Odoacer

Flavius Odoacer (/ˌoʊdoʊˈeɪsər/ OH-doh-AY-sər;[1] c. 431 – 493

Flavius Odoacer
AD), also spelled Odovacer or Odovacar (Ancient Greek:
Ὀδόακρος, romanized:  Odóakros),[2] was a soldier and statesman Rex

of barbarian background, who deposed the child emperor Romulus Patrician

Augustulus and became King of Italy (476–493). Odoacer's
overthrow of Romulus Augustulus is traditionally seen as marking
the end of the Western Roman Empire as well as Ancient Rome.[a]

Though the real power in Italy was in his hands, he represented

himself as the client of the emperor in Constantinople, Zeno.
Odoacer often used the Roman honorific patrician, granted by
Zeno, but was referred to as a king (Latin: rex) in many
documents. He himself used it in the only surviving official
document that emanated from his chancery, and it was also used
by the consul Basilius.[4][b] Odoacer introduced few important
changes into the administrative system of Italy. He had the support
of the Roman Senate and was able to distribute land to his
Coin of Odoacer, Ravenna, 477,
followers without much opposition. Unrest among his warriors led with Odoacer in profile, depicted
to violence in 477–478, but no such disturbances occurred during with a "barbarian" moustache and
the later period of his reign. Although Odoacer was an Arian possible elongated skull.
Christian, he rarely intervened in the affairs of the Trinitarian state King of Italy
church of the Roman Empire.
Reign 476–493
Likely of East Germanic descent, Odoacer was a military leader in Predecessor None (Title created
Italy who led the revolt of Herulian, Rugian, and Scirian soldiers after dissolution of
that deposed Romulus Augustulus on 4 September AD 476. The Western Roman
12-year-old Augustulus had been declared Western Roman Empire)
Emperor by his father Orestes, the rebellious general of the army in
Italy, less than a year before, but had been unable to gain Successor Theodoric the Great
allegiance or recognition beyond central Italy. With the backing of
Born c. 431
the Roman Senate, Odoacer thenceforth ruled Italy autonomously,
Pannonia, Western
paying lip service to the authority of Julius Nepos, the previous
Western emperor, and Zeno, the emperor of the East. Upon Roman Empire
Nepos's murder in 480 Odoacer invaded Dalmatia, to punish the Died 15 March 493
murderers. He did so, executing the conspirators, but within two (aged 61–62)
years also conquered the region and incorporated it into his Ravenna, Kingdom
domain. of Italy

When Illus, master of soldiers of the Eastern Empire, asked for Spouse Sunigilda
Odoacer's help in 484 in his struggle to depose Zeno, Odoacer Issue Thela
invaded Zeno's westernmost provinces. The emperor responded
Father Edeko
first by inciting the Rugii of present-day Austria to attack Italy.
During the winter of 487–488 Odoacer crossed the Danube and Religion Arianism
defeated the Rugii in their own territory. Zeno also appointed the
Ostrogoth Theodoric the Great who was menacing the borders of the Eastern Empire, to be king of Italy,
turning one troublesome ally against another. Theodoric invaded Italy in 489 and by August 490 had
captured almost the entire peninsula, forcing Odoacer to take refuge in Ravenna. The city surrendered on 5
March 493; Theodoric invited Odoacer to a banquet of reconciliation. Instead of forging an alliance,
Theodoric killed the unsuspecting king.

Contents
Ethnicity
Onomastic and other evidence
Before Italy
Leader of the foederati
King of Italy
Fall and death
Modern media portrayal
See also
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
Further reading

Ethnicity
Except for the fact that he was not considered Roman, Odoacer's precise ethnic origins are not known.[c]
Some scholars believe his origins lie in the multi-ethnic empire of Attila. Most scholars consider him to be
at least partly of Germanic descent, while others argue he was entirely Germanic. Early medieval sources
such as Theophanes, called him a Goth.[5] Likewise, the sixth-century chronicler, Marcellinus Comes,
called him "king of the Goths" (Odoacer rex Gothorum).[d]

Jordanes associated him with several of the East Germanic tribes of the Middle Danube who had arrived
there during the time of Attila's empire, including the Sciri, Heruli, and Rugii. In several passages he named
him king of the Turcilingi, which is a people, or perhaps a dynasty, that is mentioned by no other historical
source. Modern historians also propose connections with Goths, Huns or the Thuringii. While in one
passage in his Getica, Jordanes describes Odoacer as king of the Turcilingi (Torcilingorum rex) with Scirian
and Heruli followers.[6] In another passage (LVII.291), Jordanes mentions Italy during Odoacer's reign
being under the tyranny of Turcilingi and Rogii. In his Romana, the same author defines Odoacer as a
descendant of the Rugii (or of a person named Rogus, Odoacer genere Rogus) with Turcilingi, Scirian and
Heruli followers.[e] It has been pointed out that Attila had an uncle of the name Rogus and suggested that
Odoacer may have been his descendant.[7]

