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PDF Teaching Students With Special Needs in Inclusive Classrooms Diane Pedrotty Bryant Ebook Full Chapter
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4
To our special mothers and special brothers.
5
Teaching Students With Special Needs in
Inclusive Classrooms
Diane P. Bryant
The University of Texas at Austin, USA
Brian R. Bryant
The University of Texas at Austin, USA
Deborah D. Smith
Claremont Graduate University
6
FOR INFORMATION:
E-mail: order@sagepub.com
1 Oliver’s Yard
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United Kingdom
India
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Singapore 049483
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America.
ISBN 978-1-4833-1925-4
7
Production Editor: Olivia Weber-Stenis
8
Brief Contents
1. Preface
2. About the Authors
3. PART I: Foundations of Inclusive Education
1. Chapter 1. Inclusive Teaching as Responsive Education
2. Chapter 2. Understanding Learners With Special Needs: High-Incidence
Disabilities or Conditions
3. Chapter 3. Understanding Learners With Special Needs: Low-Incidence
Disabilities or Conditions
4. Chapter 4. Other Students With Special Learning Needs
4. PART II: Planning for Exceptional Learners
1. Chapter 5. Developing Collaborative Partnerships in Schools and With
Families
2. Chapter 6. Delivery of Appropriate Services to Students With Special Needs
3. Chapter 7. Promoting Access to the Curriculum
4. Chapter 8. Assessment and Data-Based Decision Making
5. PART III: Adaptations to Meet Individual Learner Needs
1. Chapter 9. Promoting Positive Behavior and Facilitating Social Skills
2. Chapter 10. Teaching Literacy
3. Chapter 11. Teaching Mathematics
4. Chapter 12. Facilitating Content-Area Instruction and Study Skills
6. Appendix: Professional Standards and Licensure and Common Core State Standards
7. Glossary
8. References
9. Index
9
Detailed Contents
Preface
About the Authors
PART I: Foundations of Inclusive Education
Chapter 1. Inclusive Teaching as Responsive Education
What Is the Adapt Framework and How Do I Use It?
What Is a Disability?
The Deficit Perspective on Disabilities
The Cultural Perspective on Disabilities
The Sociological Perspective on Disabilities
People With Disabilities as Members of a Minority Group
What Are Some Reasons for Disabilities?
Biological Causes of Disability
Environmental Causes of Disability
What Are the Characteristics of Students With Disabilities?
What Are the Origins of Special Education?
Inconsistent Opportunities
Court Cases: A Backdrop for National Legislation
What Laws and Court Decisions Protect Students With Disabilities?
Section 504
Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Court Decisions Defining IDEA
No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)
Assistive Technology Act of 2004 (ATA)
What Is Special Education?
Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
Systematic Identification Procedures
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)
Family Involvement
Related Services
Access to the General Education Curriculum
Evidence-Based Practices
Frequent Monitoring of Progress
What Is Inclusive Education?
Origins of Inclusion
Inclusive Education Practices
The Inclusion Debate
Chapter 2. Understanding Learners With Special Needs: High-Incidence
10
Disabilities or Conditions
What Are the Categories for Students With Disabilities?
How Are Disabilities Organized for Special Education?
Special Education Categories
Severity of Disability
Prevalence of Disability
What Are the Attributes of Students With Learning Disabilities?
Definition
Types
Characteristics
Prevalence
What Are the Attributes of Students With Speech or Language
Impairments?
Definition
Types
Characteristics
Prevalence
What Are the Attributes of Students With Attention
Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?
Definition
Types
Characteristics
Prevalence
What Are the Attributes of Students With Intellectual and
Developmental Disabilities?
Definition
Types
Characteristics
Prevalence
What Are the Attributes of Students With Emotional or Behavioral
Disorders?
Definition
Types
Characteristics
Prevalence
Chapter 3. Understanding Learners With Special Needs: Low-Incidence
Disabilities or Conditions
What Are the Attributes of Students With Low-Incidence Disabilities?
What Are the Attributes of Students With Health Impairments or
Special Health Care Needs?
Definition
Types
11
Characteristics
Prevalence
What Are the Attributes of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders?
Definition
Types
Characteristics
Prevalence
What Are the Attributes of Students With Multiple-Severe Disabilities?
Definition
Types
Characteristics
Prevalence
What Are the Attributes of Students With Developmental Delay?
Definition
Types
Characteristics
Prevalence
What Are the Attributes of Students With Physical Disabilities?
