loss of honor, a secure and solid tranquillity, or if his tameness had
not invited the repetition of injuries. The Byzantine court was insulted
by five or six successive embassies, and the ministers of Attila were
uniformly instructed to press the tardy or imperfect execution of the
last treaty; to produce the names of fugitives and deserters, who were
still protected by the Empire; and to declare, with seeming moderation,
that, unless their sovereign obtained complete and immediate
satisfaction, it would be impossible for him, were it even his wish, to
check the resentment of his warlike tribes. Besides the motives of pride
and interest, which might prompt the King of the Huns to continue this
train of negotiation, he was influenced by the less honorable view of
enriching his favorites at the expense of his enemies. The imperial
treasury was exhausted to procure the friendly offices of the
ambassadors and their principal attendants, whose favorable report might
conduce to the maintenance of peace.
The Barbarian monarch was flattered by the liberal reception of his
ministers; he computed, with pleasure, the value and splendor of their
gifts, rigorously exacted the performance of every promise which would
contribute to their private emolument, and treated as an important
business of state the marriage of his secretary Constantius. That Gallic
adventurer, who was recommended by Aetius to the King of the Huns, had
engaged his service to the ministers of Constantinople, for the
stipulated reward of a wealthy and noble wife; and the daughter of Count
Saturninus was chosen to discharge the obligations of her country. The
reluctance of the victim, some domestic troubles, and the unjust
confiscation of her fortune cooled the ardor of her interested lover;
but he still demanded, in the name of Attila, an equivalent alliance;
and, after many ambiguous delays and excuses, the Byzantine court was
compelled to sacrifice to this insolent stranger the widow of Armatius,
whose birth, opulence, and beauty placed her in the most illustrious
rank of the Roman matrons.
For these importunate and oppressive embassies Attila claimed a suitable
return: he weighed, with suspicious pride, the character and station of
the imperial envoys; but he condescended to promise that he would
advance as far as Sardica to receive any ministers who had been invested
with the consular dignity. The council of Theodosius eluded this
proposal, by representing the desolate and ruined condition of Sardica,
and even ventured to insinuate that every officer of the army or
household was qualified to treat with the most powerful princes of
Scythia. Maximin, a respectable courtier, whose abilities had been long
exercised in civil and military employments, accepted, with reluctance,
the troublesome, and perhaps dangerous, commission of reconciling the
angry spirit of the King of the Huns.
His friend, the historian Priscus, embraced the opportunity of observing
the Barbarian hero in the peaceful and domestic scenes of life: but the
secret of the embassy, a fatal and guilty secret, was intrusted only to
the interpreter Vigilius. The two last ambassadors of the Huns, Orestes,
a noble subject of the Pannonian province, and Edecon, a valiant
chieftain of the tribe of the Scyrri, returned at the same time from
Constantinople to the royal camp. Their obscure names were afterward
illustrated by the extraordinary fortune and the contrast of their sons:
the two servants of Attila became the fathers of the last Roman Emperor
of the West, and of the first Barbarian King of Italy.
The ambassadors, who were followed by a numerous train of men and
horses, made their first halt at Sardica, at the distance of three
hundred and fifty miles, or thirteen days' journey, from Constantinople.
As the remains of Sardica were still included within the limits of the
Empire, it was incumbent on the Romans to exercise the duties of
hospitality. They provided, with the assistance of the provincials, a
sufficient number of sheep and oxen, and invited the Huns to a splendid,
or, at least, a plentiful supper. But the harmony of the entertainment
was soon disturbed by mutual prejudice and indiscretion. The greatness
of the Emperor and the empire was warmly maintained by their ministers;
the Huns, with equal ardor, asserted the superiority of their victorious
monarch: the dispute was inflamed by the rash and unseasonable flattery
of Vigilius, who passionately rejected the comparison of a mere mortal
with the divine Theodosius; and it was with extreme difficulty that
Maximin and Priscus were able to divert the conversation, or to soothe
the angry minds, of the Barbarians. When they rose from the table, the
Imperial ambassador presented Edecon and Orestes with rich gifts of silk
robes and Indian pearls, which they thankfully accepted.
