Praefectus Praetorio
R.I.P. Brother of the Quill
Some may have puzzled over the special Gothic letter, þ, thyth. It is similar to the Old English letter, Thorn or þorn, which has since been replaced by the diphthong, th. Remember that the Gothic alphabet (not the language) was borrowed from the Greek uncial script by Bishop Ulfilias, and Greek has the letter theta, θ, for the th sound.
Perceptive historical readers may have noticed something familiar about the headman's name. Almost exactly five years before the events of this story, the decisive Battle of Adrianople (9 August 378) took place. It was fought between an Eastern Roman army led by the Eastern Roman Emperor Valens and Gothic rebels led by a Thervingian Gothic chieftain named Fritigern. The battle took place in the Roman province of Thracia. It ended with an overwhelming victory for the Goths and the death of Emperor Valens.
Fritigern was latinized into Fritigernus. His Gothic name was Friþugairns "desiring peace". Fritigern is honored in the Walhalla temple under the name Friediger.
Within a year of his victory, Friþugairns disappeared from the historical record. Some have speculated that he was assassinated by a rival chieftain. Another legend recounts his disgust at the bloodshed of the battle (close to 20,000 deaths on the Roman side), which caused him to retire from warfare and lead his small personal tribe away to the West somewhere, seeking a peaceful life.
We have no reliable representations of the appearance of the Goths. I based my description of Friþugairns on the shakey consensus view.
Many amateur historians say that Clay Matthews of the US Pro Football team, the Green Bay Packers is an excellent example of a Goth. (though perhaps too blond. We presume that the goths had similar coloring to the Southern Scandinavians).
Perceptive historical readers may have noticed something familiar about the headman's name. Almost exactly five years before the events of this story, the decisive Battle of Adrianople (9 August 378) took place. It was fought between an Eastern Roman army led by the Eastern Roman Emperor Valens and Gothic rebels led by a Thervingian Gothic chieftain named Fritigern. The battle took place in the Roman province of Thracia. It ended with an overwhelming victory for the Goths and the death of Emperor Valens.
Fritigern was latinized into Fritigernus. His Gothic name was Friþugairns "desiring peace". Fritigern is honored in the Walhalla temple under the name Friediger.
Within a year of his victory, Friþugairns disappeared from the historical record. Some have speculated that he was assassinated by a rival chieftain. Another legend recounts his disgust at the bloodshed of the battle (close to 20,000 deaths on the Roman side), which caused him to retire from warfare and lead his small personal tribe away to the West somewhere, seeking a peaceful life.
We have no reliable representations of the appearance of the Goths. I based my description of Friþugairns on the shakey consensus view.
Many amateur historians say that Clay Matthews of the US Pro Football team, the Green Bay Packers is an excellent example of a Goth. (though perhaps too blond. We presume that the goths had similar coloring to the Southern Scandinavians).
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