Definition
Types
Characteristics
Prevalence
What Are the Attributes of Students Who Are Deaf and Hard of
Hearing?
Definition
Types
Characteristics
Prevalence
What Are the Attributes of Students With Visual Disabilities?
Definition
Types
Characteristics
Prevalence
What Are the Attributes of Students With Traumatic Brain Injury?
Definition
Types
Characteristics
Prevalence
What Are the Attributes of Students With Deaf-Blindness?
Definition
Types
Characteristics
12
Prevalence
Chapter 4. Other Students With Special Learning Needs
How Are Students With Physical and Cognitive Needs Protected Under
Section 504?
Qualifying for Services Under Section 504
Providing Educational Services Under Section 504
How Can We Best Meet the Needs of Students in Our Culturally and
Linguistically Diverse Classroom?
Definition of Culture
Multicultural Education
English Language Learners
Disproportionate Representation of Culturally and Linguistically
Diverse Students in Special Education
Multicultural Special Education
Effective Multicultural Special Education Programs
Linguistic Support
Validated Instructional Practices
Curricular Modifications
Who Are Students “At Risk” and What Should We Know and Do to
Help Them Achieve Their Full Potential?
Definition of “At Risk”
Some Conditions That Contribute to Risk
Poverty
Homelessness
Migrant Status
Lack of Health Care
At-Risk Schools
Prevention of Risk
Health Care
Educational Practices
What Are the Attributes of Students With Gifts and Talents?
Definition
Types
Characteristics
Prevalence
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Gifted Students
Gifted Students With Disabilities
Gifted Females
Teaching Students Who Are Gifted and Talented
Acceleration
Enrichment
PART II: Planning for Exceptional Learners
13
Chapter 5. Developing Collaborative Partnerships in Schools and with Families
What Are the Characteristics of Collaboration?
Shared Problem Solving
Shared Responsibility
Voluntary Involvement
What Are Critical Prerequisite Skills for Effective Collaboration?
Communication Skills
Conflict Resolution Skills
Awareness of Multicultural and Linguistic Diversity
How Can Professionals Work Together Collaboratively?
The Need for Collaborative Partnerships With Professionals
Models of Collaborative Partnerships With Professionals
Collaboration-Consultation
Coteaching
Collaboration Considerations for English Language Learners
How Can Professionals Collaborate With Paraprofessionals?
Roles and Responsibilities of Paraprofessionals in Collaborative
Partnerships
Supervision and Training of Paraprofessionals
How Can Professionals Collaborate With Families?
The Need for Collaborative Partnerships With Families
Models of Collaborative Partnerships With Families
Family Systems Approach
Parent-Teacher Conference
Home-School Communication
Chapter 6. Delivery of Appropriate Services to Students With Special Needs
What Is Response to Intervention?
Tier 1 (Primary)
Evidence-Based Instruction
Differentiating Instruction
Tier 2 (Secondary) and Tier 3 (Tertiary)
What Is the Evaluation and Identification Process?
Step 1: Prereferral
Step 2: Referral
Step 3: Identification
Step 4: Eligibility
Step 5: Development of the IEP
Step 6: Implementation of the IEP
Step 7: Evaluation and Reviews
Who Are the Members of The IEP Team?
Roles of Education Professionals
Roles of Families
14
Roles of Students
How Do Special Education Multidisciplinary Teams and Services Meet
the Needs of Students With Disabilities?
Highly Qualified Special Educators
Related Services and Providers
What Plans Guarantee Students With Disabilities an Appropriate
Education?
Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSPs)
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)
Transition Components of IEPs
Behavior Intervention Plans
When and How Are Existing Individualized Plans Evaluated?
Change in Services or Supports
What Does Idea ’04 Require During the IEP Process?
Chapter 7. Promoting Access to the Curriculum
What Is Universal Design for Learning?
What Is the Adapt Framework?
Adapt Steps
What Are Effective Instructional Practices?
Planning for Instruction
Types of Knowledge and Critical Thinking
Discrimination
Factual Knowledge
Procedural Knowledge
Conceptual Knowledge
Metacognitive Knowledge
Instructional Techniques
Clustering
Elaboration
Mnemonic Devices
Critical Thinking
Stages of Learning
Instructional Components
Delivering Instruction
Advance Organizer
Presentation of Subject Matter
Practice
Closure
Progress Monitoring
How Can Instructional Grouping Practices Promote Effective
Instruction?
