Catalaunian Fields
The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (or Fields), also called the Battle of the Campus Mauriacus, Battle of Châlons, Battle of Troyes or the Battle of Maurica, took place on June 20, 451 AD, between a coalition – led by the Roman general Flavius Aetius and by the Visigothic king Theodoric I – against the Huns and their vassals – commanded by their king Attila. It proved one of the last major military operations of the Western Roman Empire, although Germanic foederati composed the majority of the coalition army. Whether the battle was of strategic significance is disputed; historians generally agree that the Siege of Orleans was the decisive moment in the campaign and stopped the Huns' attempt to advance any further into Roman territory or establish vassals in Roman Gaul. However, the Huns successfully looted and pillaged much of Gaul and crippled the military capacity of the Romans and Visigoths. Attila died only two years later, in 453; after the Battle of Nedao in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jacob Van Maerlant
Jacob van Maerlant (c. 1230–40 – c. 1288–1300) was a Flemish poet of the 13th century and one of the most important Middle Dutch authors during the Middle Ages. Biography Jacob van Maerlant was born near Bruges. He became sacristan of Maerlant, in the island of Oostvoorne, where he lived for some time, employed as a sexton, whence his surname "de Coster". Later he resided at Damme, near Bruges, where, according to tradition, he held the position of town clerk. His early works are Middle Dutch translations of French romances. Jacob's most serious work in the field of romance poems was his ''Historie van Troyen'' (c. 1264), a poem of some forty thousand lines, translated and amplified from the ''Roman de Troie'' of Benoît de Sainte-Maure. From this time Jacob rejected romance as idle, and devoted himself to writing scientific and historical works for the education and, enlightenment of the Flemish and Dutch nobility. His ''Heimelicheit der Heimelichede ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gepids
The Gepids, ( la, Gepidae, Gipedae, grc, Γήπαιδες) were an East Germanic tribe who lived in the area of modern Romania, Hungary and Serbia, roughly between the Tisza, Sava and Carpathian Mountains. They were said to share the religion and language of the Goths and Vandals. They are first mentioned by Roman sources in the third century. In the fourth century, they were among the peoples incorporated into the Hunnic Empire, within which they formed an important part. After the death of Attila, the Gepids under their leader Ardaric, led an alliance of other peoples who had been in the empire, and defeated the sons of Attila and their remaining allies at the Battle of Nedao in 454. The Gepids and their allies subsequently founded kingdoms on the Middle Danube, bordering on the Roman Empire. The Gepid Kingdom was one of the most important and long-lasting of these, centered on Sirmium, and sometimes referred to as Gepidia. It covered a large part of the former Roman provinc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Laudaricus
Laudaricus (died 451) was a prominent Hunnic chieftain and general active in the first half of the 5th century. Biography The ''Chronica Gallica of 511'' under the year 451 noted him as Attila's blood relative ( la, Cognatus Attilae), who died at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451 AD. He was the Huns' highest ranking casualty at this battle. The outcome of the battle is uncertain, but Kim, pointing out that the death of a commanding general in battle often meant defeat at the time, suggests that the death of the Visigoth king Theodoric in this clash very likely meant the end of the battle for the Visigoths. Because the Huns managed to eliminate the king of their rivals and, most importantly, they had possession of the battlefield after the end of the battle, the outcome was likely a Hun victory. The only relic found at the site of the battle ( Châlons) was a Hunnish cauldron. Kim suggests this was likely used for the burial of Laudaricus, the Huns' most prestigious cas ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Childeric I
Childeric I (; french: Childéric; la, Childericus; reconstructed Frankish: ''*Hildirīk''; – 481 AD) was a Frankish leader in the northern part of imperial Roman Gaul and a member of the Merovingian dynasty, described as a king (Latin ''rex''), both on his Roman-style seal ring, which was buried with him, and in fragmentary later records of his life. He was father of Clovis I, who acquired effective control over all or most Frankish kingdoms, and a significant part of Roman Gaul. Biography Childeric's father is recorded by several sources including Gregory of Tours to have been Merovech, whose name is the basis of the Merovingian dynasty. Gregory reports that Merovech was reputed by some to be a descendant of Chlodio who was an earlier Frankish king who had conquered Roman Gaulish areas first in the Silva Carbonaria, then in Tournai, Cambrai and as far south as the Somme. This is roughly the definition of the Roman province of ''Belgica Secunda'' (approximately the "Belgium ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ardaric
Ardaric ( la, Ardaricus; c. 450 AD) was the king of the Gepids, a Germanic tribe closely related to the Goths. He was "famed for his loyalty and wisdom," one of the most trusted adherents of Attila the Hun Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. He was also the leader of a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Bulgars, among others, in Central and Ea ..., who "prized him above all the other chieftains." Ardaric is first mentioned by Jordanes as Attila's most prized vassal at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (451): :"The renowned king of the Gepidae, Ardaric, was there also with a countless host, and because of his great loyalty to Attila, he shared his plans. For Attila, comparing them in his wisdom, prized him and Valamir, king of the Ostrogoths, above all the other chieftains." (Jordanes, ''Getica'', trans. C. C. Mierow, 1915) After Attila's death in 453, Ardaric led the r ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Theodemir (Ostrogothic King)
