Jordanes (also
Jordanis or even
Iornandes), was a 6th century Roman
bureaucrat [1], who turned his hand to
history later in life.
Though he also wrote Romana, a book about the history of Rome, his most known work is his Getica, written in Constantinople [2] about AD 551 [3]. His work is the only remaining classical work dealing with the early history of the Goths.
Jordanes was asked by a friend to write this book as a summary of a multi-volume history of the Goths (now lost) by the statesman Cassiodorus. Jordanes was selected chiefly for his interest in history (he was working on a history of Rome), his ability to write succinctly, and because of his own Gothic background. He had been a high-level notarius, or secretary, of a small client state on the Roman frontier in Moesia, modern northern Bulgaria [4].
Other writers, e.g. Procopius, wrote extant works on the later history of the Goths. As the only surviving work on Gothic origins, Jordanes' Getica has been the object of much critical review. Jordanes wrote in late Latin, denigrated by Classicists for its non-conformance to the rules of classical Ciceronian Latin. According to his own introduction, he only had three days to review Cassiodorus' work; thus, he must have been relying on his own knowledge. Some of his statements are very succinct.
