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Huns <ref name="term_44870" />
Huns <ref name="term_44871" />
<p> For a general description of this people and their history see volume 4. It is the design in this place to pay some attention to particulars which are merely alluded to in the former article, and especially to examine the question of Attila's influence upon Christendom. The name [[Huns]] (Hunni, '''''Ουννοι''''' , '''''Χοῦνοι''''' )"is a comparatively recent one in history, and its derivation is altogether uncertain. The usual theory, that it is only the Chinese ''Hun-Jo'' transferred into the dialects of the West, is not so well established as to make it impossible, or even unlikely, that Chinese writers may have first found the name used by Byzantine historians, and appropriated it from them. It is evidently a collective name, and designates a people composed of many distinct tribes, which are mentioned in some detail by early writers. </p> <p> This people belonged to the Turkish family, and can best be accounted for, so far as that portion which enters into European history is concerned, by regarding it as included among the [[Scythian]] tribes of which the later classics make mention. An Asiatic branch, whose western limits did not reach beyond the modern Turkestan, is wholly outside the scope of our inquiry. The Huns of history are first discovered as occupants of the district about the Caspian Sea, lying to the north and north-east of the Alans, who occupied the [[Caucasus]] and adjoining regions. Emerging thence, they engaged in a bloody struggle with the Alans, whom they defeated and afterward incorporated with their armies; and the allied nations then precipitated themselves on the Goths, whose territories lay beyond and contigtious to those of the Alans, and, by fircing them from. their homes, produced the general irruption of barbarians into the Roman empire. In the revolt of the [[Goths]] against the empire the Huns crossed the Danube as allies of their recent enemies, and, though they were, for a time less conspicuous than the Goths, they were yet able to impose a tribute, under their king Rouas, upon the Romans. Bleda and Attila, the sons of Mundzuk and nephews of Rouas, succeeded the latter in 433; and after the death of Bleda, said by some authorities to have been caused by his brother, while others deny the charge, [[Attila]] became the acknowledged head of the, vast hordes collected under or affiliated with the Hunnish name, and entered on a career of conquest and diplomacy which made him the most noted personage of his age, and under the embellishing hand of legend and myth has secured to him and his followers a notable place in the recollections of the world for all time. Seven hundred thousand warriors, Huns, Alans, Avars, Bulgarians, Acatzirs, and many other tribes are said to have followed him into battle. An expedition into [[Persia]] for plunder is assumed by some writers as his first distinct enterprise; but history gives clear evidence of but three campaigns conducted by Attila, all of them European wars. </p> <p> '''1''' An invasion of the Eastern or Byzantine empire in 441, in which he defeated the emperor Theodosius II in successive battles, ravaged Illyricum, Thrace, and Greece, and after several years of desultory warfare conquered a peace in 447, which gave him possession of a territory in Thrace. Having devastated the country south of the Danube, he accepted an indemnity from the emperor, and renounced all claim to its control. In addition, he exacted, however, an annual tribute and the return of deserters from his army. </p> <p> '''2.''' An incursion into [[Gaul]] in 450, during which he took the towns of Treves, Metz, Rheims, Tongres, Arras, Laon, St. Quentin, Strasburg, etc. Orleans, which was the objective point of the campaign, was relieved by the Roman general AEtius when the gates had already been opened to the Huns, and pillage was beginning. Attila thereupon retreated precipitately to [[Chalons]] on the Marne, and was there attacked by the united armies of JEtins and Theodoric, the Visigoth king, and defeated in a terrible battle in which historians report a slaughter of from 252,000 to 300,000 men '''''—''''' the last great battle ever fought by the Romans. [[Returning]] to his possessions on the Danube, he prepared for a new campaign, which he undertook </p> <p> '''3.''' In 452. The ostensible reason alleged for his incursion of that year into Italy was the refusal of the emperor Valentinian III to confer upon him the hand