Hermeric
Encyclopedia
Hermeric was the Suevic King of Galicia from perhaps as early as 406 and certainly no later than 419 until his retirement in 438. He was a pagan
and an enemy of the Roman Empire
throughout his life. He is given a reign of thirty two years in most manuscripts of Isidore of Seville's
Historia Suevorum, but fourteen years in one manuscript.
Hermeric led the Suevi across the frozen Rhine along with the Vandals
and Alans
in December 409. They crossed Gaul
and the Pyrenees
and settled in the Hispania
. While Theodore Mommsen believed the Suevi were foederati
and Ernst Stein seconded the notion by believing they had made an agreement with the Roman usurper
Magnus Maximus
whereby they received the western half of Iberia, there is no primary evidence for any alliance between the Suevi and Rome. In 411 (according to Ludwig Schmidt) or 417 (according to Felix Dahn), Hermeric made a treaty with the Roman emperor
Honorius
, but in fact the only event of note in 411 was the division of Iberia sorte (by lot) between the barbarian peoples. The east of the province of Gallaecia
with its capital of Braga
(Bracara Augusta) fell to the Suevi, while the west of the province went to the populous Hasdingi
.
Between 416 and 418, the Visigoths under Wallia
made war on Hermeric on behalf of Rome. In 419, after a personal dispute between Hermeric and the Vandal king Gunderic
, the Vandals attacked the Suevi and trapped Hermeric in the Nervasian (Erbasian) Mountains before the Roman general Asterius intervened and the Vandals retreated. Thereafter, until the Vandals left Iberia for Africa in 429, Hermeric remained peaceful, but in 430 he began to raid Gallaecia. In 431 a Gallaecian named Hydatius
went to Flavius Aëtius
to plead for help against the Suevi, but Aëtius delayed until 432 the sending of the legate Censorius
. According to Hydatius' Chronicle of contemporary events, the Gallaecian plebs in the better-fortified strongpoints defeated Hermeric and his men, inflicting heavy casualties and taking many prisoners, which forced the Sueves to release the Gallaecian families they had taken captive (430).
In 435, "on episcopal intervention", possibly Hydatius', Hermeric made peace with the Gallaecians. In that same year, Hermeric negotiated through the Catholic bishop Symphosius
directly with the Western Roman Emperor. In 437, Censorius made a second expedition accompanied by Fretimund.
After seven years of illness, Hermeric was forced to retire from the kingship in 438 and pass it on to his son Rechila
. The story, recorded in Isidore, that Hermeric sent Rechila to Baetica to defeat Andevotus, Romanae militiae dux, is false, as there is no contemporary evidence that Hermeric retained any authority after his abdication. There appears to have been no principle of elective monarchy among the Suevi and the successes of their raids may have accounted for the contentment of their people. Hermeric's royal line lasted until 456.
In 429, there appeared briefly a Suevic military leader named Heremigarius
operating in Lusitania
who may have been a joint monarch with Hermeric, but there is no primary source to prove it.
Germanic paganism
Germanic paganism refers to the theology and religious practices of the Germanic peoples of north-western Europe from the Iron Age until their Christianization during the Medieval period...
and an enemy of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
throughout his life. He is given a reign of thirty two years in most manuscripts of Isidore of Seville's
Isidore of Seville
Saint Isidore of Seville served as Archbishop of Seville for more than three decades and is considered, as the historian Montalembert put it in an oft-quoted phrase, "le dernier savant du monde ancien"...
Historia Suevorum, but fourteen years in one manuscript.
Hermeric led the Suevi across the frozen Rhine along with the Vandals
Vandals
The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Vandals under king Genseric entered Africa in 429 and by 439 established a kingdom which included the Roman Africa province, besides the islands of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearics....
and Alans
Alans
The Alans, or the Alani, occasionally termed Alauni or Halani, were a group of Sarmatian tribes, nomadic pastoralists of the 1st millennium AD who spoke an Eastern Iranian language which derived from Scytho-Sarmatian and which in turn evolved into modern Ossetian.-Name:The various forms of Alan —...
in December 409. They crossed Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
and the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
and settled in the Hispania
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
. While Theodore Mommsen believed the Suevi were foederati
Foederati
Foederatus is a Latin term whose definition and usage drifted in the time between the early Roman Republic and the end of the Western Roman Empire...
and Ernst Stein seconded the notion by believing they had made an agreement with the Roman usurper
Roman usurper
Usurpers are individuals or groups of individuals who obtain and maintain the power or rights of another by force and without legal authority. Usurpation was endemic during roman imperial era, especially from the crisis of the third century onwards, when political instability became the rule.The...
