Attila and the Huns (Medieval Studies)

Introduction

For Romans in the late 4th century CE and the first half of the 5th century CE, the Huns easily were the most fearsome of all the barbarian peoples. They were exceptional horse archers who were believed to live their lives on horseback. They set in motion movements of barbarian peoples that have been blamed for causing the end of the western Roman Empire in 480 CE. The Hun leader par excellence was Attila, who ruled from 434 until his death in 453. Mobilizing a shrewd mixture of terror, military might, and diplomatic subtlety, Attila created a short-lived barbarian empire that stretched from the Baltic Sea to Mongolia. Attila’s “horde” incorporated barbarian peoples that came to be known as the Ostrogoths, Alans, Rugians, Gepids, and Heruls. Under Attila, the Huns terrified the eastern Roman Empire during the 440s CE and extracted tons of gold in tribute. In 451, Attila invaded the western Roman Empire, and in one of the greatest upsets of all time the undefeated Huns were repulsed by a Roman-barbarian coalition led by the Roman Master of Soldiers Flavius Aëtius, sometimes described as “the last of the Romans.” Attila died mysteriously on his wedding night in 453, and his empire immediately collapsed. His subject peoples scattered and, if anything, caused the Romans even greater problems than they had had dealing with Attila himself. In Christian ideology, Attila became known as the “Scourge of God” for his perceived role in punishing sinful Christians. Attila also went down in later Germanic legend as a barbarian leader par excellence. In the modern day, nearly everyone is familiar with an image of Attila the Hun, and he remains one of the most recognizable figures from antiquity. Attila now serves as a metaphor for everything from barbarism versus civilization to a “take-no-prisoners” approach to business dealings.

The Late Roman Empire and the Fall of the Western Roman Empire

The arrival of the Huns in Europe is forever associated with one of the most significant events in world history, the fall of the western Roman Empire, variously dated to 476 CE, when the usurper Romulus, the last emperor to reside in Rome, was deposed, or 480 CE, at the death of Julius Nepos, the last legitimate western emperor. The first English writer to look comprehensively at the fall of the Roman Empire was Edward Gibbon (Gibbon 1974, originally published 1776–1789). In the early 20th century Bury 1923 was for a long time considered the standard account of the late Roman Empire after 395. Since that time, a multitude of works, including Moorhead 2001 and Mitchell 2007, also have discussed the late Roman Empire and the fall of the west, which in the modern day has become a metaphor for the fall of other empires, such as the British Empire and now the American Empire. The two primary models for understanding the fall of the western empire are what has been dubbed the “catastrophe model,” as portrayed in Heather 2005, Heather 1995, and Ward-Perkins 2005, which blames barbarians, often from outside the Roman Empire, for a loss of economic prosperity, material destruction, and even the end of civilization, and the “transformation model,” as manifested in Mathisen and Shanzer 2011, which sees the barbarian settlement as a generally peaceful infiltration in the context of existing imperial structures without momentous cultural disruptions.

Bury, John B. History of the Later Roman Empire from the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian (A.D. 395 to A.D. 565). 2d ed. London: Macmillan, 1923.
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A classic account of the late Roman and early Byzantine Empire focusing on political, ecclesiastical, and military history.
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Gibbon, Edward. History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. 7 vols. Edited by J. B. Bury. New York: AMS, 1974.
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The first English-language comprehensive study of the fall of the Roman Empire, covering the period from the 3rd century CE until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 CE. Simplistically describes the decline and fall of the western Roman Empire as “the triumph of barbarism and religion” (vol. 7, pp. 308–309), that is, blaming the fall on barbarian invasions and the rise of Christianity. The Guttenberg Project 1996–1997 online edition of the revised 1845 edition is available online. First published 1776–1788.
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Heather, Peter. “The Huns and the End of the Roman Empire in Western Europe.” The English Historical Review 110.435 (1995): 4–41.
DOI: 10.1093/ehr/CX.435.4Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Proposes to give an unacknowledged coherence to the role of the barbarians in the fall of the western Roman Empire, with a concentration on the Huns. A proponent of the “catastrophe model” for the fall of the western Roman empire, stating, “There is still not the slightest sign that the Empire would have collapsed under its own weight” (p. 39). Suggests a domino effect in which “The most important effect of the Huns was to make sufficient numbers of these new Germanic powers, which were not themselves politically united, act in a sufficiently similar way at broadly the same time . . . The Huns induced too many of these more substantial groups to cross the frontier in too short a space of time for the Roman for the Roman state to be able to deal with them effectively” (p. 41). Concludes that the Huns “set in motion processes which generated . . . a new political order in western Europe” (p. 41).
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Heather, Peter. The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
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Expands at much greater length on the premise presented in Heather 1995, that it was the appearance of the Huns that ultimately led to the fall of the Roman Empire in the west, arguing that “The exogenous shock had two components, the Huns who generated it, and the largely Germanic groups who caught its momentum and whose invasions fatally holed the west Roman ship of state” (p. 450), and that “the growth of Hunnic power in Europe has been misunderstood, and, with it, the intimate link between the arrival of the Huns and the deposition of Romulus Augustulus” (p. 445). Expands on the Hunnic creation of a “domino effect”: “It is entirely uncontentious to state that the arrival of the Tervingi and Greuthungi on the banks of the Danube in the summer of 376 was caused by the Huns” (p. 433), and “the crisis of 405–8 must be seen as a rerun of 376, with the further movements of nomadic Huns as the trigger” (p. 202).
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Mathisen, Ralph, and Danuta Shanzer, eds. Romans, Barbarians, and the Transformation of the Roman World: Cultural Interaction and the Creation of Identity in Late Antiquity. Farnham, UK: Ashgate, 2011.
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A collection of studies focusing on ways in which the western and eastern Roman worlds were transformed by Roman interactions with barbarians during Late Antiquity. Concludes, “An understanding of the degree of interaction, integration, and assimilation between Romans and barbarians during Late Antiquity does much to help explain how the barbarian settlement of the west was accomplished with a minimal, relatively speaking, level of disruption, and how barbarian populations were integrated so seamlessly into the old Roman world” (p. 4).
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Mitchell, Stephen. A History of the Later Roman Empire AD 284–641. Oxford: Blackwell, 2007.
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A narrative survey of political and military events in the Roman Empire in Late Antiquity from Diocletian until the early Islamic period.
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Moorhead, John. The Roman Empire Divided, 400–700. London: Pearson, 2001.
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Discusses the political changes in Europe and the Mediterranean world, including the increasing importance of religion and new kinds of social and economic activity.
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Moss, J. R. “The Effects of the Policies of Aëtius on the History of the Western Empire.” Historia. Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte 22 (1973): 711–731.
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Criticizes the policy of the Roman generalissimo Flavius Aëtius of defending Gaul at the expense of losing North Africa to the Vandals.
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Ward-Perkins, Bryan. The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
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Along with Heather 2005, the most recent proponent of the “catastrophe model” for the end of the western Roman Empire; uses examples of material culture, such as roof tiles and coinage, to suggest that that Germanic invasions “were undoubtedly the principal cause of the death of the Roman economy” (p. 134) and brought “the end of ancient sophistication” (p. 182) in the western empire.
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The Barbarian Invasions

The most dramatic model for the fall of the western Roman Empire involves the so-called barbarian migrations in which “waves” of barbarian invaders are said to have battered down Roman defenses and, to a greater or lesser extent, destroyed classical civilization. Even though the Romans had been able to deal with barbarian threats quite well for nearly 500 years—an observation that suggests that there must have been other contributing causes to the fall—the theme of barbarian invasions maintains its hold on the popular mentality. Older studies such as Hodgkin 1880–1899 present a fairly straightforward narrative of the barbarian occupation of western Europe, and some recent works, such as Heather 2005, Heather 1995, and Ward-Perkins 2005 (all cited under the Late Roman Empire and the Fall of the Western Roman Empire), also see barbarian invasions as the primary reason for the fall of the western Roman Empire. Other recent work presents a more nuanced view of the interaction between Romans and barbarians. Wolfram 1997 attempts to tease out a barbarian perspective on the settlement, and still others, such as Halsall 2007, expand their coverage into regions and topics not usually covered in such discussions and look for common ground between barbarians and Romans.

