is  sheer  madness  to  accuse  such  a  man  of  wilful 
forgery.  A  man  who  is  supposed  to  have  concocted  all 
the  Italian  and  Germanic  antiquities  would  most  certain- 
ly have  committed  a  forgery  on  the  Spanish  antiquity, 
since  his  whole  volume  is  dedicated  to  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella;  but  he  only  builds  up  the  origin  of  Spain  by 
harmonizing  Eusebius,  Berosus,  and  the  other  authori- 
ties, in  so  far  as  they  bear  on  Spanish  antiquity.  Of 
course,  the  books  he  published  were  all  forgeries,  but 
they  were  forgeries  made  in  the  eighth  or  ninth  century 
by  that  clever  school  of  genealogical  forgers  who  pro- 
duced the  writings  of  Aethicus,  Virgil  Maro,  Hegesip- 
pus,  Jordanes,  Tacitus,  etc.  Most,  possibly  all,  the 
books,  came  from  a  collection  which  was  made  in  1315 
by  a  certain  Guilielmus  of  Mantua,*  in  which  there 
was  also  a  fragment  of  Verrius,  which  he  quoted.^ 

'  "Quaeris  quae  et  quot  sint  ilia  nomina  quae  in  octavis  pascae  feme 
quinque  jam  annis  superioribus  cum  rabi  Samuele  et  duobus  aliis  Thal- 
mudistis  conferebam,"  fol.  CLXIXb. 

*  "Ascreanum  nondum  comperi  an  sit  Arameae  originis,"  fol.  CLXVIb. 
'  "Talmudistae  vero  in  libro  Aaboda  Zara,  in  distinctione  qua  incipit 

Lipfne  Idiem  aiunt,"  etc.,  fol.  Cb;  "de  zanedrin  vero  deletionem  Hebraei 
scribunt  in  Talmud  in  libro  Baba  Bathra,  in  distinctione  Assutafin,"  fol.  Clb. 

*  "Porro  quae  habentur  nunc  Itineraria  Antonini  non  sunt,  sed  forte  ex 
fragmentis  aliquot  coUecta,  et  plura  his  addita,  multa  diminuta,  plura 
immutata.  Argumento  sunt  duo  fragmenta  quae  apud  me  sunt  ex  coUec- 
taneis  magistri  Guillelmi,  collecta  anno  Salutis  MCCCXV,"  fol,  LXXIIb; 
"quisquis  fuerit  iste  Cato  qui  de  originibus  scripsit,  non  potui  eum  integrum 
habere,  nisi  fragmenta  et  quidem  inordinata  in  collectaneis  vetustis  cuiusdam 
magistri  Guilielmi  Mantuani.  Nos  vero  in  ordinem  solum  fragmenta  re- 
degimus,"  fol.  LVIIa. 

'  "Quaeris  an  Turrenam  Graecus  Hercules  attigerit,  quia  dicis  Faulam 
puellam  fuisse  praemium  virtutis  eius.  Responsio.  Lactantius  in  primo 
divinarum  institutionum  libro,  de  propria  religione  Romanorum  dicit  eam 


PSEUDO-BEROSUS  205 

Zeno^  adduces  the  statement  of  Michele  le  Quien 
that  he  had  seen  in  the  Colbertine  Library  a  catalogue 
of  authors  quoted  in  an  old  manuscript,  which  was 
compiled  between  1220  and  1230,  where  there  was 
reference  to  -Orosius  (for  Berosus)  de  Historia  Chal- 
daeorum,  and  Megasthenes  de  Historia  Indica.  Un- 
fortunately, it  is  not  possible  to  verify  this  statement. 
Zeno  also  mentions  the  fact  that  Leibniz  published  a 
chronicle,  which  was  written  shortly  after  1240,  where 
there  is  a  reference  to  a  chronology  by  Philo,  like  the 
one  used  by  Annius.  This  statement  we  can  verify. 
Annius  published  a  very  brief  Breviarium  de  tempo- 
ribus,  ascribed  to  Philo.  It  has  nothing  in  common  with 
the  works  of  Philo  Judaeus,  but  the  name  of  the 
author.  In  Annius'  fragment  we  have  a  genealogy 
from  King  David  on.  In  the  Chronicon  Alherici, 
Monachi  Trium  Fontium,^  Philo  says  that  the  Scyth- 
ians were  derived  from  Japheth,  and  from  these  later 
came  the  Trojans,   and  from  the   Trojans  came  the 

fuisse  scortum  Herculis,  et  producit  Verrium  testem;  tamen  in  fragmento 
Verrii,  quod  magister  Guilielmus  Mantuanus  coUegit,  non  utitur  Verrius 
vocabulo  scortum  sed  praemium.  Sic  enim  iacent  eius  verba.  Accam 
Larentiam  Faustuli  Thusci  uxorem,  quem  haeredem  instituerit  Romulus, 
sacris  parentalibus  donaverunt.  Tuscam  item  adolescentulam  Faulam  quia 
virium  Alcei  praemium  ad  lacum  Cyminium  Fanumque  Volturnae  fuit,  in 
deam  retulerunt.    Haec  Verrius,"  fol.  CLXIVb. 

1  Op.  cit.,  p.  190  f. 

*  "Anno  L.  aetatis  Phalec  dicit  Philo  ex  tribus  filiis  Noae  eo  vivente  nati 
sunt  XXIIII  milia  virorum  et  centum,  extra  mulieres  et  parvulos.  Nemroth 
filius  Chus  filii  Cham  regnavit  super  filios  Cham,  Jectan  super  filios  Sem, 
SufFene  super  filios  Japhet.  Anno  L°  aetatis  Phalec  Reu  filii  sui  XX  turris 
aedificatur.  Abhinc  post  diluvium  et  divisionem  linguarum  quatuor  princi- 
palia  regna  surrexerunt  in  terra:  primum  Scytharum  ab  aquilone  tempore 
Saruc,  ubi  primus  regnavit  Thanus,  a  quo  fluvius  Thanais  denominatur. 
Scithae  fuerunt  de  Japhet,  a  quibus  postea  descenderunt  Troiani  et  a 
Troianis  Romani  et  Franci  et  multi  alii.  Secundum  regnum  Aegyptiorum 
a  meridie  ubi  primus  regnavit  Zoel  sive  Mineus.  Tertium  regnum  principale 
•  Assyriorum  ad  orientem  caeteris  excellentius  similiter  de  Cham  et  ex  parte 
de  Sem.  Quartum  regnum  Sciciniorum  [Sicyoniorum]  ad  occidentem  in 
insula  moncionis  dicitur  fuisse  de  Sem.  De  Sem  namque  fuerunt  non  solum 
Judaei  sed  et  Medi  et  Persae  et  Graeci,  de  Cham  Assyrii  et  Aegyptii  et 
Chananaei.  De  Japhet  Scithae  et  Troiani,  Romani  et  Franci.  Item  de 
Sem  gentes  XXVII,  de  Cham  XXX  et  de  Japhet  XV,"  G.  G.  Leibniz, 
Accessiones  historicae,  Hannoverae  1698,  vol.  II,  p.  3  f. 


206    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Romans,  Franks,  and  many  others.  This  at  once 
places  Philo  with  the  eighth  and  ninth  century  forgers 
who  derived  the  Franks  from  the  Trojans.  The  forgery 
cannot  have  been  committed  later,  because  the  interest 
in  the  Troy  origin  for  chronological  purposes  wanes 
after  that.  Thus  we  get  the  confirmation  that  Annius 
merely  reproduced  eighth  or  ninth  century  forgeries, 
taking  them  in  good  faith,  even  as  d'Avezac,  Pertz, 
and  Wuttke,  in  the  nineteenth  century,  found  it  incum- 
bent upon  themselves  to  defend  the  Aethicus  forgery 
as  a  genuine  work  of  St.  Jerome,  and  as  all  scholars 
have  credulously  accepted  the  Germania  of  Tacitus  as 
a  real  work  of  the  Latin  author. 

Thus  far  we  have  not  discovered  even  a  distant 
trace  of  forgery  in  Annius  himself.  The  Defloratio 
Berosi  he  claims  to  have  received  as  a  gift  at  Genoa 
from  Master  George,  the  Armenian.^  Annius  knew 
full  well  of  the  original  Berosus,  for  in  the  introduction 
to  the  first  book  he  quotes  from  Josephus  as  to  his 
having  been  a  Babylonian.  Berosus,  according  to 
Annius,  flourished  in  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great, 
was  versed  in  Greek,  and  taught  at  Athens  the  Chaldaic 
science,  especially  astronomy.  The  work  of  Berosus  is 
called  Defloratio,  says  Annius,  because,  to  use  the 
expression  of  Josephus,  he  culled  (defloravit)  the  whole 
Chaldaic  history,  mentioning  the  deluge,  the  ark, 
Noah,  and  his  sons.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Defloratio 
was  the  usual  word  for  an  historical  work  among  the 
church  fathers,  and  is,  for  example,  so  used  by  Cassio- 
dorus.  It  is  just  the  kind  of  title  an  eighth  century 
forger  would  have  affected,  but  a  fifteenth  century 
writer  would  not  have  thought  of  it. 


^  "Frater  autem  Matthias  olim  provincialis  Armeniae  ordinis  nostri, 
quern  existens  prior  Genuae  ilium  Comi  hospitio  excepi,  et  a  cuius  socio 
magistro  Gaeorgio  similiter  Armeno,  banc  Berosi  deflorationem  dono  habui," 
fol.  CXIIIIb. 


PSEUDO-BEROSUS  207 

1.4.  The  forger  supplied  Noah  with  two  classical 
wives,  Tytea  and  Pandora,  and  with  two  others, 
representing  two  cities  in  Spain,  Noela  and  Noegla, 
mentioned  in  Pliny,  IV.lll,  because  these  permitted 
an  etymological  relation  with  Noah.  In  V.5,  the  forger 
forgot  that  Noela  and  Noegla  had  been  mentioned  by 
him  as  women,  and  now  made  them  colonies  estab- 
lished by  lanus,  i.  e.,  Noah,  in  Spain.  The  forger  was 
acquainted  with  Pliny. 

1.5.  The  forger  proposes  to  write  a  brief  account  of 
the  world.  Italy  is  here  called  Kytim,  while  Germany, 
extending  from  the  Rhine  to  the  Pontus,  is  given  as 
Sarmatia. 

In  V.48,  Kytim  was  at  first  settled  in  Spain,  but, 
according  to  V.50,  he  reigned  in  Italy, ^  and  according 
to  V.51,  was  called  I  talus  Atala  "ob  mentis  excel- 
lentiam."  Kytim  is  the  Cethim,  Chetim  of  Daniel, 
XI.31,  which  Jerome  translated  by  Romania  But 
the  forger,  who  made  Kytim.  the  eponymous  hero  of 
Italy,  had  to  explain  the  reason  for  the  change  of  name. 
He  wrote  in  V.51:  "Kytim  ob  mentis  excellentiam 
lanigenae  sua  lingua  vocaverunt  Italum  Atala."  An- 
nius  was  always  ready  with  sources  to  prove  the 
etymologies  which  are  quoted  in  the  passages  pub- 
lished by  him.  But  in  this  case,  as  in  several  others, 
neither  the  classical  sources  nor  Rabbi  Samuel  could 
help  him.  So  he  confined  himself  to  explaining  as 
nearly  as  he  could  the  meaning  in  Berosus.^  He  did 
not  even  attempt  to  inform  us  what  kind  of  language 
that  of  the  lanigenae  was.  The  forger,  as  usual, 
employed  Arabic  etymologies,  where  Jerome's  Onomas- 

1  "Kitim,  quam  nunc  Italiam  nominant,"  III.  4. 

^  "Siim  quippe  et  Chethim  quos  nos  trier es  et  Romanos  interpretati  sumus, 
Hebraei  lialos  volunt  intelligi  atque  Romanos,"  Comment,  in  Danielem, 
XL  31. 

^  "Magis  per  expositionem  quam  distinctionem  nominis  dicit  Berosus, 
aut  traductor  Berosi,  Italum  Itala.  Quasi  dicat:  Vocaverunt  eum  ob  ex- 
cellentiam mentis  Italaa  sive  Atalaa,  quia  eundem  significant,"  fol.  CXLIa. 


208    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

tica  failed  him,   thus  giving  himself  away  as  to   the 
age  in   which   he  wrote.      The  forger   derived   Italus 

from   Arab,      ^i    HttaWa   or    ^i    'atW    "he   got   or 

obtained  knowledge." 

Annius  could  not  possibly  have  made  the  mistake 
of  confounding  the  Sarmatians  with  the  Germans. 
Indeed,  he  discusses  the  matter  quite  sensibly  in  IV.4, 
where  the  forger  says  that  Janus  made  Tuiscon  king  of 
Sarmatia  from  the  Danube  to  the  Rhine,  by  quoting 
Tacitus'  Germania  and  Ptolemy.  In  1.5,  Tuisconus  is 
the  name  of  the  nation  from  the  Rhine  through  the 
Sarmatians  up  to  the  Pontus.  In  II. 3,  Tuiscon  is 
given  as  "Germanorum  et  Sarmatum  pater."  Ac- 
cording to  V.l,  Tuiscon  established  the  Sarmatian 
nations.  In  V.4,  Tuiscon,  the  giant,  gave  laws  to  the 
Sarmatians  on  the  Rhine.  In  V.8,  the  son  of  Tuiscon, 
Mannus,  ruled  over  the  Sarmatians  on  the  Rhine.  In 
V.21,  the  Tuiscones,  that  is,  the  Germans,  are  ruled 
over  by  a  fierce  King  Herminon.  In  V.28,  the  king  of 
the  Tuiscones  is  Marsus;  in  V.34,  he  is  succeeded  by 
Gambrivius;  in  V.40,  by  Suevus;  in  V.45,  by  Vandalus; 
in  V.48,  by  Teutanes;  in  V.50,  by  Hercules  Alemannus. 

The  forger,  who  was  a  Goth  resident  in  France,  or, 
far  more  likely,  in  Switzerland,  knew  the  current 
name  for  "German,"  preserved  in  the  oldest  French 
sources  as  tiesche,  tiesque,  thyos,  ties,  etc.,  and  which 
is  given  in  LLatin,  among  others,  as  tutiscus,  hence,  in 
Oltalian,  tudesco,  now  tedesco.  Obviously  he  pro- 
nounced it  tuisco,  and  so  created  his  eponymous  hero, 
Tuiscon.  From  this  Tuiscon  he  derived  the  eponymous 
heroes  for  the  tribes  that  he  knew  from  history,  the 
Suevi,  Vandals,  and  Teutons.  From  the  Annales  of 
Tacitus,  1.56,  and  11.25,  he  knew  of  the  Marsi,  and 
from  the  same  source  he  knew  of  Arminius,  the  fierce 
king.  Thus  Herminon  and  Marsus  became  descend- 
ants of  Tuiscon. 


PSEUDO-BEROSUS  209 

The  eponymous  heroes,  Suevus,  Vandalus,  Teu- 
tanes,  need  no  explanation,  but  Gambrivius  is  un- 
questionably the  eponymous  hero  of  the  Langobards, 
because  Gambara  is  given  in  the  Origo  gentis  Lango- 
bardorwm}  as  the  first  queen  of  the  Langobards.  In 
the  Codex  Gothanus  she  is  called  "parens  Langobardo- 
rum."^  Gambara  is  apparently  the  same  as  Cambra 
of  Hunibald,  the  wife  of  Antenor,  the  most  beautiful 
and  the  wisest  of  women  among  the  Franks,  to  whom 
she  gave  laws  and  whom  she  taught  how  to  build 
forts — a  woman  by  sex,  a  king  and  priest  by  intelli- 
gence. From  this  comes  the  name  of  Sicamber="  nuia 
et  tu  Cambrae  calles  prudentiam."^  This  is  identical 
with  the  account  of  Gambara  in  Ariprandus:^  "cecidit 
autem  sors  super  filiam  regis  Gambaram  nomine  et 
super  omnes  terre  illius  meliores."  Hunibald's  equation 
of  cambra — "prudentia"  is  borne  out  by  the  OHGerman 
glosses,  "gambri  sagacitas,  agonia,"  ''gambren  strenuus," 
*'kdbare  uuizzigen  Snellen  strenuis."^    The  word  stands 

alone  in  OHGerman  and  is,  no  doubt,  Arab,  j^-  ^abbar 

"strong,  omnipotent,  great,  high." 

Hercules  Alemannus  (in  V.50)  presupposes  another 
Hercules,  even  as  Alemannus  is  related  to  M annus, 
the  son  of  Tuiscon  (V.8).  It  is  clear  that  the  forger 
of  Berosus  was  trying  to  write  a  genealogy  chiefly  for 
the  Alamannians,  hence  the  son  of  Tuiscon  is  Mannus, 
the  eponymous  hero  of  the  Alamannians,  and  he 
strengthens  their  importance  by  giving  them  a  special 
Hercules.  Hercules  was  easily  bandied  about,  and  there 
cannot  be  the  slightest  doubt  that  Saxnot,  the  Saxon 
divinity,  mentioned  by  the  side  of  Woden  and  Thunaer 

'  MGH.,  Scriptores  rerum  langobardicarum  et  italicarum,  p.  2;  also  pp.  62, 
195,  221,  234. 
2  Ibid.,  p.  7. 

^  Trithemius,  Opera  historica,  p.  5. 
■•  MGH.,  Scrip,  rer.  lang.  et  ital.,  p.  593  f. 
"  Steinmeyer  and  Sievers,  vol.  II,  p.  291. 


210    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

in  the  Saxon  Abrenuntiatio  didboli,^  is  an  abbreviated 
Hercules  Saxanus,  who  is  given  in  a  large  number  of 
inscriptions^  near  Pont  a  Mousson  and  near  Brohl, 
but  always  in  stone  quarries.  Obviously,  Saxanus  is 
derived  from  Lat.  saxum  **  stone,"  but  the  relation  to 
Saxones  seemed  so  plain  to  the  forger  of  the  Saxon 
Antiquitas,  who  directly  or  indirectly  knew  of  the 
presence  of  Hercules  in  the  region  of  the  Rhine,  that 
he  created  Hercules  as  a  Saxon  divinity,  perpetuated 
in  the  Abrenuntiatio  as  Saxnot.  But,  if  there  was  a 
Hercules  Saxanus,  why  not  create  a  Hercules  Aleman- 
nusf 

In  1.4  one  of  Noah's  wives  is  given  as  Tytea  magna. 
In  II.  1  Noah  is  mentioned  as  the  father  of  all  the  gods 
and  men,  chaos  and  the  seed  of  the  world.  Chaos 
deposits  the  seed  in  Tytea,  that  is,  Aretia,  or  earth,  and 
thus  everything  is  produced  from  it.  In  III. 4  Noah 
goes  to  Italy  and  becomes  Janus,  "the  heavens,  sun, 
chaos,  seed  of  the  world,"  etc.,  while  Tytea  is  "the 
mother  of  all,  whom  they  called  Aretia,  that  is.  Earth, 
and  whom  they  called  Esta,  that  is.  Fire,  after  her 
death."  Curiously  enough,  Gedaliah  Ibn  Yahya,  in 
his  Shalshelet  ha-Kabbalah,  adopted  this  story  from 
Pseudo-Berosus  and  spoke  of  the  identification  of 
Noah  with  Janus,  deriving  the  latter,  like  Pseudo- 
Berosus,  from  yayin  "wine."  His  wife  was  by  him 
given  as  Aricia,  from  Heb.  erez  "earth,"  she  being  the 
mother  of  every  living  thing.  After  her  death  she  was 
called  Eshta,  from  esh  "fire,"  on  account  of  her  as- 
cension to  heaven.^ 

The  whole  of  III. 5  is  a  farrago  from  the  Bible 
account  of  Noah  and  from  the  early  mediaeval  know- 
ledge about  Janus.     Ibn  Yahya  showed  the  Semitic 

1 MGH.,  Leges,  vol.  I,  p.  19. 

*  See  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-encyclopadie  der  elaasischen  Altertumawissen- 
sehaft,  new  edition,  vol.  XV,  col.  610. 

»  The  Jewish  Encyclopedia,  vol.  IX,  p.  322. 


PSEUDO-BEROSUS  211 

origin  of  the  words  employed  by  Pseudo-Berosus,  but 
he  was  mistaken  as  to  their  Hebrew  origin,  for  Pseudo- 
Berosus  gives  them  as  Aramaic.  Janus  "vitifer, 
vinifer"  is,  no  doubt,  derived  from  Heb.  and  Chald. 
]!1  yain  "wine."     Similarly,  Esta  is  Syr.  ]bitJ\,  Chald. 

^5^^  ^^i^  "fire."  But  Aretia  represents  more  nearly 
Arab.  (>j^  *ard  "earth,"  or  ^Ji»iJ\  'arid  "good  earth" 
than  Heb.  fHH  erez,  for  which  there  is  no  correspond- 
ing Syriac  word.  The  Chaldaic  derivatives  are 
here,  no  doubt,  due  to  an  adherence  to  a  Hebrew 
account  of  Noah.  None  of  these  words  have  survived 
in  the  Germanic  languages,  except  Arab.  fj»j\  'ard. 
The  Arabic  word  means  "earth,  ground,"  while 
Vj»  Hrdah  means  "abundant  herbage,  pasture," 
u^.J^  (>->'  'and,  'arid  "land  that  is  thriving,  that 
collects  moisture,  and  becomes  luxuriant  with  herb- 
age." The  first  datable  occurrence  of  the  word  in 
European  languages  is  in  two  documents  of  the  year 
788,  where  harde  means  "common  pasture."^  The 
oldest  OHGerman  forms  are  herda,  haerda,  eratha 
"earth,  soil,  humus."  It  is,  therefore,  very  likely  that 
OHG.  hirdi,  hirti  "shepherd"  is  derived  from  harde 
"pasture."  Herta  "herd"  is  recorded  only  in  Not- 
ker,  and  becomes  popular  only  later.  Apparently  the 
Arabic  word  was  applied  specifically  to  pasture  land, 
whence  this  development.  O  French  records  only  harde 
"flock,  herd,"  which  shows  once  more  the  relation  to 
this  group.  The  Gothic  has  differentiated  air  pa 
"earth"  from  hair  da  "herd."  The  ASaxon  has 
similarly  eard,  eorpe,  eorp  "earth"  and  heard  "flock, 
herd,"  but  also  eorod,  eored  "legion,  troop." 

*  "Dono  in  pago  salinense  in  marca  gisoluinga  iurnales  XVI  forastum  unum 
et  portionem  meam  de  ilia  harde,"  C.  Zeuss,  Traditiones  possessionesque 
wizenburgenses,  Spirae  1842,  pp.  200,  201. 


212     HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

The  classical  allusions  in  the  Janus  story  are  taken 
from  a  large  number  of  sources,  which  may  be  dis- 
covered by  looking  in  Forcellini  under  Janus,  where 
"chaos,  caelus,  pacem  habens,"  etc.,  will  be  found 
applied  to  him  just  as  in  Pseudo-Berosus.  But  to  us 
is  of  special  significance  the  fact  that  the  chief  source 
of  the  story  is  Ovid's  Fasti,  1.103  ff.: 

"Me  Chaos  antiqui — nam  sum  res  prisca — vocabant. 

Aspice,  quam  longi  temporis  acta  canam. 
Lucidus  hie  aer  et  quae  tria  corpora  restant, 

Ignis,  aquae,  tellus,  unus  acervus  erant." 

Annius  referred  to  this  source.^  He  also  pointed  out 
the  confusion  of  Aretia  with  the  Magna  Mater,  Cybele,^ 
a  confusion  which,  as  we  shall  see  later,  led  the  forger 
of  the  Germania  to  create  a  special  deity  for  the 
Germans. 

In  the  same  III. 5  we  have  another  proof  that  Annius 
could  not  possibly  have  concocted  the  Pseudo-Berosus, 
who  places  in  Armenia  the  cities,  Olyhama,  Arsa,  and 
Ratha.  It  is  hard  to  tell  where  he  got  this  job  lot  of 
cities,  but  fortunately  he  gives  the  etymologies  of 
Olyhama  as  "caelum"  and  of  Arsa  as  "sol,"  which 
allows  us  to  identify  them.  Olyhama  is  given  in 
Genesis,  X.IO,  as  a  city  in  Edom,  which  Jerome 
etymologizes  as  "  tabernaculum  meum  in  aliquo  uel 
tabernaculi  altitudo,"  which  apparently  produced  the 
mistake;  for  "caelum"  could  have  had  in  the  original 

only  Arab.    LJi   ^alsamd,  which,  by  mistaking  it   for 

U-Ji  in  the  texts  which  so  frequently  left  off  the  dots, 

was  read  as  alihama,  producing  Olyhama.     Similarly, 

Arsa  is  Arab.   <j\  *arasah  "fire,  flame." 


1  Op.  cit.,  fol.  ClXb. 

2  Ibid.,  fol.  CXVIa. 


PSEUDO-BEROSUS  213 

In  V.32  Deahus  was  so  called  from  the  gold  mines. 

This   is   Arab,  v^i  dzahab    "gold."      Had    the   forger 

had  in  mind  the  Hebrew  word,  he  would  have  written 
Zahahus,  and  not  Deabua. 

We  can  now  investigate  the  important  triad  of  the 
Inguaeones,  Istaevones,  and  Hermiones,  on  whom  so 
much  of  wrong  history  has  been  constructed.  In 
Pseudo-Berosus  the  three  are  not  mentioned  as  derived 
from  three  brothers.  In  the  Generatio  regum  et  genti- 
um,^ which  is  from  Codex  Sangallensis  732  and  belongs 
to  the  ninth  century,  we  have  the  following  genealogy: 

"Primus  rex  Romanorum  Alaneus  dictus  est. 
Alaneus  genuit  Papulo. 
Papulus  genuit  Egetium. 
Egetius  genuit  Egegium. 
Egegius  genuit  Siagrium. 

per  quem  Romani  regnum  perdiderunt. 
Tres  fuerunt  fratres, 
Erminus  Inguo  et  Istio  frater  eorum: 

unde  sunt  gentes  XII. 
Erminus  genuit 

Gotos  [Walagotus]  Wandalus  Gepedes  et  Saxones. 
haec  sunt  gentes  IV. 
Inguo  frater  eorum  genuit 

Burgundiones  Thoringus  Langobardus  Baioarius. 
haec  sunt  gentes  IV. 
Istio  frater  eorum  genuit 

Romanos  Brittones  Francus  Alamannus. 
haec  sunt  gentes  IV." 

Later  editions  of  this  genealogy  write  for  Istio  also 
Hisicio,  Escio,  and  for  Inguo  they  write  Ingo,  Tingus, 
Nigueo.  Besides,  the  order  of  the  derived  nations  is 
rearranged.  MS.  D  has  "Armen  genuit  Gothos 
Guandalos  Brjgjdos  Saxones,  Tingus  genuit  Tuscos  et 

^  K.  Muellenhoff,  Germania  antiqua,  Berolini  1873,  p.  163  f. 


214    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Longobardos  Burgondiones  Bajoarjos,"  while  MS.  E, 
which  is  from  the  Codex  Cavensis,  of  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury, has  **De  Ermenone  nate  sunt  generationes 
V.  Gothi  Uualagothi  Cybedi  Burgundio  et  Lango- 
bardos,  de  Nigueo  nate  sunt  generationes  quattuor,  id 
est  Uuandalos  Saxones  Baioarios  et  Toringus." 

We  have  an  older  form  of  this  genealogy  in  the  His- 
toria  Brittonum,  of  which  the  oldest  manuscript  goes 
back  to  the  ninth  or  tenth  century.  Here  we  read: 
"Primus  homo  venit  ad  Europam  de  genere  lafeth 
Alanus  cum  tribus  filiis  suis,  quorum  nomina  sunt 
Hessitio,  Armenon,  Negue.  Hessitio  autem  habuit 
filios  quattuor:  hi  sunt  Francus,  Romanus,  Britto, 
Albanus.  Armenon  autem  habuit  quinque  filios: 
Gothus,  Valagothus,  Gebidus,  Burgundus,  Longo- 
bardus.  Negue  autem  habuit  tres  filios:  Vandalus, 
Saxo,  Boguarus.  ab  Hisitione  autem  ortae  sunt 
quattuor  gentes  Franci,  Latini,  Albani  et  Britti.  ab 
Armenone  autem  quinque:  Gothi,  Valagothi,  Gebidi, 
Burgundi,  Longobardi.  a  Neguio  vero  quattuor  Bogu- 
arii,  Vandali,  Saxones  et  Turingi.  istae  autem  gentes 
subdivisae  sunt  per  totam  Europam."^  This  the 
Nennius  interpretatus  gives  as  follows:  "Primus  homo 
venit  ad  Europam  de  genere  laphet  Alanus  cum 
tribus  filiis  suis,  id  est  Isacon,  Armenon  et  Negua. 
Isacon  habuit  filios  quattuor:  Francum,  Romanum, 
Britum,  Albanum.  Armenon  autem  habuit  quinque 
filios:  Gotum,  Uilegotum,  Cebetum,  Burgandum, 
Longobardum.  tres  fuerunt  filii  Neguae:  Uandalus, 
Saxo,  Boarus.  a  Saxone  filio  Neguae  orti  sunt  Saxo- 
nes."2 

In  spite  of  the  discordant  texts,  it  is  clear  that  the 
genealogy  meant  to  identify  the  Gothic  peoples  with 
Hermino,  the  Romans  with  Istaevo,  and  the  Lango- 

1 MGH.,  Auctor.  antiq.,  vol.  XIII,  p.  159  f. 
« Ibid.,  p.  149. 


PSEUDO-BEROSUS  215 

bards  with  Inguaeo.  We  have  already  seen  from  the 
Hermanric  story  how  Ahriman  has  given  the  valiant 
warrior  of  the  Goths  of  the  north.  Istaevo  is  written 
Isaco  in  the  Historia  Brittonum,  and  the  other  forms 
for  this  name  show  that  Isaco  or  Isco  must  have  been 
the  original  word.  This  allows  us  at  once  to  derive  the 
genealogy  of  the  Romans  and  the  Franks  (the  latter 
are  also  related  to  the  Romans  in  Hunibald,  as  we 
shall  later  see)  from  an  Arabic  source. 

Mas'tidi^  gives  the  following  account  of  the  origin 
of  the  Romans.  "People  do  not  agree  as  to  the  origin 
of  the  name  of  Rum.  Some  say  that  it  should  be  de- 
rived from  the  city  of  Rum,  which  is  called  Rome  in 
the  language  of  that  country.  The  name  of  this  city 
has  been  Arabicized  under  the  name  of  Rum,  but  the 
people  call  themselves  Romans  in  their  language,  and 
the  neighboring  nations  do  not  call  them  otherwise. 
Others  have  thought  that  the  name  was  that  of  the 
father  of  the  people,  namely  Rum,  son  of  Samahliq, 
son  of  Herian,  son  of  'Alqa,  son  of  Esau,  son  of  Isaac, 
son  of  Abraham,  the  friend  of  God.  According  to 
others,  these  people  owe  their  name  to  the  chief  of 
their  race.  Rum,  son  of  Labt,  son  of  Yundn,  son  of 
Japheth,  son  of  Sunah,  son  of  Sarhtin,  son  of  Rumiyah, 
son  of  Barbat,  son  of  Tavfil,  son  of  Rtiman,  son  of 
al-A§far,  son  of  al-Nafr,  son  of  Esau,  son  of  Isaac. 
There  are  still  other  systems  in  regard  to  this.  .  .  .  Esau 
had  thirty  sons.  The  last  of  the  Rums  are  the  sons  of 
al-A§far,  sons  of  al-Nafr,  sons  of  Esau,  sons  of  Isaac. 
This  fact  is  established  by  a  number  of  pre-Islamitic 
poets.  It  has  been  more  especially  advanced  by  *Adi, 
son  of  Zaid  al-*Abadi,  when  he  says:  'The  Benu'l- 
A§far,  these  illustrious  sovereigns  of  Rome,  not  one  of 
them  is  left  to  be  talked  about.'" 

'  C.  Barbier  de  Meynard  and  Pavet  de  Courteille,  Ma^oudi,  Les  prairies 
d'or,  Paris  1863,  vol.  II,  chap.  XXVIII,  p.  293  ff. 


216    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Mas'tidi  says  that  these  genealogies  are  based  on 
the  Thorah  and  the  other  Hebrew  books. ^  This  is 
correct,  for  the  Romans  were  by  the  Jews  identijfied 
with  Edom,  that  is,  with  Esau,  even  as  the  Syrians 
derived  the  Romans  from  Esau  and  Isaac. ^ 

If  we  turn  to  the  Generatio  regum  et  gentium,  we  ob- 
serve that  it  is  dealing  with  a  genealogy  which  refers 
to  the  fall  of  the  Roman  empire  under  Siagrius,  in  487. 
The  last  of  the  Romans  disappear,  and  in  their  stead 
come  the  Britons,  the  Franks,  and  the  Germans,  who 
claim  a  relationship,  at  least  politically,  with  the 
Romans,  with  whom  they  are  classed.  Hence  the 
genealogy,  made  up  in  the  eighth  century,  creates  a 
common  forefather  for  them,  Isaac,  who  in  the  manu- 
scripts becomes  corrupted  to  Istaevo,  Istio,  etc.  Now, 
who  is  Inguaeof  We  have  also  the  reading  Nigueo, 
who  in  the  Historia  Brittonum  is  given  as  Negue.  He 
appears  as  the  eponymous  hero  of  the  Langobards 
and  some  other  nations  that  are  grouped  around  them. 
Here  the  Arabic  genealogical  science  failed  the  forger, 
because  the  Arabs  did  not  provide  any  genealogy  for 
the  nations  lying  so  far  outside  their  interest.  And 
yet,  it  is  again  the  Arabic  that  furnished  the  forger 
with  an  eponymous  hero.     Just  as  Arab.  jU  I  'dlamdn 

**  Alamannian"  had  led  Pseudo-Berosus  to  create  an 
eponymous  hero,  Mannus,  so  the  Langobards,  through 

an  original  form  j>^J  Alangobard,  which  is  not  used, 
led  to  the  common  form  ^^y  nuqobar(P  "Langobard," 

1  Ibid.,  p.  295. 

*  "Et  imperium  postmodum  in  adventu  suo  tradidit  Romanis,  qui  filii 
Esau  vocati  sunt,  ipsi  autem  filii  Esau  imperium  ei  qui  illud  dedit  adser- 
vant,"  Patrologia  syriaca,  pars  prima,  vol.  I,  col.  230  f.;  "imperium  dedit 
priuB  filiis  Jacob,  eisque  submisit  filios  Esau,  sicut  Isaac  ad  Esau  dixit; 
'Jacob  fratri  tuo  servies?  Cumque  in  imperio  baud  prospere  succederent, 
abstulit  ab  eis  regnum,  filiisque  Esau  dedit,  donee  veniet  is  cuius  est,' " 
ibid.,  col.  234. 

'  Mas'udI,  op.  eit.,  vol.  Ill,  p.  76. 


PSEUDO-BEROSUS  217 

which  produced  the  eponymous  hero,  Negue,  hence 
Inguaeo. 

We  have  in  Pliny  the  following  passage:  "Incipit 
deinde  clarior  aperiri  fama  ab  gente  Inguaeonum, 
quae  est  prima  in  Germania.  mons  Saevo  ibi,  in- 
mensus  nee  Ripaeis  iugis  minor,  inmanem  ad  Cim- 
brorum  usque  promunturium  efficit  sinum,  qui  Co- 
danus  vocatur,  refertus  insulis,  quarum  clarissima  est 
Scatinavia,  inconpertae  magnitudinis,  portionem  tan- 
tum  eius,  quod  notum  sit,  Hillevionum  gente  quin- 
gentis  incolente  pagis:  quare  alterum  orbem  terrarum 
eam  appellant.  .  .  .  Germanorum  genera  quinque: 
Vandili,  quorum  pars  Burgodiones,  Varinnae,  Charini, 
Gutones.  alterum  genus  Inguaeones,  quorum  pars 
Cimbri,    Teutoni    ac    Chaucorum    gentes.       proximi 

autem  Rheno  Istuaeones,  quorum mediterranei 

Hermiones,  quorum  Suebi,  Hermunduri,  Chatti,  Che- 
rusci.  quinta  pars  Peucini,  Basternae,  supra  dictis 
contermini  Daeis.  "^ 

In  the  light  of  the  above  discussion  it  is  obvious  that 
we  have  here  an  eighth  or  ninth  century  interpolation. 
It  will  be  observed  that  some  manuscripts  have  a 
lacuna  after  '*  Istuaeones  quorum."  This  is  not 
accidental.  The  Burgundians  and  Gutones  (apparently 
for  the  Goths)  have  been  classed  as  Vandili,  and, 
instead,  Suebi,  Hermunduri,  Chatti,  and  Cherusci  are 
mentioned  as  Hermiones,  while  Cimbri,  Teutoni,  and 
Chauci  have  been  substituted  for  Burgundiones,  Thor- 
ingi,  Langobardi,  Boiarii,  whom  Tacitus  could  not 
have  known,  as  Inguaeones.  Here  it  was  easy  enough 
to  make  the  changes.  But  the  interpolator  was  com- 
pletely baffled  about  Romans,  Britons,  and  Franks. 
Hence  the  best  some  manuscripts  could  do  was  to 
mention  Cimbri  as  Hermiones,  although  they  already 
appear  as  Inguaeones,  while  another  manuscript  repeats 

» IV.  96,  99- 100. 


218    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

all  three,  Cimbri,  Teutoni,  and  Chauci,  as  Hermiones. 
It  will  be  observed  that  in  IV.99  the  Inguaeones  are 
mentioned  as  a  '* genus,"  and  in  IV.96  as  a  "gens," 
which  still  further  increases  the  confusion;  and,  to 
make  ma^1;ers  still  worse,  Frisians  and  other  Germanic 
tribes,  among  them  the  Chauci,  who  have  already 
been  located  twice,  appear  in  IV.  101  outside  of  the 
classification.  The  blundering  interpolation  is  too 
obvious  to  need  much  discussion. 

Solinus  (XX.  1)  repeats  the  first  sentence  from  Pliny: 
"Mons  Saevo  ipse  ingens  nee  Riphaeis  minor  collibus 
initium  Germaniae  facit.  Inguaeones  tenent,  a  quibus 
primis  post  Scythas  nomen  Germanicum  consurgit." 
The  quotation  in  Solinus  is  absurd.  As  we  have  no 
Solinus  manuscripts  before  the  ninth  century,  it  is 
not  possible  to  ascertain  what  really  stood  in  Solinus, 
but  it  is  significant  that  Isidore  of  Seville  quotes 
the  sentence  immediately  preceding  and  the  sentence 
immediately  following,  while  of  the  whole  Germanic 
nomenclature  in  Pliny  there  is  not  a  trace  in  any 
writer  who  quoted  from  Pliny  or  Solinus.  We  have, 
it  is  true,  a  quotation  in  Pomponius  Mela,  III. 3,  "in 
eo  sunt  Cimbri  et  Teutoni,  ultra  ultimi  Germaniae 
Hermiones,"  which,  by  calling  the  Hermiones  a  people, 
and  not  a  classification,  and  by  locating  them  north 
of  the  Cimbri  and  Teutoni,  shows  that  it  is  taken  from 
a  faulty  manuscript  of  Pliny,  where  there  was  already 
a  lacuna  or  a  repetition.  But  Traube  has  long  ago 
shown  that  Mela  is  interpolated.^  I  do  not  discuss 
the  corresponding  passage  in  Tacitus'  Germania,  be- 
cause I  shall  analyze  this  silly  forgery  later  on. 

*  Sitzungsberichte  der  Miinchner  Akademie,  1891,  p.  399. 


HUNIBALD 

The  accusation  of  forgery  against  Trithemius  in 
his  account  of  the  origin  of  the  Franks  has  been  best 
summarized  by  I.  SilbernagP  as  follows:  "While 
Trithemius  was  working  on  the  second  part  of  his 
Hirsau  Annals,  he  seems  at  the  same  time  to  have 
busied  himself  with  the  plan  of  a  complete  history  of 
the  Franks.  For,  according  to  a  letter  of  1515  to  Bishop 
Laurentius  of  Bibra,  to  whom  he  dedicated  the  Com- 
pendium of  the  first  volume  of  the  Annals  on  the 
Origin  of  the  Franks,  and  according  to  the  introduction 
of  said  Compendium,  Trithemius  claims  to  have 
written  three  large  volumes  on  the  origin,  progress, 
and  particular  deeds  of  the  kings,  princes,  and  people 
of  the  Franks.  The  first  volume  was  from  the  year 
440  B.  C.  up  to  749  A.  D.,  the  second  from  750  to 
1265,  and  the  third  from  1266  to  1514.  But  in  all 
probability  Trithemius  never  elaborated  this  large 
historical  work  of  the  Franks.  This  is  proved  by  the 
Compendium  itself,  which  is  not  an  excerpt  from  a 
finished  work,  but  a  compilation  from  existing,  un- 
finished historical  materials,  even  as  Trithemius  begins 
the  second  volume  in  the  Compendium  with  the  divi- 
sion of  the  Frankish  Empire  among  the  four  sons  of 
Chlodwig,  and  at  the  same  time  gives  a  list  of  the 
historical  writers  from  whom  he  drew  for  the  second 
and  third  volumes  of  his  Annals.  If,  therefore.  Bishop 
Julius  of  Wtirzburg  observes  that  his  predecessor 
Frederic  has  shown  him  the  manuscript  of  this  great 
historical  work,  which  was  kept  in  the  castle,  we  can 

1  Johannes  Trithemius,  Regensburg  1885,  p.  182  flf.  (first  edition,  Landshut 
1868,  p.  188  ff.). 


220    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

unquestionably  understand  by  it  nothing  more  than 
an  unformed  collection  of  material.  Trithemius  fin- 
ished on  November  20,  1514,  the  Compendium  which 
he  dedicated  to  Bishop  Laurentius  of  Wtirzburg.  We 
have  also  another  Compendium,  which  announces  itself 
as  being  an  extract  from  the  last  twelve  books  of 
Hunibald,  and  contains  a  series  of  the  Wtirzburg 
bishops.  It  is  less  well  worked  out  than  the  first, 
but  goes  to  the  year  850,  that  is,  up  to  the 
division  of  Gaul  and  Germany.  This  circum- 
stance, in  conjunction  with  the  genealogy  of  the 
house  of  Habsburg  from  the  Frankish  King  Guntram 
and  with  the  remark  at  the  end  that  Maximilian 
should  not  be  called  the  Roman  King,  but  the  King 
of  the  Germans,  since  the  kingdom  belonged  to  the 
Germans  and  was  not  in  need  of  a  papal  confirmation, 
like  the  Roman  Empire,  seems  to  indicate  that  this 
Compendium,  which  was  also  written  in  1514,  was 
intended  for  Emperor  Maximilian,  who,  as  we  already 
know,  used  to  honor  Trithemius  with  scientific  orders. 

