DOCSLIB.ORG

Wayland Smith: a Cultural Historical Biography

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Wayland Smith: a Cultural Historical Biography Wayland Smith: A Cultural Historical Biography Isobel Rennie Robertson Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Leeds Institute for Medieval Studies September 2020 ii The candidate confirms that the work submitted is her own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement The right of Isobel Robertson to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. iii Acknowledgements With thanks to Alaric Hall and Julia Barrow for their supervision, Louise Rennie for her proofreading efforts, and Witt Womack for his research assistance and moral support. iv Abstract Wayland the Smith appears in art and literature from across early medieval north-western Europe, but much of this material has not been used to its fullest potential. Assessing all of the Wayland material together, across disciplines, illuminates different themes and motifs, shedding light both on the figure of Wayland and on various aspects of medieval society. Wayland appears as a smith, a murderer, a rapist, and an outsider, but these different facets have not received equal attention. This thesis places the focus on the name and image of Wayland in those surviving sources which are most firmly identified as depicting the legendary smith. It concentrates on how he changed between cultures and across the centuries in medieval north-western Europe. Studies of Wayland have often focused on the ritual and magical properties of the smith, but recent archaeological evidence has demonstrated the complex role of smiths in early medieval societies, and a cross-disciplinary study of Wayland material shows how he was adapted to fit changing ideas about craftsmen. Less attention has been paid in scholarship to Wayland’s roles as a murderer and a rapist, but the surviving sources have the potential to reveal a great deal about early medieval attitudes to these crimes. Finally, while Wayland’s connections to the supernatural have been well-studied, broadening this into a consideration of how he was presented as an outsider allows fragmentary sources to reveal patterns of continuity and change in attitudes to foreigners, slaves, the supernatural, and more. v Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1 The Story of Wayland ........................................................................................................................ 12 Similarities and Differences .............................................................................................................. 14 Sources .................................................................................................................................................. 16 1: The Franks Casket ......................................................................................................................... 16 1a: Source Name ........................................................................................................................... 16 1b: Date of Production .................................................................................................................. 16 1c: Purpose.................................................................................................................................... 16 1d: Place of Origin ......................................................................................................................... 17 1e: Provenance ............................................................................................................................. 17 1f: Description ............................................................................................................................... 17 1g: Key Points of Interest .............................................................................................................. 19 2: The Ardre Stone ............................................................................................................................ 20 2a: Source Name ........................................................................................................................... 20 2b: Date Produced ........................................................................................................................ 20 2c: Place of Origin ......................................................................................................................... 20 2d: Provenance ............................................................................................................................. 20 2e: Description .............................................................................................................................. 21 2f: Key Points of Interest ............................................................................................................... 22 3: Waldere ......................................................................................................................................... 22 3a: Source Name ........................................................................................................................... 22 3b: Date Produced ........................................................................................................................ 22 3c: Date of Origin .......................................................................................................................... 22 3d: Place of Origin ......................................................................................................................... 23 3e: Provenance ............................................................................................................................. 23 3f: Description ............................................................................................................................... 23 4: Deor ............................................................................................................................................... 24 4a: Source Name ........................................................................................................................... 24 4b: Date Produced ........................................................................................................................ 