Ulfila was a fourth-century Christian bishop and missionary who first brought Christianity to the Goths. He is credited with having created the Gothic alphabet, and he wrote the earliest translation of the Bible into a Germanic language. In this classic and still valuable short study of early Christianity among the Goths, E.A. Thompson first described the background to the Visigoths' conversion from paganism, discussing their material culture, relations with the Roman Empire, social organization and religion. He went on to detail the conversion and its aftermath and to assess Ulfila's achievement in the earliest history of Christianity among the Germanic people. This second edition includes a new Foreword with additional bibliography by Michael Kulikowski, University of Tenessee, and an additional Appendix: 'The Life of St Saba', translated and annotated by John Matthews, Yale University.