Halsall, Guy. Barbarian Migrations and the Roman West, 376–568. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511802393Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A comprehensive study of the barbarian settlement in the western Roman Empire integrating literary and archaeological evidence, this book extends to Ireland and Scandinavia and often focuses on connections and symbiosis rather than adversarialness.
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Hodgkin, Thomas. Italy and Her Invaders: 376–476. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1880–1899.
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A classic and comprehensive source-based narrative of the barbarian invasions; contrary to the title, not limited only to Italy, and covering the Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Lombards, and Franks.
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Wolfram, Herwig. The Roman Empire and its Germanic Peoples. 1st ed. Translated by Thomas Dunlap. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997.
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An account of the settlement of barbarians in the Roman Empire told as much as possible from the barbarian perspective.
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Primary Sources

A multitude of primary sources discuss or at least mention the Huns; a few of them cover various activities of the Huns in greater detail. These include Priscus of Panium, as documented in Baldwin 1980, Blockley 1983, Maas 1995, Gordon 2013, and Given 2014, who visited the encampment of Attila on a diplomatic mission in 448–449; Gregory of Tours, as explained in Thorpe 1974, who discussed Attila’s invasion of Gaul; and Jordanes, as seen in Mierow 1915, whose barbarian history includes a detailed discussion of the Battle of the Mauriac Plain in 451. All are available in English translation.

Baldwin, Barry. “Priscus of Panium.” Byzantion 50 (1980): 18–61.
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A study of the eastern Roman ambassador who traveled to the court of Attila and then wrote a detailed account of his experiences.
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Blockley, R. C., ed. and trans. The Fragmentary Classicising Historians of the Later Roman Empire: Eunapius, Olympiodorus, Priscus and Malchus. 2 vols. Liverpool, UK: Francis Cairns, 1983.
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A collection of fragments of lost Greek historians of the 5th century CE, with original text, translation, and commentary.
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Given, John, trans. The Fragmentary History of Priscus. Attila, the Huns and the Roman Empire. Merchantville, NJ: Arx, 2014.
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An English translation of the fragments of the historian Priscus,
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Gordon, C. D., ed. and trans. The Age of Attila. Fifth-Century Byzantium and the Barbarians. rev. ed. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2013.
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A very useful collection of translations of fragmentary historians including Priscus, Olympiodorus, and Candidus relating to the 5th century CE. The revised edition has additional translations by David Potter. Originally published by University of Michigan Press in 1960.
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Maas, Michael. “Fugitives and Ethnography in Priscus of Panium.” Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies 19 (1995): 146–160.
DOI: 10.1179/030701395790204163Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A discussion of the portrayals of the fragmentary 5th-century historian Priscus of barbarian ethnicity. Available online by subscription.
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Mierow, C. C., trans. Jordanes: The Origin and Deeds of the Goths. Princeton, NJ: University of Princeton Press, 1915.
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The only history of barbarians written by a person of barbarian descent. Provides a unique perspective not only on Gothic history but also on the history of other barbarian peoples, including the Huns.
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Thorpe, L., trans. Gregory of Tours: The History of the Franks. London: Penguin, 1974.
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Includes the account of the late-6th-century historian Gregory, bishop of Tours, of the invasion of Gaul by Attila and the Huns in 451.
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Encyclopedias

Articles on Attila the Hun appear in many general and specific encyclopedias and dictionaries. A few representative examples are Peterson 1907, Mathisen 2001, and Windhausen 2003.

Mathisen, Ralph W. “Attila.” In Magill’s Guide to Military History. Vol. 1. Edited by John Powell, 144. Hackensack, NJ: Salem, 2001.
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A biographical sketch of Attila the Hun, with a focus on military activities.
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Peterson, John Bertram. “Attila.” In The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton, 1907.
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A discussion of Attila the Hun concentrating on the invasions of western Europe in 451–452.
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Windhausen, John D. “Attila the Hun.” In The Ancient World. Dictionary of World Biography. Vol. 1. Edited by Frank N. Magill, 168–172. Oxford: Routledge, 2003.
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A biographical survey of the career of Attila the Hun.
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The Huns

The Huns perhaps were related to the Hsiung-Nu, a Turkish-Mongolian people who appear in Chinese records of the early centuries CE, as seen in Groot 1921 and Jettmar 1953. The Huns eventually made their way across central Asia and acquired a fearsome reputation as savage warriors who lived their lives on horseback, as documented in Howarth 1874 and Altheim and Haussig 1953. As the Huns crossed the steppes, they defeated and absorbed one barbarian group after another. In the process they created a nomad horde and a Hun Empire that extended from Denmark to Mongolia, according to Altheim 1951, Altheim 1959–1962, Maenchen-Helfen, 1973 and Bóna 2002. Pressure from the Huns forced other barbarian groups into the Roman Empire and has been blamed for the so-called barbarian invasions and the fall of the western Roman Empire, as explained in Heather 1995, Heather 2005 (both cited under the Late Roman Empire and the Fall of the Western Roman Empire), and Kim 2013.

Altheim, Franz. Attila und die Hunnen. Baden-Baden, Germany: Verlag für Kunst und Wisenschaft, 1951.
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A survey in German of the history of Attila and the Huns.
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Altheim, Franz, ed. Geschichte der Hunnen. 5 vols. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1959–1962.
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A compilation of studies by various authors, in five volumes covering “From the Origins to the Entry into Europe,” “The Hephthalites in Iran,” “The Conflict of Religions,” “The European Huns,” and “Fall and Legacy.”
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Altheim, Franz, and W. H. Haussig. Das erste Auftreten der Hunnen. Baden-Baden, Germany: Verlag für Kunst und Wisenschaft, 1953.
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A brief 90-page survey in German of the early history of the Huns.
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Bóna, István. Les Huns: Le grand empire barbare d’Europe (IVe–Ve siècles). Translated by Katalin Escher. Paris: Errance, 2002.
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An illustrated survey of the history of the Huns between 370 and 470, originally in Hungarian. The first section provides a narrative discussion of Hun history, and the second focuses on material culture.
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Groot, Jan J. J. Die Hunnen der vorchristlichen Zeit in chinesische Urkunden zur Geschichte Asiens. Vol. 1. Berlin: Vereinigung Wissenschaftlicher Verleges, 1921.
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A study of Chinese records that purportedly discuss the ancestors of the Huns in pre-Christian China.
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Howarth, H. H. “The Westerly Drifting of Nomades, from the Fifth to the Nineteenth Century: Part XII. The Huns.” The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 3 (1874): 452–475.
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One of a series of discussions of “successive waves of nomadic invaders” of eastern Europe that also covered the Mongols and Turks.
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Jettmar, Karl. “Hunnen und Hsiung-nu: Ein archäologisches problem.” Archiv für Völkerkunde 617 (1953): 166–180.
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Discussion of archaeological material such as bone and sinew compound bows in support of the hypothesis that the Huns are to be identified as the earlier Hsiung-nu of Chinese records.
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Kim, Hyun Jin. The Huns, Rome, and the Birth of Europe. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2013.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511920493Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A survey of the history of the Huns before and after Attila. Argues that the fall of the western Roman Empire was caused by the Huns. Suggests that Attila’s empire of the Huns was “well-organised and long-lived” (p. 2), lasting into the 6th century. With a thorough survey of the secondary sources.
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Maenchen-Helfen, Otto. The World of the Huns: Studies in Their History and Culture. Edited by Max Knight. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973.
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Now rather dated but still a fairly comprehensive survey of Hun history. Published posthumously from an unfinished typescript after extensive editing by Max Knight. Along with Kim 2013, the most comprehensive English-language study of the Huns. Further edited and enlarged in a German edition in Die Welt der Hunnen: Eine Analyse ihrer historischen Dimension, translated by Robert Göbl (Wein, Germany: Böhlaus Nachfolger, 1978).
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Attila and the Huns

