• The context of Christianity’s encounter with these tribes is the great
migration of peoples that occurred over a period of several hundred
years in a broad movement westward and southward, even into
Africa. It is impossible to neatly sort out everything that happened
because movements were simultaneous and overlapping, but we
can make three framing comments.
o Relations with the empire among the tribes varied from neutral
to hostile to positive. By no means is it appropriate to think
solely in terms of an invasion or conquest of the empire,
although battles and victories were sometimes involved. More
adequate is to think in terms of the Roman administration
incapable of handling the floods of people who wanted some
part in Rome.
o Overall, the Germanic peoples demonstrated a strong tribal
structure, with value given to loyalty and honesty, and a native
pagan religion that was open to the supernatural. Clearly, some
form of Christianity held a strong attraction for them.o Because of their rapid geographical movement, the Germanic
peoples left behind little monumental or literary evidence
of their Christian commitment. It was through Christianity
that literacy came to these tribes. We can review, briefly and
inadequately, the traces of five groups of tribes, whose presence
placed extraordinary pressure on the western empire, finally
overwhelming it completely.• The Visigoths (western Goths) moved from the northern shore of
the Black Sea along the Danube all the way to Spain.
o They were evangelized by Ulfilas for almost 40 years (345–
383) under the direction of the Arian emperor Constantius
II. He was a Greek-speaking Cappadocian who learned the
Gothic language, devised an alphabet for the language, and
then translated the Bible into the “Gothic version,” of which is
extant the so-called Codex Argentum (Silver Codex).