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Theodoric the Great (454 – August 30, 526), known to the Romans as Flavius Theodoricus, was king of the Ostrogoths (471-526),[1] ruler of Italy (493–526), and regent of the Visigoths (511–526). Events 1363 - Beginning date of the Battle of Lake Poyang; the forces of two Chinese rebel leaders— Chen Youliang and Events By Place Europe Athalaric succeeds Theodoric as king of the Ostrogoths, and Amalaric becomes king of the The Ostrogoths (Ostrogothi or Austrogothi were a branch of the Goths, an East Germanic tribe that played a major role in the political events of the late Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest A regent, from the Latin regens "who reigns" is a person selected to act as Head of state (ruling or not because the ruler is a minor The Visigoths (Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, or Wisi were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East He became a hero of Germanic legend as Þeodric in English legends, Dietrich von Bern in German legends and as Þjóðrekr and Þiðrekr in Norse mythology. Norse mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and Legends of the Scandinavian peoples including those who settled on Iceland

Contents

Youth

The man who ruled under the name of Theodoric was born in 454 on the banks of the Neusiedler See near Carnuntum, a year after the Ostrogoths had thrown off nearly a century of domination by the Huns. Lake Neusiedl (Neusiedlersee Fertő tó is the second largest Steppe lake in Central Europe, straddling the Austrian Hungarian border Carnuntum (Καρνοιις in Ptolemy) was an important Roman army camp in what is now Austria. The Huns were an early confederation of Central Asian equestrian nomads or semi-nomads with a Turkic core of aristocracy The son of the King Theodemir and Erelieva, Theodoric went to Constantinople as a young boy, as a hostage to secure the Ostrogoths' compliance with a treaty Theodemir had concluded with the Byzantine Emperor Leo. Theodemir was king of the Ostrogoths of the Amal Dynasty, and father of Theodoric the Great. Ereleuva (born before AD 440, died ca 500 ? was the mother of the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great. Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security

He lived at the court of Constantinople for many years and learned a great deal about Roman government and military tactics, which served him well when he became the Gothic ruler of a mixed but largely Romanized people. Treated with favor by the Emperors Leo I and Zeno, he became magister militum (Master of Soldiers) in 483, and one year later he became consul. Flavius Zeno, original name Tarasicodissa or Trascalissaeus, Byzantine Emperor ( Circa Magister militum ( Latin for "Master of the Soldiers" was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Consul (abbrev cos; Latin plural consules) was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire He afterwards returned to live among the Ostrogoths when he was 31 years old, and became their king in 488.

Reign

Further information: Ostrogothic Kingdom

At the time, the Ostrogoths were settled in Byzantine territory as foederati (allies) of the Romans, but were becoming restless and increasingly difficult for Zeno to manage. The Ostrogothic Kingdom established by the Ostrogoths in Italy and neighbouring areas lasted from 493 to 553. Foederatus (pl foederati) is a Latin term whose definition and usage drifted in the time between the early Roman Republic and the Not long after Theodoric became king, the two men worked out an arrangement beneficial to both sides. The Ostrogoths needed a place to live, and Zeno was having serious problems with Odoacer, the King of Italy who had overthrown the Western Roman Empire in 476. Odoacer (435–493 also known as Odovacar (from the Germanic Audawakrs, meaning "watchful of wealth" was a Roman general and the The Western Roman Empire refers to the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 285 the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Ostensibly a viceroy for Zeno, Odoacer was menacing Byzantine territory and not respecting the rights of Roman citizens in Italy. At Zeno's encouragement, Theodoric invaded Odoacer's kingdom.

Theodoric came with his army to Italy in 488, where he won the battles of Isonzo and Verona in 489 and at the Adda in 490. The Battle of Isonzo is the name given to the battle fought on the August 28 on the banks of the Isontius River not far away from Aquileia. The Adda (Latin Abdua, or Addua) is a river in North Italy, a tributary of the Po. In 493 he took Ravenna. Ravenna is a City and Comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. On February 2, 493, Theodoric and Odoacer signed a treaty that assured both parties would rule over Italy. A banquet was organised in order to celebrate this treaty. It was at this banquet that Theodoric, after making a toast, killed Odoacer with his own hands.

