Jordanes

Byzantium550

106 Conrad Cichorius, Die Reliefs der Traianssäule, Tafel CVI

Jordanes, also spelled as Jornandes, was a 6th-century Roman bureaucrat who later turned into a historian of Gothic origin. He is best known for his work Getica, also known as De Origine Actibusque Getarum, which is the only extant ancient work dealing comprehensively with the history of the Goths. This makes Jordanes a crucial source for the study of the Goths and the early history of Europe.

Life

Little is known about the life of Jordanes. He describes himself as a bureaucrat of Gothic descent who later decided to take on the task of writing history. His work suggests that he had access to a number of sources, including the now-lost Gothic History by Cassiodorus, a senator and historian who served under the Ostrogothic King Theodoric the Great. Jordanes wrote Getica around 551 AD, more than a century after the period he describes, which has led to debates about the accuracy and reliability of his account.

Works

Jordanes is most famous for two works: Getica, a history of the Goths, and Romana, a history of Rome. Getica is by far the more significant of the two, providing a narrative of the Goths from their mythic origins in Scandinavia to their role in the downfall of the Western Roman Empire and the establishment of the Ostrogothic kingdom in Italy. Romana, on the other hand, is a brief summary of Roman history.

Getica

Getica is divided into two parts: the first deals with the origins and early history of the Goths, blending history with mythology, while the second part covers the Gothic wars with the Roman Empire. Jordanes claimed to have summarized the now-lost 12-volume Gothic History by Cassiodorus in just one volume, leading to questions about what might have been omitted or altered in his account.

Legacy

Jordanes' works, especially Getica, are invaluable to historians for the study of the Goths and the late Roman Empire. Despite questions about his reliability, his account is one of the few sources that provide a continuous narrative of Gothic history. His descriptions of the Goths have influenced the perception of this group throughout history, contributing to the romanticized image of the noble barbarian.

Criticism and Historical Accuracy

Scholars have debated the accuracy of Jordanes' work, particularly his use of sources and his potential biases as a Goth writing about Gothic history. Some have suggested that his account is more a work of literature than a strict historical text. However, despite its limitations, Getica remains a critical source for understanding the period.