About the Book:

"My business is to record what people say, but I am by no means bound to believe it - and that may be taken to apply to the book as a whole" (Herodotus, Histories, VII, 152)

In line with Herodotus ideas about the narration of historical events (historiography), this book investigates how historians have gone about writing about the history of the Goths during the past 250 years. It claims that there has never been an objective version of the history of the Goths and that political consideration strongly influenced our only surviving texts and fragments of the history of Goths starting with Cassiodorus and Jordanes in the 5th and 6th centuries AD.

Even in the Pre-World War II and Post-World War II eras historical writings of the Goths have been strongly influenced by political considerations. The book is an indispensable introduction and guide to those historical readers who want to understand how modern political forces came to shape the major strands of Gothic historiography even to our own days. It fundamentally questions if we will ever get to Ranke's objectivist "Wie es eigentlich gewesen" when it comes to the “history of the Goths”

About the Author:

Hans Froehling received his PhD in Ancient History from Columbus University in Mississippi. He also holds a Doctor of Business Administration degree from Nova Southeastern University and works as a Lean Six Sigma Certified Master Black Belt in the healthcare industry.