Theoderic the Great

King of Goths, Ruler of Romans

By: Hans-Ulrich Wiemer, John Noel Dillon - translator

Narrated by: Julian Elfer

In the year 493, the leader of a vast confederation of Gothic warriors, their wives, and children personally cut down Odoacer, the man famous for deposing the last Roman emperor in 476. That leader became Theoderic the Great (454-526). This engaging history of his life and reign immerses listeners in the world of the warrior-king who ushered in decades of peace and stability in Italy as king of Goths and Romans. Theoderic transformed his roving "warrior nation" from the periphery of the Roman world into a standing army that protected his taxpaying Roman subjects with the support of the Roman elite. With a ruling strategy of "integration through separation," Theoderic not only stabilized Italy but also extended his kingdom to the western Balkans, southern France, and the Iberian Peninsula.

Using sources as diverse as letters, poetry, coins, and mosaics, Hans-Ulrich Wiemer brings listener into the world of Theoderic's court, from Gothic warriors and their families to the notables, artisans, and shopkeepers of Rome and Ravenna to the peasants and enslaved people who tilled the soil on grand rural estates. This book offers a fascinating history of the leader who brought peace to Italy after the disintegration of the Roman Empire.

©2018 Verlag C.H.Beck oHG, München; English translation copyright 2023 by Yale University (P)2023 Tantor

Astonishing ruler!

This is a detailed scholarly study not just of Theodoric but of the whole period of Italian history from 450 to 550 AD. I am a historian and I was amazed at how little I understood about this period (most of it wrong). It is long and exhaustive (author even covers the historiography of Theodoric) but genuinely illuminating. Theodoric was an unicum with his gothic heritage and Roman education. He was truly the last Roman ruler of Italy and it was Justinian who brought on the Dark Ages.

incredible breadth of detail describing a lost world.

Fascinating academic tour of Italy under the Goths. Not narrative history, but compelling in the depth of new and interesting information conveyed about the period.

The scholarship and the narration.

A definitive history without question and based upon original and unique sources. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in this rather obscure. Of history.

Lessons for the present

Rich in detail and characters though he sometimes more detail than desired. I would have preferred shorter or more narrowly focused chapters.

interesting in places and dry in others

Overall, I enjoyed it, but unlike the Burgundians, which I enjoyed immensely and would listen again, this one was a lot drier and more academic. That's not saying it wasn't interesting. but there were facts after facts after facts. No like humor stories that I can remember. Now I know this is further back in time than the Burgundians really, but nothing memorable like the Burgundians. Overall, I would recommend this, because it is a good book really, if a bit dry. I would probably listen to this one again but not for awhile.

More for historians than general readers

Buried in this book is a great story of the barbarian warrior who ruled Italy for 30 years in peace and stood up to the Eastern Roman Emperor. But telling that great story is not the author's purpose. The book covers everything ever written about Theoderic, his ancestors, the Catholic church before and its heresies, during and after Theoderic's time, and the end of Gothic rule in Italy after his death. Plus all of the legends ever recorded that might have mentioned or have been based on some version of the Theorderic story. For a general reader, it is way, way too much. Especially the church history.

The narrator does a good job with the Gothic names and the German and French words. He strives to make this dry kindling interesting, but even he sounds bored for long stretches. I cannot blame the narrator for that. However, he has an annoying habit of dropping the volume of his voice for parentheticals or clauses. If you are listening on anything other than headphones in a quiet room, you will miss many or most of these asides.

This book was reviewed in the Wall St. Journal in the July 17, 2023 edition. The generally positive review was written by a professor. I now see that this is a book for prfessors and grad students.

Unbearably dry and boring

Yet another book about a fascinating character in history, made unbelievably boring by throwing in 15 hours of useless details.