Yet Orestes could not forbear insinuating that _he_ had not always been
treated with such respect and liberality; and the offensive distinction
which was implied, between his civil office and the hereditary rank of
his colleague seems to have made Edecon a doubtful friend and Orestes an
irreconcilable enemy. After this entertainment they travelled about one
hundred miles from Sardica to Naissus. That flourishing city, which had
given birth to the great Constantine, was levelled with the ground; the
inhabitants were destroyed or dispersed; and the appearance of some sick
persons, who were still permitted to exist among the ruins of the
churches, served only to increase the horror of the prospect. The
surface of the country was covered with the bones of the slain; and the
ambassadors, who directed their course to the northwest, were obliged to
pass the hills of modern Servia before they descended into the flat and
marshy grounds which are terminated by the Danube.
The Huns were masters of the great river: their navigation was performed
in large canoes, hollowed out of the trunk of a single tree; the
ministers of Theodosius were safely landed on the opposite bank; and
their Barbarian associates immediately hastened to the camp of Attila,
which was equally prepared for the amusements of hunting or of war. No
sooner had Maximin advanced about two miles from the Danube than he
began to experience the fastidious insolence of the conqueror. He was
sternly forbidden to pitch his tents in a pleasant valley, lest he
should infringe the distant awe that was due to the royal mansion. The
ministers of Attila pressed him to communicate the business, and the
instructions, which he reserved for the ear of their sovereign. When
Maximin temperately urged the contrary practice of nations, he was still
more confounded to find that the resolutions of the Sacred Consistory,
those secrets (says Priscus) which should not be revealed to the gods
themselves, had been treacherously disclosed to the public enemy. On his
refusal to comply with such ignominious terms, the Imperial envoy was
commanded instantly to depart; the order was recalled; it was again
repeated; and the Huns renewed their ineffectual attempts to subdue the
patient firmness of Maximin.
At length, by the intercession of Scotta, the brother of Onegesius,
whose friendship had been purchased by a liberal gift, he was admitted
to the royal presence; but, instead of obtaining a decisive answer, he
was compelled to undertake a remote journey toward the north, that
Attila might enjoy the proud satisfaction of receiving, in the same
camp, the ambassadors of the Eastern and Western empires. His journey
was regulated by the guides, who obliged him to halt, to hasten his
march, or to deviate from the common road, as it best suited the
convenience of the King. The Romans, who traversed the plains of
Hungary, suppose that they passed _several_ navigable rivers, either in
canoes or portable boats; but there is reason to suspect that the
winding stream of the Teyss, or Tibiscus, might present itself in
different places under different names.
From the contiguous villages they received a plentiful and regular
supply of provisions; mead instead of wine, millet in the place of
bread, and a certain liquor named _camus_, which, according to the
report of Priscus, was distilled from barley.[21] Such fare might appear
coarse and indelicate to men who had tasted the luxury of
Constantinople; but, in their accidental distress, they were relieved by
the gentleness and hospitality of the same Barbarians, so terrible and
so merciless in war. The ambassadors had encamped on the edge of a large
morass. A violent tempest of wind and rain, of thunder and lightning,
overturned their tents, immersed their baggage and furniture in the
water, and scattered their retinue, who wandered in the darkness of the
night, uncertain of their road, and apprehensive of some unknown danger,
till they awakened by their cries the inhabitants of a neighboring
village, the property of the widow of Bleda. A bright illumination, and,
in a few moments, a comfortable fire of reeds, was kindled by their
officious benevolence; the wants, and even the desires, of the Romans
were liberally satisfied; and they seem to have been embarrassed by the
singular politeness of Bleda's widow, who added to her other favors the
gift, or at least the loan, of a sufficient number of beautiful and
obsequious damsels.
The sunshine of the succeeding day was dedicated to repose, to collect
and dry the baggage, and to the refreshment of the men and horses; but,
in the evening, before they pursued their journey, the ambassadors
expressed their gratitude to the bounteous lady of the village, by a
very acceptable present of silver cups, red fleeces, dried fruits, and
Indian pepper. Soon after this adventure, they rejoined the march of
Attila, from whom they had been separated about six days, and slowly
proceeded to the capital of an empire, which did not contain, in the
space of several thousand miles, a single city.
