Laudaricus (died 451) was a prominent Hunnic chieftain and general active in the first half of the 5th century.

Biography

The '' Chronica Gallica of 511'' under the year 451 noted him as

Attila Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. He was also the leader of a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Bulgars, among others, in Central and E ...

's blood relative ( la, Cognatus Attilae), who died at the

Battle of the Catalaunian Plains The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (or Fields), also called the Battle of the Campus Mauriacus, Battle of Châlons, Battle of Troyes or the Battle of Maurica, took place on June 20, 451 AD, between a coalition – led by the Western Roman ...

in 451 AD. He was the Huns' highest ranking casualty at this battle. The outcome of the battle is uncertain, but Kim, pointing out that the death of a commanding general in battle often meant defeat at the time, suggests that the death of the Visigoth king

Theodoric Theodoric is a Germanic given name. First attested as a Gothic name in the 5th century, it became widespread in the Germanic-speaking world, not least due to its most famous bearer, Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Overview The name ...

in this clash very likely meant the end of the battle for the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is k ...

. Because the Huns managed to eliminate the king of their rivals and, most importantly, they had possession of the battlefield after the end of the battle, the outcome was likely a Hun victory. The only relic found at the site of the battle ( Châlons) was a Hunnish cauldron. Kim suggests this was likely used for the burial of Laudaricus, the Huns' most prestigious casualty.

Etymology

M. Schönfeld considered the name to be of Germanic origin, ''*Lauda reiks'' (possibly "famous king"; compare ''Ludwig'').

Omeljan Pritsak Omeljan Yosypovych Pritsak ( uk, Омелян Йосипович Пріцак; 7 April 1919, Luka, Sambir County, West Ukrainian People's Republic – 29 May 2006, Boston) was the first Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor of Ukrainian History at Har ...

proposed possible Gothicization and correction of the name by the chronicler from Turkic ''*Valda'' > ''Velda'' (< ''*Belda'' > ''

Bleda Bleda () was a Hunnic ruler, the brother of Attila the Hun. As nephews to Rugila, Attila and his elder brother Bleda succeeded him to the throne. Bleda's reign lasted for eleven years until his death. While it has been speculated by Jordanes t ...

''). Otto J. Maenchen-Helfen thought the name was Germanic, ''*Laudareiks''.

References

Sources

* * {{Huns 451 deaths Germanic warriors Hunnic rulers Year of birth unknown Attila the Hun People killed in action