JORDAN. See PALESTINE.

JORDAN, HERMANN SIEGFRIED ARNOLD: German Lutheran; b. at Sandau-an-der-Elbe (35 m. n.w. of Brandenburg) July 30, 1878. He was educated at the universities of Erlangen (1896-97) and Greifswald (1897-99; lic. theol., 1902), and after being a private tutor in Deyelsdorf, Pomerania, from 1899 to 1903, was connected with the cathedral-chapter of Berlin in 1903-04. Since the latter year he has been privat-docent for New-Testament exegesis and church history in the University of Greifswald. He has written: Die Theologie der neuentdeckten Predigten Novatians (Leipsic, 1902); Rhythmische Prosa in der altchristlichen lateinischen Literatur (1905); and Rhythmische Prosatexte aus der ältesten Christenheit (1905).

JORDANIS (originally perhaps Jornandes): The first and only Gothic historian whose works are extant; d. c. 560. He descended from a noble family related to the royal family of the Amali. His grandfather had been notary of the Alanic King Candac in Moesia. Jordanis was also notary until his conversion, which probably implies that he assumed an ecclesiastical position. He was probably bishop of Croton, in any case not an Arian, but a Catholic. Vigilius, to whom he dedicated one of his works, seems to have been the pope of that name (538-555), and they were both in Constantinople about 551. Jordanis left two works, a history of the Goths or rather of Moesia, which seems to have had the title De origine et actibusque Getarum,

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and a compendium of universal history, often called De regnorum ac temporum successione, also De breviatione chronicorum, by Mommsen De summa temporum vel origine actibusque gentis Romanorum. The former he dedicated to his otherwise unknown friend Castalius or Castulus, the latter to Vigilius. The history of the Goths, which extends to 551, was written probably in that year in Constantinople or in Chalcedon. The chronicle of the world had been begun between Apr., 550, and Apr., 551, before the other work, but is continued until 552. The history of the Goths shows little originality as it follows closely the lost work of Cassiodorus which seems to have had the same title. Toward the end Jordanis used also the annals of Marcellinus Comes. The style is obscure, artificial, and sententious, but this is undoubtedly due to the source used by Jordanis. The fundamental view of the identity of the Getae and Goths is probably also borrowed from Cassiodorus. The universal history is practically a history of Rome; for the rest Jordanis furnishes merely genealogies and names of kings. The work contains nothing but extracts from other historians.

(WILHELM ALTMANN.)

BIBLIOGRAPHY: His History of the Goths has been printed often, best ed., by A. Holder, Freiburg, 1882. Both his works are edited by T. Mommsen in MGH, Auct. Ant., v. 1 (1882), 1-138, with prefatorial notes, pp. v.-lxxxiv. A very useful list of editions and literature is given by Potthast, Wegweiser, pp. 682-684. A useful article on his life and works is in DCB, iii. 431-438. Consult: L. von Ranke, Weitgeschichte, iv. 2 pp. 313-327, Leipsic, 1884; A. Ebert, Allgemeine Geschichte der Literatur des Mittelalters, i. 556-562, Leipsic, 1889; W. S. Teuffel, Geschichte der römischen Literatur, pp. 1256-1259, 1283, ib. 1890.