Magnus Maximus
Magnus Maximus
Magnus Maximus , also known as Maximianus and Macsen Wledig in Welsh, was Western Roman Emperor from 383 to 388. As commander of Britain, he usurped the throne against Emperor Gratian in 383...
whereby they received the western half of Iberia, there is no primary evidence for any alliance between the Suevi and Rome. In 411 (according to Ludwig Schmidt) or 417 (according to Felix Dahn), Hermeric made a treaty with the Roman emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
Honorius
Honorius (emperor)
Honorius , was Western Roman Emperor from 395 to 423. He was the younger son of emperor Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of the eastern emperor Arcadius....
, but in fact the only event of note in 411 was the division of Iberia sorte (by lot) between the barbarian peoples. The east of the province of Gallaecia
Gallaecia
Gallaecia or Callaecia, also known as Hispania Gallaecia, was the name of a Roman province and an early Mediaeval kingdom that comprised a territory in the north-west of Hispania...
with its capital of Braga
Braga
Braga , a city in the Braga Municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the Braga District, the oldest archdiocese and the third major city of the country. Braga is the oldest Portuguese city and one of the oldest Christian cities in the World...
(Bracara Augusta) fell to the Suevi, while the west of the province went to the populous Hasdingi
Hasdingi
The Hasdingi were the southern tribes of the Vandals, an East Germanic tribe. They lived in areas of today's southern Poland, Slovakia and Hungary...
.
Between 416 and 418, the Visigoths under Wallia
Wallia
Wallia was king of the Visigoths from 415 to 419, earning a reputation as a great warrior and prudent ruler. He was elected to the throne after Athaulf and then Sigeric were assassinated in 415....
made war on Hermeric on behalf of Rome. In 419, after a personal dispute between Hermeric and the Vandal king Gunderic
Gunderic
Gunderic , King of the Vandals and Alans , led the Vandals, a Germanic tribe originally residing near the Oder River, to take part in the barbarian invasions of the western Roman Empire in the fifth century.- History :...
, the Vandals attacked the Suevi and trapped Hermeric in the Nervasian (Erbasian) Mountains before the Roman general Asterius intervened and the Vandals retreated. Thereafter, until the Vandals left Iberia for Africa in 429, Hermeric remained peaceful, but in 430 he began to raid Gallaecia. In 431 a Gallaecian named Hydatius
Hydatius
Hydatius or Idacius , bishop of Aquae Flaviae in the Roman province of Gallaecia was the author of a chronicle of his own times that provides us with our best evidence for the history of the Iberian Peninsula in the 5th century.-Life:Hydatius was born around the year 400 in the...
went to Flavius Aëtius
Flavius Aëtius
Flavius Aëtius , dux et patricius, was a Roman general of the closing period of the Western Roman Empire. He was an able military commander and the most influential man in the Western Roman Empire for two decades . He managed policy in regard to the attacks of barbarian peoples pressing on the Empire...
to plead for help against the Suevi, but Aëtius delayed until 432 the sending of the legate Censorius
Censorius
Censorius was a count of the Western Roman Empire from 432 until his death. He is mentioned in the Chronicle of Hydatius under the years 432 and 440....
. According to Hydatius' Chronicle of contemporary events, the Gallaecian plebs in the better-fortified strongpoints defeated Hermeric and his men, inflicting heavy casualties and taking many prisoners, which forced the Sueves to release the Gallaecian families they had taken captive (430).
In 435, "on episcopal intervention", possibly Hydatius', Hermeric made peace with the Gallaecians. In that same year, Hermeric negotiated through the Catholic bishop Symphosius
Symphosius
Symphosius was the author of the Aenigmata, a collection of 100 Latin riddles of uncertain date...
directly with the Western Roman Emperor. In 437, Censorius made a second expedition accompanied by Fretimund.
After seven years of illness, Hermeric was forced to retire from the kingship in 438 and pass it on to his son Rechila
Rechila
Rechila was the Suevic King of Galicia from 438 until his death. There are few primary sources for his life, but Hydatius was a contemporary Christian chronicler in Galicia....
. The story, recorded in Isidore, that Hermeric sent Rechila to Baetica to defeat Andevotus, Romanae militiae dux, is false, as there is no contemporary evidence that Hermeric retained any authority after his abdication. There appears to have been no principle of elective monarchy among the Suevi and the successes of their raids may have accounted for the contentment of their people. Hermeric's royal line lasted until 456.
In 429, there appeared briefly a Suevic military leader named Heremigarius
Heremigarius
Heremigarius was a Suevic military leader operative in Lusitania in the early fifth century. He may have been a joint monarch with Hermeric, but there is no primary source to prove it. According to Hydatius, he had attacked the Vandal cities of Seville and Mérida and was thus "cast down in the...
operating in Lusitania
Lusitania
Lusitania or Hispania Lusitania was an ancient Roman province including approximately all of modern Portugal south of the Douro river and part of modern Spain . It was named after the Lusitani or Lusitanian people...
who may have been a joint monarch with Hermeric, but there is no primary source to prove it.