"If  we  look  at  the  sources  which  Trithemius  used 
for  his  two  Compendia,  we  at  the  start  meet  with  an 
old  Frankish  historian,  by  the  name  of  Hunibald, 
on  whom  the  whole  history  of  the  Franks  from  its 
origin  to  Chlodwig  is  based.  This  substantial  chrono- 
grapher,  according  to  Trithemius,  lived  in  the  time  of 
Chlodwig  and  wrote  his  eighteen  books  on  the  basis 
of  Dorac,  Wasthald,  and  others.  In  the  first  six  books 
he  treats  the  origin  of  the  Franks  from  the  fall  of 
Troy  up  to  the  death  of  Antenor  (440  B.  C),  in  the 
following  six  books,  the  history  of  the  Franks  from 
Antenor  to  Pharamund  (419  A.  D.),  and  in  the  last 
six,  from  Pharamund  to  Chlodwig.  Hunibald's  chron- 
icle ends  with  the  death  of  Chlodwig,  which  Trithe- 
mius, like  Sigebert  of  Gembloux,  places  in  514.  Huni- 
bald himself  wrote  his  history  on  the  basis  of  that  of 


HUNIBALD  221 

the  Scythian  or  Sigambrian  Wasthald,  who  had  writ- 
ten a  history  of  the  Franks  from  the  fall  of  Troy  up 
to  the  death  of  King  Marcomir  (412  B.  C.)»  then  from 
the  deeds  of  the  Frankish  heroes  by  Heligast,  from 
the  sage  Amerodac,  at  about  248  B.  C,  from  the 
poem  of  Pontifex  Arebald  about  the  deeds  of  King 
Ratherus  (+89  B.  C),  from  the  biography  of  King 
Richimer  (+113  A.  D.),  from  the  seer  Ruthwic,  from 
Dorac,  who  flourished  about  130  A.  D.  and  wrote  a 
history  of  his  people  in  verse,  and,  at  last,  from  Hilde- 
gast,  who  celebrated  the  deeds  of  King  Sunno  (+213 
A.  D.)  in  German.  Such  are  the  statements  of  Tri- 
themius,  besides  whom  no  one  ever  heard  of  a  historian 
Hunibald.  Gorres,  in  his  disquisition  on  Hunibald 
(Schlegel's  Museum,  vols.  Ill  &  IV),  concludes  from 
the  words  of  Count  Hermann  of  Nuenar,  'I  assume 
that  an  expert  has  taken  some  things  from  Hunibald, 
and  that,  too,  without  order  or  judgment,  and  has 
placed  it  in  a  book,  as  it  is  now  found  in  various 
writers,'  that  the  count  had  Hunibald  himself  before 
him,  whereas  Count  Nuenar  only  speaks  of  the  Latin 
of  Hunibald,  as  found  in  Trithemius  and  other  his- 
torians who  followed  him,  which  he  rejects  as  too 
barbarous  for  the  time  of  Hunibald.  For  the  same 
reason  the  contemporaries  of  Trithemius  declared  Huni- 
bald to  be  a  myth,  independently  of  the  fact  that  there 
were  other  causes  for  doubting  its  genuineness.  And 
if,  in  spite  of  this,  Gorres,  Phillips,  in  his  German 
History,  Mone,  in  his  History  of  Paganism  in  Northern 
Europe,  and  Ttirk,  in  his  Critical  History  of  the  Franks, 
want  to  maintain  the  genuineness  of  Hunibald  as  a 
source,  we  shall  oppose  to  them  the  testimony  of  Tri- 
themius himself,  who  in  the  sixth  book  of  his  Poly- 
graphia considers  the  work  of  Hunibald  as  a  fiction. 
This  much  is  certain:  Hunibald's  History  of  the  origin 
of  the  Franks  is  a  forgery,  and  the  only  question  is 


222    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

whether  Trithemius  was  deceived  by  some  one  else  who 
ascribed  these  forged  Annals  to  Hunibald  or  whether 
he  himself  concocted  this  Hunibald.  This  latter  fact 
is  not  admitted  by  those  who  otherwise  recognize  the 
mythical  element  in  Hunibald.  Yet  there  are  impor- 
tant reasons  for  it.  In  the  first  place,  the  arbitrary 
changes  made  by  Trithemius  in  the  history  of  his 
Hunibald.  According  to  the  Compendium  and  also 
the  Annales  Hirsaugienses,  the  Franks  came  to  Ger- 
many in  439  B.  C,  whereas  Johannes  Stabius,  who, 
in  matters  of  Hunibald,  was,  at  the  request  of  Peut- 
inger,  sent  by  Emperor  Maximilian  to  Wiirzburg, 
declares  that  in  St.  James  Abbey  in  Wtirzburg  it  was 
stated  on  the  wall  of  the  sundial,  about  the  portraits 
of  the  Frankish  princes,  that  the  Franks  arrived  in 
Germany  after  the  death  of  their  prince,  Priam,  in 
the  year  380  A.  D.,  as  we  read  in  Sigebert  of  Gem- 
bloux,  Geoffrey  of  Viterbo,  and  others.  And,  in  the 
letter  which  Trithemius  on  April  21,  1513,  sent  to  the 
Emperor  by  the  Herald  of  Geldern,  John  of  Cologne, 
he  makes  Hunibald  continue  the  history  of  Wiso- 
gastalth,  who  came  to  Thuringia  with  the  princes 
Marcomedes  and  Sunno  and  there  described  the  deeds 
of  the  Franks  up  to  the  sixth  year  of  King  Pharamund. 
Out  of  Wasthald  of  the  Compendium  and  of  the 
Annales  Hirsaugienses  is  made  here  Wisogastalth,  who 
writes  the  history  of  the  Franks,  not  up  to  412  B.  C, 
like  Wasthald,  but  up  to  425  A.  D.  Outside  of  other 
variations,  the  two  Compendia  do  not  agree  as  to  the 
dates  of  reign  of  the  Frankish  kings  from  Chlodomir, 
who,  according  to  the  first  Compendium,  dies  in  230 
B.  C,  according  to  the  second,  in  222  B.  C,  up  to 
King  Hilderich  (+484  A.  D.).  Again,  according  to 
the  second  Compendium,  Wasthald  wrote  the  first 
twelve  books  of  Hunibald,  which  rather  agrees  with 
the  work  of  Wisogastalth,  while  according  to  the  first 


HUNIBALD  223 

Compendium  and  the  Annales  Hirsaugienses,  only  the 
first  six  are  by  Wasthald,  from  whom  Trithemius  took 
nothing  into  the  Annales  Hirsaugienses,  because  he 
did  not  have  the  codex  at  hand.  But  from  the  other 
twelve  books  he  claims  to  have  made  extracts  sixteen 
years  before.  It  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  Trithemius, 
according  to  his  letter  to  Emperor  Maximilian,  drew 
for  his  history  of  the  Franks  on  the  basis  of  Hunibald, 
partly  from  excerpts  and  partly  from  memory,  that, 
therefore,  he  had  no  codex.  Emperor  Maximilian  wished 
to  obtain  from  Trithemius  the  codex  of  Hunibald, 
and  for  this  purpose  sent  the  Herald  of  Geldern  to 
him.  Trithemius  gave  to  one  of  his  monks  a  sheet 
of  paper  on  which  there  was  a  description  of  various 
chronicles,  among  them  that  of  Hunibald,  and  sent 
him  at  first  to  Mayence  and  then  to  Spanheim,  in 
order  to  make  a  search  for  Hunibald.  Meanwhile 
there  came  an  imperial  official  to  Trithemius,  who  at 
once  handed  him  a  letter  to  the  Emperor,  in  which  he 
informed  him  that  if  Hunibald  could  not  be  found  at 
Spanheim,  it  should  be  looked  for  at  Hirsau,  since  his 
successor  at  Spanheim  had  sold  several  volumes  to 
the  Abbot  of  Hirsau.  *I  know,'  wrote  Trithemius, 
*  the  manner  of  the  bibliophiles,  especially  of  the  monks 
who,  if  they  are  not  properly  denunciated,  not  to  say 
surrounded,  do  not  like  to  communicate  their  books 
to  the  mighty.  If  the  Diet  of  Worms  will  express 
itself  with  vigor,  I  shall  perhaps  do  my  utmost  to  find 
the  captive  Hunibald,  which  I  left  behind  in  April, 
1503,  at  Spanheim,  with  two  thousand  other  books.' 
And  on  November  22,  1515,  Trithemius  wrote  to  the 
Emperor,  *As  you  commanded  me,  I  went  in  person 
to  Spanheim,  in  order  to  find  Hunibald,  but  I  did 
not  find  it.  I  presume  that  the  book  was  sold  with 
others  for  a  consideration.  I  went  to  the  abbey  and 
made  a  careful  examination,  but  I  could  not  see  the 


224    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

library,  because  I  was  told  that  it  had  disappeared.' 
But  where  is  the  old  codex  of  Hunibald  which  Trithem- 
ius  had  in  hand  when  he  wrote  the  Polygraphia  at 
Wtirzburg?  Who  does  not  observe  from  these  letters 
in  what  embarrassment  Trithemius  was  placed  by  the 
Emperor's  desire  to  get  possession  of  Hunibald?  In 
Spanheim  Trithemius  knows  as  yet  nothing  of  a  Huni- 
bald, and  in  the  Chronicon  Hirsaugiense,  which  he  left 
behind  unfinished  in  Spanheim,  there  is  not  the  slightest 
reference  to  Hunibald's  History  of  the  Franks  in 
connection  with  his  mention  of  Rudolf  of  Habsburg. 
Trithemius  made  its  acquaintance  first  at  Wtirzburg, 
and  after  the  composition  of  the  Annales  Hirsaugienses 
he  recanted,  in  a  letter  to  Nicholas  Basellius  and  under 
the  influence  of  the  History  of  the  Franks,  his  former 
view  of  the  German  Kingdom  and  the  Roman  Empire. 
How  is  it?  Trithemius  did  not  get  the  codex  of  Huni- 
bald, if  it  really  was  at  Spanheim?  Did  he  not  im- 
mediately ask  his  friend  John  Damius  to  buy  up  the 
Greek  codices  and  books  for  him,  when  he  learned 
that  the  Abbot  of  Bursfeld  during  the  visitation  had 
ordered  their  sale?  Could  he  then  not  have  obtained 
Hunibald,  which  to  him  was  such  an  important  source? 
But  Trithemius  possessed  Hunibald  only  in  paper 
excerpts,  which,  indeed,  were  found  at  Wtirzburg  after 
Trithemius'  death  by  Stabius,  and  where  Hunibald's 
History  was  frequently  changed,  and  he  also  carried 
them  in  his  mind,  wherefore  he  was  unable  to  give 
a  good  account  of  Hunibald's  codex  in  the  description 
given  to  the  monk,  although  he  described  the  other 
codices.  What  else  can  be  concluded  from  all  this 
but  that  the  whole  history  of  the  Franks  originated  in 
Trithemius'  head?  We  are  ready  to  admit,  with 
Gorres,  that  Trithemius  had  no  special  genius,  no 
great  inventive  spirit  for  a  large,  consistent  forgery, 
but  he  did  not  need  any  in  this  particular  case.     The 


HUNIBALD  225 

myth  of  the  Trojan  origin  of  the  Franks  had  been  told 
long  ago  by  the  oldest  historians,  Gregory  of  Tours, 
Regino,  Otto  of  Freising,  Geoffrey  of  Viterbo,  Vin- 
centius  Bellovacensis,  Aeneas  Sylvius,  and  others,  and 
Trithemius  merely  expanded  them  by  making  the 
Franks  or  Sigambrians  appear  in  Germany  eight 
hundred  years  earlier  and  inventing  the  necessary 
dynasty  up  to  the  time  of  Emperor  Valentinian.  His 
knowledge  of  many  old  chronicles  and  his  constant 
occupation  with  historical  works  had  given  him  a 
certain  dexterity  in  the  presentation  of  historical  events, 
even  as  Gervinus  remarks  that  in  Hunibald's  History 
much  is  fashioned  after  the  Getica  of  Jordanes,  which 
Trithemius  unquestionably  knew." 

Hardly  a  statement  made  by  Silbernagl  in  proof  of 
a  forgery  committed  by  Trithemius  is  correct.  Sil- 
bernagl says,  in  a  footnote,  that  Trithemius  in  his 
Polygraphia,  written  in  1507,  confessed  that  he  was 
tricking  his  readers,  because  he  wrote,  "The  old  codex 
could  hardly  be  read,  wherefore  I  am  afraid  that  I 
have  been  rather  deceived  by  a  forger  (von  irgend 
einem  Falscher  getauscht  worden  zu  sein)  than  to  have 
found  Hunibald's  true  and  certain  opinion.  Be  it  as 
it  may,  if  it  is  Hunibald's  true  account,  I  have  written 
well,  but  if  it  is  somebody's  fiction,  it  will  neither  hurt 
me,  nor  do  the  reader  any  wrong.  "^  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  Silbernagl  gives  the  Latin  version  of  the  passage 
in  the  first  edition  (p.  191),  where,  however,  there  is 
no  reference  to  a  forger,  but  to  an  interpolator.  To 
make  matters  worse,  Silbernagl  consciously  perverts 
the  facts  in  the  case  by  quoting  one  sentence  out  of 
its  context.     In  the  Polygraphia^  Trithemius  gives  an 

1  Ibid.,  p.  185. 

*  I  was  able  to  procure  only  a  late  edition  of  this  extremely  valuable  work 
for  the  determination  of  the  origin  of  the  Gothic  and  Runic  writings,  namely, 
the  one  entitled,  loannis  Trithemii  abbatis  Peapolitani  quondam  Spanhey- 
mensia  ad  Maximilianum  I  Caes.  Libri  Polygraphiae  VI,  Argentinae  1600. 


226    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

alphabet,  ascribed  to  Wasthald,  which  he  recognizes 
at  once  to  be  of  Greek  origin,  but  finding  some  letters 
made  quite  differently  from  what  they  are  in  Greek, 
he  exclaims:  "If  I  have  not  been  deceived  by  the 
copyist's  blunders,  I  think  I  have  given  a  fairly  cor- 
rect copy  of  the  alphabet,  in  which  some  characters 
differ  totally  from  the  Greek,  while  others  seem  partly 
to  be  assimilated  to  them.  I  do  not  know  what  to 
think  of  its  inventor,  because,  although  he  did  not 
keep  the  forms  of  the  Greek  letters,  he  none  the  less 
preserved  their  order.  The  Codex  was  very  frail  from 
old  age  and  could  hardly  be  read,  hence  I  am  afraid 
that  I  have  rather  been  deceived  by  some  interpolator 
than  that  I  found  Hunibald's  true  opinion.  But  let 
us  pass  to  what  remains,  for,  if  it  is  Hunibald's  true 
statement,  it  is  written  well  by  me,  but  if  it  is  some- 
body's fiction,  it  cannot  hurt  me  nor  do  any  injury 
to  any  reader."^  Trithemius  does  not  raise  any  doubt 
about  the  authorship  of  the  work,  but  only  about  the 
authenticity  of  the  particular  alphabet.  This  only 
gives  evidence  of  his  critical  spirit  and  intellectual 
honesty,  and  does  him  honor.  Besides,  how  could  he 
foresee  in  1507  that  after  1515  doubt  would  be  raised 
in  regard  to  what  he  wrote  in  1514? 

Silbernagl  accuses  Trithemius  of  weakmindedness, 
because  he  contradicted  himself  several  times  in 
regard  to  the  number  pf  books  that  Wasthald  wrote 
and  to  the  period  which  he  covered.  Here,  again, 
Silbernagl  perverts  the  truth,  or,  rather,  repeats  older 

1  "Nisi  vitium  scriptoris  me  deceperit  Vuastaldi  alphabetum  conuenienter 
arbitror  effigaui,  in  quo  aliqui  characteres  a  Graecis  penitus  discrepant, 
nonnuUi  etiam  partim  eis  assimilari  videntur.  Nescio  tamen  quid  iudicem, 
inuentor  eorum  quisquis  fuerit,  quanquam  formam  Graecarum  non  tenuerit, 
ordinem  tamen  literarum  obseruauit.  Codex  nimis  uetustate  caducus  vix 
poterat  legi,  unde  me  vereor  deceptum  potius  ab  aliquo  intersertore  quam 
Hunibaldi  veram  et  certam  reperisse  sententiam.  Sed  transeamus  ad  ilia 
quae  restant,  quoniam  si  vera  est  Hunibaldi  positio,  bene  scriptum  a  nobis 
fuerit,  sin  autem  fictio  cuiuspiam  est,  neque  nobis  officiet,  neque  iniuriam 
facit  lectori." 


HUNIBALD  227 

authorities  without  having  taken  the  trouble  to  look 
up  the  matter  in  Trithemius'  works.  Early  in  1513, 
or  a  year  before  he  even  thought  of  writing  the  History 
of  the  Franks,  Emperor  Maximilian,  who  had  heard 
from  him  of  the  precious  volume  of  Hunibald,  was 
anxious  to  acquire  it.  Unfortunately,  Trithemius  had 
left  Spanheim  Abbey  before  1506,  abandoning  his 
whole  magnificent  library.  He  did  not  know  what 
had  become  of  his  books,  but  he  was  only  too  glad  to 
give  the  Emperor  all  the  information  in  his  possession. 
So,  on  April  21,  1513,  he  wrote  to  him,  saying  that,  as 
far  as  he  remembered,  the  name  of  the  author  of  the 
Origin  and  Deeds  of  the  Franks  was  Hunibald.  Then 
he  proceeded  to  give  a  brief  account  of  the  contents 
of  the  book,  and  mentioned  the  fact  that  Wisogastalth 
had  described  the  deeds  of  the  Franks  up  to  the  time 
of  Marcomedes  and  Sunno,  and  that  Wisogastalth, 
the  historiographer  of  the  Franks,  and  Salagast,  the 
legislator,  had  great  authority  among  the  Franks. 
Trithemius  ends  the  letter  by  saying  that  he  had  made 
extracts  from  Hunibald's  book  and  otherwise  remem- 
bered some  other  facts  from  it.^ 

1  "De  origine  et  gestis  Francorum  decern  et  octo  libros  Parciales  in  uno 
volumine,  si  recte  memini,  scripsit  Hunibald.  Francus  tempore  Clodouei 
regis  Francorum  in  Germania  et  Gallia  quinti,  Primus  enim  fuit  in  theutonia 
circa  Wirtzburg  electus  pharamundus  filius  Marcomedis  ducis  qui  populum 
de  Sarmacia  cum  Sunnone  ad  thuringiam  eduxerat,  Secundus  Clodius  crinitus 
Tercius  meroueus  Quartus  Hilderich  Quintus  Clodoueus  Sextus  Theodorich 
Septimus  Clotharius,  quo  mortuo  filij  eius  Regnum  diuiserunt  inter  se 
partibus  quinque,  videlicet  Herberth  Helperich,  Guntram,  Sigeberth  et 
Odeberth.  In  ea  divisione  regni  Odebert  Alsaciam  Burgundiam  superiorem- 
que  cisrenane  Prouincie  partem  in  porcionem  accepit  cum  adiacentibus, 
Hie  Odebert  quatuor  filios  reliquit  Arbogist  Odoberth,  Gunthram  et  Vuem- 
her.  Vervun  diuisio  regno  facti  sunt  Comites  et  duces  ex  his  Odeberth  iam 
dictus  Comes  primus  fuit  in  Habspurg  sed  nunc  propositum  sequamur. 
Auctor  memoratus  Hunibald  historiam  usque  ad  annum  regis  Franconmi 
clodouei  vicesimum  quartum  deduxit,  incipiens  a  sexto  anno  Pharamimdi 
regis  primi  vbi  historiam  Francorum  Wisogastalth  moriens  terminavit. 
Vuisogastalt  cum  Marcomede  et  Sunnone  ducibus  ex  Sarmacia  sycambrorum 
in  Thuringiam  veniens  originem,  duces,  clades  et  gesta  Francorum  ab  exitu 
troyanonim  secutus  precedentes  breviter  descripsit.  Quem  Hunibald 
sequutus  historiam  ut  diximus  continuavit.  Vuisogastaldt  Francorum 
Historiographus  et  a  Secretis  fuit  Salagast  legislator.    Ambo  philosophi, 


228    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Silbernagl  accuses  Trithemius  of  having  changed  the 
name  of  Wasthald  of  the  Compendium  and  the  Annates 
Hirsaugienses  to  Wisogastalth,  and  he  says  that  Wast- 
hald wrote  the  history  of  the  Franks  up  to  412  B.  C, 
whereas  Wisogastalth  continued  it  to  425  A.  D. 
Besides,  according  to  the  second  Compendium  Wast- 
hald wrote  twelve  books,  while  according  to  the  first 
Compendium  and  the  Annales  Hirsaugienses  Wast- 
hald wrote  only  the  first  six,  says  Silbernagl.  Now  the 
facts  are  these: 

Trithemius  in  the  Annales  Hirsaugienses,^  indeed, 
speaks  of  six  books  (of  Wasthald),  but  he  distinctly 
says  that  they  cover  a  period  of  750  years.  A  few  lines 
further  down  he  speaks  of  six  books  of  Hunibald,  covering 
a  period  of  405  years,  and  six  more,  covering  109  years. ^ 
Trithemius  says  distinctly  that  he  did  not  have  the 
codex  at  hand,  having  left  it  at  Spanheim,  and  that  he 
had  made  an  excerpt  of  the  last  twelve  books  some  six- 
teen years  before,  and  now  would  give  a  list  of  the  kings, 
without  elaborating  upon  their  deeds. ^  The  Annales 
Hirsaugienses,  according  to  the  Colophon,  were  begun  in 
1509  and  finished  in  1514.  It  is,  therefore,  clear  from 
his  own  statements  that  he  drew  for  the  brief  account 
either  on  his  memory  or  from  his  written  abstract. 

ambo  sapientes  et  magne  apud  Francos  Auctoritatis  teste  Hunibaldo. 
....  Hec  et  alia  multa  memoratu  dignissima  in  predicto  volumine 
brevi  et  lucida  narratione  continentur  e  quibus  ego  quedam  in  scedis  non- 
nuUa  vero  in  memoria  teneo  locata,"  J.  Chmel,  Die  Handschriften  der 
k.  k.  Hofbibliothek  in  Wien,  Wien  1840,  vol.  I,  p.  318  f. 

1  St.  Gall  1690,  vol.  II,  p.  22. 

'  "Nam  primi  sex  libri  memorati  Auctoris  Hunibaldi  continent  historiam 

annorum  DCCL In  aliis  sex  Hunibaldi  libris  historia  continetur 

annorum  CCCCV.  .  .  .  porro  in  ultimis  Hunibaldi  sex  libris  historia 
continetur  annorum  CIX." 

'  "Porro  quot  hujus  gentis  fuerint  Reges  a  primo  Duce,  cum  quo  exierunt 
a  Troja,  primis  Hunibaldi  sex  libris  a  Wasthaldo  conscriptis  habetur,  de 
quibus  nos  hac  vice  non  intromittimus,  quia  Codicem  in  Sphanheim  di- 
missum  ad  manum  non  habemus.  Ex  alijs  duodecim  Hunibaldi  libris, 
quae  ante  sedecim  annos  nos  excepimus,  breviter  et  compendiose  his 
Annalibus  inserenda  censemus,  sola  Regum  nomina,  tempora  et  annos 
quibus  regnarunt,  gesta  eorum  praetereuntes,"  ibid.,  p.  23. 


HUNIBALD  229 

In  1514  Trithemius  wrote  the  Compendium  and 
De  origine  gentis  Francorum.  In  the  Compendium  he 
states  that  he  follows  the  compilation  of  Hunibald,  who 
about  the  year  500  wrote  a  history,  using  as  sources 
Dorac,  Wasthald,  and  others.  The  division  in  books 
is  the  same  as  in  the  Annates  Hirsaugienses.^  It  is 
only  natural  that,  not  having  the  codex  at  hand,  he 
should  not  have  remembered  the  precise  obligation  to 
Wasthald  as  regards  the  number  of  books  ascribed  to 
him.  He  distinctly  states  that  Wasthald  covered  a 
period  of  approximately  758  years, ^  that  is,  we  have 
the  identical  statement  as  in  the  Annales  Hirsaugienses. 
Absolutely  the  same  statement,  except  for  slight 
variations  in  dates,  is  made  in  the  De  origine,^  but 
the  title  of  this  latter  work  speaks  of  Wasthald  as 


*  "Scio  multos  de  origine  Francorum  et  varie  et  diuersa  scripsisse,  quorum 
nonnuUi  gentem  contendunt  indigenam,  caeteri  vero  nescio  de  qua  Sicam- 
brorum  vrbe  aduentitiam.  Quorum  diuersas  opiniones  neminem  posse  vel 
discernere  vel  concordare  credimus,  quern  Hunibaldi  compilatio  non  illu- 
strat.  Is  etenim  solidus  Francorum  historiographus  claruit  in  humanis 
Clodouei  regis,  quem  sanctus  Remigius  praesul  Romanorum  baptizauit, 
temporibus,  anno  dominicae  natiuitatis  quingentesimo;  et  scripsit  post 
Doracum  philosophum,  Wasthaldum  historicum,  et  alios  plures  rerum  ges- 
tarum  antiquissimos  scriptores  insigne  opus,  quod  in  libros  decern  et  octo 
distinxit.  In  sex  primis,  gentis  Francorum  primaeuam  deducit  originern 
ab  excidio  Troiano  vsque  ad  mortem  Antenoris  regis,  quem  Scanziani, 
Gothi,  Suecique  siue  Suedi,  circa  Danubij  ostia  interfecerunt,  anno  videlicet 
ante  Christi  natiuitatem  quadringentesimo  quadragesimo.  In  aliis  vero 
sex  libris,  tempus  complectitur  ab  interitu  regis  Antenoris  memorati,  vsque 
ad  Faramundum  regem  Francorum,  secundi  ordinis  quadragesimum  tertium. 
A  Faramundo  reliqui  sex  libri  continuantur  vsque  ad  vltimum  annum 
Clodouei  primi  ex  regibus  Francorum  christiani,  qui  obiit  anno  dominicae 
natiuitatis  quingentesimo  quartodecimo.  Et  quia  de  omnibus  his  in  primo 
volumine  annalium  nostrorum  latius  scripsimus,  ratio  nominis  Breuiarij 
postulat,  vt  istic  breuitati  studeamus,"  Trithemius,  Opera  Historica,  Franco- 
furti  1601,  p.  2. 

*  "Vsque  in  hunc  annum  Wasthald  Scytha,  siue  Sicamber,  patrio  sermone, 
historiarum  opus  gentis  suae  deduxit,  per  annos  plus  minus  D.  CC.  LVIII," 
ibid.,  p.  4. 

^  "Ad  hunc  annum  Wasthaldus  duodecim  libros  suos,  de  origine  Sicam- 
brorum;  ab  excidio  Troiano  perduxit,  atque  compleuit  per  annos  continu- 
ando,  DCCLXVIII.  Ab  hinc  Hunibald,  in  sex  libris  historiam,  de  regibus 
et  gestis  Sicambrorum  continuat  per  annos,  DCCCCXXX.  vsque  ad  obitum 
Clodouei  regis  magni,"  ibid.,  p.  64. 


230    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

having  written  the  first  twelve  books.  ^  Here,  then, 
we  have  an  agreement  with  the  letter  to  Emperor 
Maximilian,  except  that  Wasthald  is  changed  to 
Wisogastalth.  Did  Trithemius  bungle  matters?  Was 
he  such  a  reckless  forger  as  to  give  himself  away  so 
easily?  Obviously  not.  The  confusion  arose  in  his 
mind  because  Wisogastalth  and  Wesogast  and  Gast- 
hald  are  given  at  the  end  of  the  next  six  books  as 
important  legislators,  and  Wesogast  is  mentioned  as 
one  of  those  who  wrote  the  Salic  laws.  The  same 
confusion  in  names  is  found  in  the  case  of  another 
legislator,  who  is  mentioned  as  Salogasthald  and  as 
Salogast.  From  this  confusion  of  names  Trithemius, 
who  professedly  had  not  the  codex  before  him,  in  the 
letter  to  the  Emperor  ascribed  the  history  to  the  great 
legislator,  instead  of  to  Hunibald.  But  he  distinctly 
says  that  Hunibald  composed  this  work  from  the  songs 
of  the  flamens,  and,  if  so,  Wisogastalth,  or  Wesogast, 
may  have  been  one  of  the  sources  quoted  by  Hunibald. 
In  no  case  does  Trithemius  claim  to  give  an  account 
from  Wasthald,  but  only  from  Hunibald's  compilation. 
It  is  in  the  last  six  books  that  Hunibald  was  supposed 
to  speak  from  his  own  experience,  and  thus  there  is 
no  contradiction  on  any  point  brought  forward  by 
Trithemius.  Indeed,  his  assertion  that  he  had  made 
extracts  from  Hunibald's  book  is  only  corroborated 
by  Stabius,  who  made  an  investigation  of  the  case  and 
from  the  start  assumed  an  inimical  attitude  towards  him, 
for  he  actually  found,  after  Trithemius'  death,  excerpts 
from  Hunibald,  with  many  changes  by  Trithemius.^ 

Now,  it  is  true  that  on  the  sundial  Trithemius  said 
that  the  Franks  arrived  from  Sarmatia  in  Germany 


^  "Ex  duodecim  ultimis  Hunibaldi  libris,  quorum  sex  primos  Wasthaldus 
conscripsit,"  ibid.,  p.  63. 

2  Vita  Trithemii,  in  M.  Ziegelbauer,  Historia  rei  liter ariae  Ordinis  S. 
Benedicti,  Augustae  Vind.  et  Herbipoli  1754,  vol.  Ill,  p.  328. 


HUNIBALD  231 

in  the  year  380  A.  D.,^  and  he  similarly  mentioned 
the  fact  in  his  letter  to  Emperor  Maximilian.  But 
both  these  statements  were  made  before  the  year  1514, 
when  he  for  the  first  time  quoted  from  Hunibald.  He 
merely  depended  on  his  memory  in  these  cases  and 
on  the  usual  statement  in  the  histories.  But  when  he 
looked  up  his  notes,  which,  according  to  his  state- 
ment,^ he  had  written  up  in  1498,  he  found  that  he 
had  confused  Wasthald  with  Wisogast,  and  that  a 
correction  was  necessary.  This  he  noticed  only  after 
the  second  volume  of  the  Annales  Hirsaugienses  was 
written,  that  is,  in  1514,  wherefore  he  tore  out  two 
quaternions  and  substituted  the  two  in  which  the 
history  of  the  Franks  was  given  from  Hunibald.  He, 
therefore,  in  a  letter  to  Nicholas  Basellius,  attached 
to  the  second  volume  of  the  Annales,  begged  him 
before  publication  to  correct  throughout  the  work  all 
those  mistakes  which  arose  from  this  misconception 
and  which  were  due  to  his  confessed  blundering.^ 
This  letter  was  written  April  12,  1514. 

^  Chmel,  op,  cit.,  p.  313. 

*  See  note  on  p. 

•  "In  huius  autem  secundi  Voluminis  principio  Rudolphus  de  Habspurg 
quondam  Rex  Germanorum  occasionem  dedit,  quod  originem  gentis 
Francorum  altius  quam  volui  repetere,  sum  compulsus.  Cuius  rei  gratia 
primos  duos  quaterniones,  quos  scripseram,  necessario  abieci;  propterea, 
quod  communem  secutus  opinionem  cum  pluribus  erraveram,  qui  Francos 
temporibus  Valentiniani  Caesaris  (nescio  unde)  primum  in  Germaniam 
venisse  somniarunt:  cum  ex  multis  constet  auctoribus,  illos  diu  ante  Sicam- 
bros  dictos  circa  Rheni  fluminis  ostia  (ubi  nunc  sunt  HoUandij,  Frisij,  et 
Geldrij)  sedes  habuisse.  Quod  autem  prius  dicti  fuerint  Sicambri  quam 
PVanci,  S.  Remigius  innuit:  qui  baptizando  Regi  Francorum  Clodoveo 
dixit:  Mitis  depone  colla  Sicamber.  Adora  quod  incendis:  incende  quod 
adorasti.  Alios  ergo  in  locum  priorum  quaterniones  duos  reposui:  in 
quibus  Hunibaldum  secutus,  veram  originem  Francorum  breviter  descripsi. 
Hinc  factum  est,  quod  mihi  apud  plures  iuste  videbor  contrarius:  qui  et  in 
primo  Volumine,  et  in  secundo  (per  inscitiam  meam,  fateor)  saepius  Regein 
Germaniae  (satis  imperite)  nominavi  Romanorum,  ac  Regni  Vrbes  dixi 
praeter  debitum  imperiales:  quod  tamen  non  debere  fieri  manifestum  est 
omnibus  intelligentibus  et  Regni,  et  Imperij  originem  ac  rationem.  Item 
cum  sit  usus  Curiae  Romanae,  nuUam  sine  Cathedra  Pontificali  scribere 
Civitatem,  errasse  me  fateor,  quoties  Niirenberg,  Franckefort,  Vlmam, 
vel  quodcunque  aliud  oppidum  (ubi  non  est  Sedes  Episcopalis)  civitatem 
nuncupavi;   quanquam  eorundem  incolas  non  loci,  sed  Regni  cives  dicere 


232    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Stabius  discredits  Trithemius  by  saying  that  he 
was  unable  to  give  a  description  of  the  volume  of 
Hunibald  when  Emperor  Maximilian  asked  for  it. 
That  is  quite  untrue.  He  described  the  volume  in 
detail/  as  much  as  anyone  could  have  done  after  the 
lapse  of  nine  years  and  after  having  made  extracts 
from  it  fifteen  years  before.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
anyone  could  have  given  a  better  description  after 
so  many  years. 

If  we  now  arrange  the  information  in  regard  to  Huni- 
bald in  chronological  order,  we  get  the  following: 
1507.  Trithemius,  in  his  Polygraphia,^  refers  to  Phar- 
amund  as  the  forty-third  king  and  Clodius  as  the 
forty-fourth  king  after  Marcomerus.  He  gives  an 
alphabet  of  the  ancient  Germans  (to  judge  from  the 
reference  in  Silbernagl,  by  Wasthald)  and  another 
alphabet  invented  by  Dorac.  Obviously  Trithemius, 
who  at  that  time  did  not  even  think  of  a  History  of 
the  Franks,  was  quoting  from  Hunibald's  History.^ 


potuerim.  His  te  propterea  monuerim,  ut  si  olim  rescribenda  fuerint  haec 
ipsa  volumina,  errorem  corrigas:  Regem  Germanis:  Imperium  Romanis 
adscribas:  Vrbesque  et  Civitates  Germaniae  liberas,  non  Imperlales, 
sed  Regales  potius  nuncupandas  fore  intelligas.  Haec  si  volueris  errata, 
citius  emendabis,"  op.  cit.,  pp.  3-4. 

*  "Hunibaldus  de  origine  et  gestis  Francorum  in  pergameno  arctus  forme 
est  volumen  et  si  recte  memini  albo  corio  porcino  coopertum  sunt  libri 
parciales  octodecim  ut  puto,"  Chmel,  op.  cit.,  p.  316. 

2  Unfortunately  the  Latin  edition  of  1518  is  not  accessible  to  me,  and  I 
quote  from  the  corrupt  edition  of  1561. 

3  Silbernagl's  accusation  that  Trithemius  might  have  bought  up  Huni- 
bald, as  he  did  try  to  buy  his  Greek  codices  in  Spanheim,  is  absurd,  because 
Trithemius  ordered  Damius  to  buy  up  the  Greek  books,  which  the  Abbot 
of  Bursfeld,  during  his  visitation  at  Spanheim,  commanded  to  be  sold. 
Trithemius  specifically  says  that  he  would  greatly  have  preferred  the  books 
to  remain  at  Spanheim,  but  since  the  abbot  had  taken  a  dislike  to  the 
Greek  books,  he  wished  Damius  to  buy  them  up,  in  order  to  save  their  destruc- 
tion or  dispersion.  In  the  same  letter  he  mentions  that  the  Spanheim 
library  contained  works  in  Hebrew,  Greek,  Latin,  Chaldaic,  Arabic,  Indian, 
Ruthenian,  and  Tartar.  (Epistolae  familiares,  lib.  II,  XLVII,  in  Trithem- 
ius' Opera  historica,  ed.  of  1601,  part  II,  p.  559).  Silbernagl  might  just  as 
well  have  claimed  that  no  such  foreign  books  existed,  because  Damius  was 
not  ordered  to  buy  them  for  Trithemius. 


HUNIBALD  233 

April  21,  1513.  Trithemius  gives  Emperor  Maximilian 
his  aid  in  trying  to  obtain  the  volume  of  Hunibald 
which  was  left  behind  at  Spanheim  in  1506. 
April  26,  1513.  Trithemius  has  just  learned^  that 
his  successor  in  Spanheim  had  sold  several  books  to 
the  Abbot  of  Hirsau,  and  that  a  careful  inquiry  should 
be  instituted  there. 

April  21,  1514.  Trithemius,  inspecting  his  notes  on 
Hunibald,  tears  out  two  quaternions  from  his  manu- 
scripts of  the  Annates  Hirsaugienses  and  corrects  the 
history  of  the  Franks  according  to  Hunibald. 

His  De  origine  gentis  Francorum  was  begun  about  the 
same  time.  In  its  title  and  in  the  text,  Wasthald  is 
accredited  with  the  second  set  of  six  books,  but  it  is 
evident  that  he  now  is  no  longer  supposed  to  have 
written  up  to  the  reign  of  Marcomedes,  as  in  the 
letter  to  Emperor  Maximilian,  but  only  up  to  Marcomi- 
rus,  who  died  in  410  B.  C.  Obviously  Trithemius  recog- 
nized, when  he  looked  at  his  notes,  that  he  was  not 
justified  in  identifying  Wasthald  with  Wisogasthald, 
as  he  had  done  from  memory  in  writing  to  the  Emperor. 
He  now  assumed  from  his  incomplete  notes  that  he 
had  made  a  mistake  in  accrediting  Wasthald  with  the 
work  of  Wisogasthald,  and  that,  although  the  twelve 
books  were  all  by  or  from  Wasthald,  Wisogasthald  had 
nothing  whatsoever  to  do  with  it.  In  the  same  year 
appeared  his  Compendium,  which  agrees  with  the  De 
origine  in  all  particulars. 

Trithemius'  mistake  consisted,  when  quoting  from 
memory,  in  confusing  Wasthald  and  Wisogasthald, 
because  he  had  professedly  not  made  any  excerpts 
from  the  first  six  books,  and  because  the  second  set 
of  six  books  was  really  Wasthald's.  Assuming  that 
these  six  books  were  the  first  six  books  of  the  eighteen, 
he  could  not  help  mistaking  Wasthald  and  Wisogast- 

1  Chmel,  op.  cit.,  p.  319. 


234    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

hald,  the  latter  of  whom  belonged  to  the  end  of  the 
next  period  touched  upon.  As  soon  as  he  noticed  his 
mistake,  he  properly  ascribed  the  first  twelve  books  to 
Wasthald,  but  in  every  case,  after  the  off-hand  letter  to 
the  Emperor,  he  accredited  Wasthald  only  with  the  period 
for  which  he  had  no  notes. 

Taking  his  statements  chronologically,  Trithemius 
looms  up  as  a  man  of  scrupulous  veracity,  who  would 
not,  for  the  sake  of  uniformity,  abide  by  an  involuntary 
blunder,  even  though  he  might  have  passed  unde- 
tected, and  who  dared  to  confess  his  mistake,  no 
matter  what  the  consequences  would  be.  All  the 
caviling  of  Stabius  is  of  no  avail.  Of  course,  Hunibald 
was  a  forgery,  but  it  was  not  Trithemius'  forgery. 
We  shall  see  later  that  it  belongs  to  the  eighth  century. 
But  Trithemius  did  not  possess  the  critical  acuteness, 
nor  did  anyone  else  in  his  time,  to  observe  that  Huni- 
bald was  no  other  than  the  one  who  supplied  the  so- 
called  Fredegar's  Chronicle,  The  Liber  historiae  Fran- 
corum,  the  Vita  Sancti  Columbani,  and  Paulus  Diaconus 
with  apocryphal  matter,  and  in  his  credulity  he  actually 
believed  he  had  before  him  a  work  of  the  fifth  century. 
Besides,  Trithemius  does  not  give  us  a  translation  of 
Hunibald,  but  a  compendium  of  history,  based  chiefly 
on  Hunibald,  hence  it  would  be  dangerous  to  accept 
Trithemius'  works  as  substitutes  for  the  first.  But, 
with  proper  caution,  it  is  possible  to  ascertain  what 
Hunibald  really  did  say.  It  is  only  a  pity  that 
Trithemius  exercised  a  critical  spirit  in  dealing  with 
that  work  and  cut  out  all  fabulous  material,  because 
it  is  precisely  the  latter  that  has  been  preserved  by 
the  writers  of  the  eighth  century,  and  not  the  his- 
torical material. 

It  is  possible  to  prove  the  genuineness  of  Hunibald, 
as  an  author  long  preceding  Trithemius,  by  a  number 
of  statements  contained  in  Trithemius'  excerpts.     In 


HUNIBALD  235 

his  Polygraphia  he  gives  an  ancient  alphabet  of  the 
Germans.  Here  the  order  and  the  letters  are  obviously 
Greek.  Unfortunately,  as  Trithemius  himself  informs 
us,  the  alphabet  was  almost  illegible  in  the  codex,  but 
even  as  it  is,  we  may  see  at  a  glance  that  we  have 
here  the  Gothic  alphabet.  Some  of  the  letters  seem 
to  be  turned  around  sideways,  but  some  are  character- 
istically Gothic.  We  have  b  II,  which  corresponds 
well  to  Goth.  iS;  Gr.  57  is  represented  by  h,  which  gives 
rise  to  Goth,  h  (h);  th  is  represented  by  <d,  which  at 
once  explains  the  form  V,  which  it  assumes  in  Gothic; 
i  is  given  as  ^,  which  explains  Goth.  5;  phis  rendered 
by  p,  which  gives  Goth.  P;  y  is  given  inverted  as  /, 
which  probably  explains  Goth,  n  (u). 

That  is  not  a  mere  coincidence.  Not  a  single  one  of 
the  many  other  alphabets  given  by  Trithemius  admits 
even  distantly  any  identification  with  the  Gothic,  or 
with  any  known  alphabet,  and  the  first  inkling  of 
a  Gothic  alphabet  was  had  only  half  a  century  later. 
Consequently  it  is  beyond  a  shadow  of  a  doubt  that 
Trithemius  actually  found  the  alphabet  in  Hunibald. 
Unfortunately,  Trithemius  has  not  preserved  for  us 
any  part  of  Wasthald's  books,  so  it  is  not  possible  to 
ascertain  the  reason  for  the  formation  of  a  Greek 
alphabet  for  the  ancient  Germanic,  but  there  are 
enough  indications  left  to  show  why  it  was  chosen  for 
the  Gothic  language. 