Little is known of the youth of Attila the Hun. He was the son of Mundiuch and would have been born in the kingdom of the Huns, perhaps located in the area of modern Romania. In the late 430s, Attila and his brother Bleda, the nephews of king Rua, became joint kings of the Huns. Around 445 Attila murdered his brother and became sole king. Attila then ruled an empire of the steppes that extended from eastern Europe to the frontiers of Mongolia. During the 440s he terrorized the eastern Roman Empire, but in 451 he overreached himself when he invaded the western Roman Empire and was defeated by a coalition of Romans, Visigoths, Burgundians, Alans, and Franks led by the Roman generalissimo Flavius Aëtius. After an abortive invasion of Italy in the following year, Attila died on his wedding night in 453. The next year the empire of the Huns disintegrated when the Huns’ subject peoples revolted and defeated the Huns at the Battle of the Nedao River. Several studies, both scholarly and popular and dating back to the earlier 19th century, discuss the career of Attila, which they inextricably associate with the history of the Huns as a people, as documented in Thierry 1856, Schreiber 1990, and Escher and Lebedynsky 2007. After his death, the legacy of Attila continued to influence European culture, as seen in Herbert 1838 and Homeyer 1951.

Escher, Katalin, and Iaroslav Lebedynsky. Le dossier Attila. Paris: Errance, 2007.
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The best Francophone study of the career of Attila, in eight chapters dealing with, for example, the life of Attila, diplomacy, and Attila’s death, and making full use of both textual and archaeological source material.
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Herbert, William. Attila: King of the Huns. London: Bohn, 1838.
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A poem, in iambic pentameter, titled “Attila, or the Triumph of Christianity,” loosely based on the historical record but with a good deal of dramatic embellishment.
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Homeyer, Helene. Attila: Der Hunnenkönig von seinen Zeitgenossen dargestellt. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1951.
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A study focusing on how Attila is described in the surviving primary sources.
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Man, John. Attila the Hun: A Barbarian King and the Fall of Rome. New York: Bantam, 2006.
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A popularized introduction to the reign of Attila, including a lengthy discussion of a modern historical reenactor who has attempted to recreate the world of the Huns. Describes Attila as “history’s bogey-man,” “God’s scourge,” and “a symbol of brute destructiveness” (p. 1). Reissued as Attila: The Barbarian King Who Challenged Rome (New York: Thomas Dunne, 2009).
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Schreiber, Hermann. Die Hunnen: Attila probt den Weltuntergang. Düsseldorf, Germany: Econ Verlag, 1990.
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A popularized account of Attila’s reign in German. Originally published in 1976.
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Thierry, Amédée. Histoire d’Attila et de ses successeurs jusqu’à l’établissement des Hongrois en Europe. Paris: Didier, 1856.
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Proposes to study “the strange and terrible figure of Attila the Hun” (p. v). Based on the accounts of Priscus, Prosper of Aquitaine, Hydatius, and Jordanes. Discusses not only the Huns but subsequent peoples of the steppes such as the Avars and Magyars.
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Thompson, Edward A. The Huns. Peoples of Europe Series. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 1999.
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Includes discussion of the Huns before Attila, Hun society, Attila’s victories, treaties with the Romans, Roman foreign policy, and Attila’s defeat. Afterword by Peter Heather includes controversies over Hunnic origins. Based on Edward A. Thompson. A History of Attila and the Huns (Oxford: Clarendon, 1948), with Greek and Latin replaced by English translations. First published 1996.
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Hun Encounters with the Eastern Roman Empire

In the 370s, the Huns halted their westward advance north of the Danube River. Some Hun adversaries chose to avoid conflict with them at any cost. The Gothic people that came to be known as the Visigoths, for example, sought refuge in the eastern Roman Empire in 376. Pressure from the Huns forced other barbarian groups into the empire as well and has been blamed for the so-called barbarian invasions. For a time, the Huns’ relations with the Romans were like those of any barbarians, and they often served as auxiliaries in the Roman army. In the early 5th century, however, the Huns grew more restive. A raid across the Danube by their chief Uldin in 408 was beaten off. In the early 420s, however, the Hun king Rua had to be bought off with a subsidy of 350 pounds of gold per year. This set an unfortunate precedent, for the Hun taste for gold obtained in this manner could never be satiated. When he came to power in the late 430s, Attila adopted a truculent attitude toward the eastern Roman Empire. Previous Hun kings had generally been content to accept Roman subsidies and provide mercenaries to serve in Roman armies, but Attila was more assertive. He imposed increasingly severe terms upon the eastern Roman emperor Theodosius II (402–450), raising the yearly subsidy first to 700 pounds of gold and then to 2,100. To enforce his claims to Roman largess, Attila periodically invaded the eastern Roman Empire, as in 441 and 447. Following the latter campaign, the Romans were compelled to evacuate a strip south of the Danube five-days’ march wide. Several studies provide comprehensive overviews of the “Age of Attila” during the later part of the 4th century CE and in particular during the first half of the 5th century, when the Huns had their greatest influence on the Roman world, according to Guldenpenning 1885, Kelly 2013, and Maas 2014.

Guldenpenning, Albert. Geschichte des oströmischen Reiches unten den Kaisern Arcadius und Theodosius II. Halle, Germany: Niemeyer, 1885.
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Detailed study of the political and religious history of the late Roman Empire in the first half of the 5th century CE. Full consideration also given to the western Roman Empire. Includes a lengthy chapter on Attila and the Huns concluding with the embassy of 449. Does not discuss the Hun invasion of the western empire. Reprinted in 1965.
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Kelly, Christopher. Theodosius II: Rethinking the Roman Empire in Late Antiquity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2013.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9781139839075Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Ten studies by different scholars; suggests that “Modern scholarship . . . has been dismissive of Theodosius,” whom the author describes as “a studious emperor . . . an emperor dominated by eunuchs . . . a hen-pecked monarch pushed around by his elder sister, the Empress Pulcheria” (pp. 4–5). Proposes to reevaluate the reign of the longest-serving Roman emperor, which he suggests has been neglected in the rush to understand the fall of the western empire. None of the topical chapters, however, deals with the important role of Attila and the Huns during Theodosius’ reign.
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Michael Maas, ed., The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Attila. Cambridge Companions to the Ancient World Series. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2014.
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A general overview of the late Roman world at the time of Attila in the mid-5th century CE. Contributions dealing with Attila and the Huns include “The Steppe World and the Rise of the Huns,” “Neither Conquest nor Settlement: Attila’s Empire and its Impact,” and “The Huns and Barbarian Europe.”
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Diplomatic Relations with the Roman Empire

Contrary to the popular vision of the Huns, most of the interactions between the Romans and the Huns involved diplomacy rather than warfare, and there were innumerable diplomatic missions between the courts of Attila and the eastern and western Roman emperors, as documented in Thompson 1950, Wirth 1967, Bayless 1976, Croke 1981, Croke 1983, Mathisen 1986, Kos 1994, Graèanin 2003, and Simonova 2011. The best known of these is the mission of Maximinus in 448, which included the historian Priscus, who wrote the fullest and best surviving accounts Attila and the Hun encampment, as documented in Ensslin 1926–1927.

Bayless, William N. “The Treaty with the Huns of 443.” The American Journal of Philology 97.2 (1976): 176–179.
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Discusses that nature of the upfront payment of 6,000 pounds of gold by the Romans to the Huns in the treaty of 443. Available online for purchase or by subscription.
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Croke, Brian. “Anatolius and Nomus: Envoys to Attila.” Byzantinoslavica 42 (1981): 159–170.
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Suggests that it was Nomus rather than Anatolius whose diplomacy was responsible for confining the Huns beyond the Danube in the settlement of 443 CE that followed on the Hun invasion of 442.
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Croke, Brian. “The Context and Date of Priscus Fragment 6.” Classical Philology 78 (1983): 297–308.
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Analysis of a fragment of the historian Priscus dealing with the inability of the Roman court to deal with Attila’s constant embassies. Available online for purchase or by subscription.
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Ensslin, Wilhelm. “Maximinus und sein Begleiter, der Historiker Priskos.” Byzantisch-neugriesche Jahrbücher 5 (1926–1927): 1–9.
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A reconstruction of the careers of the ambassador Maximinus and the historian Priscus.
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Graèanin, Hrvoje. “The Western Roman Embassy to the Court of Attila in AD 449.” Byzantinoslavica 61 (2003): 52–74.
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Associates the western embassy to Attila in 449 as relating to the Justa Grata Honoria affair; discusses a meeting of the western and eastern ambassadors.
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Kos, M. Šašel. “The Embassy of Romulus to Attila.” Tyche 9 (1994): 99–111.
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Analysis of a western embassy sent to Attila by Aëtius in 449, led by Romulus, the grandfather of the emperor Romulus, the last emperor to rule in Rome.
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Mathisen, Ralph W. “Patricians as Diplomats in Late Antiquity.” Byzantinische Zeitschrift 79 (1986): 35–49.
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Discusses the importance of holding the rank of “patrician” by Roman imperial ambassadors, including those to the court of Attila.
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Simonova, Gabriela. “Byzantine Diplomacy and the Huns.” Macedonian Historical Review (2011): 67–85.
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Discussion of diplomatic relations between the Roman imperial court and the Huns between 376 and 468–469, the date of the last known embassy of Attila’s children to Constantinople.
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Thompson, Edward A. “The Foreign Policies of Theodosius II and Marcian.” Hermathena 76 (1950): 58–75.
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The emperor Theodosius II’s attacks on the Vandals fail because of Hun interference. The emperor Marcian’s defeat of a small body of Huns in 452 inspires Attila to return from Italy. Available online for purchase or by subscription.
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Wirth, Gerhard. “Attila und Byzanz.” Byzantinische Zeitschrift 60 (1967): 41–69.
DOI: 10.1515/byzs.1967.60.1.41Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A detailed study of diplomatic relations between Attila and the eastern Roman court in Constantinople. Available online for purchase or by subscription.
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Warfare and Military Engagements

Although the Huns are primarily thought of for their military activities, there has been surprising little scholarly study of particular aspects of Hun military tactics, with the exception of Lindner 1981 and Nikonorov 2010, and attacks on the eastern Roman Empire, as explained in Croke 1977, Croke 1978, and Bleeker 1980.

Bleeker, Ronald A. “Aspar and Attila.” Ancient World 3 (1980): 23–28.
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The role of the eastern Roman generals Fl. Aspar and Ardaburius in the Hun wars of the 440s.
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Croke, Brian. “Evidence for the Hun Invasion of Thrace in AD 422.” Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies 18 (1977): 347–367.
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Argues that the Roman instigation of conflict against Persia in 421 resulted in troop withdrawals that weakened Roman defenses in Thrace and led to a Hun invasion from Pannonia in 422.
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Croke, Brian. “Hormisdas and Late Roman Walls of Thessalonika.” Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies 19 (1978): 251–258.
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Dates the construction of the walls around Thessalonica to 442–443 under the Praetorian Prefect Hormisdas as a defense against attacks by the Huns.
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Lindner, Rudi Paul. “Nomadism, Horses and Huns.” Past & Present 92 (1981): 3–19.
DOI: 10.1093/past/92.1.3Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The nature of Hun warfare initially was as mounted archers, but because the geography of their western empire could not support large herds of horses, the Huns “soon fielded armies which resembled the sedentary forces of Rome,” and doing so “doomed their tribe” (p. 19). Available online for purchase or by subscription.
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Nikonorov, Valerii P. “‘Like a Certain Tornado of Peoples’: Warfare of the European Huns in the Light of Graeco-Latin Literary Tradition.” Anabasis. Studia Classica et Orientalia 1 (2010): 264–291.
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Discusses the military tactics of the Huns, including their arms and armor. Criticizes the views of Lindner 1981 regarding dismounted Hun horsemen.
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The Huns Beyond the Imperial Frontiers

Although the primary focus of modern scholarship has been on Attila and the Huns’ relations with the Roman government, the Huns spent nearly all of their time outside the frontiers of the Roman Empire, crossing the borders only when engaged in raids or invasions. Attila was at the center of a network of diplomatic and cultural relations that extended throughout the world of the steppes and the Mediterranean world, as documented in Laszlo 1951 and Hedeager 2007. Like the Romans, the Huns impacted many other peoples, including the Vandals, as seen in Clover 1973, and Ostrogoths, as documented in Heather 1989 and Kazanski 1998. These interactions have been little studied, but understanding them provides a more nuanced picture of Attila’s significance in world history.

Clover, Frank M. “Geiseric and Attila.” Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte 22.1 (1973): 104–117.
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Discussion of the role of the Vandals as allies of the Huns during Attila’s invasion of Gaul in 451 CE. Available online for purchase or by subscription.
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Heather, Peter. “Cassiodorus and the Rise of the Amals: Genealogy and the Goths under Hun Domination.” Journal of Roman Studies 79 (1989): 103–128.
DOI: 10.2307/301183Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Under Theoderic the Great, the Ostrogoths established a well-known kingdom in Italy. This study focuses on the formative stage when the Ostrogoths were part of the empire of the Huns. Available online for purchase or by subscription.
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Hedeager, Lotte. “Scandinavia and the Huns: An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Migration Era.” Norwegian Archaeological Review 40.1 (2007): 42–58.
DOI: 10.1080/00293650701303560Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Argues that the Huns also were present in Scandinavia in the early 5th century and that “Their impact was to generate an ‘episodic transition’ that opened up a whole new set of social, religious and political strategies” (p. 42). Available online for purchase or by subscription.
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Kazanski, Michel. “Le royaume de Vinitharius: Le récit de Jordanes et les données archéologiques.” In Strategies of Distinction: The Construction of Ethnic Communities, 300–800. Edited by Walter Pohl and Helmut Reimitz, 221–240. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1998.
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Considers a group of Ostrogoths, ruled by a certain Vinitharius, who were under the domination of the Huns in the late 4th and early 5th century. The arrival of the Huns left few clear manifestations on these sites.
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Laszlo, Gyla. “The Golden Bow of the Huns.” Acta Archaeologica Hungaricae 1 (1951): 91–106.
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Discussion of isolated objects of art with Hunnic motifs found on the periphery of the Hun Empire attesting to satellite kingdoms of the Huns.
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The Huns and Pannonia

After their arrival in the west, the Huns settled north of the Danube River, opposite the Roman territory known as Pannonia, mainly modern-day Hungary. As a consequence, there was a great deal of Hun interaction with Pannonia that has been discussed extensively in the scholarship, as seen in Alfoldy 1924 and Nagy 1967, especially by Hungarian scholars, with some arguing for continuity with the Roman past, according to Varady 1969, and others for negative consequences of the Hun occupation, as discussed in Harmatta 1970 and Radan and Lengyel 1980.

