The principal Classical source on the Visigothic peoples is Roman scholar Jordanes, who lived and wrote in Constantinople in the middle of the sixth century. His work, The Origin and Deeds of the Goths, better known by its Latin name, Getica, is a summary of the now-lost history of the Goths written by another Roman, Cassiodorus. Jordanes divided his history into four dominant parts: a geographical introduction, a chronicle of the Goths as a united people group, and two distinct histories of the two Gothic tribes that emerged later: the Ostrogoths and the Visigoths. The most unique feature of Getica is Jordanes’ claim as to the geographical roots of the Gothic peoples: he placed their origin on the island of Scandza, now called the Scandinavian peninsula, writing that “from this island…as from a hive of races or a womb of nations, the Goths are said to have come forth long ago” (Jordanes, Book IV, 25). Jordanes covered the movements and conflicts of the tribe from Scandza, also called Scandia, pictured in Figure 1.0, to the Visigoths’ unification with the Romans in A.D. 451 at the battle of the Catalunian Fields.
John of Biclarum, born around A.D. 540, provided the first major source for later Visigothic history. Born in the Iberian region of the Roman Empire, he was educated in Constantinople, and returned to Spain, where he founded the monastery at Biclarum and wrote his Chronicle. In it, John covered a short period of time, from A.D. 567 to 590; the Chronicle was groundbreaking in that it narrated Visigothic history chronologically alongside the imperial history of the Romans. A religious man, John also covered many of the religious changes occurring in the Visigoth’s kingdom.
From A.D. 536 to the early seventh century lived Isidore of Seville, another clergyman who devoted much of his life to the chronicling of history. His History of the Kings of the Goths focused mainly on the political accomplishments and advancements of the Visigoths in Spain during his own lifetime. Isidore’s History is of much value because of the uniqueness of the Visigothic position at the time. Up until then, the Visigoths had been the intruders on imperial territory, but Isidore’s accounts make it clear that in the early seventh century, “they enjoyed their own independent kingdom and it was the empire that seemed to be acting out of the role of foreign intruder” (Wolf, 11). Thus, his History turned out to be a chronicle of the rise of the Visigoths at the expense of the Roman Empire.
Julian of Toledo is the final major source on later Visigothic history, born around A.D. 642. His Historia Wambae Regis covers the occurrences within the Visigothic kingdom during his lifetime, namely the ascension to the throne of King Wamba, and his dealings with various rebellions throughout Visigothic Gaul and other territories. Historia Wambae Regis is his only work that deals with historical and political chronicling of the Visigoths; his well-known works are focused on eschatology and other theological discussions.
Inclusion in Classical Sources
Ammianus Marcellinus penned the other major source on Visigothic early history. Historians place his birth in Greece around A.D. 335, and record that he was a member of Ursicinus’ elite bodyguard unit. His major work, The History of Ammianus Marcellinus, is divided into thirty-one books, the last eighteen of which remain today. Marcellinus first mentioned the Goths in Book XXVI, with the frank statement, “Predatory bands of the Goths plundered Thrace” (Marcellinus, Book XXVI, IV, 5). Most of Marcellinus’ dealings with the Goths come in this form—he chronicled their interactions, both positive and negative, with the Roman emperor Valens as they attempted to find a homeland near the frontiers of the Roman Empire.
Figure 1.0, a map of Scandza, also known as Scandia