Charietto was an Ancient German headhunter and

bounty hunter A bounty hunter is a private agent working for a bail bondsman who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as a bail enforcement agent or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated ...

who worked for the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

. He operated on the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

frontier near

Treverorum Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone i ...

. According to

Zosimus Zosimus, Zosimos, Zosima or Zosimas may refer to: People * * Rufus and Zosimus (died 107), Christian saints * Zosimus (martyr) (died 110), Christian martyr who was executed in Umbria, Italy * Zosimos of Panopolis, also known as ''Zosimus Alch ...

, Charietto saw barbarian raiders crossing the Rhine and determined to take action. Going out into the forest at night he would kill a number of the raiders, sever their heads and bring them into the town come daytime. Charietto was joined by other men, and eventually their success earned him the admiration of Julian, who was commander in the region and later became the Emperor known as

Julian the Apostate Julian (; ; 331 – 26 June 363) was the Caesar of the West from 355 to 360 and Roman emperor from 361 to 363, as well as a notable philosopher and author in Greek. His rejection of Christianity, and his promotion of Neoplatonic Hellenism ...

. Charietto was encouraged by Julian to attack the barbarian raiders at night, while Roman regular forces would confront them by day. After a long period of such activities, the raiders surrendered.

Ammianus Marcellinus Ammianus Marcellinus, occasionally anglicized as Ammian ( Greek: Αμμιανός Μαρκελλίνος; born , died 400), was a Greek and Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquit ...

, the other major chronicler for the life of the Emperor Julian, also refers to a figure named Charietto, in this case a Roman general who was killed resisting an excursion by the

Alamanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE, the Alemanni c ...

at Cabillonum in 366 or 367. While there is no conclusive evidence linking this individual with Charietto the headhunter, some scholars have assumed a connection.

References

External links

C. M. Whittaker, "The Collapse of the Frontiers,"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charietto 4th-century Frankish people Frankish warriors Bounty hunters Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown