Cassiodorus, Jordanes and the History of the Goths

Cassiodorus, Jordanes and the History of the Goths PDF

Author: Arne Søby Christensen

Publisher: Museum Tusculanum Press

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 408

ISBN-13: 9788772897103

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This book is a study in the myth of the origins and early history of the Goths as told in the Getica written by Jordanes in AD 551. Jordanes claimed they emigrated from the island of Scandza (Sweden) in 1490 BC, thus giving them a history of more than two thousand years. He found this narrative in Cassiodorus' Gothic history, which is now lost. The present study demonstrates that Cassiodorus and Jordanes did not base their accounts on a living Gothic tradition of the past, as the Getica would have us believe. On the contrary, they got their information only from the Graeco-Roman literature. The Greeks and Romans, however, did not know of the Goths until the middle of the third century AD. Consequently, Cassiodorus and Jordanes created a Gothic history partly through an erudite exploitation of the names of foreign peoples, and partly by using the narratives about other peoples' history as if they belonged to the Goths. The history of the Migrations therefore must be reconsidered.

Getica: The Origin and Deeds of the Goths

Getica: The Origin and Deeds of the Goths PDF

Author: Jordanes

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2019-01-02

Total Pages: 106

ISBN-13: 0244746672

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De origine actibusque Getarum (The Origin and Deeds of the Gothsor the Getica, written in Late Latin by Jordanes in or shortly after 551 AD, claims to be a summary of a voluminous account by Cassiodorus of the origin and history of the Gothic people, which is now lost. However, the extent to which Jordanes actually used the work of Cassiodorus is unknown. It is significant as the only remaining contemporaneous resource that gives the full story of the origin and history of the Goths. Another aspect of this work is its information about the early history and the customs of Slavs.

The Origin and Deeds of the Goths

The Origin and Deeds of the Goths PDF

Author: Jordanes

Publisher:

Published: 2007-07

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781406546675

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Iordanis, known in English as Jordanes (also Jordanis'), was a 6th century bureaucrat of the Eastern Roman Empire, who turned his hand to history late in life. Though he wrote a history of Rome (Romana), the book most of interest to us now are the manuscripts the source of De origine actibusque Getarum (The Origin and Deeds of the Goths), or Getica, written in Latin (probably Jordanes' third language) at Constantinople about 551 CE. He was asked by a friend 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 Moesia, modern northern Bulgaria.

The Origin and Deeds of the Goths

The Origin and Deeds of the Goths PDF

Author: Jordanes

Publisher: CreateSpace

Published: 2011-08-23

Total Pages: 170

ISBN-13: 9781466261242

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English - Latin parallel text edition. Jordanes was a 6th century Roman bureaucrat, who turned his hand to history later in life. While he also wrote Romana about the history of Rome, his best-known work is his Getica, written in Constantinople about AD 551. It is the only extant classical work dealing with the early history of the Goths. Jordanes was asked by a friend to write this book as a summary of a now lost multi-volume history of the Goths by the statesman Cassiodorus. He was selected for his known interest in history, his ability to write succinctly, and because of his own Gothic background. He had been a high-level notarius, or secretary, of a small client state on the Roman frontier in Moesia, modern northern Bulgaria. Other writers, e.g. Procopius, wrote works still extant on the later history of the Goths. As the only surviving work on Gothic origins, the Getica has been the object of much critical review. Jordanes wrote in Late Latin rather than the classical Ciceronian Latin. According to his own introduction, he only had three days to review what Cassiodorus had written, meaning that he must also have relied on his own knowledge. Some of his statements are laconic. A pukka classic from www.arepo.biz

The Gothic: A Very Short Introduction

The Gothic: A Very Short Introduction PDF

Author: Nick Groom

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2012-09-27

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13: 0191642398

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The Gothic is wildly diverse. It can refer to ecclesiastical architecture, supernatural fiction, cult horror films, and a distinctive style of rock music. It has influenced political theorists and social reformers, as well as Victorian home décor and contemporary fashion. Nick Groom shows how the Gothic has come to encompass so many meanings by telling the story of the Gothic from the ancient tribe who sacked Rome to the alternative subculture of the present day. This unique Very Short Introduction reveals that the Gothic has predominantly been a way of understanding and responding to the past. Time after time, the Gothic has been invoked in order to reveal what lies behind conventional history. It is a way of disclosing secrets, whether in the constitutional politics of seventeenth-century England or the racial politics of the United States. While contexts change, the Gothic perpetually regards the past with fascination, both yearning and horrified. It reminds us that neither societies nor individuals can escape the consequences of their actions. The anatomy of the Gothic is richly complex and perversely contradictory, and so the thirteen chapters here range deliberately widely. This is the first time that the entire story of the Gothic has been written as a continuous history: from the historians of late antiquity to the gardens of Georgian England, from the mediaeval cult of the macabre to German Expressionist cinema, from Elizabethan Revenge Tragedy to American consumer society, from folk ballads to vampires, from the past to the present. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

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