d, so that he died. Then
Balamber took to himself in marriage Vadamerca, the
grand-daughter of Vinitharius, and finally ruled all the
people of the Goths as his peaceful subjects, but in such
a way that one ruler of their own number always held the
power over the Gothic race, though subject to the Huns.

[Sidenote: KING HUNIMUND]

[Sidenote: KING THORISMUD KILLED 404]

And later, after the death of Vinitharius, Hunimund 250
ruled them, the son of Hermanaric, a mighty king of
yore; a man fierce in war and of famous personal beauty,
who afterwards fought successfully against the race of
the Suavi. And when he died, his son Thorismud succeeded
him, in the very bloom of youth. In the second
year of his rule he moved an army against the Gepidae
and won a great victory over them, but is said to have
been killed by falling from his horse. When he was dead, 251
the Ostrogoths mourned for him so deeply that for forty
years no other king succeeded in his place, and during all
this time they had ever on their lips the tale of his memory.
Now as time went on, Valamir grew to man's
estate. He was the son of Thorismud's cousin Vandalarius.
For his son Beremud, as we have said before, at
last grew to despise the race of the Ostrogoths because of
the overlordship of the Huns, and so had followed the
tribe of the Visigoths to the western country, and it was
from him Veteric was descended. Veteric also had a son
Eutharic, who married Amalasuentha, the daughter of
Theodoric, thus uniting again the stock of the Amali
which had divided long ago. Eutharic begat Athalaric
and Mathesuentha. But since Athalaric died in the
years of his boyhood, Mathesuentha was taken to Constantinople
by her second husband, namely Germanus, a
cousin of the Emperor Justinian, and bore a posthumous
son, whom she named Germanus.

[Sidenote: KING VALAMIR 445?]

But that the order we have taken for our history may 252
run its due course, we must return to the stock of Vandalarius,
which put forth three branches. This Vandalarius,
the son of a brother of Hermanaric and cousin of the
aforesaid Thorismud, vaunted himself among the race of
the Amali because he had begotten three sons, Valamir,
Thiudimer and Vidimer. Of these Valamir ascended the
throne after his parents, though the Huns as yet held the
power over the Goths in general as among other nations.
It was pleasant to behold the concord of these three brothers; 253
for the admirable