Stelle Praeterea Athanaricus, rex Gothorum...; (Historiarum adversum paganos libri VII (417 - 418), Vol. 3, Lib. 7, Cap. 32, Par. 9-13 (lin. 1)) [2221]

Basic Information
Keywords
ID 2221
Text Historiarum adversum paganos libri VII (417 - 418) Orosius
Quotation Praeterea Athanaricus, rex Gothorum, Christianos in gente sua crudelissime persecutus, plurimos barbarorum ob fidem interfectos ad coronam martyrii sublimauit; quorum tamen plurimi in Romanum solum non trepidi, uelut ad hostes, sed certi, quia ad fratres, pro Christi confessione fugerunt. Valentinianus Saxones, gentem in Oceani litoribus et paludibus inuiis sitam, uirtute atque agilitate terribilem, periculosam Romanis finibus eruptionem magna mole meditantes in ipsis Francorum finibus oppressit. Burgundionum quoque, nouorum hostium nouum nomen, qui plus quam octoginta milia, ut ferunt, armatorum ripae Rheni fluminis insederunt. Hos quondam subacta interiore Germania a Druso et Tiberio, adoptiuis filiis Caesaris, per castra dispositos in magnam coaluisse gentem atque ita etiam nomen ex opere praesumpsisse, quia crebra per limitem habitacula constituta burgos uulgo uocant, eorumque esse praeualidam et perniciosam manum, Galliae hodieque testes sunt, in quibus praesumpta possessione consistunt, quamuis prouidentia Dei Christiani omnes modo facti catholica fide, nostrisque clericis quibus oboedirent receptis blande, mansuete, innocenterque uiuant, non quasi cum subiectis Gallis, sed uere cum fratribus Christianis. Anno autem undecimo imperii sui Valentinianus, cum Sarmatae sese per Pannonias diffudissent easque uastarent, bellum in eos parans apud Brigitionem oppidum subita effusione sanguinis, quod Graece apoplexis uocatur, suffocatus et mortuus est.
Translation Moreover, Athanaric, king of the Goths, with the greatest cruelty persecuted the Christians living among his own people and raised many of the barbarians to the crown of martyrdom by putting them to death for their faith. There were many who, because they acknowledged Christ, had to flee to the territory of the Romans. They went, not apprehensively as if going to enemies, but with assurances as to brethren. The Saxons, a tribe living on the shores of the Ocean in inaccessible swamps and dreaded for their bravery and rapidity of movement, undertook a dangerous raid in full force against the Roman possessions, but they were crushed by Valentinian in the land of the Franks. The Burgundians, a new enemy with a new name, numbering, it is said, more than eighty thousand armed men, settled on the bank of the Rhine. 12 In earlier times, when the interior of Germany had been subjugated by Drusus and Tiberius, the adopted sons of Caesar, the Burgundians were stationed at different frontier posts. Later they united to form a great people. They took their name from their stations, for the dwelling places at frequent intervals along the frontier are commonly called burgi. The power and destructiveness of their tribes is manifest even today from the condition of the Gallic provinces where they have now settled, their right to do so being undisputed. 13 Nevertheless, through the providence of God they have all recently become Christians, embracing the Catholic faith and acknowledging obedience to our clergy, so that they live mild, gentle, and harmless lives, regarding the Gauls not as their subjects but in truth as their Christian brethren. 14 In the eleventh year of his reign, Valentinian started to make war upon the Sarmatians who had overrun and were ravaging the Pannonian provinces. But at the town of Brigitio he was choked to death by the sudden haemorrhage that the Greeks call apoplexy.
Quotation source Vol. 3, Lib. 7, Cap. 32, Par. 9-13 (lin. 1)
Temporal Coverage 367 - 367
Associated use case(s)
Spatial Coverage Objects
Comment