25 4c: Date of Origin .......................................................................................................................... 25 4d: Place of Origin ......................................................................................................................... 25 4e: Description .............................................................................................................................. 25 4f: Key Points of Interest ............................................................................................................... 26 vi 5: The Leeds Cross Shaft ................................................................................................................... 27 5a: Source Name ........................................................................................................................... 27 5b: Date Produced ........................................................................................................................ 27 5c: Place of Origin ......................................................................................................................... 27 5d: Provenance ............................................................................................................................. 27 5e: Description .............................................................................................................................. 28 5f: Key Points of Interest ............................................................................................................... 30 6: Wayland’s Smithy .......................................................................................................................... 30 6a: Source Name ........................................................................................................................... 30 6b: Date Produced ........................................................................................................................ 30 6c: Possible Date of Origin ............................................................................................................ 30 6d: Place of Origin ......................................................................................................................... 31 6e: Description .............................................................................................................................. 31 6f: Key Points of Interest ............................................................................................................... 31 7: The Old English Consolation of Philosophy ................................................................................... 31 7a: Source Name ........................................................................................................................... 31 7b: Date Produced .......................................................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Introduction to Beowulf the Action of Beowulf "Beowulf" Seamus Heaney
    Introduction to Beowulf 3182 lines in length, Beowulf is the longest surviving Old English poem. It survives in a single manuscript, thought to date from the turn of the eleventh century, though the composition of the poem is usually placed in the eighth or early ninth centuries, perhaps in an Anglian region. The action is set in Scandinavia, and the poem is chiefly concerned with the Geats (inhabitants of Southern Sweden), Danes and Swedes. It falls into two main sections, lls. 1-2199, which describe young Beowulf's defeat of two monsters, Grendel and his mother, at the request of King Hrothgar, and lls. 2200-3182, in which an aged Beowulf, now king, defeats a fire-breathing dragon but is mortally wounded and dies. This coursepack includes three short excerpts from the poem: Beowulf's fight with Grendel (ll. 702b-897), the so-called 'Lament of the Last Survivor' (2247-2266), and the poet's description of Beowulf's funeral (3156-3182). The former consists of the approach of Grendel to Heorot, and his hand-to-hand combat with Beowulf. The second contains the elegaic reflections of a warrior whom the poet imagines to be the sole remnant of a great tribe that once held the treasure now guarded by the dragon which threatens Beowulf's people. The poet powerfully conveys his nostalgia for dead companions and sense that treasure without an owner is worthless. The account of Beowulf's funeral describes a pagan cremation and records the Geats' epitaph for their dead leader. The Action of Beowulf Beowulf opens with a description of the origin and history of the Scylding dynasty, tracing its descent down to Hrothgar, who builds Heorot, a great hall.
    [Show full text]
  • Fish & Wildlife News
    U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Winter 2016 spotlight Fish & Wildlife News Get the News online weeks ahead of print. Visit <fws.gov/home/fwn> SPOTLIGHT Strategic Habitat Conservation 14 Unfinished Story 20 Sharing the Land 26 and more... what’s inside Departments Features From the Director / 1 SPOTLIGHT News / 2 Curator’s Corner / 42 STRATEGIC Our People / 43 HABITAT CONSERVATION 14 by PAUL SOUZA The Next Generation of Wildlife Conservation | and TOM MELIUS Catching On to Border Crossing / 24 Connect the Surrogates / 18 Working together across Connecticut / 30 Preserving Oregon’s state lines to protect the A landscape conservation Willamette Valley magnificent Great Lakes design for the Connecticut River watershed takes shape Protecting the Flint Conservation for Islands of Shelter Hills / 32 Sustainability / 34 by Design / 38 Surrogates of the Programs and partners Wildlife and people benefit Vast Tallgrass Prairie stand together to ensure from forward-looking the future of Alaska’s rich landscape conservation social-ecological system vision for California’s ON THE COVER: BULL ON THE NATIONAL BISON RANGE. PHOTO: DAVE FITZPATRICK, Central Valley VOLUNTEER 2 / Fish & Wildlife News Winter 2016 from the director Seeing the Big Picture One of the best parts about being the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is having the opportunity to travel throughout our great nation. To quote the late Johnny Cash, “I’ve been everywhere, man.” From the Artic to the Everglades, I’m continually In this issue of Fish and Wildlife News, we travel awed by the landscapes surrounding me, and to every region to provide a sense of how these wherever I go, I similarly find special people landscape-scale efforts are proceeding.
    [Show full text]
  • Widsith Beowulf. Beowulf Beowulf
    CHAPTER 1 OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE The Old English language or Anglo-Saxon is the earliest form of English. The period is a long one and it is generally considered that Old English was spoken from about A.D. 600 to about 1100. Many of the poems of the period are pagan, in particular Widsith and Beowulf. The greatest English poem, Beowulf is the first English epic. The author of Beowulf is anonymous. It is a story of a brave young man Beowulf in 3182 lines. In this epic poem, Beowulf sails to Denmark with a band of warriors to save the King of Denmark, Hrothgar. Beowulf saves Danish King Hrothgar from a terrible monster called Grendel. The mother of Grendel who sought vengeance for the death of her son was also killed by Beowulf. Beowulf was rewarded and became King. After a prosperous reign of some forty years, Beowulf slays a dragon but in the fight he himself receives a mortal wound and dies. The poem concludes with the funeral ceremonies in honour of the dead hero. Though the poem Beowulf is little interesting to contemporary readers, it is a very important poem in the Old English period because it gives an interesting picture of the life and practices of old days. The difficulty encountered in reading Old English Literature lies in the fact that the language is very different from that of today. There was no rhyme in Old English poems. Instead they used alliteration. Besides Beowulf, there are many other Old English poems. Widsith, Genesis A, Genesis B, Exodus, The Wanderer, The Seafarer, Wife’s Lament, Husband’s Message, Christ and Satan, Daniel, Andreas, Guthlac, The Dream of the Rood, The Battle of Maldon etc.
    [Show full text]
  • Bibliography
    Bibliography Many books were read and researched in the compilation of Binford, L. R, 1983, Working at Archaeology. Academic Press, The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology: New York. Binford, L. R, and Binford, S. R (eds.), 1968, New Perspectives in American Museum of Natural History, 1993, The First Humans. Archaeology. Aldine, Chicago. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco. Braidwood, R 1.,1960, Archaeologists and What They Do. Franklin American Museum of Natural History, 1993, People of the Stone Watts, New York. Age. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco. Branigan, Keith (ed.), 1982, The Atlas ofArchaeology. St. Martin's, American Museum of Natural History, 1994, New World and Pacific New York. Civilizations. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco. Bray, w., and Tump, D., 1972, Penguin Dictionary ofArchaeology. American Museum of Natural History, 1994, Old World Civiliza­ Penguin, New York. tions. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco. Brennan, L., 1973, Beginner's Guide to Archaeology. Stackpole Ashmore, w., and Sharer, R. J., 1988, Discovering Our Past: A Brief Books, Harrisburg, PA. Introduction to Archaeology. Mayfield, Mountain View, CA. Broderick, M., and Morton, A. A., 1924, A Concise Dictionary of Atkinson, R J. C., 1985, Field Archaeology, 2d ed. Hyperion, New Egyptian Archaeology. Ares Publishers, Chicago. York. Brothwell, D., 1963, Digging Up Bones: The Excavation, Treatment Bacon, E. (ed.), 1976, The Great Archaeologists. Bobbs-Merrill, and Study ofHuman Skeletal Remains. British Museum, London. New York. Brothwell, D., and Higgs, E. (eds.), 1969, Science in Archaeology, Bahn, P., 1993, Collins Dictionary of Archaeology. ABC-CLIO, 2d ed. Thames and Hudson, London. Santa Barbara, CA. Budge, E. A. Wallis, 1929, The Rosetta Stone. Dover, New York. Bahn, P.
    [Show full text]
  • Violence, Christianity, and the Anglo-Saxon Charms Laurajan G
    Eastern Illinois University The Keep Masters Theses Student Theses & Publications 1-1-2011 Violence, Christianity, And The Anglo-Saxon Charms Laurajan G. Gallardo Eastern Illinois University This research is a product of the graduate program in English at Eastern Illinois University. Find out more about the program. Recommended Citation Gallardo, Laurajan G., "Violence, Christianity, And The Anglo-Saxon Charms" (2011). Masters Theses. 293. http://thekeep.eiu.edu/theses/293 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Theses & Publications at The Keep. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of The Keep. For more information, please contact [email protected]. *****US Copyright Notice***** No further reproduction or distribution of this copy is permitted by electronic transmission or any other means. The user should review the copyright notice on the following scanned image(s) contained in the original work from which this electronic copy was made. Section 108: United States Copyright Law The copyright law of the United States [Title 17, United States Code] governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the reproduction is not to be used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research. If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that use may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.