Theodemir or Thiudimer was king of the Ostrogoths of the Amal Dynasty, and father of Theoderic the Great. He had two "brothers" (actually brothers-in-law) named Valamir and Videmir. Theodemir was Arian, while his wife Erelieva was Catholic and took the Roman Christian name Eusebia upon her baptism. He took over the three Pannonian Goth reigns after the death of Widimir, ruled jointly with his brothers-in-law as a vassal of Attila the Hun. The reason is probably that this relatively long reign of the Ostrogoths in Pannonia, while his elder brother Thiudimir lasted only for four years on the throne, followed by Theoderic, and firstly inherited, the heirless, Walamir's part of the kingdom. He was married to Erelieva, with whom he had two children: Theoderic (454–526) and Amalafrida Amalafrida (fl. 523), was the daughter of Theodemir, king of the Ostrogoths, and his wife Erelieva. She was the sister of Theodoric the Great, and mother of Theodahad, both of whom also were kings of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Valamir
Valamir or Valamer (c. 420 – 469) was an Ostrogothic king in the former Roman province of Pannonia from AD 447 until his death. During his reign, he fought alongside the Huns against the Roman Empire and then, after Attila the Hun's death, fought against the Huns to consolidate his independent control over a large group of Goths.Heather, Peter. The fall of the Roman Empire. A new history. Paperback 2006, Pan Books, . Hardback London, Macmillan, 2005. . pp 356–357. Valamir was the son of Vandalarius and cousin to king Thorismund. An important and trusted vassal of Attila the Hun, Valamir participated in Attila's raids of the provinces of the Danube (447), and commanded an Ostrogothic contingent of Attila's force at the Battle of Chalons. After Attila's death (453), Valamir, by force and diplomacy, became the leader of the large grouping of Goths who were settled by the Emperor Marcian in Pannonia. In the subsequent fight for independence from the Huns from 456 to 457, Valami ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Attila The Hun
Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. He was also the leader of a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Bulgars, among others, in Central and Eastern Europe. During his reign, he was one of the most feared enemies of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires. He crossed the Danube twice and plundered the Balkans, but was unable to take Constantinople. His unsuccessful campaign in Persia was followed in 441 by an invasion of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, the success of which emboldened Attila to invade the West. He also attempted to conquer Roman Gaul (modern France), crossing the Rhine in 451 and marching as far as Aurelianum (Orléans), before being stopped in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains. He subsequently invaded Italy, devastating the northern provinces, but was unable to take Rome. He planned for further campaigns against the Romans, but died in 453. After Attila' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Merovech
Merovech (french: Mérovée, Merowig; la, Meroveus; 411 – 458) was the King of the Salian Franks, which later became the dominant Frankish tribe, and the founder of the Merovingian dynasty. Several legends and myths surround his person. He is proposed to be one of several barbarian warlords and kings that joined forces with the Roman general Aetius against the Huns under Attila at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in Gaul in 451. His grandson Clovis I became the founder of the Frankish kingdom. The family of Childeric and Clovis, the first Frankish large-scale royal dynasty called themselves Merovingians ("descendants of Meroveus") after him, and this was known to historians in the following centuries, but no more contemporary evidence exists. The most important such written source, Gregory of Tours, recorded that Merovech was said to be descended from Chlodio, a roughly contemporary Frankish warlord who pushed from the Silva Carbonaria in modern central Belgium as far sout ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Thorismund
Thorismund (also Thorismod or Thorismud, as manuscripts of our chief source confusingly attestJordanes, ''De origine actibusque Getarum'' (''Getica'') 81, 174, 190, 201 and elsewhere.) ( 420–453), became king of the Visigoths after his father Theodoric was killed in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (also called Battle of Châlons) in 451 CE. He was murdered in 453 and was succeeded by his brother Theodoric II. Biography Thorismund appears to have played a pivotal role in the Battle of Châlons as he led a contingent of the Visigoth forces in capturing an important summit at the very early stages of the conflict. The summit seems to have extended to the whole of the left flank of the Ostrogoth and Hun forces. Thorismund descended from the hills during the late stages of the conflict, when the Huns had prevailed over the Alans, and the Ostrogoths were pushing the disorganized Visigoths after the death of their king Theodoric. Thorismund led his force of Visigoths in a decisiv ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sangiban
Sangiban was a fifth-century Alan king at the time of Attila's invasion of Gaul (451). He was the successor of Goar as king of the Alan ''foederati'' settled in the region around Aurelianum (modern-day Orléans). According to Jordanes, Sangiban had promised Attila before the Battle of Châlons to open the city gates and deliver Aurelianum to the Huns. Suspecting this, the Romans and Visigoths put Sangiban in the center of the line opposing the Huns, where they could prevent him from defecting. Thus the Alans bore the main brunt of the Hunnic assault, while the Goths were able to flank the Huns and ultimately drive them back. Jordanes does not record whether Sangiban survived the battle. But in any case, the Alans of Aurelianum were conquered by the Visigoths a few years later and incorporated into the Gothic Kingdom of Toulouse. See also *Battle of Châlons *Flavius Aetius Aetius (also spelled Aëtius; ; 390 – 454) was a Roman general and statesman of the closing period o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |