De Origine Actibusque Gothorum
with "classicized" grammar, normalized spelling and some emendations
by
Þeedrich Yeat
| Romana ç (Excerpts) | First Half | Getica Second half è |
Although Jordanes tells us (# 266) that he is of Gothic descent and may indeed be partly or even fully a Goth, his name itself is not Germanic. He explains toward the end of chapter 49 that his grandfather was called Farja and his father Wiha-moð, both Gothic names, and that his grandfather had been secretary to the Alan leader Candac and he himself secretary to the Ostrogothic chieftain Gunþi-gis before his "conversion" (perhaps from Arianism to Catholicism). The name of one Jordanes Crotonensis, bishop of Crotona (now Cotrone) in Bruttium (southern Italy) is found, with those of several other bishops, appended to a document sometimes called the Damnatio Theodori, issued by pope Vigilius in August 551 at Constantinople. Jordanes' history of the Goths (also called the Getica ) includes in part a summation of a 12-volume history by Senator Cassiodorus, "On the Origin and Deeds of the Goths from Long Ago and Descending through Generations and Kings to Now." Even if not a bishop, Jordanes was at least a monk or similar ecclesiastic, and wrote his own work in Constantinople in A.D. 551 under Emperor Justinian of Byzantium (527-565), during which time Pope Vigilius himself happened to be in Constantinople by order of the Emperor. Jordanes dedicated his work to another man of religion, an otherwise unknown "brother Castalius" (or "Castulus"). To judge from his extremely negative attitude toward Arian Christianity (a heresy started by a priest named Arius), it is very likely that Jordanes had himself once been an Arian like most of the Goths, and that he had later converted to Catholicism.
The Getica was written after beginning and before finishing a similar work on Roman history, the Romana, dedicated to a certain "most noble brother Vigilius" (probably not the pope of that name). By 551 the Gothic kingdom established by Theodoric (Þiuda-reik) had been destroyed, and the Western Roman Empire was disintegrating rapidly. The main aim of both treatises was to show how even the greatest structures of human power on this earth - whether Gothic or Roman - are transient and deceptive, and that man can find lasting peace in God alone.
I have also translated and included the final sections of Jordanes' Romana (## 367-388), portions which treat of Emperor Justinian's war against the Goths in Italy and which both supplement and recapitulate some of the material found in the Getica.
Senator Cassiodorus very likely destroyed his own 12-volume work because it had been written during the reign of Theodoric (493-526) and had treated the Goths very favorably, but shortly after Theodoric's death the political climate had changed and Cassiodorus, formerly Theodoric's Chief of Staff, now found himself in Constantinople, the seat of anti-Gothic sentiment. To avoid being seen as an enemy of the Empire, he therefore probably eliminated any traces of his former allegiance, which included his volumes on the Goths. Jordanes was in fact able to read the work only through the good graces of Cassiodorus' steward, not Cassiodorus himself. Of this, James J. O'Donnell, in his web-published "The Aims of Jordanes," observes that Jordanes "has only managed to lay his hands on the twelve books of Cassiodorus for three days and now must write from memory. The plain sense of the business about the steward is that Cassiodorus was not inclined to cooperate with such a project at this time and that it was carried out without his knowledge."
Jordanes' work, which may be seen as a kind of obituary of the Gothic nation, contains a number of elements surprising and interesting to the modern reader. Besides its extensive portrayals of Attila the Hun and his battles (especially the historic battle of the Catalaunian Fields), it includes (Second Half, sections 237/8) one of the earliest references to the original "King Arthur," known here as "Riotimus" (from Celtic *Rigo-tamus "King-most," "Supreme king," later literarily confused with a Latin name, Artorius). Likewise, many of the events and dramatis personae sung about in the epic lays and sagas of the later Germanic north are described here as they originally happened. Above all, the ceaseless battles and unending bloodshed described here give us some idea of just what the decline of a civilization entails.
To follow the wanderings and adventures of the Goths, the best available atlas is the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World, edited by Richard J.A. Talbert (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000). This excellent volume is based on work by many scholars using both archeology and satellite-generated aeronautical charts to depict the ancient landscape as it was in the days of the Roman Empire, and is an immense help in understanding the topography of Europe traversed by the Goths.
The Getica contains four main divisions: 1) a Geographical Introduction; 2) the United Goths; 3) the Visigoths; 4) the Ostrogoths. These sections are interspersed with sundry digressions of various sorts.
The following texts are as follows:
The Latin is based on that of Theodore Mommsen, Monumenta Germaniae Historica, which I have modified extensively for easier reading, since Jordanes' own text is anything but "classical" in form. Many of the changes I have made in case endings are taken from the source Mommsen designates as "A," meaning a codex of the 11th/12th century from the Ambrosian library in Milan, Italy. ("A" contains a number of other histories besides Jordanes, and it "corrects" many of the grammatical mistakes of the original from which it was copied.) Other changes are my own, such as substituting, in the interest of clarity in an often unclear Latin text, the form quum for the conjunction cum to distinguish it from the preposition cum. Likewise I have substituted the letter "J" for consonantal "I."
The English is, with some exceptions, mainly that of Charles Christopher Mierow, Ph.D., 1915, altered in particular with respect to Germanic and especially Gothic names, all of which I have normally presented in modified Visigothic format (e.g., ð for the voiced labio-dental fricative instead of Biblical Visigothic d, -ing- for -igg-) for the sake of consistency. Also helpful in many instances was the sometimes more literal German translation by Dr. Wilhelm Martens, Jordanis Gotengeschichte, nebst Auszügen aus seiner Römischen Geschichte, herausgegeben von Alexander Heine, 1914, now available from the Phaidon Verlag in Essen, Germany. Other modifications will be obvious to the reader.
This HTML edition is made not for scholars but for the general reader interested in European and Germanic history. It is, accordingly, not a "diplomatic" text (for which, see Mommsen) as found in the manuscripts, but, as already mentioned, a largely "emended" and "normalized" one, with misspellings corrected, missing case endings resupplied, etc.
Ancient letters:
NOTE: Jordanes plagiarized the first sentences of his Getica from the preface of Tyrannius Rufinus of Aquileja to a translation of Origen's commentary on Romans. The plagiarized parts are here italicized.
| DE ORIGINE ACTIBUSQUE GETARUM | THE ORIGIN AND DEEDS OF THE GOTHS |
| 1 | |
| Volentem me parvo subvectum navigio oram tranquilli litoris stringere et minutos de priscorum, ut quidam ait, stagnis pisciculos legere, in altum, frater Castali, laxare vela compellis, relictoque opusculo, quod inter manus habeo, id est, de abbreviatione Chronicorum, suades, ut nostris verbis duodecim {Cassiodori} Senatoris volumina de origine actibusque Getarum ab olim et usque nunc per generationes regesque descendentia in unum et hunc parvum libellum coartem. | Though it had been my wish to glide in my little boat by the shore of a peaceful coast and (as someone once said) to gather little fishes from the pools of the ancients, you, brother Castalius, bid me set my sails toward the deep. You urge me to leave the little work I have in hand, that is, an abridged version of the Chronicles, and to condense in my own words in this small book the twelve volumes of the Senator {Cassiodorus} on the origin and deeds of the Goths from olden time all the way to the present, descending through the generations of the kings. |
| 2 | |
| Dura satis imperia et tanquam ab eo, qui pondus operis hujus scire nollit, imposita. Nec illud aspicis, quod tenuis mihi est spiritus ad implendam ejus tam magnificam dicendi tubam: super omne autem pondus, quod nec facultas eorundem librorum nobis datur, quatenus ejus sensui inserviamus, sed - ut non mentiar - ad triduanam lectionem, dispensatoris ejus beneficio, libros ipsos antehac relegi. Quorum quamvis verba non recordor, sensus tamen et res actas credo me integre retinere. | Truly a hard command, and imposed by one who seems unwilling to realize the burden of the task. Nor do you note this, that my breath is too slight to fill so magnificent a trumpet of speech as his. But above every burden is the fact that I have no access to his books that I may follow his thought. Still - and let me lie not - some while ago I read the books a second time by his steward's loan for a three days' reading. The words I recall not, but the sense and the deeds related I think I retain entire. |
| 3 | |
| Ad quos et ex nonnullis historiis Graecis ac Latinis addidi convenientia, initium finemque et plura in medio mea dictione permiscens. | To this I have added fitting matters from some Greek and Latin histories. I have also put in an introduction and a conclusion, and have inserted many things of my own authorship. |
| Quare sine contumelia quod exegisti suscipe libens, libentissime lege; et si quid parum dictum est et tu, ut vicinus genti, commemoras, adde, orans pro me, frater carissime. Dominus tecum. Amen. | Wherefore reproach me not, but receive and read with gladness what you have asked me to write. If ought be insufficiently spoken and you remember it, do you as a neighbor to our race add to it, praying for me, dearest brother. The Lord be with you. Amen. |
|
I (Geographical Introduction) 4 |
|
| Majores nostri, ut refert Orosius, totius terrae circulum Oceani limbo circumsaeptum triquetrum statuerunt, ejusque tres partes Asiam, Europam et Africam vocaverunt, de quo tripertito orbis terrarum spatio innumerabiles paene scriptores exsistunt, qui non solum urbium locorumve positiones explanant, verum etiam et quod est liquidius, passuum milliariumque dimetiuntur quantitatem, insulas quoque, marinis fluctibus intermixtas, tam majores quam etiam minores, quas Cycladas vel Sporadas cognominant, in immenso maris magni pelago sitas determinant. | Our ancestors, as Orosius relates, were of the opinion that the circle of the whole world was surrounded by the girdle of Ocean on three sides. Its three parts they called Asia, Europe and Africa. Concerning this threefold division of the earth's extent there are almost innumerable writers, who not only explain the situations of cities and places, but also measure out the number of miles and paces to give more clearness. Moreover they locate the islands interspersed amid the waves, both the greater and also the lesser islands, called Cyclades or Sporades, as situated in the vast flood of the Great Sea. |
| 5 | |
| Oceani vero intransmeabiles ulteriores fines non solum quis describere aggressus non est, verum etiam nec cuiquam licuit transfretare, quia, resistente ulva, et ventorum spiramine quiescente, impermeabilis esse sentitur et nulli cognita nisi Ei Qui eam constituit. | But the impassable farther bounds of Ocean not only has no one attempted to describe, but no man has been allowed to reach; for by reason of obstructing seaweed and the failing of the winds it is plainly inaccessible and is unknown to any save to Him who made it. |
| 6 | |
