[gothic-l] Re: Was the Heruli a little tribe?

[Bengt Hemtun]

Dear bertil
I have not read all of your 3000 messages, but I looked at some of
those on this subject and got the impression you show about the
little tribe from Scandinavia. I just wanted some discussion on that
since I have written a book around 200 A4 pages on Internet and I
have studied the question much for two years. Things like these leave
always many ends we can discuss forever.
.
The Romans sources tell that the Heruli were enrolled together with
their leader Naulobatus in 268 AD. After that we hear for instance
that the Herulian auxiliary legion together with the Batavian
auxiliary legion with Theodsius the Elder were in England 367 - 369
AD.
The Roman legion was around 5000 footsoldiers and they perhaps had
als 120 men of cavallry with their servant. That makes something
about 7000 men that must have be recruited as volunteers in Southenr
Scandinavia. How big population does that imply?
.
The last mentioning I find in Edward Gibbons Chapter XLIII about the
battle att Taginae in 552 AD in which there were 3000 Heruli
including veterans and it seems that they came from the Heruli in
Illyria.
Compared with today the figures are not big but compared with those
days is another fiver.
.
We learn also that the Heruli were Christian, which means that
Christianity was brought to  Thule those days ... in fact here on Dal
there have been remains of altars of the same model that Constantine
the Great prescribed.
However sincethey were Aryans they got soon the label of "heresy"
together with Wulfila in 381 AD.
I do not think we can separate Goths and Heruli. The Heruli were
stationated at Balkan together with the Goths ...and in fact I think
that Bible Argentus may have been a work made for the Herulian Duke
of Bavaria that died in 535 AD.
I doubt it is good for objective science to draw borders. In this
case we should find out from where the Heruli came and that can not
be only from Fyn or Zealand, I think
cheers
 catshaman
  .
--- In gothic-l at egroups.com, bertil <mvk575b at t...> wrote:
> Bengt,
>
> In answer to your question I can only
> state my personal view. We had an extensive
> Eruli discussion not so long ago on this list.
> You could check the archives. This is a Gothic
> list so maybe you should consider the Germanic
> list for early Germanic history, where this
> would be an interesting subject.
>
> The Eruli migrated from Denmark (possibly
> Zealand). They formed their own kingdom
> in the Balkan area, some moved to Italy other
> remigrated to south Scandinavia and settled
> close to the Gauti (the Goths). Eruli legionaries
> also fought on the eastern front for the Roman
> empire.
>
> Some scholars claim that the Eruli was just a band
> of warriors composed like a modern soccer team.
> Personally I don't believe that. Just look at
> the extensive activity of the Eruli with the Goths
> in the Black Sea and the eastern Mediterranean,
> where they raided with the Goths in the 3rd Century
> AD (in reality pre-Vikings). There is still the Eruli Wall in
Athens, erected to stop the onslaught. I have copy of a photo in my
archives. Will return to the Wall later.
>
> Erulically
>
> Bertil
>
>
> > My simple question to this Forum is "How big area furnished these
> > voluntary soldiers? It cannot be just a little tribe.


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