[gothic-l] Re: Ostrogoths in Italy, Britain or China (or on the moon?)

[trbrandt at POST9.TELE.DK]

Dirk!

--- In gothic-l at y..., dirk at s... wrote:
>
> (snip)
>
> Similarly, Procopius'- most likely invented - story of a Herulic
> migration to Thule belongs to the same category, as A. Cameron
> (Procopius and the Sixth Century) shows. Britain, Thule and Scandza
> were the islands in the Northern Ocean were all northern barbarians
> came from according to the Roman mental map and where all
barbarians
> should return to according to Procopius.

Where did Procopius claim the Heruls originally came from
Thule/Scandinavia? As far as I know he only wrote their ancestral
homes were beyond the Ister (Danube). If a Scandinavian origin was
his point, why didn't he write it? Actually the Illyrian Heruls who
didn't serve Justinian escaped to the Gepides in Dacia beyond the
Ister just before Procopius finished his "Gothic Wars". Therefore the
claimed purpose was fulfilled without a lie about Thule.

If the migration to Thule was a lie, why did he tell about a Herulian
king Datius returning from Thule to Illyria a few years before he
wrote his book? Wasn't it a little risky? As far as I can see he
would in this case loose all his credibility if someone knew the
Herulian mercenaries - which most of the army did.

Some Scandinavian historians even regard a Herulian origin in
Scandinavia as a misreading of Jordanes. I can't say if this argument
has any value.

Troels


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