| Citerior vero ejus pelagi ripa, quam diximus totius mundi circulum, in modum coronae ambiens fines ejus, curiosis hominibus et qui de hac re scribere voluerunt perquaquam innotuit, quia et terrae circulus ab incolis possidetur et nonnullae insulae in eodem mare habitabiles sunt, ut in orientali plaga et Indico Oceano Hippodes, Iamnesia, Sole Perusta (quamvis inhabitabilis, tamen omnino sui spatio in longo latoque extensa); Taprobane quoque, exceptis oppidis vel possessionibus, decem munitissimis urbibus decora; sed et aliae omnino nominatissimae, Silefantina; nec non et Theron; | But the nearer border of this sea, which we call the circle of the world, surrounds its coasts like a wreath. This has become clearly known to men of inquiring mind everywhere, even to such as desired to write about it. For not only is the coast itself inhabited, but certain islands off in the sea are habitable. Thus there are to the East in the Indian Ocean, Hippodes, Iamnesia, Sole Perusta {"Sunbake"} (which though not habitable, is yet of great length and breadth) and also Taprobane {Sri Lanka}, a fair island adorned with ten strongly fortified cities, not counting the towns or estates. But there is yet another, the very famous Silefantina, and Theros also. |
| 7 | |
| licet non ab aliquo scriptore dilucidae, tamen suis possessoribus affatim refertae. | These, though not celebrated by any writer, are nevertheless well filled with inhabitants. |
| Habet in parte occidua idem Oceanus aliquantas insulas et paene cunctis ob frequentiam euntium et redeuntium notas. | This same Ocean has in its western region certain islands known to almost everyone by reason of the great number of those that journey to and fro. |
| Et sunt juxta fretum Gaditanum haud procul una, Beata, et alia quae dicitur Fortunata. | And there are two not far from the neighborhood of the Strait of Gades, one the Blessed Isle and another called the Fortunate. |
| Quamvis nonnulli et illa gemina Gallaeciae et Lusitaniae promuntoria inter Oceani insulas ponant, in quorum uno Templum Herculis, in alio Monumentum adhuc conspicitur Scipionis, tamen, quia extremitatem Gallaeciae terrae continent, ad terram magnam Europae potius quam ad Oceani pertinent insulas. | Although some reckon as islands of Ocean the twin promontories of Gallaecia and Lusitania, where are still to be seen the Temple of Hercules on one and Scipio's Monument on the other, yet since they are joined to the extremity of the Galician country, they belong rather to the great land of Europe than to the islands of Ocean. |
| 8 | |
| Habet tamen et alias insulas interius in suo aestu, quae dicuntur Baleares, habetque et aliam Menaviam, nec non Orcadas numero XXXIII {triginta tres} quamvis non omnes excultas. | However, it has other islands deeper within its own tides, which are called the Baleares; and yet another, Menavia {the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea}, as well as the Orcades {the Orkneys}, thirty-three in number, though not all inhabited. | 9 |
| Habet et in ultimo <fine> plagae occidentalis aliam insulam nomine Thule, de qua Mantuanus inter alia: "tibi serviat ultima Thule." [Vergilius, Georgica 1,30] Habet quoque id ipsum immensum pelagus in parte arctoa, id est septentrionali, amplam insulam nomine Scandiam, unde Nobis sermo, si Dominus jubaverit, est assumendus; quia gens, cujus originem flagitas, ab hujus insulae gremio velut examen apium erumpens in terram Europae advenit; quomodo vero aut qualiter, in subsequentibus, si Dominus donaverit, explanabimus. |
And at the farthest bound of its western expanse it has another Island named Thule {Mainland, the largest of the Shetland Islands north of Britain}, of which the Mantuan bard makes mention:
"And Farthest Thule shall serve thee." [Virgil, Georgics 1,30] The same mighty sea has also in its Arctic region, that is in the north, a great island named Scandia, from which my tale (by God's grace) shall take its beginning. For the race whose origin you ask to know burst forth like a swarm of bees from the midst of this island and came into the land of Europe. But how or in what wise we shall explain hereafter, if it be the Lord's will. |
|
II 10 |
|
| Nunc autem de Brittania insula, quae in sino Oceani inter Hispanias, Gallias et Germaniam sita est, ut potuero, paucis absolvam. | But now let me speak briefly as I can concerning the island of Britain, which is situated in the bosom of Ocean between Spain, Gauland Germany. |
| Cujus licet magnitudinem olim nemo, ut refert Livius, circumvectus est, multis tamen data est varia opinio de ea loquendi. | Although Livy tells us that no one in former days sailed around it because of its great size, yet many writers have held various opinions of it. |
| Quam, diu si quidem armis inaccessam, Romanis Julius Caesar proeliis ad gloriam tantum quaesitis aperuit; pervia deinceps mercimoniis aliasque ob causas multis facta mortalibus, non indiligenti quae secuta est aetati certius sui prodidit situm - quem, ut a Graecis Latinisque autoribus accepimus, persequimur. | It was long unapproached by Roman arms, until Julius Caesar opened it up by battles fought for mere glory. Having been made accessible from then on to many people for trade and other purposes, it more clearly revealed its position to the busy period which followed - a position I shall here explain as I have found it in Greek and Latin authors. |
| 11 | |
| Triquetram eam plures dixere consimilem, inter septentrionalem occidentalemque plagam projectam: uno, qui magnus est, angulo Rheni ostia spectantem; dehinc, correpta latitudine, oblique retro abstractam in duos exire alios; geminoque latere longiorem Galliae praetendi atque Germaniae. | Most of them have said it is like a triangle pointing between the north and west. Its widest angle faces the mouths of the Rhine. Then, shrinking in breadth, the land recedes diagonally until it ends in two other angles. Its longer, doubled-sided face fronts on Gaul and Germany. |
| In duobus milibus trecentis decem {= 2,310} stadiis latitudo ejus ubi patentior, longitudo non ultra septem milia centum triginta duo {= 7,132} stadia fertur extendi; | Its greatest breadth is said to be over two thousand three hundred and ten stadia, and its length not more than seven thousand one hundred and thirty-two stadia. |
| 12 | |
| modo vero dumosa, modo silvestri jacere planitie, montibus etiam nonnullis increscere; mari tardo circumflua, quod nec remis impellentibus facile cedat, nec ventorum flatibus intumescat - credo, quia remotae longius terrae causas motibus negant; quippe illic latius quam usquam aequor extenditur. | In some parts it lies fallow with briar thickets, in others with woods, and sometimes it rises into mountain peaks. The island is surrounded by a sluggish sea, which neither gives readily to the stroke of the oar nor runs high under the blasts of the wind. I suppose this is because other lands are so far removed from it as to cause no disturbance of the sea, which indeed is of greater width here than anywhere else. |
| Refert autem Strabo Graecorum nobilis scriptor tantas illam exhalare nebulas, madefacta humo Oceani crebris excursibus, ut subtectus sol per illum paene totum foediorem - qui "serenus" est - diem negetur aspectui. | Moreover Strabo, a famous writer of the Greeks, relates that the island exhales such mists from its soil, soaked by the frequent inroads of Ocean, that the sun is covered throughout the whole of their miserable sort of day that passes as fair, and so is hidden from sight. |
| 13 | |
| Noctem quoque clariorem in extrema ejus parte minimamque, Cornelius etiam annalium scriptor enarrat; metallis plurimis copiosam, herbis frequentem et his feraciorem omnibus quae pecora magis quam homines alant; labi vero per eam multa quam maxima relabique flumina, gemmas margaritasque volventia. | Cornelius also, the author of the Annals, says that in the farthest part of Britain the night gets brighter and is very short. He also says that the island abounds in metals, is well supplied with grass and is more productive in all those things which feed beasts rather than men. Moreover many large rivers flow back and forth through it, rolling along precious stones and pearls. |
| Silurum colorati vultus; torto plerique crine et nigro nascuntur; Caledoniam vero incolentibus rutilae comae, corpora magna, sed fluvida: Gallis sive Hispanis, ut quibusque obtenduntur, assimiles. | The Silures have swarthy features and are usually born with curly black hair, but the inhabitants of Caledonia {= the Scottish Highlands} have reddish hair and large loose-jointed bodies. They are like the Gauls or the Spaniards, according as they are opposite either nation. |
| 14 | |
| Unde conjectavere nonnulli, quod ea <insula> ex his accolas contiguo vocatos acceperit. | Hence some have supposed that from these lands the island received its inhabitants, alluring them by its nearness. |
| Inculti aeque omnes populi regesque populorum; cunctis tamen in Caledoniorum Maeatarumque cessisse nomina Dio auctor est, celeberrimus scriptor annalium. | All the people and their kings are alike wild. Yet Dio, a most celebrated writer of annals, assures us of the fact that they have all been combined under the name of Caledonians and Maeatae. |
| Virgeas habitant casas, communia tecta cum pecore, silvaeque illis saepe sunt domus. | They live in wattled huts, a shelter used in common with their flocks, and often the woods are their home. |
| Ob decorem nescio an aliam quam ob rem ferro pingunt corpora. | They tatoo their bodies with iron-red, whether by way of adornment or perhaps for some other reason. |
| 15 | |
| Bellum inter se aut imperii cupidine, aut amplificandi quae possident, saepius gerunt, non tantum equitatu vel pedite, verum etiam bigis curribusque falcatis, quos more vulgari "essedas " vocant. | They often wage war with one another, either because they desire power or to increase their possessions. They fight not only on horse back or on foot, but even with scythed two-horse chariots, which they commonly call "essedae." |
| Haec pauca de Brittaniae insulae forma dixisse sufficiat. | Let it suffice to have said thus much on the shape of the island of Britain. |
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III 16 |
|
| Ad Scandiae insulae situm, quod superius {I, 9} reliquimus, redeamus. | Let us now return to the site of the island of Scandia, which we left above {I, 9}. |
| De hac etenim in secundo sui operis libro Claudius Ptolomaeus, orbis terrae discriptor egregius, meminit dicens: "Est in Oceani arctoi salo posita insula magna, nomine Scandia, in modum folii citri, lateribus pandis, per longum ducta concludens se." | Claudius Ptolemaeus, an excellent describer of the world, has made mention of it in the second book of his work, saying: "There is a great island situated in the surge of the northern Ocean, Scandia by name, in the shape of a citron leaf, with bulging sides that taper down to a point at a long end." |
| De qua et Pomponius Mela in maris sinu Codano positam refert, cujus ripas influit Oceanus. | Pomponius Mela also makes mention of it as situated in the Codan Gulf {= one of the gulfs and bays around the Jutland peninsula (the Kattegat?)} of the sea, with Ocean lapping its shores. |
| 17 | |
| Haec a fronte posita est Vistulae fluminis, quod, Sarmaticis montibus ortum, in conspectu Scandiae septentrionali Oceano trisulcum illabitur, Germaniam Scythiamque disterminans. | This island lies opposite the river Vistula, which rises in the Sarmatian mountains and flows through its triple mouth into the northern Ocean in sight of Scandia, separating Germany and Scythia. |
| Haec ergo habet ab oriente vastissimum lacum in orbis terrae gremio, unde Vagi fluvius velut quodam ventre generatus in Oceanum undosus evolvitur. | The island has in its eastern part a vast lake in the bosom of the earth, whence the Vagus {perhaps the Gotaälv river flowing from the Vänern lake} river springs from the bowels of the earth and flows surging into the Ocean. |
| Ab occidente namque immensu pelago circumdatur, a septentrione quoque innavigabili eodem vastissimo concluditur Oceano, ex quo quasi quodam brachio exienti, sinu distento, Germanicum mare efficitur. | And on the west it is surrounded by an immense sea. On the north it is bounded by the same vast unnavigable Ocean, from which the German Sea {the North Sea} is formed by means of a protruding bay as though by a kind of outstretched arm. |
