THE CAMBRIDGE MEDIEVAL HISTORY I 114
The Conversion of the Goths to Christianity
7-15. The Conversion of the Goths to Christianity
Born of Christian parents about the year 310-11 in the country of the Goths, he grew up as a Goth among the Goths, although Greek blood flowed in his veins. One or other of his parents came of a Christian family from the neighbourhood of Parnasus in Cappadocia which had been carried into captivity by the Goths in the time of Gallienus (264). First employed as a Reader, he was, at the age of about 30, that is to say about the year 341, consecrated as bishop of the Christian community in the land of the Goths, by Eusebius of Nicomedia, the famous leader of the Arian party, at that time bishop of Constantinople. Equally efficient as missionary and as organiser, Ulfila gathered and united the scattered confessors of the Christian faith, and, by his enthusiastic preaching of the Gospel he won for it many new adherents. For seven years he worked with great success among his fellow-countrymen, and then he was suddenly obliged (c. 348) to interrupt his work.
A "godless and impious prince," probably Athanarich, inflicted cruel persecution on the Christians who dwelt within his dominion, by which the newly organised church was scattered and its bishop compelled to leave his home. Ulfila gathered together his adherents or as many of them as had escaped the persecution and fled with them across the Danube into Roman territory, where the Emperor Constantius gave him shelter. Here he lived and worked (in the neighbourhood of Nicopolis) as the priestly, and also as the political, head of the Goths who had accompanied him in his flight, until 380 or 381 — in very truth the apostle of the Goths, and not least so in virtue of his great work of translating the Bible, by which he transmitted to his people the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures for all time; and although his missionary activity in his native land had early been brought to a close, yet the conversion of the whole Gothic race to Arian Christianity was nothing else than the harvest of that seed which he had sown in those first years of his work among them.
Soon after the death of Constantius (361) the friendly relations between the West Goths and the Empire began to change. Scarcely had Valentinian and Valens ascended the throne when there was an open rupture. First, towards the end of 364, predatory bands of Goths devastated Thrace — at the same time there was an incursion of the Quadi and Sarmatians into Pannonia — then in the spring of 365 the whole Gothic nation prepared for a great expedition against the Roman territory. Once more the danger was averted; Valens, although he was on the march for Syria and had already reached Bithynia, at once took vigorous measures to cope with it. Two years later however came the long-expected collision. Valens himself advanced to the attack.
He found a pretext in the ambiguous attitude of the Goths in recent years, especially in their having aided the usurper Procopius with a contingent of 3,000 men (winter of 365-6). In the summer of 367 the Roman army crossed the Danube. Yet no events of decisive importance took place, either in this or the two following years — for the war lasted till 369. The Goths, who had chosen as their leader Athanarich, skilfully avoided a pitched battle, and they withdrew into the fastnesses of the Transylvanian highlands. In the end both sides were weary of the war and negotiations were set on foot, which resulted in a treaty of peace whereby the alliance with the Tervingi was formally annulled and the Danube was established as the boundary between the two powers.
Immediately after the war, which had restored the status quo of the beginning of the century, and therewith the complete liberty of the Goths, the Romans set to work on a thorough restoration of the frontier defences. Numerous burgi (barrier forts) were erected along the line of the Danube, as we learn in part from the evidence of inscriptions. Yet at first the frontier remained undisturbed. Internal dissensions and strife, chiefly due to a general persecution of the Christians stirred up by Athanarich about the year 370, withdrew his attention from external affairs. The Gothic prince shewed the utmost ferocity against all Christians, without distinction of high or low, Arian, Catholic, or Audian, with the avowed intention of extirpating Christianity as dangerous to the State and deleterious to the strength and vigour of the nation.
Probably in connexion with this, there arose (c. 370) a violent conflict between the two most influential chiefs, Athanarich and Fritigern, which finally led to an open schism between two portions of the race. Fritigern was worsted, retired with his whole following into Roman territory, and placed himself under the protection of the Emperor, who readily accorded him all possible succour and support. This step had an important result for the cause of the persecuted Christians, inasmuch as Fritigern with all his followers went over to Christianity and adopted the Arian creed. This conversion of Fritigern to Christianity, and, moreover, to Arian Christianity, powerfully influenced the further development of events, since, on the one hand, it prepared the way for the wider extension and final victory of Christianity among the Goths, and on the other hand it became a serious danger to the political existence of the nation when Arianism had been suppressed among the Romans, for it had acquired a virtually national significance for the Goths.
The sojourn of Fritigern in Roman territory was not of long duration. Confident in the support of the Roman government, he returned with his followers to his own country and succeeded in maintaining his position against Athanarich, there seems indeed to have been a reconciliation between the rivals. Alongside of them, though doubtless inferior to them in power and influence, a whole series of important chiefs are mentioned by name in this period, among them Alavio, Munderich, Eriwulf, and Fravitta. At the same time, however, Athanarich continued to exercise a certain primacy, although his position was not in any sense constitutionally defined — among the Romans he always bears the title of judex not rex.
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