A short history of Germany

Preface

It would be absurd to suppose that a History of Germany could be written within the compass of 300 pages. The merest outline is all that could be given in this little book, and very much of vast interest and importance has necessarily been omitted.

But some knowledge of the political events of former days is necessary for all persons — more especially travellers — who desire to understand and appreciate the customs, buildings, paintings, etc., of any country, and it is hoped that short continental histories may be useful to many who have not time or opportunity for closer study.

My aim in the present volume has been simply to give one marked characteristic of each King or Emperor's reign, so as to fix it in the memory; and to show how Prussia came to hold its present position of importance amongst the continental powers of Europe.

Emily Hawtrey.

iiL

Chapter I

The mighty Teutonic or German race in Europe did not begin to play its part in history until the decline of the Roman Empire ; but we must all of us feel the warmest interest in it when it does begin, for it represents not only the central history of Europe in the Middle Ages, but also the rise of our own forefathers in their home and birthplace of Germany.

To understand something of these ancestors, we must go back to the Origin of Races in the earhest known history of the World.

The Caucasian Race was divided into three branches : Caucasian E, The Aryan, or Indo-European; IL, The Semitic; III., The Hamitic.

The Aryan branch. The races of progress and civil- Aryans, ization, to which we ourselves belong, include nearly all the nations of Europe: Greeks, Latins, Kelts, Teutons, Sclavonians, beside the Asiatic races of Persia and the Hindoos. Our several languages show an affinity with Sanscrit and Zend, the old Hindoo and Persian languages, as if springing from a common stock.

But we know nothing; of the Kelts and Teutons until we find them migratmg from their Asiatic homes and Teutons, settling themselves in new habitations in the West. (?').'

Keltic

The Kelts were the first to arrive and take possession of Central Europe, probably as far back as 1500 B.C. ( ?), After a time the fiercer Teutons poured into Europe, carrying all before them, and pushing the Kelts into the extremities of the Western lands, where we find the Keltic element still existing — in Ireland, Wales, the High- Tribes, lands of Scotland, Belgium, Brittany and Spain — leaving Central Europe to the Teutons; and the plains of Eastern Europe to the Sclavonians, who soon followed (Bulgarians, Avars, and Lithuanians). The Rhine was the Keltic Border.

Tribes^ There were over fifty Germanic or Teutonic Tribes,

of whom the chief were :

Goths, of Scandinavia (where Gothland, Godoland, etc., still mark their dwelling-places).

In 200 A.D. they moved southwards, and are found as a powerful nation North of the Danube, subdivided into —

Visigoths (West Goths), of Spain.

Ostrogoths (East Goths), of Moldavia, Wallachia and North Italy. The Goths were the first tribe to receive Christianity.

Vandals and Burgimdii, kinsmen of the Goths.

Vandals, of Spain (Vandalusia) and North Africa in

The Dukes of Mecklenburg claim descent from them, and still call themselves " Princes of the Vandals."

Burgimdii, settled between the Rhone and the Alps. Switzerland was part of the Burgundian Kingdom.

Siievi, or Swabians, of Spain, Gaul and the country known as Swabia.

Alemanni, on the upper course of the Rhine, giving their name to Germany amongst the Franks.

Thuringians, East of the Franks.

INTRODUCTION. 3

Franks (so-called from an ancient word meaning "battleaxe "), of the Lower Rhine, Belgium, and later of Gaul.

Saxons, of Holstein, Denmark, and afterwards of Britain,

Angles, of Schleswig.

Jutes, of Denmark (Jutland).

Marcomanni (Marchmen), first of the Rhine and later of Bohemia.

Lombardii ("Longobardi"), of North Italy since the sixth century, said to have come from Brandenburg.

Scandinavians, or Norsemen, of Norway and Sweden.

Frisians, by the North Sea.

Gepidce, settled in Hungary, 453 a.d.

Chatti (Catti), from whom the Grand Dukes of Hesse claim lineal descent; said to be absorbed into the Franks in third century.

Cherusci, to the South of Hanover. Hermann, "the Deliverer," was of this tribe.

Chapter II

B.C. 200. The inhabitants of Germany were ignorant of the art of writing, and we have no records of their own from which to form a correct history. It is to the Romans — their nearest neighbors, inhabiting Italy on the south and Gaul on the west — that we must turn for some account of the "Barbarian Teutons."

