Attila:The Scourge of God

by Ross Laidlaw

  The weather was crisp and clear, so that even distant tops — the Herzogenhorn, the Belchen, the Kandel — stood out sharp-etched against the sky. Anxiously, he scanned the horizon to the southeast, and there it was, his main landmark: round-topped and bare, towering above the other peaks: the Feldberg. Spent but enormously relieved, the old general sank down and unbuckled his satchel. The worst was behind him. With the going now comparatively level, he should tonight reach the Hollenthal below the Feldberg; and tomorrow should see him through that narrow valley to the Alb, and then the Rhenus. The back of the journey would then be broken, and he could expect to reach Spolicinum on the fourth day as planned.

  Having breakfasted, Gaius set out feeling much refreshed, and still uplifted in spirit; provided the weather held, allowing him to keep the Feldberg and the Kandel in view, navigation should no longer be a problem. Especially as there was now a clear-marked ridgeway track to follow, the Hohenweg. In contrast to the previous day, the going on the tops was superb, being firm gravel or springy turf. From the Kandel, fantastic views unrolled around him: the Vosegus and Mons Jura ranges and the distant rampart of the Alpes, while below, set off by the forest’s sombre green, tarns gleamed like turquoises. Then, at some point in the afternoon, his soldier’s instinct told him he was being followed. Turning, he saw some fifty paces behind him a huge wolf, long of leg and muzzle, gaunt to the point of emaciation, its fur dull and staring, lips drawn back in a snarl baring rows of vicious fangs.

  Gaius experienced a moment of gut-churning fear. Clearly, the wolf had only one purpose in its mind, and he was in the poorest position imaginable to resist attack. He was remote from habitation; he had no weapon, not even a stick. Above all, he was old, lacking the strength to fend off an attack — something the wolf would have sensed instinctively, reinforcing its determination and aggression. Yet there had to be something he could do; there always was, even in the most desperate situation — as he had learnt during years of hard campaigning.

  Then it dawned on Gaius that he was not, after all, entirely without means of defence; these grassy tops, studded with granite outcrops, were littered with stones of every shape and size. Even the heaviest stone, with only the power of an arm behind it, wouldn’t suffice to counter an attack by a savage wolf, but arm-power could be assisted. Propelled by a sling, a tiny pebble acquired enough force to kill. Think man, think. He had it! Dumping the contents of his satchel on the ground, Gaius hastily refilled it with stones, then hefted it by the carrying-strap, testing its weight and swing. Now he had a truly formidable weapon, the equivalent of the gladiator’s ball-and-chain.

  The wolf attacked suddenly, coming at Gaius in a weaving rush. He swung the weighted satchel, missed, tried to dodge but felt the slashing teeth rake his thigh. Had its damaged foreleg not slowed the wolf’s impetus, it would have inflicted serious injury instead of merely a nasty gash. Twice more it charged, coming in from the side, gaining in confidence as its teeth ripped the man’s flesh. Both times Gaius’ improvised weapon missed its target, mainly because of the difficulty in co-ordinating timing and balance to deliver an effective sideways blow.

  Nevertheless, he knew that if he could hold on, and shut his mind to the pain and loss of blood, his chance would come. So far, the wolf had been probing for weaknesses, testing his reactions. Sooner rather than later, in order to finish the contest, it must launch a frontal attack. Gaius now had the feel of his weapon; could he but land a solid blow, the odds might tilt in his favour.

  On its fourth attack, the wolf came in for the kill, charging straight at Gaius and, when a few paces distant, springing for the throat. But Gaius was prepared. Already whirling the satchel round his head to build up impetus, he timed his blow sweetly. As the huge animal hurtled through the air towards him, the bag, with the full impact of its massive weight, slammed into the creature’s head with a meaty crunch. The animal collapsed on the ground, its head and neck horribly missapen. Gaius swung the satchel in a second tremendous blow, and crushed the beast’s skull like a stove-in barrel. A shudder rippled through the wolf’s body, then it lay still.

  Reaction hit Gaius. He swayed, as blackness seemed to gather before his eyes. But he must not faint, he told himself; he must find the will-power and the strength to keep going and complete his mission. His wounds were bleeding copiously, so he tore strips from his tunic to make bandages, and managed to staunch the worst of the bleeding. Emptying the stones from his satchel, he replaced them with the provisions scattered on the ground. Though his stomach rose against it, he made himself eat in order to keep his strength up. Then, slowly and painfully, he resumed his journey, forcing himself gradually to increase his pace, in an effort not to lose time.

  He reached the Hollenthal just as the sun was setting, and in the semi-darkness managed to clamber down the ravine’s steep and craggy nearer wall to its floor, aware that, in his weakened state, a night spent on the exposed tops might see him perish from the cold. Too tired to gather fuel for a fire, he passed the hours of darkness in a fitful doze, shivering beneath his cloak.

  Next morning, he pressed on eastwards through the Hollenthal. The name, which meant Valley of Hell, was apt, he thought, oppressed by the savage chaos of rocky turrets that loomed on either side. The ravine narrowed, became wilder, the fantastic spires and crags of its containing walls seeming to defy every law of order and possibility. Then, with a welcome though almost shocking suddenness, the grim scene changed to one of beauty. The valley broadened, the grisly cliffs fell back, replaced by gentle slopes of green studded with groves of beech and starred by flowers, while the air was filled with birdsong and the chirring of grasshoppers. This, Gaius recalled, was called the Himmelreich, the Kingdom of Heaven.

  The rest of that day passed in a dreamlike blur. He seemed to have crossed a threshold, beyond which pain and tiredness were scarcely felt. After skirting a marshy tract, the Todtmoos, or Dead Man’s Swamp, he joined the Albthal, a desolate valley lined with firs and beech growing between grey outcrops of granite. At times the Alb was a gently rippling stream, at others, where the valley twisted and steepened, a mountain torrent swirling round bends and crashing against rocks in cascades of spray. In these stretches, Gaius could proceed only with the utmost difficulty, clinging precariously to moss-grown crags and overhanging branches, as he worked his way along banks whose slopes at times approached the vertical. Then suddenly, far below him through a gap in the trees, he glimpsed a mighty river, slow-moving, majestic: the Rhenus! And those wooded slopes fringing the farther side were the Roman province of Maxima Sequanorum.

  By now totally exhausted, Gaius staggered and stumbled the last few miles, reaching the Rhenus late in the afternoon. Shortly afterwards he was picked up by a state barge carrying timber and building stone, bound for Felix Arbor, a fortress on Lacus Brigantinus to the east of Spolicinum. At sunset, the barge put in at a landing-stage on the Roman side for the night, and the following morning rowed slowly upstream and entered the lake. Some hours later, Gaius was helped on to the pier serving Spolicinum, where some off-duty soldiers volunteered to take him to the commandant. He was delirious and very weak, but his mind cleared long enough for him to convey the news about the risings in Gaul.

  As a personal favour, he asked that a messenger be sent to his son at the Villa Fortunata, and this was readily granted. Calling for a diptych, he scratched a brief letter to Titus, then tied the cords and gave it to the bearer. Gaius lingered for a few more hours, while the fort’s surgeon fought to save his life. But the old soldier’s heart had been overtaxed and he had lost too much blood. He died murmuring lines from Namatianus’ poem of farewell to Rome: ‘ “Te canimus semperque, sinent dum fata, canemus: hospes nemo potest immemor esse tui.”’2

  1 The Black Forest.

  2 ‘Thee we sing [O Rome], and shall ever sing, while the fates permit; no guest of thine can be forgetful of thee.’ This noble poem was penned in 410 — ironically, the very year in which, a few months later, Rome was taken and sacked b
y Alaric.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  He [Aetius], uniquely, was born for the salvation of the Roman Republic

  Jordanes, Gothic History, 551

  ‘ Unconquered Eternal Rome, Salvation of the World’, ran the inscription on the coin that Aetius, awaiting the arrival of his officers at his headquarters in Provence, absently rolled between his fingers. The obverse showed Valentinian in armour dragging a barbarian by the hair, the reverse a winged figure representing Victory. (Officially it was an angel, but the symbolism was obvious.) Aetius smiled at the irony of the coin’s message. Did those idiots of procuratores who ran the mints at Rome, Mediolanum, and Ravenna, really think that such fatuousness fooled anyone?

  The officers began to file into the command tent. When all were seated, Aetius took up his position beside a large campaign map of Gaul, supported on an easel facing his audience.

