Chnodomar

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Chnodomar (lat. Chnodomarius ) was Alemannic minor king in the Ortenau until 357 . Brother of Mederic , uncle of Agenaric (Serapio) .

Life

The Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus reports of Chnodomar with admiration and disgust. He describes him as "... the nefarious instigator of the storm of war, ... without measure, ... the main driver of dangerous ventures, with his proud expression, arrogant through his frequent successes." In the battle he describes him, "with a flaming one red bulge of hair on his head, fearless in the awareness of his enormous physical strength, ..., inhumanly large on his foaming steed, erect with a lance of terrible length, in the shine visible from the others, a brave fighter and as a capable military leader other considerations. "

Chnodomar moved to Gaul in 350, encouraged by Emperor Constantius II , against the usurper Magnentius and defeated his Caesar (lower emperor) Decentius . After this victory, the Alamanni under Chnodomar continued their expansion against the province of Germania and claimed larger parts of the area on the left bank of the Rhine, which were also occupied. Constantius II, who was able to decisively defeat Magnentius in 353, moved in 354, after the suicide of Magnentius and Decentius, from Arles up the Rhône against the Alemanni. At Augusta Raurica ( Kaiseraugst ) he did not fight Chnodomar, but the Alemannic kings Gundomad and Vadomar .

Due to the still critical situation in the Germanic provinces, Emperor Constantius II appointed his cousin Julian as Caesar on November 6, 355 . He sent Julian and the Roman army master Barbatio to Augusta Raurica in 357 to defeat the Alamanni. Due to the Laeten uprising and the fault of Barbatios, who did not grant Julian any success, the Alemanni succeeded in routing the numerically superior Roman army. Thereupon the Alemannic kings Hortar , Suomar , Ur , Ursicinus , Vestralp , ten sub-kings as well as many nobles under the leadership of Chnodomar and his nephew Agenarich (Serapio) gathered their armies and marched into the battle of Argentoratum to confirm their claim to the areas on the left bank of the Rhine .

In the battle, Chnodomar commanded the left wing and the center of the Alemannic army. When the victory of the Roman army became apparent, Chnodomar and his surviving Alamanni tried to escape across the Rhine. A Roman cohort is said to have placed him on a wooded hill and captured him there unharmed along with his followers. Chnodomar was brought before Caesar Julian and begged his mercy. Julian sent him to Emperor Constantius II, who in turn had him sent to Rome. There he and another captured Alemanni king were taken on a triumphal procession. Chnodomar was then interned in a foreign camp on the Mons Caelius , where he is said to have died of old age.

Another spelling of his name, namely Knodomar , is z. B. used in the drama "Emperor and Galilean" by Henrik Ibsen .

swell

Collection: Sources on the history of the Alemanni. Translated by Camilla Dirlmeier.

  • Volume 1: From Cassius Dio to Ammianus Marcellinus . Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1976, ISBN 3-7995-6301-6 , pp. 29-31, 45-55.
  • Volume 2: From Libanios to Gregory of Tours. Sigmaringen 1978, ISBN 3-7995-6303-2 , pp. 12-18.

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ Ammian 16:12, 4.
  2. ↑ Ammian 16: 11, 14-15; 16.12.6.
personal data
SURNAME Chnodomar
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Chnodomarius (Latin)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Alemannic Gau king in the Ortenau
DATE OF BIRTH 4th century
DATE OF DEATH 4th century