Ostrogotho (480 - before 516) was the daughter of the

Ostrogothic The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the large Gothic populations who ...

king

Theodoric the Great Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal ( got, , *Þiudareiks; Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ), was king of the Ostrogoths (471–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy b ...

, and the wife of the Burgundian king

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

. Her mother is not mentioned by name. According to

Jordanes Jordanes (), also written as Jordanis or Jornandes, was a 6th-century Eastern Roman bureaucrat widely believed to be of Goths, Gothic descent who became a historian later in life. Late in life he wrote two works, one on Roman history (''Romana ...

, her mother was a concubine. According to

Anonymus Valesianus ''Anonymus Valesianus'' (or ''Excerpta Valesiana'') is the conventional title of a compilation of two fragmentary vulgar Latin chronicles, named for its modern editor, Henricus Valesius, who published the texts for the first time in 1636, together ...

, her mother was Theodoric's wife. Jordanes also mentions a sister Theudigotho. According to both, Ostrogotho was born while Theodoric was staying in

Moesia Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alban ...

(before 489). Ostrogotho was probably baptized in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

with the name Ariadne or Ariagne, named after

Ariadne Ariadne (; grc-gre, Ἀριάδνη; la, Ariadne) was a Cretan princess in Greek mythology. She was mostly associated with mazes and labyrinths because of her involvement in the myths of the Minotaur and Theseus. She is best known for having ...

, the wife of

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Zeno Zeno ( grc, Ζήνων) may refer to: People * Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Philosophers * Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes * Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 BC), ...

. In order to distinguish her from the empress, she was nicknamed Ostrogotho, and this nickname eventually superimposed her actual name. Ostrogotho and her sister accompanied Theodoric on his campaign from Constantinople to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. During the fight against

Odoacer Odoacer ( ; – 15 March 493 AD), also spelled Odovacer or Odovacar, was a soldier and statesman of barbarian background, who deposed the child emperor Romulus Augustulus and became Rex/Dux (476–493). Odoacer's overthrow of Romulus Augustul ...

, she was left by her father in

Ticinum Ticinum (the modern Pavia) was an ancient city of Gallia Transpadana, founded on the banks of the river of the same name (now the Ticino river) a little way above its confluence with the Padus ( Po). It was said by Pliny the Elder to have been ...

(Pavia). In 494, after Theodoric had consolidated his rule in Italy, he arranged the marriage of Ostrogotho with Sigismund, son of the Burgundian king

Gundobad Gundobad ( la, Flavius Gundobadus; french: Gondebaud, Gondovald; 452 – 516 AD) was King of Burgundy, King of the Burgundians (473 – 516), succeeding his father Gundioc of Burgundy. Previous to this, he had been a Patrician (ancient Rome), ...

. From this marriage came a son Sigeric, and a daughter,

Suavegotha Suavegotha (died after 549), also known as Suavegotta or Suavegotho, was probably the wife of the Frankish king Theuderic I. Suavegotha was the daughter of the Burgundian king Sigismund and his Ostrogothic wife Ostrogotho. According to the histor ...

. Suavegotha was later married to the

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

king

Theuderic I __NOTOC__ Theuderic I (c. 485 – 533/34) was the Merovingian king of Metz, Rheims, or Austrasia—as it is variously called—from 511 to 533 or 534. He was the son of Clovis I and one of his earlier wives or concubines (possibly a Franco- ...

. Sigeric was eventually murdered on the order of Sigismund. His second wife, whom he had married after the death of Ostrogotho, had convinced him that Sigeric was plotting to overthrow him.

Sources

* Helmut Castritius: Ostrogotho. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2. Auflage. Band 22, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2003, , S. 350. * Felix Dahn: Ostrogotho. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Band 24, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1887, S. 528. * Maria Assunta Nagl: Ostrogotho. In: Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft (RE). Band XVIII,2, Stuttgart 1942, Sp. 1687 f. 480 births 5th-century Ostrogothic people 6th-century Ostrogothic people Amali dynasty Burgundian queens consort Ostrogothic women Theoderic the Great 6th-century women {{Germany-hist-stub