sity of incorporating the barbarians with its
polity have been already quoted. There, in the south-western corner of
Gaul and the northern regions of Spain, we must for the present leave
the Western branch of the great Gothic nationality, while our narrative
returns to its Eastern representatives.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

CHAPTER II.

THE MIGHT OF ATTILA.

The Ostrogoths under the Huns--The three royal brothers--Attila king of
the Huns--He menaces the Eastern Empire--He strikes at Gaul--Battle of
the Catalaunian plains--Invasion of Italy--Destruction of
Aquileia--Death of Attila and disruption of his Empire--Settlement of
the Ostrogoths in Pannonia.

For eighty years the power of the Ostrogoths suffered eclipse under the
shadow of Hunnish barbarism. As to this period we have little historical
information that is of any value. We hear of resistance to the Hunnish
supremacy vainly attempted and sullenly abandoned. The son and the
grandson of Hermanric figure as the shadowy heroes of this vain
resistance. After the death of the latter (King Thorismund) a strange
story is told us of the nation mourning his decease for forty years,
during all which time they refused to elect any other king to replace
him whom they had lost. There can be little doubt that this legend veils
the prosaic fact that the nation, depressed and dispirited under the
yoke of the conquering Huns, had not energy or patriotism enough to
choose a king; since almost invariably among the Teutons of that age,
kingship and national unity flourished or faded together.

At length, towards the middle of the fifth century after Christ, the
darkness is partially dispelled, and we find the Ostrogothic nation
owning the sovereignty of three brothers sprung from the Amal race, but
not direct descendants of Hermanric, whose names are Walamir, Theudemir,
and Widemir. "Beautiful it was", says the Gothic historian, "to behold
the mutual affection of these three brothers, when the admirable
Theudemir served like a common soldier under the orders of Walamir; when
Walamir adorned him with the crown at the same time that he conveyed to
him his orders; when Widemir gladly rendered his services to both of his
brothers".[9] Theudemir, the second in this royal brotherhood, was the
father of our hero, Theodoric.

[Footnote 9: This is a partly paraphrastic and conjectural translation
of a very obscure se