Empire.--Part IV.
When the suffrage of the generals and of the army committed the sceptre
of the Roman empire to the hands of Valentinian, his reputation in
arms, his military skill and experience, and his rigid attachment to
the forms, as well as spirit, of ancient discipline, were the principal
motives of their judicious choice. The eagerness of the troops, who
pressed him to nominate his colleague, was justified by the dangerous
situation of public affairs; and Valentinian himself was conscious, that
the abilities of the most active mind were unequal to the defence of the
distant frontiers of an invaded monarchy. As soon as the death of
Julian had relieved the Barbarians from the terror of his name, the most
sanguine hopes of rapine and conquest excited the nations of the East,
of the North, and of the South. Their inroads were often vexatious,
and sometimes formidable; but, during the twelve years of the reign of
Valentinian, his firmness and vigilance protected his own dominions; and
his powerful genius seemed to inspire and direct the feeble counsels of
his brother. Perhaps the method of annals would more forcibly express
the urgent and divided cares of the two emperors; but the attention of
the reader, likewise, would be distracted by a tedious and desultory
narrative. A separate view of the five great theatres of war; I.
Germany; II. Britain; III. Africa; IV. The East; and, V. The Danube;
will impress a more distinct image of the military state of the empire
under the reigns of Valentinian and Valens.
I. The ambassadors of the Alemanni had been offended by the harsh and
haughty behavior of Ursacius, master of the offices; who by an act
of unseasonable parsimony, had diminished the value, as well as the
quantity, of the presents to which they were entitled, either from
custom or treaty, on the accession of a new emperor. They expressed,
and they communicated to their countrymen, their strong sense of the
national affront. The irascible minds of the chiefs were exasperated
by the suspicion of contempt; and the martial youth crowded to their
standard. Before Valentinian could pass the Alps, the villages of Gaul
were in flames; before his general Degalaiphus could encounter the
Alemanni, they had secured the captives and the spoil in the forests of
Germany. In the beginning of the ensuing year, the military force of the
whole nation, in deep and solid columns, broke through the barrier of
the Rhine, during the severity of a northern winter. Two Roman counts
were defeated and mortally wounded; and the standard of the Heruli and
Batavians fell into the hands of the Heruli and Batavians fell into
the hands of the conquerors, who displayed, with insulting shouts and
menaces, the trophy of their victory. The standard was recovered; but
the Batavians had not redeemed the shame of their disgrace and flight in
the eyes of their severe judge. It was the opinion of Valentinian, that
his soldiers must learn to fear their commander, before they could cease
to fear the enemy. The troops were solemnly assembled; and the trembling
Batavians were enclosed within the circle of the Imperial army.
Valentinian then ascended his tribunal; and, as if he disdained to
punish cowardice with death, he inflicted a stain of indelible ignominy
on the officers, whose misconduct and pusillanimity were found to be
the first occasion of the defeat. The Batavians were degraded from their
rank, stripped of their arms, and condemned to be sold for slaves to the
highest bidder. At this tremendous sentence, the troops fell prostrate
on the ground, deprecated the indignation of their sovereign, and
protested, that, if he would indulge them in another trial, they would
approve themselves not unworthy of the name of Romans, and of his
soldiers. Valentinian, with affected reluctance, yielded to their
entreaties; the Batavians resumed their arms, and with their arms, the
invincible resolution of wiping away their disgrace in the blood of the
Alemanni. The principal command was declined by Dagalaiphus; and
that experienced general, who had represented, perhaps with too
much prudence, the extreme difficulties of the undertaking, had the
mortification, before the end of the campaign, of seeing his rival
Jovinus convert those difficulties into a decisive advantage over the
scattered forces of the Barbarians. At the head of a well-disciplined
army of cavalry, infantry, and light troops, Jovinus advanced, with
cautious and rapid steps, to Scarponna, * in the territory of Metz,
where he surprised a large division of the Alemanni, before they had
time to run to their arms; and flushed his soldiers with the confidence
of an easy and bloodless victory. Another division, or rather army,
of the enemy, after the cruel and wanton devastation of the adjacent
country, reposed themselves on the shady banks of the Moselle. Jovinus,
who had viewed the ground with the eye of a general, made a silent
approach through a deep and woody vale, till he could distinctly
perceive the indolent security of the Germans. Some were bathing their
huge limbs in the river; others were combing their long and flaxen hair;
others again were swallowing large draughts of rich and delicious wine.