Alfoldy, Geza. Untergang der Römerherrschaft in Pannonien. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1924.
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The first direct and coherent study of the last century of Roman Pannonia, covering the period from the arrival of the Huns north of the Danube in the late 4th century to the settlement of the Ostrogoths in the second half of the 5th century after the destruction of the empire of the Huns.
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Harmatta, János. “The Last Century of Pannonia.” Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 18 (1970): 361–369.
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By using archaeological evidence, strongly argues that Roman Pannonia was not as flourishing as of the late 4th century CE as suggested by Varady 1969.
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Nagy, T., “Reoccupation of Pannonia from the Huns in 427 (Did Jordanes Use the Chronicle of Marcellinus Comes at the Writing of the Getica?)” Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 15 (1967): 159–186.
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Argues that Jordanes’ report of the reoccupation of Pannonia by the Romans was not derived from the Chronicle of Marcellinus but came rather from Cassiodorus.
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Radan, G. T. B., and A. Lengyel, eds. The Archaeology of Roman Pannonia. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1980.
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Strengthens the case of Harmatta 1970 regarding the negative effects of the Hun occupation on Pannonia during the 5th century.
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Varady, Làszlà. Das letzte Jahrhundert Pannoniens (376–476). Amsterdam: Hakkert, 1969.
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Argues that the negative effects of the Hun occupation of Pannonia have been exaggerated and that city life in Pannonia continued to flourish into the 5th century.
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Material Culture

Discussions of archaeology and material culture can help to nuance our understanding of the Huns and their significance in many ways. These include not only generalized surveys, as discussed in Alföldi 1932 and Menghin, et al. 1987, but also more specific studies of, for example, Hun weaponry, as seen in Harmatta 1951, Jettmar 1953 (cited under the Huns), and Nickel 1973, and the location of Attila’s camp, as documented in Vámos 1932, Thompson 1945, and Browning 1953.

Alföldi, Andreas. Funde aus der Hunnenzeit und ihre ethnische Sonderung. Archaeologia Hungaricae 9. Budapest: Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum, 1932.
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A profusely illustrated discussion of archaeological finds in Hungary dating to the time of the Huns. Also published under the Hungarian title Leletek a hun korszakból és ethnikai szétválasztásuk.
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Browning, Robert. “Where Was Attila’s Camp?” The Journal of Hellenic Studies 73 (1953): 143–145.
DOI: 10.2307/628247Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Discussion of the location of Attila’s camp as discussed by the historian Priscus during the negotiations in 449 BC. Challenges the customary view that the camp was located in Hungary. Available online for purchase or by subscription.
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Harmatta, Janos. “The Golden Bow of the Huns.” Acta Archaeologica Hungaricae 1 (1951): 107–149.
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Discussion of the Golden Bow, a badge of rank among the Huns, and its possible connection to Attila’s lieutenant Onegesius (Germanic Hunegisel).
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Menghin, Wilfried, Tobias Springer, and Egon Wamers. Germanen, Hunnen und Awaren: Schätze der Völkerwanderungszeit. Nuremberg, Germany: Germanisches Nationalmuseum, 1987.
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Profusely illustrated volume relating to treasures of the Germans, Huns, and Avars that accompanied a Frankfurt exhibit of 1987–1988.
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Nickel, Helmut. “About the Sword of the Huns and the ‘Urepos’ of the Steppes.” Metropolitan Museum Journal 7 (1973): 131–142.
DOI: 10.2307/1512649Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Discussion of a gold-mounted sword with a jeweled scabbard and hilt supposedly dating to the 5th or 6th century in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum in New York and thought to have been well suited to a cavalryman. Possibly associated with Attila’s lieutenant Onegesius. Available online for purchase or by subscription.
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Thompson, Edward A. “The Camp of Attila.” Journal of Hellenic Studies 65 (1945): 112–115.
DOI: 10.2307/626347Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Makes a strong case for the camp of Attila being in Hungary,
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Vámos, Ferenc. “Attilas Hauptlager und Holzpaläste.” Seminarium Kondakovianum. Recueil d’études dédiees à la mémoire de N. P. Kondakov. Archéologie. Histoire de l’art. Etudes Byzantines 5 (1932): 131–148.
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Discussion of Attila’s camp and the wooden palace he was said to have built.
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Social, Cultural, Religious, and Economic Implications of the Huns

Often subordinated to military and diplomatic considerations, social, economic, religious, and cultural matters tell us much about the broader, more lasting impact and significance of the Huns, as seen in Thompson 1946 and Pritsak 1962. For example, the Roman government paid huge subsidies in gold to the Huns, as explained in Huszár 1955 and Guest 2008, which paradoxically helped to revitalize the Roman economy as coinage circulated back and forth across the frontier. Hun society has been juxtaposed to that of the Romans, as seen in Harmatta 1958. The cultural influences of the Huns spread into western Europe, according to Marin 1990.

Guest, Peter. “Roman Gold and Hun Kings: The Use and Hoarding of Solidi in the Late Fourth and Fifth Centuries.” In Roman Coins Outside the Empire. Ways and Phases, Contexts and Functions. Edited by Aleksander Bursche, Renata Ciolek, and Reinhold Wolters, 294–307. Wetteren, Germany: Moneta, 2008.
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Relates Balkan solidus hoards to tribute payments to the Huns.
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Harmatta, János. “La société des Huns à l’époque d’Attila.” Recherches internationales à la limière du marxisme 2 (1958): 179–238.
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A Marxist interpretation of Hun society.
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Huszár, Lajos. “Das Münzmaterial in den Funden der Völkerwanderungszeit im mittleren Donaubecken.” Acta Archaeologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 5 (1955): 61–109.
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A study of coin hoards from the Middle Danube area that could be associated with the Huns.
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Marin, Jean-Yves, ed. Attila: Les influences danubiennes dans l’Ouest de l’Europe au Ve siècle. Caen, France: Musée de Normandie, 1990.
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Includes “myths and legends.”
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Pritsak, Omeljan. “The Hunnic Language of the Attila Clan.” Harvard Ukrainian Studies 6.4 (1962): 428–476.
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An analysis of Hunnic linguistic material based on nomenclature, orthography, phonology, and phoneme changes, with an index of words and suffixes. Available online for purchase or by subscription.
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Thompson, Edward A. “Christian Missionaries among The Huns.” Hermathena 67 (1946): 73–79.
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Despite “meagre evidence,” the first study of “efforts made by Christian missionaries to propagate their faith among the Huns” (p. 73). Available online for purchase or by subscription.
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Prosopography

More specific study of social relations involving the Huns involves the science of prosopography, that is, the study of the careers and interrelationships of specific individuals. Besides Attila himself and other members of the royal family, only a few other individuals associated with the Huns are known. These include such as the general Onegesius and the notary (secretary) Orestes, father of Romulus, the last emperor to rule in Rome. Several scholarly studies discuss the careers of individuals with connections to Attila and the Huns, including another secretary, Constantius, as documented in Blockley 1987; Justa Grata Honoria, the sister of the emperor Valentinian III who was said to have invited Attila to invade the western empire, according to De Salis 1867 and Bury 1919; Flavius Aëtius, the Roman generalissimo who defeated Attila in 451, as discussed in Zecchini 1983; and the barbarian general Odovacar, who deposed Romulus in 476 and sometimes is said to have been a Hun, as explained in Reynolds and Lopez 1946 and MacBain 1983.

