Winguric

Winguric of the Thervingi tribe of the Goths lived during the time of most of our other Gothic Heilagmenn, around 375 CE. Byzantine sources called him an “archon of the Goths,” as he was one of King Athanaric’s main commanders. 

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In the year 375, Winguric was ordered by King Athanaric to help him root out the Thervingi Goths who betrayed the Æsir by becoming Christian. To do this, Winguric placed an idol of one of our Gods in a wagon and paraded it through a village in the region of Crimea. Those Goths who showed reverence and piety towards the idol were left alone, while the ones who did not were exposed as Christians. 

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These Thervingi Christians were taken by Winguric to the tent where the other treacherous Goths-turned-Christians were plotting treason and practicing their foreign faith, and the tent was set ablaze with all 308 traitors inside. This event is said to have happened on the 26th of March, 375 CE.

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While we know precious little about Winguric, we do know that he served his king and his Gods with an unwavering sense of loyalty and piety. He, along with many of the noble Gothic peoples, was determined to fight on behalf of the Æsir by stemming the tide of the alien faith of Christianity.