The Romans were a cultivated, clever race, the conquerors of the world, and the centre of historical interest and civilization.

From their writings we learn that the land to the north of the Danube — lying between the Rhine on the one hand and the Vistula and Carpathian Mountains on the other, and bounded on the north by the Baltic Sea — was inhabited by a fair-haired race of men of gigantic stature, broad shoulders, blue eyes, and keen, fierce looks. The Romans regarded these giant forms with fear, and called

Germans, them Wehr-mdnnev (or warriors), Germans. From childhood upwards the Germans used every possible means to render themselves strong and hardy; even the new-born baby was plunged into cold water. The dress of the men was simply a short linen garment, confined at the waist by a girdle, or a coat made from the skins of wild beasts sewn together; the children ran about unclothed, secure against wind and weather, healthy, active and bold.

Country. The land was rich in vegetation; on all sides stretched

vast morasses and pathless forests, in which roamed wild beasts — bison, boars, stags, wolves and bears, etc.; the

INTRODUCTION. 5

air was damp and cold, for the sun's rays could not penetrate the thick foliage of the forests, of which one alone is known to have been sixty days' journey long, and nine days' journey wide.

Agriculture and farming were indeed carried on, but after a very rude and imperfect fashion. The meadows were rich with long grass for pasture, the earth teemed with salt and iron, which the people soon learnt to make use of.

The rivers ran as they do now, but uncrossed by bridges ; he who desired to cross must either make a raft or swim! The life was rude and simple. The inhabitants lived in the open air, building no cities or villages, for the confined life of the Roman towns appeared to them only fit for prisoners. Each man had his own Houses. Kttle house, the rude walls made of boughs and branches of trees filled up with mud, the roofs thatched with straw, the grander ones made of rough-hewn stones and some painted in streaks of various colors. The favorite occupations for the men were hunting and war; children were trained to the use of weapons from infancy.

Women also went to war, not so much to fight as to encourage the men ; at other times the women were busied with the care of cattle and fields; their food consisted of milk, bread, meat, roots, washed down with clear water. Food, though very soon they learnt to brew a good glass of strong beer!

Certain virtues were conspicuous in their characters, virtues. Truth and honor were held in high esteem; a promise or a handclasp could be relied upon with certainty, and to break faith with one another invariably incurred the deepest disgrace. Hospitality also was insisted upon, and the best that could be procured was always set hetore the stranger. Love of home and "the Fatherland" was a strong point even in those early days.

HISTORY OF GERMANY.

Faults. At the same time they cared for nothing except hunt-

ing and war, and when not occupied with either they lay on mats or played at dice ; and to this day it is said of an idler that he is "lying on the bearskin." They carried gambling to such an extent that a man would stake not only his house and property, but also his wife and child, and even himself to be sold as a slave. Worship. They worshipped the heathen gods of Nature:

Wodin: the All-Father, who had made the world

and from whom twelve other gods emanated. Donar, or Thor: the god of thundery weather, bringing rain upon the earth.

Hertha: goddess of the earth (earth-mother). Freya: goddess of love.

The Sun: bringing all the fruits of the earth to

maturity.

Hulda: the moon and stars, giving hght at night, and with a crowd of little children's souls around her. Hellia: goddess of the nether world, dwelling in deep

darkness.

Etc.

After-life. They believed in eternal Hfe, in heaven and hell, calling them Walhalla and Hela. In heaven they beheved they should enjoy perpetual tournaments and feasting, drinking mead out of the skulls of their enemies; whatever wounds they received would be healed at night; whatever food they consumed during the day, a fresh supply would be found next morning. The timid or lazy would be sent to hell, where they would always be hungry and yet could never die.

They also believed in elves, who appeared at night; dwarfs, who guarded the treasures of the mountains; nymphs of the woods and waters, household sprites or kobolds, who teased the inhabitants with their tricks, and giants of superhuman size and power.

INTRODUCTION. 7

Their religious ceremonies consisting of prayers and sacrifices were held in the open air, on high hills, or under groves of trees, and on banks of sacred streams.

Chapter III

tJnity of Although there were many tribes amongst the Teutons,

ancestry. i . i i • i • i i i • r

and some differed widely m their tastes and habits trom others, it is to be remembered that they all sprang from one common stock, and that all owned one national language and religion, which caused the strong and lasting desire for oneness of nationahty so striking amongst the Germans of the present day.

