 The struggle for Rome ends in the battle of Mons Lactarius near Mount Vesuvius, where the Ostrogoths make their last stand defending a narrow pass (a scene reminiscent of the battle of Thermopylae) and, once defeated, are led back north to the island of Thule where their roots lie by a kindred Northern European people.The book recounts the struggle of the Ostrogoth state in Italy with the Eastern Roman Empire and describes their doom.The main motif of the book is stated in the poem at its end