| 18 | |
| Ubi etiam parvae quidem, sed plures perhibentur insulae esse dispositae, ad quas si congelato mari ob nimium frigus lupi transierint, luminibus feruntur orbari. Ita non solum inhospitalis hominibus, verum etiam beluis terra crudelis est. | Here also there are said to be many small islands scattered round about. If wolves cross over to these islands when the sea is frozen by reason of the great cold, they are said to lose their sight. Thus the land is not only inhospitable to men but cruel even to wild beasts. |
| 19 | |
| In Scandia vero insula, unde nobis sermo est, licet multae et diversae maneant nationes, septem tamen earum nomina meminit Ptolemaeus. Apium ibi turba mellifica ob nimium frigus nusquam repperitur. In cujus parte arctoa gens AlogiR {= Halogii} consistit, quae fertur in aestate media quadraginta diebus et noctibus luces habere continuas, itemque brumali tempore eodem dierum noctiumque numero lucem claram nescire. | Now in the island of Scandia, whereof I speak, there dwell many and diverse nations, though Ptolemaeus mentions the names of but seven of them. There the honey-making swarms of bees are nowhere to be found on account of the exceeding great cold. In the northern part of the island the race of the Halogians {= inhabitants of Halogaland in northern Norway} live, who are said to have continual light in mid summer for forty days and nights, and who likewise have no clear light in the winter season for the same number of days and nights. |
| 20 | |
| Ita, alternato maerore cum gaudio, beneficio aliis damnoque impar est. | By reason of this alternation of sorrow and joy they are like no other race in their sufferings and blessings. |
| Et hoc quare? Quia prolixioribus diebus solem ad orientem per axis marginem vident redeuntem, brevioribus vero non sic conspicitur apud illos, sed aliter, quia austrina signa percurrit, et qui nobis videtur sol ab imo surgere, illos per terrae marginem dicitur circuire. | And why? Because during the longer days they see the sun returning to the east above the horizon of the north pole, but on the shorter days it is not seen thus; instead, because it is passing through the southern constellations, the sun, which to us seems to rise from below, is said to circle them beneath the horizon. |
| 21 | |
| Aliae vero ibi sunt gentes: Screre-Fennae {= Scrithi-Fennae}, quae frumentorum non queritant victum, sed carnibus ferarum atque ovis avium vivunt; ubi tanta paludibus fetura ponitur, ut et augmentum praestent generi et satietatem ad copiam genti. | There also are other peoples. There are the Scriþi-Fennae {= "Schreit-Finnen," "Walking Finns"}, who do not seek grain for food but live on the flesh of wild beasts and birds' eggs; for there are such multitudes of young game in the swamps as to provide for the natural increase of their kind and to afford satisfaction to the needs of the people. |
| Alia vero gens ibi moratur, Sweans, quae velut Thuringi equis utuntur eximiis. | But still another race dwells there, the Swedes, who, like the Þuringos {("-ingos" ["progeny"] spelled "-iggos" in Gothic) "Race of the Bold"}, have splendid horses. |
| Hi quoque sunt, qui in usibus Romanorum sapphirinas pelles, commercio interveniente, per alias innumeras gentes transmittunt, famosi pellium decora nigredine. Hi quum inopes vivunt, ditissime vestiuntur. | Here also are those who send through innumerable other tribes the sappherine skins to trade for Roman use. They are a people famed for the dark beauty of their furs and, though living in poverty, are most richly clothed. |
| 22 | |
| Sequitur deinde diversarum turba nationum: Theustes, WagoR, BergjoR, HallinR, Liothida - quorum omnium sedes similiter planae ac fertiles, et propterea inibi aliarum gentium incursionibus infestantur. | Then comes a throng of various nations, Þeustes {inhabitants of the region of Þiust, modern Tjust}, WagoR {inhabitants of the region of Wag}, BergjoR {inhabitants of the *bergaz "mountains"}, HallinR {inhabitants of the region of *hallus "rock"}, Lioþida. All their homelands are similarly level and fertile. Wherefore they are disturbed there by the attacks of other tribes. |
| Post hos AhelmiR, Finn-haithae, FerviR, Gauti-Got {= "Gauthi Gothi"}, acre hominum genus et ad bella promptissimum. | Beyond these are the AhelmiR, Finn-haiþae {= Finns of the Heath, the Prairie Finns}, FerviR and Gautigot {clarifying apposition: "Gauts, that is, the Goths"}, a race of men bold and quick to fight. |
| Dehinc mixti Ewa-Greutingis. | Then come the mixed ones, the Ewa-Greutings {"Ever-Greutings," "Longstanding Sand-dwellers"}. |
| Hi omnes excisis rupibus quasi castellis inhabitant ritu beluino. | All these live like wild animals in rocks hewn out like castles. |
| 23 | |
| Sunt et his exteriores Ostrogothae, Rauma-riciae, Rahna-ricii, Finni mitissimi, Scandiae cultoribus omnibus minores; nec non et pares eorum WingulR; Swi-thiudi, cogniti in hac gente reliquis corpore eminentiores: quamvis et Dani, ex ipsorum stirpe progressi, Erulos propriis sedibus expulerunt (quibus non ante multos annos HRod-wulf rex fuit, qui contempto proprio regno ad Theodorici Gothorum regis gremium convolavit et, ut desiderabat, invenit), qui inter omnes Scandiae nationes nomen sibi ob nimiam proceritatem affectant praecipuum. | And there are beyond these the Ostrogoths, Rauma-rikians {= inhabitants of the southeast Norwegian district of Rauma-ríki}, Rahna-rikians {= inhabitants of the southeast Norwegian district of Rán-ríki}, and the most gentle Finns, lesser than all the inhabitants of Scandia. Like them are the Winguli {= inhabitants of Vingul-mork} also. The Swe-þiuð {= "folk of the Swedes," "Swede-folk"} are of this stock and excel the rest in stature. However, the Dani, who trace their origin to the same stock, drove from their homes the Aírulos {= "Men"; "Earls"}, who claim to be preeminent among all the nations of Scandia because of their tallness - and over whom Hroð-wulf {"Victorious wolf"} was king not many years ago. But he despised his own kingdom and fled to the embrace of Þiuda-reik {"People-ruler," "Leader of the folk"}, king of the Goths, finding there what he desired. |
| 24 | |
| Sunt quamquam et horum positura Granii, Agadii, Eunixi, Thelae, Rugi, Harothi, Ranii. | Furthermore there are in the same neighborhood the Granii {= inhabitants of Gren-mar and Gren-land in southern Norway}, Agði {= inhabitants of Agðir in southern Norway}, Eunixi, Þilir {= inhabitants of Þela-mork, now Telemarken in southern Norway}, Rugians {= inhabitants of Roga-land}, Haruðes {= inhabitants of Horða-land around the Hardangerfjord, later on the lower Elbe} and Ranii. |
| Hae itaque gentes, Germanis corpore et animo grandiores, pugnabant beluina saevitia. | All these nations surpassed the Germans in size and spirit, and fought with the cruelty of wild beasts. |
|
IV (The United Goths) 25 |
|
| Ex hac igitur Scandia insula quasi officina gentium aut certe velut vagina nationum cum rege suo nomine Berig, Gothi quondam memorantur egressi: qui ut primum e navibus exeuntes terras attigerunt, ilico nomen loco dederunt. Nam hodieque illic, ut fertur, Gothisc-Andia vocatur. | Now from this island of Scandia, as from a hive of races or a womb of nations, the Goths are said to have come forth long ago under their king, Baírika {"Bear-like"} by name. As soon as they disembarked from their ships and set foot on the land, they straightway gave their name to the place. And even to-day it is said to be called Gutisk-Andja {"Gothic End"}. |
| 26 | |
| Unde mox promoventes ad sedes Hulme-Rugorum, qui tunc Oceani ripas insidebant, castra metati sunt, eosque, commisso proelio, propriis sedibus pepulerunt, eorumque vicinos Wandalos jam tunc subjugantes suis applicavere victoriis. | Soon they moved from here to the abodes of the Hulm-Rugians {= "Island Rugians" on the islands in the mouth of the Vistula}, who then dwelt on the shores of Ocean, where they pitched camp, joined battle with them and drove them from their homes. Next they subdued their neighbors, the Vandals {"those who wind" or "those who turn/change"}, and thus added to their victories. |
| Ubi vero magna populi numerositate crescente et jam paene quinto rege regnante post Beric Filimer, filio Gadaricis, consilio sedit, ut exinde cum familiis, Gothorum promoveret exercitus. | But when the number of the people increased greatly and Fili-mer {"Very famous"}, son of Gada-reik {"Comrade-prince"}, reigned as king - about the fifth since Baírika -, he decided that the army of the Goths with their families should move from that region. |
| 27 | |
| Qui aptissimas sedes locaque quum quaereret congrua, pervenit ad Scythiae terras, quae lingua eorum "Ojum" vocabantur, ubi delectatus magna ubertate regionum. Et exercitus medietate transposita, pons dicitur, unde amnem trajecerat, irreparabiliter corruisse, nec ulterius jam cuiquam licuit ire aut redire. | In search of suitable homes and pleasant places they reached the lands of Scythia, which in their tongue are called "Aujom" {"in the waterlands," i.e., southern Russia and Ukraine}. Here they were delighted with the great richness of the country, and it is said that when half of the army had been brought over, the bridge whereby they had crossed the river collapsed irreparably, nor could anyone thereafter pass to or fro. |
| Nam is locus, ut fertur, tremulis paludibus voragine circumjecta concluditur, quem utraque confusione natura reddidit impervium. | For the place is said to be surrounded by unsteady swamps, with a gulf surrounding it, so that by this double obstacle nature has made it inaccessible. |
| Verumtamen hodieque illic et voces armentorum audiri et indicia hominum deprehendi, commeantium attestationem, quamvis a longe audientium, credere licet. | And even to-day one may hear in that neighborhood the lowing of cattle and may find traces of men, if we are to believe the stories of travelers, although we must grant that they hear these things from afar. |
| 28 | |
| Haec ergo pars Gothorum, quae apud Filimer dicitur in terras Ojum, emenso amne, transposita, optatum potita solum. | This part of the Goths, which is said to have crossed the river and entered with Filimer {Fili-mêr}, into the country of Aujom, took possession of the desired land. |
| Nec mora: ilico ad gentem Spalorum adveniunt, consertoque proelio, victoriam adipiscuntur, exindeque jam velut victores ad extremam Scythiae partem, quae Ponto mari vicina est, properant - quemadmodum et in priscis eorum carminibus paene historico ritu in commune recordantur, quod et Ablabius descriptor Gothorum gentis egregius verissima attestatur historia. | There they quickly came upon the race of the Splay, joined battle with them and won the victory. Thence the victors hastened to the farthest part of Scythia, which is near the sea of Pontus; for so the story is generally told in their early songs, in almost historic fashion. Ablabius also, a famous chronicler of the Gothic race, confirms this in his most trustworthy account. |
| 29 | |
| In quam sententiam et nonnulli consensere majorum: Josephus quoque annalium relator verissimus, dum ubique veritatis conservet regulam et origines causarum a principio revolvat. Haec vero quae diximus de gente Gothorum principia, cur omiserit, ignoramus: sed tantum Magog de eorum stirpe commemorans, Scythas eos et natione et vocabulo asserit appellatos. | Some of the ancient writers also agree with the tale. Among these we may mention Josephus, a most reliable relator of annals, who everywhere follows the rule of truth and unravels from the beginning the origin of causes; --but why he has omitted the beginnings of the race of the Goths, of which I have spoken, I do not know. He barely mentions Magog of that stock, and says they were Scythians by race and were called so by name. |
| Cujus soli terminos, antequam aliud ad medium deducamus, necesse est, ut jacent, edicere. | Before we enter on our history, we must describe the boundaries of this land, as it lies. |