Division of 'pj^g division of classes was as follows.

classes.

The people were all divided into three orders:

I. Free-horn: land-owners, who could carry arms, and

were allowed to take part in the Councils of the Kingdom, and were bound to defend their country in time of war.

II. Freed-men: farmers on the estates of the land-owners,

following their lords to battle, but taking no part in Councils.

III. Bond-men: or serfs, who had no rights of their own, did all the menial work for their masters, and were bought or sold as slaves.

A number of households constituted a Community. Several Communities constituted a District. Several Districts constituted a Hundred, or Cent. Several Hundreds constituted a Province.

The Communities were ruled by Priests.

The Hundreds were ruled by Lords.

The Provinces were ruled by Judges, who were chosen from the most experienced of the Lords, and represented what would now be called " Lord Lieutenants of the County." 8

INTRODUCTION. 9

A "National Assembly" took place when important War. affairs had to be discussed.

In times of war all the Freed-men were called to battle, and marched out, led by their Priests, carrying banners, and followed by their retainers, armed with swords, spears, wooden shields, long lances, clubs, and stoneaxes, which are still to be found buried in the earth on the scene of some of their conflicts. The warriors formed themselves into the shape of a wedge, the more readily to break the ranks of their enemies. Before going into battle, songs were sung in praise of their forefathers, giving an account of their heroic deeds; then the shields were struck ringing together, horns of metal or of bison were blown, and shouting and yelling they rushed to the onslaught. If any man left his shield behind him in the melee he was disgraced for life, and might never again take part in any religious observance, or in the National Assembly or Councils of the Kingdom.

JV.B. — Leaving the shield on the field, a mark of disgrace. Horace's Poem to his friend Pompeius Varus, liber ii., carmen 7 :

"With thee did I experience the battle at Philippi and swift Translaflight, having shamefully left my shield behind me; when ti^n. valor itself was broken, and the most threatening touched the disgraceful soil with their chin."

There is also an allusion to the same fact in 2 Sam. i. 21: "The shield of the mighty vilely cast away ".

DECLINE OF ROME, AND RISE OF GERMANY.

Chapter IV

B.C. 113. North Germany was the home of two tribes, the Cimbri and the Teutons.

In the year 113 B.C. these two tribes left their dwelhngs in the North, and traveUing South in quest of fresh habitations, appeared before the astonished eyes of the Romans of North Italy, startHng them with their uncouth dress, wild manners, and enormous stature.

The Romans sent an army of 80,000 men to drive them back, but they were overcome by the fierce strangers; and very few of the brilliant army retmrned to Rome to describe the extraordinary courage and daring of their new enemies.

The tribes, however, did not pursue their advantage, but turned aside and marched off through Switzerland towards Gaul. Here they scattered many of the Roman hosts sent out to meet them, and gaining confidence from their successes, they turned back to make another attempt against Italy. Unfortunately for them, differences sprang up between the two tribes, and they sepa- Marius, rated. The Roman army was under the command of B.C. 102. ]y[arius, one of the bravest of brave generals. He lured the Teutons on to the further side of the Rhone, and then engaged them in a terrible conflict. A hundred thousand Teuton corpses lay on the field of battle, and

those who escaped death were taken prisoners: amongst

RISE OF GERMANY. II

them their king, Teutobod, a man so strong and active Teutobod. that he could spring over four horses standing abreast.

Having defeated the Teutons, Marius turned against the Cimbri, and overtook them in the plains near Verona, on the banks of the River Po. Seeing that their B.C. loi. case v^as desperate, the Cimbri tied themselves together with ropes to withstand the charge of the Roman soldiers, but they were cut down, and those who remained standing were dragged down by their companions. The slaughter was complete ; and the women, finding all hope was lost, threw themselves on their husbands' swords, or hung themselves on the trees, to avoid falHng into the hands of the conquerors.

From this time the Romans tried continually to subjugate Germany.

JuHus Caesar penetrated as far as the Rhine, but could juUus not make good his footing. Later on, the Emperor bx.^sS-ss. Augustus sent his stepson Drusus against the Germans. a.d?9!' j In his fourth campaign he pushed on to the Elbe, crossed it, and was advancing further when he was met by a German wise-woman, who said to him: "Return, O insatiable man! thy deeds and thy life are at an end!" Drusus was terrified, and turned back. On the way his horse stumbled and fell, throwing him heavily to the ground, and he died from the fall.

