Winguric or Wingurich ( 4th century AD), also known as Wingureiks, Wingourichos, also Jungeric was a Gothic ruler (''

reiks Reiks (; pronunciation ; Latinized as ''rix'') is a Gothic title for a tribal ruler, often translated as "king". In the Gothic Bible, it translates to the Greek '' árchōn'' (ἄρχων). It is presumably translated as '' basiliskos'' (βα ...

'') under the

Thervingi The Thervingi, Tervingi, or Teruingi (sometimes pluralised Tervings or Thervings) were a Gothic people of the plains north of the Lower Danube and west of the Dniester River in the 3rd and the 4th centuries. They had close contacts with the Gre ...

an chieftain

Athanaric Athanaric or Atanaric (; died 381) was king of several branches of the Thervingian Goths () for at least two decades in the 4th century. Throughout his reign, Athanaric was faced with invasions by the Roman Empire, the Huns and a civil war with C ...

who played a prominent role in the

Gothic persecution of Christians There is a record of Gothic persecution of Christians in the third century. According to Basil of Caesarea, some prisoners taken captive in a Gothic raid on Cappadocia around 260 preached the gospel to their captors and were martyred. One of their ...

. Around 375 he burned twenty-six Gothic Christians to death in the

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

, who were later sanctified as

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

s by the Christian church. Winguric is identified by name in the ''

Menologion of Basil II The ''Menologion'', ''Menologium'', or ''Menology of Basil II'' is a Greek illuminated manuscript designed as a church calendar or Eastern Orthodox Church service book (menologion) that was compiled for the Byzantine Emperor Basil II (r.976– ...

'' and the ''

Synaxarion of Constantinople The ''Synaxarion of Constantinople'' (or ''Synaxarion of the Great Church'') is a Byzantine Greek language, Greek collection of brief notices of saints commemorated in the Ecumenical Patriarchate, churches of Constantinople arranged by Feast day, ...

''. He was one of the unnamed "envoys" of Athanaric mentioned by

Sozomen Salamanes Hermias Sozomenos (; ; c. 400 – c. 450 AD), also known as Sozomen, was a Roman lawyer and historian of the Christian Church. Family and home Sozoman was born around 400 in Bethelia, a small town near Gaza, into a wealthy Christia ...

References

Bibliography

* * * * * 4th-century Gothic people Persecution of early Christians 4th-century monarchs in Europe {{Early-Christianity-stub