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The Gothic Histories of Jordanes and Isidore

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The Gothic Histories of Jordanes and Isidore chapter 2 The Gothic Histories of Jordanes and Isidore The De origine actibusque Getarum of Jordanes, written in the middle of the sixth century, is the first extant self-conscious history devoted to a barbarian people, and thus the first object of study in the present monograph. The sec- ond such text, the Historia Gothorum of Isidore of Seville, is similarly devoted to the history of the Goths, but arises out of a completely different context. This chapter thus not only examines the first two extant barbarian ‘national’ histories, but also demonstrates that already in these first two texts there were quite contrasting methods of approaching the problems posed by the barbar- ian past. The first section of this chapter is introductory, providing an overview of the historical background of Gothic history and contacts with Rome; this is followed by detailed readings of the presentation of the barbarian Gothic past in both histories, in each case preceded by introductory sections on the authors and the context of their works; the chapter concludes with a section compar- ing the methods and purposes of Jordanes and Isidore. The Goths and Rome: Historical Background From the mid-third century, the Goths regularly came into conflict with the border legions of Rome.1 Unfortunately, most sources that refer to Goths in this period are themselves of a later date, and thus not entirely reliable.2 Little is 1 Kulikowski (2007): 18–42; for the broader political background, see Halsall (2007): 71–9. 2 Third-century sources mentioning Goths: the Canonical Letter of Gregory Thaumaturgus, bishop of Neocaesarea in Pontus in the mid-third century (pg 10: 1020–48; translated in Heather and Matthews, trans. 1991: 5–10; Goths at p. 8); and the fragmentary history of Dexippus (Jacoby, ed. 1926: 452–80; Martin, ed. and trans. 2006), composed c.250–c.280. The existing frag- ments of Dexippus speak almost always of Scythians (“Σκύθαι”); the one exception is a refer- ence to Scythians who are spoken of as Goths attacking Histria in the reign of Decius (reigned 249–51) (Jacoby, ed. 1926: frag. 22 = Martin, ed. and trans. 2006: frag. 17: “Σκύθαι […] oí λεγóμενοι Γóτθοι”). This might indicate that Dexippus distinguishes Goths as a sub-group of Scythians. Dexippus is accepted by Kulikowski as referring to Goths elsewhere where Scythians are men- tioned (Kulikowski 2007: 18–19, with reference to [Jacoby] frags 20; 22; 25 [= Martin S7; frags 17; 22]); cf. Christensen (2002): 110–12; 233–34, for scepticism regarding Dexippus. Dexippus was one of the principal sources of Zosimus, who, writing c.500, also refers to Scythians in his accounts of the earliest third-century events that are supposedly drawn from Dexippus and © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���6 | doi �0.��63/97890043058�6_003 <UN> 40 chapter 2 known about these third-century Goths; nothing is known about their origins, a lack of clarity compounded by the fact that Jordanes’s Getica, the principal narrative source for Gothic history, dates from the mid-sixth century, and con- flates stories of Goths with narratives that in earlier sources refer to Scythians and Dacians, and also to “Gutones” and “Getae”, who might have nothing to do with the Goths.3 Reliable contemporary accounts sufficient for a rough narra- tive history of the Goths only date from the late fourth century; the most important is the history of Ammianus Marcellinus.4 thought to refer to Goths (see e.g. Paschoud, ed. and trans. 1971: i,xxiii; i,xxxi–xxxv; see also Paschoud’s note: 146, n. 49). In one passage, Zosimus explicitly distinguishes between Goths and Scythians (Paschoud, ed. and trans. 1971: i.xlii,1). However, elsewhere he tells us that Claudius (reigned 268–70) defeated Scythians in a battle that, according to three fourth- century sources, was fought against Goths, and earned the emperor the title “Gothicus” (Paschoud, ed. and trans. 1971: i.xlii–xliii; i.xliv–xlv); the fourth-century sources are Eutropius (Santini, ed. 1979: ix,11), Aurelius Victor (Pichlmayr and Gruendel, eds 1966: 34), and the Historia Augusta (Hohl, Samberger and Seyfarth, eds 1965–71: Claudius, xii,2). The Historia Augusta also refers to wars against Goths under Gordian iii (reigned 238–44) (Hohl, Samberger and Seyfarth, eds 1965–71: Gordiani Tres, xxxi,1; xxxiv,3). We see thus that although the Goths do indeed first appear in the historical record in the mid-third century, it is far from clear when Scythians are Goths and not Scythians. (Scythians have, of course, a long prior history in classical writings where they were not thought of as Goths.) Other mentions of Goths before the fourth-century histories just cited are the panegyrics on Constantius Chlorus (Pan. lat.: viii[v].x,4) and Constantine (Pan. lat.: vi[vii].ii,2). 3 Earlier references to peoples with names passably similar to “Goth”: Pliny’s Naturalis Historia (Mayhoff, ed. 1892–1909: iv.xiv,99: “Gutones”; xxxvii.xi,35: “Guinoes”); Tacitus’s Germania (Ogilvie and Winterbottom, eds 1975: xliv,1: “Gotones”), and his Annales (Heubner, ed. 1983: ii,62: “Gotones”); Ptolemy’s Geography (Stückelberger and Graßhoff, ed. and trans. 2006: iii.v,20: “Γúθωνεζ”). On Jordanes’s relation to the early sources, see Christensen (2002): 22–39; 40–1; 47–51; 230–49; and Coumert (2007): 33–7; and see further the discussion below, with additional references at nn. 16, 33, and 36. Jerome (pl 28: col. 1000) and Orosius (i.xvi,2) also might confuse Goths and Getae. For a critical account of modern quests for Gothic origins, see Kulikowski (2007): 43–70. Teillet (1984): 17–112 presents a detailed analysis of Goths in Roman letters, but should be approached with some caution due to the imprecise use of terms like “nation” to apply to this period, and an undue reliance on a stark dichotomy between Roman and barbarian. 4 On Ammianus as a historical source, see the references given above, Chapter 1, n. 73. Overviews of other sources of Gothic history from the fourth and fifth centuries are given in Christensen (2002): 47–51; 230–49; Coumert (2007): 37–43; Heather (1991): 71–83; and Koch (2012): 34–50. The relevant material for the fourth century is conveniently presented in trans- lation in Heather and Matthews (trans. 1991). For more detailed analysis, see Teillet (1984): 113–60 (on Orosius’s depiction of the Goths); 161–252 (on other Roman texts dealing with Goths up to the end of the fifth century). <UN>.
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