Wulfila 311-2011: International Symposium. Uppsala University June 15-18, 2011 (Repost)

The symposium "Wulfila 311–2011" was a joint arrangement between the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History and Uppsala University Library. Thanks to Wulfila and his Gothi Minores ("little Goths", the group of Christian Goths in Moesia, whose bishop Wulfila was), we can draw on a whole different picture of the Gothic than the violent and warlike image of Gothic history so often handed down to posterity. Piety, love of peace, culture and education are the hallmarks of this alternative representation... The surviving parts of Wulfila’s Bible translation are the only witnesses today of the Gothic language. Without Wulfila there would not be any text that we today could certainly identify as Gothic. We would know nothing of the Gothic language, just as we know nothing of most of the other East Germanic languages (those of the Burgundians, Gepids, Heruli, Rugians, Scirii and Vandals). Our knowledge of the Gothic language is a cornerstone of German philology... The speakers of the symposium Wulfila 311–2011 are accomplished scholars in their own different fields. Despite their widely disparate academic specialities they have one thing in common: each of their specialities has at least one single thread leading back to Wulfila in one or another way. It is a pleasure to present their papers in this volume.