Like Odoacer, Theodoric was ostensibly only a viceroy for the emperor in Constantinople. A viceroy is a royal official who governs a country or province in the name of and as representative of the Monarch. In reality, he was able to avoid imperial supervision, and dealings between the emperor and Theodoric were as equals. Unlike Odoacer, however, Theodoric respected the agreement he had made and allowed Roman citizens within his kingdom to be subject to Roman law and the Roman judicial system. The Goths, meanwhile, lived under their own laws and customs. In 519, when a mob had burned down the synagogues of Ravenna, Theodoric ordered the town to rebuild them at its own expense. Events By Place Europe Cerdic becomes king of Wessex. The Synagogues of Ravenna are A synagogue (from Greek: grc συναγωγή transliterated synagogē, "assembly" he בית כנסת beit knesset, "house of

Theodoric the Great sought alliances with, or hegemony over, the other Germanic kingdoms in the west. He allied with the Franks by his marriage to Audofleda, sister of Clovis I, and married his own female relatives to princes or kings of the Visigoths, Vandals and Burgundian. The Franks or Frankish people (Franci or gens Francorum) were West Germanic tribes first identified in the 3rd century as an Ethnic group Clovis I (c 466 &ndash 27 November 511) was the first King of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler The Visigoths (Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, or Wisi were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East The Burgundians or Burgundes were an East Germanic tribe which may have emigrated from mainland Scandinavia to the island of Bornholm, whose He stopped the Vandals from raiding his territories by threatening the weak Vandal king Thrasamund with invasion, and sent a guard of 5,000 troops with his sister Amalfrida married Thrasamund in 500. Thrasamund (450-523 King of the Vandals and Alans (496-523 was the fourth king of the north African Kingdom of the Vandals and reigned longer than any other For much of his reign, Theodoric was the de facto king of the Visigoths as well, becoming regent for the infant Visigothic king, his grandson Amalric, following the defeat of Alaric II by the Franks under Clovis in 507. Amalaric, or in Spanish and Portuguese, Amalarico, (502 &ndash 531 was a son of king Alaric II and of Theodegotho daughter of Theodoric Alaric II, also known as Alarik Alarich and Alarico in Spanish and Portuguese or Alaricus in Latin (d The Franks able to wrest control of Aquitaine from the Visigoths, but otherwise, Theodoric was able to defeat their incursions. Aquitaine (Aquitània Akitania archaic Guyenne / Guienne (Occitan Guiana) is one of the 26 Regions of France, in the south-western part of

Maximum extent of territories ruled by Theodoric, in 523.
Maximum extent of territories ruled by Theodoric, in 523.

Thedoric's achievements began to unravel even before his death. He had married his daughter Amalasuntha to the Visigoth Eutharic, but Eutharic died in 522 or 523, so no lasting dynastic connection of Ostrogoths and Visigoths was established. Amalasuntha (also known as Amalasuentha, Amalaswintha, Amalasuintha or Amalasontha) (died 535 was a queen of the Ostrogoths. In 522, the Catholic Burgundian king Sigismund killed his own son, Theodoric's grandson, Sergeric. Catholic is an Adjective derived from the Greek adjective '' / 'katholikos' meaning "whole" or "complete". Theodoric retaliated by invading, probably in 523, annexing the southern part of the Burgundian kingdom. The rest was ruled Sigismund's Arian brother Godomar, under Gothic protection against the Franks who had captured Sigismund. Godomar (or Gundomar) son of king Gundobad, was king of Burgundy. This brought the territory ruled by Theodoric to its height (see map), but in 523 or 524 the new Catholic Vandal king Hilderic imprisoned Amalfrida, and killed her Gothic guard. Hilderic, King of the Vandals and Alans (c 460s - 533 reigned 523-530 was the pentultimate ruler of the North African Kingdom of the Theodoric was planning an expedition to restore his power over the Vandal kingdom when he died in 526.

Legacy

Brick with the emblem of Theodoric, found in the temple of Vesta, Rome.
Brick with the emblem of Theodoric, found in the temple of Vesta, Rome. The Temple of Vesta ( Latin: Aedes Vestae) in the Roman Forum stands between the Temple of Castor and Pollux, the Temple of Caesar,