As far as we may ascertain the vague and obscure geography of Priscus,
this capital appears to have been seated between the Danube, the Teyss,
and the Carpathian hills, in the plains of Upper Hungary, and most
probably in the neighborhood of Jezberin, Agria, or Tokay. In its origin
it could be no more than an accidental camp, which, by the long and
frequent residence of Attila, had insensibly swelled into a huge
village, for the reception of his court, of the troops who followed his
person, and of the various multitude of idle or industrious slaves and
retainers. The baths, constructed by Onegesius, were the only edifice of
stone; the materials had been transported from Pannonia; and since the
adjacent country was destitute even of large timber, it may be presumed
that the meaner habitations of the royal village consisted of straw, or
mud, or of canvas. The wooden houses of the more illustrious Huns were
built and adorned with rude magnificence, according to the rank, the
fortune, or the taste of the proprietors. They seemed to have been
distributed with some degree of order and symmetry; and each spot
became more honorable as it approached the person of the sovereign.
The palace of Attila, which surpassed all other houses in his dominions,
was built entirely of wood, and covered an ample space of ground. The
outward enclosure was a lofty wall, or palisade, of smooth square
timber, intersected with high towers, but intended rather for ornament
than defence. This wall, which seems to have encircled the declivity of
the hill, comprehended a great variety of wooden edifices, adapted to
the uses of royalty. A separate house was assigned to each of the
numerous wives of Attila; and, instead of the rigid and illiberal
confinement imposed by Asiatic jealousy, they politely admitted the
Roman ambassadors to their presence, their table, and even to the
freedom of an innocent embrace. When Maximin offered his presents to
Cerce, the principal Queen, he admired the singular architecture of her
mansion, the height of the round columns, the size and beauty of the
wood, which was curiously shaped or turned, or polished or carved; and
his attentive eye was able to discover some taste in the ornaments and
some regularity in the proportions.
After passing through the guards, who watched before the gate, the
ambassadors were introduced into the private apartment of Cerce. The
wife of Attila received their visit sitting, or rather lying, on a soft
couch; the floor was covered with a carpet; the domestics formed a
circle round the Queen; and her damsels, seated on the ground, where
employed in working the variegated embroidery which adorned the dress of
the Barbaric warriors. The Huns were ambitious of displaying those
riches which were the fruit and evidence of their victories; the
trappings of their horses, their swords, and even their shoes were
studded with gold and precious stones; and their tables were profusely
spread with plates, and goblets, and vases of gold and silver, which had
been fashioned by the labor of Grecian artists. The monarch alone
assumed the superior pride of still adhering to the simplicity of his
Scythian ancestors. The dress of Attila, his arms, and the furniture of
his horse were plain, without ornament, and of a single color. The royal
table was served in wooden cups and platters; flesh was his only food;
and the conqueror of the North never tasted the luxury of bread.
When Attila first gave audience to the Roman ambassadors on the banks
of the Danube, his tent was encompassed with a formidable guard. The
monarch himself was seated in a wooden chair. His stern countenance,
angry gestures, and impatient tone, astonished the firmness of Maximin;
but Vigilius had more reason to tremble, since he distinctly understood
the menace, that if Attila did not respect the law of nations, he would
nail the deceitful interpreter to the cross, and leave his body to the
vultures. The Barbarian condescended, by producing an accurate list, to
expose the bold falsehood of Vigilius, who had affirmed that no more
than seventeen deserters could be found. But he arrogantly declared that
he apprehended only the disgrace of contending with his fugitive slaves;
since he despised their impotent efforts to defend the provinces which
Theodosius had intrusted to their arms: "For what fortress," added
Attila, "what city, in the wide extent of the Roman Empire, can hope to
exist, secure and impregnable, if it is our pleasure that it should be
erased from the earth?"
