The People of the Arthurian Age, Episode IV: The Visigoths

It’s been a while since I did a “People of the Arthurian Age” segment, and as I tried to describe the events that led to Arthur’s battle with Euric in Gaul, I realized it was time to talk about the people who had the biggest impact in ending the Western Roman Empire: The Visigoths.

The Way Back Machine

Going far back in time, it’s usually more applicable to describe people by culture and language than by group identity. Like much of Europe, it begins with people speaking Proto-Indo-European languages originating north of the Black Sea who migrated westward starting about 6,000 years ago. Over time, the languages evolved and around 500 BC, we get the earliest Germanic languages from people living in the area of Scandinavia, Denmark and northern Germany. Over time, the language spread and dialects diverged, especially between Germanic speakers in the west and those who migrated back east.

The Goths are one of those tribes that appear in the east. According to the Roman historian Jordanes in his “The Origin and Deeds of the Goths“, they originated in Scandinavia and there is some evidence this is true, particularly south-central Sweden. From there, they came through Poland and by the 2nd Century AD had established themselves north of the Black Sea in modern Ukraine. There, they adopted some Sarmatian cultural aspects such as horsemanship, falconry and archery. In the 3rd century, they became a major problem for the Empire through raiding and piracy, but trade, military alliance, and frequent recruitment as mercenaries resulted in Romanization of the Goths, and for most of the 4th century, the Goths co-existed with the Empire.

Visigoths on the Move

Then, around 375, a new terror descended on eastern Europe: the Huns, fierce nomadic horse-warriors, swept out of central Asia, swiftly conquering and driving other tribes and nations westward. After absorbing the Alans, they defeated the Goths. Some of the Goths pushed west and south, arriving at the Roman border at the Danube in eastern Bulgaria. In 376, they asked the Eastern Roman Emperor, Valens, to be allowed to cross and settle in Roman lands, which he agreed to.

About a million Goths were evacuated across the river, but the Romans mismanaged the refugee resettlement. Roman generals took bribes to allow the Goths to keep their weapons, and local Roman officials charged exorbitant prices for food. There were reports that parents had to sell their children into Roman slavery in exchange for rotten dog meat. Finally, the Goths rebelled. Joined by escaped slaves, Roman army deserters, disaffected Roman workers, and yet more Goths crossing the Danube, the Gothic War raised havoc until the Battle of Adrianople in 378. Valens didn’t wait for reinforcements from the Western Empire, and was killed along with two-thirds of the Eastern Roman army.

The new Eastern Roman Emperor, Theodosius I, tried to rebuild the offensive against the Goths rampaging across the Balkans, but it had little effect, and finally in 382, the Romans and Goths made peace. The Visigoths (Western Goths) were settled in Roman lands west of Constantinople. The Ostrogoths (Eastern Goths) were those north of the Danube under Hunnish control. They were all called Goths at the time, though, the term “Vesi” was in use for the Visigoths in Arthur’s time. The Visigoths were given autonomy within the empire, in exchange for providing troops to the Roman army.

Alaric I rose to rule the Visigoths and served as a Roman general under Theodosius. Seeing the callous waste of his countrymen by the Romans in their civil wars, he finally rebelled. Theodosius soon after died of an illness, and as the Western and Eastern Empires fought each other again, Alaric led the Visigoth army on a rampage through Greece for a couple years. Under new management in Constantinople, Alaric was brought back into the fold by being given the office of Magister Militum of Illyricum (modern-day Croatia, Slovenia, and Albania).

That kept him quiet for a few years until yet another change in leadership in the Eastern Empire resulted in Alaric losing his Roman post and pay, as well as support for his people. So, probably desperate for provisions, angry with poor Roman treatment, and wanting to win a more stable country for his people, Alaric invaded Italy.

Now It Affects Britain

This was in 401 AD. An important date in the saga of Britain, as this is why the Western Empire withdrew the Roman army from Britain, which would lead to Britain’s independence in 410, and the eventual rise of Vortigern, Hengist, and Arthur.

Stilicho, commanding the Western Roman armies, fought Alaric and defeated him twice, but with threats on so many fronts, he was eager to make peace with Alaric and allowed the Visigoths to withdraw from Italy. Additionally, he gave Alaric back his Roman office, now paid and supported by the Western Empire, turning Alaric into an ally. More or less.

Around 407, western Germanic tribes started major invasions of Gaul and a rebellion in Britain included Constantine III being declared Western Emperor, in opposition to Honorius, in Rome. This left Stilicho with more than he could handle. Alaric took the opportunity to move his army into southern Austria, threatening to invade Italy again if not paid off in gold. The Roman senate was against this, and angry with Stilicho for letting Alaric get away twice, but Stilicho paid the bribe. Less than a year later, Stilicho’s supporters in the Senate were killed, and Honorius ordered Stilicho’s arrest and execution. Alaric was declared an Enemy of the Emperor, and Honorius’ men, seeking to purge any remaining supporters of Stilicho, instigated a massacre of the Goths across Italy, including their families. Tens of thousands were killed and the surviving Goths defected to Alaric, demanding he march on Rome and avenge them.

Rome In Trouble

Alaric again tried to make a deal with Rome that would grant him a legitimized role in government and a stable realm for the Visigoths, but was refused, so he led his army into Italy. With virtually no Western Roman army left to oppose him, he set a bloodless siege on Rome to starve them into submission. Rome soon agreed to a ransom of 5,000 pounds of gold, 30,000 pounds of silver, 4,000 silken tunics, 3,000 hides dyed scarlet, 3,000 pounds of pepper (a very valuable commodity), and to free 40,000 Goth slaves, which Alaric recruited into his army.