    [Show full text]
  • Anglo-Saxon Literary Landscapes Literary Anglo-Saxon
    ENVIRONMENTAL HUMANITIES IN PRE-MODERN CULTURES Estes Anglo-Saxon Literary Landscapes Heide Estes Anglo-Saxon Literary Landscapes Ecotheory and the Environmental Imagination Anglo-Saxon Literary Landscapes Environmental Humanities in Pre‑modern Cultures This series in environmental humanities offers approaches to medieval, early modern, and global pre-industrial cultures from interdisciplinary environmental perspectives. We invite submissions (both monographs and edited collections) in the fields of ecocriticism, specifically ecofeminism and new ecocritical analyses of under-represented literatures; queer ecologies; posthumanism; waste studies; environmental history; environmental archaeology; animal studies and zooarchaeology; landscape studies; ‘blue humanities’, and studies of environmental/natural disasters and change and their effects on pre-modern cultures. Series Editor Heide Estes, University of Cambridge and Monmouth University Editorial Board Steven Mentz, St. John’s University Gillian Overing, Wake Forest University Philip Slavin, University of Kent Anglo-Saxon Literary Landscapes Ecotheory and the Environmental Imagination Heide Estes Amsterdam University Press Cover illustration: © Douglas Morse Cover design: Coördesign, Leiden Layout: Crius Group, Hulshout Amsterdam University Press English-language titles are distributed in the US and Canada by the University of Chicago Press. isbn 978 90 8964 944 7 e-isbn 978 90 4852 838 7 doi 10.5117/9789089649447 nur 617 | 684 | 940 Creative Commons License CC BY NC ND (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0) The author / Amsterdam University Press B.V., Amsterdam 2017 Some rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, any part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise).
    [Show full text]
  • Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 111 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION
    E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 111 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 155 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2009 No. 158 Senate The Senate met at 9:30 a.m. and was ator from the State of Colorado, to perform this body now. We also have the loss called to order by the Honorable MARK the duties of the Chair. carryback, which is extremely impor- UDALL, a Senator from the State of ROBERT C. BYRD, tant for businesses at this time, also Colorado. President pro tempore. widely agreed upon. It was originally Mr. UDALL of Colorado thereupon sponsored by Senator BUNNING, and PRAYER assumed the chair as Acting President now Senator BAUCUS and others have The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- pro tempore. agreed to this—not two or three Sen- fered the following prayer: f ators but significant numbers on both Let us pray. sides. We could get those done. We have RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY given the Republicans a request to do Father of all, we praise and glorify LEADER Your Holy Name. You are the fountain it in 2 hours, and Senators said they of life, the source of all goodness, and The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- don’t even need that much time to get the center of our joy. pore. The majority leader is recog- this done. Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, Today, fill our lawmakers with Your nized. would the majority leader yield? blessings. Bless them with the courage f Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • Durham, 1977. Annual Report
    •« Archives :.-. -Sfti 352.07 D96 1977 PORT 352.07 D96 1977 REPORT s I iversitt^ of hire ArcWiV'" 352.0T m Table of Contents Page No. TOWN ORGANIZATION Officers and Committees 1 Comparative Tax Rate 2k Tax Rate 24 Durham Data 57 Property Owned by the Town 57 Town Meeting Minutes, 1977 88 INSERT 1978 Town Meeting Warrant 1978 Budget Water Operating Budget - 197^ Sewer Maintenance - 1978 Property Valuation REPORTS Accountant's Opinion 11 Administrative Assistant to the Board of Selectmen 8 Acknowledgment 96 Audit Summary 10 Budget Committee Ik Building Inspector 78 Civil Defense 63 Conservation Commission 75 Durham Ambulance Coros 28 Durham District Court 50 Durham Public Library 84 Fire Commissioners 31 Health Officer 48 Historic District Commission 74 In Appreciation 7 Incinerator 62 Newmarket Health Center 83 Oyster River Home Health Association 80 Parks and Recreation Committee 76 Planning Board 77 Police Department 38 Probation Officer 52 Public Works Advisory Committee 6I Public Works Department 59 Report of Trust Funds 72 Revenue Sharing Report 27 Selectmen's Report 5 Sewer Policy Committee 66 1964 Sewer Construction Bond Issue 67 1968 College Brook Interceptor Renewal Project 68 1971 Grease Handling Facilities Project 69 Statement of Bonded Debt 12 Strafford Regional Planning Commission 79 Swans 86 Page Tax Collector Town Clerk Town Treasurer Tree Warden Trustees of Trust Funds Vital Statistics Wastewater Treatment Facilities Water Department 1975 Water Tower Construction Bond Issue Welfare t Town Officers and Committees Expiration of Term ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO SELECTMEN Alan H. Edmond BUDGET COMMITTEE (4 Years) ELECTED MARCH O.B. Durgin, rep. Selectmen William S.
