by the Gothic swarms already engaged in the service, or seated in the provinces, of the empire; and each bold Barbarian, who had heard of the wealth and beauty of Italy, was impatient to seek, through the most perilous adventures, the possession of such enchanting objects. The march of Theodoric must be considered as the emigration of an entire people; the wives and children of the Goths, their aged parents, and most precious effects, were carefully transported; and some idea may be formed of the heavy baggage that now followed the camp, by the loss of two thousand waggons, which had been sustained in a single action in the war of Epirus. For their subsistence, the Goths depended on the magazines of corn which was ground in portable mills by the hands of their women; on the milk and flesh of their flocks and herds; on the casual produce of the chase, and upon the contributions which they might impose on all who should presume to dispute the passage, or to refuse their friendly assistance. Notwithstanding these precautions, they were exposed to the danger, and almost to the distress, of famine, in a march of seven hundred miles, which had been undertaken in the depth of a rigorous winter. Since the fall of the Roman power, Dacia and Pannonia no longer exhibited the rich prospect of populous cities, well-cultivated fields, and convenient highways: the reign of barbarism and desolatian was restored, and the tribes of Bulgarians, Gepidæ, and Sarmatians, who had occupied the vacant province, were prompted by their native fierceness, or the solicitations of Odoacer, to resist the progress of his enemy. In many obscure though bloody battles, Theodoric fought and vanquished; till at length, surmounting every obstacle by skilful conduct and persevering courage, he descended from the Julian Alps, and displayed his invincible banners on the confines of Italy.17 CHAP. XXXIX. Odoacer, a rival not unworthy of his arms, had alrea- The three dy occupied the advantageous and well-known post of the defeats of river Sontius near the ruins of Aquileia; at the head of 17 Theodoric's march is supplied aud illustrated by Ennodius (p. 1598... 1602), when the bombast of the oration is translated into the language of Cominon sense. Odoacer, CHAP. XXXIX. A. D. 489, Aug. 28. Sep. 27; AD. 4.0, August. a powerful host, whose independent kings 18 or leaders disdained the duties of subordination and the prudence of delays. No sooner had Theodoric granted a short repose and refreshment to his wearied cavalry, than he boldly attacked the fortifications of the enemy; the Ostrogoths shewed more ardour to acquire, than the mercenaries to defend, the lands of Italy; and the reward of the first victory was the possession of the Venetian province as far as the walls of Verona. In the neighbourhood of that city, on the steep banks of the rapid Adige, he was opposed by a new army reinforced in its numbers, and not impaired in its courage: the contest was more obstinate, but the event was still more decisive; Odoacer fled to Ravenna, Theodoric advanced to Milan, and the vanquished troops saluted their conqueror with loud acclamations of respect and fidelity. But their want either of constancy or of faith, soon exposed him to the most imminent danger; his vanguard, with several Gothic counts which had been rashly entrusted to a deserter, was betrayed and destroyed near Faenza by his double treachery: Odoacer again appeared master of the field, and the invader, strongly entrenched in his camp of Pavia, was reduced to solicit the aid of a kindred nation, the Visigoths of Gaul. In the course of this history, the most voracious appetite for war will be abundantly satiated, nor can I much lament that our dark and imperfect materials do not afford a more ample narrative of the distress of Italy, and of the fierce conflict, which was finally decided by the abilities, experience, and valour of the Gothic king. Immediately before the battle of Verona, he visited the tent of his mother 19 and sister, and requested, that on a day, the most illustrious festival of his life, they would adorn him with the rich garments which they had worked with their own hands. "Our glory," said he, 18 Tot reges, &c. (Ennodius, p. 1602). We must recollect how much the royal title was multiplied and degrade 1, and that the mercenaries of Italy were the fragments of many tribes and nations. 19 See Ennodius, p. 1603, 1604. Since the orator, in the king's presence, could, mention and praise his mother, we may conclude that the magnanimity of Theodoric was not hurt by the vulgar reproaches of concubine and bastard. " is mutual and inseparable. You are known to the world "as the mother of Theodoric; and it becomes me to prove, that I am the genuine offspring of those heroes "from whom I claim my descent." The wife or concubine of Theodemir was inspired with the spirit of the German matrons, who esteemed their sons' honour far above their safety: and it is reported, that in a desperate action, when Theodoric himself was hurried along by the torrent of a flying crowd, she boldly met them at the entrance of the camp, and, by her generous reproaches, drove them back on the swords of the enemy.20 CHAP. XXXIX. death, From the Alps to the extremity of Calabria, Theodo- His capituric reigned by the right of conquest: the Vandal ambas- lation, and sadors surrendered the island of Sicily, as a lawful appen- A D 493, dage of his kingdom; and he was accepted as the deliverer March, 5. of Rome by the senate and people, who had shut their gates against the flying usurper.21 Ravenna alone, secure in the fortifications of art and nature, still sustained a siege of almost three years; and the daring sallies of Odoacer carried slaughter and dismay into the Gothic camp. At length, destitute of provisions and hopeless of relief, that unfortunate monarch yielded to the groans of his subjects and the clamours of his soldiers. A treaty of peace was negociated by the bishop of Ravenna; the Ostrogoths were admitted into the city, and the hostile kings consented, under the sanction of an oath, to rule with equal and undivided authority the provinces of Italy. The event of such an agreement may be easily foreseen. After some days had been devoted to the semblance of joy and friendship, Odoacer, in the midst of a solemn banquet, was stabbed by the hand, or at least by the command, of his rival. Secret and effectual orders had been previously dispatched; the faithless and rapacious mercenaries, at the 20 This anecdote is related on the modern but respectable authority of Sigonius (op. tom. i. p. 580. De Occident. Imp. 1. xv): his words are curious...." Would you return?" &c. She presented and almost displayed the original recess. 