In  the  days  of  King  Priam,  in  the  middle  of  the 
fourth  century  B.  C.,  Trithemius  says  there  was  a 
priest  Theocalus,  who  was  versed  in  Greek,  Scythian, 
and  German,  and  was  chosen  pontifex  of  Jove  by  the 
Sicambrians.  At  that  time  the  priests  used  the  Greek 
language  in  their  holy  places.  There  had  been  no 
temples,  and  the   priests   sacrificed   in   groves,  under 


236    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

leafy  trees.  Only  then  a  temple  was  built,  and  here 
Theocalus  taught  the  children  of  the  nobles,  prophesied 
the  future  to  the  people  and  sang  the  deeds  of  the 
kings,  which  the  youths  were  obliged  to  learn  by  heart 
and  to  sing  on  festive  days.  In  certain  seasons  the 
priests  did  not  live  in  the  cities,  but  in  the  solitude, 
where  they  ate  little  and  taught  the  course  of  the 
stars  and  ancient  history.^ 

One  recognizes  here  at  a  glance  Caesar's  description 
of  the  Druids  in  the  Commentaries,  VI.  13  ff.  But 
Trithemius  could  not  possibly  have  transferred  such  a 
description  of  the  Gallic  priests  to  the  Germans,  if 
he  had  not  found  the  transformation  elsewhere.  Now 
Tacitus,  or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  Pseudo-Tacitus,^ 
has  consistently  transferred  the  description  of  the 
Gauls  to  that  of  the  Germans,  in  order  to  harmonize 
the  Gallic  and  Germanic  sides  of  the  Franks.  In  the 
Germania  the  account  of  the  Druids  is  found  scattered 
in  various  chapters.  In  chapter  VII  we  are  told  that 
no  one  among  the  Germans  dared  to  punish  criminals 
except  the  priests,  as  the  crime  was  considered  one 


1  "Anno  Priami  regis  sexto,  mortuus  est  Marcomir  dux,  qui  nepos  fuit 
primi  Sunnonis,  de  quo  supra  dictum  est,  quod  cum  aliis  ducibus  gentem 
perduxerit  in  Germaniam.  Hie  inter  multos  liberos,  filium  habuit  vnum, 
nomine  Theocalum,  virum  in  omni  sapientia  Graecorum,  Scytharum,  et 
Germanorum  praestantissimum,  quem  Sicambri  magnum  louis  pontiiicem 
constituerunt:  et  erat  illis  antistes,  parens,  augur,  et  vates.  Vtebantur 
autem  sacerdotes  Graeco  sermone  in  sacris  multo  tempore,  nee  alterius 
linguae  commixtionem  admittebant.  Templa  deorum  vsque  ad  illud  tempus 
non  habuerunt,  sed  immolabant  numinibus  suis  sub  certis  frondosis  arbori- 
bus;  quas  iudicio  praecedente  sacerdotes  consecrauerant.  .  .  .  Templum 
quoque  in  eadem  vrbe  Neomago  loui  constituerunt  magnum  atque  fortissi- 
mum,  in  quo  Theocalus  pontifex  cum  sacerdotibus  habitans,  filios  principum 
atque  nobilium  in  moribus  et  scientia  instituit,  vaticinia  populo  dixit,  regum 
fortiter  acta  carminibus  scripsit,  quae  iuuentus  memoriter  discere  compulsa, 
diebus  festis  canere  in  templo  consueuit.  Certis  tamen  anni  temporibus, 
non  in  vrbibus,  sed  in  solitudine,  commorabantur  sacerdotes,  quibus  et 
cibus  erat  parous,  et  ingenij  exercitatio  ad  discendum  cursus  astrorum, 
carminaque  et  veterum  historias  continua,"  Trithemius,  Opera  historica, 
p.  5f. 

2  See  p.  324  flF. 


HUNIBALD 


237 


against  the  gods.     This  is  a  paraphrase  of  the  judicial 
duties  of  the  Druids  in  Caesar: 


Tacitus. 

Ceterum  neque  animadvertere  ne- 
que  vincire,  ne  verberare  quidera, 
nisi  sacerdotibus  permissum;  non 
quasi  in  poenam,  nee  ducis  jussu, 
sed  velut  deo  imperante,  quern 
adesse  bellantibus  credunt,  Germ., 
VII. 


Caesar. 

lUi  rebus  diuinis  intersunt  .. 
Nam  fere  de  omnibus  controuersiis 
publicis  priuatisque  constituunt,  et, 
si  quod  est  admissum  facinus,  si 
caedes  facta,  si  de  hereditate,  de 
finibus  controuersia  est,  idem  de- 
cernunt,  praemia  poenasque  con- 
stituunt. .  .  Hue  omnes  undique, 
qui  controuersias  habent,  conueniunt 
eorumque  decretis  iudiciisque  parent, 
Comm.,  VI.  13. 


The  commentators,  who  have  not  even  dreamed  of 
this  transference  from  the  account  of  the  Gauls  to 
that  of  the  Germans,  have  in  despair  given  up  the 
job  of  harmonizing  the  statement  in  Tacitus  with  the 
specific  assertion  in  Caesar,  VI.  23,  that  the  kings  had 
the  power  of  life  and  death  over  their  subjects.^ 
Chapter  IX  in  Tacitus  is  similarly  cribbed  out  of 
Caesar,  VI.  16  and  17: 


Tacitus. 

I.  Deorum  maxime  Mercurium  co- 
lunt. 

II.  Cui  certis  diebus  humanis  quo- 
que  hostiis  litare  fas  habent. 


Herculem     ac     Martem     concessis 
animalibus  placant. 


III.  Ceterum  nee  cohibere  parieti- 
bus  deos,  neque  in  uUam  humani 
oris  speciem  assimulare,  ex  mag- 
nitudine  coelestium  arbitrantur. 


Caesar. 

Deum  maxime  Mercurium  colunt, 

VI.  17. 

Qui  sunt  adfeeti  grauioribus  mor- 

bis  quique  in  proeliis  periculisque 

uersantur,  aut  pro  uictimis  homines 

immolant  aut  seimmolaturosuouent, 

VI.  16. 

Martem  bella  regere.     Huic,  cum 

proelio   dimicare  constituerunt,   ea 

quae  bello  ceperint,  plenimque  de- 

uouent:  cum  superauerunt,  animalia 

capta  immolant,  VI.  17. 

Alii  inmani  magnitudine  simulacra 

habent,  VI.  16. 


1  A.  Baumstark,  Ausfiihrliche  Erlauterung  des  allgemeinen  Theiles  der 
Germania  des  Tacitus,  Leipzig  1875,  p.  364  f. 


238    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

The  reference  to  Mercury  is  so  clearly  taken  out 
of  Caesar,  down  to  the  very  phraseology,  that  no  further 
discussion  would  be  necessary.  But  here  the  per- 
versity of  scholars  is  so  marked  that  I  shall  go  over 
the  matter  in  detail.  Baumstark^  claims  that  Caesar 
was  the  first  to  have  mentioned  German  gods,  that 
Mercury,  Mars,  and  Hercules  were  named  as  such  by 
Tacitus  in  his  Annales  and  Historiae,  and  that  Jor- 
danes,  Paulus  Diaconus,  Jonas  of  Bobbio,  and  Gregory 
of  Tours  gave  the  names  of  Germanic  divinities. 
Jordanes  I  have  already  discussed,  and  Paulus  Diacon- 
us and  Jonas  of  Bobbio  I  shall  discuss  at  another  time. 
Gregory  of  Tours  may  be  dismissed  with  a  few  words. 
He  does  not  mention  any  German  gods,  for  in  II.  29  he 
gives  only  a  stereotyped  account  of  Roman  divinities 
as  an  example  of  idols.  He  tells  of  Saturn,  who  was 
to  be  deposed  by  his  son,  Jupiter,  who  lived  in  incest, 
and  Mars  and  Mercury,  who  were  given  to  magic  arts. 
There  is  not  even  a  trace  of  German  gods  here.  Caesar 
similarly  says  distinctly  (VI.  21)  that  the  Germans  have 
only  the  visible  sun,  fire,  and  moon  as  gods,  and  that 
of  the  rest  they  have  not  even  heard  by  report.  This, 
then,  leaves  Tacitus  all  alone. 

Tacitus,  in  his  Historiae,  IV.  64,  makes  a  messenger 
of  the  Tencteri,  in  a  speech,  thank  the  common  gods, 
and  especially  Mars.  This  is  merely  a  general  phrase 
which  tells  nothing  of  the  Germanic  gods,  any  more  than 
the  statement  of  Procopius,  in  his  De  hello  gothico, 
II.  15,  "rov  ^^jOJy  '^eov  uofxt^ouffi  [xeycarov.^^  In  either 
case,  we  have  only  a  reference  to  the  fighting  pro- 
pensities of  the  Germans.  In  Annales,  XIII.  57  we 
have  a  distinct  reference  to  a  sacrifice  in  men  and 
horses  to  Mars  and  Mercury,'^  but  this  is  obviously  a 
mistake   in   judgment   by   Tacitus,    who   remembered 

1 /bid.,  p.  411. 

^  "Victores  diversam  aciem  Marti  ac  Mercuric  sacravere,  quo  voto  equi, 
viri,  cuncta  victa  occidioni  dantur." 


HUNIBALD  239 

the  passage  in  Caesar,  VI.  17,  where  the  reference  is 
to  the  Gauls.  It  will  be  seen  later  that  several  pass- 
ages in  the  Germania  are  based  on  Tacitus'  Historiae, 
and  possibly  Annales.  It  is  most  likely,  therefore, 
that  the  forger  confused  the  account  of  the  Germans 
and  the  Gauls,  because  he  found  it  so  in  Tacitus.  In 
Annales,  II.  12,  Tacitus  speaks  of  the  meeting  of 
Germans  in  a  forest  sacred  to  Hercules.  It  is  im- 
possible to  assert  that  Hercules  is  here  a  German 
divinity,  because  there  were  along  the  Rhine  several 
localities  named  after  the  Roman  Hercules. 

We  are  thus  left  with  a  few  vague  references,  and 
only  in  Tacitus,  from  whom  the  forger  drew  his  state- 
ments.^ The  fatal  coincidence  in  wording,  Deorum 
(so  also  in  some  texts  of  Caesar)  maxime  Mercurium 
colunt,  shows  that  we  have  here  a  transference  from 
Gaul  to  Germany,  which  cannot  be  met  by  any  argu- 
ment to  the  contrary. 

Tacitus.  Caesar. 

Ceterum  Harii  super  vires,  quibus  Ingenti    magnitudine    corporum 

enumeratos     paulo     ante     populos      Germanos,  incredibili  uirtute  atque 
antecedunt,  truces,  insitae  feritati      exercitatione  in  armis  esse  praedica- 
arte  ac  tempore  lenocinantur.   nigra      bant    (saepenumero   sese   cum   his 
scuta,    tincta    corpora,    atras    ad      congressos  ne  uultum  quidem  atque 
proelia  noctes  legunt,  ipsaque  formi-      aciem  oculorum  dicebant  ferre  po- 
dine  atque  umbra  feralis  exercitus      tuisse),  I.  39. 
terrorem    inferunt,    nullo    hostium 
sustinente  novum  ac  velut  infernum 
aspectum:     nam  primi  in  omnibus 
proeliis      oculi    vincuntur,    Germ., 
XLIII. 

Ariovistus  gave  rise  to  the  soldiers  of  the  Arii,  who, 
to  produce  a  still  more  startling  effect  than  told  by 
Caesar,   painted  their  shields  and  bodies  black  and 

1  P.  Hochart  {De  I'authenticite  des  Annales  et  des  Histoires  de  Tacite, 
Paris  .1890),  is  unquestionably  mistaken  in  his  assumption  that  Poggio 
Bracciolini  forged  the  Historiae  and  Annales,  because  the  Germania  was 
written  before  851  and  is  based  on  them.  But,  to  say  the  least,  the  His- 
toriae and  Annales  have  interpolations  of  as  late  as  the  eighth  century,  and 
these  I  discuss  elsewhere. 


240    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

fought  in  dark  nights.  The  forger  did  not  know  the 
German  adage,  "In  der  Nacht  sind  alle  Katzen  grau," 
and  that  there  was  no  need  to  paint  bodies  and  faces 
black,  in  order  to  appear  black  at  night  time.  After 
that  comes  the  parallel  from  Caesar  that  the  Germans 
were  terrible;  but  the  perfectly  clear  statement,  "ne 
uultum  quidem  atque  aciem  oculorum  dicebant  ferre 
potuisse,"  is  here  turned  into  a  supposedly  Tacitean 
hon  mot  that  the  first  things  to  be  conquered  in  battle 
are  the  eyes. 

In  chapter  XI  of  the  Germania  we  have  a  good  illus- 
tration of  the  eclectic  way  in  which  the  history  of  the 
Germans  was  made  up. 

Tacitus.  Caesar. 

Coeunt,  nisi  quid  fortuitum  et  Hanc  reperiebat  causam,  quod 
subitum  incidit,  certis  diebus,  cum  apud  Germanos  ea  consuetude  esset, 
aut  inchoatur  luna  aut  impletur:  ut  matresfamiliae  eorum  sortibus  et 
nam  agendis  rebus  hoc  auspicatissi-  uaticinationibus  declararent,  utrum 
mum  initium  credunt.  proelium    committi    ex    usu    esset, 

necne;    eas   ita   dicere:     non   esse 
fas  Germanos  superare,  si  ante  no- 
uam   lunam  proelio  contendissent, 
1.50. 
Nee    dierum    numerum,    ut    nos,      Galli  se  omnes  ab  Dite  patre  pro- 
sed noctium  computant.     sic  con-      gnatos  praedicant  idque  ab  druidibus 
stituunt,  sic  condicunt:    nox  ducere      proditum  dicunt.    Ob  eam  causam 
diem  videtur.  spatia  omnis  temporis  non  numero 

dierum,  sed  noctium  finiunt;  dies 
natales  et  mensium  et  annorum 
initia  sic  obseruant,  ut  noctem  dies 
subsequatur,  VI.  18. 

Caesar  tells  how  Ariovistus  declined  to  give  battle 
and  how  he  learned  that  the  German  women,  who  were 
given  to  vaticinations,  had  declared  that  the  Germans 
would  not  be  victorious,  if  they  began  the  battle  before 
the  new  moon.  From  this  particular  case  the  forger 
generalized  the  statement  that  the  Germans  had  their 
meetings  in  the  beginning  and  at  the  end  of  the  new 
moon.  Having  once  pointed  out  the  importance  of 
the  night  for  the  Germans,  the  forger  proceeded  to 


HUNIBALD  241 

transfer  Caesar's  statement  in  regard  to  the  Gauls, 
who  counted  their  months  and  years  by  the  nights, 
and  made  the  Germans  the  followers  of  the  Druids. 
As  usual,  the  forger  changed  Caesar's  perfectly  simple 
statement,  "sic  obseruant,  ut  noctem  dies  subsequatur," 
into  another  Tacitean  hon  moty  "sic  constituunt,  sic 
condicunt,  nox  ducere  diem  videtur."  It  will  be 
noticed  that  the  provenience  of  the  Gauls  from  Pluto 
was  by  the  forger  transferred  to  the  Arii,  who  with 
their  blackened  forms  gave  an  impression  of  the 
infernal  host,  "formidine  atque  umbra  feralis  exercitus 
terrorem  inferunt." 

From  what  precedes  it  is  clear  that  the  forger  who 
wrote  the  Germania,  either  on  his  own  account,  or 
because  he  found  it  so  in  his  sources,  tried  to  ascribe 
all  the  qualities  of  the  Gauls  and  Druids  to  the  Germans, 
that  is,  to  the  Franks.  This  is  precisely  what  is  done 
throughout  Hunibald's  work,  as  we  learn  from  Trit- 
hemius'  compilation.  Caesar  says,  whatever  his  source 
for  it  may  have  been,  that  the  Druids,  for  private  and 
public  reasons,  used  Greek  letters.^  Caesar  also  tells 
of  Greek  inscriptions  in  Helvetian  territory.^  From 
these  two  statements,  and  from  the  Trojan  origin  of 
the  Franks,  as  told  in  the  Antiquitas,  the  writer  of  the 
Germania  concocted  the  story  of  the  arrival  of  Ulysses 
in  German  territory  and  establishing  himself  at  Asci- 
burgium  on  the  Rhine.  Ulysses  is  supposed  to  have 
left  there  an  altar,  naturally  with  a  Greek  inscription, 
and  other  Greek  inscriptions  were  still  supposed  to 
have  existed  in  Raetia  and  in  Germany.^ 

1  "Publicis  priuatisque  rationibus  Graecis  litteris  utantur,"  VI.  14. 

*  "In  castris  Heluetiorum  tabulae  repertae  sunt  litteris  Graecis  confectae," 
I.  29. 

'  "Ceterum  et  Ulixen  quidam  opinantur  longo  illo  et  fabuloso  errore  in 
hunc  Oceanum  delatum  adisse  Germaniae  terras,  Asciburgiumque,  quod  in 
ripa  Rheni  situm  hodieque  incolitur,  ab  illo  constitutum  nominatumque 
.  .  .  aram  quin  etiam  Ulixi  consecratam  adiecto  Laertae  patris  nomine 
eodem  loco  olim  repertam,  monumentaque  et  tumulos  quosdam  Graecis 


242    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

We  can  trace  this  whole  humbug  in  the  Germania 
from  its  sources. 

From  Trithemius'  account  of  Hunibald's  work  it 
appears  that  the  original  writer  (Wasthald)  had  given 
the  history  of  the  fall  of  Troy,  followed  by  a  long  list 
of  kings,  up  to  the  death  of  King  Antenor,  whom  the 
Scandinavians,  Goths,  and  Swedes  killed  near  the  Dan- 
ube in  the  year  440  B.C.  This,  of  course,  is  not  the 
original  Antenor  of  Troy,  but  one  of  the  many  Antenors 
mentioned  among  the  kings  of  the  Franks. 

Dudo,  of  Sain t-Quen tin,  wrote  about  the  year  1020 
De  morihus  et  actis  primorum  Normanniae  ducum,^ 
where  he  says  that  near  the  Danube  there  lived  in 
Dacia  the  nations  that,  like  a  swarm  of  bees,  had  issued 
from  Scandinavia.^  After  telling  of  the  piratical  ex- 
peditions of  the  men  from  Scandinavia,  he  makes  the 
statement  that  the  Dacians,  called  by  their  own  people 
Danai  or  Dani,  boasted  of  being  descended  from 
Antenor,  who,  after  the  fall  of  Troy,  escaped  from  the 
Achivians  and  came  to  the  country  of  lUyricum.^ 

G.  Heeger*  assumes  that  Dudo  got  his  idea  of  Ante- 
nor as  the  ancestor  of  the  Danes  from  the  Gesta  Fran- 
corum,  due  to  Dudo's  incredible  ignorance,  and  that 
the  confusion  of  Dacia  and  Dania  is  the  result  of  this 

litteris  inscriptos  in  confinio  Germaniae  Raetiaeque  adhuc  extare:  quae 
neque  confirmare  argumentis,  neque  refellere  in  animo  est:  ex  ingenio 
suo  quisque  demat,  vel  addat  fidem,"  III. 

1  J.  Lair,  in  Mimoires  de  la  socUte  des  antiquaires  de  Normandie,  3«  s6rie, 
vol.  Ill,  pt.  2,  1865. 

2  "In  copiosa  igitur  intercapedine  a  Danubio  ad  Scythici  ponti  usque 
confinium  diffusae,  commorantur  ferae  gentes  et  barbarae,  quae  ex  Canza 
insula,  Oceano  hinc  inde  circumsepta,  velut  examen  apum  ex  canistro,  seu 
gladius  e  vagina,  diversitate  multimoda  dicuntur  prosiluisse,  consuetudine 
barbarica,"  ibid.,  p.  129. 

»  "Igitur  Daci  nuncupantur  a  suis  Danai,  vel  Dani,  glorianturque  se  ex 
Antenore  progenitos;  qui,  quondam  Trojae  finibus  depopulatis,  mediis 
elapsus  Achivis,  lUyricos  fines  penetravit  cum  suis,"  ibid.,  p.  130. 

*  t}ber  die  Trojanersagen  der  Franken  und  Normannen,  Landau  1890, 
p.  31  ff. 


HUNIBALD  243 

same  stupidity.  But  H.  Prentout^  has,  with  greater 
justice,  shown  that  the  reference  to  the  location  of  the 
Dacians  is  taken  out  of  Jordanes,  even  as  to  the 
wording,  and  he  shows  that  Jordanes  did  not  make  the 
mistake  of  confusing  the  Dacians  with  the  Danes. 
Prentout,  however,  agrees  with  Heeger  that  the  deri- 
vation of  the  Danish  kings  from  Antenor,  is  Dudo's 
blunder,  due  to  a  wilful  change  from  the  Gesta 
Francorum. 

Both  writers  are  to  some  extent  mistaken.  Already 
the  eighth  century  shows  a  confusion  of  the  Dacians 
and  the  Danes,  and  Dudo  must  have  derived  his  story 
of  the  Trojan  origin  of  the  Danes  from  a  source  which 
quoted  Hunibald,  where  the  Danes  are  brought  in 
direct  contact  with  Antenor  near  the  Danube,  that  is, 
in  Dacia. 

Aethicus  says  that  the  Meopari  are  a  race  of  sailors 
in  the  north. ^  They  are  wonderful  shipbuilders  and 
the  first  to  use  submarines  and  torpedoes.^    Myoparon 

'  ^tude  critique  sur  Dudon  de  Saint-Qiientin  et  son  Histoire  des  premiers 
Dues  Normands,  Paris  1916,  p.  35  5. 

^  "Et  alias  scribit  idem  philosophiis  insolas  septentrionales,  ubi  Meoparos 
nauticos  esse  adfirmat,"  Wuttke,  op.  cit.,  p.  11;  also  p.  13  (insolae  Meo- 
parotae),  and  pp.  33,  34,  43. 

^  "Deinde  ad  insolas  Meoparonitas  Aethicus  pervehitur,  quas  duarum 
geminatas  Januarum  ambitum  inquiens  in  oceanum  magnum  borricum  in 
longitudine[m]  non  modica  circumvallatas  ipso  pellago;  nam  inundatione 
fluminum  inrigua  populo  barbarico  fecundae,  ingenio  efficace  tamque 
yeloce  [in]  arcium  navalium  et  strinuo[s]  in  fabrorum  fornace,  eorum  peritia 
in  diversis  operibus  occupata.  Nonnumquam  etiam  tarn  veloce  sunt  navi- 
gatione,  ut  latenter  trieribus  aut  scaphis  seu  carinis  dolose  foramine  per- 
tunsis,  earum  ruinam  et  necem  navigantium  vel  ruinam  maximam  faciant, 
et  omnia  quae  inibi  sunt  violenter  auferant.  Et  ad  extremum  iterum  peri- 
clitatis  nauticis,  naufragio[m]  perpetrato[m],  iterum  navium  instructionem 
pristinam  reparant.  Habent  itaque  industriam  operandi  nauticam,  quam 
in  nuUis  partibus  mundi  vel  insolis  maris  conperire  se  dicit  ad  inventionem 
arcium  quarum  ab  hominibus  incertum  duceretur.  Faciunt  nimpe  naves, 
quas  Colimphas  nuncupant,  adnectant  catinul[l]as  ferro  ductile  insertas 
cortice  in  gyro  usque  ad  summum  miro  ingenio,  adstrictus  tantummodo 
fundus  lignis  levigatis,  et  ab  intus  stagno  et  crudo  admodum  et  extento  corio 
cum  bitumine  viriliter  adstrictae,  videlicet  asincito.  Meopari  quoque 
cytimam  confectionem,  inquiunt,  apparato  solis  speculo  electrino  et  vitrio 
valde  e  lucidissimo  spissoque  connectentes  acerrimo  culice  ponunt.  Tarn 
sub  aquarum  densitate  quam  et  mediam  inundationem  si  incumbuerint, 


244    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

is  the  name  for  a  light  piratical  boat,  both  in  Greek 
and  Roman  literature,  from  which  Aethicus  has  named 
the  piratical  islands  of  the  north.  The  northern  pirates 
who  are  mentioned  in  Greek  and  Latin  writers  since 
the  days  of  Ptolemy  are  the  Saxons,  and  Apollinaris 
Sidonius  said  of  them:  "contra  Saxonum  pandos  myo- 
parones,  quorum  quot  remiges  videris,  totidem  te 
cernere  putes  archipiratas ;  ita  simul  omnes  imperant, 
parent,  docent,  discunt  latrocinari;  unde  nunc  etiam 
et  quam  plurimum  caveas,  causa  successit  maxima 
movendi;  hostis  est  enim  hoste  truculentior;  impro- 
visus  aggreditur,  praevisus  elabitur,  spernit  obiectos, 
sternit  incautos:  si  sequatur  intercipit,  si  fugiat 
evadit."  It  is  from  this  description,  supposedly  of  the 
end  of  the  fifth  century,  that  the  Historia  which 
Isidore  of  Seville  quotes^  and  Aethicus  got  their 
description  of  the  Saxon  pirates.    But  it  is  most  likely 

lumine  nunquam  indigent  in  tenuem  in[g]luviem  aquarum  sursum  re- 
spicientes.  Tantam  vim  ingeniorum  sunt  edocti  ut  resubpinatis  viribus 
iuxta  ilia  specula  parva,  voragine  cum  bitumine  supradicto  lita,  aquae 
interius  introire  non  queant.  Uncinis  ferreis  adeo  in  manuum  vel  digitorum 
similitudinem  curvatis  cum  catinolis  ferreis  miro  ingenio  productis,  ut  in 
quibuscumque  gurgitibus  impetu  velocissimo  emissae  fuerint,  mox  [ut] 
quamvis  modico  lapillo  contigerint,  colimphas  ubicumque  voluerint  ancho- 
ram  figere,  statim  quando  voluerint  stationem  faciant,  et  aliarum  navium 
ruinam  non  incurrant.  Ventorum  vehementiam  tolerant  absque  uUo  peri- 
culo.  Tempestates  maris,  quas  aequor  ille  saepius  patitur,  non  metuunt 
nee  periculum  illarum  incurrunt,  sed  in  tanta  velocitate  elevationem  aquarum 
sufferunt,  ut  absque  aliqua  molestia  portum  quo  tendunt  pertingant. 
Maxime  ab  initio  mensis  Junii,  quando  situm  stellarum  vel  signa  praecipua 
cognoverint,  usque  Kalendas  Novembris  quasi  ad  praedam  sine  ulla  inter- 
missione[m]  erumpunt.  Unde  idem  philosophus  ait:  O  tu  mare  brume- 
ricum,  catago  multorum  hominum,  aquilonis  pinna[s]  ad  summum  nau- 
fragium  gentium  ad  extremum  ultra  magnitudinem,  piscium  et  biluarum 
ac  hominum  hamum,  triumphatorium  hostium  cachinfatorum  naufragium, 
aulonium  navium.  Privata  vehicula  nauclerium  subsecuta  iam  morte 
periculum,  limphaque  arma  adsumitur  et  carina  magna  trituratur,  trieris 
singultu[m]  rigatur,  sc[h]afa  dolose  obprimitur.  Ululant  naves  maris 
murmure  vorante  decipula  colimphas  in  mod[ic]um  testitudinis  cocleia 
adamantinis;  at  erga  navium  umbelicos  aculeum.  Meoparorum  insidias 
ruina  multorum  fi[g]eri.  Gement  naves  maris  praedonum  crudelium  sub 
latice  fore  dromones.  Barbarica  enim  lingua  Dromu  vagines  pirnas  nuncu- 
pant,  id  est  aquarum  praedones  sub  aqua  degentes,"  ibid.,  p.  21  fif. 

1  "De  qualibus  Historia   'Gens,'  inquit,   'Saxonum  mioparonibus,  non 
viribus  nituntur,  fugae  potius  quam  bello  parati,'  "  XIX.  1.  21. 


HUNIBALD  245 

that  the  Historia  of  Isidore  is  one  of  the  Antiquiiates, 
hence  an  interpolation  of  the  eighth  century. 

The  account  of  the  pirates  is  found  in  Tacitus' 
Germania,  but  here  we  no  longer  have  the  Saxons,  but 
the  Swedes,  accredited  with  piracy,  hence  a  much  later 
account,  of  not  earlier  than  the  end  of  the  eighth 
century.  Hochart  observed,^  quite  correctly,  that  in 
Tacitus'  Annates  and  Historiae  there  is  a  queer  descrip- 
tion of  a  ship  that  has  a  prow  at  both  ends  and  can 
move  in  either  direction.  Curiously  enough,  the  Ger- 
mania has  the  same  account,  and  from  a  study  of  the 
three  passages  it  may  be  shown  that  we  have  before  us, 
to  say  the  least,  eighth  century  interpolations  in  the 
Historiae  and  Annates, 

In  the  Annates  we  are  told  of  ships  which  had  a  rudder 
at  each  end,  so  that  the  rowing  could  be  done  in  either 
direction.^  No  such  ships  are  described  anywhere 
else,  except  in  the  case  of  the  Egyptian  ships  of  state. 
Assuming  that  we  have  here  a  correct  description  by 
Tacitus,  it  is  certainly  strange  that  even  to  the  word- 
ing it?  should  coincide  with  a  description  of  such 
ships  in  the  Historiae.  Here  we  have  the  description 
of  pirates'  boats,  called  camarae,  which  are  covered 
with  roofs  in  storms  and  move  this  way  and  that  way 
by  interchanging  the  oars.^  There  is  no  reference  here 
to  two  rudders,  though  the  prow  is  supposed  to  be  at 
either  end. 

We  have  a  detailed  description  of  these  pirates' 
boats  in  the  same  region  of  the  Pontus  by  Strabo.  He 
says  that  they  have  light  boats,  narrow  and  long, 
which  can  hold  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  men,  and 
which  the  Greeks  call  xdfj.apac.  These  xdfxapat  are 
used  by  them  as  freight-boats.     When  they  return 

>  OV'  at.,  p.  126. 

*  "Plures  adpositis  utrimque  gubernaculia,  converse  ut  repente  remigio 
hinc  vel  illinc  adpellerent,"  Annalea,  II.  6. 
» Historiae,  III.  47. 


246    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

home  they  carry  these  boats  on  their  shoulders  into 
the  forest.  They  similarly  hide  their  boats  when  out 
on  piratical  expeditions  on  land.^  There  is  an  inter- 
polation in  this  passage  of  Strabo.  After  a  correct  de- 
scription of  the  boats,  there  follows  the  statement  that 
the  Greeks  call  them  xdfiapm,  although  no  such  name 
occurs  elsewhere  in  Greek.  What  Strabo  talks  about 
is  the  fit>o7tdp(ov,  which  is  repeatedly  mentioned  as  a 
pirate  boat  in  the  Greek  and  Latin  writers,  and  which, 
as  myoparones,  we  have  seen  has  survived  in  Apollinaris 
Sidonius,  Isidore  of  Seville,  and  Aethicus.  Apparently 
xdfxapat  has  been  substituted  in  Strabo  for  fiooTzdpojv 
throughout  the  whole  story. 

In  Greek  and  in  Latin,  camara,  besides  meaning  "a 
room,"  means  "a  covered  carriage."  If,  therefore,  it 
means  a  boat,  it  can  be  only  a  covered  boat;  but  in 
Strabo  there  is  not  even  a  distant  reference  to  such 
a  vessel.  Indeed,  a  boat  that  could  easily  be  carried 
on  men's  shoulders  could  not  be  a  covered  boat. 
Aethicus  described  the  camara  and  camereca  as  covered 

^«MeTd  8^  TTiv  2iv8ixf)v  xai  xiV  FoQYiJtiav  ejtl  xfj  ^ak6.xxx\  •^  twv  'A- 
Xaiwv  xai  Zvyibv  xai  'Hvioxov  jtagaXia,  to  nXiov  akiiiEvoc,  xai  opeivri,  xoO 
Kaxmaaov  M-egog  ovaa.  Zcboi  bk  djto  xcov  xaxd  ■ftdXaxxav  XtitJXTioitov,  dxdxia 
IxovxE?  ^.EJTxd,  axEvd  xai  xovq^a,  ocrov  dv&QCOJtovc  Jtevxe  xai  etxooi  8ex6neva, 
ojtdviov  8e  xQ'idxovxa  Se^acr&ai  xoug  Jtdvxa^  6mrd4i£va*  •KaXovai  8'  a'uxd  oi 
"E^A.T)veg  xando'ag"  (paal  8'  ojto  xf\c,  'Idaovog  orxQaxidg  xovq  nev  ^^itoxag 
'Axaioug  xt|v  evftd8e  'Axatav  olxiaai,  Adxowag  be  xr\v  'Hvioxiav,  &v  f\QXOv 
'Pexag  xai  'Anqpioxoaxog,  ol  xcov  AioaxoijQ<ov  t|vioxou,  xai  xovg  'Hvi6xous 
djto  xouxtov  elxog  obvondadaf  xcov  6'  oJv  xanapcov  oxokovq,  xaxaoxEva^- 
pievoi  xai  imnkiovxeg  xoxe  niv  xai?  6Xxd(3i,  xox^  bk  x<^0<?  fivl  r\  xai  n6kei 
d^aXaxxoxQaxoijar  jtQooXan,6dvou(Ti  8'  ea§'  oxe  xai  ol  xov  BoarcoQov  IxovxEg, 
vJq)6onx)us  xoQTlYoi^vxEg  xai  dvoQav  xai  8iddEaiv  x&v  doJta^O|XEV(ov  ^avi- 
6vxE5  88  eI?  xd  oixEia  xwoia,  vav^oxEiv  ov%  IxovxEg,  dvadEHEVoi  xolc,  &- 
H,oig  xdg  v.aii6.Qag  dvaqpEOOvoiv  EJtl  xoug  8(ju(xovg,  Iv  olojteo  xai  olxoOoi, 
XwiQav  aQovvxez  ytj'v  x.aixaqpE0ovm.  8e  Jtdjiiv,  oxav  ■^  xaio^s  toO  JtXetv.  T6  8* 
auxo  Koiovoi  xai  ev  xfj  aXXoxgiq.,  yvdiQi\x,a  exovxei;  {jXcoSt]  xoiQia,  iv  olg  d- 
jtoxovTpavxEg  xdg  xandpag  auxol  nkav&vxai  JtE^fj  vuxxcoq  xai  jied'  i]\iiQav 
dv8Qajto8ioinoi)  x«Oi'V'  a  8'  fiv  X,d6a)Oiv  imXvxga  jwkoOcti  p(j.bi(a<;,  fiexd  xohz 
axankovg  [XTivvovxEg  xoig  ojto^Eaaaiv  ev  niv  o^  xoig  8trvacn;EUOfiEvoi5  xojcoig 
iaxi  xig  6oridEia  ^x  xcov  tiyeM'Ovcov  xoig  d8ixov(XEVoig'  dvxEJtixidEVXca  yaQ  no\- 
Xdxig  xai  xaxdYoumv  auxdv8oovg  xdg  xandoag'  ■n  8'  vnb  Toixaioig  d6oTi- 
OriToxeoa  daxl  8id  xtiv  6XiYcooiav  xcov  rtEHJtofiEvcov,*  XI.  2.  12. 


HUNIBALD  247 

boats. ^  The  description  in  Aethicus,  as  probably 
everything  else  in  it,  is  not  due  to  a  translation  from 
a  Greek  original,  as  claimed  by  Klotz,^  but  to  a  trans- 
lation from  the  Arabic.  The  Arabic  original  may  have 
existed  also  in  a  Greek  translation,  or  the  translator 
wrote  in  that  horrible  Graeco- Latin  style  which  charac- 
terizes the  Latin  translators  of  the  Syrio-Latin  texts 
of  the  Gospels;  but  the  Aethicus  before  us  is  so  full 
of  Arabic  words  as  to  make  the  translation  from  the 
Arabic  an  absolute  certainty.  Speaking  of  the  came- 
reca,  the  translator  says  that  it  had  in  the  middle  a 
hunched  colcherium  like  the  hump  of  a  camel.  Col- 
cherium  does  not  occur  elsewhere  in  Latin.     It  is  the 

Arab.     J^    kalkal    "the    hollow    chest,    the    keel." 

This  Arab,  kalkal  has  given  rise  to  the  "keel"  words 
in  the  Germanic  and  Romance  languages.  We  have 
OHG.  keola,  a  translation  of  "rates  (naves)."  The 
lemma  is  due  to  Servius,^  "rates  abusive  naves,  nam 
proprie  rates  sunt  convexae  invicem  trabes,"  from  which 
it  is  obvious  that  "rates"  was  taken  to  be  "the  beams 
tied  together"   or  "the  keel  of  a  ship."      Now,   the 

translation  of  rates  in  Arabic  is  ^  kalak,  which  origi- 
nally means  "a  bag  filled  with  air  and  used  for  swim- 
ming." It  is  from  the  Pers.  kalak  "a  kind  of  float  for 
passing  rivers,  constructed  of  bundles  of  reeds  and  the 
like,  and  a  number  of  inflated  skins,"  which  is,  no  doubt, 
related  to  Pers.    kilk  "a  hollow  reed."    We  have  Syr. 

'  "Camereca  navis  opinatissima  ob  hoc  nuncupata  quod  camelorum  more 
in  medio  curvum  colcherium  quasi  gybbum  cameli  habeat,  quod  fenestras 
obliquas  modicas  ad  ventorum  receptacula  ferat.  Camara  sursum  consuta 
coriis  magnis  coniunctis  umbone[m]  in  similitudinem  lebetum  facta[m]  in 
ipsum  gibbum,  qui[a]  ut  anhelitum  ventorum  reciperet,  mox  in  similitudinem 
tonitrui  magni  reboat  terribilem  sonitum.  Tempestates  maris  sine  periculo 
tol[l]erat.  Ad  navale  bellum  robustissimo  vigore  obfirmata  atque  munita 
narratur.  Hanc  navem  Cycrobem  in  oceanas  insolas  Frisargicas  in  suae 
artis  peritia[m]  idem  historicus  invenisse  naiTat[ur],"  Wuttke,  op.  cit.,  p.  34. 

2  Philologus,  vol.  65  (1906),  p.  97. 

'  To  Aeneid,  I.  43. 


248    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

/ia^  kalkd   "internatatorius,  ratis,  navicula,  cymba." 

From  Arab.   ^  kalak  "float,  ferry"  developed    J^ 

kalkal  "inflated,  chest,  keel,"  and  from  either  one  or  the 
other  we  get  in  Aethicus  colcherium  "inflated  body, 
keel"  and  OHG.  "rates  keola,''  where  "rates"  combines 
the  two  meanings  of  "keel"  and  "ship."     Later  OH- 
y   German  and  the  ASaxon  glosses  ventured  on  a  Latin 
»  etymology  and  wrote  "celox  ceola;''  but  that  is  absurd, 
since  ceola  means  "keel,"  and  hence,  like  "carina,"  is 
used  for  "ship"  in  general,  but  never  means  "swift 
boat,"  as  implied  by  "celox."   All  the  Germanic  words 
for  "keel"  and  all  the  Romance  words  of  the  same 
group,  generally  derived  from  the  OH  German,  are  in 
L  reality  derived  from  an  Arabic  gloss  to  "rates." 

Aside  from  Aethicus,  no  other  source  knows  any- 
thing of  camereca,  and  no  other  source  but  Strabo  and 
Tacitus  record  camara.  The  form  camereca  at  once 
shows  where  Aethicus  got  his  ship.  Athenaeus^  gives 
an  account  of  some  ships  of  an  enormous  size  which 
Ptolemy  Philopator  built.  One  of  them  was  called 
§aXafir)y6(:.  It  was  half  a  stadium  in  length  and  was 
fitted  out  most  luxuriously  within.  The  keel  was 
naturally  flat  and  there  were  double  prows  and  poops, 
in  order  to  withstand  the  high  waves.  Suetonius  says 
that  Caesar  went  with  Cleopatra  up  the  Nile  in  a 
thalamegus}  Athenaeus  does  not  distinctly  say  that 
either  end  of  the  boat  could  be  used  as  a  prow,  but 
that  is  apparently  what  he  meant  by  the  double 
prows.  The  enormous  length  of  the  ship  and  its  flat 
bottom  made  it  difficult  for  it  to  turn  in  the  riverbed, 
and  so,  no  doubt,  the  ship  could  be  rowed  in  either 
direction.  It  was  this  that  gave  rise  to  the  legend  of 
a  boat  which  had  two  prows  and  which  Minerva, 
according  to  Hyginus,  first  built  for  Danaus  when  he 

1 V.  37,  38. 
» Caesar,  52. 


HUNIBALD  249 

fled  to  Egypt.  ^  But  it  is  only  through  the  story  of 
Noah's  ark  that  the  idea  of  a  boat  which  could  go  in 
either  direction  was  developed.  Aethicus  translated 
i^aXafir)x^<:  by  camereca,  and  invented  the  second  boat, 
camara,  because  Noah's  ark  is  mentioned  in  the  Bible 
as  "navis  bicamerata"  and  "tricamerata."  Aethicus 
also  describes  a  boat,  vagio,  which  is  due  entirely  to  his 
imagination,  for  the  name  does  not  occur  again.  He  dis- 
tinctly mentions  that  the  vagio  was  built  like  the  ark  and 
says  that  it  could  go  hither  and  thither.^  This  is  taken 
out  of  a  description  of  the  ark,  falsely  ascribed  to  Bede.' 
We  can  now  see  how  the  reference  to  camara  occurred 
in  Tacitus.  The  Gr.  d^aXafirjj6<:  gave  rise  to  Lat. 
camara,  which  is  mentioned  as  a  ship  in  the  catalogue 
given  by  Aulus  Gellius.*  Camara  could  refer  only  to  a 
ship  which  had  decks  or  cabins,  and  obviously  was  a 
ship  of  state  used  on  the  Nile.  Hyginus  ascribed  the 
invention  of  such  a  ship  to  Minerva,  when  Danaus  went 
to  Egypt,  that  is,  he  had  in  mind  the  Egyptian  ^aXafji-^joz. 
Tacitus,  therefore,  could  not  have  committed  the  mis- 
take of  calling  a  pirate  boat,  such  as  Strabo  described 
specifically,  by  the  name  of  a  ship  of  state.  The 
mistake  made  by  the  interpolator  arose  only  through^ 
a  misunderstanding,  which  Aethicus  was  the  first  to 
create.     From  ApoUinaris  Sidonius  he  got  his  idea  of 

»  "Tunc  primum  dicitur  Minerva  navem  fecisse  biproram  in  qua  Danaus 
profugeret,"  CLXVIII,  Hygini  Fabulae,  ed,  M.  Schmidt,  Jenae  1872,  p.  31; 
"Minerva  prima  navem  biproram  Danao  aedificavit,  in  qua  Aegyptum  fra- 
trem  profugit,"  CCLXXVII,  ibid.,  p.  153. 

*  "Vagiones  naviculas  in  mare  miro  ingenio  fabricatas,  ut  philosophus 
adserit,  ex  tenuibus  tabulis  levigatis  ac  dolatis,  aereis  laminis  circumdatis. 
Turriculas  sursum  caelatas  conclusas  esse  gypsis  bituminatis  dicit,  sicut 
archa[m]  fuisse  legimus  factum.  Et  ob  hoc  vagiones  nuncupati,  quasi 
hue  illucque  veloci  cursu  vagantes  et  cito  properantes  qualesque  in  Troianica 
obsidione  in  Simoente  fuerunt.  Nam  Albani,  et  Timazeti,  Meoti,  Minazeti, 
Gangines,  Tulchi  has  naves  utuntur  et  eas  pirones  in  barbarica  lingua 
appellant.  Utilioris  enim  quam  dromones  sunt,  adtamen  in  mediterraneo 
mare  nusquam  reperiuntur,"  Wuttke,  op.  di.,  p.  35. 

'  "Ilia  super  fluctus  diluvii  hue  atque  illuc  fatigata  ferebatiu-,"  Migne, 
Patrol,  lat.,  vol.  XC,  col.  1179. 

*  X.  25.  5. 