of his sister Honoria, accompanied by a dowry of half the empire. He crossed the Julian Alps and laid siege to Aquileia, then the second city in Italy, and at the end of three months overcame its obstinate resistance.: A century later the historian Jornandes could scarcely trace the ruins of the place. Other towns were sacked, e.g. Milan, Pavia, Parma, and quite certainly also Verona, Maitua, Brescia, Bergamo, and Cremona. The whole of [[Lombardy]] was ravaged, and Attila was preparing to march on Rome when an embassy from that city, headed by Pope Leo the Great, succeeded in persuading him to a peaceful evacuation of Italy. Retiring into [[Pannonia]] by way of Augsburg, which he pillaged, he consoled himself by adding a new wife, Ildico, Hilda, or Mycolth, to the large number which he already possessed; but on the morning after this marriage he was found dead, having ruptured a blood-vessel or been foully dealt with, A.D. 453. His kingdom fell to pieces almost as soon as the great king was dead; the different nations which had followed his banner became alienated from each other, and separated, some to serve in the armies of the empire, others to seek alliance with tribes in the north and east, which were of similar race and character with themselves. </p> <p> The effect of the Hunnish incursions was indirectly beneficial to Christianity. The Burgundians, for example, when threatened by Attila's uncle, Oktar-or Ouptar, submitted to be baptized, in the hope that they might thus acquire power to resist the foe. The deliverance of [[Troyes]] in the Chalons campaign by the supplications of bishop Lupus, and of Rome in the following year by those of Leo the Great, convinced the mind of that and succeeding ages that piety could accomplish what armies might fail to achieve. The profound impressions wrought upon the mind of [[Christendom]] appear most clearly, however, in the legendary histories of Attila, which are preserved in three distinct currents of tradition '''''—''''' the Latin, Germanic, and Hungarian. </p> <p> The Latin legends originated in the reaction from the panic into which Attila's conquests had thrown the whole of Europe, and sprang from ecclesiastical sources. They seek to explain his successes by exaggerating his power, and both chronology and geography are violated in the attempt to magnify his career. They describe sieges and captures which never took place, make the Hunnish army to sweep over the whole of France, derive the name of the city of [[Strasburg]] from the fancy that Attila made four roads through the city walls, and despatch the broken remnants of his army after the battle of Chalons into Spain to fight the Moors. In the title "The [[Scourge]] of God," applied to Attila, these Latin. legends reach their culmination. A hermit of Chamipagne says to Attila before Chalons- misplaced in that province by the legend '''''—''''' "Tu es flagellum Dei '''''—''''' but Gods breaks, when he pleases, the instruments of his vengeance. God will take this sword from thee and give it to another." At Troves Attila announces himself to St. [[Lupus]] as "the king of the Huns, the Scourge of God;" whereupon the bishop responds, "Welcome, then, scourge of the God whom I serve. Enter, and go where thou wilt." The Huns are, however, smitten with supernatural blindness, and see nothing until they have passed through the city and out at the opposite gate. Some of these legends endow Attila with diabolical attributes, sarcasm, pride, and hideous ugliness, joined with a sardonic humor, while others go to the opposite extreme, and describe him as a champion of the pope and extirpator of heresies. Some of the latter sort even represent him as preaching, morality, encouraging good marriages, and portioning virtuous maidens. One reports that a great battle was fought by Attila under the walls of Rome, on the conclusion of which the dead rose again and continued the fight with great fury for three days and nights; and the location, with all its details, was afterwards pointed out. </p> <p> The Germanic legends differ widely from the Latin. In them Attila is a hero, the type of royal majesty, furnished with almost superhuman bravery and strength. He is as wise as Solomon, and richer and more generous than was he. The great [[Theodoric]] and Hermanaric are always associated with him, as his inferiors. The oldest of these legends is a fragment of the 8th century at Fulda, which proves that they were circulated in the Frank dialect in Gaul during the Merovingian period. The Germanic form of Attila