How did it come about that <<Visigoths>> got equated with
<<barbarians>>? History tells us (or used to, until someone
changed it) that - except for the fact that they were not
Romans - they were rather "civilized." Same with <<Vandals>>.
Does all this trace from Gibbon's interpretation? If so, what
about the commentator on Gibbon who spoke of the fascination of
reading him and "watching the Romans degenerate into Italians?"