21 Hist. Miscell. 1. xv. a Roman history from Janus to the ixth century, an Epitome of Eutropius, Paulus Diaconus, and Theophanes, which Muratori has published from a MS. in the Ambrosian library (Script. Rerum Italicarum, tom. i. p. 100). CHAP. XXXIX. same moment, and without resistance, were universally massacred; and the royalty of Theodoric was proclaimed by the Goths, with the tardy, reluctant, ambiguous consent of the emperor of the East. The design of a conspiracy was imputed, according to the usual forms, to the prostrate tyrant; but his innocence, and the guilt of his conqueror,22 are sufficiently proved by the advantageous treaty which force would not sincerely have granted, nor weakness have rashly infringed. The jealousy of power, and the mischiefs of discord, may suggest a more decent apology, and a sentence less rigorous may be pronounced against a crime which was necessary to introduce into Reign of Italy a generation of public felicity. The living author of Theodoric, this felicity was audaciously praised in his own presence king of Italy; by sacred and profane orators;23 but history (in his time. she was mute and inglorious) has not left any just repreA. D. 2, sentation of the events which displayed, or of the defects August 30, which clouded, the virtues of Theodoric.24 One record of his fame, the volume of public epistles composed by Cassiodorius in the royal name, is still extant, and has obtained more implicit credit than it seems to deserve.25 They exhibit the forms, rather than the substance, of his government; and we should vainly search for the pure A. D. 493. 22 Procopius (Gothic. 1. i. c. 1.) approves himself an impartial sceptic: φασι . . JoλEPY TROTTY EXTEIVE. Cassiodorius (in Chron.) and Ennodius (p. 1604) are loyal and credulous, and the testimony of the Valesian Fragment (p. 718.) may justify their belief. Marcellinus spits the venom of a Greek subject.... perjuriis illectus, interfectusque est (in Chron). 23 The sonorous and servile oration of Ennodius was pronounced at Milan or Ravenna in the years 507 or 508 (Sirmond, tom. i. p. 1615). Two or three years afterwards, the orator was rewarded with the bishopric of Pavia, which he held till his death in the year 521. (Dupin. Bibliot. Eccles. tom. v. p. 11...14. See Saxii Onomasticon, tom. ii. p. 12). 24 Our best ma erials are occasional hints from Procopius and the Valesian Fragment, which was discovered by Sirmond, and is published at the ead of Ammianus Marcellinus The author's name is unknown, and his style is barbarous; but in his various facts he exhibits the knowledge, withou the passions, of a contemporary. The president Montesquieu had formed the plan of an history of Theodoric, which at a dis.ance might appear a rich and interesting object. 25 The best edition of the Variarum Libri xii. is that of Joh. Garretius (Rotomagi, 1679, in Opy. Cassiodor. 2 vel. in fol.) but they deserved and required such an editor as the Marquis Scipio Maffei, who thought of publishing them at Verona. The Barbara Eleganza (as it is ingeniously named by Tiraboschi) is never simple, and seldom perspicuous. and spontaneous sentiments of the Barbarian amidst the declamation and learning of a sophist, the wishes of a Roman senator, the precedents of office, and the vague professions, which, in every court and on every occasion, compose the language of discreet ministers. The reputation of Theodoric may repose with more confidence on the visible peace and prosperity of a reign of thirty-three years; the unanimous esteem of his own times, and the memory of his wisdom and courage, his justice and humanity, which was deeply impressed on the minds of the Goths and Italians. CHAP. XXXIX. of lands. The partition of the lands of Italy, of which Theodo- Partition ric assigned the third part to his soldiers, is honourably arraigned as the sole injustice of his life. And even this act may be fairly justified by the example of Odoacer, the rights of conquest, the true interest of the Italians, and the sacred duty of subsisting a whole people, who, on the faith of his promises, had transported themselves into a distant land. Under the reign of Theodoric, and in the happy climate of Italy, the Goths soon multiplied to a formidable host of two hundred thousand men,27 and the whole amount of their families may be computed by the ordinary addition of women and children. Their invasion of property, a part of which must have been already vacant, was disguised by the generous but improper name of hospitality; these unwelcome guests were irregularly dispersed over the face of Italy, and the lot of each Barbarian was adequate to his birth and office, the number of his followers, and the rustic wealth which he possessed in slaves and cattle. The distinctions of noble and plebeian were acknowledged; 28 but the lands of every freeman. were exempt from taxes, and he enjoyed the inestimable 26 Procopius, Gothic. I. i. c. 1. Variarum, ii. Maffei (Verona Illustrata, p. i. p. 228), exaggerates the injustice of the Goths, whom he hated as an Italian noble. The plebeian Muratori crouches under their oppression. 27 Procopius, Goth. 1. iii. c. 4. 21. Ennodius describes (p. 1612, 1613.) the military arts and increasing numbers of the Goths. 28 When Theod ric gave his sister to the king of the Vandals, she sailed from Africa with a guard of 1000 noble Goths, each of whom was attended by five armed followers (Procop. Vandal. 1. i. c. 8). The Gothic nobility must have been as numerous as brave. |