  ‘Serious news, gentlemen,’ he announced briskly, ‘just arrived by fast courier from Raetia. It seems that trouble’s breaking out in Gaul on three fronts. First, Aremorica.’ With a pointer he circumscribed a large area in north-west Gaul. ‘The Bagaudae have risen in revolt against the big landowners and the Roman authorities in general. Second, the Burgundian Settlement.’ The pointer indicated a strip of territory along the upper Rhenus. ‘The tribe’s broken its boundaries and is invading the Belgic provinces. Thirdly, our friends the Visigoths in Aquitania.’ The wand rapped south-west Gaul. ‘Up to their old tricks again; hoping to expand their territory eastwards. It seems they’re preparing to invest Gallia Narbonensis. Any questions, gentlemen, before I go on?’

  ‘How do ve know all sis?’ asked a German cavalry commander.

  ‘It’s thanks to General Rufinus, whom some of the older ones among you may remember. Apparently, he was able to spy on a convention of Burgundian leaders, and overheard their king telling them what I’ve told you. He then covered over a hundred miles on foot through rough country, to bring the news from Gaul to Spolicinum fort in Raetia. Got mauled by a wolf on the way, and died later from wounds and exhaustion. Rome owes that brave old man a debt, gentlemen. Thanks to him, we’ve learnt about the situation early enough to be able to take effective counter-measures.’

  ‘And those are, sir?’ This anxiously from a middle-aged protector, or senior officer.

  ‘I was coming to that. You’re probably thinking that, with just one field army to cope with three major insurrections simultaneously, we’d be hopelessly overstretched.’

  ‘Well, wouldn’t we?’ interrupted a tough-looking duke. ‘Putting it bluntly, sir, I don’t see how we can cope. If it was just the Bagaudae on their own we had to deal with, we could manage — they’re a rabble of slaves and peasants. But these wretched federates, the Burgundians and Visigoths, they’re a different matter. In my opinion, we’d be well advised to sue for peace and, for the time being, grant them the land they want.’

  ‘If you’d allow me to finish,’ Aetius protested mildly, ‘I was going to add that our field army won’t have to fight on its own. Reinforcements have been promised and should be arriving any day.’

  ‘Household troops from Italia, I suppose,’ sneered the duke. ‘Much use they’ll be. Parade soldiers who spend more time polishing their kit than campaigning.’

  Aetius raised his hands in exasperation. ‘You’ve a short memory,’ he sighed. ‘Who was it helped me — twice — in the recent civil wars in Italia? The Huns, my friend, the Huns. That was in Rua’s time. Now, their new king, Attila, who’s an old and loyal friend, by the way, has sworn assistance. His word is even more to be trusted.’

  A stir of interest swept round the tent. Faces which, following Aetius’ original announcement, had registered shocked concern now showed relief and eagerness.

  ‘Here, then, is what we do,’ continued Aetius. ‘Marcus, my old warhorse, remember how you held the Huns in check while I scouted Aspar’s lines?’

  A grey-haired duke grinned in recollection. ‘Aspar son of Ardaburius — the Alan general who cramped our style in that Ioannes business? Hard to forget it, sir. Tremendous fellows in attack, your Huns. But nearly impossible to hold on a leash.’

  ‘Well, this time I’ve an easier job for you. The Visigoths, bless their hearts, have decided to oblige us by laying siege to Narbo Martius1. But, as we know, like all barbarians they’re hopeless when it comes to siege operations. Shouldn’t be too difficult for you to keep them pinned down with Roman troops, until I can send a force of Huns?’

  ‘I’ll enjoy it, sir,’ declared Marcus, rubbing his hands. ‘A series of hit-and-run raids to harass them and disrupt their supplies, while they blunder about with siege contraptions which fall to bits or fail to work. Why, we could even besiege the besiegers. Pen them in and starve them, by throwing up a circle of earthworks around their positions — as Stilicho did against Radogast and his Goths at Florentia. I should know; I was there.’

  ‘Excellent. That’s the Visigoths taken care of, then. Now, the Bagaudae. Litorius, I recall you did a first-rate job guarding our retreat after the Battle of the Fifth Milestone. Would it be beneath you to deal with the bandit revolt?’

  ‘Absolutely not, sir,’ rejoined the count. ‘I’m no Crassus, who felt soiled by taking on Spartacus and his slave army.’