|
V 30 |
|
| Scythia si quidem Germaniae terrae confinis eo tenus, ubi Hister oritur amnis vel stagnum dilatatur Morsianum, tendens usque ad flumina Tyram-Danastrum et Wagosolam, magnumque illum Danaprum Taurumque montem (non illum Asiae, sed proprium, id est Scythicum) per omnem Maeotidis aditum; | Given that Scythia is bordered by Germany, where the Hister {eastern Danube} river starts or the Morsian swamp widens out, it stretches on to the rivers Dniestr and Bug as well as to the great Dniepr and the Taurus mountain range (not that of Asia Minor, but our own, the Scythian one) over all the approaches to the Sea of Asov; |
| ultraque Maeotida, per angustias Bosphori, usque ad Caucasum montem amnemque Araxem; | and, on the other side of the Sea of Asov, across the Kerch Strait, all the way to the Caucasus range and the Araks river; |
| ac deinde in sinistram partem reflexa, post mare Caspium (quod in extremis Asiae finibus ab Oceano euroboro in modum fungi, primum tenui, posthaec latissima et rotunda forma exoritur), vergens ad Hunnos, Albanos et Seres usque, digreditur. | then, turning to the left behind the Caspian Sea (which arises at the outermost edge of Asia from the northeastern ocean in a mushroom-like way, at first slender in shape, then very broad and round), it proceeds onward, extending as far as the Huns, Transcaucasians and Chinese. |
| 31 | |
| Haec, inquam, patria, id est Scythia, longe se tendens lateque aperiens, habet ab oriente Seres, in ipso sui principio litus Caspii maris commanentes; ab occidente Germanos et flumen Vistulae; ab arcto, id est septentrionali, circumdatur oceano, a meridie Persida, Albania, Hiberia, Ponto atque extremo alveo Histri, qui dicitur Danubius ab ostio suo usque ad fontem. | This land, I say, - namely, Scythia, stretching far and spreading wide, - has to the east the Chinese, a race that at the very beginning of its history inhabited the shore of the Caspian Sea. To the west are the Germans and the river Vistula; on the Arctic side, namely the north, it is surrounded by ocean; to the south by Persians, Transcaucasians, Georgia, Asia Minor and the farthest channel of the Hister, which is called the Danube all the way from mouth to source. |
| 32 | |
| In eo vero latere, qua Ponticum litus attingit, oppidis haut obscuris involvitur - Boristhenide, Olbia, Callipolida, Chersona, Theodosia, Careon, Myrmecion et Trapezunta -, quas indomitae Scytharum nationes Graecis permiserunt condere, sibimet commercia praestaturos. | But in that region where Scythia touches the Pontic coast it is dotted with towns of no mean fame: Borysthenes, Olbia, Kallipolis, Kherson, Theodosia, Kareon {modern Kertsch}, Myrmekion and Trapezus {modern Trebizond}. These towns the wild Scythian tribes allowed the Greeks to build to afford them means of trade. |
| In cujus Scythiae medium est locus, qui Asiam Europamque ab alterutra dividit, Rhiphaei scilicet montes, qui Tanaim vastissimum fundunt intrantem Maeotida cujus paludis circuitus passuum milia CXLIIII {centum quadraginta quattuor}, nusquam octo ulnis altius subsidentis. | In the midst of Scythia is the place that separates Asia and Europe, I mean the Central Russian Upland, from which the mighty Don flows. This river enters the Sea of Asov, a marsh having a circuit of one hundred and forty-four miles and nowhere subsiding to a depth greater than eight fathoms. |
| 33 | |
| In qua Scythia prima ab occidente gens residet Gepidarum, quae magnis opinatisque ambitur fluminibus. | In the land of Scythia to the westward dwells, first of all, the race of the Gibiðos {"The Givers", tauntingly misnamed as Gipidos, "The Slow, Dull ones"}, surrounded by great and famous rivers. |
| Nam Tisia per aquilonem ejus chorumque discurrit; ab africo vero magnus ipse Danubius, ab eoo fluvius Aluta secat, qui rapidus ac verticosus in Histri fluenta furens divolvitur. | For the Tisza flows through it on the north and northwest, and on the southwest is the great Danube. On the east it is cut by the Aluta river, a swiftly eddying stream that sweeps whirling into the Hister's waters. |
| 34 | |
| Introrsus illis Dacia est, ad coronae speciem arduis Alpibus emunita, juxta quarum sinistrum latus, quod in aquilonem vergit, ab ortu Vistulae fluminis per immensa spatia Wenedarum natio populosa consedit. Quorum nomina licet nunc per varias familias et loca mutentur, principaliter tamen Sclaweni et Antes nominantur. | Within these rivers lies Dacia, encircled by the lofty Alps as by a crown. Near their left ridge, which inclines toward the north, and beginning at the source of the Vistula, the populous race of the Weneþi dwell, occupying a great expanse of land. Though their names now vary amid various clans and places, yet they are chiefly called Sclaweni and Antes. |
| 35 | |
| Sclaweni a civitate Noviodunensi et lacu qui appellatur Mursianus usque ad Danastrum et in boream Vistula tenus commorantur: hi paludes silvasque pro civitatibus habent. | The abode of the Sclaweni extends from the city of Noviodunum {modern Isaktscha, Romania} and the lake called Mursianus to the Dniestr, and northward as far as the Vistula. They have swamps and forests for their cities. |
| Antes vero, qui sunt eorum fortissimi, qua Ponticum mare curvatur, a Danastro extenduntur usque ad Danaprum, quae flumina multis mansionibus ab invicem absunt. | The Antes, who are the bravest of these peoples dwelling around the bend of the Black Sea, spread from the Dnestr to the Dniepr, rivers that are many days' journey apart. |
| 36 | |
| Ad litus autem Oceani, ubi tribus faucibus fluenta Vistulae fluminis ebibuntur, Widiwarii resident, ex diversis nationibus aggregati; post quos ripam Oceani item Aesti tenent, pacatum hominum genus omnino. | But on the shore of Ocean, where the floods of the river Vistula empty from three mouths, the Wiði-warii {= inhabitants of Wid-land, OE Wit-land} dwell, a people gathered out of various tribes. Beyond them the Aesti, a subject race, likewise hold the shore of Ocean. |
| Quibus in austrum assidet gens Acatzirorum fortissima, frugum ignara, quae pecoribus et venationibus victitat. | To the south dwell the Acatziri, a very brave tribe ignorant of agriculture, who subsist on their flocks and by hunting. |
| 37 | |
| Ultra quos distendunt supra mare Ponticum Bulgarum sedes, quos notissimos peccatorum nostrorum mala fecerunt. | Farther away and above the Black Sea are the abodes of the Bulgars, well known from the wrongs done to them by reason of our sins. |
| Hinc jam Hunni, quasi fortissimarum gentium fecundissimus caespes, bifariam populorum rabie pullularunt. | From here the Huns, like a kind of very fertile sod of exceedingly strong tribes, expanded with ferocity in two branches against other peoples. |
| Nam alii Altziagiri, alii Sabiri nuncupantur, qui tamen sedes habent divisas: juxta Chersonam Altziagiri, quo Asiae bona avidus mercator importat, qui aestate campos pervagantur, effusas sedes, prout armentorum invitaverint pabula, hieme supra mare Ponticum se referentes. | Some of these are called Altziagiri, others Sabiri; and they have different dwelling places. The Altziagiri are near Kherson, where the avaricious trader brings in the goods of Asia. In summer they range the plains, their broad domains, wherever the pasturage for their cattle invites them, and in winter returning to over the Black Sea. |
| Hunuguri autem hinc sunt noti, quia ab ipsis pellium murinarum venit commercium: quos tantorum virorum formidavit audacia. | Now the Hunuguri {"Hungarians," lit. "Ten Tribes"} are known to us from the fact that they trade in marten skins. The audacity of the men mentioned above has intimidated them. |
| 38 | |
| Gothorum mansione prima in Scythiae solo juxta paludem Maeotidem, secunda in Moesia Thraciaque et Dacia, tertia supra mare Ponticum rursus in Scythis legimus habitasse: | We read that on their first migration the Goths dwelt in the land of Scythia near the Sea of Asov. On the second migration they went to Moesia, Thrace and Dacia, and after their third they dwelt again in Scythia, above the Black Sea. |
| Nec eorum fabulas alicubi repperimus scriptas, qui eos dicunt in Britannia vel in unaqualibet insularum in servitutem redactos et unius caballi pretio a quodam ereptos. | Nor do we find anywhere in their written records legends which tell of their subjection to slavery in Britain or in some other island, or of their redemption by some man at the cost of a single horse. |
| Aut certe si quis eos aliter dixerit in nostra urbe, quam quod nos diximus, fuisse exortos, nobis aliquid obstrepet: nos enim potius lectioni credimus quam fabulis anilibus consentimus. | Of course if anyone in our city says that the Goths had an origin different from that I have related, he will be vociferously countering me. For myself, I prefer to believe what I have read, rather than put trust in old wives' tales. |
| 39 | |
| Ut ergo ad nostrum propositum redeamus, in prima sede Scythiae juxta Maeotidem commanentes praefati, unde loquimur, Filimer regem habuisse noscuntur. | To return, then, to my subject. The aforesaid race of which I speak is known to have had Fili-mer as king while they remained in their first home in Scythia near the Sea of Asov. |
| In secunda, id est Daciae, Thraciaeque et Moesiae solo, Zalmoxen, quem mirae philosophiae eruditionis fuisse testantur plerique scriptores annalium. | In their second home, that is, in the countries of Dacia, Thrace and Moesia, Zalmoxes reigned, whom many writers of annals mention as a man of remarkable learning in philosophy. |
| Nam et Zeutam prius habuerunt eruditum, post etiam Decaeneum, tertium Zalmoxen, de quo superius diximus. | Yet even before this they had a learned man, Zeuta, and after him Decaeneus; and the third was Zalmoxes of whom I have made mention above. |
| Nec defuerunt, qui eos sapientiam erudirent. | Nor did they lack teachers of wisdom. |
| 40 | |
| Unde et paene omnibus barbaris Gothi sapientiores semper exstiterunt Graecisque paene consimiles, ut refert Dio, qui historias eorum annalesque Graeco stilo composuit. | Wherefore the Goths have ever been wiser than other barbarians and were nearly like the Greeks, as Dio relates, who wrote their history and annals with a Greek pen. |
| Qui dicit primum Tarabosteseos, deinde vocatos Pilleatos hos, qui inter eos generosi exstabant, ex quibus eis et reges et sacerdotes ordinabantur. | He says that those of noble birth among them, from whom their kings and priests were appointed, were called first Tarabostesei and then Pilleati {"Felt-cap-wearers"}. |
| Adeo ergo fuere laudati Getae, ut dudum Martem, quem poetarum fallacia deum belli pronuntiat, apud eos fuisse dicant exortum. | Moreover so highly were the Getae praised that Mars, whom the fables of poets call the god of war, was reputed to have been born among them. |
| Unde et Vergilius: "gradivumque patrem, Geticis qui praesidet arvis" {Aeneidis 3,35}. |
Hence Virgil says: "Father Gradivus rules the Getic fields" {Aeneid 3,35}. |
| 41 | |
| Quem Martem Gothi semper asperrima placavere cultura (nam victimae ejus mortes fuere captorum), opinantes bellorum praesulem apte humani sanguinis effusione placandum. | Now Mars has always been worshipped by the Goths with cruel rites, and captives were slain as his victims. They thought that he who is the lord of war ought to be appeased by the shedding of human blood. |
| Huic praedae primordia vovebant, huic truncis suspendebantur exuviae, eratque illis religionis praeter ceteros insinuatus affectus, cum parenti devotio numinis videretur impendi. | To him they devoted the first share of the spoil, and in his honor arms stripped from the foe were suspended from trees. And they had more than all other races a deep spirit of religion, since the worship of this god seemed to be really bestowed upon their ancestor. |
| 42 | |
| Tertia vero sede super mare Ponticum jam humaniores et, ut superius diximus, prudentiores effecti, divisi per familias populi, Wisigothi familiae Balthorum, Ostrogothae praeclaris Amalis serviebant. | In their third dwelling place, which was above the Black Sea, they had now become more civilized and, as I have said before, were more learned. Then the people were divided under ruling families. The Visigoths served the family of the Balþi and the Ostrogoths served the renowned Amali. |
