heruli

Updated: May 3, 2025

But the active spirit of the Heruli was subdued by the slow and steady perseverance of the Goths; and, after a bloody action, in which the king was slain, the remains of that warlike tribe became a useful accession to the camp of Hermanric.

Edward Gibbon - History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 2

The Thracians and Illyrians were posted in the front, the Heruli and Goths in the centre; the prospect was closed by the Moors and Vandals, and their loose array seemed to multiply their numbers.

Edward Gibbon - History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 4

On the morning of the important day, when the ranks were already formed, a servant, for some trivial fault, was killed by his master, one of the leaders of the Heruli. The justice or passion of Narses was awakened: he summoned the offender to his presence, and without listening to his excuses, gave the signal to the minister of death.

Edward Gibbon - History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 4

The Heruli felt the indignity; they halted: but the Roman general, without soothing their rage, or expecting their resolution, called aloud, as the trumpets sounded, that unless they hastened to occupy their place, they would lose the honor of the victory. His troops were disposed in a long front, the cavalry on the wings; in the centre, the heavy-armed foot; the archers and slingers in the rear.

Edward Gibbon - History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 4

History told him how the Roman world had ever been assailed by fresh swarms of Barbarians, coming from the outer darkness, and that the Eastern Empire had already, in its fifty years of existence since Constantine had moved the capital of the world to the shores of the Bosphorus, been tormented in the same way. Gepidae and Heruli, Ostrogoths and Sarmatians, he was familiar with them all.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - The Last Galley : Impressions and Tales

The ten horns, or kingdoms, which had not yet risen when the revelation was given, were the ten minor kingdoms that grew out of the Roman Empire during its decline and fall. These are as follows: 1. Anglo-Saxons; 2. Burgundians; 3. Franks; 4. Huns; 5. Heruli; 6. Lombards; 7. Ostrogoths; 8. Suevi; 9. Vandals; 10. Visigoths.

F. G. (Frederick George) Smith - The Last Reformation

Three thousand Heruli fought on horseback under Philemuth, their native chief; and the noble Aratus, who adopted the manners and discipline of Rome, conducted a band of veterans of the same nation.

Edward Gibbon - History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 4

Finally, Constantius decided to rob Julian of his best soldiers, and then, by gradually disarming him, to draw him into his toils and deal him the mortal blow. With this intention he sent a letter to Julian by the tribune Decensius, commanding him to select the most trusted legions, namely, the Heruli, Batavians, and Celts, and to dispatch them into Asia for the emperor's own use.

- The World's Greatest Books — Volume 06 — Fiction

He was immediately besieged by Pharas, an officer whose truth and sobriety were the more applauded, as such qualities could seldom be found among the Heruli, the most corrupt of the Barbarian tribes.

Edward Gibbon - History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 4

Constantius signified his pleasure that four entire legions, the Celtæ, and Petulants, the Heruli, and the Batavians, should be separated from the standard of Julian, under which they had acquired their fame and discipline; that in each of the remaining bands three hundred of the bravest youths should be selected; and that this numerous detachment, the strength of the Gallic army, should instantly begin their march, and exert their utmost diligence to arrive, before the opening of the campaign, on the frontiers of Persia.

- The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 03