11. King Theodoric to the Gepidae, on their March to Gaul.

Payment to Gepidae on their march to Gaul.

'We desire that our soldiers should always be well paid, and that they should never become the terror of the country which they are ordered to defend. Do you therefore, Sajo Veranus, cause the Gepid troops whom we have ordered to come to the defence of Gaul, to march in all peace and quietness through Venetia and Liguria.

'You Gepidae shall receive three solidi (£1 16s.) per week; and we trust that thus supplied you will everywhere buy your provisions, and not take them by force.

'We generally give the soldiers their pay in kind, but in this case, for obvious reasons, we think it better to pay them in money, and let them buy for themselves.

'If their waggons are becoming shaky with the long journey, or their beasts of burden weary, let them exchange for sound waggons and fresh beasts with the inhabitants of the country, but on such terms that the latter shall not regret the transaction.'

[Does this payment of three solidi mean per head? That would be an enormously high rate of pay. Sartorius (p. 289) feels the difficulty so strongly that he suggests that this was the pay given to the whole troop, whose number was not large; but 'multitudo' seems hostile to this hypothesis[383]. Possibly the high cost of provisions in the Alpine mountain-country may help to explain this unheard-of rate of pay to common soldiers.]