Barbaric Nomads Analysis
There are many ancient sources stating that the Huns themselves were barbaric nomads. Ammianus Marcellinus, a Roman writer states in the History of Rome, that "The nation of the Huns surpasses all other barbarians in wildness of life... They fight in no regular order of battle... It must be owned that they are the most terrible of warriors because they fight at a distance with missile weapons having sharpened bones admirably fastened to the shaft. When in close combat with swords, they fight without regard to their own safety" . Marcellinus sees how the Huns fighting style is completely different to that of the Romans and therefore finds it to be extremely terrible. The exaggerated language and bias of this piece is clear and as a Roman writer, ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...For example, Jordanes, a 6th Century Roman bureaucrat, describes how "[Attila] was indeed a lover of war, yet restrained in action; mighty in counsel, gracious to suppliants, and lenient to those who were once received under his protection" . Furthermore, Attila refused to be seduced by wealth as Priscus explains how "Attila ate nothing but meat on a wooden trencher... his cup was of wood, while to the guests were given goblets of gold and silver. His dress, too, was quite simple, affecting only to be clean. The sword he carried at his side, the latchets of his Scythian shoes, and the bridle of his horse were not adorned, like those of the other Scythians, with gold or gems or anything costly" . Both of these accounts document how humble Attila could be, Huns valued gold, and would often brag about their wealth, but, as these two accounts document, Attila acted modestly about his wealth. Furthermore, Priscus observed Attila with his son and noted a tenderness, as he wrote: "He drew him close... and gazed at him with gentle eyes" . As Roman writers Priscus and Jordanes gain nothing by writing positively about Attila, and therefore we can assume that these accounts are fairly
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