The Goths – the conquerors of many tribes (including some/all (?) of the Veneti) a name that inspired greatfear throughout the Roman Empire before dissolving into nothing but a mist of that fear. What were their names?
We know of two pairings: Ostrogoths and Visigoths (initially we see Visi). We also see Greutingi and Tervingi. (It is never Visigoths and Greutingi or Ostrogoths and Tervingi). Thus, it has fairly been assumed that Ostrogoths were the Greutingi and the Visigoths were the Tervingi.
But what do the sources actually report?
We will start with the Visigoths.
Genethliacus of Maximian Augustus
The Teruingi are first mentioned in the Genethliacus of Maximian Augustus (part of the Panegyrici Latini XI, 17) from 21 July, 291:
“The unruly Moorish tribe rages against its own flesh, the Goths utterly destroy the Burgundians, and again the Alamanni wear arms for the conquered, and the Tervingi too, another group of Goths,* with the help of a band of Taifali join battle with the Vandals and Gepids. Ormies [Hormizd] with the Saci and Rusii and Geli** as allies assaults the Persians themselves and the king himself [Bahram II], and respects neither his king’s majesty nor his brother’s claims on his loyalty. The Burgundians have taken over the land of the Alamanni, but obtained at great cost to themselves. The Alamanni have lost the land but seek to regain it. O great power of your deity! Not only those and other races, terrible in strength of arms, yield to their confidence, armed for the ruin of barbarism, but even those Blemmyes, I hear, used only to light arrows, seek arms which they do not have against the Ethipians, and john murderous battle with as it were naked hatred.”*
** Furit in viscera sua gens efferent Maurorum, Gothi Burgundos penitus excitant rursumque pro uictis armature Alamanni itemque Teruingi pars alia Gothorum adjunct manu Taifalorum, aduersum Vandalos Gipedesque concurrunt.
** The Rusii and Geli are quite fascinating. The Geli may well be the Gelones of Herodotus. Their name comes up again in late antiquity as part of the bands raiding Gaul (of course, their inclusion on the list of barbarians may have been a result of the various writers wanting to describe everything and the kitchen sink as being thrown at Rome.
Notitia dignitatum
The Notitia dignitatum – a Roman administrative document dated to the late 4th or early 5th century (circa 388 – circa 405) – at sections 4 & 5 (or 5 & 6 depending on version) mentions Visi and Teruingi. Here are the references from the Paris manuscript (14th century):
(Note also the Vindices).
And the associated shields from the 1436 manuscript (MS. Canon. Misc. 378 Bodleian) for the Visi:
and the Tervingi:
These crests are similar… but they are not the same (and, just to be clear they are mentioned separately).
And this from the 1651 Labbe edition (although the spelling here seems like Vrsi or even Ursi, as you can tell from the above, it’s actually Visi):
The sameness of the names is alleged based on the similarities of these sections. Both are in the “Eastern” portion of the Notitia. The first one in part V reads:
Auxilia palatina XVIII. Bataui seniores. Braccati iuniores. Salii. Constantiani. Matoiaci seniores. Sagittarii seniores Gallicani. | Sagittarii iuniores Gallicani. Tertii sagittarii Valentis. Defensores. Retobarii. | Anglevarii. Hiberi. Visi. Felices Honoriani iuniores. | Victores. Primi Theodosiani. Tertii Theodosiani. Felices Theodosiani Isauri…
The second one in part VI reads:
Auxilia palatina XVII. Regii. Cornuti. Tubantes. Constantiniani. Mattiaci iuniores. Sagittarii seniores Orientales. Sagittarii iuniores Orientales. Sagittarii dominici. Vindices. Bucinobantes. Falchovarii. Thraces. Tervingi. Felices Theodosiani. Felices Arcadiani iuniores. Secundi Theodosiani. Quarti Theodosiani…
For more on the Notitia see an interesting page here.
Wherefrom the Visigoths?
Thus, we have the following mentions:
- Tervingi – 291, 388-405
- Vesi – 388-405
What about other sources?
And what about the Ostrogoths? Here there are seemingly more sources.
All that to come.
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Rusii??!! What about this name in 291 the mainstream science? The “first” Western European source to mention the Rus’ are the Annals of St. Bertin. ??? By the way note the pure slavic names like Rus or Rusota in the Bull of Gniezno!
Interesting, isn’t it? The trouble with “Rus” and “Ros” is that such names do appear earlier than the Annals of Saint Bertin but it’s not clear who they designate. This is because the name may also mean “rusty” or “light colored” or “ruddy” that is in reference to “hair.” So, for example, you have the Roxo-alani. There is also the possibility that no one has taken into account and that is that the Germanic speaking Goths and Rus were later migrants to Europe but not from Scandinavia but from the North (?) East (remember Tocharian was a centum language). Getica, for example, mentions tribes that were conquered by the Goths – virtually all of those are in far Eastern Europe and it is only at the end as the Goths move south west that they come to the Veneti.