[gothic-l] Gothic Christianity

Thu Dec 19 09:20:02 UTC 2002

--- In gothic-l at yahoogroups.com, "AElfric and Ursula" <amali at s...>
wrote:
> Hails!
>
> <<Tell, me that you are joking please;-) Of course, most Goths were
> firm and astute Christians in the 5th and 6th century. They had
their
> own bishops and theological tradition. The process of convergence
> started already in the late 3rd century. Theoderic the Great,
himself
> was proud to be born to Christian parents. In fact, his mother was
a
> Catholic, and possibly a Roman.>>
>
> The idea that "*most* Goths were astute Christians in the 5th
century" is not supported by the sources or accepted by many leading
authors.

Firstly, we were talking about the period 5th/6th century. As Tim
pointed out, by this time Christian burial practice, Christian
imagery on almost all Ostrogothic Spangenhelms, Gothic bishops (since
the early 4th century), large crosses around the neck of Gothic kings
on their coins, Gothic Christian martyrs in the 4th century, all this
suggests that Christianity was well established among most Goths by
the second half of the 5th and certaintly the 6th century.

> The Goths did not convert to Christianity easily or sincerely.
Heather mentions how "the Tervingi resisted the spread of
Christianity in at least two periods of persecution, in 347/8 and
from 369 onwards (Heather, Goths and Romans 105). Athanaric ordered
the persecution of Christians because "the ancestral religion was
becoming debased" no doubt from the negative influence of
Christianity on the traditional Gothic culture, values and community
solidarity.  In the opinion of Eunapius, "the Tervingian refugees had
only feigned their Christianity in order to be admitted by the
Romans" (Wolfram, Goths 84).

That is true, but it does not mean that later generations in the
5th/6th century were not serious about their Christianity.

>
> "The Goths would seem to have been afraid that Christianity would
undermine that part of Gothic identity which was founded in their
common inherited beliefs, so that religion was not just an individual
concern, but also a political issue standing in some relation to
Gotho-Roman affairs."  The Goths officially adopted the Arian
Christianity of the emperor Valens in 376 not because of the more
than half a century of unsuccessful missionary work, which was
completely rejected by the Goths; the Tervingi accepted Christianity
to please the emperor who was admitting them into Roman lands. The
Gothic priests carried the old cult images with them in the crossing,
which further substantiates the insignificance of this surface
conversion to the new religion.

See above.

>
> The Goths adopted the belief of emperor Valens, but according to
Heather and Matthews, this conversion was not an "adherence body and
soul to a new set of beliefs, but...rather a determination to change
public practice (106f). "Ultimately, Christianity provided a
necessary commonality for prolonged assimilation among the lower
classes, but this process took centuries. The nobility, on the other
hand, viewed Christianity in essentially political terms (Burns 149).
>

Again, this is the 4th century situation.

> It is also important to note that the Heruli and the Ostrogoths did
not convert to Christianity in 375 like the Visigoths who settled
within the Roman empire. The Ostrogoths only began to truly
incorporate Christian tradition shortly before their demise, and
therefore, for the duration of their history, whether "officially"
Christian or not, they remained culturally pagan. The Ostrogoths did
not convert until the later 400s, which was the first time any real
missionary work was done among the Goths.

>From the onset of Ostrogothic history in Italy, Ostrogothic
Christianity is presented as firm and vibrant, with virtually no
outside traces of paganism left. From this I think it is clear that
Christianity had spread already in the preceeding decades.

>
> When the Huns settled along the Danubian plain in the southern part
of old Roman Dacia they blocked direct contact between the Ostrogoths
[and also the Heruli] and the Christian centers in the
south...Christianity did not suddenly make the Goths a new people.
Theoderic really began to build on Imperial/Christian traditions of
kingship only after the settlement in Italy. Ceremonies traditional
to his people and their great warlords marked the early stages in the
growth of his power. Despite his attempts and those of his grandson
Athalaric and his daughter Amalaswintha to incorporate the dress and
ceremonies of the eastern imperial court into Ostrogothic kingship,
the raising of Witiges on a shield amid a circle of raised swords
demonstrates how little progress had been made...the nobility did not
give up their pagan beliefs any more than the commoners (Burns
150/160).

That is hardly plausible. By the time of Witigis the Ostrogoths could
already look back at a long Christian tradition. They had
commissioned bibles and other Christian writing in their own
language. The Ostrogothic mission was affecting the North-Alpine
regions from the the late 400s, where Gothic words related to
Christian matters survive to today. The survival of traditions like
the raising on the shield can not be cited as evidence for
unsuccessful Christianisation. Such practices survived in many
Christian groups for much longer. Yet, archaeological evidence shows
that Ostrogothic weapons, especially helmets were adorned with
Christian crosses, showing that leading warriors wanted to be seen as
Christians. Since the mid-5th century the Burgundian warriors
prefered the depiction of biblical scence like 'Daniel in the lion
pit' on their belt buckles.  Also, consider the recently excavated
Ostrogothic pilgrimage centre at the Hemmaberg in Kaernten, were a
Gothic Arian chruch was build in the late 5th century far away from
the residence. This shows that Christianity was not only confined to
small groups in Ravenna, but purtained also to the periphery.

cheers,
Dirk

>
> Albareiks
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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