250    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

the  naval  prowess  of  the  Saxons,  who  were  reputed  to 
be  dreaded  pirates.  He  may  have  learned  from 
Pliny ^  that  the  German  pirates  made  their  canoes  out 
of  a  single  tree,  which  could  hold  thirty  persons.  So 
he  created  a  nation  of  Myoparones  who  operated  in 
the  North.  He  united  the  information  about  marvel- 
ous naval  architecture  from  Athenaeus,  as  a  com- 
parison of  the  passage  from  Aethicus  quoted  on  page 
292  with  Athenaeus,  V.  36-44,  shows,  added  to  it  all 
he  knew  about  the  navis  camerata  of  the  Bible,  and  made 
the  pirates  build  ships  which  the  Egyptian  Ptolemies 
only  knew  how  to  build.  Thus  arose  the  camara^ 
camereca,  and  vagio  of  Aethicus.  The  interpolator  of 
Historiae,  III.  47,  learned  about  the  camara  from 
Aethicus  and  possibly  from  the  Bible,  and  finished 
by  saying,  "sic  inter  undas  volvuntur,  pari  utrimque 
prora  et  mutabili  remigio,  quando  hinc  vel  illinc 
appellere  indiscretum  et  innoxium  est."  The  inter- 
polator took  such  a  liking  to  the  ship  that  could  go 
hither  and  thither  that  he  repeated  the  same  story, 
almost  in  the  same  words,  in  regard  to  ships  that  he 
had  the  Romans  build  on  the  island  of  the  Batavians, 
that  is,  in  the  region  described  by  Aethicus.^  In  this 
new  passage  the  relation  to  Athenaeus'  ^akafir^yoi;  and 
Aethicus'  camereca  is  even  clearer  than  in  the  Historiae. 
The  interpolation  in  Strabo  of  the  word  xdfiapa  for 
fjtuoTtdpwv  is  unquestionably  later  than  that  in  Tacitus, 
because  here  we  have  no  reference  whatsoever  to  a 
boat  with  two  prows,  the  word  xdfxapa  having  already 
become  conventionalized  for  a  piratical  boat. 

1  XVI.  203. 

^  "Mille  naves  sufficere  visae  properataeque,  aliae  breves,  angusta  puppi 
proraque  et  lato  utero,  quo  facilius  fluctus  tolerarent;  quaedam  planae 
carinis,  ut  sine  noxa  siderent;  plures  adpositis  utrimque  gubernaculis, 
converse  ut  repente  remigio  hinc  vel  illinc  adpellerent;  multae  pontibu* 
stratae,  super  quas  tormenta  veherentur,  simul  aptae  ferendis  equis  aut 
commeatui,  velis  habiles,  citae  remis,  augebantur  alacritate  militum  in 
speciem  ac  terrorem,"  Annates,  II.  6. 


HUNIBALD  251 

The  forger  of  the  Germania  went  one  better.  He 
took  the  whole  passage  from  the  Historiae,  III.  47, 
and  concocted  a  new  story  for  the  Swedish  pirates. 
In  the  Historiae,  III.  46,  we  are  told  that  the  Dacians 
were  becoming  restless.  In  the  next  chapter  we  have 
an  account  of  the  other  nations  in  the  Pontus,  who  were 
being  roused  to  sedition  by  a  slave,  a  former  prefect 
of  the  navy,  by  the  name  of  Anicetus.  He  corrupted 
the  barbarians  with  the  promise  of  spoil  even  for  the 
poorest.  Then  we  get  the  statement  that  the  bar- 
barians traveled  about  in  ships  called  camarae,  which 
were  built  with  decks,  so  as  to  keep  out  the  waves. 
From  this  account  we  get  the  absurd  statement  in  the 
Germania^  that  the  Swedes  honor  wealth,  that  they 
are  ruled  by  one  man,  and  that  their  arms  are  in  the 
custody  of  a  slave.  The  sentence,  **praeter  viros 
armaque  classibus  valent,"  was  intended,  no  doubt, 
for  ''praeter  vires  armaque  classibus  valent,"  which  is  a 
counterpart  of  Isidore's  "gens  Saxonum  non  viribus 
nititur,  fugae  potius  quam  bello  parati,"  or,  still  more 
closely,  of  Hegesippus'^  **  (Saxonia)  validissimum  genus 
hominum  perhibetur  et  praestans  ceteris,  piraticis  tamen 
myoparonibus  non  viribus  nititur  fugae  potius  quam 
bello  paratum."  From  the  sentence  in  Historiae^ 
III.  47,  "corrupto  in  spem  rapinarum  egentissimo 
quoque,"  we  get  here  the  absurd  statement,  "est  apud 
illos  opibus  honos."  From  the  mention  that  Anicetus 
was  impatient  of  change,  "mutationis  impatiens,"  we 

^  "Suionum  hinc  civitates,  ipso  in  Oceano,  praeter  viros  armaque  classibus 
valent.  forma  navium  eo  differt  quod  utrinque  prora  paratam  semper  appul- 
sui  frontem  agit.  nee  velis  ministrant  nee  remos  in  ordinem  lateribus  adiun- 
gunt:  solutum,  ut  in  quibusdam  fluminum,  et  mutabile,  ut  res  poseit,  hinc 
vel  illinc  remigium.  est  apud  illos  et  opibus  honos;  eoque  unus  imperitat, 
nuUis  iam  exceptionibus,  non  precario  iure  parendi.  nee  arma,  ut  apud 
ceteros  Germanos,  in  promiscuo,  sed  clausa  sub  custode,  et  quidem  servo, 
quia  subitos  hostium  incursus  prohibet  Oceanus,  otiosae  porro  armatorum 
manus  facile^  lasciviunt:  enimvero  neque  nobilem  neque  ingenuum,  ne  li- 
bertinum  quidem  armis  praeponere  regia  utilitas  est,"  Germania,  XLIV. 

2  V.  15. 


252    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

get  the  similarly  absurd  elaboration,  "eoque  unus 
imperitat,  nuUis  iam  exceptionibus,  non  precario  iure 
parendi."  From  the  perfectly  natural  statement  that 
Anicetus,  a  barbarian  slave,  started  a  rebellion,  "arma 
moverat,"  we  get  the  horribly  perverted  statement 
that  the  arms  were  not  kept  promiscuously,  as  among 
the  other  Germans,  but  were  guarded  by  a  slave, 
**nec  arma,  ut  apud  ceteros  Germanos,  in  promiscuo, 
sed  clausa  sub  custode,  et  quidem  servo."  It  would 
be  difficult  to  find  a  more  stupid  transformation  of 
an  already  interpolated  story. 

These  northern  pirates  are  called  Suiones}  Beyond 
the  Suiones,  according  to  the  Germania,  live  the 
Sitones.  It  is  clear  from  Jordanes  that  these  are  identi- 
cal with  his  Suetidi,^  and  from  the  Arabic  accounts 
we  see  that  Suetidi,  Sitones  are  derived  from  Al- 
aswad,  the  **  Black  Sea,"  near  which  they  lived.  Beyond 
Suebia,  according  to  the  Germania,  live  the  Peucini, 
Veneti,  and  Fenni.  The  Peucini  were  originally  called 
Bastarnae  and  are  by  speech,  culture,  and  domicile 
Germans,  contaminated  only  with  the  Sarmatians  by 
intermarriage.^  The  Peucini  are  universally  recognized 
to  have  been  Celts  who  lived  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Danube.*  Only  Pliny  thought  them  to  be  Germans 
who  lived  near  the  Dacians,^  who  otherwise  were 
called  Getae.^  From  the  fourth  century  on,  the  Getae 
were  confused  with  the  Gothic  and  at  the  same  time, 
no  doubt,  the  Daci  began  to  be  confused  with  the 

» See  p.  251. 

*  "Suetidi,  cogniti  in  hac  gente  reliquis  corpora  eminentiores,"  Getiea, 
III  (23). 

*  "Hie  Suebiae  finis.  Peucinorum  Venetorumque  et  Fennorum  nationes 
Germanis  an  Sarmatis  ascribam  dubito:  quamquam  Peucini,  quos  quidam 
Bastarnas  vocant,  sermone  cultu  sede  ac  domiciliis  ut  Germani  agunt. 
sordes  omnium  ac  torpor  procerum;  conubiis  mixtis  non  nihil  in  Sarma- 
tarum  habitum  foedantur,"  XLVI. 

*  K.  Zeuss,  Die  Deutschen  und  die  Nachbarstamme,  Miinchen  1837,  p.  127  ff. 

*  "Peucini,  Basternae,  supra  dictis  contermini  Dacis,"  IV.  100. 

*  "Getae,  Daci  Romanis  dicti,"  IV.  80. 


HUNIBALD  253 

Dani.  Jordanes  speaks  in  the  same  breath  of  Gothi 
and  Peucini,  but  leaves  the  latter  near  the  Danube.^ 
But  the  forger  of  the  Germania,  mistaking  the  Dad 
for  the  Dani,  placed  the  Peucini  next  to  the  Sitones. 
Here  again  we  see  that  Strabo  was  interpolated  after 
the  Germania  was  in  existence,  for  he,  too,  places  the 
Peucini  near  the  Icdovei;.^  There  cannot  be  the  slight- 
est doubt  about  an  interpolation  here,  because  the 
Peucini  are  correctly  placed  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Danube,  whereas  the  Sidones,  as  we  see  from  the  Ger- 
mania, are  somewhere  in  Norway.  It  is  more  than 
likely  that  the  Itdrjvoi,  Iido)vt(;  of  Ptolemy,  placed 
indefinitely  somewhere  near  the  Northern  Ocean,  are 
a  similar  interpolation.  Jordanes  puts  the  Dani 
together  with  the  Suetidi,'  just  as  the  forger  of  the 
Germania  placed  the  Peucini,  that  is,  the  nation  near 
the  Daci,  near  the  Sitones. 

We  can  now  see  why  the  forger  took  the  passage  in 
the  Historiae,  III.  47,  as  a  basis  for  his  account  of  the 
Suiones.  To  him  the  Pontus  was  a  sea  into  which  the 
Danube  flowed,  but  he  recklessly  transferred  the  whole 
region  to  the  north.  A  nation  near  the  Pontus  was 
given  to  piracy.  So  was  the  nation  in  the  north, 
called  Myoparones  by  Aethicus.  The  forger  knew 
from  Arabic  accounts  about  the  I  sit  and  Aswad. 
He  had  a  faint  idea  that  the  Daci  and  Dani  were 
one  and  the  same,  and  he  knew  that  the  ships 
with  double  prows  were  made  for  Danaus.  From  all 
that  confusion  arose  the  hodge-podge  of  the  account 
in  the  Germania  dealing  with  the  extreme  north. 

We  can  now  return  to  the  Fall  of  Troy. 

» Getica,  XVI  (91). 

*«'Ev  8^  Ttj  yitaoyaiq.  BacrcdQvai  \ikv  T015  Tvoev^Taig  SM'OQOi  xal  Feo- 
jiOBvoig,  axeb&v  xt  xal  ouxol  tou  Fe^navixoO  yivovq  Svres,  slg  jiXeico  tpvhi 
fiiTiPTinevoi.  Kal  yaQ  "Atnovoi  "kiyavrai,  ti-ve?  xcA  2i66vEg,  oifift 
TTjv  IIeuxtiv  xataoxovres  xal  ttiv  i\  T<p  "lorpcp  vfjoov  nev)uvoi,»  VII.  3. 
17. 

»  "Dani,  ex  ipsorum  stirpe  progressi,"  III  (23). 


254    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

There  is  not  a  trace  of  a  relation  between  the  Fall 
of  Troy  and  the  Germans  in  Gregory  of  Tours  or  in 
any  author  before  the  year  727.  The  Liber  historiae 
Francorum  begins  with  the  history  of  the  Fall  of  Troy. 
Aeneas  escapes  and  settles  near  the  Maeotide  Swamp, 
where  he  builds  the  city  of  Sicambria.  The  Alanians 
make  an  incursion  upon  the  Maeotide  Swamp  and  are 
ejected  by  the  Trojans,  who  are  now  called  Franci  by 
Valentinian  on  account  of  their  ferocity.^  Unwilling 
to  pay  taxes  to  Rome,  the  Franci  move  on  and  settle 
near  the  Rhine.  Here  Faramund,  the  son  of  Marcomir, 
was  chosen  king.  Then  they  began  to  have  (Salic) 
laws.  Thereupon  we  come  to  the  account  in  Gregory 
of  Tours,  according  to  which  Chlodius,  the  son  of 
Faramund,  lived  in  Disbargum,  a  fortified  place  in 
Thuringia,  a  region  of  Germany.  Fredegar's  Chronicle, 
which  has  additions  made  in  the  eighth  century,^ 
as  is  proved  conclusively  by  the  reference  to  Francus 

and    Vasso    as    of    the    Franks,   quotes    this 

place  as  Esbargium,  Asobargim,  Hesbargim,^  etc., 
which  is  not  far  removed  from  the  Asciburgium  of  the 
Ger mania.  The  Trojans,  although  enemies  of  the 
Greeks,  were  confused  with  the  Greeks,  hence  the 
Esbargium  of  Thuringia  led  to  Asciburgium  of  Tacitus, 
where  Greek  inscriptions  were  found.  The  whole 
Troy  origin  of  the  Franks  arose  in  the  eighth  century, 
when  it  became  fashionable  to  consider  the  Franks 
as  the  true  political  descendants  of  the  Romans.  This 
was  expressed  in  the  genealogies,  which  I  have  dis- 
cussed in  connection  with  Pseudo-Berosus,*  where  the 
Franks  and  Alamannians  were  classed  together  with 
Britons    and    Romans,    as    descendants    from    Isaac. 

1  MGH., Scrip,  rer.  merov.,  vol.  II,  p.  241  ff. 

*  G.  Schniirer,  Die  Verfasser  der  sogenannten  Fredegar-Chronik,  Freiburg 
1900,  p.  90  ff. 
» MGH.,  Scrip,  rer.  merov.,  vol.  II,  p.  95. 
*Seep.  213flf. 


HUNIBALD  255 

Of  course,  such  a  relationship  could  have  been  pre- 
dicated from  the  Chronographus  anni  CCCLIIIP  or 
the  Liher  genealogus  anni  CCCCXXVII,^  but  the 
abbreviated  form  of  the  derivation  of  the  Romans 
directly  from  Isaac,  shows  that  the  relationship  was 
made  out  anew  on  the  basis  of  the  Arabic  genealogy. 
From  the  relationship  of  Rome  to  Troy  arose  also  the 
relationship  of  the  Franks  to  Troy. 

This  follows  inevitably  from  the  account  of  the 
Liber  historiae  Francorum,  which,  to  judge  from  the 
last  date  recorded,  namely,  727,  was  written  soon  after 
that  date.  But  it  is  in  the  account  given  by  Hunibald, 
and  reported  by  Trithemius,  that  we  get  the  real  reason 
for  the  correlation  of  Franks  and  Romans,  which  actu- 
ated the  Troy  story.  According  to  Hunibald,^  the 
Trojans,  later  called  Scythians,  and  still  later,  Franks, 
were  located  near  the  mouth  of  the  Danube.  Their 
king,  Antenor,  was  killed  in  battle  with  the  Goths,  who 
came  from  Scanzia.  This  was  in  440  B.C.  Then  his 
son,  Marcomir,  ascended  the  throne  and  determined  to 
avenge  his  father's  death.  He  called  together  the 
ministers  of  his  gods,  who  evoked  the  spirits.  Marcomir 
saw  before  him  a  three-headed  monster,  of  which  one 
head  was  that  of  a  toad,  the  second  of  a  lion,  the  third 
of  an  eagle.  The  eagle's  head  said:  **Your  offspring 
will  subdue  my  head;  they  will  destroy  both  the  lion 
and  the  toad."  Similar  predictions  were  made  by  the 
toad's  and  lion's  heads.  Then  suddenly  the  monster 
was  changed  into  the  form  of  a  man,  with  the  scepter  in 
the  left  hand  and  the  sword  in  the  right,  who  confirmed 
the  prophecy.  Marcomir  asked  the  aliruna  what  the 
significance  of  this  prophecy  was.  She  told  him  that 
he  was  to  travel  towards  the  west,  to  where  the  people 
representing  the  lion,  and  descended  from  the  Trojans, 

^  MGH.,  Auctor.  antiq.,  vol.  IX,  p.  15  ff. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  154  flf. 

'  Trithemius,  Opera  historica,  p.  2  flf. 


256    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

was  situated  on  this  side  of  the  Rhine.  The  toad 
nation  was  living  across  the  Rhine,  while  the  nation 
represented  by  the  eagle  was  that  of  the  Romans.  The 
Franks  were  to  settle  between  the  two,  the  lion  and 
the  toad.  They  would  wage  many  wars  with  the  toads, 
and  many  would  be  killed;  but  after  many  years  they 
would  possess  themselves  of  the  country  of  the  toads, 
and  also  of  the  territory  of  the  lions,  until,  after  three 
generations,  there  would  be  one  king  over  all  that  land. 
The  Franks  sent  a  legation  to  the  Saxons,  asking  from 
them  permission  to  settle  in  their  territory,  after  which 
they  emigrated  to  Frisia,  and  Marcomir  conquered 
much  territory.  It  is  up  to  the  death  of  Marcomir  that 
Wasthald  composed  his  account  in  the  Scythian  lan- 
guage, from  the  Fall  of  Troy. 

Here  we  have  a  sufficient  reason  why  the  Franks 
are  coupled  with  the  Romans  as  descendants  of  Isaac. 
We  also  have  a  sufficient  reason  why  they,  like  the 
Romans,  should  be  derived  from  the  Trojans.  If 
the  year  727  may  be  taken  as  the  approximate  date  of 
the  creation  of  the  Troy  story,  we  get  the  time  of  Charles 
Martel,  who  conquered  the  rebellious  Alamannians  in 
725,  as  the  one  in  which  the  pretensions  to  the  Roman 
Empire  were  first  mooted.  But  it  may  be  that,  in 
spite  of  the  last  recorded  date  of  727,  the  work  was 
really  accomplished  after  754,  when  Pope  Stephen  III 
crowned  Pippin  and  his  two  sons,  Charles  and  Kar- 
loman,   kings. 

It  is  not  easy  to  get  at  the  Prankish  origins  in  the 
Liber  historiae  Francorum,  because  it  is  such  a  hodge- 
podge from  various  sources;  but  a  certain  amount  of 
order  may  be  established  in  it.  We  are  told  in  this 
account,  that  when  Aeneas  fled  to  Italy,  Antenor  came 
in  ships  to  the  shores  of  the  Tanais,  where  he  built 
the  city  of  Sicambria  near  the  Maeotide  Swamps.  At 
that  time  the  Alani  rebelled  against  Valentinian,  who 


HUNIBALD  257 

defeated  them,  whereupon  they  fled  from  the  shores 
of  the  Danube  to  the  Maeotide  Swamps.  At  the 
request  of  Valentinian,  the  Trojans  ejected  the  Alani 
from  them,  for  which  reason  Valentinian  called  them 
in  the  Attic  language,  Franks,  which  means  ''ferocious." 
After  ten  years  the  Emperor  was  going  to  collect  taxes 
from  the  Franks,  but  they  refused  to  pay  them,  saying 
that  they  had  always  been  free.  Valentinian  attacked 
them,  and  they  moved  away  from  Sicambria  and  set- 
tled near  the  Rhine.  With  the  counsel  of  their  leader, 
Marcomir,  the  Franks  chose  his  son,  Faramund,  for 
their  longhaired  king,  and  it  was  then  that  they  began 
to  have  laws.  After  the  death  of  Faramund,  they 
chose  Chlodio,  the  longhaired  one,  as  their  king.  They 
came  to  Thuringia,  where  Chlodio  lived  in  the  castle 
Dispargum. 

We  have  a  still  older  account  of  the  Trojan  origin 
of  the  Franks  in  Aethicus.  Before  giving  the  story 
as  contained  there,  we  must  ascertain  more  definitely 
the  age  in  which  Aethicus  wrote.  Much  learning  has 
been  wasted  to  prove  that  St.  Jerome  was  the  real 
translator  into  Latin  of  this  impossible  work,^  whereas 
it  is  very  easy  to  show  that  it  was  written  after  711. 
The  chemical  terms  that  occur  in  this  work  are  such 
as  are  found  in  Arabic  works  on  alchemy,  some  of  them 
being  of  Arabic  origin.  Aethicus  says  of  the  earth: 
"  Terram  dicit  in  ipsam  massam  cum  suis  possessoribus, 
et  pecoribus  ac  bestiis  volatilibus,  cum  aere  ut 
hemitica,  carpaica,  sataica  et  sorectica  ac  humarrica 
atque  athomica  torradicaque  safargica,  spuraca  et 
brumarrica  in  eaque  massa  posita."^  Here  it  is  not 
safe  to  identify  the  various  terms,  as  their  meanings 
are  not  given.     Fortunately,  two  of  these  terms  occur 

^  H.  Wuttke,  op.  eit.;  d'Avezac,  ^thicus  et  lea  outrages  cosmographiques 
intitules  de  ce  nam,  Paris  1852;  K.  Pertz,  De  Cosmographia  Ethici  libri  tres, 
Berolini  1853. 

*  Wuttke,  op.  dt.,  p.  3. 


258    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

again.  We  have  Humericus  lacus  "the  Sea  of  As- 
phaltum."^       Aethicus    distinctly    calls    it    "bitumi- 

natum,"  hence  it  is  Arab.  ,j*>-  humar  "bitumen  Ju- 
daicum."  It  cannot  be  from  the  Hebrew,  because 
there  it  is  ^^H  hemdr.    The  second  word  is  safargica, 

which  occurs  again  in  connection  with  afrodica,  to 
express  earth  in  which  gold  and  copper  are  found.  ^ 
The  Gr.  d.fpodizrj  was  used  by  the  Syrians  and  Arabs 

for  "copper,"^  and  Arab.  J^   ^ufur,  '^i    'a^-^afra'u 

is  "gold." 

Thus  the  age  of  the  Cosmographia  is  established, 
beyond  a  shadow  of  a  doubt,  as  after  711.  But  it 
is  right  here  that  we  have  an  important  account  of  the 
Trojan  origin  of  the  Franks.  Aethicus  confuses  the 
Alani  with  the  Albani.  According  to  him,  they  lived 
near  his  country  of  Istria.     Romulus  waged  war  on  the 

'  "Porro  Scihtarum  gentes  in  multam  munitionem  tam  montanam  quam 
et  saltuum  refertissimam;  campestria  frugum  uberrima  et  usque  ad  oceanum 
sericum  porrecta[m]  atque  mare  Caspium,  quod  respicit  occasum,  exinde  a 
meridie  usque  locum  Humericum  bituminatum,  a  parte  aquilonis  magnum 
enim  in  gyrum  dilatatum  quasi  stadiis  centum  a  radicibus  monti[bu]s 
Humerosi[s],  ita  ferventem  velut  candentem  fornacem;  de  qua  aqua  si 
volucres  attigerint  vel  palpaverint  ultra  nequaquam  vivere  possunt.  Idem 
narrat,  sicut  et  superius  multa  praefatus  est,  quod  de  calore  et  vapore 
Humericorum  montium,  quia  a  parte  inferorum  vidisse  se  adserit  fumantes, 
prae  nimia  ariditate  vel  ustione,  mortis  foetorem  inducit,"  ibid.,  p.  48. 

"  "Dein  in  insolas  Brittanicas  et  Tylen  navigavit  quas  ille  Brutanicas 
appellavit.  Imperitissimam  gentem,  horrorem  nimium.  Sectantes  artes 
multas  et  ingenio  maximo  terrarum  poUent.  Metalla  in  venire  ibi  narrat 
auri  et  argenti,  oricalci  et  stagni  magnitudinem  ac  ferri.  Multasque  alias 
adinventiones  quae  investigabiles  ab  aliis  gentibus.  Erudiens  discipulos 
suos  fecit  eos  artifices  mirificos,  et  usque  nunc  artifices  multi  in  eas  insolas 
usi  sunt  eo  modo,  ut  si  in  litoribus  maris  aut  fluminum  glarea  candorem 
cretae  cum  sabulo  reddiderit  et  venarum  parte  pauxilli  rivi  processerint 
ebuUientes  ac  ferventes,  non  nimis  cal[l]idae  rufaeque  commixtim  afrodica 
terra  et  safargica,  aut  aurum  aut  oricalcum  metallum  reperies  vel  aes,  tam 
in  litoribus,  quae  sarfaicam  et  acervicam  habuerint  arvam.  Sed  in  raris 
locis  sic  invenitur  argenti  et  stagni  metallum  vel  mina,  Aquitania  yalde  et 
Hispania,  Valeria,  et  multas  terrarum  regiones  habere,  et  levius  invenire 
possunt,  non  difficile  ab  habitatoribus  vel  quaestionariis  suis.  Nam  auro 
fodinam  et  oricalcum  gnaros  artifices  ea  arte,  quam  supra  commemoravit, 
invenire  praedixit,"  ibid.,  p.  14  f. 

^  Berthelot,  La  chimie  au  moyen  dge,  Paris  1893,  vol.  II,  pp.  9,  11,  22,  etc. 


HUNIBALD  259 

Albani  and  founded  Rome.  Then  he  crossed  the  Simois 
and  fought  with  Francus  and  Vassus,  the  descendants  of 
the  Trojans,  and  conquered  them.  But  Francus  and 
Vassus  united  with  the  Albani,  crossed  the  Ister,  and 
attacked  Romulus.  They  were  again  defeated.  Fran- 
cus and  Vassus,  seeing  they  were  lost,  escaped  with  a 
few  of  their  men,  and  the  Albani  returned  to  their 
homes.  Francus  and  Vassus  crossed  Raetia  and 
built  the  city  of  Sicambria  near  the  Maeotide  Swamps.^ 

1  "Lacedaemonia,  Pannonia  et  Histria  post  celeberrimam  Graeciam; 
suarum  generationum  repetens  ait:  me  circuitu[m]  viarum  mearum  et 
opus  et  rumor  subrepsit,  ut  decidentium  si  falsa  fuerunt  retroacta  obmitterem, 
aut  si  vera  reciperim,  si  ambigua  frustra  ducerer.  Pondus  laboris  mel  meae 
causae  extetit,  ut  itineris  vacatio,  Veritas  labor[ar]em  sequatur.  Quantae 
clades  in  Lacedaemonia,  Norico  et  Pannonia,  Histria  et  Albania,  vicinae 
meae  septentrionalium  regiones,  primum  a  Romanis  et  Numitore  tyranne, 
dein  sub  Romolo  Remoque  fratribus  postque  Tarquinio  Prisco,  Superbo. 
Cum  taedio  cordis  mei  stragem  subolis  meae  cogor  propalare;  et  postmodum 
orientalium  ac  loca  meridiana,  quae  obmisi,  retexam.  Numitor  igitur  regno 
male  usurpato  hostem  et  vastationem  Tusciae  saevissimam  intulit;  Pirre- 
neos  montes  Cisalpinaque  iuga  peracessit,  Noricos  obtinuit,  Histriam  crudeli- 
ter  obpr[a]essit,  Histrum  transiens  cum  Albanis  altercavit  sed  superare  non 
potuit,  cum  magnis  spoliis  remeavit.  Nee  multo  post  obiurgantes  mutuo 
nepotes  cum  avo  consurrexitque  Romulus  super  avum,  Numitorem  inter- 
fecit,  regnum  sagaciter  et  adroganter  usurpavit.  Euandriae  urbis  muros  et 
moenia  ampliavit.  Ipsam  nimpe  urbem  a  suo  vocabulo  Romam  nuncupavit. 
Ipse  vero  post  avum  fatricida  extitit,  Remum  necavit  spurcitiae  omni  deditus 
et  luxoria  freniticus  pellexator  nefarius.  Commoto  exercitu  Romanorum  avi 
crudelitate  arreptusLacedaemones  crudeliter  debellavit,Pannoniamvastavit, 
Semoen  transiit,  post  primam  eversionem  Troiae  secundus  cruentator 
peraccessit,  cum  Franco  et  Vasso  qui  ex  regia  prosapia  remanserant  certando 
dimicavit,  ipsosque  superatos.  Il[l]io  dinuo  capta  remeavit  ad  urbem. 
Francus  enim  et  Vassus  foedus  apud  Albanos  patraverant  mutuo  moventes 
exercitum  contra  Romolum,  montana  Histriae  transeuntes  fixerunt  tentoria, 
contra  quos  Romolus  castra  obponit;  cum  Franco  et  Vasso  dinuo  bellaturus 
properavit  in  montem  sacrum  arasque  lovis  famosissimas.  Praeparavit 
ad  aciem  perduellis  hostes  invicem  dimicantes.  Romulus  post  cruentissimam 
stragem,  sicut  maximum  moverat  exercitum,  victor  extetit  debellaturosque 
superavit.  Francus  et  Vassus  caesum  cernentes  exercitum  cum  paucis  qui 
remanserant  per  fugam  lapsi  evaserunt.  Albani  prostrati  atque  devicti, 
qui  evadere  potuerant  a  caede  maxima,  reversi  sunt  ad  propria.  Francus, 
ut  diximus,  et  Vassus  videntes  se  superatos,  terram  autem  adflictam  et 
vastatam  in  solitudinemque  redactam,  relinquentes  propria  cum  paucis 
sodalibus  sed  viris  expeditis  pulsi  a  sede  statim,  Raetiam  penetrantes  ad 
invia  et  deserta  Germaniae  pervenerunt,  laevaque  Maeotidas  paludes  de- 
mittentes  more  praedonum  P3^[r]aticiun  et  fero  fisorum  atque  latronum 
degentes  urbem  construunt;  Sichambriam  barbarica  sua  lingua  nuncupant 
idem  gladium  et  arcum,  more  praedonum  externorumque  positam,"  Wuttke, 
op.  cit.,  p.  76  f. 


260    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

The  Alani,  Albani  are  no  other  than  the  Alamanni, 
whom  the  Franks  defeated  in  the  beginning  of  the 
eighth  century,  but  who  are  also  mentioned  as  de- 
feated by  Gratian^  and  Valentinian,^  wherefore  the 
whole  account  is  placed  in  the  time  of  Valentinian. 
Indeed,  many  manuscripts  of  Gregory  of  Tours  and 
the  other  early  sources  read  Alamanni  for  Alani. 

The  Frankish  kings  are  supposed  to  have  lived  in 
Thuringia,  in  a  castle  or  fortified  town  called  Dis- 
bargum,  before  they  settled  in  Gaul.  This  rests  on  a 
compound  blunder.  It  was  started  by  Isidore,  who 
said  that  the  Burgundians  were  subdued  by  the 
Romans  and  then  settled  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine, 
and  that  their  name  was  derived  from  the  word  burgus 
"castle,"  because  they  settled  in  hamlets  which  were 
so  called.^  We  have  also  the  stupid  statement  in  the 
Germania  that  the  Germans  who  were  the  first  to  cross 
the  Rhine  were  then  called  Tungri,  but  now  are  called 
Germans.*  As  the  Germans  are  already  mentioned  in 
the  time  of  Caesar  and  earlier,  the  statement  in  Tacitus 
is  most  absurd.  If  they  were  called  Germans  before 
they  were  called  Tungri,  why  were  they  again  called 
Germans  afterwards?  But  we  get  an  answer  to  the 
blunder  the  moment  we  look  into  Hunibald.  Here  we 
are  told  that  Theodomir,  son  of  Richimer,  was  con- 
stantly at  war  with  the  Romans.  At  that  time  the 
country  of  the  Franks  was  in  the  region  of  the  Tungri, 

»  MGH.,  Audor.  antiq.,  vol.  XI,  p.  153. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  IX,  p.  241. 

'  "Burgundiones  quondam,  a  Romanis  subacta  interiori  Germania,  per 
castrorum  limites  positi  a  Tiberio  Caesare  in  magnam  coaluerunt  gentem, 
atque  ita  nomen  ex  locis  sumpserunt;  quia  crebra  per  limites  habitacula 
constituta  burgos  vulgo  vocant.  Hi  postea  rebelles  Romanis  effecti  plus 
quam  octoginta  milia  armatorum  ripae  Rheni  fluminis  insederunt,  et  nomen 
gentis  obtinuerunt,"  IX.  2.  99. 

*  "Ceterum  Germaniae  vocabulum  recens  et  nuper  additum;  quoniam, 
qui  primi  Rhenum  transgressi  Gallos  expulerint,  ac  nunc  Tungri,  tunc 
Germani  vocati  sint:  ita  nationis  nomen,  non  gentis  evaluisse  paulatim, 
ut  omnes  primum  a  victore  ob  metum,  mox  a  seipsis  invento  nomine  Germani 
vocarentur,"  II. 


HUNIBALD  261 

across  the  Meuse,  in  a  castle  which  the  Antiquitas  called 
Dispartum.  From  the  Franks,  up  to  the  Loire,  lived 
the  Gauls,  under  Roman  rule.  Beyond  the  Loire  were 
the  Goths,  mixed  with  other  nations.  The  Franks 
occupied  a  great  part  of  Gaul,  beyond  the  Meuse. 
Theodomir's  son,  Clogio,  waged  war  with  the  Romans, 
who  had  just  been  fighting  the  Alamanni.  This  was 
in  the  days  of  Julian  the  Apostate.  Afterwards, 
Valentinian  waged  war  with  the  Saxons,  who  were 
defeated.^ 

Hunibald  did  not  confuse  the  Tungri  with  the 
Thuringians,  who  are  frequently  mentioned  by  Trit- 
hemius  as  Doringi.  Indeed,  they  are  discussed  at  large 
immediately  before  the  Tungri.  The  Doringi  asked 
aid  of  the  Frankish  king,  Clodomir,  against  the  Suevi, 
and  gave  the  Franks  land  in  their  country  in  which  to 
settle.^  Under  Valentinian  the  Burgundians  settled 
near  the  Rhine. ^  It  is  clear  that  the  account  in  Huni- 
bald is  the  original  one  from  which  all  the  confusion 
arose.  It  is  original,  because  it  is  more  free  from 
blunders  and  contains  the  explanation  of  the  later 
corruptions.  Instead  of  Alani,  we  have  here  Alamanni, 
the  Franks  come  from  the  country  of  the  Tungri  and 
make  settlements  in  Thuringia,  and  about  the  same  time 
the  Burgundians  settle  near  the  Rhine.  The  reference 
to  Dispartum  is  apparently  not  from  Hunibald,  as 
Trithemius  refers  to  the  Antiquitas,  by  which  he  means 
some  other  old  source,  Gregory  of  Tours,  or  the  Liher 
historiae  Francorum. 

The  authors  who  quoted  Hunibald  confused  the 
Tungri  with  Thuringia,  the  Alamanni  with  the  Alani, 
and,  from  the  fact  that  the  Franks  were  at  first  at  the 
Rhine,  where  the  Burgundians  are  placed  at  first, 
assumed   that  the   Franks  lived   "in   castellis   id   est 

^  Trithemius,  Opera  historica,  p.  27  f.  and  p.  76. 
*  lUd.,  p.  26. 
» Ibid.,  p.  76. 


262    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

hurgis\"  and  so  arose  the  idea  of  their  living  "in 
castello  Disburgo,''  preserved  to  us  in  many  corrupted 
forms,  as  "in  castello  Disbar  go,''  etc.  But  the  forger, 
who  noticed  that  the  Franks,  that  is,  the  Germans, 
at  first  lived  among  the  Tungri  and  then  gave  the  name 
of  Franks  to  all  of  Gaul,  jumped  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  Germans  were  at  first  called  Tungri  and  then 
Germans  again. 

There  was  good  reason  for  substituting  the  Alani 
for  the  Alamanni.  The  Franks  were  originally  located 
at  the  Maeotide  Swamp.  In  this  the  writers  of  the 
Frankish  Antiquitates  followed  the  Gothic  example, 
which  made  out  of  Borysthenis  a  Gothic  city.  The 
Goths  were  made  congeners  of  Homer,  and  their  no- 
bility found  an  external  expression  in  long  hair;  they 
became  the  capillati  of  Jordanes.^  Presto,  the  kings 
of  the  Franks  were  distinguished  for  their  long  hair; 
they  became  the  criniti.  Hunibald  says  that  Clodio, 
the  son  of  Faramund,  commanded  that  all  the  Franks 
should  wear  long  hair,  to  distinguish  them  from  the 
conquered  Gauls,  wherefore  Clodio  was  called  crinitus 
or  capillosus.^ 

The  story  of  Valentinian  and  the  Alani,  castellum 
Dispargum,  and  Clodius  crinitus,  are  all  in  Gregory 
of  Tours,  ^  but  as  all  this  follows  immediately  after 
the  mention  of  Orosius,  which  is  an  interpolation,  it 
is  difiicult  to  ascertain  whether  this  does  not  belong 
to  an  earlier  legend,  which  was  already  current  in  the 
sixth  century.  Especially  the  reference  to  the  long 
hair,  as  an  attribute  of  royal  power,  would  seem  to 
be  old,  since  it  seems  to  be  implied  in  several  stories 
in  Gregory.  When  Chlodovech  was  killed  and  thrown 
into  the  river,  for  instance,  he  was  later  recognized 

1  See  p.  78. 

=*  Trithemius,  Opera  historica,  p.  35. 

'  II.  9. 


HUNIBALD  263 

by  his  long  hair;^  to  make  it  impossible  for  Chararich 
and  his  sons  to  become  kings,  Chlodovech  had  their 
hair  cut  off  ;'^  Chlotachar  had  Gundovald  shorn,  because 
he  did  not  want  to  recognize  him  as  his  son.^  These 
cases  prove  nothing,  however,  since  not  only  kings, 
but  also  those  who  might  become  kings,  wore  long  hair. 
They  only  prove  that  those  who  had  their  hair  shorn 
could  not  become  kings,  because  the  shearing  of  hair 
was  considered  a  disgrace,  if  it  was  done  forcibly.  In 
the  sixth  council  of  Toledo  it  is  distinctly  explained 
that  one  shorn  a  monk  or  basely  deprived  of  his  hair, 
could  not  become  a  king.^  Long  before  that  Jerome 
had  said  that  dandies,  soldiers  and  barbarians  wore 
long  hair,^  and  Honorius,  in  416,  passed  a  law  forbidding 
the  wearing  of  long  hair.^  In  all  this  there  is  not  even 
distantly  a  reference  to  a  law  demanding  that  only 
kings  should  wear  long  hair.  This  is  found  only  in 
the  passage  in  Gregory  of  Tours,  in  connection  with 
the  rest  of  the  legend,  and  in  Agathias. 

Agathias  is  supposed  to  have  written  toward  the 
end  of  the  sixth  century.  That  he  is  a  base  plagiarist, 
getting  his  material  pell-mell  from  Herodotus,  Thucy- 
dides,  etjB.,  has  been  shown  beyond  any  possibility 
of  cavil.  ^  The  introduction  is  cribbed  out  of  Hero- 
dotus.^ Almost  in  the  very  beginning  of  the  history 
is  found  the  fulsome  praise  of  the  Franks,  where  we 
are  told  it  was  a  law  that  the  Frankish  kings  should 
wear  long  hair.^     There  are  several  passages  in  Hero- 

1  VIII.  10. 

2  II.   41. 

«  VI.  24. 

*  "Rege  vero  defuncto  nullus  tyrannica  praesumptione  regnum  assumat; 
nuUus  sub  religionis  habitu  detonsus,  aut  turpiter  decalvatus,  aut  servilem 
originem  trahens,  vel  extraneae  gentis  homo,  nisi  genere  Gothus  et  moribus 
dignus,  provehatur  ad  apicem  regni,"  can.  XVII. 

'  Gothofred's  Codex  Theodosiamis,  editio  nova,  vol.  V,  p.  240. 

« Ibid. 

''  G.  Franke,  Quaestiones  Agathianae,  Trebnitziae  1914. 

8  Ibid.,  p.  3  ff. 

» Agathias,  I.  3. 


264    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

dotus  which  tell  of  wearing  long  hair,  but  it  is  the 
Lacedaemonians  who  passed  a  law  demanding  that 
long  hair  be  worn.^  There  can  be  no  question  about 
the  mythical  value  of  the  story  about  the  long-haired 
kings  of  the  Franks.  The  only  point  is  whether  it 
was  already  known  in  the  sixth  century.  This  is  very 
doubtful,  since  it  is  most  likely  that,  in  spite  of  the 
assertion  to  the  contrary,  and  the  reference  to  Agathias 
in  Euagrius,  the  work  was  written  in  the  eighth  or 
ninth  century.  Agathias  seems  to  have  had  some  Sy- 
riac  or  Arabic  source  before  him.  He  himself  mentions 
Sergius,  who  lived  at  the  Persian  court,  as  his  source, 
and  it  has  been  proposed  that  it  is  the  Syrian  Sergius, 
who  lived  in  the  sixth  century.^  Certainly  his  judgment 
of  the  Franks  coincides  amazingly  with  that  of  Mas- 
*udi,  who  says:  "The  Franks,  Slavs,  Langobards, 
Spaniards,  Gog  and  Magog,  Turks,  Khazars,  Burgun- 
dians,  Alans,  Galicians,  and  other  nations  who  live  in 
the  north,  are  descended  from  Japheth,  the  youngest 
son  of  Noah,  as  unanimously  accepted  by  men  of  learn- 
ing and  the  doctors  of  the  law.  Of  all  these  people 
the  Franks  are  the  most  warlike,  the  best  defended 
against  invasion,  the  best  equipped,  the  most  powerful 
in  territory,  where  there  are  numerous  cities,  the  best 
organized,  the  most  subjected  to  the  authority  of 
their  princes.  It  must  be  remarked,  however,  that  the 
Galicians  are  even  more  warlike  and  more  redoubt- 
able than  the  Franks,  since  one  Galician  will  stand  out 
against  several  Franks.  The  Franks  form  one  con- 
federation, and  there  is  among  them  no  discord,  no 
faction."^ 

There  is  even  another  evidence  of  an  Arabic  borrow- 
ing in  connection  with  the  Franks.  After  describing 
the  appearance  of  the  Franks  in  battle,  which  is  cer- 

1 1.  82. 

'  W.  Wright,  A  Short  History  of  Syriae  Literature,  London  1894,  p.  90. 

»  Op.  cit.,  vol.  Ill,  p.  66  f. 


HUNIBALD  265 

tainly  impossible  for  the  sixth  century,  Agathias 
describes  at  length  their  angones,  double-edged  short 
spears,  provided  with  barbs,  which  inflict  severe 
wounds  upon  the  enemy.  ^     This  is  identical  with  the 

Arab.    »>*    'anazah    "a    short    spear,   longer    than    a 

staff  and  shorter  than  a  spear,  having  a  pointed  iron 
foot  at  the  lower  extremity,  the  point  of  an  adz  or  ax, 
the  long  iron  point  of  a  long  double-headed  pickaxe." 

As  we  have  also  the  form  jj^  'akuz  for  "a  staff  having 

a  pointed  iron  foot  at  the  lower  extremity  upon  which 
a  man  leans  or  stays  himself,"  there  is  little  doubt 
that  we  have  here  a  derivative  of  Lat.  uncus  "a  hook." 
But  the  particular  spear  and  the  form  dy-jrof  in  Agathias, 
show  that  we  have  the  description  of  an  Arabic  weapon. 
So,  too,  the  description  of  the  Persian  kings  is  very 
much  like  that  in  Mas'tidi.  No  doubt  an  investigation 
will  disclose  surprising  Syriac  or  Arabic  obligations. 
For  our  purposes  Agathias  is  worthless,  and  the  account 
of  the  "reges  criniti,''  based  as  it  is  on  the  doubtful 
passage  in  Gregory  of  Tours,  cannot  be  dissociated 
from  the  same  aprocryphal  source  as  the  capillati  in 
Jordanes. 

We  have  thus  found  sufficient  reason  for  ascribing, 
not  only  a  Roman,  but  also  a  Greek  past  to  the  Ger- 
manic races.  We  can  now  turn  to  the  discussion  of 
the  Gothic  alphabet  and  of  the  runes. 

Aethicus  gives  us  an  alphabet,  which  he  claims  to 
have  invented.  A  glance  at  the  table  convinces  us  that 
his  inventive  genius  was  exercised  only  from  the 
letter  which  stands  for  I,  as  the  first  ten  letters  are 
only  transmogrifications  of  the  first  ten  Greek  numer- 
als, written  in  cursive.  It  is  true,  the  other  letters  are 
also  ill-disguised  Greek  letters,  but  there  is  a  break 

» II.  5. 


