Vidigoia was a Thervingian

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

warrior. His name means either "the man from the forest zone" or "the forest-barker/wolf". Vidigoia figured during the campaigns of Roman Emperor

Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...

across the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

around 330 AD. Having been driven from the Danube by the Romans, the Thervingi began infiltrating the

Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders. The Tisza be ...

Sarmatians. Vidigoia was probably the leader of this infiltration. Herwig Wolfram designates Vidigoia, along with

Geberic Geberic was a king of the Goths of the fourth century AD, reported in the 6th by Jordanes in his history of the Amal dynasty-led Goths, the ''Getica''. According to Jordanes, he succeeded Ariaric and conquered Dacia, which had become the territory ...

, as one of the first reiks, who were military kings emerging among the Goths at this time. The Gothic advance into Sarmatian territory led to a confrontation in 332 AD. Quoting

Priscus Priscus of Panium (; el, Πρίσκος; 410s AD/420s AD-after 472 AD) was a 5th-century Eastern Roman diplomat and Greek historian and rhetorician (or sophist)...: "For information about Attila, his court and the organization of life generall ...

, the Gothic historian

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 ...

states that Vidigoia perished in this battle "by the guile of the Sarmatians". Though Vidigoia died, the battle was a success for the Thervingi. They were however later decisively defeated by Constantine II the same year. A treaty between the Thervingi and the Roman Empire was thereafter made by

Ariaric Ariaric also known as Ariacus was a 4th-century Thervingian Gothic pagan ruler (''reiks'', ''kindins'') He was succeeded by Geberic. In 328, Constantine the Great constructed a bridge across the Danube and built fortifications in the territor ...

and Constantine. Vidigoia was buried at the place of his death. Jordanes refers to him as the "bravest of the Goths". Centuries later Vidigoia was among the heroes the Goths celebrated in their songs, along with Eterpamara, Hanala and Fritigern. In the 5th century AD, when the Roman diplomat Priscus was traveling to the court of the Hunnic ruler

Attila Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European traditio ...

, his delegation visited the grave of Vidigoia. Vidigoia is thought to be one of the inspirations for the

Germanic hero Germanic heroic legend (german: germanische Heldensage) is the heroic literary tradition of the Germanic peoples, Germanic-speaking peoples, most of which originates or is set in the Migration Period (4th-6th centuries AD). Stories from this time ...

Witege.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vidigoia Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 4th-century Gothic people Gothic warriors