Theodoric the Goth was neither Frank nor Hun. He had great respect for the Roman culture he saw himself as representing. He had an eye for outstanding talent. In about 520 the philosopher Boethius became his magister officiorum, (head of all the government and court services). Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (480&ndash524 or 525 was a Christian philosopher of the 6th century Boethius was a man of science, a dedicated Hellenist bent on translating all the works of Aristotle into Latin and harmonizing them with the works of Plato, not an easy task. Eventually Boethius fell out of favor with Theodoric, perhaps out of a suspicion that he was in sympathy with Justin, emperor of the East, for Arian Theodoric was always somewhat of an outsider among Nicaean Christians. Theodoric ordered Boethius executed in 525. In the meantime Cassiodorus had succeeded Boethius as magister in 523. Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c 485 - c 585 commonly known as Cassiodorus, was a Roman statesman and great writer serving in the administration The pliant historian and courtier could be counted on to provide refined touches to official correspondence. "To the monarch you [Cassiodorus] were a friendly judge and an honored intimate. For when he got free of his official cares he looked to your conversation for the precepts of the sages, that he might make himself a worthy equal to the great men of old. Ever curious, he wanted to hear about the courses of the stars, the tides of the sea, and legendary fountains, that his earnest study of natural science might make him seem to be a veritable philosopher in the purple" (Cassiodorus' letterbook, Variae 9. 24. 8). The gulf was widening between the ancient senatorial aristocracy whose center was Rome and the adherents of Gothic rule at Ravenna: other distinguished public figures followed Boethius to the block. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Theodoric in his final years was no longer the disengaged Arian patron of religious toleration that he had seemed earlier in his reign. "Indeed, his death cut short what could well have developed into a major persecution of Catholic churches in retaliation for measures taken by Justin in Constantinople against Arians there" O'Donnell 1979, ch. 1.

The Mausoleum of Theodoric in Ravenna.
The Mausoleum of Theodoric in Ravenna.

Theodoric was of Arian faith. Arianism is the theological teaching of Arius (c AD 250-336 who was ruled a heretic by the Christian church at the Council of Nicea. At the end of his reign quarrels arose with his Roman subjects and the Byzantine emperor Justin I over the Arianism issue. Flavius Iustinus (c 450&ndash August 1, 527) known in English as Justin I, was an Byzantine Emperor (518&ndash527 who rose through the ranks Arianism is the theological teaching of Arius (c AD 250-336 who was ruled a heretic by the Christian church at the Council of Nicea. Relations between the two nations deteriorated, although Theodoric's ability dissuaded the Byzantines from waging war against him. After his death, that reluctance faded quickly. Theodoric the Great was interred in Ravenna. His mausoleum is one of the finest monuments in Ravenna. The Mausoleum of Theodoric ( Italian: Mausoleo di Teodorico) is an ancient monument just outside Ravenna, Italy. Ravenna is a City and Comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.

Family and Issue

Theodoric was married once.

He had a concubine in Moesia, name unknown, and had two daughters:

Married to Audofleda in 493 and had one daughter:

After his death in Ravenna in 526, Theodoric was succeeded by his grandson Athalaric. Athalaric ( 516 - 2 October 534) was the King of the Ostrogoths in Italy. Athalaric was at first represented by his mother Amalasuntha, who was a regent queen from 526 until 534. The kingdom of the Ostrogoths, however, began to wane and was conquered by Justinian I starting after the rebellion of 535 and finally ending in 553 with the Battle of Mons Lactarius. Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus ( Greek: Φλάβιος Πέτρος Σαββάτιος Ιουστινιανός; known in English as Justinian I or The Battle of Mons Lactarius (also known as Battle of the Vesuvius) took place in 553 during the Gothic War waged on behalf of Justinian I against

Legend

Theodoric was included into epic poetry as Dietrich von Bern, who is depicted as the archetype of the wise and just ruler. An epic is a lengthy Narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation An archetype ( pronounced: /ˈɑːkɪtaɪp/ (Brit or /ˈɑrkɪtaɪp/ (Amer The Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911) noted that "the legendary history of Dietrich differs so widely from the life of Theodoric that it has been suggested that the two were originally unconnected. " Anachronisms abound, for example in making Ermanaric (died 376) and Attila (died 453) contemporary with Theodoric (born 454). Ermanaric (died 376 was a king of the Gothic Greuthungi at the eve of the Migration Period. Bern is the Middle High German form of Verona, which was one of the historical Theodoric's residences. Middle High German (MHG German Mittelhochdeutsch) is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350 Verona is a city and provincial capital in Veneto, Northern Italy.

