[gothic-l] Re: Era of Great Migration

[faltin2001]

--- In gothic-l at y..., "Bertil Haggman" <mvk575b at t...> wrote:
> Dear Listmembers,
>
> It is of course not possible with any exactness
> to decide what brought the Goths south from
> Scandinavia.


Well I think all modern scholars would agree that the Gothic tribe
formed in the first century BC in what is now northern Poland.



For decades it looked as if they
> were content (with the Eruli) to stay north of
> the Black Sea in the Third Century AD to plunder
> in the East Mediterranean.


Recent research by Ukrainian scholars like A. Sergeev indicates that
the Germanic people at the northern Black Sea engaged also in more
peacefull activities. The sea-raids are probably only the out-side
events which history recorded and which gave them much notoriety in
the Roman world. However, studies of Germanic minting activity in
that era from about 260AD to 360AD shows that small trade was
flourishing as well. This Black Sea/North Caucasian trade nexus came
to an end with the arrival of the Huns, forcing many Germans and and
Alans to flee westwards.



>At the begin of the
> Era of Great Migration it was often believed
> that it was the end of the world. Professor Alexander
> Demandt has commented on the final push of the Germanics
> into Italy in his book: _Endzeit? Zukunft der Geschichte_
> (1993):
>
> "Zu Beginn der Voelkerwanderung verbreitete sich
> wiederum die Stimmung, das Ende der Zeiten
> sei gekommen. Der heilige Martin von Tours glaubte,
> das Antichrist sei bereits geboren. Unter diesem
> Vorzeichen schrieb der Augustinschueler Orosius
> seine Weltgeschichte: Gottes Heilsplan sei im welt-
> umpspannenden Imperium Romanum Christianum vollendet.
> Was jetzt noch allein passieren koenne und passieren
> muesse, sei der Christianisierung der Heiden, bis die
> voerherbestimmte Zahl der Heiligen voll geworden ist.
> Ueber die Germaneneinfaelle konnte sich ein Christ
> nur freuen. Denn die Barbaren suchte Beute und fanden
> den Glauben. Sind die Goten, Burgunder und Vandalen nicht so
> zu Christen geworden?"


I cannot see how this explains the 'final push of the Germanics into
Italy'. Demandt is refering to a change in Roman policy towards
barbarians that materialised in the late 4th century. Theologians
like Augustinius and others argued that Rome should tolerate
barbarians as Christians (even Arians) within the Empire. Emperors
since Theodosius were content to expend only the necessary minimum to
deal with barbarians. Instead, federal contracts, tax allotments etc
were used to deal with barbarian unrest. This was in stark contrast
to the policy of the 3rd century when any unrest that threatened the
Roman borders was met with brute force.

Dirk







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