Who in theworldare the Heruli?¹

The history of the Heruli represents a historical conundrum. Because of the poor state of the sources, caution is required when analysing this subject. However, the peculiarity of the case encourages us to rethink the way we conceive of and describe migrations in Late Antiquity. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach to the history of the Heruli, this article offers a new analysis of the written evidence, identifies a need for different mapping strategies, and offers a possible interpretation of the origins of the so‐called eastern and western Heruli.