| 43 | |
| Quorum studium fuit primum inter alias gentes vicinas arcum intendere nervis, Lucano plus historico quam poeta testante: "Armeniosque arcus Geticis intendere nervis." {Pharsalia 8,221} |
They were the first race of men to string the bow with cords, as Lucan, who is more of a historian than a poet, affirms: "They string Armenian bows with Getic cords." {Pharsalia 8,221 |
| Ante quos etiam cantu majorum facto modulationibus citharisque canebant, et Erpamarae, Analae, Frithigerni, Widigojae et aliorum, quorum in hac gente magna opinio est, quales vix heroas fuisse miranda jactat antiquitas. | In earliest times they sang of the deeds of their ancestors in strains of song accompanied by the cithara; chanting of Erpa-marha {"Brown horse"}, Anala {"Grandfather"}, Friþi-gaírn {"Peace-yearning," "Peace-desirous"}, Widu-gauja {"Woodland man," "Forest-region dweller"} and others whose fame among them is great; such heroes as admiring antiquity scarce proclaims its own to be. |
| 44 | |
| Tunc, ut fertur, Sesostris Scythis lacrimabile sibi potius intulit bellum, eis videlicet, quos Amazonum viros prisca tradit auctoritas, de quibus feminis bellatricibus Orosius in primo volumine professa voce testatur. | Then, as the story goes, Sesostris {of Egypt, Rameses II, the Great, 1973-1928 B.C.} waged a war disastrous to himself against the Scythians, whom ancient tradition asserts to have been the husbands of the Amazons. Concerning these female warriors Orosius speaks in convincing language. |
| Unde cum Gothis eum tunc dimicasse evidenter probamus, quem cum Amazonum viris pugnasse cognoscimus absolute, qui tunc a Borysthene amne, quem accolae Danaprum vocant, usque ad Tanain fluvium circa sinum paludis Maeotidis consedebant. | Thus we can clearly prove that Sesostris then fought with the Goths, since we know surely that he waged war with the husbands of the Amazons. They dwelt at that time along a bend of the Sea of Asov, from the river Borysthenes, which the natives call the Dniepr, to the stream of the Don. |
| 45 | |
| Tanain vero hunc dico, qui ex Rhiphaeis montibus dejectus adeo praeceps ruit, ut, quum vicina flumina sive Maeotis et Bosphorus gelu solidentur, solus amnium, confragosis montibus vaporatus, numquam Scythico durescit algore, hic Asiae Europaeque terminus famosus habetur. | By the Don I mean the river which flows down from the Central Russian Uplands and rushes with so swift a current that when the neighboring streams or the Sea of Asov and the Kerch Strait are frozen fast, it is the only river that is kept warm by the rugged mountains and is never solidified by the Scythian cold. It is also famous as the boundary of Asia and Europe. |
| Nam alter est ille, qui montibus Chrinnorum oriens, in Caspium mare dilabitur. | For the other Don {= the Volga} is the one which rises in the mountains of the Chrinni {= the Volga Hills? Ural Mountains? Actual source: Valday Hills northwest of Moscow} and flows into the Caspian Sea. |
| 46 | |
| Danaper autem ortus grande palude, quasi ex matre profunditur. | The Dniepr begins in a great marsh and issues from it as from its mother. |
| Hic usque ad medium sui dulcis est et potabilis, piscesque nimii saporis gignit, ossibus carentes cartilaginem tantum habentes in corporis continentiam, sed ubi fit Ponto vicinior, parvum fontem suscipit, cui Exampaeo cognomen est, adeo amarum, ut, quum sit quadraginta dierum itinere navigabilis, hujus aquis exiguis immutetur, infectusque ac dissimilis sui inter Graeca oppida Callipidas et Hypanis in mare defluat, ad cujus ostia insula est in fronte, Achillis nomine. | It is sweet and fit to drink as far as half-way down its course. It also produces fish of a fine flavor and without bones, having only cartilage as the supporting framework of their bodies. But as it approaches the Black Sea it receives a little spring called Exampaeus {= "Sacred Roads" - Herodotus}, so very bitter that although the river is navigable for the length of a forty days' voyage, it is so altered by the water of this scanty stream as to become tainted and unlike itself, and flows thus tainted into the sea between the Greek towns of Callipidae {region on the river Tyras, modern Dnestr} and Hypanis {on the river Hypanis, modern Bug}. At its mouths there is an island named Achilles. |
| Inter hos terra vastissima, silvis consita, paludibus dubia. | Between these two rivers is a vast land filled with forests and treacherous swamps. |
|
VI 47 |
|
| Hic ergo Gothis morantibus, Sesostris, Aegyptiorum rex, in bellum irruit quibus tunc Tanausis rex erat, quo proelio ad Phasim fluvium (a quo Phasides aves exortae in toto mundo epulis potentum exuberant) Tanausis, Gothorum rex, Sesostri Aegyptiorum occurrit, eumque graviter debellans in Aegyptum usque persecutus est, et nisi Nili amnis intransmeabilis obstitissent fluenta vel munitiones, quas dudum sibi ob incursiones Aethiopum Sesostris fieri praecepisset, ibi in ejus eum patria exstinxisset, sed quum eum ibi positum non valuisset laedere, revertens paene omnem Asiam subjugavit et sibi tunc caro amico Sorno, regi Medorum, ad persolvendum tributum subditos fecit, ex cujus exercitu victores tunc nonnulli, provincias subditas contuentes et in omni fertilitate pollentes, deserto suorum agmine, sponte in Asiae partibus resederunt. | This was the region where the Goths dwelt when Sesostris {I, 1973-1928 B.C.}, king of the Egyptians, made war upon them. Their king at that time was Tanausis {allegedly 1323-1290 B.C.}. In a battle at the river Phasis {= Rioni, south of the Caucasus} (whence come the birds called "pheasants," which are found in abundance at the banquets of the powerful all over the world) Tanausis, king of the Goths, met Sesostris, king of the Egyptians, and there inflicted a severe defeat upon him, pursuing him all the way to Egypt. Had he not been restrained by the waters of the impassable Nile and the fortifications which Sesostris had long ago ordered to be made against the raids of the Ethiopians, he would have slain him in his own land. But finding he had no power to injure him there, he returned and conquered almost all Asia Minor and made it subject and tributary to Sornus, king of the Medes, who was then his dear friend. At that time some of his victorious army, seeing that the subdued provinces were rich and fruitful, deserted their companies and of their own accord remained in various parts of Asia. |
| 48 | |
| Ex quorum nomine vel genere Pompejus Trogus Parthorum dicit exstitisse prosapiam, unde etiam hodieque lingua Scythica "fugaces," quod est "Parthi," dicuntur, suoque generi respondentes inter omnes paene Asiae nationes soli sagittarii sunt et acerrimi bellatores. | From their name or race Pompejus Trogus says the stock of the Parthians had its origin. Hence even to-day in the Scythian tongue they are called "Parthi," that is, "Deserters." And in consequence of their descent they are archers - almost alone among all the nations of Asia - and are very valiant warriors. |
| De nomine vero, quo diximus eos Parthos, fugaces, ita aliquanti etymologiam traxerunt, ut dicerentur Parthi, quia suos refugerunt parentes. | Now in regard to the name, though I have said they were called Parthi because they were deserters, some have traced the derivation of the word otherwise, saying that they were called Parthi because they fled from their kinsmen. |
| Hunc ergo Tanausim regem Gothorum mortuum inter numina sui populi coluerunt. | Now when Tanausis, king of the Goths, was dead, his people worshipped him as one of their gods. |
|
VII 49 |
|
| Post cujus decessum, et exercitu ejus quum successores ipsius in aliis partibus expeditionem gererent, feminae Gothorum a quadam vicina gente temptantur in praedam. | After his death, while the army under his successors was engaged in an expedition in other parts, a neighboring tribe attempted to carry off women of the Goths as booty. |
| Quae, doctae a viris, fortiter restiterunt hostesque super se venientes cum magna verecundia abegerunt. | But they made a brave resistance, as they had been taught to do by their husbands, and routed in disgrace the enemy who had come upon them. |
| Qua patrata victoria fretaeque majore audacia, invicem se cohortantes arma arripiunt, eligentesque duas audentiores, Lampeto et Marpesiam, principatui surrogarunt. | When they had won this victory, they were inspired with greater daring. Mutually encouraging each other, they took up arms and chose two of the bolder, Lampeto and Marpesia, to act as their leaders. |
| 50 | |
| Quae dum curam gerunt, ut et propria defenderent et aliena vastarent, sortitae, Lampeto restitit ad fines patrios tuendos, Marpesia vero, feminarum agmine sumpto, novum genus exercitus duxit in Asiam, diversasque gentes bello superans, alias vero pace concilians; ad Caucasum venit, ibique certum tempus demorans loco nomen dedit "Saxum Marpesiae," unde et Vergilius, "quam si dura silex aut stet Marpesia cautes", {Aeneidis 6,471} in eo loco, ubi post haec Alexander Magnus, portas constituens, "Pylas Caspias" nominavit, quas nunc Lazorum gens custodit pro munitione Romana. |
While they were in command, they cast lots both for the defense of their own country and the devastation of other lands. So Lampeto remained to guard their native land and Marpesia took a company of women and led this novel army into Asia. After conquering various tribes in war and making others their allies by treaties, she came to the Caucasus. There she remained for some time and gave the place the name "Rock of Marpesia," of which also Virgil makes mention: "Like to hard flint or the Marpesian cliff." {Aeneid 6,471} It was here Alexander the Great afterwards built gates and named them the "Caspian Gates" {= Sirdar Pass, near Derbent on the western shore of the Caspian Sea in southern Dagestan}, which now the Lezgin tribe guards as a Roman fortification. |
| 51 | |
| Hic ergo certum tempus Amazones commanentes confortatae sunt. | Here, then, the Amazons remained for some time and were much strengthened. |
| Unde egressae et Halym fluvium, qui juxta Gangram civitatem praeterfluit, transeuntes, Armeniam, Syriam Ciliciamque, Galatiam, Pisidiam omniaque Asiae loca aequa felicitate domuerunt; Ioniam Eoliamque conversae deditas sibi provincias effecerunt. | Then they departed and crossed the Halys (= Kisil-Irmak) river, which flows near the city of Çankiri, and with equal success subdued Armenia, Syria, Cilicia, Galatia, Pisidia and all the places of Asia Minor. Then they turned to Ionia and Aeolia, and made provinces of them after their surrender. |
| Ubi diutius dominantes etiam civitates castraque suo in nomine dicaverunt, Ephesi quoque templum Dianae ob sagittandi ac venandi studium, quibus se artibus tradidissent, effusis opibus mirae pulchritudinis condiderunt. | Here they ruled for some time and even founded cities and camps bearing their name. At Ephesus also they built a very costly and beautiful temple for Diana, because of her delight in archery and the chase - arts to which they were themselves devoted. |
| 52 | |
| Tali ergo in Scythia genitae feminae casu Asiae regnis potitae, per centum paene annos tenuerunt et sic demum ad proprias socias in cautes Marpesias, quas superius diximus, repedarunt, in montem scilicet Caucasi. | Then these Scythian-born women, who had by such a chance gained control over the kingdoms of Asia, held them for almost a hundred years, and at last retreated to their own kinsfolk in the Marpesian rocks I have mentioned above, namely the Caucasus mountains. |
| Cujus montis quia facta iterum mentio est, non ab re arbitror ejus tractum situmque describere, quando maximam partem orbis noscitur circuire jugo continuo. | Inasmuch as I have twice mentioned this mountain-range, I think it not out of place to describe its extent and situation, for, as is well known, it encompasses a great part of the earth with its continuous chain. |
| 53 | |