In a fragment from a history of Priscus, reproduced by John of Antioch, Odoacer is described as a man of
the Sciri, the son of Edeco, and brother of Hunuulf who killed Armatus in the eastern Roman
empire.[7][8][f] However, it is not universally accepted that this Edeko is the same person who lived at this
time since this could be one of two persons: one was an ambassador of Attila to the court in
Constantinople, who escorted Priscus and other Imperial dignitaries back to Attila's camp. He was
described by Priscus as a Hun. The other is mentioned by Jordanes and identified as a leader of the Sciri,
along with Hunuulf (perhaps his son), who were soundly defeated by the Ostrogoths at the Battle of Bolia
in Pannonia about 469.[g]

Much later, a memorial plate from 1521 found in the catacombe Chapel of St Maximus in Petersfriedhof—
the burial site of St Peter's Abbey in Salzburg (Austria)—mentions Odoacer as King of "Rhutenes" or
"Rhutenians" (Latin: Rex Rhvtenorvm), who invaded Noricum in 477. Due to its very late date of 1521 and
several anachronistic elements, the content of that plate is considered nothing more than a legend.[9] In spite
of that, the plate has become a popular "source" for several theorists that try to connect Odoacer with
ancient Celtic Ruthenes, and also with later Slavic Ruthenians.[10] As noted by professor Paul R. Magocsi,
those theories should be regarded as "inventive tales" of "creative" writers and nothing more.[11]

Many historians, such as medieval scholar Michael Frasetto, accept that Odoacer was of Scirian
heritage.[12] Scholars are still to some extent divided about the evidence for Odoacer's father being a Hun,
and also about the identity of the Turcilingi. There is some doubt about whether the name has been reported
correctly by Jordanes, and whether they, and even the Sciri, were Germanic.[13] Historian Erik Jensen
avows that Odoacer was born to a Gothic mother and that his father Edeco was a Hun.[14] Bruce Macbain,
noting that the "ancient sources exhibit considerable confusion over Odovacer's tribal affiliation, identifying
him variously as a Skirian, a Rogian and/or Torcilingian, a Herul, and even a Goth", subsequently
concludes that "not a single source calls him a Hun".[15] Historian Penny MacGeorge points out that the
confusion about Odoacer's ethnicity is exaggerated. Believing that the Torcilingi were simply a mistake for
Thuringii, she argues that the claims he was a Hun "can almost certainly be dismissed". She asserts instead
that Odoacer was "surely Germanic, probably half-Scirian, half-Thuringian, and he may have had
connections with other tribes through intermarriage".[16]

Onomastic and other evidence

The origin of the name Odoacer, which may give indications as to

his tribal affiliation, is debated. One suggestion is that Odoacer is
derived from the Germanic *Audawakraz (Gothic *Audawakrs),
from aud- "wealth" and wakr- "vigilant" or, combined, "watcher of
the wealth."[17] This form finds a cognate in another Germanic
language, the titular Eadwacer of the Old English poem Wulf and Latin memorial plate from 1521, that
Eadwacer (where Old English renders the earlier Germanic sound mentions Odoacer as Rex
au- as ea-).[18] On the other hand, historians Robert L. Reynolds Rhutenorum (Petersfriedhof,
and Robert S. Lopez explored the possibility that the name Salzburg)
Odoacer was not Germanic, making several arguments that his
ethnic background might lie elsewhere. One of these is that his
name, "Odoacer", for which they claimed an etymology in Germanic languages had not been convincingly
found, could be a form of the Turkish "Ot-toghar" ("grass-born" or "fire-born"), or the shorter form "Ot-
ghar" ("herder").[19] Reynolds and Lopez's thesis was criticized by Otto J. Maenschen-Helfen, who
pointed out the speciousness of their etymological analysis, since names between Germans and Huns were
being used reciprocally.[20] Moreover, there is an often ignored fragment in the Suda that was almost
certainly written by the well-informed contemporary, Malchus, who identified Odoacer as a Thuringian.[21]
Finally, a passage from Eugippius' Life of Saint Severinus indicated that Odoacer was so tall that he had to
bend down to pass through the doorway, another strong argument that he was unlikely a Hun, since they
were not known to be tall.[22]

Before Italy
Possibly the earliest recorded incident involving Odoacer is from a fragment of a chronicle preserved in the
History of the Franks of Gregory of Tours. Two different chapters of his work mention military leaders
with Odoacer's name, using two different spellings and involving two different regions.[23]