On the death of Drusus, the Romans retreated, car- Hermann r3dng several prisoners of war with them to Rome, uverer." Amongst those who had been taken captive to Rome some years previously was a tall, handsome young chief named Hermann, of the tribe of the Cherusci, dwelling on the borderland of the Rhine. He was of a fine, noble disposition, and during his long sojourn in Rome he never forgot that he was a German, with all a German's feehngs and affections. After a time he was allowed so return to his country, carrying with him a thorough knowledge of the Latin language and of the art of war, together with all that was wise and useful in the Roman laws; but in his heart a deeply rooted desire to avenge himself upon his captors, and to rid his cherished country of its oppressors.

His watchful readiness at once took advantage of the first favorable opportunity; and his countrymen were well prepared, having banded themselves together with a vow to rise when called upon by Hermann.

The Romans had raised fortresses on the Rhine to keep back the Germans, and had placed a governor over

Varus. them, named QuintelHus Varus — a stern, hard man, who strove to force Roman manners and customs upon the unfortunate Teutons, by taking possession of their lands, and trying to crush out their independence and love of liberty.

9 A.D. It was in the year 9 a.d. that Hermann decided that

his time was come. One of the tribes made a feint of revolt, and Varus — meaning to march across country to quell the disturbance — asked Hermann to be his guide. Hermann readily accepted the invitation, and led Varus, with his brilHant Roman troops, into the middle of the trackless Teutoberger Forest, where the Romans could only disentangle themselves by cutting down the trees to make some sort of road ; but. were stopped again by fresh difficulties, and by almost impenetrable marshes, into which baggage, soldiers and followers sank continually. The rain poured down in torrents, and a terrible storm broke over the unfortunate army. In the midst of the confusion, the German Confederates burst upon them, and though fighting desperately all day v^th the utmost courage, when night came little was left of the flower of the Roman legions; and Varus — wounded and in despair — fell on his own sword and died. Very few fugitives escaped to Rome to tell Augustus Caesar of the

RISE OF GERMANY. 1 3

calamity; when the news was at last brought to him, he fell back against the wall, crying out, "Varus, Varus, give me back my legions !'*

Hermann was able to see his long-desired wish for his country carried out, in the establishment of the Teutonic power, and the repulse of the dreaded Roman enemies. His deadly hatred of his oppressors was not diminished by the fact that the Romans had carried off his beautiful wife, Thusnelda, and his son, to be led in triumph to the Capitol. Five years after the death of Varus, they again made an attempt to overcome Hermann, but were defeated. However, the heroic deliverer of his country was not allowed to enjoy his triumph long. His countrymen became jealous of his honors, misconstrued his motives, and finally put him to death at the ig. age of thirty-seven.

A costly monument was erected to his memory, on the top of a mountain in the Teutoberger Forest. The wall called the "Heidenmauer," near the Rhine, was built as a protection against the future assaults of Rome, and traces can be seen of it to the present day.

CHAPTER V. Trajan, io6

Decline of As the powcr and glory of Rome waned, the strength of the Teuton race increased. They grew in numbers and importance, and, finding their former habitations insufficient for their use, they gradually won from the failing hands of the Romans large territories, which presently appear as the possessions of Alemanni, Franks, Saxons, and Goths.

Continual struggles took place between the rival nations. As one Teuton tribe alone would have been unable to force a way into Italy, the principal tribes banded together in a "Volkerverein" or union, to wrest bit by bit from the weakened Empire. Only one or two of these struggles can be mentioned here.

The Emperor Trajan, called "the Just," from his noble qualities, carried on wars against the Dacian Goths in Moldavia, Wallachia, Transylvania (Siebenbiirgen), and Asia Minor, which are pictured on " Trajan's Column" in Rome.

The Emperor Marcus Aurelius, "the Philosopher" — who preferred to live the life of a private gentleman to that of a luxurious Emperor, and who personally cared for the wants of the poor — made war towards the close of his life with the Marcomanni, and actually died at Vienna (Vindobona).

Constan- The Emperor Constantine the Great removed the seat

tine the r -i-» -r-. • i • •

Great, 330. of government from Rome to Byzantmm, changing its name to Constantinople, and separating the Empire into East and West.

