I had no opportunity of learning whether there are any coins of Radagaisius in existence.
(5) VADAKARIS (Odachar?) was the most genial king of the Heruli. He reigned in Italy between the years 476-493. His father, by name Eidika (Edica), was the chief of the Courlanders (Sciri) and was employed by the mighty Attila as a secretary.
The Germans spell the name of this king "Odowakar". Grimm attempted to advance the idea that this name is composed of the words "Audags" (= "a rich" or "a fortunate") and "vakir" (= "watcher"). Many scientists do not agree with such an explanation, because the arguments of this German scholar are too frail. Especially the English scientists, --- Henry Bradley, Dr. Latham and others, --- have pointed out the errors that Grimm frequently committed. Nevertheless, it would be important to know something concerning the etymology of this king's name.

Referring to the ancient chronicles, we find this name spelled thus:
Odoacer ---- by Jornandes (Sixth C.).
Odoacer ---- by Marcellinus Comes (Sixth C.).
Odoacer ---- by Cassiodorus (A.D. 480-575).
Odoacer ---- by Victor Vitensis (Fifth C.).
Odovacar ---- by Ennodius (A.D. 473-521).
Odovacer ---- by Agnelli, Liber Fontificalis (A.D. 839).
Odoacar ---- by Chronicon Cuspiniani (455-526).
Odoachar ---- by Anon. Valesii (A.D. 474-526).
Odoachar ---- by Paulus Diavonus (died in 799).
Odoacroj ---- by Procopius (A.D. 500-565).
Odoacrw ---- by Candidus (end of V cent.).
Ouaccaroj ---- by Agathias (A.D. 536-582).
Odachar and Otachar ---- by Eugippius c. 45.

Undoubtedly it was somewhat difficult for the Roman and Byzantian writers to spell the Herulian names, therefore they wrote them down in various ways and mostly erroneously. If the Romans pronounced the name of this king "Odoacar, Odoachar, Otachar", --- then its meaning in Lithuanian would be "O-ta-kars", or "O-tai-Karis" (- = "The real Knight"); but if they pronounced it "Odachar", ---- then it would mean in Lithuanian "Vada-kars" i.e. "Vada-karis" (= "The Leader of the Knights"). And I think that in all probability his name was VADAKARIS, because there is more sense in giving a name to a newly born "The real Knight" or "The Leader of the Knights", than such a silly name as "The Fortunate Watcher". Hence in my writings I shall call him. "Vadakaris".

The ancient historians say that Vadakaris was an unknown youth. While travelling with his companions, he once visited a saintly hermit named Severinus and asked for his blessing. Saint Severinus observed that Vadakaris was poor, because he was clad in rags, and that he was of such tall stature that it was necessary for him to stoop at the entrance. Vadakaris told Severinus that he intended to go to Italy to seek employment in the Roman army. Severinus blessed him, saying: "Go! Although you are now poorly clad in skins, I foresee that soon you will give people valuable presents and will make others rich". Encouraged by such prophecy, Vadakaris went to Italy and soon (in the year 474) the Herulian soldiers elected him their king.

In the year 476, the Heruli took possession of Italy, because the Roman government being bankrupt couldn't pay the wages. Vadakaris occupied Rome, emperor Romulus Augustulus was imprisoned, and his father Orestes was killed. Caesar Romulus Augustulus was a handsome youth and was only 15 years old, therefore Vadakaris took pity on him, gave him a splendid palace at Missena and assigned to him a pension of six thousand gold solidi (2) yearly.

Romulus evidently was contented with his lot and in the year 480 he formally put a signature to the document of his abdication. Vadakaris, wishing that the world wouldn't think that he was the usurper of the Roman Empire, refused to wear the imperial diadem. According to Vadakaris' instructions, the Roman senators soon went to the Byzantian emperor Zeno to present the document of abdication of Romulus Augustulus, and at the same time to ask him to proclaim himself the sovereign of the entire Roman world and to confer on Vadakaris the rank of patricius. Everybody knew that Vadakaris was practically master of Italy, ---- while Zeno was emperor only in name. Zeno harshly approached the ambassadors, but being afraid of Vadakaris, in his letter he addressed him by the title of "Roman patricius". Therefore the year of 480 is considered the year of the downfall of the Roman Empire. One Romulus was the founder of the city of Rome, while another Romulus was the loser of Rome........