On a sudden they heard the sound of the Roman trumpet; they saw the
enemy in their camp. Astonishment produced disorder; disorder was
followed by flight and dismay; and the confused multitude of the bravest
warriors was pierced by the swords and javelins of the legionaries and
auxiliaries. The fugitives escaped to the third, and most considerable,
camp, in the Catalonian plains, near Chalons in Champagne: the
straggling detachments were hastily recalled to their standard; and
the Barbarian chiefs, alarmed and admonished by the fate of their
companions, prepared to encounter, in a decisive battle, the victorious
forces of the lieutenant of Valentinian. The bloody and obstinate
conflict lasted a whole summer's day, with equal valor, and with
alternate success. The Romans at length prevailed, with the loss of
about twelve hundred men. Six thousand of the Alemanni were slain, four
thousand were wounded; and the brave Jovinus, after chasing the flying
remnant of their host as far as the banks of the Rhine, returned to
Paris, to receive the applause of his sovereign, and the ensigns of the
consulship for the ensuing year. The triumph of the Romans was indeed
sullied by their treatment of the captive king, whom they hung on
a gibbet, without the knowledge of their indignant general. This
disgraceful act of cruelty, which might be imputed to the fury of the
troops, was followed by the deliberate murder of Withicab, the son of
Vadomair; a German prince, of a weak and sickly constitution, but of a
daring and formidable spirit. The domestic assassin was instigated and
protected by the Romans; and the violation of the laws of humanity
and justice betrayed their secret apprehension of the weakness of the
declining empire. The use of the dagger is seldom adopted in public
councils, as long as they retain any confidence in the power of the
sword.
While the Alemanni appeared to be humbled by their recent calamities,
the pride of Valentinian was mortified by the unexpected surprisal of
Moguntiacum, or Mentz, the principal city of the Upper Germany. In the
unsuspicious moment of a Christian festival, * Rando, a bold and artful
chieftain, who had long meditated his attempt, suddenly passed the
Rhine; entered the defenceless town, and retired with a multitude of
captives of either sex. Valentinian resolved to execute severe vengeance
on the whole body of the nation. Count Sebastian, with the bands of
Italy and Illyricum, was ordered to invade their country, most probably
on the side of RhÊtia. The emperor in person, accompanied by his son
Gratian, passed the Rhine at the head of a formidable army, which was
supported on both flanks by Jovinus and Severus, the two masters-general
of the cavalry and infantry of the West. The Alemanni, unable to prevent
the devastation of their villages, fixed their camp on a lofty, and
almost inaccessible, mountain, in the modern duchy of Wirtemberg, and
resolutely expected the approach of the Romans. The life of Valentinian
was exposed to imminent danger by the intrepid curiosity with which
he persisted to explore some secret and unguarded path. A troop of
Barbarians suddenly rose from their ambuscade: and the emperor, who
vigorously spurred his horse down a steep and slippery descent,
was obliged to leave behind him his armor-bearer, and his helmet,
magnificently enriched with gold and precious stones. At the signal
of the general assault, the Roman troops encompassed and ascended the
mountain of Solicinium on three different sides. Every step which they
gained, increased their ardor, and abated the resistance of the enemy:
and after their united forces had occupied the summit of the hill, they
impetuously urged the Barbarians down the northern descent, where Count
Sebastian was posted to intercept their retreat. After this signal
victory, Valentinian returned to his winter quarters at Treves; where
he indulged the public joy by the exhibition of splendid and triumphal
games. But the wise monarch, instead of aspiring to the conquest of
Germany, confined his attention to the important and laborious defence
of the Gallic frontier, against an enemy whose strength was renewed by
a stream of daring volunteers, which incessantly flowed from the most
distant tribes of the North. The banks of the Rhine from its source to
the straits of the ocean, were closely planted with strong castles
and convenient towers; new works, and new arms, were invented by the
ingenuity of a prince who was skilled in the mechanical arts; and his
numerous levies of Roman and Barbarian youth were severely trained in
all the exercises of war. The progress of the work, which was sometimes
opposed by modest representations, and sometimes by hostile attempts,
secured the tranquillity of Gaul during the nine subsequent years of the
administration of Valentinian.