Instructional Grouping Practices
15
Whole Group Instruction
Flexible Small Groups
Same-Ability Groups
Mixed-Ability Groups
One-to-One Teaching
Peer Tutoring
Cooperative Learning
What Guidelines Should Be Followed for Textbooks and Instructional
Materials?
Textbooks
Instructional Materials
Student
Instructional Content and Methodology
Adaptations for Curricular Materials
What Are Assistive Technology Devices and Services for Promoting
Access to the General Education Curriculum?
Assistive Technology Devices
Assistive Technology Services
Assistive Technology Integration
Chapter 8. Assessment and Data-Based Decision Making
Why Do We Assess Students?
Purposes of Assessment
Identifying Strengths and Weaknesses
Determining Relative Standing
Informing Instruction
Determining Program Eligibility
Grading
Determining Annual Yearly Progress
Documenting Progress
Legislative Protection Related to Assessment
How Do We Assess Students With Special Needs?
Technical Adequacy
Norm-Referenced Tests
Progress Monitoring Tests
Criterion-Referenced Tests
Testing for Students’ Strategies
Screening Tests
Diagnostic Assessments
Observations
Interviews
Rating Scales and Checklists
Rubrics
16
Work Samples
School Records
Portfolio Assessments
Behavioral Assessments
Curriculum-Based Measures
Designing Curriculum-Based Measures
How Do We Adapt and Modify Assessments for Students With Special
Needs?
Universal Design for Assessment
Parental Involvement
Adaptation Categories
Input Adaptations
Output Adaptations
Time and/or Schedule Adaptations
Location Adaptations
Academic Qualifications
Adaptations for High-Stakes Testing
Curricular Content
Assessment Issues
Adaptation Issues
Alternate Assessments
PART III: Adaptations to Meet Individual Learner Needs
Chapter 9. Promoting Positive Behavior and Facilitating Social Skills
What Practices Can Be Used to Foster Student Relationships and
Communication?
Get to Know Your Students
Use Motivational Practices
Be Responsive to Cultural Differences
Conduct Student Meetings
What Ways Can Be Used to Communicate Effectively With Students?
Communicate Clear and Consistent Messages
Explain the Rules and Consequences
Explain the Daily Schedule
Provide Good Directions
Describe Transition Procedures
Use Specific Praise Judiciously
What Are Effective Classroom Arrangement Practices?
Physical Arrangements
Traffic Patterns
Seating Arrangements
With-It-Ness
Classroom Observation
17
What Are the Goals of Misbehavior?
How Can Problem Behaviors Be Assessed?
Behavior Identification
Observational Techniques
What Instructional Strategies Are Available for Behavior Problems?
Planned Ignoring
Redirect Inappropriate Behavior
Contingent Observation
Criterion-Specific Rewards
Contracting
Interdependent Group Contingencies
Self-Regulation
Time-Out and Seclusion Time-Out
In-School Supervision
Functional Behavior Assessment
Behavior Intervention Plan
What Is Social Competence?
Curriculum
Sociometric Survey
Sociogram
Role-Playing
Coaching
Problem Solving and Decision Making
How Can Safer Schools Be Promoted?
Guidelines for Safer Schools
Bullying
Chapter 10. Teaching Literacy
What Issues Are Related to Written Communication Instruction?
What Are the Five Components of Reading?
Phonological Awareness
Characteristics of Students Who Struggle With Phonological
Awareness
Strategies for Teaching Phonological Awareness
Phonics and Word Study
Characteristics of Students Who Struggle With Phonics and
Word Study
Strategies for Teaching Phonics and Word Study
Reading Fluency
Characteristics of Students Who Struggle With Reading
Fluency
Strategies for Teaching Reading Fluency
Reading Vocabulary
18
Characteristics of Students Who Struggle With Reading
Vocabulary
Reading Comprehension
Characteristics of Students Who Struggle With Reading
Comprehension
Strategies for Teaching Reading Comprehension
What Are the Stages of the Writing Process?
Instructional Design Features That Promote Success
Develop and Activate Background Knowledge
Discuss It
Model It
Memorize It
Support It
Perform Independently
Engage in Writing Conferences
Prewriting Stage of Writing
Characteristics of Students Who Struggle With Prewriting
Strategies for Teaching Prewriting
Drafting Stage of Writing
Characteristics of Students Who Struggle With Drafting
Strategies for Teaching Drafting
Revising Stage of Writing
Characteristics of Students Who Struggle With Revising
Strategies for Teaching Revising
Editing Stage of Writing
Characteristics of Students Who Struggle With Editing
Strategies for Teaching Editing
Publishing Stage of Writing
Characteristics of Students Who Struggle With Publishing
Strategies for Teaching Publishing
How Can Teachers Provide Effective Instruction and Adaptations
for Reading and Writing?
