lr8

Itt

!L,

Agethlmr Thq Hl:totler

good and retum homc, 7 And co they ret ebout gathering enofmou!
{uantities of very long reeds of exceptional thidrnegs and toughness, whlch
they fastened and boind togethef with cord and twine, producing in this
wa a considerable numb.r of bordLs. Across the two ends and the middle
they fitted wooden spars and lashed the bundles toggtlrer, sectuing them
very tightly with thi& ropes, so that three or more of them went to make
riigl" b.rt sufiiciently wide to hold four men and sufiiciently deep to
"p
bar thJir weight without sinking. They consgucted not less than one
hundred and.frity craft of this type. 8 To make them more seavrorthy they
brought rogerher the front endi, curving them upwards in the shape of_ a

feukld pro and devised improvised rowlocks and outriggers on either side.
22, ihen, when they had secured everything as best they could they
launc}ed th a[ ,o..ily into the sea near the western shore of the bay
i[ri.*".p, round the town of Aenus. z About six hundred men embarked
in them *ith u great quantity o{ shovels which they ttted into the rowlocks
and propelling tf,.-r.i.r", alter afashion with this rudimentary fotm of oar,
tlro ,* fur [rt to sea, heavily armed and ready {or action' They thought
thutby gradually rowing out further and further they would easily get past
,i ,.*"ol the watl thai stretcfied out to sea as far as the deep 'ratef, and
would then be able to step ashore in perfect safety further down_ the coast
*h"r" no walls enclosed ii and it, on protection r7as that afiotded by the
**r.r, of the HellesPont.
rnt that
3 \flhen Germanus received intelligence of these plans and lea
their
for
enemy
the
at
he
scofied
anirmada of reed boats was on the way
had
that
they
kneur
he
it
because
at
folly but at the same time was delighted
with
skifis
fast
twenty
dispatctred
immediate
plaed into his hands. 4 He
ior-und-uft ruddem, eqoipping them with a full complement of rowers and

helmsmen und m.n'ar;. -ilh breasrplares, shields, bows and arrows and
hulb"rrr, ,rid hud them moored out of right in the inlet of water behind the
,Ufn.o the barbarians .were already past the end part of the wall
,lr* j"tr o"t from the shore they began to swerve towards the coast and
were borne on in a mood of condeni elation. It was at this point that the
Roman boats put out to sea against them' Sped on by'the tide the Romans
6 rced
bore down orr'th.,o, and struc violently prosr to prow against
impact,
the
of
boats of the barbarians, whidr srere spun round by the force
throwiog their crews ofi their feet as they rod<ed and lurdred from side to

*utt i

the

side. Sote were throurn overboard and drowned, others flopped down
*rr.ry, having no idea what ro do nexr. Even those who were still on their
1"", *"t" joltJd by the morion of the waves whose efiect would have been
but was tremendous on
-od..rt" r ,h.rt negligible on a boar or a ship
lightness.
a(tfeme
their
7 One moment
these reed-bu/1t craft because of
plunged
down as it
they
another
the
\Irave,
of
they shot up on the crest

moit thq could purlbly

brohe, Thry madc no ettmBr to.ght, rlnco thelgflfulle
thc barborlani u'er
I
feet,..
["e. i";-;;r-,n t."p rteady on thelr
they could end by
whercver
llne
,ir,iriir*ur"unded tr,. iloinr broke thelr
cost manv of
battle
land
a
in
done
d*ii weight;s;i;rl thern.ac fe
had a firm
themselves
they
since
into thJrea irhout difliculty
iir"
and slew
on
in
closed
they
;;;# foothold in their own boats. Some
way
some
rere
Romans
the
g But since in many cases

;il;id

.i*y

with their s'rords.

their halberts
ofi and'ere not yet at Jose quarters they reached out with
the whole
until
*,a-.or through ,fr" .Jr thrt bo,rnd the reeds together
about,
floated
reeds
irinegrated. Severed from one another the
themselves
{ound
"*
irr"u1 arotions, while the Huns suddenly
;;lfdrg;;
,h.
;trkd u, bor,o*, f"tl o"t of their boats' They perished to a man and
not one of them lived to see dry land again'
23.Collectingallthe/eaponsoftheenemythatwerestillfloatingabout,
army
ilo*, ,Aa tJ ,o ,ira, earer position and tlled the whole
the
all
of
assembly
general.
;rh;;,.t i"c ut th" *, of the happv vent' A it was imperative for them
;i naa ,i *n it was cided that
;;;;;;
z A few davs later' therefo':l
ii"i*
-und
^ai.
mude a sudden sortie from the wall against the beslegefs,
themselves
rilas at its lowest ebb
whore numbers -".. rriti u."y great but whose morale
recent shattering
their
from
yet
#if;;;hJ;; ; ,f* nr iot _recoveredyolmg
relly mature
not
i;^tr. 3 Germanus, *ho b"io9-still-very instead
lasmore easilv swaved
as
but
imf,'kt'
;;;*h toi.rtruir lrit irri"irr
prudence
C, uiothful ardou*J t.u" of glory than by considerations.of
daontlerrly into baitle against the enemy on-that occasion,
;i#JJ
encouraging- his men like a
;;; dtJ# coofine l,i*r"if t giving ord"rt anda common
soldier. As a result
Uore rhe il;; .i tr. nilrting like
".".rJC",
h";;' strud< tt'"l'igt' bv an a*ow.'d y""v n9a1lv
;;;;
and the
;t*;^;;';thJ# f-* tL" fight. But the urgency of thesituation
not
p'i'{}'did
il;;;;" "f the underiaking proved stronseithan
li',
coninflicted
had
he
;;;,; exert himseli or ,o i.t on the oihers until numbers,of them'
siderable. damage on the enemy and destroyed-large

th"

;;f;1il6

t f-d

i\ffi#;;;ifi*hd;.u",
ilir-iU.l,i"aif,. iall,

an end and ihe Romans returned and toolc

iudging

it

neither safe nor prudent to

in protacted combat against superior forces'

engage

so thoroughly deggraliled as a result of

5 The barbarians, however; were
disintegrtin of their boats and in the
dit6trous
,lr.iorr., ,,rstained i" ih"
made-against- them.that tley left the
had
tn"
;;.p;J;r;;"k *frid,
and thn and set ofi to jornZaberyan
there
Chersonese
,fr"
;;h-b;"ri;;o of
men. 6 The
and his forces. It was destined to be a reunion o{ defeated
irig"* .frat had been sent to Greece adrieved nothing worthy of mendon,

no**,