That prudent emperor, who diligently practised the wise maxims of
Diocletian, was studious to foment and excite the intestine divisions
of the tribes of Germany. About the middle of the fourth century, the
countries, perhaps of Lusace and Thuringia, on either side of the Elbe,
were occupied by the vague dominion of the Burgundians; a warlike and
numerous people, * of the Vandal race, whose obscure name insensibly
swelled into a powerful kingdom, and has finally settled on a
flourishing province. The most remarkable circumstance in the ancient
manners of the Burgundians appears to have been the difference of their
civil and ecclesiastical constitution. The appellation of Hendinos was
given to the king or general, and the title of Sinistus to the high
priest, of the nation. The person of the priest was sacred, and his
dignity perpetual; but the temporal government was held by a very
precarious tenure. If the events of war accuses the courage or conduct
of the king, he was immediately deposed; and the injustice of his
subjects made him responsible for the fertility of the earth, and the
regularity of the seasons, which seemed to fall more properly within the
sacerdotal department. The disputed possession of some salt-pits engaged
the Alemanni and the Burgundians in frequent contests: the latter were
easily tempted, by the secret solicitations and liberal offers of the
emperor; and their fabulous descent from the Roman soldiers, who had
formerly been left to garrison the fortresses of Drusus, was admitted
with mutual credulity, as it was conducive to mutual interest. An army
of fourscore thousand Burgundians soon appeared on the banks of
the Rhine; and impatiently required the support and subsidies which
Valentinian had promised: but they were amused with excuses and delays,
till at length, after a fruitless expectation, they were compelled to
retire. The arms and fortifications of the Gallic frontier checked the
fury of their just resentment; and their massacre of the captives served
to imbitter the hereditary feud of the Burgundians and the Alemanni.
The inconstancy of a wise prince may, perhaps, be explained by some
alteration of circumstances; and perhaps it was the original design of
Valentinian to intimidate, rather than to destroy; as the balance of
power would have been equally overturned by the extirpation of either of
the German nations. Among the princes of the Alemanni, Macrianus, who,
with a Roman name, had assumed the arts of a soldier and a statesman,
deserved his hatred and esteem. The emperor himself, with a light and
unencumbered band, condescended to pass the Rhine, marched fifty miles
into the country, and would infallibly have seized the object of
his pursuit, if his judicious measures had not been defeated by the
impatience of the troops. Macrianus was afterwards admitted to the
honor of a personal conference with the emperor; and the favors which
he received, fixed him, till the hour of his death, a steady and sincere
friend of the republic.
