Jordanes

Jordanes. A 6th century barbarian author writing in Latin, he is best known for his historical compilations, the Getica and the Romana. His work, particularly the Getica, provides a crucial, if controversial, narrative of Gothic origins and history, serving as a primary source for the final phases of the Western Roman Empire and the rise of Germanic kingdoms. While his reliability is debated, his writings offer an invaluable perspective from the periphery of the Byzantine Empire during the reign of Justinian I.

Life and background

Little is known with certainty about his personal history, though he identifies himself as a notarius, or secretary, possibly to a Gothic military leader. He states his own descent was from the Alans or the Goths, and he likely lived within the sphere of the Eastern Roman Empire, perhaps in the Balkan regions like Moesia. His writings suggest he had converted from Arianism to Nicene Christianity, a significant religious shift in the post-Roman world. His literary activity is firmly placed in the mid-6th century, as he completed his major works around 550 or 551, dedicating them to a friend or patron. This period was dominated by the Gothic War in Italy and the expansive campaigns of the emperor Justinian I.

Works

His two surviving works are the Romana, a summary of Roman history from its legendary founding to the 54th year of Justinian, and the far more famous Getica. The full title, De origine actibusque Getarum, indicates its focus on the origins and deeds of the Goths, whom he conflates with the ancient Getae. He explicitly states the Getica was composed as a condensed version of a lost, much larger history by the Roman statesman Cassiodorus, written for the Ostrogothic King Theodoric the Great. The narrative traces the migration of the Goths from Scandza (often identified with Scandinavia) through conflicts with emperors like Decius and Valens, the great King Ermanaric, their role in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, and culminates with the defeat of the Ostrogoths by the general Narses.

Historical significance

His Getica is of monumental importance as the only extant continuous narrative of Gothic history from antiquity, making it an indispensable, if problematic, source for historians. It preserves unique traditions about early Gothic kings, their migrations across Europe, and their complex relationships with the Roman Empire, including the Hunnic invasions led by Attila. The work provides critical details on events like the Battle of Adrianople and the fall of the Western Roman Empire, framing the Goths as ancient and noble participants in Mediterranean history. For later periods, it offers a contemporary account of the final collapse of the Ostrogothic Kingdom in Italy, a direct outcome of Justinian I's reconquest policies.

Sources and influences

He openly acknowledges his heavy reliance on the lost twelve-volume history of the Goths by Cassiodorus, which he claims to have read over a three-day period. His other principal sources include classic Latin authors like Livy, Tacitus, and Virgil, as well as the early Christian historian Orosius and the chronicles of Eusebius as translated by Jerome. For Roman history in the Romana, he utilized consular lists and earlier chronicles. His methodology involves compilation, epitome, and occasional interpolation of his own interpretations or contemporary knowledge, blending classical ethnography with Gothic oral tradition and his own theological perspective.

Legacy and reception

The reception of his work has been profoundly mixed, swinging from uncritical acceptance in the Middle Ages and Renaissance to intense scholarly scrutiny in modern times. Early modern scholars like Johan Magnus and Olaus Rudbeck used the Getica to construct elaborate national histories for Sweden and other Nordic countries. In the 19th and 20th centuries, historians like Theodor Mommsen critically edited the text, while debates raged over its value, with some dismissing it as unreliable propaganda and others mining it for core historical data. Today, his work is essential for studying Late Antiquity, Gothic identity, and the historiography of barbarian peoples, though always used in conjunction with archaeology and other sources like the writings of Procopius.

Category:6th-century historians Category:6th-century writers Category:Gothic historians Category:Late Antique historians Category:Byzantine writers