[Zerkon,] a Scythian so named, a Moor by race.[1] On account of the deformity of his body and the laughter that came from his lisping voice and his appearance—[for he was a short man, hunched, and had deformed legs; and he displayed his nose and nostrils because he was exceedingly snub-nosed]—he had been given to Aspar son of Ardabur, [2] while he was in Libya. Later he was captured when the barbarians made an incursion into the land of the Thracians and was taken to the royal Scythians.[3] And Attila[4] could not even bear his appearance, but Bleda[5] quite enjoyed not only when he spoke things worthy of laughter but also when he walked and moved his body strangely. And he was with him when he feasted and went on campaign, and he would put on a full suit of armor made to make him look even more ridiculous on the march. Therefore, after he ran away with the Roman captives, Bleda, since he considered him very much a favorite, disregarded the rest of them but ordered that he be sought out with the utmost care. When they caught Zerkon and brought him in chains to Bleda, he laughed as soon as he saw him; and, dismissing his anger, he asked the reason for his flight and why he thought the Roman [court] was better than his own. Then he answered that his flight was wrong, and he had an explanation for his wrong action, namely that he had not been given a wife. Then Bleda, even more carried away in his laughter, gave him a wife from the well-born women, who had been one of the queen's ladies-in-waiting, but on account of some strange action[6] was no longer going to her [as a companion]. So then he continued to live perpetually with Bleda. But after his death Attila gave Zerkon as a gift to Aetius[7] the general of the Western Romans, who sent him back to Aspar.