Arne Søby Christensen

Arne Søby Christensen (born 1945) is a Danish historian. He is an associate professor in history at the University of Copenhagen.[1]

Arne Søby Christensen
Born1945
Copenhagen, Denmark
NationalityDanish
Academic work
DisciplineHistory
Institutions
Notable worksCassiodorus, Jordanes and the History of the Goths

Biography

Arne Søby Christensen was born in Copenhagen in 1945. He received a cand.mag. in history from the University of Copenhagen in 1975.[2] His book Lactantius the Historian was published in 1980.[3] From 1989 to 1998, Christensen was a member of the Danish Historical Society.[4]

The basic contention of this book is that nothing in the first third of Jordanes's Getica has anything whatsoever to do with a history of the Goths.

- Arne Søby Christensen[5]

Christensen received his PhD in history from the University of Copenhagen in June 2002. His disputation was supervised by Ian N. Wood and Niels Lund.[2] His thesis, Cassiodorus, Jordanes and the History of the Goths, concerned the reliability of Getica by Jordanes and the latters alleged chief source, the now lost Origo Gothica by Cassiodorus.[2] In his thesis, Christensen claims that the Origo Gothica and Getica are entirely fabricated accounts without any foundation in Gothic oral tradition, being instead based upon a dubious synthesis of Greco-Roman sources. Christensen claims that the Greco-Romans knew nothing about the Goths until the 3rd century AD,[2] and that archaeological evidence on Gothic origins is useless.[6] On this account, Christensen recommended that the history of the migration period be rewritten.[2]

An English translation of Christensen's thesis was published in 2002 by Museum Tusculanum Press.[7] Christensen's thesis has generated much interest among scholars.[8] It was praised by Walter Goffart as a useful work.[9] Anthropologist Peter S. Wells considered it a significant contribution to the study of ancient peoples of northern Europe.[10] Ian N. Wood considered it an interesting work, although he thought Christensen went to far in denying Gothic elements in the texts.[11] Sigbjørn Sønnesyn considered Christensen's theories suspiciously similar to circular reasoning.[12] Michael Whitby dismissed Christensen's work as extreme and a mere footnote to what has already been written on the subject.[13] Dick Harrison considered Christensen's book interesting, although he criticized its rejection of archaeological evidence and refusal to respond to the views of dissenting scholars.[14]

Selected works
  • Kristenforfølgelserne i Rom indtil år 250, 1977
  • Lactantius the Historian. An Analysis of the De Mortibus Persecutorum., 1980
  • Cassiodorus, Jordanes and the History of the Goths: Studies in a Migration Myth, 2002
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References
  1. "Medvirkende ved dette hæfte". Historisk Tidsskrift (in Danish). Danish Historical Society. 105 (1): 319.
  2. Fink-Jensen, Jens, ed. (2002). København Universitets Årbog 2002 (in Danish). University of Copenhagen. pp. 43–44. ISBN 87-90655-18-4.
  3. Nicholson, Olivier (October 1984). "Arne Søby Christensen: Lactantius the Historian. An Analysis of the De Mortibus Persecutorum". The Classical Review. Classical Association. 34 (2): 322–323. doi:10.1017/S0009840X00104160. Retrieved April 27, 2020.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  4. "Den danske historiske Forenings bestyrelse" (in Danish). Danish Historical Society.
  5. Christensen 2002, p. 318.
  6. Christensen 2002, p. 40.
  7. Christensen 2002.
  8. Bjørn, Claus (June 6, 2002). "Myten om goterne" [The Myth of the Goths] (in Danish). Kristeligt Dagblad.
  9. Goffart, Walter (2006). Barbarian Tides: The Migration Age and the Later Roman Empire. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 285. ISBN 0812200284. I am much indebted to Professor Niels Lund (Copenhagen) for sending me Christensen's workCS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  10. Wells, Peter S. (2004). "Cassiodorus, Jordanes, and the History of the Goths". The Historian. Wiley-Blackwell. 66 (2): 389–390. JSTOR 24452833. Christensen concludes that Jordanes's Getica is a fabricated account... Christensen's clear and systematic presentation makes this book a significant contribution to the literature on the formation of the early historical peoples of EuropeCS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  11. Wood, Ian N. (2003). "Cassiodorus, Jordanes and the History of the Goths" (PDF). Historisk Tidsskrift. Danish Historical Assoiation. 103 (2): 465–484. Retrieved February 27, 2020. I think that Christensen has been too stringent in denying the existence of Gothic elements in the text...CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  12. Sønnesyn, Sigbjørn (2004). "Arne Søby Christensen, Cassiodorus, Jordanes and the History of the Goths". Scandinavian Journal of History. Taylor & Francis. 29 (3–4): 306–308. doi:10.1080/03468750410005719. Peter Heather has argued that Jordanes' account of the genealogy of the Amal family may in part be based on a Gothic tradition. This claim is opposed by Christensen with something looking suspiciously like circular argumentation.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  13. Whitby, Michael (October 2003). "A. S. Christensen: Cassiodorus, Jordanes and the History of the Goths". The Classical Review. Classical Association. 53 (2): 498. doi:10.1093/cr/53.2.498. Retrieved February 27, 2020. This is surely too extreme... [T]he fact remains that this, even if very clearly presented and argued, is little more than a long footnote to Heather's work; only real enthusiasts will feel the need to consult it.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  14. Harrison, Dick (2004). "Arne Søby Christensen, Cassiodorus, Jordanes and the History of the Goths" (PDF). Historisk tidskrift (in Swedish). Svenska historiska föreningen. 124 (1): 139–140. My main objection is Christensen's excessively condescending attitude towards the field of archaeology. An entire field is dismissed in a single footnote... To ignore scholarly opponents is never a healthy strategy, and this unfortunately casts a dark shadow over what is nevertheless a very interesting book.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Bibliography

Christensen, Arne Søby (2002). Cassiodorus, Jordanes and the History of the Goths: Studies in a Migration Myth. Translated by Flegal, Heidi. Museum Tusculanum Press. ISBN 87-7289-7104.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)


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