P. 65, c. 1.—“Genseric,” jĕn´ser-ik. A king of the Vandals under whom the tribe invaded Africa in 429. They conquered the entire country, capturing Carthage in 439 and making it their capital. After the sack of Rome, the entire coast of the Mediterranean was pillaged. Genseric ruled until his death in 477.
“Heruli,” her´u-li; “Sciri,” si´ri; “Turcilingi,” tur-cil-in´gi; “Rugii,” ru´gi-i.
“Theodoric.” The king of the Visigoths, who in 489 undertook to expel Odoacer from Italy. He defeated him in several battles and finally laid siege to Ravenna, where Odoacer had taken refuge. After holding out three years, Odoacer submitted on condition that he rule jointly with Theodoric, but the latter soon murdered his rival. For thirty-three years Theodoric ruled the country. He was a patron of art and learning and his sway was very prosperous. The porphyry vase in which his ashes were deposited is still shown at Ravenna.
“Thuringians,” thu-rin´gi-ans. Dwellers in the central part of Germany between the Harz Mountains and the Thuringian forest.
“Dietrich,” dē-trich; “Hildebrand,” hĭl´de-brand.
“Siegfried,” seeg´freed. See notes on “Nibelungenlied” in this number.
P. 65, c. 2.—“Langobardi” or Lombards. A German tribe which migrated southward from the river Elbe. In 568 they conquered the plains of northern Italy and founded a kingdom which lasted two centuries.
GERMAN LITERATURE.
The article on German Literature is abridged from Sime’s article on this subject in the “Encyclopædia Britannica.”
P. 66, c. 1.—“Nibelungelied.” The song of the Nibelungen. “The work includes the legends of Siegfried, of Günther, of Dietrich, and of Attila; and the motives which bind them into a whole are the love and revenge of Kriemhild, the sister of Günther and Siegfried’s wife. She excites the envy of Brunhild, the Burgundian queen, whose friend Hagen discovers the vulnerable point in Siegfried’s enchanted body, treacherously slays him, and buries in the Rhine the treasure he has long before conquered from the race of the Nibelungen. There is then a pause of thirteen years, after which Kriemhild, the better to effect her fatal purpose, marries Attila. Thirteen years having again passed away her thirst for vengeance is satiated by slaying the entire Burgundian court. The Germans justly regard this epic as one of the most precious gems of their literature.”—Sime.