Chapter 11. Teaching Mathematics
What Are the Attributes of Students With Mathematics Difficulties?
Mathematics Difficulties and Disabilities
Learning Characteristics
Factors Contributing to Mathematics Difficulties
What Is Early Number Development and How Is It Taught?
Difficulties With Early Number Development
Teaching Early Number Development
Counting
Teen Numbers
19
Magnitude Comparison
Numeral Recognition: Fast Numbers
Number Writing: Quick Write
Reversals
Part-Part-Whole Relationships
What Are Arithmetic Combinations and How Are They Taught?
Difficulties With Arithmetic Combinations
Teaching Arithmetic Combinations
What Is Place Value and How Is It Taught?
Difficulties With Place Value
Teaching Place Value
Teen Numbers
Need to Trade?
Are There Enough?
What Is Whole-Number Computation and How Is It Taught?
Difficulties With Whole-Number Computation
Teaching Whole-Number Computation
Rounding
Estimation: The Front-End Strategy
Estimation: The Clustering Strategy
Bean Stick Computation
Alternative Algorithms
Demonstration Plus Permanent Model
Key Questions
Sequence of Instruction
What Are Rational Numbers and How Are They Taught?
Difficulties With Rational Numbers
Teaching Rational Numbers
Sorting Fractions and Decimals
Fractions as Equal to or Greater Than 1
Comparisons
Arithmetic Combinations and Fractions
Money, Decimals, and Percentages
What Is Algebra and How Is It Taught?
Difficulties With Algebra
Teaching Algebraic Reasoning
Fact Families
Solving Algebraic Equations
Order of Operations
Graphic Organizers
What Is Problem Solving and How Is It Taught?
Difficulties With Problem Solving
20
Types of Word Problems
Teaching Problem Solving
Chapter 12. Facilitating Content-Area Instruction and Study Skills
What Difficulties Do Students Demonstrate With Content-Area Instruction?
How Can Teachers Teach Content-Area Vocabulary and Concepts?
Teaching Technical Vocabulary and Concepts
Evidence-Based Instructional Strategies
How Can Teachers Teach Students to Monitor Their Reading
Comprehension?
Teaching Students to Monitor Their Reading Comprehension
Evidence-Based Instructional Strategies
How Can Students Learn From Textbook Instruction?
Teaching Students How to Learn From Textbooks
How Can Teachers Promote Student Participation?
Using Class Discussions to Engage Students
How Can Teachers Help Students With Difficulties in Study Skills?
Teaching Time Management Skills
Teaching Listening and Note-Taking Skills
What Are Ways to Facilitate Memorization and Test Taking?
Teaching Memorization and Test-Taking Skills
Appendix: Professional Standards and Licensure and Common Core State Standards
Glossary
References
Index
21
Preface
22
To Our Readers
We came together to write this text with one main purpose: to help teachers complete their
special education/inclusion course inspired to teach students with disabilities in inclusive
settings and equipped to do so effectively.
With the increased reliance on accountability systems and high-stakes testing, the number
of students who struggle and who are at risk for school failure has become increasingly
apparent to educators. Today, the vast majority of students with disabilities spend more
than 80% of their school day learning in general education classrooms. Unfortunately,
many classroom teachers working in inclusive settings believe they are unprepared to meet
the challenges these individual students bring to the learning environment. So we wrote
this text to fulfill what we see as our two critical responsibilities to our readers:
We hope that by the time you have completed your reading of this text, we will have met
these responsibilities and you will have confidence in your ability to meet the needs of all
students in your classroom. We are confident that with the appropriate knowledge and
tools, all teachers can make a positive difference in the educational lives of students with
special needs.
23
Organization of This Text
The content of this text is organized in three parts. Chapters 1 through 4 comprise Part I:
Foundations of Inclusive Education. Chapters 5 through 8 are the focus of Part II:
Planning for Exceptional Learners. Chapters 9 through 12 cover Part III: Adaptations to
Meet Individual Learner Needs.
