[gothic-l] Visigothic King Fridigern

[andreas.schwarcz at UNIVIE.AC.AT]

Bertil,
a contemporary source is someone who actually lived and wrote 
during the events he described and that applies to Ammianus 
Marcellinus, who is one of the most trustworthy sources of the 
fourth century. Moreover he had been an officer in the Roman army 
and he knew what he wrote about.
As to Ammius and Sarus, to be exact, the story Jordanes tells 
Getica 129 f. is that the unnamed husband of Sunilda is the leader 
of the Rosomoni, who had "fraudulenter" left the following of 
Ermanaric, while he prepared for war against the Hunni. Ermanaric 
kills as punishment for this treason Sunilda by having hear torn 
apart by horses, and is attacked by her brothers Ammius and 
Sarus in revenge and wounded.
The account of Ammianus Marcellinus, Res gestae XXXI, 3, is 
more matter-of-fact and reports that the Alans were overrun by the 
Hunni and joined them against the Greuthungi, whose king 
Ermenrichus resisted them, but despaired and committed suicide.  
His successor Vithimir died in battle and Alatheus and Saphrac 
take over the leadership, because Viderichus, Vithimir's son, is still 
a child.
According to Visigothic tradition, the first king of the Visigoths was 
Alaric the first, but the Visigoths really were formed by his followers 
and those of Athaulf, who joined him in Italy. You can speak of 
Visigoths after the settlement of this army in Aquitaine, so the first 
king who was actually king of the Visigoths was Theoderic I, who 
succeeded Vallia. But all the kings of the Tolosan realm in 
Aquitaine up to Alaric II called themselves officially "rex Gothorum", 
not Visigothorum.
Kind regards
                Andreas    
Ao.Univ.Prof.Dr.Andreas Schwarcz
Institut für österreichische Geschichtsforschung
Universität Wien
Dr.Karl Lueger-Ring 1
A-1010 Wien
Österreich
Tel.0043/1/42-77/272-16
Fax 0043/142-77/92-72


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