Attila: King of the Huns: The Man and the Myth [Paperback]

Patrick Howarth (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 10, 2001

Although his grave's location is still unknown, Attila the Hun's place in history and legend is assured, though controversial. Dubbed "The Scourge of God" by early Christian chroniclers but known to his intimates for his clemency and wisdom, Attila ruled for only eight years in the middle of the fifth century. In that brief space he consolidated the Hun kingdom and threatened to conquer the empires of both Rome and Constantinople. Drawing on new archaeological findings and Hungarian sources unknown in the West, prolific biographer Patrick Howarth has created the first authentic life of Attila.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Patrick Howarth is the author of numerous works of history, biography and criticism, including The Year is 1851 and George VI. Eight programmes of his poetry, ranging in length from fifteen to forty minutes, have been broadcast by BBC Radio 3. A former diplomat, who served in Special Operations, he has broadcast for the BBC in five languages. He has had a long association with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. He lives in Sherbome, Dorset. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (October 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786709308
• ISBN-13: 978-0786709304
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,674,027 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Nothing New, April 29, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Attila: King of the Huns: The Man and the Myth (Paperback)

The text, is very informative on the relationship between the Huns, Goths, and the Western and Eastern Roman Empires. However, if you are looking for information on Attila the Hun, this book seems to brings nothing new to light. It appears to use two common references to Attila, One writen by Jordanes (a Gothic historian), who wrote, The Origin and Deeds of The Goths, a summary of Cassiodorus' much longer treatment of the history of the Goths. Also, the other source for the material seems to come from the Roman Historian, Priscus, who actually attended the court of Attila as a Roman Ebassy.
The book gives a good accounting of the political air of the Roman, Hunish conflict, but nothing new on Attila.
The bottom line is that I am no expert on history or that of the Goths or Attila, but I am a student. This book beat all around the "Whole bush" before I figured out that there was not a whole lot of content on Attilla that I could not find on the web.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars ?'s, Poses Some, Answers Some., August 3, 2006

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SUPPORT THE ASPCA. "PILUM THROWER!" (?????) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Attila: King of the Huns: The Man and the Myth (Paperback)

The writing is engaging. The author explores the evidence and the various views of Attila over the centuries. The first chapters gave the reader the background setting of this turbulent period. I found chapters 13-21 to be the most crucial. The authors speculations on why Attila spared Italy from more devestation was good food for thought. This book should inspire the reader to do more research on the subject. But, the index is rather brief and the absense of maps was sorely missed. The problem may be that there simply are not enough original sources? When more archaeological artefacts come to light I look forward to this book being revised.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Manhood and mythology..., May 28, 2004

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FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Attila, King of the Huns: The Man & the Myth (Biography and Memoirs) (Paperback)

Patrick Howarth had a rich and varied career, that included study in languages at Oxford, work during the second world war in special operations and intelligence, and a wide ranging writing career, all of which have come together to help craft this interesting overview and introduction to the Huns and their most illustrious leader, Attila.

This book is less a biography of Attila the Hun, the Scourge of God, as it is an overview of the cultural, military, political and personality aspects of the late Roman Empire and the expansive but short-lived Hunnish Empire. It also addresses how the mythology of Attila and the Huns is far more pervasive throughout history than the truth has been, or continues to be. Howarth's thesis begins that the Huns are a much-maligned people, and that most of our historical information comes with a distinct political taint, handed down by the victors (those who win get to write the history), the Romans, the Byzantines, and that longest-of-lasting institutions, the Christian church.

Little known and less taught is the fact that the Roman Empire did in fact have major, if disorganised, rivals for their power. The Celtic Empire prior to the Common Era was one such; the Hunnish Empire from the middle fourth century to the late fifth century held more territory than Rome and Constantinople. This makes it more credible that Attila, who in fact only ruled as king of the Huns for a little under a decade, such a threat to both the Eastern and Western Empires.

Howarth's text looks at the pieces that make up the history of the period. He looks at the internal politics and dynamics of the courts and general population of Rome and Constantinople, how they played off each other in addition to the Huns. He looks at the military situation was some insight, showing the difficulties of troop movement and support, the problems of intelligence gathering and planning, and the difficult time the Romans East and West had defending their territories, which also made it difficult in the end for the Huns to hold the gains, too.

One of the more interesting chapters involves one of the great legends that has been spun around the interaction of Attila and Pope Leo. Howarth describes the effects of art and legendary stories on the way history is popularly perceived, and even academically transmitted - examples of Raphael and Gibbons commenting on the legends of the Pope's eloquence (and the appearance of Sts. Peter and Paul to threaten Attila) compared with other, more rationally likely explanations for Attila's reluctance to attack Rome.

The controversy over Attila's death is also explored, drawing on sources contemporary and later, that Attila died on the night of his wedding to Ildico. Whether he was murdered or died of natural causes will likely never be known; where his grave is located also remains a mystery. Howarth discusses several possibilities, again drawing from ancient sources.

Howarth combines a lot of ancient primary sources with more modern expositions of the history. He also looks at the continuing legacy of Attila, in popular culture around the world, as well as in modern-day Hungary. This is not a 'high academic' scholarly text, but it does serve as a good introduction to the subject, with the right balance between speculation (generally presented as such) and source-text reporting. There is a short index, which could be improved upon, and as another commentator has observed, the absence of maps is a significant flaw for a text on this kind of history. Still, the writing is engaging, if occasionally choppy, and the subject, already interesting in and of itself, is developed in an interesting fashion.

Huzzah!