Marcus

Aurelius,

RISE OF GERMANY. 1 5

This separation was fatal to the Romans. Internal Separation

^ into

dissensions arose : attention was called away from the Eastern Danube frontier, and the Goths took advantage of it to Western

. . Empires.

pour down into Italy m great numbers.

By this time the powerful Gothic Empire extended Gothic from the borders of the Danube and the Black Sea to the Baltic, and was composed of the Visigoths or Goths to the west of the Dnieper; the Ostrogoths to the east of the same river, and the Gepidae to the north-west. They had employed themselves in agricultural pursuits; made rapid advances in arts and sciences; and had accepted the preaching of the Gospel, when the invasions of the Huns came to disturb their prosperity. Hermanric. King of the Goths, a brave-spirited man, would no doubt have successfully resisted them, but he was assassinated by a traitor in his camp, and his Empire seemed to totter at his death. His successor was conquered and put to death. The Ostrogoths for the most part submitted to the enemy; but the Visigoths fled pre- 376. cipitately to the shores of the Danube, and implored the Emperor Valens to allow them to remain on the south side of the river in the plains, which resembled a desert, so much had they been ravaged by perpetual warfare. Their bishop, Ulfilas — who translated the Bible, and invented an alphabet for the German language — promised on their part that they would faithfully defend the frontier of the Empire, and would embrace Arian Christianity; and Valens gave the desired permission to establish themselves in M^esia, on condition of their serving — when wanted — in the Roman armies.

In a similar way, when Alaric, King of the Visigoths Aiaric, 379. revolted against repeated acts of injustice on the part of the Romans, and ravaged the provinces of the Black Sea and the Adriatic, the Emperor Theodosius checked their further inroads by giving them a home in Thrace i6

HISTORY OF GERMANY.

Honorius.

406 414

Gothic Kingdom in Spain.

under Roman jurisdiction; and during his reign, the Visigoths to the south of the Danube remained tranquil.

The aUiance between Goths and Romans did not last long. On the death of the Emperor Theodosius, the Empire was divided — Honorius taking the West and Arcadius the East. Rufinus, the minister of Arcadius at Constantinople, took advantage of the confusion to stir up the Visigoths to invade Italy once more.

The Western Empire was practically governed by Stilicho, the uncle and minister of the weak boy-Emperor Honorius, who lived at Milan, and spent his time in feeding and taming chickens. His favorite hen was named "Rome," and when messengers came in haste to tell him of the capture of the city by the Goths, all his reply was: "That can't be, for I have just been feeding her."

Alaric, King of the Goths, appeared with an immense army before Asti, in Piedmont; but he was routed by Stilicho, and forced to retire. The defeat did not save the Empire. By calling into Italy the Roman legions on the frontier to withstand the attack of Alaric, Stilicho left Gaul unprotected; and hordes of Visigoths, Suevi, and Burgundians, crossing the Rhine on the ice, poured into Gaul, established a kingdom at Toulouse, and, pressing on to the Pyrenees, took possession of Spain and Portugal.

Meantime Alaric — full of vengeance for his defeat before Asti — returned to Italy, sacked and burnt Rome; and would have proceeded to further violence, when, on his advance into South Italy, he died suddenly of fever, and was buried in the river Busento — the bed of the river being changed, in order that no enemy might ever discover and desecrate his grave.

Ataulphus or Adolphus, brother of Alaric, succeeded him, and obtained from Honorius the cession of Southern Gaul, where the Gothic kingdom held sway from the

RISE OF GERMANY. 1 7

Loire to the Pyrenees. Later they were forced to give way before the power of Clovis, King of the Franks; and crossing the Pyrenees, they set up their transplanted kingdom in Spain, with a capital at Toledo, and held possession of it for 300 years.

Chapter VI

Huns. Another terrible enemy was advancing against the unfortunate, sinking Empire of Rome.

Beyond the Ural mountains and the Volga, in the wide tablelands of Asia, lived a nomad race of Scythians, called Huns or Calmuck Turks — as a protection against whom the Chinese built their famous wall more than 200 years before Christ. They were a hideous people. Long black locks streamed over their shoulders. Their yellow complexions, thick lips, small eyes, filthy habits, and fierce barbarity seemed hardly human. They seldom left the saddle — eating, drinking, and even sleeping on horseback. Cooking was unknown to them; they ate all their food raw. They would place tough meat on their saddles, and ride it tender. They were clothed in wrappers of cotton cloth, or skins of wild beasts. The dirty women and children were conveyed in carts, and so they went forward on their marauding expeditions from land to land. An old saying is that "no grass grew where Attila's horse had passed ". Everything was laid waste by fire, sword, and spear.