Dietrich figures in a number of surviving works, and it must be assumed that these draw on long-standing oral tradition. He first appears in the Hildebrandslied and the Nibelungenlied, in neither of which is Dietrich a central character, and other epics, which were composed or written down after 1250. The Lay of Hildebrand ( Das Hildebrandslied) is a Heroic Lay, written in Old High German Alliterative verse. The Nibelungenlied, translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem in Middle High German. In Scandinavia he appears on the Rök Stone, carved in Sweden in the 800s, in Guðrúnarkviða II and III of the Poetic Edda and in Þiðrekssaga. The Rök Runestone ( Swedish: Rökstenen; Ög 136) is one of the most famous Runestones featuring the longest known runic inscription "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Guðrúnarkviða II, The Second Lay of Gudrún, or Guðrúnarkviða hin forna, The Old Lay of Gudrún is probably the oldest Guðrúnarkviða III, The Third Lay of Gudrun, is a short Old Norse poem that is part of the Poetic Edda. The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval Manuscript Codex Regius. Þiðrekssaga (also Thidreksaga, Thidrekssaga, Niflungasaga or Vilkina saga) is a chivalric saga of the adventures of the He moreover appears in the Old English Waldere, Deor and Widsith poems. Waldere or Waldhere is the conventional title given to two Old English fragments from a lost Epic poem, discovered in 1860 by E " Deor " (or " The Lament of Deor " is an Old English poem, from the 10th century AD, preserved in the Exeter Book Widsith is an Old English poem of 144 lines that appears to date from the 9th century drawing on earlier Oral traditions of Anglo-Saxon tale singing

The earliest evidence of the legend is provided by the heroic lay, the Hildebrandslied, recorded in around 820. A hero (from Greek grc ἥρως hērōs) in Greek mythology and Folklore, was originally a Demigod, the offspring of a mortal and A lai was a song form composed in northern Europe, mainly France and Germany, from the 13th to the late 14th century. The Lay of Hildebrand ( Das Hildebrandslied) is a Heroic Lay, written in Old High German Alliterative verse. In this, Hadubrand recounts the story of his father Hildebrand's flight eastwards in the company of Dietrich, to escape the enmity of Odoacer (this character would later become his uncle Ermanaric). Odoacer (435–493 also known as Odovacar (from the Germanic Audawakrs, meaning "watchful of wealth" was a Roman general and the Ermanaric (died 376 was a king of the Gothic Greuthungi at the eve of the Migration Period. Hildebrand reveals that he has lived in exile for 30 years. Hildebrand has an arm ring given to him by the (unnamed) King of the Huns, and is taken to be an "old Hun" by Hadubrand. The obliqueness of the references to the Dietrich legend, which is just the background to Hildebrand's story, indicates an audience thoroughly familiar with the material. In this work Dietrich's enemy is the historically correct Odoacer (though in fact Theodoric the Great was never exiled by Odoacer), indicating that the figure of Ermaneric belongs to a later development of the legend. Odoacer (435–493 also known as Odovacar (from the Germanic Audawakrs, meaning "watchful of wealth" was a Roman general and the

In the heroic epic the Nibelungenlied (c. An epic is a lengthy Narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation The Nibelungenlied, translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem in Middle High German. 1200), Dietrich is living in exile at the court of Etzel (Attila), the Hunnish King. He fights on Etzel's side against the Burgundians, and his whole retinue apart from Hildebrand is slain. He ends the conflict by capturing Hagen and then Gunther in single combat. Hagen ( German form or Högni ( Old Norse Hǫgni, often anglicized as Hogni) is a Burgundian warrior in tales Gunnar redirects here Gunnar is also a character from the 2000AD comic strip Rogue Trooper Gunther (Gundahar

The Norse saga deals with Dietrich's return home. The most familiar version is that by an Icelandic or Norwegian author writing in Norway in the 13th century, who compiled a consecutive account of Dietrich, with many additional episodes. This Norse prose version, known as the Þiðrekssaga (Thidrek's saga), incorporates much extraneous matter from the Nibelungen and Weyland legends. Þiðrekssaga (also Thidreksaga, Thidrekssaga, Niflungasaga or Vilkina saga) is a chivalric saga of the adventures of the Wayland (also spelled Weyland, Wieland, Weland, Welent and Watlende) is a smith of Germanic legend

Bronze statue of Theodoric the Great , from the monument of the Emperor Maximillian in the Franciscan church at Innsbruck.
Bronze statue of Theodoric the Great , from the monument of the Emperor Maximillian in the Franciscan church at Innsbruck.