In the first mention, a confused or confusing report is given of a number of battles fought by
King Childeric I of the Franks, Aegidius, Count Paul, and one "Adovacrius" (with an "a") who
was leading a group of Saxons based at the mouth of the Loire.[23] Though there is no
consensus, some historians, such as Reynolds and Lopez, have suggested that this
Adovacrius may be the same person as the future king of Italy.[19]
In a second mention by Gregory of Tours, an Odovacrius (with an "o") made an alliance with
the same Childeric, and together they fought the Alamanni, who had been causing problems
in Italy. This Odoacer, with his connection to the region north of Italy, and his "o" spelling, is
probably the future king of Italy, before he was king.[24]

The earliest supposed recorded event which is more certainly about Odoacer the future king, was shortly
before he arrived in Italy. Eugippius, in his Life of Saint Severinus, records how a group of barbarians on
their way to Italy had stopped to pay their respects to the holy man. Odoacer, at the time "a young man, of
tall figure, clad in poor clothes", learned from Severinus that he would one day become famous.[25] Despite
the fact that Odoacer was an Arian Christian and Severinus was Catholic, the latter left a deep impression
on him.[25] When Odoacer took his leave, Severinus made one final comment which proved prophetic:
"Go to Italy, go, now covered with mean hides; soon you will make rich gifts to many."[26][h]

Leader of the foederati

By 470, Odoacer had become an officer in what remained of the Roman Army. Although Jordanes writes
of Odoacer as invading Italy "as leader of the Sciri, the Heruli and allies of various races",[6] modern
writers describe him as being part of the Roman military establishment, based on John of Antioch's
statement that Odoacer was on the side of Ricimer at the beginning of his battle with the emperor
Anthemius in 472.[12][i] In his capacity as a soldier suddenly pitted against Anthemius, since he had
switched sides to join with Ricimer, Odoacer had "hastened the emperor's downfall."[29]

When Orestes was in 475 appointed Magister militum and patrician

by the Western Roman Emperor Julius Nepos, Odoacer became
head of the Germanic foederati of Italy (the Scirian  – Herulic
foederati). Under the command of Orestes were significant
contingents of Germanic peoples made up mostly of Rugii and
Heruli tribesmen.[30] Before the end of that year Orestes had
rebelled and driven Nepos from Italy.[30] Orestes then proclaimed
his young son Romulus the new emperor as Romulus Augustus,
called "Augustulus" (31 October).[31] At this time, Odoacer was a
soldier rising through the ranks.[32] However, Nepos reorganized
his court in Salona, Dalmatia and received homage and affirmation
from the remaining fragments of the Western Empire beyond Italy
Romulus Augustus resigns the and, most importantly, from Constantinople, which refused to
Crown (from a 19th-century accept Augustulus, Zeno having branded him and his father as
illustration). traitors and usurpers.[33]

About this time the foederati, who had been quartered in Italy all of
these years, had grown weary of this arrangement. In the words of J. B. Bury, "They desired to have roof-
trees and lands of their own, and they petitioned Orestes to reward them for their services, by granting them
lands and settling them permanently in Italy".[34] Orestes refused their petition, and they turned to Odoacer
to lead their revolt against Orestes. Orestes was killed at Placentia along with his brother Paulus outside
Ravenna. The Germanic foederati, the Scirians and the Heruli, as well as a large segment of the Italic
Roman army, then proclaimed Odoacer rex Italiae ("king of Italy").[34] In 476 Odoacer advanced to
Ravenna and captured the city, compelling the young emperor Romulus to abdicate on 4 September.
According to the Anonymus Valesianus, Odoacer was moved by Romulus's youth and his beauty to not
only spare his life but give him a pension of 6,000 solidi and sent him to Campania to live with his
relatives.[35][j]

Following Romulus Augustus's deposition, according to the

historian Malchus, upon hearing of the accession of Zeno to the
throne, the Senate in Rome sent an embassy to the Eastern Emperor
and bestowed upon him the Western imperial insignia. The
message was clear: the West no longer required a separate Emperor,
for "one monarch sufficed [to rule] the world". In response, Zeno
accepted their gifts and this essentially brought to end any puppet Odoacer solidus struck in the name
of Emperor Zeno, testifying to the
emperors in the West, with Nepos banished and Anthemius
formal submission of Odoacer to
dead.[36] The Eastern Emperor then conferred upon Odoacer the
Zeno.
title of Patrician and granted him legal authority to govern Italy in
the name of Rome.[37] Zeno also suggested that Odoacer should
receive Nepos back as Emperor in the West,[38] "if he truly wished to act with justice."[k] Although he
accepted the title of Patrician from Zeno, Odoacer did not invite Julius Nepos to return to Rome, and the
latter remained in Dalmatia until his death. Odoacer was careful to observe form, however, and made a
pretence of acting on Nepos's authority, even issuing coins with both his image and that of Zeno.[39]
Following Nepos's murder in 480, who was killed while waiting in Dalmatia,[40] Zeno became sole
Emperor.[41]

Bury, however, disagrees that Odoacer's assumption of power marked the fall of the Western Roman
Empire:

