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Jordanes (also Jordanis or even Iornandes, 'bold as a boar') was a 6th century churchman who turned his hand to history later in life. The book most of interest to us now is De origine actibusque Getarum (The Origin and Deeds of the Goths), written about 551 AD. The accidents of life and time have rendered it the only source remaining to us concerning the origin of the Gothic people who occupied the shores of Poland, extended southward to the Black Sea, formed a distinct empire and a distinct language, Gothic, were defeated by the Huns and gradually dispersed throughout Europe, to disappear by assimilation.
Jordanes was asked to write this book by the church as a summary of a lost multi-volume history of the Goths by the statesman, Cassiodorus. The major factors in the selection of Jordanes for this task were his interest in history (he was working on a history of Rome), his ability to write succinctly and his own Gothic background. He had been a high-level notarius, or secretary, of a small client state on the Roman frontier in what is now Bulgaria.
Other authors wrote extant works on the later history of the Goths; e.g., Procopius. As the only remaining work on origins, Jordanes' Getica (as it is called in short) has been the object of much critical review. Jordanes wrote in late Latin, known for its non-conformance to the rules of classical Latin. He took the view that the Goths originated in Scandinavia. He only had three days to review Cassiodorus' work; thus, he must have been relying on his own knowledge. Some of his statements are very succinct.
The reader should be aware that all the topics mentioned in the previous paragraph are controversial. Extremely different views have been formulated. This article attempts to steer a middle course. Links to more radical or less accepted views have been included in the External Links section. Also, Getica in both Latin and English is readily available on the Internet.
Life and times before conversion
Disposition of Danubian lands after Atilla
Atilla the Hun died in 453 AD, of natural causes, so the major sources say. His sons planned to divide his empire as though it were a family estate. Getting word of this plan, and believing that to treat nations as you would property is a form of enslavement, Ardaric (Germanic name) , king of the Gepidae, raised the standard of revolt and defeated the Huns and their allies at the Battle of Nedao in 454.The Gepidae won sovereignty in Dacia with Roman blessings. Encouraged, the Goths successfully petitioned Marcian, Roman emperor, for lands, and received Pannonia, which included Vienna (Vindobonum). This disposition required the displacement of former Sarmatians and Huns from Illyricum within it. The Sciri, the Sadagarii and part of the Alans were given Scythia Minor and Lower Moesia under a leader, Candac.
Formation of a mixed province under Candac
Candac did not own a Gothic name. In the mix of peoples and languages of the times, it is hard to say what it might be. The name is parallel to Hunnic names, such as Ellac and Hernac, sons of Atilla. Hernac settled in Lesser Scythia also (Bulgaria) with some of the Huns then fleeing Pannonia.Candac had an unnamed sister who married into the Amali, a noble family of the Goths. The latter must have been present in large numbers, probably being represented by the Sciri. Candac's sister's husband was Andag, son of Andela. Their son, Gunthigis, had a Gothic name. He was probably the Gothic leader, Godigisclus, mentioned by Procopius. He became chief of staff of Candac's army, taking the name Baza (Hunnish?). As this little state was or became part of the Roman empire, Baza is probably the same as the Batza of pseudo-Marcellinus Comes. That Batza was posted to the Euphrates in 536 to take command of the Roman frontier there.
Ancestry of Jordanes
This is the historical context of Jordanes' famous statement about himself and his associates in Origin and Deeds of the Goths, Chapter 50, Line 266. Candac had a secretary (notarius), Paria, grandfather of Jordanes and father of Alanoviiamuth. The latter word does not have the form of the names of the times. It occurs in the sentence- "cuius Candacis Alanoviiamuthis patris mei genitor Paria, id est meus avus, notarius ...."
- "of which Candac, chief of the Alans, Paria, father of my father Veihamoths, that is my grandfather, (was) secretary...."
If this reconstruction is true, we learn that Candac was chief of the Alans in that region (which name could have included all the ethnicities) and that Jordanes' father was a Goth. What Paria's kinship by genes or law was to the Goths remains unknown. As Jordanes was notarius, or secretary to Gunthigis, his office was probably hereditary. As he was a key man to the chief, this grade of notarius is more aptly likened to secretary of state.