| Is namque ab Indico mari surgens, qua meridiem respicit, sole vaporatus ardescit; qua septentrioni patet, rigentibus ventis est obnoxius et pruinis. Mox in Syriam curvato angulo reflexus, licet amnium plurimos emittat, in Vasianensem tamen regionem Euphratem Tigrimque navigeros, ad opinionem maximam perennium fontium, copiosis fundit uberibus. | Beginning at the Indian Ocean, where it faces the south it is warm, giving off vapor in the sun; where it lies open to the north it is exposed to chill winds and frost. Then bending back into Syria with a curving turn, it not only sends forth many other streams, but pours from its plenteous breasts into the Vasianensian {= the Basilisené (in Armenia) of Ptolemaeus 5,13,13?} region the Euphrates and the Tigris, navigable rivers famed for their unfailing springs. |
| Qui amplexantes terras Syrorum "Mesopotamiam" et appellari faciunt et videri, in sinum rubri maris fluenta deponentes. | These rivers surround the land of the Syrians and cause it to be called "Mesopotamia" {= lit., "Between-the-rivers Land"}, as it truly is. Their waters empty into the bosom of the Persian Gulf. |
| 54 | |
| Tunc in boream revertens Scythicas terras jugum antefatum magnis flexibus pervagatur atque ibidem opinatissima flumina in Caspium mare profundens Araxem, Cysum et Cambisem, continuatoque jugo ad Rhiphaeos usque montes extenditur. | Then turning back to the north, the range I have spoken of passes with great bends through the Scythian lands. There {i.e., from the Armenian Highland in northeast Asia Minor} it sends forth very famous rivers into the Caspian Sea - the Aras, the Kur and the Jora. It goes on in continuous range all the way to the Central Russian Upland. |
| Indeque Scythicis gentibus dorso suo terminum praebens ad Pontum usque descendit, consertisque collibus Histri quoque fluenta contingit, quo amne scissus dehiscens, in Scythia quoque Taurus vocatur. | Thence it descends from the north toward the Black Sea, furnishing a boundary to the Scythian tribes by its ridge, and even touches the waters of the Danube {= probably the Dniepr} with its clustered hills. Being cut by this river, it divides, and in Scythia is named Taurus {the Tauric Chersonese, i.e., the Crimean Peninsula} also. |
| 55 | |
| Talis ergo tantusque et paene omnium montium maximus excelsas suas erigens summitates, naturali constructione praestat gentibus inexpugnanda munimina. | Such then is the great range, almost the mightiest of mountain chains, rearing aloft its summits and by its natural conformation supplying men with impregnable strongholds. |
| Nam locatim recisus, qua, disrupto jugo, vallis hiatu patescit, nunc Caspiae portas, nunc Armenias, nunc Cilicias, vel secundum locum qualis fuerit, facit, vix tamen plaustro meabilis, lateribus in altitudinem utrimque desectis, qui pro gentium varietate diverso vocabulo nuncupatur. | Here and there it divides where the ridge breaks apart and leaves a deep gap, thus forming now the Caspian Gates, and again the Armenian or the Cilician Gates, or of whatever name the place may be. Yet they are barely passable for a wagon, for both sides are sharp and steep as well as very high. The range has different names among various peoples. |
| Hunc enim Lammum, mox Propanissimum Indus appellat; Parthus primum Castram, post Niphatem edicit; Syrus et Armenius Taurum, Scytha Caucasum ac Rhiphaeum, iterumque in fine Taurum cognominat; aliaeque conplurimae gentes huic jugo dedere vocabula. | The Indian calls it the Himalaya range here and there the Hindu Kush. The Parthian calls it first Choatras {= mountains of Assyria and Media} and afterward Niphates {part of the Taurus range in Armenia, now Ala-dagh}; the Syrian and Armenian call it Taurus; the Scythian names it Caucasus and Rhiphaeus, and at its end calls it Taurus. Many other tribes have given names to the range. |
| Et quia de ejus continuatione pauca libavimus, ad Amazones, unde divertimus, redeamus. | Now that we have devoted a few words to describing its extent, let us return to the subject of the Amazons. |
|
VIII 56 |
|
| Quae veritae, ne sua proles raresceret, a vicinis gentibus concubitum petierunt, factis nundinis semel in anno, ita ut futuri temporis eadem die revertentibus in id ipsum, quicquid partus masculi edidissent, patri redderent, quicquid vero feminei sexus nasceretur, mater ad arma bellica erudiret; sive, ut quibusdam placet, editis maribus, novercali odio infantis miserandi fata rumpebant. | Fearing their race would fail, they sought sexual intercourse with neighboring tribes. They appointed a day for meeting once in every year, so that when they should return to the same place on that day in the following year each mother might give over to the father whatever male child she had borne, but should herself keep and train for warfare whatever children of the female sex were born. Or else, as some maintain, they exposed the males, destroying the life of the ill-fated child with a hate like that of a stepmother. |
| Ita apud illas detestabile puerperium erat, quod ubique constat esse votivum. | Among them bearing a son was detested, though everywhere else it is desired. |
| 57 | |
| Quae crudelitas illis terrorem maximum cumulabat opinionis vulgatae. Nam quae, rogo, spes esset capto, ubi indulgeri vel filio nefas habebatur? | The terror of their cruelty was increased by common rumor; for what hope, pray, would there be for a captive, when it was considered wrong to spare even a son? |
| Contra has, ut fertur, pugnavit Hercules, et Menalippen paene plus dole quam virtute subegit. | Hercules, they say, fought against them and overcame Menalippe, yet more by guile than by valor. |
| Theseus vero Hippolyten in praeda tulit, de qua et genuit Hippolytum. | Theseus moreover, took Hippolyte captive, and of her he begat Hippolytus. |
| Hae quoque Amazones post haec habuere reginam nomine Penthesileam, cujus Trojano bello exstant clarissima documenta. | And in later times the Amazons had a queen named Penthesilea, famed in the tales of the Trojan war. |
| Nam hae feminae usque ad Alexandrum Magnum referuntur tenuisse regimen. | These women are said to have kept their power even to the time of Alexander the Great. |
|
IX 58 |
|
| Sed ne dicas: "De viris Gothorum sermo assumptus, cur in feminis tamdiu perseverat?" | But say not "Why does a story which deals with the men of the Goths have so much to say of their women?" |
| Audi et virorum insignem et laudabilem fortitudinem. | Hear, then, the tale of the famous and glorious valor of the men. |
| Dio historicus et antiquitatum diligentissimus inquisitor, qui operi suo "Getica" titulum dedit (quos Getas jam superiore loco Gothos esse probavimus, Orosio Paulo dicente) - hic Dio regem illis post tempora multa commemorat nomine Telephum. | Now Dio, the historian and diligent investigator of ancient times, who gave to his work the title "Getica" (and the Getae we have proved in a previous passage to be Goths, on the testimony of Orosius Paulus) - this Dio, I say, makes mention of a later king of theirs named Telephus. |
| Ne vero quis dicat hoc nomen a lingua Gothica omnino peregrinum esse, qui nescit animadvertat usu pleraque nomina gentes amplecti, ut Romani Macedonum, Graeci Romanorum, Sarmatae Germanorum, Gothi plerumque mutuantur Hunnorum. | Lest anyone say that this name is quite foreign to the Gothic tongue, let the ignorant find fault with the fact that the tribes of men make use of many names, even as the Romans borrow from the Macedonians, the Greeks from the Romans, the Sarmatians from the Germans, and the Goths frequently from the Huns. |
| 59 | |
| Is ergo Telephus, Herculis filius natus ex Auge, sorori Priami conjugio copulatus, procerus quidem corpore, sed plus vigore terribilis, qui, paternam fortitudinem propriis virtutibus aequans, Herculis genitum formae quoque similitudine referebat. Hujus itaque regnum Moesiam appellavere majores. | This Telephus, then, a son of Hercules by Auge, and the husband of a sister of Priam, was of towering stature and terrible strength. He matched his father's valor by virtues of his own and also recalled his sonship of Hercules by his likeness in appearance. Our ancestors called his kingdom Moesia. |
| Quae provincia habet ab oriente ostia fluminis Danubii, a meridie Macedoniam, ab occasu Histriam, a septentrione Danubium. | This province has on the east the mouths of the Danube, on the south Macedonia, on the west Histria and on the north the Danube. |
| 60 | |
| Is ergo antefatus habuit bellum cum Danais, in qua pugna Thesandrum ducem Graeciae interemit et dum Ajacem infestus invadit Ulixemque persequitur, vitibus equo cadente ipse corruit Achillisque jaculo femore sauciatus diu mederi nequivit; Graecos tamen, quamvis jam saucius, e suis finibus proturbavit. | Now this king we have mentioned carried on wars with the Greeks, and in their course he slew in battle Thesander, the leader of Greece. But while he was making a hostile attack upon Ajax and was pursuing Ulysses, his horse became entangled in some vines and fell. He himself was thrown and wounded in the thigh by a javelin of Achilles, so that for a long time he could not be healed. Yet, despite his wound, he drove the Greeks from his land. |
| Telepho vero defuncto, Euryphilus filius successit in regno, ex Priami Phrygum regis germana progenitus. | Now when Telephus died, his son Euryphilus succeeded to the throne, being a son of the sister of Priam, king of the Phrygians. |
| Qui, ob Cassandrae amorem bello interesse Troiano ut parentibus soceroque ferret auxilium cupiens, mox venisset exstinctus est. | For love of Cassandra he sought to take part in the Trojan war, that he might come to the help of her parents and his own father-in-law; but soon after his arrival he was killed. |
|
X 61 |
|
| Tunc Cyrus, rex Persarum, post grande intervallum et paene post DCXXX {= sescentos triginta} annorum tempus (Pompeio Trogo testante), Getarum reginae Tomyri, sibi exitiabile, intulit bellum. | Then Cyrus, king of the Persians, after a long interval of almost exactly six hundred and thirty years {i.e., in 559 B.C.} (as Pompeius Trogus relates) , waged a war, fatal to himself against Tomyris, Queen of the Getae. |
| Qui, elatus ex Asiae victoriis, Getas nititur subjugare, quibus, ut diximus, regina erat Tomyris. | Elated by his victories in Asia, he strove to conquer the Getae, whose queen, as I have said, was Tomyris. |
| Quae quum ab Araxe amne Cyri arcere potuisset accessum, transitum tamen permisit, eligens armis eum vincere quam locorum beneficio summovere; quod et factum est. | Though she could have stopped the approach of Cyrus at the river Araxes, yet she permitted him to cross, preferring to overcome him in battle rather than to thwart him by advantage of position. And so she did. |
| 62 | |
| Et, veniente Cyro, primo cessit fortuna Parthis in tantum, ut et filium Tomyris et plurimum exercitum trucidarent. | As Cyrus approached, fortune at first so favored the Parthians that they slew both the son of Tomyris and most of the army. |
| Sed, iterato Marte, Getae cum sua regina Parthos devictos superant atque prosternunt opimamque praedam de eis auferunt, ibique primum Gothorum gens serica vidit tentoria. | But when the battle was renewed, the Getae and their queen defeated, conquered and overwhelmed the Parthians and took rich plunder from them. There for the first time the race of the Goths saw silken tents. |
| Tunc Tomyris regina, aucta victoria tantaque praeda de inimicis potita, in partem Moesiae, quae nunc, a magna Scythia nomine mutuato, "minor Scythia" appellatur, transiens, ibi in Ponti Moesiaco litore Tomos civitatem suo de nomine aedificavit. | After achieving this victory and winning so much booty from her enemies, Queen Tomyris crossed over into that part of Moesia which is now called Lesser Scythia {= Dobrudja, region on the Black Sea} - a name borrowed from Great Scythia -, and built on the Moesian shore of the Black Sea the city of Tomi {= Köstendjé in Bulgaria}, named after herself. |
| 63 | |