Blockley, Roger C. “Constantius the Gaul, Secretary to Attila and Bleda.” Classical Views 6.3 (1987): 355–357.
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Several Romans, valued for their literary education, served as “notaries,” or secretaries, to the Hun kings. Two such were named Constantius, one an Italian and the other a Gaul sent by the western generalissimo Fl. Aëtius.
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Bury, John B. “Justa Grata Honoria.” Journal of Roman Studies 9 (1919): 1–13.
DOI: 10.2307/295986Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A study of the emperor Valentinian III’s sister Honoria, who was believed to have invited Attila to claim her as his bride. Available online for purchase or by subscription.
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De Salis, John Francis Willian. “The Coins of the Two Eudoxias, Eudocia, Placidia, and Honoria, and of Theodosius II, Marcian, and Leo Struck in Italy.” Numismatic Chronicle 7 (1867): 203–215.
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A discussion of the different types of coins issued in the names of the members of the imperial family associated with the age of Attila.
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MacBain, Bruce. “Odovacer the Hun?” Classical Philology 78 (1983): 323–327.
DOI: 10.1086/366807Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Challenges the Hunnic ethnic identity of Odovacar as presented in The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Volume 2. Builds on the discussion “that perhaps few will remember” in Reynolds and Lopez 1946. Available online for purchase or by subscription.
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Reynolds, Robert L., and Robert S. Lopez. “Odoacer: German or Hun?” The American Historical Review 52.1 (1946): 36–53.
DOI: 10.2307/1845067Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Role of the influence of “non-Germanic steppe peoples” (p. 36) on western Germanic peoples. Old-fashioned ethnic concepts; for example, “It is still unclear whether the earliest Turks were more akin to the Mongoloid or Caucasic stocks” (p. 38). Challenges the Germanicized view of late Roman history by proposing Ural-Altic etymologies for some supposedly Germanic names. Available online for purchase or by subscription.
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Zecchini, Guiseppe. Aezio: L’ultima difesa del’occidente romano. Rome: Bretschneider, 1983.
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A biography, in Italian, of Flavius Aëtius, the Roman generalissimo who defeated Attila’s invasion of Gaul in 451 CE.
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The Invasions of the Western Roman Empire

In 450, after Theodosius’ successor Marcian (450–457) ceased paying subsidies to the Huns, Attila’s interests turned toward the west. In 451 Attila invaded Gaul, and after the failure of that initiative, he returned in 452 to invade Italy. Some historians see Attila and the Huns as playing a significant role in the demise of the western Roman Empire.

The Invasion of Gaul

The invasion of Gaul in 451 CE was the marquee event of Attila’s reign, as discussed in Attila dans les Gaules en 451, Demougeot 1958, Banniard 1978, and Lebedynsky 2011. Around 449, the princess Justa Grata Honoria, elder sister of the western emperor Valentinian III (425–455), was apprehended in an illicit love affair and exiled to Constantinople. She then sent her ring to Attila and appealed to him for help. At this, Theodosius II, who already had enough problems with the Huns, dispatched her back to Italy, with the recommendation that Valentinian turn her over to Attila. Meanwhile, Attila claimed to be betrothed to Honoria and demanded half of the western Roman Empire. Valentinian refused, and in 451 Attila and the Hun horde, including Ostrogoths, Heruls, and Gepids, crossed the Rhine into Gaul. The western generalissimo Flavius Aëtius cobbled together a ragtag army consisting of remnants of the Roman army, Alan auxiliaries, and Roman “allies” such as the de facto independent Burgundians, Visigoths, and Franks.

Attila dans les Gaules en 451. Paris: Épinal, de Faguier, 1833.
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An early anonymously authored study of Attila’s campaign in Gaul by “a former student of the Polytechnic School” (title page). The defeat of Attila is described as “the triumph of reason, of truth, and of justice” (p. 8) and is compared to the defeat of Napoleon.
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Banniard, Michel. “L’aménagement de l’Histoire chez Gregoire de Tours: À propos de l’invasion de 451 (H.F. II 5–7).” Romanobarbarica 3 (1978): 5–38.
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The discussion of Attila’s invasion of Gaul by the late-6th-century historian Georgius Florentius Gregorius, bishop of Tours.
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Demougeot, Émilienne. “Attila et les Gaules.” Bulletin de la Société d’Agriculuture, Commerce, Sciences et Arts du Département de la Marne 73 (1958): 7–41.
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Discusses the presence of Huns in Gaul beginning with the first auxiliary soldiers and culminating with the Battle of the Mauriac Plain.
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Lebedynsky, Iaroslav. La campagne d’Attila en Gaule. Clermont-Ferrand, France: Lemme, 2011.
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An illustrated discussion in four chapters of Attila’s campaign in Gaul by a specialist in steppe nomads. Suggests that the Huns had virtually no effect on the future history of Gaul and that even if Attila had been victorious, the results would have been limited.
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The Siege of Orléans

After the Huns had ravaged a number of northern Gallic cities, their advance was stopped by Aëtius at Orléans, as documented in Loyen 1969, Courcelle 1970, and Czúth 1983.

Courcelle, Pierre. “Une ‘ΤΕΙΧΟΣΚΟΡΙΑ’ chez Grégoire de Tours.” Revue des études latine 47 (1970): 209–213.
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A discussion of the literary theme of making a sighting from the walls, in this case the sighting of the Huns approaching Orléans.
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Czúth, Béla. “Die Rolle des Volkes zur Zeit der Belagerung des Orléans durch Attila (Juni der Jahre 451) (Vita s. Aniani, 3.10).” Acta historica (Szeged) 76 (1983): 3–9.
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A Marxist look at the siege of Orléans by the Huns.
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Loyen, Andre. “Le rôle de saint Aignan dans la défense d’Orléans.” Comptes rendus de l’Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (1969): 64–74.
DOI: 10.3406/crai.1969.12334Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The role played by Anianus, bishop of Orléans, in the defense of Orléans against the siege of the Huns prior to the arrival of the Roman army under Aëtius, as presented in Sidonius Apollinaris, Jordanes, Gregory of Tours, and the Life of St. Anianus.
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The Battle of Châlons/the Mauriac Plain/the Catalaunian Fields

Attila, low on supplies like most ancient generals in enemy territory, retreated northward and finally was brought to battle in July near Châlons at a place called the Mauriac Plain or the Catalaunian Fields, as seen in Creasy 1851, Alföldi 1928, and Tackholm 1969. As a consequence, the battle has been referred to by these three different names. The battle did not go well for the Huns. They were driven back to their camp, and at one point Attila stood atop a funeral pyre threatening to immolate himself rather than be taken captive. As it turned out, neither the Romans nor the Huns were in any condition to fight any longer. Attila withdrew back across the Rhine.

Alföldi, Andreas. “Les Champs catalauniques.” Revue des études hongroises 6 (1928): 108–111.
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A discussion of the Battle of the Mauriac Plain.
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Creasy, Edward Shepherd. “The Battle of Châlons, A.D. 451.” In Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World from Marathon to Waterloo. By Edward Shepherd Creasy, 153–167. London: Bentley, 1851.
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An account of the Battle of the Mauriac Plain from one of the most important works on military history of the 19th century. Published in a multitude of reprints, most recently by Barnes & Noble in 2009.
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Tackholm, Ulf. “Aëtius and the Battle on the Catalaunian Fields.” Opuscula romana 7 (1969): 259–276.
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A comprehensive analysis of the primary sources for and the military tactics employed in the decisive battle between the troops of the Roman general Fl. Aëtius and Attila and the Huns in 451 CE, with special attention to the Chronicle of Prosper of Aquitaine and Jordanes.
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The Invasion of Italy

In 452 Attila again invaded the western Roman Empire, passing through the inexplicably undefended Alps into Italy. Aquileia was destroyed, and Milan was captured. Then, according to a pious legend, Attila was induced to withdraw by an embassy of Pope Leo I the Great, who was assisted, it was said, by apparitions of Sts. Peter and Paul. Disease, starvation, and rumors of reinforcements arriving from the eastern Roman Empire also influenced Attila’s decision to retire. Save for discussions in larger, more general, studies, Attila’s invasion of Italy has been rather neglected in the scholarship. Accounts can be found in discussions of Pope Leo I, according to Jalland 1941.