The land was covered by the fortifications of Valentinian; but the
sea-coast of Gaul and Britain was exposed to the depredations of the
Saxons. That celebrated name, in which we have a dear and domestic
interest, escaped the notice of Tacitus; and in the maps of Ptolemy, it
faintly marks the narrow neck of the Cimbric peninsula, and three small
islands towards the mouth of the Elbe. This contracted territory, the
present duchy of Sleswig, or perhaps of Holstein, was incapable of
pouring forth the inexhaustible swarms of Saxons who reigned over the
ocean, who filled the British island with their language, their laws,
and their colonies; and who so long defended the liberty of the North
against the arms of Charlemagne. The solution of this difficulty is
easily derived from the similar manners, and loose constitution, of the
tribes of Germany; which were blended with each other by the slightest
accidents of war or friendship. The situation of the native Saxons
disposed them to embrace the hazardous professions of fishermen and
pirates; and the success of their first adventures would naturally
excite the emulation of their bravest countrymen, who were impatient of
the gloomy solitude of their woods and mountains. Every tide might float
down the Elbe whole fleets of canoes, filled with hardy and intrepid
associates, who aspired to behold the unbounded prospect of the ocean,
and to taste the wealth and luxury of unknown worlds. It should seem
probable, however, that the most numerous auxiliaries of the Saxons were
furnished by the nations who dwelt along the shores of the Baltic. They
possessed arms and ships, the art of navigation, and the habits of
naval war; but the difficulty of issuing through the northern columns of
Hercules (which, during several months of the year, are obstructed with
ice) confined their skill and courage within the limits of a spacious
lake. The rumor of the successful armaments which sailed from the mouth
of the Elbe, would soon provoke them to cross the narrow isthmus of
Sleswig, and to launch their vessels on the great sea. The various
troops of pirates and adventurers, who fought under the same standard,
were insensibly united in a permanent society, at first of rapine, and
afterwards of government. A military confederation was gradually
moulded into a national body, by the gentle operation of marriage and
consanguinity; and the adjacent tribes, who solicited the alliance,
accepted the name and laws, of the Saxons. If the fact were not
established by the most unquestionable evidence, we should appear to
abuse the credulity of our readers, by the description of the vessels
in which the Saxon pirates ventured to sport in the waves of the German
Ocean, the British Channel, and the Bay of Biscay. The keel of their
large flat-bottomed boats were framed of light timber, but the sides and
upper works consisted only of wicker, with a covering of strong hides.
In the course of their slow and distant navigations, they must always
have been exposed to the danger, and very frequently to the misfortune,
of shipwreck; and the naval annals of the Saxons were undoubtedly filled
with the accounts of the losses which they sustained on the coasts of
Britain and Gaul. But the daring spirit of the pirates braved the perils
both of the sea and of the shore: their skill was confirmed by the
habits of enterprise; the meanest of their mariners was alike capable of
handling an oar, of rearing a sail, or of conducting a vessel, and the
Saxons rejoiced in the appearance of a tempest, which concealed their
design, and dispersed the fleets of the enemy. After they had acquired
an accurate knowledge of the maritime provinces of the West, they
extended the scene of their depredations, and the most sequestered
places had no reason to presume on their security. The Saxon boats drew
so little water that they could easily proceed fourscore or a hundred
miles up the great rivers; their weight was so inconsiderable, that they
were transported on wagons from one river to another; and the pirates
who had entered the mouth of the Seine, or of the Rhine, might descend,
with the rapid stream of the Rhone, into the Mediterranean. Under the
reign of Valentinian, the maritime provinces of Gaul were afflicted
by the Saxons: a military count was stationed for the defence of the
sea-coast, or Armorican limit; and that officer, who found his strength,
or his abilities, unequal to the task, implored the assistance of
Severus, master-general of the infantry. The Saxons, surrounded and
outnumbered, were forced to relinquish their spoil, and to yield a
select band of their tall and robust youth to serve in the Imperial
armies. They stipulated only a safe and honorable retreat; and the
condition was readily granted by the Roman general, who meditated an act
of perfidy, imprudent as it was inhuman, while a Saxon remained alive,
and in arms, to revenge the fate of their countrymen. The premature
eagerness of the infantry, who were secretly posted in a deep valley,
betrayed the ambuscade; and they would perhaps have fallen the victims
of their own treachery, if a large body of cuirassiers, alarmed by
the noise of the combat, had not hastily advanced to extricate their
companions, and to overwhelm the undaunted valor of the Saxons. Some of
the prisoners were saved from the edge of the sword, to shed their
blood in the amphitheatre; and the orator Symmachus complains, that
twenty-nine of those desperate savages, by strangling themselves with
their own hands, had disappointed the amusement of the public. Yet the
polite and philosophic citizens of Rome were impressed with the deepest
horror, when they were informed, that the Saxons consecrated to the gods
the tithe of their human spoil; and that they ascertained by lot the
objects of the barbarous sacrifice.
