Theodoric was the son of the Theudemir, king of the Ostrogoths. He was born in 454 AD, and he was given the name Thiuda-reiks, which in Latin meant the people-ruler. This name soon changed to Theodoricus and the boy grew up to be Theodoric the Great. At the age of eight, he was sent as a hostage to the Court of Constantinople, which was then the Eastern Roman Empire. He remained here for ten years, but he did not get a great education. He never attained the skill in calligraphy that was expected of a ruler in his time. When Theodoric was born, the Ostrogoths had recently escaped from the empire of the Huns. They had oppressed them, kicked them out of their homes in Ukraine, transferred them to Pannonia, and took away their grain. At eighteen, he was allowed to return to Italy, where he became leader of...