    [Show full text]
  • Beowulf Timeline
    Beowulf Timeline Retell the key events in Beowulf in chronological order. Background The epic poem, Beowulf, is over 3000 lines long! The main events include the building of Heorot, Beowulf’s battle with the monster, Grendel, and his time as King of Geatland. Instructions 1. Cut out the events. 2. Put them in the correct order to retell the story. 3. Draw a picture to illustrate each event on your story timeline. Beowulf returned Hrothgar built Beowulf fought Grendel attacked home to Heorot. Grendel’s mother. Heorot. Geatland. Beowulf was Beowulf’s Beowulf fought Beowulf travelled crowned King of funeral. Grendel. to Denmark the Geats. Beowulf fought Heorot lay silent. the dragon. 1. Stick Text Here 3. Stick Text Here 5. Stick Text Here 7. Stick Text Here 9. Stick Text Here 2. Stick Text Here 4. Stick Text Here 6. Stick Text Here 8. Stick Text Here 10. Stick Text Here Beowulf Timeline Retell the key events in Beowulf in chronological order. Background The epic poem, Beowulf, is over 3000 lines long! The main events include the building of Heorot, Beowulf’s battle with the monster, Grendel, and his time as King of Geatland. Instructions 1. Cut out the events. 2. Put them in the correct order to retell the story. 3. Write an extra sentence or two about each event. 4. Draw a picture to illustrate each event on your story timeline. Beowulf returned Hrothgar built Beowulf fought Grendel attacked home to Geatland. Heorot. Grendel’s mother. Heorot. Beowulf was Beowulf’s funeral. Beowulf fought Beowulf travelled crowned King of Grendel.
    [Show full text]
  • The Intertextuality of Beowulf, Cynewulf and Andreas1
    The departure of the hero in a ship: The intertextuality of Beowulf , Cynewulf and Andreas 1 Francis Leneghan University of Oxford This article identifies a new Old English poetic motif, ‘The Departure of the Hero in a Ship’, and discusses the implications of its presence in Beowulf , the signed poems of Cynewulf and Andreas , a group of texts already linked by shared lexis, imagery and themes. It argues that the Beowulf -poet used this motif to frame his work, foregrounding the question of royal succession. Cynewulf and the Andreas -poet then adapted this Beowulfian motif in a knowing and allusive manner for a new purpose: to glorify the church and to condemn its enemies. Investigation of this motif provides further evidence for the intertextuality of these works. Keywords : Old English poetry; Beowulf , Cynewulf; Andreas ; Anglo-Saxon literature 1. Introduction Scholars have identified a number of ‘motifs’, ‘themes’ or ‘type scenes’ in Old English poetry. Two of the best-known such motifs are ‘the beasts of battle’, typically featuring the carrion eagle, wolf and raven, anticipating or rejoicing in slaughter (Magoun 1955, Bonjour 1957, Griffith 1993), and ‘the hero on the beach’, wherein a hero is depicted with his retainers in the presence of a flashing light, as a sea-journey is completed (or begun), usually at dawn 1 I would like to thank Daniel Anlezark, Hugh Magennis, Richard North, Andy Orchard, Rafael Pascual and Daniel Thomas for their helpful comments on earlier versions of this article. Francis Leneghan, Selim24 (2019): 105 –132. ISSN 1132-631X / DOI https://doi.org/10.17811/selim.24.2019.105-134 106 Francis Leneghan (Crowne 1960: 368; Fry 1966, 1971).2 Broadening the focus to consider both Old English verse and prose, Mercedes Salvador Bello identified the ‘leitmotif’ of ‘the arrival of the hero in a ship’ in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Beowulf , featuring “a recurrent thematic pattern which presents the story of the heroes (or the hero) who arrive from northern lands in a boat and become the ancestors of Anglo-Saxon dynasties” (1998: 214).