Social status and education
Jordanes, however, describes himself as agramaticus before his conversion. It is hard to imagine a secretary of state who could not read or write; therefore, he is unlikely to have meant unlettered. To read between the lines, his stressing "before my conversion" may be an effort to please the church, as all Goths at the time were suspected of heresy (Arianism, see also under Ulfilas). Otherwise we would have to presume that he underwent some sort of education in the church, in philosophy or oratory.The key factor is perhaps that he was not a converted rustic drawn up out of his class, but a Gothic noble who had held a high office of state. His gentility is why, perhaps, he rose within the church and was assigned to summarize the work of a famous stateman. Some intimations of rusticism stem from his Latin, which is ungrammatical, but misapplication or failure to apply the rules of golden or silver Latin are characteristics of late Latin.
Conversion and after
Paganism conversion theory
Jordanes was the notarius of Candac's nephew, the Gothic chief Gunthigis, ante conversionem meam ("before my conversion"). The Latin word has the same meaning as the English word deriving from it. The nature and details of the conversion remain obscure. By implication, it involved leaving his post as notarius and travelling to Italy with stays at various times in Rome. If the identification of his former employer is correct, the latter probably went to the Euphrates in 536 without the services of his former secretary.The conversion was probably not from paganism to Christianity. The Goths had been converted with the assistance of Ulfilas (a Goth), made bishop on that account. It is possible that the state of mixed peoples in which Jordanes had been notarius remained somewhat pagan despite the Gothic connection.
Arianism conversion theory
During Ulfilas' career, however, the church branded the doctrine to which he had been converted as heretical. Ulfilas saved himself and his career by travelling to Rome and recanting. The north did not give up its Arianism easily. Some claim that the issue continues today, although there is no historical descent of today's unitarianism (the philosophic doctrine, not the church in New England, which derives from Puritan times and the Swiss reform) from Arianism.A conversion to the Nicene creed (trinitarian) and a trip to Rome to clear himself is a better explanation Jordanes' conversion. In a letter to Vigilius he mentions that he was awakened by vestris interrogationibus. The word interrogatio, which derives from Roman jurisprudence and typically involved torture in that context, referred in the church to the first step of a process that became terrible to many, which we still call inquisition. Initially, however, the object of church attention was often treated with all courtesy and respect and was invited to publicly alter his views, as did Ulfilas.
If that is what happened, Jordanes, a high Gothic official, may have been invited to Rome, where he took the hint, so to speak, as he seems to have received the blandishment of church offices and comradeship as one of the inner circle. Whether he would have been allowed to return to his old position is another matter. In Jordanes' case there is no hint of any hypocrisy. His works are enthusiastic, even bubbling, and give the impression of frank sincerity. He probably was, in fact, converted. His extant writings are from a Nicene, not an Arian, perspective.
Monasticism conversion theory
The idea that Jordanes converted to a monkish way of life is not compatible with his subsequent church career. He may have spent some time in a monastery, as did many churchmen.Success in the church
Not much of Jordanes' career is known, but he seems to have been successful. Pope Pelagius mentions a Jordanes defensor ecclesiae Romanae, "Jordanes, defender of the Roman church", which may be him. The emphasis on Roman church, as opposed to some other, seems to imply the Nicene/Arian conflict. By 551 Pope Vigilius, under detention in Constantinople, had been joined by Bishop Jordanes of Crotona (Bruttium, Italy), again probably him. He was probably not Bishop of Ravenna, as some say.Publications
The initial stages of writing
The two remaining publications of Jordanes were written nearly together in 551 AD while Pope Vigilius and he were being detained at Constantinople by Justinian for refusal to cooperate. The works were assigned the epithets of Romana and Getica by Theodore Mommsen for quick reference. Those names have persisted.At Constantinople the churchmen were continually badgered and their lives were threatened. The writing project apparently began as a pastime and spiritual escape. In the first sentence of Getica, Jordanes compares the composition of Romana to a fishing trip, in which he glides his boat by the
- "oram tranquilli litoris",
- the "bank of a peaceful shore"
The political environment at Constantinople
Justinian had come to power as associate emperor in 527, soon taking full and sole control at the natural death of his predecessor. He was already married to Theodora since 523. Italy at that time was a mixture of former Romans and Italians and Goths. Relations were now peaceful, now inharmonious. As to religion, Italy was in the Roman camp, while Justinian and Theodora were eastern Orthodox.Justinian was known as the emperor who never slept. He and Theodora (who were excellent and like-minded partners) spent every bit of their time and resources on one goal: the reunification and restoration of the Roman empire. Their methods were often extreme, even ruthless. They achieved limited success, and therefore he is known as the last Roman emperor and she the empress Theodora.