24
Part I: Foundations of Inclusive Education
The first four chapters of this text provide an overview of inclusive education and the
nature and characteristics of students with disabilities and special learning needs. Chapter 1
examines the meaning of the term disability, what is meant by inclusive education, and the
key legislation that has affected the development of inclusive classrooms: the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA), the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
(NCLB), and the Assistive Technology Act of 2004 (ATA or the Tech Act). Chapter 2
presents information about high-incidence disabilities—those that teachers are most likely
to encounter in classrooms—such as learning disabilities, attention deficit/hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD), speech or language impairments, mental retardation or intellectual and
developmental disabilities, and emotional or behavioral disorders. Chapter 3 discusses low-
incidence disabilities: deafness and hard of hearing, physical disabilities, low vision and
blindness, autism spectrum disorders, developmental delay, and other conditions. Chapter
4 offers information about student learners whose needs are not specifically covered by
IDEA ’04 legislation, including students who are English language learners, students who
come from challenging living situations, and students who are gifted and talented.
25
Part II: Planning for Exceptional Learners
Chapter 5 focuses on the importance of collaborative relationships with professionals,
paraprofessionals, and families. In Chapter 6, we discuss individualized education programs
(IEPs) and other special services that help teachers meet the needs of their students.
Chapter 7 addresses differentiating instruction to promote access to the general education
curriculum. This chapter focuses on the steps of the ADAPT framework and the four
categories of adaptations and the universal design for learning (UDL), which are then
integrated into Chapters 9 through 12. Chapter 8 discusses the evaluation of students’
learning and how to modify and adapt assessments for students with special needs.
26
Part III: Adaptations to Meet Individual Learner Needs
Chapter 9 discusses the importance of creating a positive classroom environment by
communicating effectively with students, arranging your classroom, teaching social skills,
and addressing problem behaviors. In Chapters 10 through 12, we focus on specific content
areas: reading, writing, mathematics, and content-area reading and study skills. In these
chapters, we present practical, evidence-based strategies for adapting instruction to meet the
needs of all students.
27
Special Features
An Opening Challenge case study begins each chapter. It describes in some detail a
specific teaching challenge at the elementary and secondary level (middle school and
high school), which is then revisited throughout the chapter. Students are asked to
reflect on their knowledge of the subject matter before reading the chapter and are
encouraged to record their responses to Reflection Questions in a journal.
ADAPT in Action sections are integrated directly within the text discussion in
Chapters 5 through 12. This illustrative section applies the ADAPT framework, a
research-validated problem-solving approach, to the student and teacher introduced
in the Opening Challenge scenarios. In these features, the teacher “thinks out loud”
using the ADAPT framework, thus allowing the reader to go through the problem-
solving steps with him or her.
The ADAPT framework charts summarize the ADAPT model and apply it to
practical, oft-encountered teaching and learning topics.
The UDL approach to instruction is integrated in several chapters, through the UDL
in Action feature, with specific lesson activities as examples of how the principles of
UDL can be accounted for as part of instructional design.
Working Together features offer practical advice on how an idea or concept can be
taught using a collaborative approach that involves other school professionals and/or
family members. Questions are posed for deliberation of how professionals tackle
issues together.
Instructional Strategies feature key research-to-practice, classroom-based activities
that are relevant to topics in the chapter. Sample lessons for teaching the skills that
students need to succeed in each area include the instructional objective, instructional
content, instructional materials, a means to deliver the instruction, and methods to
monitor student progress.
Considering Diversity features examine various issues from a cultural or linguistic
perspective; they illustrate how the diversity of our school populations is related to
academic instruction and management.
Tech Notes features provide readers with information about assistive and
instructional technologies that can be employed with students who have learning or
behavior problems. Examples from classrooms are used to show practical
applications.
The Response to Intervention (RTI) model is described in Chapter 6. RTI is a model
for delivering scientifically based schoolwide, multitiered systems of support (MTSS),
which is designed to promote improved academic performance for all students and
minimize behavior problems.
Each chapter closes with a Summary section, followed by Review the Learning
Objectives with answers to help readers review material and assess their
understanding of key topics. Revisit the Opening Challenge questions return
28
readers to the scenarios presented in the Opening Challenge and monitor their
learning of key concepts in relation to the development of the teacher and student
scenarios. Examples of professional standards also are included at the end of each
chapter.
All chapters include Video Cases, with actual classroom footage to help illustrate
how the strategies are implemented, and follow-up questions.
29
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saved. If, as we have a right to suppose, Aetius had no direct part in
this achievement, both he and Marcian were probably indirectly
responsible for it and in fact had far more to do with it than Leo.