    [Show full text]
  • Gothic Introduction – Part 1: Linguistic Affiliations and External History Roadmap
    RYAN P. SANDELL Gothic Introduction – Part 1: Linguistic Affiliations and External History Roadmap . What is Gothic? . Linguistic History of Gothic . Linguistic Relationships: Genetic and External . External History of the Goths Gothic – Introduction, Part 1 2 What is Gothic? . Gothic is the oldest attested language (mostly 4th c. CE) of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European family. It is the only substantially attested East Germanic language. Corpus consists largely of a translation (Greek-to-Gothic) of the biblical New Testament, attributed to the bishop Wulfila. Primary manuscript, the Codex Argenteus, accessible in published form since 1655. Grammatical Typology: broadly similar to other old Germanic languages (Old High German, Old English, Old Norse). External History: extensive contact with the Roman Empire from the 3rd c. CE (Romania, Ukraine); leading role in 4th / 5th c. wars; Gothic kingdoms in Italy, Iberia in 6th-8th c. Gothic – Introduction, Part 1 3 What Gothic is not... Gothic – Introduction, Part 1 4 Linguistic History of Gothic . Earliest substantively attested Germanic language. • Only well-attested East Germanic language. The language is a “snapshot” from the middle of the 4th c. CE. • Biblical translation was produced in the 4th c. CE. • Some shorter and fragmentary texts date to the 5th and 6th c. CE. Gothic was extinct in Western and Central Europe by the 8th c. CE, at latest. In the Ukraine, communities of Gothic speakers may have existed into the 17th or 18th century. • Vita of St. Cyril (9th c.) mentions Gothic as a liturgical language in the Crimea. • Wordlist of “Crimean Gothic” collected in the 16th c.
    [Show full text]
  • Jordanes and the Invention of Roman-Gothic History Dissertation
    Empire of Hope and Tragedy: Jordanes and the Invention of Roman-Gothic History Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Brian Swain Graduate Program in History The Ohio State University 2014 Dissertation Committee: Timothy Gregory, Co-advisor Anthony Kaldellis Kristina Sessa, Co-advisor Copyright by Brian Swain 2014 Abstract This dissertation explores the intersection of political and ethnic conflict during the emperor Justinian’s wars of reconquest through the figure and texts of Jordanes, the earliest barbarian voice to survive antiquity. Jordanes was ethnically Gothic - and yet he also claimed a Roman identity. Writing from Constantinople in 551, he penned two Latin histories on the Gothic and Roman pasts respectively. Crucially, Jordanes wrote while Goths and Romans clashed in the imperial war to reclaim the Italian homeland that had been under Gothic rule since 493. That a Roman Goth wrote about Goths while Rome was at war with Goths is significant and has no analogue in the ancient record. I argue that it was precisely this conflict which prompted Jordanes’ historical inquiry. Jordanes, though, has long been considered a mere copyist, and seldom treated as an historian with ideas of his own. And the few scholars who have treated Jordanes as an original author have dampened the significance of his Gothicness by arguing that barbarian ethnicities were evanescent and subsumed by the gravity of a Roman political identity. They hold that Jordanes was simply a Roman who can tell us only about Roman things, and supported the Roman emperor in his war against the Goths.
    [Show full text]