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The Amali – also called Amals, Amalings or Amalungs – were a leading dynasty of the Goths, a Germanic people who confronted the Roman Empire during the decline of the Western Roman Empire. They eventually became the royal house of the Ostrogoths and founded the Ostrogothic Kingdom.
Now the first of these heroes, as they themselves relate in their legends, was Gapt, who begat Hulmul. And Hulmul begat Augis; and Augis begat him who was called Amal, from whom the name of the Amali comes. Athal begat Achiulf and Oduulf. Now Achiulf begat Ansila and Ediulf, Vultuulf and Ermanaric.
This provides the following stemma for the earliest rulers of the Goths, before outlining in more detail the two divisions that arose from the son, Achiulf of Athal, the last in this early lineage:
Gapt or Gaut is the Scandinavian god of war. Hulmul or Humli-Hulmul, is considered the divine father of the Danish people. Ermanaric (also referred to as Ermanaricus or Hermanaric), is identified as a king who ruled territories in modern Ukraine. Ermanaric signals the tenth generation, and the first generation to be backed by historical record.
A separate branch of the family were members of the Visigoths. Sigeric, a brief usurper to the Visigothic throne in 415, may have been a member of the Amali. The Visigothic Eutharic married Theoderic's daughter Amalasuntha, and is said to have been an Amal by Cassiodorus and Jordanes; however, it is more likely that this was a fictitious claim designed to bolster Athalaric's legitimacy.Gerda Heydemann, "The Ostrogothic Kingdom: Ideologies and Transitions" in J. Arnold and K. Sessa (eds), A Companion to Ostrogothic Italy (Leiden, 2016), p. 30. Jordanes states "Hermanaric, the son of Achiulf, begat Hunimund, and Hunimund begat Thorismud. Now Thorismud begat Beremud, Beremud begat Veteric, and Veteric likewise begat Eutharic."
The last attested member of the Amali house was Theodegisclus, son of Theodahad.
Jordanes, possibly drawing upon Cassiodorus' Origo Gothica, describes the Goths moving to the Black Sea, where they split into two factions, the Amali, who would later become the Ostrogoths, and the Balthi, who become the Visigoths. Both the Amali and the Balthi are recalled as families of "kings and heroes." However, Wolfram has argued that the tradition of the Amal was popular even before the time of Cassiodorus. This is shown in the naming of the royals, like Theodoric's daughters, Ostrogotho and Amalasuntha, and his sister, Amalafrida, who were all given Amal names.
Via Amerigo Vespucci (the Italian version of "Amalaric," or " Amal ruler"), the Amali were the ultimate namesakes of the Americas.
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