It stands out prominently as an important stage in the process of the dismemberment of the
Empire. It belongs to the same catalogue of chronological dates which includes A.D. 418,
when Honorius settled the Goths in Aquitaine, and A.D. 435, when Valentinian ceded African
lands to the Vandals. In A.D. 476 the same principle of disintegration was first applied to Italy.
The settlement of Odovacar's East Germans, with Zeno's acquiescence, began the process by
which Italian soil was to pass into the hands of Ostrogoths and Lombards, Franks and
Normans. And Odovacar's title of king emphasised the significance of the change.[42]

King of Italy
In 476, Odoacer founded the Kingdom of Italy as Kingdom of Italy
its first king, initiating a new era over Roman
lands. According to Jordanes, at the beginning of Regnum Italicum
his reign he "slew Count Bracila at Ravenna that 476–493
he might inspire a fear of himself among the
Romans."[43] He took many military actions to
strengthen his control over Italy and its
neighboring areas. He achieved a solid diplomatic
coup by inducing the Vandal king Gaiseric to
cede Sicily to him. Noting that "Odovacar seized
power in August of 476, Gaiseric died in January
477, and the sea usually became closed to
navigation around the beginning of November",
F.M. Clover dates this cession to September or
October 476.[44] When Julius Nepos was
murdered by two of his retainers in his country
house near Salona (May 480), Odoacer assumed
the duty of pursuing and executing the assassins,
and at the same time established his own rule in The Kingdom of Italy (under Odoacer) in 480 AD.
Dalmatia.[45] Capital Ravenna

As Bury points out, "It is highly important to Common languages Latin

observe that Odovacar established his political Vulgar Latin

Gothic
power with the co-operation of the Roman
Senate, and this body seems to have given him Religion Arianism (especially among
their loyal support throughout his reign, so far as Germanics),

our meagre sources permit us to draw inferences." Chalcedonian Orthodoxy

He regularly nominated members of the Senate to (majority, especially among
Romans),

the Consulate and other prestigious offices:

"Basilius, Decius, Venantius, and Manlius Syncretic Roman paganism
(minority of Romans),

Boethius held the consulship and were either Germanic paganism,

Prefects of Rome or Praetorian Prefects; Judaism,

Symmachus and Sividius were consuls and Manichaeism

Prefects of Rome; another senator of old family,
Cassiodorus, was appointed a minister of Government Monarchy
finance."[42] A. H. M. Jones also notes that under Rex  
Odoacer the Senate acquired "enhanced prestige • 476–493 AD Odoacer
and influence" in order to counter any desires for Legislature Roman Senate
restoration of Imperial rule.[46] As the most
Historical era Late Antiquity and Early
tangible example of this renewed prestige, for the
Middle Ages
first time since the mid-3rd century copper coins
were issued with the legend S(enatus) C(onsulto). • Battle of Ravenna 2 September 476
Jones describes these coins as "fine big copper • Romulus 4 September 476
pieces", which were "a great improvement on the Augustulus
abdicates
miserable little nummi hitherto current", and not
• Theodoric the 15 March 493
only were they copied by the Vandals in Africa,
Great
but they formed the basis of the currency reform assassinates
by Anastasius in the Eastern Empire.[47] Odoacer
Currency Solidus
Although Odoacer was an Arian Christian, his
relations with the Chalcedonian church hierarchy
Preceded by Succeeded by
were remarkably good. As G.M. Cook notes in
her introduction to Magnus Felix Ennodius' Life Italia Ostrogothic Kingdom
of Saint Epiphanius, he showed great esteem for Sicilia
Bishop Epiphanius: in response to the bishop's Dalmatia
petition, Odoacer granted the inhabitants of
Liguria a five-year immunity from taxes, and
again granted his requests for relief from abuses by the praetorian prefect.[48][l] The biography of Pope
Felix III in the Liber Pontificalis openly states that the pontiff's tenure occurred during Odoacer's reign
without any complaints about the king being registered.[49]
In 487/488, Odoacer led his army to victory against the Rugians in Noricum, taking their king Feletheus
into captivity; when word that Feletheus' son, Fredericus, had returned to his people, Odoacer sent his
brother Onoulphus with an army back to Noricum against him. Onoulphus found it necessary to evacuate
the remaining Romans and resettled them in Italy.[50] The remaining Rugians fled and took refuge with the
Ostrogoths; the abandoned province was settled by the Lombards by 493.[51]

Fall and death

As Odoacer's position improved, Zeno, the Eastern Emperor,
increasingly saw him as a rival. Odoacer exchanged messages with
Illus, who had been in open revolt against Zeno since 484.[52][m]
Switching allegiances, Zeno subsequently sought to destroy
Odoacer and then promised Theodoric the Great and his
Ostrogoths the Italian peninsula if they were to defeat and remove
Odoacer. As both Herwig Wolfram and Peter Heather point out,
Theodoric had his own reasons to agree to this offer: "Theodoric
had enough experience to know (or at least suspect) that Zeno
would not, in the long term, tolerate his independent power. When
Theodoric rebelled in 485, we are told, he had in mind Zeno's
treatment of Armatus. Armatus defected from Basilicus to Zeno in
476, and was made senior imperial general for life. Within a year,
Zeno had him assassinated."[53]