Vadakaris did his best to be on friendly terms with the emperor of Byzantium. In the beginning, Zeno's portrait was struck even on Roman coins, and public places were adorned with the statues of the Byzantian emperor. But he would never allow Byzantium to interfere with the internal affairs of Italy. Zeno did not like the idea that the "barbarian" Vadakaris would not heed him, therefore he waited only for the opportunity when the Heruli could be chased out of Italy. The historians say that Zeno was such a coward that he would tremble even at the picture of a battle. This is the reason why Zeno did not dare to fight the Heruli openly. Remembering the old Roman adage "divide et impera" ("divide and dominate"), ----Zeno stirred up the Rugii against Vadakaris. And when Rugii refused to acknowledge the supremacy of Vadakaris, then there was a war (in the year 486-487). Vadakaris lead his large army into the Rugian territory ("venit in Rugiland, pugnavitque cum Rugis". --- Paul Diac. i. 19), the Rugii were defeated and their chief Valaitis (Velaithas, Felethus) was captured. Since that time the relations between Vadakaris and Zeno became worse than ever.

In the year 488, Zeno secretly proposed to the Ostrogothic king Tautarikis (Thiudareiks) that he should chase the Heruli out of Italy; for Zeno hoped that in the combat both of his enemies would become weakened, and then it would be an easy matter to get rid of those "barbarians". Ambitious Tautarikis gladly accepted Zeno's proposition.

At the end of the autumn, in the year, 488, Tautrikis led a body of 250,000 people out of Moesia towards Italy. This vast multitude, with all their baggage, their cattle, and their teams, was stretched about three hundred miles along the banks of the Danuvius. It wasn't easy for them to journey, it wasn't easy for them to pass over rugged mountains, because all kinds of diseases tormented them, and the tribes friendly to Vadakaris were harassing their progress. And when the Ostrogoths reached Singidunum (Bielgrade), Draustyla (Thrafstila), king of the Gepids (3), the vassal of Vadakaris, forbade Tautarikis to pass through his territory. Neither Tautarikis' entreaties nor threatening would frighten Draustyla. And there was a great battle near a river called Ulca. Many Ostrogoths perished there, and it seemed that the Gepids would win the battle; but Tautarikis' own bravery inspired the Ostrogoths so that at last they defeated the Gepids.

It took nearly a year for the Ostrogoths to reach the frontier of Italy. Right at the boundary, across the river Isonzo, they saw the powerful army of Vadakaris. Although the Ostrogoths were fatigued, on the 28th of August, 489, they forced the passage of the river, and the army of Vadakaris retreated to Veronna. On the 30th of September, Tautarikis besieged Veronna. The Heruli fought desperately and the losses of the Ostrogoths were enormous. But instead of being discouraged Tautarikis gained a stronger impulse to fight Vadakaris, and the Herulian army was thrown into confusion and fled towards Rome. When the senators learned that the Heruli were beaten, they ordered the gates of Rome to be closed and refused to admit Vadakaris, fearing the wrath of the conqueror. Vadakaris then marched across Italy, destroying everything that was in his way, and took refuge in the impregnable fortress of Ravenna.

The bitter struggle between the Ostrogoths and the Heruli lasted for a long time. Vadakaris' best general by name Duba (Thufa), became a "traitor" and with a large body of men deserted to Tautarikis. General Duba was so cunning that he gained not only the full confidence of Tautarikis, but also received plenty of money and a number of principal officers to besiege Vadakaris. As soon as Duba reached the camp of Vadakaris, he loaded the officers of Tautarikis with chains and presented them to Vadakaris. For sometime Vadakaris kept those famous war prisoners in a dungeon, and then murdered them. Later, he turned against the Ostrogoths and defeated them; and Tautarikis was compelled to abandon Milan and Veronna, and to entrench himself near Pavia.

In August, A.D. 490, a large body of the Balthagoths came to aid Tautarikis. Then the forces of Tautarikis and Alkrikis jointly attacked Ravenna again. Besides, Tautarikis sent out his spies to all the Italian cities to find out who the supporters of Vadakaris were, and on a certain day all of them were massacred. For two years and a half Vadakaris defended the citadel of Ravenna. At last both sides were wearied and longed for peace. The pressure of famine compelled Vadakaris to offer the terms of armistice. Tautarikis already craved for peace and was glad to accept such terms as were set by Vadakaris. Both sides came to an agreement that Vadakaris and Tautarikis should reign over Italy as joint sovereigns.

