bjects and also to the Burgundians in their
disputes with Romans. The Franks in the course of their advance to the
Seine had annihilated the Roman population of northern Gaul. However, in
the region between the Seine and the Loire they left the Romans in
undisturbed possession of their property, the Frankish kings making no
distinction between their Frank and Roman subjects.

*The religious question.* In addition to racial differences, there was
also a religious line of demarcation between the Goths, Vandals and
Burgundians on the one hand, and the Roman population on the other. The
Goths and neighboring Germanic peoples had been converted to Christianity
in the latter half of the fourth century, largely through the missionary
activities of Ulfila, who translated the Bible into Gothic. However, they
had been won to the Arian and not the Nicaean creed, and consequently were
regarded as heretics by the orthodox Romans, who never became reconciled
to rulers of another confession than themselves. This hostility led
frequently to government intervention and persecution. But in this respect
the policy of the several Germanic kingdoms varied under different rulers.

In general the Visigoths pursued a policy of toleration, leaving the
orthodox clergy undisturbed except when the latter were guilty of
disloyalty in giving support to outside enemies. At the time of their
settlement in Zeugitana the Vandals confiscated the property of the
orthodox church in that province and turned it over to their own Arian
clergy. Elsewhere in Africa the Catholics remained unmolested during the
reign of Gaiseric but were persecuted by his successors. In the
Ostrogothic kingdom in Italy Theoderic, although an Arian, gave complete
freedom to the orthodox church throughout the greater part of his rule.
However, his policy changed when the eastern emperor, Justin, began to
persecute the Arians within his dominions in 523 A. D. The ban upon
Arianism found support among the Romans in Italy, particularly among the
orthodox clergy and the senators. This caused Theoderic to suspect that
the emperor's action had been stimulated by a faction in the Roman Senate,
and led to the execution of Boethius and other notables on the charge of
treason. Realizing the effect that the imperial proscription of Arianism
would produce upon the relations of his Roman and Gothic subjects,
Theoderic sent a delegation, headed by the bishop of Rome, to
Constantinople to secure