He dismissed, however, the interpreter, who returned to Constantinople
with his peremptory demand of more complete restitution and a more
splendid embassy. His anger gradually subsided, and his domestic
satisfaction in a marriage which he celebrated on the road with the
daughter of Eslam, might perhaps contribute to mollify the native
fierceness of his temper. The entrance of Attila into the royal village
was marked by a very singular ceremony. A numerous troop of women came
out to meet their hero and their King. They marched before him,
distributed into long and regular files; the intervals between the files
were filled by white veils of thin linen, which the women on either side
bore aloft in their hands, and which formed a canopy for a chorus of
young virgins, who chanted hymns and songs in the Scythian language. The
wife of his favorite Onegesius, with a train of female attendants,
saluted Attila at the door of her own house, on his way to the palace;
and offered, according to the custom of the country, her respectful
homage, by entreating him to taste the wine and meat which she had
prepared for his reception. As soon as the monarch had graciously
accepted her hospitable gift, his domestics lifted a small silver table
to a convenient height, as he sat on horseback; and Attila, when he had
touched the goblet with his lips, again saluted the wife of Onegesius,
and continued his march.
During his residence at the seat of empire, his hours were not wasted in
the recluse idleness of a seraglio; and the King of the Huns could
maintain his superior dignity, without concealing his person from the
public view. He frequently assembled his council, and gave audience to
the ambassadors of the nations; and his people might appeal to the
supreme tribunal, which he held at stated times, and, according to the
Eastern custom, before the principal gate of his wooden palace. The
Romans, both of the East and of the West, were twice invited to the
banquets, where Attila feasted with the princes and nobles of Scythia.
Maximin and his colleagues were stopped on the threshold, till they had
made a devout libation to the health and prosperity of the King of the
Huns, and were conducted, after this ceremony, to their respective seats
in a spacious hall. The royal table and couch, covered with carpets and
fine linen, was raised by several steps in the midst of the hall; and a
son, an uncle, or perhaps a favorite king were admitted to share the
simple and homely repast of Attila.
Two lines of small tables, each of which contained three or four guests,
were ranged in order on either hand; the right was esteemed the most
honorable, but the Romans ingenuously confess that they were placed on
the left; and that Beric, an unknown chieftain, most probably of the
Gothic race, preceded the representatives of Theodosius and Valentinian.
The Barbarian monarch received from his cup-bearer a goblet filled with
wine, and courteously drank to the health of the most distinguished
guest, who rose from his seat and expressed in the same manner his loyal
and respectful vows. This ceremony was successively performed for all,
or at least, for the illustrious persons of the assembly; and a
considerable time must have been consumed, since it was thrice repeated
as each course or service was placed on the table. But the wine still
remained after the meat had been removed; and the Huns continued to
indulge their intemperance long after the sober and decent ambassadors
of the two empires had withdrawn themselves from the nocturnal banquet.
Yet before they retired, they enjoyed a singular opportunity of
observing the manners of the nation in their convivial amusements. Two
Scythians stood before the couch of Attila, and recited the verses which
they had composed, to celebrate his valor and his victories.
A profound silence prevailed in the hall; and the attention of the
guests was captivated by the vocal harmony, which revived and
perpetuated the memory of their own exploits; a martial ardor flashed
from the eyes of the warriors, who were impatient for battle; and the
tears of the old men expressed their generous despair, that they could
no longer partake the danger and glory of the field. This entertainment,
which might be considered as a school of military virtue, was succeeded
by a farce, that debased the dignity of human nature. A Moorish and a
Scythian buffoon successively excited the mirth of the rude spectators,
by their deformed figure, ridiculous dress, antic gestures, absurd
speeches, and the strange, unintelligible confusion of the Latin, the
Gothic, and the Hunnic languages; and the hall resounded with loud and
licentious peals of laughter. In the midst of this intemperate riot,
Attila alone, without a change of countenance, maintained his steadfast
and inflexible gravity; which was never relaxed, except on the entrance
of Irnac, the youngest of his sons: he embraced the boy with a smile of
paternal tenderness, gently pinched him by the cheek, and betrayed a
partial affection, which was justified by the assurance of his prophets
that Irnac would be the future support of his family and empire.