266    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

after  k,  for  the  Greek  «,  /9,  y,  8,  e,  f,  C?  V^  ^j  '  stand 
respectively  for  a,  6,  c,  d,  e,  /,  gf,  h,  i,  k,  and  Aethicus 
had  to  make  a  new  start,  where  he  gave  the  Greek 
letters,  and  not  the  numerals,  the  corresponding 
Latin  values.  Obviously  Aethicus  was  handicapped, 
in  the  case  of  the  first  ten  letters,  by  something  which 
was  already  established. 

It  has  been  fully  ascertained  that  the  Arabs  received 
their  notion  of  the  Hindu  numerals  from  the  Syrians, 
for  Severus  Sebokht  mentioned  the  nine  signs  for  the 
numerals  as  early  as  662.^  The  Arabs  considered  the 
Hindu  numerals  as  forming  the  basis  of  an  Indian 
alphabet.  We  have  the  best  account  of  this  in  Ibn 
Wahsiyah,^  who  gives  two  forms  of  it,  with  a  mnem- 
onic arrangement  by  signs. ^  It  will  be  observed  that 
the  nine  signs  are  used  for  the  Ab^ad  order  of  the 
Arabic  alphabet,  after  which  the  next  nine  are  indi- 
cated by  dots,  and  in  the  second  form  by  an  additional 
circle.  Similarly,  the  third  series  is  indicated  by  two 
dots  or  two  circles.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that 
the  cipher  sign  for  ten  is  not  used,  since  it  was  not 
originally  a  numeric  sign,  but  only  the  indication  for 
an  absent  numeral.  As  Ibn  Wahsiyah  wrote  in  the 
beginning  of  the  tenth  century,  his  speculation  repre- 
sents that  of  the  ninth  century  or  earlier.  In  any  case, 
the  Arabs  believed  that  the  nine  numerals  were  used 
for  the  whole  of  the  Hindu  alphabet,  or,  at  least,  made 
up  a  secret  Arabic  alphabet  on  the  basis  of  the  Indian 
numerals. 


*  F,  Nau,  La  pltts  ancienne  mention  orientate  des  chiffres  indiens,  in  Journal 
asiatique,  lO^  serie,  vol.  XVI,  p.  225. 

2  J.  Hammer,  Ancient  Alphabets  and  Hieroglyphic  Characters  explained, 
in  the  Arabic  language  by  Ahmad  Bin  Abubekr  Bin  Wahshih,  London  1806, 
pp.  6-8;  also  in  G.  Flugel,  Kitdb-al-Fihrist,  Leipzig  1871,  vol.  I,  p.  18  f., 
and  the  17th  Rasala  of  vol.  II  of  the  Bombay  edition  of  Rasa  ilu  Ihwdn 
al-Safd. 

3"See  table  4. 


HUNIBALD  267 

That  the  Greek  numerals  were  similarly  used  in 
the  West,  from  the  Arabic  example,  is  amply  proved 
from  an  alphabet,  which  in  Trithemius'  Polygraphia  is, 
according  to  Pseudo-Bede,  ascribed  to  the  ancient 
Norsemen.  Here  we  have  ca.  representing  I,  e^  stand- 
ing for  m,  X  for  u,  etc.  The  Greek  alphabet,  not  in 
its  numerical  values,  but  as  used  in  writing,  had  been 
used  for  cryptographic  purposes,  by  merely  changing 
at  will  the  existing  cursive  letters.  Berthelot^  records 
two  such  alphabets,  which  are  interesting  to  us  because 
they  show  that  they  were  formed  by  turning  around 
or  lengthening  the  existing  cursive  letters,  each  original 
letter  remaining  in  its  place.  The  alphabet  of  Aethicus 
shows  remarkable  resemblances  to  the  two  quoted  by 
Berthelot,  which  is  not  accidental.  When  we  recall 
that  Aethicus  betrays  a  thorough  acquaintance  with 
Graeco-Arabic  alchemy,  as  we  have  observed  in  the 
case  of  the  names  of  various  kinds  of  earth  used  by 
him,  we  are  prepared  to  find  his  alphabet  modeled  in 
the  same  way  as  are  the  Greek  alchemists'  alphabets.^ 
The  resemblance  of  the  signs  for  b,  c,  d  of  Aethicus  to 
those  for  /?,  y,  d  in  the  first  Greek  alphabet,  and  of 
e  to  that  for  e  in  the  second,  is  particularly  striking. 
But  it  is  not  necessary  to  draw  a  very  close  analogy, 
as  the  whole  alphabet  of  Aethicus  is  whimsical.  All 
we  need  to  observe  is  that  a,  /?,  ;-,  8,  e,  f,  ^,  351,  t?,  e 
are  present  in  Aethicus,  and  that  x  has  dropped  out, 
because  the  original  speculation  was  only  on  the  first 
ten  letters  and  the  rest  of  the  Greek  letters  were 
introduced  later.  Another  important  point  is  this, 
that  ^  is  written  with  a  downward  stroke,  and  ^ 
arising  from  the  long  cursive  e  with  turnings  at  each 
end,  has  assumed  a  new  and  unusual  form. 


1  Collection  des  anciens  alchimistes  grecs,  Paris  1887,  vol.  I,  p.  156. 
'  See  table  3. 


268    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

The  two  other  alphabets  from  Pseudo-Bede,^  given 
by  Trithemius,  although  more  fanciful,  will,  upon  close 
inspection,  appear  as  mere  modifications  of  that  of 
Aethicus.  Thus,  for  example,  the  sign  for  k  in  the 
second  is  identical  with  that  in  Aethicus,  while  the 
first  six  letters  of  the  first  alphabet  are  but  ill-disguised 
forms  from  the  same  source.  For  our  purposes  the 
most  important  is  the  alphabet  which  by  Hunibald 
is  ascribed  to  Wasthald,^  and  which  Trithemius  saga- 
ciously guessed  as  being  a  transformation  of  the  Greek 
alphabet,  which  order  it  followed.  The  relation  of  this 
alphabet  to  that  of  Aethicus  is  obvious  in  the  case  of 
the  signs  for  a,  b,  e  (^),  th,  i,  t,  and  those  for  g,  d,  e, 
z,  I,  p,  s,  y,  are  more  nearly  like  those  in  the  Greek, 
except  that  some  of  them  are  turned  around.  While 
all  the  previous  alphabets  show  their  obligations  to 
the  Greek  cursive,  this  alphabet  of  Wasthald  makes 
an  attempt  at  aligning  itself  with  the  Greek  uncial. 

That  the  Gothic  alphabet  is  merely  a  Greek  normal- 
ization of  Wasthald's  alphabet,  with  the  digamma 
replaced,  appears  beyond  a  shadow  of  doubt,  when  we 
look  at  the  right  hand  alphabet  in  the  Vienna  Codex, 
discussed  by  Grimm,^  for  here  th  is  represented  by  ^, 
as  in  Aethicus  and  Wasthald,  from  which  develops 
the  sign  ^,  in  Codex  No.  140^  and  elsewhere  in  Gothic. 
This  latter  codex  in  unusually  interesting,  because  it 
shows  better  than  anything  the  relation  of  the  Gothic 
alphabet  to  that  of  Wasthald  and  Aethicus.  B  is  here 
represented  as  d  B  u,  where  we  have  various  ap- 
proaches to  Aethicus  and  Wasthald  on  the  one  side, 
and  the  Greek  on  the  other.  Similarly,  one  form  of  e 
is  <->,  which  shows  at  a  glance  its  relation  to  Aethi- 
cus'  fh.    In  these  Gothic  alphabets,  the  Greek  c  has 

1  See  table  3. 

2  See  table  3. 

'  Jahrbiicher  der  Literatur,  vol.  XLIII,  p.  1  f.    See  table  2. 
*  Ibid.,  p.  6. 


HUNIBALD  269 

been  brought  back  in  the  normalization  and  5 »  which 
is  obviously  a  development  of  the  i  in  Wasthald  and 
Aethicus,  itself  the  descendant  of  cursive  long  t,  has 
assumed  its  value  of  T  before  a  vowel. 

I  have  already  referred  to  the  two  Norsemen's 
alphabets  in  Pseudo-Bede.  It  is  perfectly  clear  that 
they  represent  a  stage  in  the  development  of  the  runes. 
Now  it  is  the  first,  now  the  second,  which  explains 
all  the  varieties  of  runes  which  we  have.  If  we  look 
at  tables  1  and  3,  we  shall  see  at  once  the  runes  arose 
from  the  numerical  values  of  the  Greek  alphabet,  as 
it  appears  in  cursive,  and  as  it  was  transformed  by 
the  alchemists.  The  signs  for  a  and  6  need  no  dis- 
cussion, because  their  derivation  from  the  Greek  or 
Latin  is  obvious,  but  the  sign  for  a  is  reversed  as 
compared  with  Wasthald's  and  Aethicus'  shape.  C 
everywhere  represents  Greek  7-,  but  in  some,  as,  for 
example,  in  Cod.  Exon.,  the  second  stroke  is  down- 
ward. D  is  interesting:  in  Wasthald  it  is  the  Greek 
capital  letter,  in  Aethicus  it  is  a  form  of  the  cursive  d, 
which,  being  generally  written  <P  in  the  eighth  century, 
produced  8  in  Pseudo-Bede,  and  in  most  of  the  runic 
alphabets  appears  in  the  square  form  ix»,  while  some 
give  it  halved,  as  />.  Similarly,  e,  from  Greek  e, 
written  in  cursive  d,  c  ,  etc.,  produced,  as  we  have 
seen,  if  in  Wasthald,  <->  in  one  Gothic  alphabet, 
and  forms  of  m  in  the  runes.  F  is  the  Greek  digamma, 
which  in  some  runic  alphabets  is  written  ^,  and  under 
the  influence  of  the  Latin,  produced  forms  of  F.  G 
naturally  is  represented  by  Greek  C»  the  numerical 
value  of  which  is  8;  but  C  is  cursively  represented  by 
a  form  resembling  Olrish  g,  or  by  a  Latin  z  crossed, 
which  differs  in  form  but  little  from  x,  hence  we  have 
in  one  Pseudo-Bede  a  z  form,  in  another,  a  simple  x, 
and  the  latter  predominates  in  the  runes;  in  the 
Gothic  alphabet  it  has  been  normalized  back  to  a 


270    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Greek  y.  I  is  represented  either  by  e,  or  by  a  long  i, 
or,  as  in  the  Gothic,  and  in  Aethicus  and  Pseudo-Bede 
for  k,  by  a  form  of  Greek  cursive  long  e.  Greek  ^, 
which  has  the  numerical  value  of  9,  and  appears  as  / 
in  Gothic,  and  in  Wasthald  and  Aethicus  with  the 
value  of  the  ninth  letter,  namely,  i,  is  not  represented 
in  the  runes.  The  letter  for  k  gave  the  makers  of  the 
runes  trouble,  because,  as  we  have  already  observed 
in  the  case  of  Aethicus  and  Wasthald,  it  was  crowded 
out  by  the  Greek  decimal  order  of  the  letters;  hence 
some  give  it  distinctly  the  shape  of  c,  that  is,  of  Greek 
r,  while  others  give  it  as  a  modified  g,  that  is,  a  modified 
X,  and  the  Gothic  reintroduced  the  Greek  x.  The 
rest  of  the  letters  are  distinctly  related  to  the  corres- 
ponding Greek  cursive  letters,  as  table  3  shows.  There 
is,  however,  one  letter  which  represents  especial 
interest,  and  that  is  ASaxon  wen,  which  has  the  value 
of  w,  Gothic  huun,  which  has  the  value  of  hv.  In  the 
Vienna  Codices  it  occupies  the  place  of  the  Greek 
digamma,  which  it  really  is,  the  normalized  /  retaining 
the  position  of  Greek  <p  in  one  of  these  alphabets. 

There  cannot  be  the  slightest  doubt  as  to  the  rela- 
tion subsisting  between  the  runes,  the  Gothic  alphabet, 
and  those  of  Aethicus  and  Wasthald,  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  Greek  cursive  of  the  alchemists,  influenced  by 
the  Hindu  numerical  speculations,  on  the  other. 
Obviously  this  relation  can  be  established  only  through 
the  Arabic  introduction  into  Europe  of  the  Hindu 
numerals,  which  we  have  already  met  with  in  Pseudo- 
Boetius  and  in  Virgil  Maro.^  But,  if  this  is  so,  what 
becomes  of  all  the  cherished  theories  as  regards  the 
antiquity  of  the  runes?  The  whole  elaborate  structure 
collapses  at  a  stroke,  hence  it  is  necessary  to  investi- 
gate what  we  really  know  about  the  runes. 

1  See  my  Contributions,  vol.  I,  p.  7  ff. 


HUNIBALD  271 

F.  Burg,  who  did  not  for  a  moment  doubt  the  anti- 
quity of  the  runes,  was  led  to  investigate  the  matter 
from  a  purely  objective  standpoint.^  He  observed 
that  the  date  of  the  inscription  on  the  golden  horn 
of  Gallehus  was  originally  established  by  the  arch- 
aeologists, who  kept  removing  it  farther  and  farther 
back,  without  assigning  any  adequate  reason  for  such 
a  removal.^  His  own  linguistic  study  of  this  inscrip- 
tion led  him  to  the  conclusion  that  the  date  can  be 
established  only  relatively,  that  is,  as  regards  the  date 
of  the  Ulfilas  translation  of  the  Bible,  wherefore  he 
placed  the  golden  horn  of  Gallehus  not  farther  back 
than  500,^  and  the  golden  bracteates  somewhere 
between  450  and  750."*  But,  as  I  have  already  shown 
that  the  Gothic  Bible  was  written  near  800,  the  whole 
fabric  of  the  runic  chronology  collapses,  and  has  to 
be  built  up  anew. 

We  have  also  other  proofs  of  the  close  relationship 
between  the  runes  and  the  Hindu  numerical  system  as 
introduced  by  the  Arabs.  Ibn  Wahsiyah^  mentions 
an  alphabet  of  Dioscorides,  the  philosopher,  commonly 
called  the  Tree  alphabet,  with  which  he  wrote  on  trees, 
shrubs,  and  herbs,  and  he  also  has  another  alphabet, 
which  he  calls  that  of  Plato,  having  resemblances 
to  the  Tree  alphabet.^  Both  are  in  the  Abgad  order, 
and  the  first,  which  is  of  especial  interest  to  us,  con- 
sists of  letters  composed  of  a  central  shaft,  having  one 
to  eight  strokes  on  the  right,  and  one  to  four  strokes 
on  the  left.  It  accounts  for  all  the  28  letters  of  the 
Arabic  alphabet,  but  as  of  the  class  having  four  strokes 
on  the  left  only  four  letters  are  used,  it  is  clear  that  the 
original  alphabet  provided  only  for  an  alphabet  of 

^  Die  alter  en  nordischen  Runeninschriften,  Berlin  1885. 

» IMd.,  p.  4. 

» Ibid.,  p.  148. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  30. 

■>  Op.  cit.,  p.  38. 

« Ibid.,  p.  46. 


272    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

24  letters,  which  was  arranged  in  three  classes  of 
eight  letters  each.  The  forms  of  these  letters  and 
the  division  into  three  classes  of  eight  letters,  are 
identical  with  the  Tree-runes  of  the  Maeshow  inscrip- 
tion.^ It  is  impossible  to  assume,  as  did  R.  R.  Brash,* 
that  the  Arabs  learned  this  from  the  Scandinavians. 
Only  the  reverse  is  probable,  namely,  that  the  Scandi- 
navians received  it,  together  with  the  other  runes, 
from  the  Arabs,  through  Wasthald,  Aethicus,  and 
other  forgers.  The  arrangement  of  these  Germanic 
Tree-runes  is  apparently  identical  with  the  futhork 
arrangement  of  the  runes.  I  cannot  ascertain  the  reason 
for  this  arrangement,  but  it  is  clear  that  the  alphabet 
was  divided  into  three  classes  of  eight,  to  serve  for 
cryptographic  purposes.  It  is,  no  doubt,  not  accident 
that  the  Irish  Ogham  alphabet  gives  to  each  of  its  letters 
a  tree  value.  This  stands  in  some  relation  to  the  Tree- 
alphabet  of  the  Arabs.  But  this  needs  a  thorough  in- 
vestigation. Whatever  the  origin  of  the  Ogham  may 
prove  to  be,  this  much  is  certain:  the  Germanic  runes 
and  the  Gothic  alphabet  did  not  exist  before  the  eighth 
century,  and  ultimately  owe  their  origin  to  the  Arabico- 
Gothic  culture. 

1  L.  F.  A.  Wimmer,  Die  Runenschrift,  Berlin  1887,  p.  238  f. 

'  The  Ogham  Inscribed  Monuments  of  the  Gaedhil,  London  1879,  p.  369. 


THE  GERMANIA  OF  TACITUS. 

A  number  of  passages  in  the  Germania  have  already 
been  shown  to  proceed  from  a  forger.  We  can  now 
review  the  whole  and  discuss  the  borrowings  and 
forgeries  in  detail. 

Chapter  II  contains  the  genealogy  of  Pseudo-Berosus 
and  the  absurd  statement  that  the  Germans  were  first 
called  Tungri  and  then  Germans  again.  This  has 
already  been  discussed  in  full. 

In  chapter  III  we  have  not  only  the  statement  that 
Ulysses  came  to  Germany  and  there  built  Asciburgium, 
but  also  the  assertion  that  the  Germans  worship 
Hercules,  whom,  above  all  others,  they  mention  in 
their  songs  when  they  are  about  to  go  to  battle.^  The 
passage  in  Dio  Chrysostom  which  speaks  of  the  respect 
paid  by  the  Borysthenitae  to  Homer,  has  the  identical 
statement.^  In  Dio  Chrysostom  there  follows  what 
may  be  an  interpolation,  in  which  there  is  a  reference 
to  Tyrtaeus,  who  had  the  same  effect  upon  the  Lace- 
daemonians. 

This  may  have  added  to  the  forger's  continuation 
in  the  Germania  about  the  Germans,  who  sing  their 
songs,  called  harritus,  in  order  to  incite  the  mind  to 
victory  and  to  frighten  the  enemy,  when  the  line  has 
sounded.  The  sound  of  the  battlecry  is  increased  by 
putting  the  shield  to  the  mouth  and  vibrating  it.^ 

^  "Fuisse  apud  eos  et  Herculem  memorant,  primumque  omnium  virorura 
fortium  ituri  in  proelia  canunt." 

*<M6vou  vdo  'O|XT|00i)  nvrpovevoutfiv  ol  JtoiriTal  avtt&v  iv  tm?  jtoiTJ- 
yiaavv,  xai  ^XXcog  \iev  elcofl'aai  "KiyEW,  del  fie  6jt6Tav  \i.i}Jk(oai  |xdxe(r&(u,> 
J.  de  Arnim,  op.  cit.,  vol.  II,  p.  3  f. 

'  "Sunt  illis  haec  quoque  carmina,  quorum  relatu,  quem  barritum  vocant, 
accendunt  animos,  futuraeque  pugnae  fortunam  ipso  cantu  augurantur. 
terrent  enim  trepidant ve,  prout  sonuit  acies;    nee  tarn  vocis  ille  quam 


274    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

This  whole  description  is  cribbed  out  of  Vegetius, 
De  re  militari,  where  it  says  that  the  battlecry,  which  is 
called  barritus,  must  not  be  raised  until  the  lines  have 
joined  on  both  sides,  because  the  enemy  is  frightened 
most  when  the  horror  of  the  noise  is  increased  by  the 
striking  of  the  weapons.  But  first  of  all  the  line  must 
be  properly  arranged.^  The  clumsy  forger  misunder- 
stood the  statement  about  what  the  line  must  do  before 
the  battlecry  is  raised,  and  assumed  that  ictu  telorum 
"the  striking  of  the  weapons"  meant  the  repercussion 
of  the  shields  caused  by  putting  them  against  the 
mouth. 

Ammianus,  too,  took  a  liking  to  the  word.  He  tells 
the  story  of  the  Cornuti  and  Braccati  of  the  Roman 
army,  who  raised  the  barritus,  in  order  to  frighten 
the  Alamanni.  This  barritus  begins  with  a  whisper 
and  grows  to  an  enormous  din.^  According  to  him 
it  is  a  foreign  word,^  but  he  describes  its  use  in  the 
Roman  army  precisely  in  the  sense  of  Vegetius.  After 
the  line  has  approached  on  either  side,  the  fighters 
look  at  each  other  fiercely,  and  the  Romans,  singing 
martial  songs,  beginning  in  low  voices  and  becoming 
louder,  produce  what  is  called  by  the  gentiles  barritus, 

virtutis  concentus  videtur.  aflfectatur  praecipue  asperitas  soni  et  fractum 
murmur,  obiectis  ad  os  scutis,  quo  plenior  et  gravior  vox  repercussu  in- 
tumescat." 

'  "Clamor  autem  (quem  barritum  vocant)  prius  non  debet  attoUi,  quam 
acies  utraque  se  iunxerit.  Imperitorum  enim,  vel  ignavorum  est,  vociferari 
de  longe;  cum  hostes  magis  terreantur,  si  cum  telorum  ictu  clamoris  horror 
accesserit.  Semper  autem  studere  debes,  ut  prior  instruas  aciem,  quia 
ex  arbitrio  tuo  potes  facere,  quod  tibi  utile  iudicas,  cum  nuUus  obsistit: 
deinde  et  tuis  auges  confidentiam,  et  adversariis  fiduciam  minuis:  quia 
fortiores  videntur,  qui  provocare  non  dubitant.  Inimici  autem  incipiunt 
formidare,  qui  vident  contra  se  acies  ordinari.  Huic  additur  maximum 
commodum,  quia  tu  instructus  paratusque  ordinantem  et  trepidum  ad- 
versarium  praeoccupas.  Pars  enim  victoriae  est,  inimicum  turbare  ante- 
quam  dimices,"  III.  18. 

^  "Cornuti  enim  et  Braccati  usu  proeliorum  diuturno  firmati  eos  iam  gestu 
terrentes  barritum  ciere  uel  maximum:  qui  clamor  ipso  feruore  certaminum 
a  tenui  susurro  exoriens  paulatimque  adulescens  ritu  extoUitur  fluctuum 
cautibus  inlisorum,"  XVI.  12.  43. 

^  "Pro  terrifico  fremitu,  quem  barbari  dicunt  barritum,"  XXVI.  7.  17. 


THE  GERMANIA  OF  TACITUS  275 

while  the  barbarians  sing  the  praises  of  their  ancestors.^ 
That  this  account  of  Ammianus  is  a  forgery,  together 
with  the  account  in  Tacitus,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
both  confuse  harritus  with  harditus,  a  derivative  from 
bardus  "a  bard,"  and  make  the  soldiers  sing  martial 
songs  as  they  proceed  into  battle.  But  in  the  Germania 
this  mistake  was  caused  by  the  quotation  from  Dio 
Chrysostom,  and,  possibly,  from  the  reference  to 
Tyrtaeus,  where,  indeed,  the  Greeks  go  into  battle 
singing  battle-songs. 

This  harritus  found  its  way  into  the  vocabularies, 
where  it  is  glossed  as  **  clamor  elephantis,  "^  etc., 
while  we  have  '^harrit  elephans  cum  vocem  dat,"  and 
similar  explanations.  Virgil  Maro  somewhere  read 
elephans  for  "elephans"  and  took  it  to  mean  "emitting 
a  sound,"  wherefore  he  made  from  it  a  verb  clef  are 
"to  speak  out,"  clefium  "a  sound."'  That  this  is 
really  the  origin  of  this  strange  word  is  proved  by  the 
various  forms  which  elephans  has  assumed  in  the 
Codex  Vaticanus  3321  glosses.  We  have  in  the  Amplo- 
nianum  Primum  and  Secundum^  in  Goetz,  "barrit 
eleuans  cum  uoce  emittit,"  in  Codex  Cassinensis  90, 
"borrit  uoce  eleuaV  The  latter  shows  that  the  word 
elephans  was  not  generally  understood,  and  was  taken 
to  be  a  participle  of  some  verb,  with  the  meaning  "to 
call,  shout."     It  entered  into  OHGerman  as  claffon 

^  "Ergo  ubi  utrimque  acies  cautius  incedentes  gressu  steterunt  immobili, 
toruitate  mutua  bellatores  luminibus  se  contuebantur  obliquis.  et  Romani 
quidem  uoce  undique  Martia  concinentes,  a  minore  solita  ad  maiorem  pro- 
toUi,  quam  gentilitate  appellant  barritum,  uires  ualidas  erigebant.  barbari 
uero  maiorum  laudes  clamoribus  stridebant  inconditis,  interque  uarios 
sermonis  dissoni  strepitus  leuiora  proelia  temptabantur,"  XXXI.  7.  11. 

^Already  in  Vegetius:  "Elephant!  in  praeliis  magnitudine  corporum, 
harritus  horrore,  formae  ipsius  nouitate,  homines  equosque  conturbant," 
III.  24. 

'  "Literarum  autem  numerus  omnibus  tritus  est;  figura  quoque  palculis 
patet.  de  potestate  autem,  quia  magna  ex  parte  legestum  est,  bigerro  ser- 
mone  clefabo"  J.  Huemer,  Virgilii  Maronis  Grammatici  opera,  Lipsiae  1886, 
p.  8;  "male  quidam  loquelas  in  elocutione  intelligi  uolunt,  cum  loquelae 
diminutiuae  sunt  quasi  simplicia  clefia,"  ibid.,  p.  21. 


276    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

**to  emit  a  sound,"  and  into  ASaxon  as  clepian,  cleo' 
pian,  clypian  "to  make  a  sound,  call." 

The  hodge-podge  borrowing  by  the  forger  is  illus- 
trated throughout  the  Germania.  A  few  examples 
will  suffice.  In  chapters  VII  and  VIII  the  forger 
says  that  the  kings  were  chosen  on  account  of  their 
nobility  and  the  leaders  on  account  of  their  bravery, 
but  that  no  one  could  punish,  except  the  priests,  not 
as  though  at  the  command  of  the  leader,  but  as  though 
by  the  command  of  God,  who,  they  thought,  was 
present  with  the  fighter;  and  the  men  carried  certain 
standards,  which  they  had  taken  from  the  forest,  into 
the  battle.  The  families  of  the  fighters  were  near 
them,  and  many  a  time  the  defeated  ranks  were  re- 
established by  the  women.  The  Germans  considered 
their  women  to  be  divine,  thence  they  did  not  neglect 
their  vaticinations.  As  an  example,  Veleda  may  serve, 
who,  in  the  time  of  Vespasian,  was  considered  a  goddess. 
But  there  were  formerly  other  women,  especially 
Albruna. 

These  chapters,  as  well  as  the  next  few,  are  based 
chiefly  on  Caesar's  description  of  Gaul.  The  description 
of  the  duces  is  based  on  that  of  the  equites  among  the 
Gauls,  whose  main  occupation  is  war  and  who  gather 
around  them  their  clients  and  followers,  in  proportion 
as  they  exert  military  power.  "This  is  the  only 
source  of  influence  and  power  that  they  are  familiar 
with,"^  as  Caesar  says.  The  forger  has  paraphrased 
this  as  follows:  "Et  duces  exemplo  potius  quam 
imperio,  si  prompti,  si  conspicui,  si  ante  aciem  agant, 
admiratione  praesunt." 

The  reference  to  the  punishment  meted  out  by  the 
priests  is  taken  out  bodily  from  Caesar,  who  says 
that  the  Druids  pass  on  nearly  all  public  and  private 
crimes  and  decree  the  apprppriate  punishment.    Those 

^  VI.  15. 


THE  GERMANIA  OF  TACITUS 


277 


who  are  so  punished  are  considered  to  have  sinned 
against  the  divinity. 


Caesar. 

Nam  fere  de  omnibus  controversiis  publicis 
privatisque  constituunt,  et  si  quod  est  admis- 
sum  facinus,  si  caedes  facta,  si  de  hereditate, 
si  de  finibus  controversia  est,  idem  decernunt, 
praemia  poenasque  constituunt;  si  qui  aut 
privatus  aut  populus  eorum  decreto  non  stetit, 
sacrificiis  interdicunt.  Haec  poena  apud  eos 
est  gravissima.  Quibus  ita  est  interdictum, 
hi  numero  impiorum  ac  sceleratorum  habentur, 
his  omnes  decedunt,  aditum  sermonemque 
defugiunt,  ne  quid  ex  contagione  incommodi 
accipiant,  neque  his  petentibus  ius  redditur 
neque  honos  uUus  communicatur,  VI.  13. 

Then  there  follows  a  misquotation  from  Tacitus* 
Historiae,  IV.  22. 


Tacitus. 

Ceterum  neque  ani- 
madvertere  neque  vin- 
cire,  ne  verberare  quidem 
nisi  sacerdotibus  permis- 
sum,  non  quasi  in  poenam 
nee  ducis  iussu,  sed  velut 
deo  imperante,  quem  ad- 
esse  bellantibus  credunt, 
VII. 


Germania. 

Effigiesque  et  signa 
quaedam  detracta  lucis 
in  proelium  ferunt,  VII. 


Historiae. 

Hinc  veteranarum  cohortium  signa,  inde 
depromptae  silvis  lucisque  ferarum  imagines, 
ut  cuique  genti  inire  proelium  mos  est,  mixta 
belli  civilis  externique  facie  obstupefecerant 
obsessos,  IV.  22. 


In  the  Historiae  the  reference  is  to  standards  which 
represent  animals  of  the  forests,  while  in  the  Germania 
these  standards  are  represented  as  being  brought  out 
of  the  woods. 

The  vaticinations  of  the  German  women  are  men- 
tioned in  Caesar,  I.  50,  and  this  is  one  of  the  few 
genuine  references  to  Germans  in  the  Germania. 
Suetonius  mentions  a  soothsaying  Chatta  woman,  ^ 
who  was  telling  Vitellius  his  fortune;  but  it  does  not 
follow  from  this  that  the  German  women  were  more 
especially  addicted  to  fortune-telling  than  any  other 
women.    The  story  about  Veleda,  Albruna,  and  Ganna, 


» Vitellius,  XIV. 


278    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

who  are  given  as  German  women  who  told  fortunes, 
belongs  to  the  Arabic  period,  that  is,  it  arose  only  in 
the  eighth  century.  Prophetesses  are  mentioned  in 
all  the  chronicles.  We  find,  among  others,  Deborra 
and  Anna  in  Chronographus  anni  CCCLIIII}  In  one 
edition  of  this  work  two  Annas  are  mentioned:  "Anna 
mater  Samuhelis  et  alia  Anna  que  genuit  Mariam,  de 
qua  Christus  natus  est."  Deborra  is  naturally  coupled 
with  Barach,^  and  is  frequently  mentioned  in  Arabic 
sources,  as,  for  example,  in  Mas'udi^  and  Tabari,* 
where  she  is  called  Dlwdn,  a  mere  misreading,  through 

faulty  diacritical  marks,  of  hy,:>  as  d^j^i . 

There  is  a  reference  both  to  Veleda  and  to  Ganna 
in  the  Excerpta  Ursiniana  of  Dio  Cassius,  which  runs 
as  follows:  ^^^Otc  Mdauo<:  6  Ztfxv6vo)v  ^aadelx;  xai  Fduva 
(nap^ivoQ  ^v  //era  ttjv  Obtk^dav  iv  t^  KbXtcx^  ^ecd^ouffo)  ^X^ov 
npbz  Tov  Aofuuavbv,  xai  TCfifji;  nap^aoTOO  tu^6vt£c:  duexofiia^jjaav.**^ 

1 MGH.,  Auctor.  antiq.,  vol.  IX,  p.  133. 

*  "Sub  eo  propetetavit  Deborra  uxor  Lapidod  de  tribu  Effrem  et  per 
ipsam  ducatum  gessit  Barac  Aminoen  de  tribu  Neptalim.  hie  denuntiavlt 
labin  regi  et  occidit  eum  et  regnavit  iudicans  cum  Debborra  ann.  XL," 
ibid.,  p.  117;  "sub  isto  prophetavit  Deborra  uxor  Lafiu  et  per  ipsam  tenuit 
principatum  filiorum  Israhel  Barach  ille  de  Aminoem  de  tribu  Neptalim. 
iste  pugnavit  contra  Sisara  principe  labis  et  superavit  eum:  et  regnavit 
super  filios  Israhel  iudicans  eos  Deborra  cum  Barach  annos  XL.  fiunt 
simul  anni  quattuor  milia  CXI.  In  diebus  autem  Deborra  et  Barach  omnes 
dedena  scribuntur  esse.  Athineorum  autem  tunc  regnavit  Cecrops,  qui 
vocabatur  dipsyis,  annos  L:  dipsyis  autem  vocabatur,  quia  statura  procerus 
erat,"  ibid.;  "deinde  Debbora  iudicavit  eos  annis  XL.  huius  temporibus 
fugit  Sisarra  in  domo  lail,  'quem  ipsa  lail'  occidit  de  palo  tabernaculi  sui 
persequente  Barach  principe  militiae,"  Liber  genealogus  anni  CCCCLII, 
ibid.,  p.  188;  "Debbora  cum  Barac  ann  XL,  ex  quibus  sunt  ann  XXX, 
quibus  post  obitum  Aod  Hebreos  alienigenae  habuere  subiectos.  fuit  autem 
Debbora  ex  tribu  Efrem,  Barac  vero  ex  tribu  Neptalim,"  Prosperi  Tironis 
epitoma  chronicon,  ibid.,  p.  389;  "Deborra  an.  XL  prophetissa  de  tribu 
Effraim,  cum  Barach  de  tribu  Nepthalim,  cuius  in  initio  ducatus  obpressit 
filios  Israhel  labin  rex  Chanaan  XX  an.,  qui  regnabat  in  Asor.  sed  occiso 
ab  Israel  principe  militiae  eius  Sisara  humiliatus  tandem  ac  deletus  est," 
Bedae  chronica,  ibid.,  vol.  XIII,  p.  259. 

3  Op.  cit.,  vol.  I,  p.  102. 

*  H.  Zotenberg,  Chronique  de  Abou-Djafar-Mo'hammedrBen-Djarir-Ben- 
Yezid  Tabari,  Paris  1867,  vol.  I,  p.  413. 

»  LXVII.  5.  3,  Boissevain,  op.  cit.,  p.  180. 


THE  GERMANIA  OF  TACITUS  279 

These  excerpts  are  of  Spanish  provenience  and  are  older 
than  the  tenth  century,  because  the  identical  phrase 
is  found  in  Suidas;  but  they  are  worthless  for  the 
determination  of  what  was  in  Dio  Cassius'  original. 
Indeed,  the  reference  to  Ganna  and  Veleda  as  nap^ivoc 
shows  at  once  that  by  the  second  Deborah  is  meant, 
for  Veleda  is  the  Arab.  ooJj  valldah  nap^evo^,  "young 

woman."  There  can  be  no  doubt,  therefore,  that  we 
have  here  an  account  from  an  Arabic  or  Spanish 
source,  where  Veleda  is  made  to  be  Celtic,  instead  of 
Jewish.  We  also  find  Veleda  in  the  Siluae  of  Statins,^ 
but  as  all  the  editions  go  back  to  one  copy,  supposedly 
found  by  Poggio  at  St.  Gall,  and  are  all  interpolated,^ 
it  is  quite  useless  to  quote  this  occurrence  of  Veleda 
in  support  of  its  genuineness.  This  leaves  us  all  alone 
with  Tacitus. 

In  the  Historiae  we  are  told  that  this  maiden  ruled 
over  the  Bructeri,  and  her  authority  was  great,  be- 
cause she  had  predicted  victory  to  the  Germans  and 
the  destruction  of  the  Roman  legions.^  She  was  in- 
accessible, and  her  prophecies  were  announced  from 
a  tower  and  carried  by  intermediaries.* 

Here  we  have  an  Arabic  transformation  of  the 
Jewish  tradition.  In  the  Bible,  Deborah  prophesies  at 
the  same  time  that  Barak  rules  over  the  people;  in 
the  tradition,  Barak  is  her  husband.^     In  the  Bible, 

^  "Captiuaeque  preces  Ueledae,"  I.  4.  90. 

*  E.  Baehrens,  P.  Papinii  Statii  Siluae,  Lipsiae  1876,  p.  VI  f. 

*  "Munius  Lupercus  legatus  legionis  inter  dona  missus  Velaedae.  ea  virgo 
nationis  Bructerae  late  imperitabat,  vetere  apud  Germanos  more,  quo 
plerasque  feminarum  fatidicas  et  augescente  superstitione  arbitrantur  deas. 
tuncque  Velaedae  auctoritas  adolevit:  nam  prosperas  Germanis  res  et  ex- 
cidium  legionum  praedixerat,"  IV.  61. 

*  "  'Arbitrum  habebimus  Civilem  et  Velaedam,  apud  quos  pacta  san- 
cientur.'  sic  lenitis  Tencteris  legati  ad  Civilem  ac  Velaedam  missi  cum  donis 
cuncta  ex  voluntate  Agrippinensium  perpetravere.  sed  coram  adire  ad- 
loquique  Velaedam  negatum:  arcebantur  aspectu,  quo  venerationis  plus 
inesset.  ipse  edita  in  turre;  delectus  e  propinquis  consulta  responsaque  ut 
internuntius  numinis  portabat,"  IV.  65.    See  also  V.  22,  24. 

'  L.  Ginzberg,  The  Legends  of  the  Jews,  Philadelphia  1913,  vol.  IV,  p.  34  fF. 


280    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Deborah  prophesies  under  a  palm  tree;  in  the  tradition, 
she  dispenses  judgment  in  the  open  air,  for  it  was  not 
becoming  that  men  should  visit  a  woman  in  her 
house.^  In  Tacitus,  Veleda  rules  over  the  Bructeri, 
who  are  here  made  a  nation  out  of  Barak,  even  as 
mater  Samuelis  becomes  in  the  Excerpta  Ursiniana 
Md(Tuo(:    b    IsfjLuoviov,    and    Anna    (through    the    Arab. 

<^ )  becomes  Ganna;  and,  in  accordance  with  Moslem 
prejudice,  Veleda  does  not  leave  her  tower,  lest  she 
should  meet  men  face  to  face,  but  sends  her  judgments 
through  her  relatives.  In  the  Germania  we  are  told 
that  Veleda  was  by  many  considered  as  divine,  and  that 
formerly  there  had  been  Albruna  and  several  other 
women  who  had  been  venerated.  I  have  already 
shown  that  Albruna  is  of  Arabic  origin.^  Although  it 
is  not  certain  that  Trithemius  gives  us  the  precise 
contents  of  Hunibald's  history,  it  is  very  likely  that 
his  description  of  the  aliruna^  is  taken  directly  from 
Hunibald.  She  is  represented  as  a  necromancer  and 
a  Sybil.  It  is  most  likely  that  the  forger  of  the  Ger- 
mania had  Hunibald  in  mind  when  to  Veleda  of  the 
Historiae  he  added  his  Albruna. 

Chapter  IX  of  the  Germania  begins  with  cribbings 
from  Caesar,  where  again  the  religion  of  the  Gauls 
is  described.  Then  there  follows  the  statement  that 
the  Suevi  sacrificed  to  Isis,  and  that  the  emblem  of 
Isis,  the  ship,  indicated  that  the  religion  was  brought 
from  abroad.  This  statement  is  as  meaningless  as 
the  following,  that  the  Germans  did  not  place  their 
gods  within  walls  or  give  them  the  human  form, 
**ex  magnitudine  coelestium  arbitrantur."  They  con- 
secrated groves  and  called  by  the  names  of  the  gods 
the  secret  places,  which  they  held  in  reverence. 

1  Ibid.,  p.  35. 
» See  p.  90. 
»  Op.  cit.,  p.  3. 


THE  GERMANIA  OF  TACITUS  281 

The  whole  looks  like  a  paraphrase  of  the  religion  of 
the  Jews  in  Historiae,  V.  5,  where  it  says  that  the  Jews 
understood  their  divinity  only  with  the  mind,  and 
considered  those  profane  who  represented  the  images 
of  the  gods  in  mortal  form ;  hence  they  placed  no  images 
in  their  cities  or  in  their  temples,  and  worshiped 
neither  kings  nor  Caesars.^  Now  it  is  precisely  of  the 
Jews  that  the  Historiae  say  that  one  theory  considered 
them  to  be  a  colony  from  Egypt,  when  that  country, 
during  the  reign  of  Isis,  overflowing  with  inhabitants, 
poured  forth  its  redundant  numbers  under  the  conduct 
of  Hierosolymus  and  Juda.^  Just  as  Deborah  became 
a  German  prophetess,  so  the  Judaei  became  Suevi,  and 
Isis  was  a  goddess  brought  to  the  people  from  afar. 

Chapter  X  deals  with  the  German  method  of  divin- 
ation. "Their  attention  to  auguries,  and  the  practice 
of  divining  by  lots,  is  conducted  with  a  degree  of 
superstition  not  exceeded  by  any  other  nation.  Their 
mode  of  proceeding  by  lots  is  wonderfully  simple.  The 
branch  of  a  fruit  tree  is  cut  into  small  pieces,  which, 
being  all  distinctly  marked,  are  thrown  at  random  on 
a  white  garment.  If  a  question  of  public  interest  be 
depending,  the  priest  of  the  canton  performs  the  cere- 
mony; if  it  be  nothing  more  than  a  private  concern, 
the  master  of  the  family  officiates.  With  fervent 
prayers  offered  up  to  the  gods,  his  eyes  devoutly 
raised  to  heaven,  he  holds  up  three  times  each  segment 
of  the  twig,  and  as  the  marks  rise  in  succession,  inter- 
prets the  decrees  of  fate.  If  appearances  prove  un- 
favorable, there  ends  all  consultation  for  that  day:   if, 

*  "Aegyptii  pleraque  animalia  effigiesque  compositas  venerantur;  ludaei 
mente  sola  unumque  numen  intellegunt:  profanes,  qui  deum  imagines 
mortalibus  materiis  in  species  hominum  efRngant;  summum  illud  et 
aeternum  neque  imitabile  neque  interiturum.  igitur  nulla  simulacra  urbibus 
suis,  nedum  templis  sistunt;  non  regibus  haec  adulatio,  non  Caesaribus 
honor." 

^  "Quidam  regnante  Iside  exundantem  per  Aegyptum  multitudinem  duci- 
bus  Hierosolymo  ac  luda  proximas  in  terras  exoneratam,"  V.  2. 


282    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

on  the  other  hand,  the  chances  are  propitious,  they 
require,  for  greater  certainty,  the  sanction  of  auspices.  "^ 
This  method  is  identical  with  the  one  in  Herodotus, 
IV.  67:  **Scythia  has  an  abundance  of  soothsayers, 
who  foretell  the  future  by  means  of  a  number  of  willow 
wands.  A  large  bundle  of  these  wands  is  brought  and 
laid  on  the  ground.  The  soothsayer  unties  the  bundle, 
and  places  each  wand  by  itself,  at  the  same  time 
uttering  his  prophecy:  then,  while  he  is  still  speaking, 
he  gathers  the  rods  together  again,  and  makes  them  up 
once  more  into  a  bundle.  This  mode  of  divination 
is  of  home  growth  in  Scythia."^  Ammianus,  too,  tells 
of  the  use  of  willow  sticks  for  divination  by  the  Alani.^ 
Bede  tells  of  the  use  of  sortes  by  the  Saxons  in  their 
choice  of  a  leader,^  and  mittunt  sortes,  used  by  him,  is 
translated  by  Alfred  as  "hluton  hi  mid  tanum,"  and 
sors  ostenderit  by  "se  tan  atywde,"  that  is,  "sors"  is 
translated  by  tan  "twig."  In  the  Leges  Frisonum  there 
is  also  reference  to  divination  with  twigs,  called  teni} 
This  word  for  "twig"  is  found  in  all  the  Germanic 
languages,  from  which,  however,  it  has  almost  entirely 
disappeared  in  its  original  meaning.  We  have  in 
Gothic  tains  "twig,"  tainjo  "basket."  In  ONorse  we 
have  teinn  "a  divining  wand,  spit,  stake,  stripe,"  and 
teinur  "basket,  creel."  In  ASaxon  we  have  at  an  early 
time  tenil  and  stic-taenil  "fiscellus."  The  latter  com- 
pound shows  that  an  osier  basket  is  meant.  In  OHGer- 
man  we  get  zain,  zein  "calamus,  canna,  sarmentum, 
regula,"  and  zainja,  ceine,  etc.,  "basket."  Zain  obvious- 
ly meant  also  "a  sharp  metal  stick,"  hence  we  have 

1  Quoted  from  Murphy's  translation. 

*  IV.  67,  quoted  from  G.  Rawlinson,  The  History  of  Herodotus,  London 
1859,  vol.  Ill,  p.  56. 