| Dehinc Darius, rex Persarum (Hystaspis filius), Antyri, regis Gothorum, filiam in matrimonium postulavit, rogans pariter atque deterrens, nisi suam peragerent voluntatem. | Afterwards Darius, king of the Persians, the son of Hystaspes, demanded in marriage the daughter of Antyrus, king of the Goths, asking for her hand and at the same time making threats in case they did not fulfill his wish. |
| Cujus affinitatem Gothi spernentes, legationem ejus frustrarunt. | The Goths spurned this alliance and brought his embassy to naught. |
| Qui, repulsus dolore, flammatus est et DCC {septingenta} milia armatorum contra ipsos produxit exercitum, verecundiam suam malo publico vindicare contendens; navibusque paene a Chalcedone usque ad Byzantium instar pontium tabulatis atque consertis Thraciam petit et Moesiam; ponteque rursus in Danubio pari modo constructo, duobus mensibus proeliis crebris fatigatus, in Tapis VIII {octo} milia perdidit armatorum, timensque, ne pons Danubii ab suis adversariis occuparetur, celeri fuga in Thraciam repedavit, nec Moesiae solum sibi credens tutum fore aliquantulum remorandi. | Inflamed with anger because his offer had been rejected, he led an army of seven hundred thousand armed men against them and sought to avenge his wounded feelings by inflicting a public injury. Crossing on boats covered with boards and joined like a bridge almost the whole way from Chalcedon to Byzantium, he started for Thrace and Moesia. Later he built a bridge over the Danube in like manner, but he was wearied by two brief months of frequent battles and lost eight thousand armed men near Tapae. Then, fearing the bridge over the Danube would be seized by his foes, he marched back to Thrace in swift retreat, believing the land of Moesia would not be safe for even a short sojourn there. |
| 64 | |
| Post cujus decessum iterum Xerxes, filius ejus, paternas injurias ulcisci se aestimans, cum suorum septingentis et auxiliarium CCC {trecentis} milibus armatorum, rostratis navibus mille ducentis et onerariarum tribus milibus, super Gothos ad bellum profectus nec temptare in conflictu praevaluit, eorum animositate et constantia superatus. | After his death, his son Xerxes planned to avenge his father's wrongs and so proceeded to undertake a war against the Goths with seven hundred thousand of his own men and three hundred thousand armed auxiliaries, twelve hundred ships of war and three thousand transports. But he did not venture to try them in battle, being overawed by their unyielding animosity. |
| Sic namque ut venerat, absque aliquo certamine suo, cum robore recessit. | So he returned with his force just as he had come, and without fighting a single battle. |
| 65 | |
| Philippus quoque, pater Alexandri Magni, cum Gothis amicitias copulans, Medopam, Gudilae regis filiam, accepit uxorem, ut tali affinitate roboratus Macedonum regna firmaret. | Then Philip, the father of Alexander the Great, made alliance with the Goths and took to wife Medopa, the daughter of King Gudila {Kothêlas, Thracian king}, so that he might render the kingdom of Macedon more secure by the help of this marriage. |
| Qua tempestate, Dio historico dicente, Philippus, inopiam pecuniae passus, Odessitanam Moesiae civitatem, instructis copiis, vastare deliberat, quae tunc propter viciniam Tomis Gothis erat subjecta. | It was at this time, as the historian Dio relates, that Philip, suffering from need of money, determined to lead out his forces and sack Odessus {= Varna on the Black Sea}, a city of Moesia, which was then subject to the Goths by reason of the neighboring city of Tomi. |
| Unde et sacerdotes Gothorum - illi qui dii vocabantur - subito, patefactis portis, cum citharis et vestibus candidis obviam sunt egressi, patriis diis, ut, sibi propitii, Macedones repellerent, voce supplici modulantes. | Thereupon those priests of the Goths that are called the Godly Men {i.e., Gothic guðjans "(heathen) priests," lit. "men of the gods, god-servers"} suddenly opened the gates of Odessus and came forth to meet them. They bore harps and were clad in snowy robes, and chanted in suppliant strains to the gods of their fathers that they might be propitious and repel the Macedonians. |
| Quos Macedones sic fiducialiter sibi occurrere contuentes stupescunt et, si dici fas est, ab inermibus terrentur armati. | When the Macedonians saw them coming with such confidence to meet them, they were astonished and, so to speak, the armed were terrified by the unarmed. |
| Nec mora: soluta acie quam ad bellandum construxerant, non tantum ab urbis excidio abstinuerunt, verum etiam et quos foris fuerant jure belli adepti, reddiderunt, foedereque inito ad sua reversi sunt. | Straightway they broke the line they had formed for battle and not only refrained from destroying the city, but even gave back those whom they had captured outside by right of war. Then they made a truce and returned to their own country. |
| 66 | |
| Cujus doli post longum tempus reminiscens, egregius Gothorum ductor Sitalces, CL {centum quinquaginta} virorum milibus congregatis, Atheniensibus intulit bellum adversus Perdiccam Macedoniae regem, quem Alexander, apud Babyloniam ministri insidiis potans interitum, Atheniensium principatus hereditario jure reliquerat successorem. | After a long time Sitalces, a famous leader of the Goths, remembering this treacherous attempt, gathered a hundred and fifty thousand men and made war upon the Athenians, fighting against Perdiccas, King of Macedon {429 B.C.}. This Perdiccas had been left by Alexander as his successor to rule Athens by hereditary right, when he drank his destruction at Babylon through the treachery of an attendant. |
| Magno proelio cum hoc inito, Gothi superiores inventi sunt, et sic pro injuria, quam illi in Moesia dudum fecissent, isti in Graecia discurrentes cunctam Macedoniam vastaverunt. | The Goths engaged in a great battle with him and proved themselves to be the stronger. Thus in return for the wrong which the Macedonians had long before committed in Moesia, the Goths overran Greece and laid waste the whole of Macedonia. |
|
XI 67 |
|
| Dehinc, regnante Gothis Burebista, Decaeneus venit in Gothiam, quo tempore Romanorum Sulla potitus est principatu. | Then when Burebistas was king of the Goths {actually king of the Dacians 60-44 B.C.}, Decaeneus {priest-reformer under Burebistas} came to Gothia at the time when Sulla ruled the Romans {ca. 82-79 B.C.}. |
| Quem Decaeneum suscipiens, Burebistas dedit ei paene regiam potestatem; cujus consilio Gothi Germanorum terras, quas nunc Franci obtinent, populati sunt. | Burebistas received Decaeneus and gave him almost royal power. It was by his advice the Goths ravaged the lands of the Germans, which the Franks {"the Free," "Daring," "Impetuous," "Impudent"} now possess. |
| 68 | |
| Caesar vero, qui sibi primus omnium Romanorum vindicavit imperium et paene omnem mundum suae dicioni subegit omniaque regna perdomuit, adeo ut extra nostrum orbem in oceani sinu sepositas insulas occuparet, et nec nomen Romanorum auditu qui noverant, eos Romanis tributarios faceret, Gothos tamen crebro pertemptans, nequivit subjicere. | Then came Caesar, the first of all the Romans to assume imperial power and to subdue almost the whole world, who conquered all kingdoms and even seized islands lying beyond our world, reposing in the bosom of Ocean. He made tributary to the Romans those that knew not the Roman name even by hearsay, and yet was unable to prevail against the Goths, despite his frequent attempts. |
| Caesar Tiberius jam tertius regnat Romanis: Gothi tamen suo regno incolumes perseverant. | Soon Gajus Tiberius reigned as third emperor of the Romans, and yet the Goths continued in their kingdom unharmed. |
| 69 | |
| Quibus hoc erat salubre, hoc accommodum, hoc votivum, ut, quicquid Decaeneus eorum consiliarius praecepisset, hoc modis omnibus expetendum, hoc utile judicantes, effectui manciparent. | Their safety, their advantage, their one hope lay in this, that whatever their counselor Decaeneus advised should by all means be done; and they judged it expedient that they should put it into effect. |
| Qui cernens eorum animos sibi in omnibus oboedire et naturale eos habere ingenium, in omni paene philosophia eos instruxit: erat namque hujus rei magister peritus. | And when he saw that their minds were obedient to him in all things and that they had natural ability, he taught them almost the whole of philosophy, for he was a skilled master of this subject. |
| Nam ethicam eos erudiens, barbaricos mores compescuit; physicam tradens, naturaliter propriis legibus vivere fecit, quas usque nunc conscriptas "bi-lageineis" nuncupant; logica instruens, rationis eos supra ceteras gentes fecit expertes; practicen ostendens, in bonis actibus conversari suasit; theoreticen demonstrans, signorum duodecim et per ea planetarum cursus omnemque astronomiam contemplari edocuit, et quomodo lunaris orbis augmentum sustinet aut patitur detrimentum, edixit, solisque globus igneus quantum terrenum orbem in mensura excedat, ostendit, aut quibus nominibus vel quibus signis in polo caeli vergente et revergente trecentae quadraginta et sex stellae ab ortu in occasum praecipites ruant, exposuit. | Thus by teaching them ethics he restrained their barbarous customs; by instructing them in the science of nature, he made them live naturally under laws of their own, which they possess in written form to this day and call bi-lageineis {"laws"}. He taught them logic and made them skilled in reasoning beyond all other races; he showed them practical knowledge and so persuaded them to abound in good works. By explaining theoretical knowledge he urged them to contemplate the progress of the twelve constellations {of the zodiac} and the courses of the planets passing through them, and the whole of astronomy. He told them how the disc of the moon waxes or wanes, and showed them how much the fiery globe of the sun exceeds in size our earthly planet. He explained with which names or designations in the arching heavens the three hundred forty-six stars hurtle from their rising to their setting. |
| 70 | |
| Qualis erat, rogo, voluptas, ut viri fortissimi, quando ab armis quantulumcunque vacassent, doctrinis philosophicis imbuebantur? | Think, I pray you, what pleasure it was for these brave men, when for a little space they had leisure from warfare, to be instructed in the teachings of philosophy! |
| Videres unum caeli positionem, alium herbarum fruticumque explorare naturas, istum lunae commoda incommodaque, illum solis labores attendere et quomodo, rotatu caeli raptos, retro reduci ad partem occiduam, qui ad orientalem plagam ire festinant, ratione accepta quiescere. | You might have seen one scanning the position of the heavens and another investigating the nature of plants and bushes. Here stood one who studied the waxing and waning of the moon, while still another investigated solar eclipses and observed how those bodies which rush to go toward the east are whirled around and borne back to the west by the rotation of the heavens. When they had learned the reason, they were at rest. |
| 71 | |
| Haec et alia nonnulla Decaeneus Gothis sua peritia tradens mirabilis apud eos enituit, ut non solum mediocribus, immo et regibus imperaret. | These and various other matters Decaeneus taught the Goths in his wisdom and gained marvelous repute among them, so that he ruled not only the common men but their kings. |
| Elegit namque ex eis tunc nobilissimos prudentioresque viros, quos, theologia instruens, numina quaedam et sacella venerare suasit fecitque sacerdotes, nomen illis Pilleatorum contradens, ut reor, quia opertis capitibus tiaris, quas pilleos alio nomine nuncupamus, litabant: | He chose from among them those that were at that time of noblest birth and superior wisdom and taught them theology, bidding them worship certain divinities and holy places. He conferred the name of Pilleati {"felt-bonneted"} on the priests he ordained, I suppose because they offered sacrifice having their heads covered with tiaras, which we otherwise call pillei {"ceremonial felt caps" (worn at celebrations)}. |
| 72 | |
