How to Stay Gothic without a Gothic King

Abstract

Although kingship was vital for a barbarian society to survive on Roman soil, it wasn’t a uniform or even monarchic institution. Different types of kingly figures fulfilled functions, mainly military. The third-century author Dexippos remarked that the leading strata of barbarian societies did not lag behind kings in respect to dignity and fortune (týche). However, popular literature argues that commonness was what guaranteed the existence of Gothic identity, although without their own kings the Goths and their traditions would have disappeared long ago.