Jalland, Trevor O. The Life and Times of St. Leo the Great. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1941.
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A detailed survey of the mid-5th century of the western Roman Empire, including an account of Attila’s encounter with Leo, the bishop of Rome, in 452.
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The Role of Attila and the Huns in the Fall of the Western Roman Empire

Attila has been directly connected with the fall of the western Roman Empire, as discussed in Thompson 1999 and Man 2006 (both cited under Attila and the Huns), Kelly 2010, and Kim 2013 (cited under the Huns). Heather 1995 (cited under the Late Roman Empire and the Fall of the Western Roman Empire), in particular, has argued that the Huns “set in motion . . . a new political order in western Europe” (p. 41) and that there was an “intimate link between the arrival of the Huns and the deposition of Romulus Augustulus” according to Heather 2005 (p. 445; cited under the Late Roman Empire and the Fall of the Western Roman Empire).

Kelly, Christopher. The End of Empire: Attila the Hun & the Fall of Rome. New York: W. W. Norton, 2010.
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A very readable account of the career of Attila, with chapter titles such as “The Axis of Evil,” “How the West was Won,” “A Tale of Two Cities,” and “Mission Impossible.”
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The Death of Attila

In 453 Attila died of a massive hemorrhage on his wedding night, as described in Moravcsik 1926–1932, Babcock 2001, and Babcock 2005. In his account of Attila’s funeral, the Gothic historian Jordanes reports on the Hunnic death lament for Attila, as seen in Kluge 1911, Kluge 1921, and Schröder 1922.

Babcock, Michael A. The Stories of Attila the Hun’s Death: Narrative, Myth, and Meaning. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen, 2001.
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Describes Attila’s later influence, including the analogy between Attila and the Ostrogothic king Totila, a century later.
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Babcock, Michael A. The Night Attila Died: Solving the Murder of Attila the Hun. New York: Berkley, 2005.
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An enthusiastic attempt to build a circumstantial case that Attila was murdered; sometimes difficult to separate the bona fide evidence from evidence the author merely supposes to have existed.
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Kluge, F. “Der Tod des Attila, eine altgermanische Dichtung.” Deutsche Rundschau 146 (1911): 451–455.
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The death lament for Attila reported by Jordanes.
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Kluge, F. “Zur Totenklage auf Attila.” Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und Literatur 37 (1921): 157–159.
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Another discussion of the death lament for Attila reported by Jordanes.
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Moravcsik, Guyala. “Attilas Tod in Geschichte und Sage.” Körösi Csoma Archivum 2 (1926–1932): 83–116.
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Accounts of Attila’s death in history and saga.
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Schröder, Edward. “Die Leichenfeier für Attila.” Zeitschrift für deutsches Altertum und deutsche Literatur 59 (1922): 240–244.
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An analysis of Jordane’s account of the funeral of Attila. Available online for purchase or by subscription.
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The End of the Hun Empire

In 454, a year after the death of Attila, the subject peoples of the Huns revolted and inflicted a disastrous defeat upon their erstwhile masters at the Battle of the Nedao River, the site of which has never been located. The Huns never again posed a serious threat to the empire, as discussed in McCartney 1934, Harmatta 1952, and Pohl 1980.

Harmatta, János. “The Dissolution of the Hun Empire: Hun Society in the Age of Attila.” Acta Archaeologica Hungaricae 2 (1952): 277–304.
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Suggests that the Hun military ethos was based on “nomadic stock breeding” and that giving it up “would have struck at the root of their military power” (p. 284). Thus the Hun Empire fell when the Huns no longer were able to maintain large herds of horses.
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McCartney, Carlile A. “The End of the Huns.” Byzantinische-Neugriechische Jahrbücher 10 (1934): 106–114.
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Traces the remnants of the western Huns following the destruction of the Hun Empire in 454 CE. Some lingered in the angle of the Danube and Theiss rivers; others entered Roman service. In some modern accounts, mistakenly cited as being in the Journal of Hellenic Studies.
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Pohl, Walter. “Die Gepiden und die Gentes in der mittleren Donau nach dem Zerfall des Atillareiches.” In Die Völker an der mittleren und unteren Donau im fünften und sechsten Jahrhundert. Edited by Herwig Wolfram and Falco Daim, 239–305. Vienna: Österreichischen Akademie des Wissenschaften, 1980.
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A study of the effects of the fall of the empire of the Huns on the subject peoples of the Huns.
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The Legacy of Attila and the Huns in Literature and Legend

The Battle of the Mauriac Plain often is portrayed as a victory of “civilization” over “barbarism,” even though a victory by the Huns could in fact have resulted in Hun support for the western throne. As it was, Attila, Aëtius, and Valentinian all were soon dead, and the remainder of the western empire was cannibalized by nascent barbarian kingdoms. After his death, Attila obtained a reputation as a barbarian par excellence. Christian moralists referred to him as the “Scourge of God” for his perceived role in punishing sinful Christians, according to Barnish 1992. Attila and the Huns left an indelible mark on the popular mentality and appeared in key roles in many medieval sagas and legends, as discussed in De Boor 1932.

Barnish, Samuel J. B. “Old Kaspars: Attila’s Invasion of Gaul in the Literary Sources.” In Fifth-Century Gaul. A Crisis of Identity? Edited by John Drinkwater and Hugh Elton, 38–47. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
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The Attila legend in hagiography and history from the 5th to the 11th century: “Attila enjoyed an Arthurian immortality in Germanic epic and romance” (p. 38). Regarding the meaning of Attila for the Franks, “In many of our sources, a common theme was the sheer destructiveness of the Huns” (p. 42).
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De Boor, Helmut. Das Attilabild in Geschichte, Legende und heroischer Dichtung. Bern, Germany: Francke, 1932.
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Discussion of Attila in legend as the Germanic Etzel and Nordic Atli.
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Nibelungenlied

Attila appears as Etzel in the medieval Germanic epic poem the Nibelungenlied, which served as the inspiration for Richard Wagner’s operatic “Ring” cycle, as seen in Edwards 2010.

Edwards, Cyril, trans. The Nibelungenlied: The Lay of the Nibelungs. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.
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A translation of the Nibelungenlied including introduction and notes.
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Waltharius

Waltharius is an early Carolingian epic poem, based on earlier oral tradition, in which Waltharius is an Aquitanian hostage at the court of Attila the Hun. The Huns are modeled on the Avars, a current Carolingian concern, according to Parkes 1974.

Parkes, Ford B. “Irony in Waltharius.” MLN 89.3 (1974): 459–465.
DOI: 10.2307/2907354Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A literary analysis of the Waltharius. Available online for purchase or by subscription.
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Beowulf

Some scholars see parallels between Jordanes’ account of Attila’s funeral and Beowulf’s funeral, as documented in Klaeber 1927 and Hill 2007.

Hill, Thomas D. “Beowulf’s Roman Rites: Roman Ritual and Germanic Tradition.” The Journal of English and Germanic Philology 106.3 (2007): 325–335
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Accepts the parallels between the funerals of Attila and Beowulf adduced by Klaeber 1927; cites recent work on Jordanes to expand the number of parallels with Beowulf’s funeral.
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Klaeber, Fr. “Attila’s and Beowulf’s Funeral.” Publications of the Modern Language Association of America 42.2 (1927): 255–267.
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The first detailed study of the purported parallels between the two funerals. Other parallels going back to Homer also are discussed.
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Attila and Hungary

The image of Attila has been especially important in constructions of identity in Hungary, as documented in McCartney 1951 and Rady 2003.