In 489, Theodoric led the Ostrogoths across the Julian Alps and
An early illustration of a
into Italy. On 28 August, Odoacer met him at the Isonzo, only to be
mythologized Theodoric killing
defeated.[54][n] He withdrew to Verona, reaching its outskirts on 27
Odoacer in a joust. From the
September, where he immediately set up a fortified camp.
Chronica Theodericiana (1181).
Theodoric followed him and three days later defeated him
again.[56][o] While Odoacer took refuge in Ravenna, Theodoric
continued across Italy to Mediolanum, where the majority of Odoacer's army, including his chief general
Tufa, surrendered to the Ostrogothic king.[57][p] Theodoric had no reason to doubt Tufa's loyalty and
dispatched his new general to Ravenna with a band of elite soldiers. Herwig Wolfram observes, "[b]ut Tufa
changed sides, the Gothic elite force entrusted to his command was destroyed, and Theodoric suffered his
first serious defeat on Italian soil."[58] Theodoric recoiled by seeking safety in Ticinum. Odoacer emerged
from Ravenna and started to besiege his rival. While both were fully engaged, the Burgundians seized the
opportunity to plunder and devastated Liguria. Many Romans were taken into captivity, and did not regain
their freedom until Theodoric ransomed them three years later.[58]

The following summer, the Visigothic king Alaric II demonstrated what Wolfram calls "one of the rare
displays of Gothic solidarity" and sent military aid to help his kinsman, forcing Odoacer to raise his siege.
Theodoric emerged from Ticinum, and on 11 August 490, the armies of the two kings clashed on the Adda
River.[58] Odoacer again was defeated and forced back into Ravenna, where Theodoric besieged him.[59]
Ravenna proved to be invulnerable, surrounded by marshes and estuaries and easily supplied by small
boats from its hinterlands, as Procopius later pointed out in his History.[60] Further, Tufa remained at large
in the strategic valley of the Adige near Trent, and received unexpected reinforcements when dissent
amongst Theodoric's ranks led to sizable desertions.[61] That same year, the Vandals took their turn to strike
while both sides were fully engaged and invaded Sicily.[59] While Theodoric was engaged with them, his
ally Fredericus, king of the Rugians, began to oppress the inhabitants of Pavia, whom the latter's forces had
been garrisoned to protect. Once Theodoric intervened in person in late August, 491, his punitive acts
drove Fredericus to desert with his followers to Tufa.[59][q]
By this time, however, Odoacer appeared to have lost all hope of victory. A large-scale sortie he sent out of
Ravenna on the night of 9/10 July 491 ended in failure,[62] during which his commander-in-chief, Livilia,
along with the best of his Herulian soldiers were killed.[63] On 29 August 492, the Goths were about to
assemble enough ships at Rimini to set up an effective blockade of Ravenna. Despite these decisive losses,
the war dragged on until 25 February 493 when John, bishop of Ravenna, was able to negotiate a treaty
between Theodoric and Odoacer to occupy Ravenna together and share joint rule. After a three-year siege,
Theodoric entered the city on 5 March; Odoacer was dead ten days later, slain by Theodoric while they
shared a meal.[63] Theodoric had plotted to have a group of his followers kill him while the two kings were
feasting together in the imperial palace of Honorius "Ad Laurentum" ("At the Laurel Grove"); when this
plan went astray, Theodoric drew his sword and struck him on the collarbone. In response to Odoacer's
dying question, "Where is God?" Theodoric cried, "This is what you did to my friends." Theodoric was
said to have stood over the body of his dead rival and exclaimed, "The man has no bones in his
body."[64][r]

Not only did Theodoric slay Odoacer, he thereafter had the betrayed king's loyal followers hunted down
and killed as well, an event which left him as the master of Italy.[65][t] Odoacer's wife Sunigilda was stoned
to death,[u] and his brother Onoulphus was killed by archers while seeking refuge in a church. Theodoric
exiled Odoacer's son Thela to Gaul, but when he attempted to return to Italy Theodoric had him killed.[v]
Despite the tragic ending of his domain, followers, and family, Odoacer left an important legacy, in that, he
had laid the foundations for a great kingdom in Italy for Theodoric to exploit.[66]

Modern media portrayal

Odoacer is depicted in Valerio Massimo Manfredi's 2002 novel The Last Legion, and
portrayed by Peter Mullan in its 2007 film adaptation.
The movie 476 A.D. Chapter One: The Last Light of Aries about Romulus Augustus's
deposition by Odoacer, the Chieftain of the Ostrogoths, and the End of the Roman Empire,
was released in 2013, by Ivan Pavletić.