Two days afterward, the ambassadors received a second invitation: and
they had reason to praise the politeness, as well as the hospitality, of
Attila. The King of the Huns held a long and familiar conversation with
Maximin; but his civility was interrupted by rude expressions and
haughty reproaches; and he was provoked, by a motive of interest, to
support, with unbecoming zeal, the private claims of his secretary
Constantius. "The Emperor," said Attila, "has long promised him a rich
wife: Constantius must not be disappointed; nor should a Roman emperor
deserve the name of liar." On the third day the ambassadors were
dismissed: the freedom of several captives was granted, for a moderate
ransom, to their pressing entreaties; and, besides the royal presents,
they were permitted to accept from each of the Scythian nobles the
honorable and useful gift of a horse. Maximin returned, by the same
road, to Constantinople; and though he was involved in an accidental
dispute with Beric, the new ambassador of Attila, he flattered himself
that he had contributed, by the laborious journey, to confirm the peace
and alliance of the two nations.[22]
But the Roman ambassador was ignorant of the treacherous design which
had been concealed under the mask of the public faith. The surprise and
satisfaction of Edecon, when he contemplated the splendor of
Constantinople, had encouraged the interpreter Vigilius to procure for
him a secret interview with the eunuch Chrysaphius,[23] who governed the
Emperor and the empire. After some previous conversation, and a mutual
oath of secrecy, the eunuch, who had not from his own feelings or
experience imbibed any exalted notions of ministerial virtue, ventured
to propose the death of Attila as an important service, by which Edecon
might deserve a liberal share of the wealth and luxury which he admired.
The ambassador of the Huns listened to the tempting offer; and
professed, with apparent zeal, his ability, as well as readiness, to
execute the bloody deed: the design was communicated to the master of
the offices, and the devout Theodosius consented to the assassination of
his invincible enemy. But this perfidious conspiracy was defeated by the
dissimulation, or the repentance, of Edecon; and though he might
exaggerate his inward abhorrence for the treason, which he seemed to
approve, he dexterously assumed the merit of an early and voluntary
confession.
If we _now_ review the embassy of Maximin and the behavior of Attila, we
must applaud the Barbarian, who respected the laws of hospitality, and
generously entertained and dismissed the minister of a prince who had
conspired against his life. But the rashness of Vigilius will appear
still more extraordinary, since he returned, conscious of his guilt and
danger, to the royal camp, accompanied by his son, and carrying with him
a weighty purse of gold, which the favorite eunuch had furnished, to
satisfy the demands of Edecon and to corrupt the fidelity of the guards.
The interpreter was instantly seized, and dragged before the tribunal of
Attila, where he asserted his innocence with specious firmness, till the
threat of inflicting instant death on his son extorted from him a
sincere discovery of the criminal transaction. Under the name of ransom,
or confiscation, the rapacious King of the Huns accepted two hundred
pounds of gold for the life of a traitor whom he disdained to punish. He
pointed his just indignation against a nobler object. His ambassadors,
Eslaw and Orestes, were immediately despatched to Constantinople, with a
peremptory instruction, which it was much safer for them to execute than
to disobey.
They boldly entered the Imperial presence, with the fatal purse hanging
down from the neck of Orestes, who interrogated the eunuch Chrysaphius,
as he stood beside the throne, whether he recognized the evidence of his
guilt. But the office of reproof was reserved for the superior dignity
of his colleague, Eslaw, who gravely addressed the Emperor of the East
in the following words: "Theodosius is the son of an illustrious and
respectable parent: Attila likewise is descended from a noble race; and
_he_ has supported, by his actions, the dignity which he inherited from
his father Mundzuk. But Theodosius has forfeited his paternal honors,
and, by consenting to pay tribute, has degraded himself to the condition
of a slave. It is therefore just, that he should reverence the man whom
fortune and merit have placed above him, instead of attempting, like a
wicked slave, clandestinely to conspire against his master." The son of
Arcadius, who was accustomed only to the voice of flattery, heard with
astonishment the severe language of truth: he blushed and trembled, nor
did he presume directly to refuse the head of Chrysaphius, which Eslaw
and Orestes were instructed to demand.