Were the Roman armies nothing, then, or the Byzantine threat
against Attila’s communications only a dream?
Not so. Attila retreated because like another Barbarian he “could
do no other,” and even so he dared not retrace his way over the
Julian Alps, for Marcian was already in Moesia, and ready and
anxious to meet and to punish him. He retreated instead upon that
Verona which he had ruined, crossed the Alps there, and after
pillaging Augsburg, was lost, as it proved for ever, in the storm of the
north and the darkness of his Barbary.
FOOTNOTES:
[13] See my “Ravenna; a Study” (Dent), 1912.
[14] So Jornandes who asserts that Aquileia was so utterly
destroyed “ita ut vix ejus vestigia ut appareant reliquerint.”
IX
ATTILA’S HOME-COMING
Such was the return, such was the failure of Attila. He had looked
to hold the world in fee; he returned for the last time across the
Danube his desire unaccomplished, his hopes dead. He had struck
first the East and perhaps ruined it, but he had failed to take
Constantinople. He had struck Gaul and left its cities shambles, but
he had not destroyed the armies of Aetius. He had desired Rome for
his plunder and his pride, but Leo had turned him back before he
crossed the Po. Every attack had ended in a long retreat; if he
brought ruin to a hundred Imperial cities, at last he but achieved his
own. He returned to his wooden stockade in the heart of Hungary
with all his hopes unfulfilled, all his achievements undone, a ruined
man.
That he did not realise his failure is but to emphasise the fact that
he was a Barbarian. To him, doubtless, destruction and booty, ruin
and loot seemed the end of war, he had not even in this his last hour
begun to understand what the Empire was. And so if we ask
ourselves what in reality the enormous energy of the Hunnish
onslaught achieved in the first half of the fifth century, we are
compelled to answer, nothing; nothing, that is, consciously and
directly. Unconsciously and indirectly, however, the restless brutality
of Roua and of Attila brought to pass these two great and even
fundamental things; it was the cause of the passing of Britain into
England, and it founded the republics of the lagoons which were to
produce Venice the Queen of the Adriatic.
Of all this, of his failure as of those strange achievements, Attila
was wholly unaware. He came home like a conqueror to his wooden
palace in the midst of a great feast prepared for him, to be greeted
as Priscus describes he had been greeted before, on his return from
the ruin of the East and his failure to reach Constantinople. He had
made the West his tributary; he was laden with the gold and the spoil
of northern Italy. It was enough for him, and so he made ready with
joy to marry yet another wife, to add yet one more to his concubines;
not that Honoria who would have been the sign of his victory, but one
rather a prey than a prize, pitiful in her youth and helpless beauty,
Ildico, or as the German legends call her Hildegrude, perhaps a
Frankish or a Burgundian princess.
It is said, we know not with how much truth, that upon that long
and last retreat as he crossed the river Lech by Augsburg an old
woman with streaming hair, a witch or a sorceress, cried out to him
thrice as he passed, “Retro Attila!” It is part of the legend which
makes so much of his history.
Upon the night of his last orgy or wedding he had feasted and
drunk beyond his wont and he was full of wine and of sleep when he
sought the bed of the beautiful and reluctant Ildico, the last of his
sacrifices and his loot. What passed in that brutal nuptial chamber
we shall never know. In the morning there was only silence, and
when his attendants at last broke into the room they found Attila
dead in a sea of blood, whether murdered by his victim or struck
down by apoplexy cannot be known. It is said that Ildico had much to
avenge—the murder of her parents and her brothers as well as her
own honour.
From that dreadful, characteristic chamber the Huns bore the body
of their King, singing their doleful uncouth songs, to bury him in a
secret place prepared by slaves who were duly murdered when their
work was accomplished. Jornandes has preserved or invented for us
the great funeral dirge which accompanied the last Barbarian rite. It
celebrated Attila’s triumphs over Scythia and Germany which bore
his yoke so meekly, and over the two Emperors who paid him tribute.
He left no memorial but his terror written in the fire and smoke of
burning cities, and that tradition of “frightfulness” to which Kaiser
Wilhelm II first appealed to his troops on their departure for China,
and which he is practising upon the body of Europe to-day. For upon
his death Attila’s vast and barbaric hegemony fell to pieces.
Enormous revolts broke it in sunder, and e’er many years had
passed the very memory of it was forgotten.
I
AMMIANI MARCELLINI RERUM GESTARUM LIBER XXXI