'  "Futura  miro  praesagiunt  modo.  nam  rectiores  uirgas  uimineas  colli- 
gentes,  easque  cum  incantamentis  quibusdam  secretis  praestituto  tempore 
discernentes,  aperte  quid  portendatur  norunt,"  XXXI.  2.  24. 

*  Historia  ecclesiastica,  V.  10. 

» W.  C.  Grimm,  Ueber  deutsche  Runen,  Gottingen  1821,  p.  296  ff. 


THE  GERMANIA  OF  TACITUS  283 

zainjan  *'m  fila  ducere,  to  make  wire,  forge  thin 
sticks."  From  this  we  get  the  verb  zeinjan  "to  point 
out,  show,"  used  almost  exclusively  by  Otfrid.  Hence 
ONorse  tina  **to  pick,  recount,  narrate"  is  certainly 
derived  from  ONorse  teinn  "twig."  Dialectically  we 
have  Ger.  Zaine  "basket"  and  Zain  "withe,  rod,  wire," 
hence  zainen  "to  make  wire;"  hence  Eng.  tine  "prong" 
is  most  certainly  derived  from  the  AS.  tan  "rod." 

The  Greek  and  Latin  have  the  root  can-  for  both 
"rod,  reed"  and  "basket,"  such  as  xdppa,  xavMv^  xdvsov, 
canna,  canalis,  canister,  all  of  which  are  related  to  the 
Assyr.  qanu,  "reed,  staff,  measure  of  length."  But 
into  the  Semitic  languages  there  enter  sporadically 
words  from  this  root,  not  from  the  Assyrian,  but  from 
the  Egyptian.  In  Egyptian  we  have  not  only  kanen 
"sugarcane,"  but  also  l^ena,  ienu  "basket,  a  dry 
measure,"    which    produces    Heb.    ^P.^    tene,    Chald. 

^A^.  zene  "basket,"  hence  Talm.  ^|1^  tuna  "burden, 
weight,"  ""^^  t&nl  "a  large  metal  container,"  ^^V  zinnd 
"basket,  woven  container,"  already  found  in  the  Bible 
as  ^P.X^V   zinzene{.     From   these   come   Arab,    o^    sin 

"basket,"   J^  tinn,  i}»  tunn   "a  bundle   of   reeds   or 

canes,  a  leafy  bundle  put  together  and  bound  round, 
and  having  flowers,  or  blossoms,  and  plucked  fruits 

put  in  the  interior   thereof,"    jl*    tann  "a  half  load, 

such  as  is  borne  on  one  side  of  a  beast." 

Thus  we  see  that  it  is  only  in  Arabic  that  the  idea 
of  a  living  twig,  with  its  leaves  and  blossoms,  has 
developed,  apparently  from  the  way  the  fruit  was 
transported  in  freshly  plucked  twigs,  in  order  to  pre- 
serve its  freshness  as  long  as  possible.  Hence  it  is 
most  certain  that  Goth,  tains,  which  refers  several 
times  to  living  grapevine,  and  tainjo  "basket,"    are 


284    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

derived  from  the  Arabic,  through  the  new  method  of 
transporting  fruit,  and  have  been  transmitted  to  the 
other  Germanic  languages.  When  the  writer  who  first 
employed  the  passage  in  Herodotus  for  a  Germanic 
forgery,  or  possibly  his  Arabic  prototype,  found  the 
reference  to  l)d^doc  hlivac,  he  at  once  jumped  to 
the  conclusion  that  irituat  was  identical  with  Arab. 
tinn,  and  so  created  the  divination  by  a  branch  from  a 
fruit-bearing  tree,  "  virgam,  frugiferae  arbori  decisam." 
The  remaining  divinations  of  chapter  X  in  the 
Germania  are  of  no  avail,  because  they  are  quite 
universal,  and  are  widely  recorded.  But  in  the  next 
chapter  we  have  again  an  example  of  the  forger's  hodge- 
podge method.  According  to  him,  the  Germans  meet 
on  certain  days  in  the  first  quarter  or  at  the  full  of  the 
moon,  because  they  consider  this  time  most  auspicious 
for  transacting  business.  They  do  not  count  time 
by  days,  but  by  nights,  for  night  seems  to  lead  the  day. 
This  is  all  cribbed  out  from  Caesar's  description  of 
the  Gauls,  and  from  a  reference  to  Ariovistus. 

Tacitus.  Caesar. 

Coeunt,  nisi  quid  for-  Galli   se   omnes   ab    Dite   patre   pro^atos 

tuitum  et  subitum  incidit,  praedicant  idque  ab  druidibus  proditum  dicunt. 

certis   diebus,    cum    aut  Ob  eam  causam  spatia  omnis  temporis  non 

inchoatur  luna  aut  im-  numero    dierum,    sed    noctium   finiunt;     dies 

pletur:    nam  agendis  re-  natales  et  mensium  et  annorum  initia  sic  ob- 

bus  hoc  auspicatissimum  servant,  ut  noctem  dies  subsequatur,  VI.  18. 

initium    credunt.        nee  Cum  ex  captivis  quaereret  Caesar,  quamobrem 

dierum  numerum,  ut  nos,  Ariovistus  proelio  non  decertaret,  banc  reperi- 

sed  noctium  computant.  ebat  causam,  quod  apud  Germanos  ea  consue- 

sic  constituunt,  sic  con-  tudo  esset,  ut  matresfamiliae  eorum  sortibus  et 

dicunt:   nox  ducere  diem  vaticinationibus  declararent,  utrum  proelium 

videtur.  committi  ex  usu  esset  necne;    eas  ita  dicere: 

non  esse  fas  Germanos  superare,  si  ante  novam 
lunam  proelio  contendissent,  I.  50. 

All  the  elaborate  account  in  chapter  XI  about  the 
manner  in  which  the  Germans  proceed  in  public  matters 
is  a  mere  verbose  elaboration  of  what  Caesar  tells  of 
the   Gauls,  with  an  occasional  reference  to  what  he 


THE  GERMANIA  OF  TACITUS  285 

says  of  the  Germans.  The  forger  says  that  the  princes 
decide  only  in  minor  matters,  whereas  in  matters  of 
greater  import  all  are  consulted.  They  sit  armed, 
and  the  priest  orders  silence.  Then  the  prince  and  the 
nobles  give  their  opinion.  Dissent  is  expressed  by  a 
murmur,  assent,  by  beating  the  spears,  because  it  is 
most  honorable  to  give  assent  with  arms.  They  are 
slow  to  convene,  and  this  fault  arises  from  their 
freedom. 

Caesar  says  that  the  magistrates  conceal  those  mat- 
ters which  may  disturb  the  masses,  hence  no  one  is 
allowed  to  speak  of  public  matters  except  in  the 
council.^  We  have  already  heard  that  it  is  the  priests 
who  decide  public  matters.  We  are  also  told  that  there 
is  one  chief  Druid,  whose  authority  is  absolute,  and 
that  all  those  who  have  any  dispute  go  to  the  seat  of 
the  chief  Druid  and  obey  his  commands.^  From  this 
it  follows  clearly  that  the  silence  in  the  council  could 
be  broken  only  when  the  presiding  Druids  gave  the 
command.  But  of  the  Germans  we  are  told  that  in 
times  of  peace  they  have  no  common  magistrate,  but 
the  chiefs  of  the  villages  and  districts  pronounce 
judgment  and  diminish  the  controversies.  From  this 
it  follows  that  in  time  of  peace,  that  is,  in  affairs  of 
minor  importance,  the  chiefs  decide  controversies,  but 
not  when  war,  that  is,  a  matter  of  greater  importance, 
is  at  hand.  Hence  they  then  choose  a  magistrate, 
who  has  the  power  of  life  or  death  in  his  hands. ^  But 
we  learned  from  the  manner  of  conducting  a  council 
among  the  Gauls,  that  it  was  the  magistrate  who 
enforced  silence  in  public  matters.  Hence  we  have 
the  perfectly  correct  inference  that  in  major  affairs  it 
was  not  the  chiefs  who  decided,  but  alj,  that  is,  the 

» VI.  20. 
» VI.  13. 

»  "Cum  bellum  civitas  aut  illatum  defendit  aut  infert,  magistratus,  qui 
ei  bello  praesint,  ut  vitae  necisque  habeant  potestatem,  deliguntur,"  VI.  23. 


286    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

council.  Now,  who  constituted  the  council  of  the 
Gauls?  We  are  told  that  the  plebs  had  no  voice  at  all 
in  public  matters,  but  that  they  were  all  decided  by 
the  equites,  the  men  of  war, — at  least,  this  is  the  only 
inference  possible  from  the  division  of  the  Gauls  into 
Druids,  knights,  and  plebs.  The  knights  are  always 
busy  with  affairs  of  war,  and  their  power  rests  solely 
on  the  number  of  warriors  they  can  command.^  From 
this  it  follows  that  it  is  most  honorable  to  determine 
matters  in  the  council  by  means  of  the  weapons.  This 
is,  indeed,  made  necessary,  since  speech  is  not  allowed, 
except  by  special  permission  of  the  priests.  The  refer- 
ence to  the  slowness  with  which  the  Germans  convene 
or  transact  business  is  taken  from  the  reference  to 
Ariovistus,  who  was  not  in  any  hurry  to  continue 
battle,  because  their  women  had  told  them  that  it  would 
not  be  propitious  if  begun  before  the  full  moon.^ 

Thus  the  whole  account  of  the  German  council  is 
based  on  the  hodge-podge  method  of  quoting  from 
Caesar. 

Chapter  XII  is  a  continuation  of  the  same  hodge- 
podge. We  are  told  here  that  in  the  councils  they 
choose  the  chiefs,  who  speak  the  law  in  the  districts 
and  villages.  This  is  precisely  what  we  were  told  of 
the  Germans  by  Caesar,  only  that  the  forger  did  not 
notice  that  it  was  the  chief  magistrates  who  are  chosen 
at  the  council,  and  not  the  chiefs,  who  in  peace  time 
pronounce  judgment. 

Tadtus.  Caesar. 

Eliguntur    in     iisdem  Cum  bellum  civitas  aut  illatum  defendit  aut 

conciliis     et     principes,      infert,  magistratus,  qui  ei  bello  praesint,  ut 

qui  iura  per  pagos  vicos-      vitae  necisque  habeant  potestatem,  deliguntur. 

que  reddunt.  In  pace  nullus  est  communis  magistratus,  sed 

principes  regionum  atque  pagorum  inter  suos 

lus  dicunt  controversiasque  minuunt,  VI.  23. 

»VI.  16. 
•L60. 


THE  GERMANIA  OF  TACITUS  287 

We  are  told  that  the  chiefs  are  accompanied  by 
hundreds  from  the  plebs,  to  add  counsel  and  authority. 
That  is  precisely  what  we  are  told  in  Caesar  of  the 
Gaulish  equites. 

Tacitus.  Caesar. 

Centeni     singulis     ex         Alterum  genus  est  equitum.     Hi,  cum  est 

plebe  comites,  consilium      usus  atque  aliquod  bellum  incidit  (quod  fere 

simul  et  auctoritas,  as-      ante   Caesaris   adventum    quotannis    accidere 

sunt.  solebat,  uti  aut  ipsi  iniurias  inferrent  aut  illatas 

propulsarent),  omnes  in  bello  versantur,  atque 

eorum  ut  quisque  est  genere  copiisque  amplis- 

simus,  ita  plurimos  circum  se  ambactos  clientes- 

que  habet.    Hanc  unam  gratiam  potentiamque 

noverunt,  VI.  15. 

The  forger  says  that  accusations  leading  to  capital 
punishment  were  preferred  at  the  council,  and  that 
various  punishments  were  inflicted:  traitors  were 
hanged,  cowards  were  drowned  in  swamps,  and  lighter 
offences  were  punished  by  weregeld,  of  which  part  was 
paid  to  the  king  or  state,  and  part  to  the  person 
offended  or  his  family.  In  the  hit  or  miss  process  of 
establishing  ancient  customs,  the  forger  may  have 
guessed  something  correctly.  There  would  be  nothing 
strange  in  hanging  traitors  and  drowning  cowards, 
since  these  are  fairly  universal  customs,  and  certainly 
weregeld  is  recorded  in  the  later  Germanic  laws.  But 
I  have  already  shown  that  the  composition  for  crimes 
and  the  payment  to  the  king  or  state  arose  after  the 
third  century  from  Roman  laws,^  and  even  the  com- 
position in  horses,  instead  of  money,  is  amply  accounted 
for  by  the  fredum,  which  is  of  the  same  Roman  origin; 
hence  it  is  totally  impossible  for  Tacitus  to  have  even 
distantly  represented  the  condition  of  German  law  in 
his  time.     The   statement   about   the   fine   which   is 

1  Commentary  to  the  Germanic  Laws  and  Mediaeval  Documents,  p.  142  flf. 
On  p.  157  I  cautiously  adduced  Tacitus  as  a  proof  that  the  blood  feud  may- 
have  existed  in  his  time  among  the  Germans.  Now  that  the  Germania 
appears  as  a  downright  forgery,  my  discussion  of  fredum,  faida  gains 
enormously  in  cogency. 


288    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

divided  between  the  state  and  the  offended  party  can 
only  be  based  on  conditions  existing  in  the  sixth  and 
later  centuries. 

After  speaking  of  the  fines,  the  forger  actually  quotes 
Caesar  as  regards  the  duties  of  the  principes. 

Tacitus.  Caesar. 

Eliguntur  in  iisdem  conciliis  et  Principes  regionum  atque  pago- 
principes,  qui  iura  per  pagos  vicos-  rum  inter  suos  ius  dicunt  contro- 
que  reddunt.  versiasque  minuunt,  VI.  23. 

This  time  the  reference  is  to  a  real  German  custom, 
but,  alas,  the  election  of  the  chief  in  a  council  is  ob- 
viously borrowed  from  the  Druids,  who  alone  are 
represented  by  Caesar  as  deciding  in  council  matters 
of  public  importance. 

In  chapter  XIII  we  have  the  watered  stock  of  Caesar's 
account  about  the  treatment  of  the  children  of  the 
Gauls.  Caesar  says  that  the  Gauls  differ  from  all 
others,  in  that  they  do  not  allow  the  children  to  come 
into  their  presence  until  they  have  become  old  enough 
to  bear  arms,  and  that  it  is  considered  disgraceful  to 
allow  the  boys  to  appear  in  public  with  their  fathers.^ 
We  have  already  heard  that  it  is  only  the  equites^ 
that  is,  the  men  in  arms,  who  appear  at  the  councils. 
This  led  the  forger  to  say:  **A  German  transacts  no 
business,  public  or  private,  without  being  completely 
armed.  The  right  of  carrying  arms  is  assumed  by  no 
person  whatever,  till  the  state  has  declared  him  duly 
qualified.  The  young  candidate  is  introduced  before 
the  assembly,  where  one  of  the  chiefs,  or  his  father, 
or  some  near  relation,  provides  him  with  a  shield  and 
javelin.  This,  with  them,  is  the  manly  gown:  the 
youth  from  the  moment  ranks  as  a  citizen:  till  then 
he  was  considered  as  part  of  the  household;  he  is  now 
a  member  of  the  commonwealth." 

« VI.  18. 


THE  GERMANIA  OF  TACITUS  289 

Similarly,  the  statement  in  Caesar  that  the  glory  of 
an  eques  consists  in  having  as  many  followers  about 
him  as  possible,^  only  produces  the  obvious  plagiarism: 
"The  chief  judges  the  pretensions  of  all,  and  assigns 
to  each  man  his  proper  station.  A  spirit  of  emulation 
prevails  among  his  whole  train,  all  struggling  to  be 
the  first  in  favour,  while  the  chief  places  all  his  glory 
in  the  number  and  intrepidity  of  his  companions.  In 
that  consists  his  dignity;  to  be  surrounded  by  a  band 
of  young  men  is  the  source  of  his  power;  in  peace, 
his  brightest  ornament;  in  war,  his  strongest  bulwark.'* 
More  than  that.  It  gives  the  forger  a  chance  to  ex- 
patiate on  the  young  men,  who  form  the  comitatus  of 
the  princes:  "In  honour  of  illustrious  birth,  and  to 
mark  the  sense  men  entertain  of  the  father's  merit, 
the  son,  though  yet  of  tender  years,  is  called  to  the 
dignity  of  a  prince  or  chief.  Such  as  are  grown  up 
to  manhood,  and  have  signalized  themselves  by  a 
spirit  of  enterprise,  have  always  a  number  of  retainers 
in  their  train.  Where  merit  is  conspicuous,  no  man 
blushes  to  be  seen  in  the  list  of  followers,  or  compan- 
ions." What  is  much  worse — the  sentence,  **ut  munus 
militiae  sustinere  possint,"  in  the  description  of  the 
boys  who  are  admitted  into  their  fathers'  presence,^ 
was  understood  by  the  stupid  forger  to  mean  "when 
the  time  has  come  for  them  to  receive  the  gifts  con- 
nected with  military  service,"  and  has  produced  the 
following:  "Nor  is  his  fame  confined  to  his  own 
country;  it  extends  to  foreign  nations,  and  is  then  of 
the  first  importance,  if  he  surpasses  his  rivals  in  the 
number  and  courage  of  his  followers.  He  receives 
presents  from  all  parts;  ambassadors  are  sent  to  him; 
and  his  name  alone  is  often  sujB&cient  to  decide  the 
issue  of  a  war.** 

» VI.  16. 

» VI.  18. 


290    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Nor  is  the  forger  satisfied  with  this  expansion. 
He  remembers  a  particular  case  of  the  comitatus  in 
Caesar,  about  the  Gaulish  devoti,  called  soldurii,  who 
enjoy  the  same  advantages  in  life  as  those  to  whose 
friendship  they  have  devoted  themselves,  and  who 
commit  suicide  if  their  chief  is  killed.^  This,  con- 
nected with  the  statement  of  Caesar  that  the  Ger- 
mans do  not  busy  themselves  with  agriculture,^  pro- 
duces the  whole  of  chapter  XIV  in  the  Ger mania:  "In 
the  field  of  action,  it  is  disgraceful  to  the  prince  to  be 
surpassed  in  valour  by  his  companions;  and  not  to 
vie  with  him  in  martial  deeds  is  equally  a  reproach 
to  his  followers.  If  he  dies  in  the  field,  he  who  sur- 
vives him  survives  to  live  in  infamy.  All  are  bound 
to  defend  their  leader,  to  succour  him  in  the  heat  of 
action,  and  to  make  even  their  own  actions  subser- 
vient to  his  renown.  This  is  the  bond  of  union,  the 
most  sacred  obligation.  The  chief  fights  for  victory; 
the  followers  for  their  chief.  If,  in  the  course  of  a 
long  peace,  the  people  relax  into  sloth  and  indolence, 
it  often  happens  that  the  young  nobles  seek  a  more 
active  life  in  the  service  of  other  states  engaged  in  war. 
The  German  mind  cannot  brook  repose.  The  field  of 
danger  is  the  field  of  glory.  Without  violence  and  rapine 
a  train  of  dependants  cannot  be  maintained.  The 
chief  must  show  his  liberality,  and  the  follower  expects 
it.  He  demands  at  one  time  this  warlike  horse,  at  an- 
other, that  victorious  lance  imbrued  with  the  blood  of 
the  enemy.  The  prince's  table,  however  inelegant,  must 
always  be  plentiful:  it  is  the  only  pay  of  his  followers. 
War  and  depredation  are  the  ways  and  means  of  the 
chieftain.  To  cultivate  the  earth,  and  wait  the  regular 
produce  of  the  seasons,  is  not  the  maxim  of  a  German : 
you  will  more  easily  persuade  him  to  attack  the  enemy, 

» III.  22. 
« VI.  22. 


THE  GERMANIA  OF  TACITUS  291 

and  provoke  honourable  wounds  in  the  field  of  battle. 
In  a  word,  to  earn  by  the  sweat  of  your  brow,  what 
you  might  gain  by  the  price  of  your  blood,  is,  in  the 
opinion  of  a  German,  a  sluggish  principle,  unworthy 
of  a  soldier." 

With  a  little  patience  one  may  find  the  origin  of  all 
the  romantic  account  of  the  Germans  in  Caesar's 
De  hello  gallico.  I  have  shown  enough  to  prove  that 
the  forger  combined  rascality  with  a  ready  wit  and  a 
certain  amount  of  linguistic  stupidity  in  his  retelling 
of  Caesar.  I  shall  now  proceed  to  investigate  those  J 
parts  which  show  unmistakable  Arabic  influence,  thus 
definitely  locating  the  forgery  after  711. 

Caesar  tells  of  the  ox  that  resembles  a  stag,  but 
has  only  one  horn  in  the  middle,  with  spreading  bran- 
ches. The  male  and  the  female  have  the  same  nature, 
both  having  the  same  sized  horn.  There  are  also  those 
which  are  called  elks.^  It  must  be  noticed  that  the 
last  sentence  has  nothing  whatsoever  to  do  with  the 
unicorn,  for  it  is  the  beginning  of  the  account  of  the 
elks.  But  the  forger  included  it  in  the  account  of  the 
ox,  which  he  transmogrified  so  completely  that  it 
would  have  remained  totally  unrecognized  as  a  plag- 
iarism, if  it  were  not  for  this  last  sentence,  and  the 
localization  of  the  account  in  the  Germania  among  the 
Naharvali. 

**  Among  the  Naharvali  there  is  shown  a  grove 
famous  for  its  religious  rites.  The  priest  appears  in 
a  female  dress.  They  worship  as  gods  those  who  by 
the  Romans  are  called  Castor  and  Pollux.  Such  is  the 
meaning  of  the  divinity — its  name  being  Aids.  There 
are,  indeed,  no  idols  in  their  country,  no  traces  of 

'  "Est  bos  cervi  figura,  cuius  a  media  fronte  inter  aiu-es  unum  cornu 
exsistit  excelsius  magisque  directum  his,  quae  nobis  nota  sunt,  cornibus; 
ab  eius  summo  sicut  palmae  ramique  late  diflfunduntur.  Eadem  est  feminae 
marisque  natura,  eadem  forma  magnitudoque  comuum.  Sunt  item,  quae 
appellantur  alces,"  VI.  26  f. 


292    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

foreign  superstition,  but  they  are  venerated  as  brothers, 
as  youths. '"^ 

In  Sanskrit  we  have  the  name  of  the  rhinoceros  as 
khadga,  khadgin,  and  of  the  female  rhinoceros,  khadga- 
dhenu,  "the  sword,  horn  of  the  rhinoceros."  Of  the 
Indian  origin  of  this  word  there  cannot  be  any  doubt, 
because  kad,  kat,  khat,  khad  are  fundamental  roots, 
which  mean  "to  cut,  sharp,"  in  the  Dravidian,  as  well 
as  in  the  Semitic  languages,  and  many  Sanskrit  words 
are  derived,  apparently  through  the  Dravidian,  from 
this  family.  When  and  how  this  Sanskrit  word  for 
"rhinoceros"  first  entered  the  languages  of  the  West 
would  demand  a  special  investigation,  but  it  is  certain 
that  Aelian  already  knew  it,  for  he  not  only  describes 
the  rhinoceros  as  an  Indian  animal,  but  also  gives  it 
an  Indian  name. 

"They  say  that  there  are  mountains  in  the  interior 
of  India,  which  are  inaccessible  to  man  and  abounding 
in  animals,  which  are  domesticated  with  us,  but  there 
are  in  a  wild  state.  .  .  .  The  historians  and  the 
wise  men  of  the  Indians,  including  the  Brahmans, 
who  agree  on  this  point,  say  that  there  is  an  innumerable 
number  of  these  beasts.  Among  these  animals  is  the 
Monokeron,  which  by  them  is  called  Kartazonon,  which 
is  of  the  size  of  a  full  grown  horse,  and  has  a  mane  and 
yellow  hair,  excels  in  swiftness  of  foot,  and,  like  an 
elephant,  has  undivided  hoofs  and  has  the  tail  of  a 
boar.  It  has  between  the  eyes  one  black  horn,  which 
ends  in  a  sharp  spear  point.  I  understand  it  makes  a 
most  peculiar  sound,  and  that  it  is  meek  towards 
other  animals  which  approach  it,  but  fights  its  own 
kind.    And  not  only  do  they  fight  with  the  males,  but 

^  "Apud  Nahanarvalos  antiquae  religionis  lucus  ostenditur.  praesidet 
sacerdos  muliebri  ornatu;  sed  deos  interpretatione  Romaiia  Castorem  Pollu- 
cemque  memorant.  ea  vis  numini:  nomen  Alcis.  nulla  simulacra,  nullum 
peregrinae  superstitionis  vestigium,  ut  fratres  tamen,  ut  iuvenes  venerantur," 
XLIII. 


THE  GERMANIA  OF  TACITUS  293 

also  with  the  females,  whom  they  fight  to  a  finish, 
for  they  are  powerful  in  body  and  are  provided  with 
an  invincible  horn.  It  roams  through  the  deserts,  and 
stays  solitary.  In  breeding  time  it  becomes  tame 
towards  its  mate,  but  when  the  mate  has  conceived,  it 
again  begins  to  roam  by  itself."^ 

Even  though  Ctesias  and  Aristotle  knew  the  animal 
long  before  Aelian,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Aelian's 
description,  which  is  fairly  correct  for  that  of  the 
rhinoceros,  is  taken  from  an  Indian  account,  nor  could 
it  well  be  otherwise,  since  the  one-horned  rhinoceros 
is  not  found  outside  of  India  and  the  islands  to  the 
south.  Indeed,  the  reference  to  the  solitary  habit  of 
the  rhinoceros  is  expressed  in  Sanskrit,  where  it  is  also 
called  eka-cara  "wandering  or  living  alone."  Near 
approaches  to  the  Sanskrit  form  are  found  in  Coptic 
Xarkinos,  apparently  through  a  Greek  form,  as  the 
ending  would  indicate.  We  already  find  the  Sanskrit 
name  in  Assyrian  inscriptions,  where  it  is  given  as 
kurkizannu,  that  bears  a  remarkable  resemblance  to 
xapTa^tov  of  Aelian,  and  khadga-dhenu  of  the  Indians. 
From  the  Assyrian  it  passed  into  the  other  Semitic 

languages.    We  have  Arab.  d->^J^  karkadan  and  -^J^ 

karkand.  But  xapza^wv,  or  xapxa^cbu,  or  a  form  nearer 
to  the  Sanskrit  word,  has  produced  a  large  variety  of 
forms  of  which  the  last  letter  is  s,  or  a  sound  like  it. 

We  have  in  the  Talmud  ^2P..  9^^^^»  ^^  Arabic  j^,j>-  i^anl, 

Aethiopic  haris  "the  one-horned  animal,"  usually  "the 
rhinoceros," 

The  Pers.  karg,  kargadan  show  their  Sanskrit  origin 
clearly,  and  are,  no  doubt,  the  forms  from  which  the 
Arab,  karkadan  was  formed.    But  there  is  also  a  form 

arj,  which  is  close   enough  to  Arab.  (^.^  harU,   and 
1  XVI.  20. 


294    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

which  is  represented  in  the  Bundehesh  by  the  forms 
ariz,  arez.  But  this  refers  only  to  the  large  one-horned 
fish,  kar,  wherefore  it  is  called  mdhl{k)arez,  literally 
"water-unicorn,"  or  kar-mdhlik)  "the  kar-fish,"  which 
is  considered  to  be  the  chief  of  all  fish.  It  is  this 
Middle-Persian  word  which  has  enriched  the  Arabic 

with  two  more  unicorn  words,  namely,  tr^y-^'  marmls, 

and  a-^y  harmls.    There  is  also  recorded  in  Arabic  a 

form  ^\y>  mira^^  "a  one-horned  hare." 

That  the  latter  Arabic  words  in  the  eighth  century 
were  applied  to  a  sea-monster,  even  as  in  the  Bun- 
dehesh, is  proved  by  the  legend  of  the  unicorn  of  the 
Merovingians.  In  Fredegar's  Chronicle  there  is  an 
account  which  explains  the  origin  of  the  Merovingians 
from  Meroveus  or  Meroheus,  who  was  conceived  by 
his  mother  from  a  sea-monster.^  This  mythical  origin 
of  the  Merovingians  has  puzzled  historians  very  much. 
It  is  obvious  that  the  etymology  of  Meroveus,  Meroheus 
must  have  been  suggested  by  something  connected 
with  the  searmonster,  a  beast  resembling  a  centaur,  or 
something  like  it.  We  have  in  Fredegar's  Chronicle 
also  the  account  of  a  dream  of  Childeric's  wife,  Basina. 
On  the  first  night  after  the  marriage,  Basina,  before 
allowing  Childeric  to  stay  with  her,  sent  him  out  to 
see  what  was  taking  place  before  the  palace.  At  first 
he  saw  a  vision  of  a  lion,  a  unicorn,  and  a  leopard. 
Then,  imitating  Daniel's  vision,  he  saw  other  beasts. 
The  conclusion  was  that  a  son  would  be  born  to  them, 


1  S.  Bochart,  Hierozoicon,  Francofurti  ad  Moenum  1675,  col.  941. 

*  "Fertur,  super  litore  maris  aestatis  tempore  Chlodeo  cum  uxore  resedens, 
meridiae  uxor  ad  mare  labandum  vadens,  bistea  Neptuni  Quinotauri 
similis  earn  adpetisset.  Cumque  in  continue  aut  a  bistea  aut  a  viro  fuisset 
concepta,  peperit  filium  nomen  Meroveum,  per  co  regis  Francorum  post 
vocantur  Merohingii,"  III.  9,  MGH.,  Scrip,  rer.  merov.,  vol.  II,  p.  95. 


THE  GERMANIA  OF  TACITUS  295 

who  would  be  like  a  lion,  and  his  sons  would  be  as 
strong  as  a  leopard  and  a  unicorn.^ 

The  same  story  is  told  by  Hunibald,  who,  however, 
puts  more  emphasis  on  the  rhinoceros,  that  is,  the 
unicorn,^  which  is  mentioned  as  a  generous  beast.  It 
is,  therefore,  clear  that  the  first  race  of  the  Merovin- 
gians was  related  to  the  unicorn,  and  the  name  of 
Meroveus  is  in  Fredegar  to  be  derived  from  that  mons- 
ter of  the  sea  that  begat  him  from  the  wife  of  the  king 
of  the  Franks. 

If  we  now  turn  to  the  Germania,  we  find  the  unicorn 
of  Caesar's  account  turned  into  a  nation,  the  Nahar- 
vali.  We  see  at  a  glance  that  Narharvalus  is  nothing 
but  the  Narwhale,  the  sea-unicorn  of  the  Germanic  lan- 
guages. The  mdhl-arez  or  mdhl-arig,  which  in  Fredegar 
was  used  to  explain  the  etymology  of  Meroeus,  here 
turns  up  in  the  form  of  naharvalus.  The  etymology 
of  narwhale  has  always  been  a  puzzle,  but  it  is  obviously 
a  corruption  maharvaeus,  or  some  such  form,  caused  by 
the  assumption  that  the  last  part  is  valus,  the  wal, 


*  "Cum  prima  nocte  iugiter  stratu  iuncxissent,  dicit  ad  eum  mulier: 
'Ac  nocte  a  coitu  virile  abstenebimus.  Surge  secrecius,  et  quod  videris  ante 
aulas  palaciae  dicis  ancillae  tuae.'  Cumque  surrexisset,  vidit  similitudinem 
bisteis  leonis,  unicornis  et  leupardi  ambolantibus.  Reversusque,  dixit 
muliere  que  viderat.  Dicit  ad  eum  mulier:  'Domini  mi,  vade  dinuo,  et 
quod  videris  narra  ancillae  tuae.*  Ille  vero  cum  foris  adisset,  vidit  bysteas 
similitudinem  ursis  et  lupis  deambulantibus.  Narrans  et  haec  mulieri, 
conpellit  eum  tercio,  ut  iret  et  quod  videbat  nunciaret.  Cumque  tercio 
exisset,  vidit  bisteas  minores  similitudinem  canis  et  minoribus  bistiis  ab 
invincem  detrahentes  et  volutantes.  Cumque  Basinae  haec  universa  narras- 
set,  abstinentes  se  caste  usque  in  crastinum,  surgentes  de  stratu,  dixit  Basina 
ad  Childericum:  'Que  visibiliter  vidisti  viritate  subsistunt.  Haec  interpre- 
tationem  habent:  Nascitur  nobis  filius  fortitudinem  leonis  signum  et  instar 
tenens;  filii  viro  eius  leupardis  et  unicornis  fortitudine  signum  tenent. 
Deinde  generantur  ex  illis  qui  ursis  et  lupis  fortitudinem  et  voracitatem  eorum 
similabunt.  Tercio  que  vidisti  ad  discessum  columpna  regni  huius  erunt, 
que  regnaverint  ad  instar  canibus  et  minoribus  bisteis;  eorum  consimilis 
erit  fortitudo.  Pluretas  autem  minoribus  bisteis,  que  ab  invicem  detrahentes 
volutabant,  populos  sine  timore  principum  ab  invicem  vastantur,'  "  II. 
12,  ibid.,  p.  97. 

*  Trithemius,  Opera  historica,  p.  38  f. 


296    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

walr  of  OH  German,  Jl  bdl  of  the  Arabs,  which  means 

"whale,"  and  is  derived  from  LLat.  halaena,  halaera 
of  the  vocabularies. 

The  forger,  mindful  of  the  two  putative  parents  of 
Meroveus,  the  king  and  the  sea-monster,  as  told  by 
Fredegar,  created  two  gods  for  the  Naharvali,  whom 
he  denominated  Castor  and  Pollux.  Caesar  says  that 
the  nature  of  the  male  and  female  is  the  same.  This 
led  the  forger  to  cause  the  priest  to  wear  a  woman's 
garments.  ^' Bos  cervi  figura"  apparently  suggested 
to  the  forger  sacerdos,  which  explains  the  transform- 
ation from  the  unicorn  to  the  priest.  What  really, 
more  than  anything  else,  caused  the  forger  to  change 
the  unicorn  into  Castor  and  Pollux,  is  the  fact  that 
these  were  frequently  represented  with  radiating  stars 
above  their  heads,  and  Caesar  speaks  of  the  radiating 
shape  of  the  unicorn's  horns. 

The  borrowing  of  the  story  in  the  Germania  from 
Caesar  is  so  obvious,  as  not  to  need  even  the  forger's 
slip,  Naharvali  "the  unicorns,"  in  order  to  prove  it. 
But  the  forger  was  such  a  fool  or  such  a  scoundrel  that 
he  gave  himself  away  in  still  another  way.  He  took 
Caesar's  "sunt  item,  quae  appellantur  alces''  to  be  a 
continuation  of  the  story  about  the  narwhale  or  unicorn, 
and  went  on  to  say  that  the  name  of  the  divinity  was 
aids,  "ea  vis  numini,  nomen  aids.'*  Stupidity,  it 
would  seem,  could  go  no  further,  but  the  forger  man- 
aged to  perpetrate  still  another  unspeakable  insipidity. 

The  rest  of  the  story  about  the  elk,  namely,  that  it 
has  no  joints  and  cannot  lie  down  and  cannot  get  up 
if  it  does  fall  down,  found  its  way  into  the  Germania. 
Of  course,  it  is  now  fairly  well  accepted  that  this  story 
of  the  jointless  elk,  like  that  of  the  unicorn,  is  an  inter- 
polation in  Caesar.^     This  only  makes  the  case  worse, 

'  W.  W.  Hyde,  The  Curious  Animals  of  the  Hercynian  Forest,  in  The  Classi' 
eal  Journal,  vol.  XIII,  p.  231  ff. 


THE  GERMANIA  OF  TACITUS  297 

because,  if  it  is  an  interpolation  in  Caesar,  it  must 
have  come  considerably  later  than  the  time  of  Tacitus. 
And  yet,  Tacitus  not  only  has  made  use  of  this  joint- 
less  elk,  but  in  the  chapter  in  which  he  refers  to  the 
great  author,  the  divine  Caesar,^  he  discussed  the 
Hercynian  forest,  which  is  intimately  connected  in 
Caesar  with  the  story  of  the  unicorn  and  the  jointless 
elk. 

The  jointless  elk,  like  the  unicorn,  is  transformed 
into  a  Germanic  tribe.  "The  Semnones  are  ambitious 
to  be  thought  the  most  ancient  and  respectable  of  the 
Suevian  nation.  Their  claim  they  think  confirmed  by 
the  mysteries  of  religion.  On  a  stated  day  a  procession 
is  made  into  a  wood  consecrated  in  ancient  times,  and 
rendered  awful  by  auguries  delivered  down  from  age 
to  age.  The  several  tribes  of  the  same  descent  appear 
by  their  deputies.  The  rites  begin  with  the  slaughter 
of  a  man,  who  is  offered  as  a  victim,  and  thus  their 
barbarous  worship  is  celebrated  by  an  act  of  horror. 
The  grove  is  beheld  with  superstitious  terror.  No 
man  enters  that  holy  sanctuary  without  being  bound 
with  a  chain,  thereby  denoting  his  humble  sense  of 
his  own  condition,  and  the  superior  attributes  of  the 
deity  that  fills  the  place.  Should  he  happen  to  fall,  he 
does  not  presume  to  rise,  but  in  that  grovelling  state 
makes  his  way  out  of  the  wood."^  Just  as  the  elk 
cannot  lie  down,  or  get  up,  if  he  has  fallen  down,  so 
the  Semnones  have  their  legs  tied,  and,  if  they  fall 
down,  are  not  allowed  to  get  up. 

Immediately  after  this  we  are  told  of  the  Reudigni 
and  other  Suebian  tribes,  that  they  worship  Nerthus, 
that  is,  Mother  Earth,  "whom  they  consider  as  the 
common  mother  of  all.  This  divinity,  according  to 
their  notion,  interposes  in  human  affairs,  and,  at  times, 

» XXVIII. 

« Chapter  XXXIX. 


298    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

visits  the  several  nations  of  the  globe.  A  sacred  grove 
on  an  island  in  the  Northern  Ocean  is  dedicated  to  her. 
There  stands  her  sacred  chariot,  covered  with  a  vest- 
ment, to  be  touched  by  the  priest  only.  When  she 
takes  her  seat  in  this  holy  vehicle,  he  becomes  im- 
mediately conscious  of  her  presence,  and  in  his  fit  of 
enthusiasm  pursues  her  progress.  The  chariot  is  drawn 
by  cows  yoked  together.  A  general  festival  takes  place, 
and  public  rejoicings  are  heard,  wherever  the  goddess 
directs  her  way.  No  war  is  thought  of;  arms  are 
laid  aside,  and  the  sword  is  sheathed.  The  sweets  of 
peace  are  known,  and  then  only  relished.  At  length 
the  same  priest  declares  the  goddess  satisfied  with 
her  visitation,  and  re-conducts  her  to  her  sanctuary. 
The  chariot  with  the  sacred  mantle,  and,  if  we  may 
believe  report,  the  goddess  herself,  are  purified  in  a 
secret  lake.  In  this  ablution  certain  slaves  officiate, 
and  instantly  perish  in  the  water.  Hence  the  terrors 
of  superstition  are  more  widely  diffused;  a  religious 
horror  seizes  every  mind,  and  all  are  content  in  pious 
ignorance  to  venerate  that  awful  mystery,  which  no 
man  can  see  and  live.  This  part  of  the  Suevian  nation 
stretches  away  to  the  most  remote  and  unknown 
recesses  of  Germany."^ 

We  have  already  found  Aretia  "Earth"  in  Pseudo- 
Berosus.  It  is  obvious  that  this  Aretia  is  no  other  than 
our  Nerthus,  Herthus,  and  it  is  also  clear  that  the 
description  of  the  worship  of  Nerthus  is  identical  with 
that  of  Cybele  in  Ovid's  Fasti,  IV.  291  ff.  and  in  other 
places.^  The  agreement  is  perfect.  We  have  the  same 
story  of  the  washing  of  the  chariot,  which  is  drawn 
by  cows,  the  sacred  mantle,  the  gorgeously  attired 
priest,  the  mysteries,  the  festivities,  the  officiating  of 
freedmen.     The  only  addition  in  the  Germania  is  the 

1  Chapter  XL. 

'^  See  Roscher's  Ausfiihrliches  Lexikon  der  griechischen  und  romischen 
Mytkologie,  sub  Kybele  (romischer  Kultus). 


THE  GERMANIA  OF  TACITUS  299 

drowning  of  the  slaves  in  the  lake,  which  is  evidently 
an  elaboration  of  the  emasculation,  or,  possibly, 
the  taurobolium,  with  which  the  worship  of  Cybele 
was  connected.  But  the  form  Herthus,  Nerthus, 
which  we  find  in  the  Germania,  is,  no  doubt,  due  to 
the  confusion  of  Aretia  with  Aretium,  of  which  it  is 
an  etymon  in  Pseudo-Berosus.  In  any  case  it  is  a 
Semitic  word,  which  entered  the  Germanic  languages 
only  in  the  eighth  century. 

The  utter  worthlessness  of  the  Germania  is  patent, 
beyond  any  possibility  of  defence.  Only  the  mentally 
blind  will  defend  it,  even  as  the  nineteenth  century 
forgeries,  such  as  the  notorious  Koeninginhof 
Manuscript,  still  find  advocates.  It  is  sad  to  con- 
template that  Germanic  history  and  allied  subjects 
are  based  on  the  Germania  and  the  Getica,  two  monu- 
ments of  conscious  fraud  and  unconscious  stupidity, 
the  result  of  the  first  fiower  of  Arabic  romance,  which 
led  to  The  Thousand  and  One  Nights.  One  may  as  well 
reconstruct  history  from  this  latter  work,  as  draw 
any  historical  conclusions  whatsoever  from  the  Ger- 
mania and  the  Getica. 


PSEUDO-VENANTIUS. 

I. 

In  the  present  article,  we  shall  undertake  a  historio- 
logical  study  of  four  musical  terms,  leudus,  harpa, 
rotta,  crotta,  first  found  in  writings  attributed  to  Ven- 
antius  Fortunatus. 