  ‘Splendid. You’ll need a large force. The rising will affect a huge area — about a quarter of Gaul. Take half of what’s left of the field army, after Marcus has had his pick, and I’ll send you half the Huns. When you’ve crushed the Bagaudae, you can join forces with Marcus against the Visigoths. Myself and Avitus2 here’ — he nodded to a tall officer with patrician features — ‘will move against the Burgundians with the remainder of the Romans and the rest of the Huns. Right gentlemen,’ he concluded brightly, looking round the rows of faces, ‘that covers everything, I believe. Begin your preparations immediately. We march tomorrow.’

  Spolicinum Fort, Province of 2nd Raetia, Diocese of Italy [Titus wrote in the Liber Rufinorum]. The year of the consuls Flavius Theodosius and Flavius Placidius Valentinianus, Augusti, their fifteenth and fourth respectively, VIII Calends June.3

  I was at the Villa Fortunata when my father’s letter arrived with the terrible news of the Burgundian rising et cetera. Fearing for the safety of my dear Clothilde and Marcus, I rode with all speed to Spolicinum (which seems little changed since I was last here twelve years ago) as it lies on the most direct route to the Settlement. Here, I was told the sad tidings that Gaius Valerius had died soon after writing to me. He is buried in the soldiers’ cemetery outside the fort. In my grief, I found comfort in the knowledge that he had given his life in the service of Rome. He could have wished for no better end. I have left some money, together with instructions, for a gravestone bearing this inscription:

  GAIUS VALERIUS RUFINUS: COMMANDER OF THE PRIMANI LEGION: 77 YEARS OF AGE. HE LOVED ROME AND SERVED HER WELL. HE IS LAID HERE.

  In his letter, Gaius begged me to consider re-entering the service of Aetius, who, he believed, is the only man who can deal effectively with the crisis in Gaul. I had thought my break with Aetius irrevocable, but tempora mutantur, as they say. I will consider my father’s plea. Whether Aetius would take me back is another matter, and I could be putting myself at risk in approaching him; he might bring me before a military court for switching my allegiance to Boniface.

  Tomorrow, I leave for the Burgundian Settlement via the valley of the upper Rhenus. The roads, I am assured, are still in good repair though now outwith Rome’s direct administration. I leave this journal here at Spolicinum for safe keeping, for I fear there will be little leisure or security where I am bound for.

  From their position on a Pannonian hilltop, the two royal brothers watched as the Hun cavalry set out for Gaul. Soon, individual warriors disappeared in the dust-pall stirred up by sixty thousand horses — a vast greyish-yellow cloud which filled the plain and rolled swiftly towards the western horizon.

  ‘Well, brother,’ I hope you think it’s worth it,’ snarled Bleda. ‘That�
��s a tenth of our fighting force you’ve just lent out. And for what? So you can improve your standing with your Roman friends, I suppose?’

  Attila studiedly ignored his brother — as he could afford to, ever since he had stamped his authority on the Huns, by his conduct at the Treaty of Margus. It was pointless trying to explain his ambitions to a coarse buffoon of limited vision like Bleda. The Empire of the Huns was now vast, approaching in extent that of the Romans. It stretched from Scandia to the Mare Caspium, uniting for the first time in history, the Teutonic peoples of Germania and the nomads of the steppes. A great achievement, surely? Perhaps; but only if it contained the seeds of permanence — like Greece or Rome. Otherwise, it might fall apart and vanish as quickly as it had arisen. In a vague yet passionate way, Attila yearned for something more satisfying than power and plunder. He wanted greatness for his people, so that in future ages men would speak of Attila not as they would of the cruel tyrant Gaiseric, whose African kingdom was surely transitory, but as they did of Alexander or Caesar, whose legacies survived even to this day. Which was why he needed the help and advice of Aetius and, if possible, the friendship of the Romans. (And that would now be hard to secure, Attila conceded. After Margus, his name throughout the Eastern Empire had become a byword for ruthlessness and terror.)

  Although Attila would never admit it, Bleda had a point. The Council, and the Huns generally, would expect rewards for the massive investment they had made in backing Aetius. In the past, such credit had been handsomely repaid. But with the West now weakened and imperilled, could that still be guaranteed? Attila could only hope that it could.