The Goths in the Fourth Century
1991
First Published
3.93
Average Rating
206
Number of Pages
Of all the Germanic Peoples who were later to carve out successor kingdoms to the Roman empire, much more is known of the Goths than of any other group in the period before the great migrations of the late fourth and early fifth centuries. The Goths are thus of unique importance in our evaluation of the kinds of changes that these migrations worked upon the tribal neighbours of the Roman empire, as well as upon the Roman empire itself. This volume brings together many of the most important historical texts, the majority of them (speeches of Themistius, the Passion of St Saba, and evidence relating to the life and work of Ulfila) not previously available in English translation. Also included are representative selections, with commentary, from the Gothic New Testament, and, with ample illustration, from the so-called Sintana de Mures/Chernjachov culture associated with Gothic occupation of the transDanubian regions in the third and fourth centuries. Taken as a whole, these sources throw much light upon the political, social, and religious organisation of the Goths, and on the nature of their relations with the Roman state in the period before their fateful crossing of the Danube in 376.
Avg Rating
3.93
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Author
Peter Heather
Author · 10 books
Peter Heather is currently Professor of Medieval History at King's College London. He has held appointments at University College London and Yale University and was Fellow and Tutor in Medieval History at Worcester College, Oxford until December 2007.