legend was current in [[England]] also at an early period, and receives its fullest development in the Icelandic and Scandinavian handling. The episode of [[Walter]] of Aquitaine and the Nibelungenlied are offshots from the primitive stock of this tradition. </p> <p> The Hungarian legends associate Attila with all the phases of their early national life. Deriving the Magyar stock from Magog, the son of Japhet and king of Scythia, they trace it down to Attila and his son Arpad, the common patrons of the [[Magyars]] and Huns. When the Magyars become Christians, it is because Attila, by his docility under the hand of God, whose scourge he was, has prepared the way for their conversion through his merits. He is the inseparable patron of that people, changing when they change, and living through all the stages of their national existence. </p> <p> Attila was not only a barbarian, but also a heathen, and while he fought Rome rather than the Church, and even showed regard for the sanctity of its eminent representatives, the success of his arms was universally felt to be destructive to Christianity. In the course of time, accordingly, the minds of writers, saturated with ideas derived from the churchly legends, discovered that so mighty an impersonation of the principle of evil as was Attila could be no other than [[Antichrist]] himself; and artists, under the same influence, represented him as having almost diabolical features and goat's horns. See frontispiece to [[Italian]] legend of Attila, frequently printed at [[Venice]] in the later years of the 15th century. For the later history of the Huns, down to the time when the name and people became extinct, see the article HUNS in volume 4. </p> <p> Literature. '''''—''''' For the early history Ammianus [[Marcellinus]] and Priscus, especially the latter, are the principal sources. Sidonius Apollinaris notices the invasion of Gaul. Later authorities are Jornandes, Procopius, Agathius, [[Gregory]] of Tours, and Cassiodorus. Jornandes was a Goth, bitterly hostile to the Huns. and openi to the charge of excessive credulity; but he is the only authority for certain portions of Attila's history. </p> <p> Among modern works De Guignses's Histoise des Huns must be assigned the first place, as it furnishes all the speculations upon which the earliest accepted history of the Huns is based. Gibbon's account in the [[Decline]] and Fall .(Milman's ed. volume 6) is scarcely more than an abridgment of De Guignes's. See also Creasy, Decisive Battles of the World (Chalofis); Neumann, Volker des Sudlichen Russlands; Klenmm, Attila (1827); J. v. Miiller, Attila, der [[Held]] des 5. Jahrhunderts (1806); Herbert, Attila, or the [[Triumph]] of [[Christianity]] (1838); Grimm, Deutsche Heldensagen (Gottingen, 1829); Zeuss, Deutsche u. Nachbarstamme and Ostfinnen. Also, Bertazzalo, Vita. San Leone Primo et di Attila Flagello di [[Dio]] (Mantuma, 1614, 4to). Gibbon gives leading authorities on Attila. See the Church [[Histories]] and leading Dictionaries, etc., and the articles SEE HUNS, (See Leo I) (See [[Pope]]), etc., in this ''Cyclopaedia.'' </p>
<p> (Latin Hunni), a nation of Asiatic origin, and in all likelihood of Mongolian or Tartar stock, therefore akin to. and perhaps to be identified with, the [[Scythians]] and the Turks, were, according to De Guignes (Hist. des Huns), whose theory was accepted by Gibbon, and is now entertained by all competent critics, lineal descendants from the Hiong-now nation, "whose ancient seat was an extensive but barren tract of country immediately to the north of the great wall of China. About the year B.C. 200 these people overran the Chinese empire, defeated the Chinese armies in numerous engagements, and even drove the emperor Kao-ti himself to an ignominious capitulation and treaty. During the reign of Vou-ti (B.C. 141- 87) their power was very much broken. Eventually they separated into two distinct camps, one of which, amounting to about 50,000 families, went southwards, while the other endeavored to maintain itself in its original seat. This, however, it was very difficult for them to do; and eventually the most warlike and enterprising went west and north-west in search of new homes. Of those that went northwest, a large number established themselves for a while on the banks of the Volga." About the earlier part of the 4th century they crossed this river, and advanced into the territories of the Alani, a pastoral people dwelling between the [[Volga]] and the Don. The incursion was resisted with much bravery and some