A year later, changes in Honorius’ court resulted in the emperor reneging on the peace process, so Alaric besieged Rome again. Alaric forced the Senate to declare a Roman Senator, Attalus, the new Western Roman Emperor and ratify the treaty. Alaric broke off the siege of Rome to accompany Attalus and march on Ravenna, where Honorius had taken refuge (the city was easily defended due to the marshes around it).

Attalus became unpopular in Rome, mismanaging dealings with Honorius and the grain shipments for Rome, leading Alaric to make him step down in the hopes that Honorius would agree to a peace deal. Honorius decided to try and wait out the Visigoths and declared Alaric the eternal enemy of the Republic. Alaric returned to besiege Rome a third time.

Either let in by starving Romans or rebelling slaves, the Visigoths entered Rome and proceeded to sack the city, the first time this had happened since the Gaulish Celts had sacked Rome 800 years earlier. It was a shock to the Roman world. The pillaging continued for three days, though Alaric did not allow them to loot churches. Alaric then led the army away to southern Italy, where more towns were sacked. He died a year later from a fever and was succeeded by Segeric, who was killed by his soldiers, who then elected Alaric’s brother-in-law, Ataulf.

A New Beginning for the Visigoths

Ataulf, wanting to restore relations with Honorius, led the Visigoths out of Italy into Gaul, which had been dealing with civil war and barbarian invasions. They conquered several cities in southern Gaul, including the eventual capital of the Visigoth kingdom, Toulouse. In 415, Ataulf was assassinated by the former servant of a rival that Ataulf had killed. Another king was elected and ruled for a week before being assassinated, and Wallia was elected king of the Visigoths.

Honorius offered Wallia and the Visigoths a treaty: support and pay in return for military service. The Visigoths were deployed to Spain to deal with the Vandals and Alans, and were immensely successful against them. Perhaps afraid of their success, Honorius’ magister militum recalled the Visigoths from Spain in 418 and gave them the province of Aquitania (southwestern France) to settle as autonomous federates. Wallia died before leaving Spain, and his son, Theodoric I, became king.

It should be noted, that Wallia’s daughter was the mother of Ricimer, one of the most impactful and deleterious figures of the Late Roman Empire, with important consequences for King Arthur and the end of the Western Roman Empire.

Theodoric settled the Visigoths in their new home, with their capital at Toulouse and things were relatively peaceful until Honorius died in 423. The power struggles that erupted within the empire gave Theodoric an opportunity, and his army expanded their control of southern Gaul. He laid siege to Arles, seat of the Praetorian Prefecture of Gaul, but Aëtius, the new commander of the Roman Army in Gaul arrived and caused Theodoric to withdraw back to Visigoth lands. The peace treaty was renewed, and hostages were exchanged, including Avitus, a future Roman emperor. Hostages in these situations were high ranking nobles who would live as a member of the household, so it wasn’t a bad situation, usually. Avitus became good friends with Theodoric and his sons.

Things were fairly stable for a while. In 430, Theodoric again tried to take Arles, but was defeated by Aëtius. Then, in 436, a new war broke out between Rome and the Visigoths. Theodoric took advantage of a peasant revolt in northwestern Gaul to ally with the Burgundians, Germanic federates in eastern Gaul, to rebel against Rome. Again. It took three years, but Aëtius, using Hunnish mercenaries, managed to force the Visigoths to peace talks, largely conducted by Avitus. This time, the Visigoths seemed to settle down. In fact, if not for the treaty, history may have turned out very different in Europe.

In 451, Atilla the Hun decided he could take Gaul from Rome, and invaded from Germania, sacking a number of cities. Aëtius cobbled together an army from what remained of the Roman army, along with Alans, Franks, Saxons, Burgundians, and Armoricans (including Britons who had settled there). Most importantly, Aëtius sent Avitus to convince Theodoric to join the fight. They met Atilla at the famous Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, northeast of Orleans. It was a victory for the West, and Atilla was forced to withdraw and return to Hungary. Theodoric was killed in the battle, but it was a flanking attack by his son, Thorismund, that turned the battle in Rome’s favor.

Theodoric was succeeded by Thorismund, who reigned two years before being murdered by his brother, Theodoric II. Theodoric II remained a faithful Roman ally in the beginning, especially when his friend, Avitus became emperor. Theodoric aided Rome militarily and used the excuse to expand into Spain. The citizens of Rome became upset with Avitus due to the foreign troops everywhere, dealing with food shortages caused by the Vandals controlling the breadbasket of North Africa and after another sacking of the city, this time by the Vandals in 455. Two generals, Majorian and Ricimer (yes, that one), led a coup against Avitus. Avitus was defeated and eventually killed, and Majorian soon became Emperor. Theodoric, enraged by this, no longer looked at Rome as a friend.

Now We’re Caught Up

In 461, Ricimer deposed and murdered his former friend, Majorian. As a barbarian, Ricimer was unable to become emperor, so he worked to install puppets, creating years of chaos in the Roman government. Aegidius (father of Syagrius, who features in my series) went to war with Ricimer. Despite his personal feelings, Theodoric took advantage of the situation by allying with Ricimer in return for Narbonne on the Mediterranean. When the war between Aegidius and Ricimer ended in stalemate, Aegidius withdrew north of the Loire River, and Theodoric essentially took control of the lands south of the Loire. Aegidius’ realm became a de facto autonomous state, though he claimed to be governing in the name of Rome.

In 463, Theodoric decided to try for the rest of Gaul. He sent his brother, Frederick, to invade Aegidius’ territory, but Frederick was defeated and killed at Orleans. Three years later, Theodoric’s younger brother, Euric, murdered and replaced Theodoric. This is the Euric that features in The Retreat to Avalon, Book 1 of The Arthurian Age. And hopefully that catches you up for some of my future posts. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out!