Gotite III: Studies on Gothic Cultural and Historical Heritage in the Bulgarian Lands (2007–2010) ed. by Rossen Milev (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Gotite III: Studies on Gothic Cultural and Historical Heritage in the Bulgarian Lands (2007–2010) ed. by Rossen Milev Alexander Moshev Gotite III: Studies on Gothic Cultural and Historical Heritage in the Bulgarian Lands (2007–2010)Rossen Milev, ed. Sofia: Balkanmedia, 2011. Pp. 352 + 8 color plates. ISSN 0861–5047 Gotite (“The Goths”) III is a collection of articles dedicated to the 1,700th anniversary (according to tradition) of the Gothic bishop Wulfila. This third volume of the series presents studies from the Gothic Research Project (2002–11) along with reports from the participants in a series of academic conferences: Gothic Script Development and Transculturality in Late Antiquity (2007), The Goths and Their History, by Herwig Wolfram [in Bulgarian] (2008), and The Gothic Cultural and Historical Heritage in Novae and the Roman World (2009). In addition, the volume contains some recent [End Page 405] research on the cult of Saint Menas in modern Bulgarian lands and articles from Russian scholars that relate to the history and culture of the Goths. A total of thirty-three scholars from seven countries took part in this ambitious project. Given that the task of making a really comprehensive review of this collection is almost impossible, the focus here will be predominantly on the articles that might be of interest to scholars and researchers of Late Antiquity. The late Bulgarian archaeologist and epigraphist Vassilka Gerasimova (“The Gothic Princesses”) examines a passage in the Historia Augusta referring to the attitude of the emperor Probus to Hunila, the wife of Bonosus, and emphasizing her noble Gothic origin. The emperor Aurelian gave Hunila in marriage to the famous Roman officer Bonosus, who later became one of the pretenders for the imperial throne. The ulterior motive behind this marriage was espionage: the emperor hoped to gain insights into Gothic plans and intentions through Hunila. Axinia Djourova and Vassya Velinova (“Gothic Saints in Bulgarian Medieval Literature”) explore the data about the Gothic saints contained in the Slavonic Prologue in Verses. Their conclusion is that the vitae of the Gothic saints penetrated medieval Bulgaria through Byzantine liturgical texts, whereas the Slavonic translations (mostly into Bulgarian and Serbian) often preserve much older versions. Roumen Ivanov (“Germans and Celts in the Roman Army of Moesia”) analyzes several inscriptions containing Celtic and German names from the Roman province of Moesia in order to discover what information they offer regarding the presence of Gallic and Germanic cohorts in the Moesian provinces (later Moesia Superior and Moesia Inferior) between 12 and 86 ce. He summarizes the existing inscriptions with Gallic and Germanic names in Bulgarian museums. For example, one of the inscriptions has the name of a certain Sulpicius Massa, “natione Tunger.” Bulgarian linguist Ivan Dobrev (“Gothic Traces in Bulgarian Christianity”) reviews and coordinates the scanty and controversial data relating to the presence of the Goths north of the Balkan range after the start of the Hunnic invasion (ca. 376 ce). The sources present two different ethnonyms, Goths and Getae, Dobrev considers whether the Bulgarian personal name Geto, corresponding to the name Getae, may be the only surviving Gothic linguistic trace in Bulgarian. Katya Melamed (“Gothic Fortress of Sadovec, Pleven Region, Northern Bulgaria”) summarizes the results of archaeological excavations initiated in 1934 by Ivan Velkov. Sadovsko kale and Golemanovo kale are two fortresses constructed opposite each other on the banks of the river Vit near the village of Sadovec. Most probably these were inhabited in the sixth century by federate Goths who perished in a fire at the end of same century. The latest coins found in Golemanovo kale and in other fortresses in the region belong to the time of the emperor Maurice and date from 595–96. Archaeologists link the end of the fortresses with the Avar invasion of 597. Ivan Voykov (“The Goths and the City of Abritus”) publishes a recently found coarse clay vessel with a Greek inscription from the ancient city of Abritus (near Razgrad, in northeastern Bulgaria). The inscription can be translated [End Page 406] as “Holy Mother of God, bless this work of Tot.” Voykov concludes that the name Tot likely follows the phonetic characteristics of Gothic language (the name Totila was derived from it...