On the 5th of March, A.D. 493, Vadakaris met Tautrikis with the greatest pomp, and they greeted each other in a most friendly manner and wished to each other long life. Before many days had passed, Tautarikis heard that Vadakaris was plotting his assassination. On the 15th of March, Tautarikis invited Vadakaris to a banquet at the "Laurel grove" palace. Not suspecting any treason, Vadakaris came. And when he occupied the seat next to Tautarikis, two Ostrogothic soldiers approached Vadakaris, and, as if asking for some favors, they seized his hands. The signal being given, the soldiers that were secretly stationed by Tautarikis in the side chambers rushed in; but when they saw that they were there to murder a defenceless gray-haired king, their master, none of them would move forward. Tautarikis then drew his sword, and raised it to strike Vadakaris. "O God, where art thou!?" groaned the unhappy Vadakaris. "This is how you treated my friends!" shouted Tautarikis. And with his sword he smote him on the collar-bone with such a force that the body of Vadakaris was almost cut in two. Tautarikis, as if suprised at the effect of his blow, sneeringly remarked---- "The poor wretch must have had no bones".

Thus, at the age of sixty, died the greatest king of Heruli, Vadakaris. He had reigned in Italy for seventeen years. His wife Ziniagilte (Suniagilda) was starved to death in prison by Tautarikis, and his son Delianis (Thelane) was presented as a slave to the Balthagothic king Alkrikis. Later, Delianis succeeded in escaping from slavery but upon his arrival in Italy he was captured and killed. Speaking of the Herulian prince Delianis, we mention the fact that in Samogitia there are many inhabitants with the names Delianis, Dilionis.

After the death of Vadakaris, the Herulian nation was afflicted by all kinds of calamities. Tautarikis deprived the Heruli of their privileges as citizens, annulled their rights to their old property, and persecuted and massacred them. Then the Heruli fled from Italy. A part of them went to Drasarikis, the king of the Gepids, who sheltered them and even allowed them to plunder the confines of Tautarikis' territory and to revenge themselves upon the Ostrogoths. Other Heruli went back to the native land of their ancestors, Samogitia; others settled in Prussia around Mecklemburg; others entered the imperial service of Byzantium; and the rest of them were scattered through the whole of Europe and were assimilated by other nations.

The Heruli, however, did not disappear from the pages of history abruptly. After Vadakaris, several other Herulian heroes became famous. Especially it is worth while to relate something concerning Varas and Zindvaldas.
(6) VARAS (Pharas) was the chief of those Heruli who served the Byzantian emperor as employed soldiers.
Varas is a Lithuanian name and is derived from the word "varau" (= "I drive"). Up till now there are some inhabitants in Samogitia bearing the names: Varas, Varaitis, Vara-kulis, Vara-nius, Daub-varas, Ei-varas, Ju-varas, Lab-varas, etc.

The first time that Varas became famous was in the year 530, when the Persians waged war against Byzantium (A.D. 526-530). And if the Heruli had not come to aid the Byzantians, then probably the Persians would have crushed the Byzantian Empire.

In the year 534, the name of Varas was known all over Europe, because he had captured Gelimeras, the famous king of the Vandals. It happened like this. After the Heruli and the Byzantians utterly defeated the Vandal army in December, A.D. 533, their king fled to the Pappuan mountains where he hid himself amongst the semi-civilized Moors. There he found a refuge in a filthy, vermin-infested, fetid Moorish cave. Although there he had to suffer terrible poverty and famine, he would refuse to surrender. The Byzantian general, Belisarius, was afraid that the Vandals wouldn't come back with some new forces, so he asked Varus to pursue them with a body of the Herulian men and annihilate the remnants of the Vandal army. The Heruli, remembering how in the past they were wronged by the Vandals, with a spirit of vengeance pursued them and attempted to climb up the Pappaun mountains so as to capture the king. But, from the tall cliffs and precipices, the Vandals, together with the Moors effectively defended King Gelimeras. Then Varas, surrounding the mountains, watched that nobody should enter or come out of there.