II. The fabulous colonies of Egyptians and Trojans, of Scandinavians and
Spaniards, which flattered the pride, and amused the credulity, of our
rude ancestors, have insensibly vanished in the light of science and
philosophy. The present age is satisfied with the simple and rational
opinion, that the islands of Great Britain and Ireland were gradually
peopled from the adjacent continent of Gaul. From the coast of Kent, to
the extremity of Caithness and Ulster, the memory of a Celtic origin
was distinctly preserved, in the perpetual resemblance of language, of
religion, and of manners; and the peculiar characters of the British
tribes might be naturally ascribed to the influence of accidental and
local circumstances. The Roman Province was reduced to the state of
civilized and peaceful servitude; the rights of savage freedom were
contracted to the narrow limits of Caledonia. The inhabitants of that
northern region were divided, as early as the reign of Constantine,
between the two great tribes of the Scots and of the Picts, who have
since experienced a very different fortune. The power, and almost the
memory, of the Picts have been extinguished by their successful rivals;
and the Scots, after maintaining for ages the dignity of an independent
kingdom, have multiplied, by an equal and voluntary union, the honors of
the English name. The hand of nature had contributed to mark the ancient
distinctions of the Scots and Picts. The former were the men of the
hills, and the latter those of the plain. The eastern coast of Caledonia
may be considered as a level and fertile country, which, even in a rude
state of tillage, was capable of producing a considerable quantity
of corn; and the epithet of cruitnich, or wheat-eaters, expressed the
contempt or envy of the carnivorous highlander. The cultivation of the
earth might introduce a more accurate separation of property, and the
habits of a sedentary life; but the love of arms and rapine was still
the ruling passion of the Picts; and their warriors, who stripped
themselves for a day of battle, were distinguished, in the eyes of the
Romans, by the strange fashion of painting their naked bodies with gaudy
colors and fantastic figures. The western part of Caledonia irregularly
rises into wild and barren hills, which scarcely repay the toil of the
husbandman, and are most profitably used for the pasture of cattle. The
highlanders were condemned to the occupations of shepherds and hunters;
and, as they seldom were fixed to any permanent habitation, they
acquired the expressive name of Scots, which, in the Celtic tongue, is
said to be equivalent to that of wanderers, or vagrants. The inhabitants
of a barren land were urged to seek a fresh supply of food in the
waters. The deep lakes and bays which intersect their country, are
plentifully supplied with fish; and they gradually ventured to cast
their nets in the waves of the ocean. The vicinity of the Hebrides, so
profusely scattered along the western coast of Scotland, tempted their
curiosity, and improved their skill; and they acquired, by slow degrees,
the art, or rather the habit, of managing their boats in a tempestuous
sea, and of steering their nocturnal course by the light of the
well-known stars. The two bold headlands of Caledonia almost touch
the shores of a spacious island, which obtained, from its luxuriant
vegetation, the epithet of Green; and has preserved, with a slight
alteration, the name of Erin, or Ierne, or Ireland. It is probable,
that in some remote period of antiquity, the fertile plains of Ulster
received a colony of hungry Scots; and that the strangers of the
North, who had dared to encounter the arms of the legions, spread their
conquests over the savage and unwarlike natives of a solitary island. It
is certain, that, in the declining age of the Roman empire, Caledonia,
Ireland, and the Isle of Man, were inhabited by the Scots, and that the
kindred tribes, who were often associated in military enterprise, were
deeply affected by the various accidents of their mutual fortunes. They
long cherished the lively tradition of their common name and origin;
and the missionaries of the Isle of Saints, who diffused the light of
Christianity over North Britain, established the vain opinion, that
their Irish countrymen were the natural, as well as spiritual, fathers
of the Scottish race. The loose and obscure tradition has been preserved
by the venerable Bede, who scattered some rays of light over the
darkness of the eighth century. On this slight foundation, a huge
superstructure of fable was gradually reared, by the bards and the
monks; two orders of men, who equally abused the privilege of fiction.
The Scottish nation, with mistaken pride, adopted their Irish genealogy;
and the annals of a long line of imaginary kings have been adorned by
the fancy of Boethius, and the classic elegance of Buchanan.