The Goths Beyond the Frontier

The six years between 376 and 382 fundamentally changed what we mean when we say the Goths. The group that settled in the Balkans and joined the regular army in large numbers in 382 wasn't the same as the Terre Vengi who had crossed the Danube in 376. They had added the Greuthungi of Alathias and Safrax, and defecting Gothic units of the Roman army. As a group, fundamentally, the Goths identity became more and more and more militarized. And the consequences of that will stretch well into the future.