The late Heinz Ritter-Schaumburg reinspected the Old Swedish version of the Thidreks saga for the historical information it contained, and established its topographical accuracy. Further, he concluded that these oldest of the "Dietrich" sources cannot refer to Theodoric the Great of the Goths, whose movements are moderately well known, mainly because of irreconcilable topographical anomalies. Ritter-Schaumburg asserted that their narration relates instead to a contemporary of the famous Goth, who bore the same name, rendered Didrik in Old Swedish. Moreover, he identified Berne as Bonn to which was ascribed, in the medieval age, an alternative (Latinized) name Verona of unknown origin. Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located about 20 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia According to Ritter-Schaumburg, Dietrich lived as a Frankish petty king in Bonn. The Franks or Frankish people (Franci or gens Francorum) were West Germanic tribes first identified in the 3rd century as an Ethnic group [2] This theory has found much opposition by other scholars. [3],

Another modern author, Rolf Badenhausen, starts from Ritter-Schaumburg's approach but ends up with a different result. He claims Berne, where Thidrek/Didrik started his rise, to be identical with Varne, south of Aachen, the Roman Verona cisalpina, in the district of the northern Rhine/Eiffel lands. ( Ripuarian: Oche, Dutch: Aken, Spanish: Aquisgrán, Italian: Aquisgrana, French, North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen usually shortened to NRW, official short form NW is the westernmost and - in terms of population and economic output - the The Eifel is a low mountain range in western Germany. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia and northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate Thidrek/Didrik could be identified with Theuderich son of Clovis I, a royal Frank mentioned with approval by Gregory of Tours and in Fredegar's royal Frankish chronicle. Theuderic I (or Theuderich, Theoderic, or Theodoric; in French, Thierry) (484 &ndash 533 or 534 was the Merovingian king Clovis I (c 466 &ndash 27 November 511) was the first King of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler Saint Gregory of Tours ( November 30, c 538 &ndash November 17, 594) was a Gallo-Roman historian and bishop of Tours The Chronicle of Fredegar is a Chronicle that recounts the events of Frankish Gaul from 584 to around 641

In the Book of Bern (Buch von Bern) written in the late 13th century partly by Henry the Fowler, Dietrich tries to regain his empire with the help of the Huns. The Huns were an early confederation of Central Asian equestrian nomads or semi-nomads with a Turkic core of aristocracy In the collection of the Heldenbuch ("Book of Heroes"), Dietrich's story is related in Dietrichs Flucht ("Dietrich's Flight"), the Rabenschlacht ("The Battle of Ravenna") and Alpharts Tod ("Alphart's Death")

The legendary figure of Dietrich also appears in the 13th-century Rosengarten zu Worms ("Rosegarden at Worms"), the Epos of Biterolf, of Goldemar, of Ecke, Sigenot and Laurin. Das Heldenbuch ( Der Helden Buoch) is the title under which a large body of German Epic poetry of the 13th century has come down to us Ravenna is a City and Comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. The Rosengarten zu Worms is a 13th century Middle High German chivalric epic Worms (voɐms is a City in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River King Goldemar (also spelled Goldmar, Vollmar, and Volmar) is a Dwarf or Kobold from Germanic mythology and folklore

A fictionalized, but impressively researched, version of Theodoric's career is presented in Raptor, a novel by Gary Jennings. Raptor is a 1993 historical novel written by Gary Jennings. Plot Raptor is an historical novel set in the late fifth and early sixth centuries Gary Jennings ( September 20 1928 &ndash February 13 1999) was a U

Notes

  1. ^ Grun, Bernard [1946] (1991). The Timetable of History, New Third Revised Edition, New York: Simon & Schuster, pp. Simon & Schuster Inc, a division of CBS Corporation, is a Publisher founded in New York in 1924 by Richard L 30–31. ISBN 0-671-74271-X.  
  2. ^ Heinz Ritter-Schaumburg: Dietrich von Bern. König zu Bonn. Herbig: Munich / Berlin 1982
  3. ^ See, for example, the critical review by Henry Kratz, in The German Quarterly 56/4 (November 1983), p. 636-638.

References

Preceded by
Theodemir		King of the Ostrogoths
474–526		Succeeded by
Athalaric
Preceded by
Odoacer		King of Italy
493–526
Preceded by
Anicius Acilius Aginatius Faustus,
Post consulatum Trocundis (East)		Consul of the Roman Empire
484
with Decius Marius Venantius Basilius		Succeeded by
Q. Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language Encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia Theodemir was king of the Ostrogoths of the Amal Dynasty, and father of Theodoric the Great. The Ostrogoths (Ostrogothi or Austrogothi were a branch of the Goths, an East Germanic tribe that played a major role in the political events of the late Athalaric ( 516 - 2 October 534) was the King of the Ostrogoths in Italy. Odoacer (435–493 also known as Odovacar (from the Germanic Audawakrs, meaning "watchful of wealth" was a Roman general and the This is a list of Roman consuls Key Abbreviations Imp = Imperator suff The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Aurelius Memmius Symmachus,
Post consulatum Theoderici (East)

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