the very best Spanish dramatists, during the best period of the national theatre." Of his more important plays may further be mentioned : Las paredes oyen ("Walls Have Ears") and El texedor de Segovia ("The Weaver of Segovia"). The. best edition is that of J. E. de Hartzenbusch (Madrid, 1852: Volume XX. of the Biblioteca de Autores Espafwles). Consult: Ticknor, His- tory of Spanish Literature (New York, 1849; sixth American edition, Boston, 1888).
ALARD, a'liir', Jean Delphin (1815-88).
A French violinist. He was born at Bayonne,
March 8, 1815. the son of an amateur violinist:
studied in Paris under Habeneck and F^tis, and
won the notice of Paganini when he appeared in
concerts. In 1840, Alard succeeded Baillot as
first violinist to the king, and in 184.3 became
professor of the violin at the Paris Conserva-
toire, a post he held until 1875. Sarasate (q.y.)
was among his pupils. He was a representative
of the modern French school of violin playing,
eompcsed nocturnes, duos, 4tudes, etc., for the
violin, and was the author of an Ecotc dii I'iolon,
which was adopted by the Conservatoire. He
died in Paris. February 22, 1888.
AL'ABIC (Goth, from al. all + reiks, ruler).
The great chieftain of the Visigoths. He makes
• his first appearance in history in 394 a.d., as
leader of the Gothic auxiliaries of Theodosius in
his war with Eugenius; but after the death of
the former he took advantage of the dissensions
and weakness that prevailed in the Eastern Em-
pire to invade (395) Thrace, Macedon, Thessaly,
and Illyricum. devastating the country and
threatening Constantinople itself. Rufinus. the
minister of Arcadius, appears to have sacrificed
Greece in order to rescue the capital, and Athens
was obliged to secure its own safety by ransom.
Alavic proceeded to plunder and devastate the
Peloponnesus, but was interrupted by the land-
ing of Stilicho in Elis with the troops of the
West. Stilicho endeavored to hem in the Goths
on the Peneus, but Alaric broke through his lines
and escaped with his booty and prisoners to
Illyricum, of which he was appointed governor
by" the Emperor, Arcadius, who. frightened by
his successes, hoped by conferring this dignity on
him to make him a peaceful suliject instead of a
lawless enemy (396)- In tOl he invaded upper
Italy, and Honorius, the Emperor of the West,
fled from Rome to the more strongly fortified
Ravenna. On the way to Gaul, in 402 or 403,
Alarie encountered Stilicho at Pollentia on the
Tanarus; and soon after, the result of the battle
of Verona forced him to retire into Illyricum.
Through the mediation of Stilicho, Alaric con-
cluded a treaty with Honorius, according to
which he was to advance into Epirus. and thence
attack Arcadius in conjunction with the troops
of Stilicho. The projected expedition did not
take place, yet Alaric demanded indemnification
for having undertaken it, and Honorius, by the
advice of Stilicho, promised him 4000 pounds
of gold. When, after the death of Stilicho ((].v.) ,
Honorius failed to fulfill his promise, Alaric ad-
vanced with an army and invested Rome, which
he refused to leave until lie had obtained the
promise of 5000 pounds of gold and 30,000 of
silver. But neither did this negotiation produce
any satisfactory result, and Alaric again be-
sieged Rome (409 A.D.). Famine soon rendered
it necessary that some arrangement should be
made, and in order to do it, the Senate pro-
claimed Attains, the prefect of the city, emperor
instead of Honorius. But Attains displayed so
little discretion that Alaric obliged him publicly
to abdicate. The renewed negotiations with
Honorius proved equally fruitless with the form-
er, and Alaric was so irritated at a perfidious
attempt to fall upon him by surprise at Ravenna
that he advanced on Rome for the third time.
His victorious army entered the citj' August 14,
410, and continued to pillage it for three days,
Alaric strictly forbidding his soldiers to dis-
honor women or destroy religious buildings.
When Alarie quitted Rome it was only to prose-
cute the conquest of Sicily and Africa. The oc-
currence of a storm, however, which his ill-
constructed vessels were not able to resist,
obliged him to abandon the project. He died
before the close of the year at Consentia (Cosen-
za), in Bruttium. Legend says that in order
that his body might not be discovered by the
Romans it was deposited in the bed of the river
Busentinus, which was temporarily diverted
from its course, and that the captives who had
been employed in the work were put to death.
Rome and :ill Italy celebrated the death of Alaric
with public festivities. Consult: Hodgkin. /iaiy
and Her Invaders (Oxford, 1885) : F. A. Grego-
rovius. History of Rome in the Middle Ages, Eng-
lish translation. Volume 1. (New York, 1892);
I;. Lanciani, The Destruction of Ancient Rome
(Boston, 1899).
ALARIC II. King of the Visigoths, 485-
507. He succeeded his father, Eurie. He was of
a peaceful disposition, and wished to live on
friendly terms with the Franks. His dominions
were very extensive. Besides Hispania Tarra-
conensis and Btetica. he possessed numerous rich
provinces in Gaul, and formed an alliance, which
still further increased his power, with Gonde-
band and Theodoric, the latter of whom was his
father-in-law and King of the East Goths. At
length, however, he came into collision with the
ti'rankish monarch. Clovis, whose cupidity had
been excited by the extent and fertility of the
territories over which Alaric II. ruled. An ex-
cuse was found for breaking the peace which
existed between the two nations in the fact that
Alaric II. was a zealous Arian. This circum-
stance had given great offense to many of his
subjects, who were orthodox Catholics ; and osten-
sibly to vindicate the true doctrine, the newly
converted barbarian Clovis declared war against
him. The result was fatal to Alaric II. He
was slain by the hand of Clovis himself at
Vouillg, near Poitiers, and his forces routed.
Alarie II. is said to have been indolent and
luxurious in his youth : but this may simply im-
ply that he was not fond of those sanguinary
pleasures which captivated his savage contem-
poraries. He was tolerant in his religious con-
victions. Though an Arian, he did not persecute
the Catholics. He enacted several useful stat-
utes, and kept a watchful eye on all parts of his
kingdom. It was during his reign that the Bre-
viarium Alaricianum, or Breviary of .laric II.
(q.v. ), was drawn up. It is a selection of im-
perial statutes and writings of the Roman juris-
consults. Alaric II. sent copies of it to all his
governors, ordering them to use it and no other.
An edition of it was published by Hiinel (Leipzig,
1849).
ALARM' (Fr. alarme, It. all'arme. to arms, from Lat. pi. arma, arms). In military usage, a