effect, until at length a bloody and decisive battle was fought on the banks of the Don, in which the [[Alan]] king was slain, and his army utterly routed, and the vast majority of the survivors agreed to join the invaders. They next encountered successfully the aged leader of the Goths, who claimed as his dominions the land situated between the Baltic and the Euxine, and then his successor Withimir, whom they slew in battle. The [[Goths]] still remaining placed themselves under the protection of the emperor Valens, who in 376 gave permission to a great number of them to cross the Danube, and settle in the countries on the other side as auxiliaries to the Roman arms against further invasion. The [[Huns]] thus became the occupants of all the old territories of the Goths; and when these, not long afterwards, revolted against Valens, the Huns also crossed the Danube, and joined their arms to those of the Goths in hostilities against the Roman empire. </p> <p> In the wars that followed, the Huns were less conspicuous than the Goths, their former enemies. In the 5th century they were strengthened by fresh hordes of their brethren, and they determined to gain further conquests. In the reign of Theodosius, under their king [[Attila]] (q.v.), they were even strong enough to receive an annual tribute from the Romans to secure their empire against external injury. With Attila's death, however, in 454, their power was totally broken. A few feeble sovereigns succeeded him, but there was now strife everywhere among the several nations that had owned the firm sway of Attila, and the Huns never regained their power. Many of them took service in the armies of the Romans, and others again joined fresh hordes of invaders from the north and east; which were undoubtedly tribes related to them, especially the Avares, whom they joined in great numbers and hence perhaps the reason why, at this period of their history, they are frequently called Hunnavares They now made themselves masters of the country known by us as Lower Austria. But the [[Slaves]] (Slavonians?) in [[Bohemia]] and [[Moravia]] regained their territory in the 8th century, and many of the Hunnavares were made slaves, and were thus brought to a knowledge of Christianity. </p> <p> Their inclinations, however, led them to oppose most fiercely all the inroads of Christianity, and they transformed [[Christian]] churches into heathen temples wherever they were successful in gaining territory. About 791 [[Charlemagne]] waged war against the Avares, as the Huns were then called, in which many of them were slain, and but few weak tribes remained. About the year 799 they were finally conquered, and their power broken. [[Charles]] himself regarded this war as a sort of crusade or holy war, and sent to the pope and the Church all the tribute paid him by the vanquished foe. The first great convert to [[Christianity]] was one of their princes, called Tudem, who sent a legation to Charlemagne in 795, with the declaration that he would become tributary to him and accept the Christian religion. He was baptized at Aix-la-Chapelle in 796, but shortly after his return to his tribe he abjured the newly-accepted faith. King [[Pepin]] paid particular attention to the conversion of the Huns, in whose behalf Alcuin (q.v.) also was greatly interested. By peopling the territory assigned to them with '''''‘''''' Germans, especially Bavarians, and by founding several monasteries and cathedrals, the subsequent Christian princes furthered Christianity among them, until they became amalgamated with the Germans. </p> <p> The Huns are said to have been of a dark complexion, almost black; deformed in their appearance, of uncouth gesture, and shrill voice. The ancient descriptions unmistakably ally them to the Tartars. "They were distinguished from the rest of the human species by their broad shoulders, flat noses, and small black eyes deeply buried in the head; and, as they were almost destitute of beards, they never enjoyed either the manly graces of youth or the venerable aspect of age. A fabulous origin was assigned worthy of their form and manners-that the witches of Scythia, who for their foul and deadly practices, had been driven from society, had copulated in the desert with infernal spirits, and that the Huns were the offspring of this execrable conjunction" (Gibbon). See Wetzer und Welte, Kirchen-Lex. 5, 397 sq.; Chambers, Cyclop. 5, 462; Appleton, Am. Cyclop. 9, 318; Gibbon, [[Decline]] and Fall of the Roman [[Empire]] (Milman's ed.), vol. 6 (see Index). (J. H.W.) </p>


