The ends of history? Jerome, Geruchia, and the Rhine crossings

Abstract

This article revisits Jerome’s treatment of the Rhine crossings of 406 in his letter to the widow Geruchia, and the broader issue of breaching the Roman limes. It argues that his description of the events in Gaul and on the border was framed to fit his notion of the history of salvation. Placing Jerome’s letter to Geruchia in its historical and theological setting, the paper questions the role of contemporary historical details in its composition. Jerome’s account was shaped by hearsay, memory, and tropes from other authors, including Ammianus Marcellinus, alongside the ways that Jerome thought about time, truth, and gender. In this way, the paper casts a new light on what we can say about the early fifth-century invasion of Gaul. The events of 406 are prone to misinterpretation without an analysis of Jerome’s philosophy of history.