GOTHS. 76 GOTTINGEN. age, Boethiiis and Symmaclius, upon the plea that they were engaged in a conspiracy against him. In the disordcis coiisoquont upon the death of Theodoric, the Einijcror Justinian sought to win back Italy to the allegiance of the emperors of Constantinople; and for this purpose he dis- patched Belisarius at the head of an army into tl)at country. In 536 Belisarius entered Rome, which he lie'ld for his master, although invited by the Goths to become himself their King; but all his and his successor's efl'orts to subdue the Goths were at that time utterly fruitless. Totila (541-552), a noble Goth, was elected as suc- cessor to Vitiges, the antagonist of Belisarius, but was conquered in the battle of Tagina, by the Imperial general Narses, in the year 552. In that battle Totila received his death wound, and was succeeded by Teias, wlio did all that" a brave man could to repair the misfortunes of his coun- trymen. It was to no effect, however, for he also was killed in battle in the following year. The Ostrogoths, broken and dispersed by their calamities, henceforward disappear from history as a distinct nation, their throne in Italy being filled by the exarchs of Ravenna ; while the na- tion generally became absorbed in the indiscrim- inate mass of Alani, Vandals, Burgundians, and Franks, who had from time to time established themselves in the dominions of the old Roman Empire. Consult Bradley, The Story of the Ooths (New York, 1888). GOTLAND, got'land. or GOTHLAND (Swed- ish GottJaiid). An island in the Baltic Sea, sit- uated about 44 miles off the eastern coast of Sweden, and forming, together with the adjacent islets of Fare) and Gotska Sandijn, the Swedish Ivan of Gotland (Map: Sweden. H 8). Its great- est length is nearly 80 miles, its greatest breadth about 35 miles, and its area nearly 1140 square miles. The surface is level and the soil fertile, while the climate is comparatively mild. A large part of Gotland is under forests, and the arable land constitutes only about one-fifth of the total area. The chief occupations are agriculture and the breeding of live stock. There is also some manufacturing of lime, and a number of the in- habitants are engaged in seafaring. There are a number of good harbors, of which Slite Hamn is the most important. The population of the liin was 52.781 in 1000. Chief town, Wisby (q.v.). The island was in the possession of Sweden as early as the ninth century. In the Middle Ages Wisby was an important member of the Hanseatic League. The island was taken several times by Denmark, It came back into the possession of Sweden in 1045. GOTSKOWSKI, g6ts-kov'ske, Johann Ernst. See GoTZKowsKi. GOTTENBURG, got'ten-boorK. See Goteborg. GOT'TER, Friedrich Wilhelm (1746-97). A German pnet and dramatist, bora at Gotha. He began the study of law, but was early influenced to Write for the theatre. While at Wetzlar he became the friend of Goethe. Gotter wrote trag- edies, comedies, and songs. He was a great ad- mirer of everything French. Perhaps his best work is Meden (1775), for which Benda wrote the music ( 177S) . His complete works were pub- lished in 1787, and a posthiimous volume, Lit- terarischer Nachlnas. in 1802. GOTTERDAMMERTJNG, get'er-dem'er-ung (Ger., Twilight of the Gods). The last of the four divisions of Wagner's music drama, Der UiiKj des ibetuv(ieii. It was lirst produced on August 17, 1876, at Bayreuth. See Ring of the NlUEI.UNOEN. GOTTERDAMMERUNG. See Raqnaeok. GOTTFRIED, got'fret, JoHANN Philipp. See AiJELiN. GOTTFRIED VON STRASSBTJRG, stras'- boorK (c.1200). The most brilliant of the Ger- man poets of the thirteenth century. Of his personality nothing is known save that he was of good family, and held some high public ollice in Strassburg. His greatest poem, "'Tris- tan and Isolt" (about 1210), is a Cpltic legend that reached Germany from France, and was given by Gottfried the form that has widely in- fluenced later literature and furnished Wagner a subject for a great opera. This poem is in 19,- 552 very polished verses that give to the stoiy of fateful passion a tragic force that is lacking in the French narrative. Gottfried left the poem at the moment when Tristan, parted from Isolt by the jealous uncle and husband. King Mark, has withdrawn to Normandy, and has vainly sought consolation from Isolt of the White Hands. The epic was twice concluded, by Ulrich von Tiirheim (1236), and by Heinrich von Frei- berg (1270), both inferior poets. Gottfried wrote lyrics also, and has been one of the most widely imitated of the German media-val poets. Gottfried's Works are edited by Bechstein (2 vols., Stuttgart, 1881) with an excellent critical introduction. There are translations of Tristan by Kurz (Stuttgart, 1844), and Simrock (Leip- zig, 1855). GOTTHELF, got'helf, .Jeremias. The pseu- donym of the Swiss author Albert Bitzius (q.v.). GOTTI, go'te, Girolamo Maria (1834—). An Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was born in Genoa., where his father was a dock laborer. He joined the Carmelite Order at an early age, and, showing an unusual bent toward physical science, was made professor of mathematics and natural philosopliy in one of their colleges. Later he became provincial, and a consulter of the Roman congregations. His diplomatic ability caused him to be selected for various special missions to South American States, which he fulfilled with success, especially in Brazil. In 1895 he was created a cardinal, and later prefect of the Congregation of Bishops and Regulars. In 1902 he was selected, on the death of Cardinal Ledochowski, as prefect of the Propaganda (q.v.) — a still more important office, practically second in importnnoe and responsi- bility to the Papacy, for the succession to which his name was frequently mentioned, especially as the candidate of the Jesuit Order. GOTTINGEN, ge'tlng-en. An old town of the Prussian Province of Hanover, situated on the Leine, 36 miles north by rail east of Cassel (Map: Prussia, C 3). With the exception of the fourteenth-century Rathaus, containing frescoes by Schaper, the modern theatre, and the famous Giittingen University (q.v.), the town has no buildings w'orthy of mention. Of its many edu- cational institutions, the most noteworthy, aside from the university, are the g^^nnasium. foTUided at the end of the sixteenth century, the peda- gogical seminary, and the municipal museum of