See also
Alaric I
Gaiseric
Germanic peoples
Barbarian invasions

References

Notes
a. "Odoacer was the first barbarian who reigned over Italy, over a people who had once
asserted their just superiority above the rest of mankind." Edward Gibbon, The Decline and
Fall of the Roman Empire, Chapter XXXVI.[3]
b. Marcellinus, Cassiodorus, and some Papal documents, which come the closest to implying
official use of the title, all refer to him as rex (or one of its declensions). Jordanes at one point
refers to him as Gothorum Romanorumque regnator: ruler of the Goths and the Romans. He
is called an autokrator (autocrat) and a tyrannos (usurper, tyrant) in Procopius' Bellum
Gothicum. The only reference to Odoacer as "King of Italy" is in Victor Vitensis: Odouacro
Italiae regi.
c. For more on this, see: Stefan Krautschick, "Zwei Aspekte des Jahres 476", Historia:
Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte (https://www.jstor.org/stable/4435971), 35 (1986), pp. 344–
371.
d. Marcellinus Comes, Chronicon, s. a. 476.
e. See:Jordanes, Romana 344.
f. The Anonymus Valesianus agrees that his father's name was Edeko (Edika), and refers to
him leading Sciri and Heruli.
g. See: Priscus, fragments 7 and 8, translated by C.D. Gordon, The Age of Attila: Fifth Century
Byzantium and the Barbarians (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 1966), pp. 70–93
h. Translator of Eugippius' The Life of Saint Severin, Ludwig Bieler, explains in a footnote that
"make rich gifts to many" refers to the custom of Germanic war leaders giving lavishly to their
followers, because "generosity was one of the virtues which a king was supposed to
have."[27]
i. Also See: John of Antioch, fragment 209; translated by C. D. Gordon, Age of Attila, p. 122.
Procopius describes him as one of the Emperor's bodyguards, only agreeing to this position
if placed in charge of them.[28]
j. Also see: Anonymus Valesianus, 8.38. Text and English translation of this document is in
J.C. Rolfe (trans.), Ammianus Marcellinus (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1972), vol.
3 pp. 531ff
k. See:Malchus, fragment 10, translated in C. D. Gordon, The Age of Attila, pp. 127–129.
l. Cook writes, "One wonders at [Ennodius'] brevity," adding that during "the thirteen years of
Odovacar's mastery of Italy... a period which embraced nearly half the episcopate of
Epiphanius–Ennodius devotes but eight sections of the vita (101–107), five of which are
taken up with the restoration of the churches." Cook uses Ennodius' brevity as an
argumentum ex silentio to prove that Odoacer was very supportive of the Church. "Ennodius
was a loyal supporter of Theodoric the Great. Any oppression, therefore, on the part of
Odovacar would not be passed over in silence." She concludes that Ennodius' silence "may
be construed as an unintentional tribute to the moderation and tolerance of the barbarian
king."[48]
m. Also see: John of Antioch, fragment 214; translated by C. D. Gordon, Age of Attila, p. 152.
n. For several years the armies of Odoacer and Theodoric marched back and forth as they vied
for control of Italy.[55]
o. See also: Anonymus Valesianus, 11.50f. This follows how Thomas Hodgkins explains this
confusing chronology of the Anonymus Valesianus; Italy and her Invaders (Oxford, 1885),
vol. 4 p. 214.
p. Also See:Anonymus Valesianus, 11.52.
q. Wolfram suggests that sometime in 492 or 493, Fredericus and Tufa quarreled and fought a
battle, during which both were killed. To this Wolfram adds, that the Rugians "rejoined the
Gothic king" (by whom, he means Theodoric).[59]
r. John of Antioch, fragment 214a; translated by C. D. Gordon, reports the statement as, "There
certainly wasn't a bone in this wretched fellow." Age of Attila, pp. 182f. Both the Anonymus
Valesianus (11.55) and Andreas Agnellus (Liber pontificalis ecclesiae Ravennatis, ch. 39)
places the murder in Ad Laurentum. Herwig Wolfram explains Theodoric's claim of avenging
his "friends" as recompense for the death of a Rugian royal couple – "it apparently did not
matter that their son was at that very moment in open rebellion against Theodoric."[63]
s. See:Anonymus Valesianus 11.56
t. According to one account, "That same day, all of Odoacer's army who could be found
anywhere were killed by order of Theodoric, as well as all of his family."[s]
 u. However, Wolfram writes that Sunigilda was starved to death.[63]
v. See: John of Antioch, fragment 214a.