McCartney, C. A. The Origin of the Hun Chronicle and Hungarian Historical Sources. Oxford: Blackwell, 1951.
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Discussions of the 13th-century work the Chronica Hungarorum. Part of the series Studies on the Early Hungarian Historical Sources.
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Rady, Martyn. “Recollecting Attila: Some Medieval Hungarian Images and Their Antecedents.” Central Europe 1.1 (2003): 5–17.
DOI: 10.1179/147909603789838747Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Proposes to “examine the image of Attila in Hungarian literature, predominantly from the Middle Ages” (p. 5).
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Popular and Juvenile

The personality and historical significance of Attila have resulted in a large number of popular narratives aimed at both young and old, as discussed in Hutton 1915, Nicolle 1990, Howarth 1995, Harvey 2003, Oliver 2005, and Price 2009.

Harvey, Bonnie C. Attila the Hun. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2003.
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A popularized overview in the Ancient World Leaders series of the life of Attila and his attempt to conquer the Roman Empire. With a foreword “On Leadership” by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.
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Howarth, Patrick. Attila, King of the Huns: The Man and The Myth. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1995.
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A general narrative, minimally annotated and often based on the 18th-century account of Gibbon 1974 (cited under the Late Roman Empire and the Fall of the Western Roman Empire).
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Hutton, Edward. Attila and the Huns. London: Constable, 1915.
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A popularized overview of Attila.
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Nicolle, David. Attila and the Nomad Hordes. Osprey Military Series 30. Oxford: Osprey, 1990.
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An illustrated volume that attempts to recreate life in Attila’s empire and compares Attila to Genghis Khan. Illustrated by Angus McBride.
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Oliver, Marilyn Tower. Attila The Hun. San Diego: Lucent, 2005.
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A juvenile book from the Heroes and Villains series.
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Price, Sean Stewart. Attila the Hun: Leader of the Barbarian Hordes. New York: Scholastic Library, 2009.
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A straightforward biography of Attila aimed at secondary schools.
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Attila in Modern Popular Culture

As one recent writer put it, “the spirit of Attila the Hun lives on in all peoples and we have done our part to preserve it” (Grittner 1973, p. 241). Few individuals from the ancient world have struck as much of a chord in the modern mentality as Attila the Hun. Nearly everyone has an image of Attila as the most barbarian of all the barbarians. As a consequence, Attila appears regularly in art, literature, music, and film as a metaphor for barbarity.

Grittner, Frank M. “Barbarians, Bandwagons, and Foreign Language Scholarship.” The Modern Language Journal 57.5–6 (1973): 241–248.
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Uses Attila the Hun as a metaphor for a barbarian mentality where “there is no vehicle for . . . morality or wisdom” (p. 241).
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Drama, Music, and Literature

The life of Attila has provided material for drama, as seen in Werner 1808; opera, as seen in Verdi 1846; and historical novels, as discussed in Gárdonyi 1969 and Loi 1997, texts that themselves have become topics for scholarly study, as documented in Wood 2008.

Gárdonyi, Géza. Slave of the Huns. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill, 1969.
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A historical romance from the perspective of the Huns, with Attila as a charismatic, wise, and beloved Hungarian national hero. Originally published in Hungarian as A láthatatlan ember [The Invisible Man] (Budapest: Hornyánszky, 1901). Reprinted: Budapest: Corvina, 2000. The English title was changed to differentiate it from the H. G. Wells novel. Available online in Hungarian.
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Loi, Michelle. Attila, mon ami: Mémoires d’Aëtius. Paris: Berg, 1997.
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Adopts the pretense that the novel originally was written by Fl. Aëtius, the Roman general who defeated Attila in 451.
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Verdi, Giuseppe. Attila. Venice, 1846.
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An opera based on Werner 1808. Reprinted in Attila, the Piano-Vocal Score (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011). A restoration of the original text of Verdi’s opera “Attila.”
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Werner, Zacharias. Attila, König der Hunnen, romantische Tragödie in fünf Akten Berlin: Realschulbüchhandlung, 1808.
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Translation: Attila, King of the Huns, A Romantic Tragedy in Five Acts. A play based on the life of Attila, used as a model for the opera Attila (Verdi 1846).
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Wood, Ian. “‘Adelchi’ and ‘Attila’: The Barbarians and the Risorgimento.” Papers of the British School at Rome 76 (2008): 233–255.
DOI: 10.1017/S0068246200000489Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Italian interpretations of the barbarian invasions as seen in the “Adelchi” of Manzoni (on the Lombards) and the “Attila” of Verdi (on the Huns). Available online for purchase or by subscription.
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Cinema

Attila long has been a popular topic in film, as witnessed by several cinema productions such as Sirk 1954, Francisci 1954, and Lowry 2001.

Francisci, Pietro, dir. Attila. Compagnie Cinématographique de France (Paris); Lux Film (Rome), Producciones Ponti-de Laurentiis (Rome) 1954.
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With Anthony Quinn as Attila and a young Sophia Loren as Honoria.
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Lowry, Dick, dir. Attila. DVD. New York: Alphaville Films, 2001.
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With Gerard Butler as Attila, Powers Booth as Aëtius, Alice Krige as Honoria, and Tim Curry as Theodosius II.
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Sirk, Douglas, dir. The Sign of the Pagan. Universal City, CA: Universal International, 1954.
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With Jack Palance as Attila and Jeff Chandler as the emperor Marcian.
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Modern Metaphors

As a modern metaphor, Attila the Hun can be cast as an exemplar of barbaric behavior or rehabilitated as a representative of a refreshing take-charge approach, as seen in Cummings 1995, Roberts 2007, Heine 2008, Ferguson 2010, and Roberts 2012.

Cummings, Susan H. “Attila the Hun Versus Attila the Hen: Gender Socialization of the American Nurse.” Nursing Administration Quarterly 19.2 (1995): 19–29.
DOI: 10.1097/00006216-199501920-00006Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A discussion of how gender socialization of American nurses mirrors the socialization of women in our society.
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Ferguson, Niall. “Complexity and Collapse: Empires on the Edge of Chaos.” Foreign Affairs 89.2 (2010): 18–32.
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Uses Attila and the Huns as models for the rise and fall of empires in the modern day.
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Heine, Steven. “From Art of War to Attila the Hun: A Critical Survey of Recent Works on Philosophy/Spirituality and Business Leadership.” Philosophy East and West 58.1 (2008): 126–143.
DOI: 10.1353/pew.2008.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A study of decision-making and interpersonal skills with Attila as a metaphor in light of revisionist studies recasting Attila from a “barbaric annihilator of civilization to a strategist/administrator extraordinaire whose deliberate methods of conquest and diplomacy presaged contemporary advances in organizational theory” (p. 126).
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Kohler-Hausmann, Julilly. “‘The Attila the Hun Law’: New York’s Rockefeller Drug Laws and the Making of a Punitive State.” Journal of Social History 44.1 (2010): 71–95.
DOI: 10.1353/jsh.2010.0039Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Discussion of a very punitive antidrug law of 1973 whose severity was metaphorically equated with Attila the Hun. Available online by subscription.
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Roberts, Wess. Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun. New York: Hachette, 2007.
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Uses Attila as a role model for individual success in business.
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Roberts, Wess. Victory Secrets of Attila the Hun. New York: Random House, 2012.
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Uses Attila as a model for leadership in organizations.
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