How Attila The Hun Wasn't As Savage As You Thought

Cancel culture has gone too far. Nobody wants to be remembered for the worst thing they ever did, right? Human beings are complex creatures, and our lives are a tapestry of choices, a labyrinth of paths, some taken, some not. So please, for the sake of decency, let's try to put aside for a moment the fact that Attila the Hun plundered the Balkans, invaded the Byzantines, and changed the face of Europe during his attacks on northern Italy when he forced citizens to flee from their homes and form makeshift communities in lagoons, creating what would eventually become Venice, according to Heritage History. Let's forget for the time being that he killed his own brother, and the way Ancient History Encyclopedia says that his "name was synonymous with terror among his enemies and the general populace of the territories that his armies swept through."

Instead, why don't we let cooler heads prevail and remember that he was also a generous dinner host who dressed modestly. So, you know. There's that.

This information comes courtesy of one Priscus of Panium, a Roman diplomat and historian who had the distinct privilege of dining with one Attila T. Hun, according to History. It was 449, and Priscus and his crew were invited to a banquet in their honor, hosted by the old Hun of a gun himself.

While the guests were fed a lavish meal, fed generously alongside Attila's men with silver platters and everything, Attila himself was surprisingly low key, despite his lavish upbringing (he was born into "the wealthiest family north of the Danube.") His officers had gold and jewels bedazzling their weapons and saddles, but Attila "ate nothing but meat on a wooden trencher...His cup was of wood, while his guests were given goblets of gold and silver ... (his) dress, too, was quite simple, affecting only to be clean."

There's something so humbling about the idea of a merciless warlord dressing down for company. Sort of a 1500 year old moment of "celebrities: they're just like us." It almost makes you sad that he apparently drowned in his own blood on his wedding night four years later after an evening of heavy drinking.