Citations
1. "Odoacer" (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/odoacer). Random House Webster's
Unabridged Dictionary.
2. Martindale 1980, p. 791.
3. Gibbon 1998, p. 716.
4. Martindale 1980, pp. 791–793.
5. MacGeorge 2002, p. 284.
6. Jordanes 1915, p. 119 [XLVI.242].
7. Reynolds & Lopez 1946, p. 44.
8. Kim 2013, pp. 98–99.
9. Friedhof und Katakomben im Stift St. Peter (https://www.stift-stpeter.at/de/kloster/index.asp?
dat=Friedhof-Katakomben)
10. Sotiroff 1974, p. 93.
11. Magocsi 2015, pp. 50–51.
12. Frassetto 2003, p. 275.
13. Kim 2013, pp. 98–101.
14. Jensen 2018, p. 16.
15. Macbain 1983, p. 325.
16. MacGeorge 2002, p. 286.
17. Waldman & Mason 2006, p. 699.
18. Voyles 1992, p. 141.
19. Reynolds & Lopez 1946, p. 45.
20. Macbain 1983, p. 324.
21. Macbain 1983, p. 326.
22. Macbain 1983, p. 327.
23. Gregory of Tours 1974, p. 132 [II.18–19].
24. MacGeorge 2002, p. 110.
25. Thompson 1982, p. 63.
26. Eugippius 1965, p. 64.
27. Eugippius 1965, p. 65fn.
28. Prokopios 2014, p. 251 [5.1.6].
29. Wolfram 1997, p. 184.
30. Goldsworthy 2009, p. 367.
31. Bury 1923, p. 405.
32. Thompson 1982, pp. 63–64.
33. Bury 1958, p. 190.
34. Bury 1923, p. 406.
35. Bernard 1970, p. 19.
36. Bury 1923, p. 407.
37. Heather 2005, pp. 428–429.
38. Heather 2005, p. 429.
39. Elton 2018, p. 219.
40. Bunson 1995, p. 292.
41. Grant 1998, pp. 46–47.
42. Bury 1923, p. 409.
43. Jordanes 1915, p. 119 [XLVI.243].
44. Clover 1999, p. 237.
45. Bury 1923, p. 410.
46. Jones 1964, p. 253.
47. Jones 1964, p. 254.
48. Ennodius 1942, p. 12fn.
49. Davis 2001, p. 41fn.
50. Amory 1997, p. 121.
51. Paul the Deacon 2003, pp. 31–33 [XIX].
52. Lee 2013, p. 100.
53. Heather 1996, p. 217.
54. Heather 2013, pp. 50–51.
55. Delbrück 1990, p. 289.
56. Heather 2013, p. 51.
57. Frassetto 2003, p. 337.
58. Wolfram 1988, p. 281.
59. Wolfram 1988, p. 282.
60. Prokopios 2014, pp. 252–253 [5.1.18–23].
61. Heather 1996, p. 219.
62. Wolfram 1997, p. 188.
63. Wolfram 1988, p. 283.
64. Amory 1997, p. 69.
65. Halsall 2007, p. 287.
66. Frassetto 2003, p. 276.