| Reliquam vero gentem Capillatos dicere jussit, quod nomen Gothi pro magno suscipientes adhuc hodie suis cantionibus reminiscuntur. | But he bade them call the rest of their race Capillati {"having hair," i.e., bare-headed, without headdress}. This name the Goths accepted and prized highly, and they retain it to this day in their songs. |
| 73 | |
| Decedente vero Decaeneo paene pari veneratione habuerunt Comosicum, quia nec impar erat sollertia. Hic etenim et rex illis et pontifex ob suam peritiam habebatur et in summa justitia populos judicabat. | After the death of Decaeneus, they held Comosicus in almost equal honor, because he was not inferior in knowledge. By reason of his wisdom he was accounted their priest and king, and he judged the people with the greatest uprightness. |
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XII |
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| Et hoc rebus excedente humanis, Scoryllus rex Gothorum in regnum conscendit et per quadraginta annos in Dacia suis gentibus imperavit. | When he too had departed from human affairs, Scoryllus ascended the throne as king of the Goths and for forty years ruled his people in Dacia. |
| Daciam dico antiquam, quam nunc Gepidarum populi possidere noscuntur. | I mean ancient Dacia, which the race of the Gibiðos now possess. |
| 74 | |
| Quae patria in conspectu Moesiae sita trans Danubium corona montium cingitur, duos tantum habens accessus, unum per Boutas, alterum per Tapas. | This country lies across the Danube within sight of Moesia, and is surrounded by a crown of mountains. It has only two ways of access, one by way of the Boutae and the other by the Tapae. |
| Hanc Gothiam, quam Daciam appellavere majores, quae nunc, ut diximus, Gepidia dicitur, tunc ab oriente Roxolani, ab occasu Jazyges, a septentrione Sarmatae et Basternae, a meridie amnis Danubii terminabant. | This Gothia, which our ancestors called Dacia and now, as I have said, is called Gibidia, was then bounded on the east by the Roxolani, on the west by the Jazyges, on the north by the Sarmatians and Basternae and on the south by the river Danube. |
| Nam Jazyges ab Roxolanis Aluto tantum fluvio segregantur. | The Jazyges are separated from the Roxolani by the Oltul river only. |
| 75 | |
| Et quia Danubii mentio facta est, non ab re judico pauca de tali amne egregio indicare. | And since mention has been made of the Danube, I think it not out of place to make brief notice of so excellent a stream. |
| Nam hic, in Alamannicis arvis exoriens, sexaginta a fonte suo usque ad ostia in Pontum mergentia per mille ducentorum passuum milia hinc inde suscipiens flumina in modum spinae, quam costae ut cratem intexunt, omnino amplissimus est. | Rising in the fields of the Ala-mannans {"All-men," i.e., United Tribes}, it receives sixty streams which flow into it here and there in the twelve hundred miles from its source to its mouths in the Pontus, resembling a backbone into which the ribs mesh as into a kind of grille. It is indeed a most vast river. |
| Qui lingua Bessorum Hister vocatur, ducentis tantum pedibus in altum aquam in alveo habet profundam. | In the language of the Bessi it is called the Hister, and it has in its channel waters deep to a depth of only two hundred feet. |
| Hic etenim amnis inter cetera flumina magnitudine omnes superat praeter Nilum. | This stream surpasses in size all other rivers, except the Nile. |
| Haec de Danubio dixisse sufficiat. | Let this much suffice for the Danube. |
| Ad propositum vero, unde nos digressi sumus, juvante Domino, redeamus. | But let us now with the Lord's help return to the subject from which we have digressed. |
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| Longum namque post intervallum, Domitiano Imperatore regnante ejusque avaritiam metuentes, foedus quod dudum cum aliis principibus pepigerant Gothi solventes, ripam Danubii jam diu possessam ab imperio Romano, deletis militibus cum eorum ducibus, vastaverunt. | Now after a long time, in the reign of the Emperor Domitian {A.D. 81-96}, the Goths, through fear of his avarice, broke the truce they had long observed under other emperors. They laid waste the bank of the Danube, so long held by the Roman Empire, and slew the soldiers and their generals. |
| Cui provinciae tunc post Agrippam Oppius praeerat Sabinus, Gothis autem Diurpaneus principatum agebat, quando, bello commisso, Gothi, Romanis devictis, Oppii Sabini capite absciso, multa castella et civitates de parte Imperatoris invadentes publice depraedarunt. | Oppius Sabinus was then in command of that province, succeeding {Fontejus} Agrippa {governor of Moesia, 69-70}, while Diurpaneus {i.e., Dacian king Duras-Diurpaneus, 69-86} held command over the Goths. Thereupon the Goths made war {A.D. 85; {actually the Dacians, not the Goths} and conquered the Romans, cut off the head of Oppius Sabinus, and invaded and boldly plundered many castles and cities belonging to the Emperor. |
| 77 | |
| Qua necessitate suorum, Domitianus cum omni virtute sua Illyricum properavit et totius paene rei publicae militibus, ductore Fusco praelato cum lectissimis viris, amnem Danubii, consertis navibus ad instar pontis, transmeare coepit super exercitum Diurpanei. | In this plight of his countrymen Domitian hastened with all his might to Illyricum, bringing with him the troops of almost the entire empire. He sent Fuscus before him as his general with picked soldiers. Then joining boats together like a bridge, he started crossing the river Danube above the army of Diurpaneus. |
| 78 | |
| Tum Gothi haut segnes reperti arma capessunt primoque conflictu mox Romanos devincunt, Fuscoque duce exstincto, divitias de castris militum spoliant, magnaque potiti per loca victoria, jam proceres suos, quorum quasi fortuna vincebant, non puros homines, sed semideos, id est Ansis, vocaverunt. | But the Goths were on the alert. They took up arms and presently overwhelmed the Romans in the first encounter. They slew Fuscus, the commander, and plundered the soldiers' camp of its treasure {A.D. 86}. And because of the great victory they had won in this region, they thereafter called their leaders, by whose good fortune they seemed to have conquered, not mere men, but demigods, that is, Ansjus {"archangel-like supernatural beings"}. |
| Quorum genealogiam ut paucis percurram vel quis quo parente genitus est aut unde origo coepta, ubi finem effecit, absque invidia, qui legis, vera dicentem ausculta. | Their genealogy I shall run through briefly, telling the lineage of each and the beginning and the end of this line. And do thou, O reader, hear me without repining; for I speak truly. |
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| Horum ergo heroum, ut ipsi suis in fabulis referunt, primus fuit Gaut, qui genuit Hulmul. | Now the first of these heroes, as they themselves relate in their legends, was Gaut {= "The Goth" = Woðan "Leader of those who are woð" (in shamanic ecstacy), "Chief of Shamans"}, who begat Hulmul {perhaps error for *Humul = Humli, ancestor of the Danish kings (Saxo Grammaticus, &c.)} |
| Hulmul vero genuit Augis: | And Hulmul begat Augeis |
| at Augis genuit eum, qui dictus est Amal, a quo et origo Amalorum decurrit: | and Augeis begat him who was called Amal {"The Vigorous, Industrious"}, from whom the name of the Amals comes. |
| qui Amal genuit Isarnana: | This Amal begat Eisarnei {"Iron Man"}. |
| Isarnis autem genuit Ostrogotha: | Eisarnei moreover begat Austra-guta {"Radiant Goth"}, |
| Ostrogotha autem genuit Hunwil: | and Austra-guta begat Hun-wilja {"Strong will"}, |
| Hunwil item genuit Athal: | and Hun-wilja likewise begat Aþal {"Noble One"}. |
| Athal genuit Agiwulf et Odwulf: | Aþal begat Agi-wulf {"(Sword-)Edge-wolf"} and Auða-wulf {"Lucky Wolf"}. |
| Agiwulf autem genuit Ansila et Ediwulf, Wultwulf et Ermanaricum: | Now Agi-wulf begat Ansila {"Little Ansus" (= "godlet")} and Aiþi-wulf {"Oath-wolf"}, Wulþ-wulf {"Magnificent-wolf"} and Aírmana-reik {"Mighty ruler"}. |
| Wultwulf vero genuit Walahrabns: | And Wulþ-wulf begat Wala-hrabn {"Favorite raven"} |
| Walarabns autem genuit Winithaharium: | and Wala-hrabn begat Winiþa-harjis {"Fighter of Wends" (a Slavic people)}. |
| Winithaharius quoque genuit Wandalaharium: | Winiþa-harjis moreover begat Wandala-harjis {"Fighter of Vandals" (an East-Germanic tribe)}; |
| 80 | |
| Wandalaharius genuit Theudemer et Walamer et Widimer: | Wandala-harjis begat Þiuði-mer {"People-famed," "Famous among peoples} and Wala-mer {"Beloved and famous"} and Wiði-mer {"Forest-fame"}; |
| Theudemer genuit Theudericum: | and Þiuði-mer begat Þiuði-reik {"People-ruler"}. |
| Theudericus genuit Amalaswentham: | Þiuði-reik begat Amala-swinþo {"Amal strength"}; |
| Amalaswentha genuit Athalaricum et Mateswentham de Eutharico viro suo, cujus affinitas generis sic ad eam conjuncta est. | Amala-swinþo bore Aþala-reik {"Noble ruler"} and Maþa-swinþo {"Good strength"} to her husband Iuþa-reik {"Ruler of the Eudusians" (a tribe inhabiting Jut-land)}, whose race was thus joined to hers in kinship. |
| 81 | |
| Nam supra dictus Ermanaricus, filius Agiwulf, genuit Hunimundum: | For the aforesaid Aírmana-reik, the son of Agi-wulf, begat Huni-mund {"Powerful hand"}, |
| Hunimundus autem genuit Thorismudum: | and Huni-mund begat Þaúris-moð {"Daring mood"}. |
| Thorismud vero genuit Beremud: | Now Þaúris-moð begat Baíri-moð {"Bear mood"}, |
| Beremud autem genuit Widiricum: | Baíri-moð begat Wiði-reik {"Forest ruler"}, |
| Widiricus item genuit Eutharicum, | and Wiði-reik likewise begat Iuþa-reik, |
| qui conjunctus Amalaswinthae genuit Athalaricum et Matheswintham, | who married Amala-swinþo {"Amal strength"} and bore Aþala-reik and Maþu-swinþo {"Good strength"}. |
| mortuoque in puerilibus annis Athalarico, Matheswinthae Witiges est copulatus, de quo non suscepit liberum; | Aþala-reik died in the years of his childhood, and Maþa-swinþo married Weiti-gais {"Punishing spear"}, to whom she bore no child. |
| adductique simul a Belisario Constantinopolim: | Both of them were taken together by Belisarius {General under Emperor Justinian} to Constantinople. |
| et Witigi rebus excedente humanis, Germanus patricius, fratruelis Justiniani Imperatoris, eam in conubio sumens Patriciam Ordinariam fecit, de qua et genuit filium item Germanum nomine. | When Weiti-gais passed from human affairs, Germanus the patrician, a cousin of the Emperor Justinian, took Maþa-swinþo in marriage and made her a member of the patrician order. And of her he begat a son, also called Germanus. |
| Germano vero defuncto, ipsa vidua perseverare disponitur. Quomodo autem aut qualiter regnum Amalorum destructum est, loco suo, si Dominus jubaverit, edicemus. | But upon the death of Germanus, she determined to remain a widow. Now how and in what wise the kingdom of the Amals was overthrown we shall keep to tell in its proper place, if the Lord help us. |
| 82 | |
| Nunc autem ad id, unde digressum fecimus, redeamus doceamusque, quomodo ordo gentis, unde agimus, cursus sui metam explevit. | But let us now return to the point whence we made our digression and tell how the stock of this people of whom I speak reached the end of its course. |
| Ablabius enim historicus refert, quia ibi super limbum Ponti ubi eos diximus in Scythia commanere, <erat> pars eorum quae orientalem plagam tenebat, eisque praeerat Ostrogotha; utrum ab ipsius nomine, an a loco (id est orientali), dicti sunt Ostrogothae, residui vero Wisigothae (id est a parte occidua). | Now Ablabius the historian reports that in Scythia, where we have said that they were dwelling above an arm of the Pontic Sea, was a part of them that held the eastern portion, and their leader was Austra-guta; they were called Ostrogoths { Austra-gutans, "Shining Goths" (but mistaken as "Eastern Goths")}, either from his name or from the place (that is, "eastern"). But the rest were called Visigoths {Wisi-gutans, "Noble Goths" (but mistaken as "Western Goths")} (that is, the Goths of the western country). |
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XV 83 |
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| Et quia jam superius diximus eos, transito Danubio, aliquantum t | |