Discover

'Jordanes' (also 'Jordanis' or even 'Iornandes'), was a 6th century bureaucrat,^[1] who turned his hand to history later in life.
Though he wrote a history of Rome (''Romana''), the work that has attracted most interest is his ''Getica'', written at Constantinople^[2] about 551 CE.^[3] It the only remaining classical work dealing with the early history of the Goths.
Jordanes 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.^[4]
Others, e.g. Procopius, wrote extant works on the later history of the Goths. As the only surviving work on Gothic ''origins'', Jordanes' ''Getica'' has been the object of much critical review. Jordanes wrote in late Latin, denigrated by Classicists for its non-conformance to the rules of classical Ciceronian Latin. According to his own introduction, he only had three days to review Cassiodorus' work; thus, he must have been relying on his own knowledge. Some of his statements are very succinct.

Contents

Life

Works

Notes

References

External links

Life

Jordanes writes about himself almost in passing:^[5][5]
:''The Sciri, moreover, and the Sadagarii and certain of the Alani with their leader, Candac by name, received Scythia Minor and Lower Moesia. Paria, the father of my father Alanoviiamuth (that is to say, my grandfather), was secretary to this Candac as long as he lived. To his sister's son Gunthigis, also called Baza, the Master of the Soldiery, who was the son of Andag the son of Andela, who was descended from the stock of the Amali, I also, Jordanes, although an unlearned man before my conversion, was secretary.''
Already in the Mommsen text edition of 1882 it was suggested that the very long name of Jordanes father should be split into two parts: ''Alanovii Amuthis'', both genitive forms. Jordanes father's name would then be Amuth. The preceding word should then belong to Candac, signifying that he was an Alan. Mommsen, however, dismissed suggestions to emend a currupt text.^[7]
Paria was Jordanes' paternal grandfather. Jordanes writes that he was secretary to Candac, ''dux Alanorum'', an otherwise unknown leader of the Alans.
Jordanes was ''notarius'', or secretary to Gunthigis Baza, a magister militum, nephew of Candac, of the leading Ostrogoth clan of the Amali.
This was ''ante conversionem meam'' ("before my conversion"). The nature and details of the conversion remain obscure. The conversion was probably not from paganism to Christianity. The Goths had been converted with the assistance of Ulfilas (a Goth), made bishop on that account. However, the Goths had adopted Arianism. Jordanes conversion may have been a conversion to the Nicene creed (trinitarian), which may be expressed in anti-Arianism in certain passages in ''Getica''.^[8] In the letter to Vigilius he mentions that he was awakened ''vestris interrogationibus'', "by your questioning".
Alternatively, Jordanes' ''conversio'' may mean that he had become a monk, or a ''religiosus'', or a member of the clergy. Some manuscripts say that he was a bishop, some even say bishop of Ravenna, but the name Jordanes is not known in the lists of bishops of Ravenna.

Works

Jordanes wrote his ''Romana'' at the behest of a certain Vigilius. Although some scholars have identified this person with pope Vigilius, there is nothing else to support the identification besides the name. The form of address that Jordanes uses and his admonition that Vigilius "''turn to God''" would seem to rule out this identification.^[9]
In the preface to his ''Getica'', Jordanes writes that he is interrupting his work on the ''Romana'' at the behest of a brother Castalius, who apparently knew that Jordanes had had the twelve volumes of the History of the Goths by Cassiodorus at home. Castalius would like to have a short book about the subject, and Jordanes complies by making an excerpt based on memory (and notes, one must assume), possibly supplemented with other material he had access to. The ''Getica'' sets off with a geography/ethnography of the North, especially of Scandza (16-24). He lets the history of the Goths commence with the emigration of Berig with three ships from Scandza to Gothiscandza (25, 94), in a distant past. In the pen of Jordanes (or Cassiodorus), Herodotus' Getian demi-god Zalmoxis becomes a king of the Goths (39). Jordanes tells how the Goths sacked "Troy and Ilium" just after they had recovered somewhat from the war with Agamemnon (108). They are also said to have encountered the Egyptian pharaoh Vesosis (47). Jordanes' less fictional part of the work begins when the Goths encounter Roman military forces in the third century AD. The work concludes with the defeat of the Goths by the Byzantine general Belisarius. Jordanes concludes the work by stating that he writes to honour those who were victorious over the Goths after a history of 2030 years.

Notes

1. "If Jordanes was a bishop (as is frequently assumed) and if he lived in Italy (also frequently assumed), those elements of his background have left no trace in his two histories" (
2. "Constantinople is "our city" (''Getica'' 38).
3. He mentions the great plague of 546 as having occurred "nine years ago" (''Getica'' 104.)
4. Croke 1987.
5.
6.
7.
8. ''Getica'' 132, 133, 138, noted by Croke 1987:125
9.

References

★ Mierow, Charles Christopher, ''The Gothic History of Jordanes: In English with an Introduction and a Commentary'', 1915. Reprinted 2006. Evolution Publishing, ISBN 978-1-889758-77-0. [1]

★

★

External links

★ Jordanes, ''The Origins and Deeds of the Goths'', translated by Charles C. Mierow. alternative.

★

★

★ The Origins and Deeds of the Goths