Bibliography
Amory, Patrick (1997). People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489–554. Cambridge; New York:
Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-51152-306-9.
Bernard, Jack F. (1970). Up from Caesar: A Survey of the History of Italy from the Fall of the
Roman Empire to the Collapse of Fascism. New York: Doubleday & Co. OCLC 806326076
(https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/806326076).
Bunson, Matthew (1995). A Dictionary of the Roman Empire. Oxford and New York: Oxford
University Press. ISBN 978-0-19510-233-8.
Bury, J.B. (1923). History of the Later Roman Empire: From the Death of Theodosius I to the
Death of Justinian. Vol. I. New York: Macmillan. OCLC 963903029 (https://www.worldcat.or
g/oclc/963903029).
Bury, J.B. (1958). History of the Later Roman Empire: From the Death of Theodosius I to the
Death of Justinian. Vol. II. New York: Dover Publications Inc. OCLC 62206973 (https://www.
worldcat.org/oclc/62206973).
Clover, Frank M. (1999). "A Game of Bluff: The Fate of Sicily after A.D. 476". Historia: Zeitschrift
für Alte Geschichte. 48 (1): 235–244. JSTOR 4436542
(https://www.jstor.org/stable/4436542).
Davis, Raymond (2001). Book of the Pontiffs (Liber Pontificalis). Liverpool: Liverpool University
Press. ISBN 978-0-85323-545-3.
Delbrück, Hans (1990). The Barbarian Invasions. History of the Art of War. Vol. II. Lincoln and
London: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-80329-200-0.
Ennodius, Magnus Felix (1942). The Life of Saint Epiphanius. Translated, Edited, and
Commentary by Genevieve Marie Cook. Washington DC: Catholic University Press.
OCLC 883796942 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/883796942).
Elton, Hugh (2018). The Roman Empire in Late Antiquity: A Political and Military History.
Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-10845-631-9.
Eugippius (1965). "Commemoratorium Severinus". The Life of Saint Severin. Translated by
Ludwig Bieler. Washington DC: Catholic University Press. OCLC 422145289 (https://www.w
orldcat.org/oclc/422145289).
Frassetto, Michael (2003). Encyclopedia of Barbarian Europe: Society in Transformation. Santa
Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-57607-263-9.
Gibbon, Sir Edward (1998) [1789]. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. London:
Wordsworth Editions. ISBN 978-1-85326-499-3.
Goldsworthy, Adrian (2009). How Rome Fell: Death of a Superpower (https://archive.org/details/
howromefelldeath0000gold). New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-
30013-719-4.
Grant, Michael (1998). From Rome to Byzantium: The Fifth Century AD. London and New York:
Routledge. ISBN 978-1-13516-672-4.
Gregory of Tours (1974). The History of the Franks (https://archive.org/details/historyoffranks00gr
eg). Translated by Lewis Thorpe. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14044-295-3.
Halsall, Guy (2007). Barbarian Migrations and the Roman West, 376–568. Cambridge and New
York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-52143-543-7.
Heather, Peter (1996). The Goths. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 978-0-63120-932-4.
Heather, Peter (2005). The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the
Barbarians. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19515-954-7.
Heather, Peter (2013). The Restoration of Rome: Barbarian Popes & Imperial Pretenders.
Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-936851-8.
Jensen, Erik (2018). Barbarians in the Greek and Roman World. Cambridge; Indianapolis:
Hackett Publishing. ISBN 978-1-62466-712-1.
Jones, A.H.M. (1964). "The Fall of the Western Empire and the Barbarian Kingdoms". The Later
Roman Empire, 284–602: A Social, Economic, and Administrative Survey (https://archive.or
g/details/laterromanempire01jone). Vol. I. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
ISBN 0801832845.
Jordanes (1915). The Gothic History of Jordanes (https://archive.org/details/gothichistoryofj00jor
d). Translated by Charles C. Mierow. London: Oxford University Press. OCLC 463056290 (ht
tps://www.worldcat.org/oclc/463056290).
Kim, Hyun Jin (2013). The Huns, Rome and the Birth of Europe. Cambridge; New York:
Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-10700-906-6.
Lee, A.D. (2013). From Rome to Byzantium AD 363 to 565: The Transformation of Ancient
Rome. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-74862-790-5.
Macbain, Bruce (1983). "Odovacer the Hun?". Classical Philology. 78 (1): 323–327.
doi:10.1086/366807 (https://doi.org/10.1086%2F366807). JSTOR 269961 (https://www.jstor.
org/stable/269961). S2CID 162185151 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:16218515
1).
Magocsi, Paul R. (2015). With Their Backs to the Mountains: A History of Carpathian Rus' and
Carpatho-Rusyns (https://books.google.com/books?id=Nzj2DAAAQBAJ). Budapest-New
York: Central European University Press. ISBN 9786155053467.
Martindale, J.R. (1980). "Odoacer". The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire. Vol. 2 (A.D.
395–527). London; New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-20159-4.
MacGeorge, Penny (2002). Late Roman Warlords (https://books.google.com/books?id=vw-NAsi
hhekC). Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-925244-2.
Paul the Deacon (2003). History of the Lombards. Translated by William Dudley Foulke.
Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0-8122-1079-4.
Prokopios (2014). The Wars of Justinian. Translated by H. B. Dewing. Indianapolis; Cambridge:
Hackett Publishing. ISBN 978-1-62466-172-3.
Reynolds, Robert L.; Lopez, Robert S. (1946). "Odoacer: German or Hun?". The American
Historical Review. 52 (1): 36–53. doi:10.1086/ahr/52.1.36 (https://doi.org/10.1086%2Fahr%2
F52.1.36). JSTOR 1845067 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1845067).
Sotiroff, G. (1974). The Assassination of Justinian's Personality. Lynn Publishing.
OCLC 906162550 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/906162550).
Thompson, E.A. (1982). Romans and Barbarians: The Decline of the Western Empire (https://ar
chive.org/details/romansbarbarians00thom). Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.
ISBN 0-299-08700-X.
Voyles, Joseph (1992). Early Germanic Grammar: Pre-, Proto-, and Post-Germanic Languages.
Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-728270-X.
Waldman, Carl; Mason, Catherine (2006). Encyclopedia of European Peoples. New York: Facts
on File. ISBN 978-0816049646.
Wolfram, Herwig (1988). History of the Goths. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of
California Press. ISBN 0-520-05259-5.
Wolfram, Herwig (1997). The Roman Empire and its Germanic Peoples. Berkeley and Los
Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-08511-6.

Further reading
Gregory, Timothy E. (2005). A History of Byzantium (https://archive.org/details/historyofbyzan
ti00greg). Malden, MA; Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 978-0-63123-513-2.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Odoacer&oldid=1099602374"

This page was last edited on 21 July 2022, at 16:59 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0;

additional terms may apply. By
using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.