1.  Preface  to  Venantius'  Poems: 

Quid  inter  haec  extensa  viatica  consulte  dici  potuerit, 
censor  ipse  mensura,  ubi  me  non  urguebat  vel  metus 
ex  iudice  vel  probabat  usus  ex  lege  nee  invitabat 
favor  ex  comite  nee  emendabat  lector  ex  arte,  ubi 
mihi  tantundem  valebat  raucum  gemere  quod  cantare 
apud  quos  nihil  disparat  aut  stridor  anseris  aut  canor 
oloris,  sola  saepe  bombicans  barbaros  leudos  arpa 
relidens;  ut  inter  illos  egomet  non  musicus  poeta,  sed 
muricus  deroso  flore  carminis  poema  non  canerem,  sed 
garrirem,  quo  residentes  auditores  inter  acernea  pocula 
salute  bibentes  insana  Baccho  iudice   debaccharent.^ 

2.  Epistle  to  Count  Lupus  (traditional  date,  573-4) : 
Sed  pro  me  reliqui  laudes  iibi  reddere  certent, 

Et  qua  quisque  valet  te  prece  voce  sonet, 
Romanusque  lyra,  plaudat  tibi  barbarus  harpa, 

Griaecus  Achilliaca,  crotta  Britanna  canat. 
lUi  te  fortem  referant,  hi  iure  potentem, 

lUe  armis  agilem  praedicet,  iste  libris. 
Et  quia  rite  regis  quod  pax  et  bella  requirunt, 

ludicis  ille  decus  concinat,  iste  ducis. 
Nos  tibi  versiculos,  dent  barbara  carmina  leudos: 

Sic  variante  tropo  laus  sonet  una  viro. 
Hi  celebrem  memorent,  illi  te  lege  sagacem: 

Ast  ego  te  dulcem  semper  habebo,  Lupe.^ 

^  F.  Leo,  Venanti  Honori  Clementiani  Fortunati  opera  poetica,  in  MGH., 
Auctor.  antiq.,  vol.  IV,  p.  2. 
'Ibid.,  p.  162  f. 


PSEUDO-VENANTIUS  301 

Our  study  will  show  that  the  senses  retained  by  these 
words,  through  their  descendants  in  the  Celtic  and 
Germanic  languages — Irish  emit,  Eng.  harp,  Ger. 
Lied,  etc. — were  not  original,  but  were  developed 
during  the  eighth  century  and  after,  as  a  result  of  the 
Arabico-Gothic  or  Carolingian  revival  of  learning. 

Leo  has  shown  that  all  manuscripts  of  Venantius, 
exclusive  of  the  St.  Germain  Codex  2",  with  which  we 
are  not  concerned,  since  it  has  not  the  texts  under  dis- 
cussion, have  descended  from  a  corrupt  archetype, 
preserved  in  the  middle  of  the  VIII.  century.^  Now  in 
two  manuscripts  of  the  ninth  century  we  have  the 
following  poem  in  tirade  rhyme: 

Felicis  patriae  (nostrae)        praeconanda  fertilitas. 

In  qua  Christi  mandatorum  declaratur  prof unditas. 
Quae  nee  poterit  absque        gloria  esse  civitas, 

In  qua  sensum  sapientum  veneratur  subUmitas, 
Per  quos  praesentis  temporis        calcatur  cupiditas 

Et  peritura  huius  vitae        evitatur  vanitas. 
Ac  in  tabulis  scriptitatur        cordis  vera  caritas 

Atque  valde  stabilitur  futurae  vitae  aetemitas. 
Per  Moysen  latorem  legis        — sic  refert  antiquitas — 

Populo  praecepit  deus:         cum  terrae  vobis  repro- 

missae  venerit  hereditas, 
Mensae  vestrae  peregrini        comedent  dilicias, 

Ut  vobis  semper  ministretur  datae  terrae  bonitas. 
Per  lesum  Christum  confirmatur,         qui  est  vita  et 

Veritas, 

Peregrinorum  quanta  sit        susceptionis  qualitas 
Et  metendi  huius  fructus         caelestis  summa  dignitas. 

Hyronimo  Bethlem  recepto        ecclesiae  crevit  sano- 

titas. 


» Ibid.,  p.  XV. 


302    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Et  Martino  Armorigo        refulsit  magna  claritas, 
Cuius  vita  et  virtute         Toronus  multas  epulas 
Mendici  ac  flebiles       dirimunt  per  plateas. 

Et  Fortunate  ab  Ravenna  Pictonum  floret  civitas.^ 
W.  Meyer,  the  latest  authority  on  the  text  of  Ven- 
antius,  holds  that  this  eulogy  on  the  poet,  composed, 
according  to  his  first  theory,  "in  early  Carolingian,  or 
even  in  Merovingian  times,"^  or,  to  take  his  later  view, 
"in  Poitiers,  shortly  after  Fortunatus'  death, "^  was 
inserted  in  the  first  complete  copy  of  Venantius'  works. 
The  conscious  use  of  tirade  rhyme,  as  Professor  Wiener 
has  shown,  was  a  peculiarity  of  Arabic  poetry,  and 
spread  through  Europe  from  Spain,  as  a  result  of  the 
Arabico- Gothic  renaissance.^  We  must  conclude,  there- 
fore, that  both  the  author  of  the  eulogy  and  the  com- 
piler of  the  archetype  were  of  the  Arabico- Gothic 
school.  Tampering  with  texts  and  documents,  even 
to  the  extent  of  the  most  impudent  forgery,  was  one 
of  the  many  accomplishments  of  this  same  school.^ 
The  acknowledged  spuriousness  of  the  Laudatio  S. 
Mariae,  and  of  a  number  of  the  hymns  attributed  to 
Venantius,  shows  that  forgeries  were  committed  in 
his  name.^  We  may,  then,  infer  that  the  Arabico- 
Gothic  editor  or  editors  of  Venantius  in  the  eighth 
century  were  not  too  scrupulous  in  their  publication, 
under  his  name,  of  other  matter  than  the  ipsissima 
verba  of  the  poet  himself. 

So  far,  then,  the  logic  of  our  investigations  leads  us 
to  seek,  not  a  Franco-Latin,  but  a  Spanish-Latin 
origin  for  our  musical  terms.     We  shall  discover  that 

'  W.  Meyer,  Ein  Merowinger  Rhythmus  fiber  Fortunat  und  altdeutsehe 
Rhythmik  in  lateinischen  Versen,  in  Gdttingisehe  Naehrichten,  1908,  pp.  32-3. 
2  Ibid,,  p.  33. 
'  W.  Meyer,  Vber  die  Handschriften  der  Gedichte  Fortunais,  ibid.,  p.  87. 

*  L.  Wiener,  Contributions  toward  a  History  of  Arabico-Gothie  Culture, 
vol.  I,  pp.  42-4,  49. 

»/6tU,  pp.  XXXIV,  119,  120,  125,  178,  188;  cf.  p.  47-8,  vol.  II,  The 
Letter  to  the  Goths,  passim. 

•  F.  Leo,  op.  cit.,  pp.  371-86. 


PSEUDO-VENANTIUS  303 

they  possess  a  diagnostic  significance  for  the  genuine- 
ness of  the  lines  in  which  they  are  found. 

II.     Leudus. 

In  the  Mozarabic  Ritual,  the  word  lauda  is  used 
consistently  as  a  rubric,  to  introduce  a  hymn  of  praise. 
This  liturgical  sense  survives  in  the  Gothic  words, 
liuthon  "to  sing  praises,"  liuthareis  "temple-singer," 
(Ezra,  II.  41,  Nehemiah,  VII.  1.)^  There  is  also  in 
Gothic  awiliud  "thanksgiving,  eucharistia."  This, 
however,  as  Professor  Wiener  has  shown,  is  either  the 

Arab.  oUji    'awlaydt    of   the   Mozarabs,   or   a   blend, 

eulogia  x  ohlata}  Etymologically,  awiliud,  and  the 
verb  formed  from  it,  awiliudon,  are  unrelated  to 
liuthon,  liuthareis,  both  of  which  have  the  special 
connotation  of  ritual  singing.  That  is  to  say,  Goth. 
liuthon,  liuthareis  are,  like  OSpan.  laude  "song," 
Latin  loan-words,  to  be  traced  to  the  rubric  lauda  of  the 
Mozarabic  Ritual.^  In  Gothic,  the  form  of  the  word 
has  been  assimilated  to  that  of  the  more  common 
awiliud,  awiliudon.  The  original  meaning  has  been 
extended  by  a  natural  process  of  semantic  change,  to 
take  on  the  inclusive  sense  of  "sing."  Yet  the  con- 
nection of  the  word  with  the  Mozarabic  Ritual  rubric 
was  still  clear  in  the  mind  of  the  scribe  of  Codex  F  of 
Venantius,  so  that  he  emended  leudos  to  laudes. 

The  Codex  G  of  Venantius,  moreover,  has  leudos 
glossed  by  winileodos.  This  gloss  is  unquestionably 
taken  from  Charlemagne's  Edict  of  March  23,  789: 
"Et  ut  nulla  abbatissa  ....  winileodos  {winileudos. 


*  LXX,  idorrts,  Vulg.,  cantores. 

^Ov-  ciL,  p.  211-12. 

'  Codex  Ambros.  C.  301  (VIII.  cent.,  Ed.  G.  Ascoli;  ATchivio  glottologico 
italiano,  vol.  V,  p.  349)  has  on  Ps.  LXVIII.  30  "ut  omnia  in  ludes  eius 
magna  dicantur." 


304    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

venileudus)  scribere  aut  mittere  praesumat . ' '  ^  We  have, 
then,  in  the  Edict,  the  earliest  exactly  datable  refer- 
ence to  the  currency  of  leodus  (OHG.  leod,  in  the 
Keronian  Glosses)  as  a  Germanic  word.  What  these 
winileodos  were,  beyond  the  fact  that  they  were  a  kind 
of  secular  poetry  which  the  nuns  were  forbidden  to 
write  or  exchange,  we  do  not  know.  Nevertheless, 
the  variant  reading  venileudus,  together  with  the  emen- 
dation in  Codex  F  of  Venantius,  leudos  to  laudes, 
suggests  that  vini  laudes  "praises  of  wine,"  is  the  real 
meaning  of  the  word. 

III.     Harpa. 

The  word  harpa  (OHG.  harpha)  is  not  found  at  all 
in  Gothic,  nor  is  it  in  the  Keronian,  the  oldest  of  the 
OH  German  glosses.  By  a  study  of  the  Latin  and 
Germanic  glosses  to  the  works  of  Prudentius,  however, 
its  history  and  semantic  evolution  may  be  traced. 
Let  us,  then,  set  down  in  order  all  the  Prudentius- 
glosses  in  which  the  word  is  found,  together  with  the 
lemmata,  and  the  Latin  glosses  from  which  the  Ger- 
manic   are    derived : 

1.  Cathemerinon,  IX.  1: 
Da,  puer,  plectrum. 

OHG.  SS.,'*  II,  488:   plectrum  harfa. 

2.  Peristephanon,  II.  399: 

Ultro    e    catasta   iudicem    compellat    affatu    brevi. 
MS.I:  e  catasta=e  craticula  qui  in  catasta  erat. 
OHG.  SS.,  II,  434:    catasta   i.    genus    poene   harapha 
I  ritipoume  screiatun. 


» MGH.,  Leges,  Sect.  II,  vol.  I,  p.  63. 

•  SS.  =  E.  Steinmeyer  and  E.  Sievera,  Die  althochdeutgche  Glossen. 


PSEUDO-VENANTIUS  305 

3.  Peristephanon,  X.  467: 
Emitto  vocem  de  catasta  celsior. 

OHG.  SS.,  II,  389:  catasta  harfa 

II,  394:  catasta  .i.  harpha 

II,  492:  catasta  harfa 

II,  563:  catasta  hbrphb  (harpha) 

II,  581 :  catasta  harpon 

4.  Apotheosis,  148: 

Organa,  sambucas,  citharas,  calamosque,  tubasque. 
OHG.  SS.,  II,  482:    sambucas  harephan. 

5.  Apotheosis,  388: 

Quidquid  casta  chelys,   quidquid   testudo  resultat. 
MS. I:  chelys  =  cithara,  musa.  chelae,  id  est,  brachia 
vel  cithara  magna  in  caelo. 
testudo  =  musa,  vel  cythara  magna  in  caelo. 
OHG.  SS.,  II,  408:  chelis  .i.  musa  I  harpha 
II,  485:  chelys  harepha 
II,  513:  chelis  hbrphb  (harpha) 
II,  526:  chelys  hbrbphb  (harapha) 
II,  537:  gelis  harpha  I  misa  I  citara 
II,  565:  chelys  harfa  harfb 
II,  542:  testudo  haraffa. 
The  senses  assigned  to  OHG.  harpha  are  "plectrum, 
rack,    torture,    stringed    instrument    (chelys,    cithara, 
sambuca,    testudo).''      To   these   we   must   add   Span., 
Prov.    arpa    "claw,    talon,"    Span.,  Prov.,  Ital.   arpa 
"harp,"     The   task   before   us  is   to  reconcile   these 
differences  in  meaning. 

Our  starting  point  is  with  a  Semitic  word.    We  have 
in   Assyrian   harbu   "lance,  javelin,"    Heb.  ^^.H  h^reb 

"sword,"  Arab.    \j>-    harbah   "dart,  javelin."^     This 

word  has  passed  as  a  loan-word  into  Greek,  Sipni^ 
"sickle,  scimetar,  javelin,  goad,"  which,  in  turn,  has 
gone  into  Latin,  as  we  learn  from  Servius:    "Falcatus 

*■  This  Arab.  *»^  l^arbah  has  given  Fr.  harpon,  Eng.  harpoon. 


306    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

autem  ensis  est  harpe,  qua  usus  est  Perseus.  Lucanus 
ait  (IX.  603):  'harpen  alterius  monstri  iam  caede 
rubentem*".^  That  the  semantic  changes  afifecting 
derivatives  of  ^/>7r3y,  harpa  in  the  Romance  and  Ger- 
manic languages  were  the  product  of  the  glossographer's 
studies  in  synonymology,  in  and  after  the  eighth 
century,  is  quite  clear  in  the  case  of  the  OHG.  gloss 
plectrum  harfa.  We  have  in  Latin  the  glosses 
CGL.,'*     V,    321,    30:     plextrum  astella  unde  cy there 

modulantur, 
IV,   552,   49:     plectrum  astella  unde  cythara 

modolatur  uel  quo  corde  tan- 

guntur. 
Since  the  synonym  hastella  :  S-pnt)  already  existed,  it  was 
an  easy  advance  in  synonymology  for  harpa,  OHG.  harfa, 
to  assume  the  sense  of  **  plectrum,"  in  accordance  with 
the  definition  in  the  foregoing  glosses.  The  other  mean- 
ings of  the  word,  namely,  "rack,  torture,  stringed 
instruments,"  have  come  about  by  synonymological 
association  of  harpa,  OHG.  harfa,  with  the  glosses  to 
fldicula. 

Prudentius  uses  this  word  "fidicula"  in  the  sense 
of  a  kind  of  torture,  in  Peristephanon,  X.  481:  "Nee 
distat    ignis    et    fidiculae    saeviant."      Isidore    thus 
expounds    its    meaning    and    etymology:     "Ungulae 
dictae  quod  effodiant.     Haec  et  fidiculae,  quia  his  rei 
in  eouleo    torquentur,   ut    fides    inveniatur."^     From 
Isidore's  explanation  have  come  the  following  glosses: 
CGL.,  II,  384,  34:  ovy/ec  ol  e/c  rac  ^aadvouc,  fidiculae. 
II,  256,  10:  ^affdvou  y^voi:  fidicula. 
V,  23,  15:    fediculae  sunt  ungulae   quibus   tor- 
quentur in  eculeo  ad  persas. 
For  our  purpose,  however,  the  most  important  gloss 
is  that  of  Iso  on  the  above  line  of  the  Peristephanon: 

^  Servius,  on  Aeineid,  VII.  732,  "falcati  cominus  enses." 
*  CGL.  =  Corpus  glossariorum  latiiwrum,  ed.  G.  Goetz. 
»  Etymologiae,  V.  27.  20. 


PSEUDO-VENANTIUS  807 

"Fidiculae  =  funes  ad  flagellandum,  quamvis  fiidicula  a 
fidibus  dicatur,  in  hoc  tamen  loco  significat  ungulas,  vel 
genus  tormenti,  quo  rei  in  eculeo  suspensi  torquentur, 
ut  fides  et  Veritas  inveniatur.  fidicula  genus  tormenti, 
vel  ferri  subtilissimi,  quo  incidebantur  martyres."  From 
this  in  turn  have  come: 
CGL.,    V,    456,  53:     fidicula  genus  tormentorum  sic 

profetontide  lamminea.^ 
Prudentius-gloss :   fidiculae  ungulae  quibus  torquentor 

martyres  in  eculeo.^ 
OHG.  SS.,  II,  509:  fidiculae  geiselun. 

II,  536:  fidicule  genus  ferri  subtilissimi  quo 

incidebantur  martyres  .i.  geiselun. 
Now  S.pTcrj,  harpa,  already  meant  "scimetar,"  LLat. 
harpa  "weeding-hook,"  whence  expansion  of  meaning 
to  signify  any  sharp  or  pointed  and  curved  weapon  or 
tool  was  quite  natural.  The  ungula,  that  is,  the  fidicula, 
was  a  sharp-pointed  iron  hook  or  claw,  the  Gr.  ovu^, 
of  the  gloss  ouwj^ei:  ol  c/c  7«c  ^aadpou^  fidiculae.  It  is  men- 
tioned in  the  Greek  Acts  of  St.  Menas:  '' Kai  rip  ^oXcp 
fxeriiopov  yevea'&cu  napaaxeudcrac^y  ixiXeue  acdrjpoi<^  ovu^t  to  ato/aa 
dcaanapdTzta^at'' }  In  this  way  Span.,  Prov.  arpa  comes 
to  mean  "claw."  For  OHGerman,  however,  the  de- 
velopment must  be  traced  through  the  intermediary 
stage  of  the  ca^as^a-glosses.  These  are  as  follows: 
1.     Prudentius,  Peristephanon,  I.   56: 

Post  catastas  igneas. 
MS. I:    Catastas  =  genus  tormenti,  id  est,  lecti  ferrei, 

quibus     impositi     martyres,    ignis 

supponebatur. 
OHG.  SS.,  II,  535:  catasta  genus  tormenti  .i.  ritebouma. 

1  The  corrupt  "profetontide  lamminea"  stands  for  rpo<prrrwv  taedae, 
lammina,  a  reminiscence  of  Lucretius,  III.  1030:  "Verbera,  camifices, 
robur,  pix,  lammina,  taedae." 

*  J.  M.  Bumam,  Glossemata  de  Prudentio,  in  University  of  Cincinnati 
Studies,  Series  II,  vol.  I,  no.  4,  p.  97. 

'  Analecta  Bollandiana,  vol.  Ill,  p.  264. 


308    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

2.  Prudentius,  Peristephanon,  VI.  33: 
Fratres  tergeminos  tremunt  catastae. 

Iso:  catastae  =  eculei  ardentes.  lectus  ferreus. 
OHG.  SS.,  II,  445:    cataste  eculei    ardentes    I    genus 
tormenti  I  screiata. 

3.  Prudentius,  Peristephanon,  X.  467: 
Emitto  vocem  de  catasta  celsior. 

OHG.  SS.,  II,  594:  catasta  prennis. 

We  observe  that  to  the  glossographers  catasta  was 
a  word  of  not  very  distinct  signification,  applicable 
to  various  kinds  of  torture,  though  properly  meaning 
the  iron  bed,  or  craticula,  the  griddle,  on  which  the 
victims  were  roasted  to  death  over  a  slow  fire.  Iso's 
eculei  ardentes,  distinguished  from  the  torture  of  the 
griddle,  must  be  traced  to  a  confusion  between  eculeus 
"rack,  or  wooden  horse,"  and  aculeus  "prickle,"  that 
is,  the  ouu^  or  ungula.  That  such  confusion  of  the  two 
words  existed  is  shown  by  ninth  century  versions  of 
the  Martyrdom  of  St.  George: 

1.  Codex  Gallicanus:  "Tunc  iratus  imperator 
iussit  eum  in  haeculeum  adpendi  et  ungulis  radi."^ 

2.  Codex  Sangallensis:  "Et  iussit  rex  ut  Georgius 
mitteretur  in  aculeo,  ut  ardeant  latera  eius."^ 

In  these  texts,  however,  the  confusion  is  the  opposite 
of  that  in  the  glosses,  since  aculeus  of  the  Sangallensis 
stands  for  the  haeculeus  "rack"  of  the  Gallicanus. 
That  catasta  was  supposed  to  refer  to  the  torture  by 
hot  iron  hooks  is  still  further  shown  by  the  gloss: 
"catasta  prennis"    (that  is,  "burning  iron").     Now, 


'  W.  Arndt,  in  Berichte  der  Geselhchaft  der  Wissenschaften  zu  Leipzig, 
1874,  p.  50.  This  version  is  close  to  the  original  form  of  the  Martyrdom  of 
St.  George. 

» Ibid.,  1875,  p.  267. 


PSEUDO-VENANTIUS  309 

harfa  is  equated  with  catasta  in  the  following  glosses: 
SS.,  II,  389:  catasta  harfa 

II,  394:  catasta  .i.  harpha 

II,  434:  catasta  i.  genus  poene  harapha  I  ritipoume 
screiatun 

II,  492:  catasta  harfa 

II,  563:  catasta  hbrphb  (harpha) 

II,  581 :  catasta  harpon. 
Thus,  through  the  catasta-glosses,  as  the  meaning  of 
catasta  became  more  generic,  harpha  was  established 
as  a  partial   synonym   of  fidicula  for   the   Germanic 
glossography. 

The  final  stage  in  the  semantic  evolution  of  harpa  is 
attained  only  when  this  word  takes  over  all  the  senses 
of  fidicula.     We  are  to  note  first  the  etymology  of 
Isidore:  "  Veteres  autem  citharam  fidiculam  vel  fidicem 
nominaverunt,  quia  tam  concinunt  inter   se   chordae 
eius,  quam  bene  conveniat  inter  quos  fides  sit."^     This 
explanation  was  taken  over  almost  verbatim  by  one 
Latin  glossographer,  and  recast  by  another: 
CGL.,  V,  200,  17:     fidibus    cordis,    fides    autem  dicte 
quod  fidem  sibi  servent,  nee  alterius 
sonos  imitentur. 
To  these  we  may  add  the  following  glosses: 
CGL.,  II,  375,  63:  veupa  to.  t^c  xSdpa<:  fides 

III,  170,5:  lira  fidicula 

IV,  76,  11:  fidiculae  corde  cithare 
IV,  238,52:  fidicule  corde. 

The  confusion  of  meanings  of  fidicula  is  shown  by  a 
gloss  to  Prudentius,  Peristephanon,  X.  481,  found  in 
the  Valenciennes  Codex  413,  and  independent  of  Iso's 
gloss  to  the  same  lemma:  "Fidiculae  id  est  parve 
cordae  quibus  martyr  ligabatur."^  That  the  synony- 
mological  equation  fidicula  :    harpa,  in  the  sense  of  a 

'  Etymologiae,  III.  22.  4. 

*  J.  M.  Bumam,  Commentaire  anonyme  sur  Prudence,  Paris  1910,  p.  213. 


310    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

musical  instrument,  took  place  prior  to  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Germanic  glosses,  is  proved  by  the  fact 
that  we  have  Span.,  Prov.,  Ital.  arpa,  Fr.  harpe  "harp." 
The  word  first  appears  in  ASaxon  in  the  Leiden 
glossary:  "fidicen  harperi."^  In  the  OHG.  Pruden- 
tius-glosses,  as  we  have  seen,  harfa  is  equated  with 
chelys,  cithara,  sambuca,  testudo,  to  which  we  may  add 
the  testimony  of  the  Bible-glosses: 
SS.,  I,  289:  psalterium  salmharfun 

I,  635:  psalteria  salmhariphun  salmharipha  salm- 

harpha  salminherfa 
I,  660:  simphoniae  harfpfa 

IV,  98:  sistrum  salmharpha  salmharphe  salm 
haerphe. 
Yet,  even  in  post- Car olingian  times,  harpa,  harfa  was 
felt  to  be  a  new  word,  not  sufficiently  naturalized  in 
the  Germanic  languages  to  escape  the  Teutonic 
passion  for  textual  emendation.  This  is  clear  from 
the  readings  of  the  manuscripts  of  Venantius,  in  the 
passage  under  discussion: 

harppa,  P  (9  cent.),  harpa,  D  (9  cent.),  L  (8-9  cent), 

g,  m,  harpha,  B  (10  cent.),  f. 
partha,  G  (9  cent.),  pharpa,  C  (10  cent.),  pharpha, 

R,  F  (9  cent.) 
pharphas,  A  (9  cent.) 

Had  harpa  been  a  mere  back-Latinization  of  a  good 
Germanic  word,  such  variants  could  not  have  occurred. 
They  are  not  blunders,  but  the  result  of  a  conscious 
effort  to  better  the  text,  which,  as  Meyer  has  shown, 
was  one  of  the  aims  of  the  Carolingian  scribes.^  We 
may  at  least  suspect  that  the  reading  pharphas  {pharpha, 

pharpa  ,  partha)  is  an  Arabico-Gothic  gloss,  c-^  bar- 

*  J.  H.  Hessels,  A  Late  Eighth-Century  Latin-Anglo-Saxon  Glossary,  Cam- 
bridge 1906,  xlvi,  9. 

*  Vber  Handsehriften  der  Gedichte  Fortunats,  in  Gottingische  Nachrichten, 
1908,  p.  104. 


PSEUDO-VENANTIUS  311 

hut,  itself  a  loan-word  through  the  Persian,  from  the 
Gr.  ^dp^iToc  "bass-lyre." 

IV.       ROTTA. 

In  the  text  of  the  Epistle  to  Lupus,  the  Codex  F 
has  rotta,  whereas  the  other  manuscripts  have  variously 
crotta  (A,  P,  M,  G,  L,  R),  crottam  (C),  chrotta  (B,  D,  g). 
This  word  rotta  is  found  in  a  letter  of  Cuthbert  of 
Northumbria  to  Lull  of  Mainz:  ''Delectat  me  quoque 
oitharistam  habere,  qui  possit  citharizare  in  cithara, 
quam  nos  appellamus  rottae;  quia  citharum  habeo, 
et  artificem  non  habeo.  "^  No  trace  of  it,  however, 
is  to  be  discovered  in  the  ASaxon  glosses.  On  the 
other  hand,  we  have  OFr.  rote  and  OSpan.  rota  as 
names  of  stringed  instruments,  so  that  we  are  led  to 
seek  the  origin  of  the  word  in  Spain. 

From  Al-Makkari,  in  The  History  of  the  Mohamme- 
dan Dynasties  of  Spain,  we  have  the  following  state- 
ment: "Musical  instruments  of  all  sorts  may  at  any 
time  be  procured  in  Seville,  where  they  are  manufac- 
tured with  the  greatest  skill.  There  wilt  thou  find  the 
khiydl,  the  kerbehh,  the  'otid,  the  rdtteh,  the  rab§,b, 

etc."^     No  such  word  as   '*i»j    rotteh  is  given  in  the 

Arabic  dictionaries,  yet  it  is  easily  to  be  explained  as  a 
loan-word,  which  had  come  into  Spain  with  the  Ori- 
ental professional  musicians  of  the  court  of  the  Arab 
kings.  We  have  in  Persian,  as  names  for  these  pro- 
fessionals, rudgar  "musician,  maker  of  strings  for  musi- 
cal instruments,"  rudzan  "harper,"  rudsaz  "musician." 
There  is  also  a  word  rud^amah  "lute."  The  first  part 
of  these  compounds  is  seen  in  Pers.  rud,  rod  "bowstring, 
string  of  a  musical  instrument,  vocal  or  instrumental 

^  P.  Jaff6,  Monumenta  Moguntina,  Berolini  1866,  p.  302. 
*  Vol.  I,  p.  58  f.,  translated  by  P.  de  Gayangos.    Al-Makkari  here  quotes 
from  the  RiscUeh  of  Ash-Shakandi  (d.  1231-2). 


312    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

music,"  ruda  "gut,  string,"  also  in  Pehlevi,  rude,  rotik 
"gut."  The  reading  rotta  of  Codex  F,  since  it  is  so 
close  to  Span,  rota  "stringed  instrument,"  serves  still 
more  to  show  that  the  text  of  Venantius  has  been 
through  an  Arabico-Gothic  recension. 

Not  before  the  tenth  century  is  there  any  certain 
evidence  of  the  currency  of  rotta  as  a  Germanic  word. 
The  first  writer  to  use  it  is  Notker,  who  equates  it 
with  psalmus,  psalterium.  On  Psalm  80.3  he  says: 
"Daz  saltirsanch  helzet  nti  in  dtitiscun  rdtta,  a  sono 
uocis,  quod  grammatici  facticium  uocant,  ut  titin- 
nabulum,  et  cl6cca."^  That  is  to  say,  rotta  was  in 
Notker's  time  established  as  a  book-word.  Later,  in 
the  eleventh  century,  we  have  the  glosses: 
SS.,III,65:  lirarodda 

III,  140:  cythareda  roddari  roddare  rodtare  roddar. 
That  we  are  dealing  with  a  loan-word  in  Germanic 
is  further  shown  by  the  variations  in  orthography. 
We  have  in  OHGerman  rodda,  rotta,  as  we  had  also 
OHG.  harpon,  harpha.  Unlike  harpa,  however,  this 
rotta  never  established  itself  permanently  in  the  Ger- 
manic languages. 

V.     Crotta,  chrotta. 

There  is  no  early  evidence  of  the  existence  of  such  a 
word  as  crotta,  chrotta,  independently  of  the  lines  in 
the  Epistle  to  Lupus,  in  which  it  is  found.  The  word 
survives  in  Irish  cruit  "harp,"  Welsh  crwth,  Eng. 
crowd  "fiddle."  Since  in  the  line  of  the  Epistle  the 
text  reads 

Graecus  achilliaca,  crotta  Britanna  canat, 
the  Irish  glossographers  presumed  that  the  word  was 
"Celtic,"   hence  it  passed  into   Olrish  crott  "harp," 
cruitte   "harper,"   and   Welsh   crwth,   the  name  of  a 

»  Cf.  Psalms,  56.9,  67.1,  91.2. 


PSEUDO-VENANTIUS  313 

bowed  instrument.  In  Olrish  it  is  found  already  in 
the  Wiirzburg  Glosses,  made  about  the  year  800.  The 
fact  that  there  were  no  bowed  instruments  in  Europe 
till  they  were  introduced  by  the  Arabs,  excludes  for 
the  Welsh  crwth  the  possibility  that  name  or  thing  is 
Celtic. 

In   Germanic,  this  crotta-ioria  is  found  only  in  a 
gloss  to  Daniel,  III.  5: 
SS.,  I,  660:  sambuce  hruozza 
1,801:  sambuces  hruozzun. 

As  to  the  origin  of  crotta^  and  its  relation  to  rotta, 
we  can  only  suggest  that,  if  it  be  not  a  mere  copy- 
ist's blunder  in  the  Carolingian  archetype  of  Venan- 
tius'  works,  which  the  scribe  of  F  was  clever  enough 
to  emend  to  rotta,  it  is  a  blend  of  rotta  x  corda,  due  to 
the  influence  of  the  fidicula-corda  glosses.  In  either 
case,  it  is  a  ghostword. 

VI. 

Our  conclusion,  from  the  history  of  the  four 
musical  terms — or  three,  leudus,  harpa,  rotta,  if  we 
exclude  crotta — is  that  the  Preface  to  Venantius* 
poems  is  a  forgery,  and  the  two  couplets  in  the  Epistle 
to  Lupus  are  interpolations.  The  association  of 
rotta,  crotta  with  Britain  gives  us  a  clew  to  the  date 
when  the  interpolations  and  the  forgery  were  made. 
Cuthbert,  in  his  letter  to  Lull,  says  of  the  cithara, 
"quam  nos  appellamus  rottae,'^  whence  the  forger,  who 
must  have  known  this  letter,  assumed  that  rotta  was 
the  native  name  of  the  British  national  instrument. 
Wherefore,  he  inserted  the  couplet 

Romanusque  lyra,  plaudat  tibi  barbarus  harpa, 
Graecus  achilliaca,  rotta  Britanna  canat, 
while  he  failed  to  observe  the  fact  that  the  interpolated 
couplet  interrupts  an  otherwise  well  arranged  group. 


814    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 

Moreover,  when  he  added  the  other  spurious  couplet, 
he  was  oblivious  of  the  fact  that,  whereas  in  the 
Epistle  the  poet  had  used  the  first  person  singular, 
he  had  yet  written: 

Nos  tibi  versiculos,  dent  barbara  carmina  leudos: 
Sic  variante  tropo  laus  sonet  una  viro. 
The  last  half  of  the  elegiac  line  is  taken  bodily  from 
another  poem  by  Venantius: 

Diversis  linguis  laus  sonat  una  viri  (VI.  2.8).^ 
The  words  leudus,  harpa,  rotta  were  out  of  the  way 
terms,  bookish  and  learned,  none  more  so  than  the 
achilliaca,  the  name  of  the  supposed  national  instru- 
ment of  the  Greeks.  This  is  the  achilliakon,  mentioned 
elsewhere  only  in  a  Greek  alchemic  document:  *'iarc 
yap  TzXiv^iov  to  8ca.  raJv  X^,  Xopa  fj  did  r<ov  iuvia,  d'^^dXeaxbv,  to 
dcd  «a  ."2  In  the  Preface,  the  forger  copied  himself,  so 
clearly  is  the  phrase,  sola  saepe  homhicans  harharos  leudos 
arpa  relidens,  a  combination  of  "barbarus  harpa"  and 
"dent  barbara  carmina  leudos."  The  fact  that  his 
Latinity  is  touched  with  the  floridity  and  bombast  of 
the  Hisperic  Jargon  affected  by  the  Arabico-Gothic 
school  and  their  imitators,  again  shows  his  associa- 
tion with  this  school. 

1  F.  Leo,  op.  cit,  p.  131. 

•  M.  Berthelot,  Collection  des  anciens  alehemistea  grees,  vol.  Ill,  p.  438. 


WORD  INDEX 

Aeth.  =  Aethiopian.  —  Arab.  =  Arabic.  —  AS.  =  Anglo-Saxon.  —  Assyr. 
=»  Assyrian.  —  Avest.  =  Avestan.  —  Chald.  =  Chaldaic.  —  Copt.  =  Coptic. 

—  Egyp,  =  Egyptian.  —  Eng.  =  English.  —  Finn.  =  Finnish.  —  Fr.  = 
French.  —  Ger.  =  German.  —  Goth.  —  Gothic.  —  Gr.  =  Greek.  —  Heb.  = 
Hebrew.  —  Ir.  =  Irish.  —  Ital.  =  Italian.  —  Lat.  =  Latin.  —  LLat.  =  Low 
Latin  or  Late  Latin.  —  MPers.  =  Modern  Persian.  —  Navar.  =  Navarrese. 

—  OCatal.  =  Old  Catalan.  —  OFr.  =  Old  French.  —  OHG.  =  Old  High 
German.  —  Olr.  =  Old  Irish.  —  Oltal.  =  Old  Italian.  —  ONorse  =  Old 
Norse.  —  OPers.  =  Old  Persian.  —  OPort.  =  Old  Portuguese.  —  OS.  =  Old 
Saxon.  —  OSpan.  =  Old  Spanish.  —  Pehl.  =  Pehlevi.  —  Pers.  =  Persian.  — 
Prov.  =  Provencal.  —  Sansk.  =  Sanskrit.  —  Scand.  —  Scandinavian.  — 
Span.  =  Spanish.  —  Syr.  =  Syriac.  —  Talm.  =  Talmudic.  —  Welsh  =» 
Welsh. 


Lat. 

aculeus,  308. 

MPers. 

ariz,  arez,  294. 

Lat. 

aerumna,  10. 

Pers. 

arj,  293. 

Arab. 

'afan,  'afin,  95.  — 

OHG. 

arm,  aram,  10. 

LLat. 

afrodica,  258. 

Goth. 

armhairtei,  10. 

Gr. 

i<pf>oSlT7i,  258. 

OHG. 

armida,  10. 

Gr. 

«77w,  265. 

Goth. 

armosta,   9  f. 

Goth. 

air  pa,  211. 

ONorse. 

arwr,  10. 

Arab. 

'akHz,  265. 

Goth. 

arms,  9  f . 

Arab. 

'alahrdm,  159. 

Span.,  Prov.,  ital.    arpa,  305,  310 

Arab. 

alamdn,  216. 

Gr. 

ipirv,  305. 

Arab. 

albairuhun,  90. 

LLat. 

artous,  134. 

OPort. 

alcaQarias,  125. 

Arab. 

'a§far,  110. 

OSpan. 

alcazar,  125. 

ONorse. 

ass,  80. 

Navar. 

alcazaria,  125. 

Arab. 

'a^-?afrd'u,  258. 

LLat. 

aliurunna,  90. 

Arab. 

aS-Sariqiy,  133. 

Arab. 

alqa^r,  125. 

Arab. 

aS-Sarq,  138. 

OHG. 

alruna,  90. 

Arab. 

al§rdgu(,  133. 

Arab. 

'alsamd,  212. 

Gr. 

dffuvreX^i,  136. 

Arab. 

'alyabrufyun,  90. 

Gr. 

dreX^s,  136. 

Arab. 

'anas,  79  f. 

Arab. 

'a«a,'  208. 

Arab. 

'anazah,  265. 

Arab. 

'airafa,  91. 

Arab. 

'anls,  79  f. 

Goth. 

awiliud,  303. 

Arab. 

'anisa,  80. 

Arab. 

'aw;toi/d{,  303. 

Arab. 

'ararfi,  9. 

Arab. 

'azlm-'il-^dh,  84. 

Syr. 

'aram,  9. 

Arab. 

'arasaft,  212. 

Arab. 

6d?,  296. 

LLat. 

arcatura,  arcaturia,  125. 

LLat. 

balaena,  balaera,  296. 

LLat. 

arctous,  134. 

Arab. 

baldgun,  78. 

Arab. 

•ard,  211. 

LLat. 

balcatorium,  126. 

Chald. 

'aremid,  9. 

LLat. 

balcheteria,  126. 

Arab. 

'arid,  211. 

LLat. 

6aic/iio,  127. 

Syr. 

'arm,  9. 

LLat. 

balchonus,  127. 

Arab. 

'arm,  'arm,  9. 

LTiat. 

6afco,  127. 

WORD  INDEX 


/ 


317 


LLat. 

balkeria,  126. 

AS. 

drifan,  128. 

TJ.at. 

ballatorium,  127. 

OHG. 

durfti,  93. 

Gr. 

/3<ip/3tToi,  311. 

Arab. 

dzahab,  213. 

Arab. 

barbui,  310  f. 

LLat. 

barcaturia,  126. 

AS. 

eard,  eorP,  211. 

LLat. 

baricatorium,  127. 

AS. 

earm,  arm,  10. 

LUt. 

barritus,  273  ff. 

Lat. 

eculeus,  308. 

LLat. 

belagines,  74,  78. 

Sansk. 

eka-cara,  293. 

OHG. 

bidarbi,  93. 

LLat. 

eleuans,  275. 

OHG. 

bidurfan,  93. 

Gr. 

i)IUKi>fffUOV,  102. 

AS. 

bilage,  78. 

AS. 

cored,  eorod,  211. 

AS. 

burhruna,  90. 

AS. 

eorl,  108. 

Scand. 

bylag,  78. 

AS. 

eormen-cyn,  etc.,  156 

AS. 

eostur-monaih,  138. 

LLat. 

eamara,  245  f . 

OHG. 

eraiha,  211. 

LLat. 

camereca,  246  ff. 

Heb. 

erez,  210  f. 

Lat. 

canalis,  283. 

LLat. 

erile,  108. 

Lat. 

canister,  283. 

OS. 

erl,  108. 

Lat. 

canna,  283. 

LLat. 

erttK,  108. 

OHG. 

cascritan,  103. 

Chald. 

eUa,  211. 

OHG. 

easeritant,  104. 

LLat. 

C(rfas<a,  307  ff. 

AS. 

/oloed,  109. 

OHG. 

cetnc,  282. 

Arab. 

falaha\,  110. 

AS. 

ceola,  248. 

OFr. 

/aWe,  109. 

Copt. 

xarkinos,  293. 

OPort. 

/aZdra,  109. 

LLat. 

cftro«a,  311  ff. 

OS. 

Jaled,  109. 

OHG. 

cia#on,  275. 

AS. 

/dud,  109. 

LLat. 

ckfare,  275. 

Fr. 

Sange,  96. 

LLat. 

elefium,  275. 

Ital. 

/anj/o,  96. 

AS. 

clepian,  cleopian,  276. 

Goth. 

/am,  96. 

AS. 

clypian,  276. 

LLat. 

feld,  99,  108  f. 

LLat. 

colcherium,  247  f. 

OHG. 

feld,  109. 

LLat. 

eollybista,  122. 

AS. 

/«id,  109. 

Olr. 

cro«,  312. 

ONorse 

/en,  96. 

LLat. 

cro«a,  300,  311  ff. 

OHG. 

femia,  96. 

Eng. 

crowd,  312. 

Lat. 

fidicula,  306  f. 

Ir. 

crutZ,  301,  312. 

LLat. 

fidicula,  309. 

Olr. 

crMi«c,  312. 

LLat. 

/inni,  96. 

Welsh. 

crici/i,  312. 

AS. 

/oZd,  /oJde,  109. 

Pers. 

frahvar,  146. 

Arab. 

daraba,  128. 

MPers. 

fravar,  146. 

OHG. 

darben,  93. 

OPers. 

fravaSay,  146  f. 

OHG. 

dar/,  93. 

Goth. 

fruma  jiuleis,  139. 

Arab. 

dan6,  128. 

OHG. 

der6,  93. 

Arab. 

gabdnat,  82.    ^^ 

Goth. 

draibjan,  128. 

Arab. 

Jafebdr,  209. 

LLat. 

draparia,  128. 

Goth. 

flfodraftan,  128. 

LLat. 

drapantts,  123. 

OHG. 

gambren,  209. 

TiTiat. 

draperius,  128. 

OHG. 

gambri,  209. 

OCatal. 

drop^s,  122. 

Arab. 

^and6,  137. 

LLat. 

drapMs,  123,  128. 

Arab. 

^anafta,  137. 

Goth. 

dreiban,  128. 

Arab. 

^anu6,  137. 

OHG. 

drfban,  128. 

Pers. 

ffdz,  124. 

ONorse. 

dri/a,  128. 

Pere. 

gdzur,  124. 

318    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 


LLat. 

gepanta,  81  f. 

Gr. 

KdfMpa,  245  f . 

Syr. 

gerd  depurqdnd,  146,  148. 

OHG. 

kambaren,  209. 

AS. 

giuli,  139. 

Egyp. 

kanen,  283. 

Assyr. 

gizzu,  124. 

Gr. 

Kdveov,  283. 

TiTiat. 

gremium,  9. 

Gr. 

Kdvva,  283. 

Arab. 

gunub,  137. 

Gr. 

Kavdv,  283. 

Arab. 

kdnun,  139. 

OHG. 

haerda,  211. 

MPers. 

kar,  294. 

Goth. 

hair  da,  211. 

Pers. 

karg,  kargadan,  293. 

LLat. 

haliurunna,  haluirunna,  87, 

Arab. 

karkadan,  293. 

90. 

Arab. 

karkani,  293. 

Arab. 

harbah,  305. 

MPers. 

kar-mdhl,  294. 

Assyr. 

harbu,  305. 

Gr. 

<copTof(6j',  293. 

LLat. 

harde,  211. 

OHG. 

keola,  247  f. 

OFr. 

harde,  211. 

Sansk. 

khadga,    kha4gin,   kha^ga- 

OHG. 

harfa,  304  ff. 

dhenu,  292. 

Aeth. 

harls,  293. 

Pers. 

kilk,  247. 

Arab. 

harU,  293. 

OHG. 

kistritant,  104. 

Arab. 

harmls,  294. 