After three months of such blockade, Varas sent a letter to the Vandal king worded thus: "I hear that Justinian would like to favor you by conferring on you the rank of patricius, and he would grant you some palaces and land. Indeed, it is much better to be a friend-servant, just as Belisarius is, of the mighty Emperor Justinian, than to play the role of a king in Pappua, or, in other words to comply with the caprices of the insignificant Moors; and besides, not only you, but also your wretched companions are being oppressed by terrible poverty and famine".

King Gelimeras answered the letter of Varus thus: "I thank you for your anxiety, but I shall never become a slave to a man, who, without any reason, attacked me, and I hope yet to revenge myself upon him. I have not caused him any trouble, but he pushed me into such ruin by sending certain Belisarius upon me. Let him beware! I might do something that he will regret. I can write no more: my troubles disabled my thinking power. But be kind, dear Varus, and send me a lyre, one loaf of bread, and a sponge".

The ending of this letter was quite puzzling to the Herulian chief. After questioning the messenger, Varus learned that Gelimeras once more would like to taste some bread, which he had not had for a long time; that his eyes were inflamed and swollen; and that once more he wished to sing a song of his adventures with the accompaniment of a lyre.

Lastly, the following incident crushed the unhappy Vandal king. The Moorish hostess scraped the last remnants of flour, kneaded a dough, and placed it on the glowing charcoal to bake. Two small boys crawled nearer the fireplace; one of them was the grandson of the Vandal king, and another was the son of the Moor. Both eagerly watched the baking crumpet. The Vandal boy was the first to grab from the fire the hot ashy crumpet and push it into his mouth. Then the Moorish boy caught the Vandal boy by the hair, began to beat his face, pulled the remainder of that crumpet out of his mouth, and hastily swallowed it. Gelimeras seeing all this, was moved to tears, and then he decided to surrender to the Heruli.

Thus the Heruli ended the days of the Vandal kingdom.
(7) ZINDVALDAS (Sindvaldus, Sindualdoj hgemon according to the Byzantian chronicles), distinguished himself as a leader of the Heruli and Brenti in the wars against the Roman exarch Narses, in the year 565.
The name of king Zindvaldas is purely Lithuanian and is derived from the words "Zinot" (= "to know") and "Valdas" (= "ruling"). There are very many inhabitants in Samogitia that still bear such names as: Zinvaldas, Zincius, (Zindzius, a priest of the Lithuanian parish in Elizabeth, N.J.), Zinda-navicius (Zida-navicius, a priest of the Lithuanian parish in Amsterdam, N.Y.), Zintis, Vien-zindis, Vy-zintas, Ma-zintas, etc., etc.

Concerning king Zindvaldas, the ancient historian Paulus Diaconus writes: "Habuit Narses certamen adversus Sindvald Brentorum regem, qui adhuc de Herulorum stirpe remanserat, quem secum in Italiam veniens simul Odoachar adduxerat." --- De Gestis Langob. ii, 3. The Brenti that are mentioned in this passage, might have been the kinsmen of the old Prussians. The name "Brentas" probably is a corrupted form of the word "prantas", "su-prantas" (= "understanding"), just as the name "Prusas" is derived from "pruts" (= protas, protings zmogus) which means "the wise", "the intelligent". Any Lithuanian bearing such a name as Brenza, Brundza, --- is a descendant of the Brenti tribe. It is quite interesting to note that the Brenti are mentioned in the VII-X Century document known as "Codex Exoniensis":

þeodric weold Froncum,

Tautrikis ruled the Franks,

þyle Roudingum,

Tyla the Raudens,

Breoca Brondingum".

Brokas the Brenti".

Then the "Codex Exoniensis" tells us that Brokas ruled the Brenti! In the vicinity of Klaipeda (Memel, Prussia) there are still some inhabitants living that bear such names as "Brokas", "Braks". Especially the Prusso-Lithuanian patriot Adam Brakas is well known to many people.

The distressed Heruli made a union with their kinsmen the Brenti. In the year 565, they again tried to regain their old fame and freedom, but failed..... The Roman exarch Narses defeated both the Heruli and the Brenti, and their king Zindvaldas was captured and then hanged (Encylc. Brit. vol. XIX, p. 242). This, the second fatal blow, was one from which the Herulian nation could never recover. Then they gradually died out until they disappeared entirely.


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