375. In the fourth century they burst into Europe in search

of new dwelling-places, and, like a pack of vultures, alighted in the country known to us as Hungary. But

Attiia. they were speedily off again towards the West, led on by their great chief Etzel, or Attiia, calling himself the "Scourge of God." Cities and villages were set on fire, and the inhabitants murdered as they ruthlessly pursued their way. They first conquered the Alani — a Tar-

RISE OF GERMANY. I9

tar tribe between the Volga and the Don — and pushed

on through South Germany into Gaul. The Romans

and Visigoths for once combined with the Franks

against the common enemy, and a terrific battle took

place at Chalons-sur-Marne, in which Attila was con- chaions,

451. quered, and obliged to flee to Hungary.

The next year he returned, entered Italy, and robbed p^^'n^ation and spoiled the city of Aquileia, whose inhabitants fled of Venice, to the shores of the Adriatic, and there laid the foundations of the beautiful city of Venice — "Queen of the Adriatic."

Upper Italy was completely at the mercy of the Huns, who marched on victoriously to the city of Rome. Here Pope Leo I. and his priests in solemn array came out to meet the conquerors, bringing rich presents to Attila, and imploring him to spare the city. He consented and returned to Hungary, promising his soldiers to give them the spoils of Rome on some future occasion ; but he died in the following year. His corpse was laid in a coffin of Death of gold, encased in silver, and enclosed in an outer coffin 453. of iron; the slaves who had prepared his grave by night being immediately slain, that no man might reveal his burial place.

The fall of the Roman Empire was hastened by the Gothic attacks of Attila and Genseric. The latter was King ^ifaiy^ of the Vandals, and had been invited over from North Africa by the Empress Eudoxia, who was wearied out by the cruel conduct of Maximus, the usurper, with whom she had been obliged to make a forced marriage. The King of the Vandals hurried to Italy with a powerful fleet, and seized Rome, which was given up to all the 455. horrors of pillage for fifteen days; and Genseric returned to Carthage loaded -with treasures, and carrying 60,000 prisoners, amongst whom were the Empress Eudoxia herself with her children.

This was the death-blow to the Empire of the West. Only Italy was left of all the former vast dominions of Rome; and even Rome itself was in the hands of federal mercenaries, who raised up or deposed Emperors at will. One of their chiefs, named Odoacer, King of the Heruli, from Lombardy (a tribe so fierce that when no longer fit for battle, the old men allowed themselves to be burnt, and the widows were strangled), demanded that the third part of the whole peninsula should be given up to his use; and on being refused, he deposed the sixyear-old Emperor Romulus Augustulus (little Augustus), shut him up in a castle in the Campagna, and was him- 476. self proclaimed King of Italy. He was countenanced

in that position by the Emperor of the East as a deputy to govern Italy, and reigned till the Ostrogoths invaded the country; when their King Theodoric strangled Odoacer with his own hands, and established the Gothic Kingdom in Italy. This lasted for sixty years, and only yielded to the Lombards, whose power ended in the reign of Charlemagne.

MIGRATION OF THE NATIONS.

CHAPTER VII. The invasion of the Huns had disturbed all the tribes Migration

•1-1 .of the

of Europe, and a general "Migration of the Nations" Nations,

(Volkerwanderung) took place, in which the Romans nearly 300 ,,.-,, . years.

lost province after province.

Franks seized Gaul, gave their name to the country.

They were converted to Christianity, 496 a.d. Visigoths settled in the north of Spain. They were Arian Christians, 369, but abjured the heresy in 585. Suevi settled in Portugal, became Christians, 369. Absorbed into Visigoths, 584.

Vandals settled in south of Spain (Andalusia) and North Africa, with Carthage for the capital of the Vandal kingdom, founded by Genseric, 449.

Burgundians settled on each side of the Jura. Converted

in 516.

Lombards settled in North Italy, succeeded to the kingdom of the Ostrogoths in Italy.