== References ==
== References ==
<references>
<references>
<ref name="term_44870"> [https://bibleportal.com/encyclopedia/cyclopedia-of-biblical-theological-and-ecclesiastical-literature/huns+(2) Huns from Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature]</ref>
<ref name="term_44871"> [https://bibleportal.com/encyclopedia/cyclopedia-of-biblical-theological-and-ecclesiastical-literature/huns Huns from Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature]</ref>
</references>
</references>

Latest revision as of 10:49, 15 October 2021

Huns [1]

(Latin Hunni), a nation of Asiatic origin, and in all likelihood of Mongolian or Tartar stock, therefore akin to. and perhaps to be identified with, the Scythians and the Turks, were, according to De Guignes (Hist. des Huns), whose theory was accepted by Gibbon, and is now entertained by all competent critics, lineal descendants from the Hiong-now nation, "whose ancient seat was an extensive but barren tract of country immediately to the north of the great wall of China. About the year B.C. 200 these people overran the Chinese empire, defeated the Chinese armies in numerous engagements, and even drove the emperor Kao-ti himself to an ignominious capitulation and treaty. During the reign of Vou-ti (B.C. 141- 87) their power was very much broken. Eventually they separated into two distinct camps, one of which, amounting to about 50,000 families, went southwards, while the other endeavored to maintain itself in its original seat. This, however, it was very difficult for them to do; and eventually the most warlike and enterprising went west and north-west in search of new homes. Of those that went northwest, a large number established themselves for a while on the banks of the Volga." About the earlier part of the 4th century they crossed this river, and advanced into the territories of the Alani, a pastoral people dwelling between the Volga and the Don. The incursion was resisted with much bravery and some effect, until at length a bloody and decisive battle was fought on the banks of the Don, in which the Alan king was slain, and his army utterly routed, and the vast majority of the survivors agreed to join the invaders. They next encountered successfully the aged leader of the Goths, who claimed as his dominions the land situated between the Baltic and the Euxine, and then his successor Withimir, whom they slew in battle. The Goths still remaining placed themselves under the protection of the emperor Valens, who in 376 gave permission to a great number of them to cross the Danube, and settle in the countries on the other side as auxiliaries to the Roman arms against further invasion. The Huns thus became the occupants of all the old territories of the Goths; and when these, not long afterwards, revolted against Valens, the Huns also crossed the Danube, and joined their arms to those of the Goths in hostilities against the Roman empire.

In the wars that followed, the Huns were less conspicuous than the Goths, their former enemies. In the 5th century they were strengthened by fresh hordes of their brethren, and they determined to gain further conquests. In the reign of Theodosius, under their king Attila (q.v.), they were even strong enough to receive an annual tribute from the Romans to secure their empire against external injury. With Attila's death, however, in 454, their power was totally broken. A few feeble sovereigns succeeded him, but there was now strife everywhere among the several nations that had owned the firm sway of Attila, and the Huns never regained their power. Many of them took service in the armies of the Romans, and others again joined fresh hordes of invaders from the north and east; which were undoubtedly tribes related to them, especially the Avares, whom they joined in great numbers and hence perhaps the reason why, at this period of their history, they are frequently called Hunnavares They now made themselves masters of the country known by us as Lower Austria. But the Slaves (Slavonians?) in Bohemia and Moravia regained their territory in the 8th century, and many of the Hunnavares were made slaves, and were thus brought to a knowledge of Christianity.

Their inclinations, however, led them to oppose most fiercely all the inroads of Christianity, and they transformed Christian churches into heathen temples wherever they were successful in gaining territory. About 791 Charlemagne waged war against the Avares, as the Huns were then called, in which many of them were slain, and but few weak tribes remained. About the year 799 they were finally conquered, and their power broken. Charles himself regarded this war as a sort of crusade or holy war, and sent to the pope and the Church all the tribute paid him by the vanquished foe. The first great convert to Christianity was one of their princes, called Tudem, who sent a legation to Charlemagne in 795, with the declaration that he would become tributary to him and accept the Christian religion. He was baptized at Aix-la-Chapelle in 796, but shortly after his return to his tribe he abjured the newly-accepted faith. King Pepin paid particular attention to the conversion of the Huns, in whose behalf Alcuin (q.v.) also was greatly interested. By peopling the territory assigned to them with ‘ Germans, especially Bavarians, and by founding several monasteries and cathedrals, the subsequent Christian princes furthered Christianity among them, until they became amalgamated with the Germans.

The Huns are said to have been of a dark complexion, almost black; deformed in their appearance, of uncouth gesture, and shrill voice. The ancient descriptions unmistakably ally them to the Tartars. "They were distinguished from the rest of the human species by their broad shoulders, flat noses, and small black eyes deeply buried in the head; and, as they were almost destitute of beards, they never enjoyed either the manly graces of youth or the venerable aspect of age. A fabulous origin was assigned worthy of their form and manners-that the witches of Scythia, who for their foul and deadly practices, had been driven from society, had copulated in the desert with infernal spirits, and that the Huns were the offspring of this execrable conjunction" (Gibbon). See Wetzer und Welte, Kirchen-Lex. 5, 397 sq.; Chambers, Cyclop. 5, 462; Appleton, Am. Cyclop. 9, 318; Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Milman's ed.), vol. 6 (see Index). (J. H.W.)

References

  1. ↑ Huns from Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
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