A
Goth who became a Christian
bishop and
missionary to his people, and translated the
Bible into
Gothic. Virtually no other Gothic is recorded. Ulfilas is a Latinized form of his Gothic name
Wulfila.
He was born about 311, actually of Cappadocian descent, his grandparents (?) having been carried into captivity by the Goths; and was consecrated by Eusebius of Nicomedia in 341 after spending time at Constantinople. He led his converts in migration across the Danube into the safety of the Roman empire. He visited Constantinople to speak in favour of Arianism several times, and finally in 383, dying there.
He had not quite finished the entire Bible, having left to last the more excitable passages from the Books of Kings. He used an alphabet he had invented, modelled on Greek uncials, borrowing also from runic and Latin. Much of the New Testament still survives.