Gr. 

KOff/i^eiv,  102. 

Eng. 

harp,  301. 

Gr. 

K6(r/«)$,  102. 

LLat. 

harpa,  300. 

Assyr. 

kurkizannu,  293. 

Lat. 

harpe,  306. 

Fr. 

harpe,  310. 

AS. 

Zaffu,  78. 

OHG. 

harpha,  harfa,  etc.,  304  flf. 

LLat. 

kttda,  303. 

AS. 

helirun,  hellrun,  90. 

OSpan. 

ZoMde,  303. 

OHG. 

helliruna,  90. 

OHG. 

leod,  304. 

Heb. 

/lemar,  258. 

LLat. 

ieodiis,  303  f . 

AS. 

/leord,  211. 

LLat. 

leudi,  303  f . 

OHG. 

/lerda,  211. 

LLat. 

Zetidtts,  300. 

Heb. 

hereb,  305. 

Ger. 

Lied,  301. 

Lat. 

/lerMS,  108. 

Goth. 

liuthareis,  303. 

OHG. 

Mrdi,  hirti,  211. 

Goth. 

liuthon,  303. 

Arab. 

Mm,  151,  158. 

ONorse, 

toff,  78. 

OHG. 

houscrich,  105. 

OHG. 

hruozza,  313. 

MPers. 

mahl(k)arez,  294. 

Arab. 

humor,  258. 

Arab. 

magsMTOun,  102. 

LLat. 

humericus,  258. 

LLat. 

marcholo,  morcholom,  159. 

Arab. 

marmls,  294. 

Arab. 

'ins,  79. 

Syr. 

Mdr<  Maryam,  139. 

Arab. 

'insdn,  80. 

LLat. 

Meroheus,  294. 

Arab. 

'irda/i,  211. 

LLat. 

Meroveus,  294  f . 

OHG. 

irmingot,  etc.,  156. 

LLat. 

micosmiw,  102. 

OHG. 

irwiTCSMZ,  154  f. 

Arab. 

mira§,  294. 

OS. 

irminthiod,  etc.,  156. 

AS. 

modranicht,  139. 

Gr. 

ixAVot,  284. 

Gr. 

/iuoxdpwi/,  246,  250. 

Arab. 

'ittala'a,  208. 

Arab. 

muqassimun,  102. 

Arab. 

TOM(ra6a(,  92. 

ONorse. 

jaW,  108. 

Arab. 

mulraf,  91  f. 

Goth. 

jiuleis,  139. 

Arab. 

mwirift,  92  f . 

ONorse. 

jdrmuv^gandr,  etc.,  156. 

LLat. 

myoparon,  243  f . 

Arab.,  Pers.  kalak,  247. 

Eng. 

narwhale,  295. 

Syr. 

fcoZH,  248. 

OHG. 

nori,  word,  134. 

Arab. 

fcaZJfcaZ,  247  f . 

Arab. 

nuqobar4,  216. 

WORD  INDEX 


319 


ONorse. 

olrun,  90. 

LLat. 

ormista,  9  f . 

AS. 

OS,  80. 

OHG. 

ostarun,  137. 

LLat. 

partha,  310. 

LLat. 

peculiarina,  136. 

LLat. 

pharpha,  etc.,  310. 

OHG. 

piscrit,  103. 

Syr. 

qagdrd,  124. 

Syr. 

qoQrd,  124. 

Assyr. 

qanu,  283. 

Arab. 

qasama,  102. 

Arab. 

qa^ara,  124. 

Arab. 

qa?r,  124. 

Syr. 

qQar,  124. 

Talm. 

qereS,  293. 

Arab. 

qi§dra^,  124. 

Pers. 

rod,  311. 

OHG. 

rodda,  312. 

OSpan. 

rota,  311. 

OFr. 

rote,  311. 

Pehl. 

ro<iA;,  312. 

LLat. 

ro«a,  300,  311  f. 

OHG. 

rotta,  312. 

Pers. 

rwd,  riida,  311  f. 

Pehl. 

rttde,  312. 

Pers. 

rud^dmah,  311. 

Pers. 

rudgar,  311. 

Pers. 

rudsaz,  311. 

Pers. 

rudzan,  311. 

LLat. 

safargica,  258. 

Arab. 

?a/rd  'm,  110. 

Arab. 

sahmgarb,  173. 

Arab. 

sahmun  garbun,  148. 

LLat. 

sappherinus,  110. 

Arab. 

laro^a,  106. 

Heb. 

?and,  106. 

Arab. 

5art4,  106. 

LLat. 

scamma,  109. 

OHG. 

schrecken,  105. 

OHG. 

8cK//i,  107. 

OHG. 

serai,  scrato,  106. 

OHG. 

scrazzo,  106. 

OHG. 

screitan,  104. 

OHG. 

screzzo,  106. 

OHG. 

scn'c,  105. 

OHG. 

scrtcan,  105. 

OHG. 

scrichit,  105. 

AS. 

scrtd,  scrida,  103. 

AS. 

scridan,  103. 

AS.  scride,  103. 

OHG.  scriti,  scritamal,  103,  105. 

Arab.  siw,  283. 

Arab.  5irad,  106. 

Gr.  (rKofpw,106. 

Gr.  (TKiprdu,  106. 

ONorse.  skrida,  103. 

ONorse.  skrida,  104. 

ONorse.  skrida,  104. 

ONorse.  skridna,  104. 

ONorse.  skridr,  104. 

ONorse.  skrikan,  106. 

OHG.  sZa(/ie,  107. 

OHG.  sieiMa,  107. 

OHG.  sie«o«,  107. 

OHG.  siezo,  107. 

AS.  sfidan,  107. 

OHG.  shddo,  107. 

AS.  siide,  107. 

OHG.  sZi/aw,  107. 

OHG.  sRftaw,  107. 

OHG.  slito,  107. 

Syr.  srad,  106. 

AS.  stic-taenil,  282. 

LLat.  strava,  90,  92  f. 

OBulg.  strava,  93. 

OHG.  strecchan,  105. 

OHG.  sine,  105. 

AS.  sincow,  106. 

ONorse.  strid,  105. 

AS.  stride,  104. 

AS.  sindii,  104; 

OHG.  strit,  105. 

OHG.  stritlaufo,  105. 

OHG.  stritlaufi,  105. 

OHG.  struchon,  105  f. 

Arab.  ?tt/Mr,  258. 

OHG.  sMndar,  137. 

OHG.  sundaric,  137. 

LLat.  sundrialis,  134,  136. 

LLat.  SMndrittW,  134  f,  136. 

Goth.  sundro,  137. 

Gr.  (TuvrAeio,  137. 

LLat.  suntelites,  136. 

Gr.  ffwreklrris,  136. 

OHG.  suntriga,  137. 

Finn.  smo,  96,  111. 

Finn.  suomi,  96,  HI. 

Syr.  swrddd,  106. 

Goth.  tainjo,  282  f . 

Goth.  tains,  282  f . 

AS.  tdn,  282  f. 

Arab.  tann,  283. 


320    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 


Pers.  tarb,  92. 

Avest.  tarej),  91. 

Pers.  tarfenda,  91  f. 

Arab.  iarib,  93. 

Arab.  iariba,  92  f. 

Arab.  \arifa,  91  f. 

Arab.  ia'rim,  9. 

Talm.  (arpM(,  91. 

ONorse.  teinn,  282  f . 

ONoree.  teinur,  282. 

Egyp.  iena,  \enu,  283. 

Heb.  tene,  283. 

LLat.  tent,  282. 

Talm.  t&nl,  283. 

AS.  tenil,  282. 

Talm.  ^rap,  91. 

Gr.  flaXoMTyAi,  248  flf. 

Goth.  >ar6a,  93. 

Goth.  parbs,  93. 

Goth.  Paurban,  93. 

Goth.  paurfts,  93. 

Goth.  paurp,  93. 

OFr.  tiesche,  tiesque,  etc.,  208. 

ONorse.  /f?ta,  283. 

Eng.  «n«,  283. 

Arab.  tinn,  283. 

MPers.  «r,  147. 

LLat.  iraparia,  128. 

LLat.  traparium,  122. 

LLat.  (rapezeta,  trapezita,  122  f. 

LLat.  trapus,  122  i. 

OBulg.  fr^6o,  93. 


LLat. 

OBulg. 

Oltal. 

Talm. 

Arab. 

Arab. 

LLat. 

OHG. 
Lat. 

Arab. 
LLat. 
LLat. 
LLat. 
LLat. 

OHG. 
LLat. 


OHG. 

Ger. 

Ger. 

Ger. 

OHG. 

OHG. 

OHG. 

Chald. 

Talm. 

Heb. 


trebo,  92. 
tribovati,  93. 
tudesco,  208. 
tuna,  283. 
tunn,  283, 
turM,  91  f. 
tuiisctis,  208. 

unbidarbi,  93. 
ungula,  308. 

vali4ak,  279. 
ran?,  96. 
varicatoria,  126. 
reicda,  279  f. 
pcntiettdi,  304. 

trail,  tt)aJr,  295  f . 
winileodi,  303  f . 


Heb.        yain,  211. 


zatn,  zetn,  282. 
Zain,  283. 
Zatnc,  283. 
zainen,  283. 
zainja,  282. 
zainjan,  283. 
zeinjan,  283. 
zenc,  283. 
2tnna,  283. 
zinzenei,  283. 


SUBJECT  INDEX 


Ab^ad  order  of  Arabic  letters,  266. 

Ablabius,  79,  111. 

Achilles  of  the  Vandals,  84. 

Adites,  100. 

Adogit  in  Jordanes,  95. 

Aelian  and  the  rhinoceros,  292. 

Aethicus,  and  Orosius,  17;  his  Cos- 
mographia,  155;  and  the  Meopari, 
243  f.;  vises  Arabic  words,  247  f., 
258;  written  in  the  eighth  cen- 
tury, 257  f.;  and  the  Fall  of  Troy, 
257  ff.;  and  the  Gothic  alphabet, 
265  f.;  and  the  Greek  alchemists' 
alphabet,  267. 

Agathias  interpolated,  263;  and  an 
Arabic  weapon,  265. 

Ahriman,  source  of  Hermanric,  144 
ff.;  written  backwards,  159;  see 
Arminius,  Hermanric. 

Alamanni  confused  with  Alani,  Al- 
bani,  260. 

Alani  confused  with  Albani,  258. 

Albruna,  90,  280. 

Alces  of  Caesar  turned  into  a  nation 
in  the  Germania,  291,  297. 

Alchemists'  alphabet  and  Aethicus, 
267. 

Aliruna,  see  Albruna. 

Alruna,  its  etymology,  90. 

Amali  =  Amalekites,  100. 

Ambrose  and  the  Goths,  4  f . 

Ammianus  Marcellintis,  and  the 
Julian  myth,  147  f.;  a  forgery, 
151,  275;    and  barritm,  274  f. 

Angones  an  Arabic  weapon,  265. 

Annales  Hirsaugienses,  see  Trit- 
hemius. 

Annius  Viterbensis,  not  a  forger, 
200  ff.;  Zeno's  opinion  of  him, 
202;  Tiraboschi's  and  Gingue- 
ne's  opinion  of  him,  202;  Muen- 
ster's  opinion  of  him,  202  f.;  and 
Rabbi  Samuel,  203;  and  the 
Talmud,  203  f. 

Anonymus  Valesianus  has  original 
story  of  Theoderic  the  Visigoth, 
116. 


Anses,  79. 

Antenor  and  the  Franks,  242  f. 

Antiquitas,  Gothic,  and  Jordanes, 
67;  its  meaning  in  Paulus  Dia- 
conus,  67;    Saxon,  151. 

Apollinaris  Sidonius,  and  the  Os- 
trogoths, 117;   and  Orosius,  118; 

^   246. 

( Arabic    element    in    the    Germania, 

I      291  ff. 

\  Arabic    genealogy    and    the    Troy 

j     origin,  255. 

•Arabic  origin  of  chemical  terms  in 

;     Aethicus,  259  f. 

'Arabic  source  of  Ravenna  cosmo- 

[     grapher,  101  f. 

Arabic  words  in  Aethicus,  247  f .,  258. 

Arabs  and  Hindu  numerals,  266. 

^Aretia,  in  Pseudo-Berosus,  210  f., 
298  f.;  is  the  Magna  Mater,  212; 
see  Nerthus. 

Arian  Goths,  unknown  to  St.  Au- 
gustine, 2;  in  Italy,  4  f.;  martyrs, 
a  misnomer,  7f. 

Arii  in  Tacitus,  and  Ariovistus,  239. 

Ariminum,  creed  of,  and  Ulfilas, 
7,  58. 

Ariprandus,  209. 

Aristotle  and  the  rhinoceros,  293. 

Arminius  myth,  142  ff.,  160;  in 
Dio  Cassius,  162  f.;  and  Velleixis 
Paterculus,  163,  173;  and  Florus, 
164;  and  Tacitus,  164  ff.;  and 
Strabo,  164;  in  Tacitus  derived 
from  the  Syrian  romance  of  Julian, 
171  f. 

Arsa  =  Arab,  'arasah,  212. 

Asciburgium,  254;  see  Disbargum. 

Asdingi,  83  ff.;  its  etsmiology,  84; 
interpolated  in  Lydus  and  Dra- 
contius,  85  f. 

Asia  and  Julian's  death,  145  f . 

Athanaric,  2  ff. ;  his  persecution  of  the 
Goths,  2,  4,  6;  and  Fritigern,  112. 

Audiu^  establishes  monasteries  in 
Gothia,  1. 


322    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 


Augiistine  favorably  disposed  toward 
the  Goths,  5;  knows  nothing  of 
Orosius'  history,  12;  and  Maxi- 
minus,  53,  57  ff. 

Autololes  proves  Orosius'  borrowing 
from  Isidore,  20. 

Auxentius,  and  Ambrose,  4  f. ;  and 
Ulfilas,  48  ff.;  his  spelling  is  of 
Spanish  origin  of  the  eighth 
century,  48  f . ;  of  Dorostorum,  a 
false  emendation  by  Kauffmann, 
49  f. ;  discussion  of  his  work,  49  ff.; 
of  Dorostorum  unknown  to  his- 
tory, 50;  his  use  of  comitatum  of 
late  origin,  52  f.;  and  Maxi- 
minus,  53  ff. 

Atixentius  of  Milan,  50  f.,  57  f. 


Balcony,  history  of,  127. 

Barak  and  Bructeri  confused,  279  f . 

Barrittis  in  the  Germania,  273; 
confused  in  Ammianus  with  hardi- 
tus,  274  f. 

Bede  and  Easter,  137  ff. 

Belagines  in  Jordanes  an  Arabic 
word,  78. 

Bishops  of  the  Goths,  1 ;  see  Auxen- 
tius, Bretanio,  Georgius,  John, 
Moduarius,  Selenas,  Serapion,  Sil- 
vanu^,  Theophilu3,  Ulfilas,  Unilas. 

Borysthenica  of  Dio  Chrysostom 
source  of  Jordanes,  69  ff. 

Borysthenis,  description  of  the  city 
by  Dio  Chrysostom,  71  f.;  trans- 
formed into  Buruista,  75. 

Bretanio,  bishop  of  Tomes,  44  f, 

Bructeri  and  Barak  confused,  279  f. 

Bundehesh,  144  f.,  294;  and  Ahri- 
man,  146  f. 

Burgundiones,  etymology  of,  260. 

Burning  of  the  Gothic  Church,  4, 
38  ff. 

Buruista  in  Jordanes,  73  ff. ;  derived 
from  Borysthenis,  75;  in  Strabo, 
76  ff.;  in  the  time  of  Sulla,  77. 

Caesar,  borrowing  from  him  in  the 
Germania,  236  ff.;   see  Germania. 

Camara,  245  f . ;  in  Aulus  Gellius,  249. 

Cambra,  see  Gambara. 

Gamer eca,  formation  of  the  word, 
248. 

Capillati,  262;  in  Jordanes,  69. 


Cassiodorus,  his  Historia  tripartita, 
25;  not  quoted  in  MS.V  of  Isi- 
dore, 25  f . ;  his  Historia  tripartita 
a  forgery,  30  ff. 

Castor  and  Pollux  in  the  Germania 
and  the  unicorn,  296. 

Cedrenus  does  not  know  of  Visi- 
goths, 114. 

Chemical  terms  in  Aethicus,  257  f. 

Chronicon  Alberici,  205  f . 

Chronicon  Paschale,  145. 

Circe  and  Alruna,  90. 

Claudian  and  Ostrogoths,  116. 

Codex  No.  140  and  Gothic  alphabet, 
268. 

Comitatum,  as  used  in  Auxentius, 
52  f.;  of  the  Germania  merest 
nonsense,  289  ff. 

Compendium,  219  ff.;  see  Trit' 
hemius. 

Conciliabulum  of  Constantinople,  42. 

Constantine  and  the  Goths,  46. 

Crimean  Goths,  see  Tetraxite  Goths. 

Criniti,  262;  see  capillati. 

Ctesias  and  the  rhinoceros,  293. 

Cursive  Greek  and  the  Gothic  alpha- 
bet, 267  ff. 

Cybele,  and  Aretia,  212;  and  Ner- 
thus,  298. 

Dacia  and  Dania  confused,  243, 
252  f. 

Danaus  and  the  Dani,  253. 

Dani,  243;  and  Dad  confused, 
252  f. 

Deahus  =  Arab,  dzahab,  213. 

Deborah  is  source  of  Veleda,  278,^ff. 

Decebalus  transformed  into  Dici- 
neus,  75. 

Decretum  Gelasianum  and  Orosius, 
27. 

Demophilus  and  Ulfilas,  50. 

De  origine  Francorum,  see  Hunibald. 

Devoii  of  Caesar  turned  into  comi- 
tatus  in  the  Germania,  290. 

Dexippus,  83. 

Dicineus  in  Jordanes,  73  ff.;  derived 
from  Decebalus,  75. 

Dictys,  a  source  of  Jordanes,  68. 

Dio  Cassius,  a  source  of  Jordanes, 
68  f.;   and  Arminius,  162.  ^i'V^Wj 

Dio  Chrysostom,  a  source  off  Jor- 
danes, 68  ff.,  84;  and  Procopius, 
113  f.;  and  Tacitus,  273. 


SUBJECT  INDEX 


323 


Disbargum,  261  f. ;  see  Asciburgium. 
Dispartum,  see  Disbargum. 
Divination  and  the  Germania,  281  ff.; 

and  Ammianus,  282. 
Dlwdn  =  Deborah,  278. 
Dorac,  229. 

Doros,  a  city  of  the  Goths,  129. 
Dorpaneus  =  Decebalus,  79  f. 
Dory,  and  Priscian,  130;  etymology 

of,  130  f.;  indefinitely  used  for  a 

region  north  of  the  Pontus,  131. 
Dracontius,  interpolation  in,  85  f . 
Druids  and  the  Germans,  236  f.,  241. 
Duces  in  the  Germania  taken  from 

Druid  equites  in  Caesar,  276. 
Dudo  and  the  Dani,  242. 
Duras  =  Dorpaneus,  80. 


Edessa  and  the  Goths,  130  f. 

Elks  transformed  into  worshipers  in 
the  Germania,  297. 

EirapxiKbv  Bt/SXfov,  132. 

Epiphaniv^,  his  account  of  Audius, 
1;   does  not  know  of  Ulfilas,  2. 

Eudoxius  and  the  Goths,  7  f.,  43  f. 

Eusebius-Hieronymus,  source  of  Isi- 
dore, and,  indirectly,  of  Orosius, 
20. 

Eusebius  of  Caesarea,  and  the  Goths, 
46;  and  Auxentius,  49,  51. 

Eutropivs,  a  source  of  Orosius,  22  f . 


Fall   of   Troy,    and   the    Germans, 

254  ff.;   and    the   Liber  historiae 

Francorum,    254  f.;    and   Arabic 

genealogy,    255;    and    Aethicus, 

258  f. 
Feld,  in  the  Origo  Langobardorum, 

98;  its  history,  108  ff. 
Finni,  in  Ptolemy,  an  interpolation, 

94  f . ;   etymology  of  name,  95. 
Floru^,  and  Orosius,  34;   andArmi- 

nius,  164. 
Fragmenta  Valesiana,  80. 
Franci  =  feroces,  157  f. 
Francus,    in    Orosius,     161;      and 

Vasso,  254,  259. 
Franks,  241;   and  the  Fall  of  Troy, 

254   ff.;    as  viewed    by  Mas'udi 

and  Agathias,  263  f. 
FravaSay,  146  f. 


Fredegar's  Chronicle,  has  come  down 
in  eighth  century  rifacimento, 
254;  and  the  sea-monster  myth 
origin  of  the  Merovingians,  294  ff. 

Fredum,  287. 

Fritigern,  6;  and  Athanaric,  112. 

Fulleries,  history  of,  123  ff.;  in 
Spain,  125;   in  Italy,  125  ff. 

Futhork  order  explained,  272. 


Gaetuli  and  Mauri,  an  interpolation 
in  Isidore,  157. 

Gaina  and  the  Goths,  36  ff. 

Gambara,  209. 

Gambrivius  in  Pseudo-Berosus,  209. 

Ganna,  278  f. 

Gaulales,  a  blunder  in  Isidore,  19. 

Gedaliah  Ibn  Yahya,  210. 

Generatio  regum  et  gentium,  213. 

Gennadius  and  Orosius,  28  f. 

Georgius,  bishop  of  the  Goths,  131. 

Gepanta  =  Gipedes,  81. 

German  mythology,  its  borrowings 
from  the  Roman,  238  ff. 

Germani,  Isidore's  etymology  of, 
156;  and  Tungri  in  Tacitus,  260  f. 

Germania  of  Tacitus,   80,   273  ff.; 
mentions  Finns  who  in  Ptolemy 
are   an   interpolation,    94;     bor- 
rows from  Caesar,  236  ff.;    and 
the  Swedish  pirates,  251  f.;    crib- 
bing   from    the    Historiae,    281 
discussion  of  chap.  Ill,   273  ff. 
VII,  236  f.,  276;  IX,  237  f.,  280  f. 
X,  281ff.;XI,240f.,  284 ff.;  XII 
287  ff.;  XIII,  288  f.;  XIV,  290  f. 
XXVIII,  297;  XXXIX,  297;  XL 
298  f.;  XLIII,  239,  291  ff.;  XLIV 
251  f.;  XLVI,  252. 

Gesta  abbatum  Fontanellensium,  65. 

Gesta  Aquileia,  see  Auxentius. 

Getica,  not  written  by  Dio  Chrysos- 
tom,  68;  see  Jordanes. 

Cfinguene  on  Annius,  202. 

Gipedes,  its  etymology,  81. 

Gothic  alphabet,  and  the  Polygraphia, 
235;  and  the  Greek  numerals,  265; 
and  the  runes,  265  ff.;  and  the 
cursive  Greek,  267;  a  normalized 
alphabet  of  Wasthald,  268;  forma- 
tion of  its  letters  explained,  268  f.; 
and  the  Vienna  codices,  268  f.; 
see  Wasthald. 


324    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 


Gothic  language  in  the  church  at 
Constantinople,  41. 

Goths,  mentioned  by  St.  Augustine, 
2;  and  John  Chrysostom,  3;  in 
Italy,  4;  in  the  ecclesiastical 
writers,  6;  and  Valens,  43  ff.;  and 
Constantine,  46;  of  Edessa,  130  f.; 
and  Moors,  see  Gaetuli. 

Greek  language  and  the  Teutons, 
235. 

Greek  numerals,  basis  of  Gothic 
alphabet,  265  ff.;  and  the  Poly- 
graphia, 267. 

Gregory  of  Tours,  and  Orosius,  32  flf.; 
and  Ostrogoths,  116;  and  Ger- 
man divinities,  238;  interpolated, 
262  f. 

Guilielmua  of  Mantua,  204. 


Haliurunna,  see  Alruna. 

Harman  =  Hermanric,  148  f.;  con- 
fused by  Arabs  with  Hermes,  151. 

Heeger  and  the  Dani,  243. 

Hercules  Alemannus,  209. 

Hercules  Saxanus,  210. 

Hermanric,  142  ff.;  =  Ahriman, 
144  flf.,  148  f. 

Hermes,  builder  of  pyramids,  151. 

Herminon,  in  Pseudo-Berosus,  160. 

Hermiones  in  Mela,  218. 

Herodotus,  and  the  Borysthenitae, 
72. 

Herthus,  see  Nerthus,  298  f . 

Heruli,  etymology  of,  108. 

Hindu  alphabet,  supposed  to  be  iden- 
tical with  the  numerals,  266; 
and  the  Arabs,  266;  in  Pseudo- 
Boetius  and  Virgil  Maro,  270. 

Historia  =  Antiquitas  in  Isidore, 
245. 

Historia  Brittonum,  214. 

Historia  tripartita  of  Cassiodorus, 
25,  30  ff.;   and  Ulfilas,  35. 

Hoamer  of  the  Vandals,  see  Homer. 

Homer,  transferred  to  the  Goths, 
71;  turned  into  Vandal  Hoamer, 
83  f. 

Hunibald,  and  the  Germans,  157; 
219  ff.,  229;  his  work  lost,  223  f.; 
a  forgery,  234;  and  the  Gothic 
alphabet,  235;  and  the  Druids,241; 
and  the  unicorn,  295;  see  Trit- 
hemius. 


Huns,  story  about  them  taken  out 
of  Herodotus,  88  ff. 

Hydatius,  source  of  Isidore,  and, 
indirectly,  of  Orosius,  23  f. 

Hyginus,  source  of  Isidore  and  Oro- 
sius, 13;  and  ships  with  double 
prows,  249. 


Ibn  WahSlyah,  266;  and  the  tree- 
alphabet,  271  f. 

Inguaeo  derived  from  Langobard, 
216  f. 

Inguaeones,  in  Generatio  regum  et 
gentium,  213  ff.;  in  Historia  Brit- 
tonum, 214;  in  Nennius,  214;  in 
Pliny,  217;   in  Solinus,  218. 

Irminsul,  origin  of  the  myth,  151  ff. 

Isaac,  the  forefather  of  the  Romans, 
216. 

Isacones,  see  Istaevones. 

Isidore,  source  of  Orosius,  11  ff.; 
does  not  know  Orosius,  30;  does 
not  know  the  Historia  tripartita, 
32;  and  Orosius,  33;  interpo- 
lations in  his  Etymologiae,  156  f.; 
etymology  of  Germani,  156;  in- 
terpolations in,  245. 

I  sis,  and  Tacitus,  280;  and  the 
Jews,  281. 

Istaevones,  see  Isaac. 

IsU,  the  country  of  the,  110  f. 

Italus  derived  from  Arab,  'ittala'a, 
208. 


Janus,  210  f. 

Jerome,  a  source  of  Isidore,  and, 
indirectly,  of  Orosius,  23;  and 
Aethicus,  257. 

John,  bishop  of  the  Goths,  119  ff.; 
purloined  from  the  Syrians,  119  ff. 

John  Chrysostom,  and  the  Goths, 
3,  40  f. 

Jordanes'  Getica,  as  viewed  by 
Mommsen,  65  f . ;  testimonia  of  this 
work,  65  ff.;  and  the  Ravenna 
Anonymus,  66;  introduction  a 
plagiarism,  66;  the  Gothic  Anti- 
quitas its  source,  67  f . ;  quotations 
from  Dio  Chrysostom,  68  ff.; 
confuses  Borysthenitae  of  Hero- 
dotus with  the  inhabitants  of 
Borysthenis,  72;  and  the  division 
of   Goths    into    Ostrogoths    and 


SUBJECT  INDEX 


325 


Visigoths,  111  flf.;  and  the  Span- 
ish Goths,  140  f.;  follows  a  hodge- 
podge method,  141  f. 

Julian  the  Apostate,  stories  of  his 
death,  144  ff.;  and  Mercurius, 
145  ff.;  in  the  Syriac  romances, 
145  ff. 

Justin,  source  of  Isidore,  and,  in- 
directly, of  Orosius,  20,  22  f . 

Justina  and  the  Goths,  5. 


Kauffmann  and  Auxentius,  48  ff. 


Langobards  connected  with  feld,  108. 

Leibniz,  205. 

Leo  and  Venantius,  301. 

Liber  historiae  Francorum  and  the 

Fall  of  Troy,  255. 
Long  hair  and  the  Franks,  263  ff.; 

see  capillati. 
Lull  and  Venantius,  313. 
Lydus,  interpolations  in,  85. 

Malalas  and  Julian's  death,  145. 
Mannus  in  Pseudo-Berosus,  209. 
Marcellini   Comitis   Chronicon   and 

Orosius,  29. 
Mars,   Gothic  worship  of,   due  to 

misunderstanding   of   passage   in 

Dio  Chrysostom,  73. 
Marsa  and  the  Goths,  3. 
Marsi,    and    the   Goths,   3  f.;    in 

Pseudo-Berosus,  160;  in  Isidore, 

160  f.;  in  Strabo,  161;  in  Orosius, 
161;    and  Arminius  in  Tacitus, 

161  f. 

Marsus  in  Pseudo-Berosus,  208. 

Martinvs  Dumiensis  and  the  Ostro- 
goths, 116  ff. 

Mas'Udl,  and  the  Istaevones,  215  f.; 
and  the  Franks,  264. 

Maximinus,  and  Auxentius,  53  ff.; 
the  source  of  Auxentius'  plagiar- 
ism, 57. 

Mela,  a  source  of  Orosius,  13;  and 
Hermiones,  218. 

Meopari  in  Aethicus,  243  f.;  see 
Myoparones. 

Mercurius  and  Julian's  death,  145  ff. 

Mercury  in  Tacitus  taken  from 
Caesar,  237  f. 

Merovingians  and  the  unicorn,  294  ff. 


Micosmin  in  Ravenna  Anonymus, 

102. 
Mills  of  Arabic  origin,  129  f.;   see 

Fulleries. 
Moduarius,  deacon  of  the  Goths,  3. 
Mommsen,  his  view  of  Jordanes,  65  f . ; 

and  the  Ravenna  Cosmographer, 

101. 
Morcholom=lTmmsvi,  155;  =Ahri- 

man  written  backwards,  159. 
Muenster  on  Annius,  202  f . 
Myoparones,  243  ff.;  a  nation,  250; 

origin  explained,  253. 


Naharvali  in  the  Germania  =  uni- 
corn in  Caesar,  291  f.;  explained, 
295  ff. 

Navis  earner ata,  250. 

Nennius  interpretatus,  214. 

Nerthus,  in  the  Germania,  297  ff.; 
and  Aretia,  298;  and  Ovid's 
Fasti,  298. 

Nigue,  see  Inguaeo. 

Noah's  ark  and  the  ship  with  double 
prow,  249. 

Odin,  98  ff. 

Ogham  and  tree-runes,  272. 

Olybama  =  Arab,  'alsamd,  212, 

Olymi)iodorus  does  not  know  of 
Visigoths,  114. 

Onomastica  of  Jerome,  96. 

Oribasius  and  drapus,  123. 

Origo  Langobardorum  and  Scandi- 
navia, 98. 

Ormista,  the  title  of  Orosius'  work, 
8ff. 

Orosius,  his  history  a  forgery,  8; 
based  on  Isidore,  8  ff.;  not 
mentioned  by  St.  Augustine,  12; 
quotes  from  De  civitate  Dei  after 
his  own  death,  12;  in  the  De- 
er etumGelasianum,  27;  in  Pseudo- 
Isidore,  27  f . ;  and  Marcellini  Com- 
itis Chronicon,  29;  not  mentioned 
by  Isidore,  30;  mentioned  in 
interpolated  Chronicon  of  Prosper, 
30;  in  interpolated  Gregory  of 
Tours,  32  ff.;  and  Isidore,  33; 
and  Florus,  34;  and  Valens,  46  f. ; 
in  ApoUinaris  Sidonius,  118;  and 
the  Marsi,  161. 

Ostrogotha,  111. 


326    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 


Ostrogoths,  111  ff.;  and  Visigoths 
unknown  to  Hydatius,  Marcelli- 
nus,  Victor  Tonnensis,  Johannes 
Biclarensis,  Marius  Aventicensis, 
1 1 4  f . ;  in  Chronica  Ca^saraugustana 
an  interpolation,  115;  in  Isidore 
an  interpolation,  115;  in  Claudian, 
116;  in  interpolated  Gregory  of 
Tours,  116;  in  ApoUinaris  Sido- 
nius,  117;  and  Martinus,  118. 

Ovid's  Fasti  and  Nerthus,  298. 


Paulus  Diaconus,  and  Jordanes,  66; 
and  Scandinavia,  98  f.;  and  the 
division  of  the  Goths,  112, 

Peculiar e,  meaning  of  the  word,  136. 

Petrus  Patridiks,  80,  86. 

Philo,  his  Breviarium  de  temporibus, 
205. 

Philostorgius,  and  Gaina,  38;  and 
Ulfilas,  46  f.;  and  Photius,  47; 
is  based  on  Auxentius,  63. 

Photius  and  Philostorgius,  47. 

Phrygia,  and  Julian's  death,  145  f. ; 
its  etymology,  146. 

Pilleati  in  Jordanes,  69. 

Pliny,  a  source  of  Orosius,  13;  and 
Inguaeones,  etc.,  217. 

Points  of  compass  in  the  Germanic 
languages,  134  flf. 

Polygraphia,  and  the  Gothic  alpha- 
bet, 235;  and  Greek  numerals, 
267;  Silbernagl's  incorrect  quo- 
tation from  it,  225  f. 

Priscian  and  Dory,  130. 

Procopius,  interpolated,  83  f.;  on 
Scandinavia,  96  ff.;  and  the 
Visigoths,  112;  and  Dio  Chry- 
sostom,  113;  and  the  Tetraxite 
Goths,  118  f.;and  Dory,  city  of  the 
Goths,  129  f.;  describes  Dory  like 
Edessa,   131. 

Prosper  of  Aquitaine's  Chronicon 
interpolated,  30. 

Pseudo-Bede,  and  Noah's  ark,  249; 
and  Greek  numerals,  267;  and 
Aethicus,  268. 

Pseudo-Berosus,  160,  174  flf.;  and 
Tuiscon,  208;  and  Marsus,  208; 
and  Gambrivius,  209;  and  Man- 
nus,  209;  and  Aretia,  210  f.;  and 
Inguaeones,  213. 

Ptolemy,  interpolation  in,  94. 


Rasia  and  Julian's  death,  145  f. 

Ravenna  Cosmographer,  and  Jor- 
danes, 66;  and  older  sources,  101  f . 

Rerefeni,  99,  102  f. 

Rhinoceros,  and  the  Naharvali,  291  f. ; 
and  Ctesias  and  Aristotle,  293. 

Rockdwellers  of  Scandinavia  are  the 
Thamudites  of  the  Arabs,  100. 

Run^s,  265  flf.;  origin  of  letters  ex- 
plained, 269  flf.;  related  to  Wast- 
hald's  alphabet,  270;  no  older 
than  eighth  century,  271. 

Samuel,  Rabbi,  and  Annius,  203. 
Saru^  and  Ammius,  142,  149. 
Saxnot,  209. 

Saxon  Antiquitas,  151  flf. 
Scandinavia,  and  Procopius,  96  flf.; 

in  the  Origo  Langobardorum,  98; 

its  myth  explained,  100  ff. 
Scandza  in  Jordanes,  94,  99. 
Scholia  Statiana  and  Jordanes,  65. 
Screrefennae,  99. 

Scridofinni,  Scrithifinni,  in  Proco- 
pius, 97;  in  Paulus  Diaconus,  98  f. 

etymology  explained,  103  f. 
Scythians,  includes  the  Goths,  45. 
Sea-monster    and     the    Bundehesh, 

293  f;  see  Unicorn. 
Segimerus  =  Arab,  sahmgarb,  173. 
Segimundus  =  Arab,  sahmun,  173. 
Selenas,  bishop  of  the  Goths,  41  f. 
Serapion,  bishop  of  the  Goths,  3. 
Servius,    a   source   of    Isidore,    11; 

and,  indirectly,  of  Orosius,  15  f. 
Ships  with  two  prows,  245  ff.;    = 

thalamegus,  248;   =  Noah's  ark, 

249. 
Sievers  and  the  Ulfilas  question,  55. 
Sigebert  of  Gemblaux,  the  first  to 

mention  Historia  tripartita,  32. 
Silbernagl,  on  Trithemius,  219  ff.; 

incorrect  and  unjust  in  his  criti- 
cism, 225  ff. 
Silvanus,  bishop  of  the  Goths,  1. 
Sirdifeni,  102  ff. 
Sitones  in  Tacitus,  252  f . 
Ski  in  Jordanes  and  elsewhere,  103  f . 
Socrates,   1,  41  f.;    and  the  Arian 

Goths,  6. 
Soldurii,  see  Devoti. 
Solinus,  a  source  of  Isidore,  and, 

indirectly,  of  Orosixis,  14,  16,  17; 

and  the  Inguaeones,  218. 


SUBJECT  INDEX 


327 


Sozomentis,  39  f;  and  the  Goths,  6f. 
Spanish  Goths,  in  Southern  Russia, 

121;   and  Jordanes,  140  f. 
Stabius  and  Trithemius,  230,  232. 
Statitcs  interpolated,  279. 
Strabo,  interpolations  in,  76  S,  246 

£f.,  253;  and  Arminius,  164. 
Suehans,  110. 
Suetidi,  they  are  the  Adites  of  the 

Arabs,  100;    in  Jordanes,  252. 
Suetonius  and  the  ship  with  double 

prow,  248. 
Suevi,  confused  with  Judaei,  281. 
Suiones  =  Isfl,  110;  in  Tacitus,  252. 
Sundrium,   meaning   of   the   word, 

134  ff. 
Sunilda,  142,  149  f. 
Swedish  pirates  and  Tacitus,  251. 
Sybel  and  Jordanes,  66. 
Syriac  chronicle  and  Julian,  148  f. 
Syriac  romances  of  Julian,   145  flf.; 

and  Tacitus,  171  f. 
Syriac  saint  purloined  by  the  Goths, 

119  ff. 

Tacitus  and  Arminius,  164 ff.;  his 
Historiae  interpolated  or  a  for- 
gery, 238,  245  ff.;  his  Annales 
interpolated  or  a  forgery,  162, 
238,  245;  and  Dio  Chrysostom, 
273;  and  Vegetius,  274;  see 
Germania. 

Talmud  and  Annius,  203  f. 

Tamfanae  =  tamen  fanum,  161. 

Tarabosteseos,  in  Jordanes,  explained, 
69. 

Tetraxite  Goths,  113  f.;  in  Procopius, 
1 18  f . ;  a  blunder  for  trapezitae,  121. 

Thamudites,  100. 

Th^odoretus  and  the  Goths,  7  f.,  41. 

Theogonius  and  Auxentius,  51. 

Theophilus,  bishop  of  the  Goths, 
1,  6,  43. 

Thuringia,  260  f . 

Thv^nelda  =  Sunilda,  164. 

Tiraboschi  and  Annius,  202. 

Tiitrya,  146  f. 

Tomaschek  and  the  Goths,  129. 

Translatio  S.  Alexandri  and  the 
Irminsul  myth,  151. 

Trapezitae  in  Byzantine  law,  132; 
see  Tetraxite  Goths. 

Tree-alphabets,  271  f.;  and  Ogham, 
272. 


Trithemius,  his  Annales  Hirsaugi- 
enses,  219,  228;  as  criticized  by 
Silbernagl,  219  ff.;  his  Polygra- 
phia, 225  f.;  and  the  work  by 
Hunibald,  225  ff.;  and  Wasthald, 
226;  his  cautious  statements, 
226;  his  blunder  in  regard  to  the 
number  of  books  in  Hunibald  ex- 
plained, 229  f,;  and  the  Com- 
pendium, 229;  and  the  sundial, 
230;  tearing  out  two  quaternions 
from  the  Annales,  to  correct  a 
blunder,  231;  and  Stabius,  230, 
232;  chronology  of  his  relation  to 
Hunibald,  232  f. 

Trojan  origin  of  the  Franks,  241. 

Tuiscon,  in  Pseudo-Berosus,  208; 
its  etymology,  208. 

Tungri,  and  Germans,  in  Tacitus, 
260  f.;  confused  with  Thuringia, 
261. 


Ulfilas,  his  Arianism  unknown  to 
contemporary  authors,  1;  un- 
known to  Epiphanius,  2;  in 
Socrates,  6;  in  Sozomenus,  6; 
absent  from  Orosius,  8;  in  Isi- 
dore interpolated,  25  ff.;  in  the 
Historia  tripartita,  32,  35;  and 
Selenas,  41  f.;  at  the  conciliabu- 
lum  of  Constantinople,  42  f.;  as 
mentioned  in  the  ecclesiastic 
writers,  43  ff.;  and  Valens,  45  f.; 
and  Philostorgius,  46  f.;  and 
Auxentius,  48  f.;  and  Demo- 
philus,  50;  his  life  and  activity 
according  to  Auxentius,  55  f . ;  his 
creed  based  on  Maximinus,  58 ff.; 
contradictions  in  his  creed,  as 
given  by  Auxentius,  61;  ex- 
planation of  the  origin  of  the 
myth,  61  ff. 

Unicorn,  and  the  Merovingians,  294 
ff.;   and  Castor  and  Pollux,  296. 

Unilas,  bishop  of  the  Goths,  3;  is 
Umias,  56  f. 

Ursiniana,  86. 

Vagio,  a  ship  with  double  prow,  249  f . 
Valens  and  the  Goths,  43  ff. 
Vasso  and  Francus,  254,  259. 
Vegetius  and  Tacitus,  274. 
Veleda,  277  ff. 


328    HISTORY  OF  ARABICO-GOTHIC  CULTURE 


Velleiv^  Paierculus  and  Arminiiis, 
163,  173. 

Venaniius  interpolated,  300  fF.;  his 
text  corrupt,  301;  spurious  poems 
in,   302;    and  Lull,  313. 

Vesegothae,  see  Visigoths. 

Vesi  and  ApoUinaris  Sidonius,  117. 

Vestgothi,  its  etymology,  133. 

Vestiarii  in  Byzantine  law,  132. 

Victor  Tonnensis,  his  Chronica,  85. 

Vienna  Codex  with  Gothic  alphabet, 
268  f. 

Visigoths,  111  f.;  and  Procopius, 
112;  unknown  to  Zonaras,  Ce- 
drenus,  Olympiodorus,  114;  in 
Isidore  interpolated,  115;  in  Ano- 
nymus  Valesianus,  116;  its  ety- 
mology, 133. 

Visu  =  Isu,  133. 


Wadd,  100. 

Wake,  history  of  the,  90  ff. 

Wasthald,    226,    229   flf.;     and    the 

Gothic    alphabet,    226,    268    f.; 

and  Wisogastalth  confused,  230. 
Wisogastalth,  227  ff. 


Yule,  origin  of,  139. 


Zarfati,  see  Samuel. 

Zeno,  his  opinion  of  Annius,  202; 
and  Annius,  205. 

Zonaras,  leans  on  Procopius,  but 
does  not  know  of  Visigoths,  114; 
has  not  the  Arminius  story,  162. 

Zosimus,  and  Gaina,  38;  inter- 
polated, 39. 


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o^fi  f^A:>  ttX  R5  l:;^       ^1^ 

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trH  ft  t^r  t  t        ti 


^ 


WILLIAM  T.  LONG 


DS  Wiener,   Leo 
215  Contributions  toward 

W4,  a  history  of  Arabi co-Gothic 

V.3  culture 


PLEASE  DO  NOT  REMOVE 
CARDS  OR  SLIPS  FROM  THIS  POCKET 

UNIVERSITY  OF  TORONTO  LIBRARY 


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