Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 23.djvu/746

Rh Athanaric between 370 and 375 Catholics and Arians stood and fell side by side. The religious quarrel either accentuated, or was accentuated by, political differences, and the rival chiefs, Athanaric and Frithigern, appeared as champions of Paganism and Christianity respectively. Then followed the negotiations with the emperor Valens, the general adhesion of the Visigoths under Frithigern to Arian Christianity, the crossing of the Danube by himself and a host of his followers, and the troubles which culminated in the battle of Adrianople and the death of Valens (378). The part played by Ulfilas in these troublous times cannot be ascertained with certainty. It may have been he who, as a " presbyter Christian! ritus " conducted negotiations with Valens before the battle of Adrianople; but that he headed a previous embassy asking for leave for the Visigoths to settle on Roman soil, and that he then, for political motives, professed himself a convert to the Arian creed, favoured by the emperor, and drew with him the whole body of his countrymen, these and other similar stories of the orthodox church historians appear to be without foundation. The death of Valens, followed by the succession and the early conversion to Catholicism of Theodosius, dealt a fatal blow to the Arian party within the empire. Ulfilas lived long enough to see what the end must be. Hardships as well as years must have com bined to make him an old man, when in 381 he was sent for to Constantinople. The emperor had summoned him, for what purpose cannot be clearly ascertained. A split seems to have taken place among the Arians at Constantinople. Party riots were too familiar there, and a fierce dispute over a theological dogma, however abstruse, placed the peace of the city, if not the security of the palace, in jeopardy. Ulfilas was summoned to meet the innovators, and either by argument or by influence to induce them to surrender the opinion which caused the dispute. His pupil Auxentius describes how, "in the name of God," he set out upon his way, hoping to prevent the teaching of these new heretics from reaching "the churches of Christ by Christ committed to his charge." No sooner had he reached Constantinople than he fell sick, "having pondered much about the council," and before he had put his hand to the task which had brought him he died, probably in January 381. A few days later there died, also in Constantinople, his old enemy and persecutor, Athanaric.

The Arianism of Ulfilas was a fact of pregnant consequence for his people, and indirectly for the empire. It had been his lifelong faith, as we learn from the opening words of his own testament "Ego Ulfilas semper sic credidi." If, as seems probable from the circumstances of his ordination, he was a Semi-Arian and a follower of Eusebius in 341, at a later period of his life he departed from this position, and vigorously opposed the teaching of his former leader. He appears to have joined the Homoian party, which took shape and acquired influence before the council of Constantinople in 360, where he adhered with the rest of the council to the creed of Ariminum, with the addendum that in future the terms and, should be excluded from Christological definitions. Thus we learn from Auxentius that he condemned Homoousians and Homoiousians alike, adopting for himself the Homoian formula, "filium similem esse patri suo." This Arian form of Christianity was imparted by Ulfilas and his disciples to most of the tribes of the Gothic stock, and persisted among them, in spite of the perse cution, hatred, and political disasters it involved, for two centuries. The other legacy bequeathed by Ulfilas was of less questionable value. His version of the Scriptures (see, vol. x. p. 852) is his greatest monument as a way-breaker and a scholar. By it he became the first to raise a barbarian tongue to the dignity of a literary language; and the skill, knowledge, and adaptive ability it displays make it the crowning testimony of his powers as well as of his devotion to his work.

The personal qualities of the man may be inferred from his pupil's description of him as "of most upright conversation, truly a confessor of Christ, a teacher of piety, and a preacher of truth, a man whom I am not competent to praise according to his merit, yet altogether keep silent I dare not."

Literature.—Waitz, Das Leben des Ulfilas, 1840; Krafft, Kirchengeschichte der Dtutschen Volker, Abth. i., 1854; Id., article "Ulfilas," in Herzog's Realencyklopiidie, vol. xvl., 1885; Id., De Fontibut Ulfilx Arianismi; Bessell, Das L&amp;lt;ben dcs Ulfilas, 1860; C. A. Scott, U/ftiat, Apostle of the Goths, 1885. See also "Gothic Language " under.

 ULM, an ancient and important commercial town in Wiirtemberg, and an imperial fortress of the first class, is situated on the left bank of the Danube, in a fertile plain at the foot of the Swabian Alps, 45 miles to the south-east of Stuttgart and 63 miles to the north-west of Munich. The town, quaintly built with narrow and confined streets, still preserves the dignified and old-fashioned appearance of an ancient imperial town, and contains many mediaeval buildings, both of historic and of artistic interest. Among these, besides numerous handsome private houses, are the town-house, of the 16th century, in the Transition style from late Gothic to Renaissance; the Kornhaus and market-buildings; the Ehingerhaus or Neubronnerhaus, now containing the industrial museum; the "new building," erected in 1603 on the site of a palace of Charlemagne; and the commandery of the Teutonic order, built in 1712-18 on the site of a habitation of the order dating from the 13th century. By far the most important and conspicuous building in Ulm, however, is the magnificent early Gothic cathedral, next to the cathedral of Cologne the largest church in Germany, and capable of containing 30,000 people. Begun in 1377, and carried on at intervals till the 16th century, the building was long left unfinished; but in 1844 the work of restoration and completion was undertaken, and has steadily progressed ever since. Ulm cathedral has double aisles and a pentagonal apsidal choir, but no transepts. Its length (outside measurement) is 464 feet, its breadth 159 feet; the nave is 136 feet high and 47 wide; the aisles, which are covered with rich net-vaulting, are 68 feet in height. The massive and richly decorated square tower in the centre of the west façade, for centuries terminated by a temporary spire, is now being completed according to the original plans, by the addition of an octagonal story and a tall open spire, which is to be carried up to the height of 534 feet. The towers of the choir have also been rebuilt in the course of the present restoration; they are 282 feet high. The interior, which is unusually well lighted, produces an impression of much dignity from the great height of the nave, the absence of obtrusive decoration, and the massive manner in which the walls and piers are treated. It contains some fine stained glass, the largest organ in Germany (1856), and a number of interesting old paintings and carvings by Syrlin, Engelberger, and other masters of the Swabian school. The cathedral belongs to the Protestant Church. Trinity Church dates from 1617-21; and there are also a Roman Catholic church and a modern synagogue in the town. The Danube, joined by the Iller just above the town and by the Blau just below, becomes navigable at this point, so that Ulm occupies the import ant commercial position of a terminal river-port. The trade, especially in wood and grain, has an upward tendency; and the Ulm market for leather and cloth is also rising in importance. Ulm is famous for its vegetables (especially asparagus), barley, beer, pipe-bowls, and sweet cakes (Ulmer Ziickerbrot). Bleaching, brewing, and brassfounding are carried on, as well as a large miscellany of manufactures, including hats, metal goods, agricultural implements, tobacco and cigars, cement, paper, and chem icals. The population in 1886 was 33,611.

The various routes which converge at Ulm have made it at all times a strategic point of great importance, and it has long been a fortress of the first rank. In 1844-59 the German Confederation carefully fortified it with walls, ramparts, and ditches, and in 1876 the new German empire added a very comprehensive outer girdle of detached forts, culminating in the powerful citadel of "Wilhelmsburg. The defensive works embrace also the Bavarian town of Neu-Ulm (7823 inhabitants), on the opposite bank of the Danube, united with the older city by two stone bridges. Ulm is thus the basis of operations for the German army behind the Black Forest,