_foederati_ the rough soldiers gathered from every German tribe on
the other side of the Alps, who now formed the bulk of the Imperial
army; let him be as arrogant as he would to the Senate, let him set up
and pull down one "Shadow Emperor" after another, if only he would keep
the streets of Rome from being again profaned by the tread of the
terrible Vandal.

(456-468) To a certain extent the confidence reposed in Ricimer was not
misplaced. He inflicted a severe defeat on the Vandals in a naval
engagement near the island of Corsica; he raised to the throne the young
and valiant Majorian, who repelled a Vandal invasion of Campania; he
planned, in conjunction with the Eastern Emperor, a great expedition
against Carthage, which failed through no fault of his, but by the bad
generalship of Basiliscus, whose brother-in-law, Leo, had appointed him
to the command. But the rule of a barbarian like Ricimer exercised on
the sacred soil of Italy, and the brutal arrogance with which he dashed
down one of his puppet-Emperors after another when they had served his
purpose, must have done much to break the spirit of the Roman nobles and
the Roman commonalty, and to prepare the way for the Teutonic revolution
which occurred soon after his death. Above all, we have reason to think
that, during the whole time of Ricimer's ascendancy, the barbarian
_foederati_ were becoming more absolutely dominant in the Roman army, and
with waxing numbers were growing more insolent in their demeanour, and
more intolerable In their demands.

The ranks of the _foederati_ were at this time recruited, not from one of
the great historic nationalities--Visigoth, Ostrogoth, Frank, or
Burgundian,--but chiefly from a number of petty tribes, known as the
Rugii, Scyri, Heruli, and Turcilingi, who have failed to make any
enduring mark in history. These tribes, which upon the break-up of
Attila's Empire had established themselves on the shore of the Middle
Danube, north and west of the lands occupied by the Ostrogoths, were
continually sending their young warriors over the passes of Noricum
(_Salzburg, Styria_, and _Carinthia_) to seek their fortune in Italy.
One of these recruits, on his southward journey, stepped into the cave
of a holy hermit named Severinus, and stooping his lofty stature in the
lowly cell, asked the saint's blessing. When the blessing was given, the
youth said: "Farewell". "Not farewell, but fare forward",[46] answered
Severinus. "Onward into