The rise of Vigilius
An astute statesman, Justinian readily understood the necessity of winning over enemies by making concessions. He therefore continued the policy of recognizing the Papal See as supreme ecclesiastical authority. He hoped, however, to control it by personal influence. In 536 his wife "cut a deal" with the then papal representative, Vigilius, a native Roman. In the expression, quid pro quo, which is the basis of a legal agreement even today, the quid was the papacy and 700 pounds of gold. The quo was Vigilius' cooperation with Justinian.Subsequently Justinian's military chief of staff, Belisarius, garrisoned the city of Rome. Pope Silverius (a Gothic partisan) was removed by false accusations. Belisarius ensured that the election for the next pope favored Vigilius. Justinian, however, who acted essentially without conscience himself (believing that reasons of state took precedence), had not counted on Vigilius' conscience. The latter on the whole worked against imperial policy in favor of reason and compassion.
Crisis in the papacy
The Three-Chapter Controversy, best left to another article in Wikipedia, was a complex affair within the circle of Christian churches. Justinian was asked to take a hand (as had been Constantine I in others), which he did in 543 or 544, with an edict condemning the Three Chapters (which condemned somebody else). He hoped the edict would make reconciliation with the monophysites easier. Patriarchs and bishops alike were now asked to sign the edict.Vigilius refused to sign. He was plucked from the middle of a service celebrating the Feast of St. Cecilia at Rome and escorted to a ship in the Tiber waiting to take him to Constantinople. Due to a sojourn in Sicily, he first arrived there in 547. He spent the next eight years there, but not just for his stubborn refusal. Justinian wished to keep him out of the wars with the Goths and violent politics that were now engulfing Italy. In 555 Vigilius complied with the sovereign and was permitted to leave (after the defeat of the Goths), only to die on the return voyage. The remains came home at last, to be duly buried there.
The involvement of Jordanes in the crisis
How and when Jordanes came to join Vigilius in Constantinople remains unknown. As Bishop of Crotona he would not have been in Rome at the time of Vigilius' arrest. After he joined Vigilius for whatever reason, he would not have been allowed to leave, as he shared Vigilius' conciliatory policy concerning the remaining Huns and the Goths. The last thing Justinian wanted was conciliation. He had sent Belisarius to Italy to achieve victory.Romana was begun then to lighten the burden and while away the long hours. It survives under various descriptive titles, De summa temporum vel origine actibusque gentis Romanorum or sometimes De regnorum et temporum successione, or even Liber de origine mundi et actibus Romanorum ceterarumque gentium, or simply De gestis Romanorum. It is a hasty compilation that was begun before, but published after, the Gothic history of 551, covering the history of the world from the Creation, based on Jerome and other writers, but of some value for the century 450-550, when Jordanes is dealing with recent history.
Reassignment to Getica
Jordanes did not intend Romana for his own eyes only, as he dedicated it to Vigilius. The latter was probably informed of it. Before it was done, Jordanes was pulled off it and put on the Getica, which was to be a summarization of a voluminous work by Cassiodorus.To leave Romana unfinished and suddenly take up a difficult task on a dangerous subject argues for a higher policy than his own; namely, the pope's. Jordanes said that he started the Getica at the urging of "brother" Castalius, who insisted he leave his figurative fishing trip and set sails upon the deep. Castalius probably represented the pope. Who else could "insist" that a bishop drop his pastime and move into deeper waters?
Jordanes tells us that he did not even have access to Cassiodorus' work at that time, and presumably could not obtain it due to his detention. He did have access to a great many other sources through the libraries in Constantinople, and he did have his knowledge from pre-conversion days, which also would have pre-disposed him to remember what Cassiodorus had said.
Jordanes' political stance
The De origine actibusque Getarum of Jordanes does not share the anti-Gothic sentiment at Constantinople of the times. Whether it can be said to reflect Gothic sympathies or rather to be an impartial authority is a matter of opinion. Jordanes perhaps absorbed into his work a fundamental idea of Cassiodorus (known from surviving works), that the only way to secure for the Goths a prosperous future was to bring about their peaceful absorption into the Roman Empire. Cassiodorus' view was shared by the churchmen of Rome, which is the reason why the pope was being detained in Constantinople.Jordanes has little to say of the inner history and policy of the previous Italian kingdom of Theodoric: his interests lie, according to Mommsen, within a triangle defined by the three points Sirmium, Larissa and Constantinople. His lack of anti-Hunnish sentiment and respect for the abilities of Attila are a mark of his impartiality.
References
External links
- Jordanes, The Origins and Deeds of the Goths, translated by Charles C. Mierow. alternative.
- The Aims of Jordanes
6th century | Byzantine historians | Goths
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