Hi all.
I am slowly driving myself insane trying to find a reference.
In the Encyclopedia Britannica - and therefore throughout the internet - is a reference to the 'Sack of Capua' by Gaiseric in 456 (sometimes claiming March of that year). I cannot find any reference to this event in the sources. Obviously, I must be looking in the wrong places! Does anybody have any idea of where this event is recorded??
Cheers, Ian
Quote:Landolfus Sagax mentions in Book XV of the Historia Miscella that in the same invasion in which Rome was sacked by Gaiseric, Capua, Nola, and Neapolis were also sacked. That's the only reference I could find.
http://books.google.com/books/about/Hist...A_AQAAIAAJ
Good grief! (Swearing's not allowed :wink: ) That's one heck of a find! Thank you! (PM sent.)
WARNING, that source is by no means contemporary, dating from the 16th c. makes it urealiable for 5th c. events.
Still, its something. We'll see what comes up with my search...
Quote:WARNING, that source is by no means contemporary, dating from the 16th c. makes it urealiable for 5th c. events.
I thought it dated to the 10/11th century? :unsure: Having said that, the warning is still relevant: anything dated from this far after events needs to be assessed on its own merits. Sadly, we don't know what sources Landolfus used, so although theoretically useful his work needs to be used with extreme caution.
Quote:I thought it dated to the 10/11th century? :unsure:
That's correct, the source being a continuation of the Paul the Deacon's 8th c. Historia Romana (therefore we know it's not contemporary anyway), but it's very late publication date makes it impossible to know if the information it contains was there by the 11th c., or added afterwards.
And I know Paul the Deacon's passage on Chalons was ripped off Jordanes'
Gaiseric's brother in law plundered Campania a couple years later, in AD 458. Marjorian defeated them near Sinuessa, before they could make off with their booty.
Since Landolfus doesn't mention this, I wonder if he mistakenly combined the two Vandal expeditions into one. His account does seem fairly disjointed, barely mentioning Marjorian.
That's the problem with this period: too many late sources using and confusing earlier sources to confuse us.
That would coencide with the defeat of the vandals off Corsica by Ricimer in 458.
Additionally, Landolfus claims that Paul, the Bishop of Nola, was carried away by Gaiseric when they sacked the city. The other accounts I've found, in various "Lives of the Saints," say that Paul of Nola was carried off when Alaric sacked Nola during his invasion of Campania in AD 410.
It would seem that Landolfus' account may be even more garbled than I initially suspected. If he is the only source for Gaiseric's sack of Capua, it would probably be best to dismiss it.
That depends on the intention: using as a historical source that is factual, no; explaining why this is wrong, yes, as otherwise people who have read Landolfus willl think you've missed a valid entry.
As you've noticed, the Sack of Nola attributed to the Vandals has Paul carried off by Gaiseric. This originates (I think) with Gregory of Rome (Gregory of Rome, Dialogue 3.1.), so Landolfus shouldn't be criticised too harshly.
BTW what's the source for Gaudentius being carried off with Placidia, Eudoxia and Eudocia?
Quote:...so Landolfus shouldn't be criticised too harshly.
I'm sure he wasn't called Sagax for nothing.
You make good points.
Quote:BTW what's the source for Gaudentius being carried off with Placidia, Eudoxia and Eudocia?
Hydatius mentions that in his Chronicle:
Gaisericus sollicitatus a relicta Valentiniani, ut malum fama dispergit, prius quam Avitus augustus fieret, Romam ingreditur, direptisque opibus Romanorum Carthaginem redit, relictam Valentiniani et filias duas, et Aetii filium Gaudentium nomine, secum ducens.