Editing Getica (section)

==Sources==

In his Preface, Jordanes presents his plan
:"...to condense in my own style in this small book the twelve volumes of [Cassiodorus] Senator on the origin and deeds of the Getae [i.e., Goths] from olden times to the present day."
Jordanes admits that he did not then have direct access to Cassiodorus's book, and could not remember the exact words, but that he felt confident that he had retained the substance in its entirety.{{sfn|Mierow|1915|loc = Preface [quote]: Jordanes writes: "But above every burden is the fact that I have no access to his books that I may follow his thought. Still - and let me lie not - I have in times past read the books a second time by his steward's loan for a three days' reading. The words I recall not, but the sense and the deeds related I think I retain entire."}} He goes on to say that he added relevant passages from Latin and Greek sources, composed the Introduction and Conclusion, and inserted various things of his own authorship. Due to this mixed origin, the text has been examined in an attempt to sort out the sources for the information it presents.

===Jordanes himself===
{{main|Jordanes}}
Former notarius to a Gothic [[magister militum]] Gunthigis, Jordanes would have been in a position to know traditions concerning the Gothic peoples without necessarily relying on anyone else. However, there is no evidence for this in the text, and some of the instances where the work refers to ''carmina prisca'' can be shown to depend on classical authors.{{sfn|Christensen|2002}}

===Cassiodorus===
{{main|Cassiodorus}}
Cassiodorus was a native Italian ([[Squillace]], [[Bruttium]]), who rose to become advisor and secretary to the Gothic kings in various high offices. His and the Goths' most successful years were perhaps the reign of [[Theodoric the Great|Theodoric]]. The policy of Theodoric's government at that time was reconciliation and in that spirit he incorporated Italians into the government whenever he could. He asked Cassiodorus to write a work on the Goths that would, in essence, demonstrate their antiquity, nobility, experience and fitness to rule.

Theodoric died in 526 and Cassiodorus went on to serve his successors in the same capacity. He had not by any means forgotten the task assigned to him by his former king. In 533 a letter ostensibly written by King [[Athalaric]] to the senate in Rome, but ignored by Cassiodorus, mentions the great work on the Goths, now complete, in which Cassiodorus "''restored the Amali with the illustriousness of their race''."
The work must have been written at [[Ravenna]], seat of the Gothic kings, between 526 at latest and 533.

What Cassiodorus did with the manuscripts after that remains unknown. The fact that Jordanes once obtained them from a steward indicates that the wealthy Cassiodorus was able to hire at least one full-time custodian of them and other manuscripts of his, i.e., a private librarian (a custom not unknown even today).

Jordanes says in the preface to ''Getica'' that he obtained them from the librarian for three days in order to read them again (relegi). The times and places of these readings have been the concern of many scholars, as this information possibly bears on how much of ''Getica'' is based on [[Cassiodorus]].

There are two main theories, one expressed by the Mierow source below, and one by the O'Donnell source below. Mierow's is earlier and does not include a letter cited by O'Donnell.{{sfn|O'Donnell|1982|pp=223-240}}

Gothic sovereignty came to an end with the reconquest of Italy by [[Belisarius]], military chief of staff for [[Justinian]], ending in 539. Cassiodorus' last ghost writing for the Gothic kings was done for [[Witiges]], who was removed to Constantinople in 540. A number of token kings ruled from there while Belisarius established that the Goths were not going to reinvade and retake Italy (which was however taken again by the [[Lombards]] after Justinian's death).

Cassiodorus retired in 540 to his home town of Squillace, where he used his wealth to build a monastery with school and library, ''Vivarium''.

===Authors cited by ''Getica''===
The events, persons and peoples of ''Getica'' are put forward as being up to many centuries prior to the time of Jordanes. Taken at face value, they precede any other history of Scandinavia.

Jordanes does cite some writers well before his time, to whose works he had access but we do not, and other writers whose works are still extant. Mierow gives a summary of these, which is reviewed below, and also states other authors he believed were used by Jordanes but were not cited in ''Getica'' (refer to the Mierow source cited below). Mierow's list of cited authors is summarized as follows:

*Ablabius. Otherwise unknown historian, author of the work ''Gothorum gentis'' ("of the Gothic people"), now lost.
*[[Dexippus]] on the [[Vandals]] and the [[Heruli]].
*Dio, either [[Dio Cassius]] or [[Dio Chrysostom]], author of [[Getica (Dio)|another ''Getica'']]. Description of Britain in Jordanes.
*Fabius. Otherwise unknown, author of a work including the siege of [[Ravenna]], now missing.
*[[Josephus]] in IV.29, brief mention of the Goths as [[Scythians|Scyths]].
*[[Livy]], brief mention in II.10.
*[[Marcus Annaeus Lucanus|Lucan]] on the [[Amali]], V.43.
*[[Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus|Pompeius Trogus]], now known only in [[Justin (historian)|Justinus]]' epitome of ''Historiae Philippicae''.
*[[Pomponius Mela]].
*[[Priscus]]. Events concerning [[Attila]].
*[[Ptolemy]] on [[Scandinavia]] in ''Getica'' Part III.
*[[Strabo]]. Authority on Britain.
*[[Quintus Aurelius Symmachus|Symmachus]]. Copies of his copies from [[Julius Capitolinus]] on [[Maximinus I|Maximinus]].
*[[Tacitus]]. Authority on [[Roman Britain|Britain]].
*[[Virgil]].