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Exile in the Post-Roman Successor States, 439 – C.650

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Exile in the Post-Roman Successor States, 439 – C.650 Exile in the Post-Roman Successor States, 439 – c.650 Harold Eric Mawdsley A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of History Faculty of Arts and Humanities University of Sheffield December 2018 1 2 Abstract This thesis constitutes the first sustained attempt to examine the penalty of exile in the post- Roman west during the fifth, sixth, and early seventh centuries. Exile had long been a punishment under Roman Law and was frequently imposed in the various polities that replaced the Western Roman Empire. Previous scholarship that has discussed the topic of exile has generally taken a biographical approach, focussing on the impact of the penalty upon specific individuals’ lives, careers, and literary outputs. By contrast, this thesis keeps the subject of exile at the heart of the analysis and looks more closely at the broader legal, political, and social realities of the punishment. One of the central questions that this thesis addresses is why post-Roman kings banished their subjects, arguing that exile’s flexibility and, in particular, its capacity to remove individuals from the political sphere without bloodshed gave the penalty considerable utility. In addition, this thesis looks at the legal aspects of exile, reconstructing the ways in which legislators discussed the penalty in their laws and judges imposed it ‘on the ground’. In doing so, this thesis establishes that there was a high degree of consistency between the theory and practice of exile, whilst at the same time demonstrating that the penalty was often pragmatically adjusted to suit contemporary circumstances. This thesis also examines the lives of the banished to determine the extent to which their experiences corresponded with what the authorities wanted them to suffer. It contends that, although exile proved effective as a judicial punishment and political tool, the penalty was rather less useful as an instrument of religious coercion. Ultimately, by establishing the whys and wherefores of exile through a systematic analysis of the legal and literary evidence, this thesis demonstrates the significance of the penalty to the legal, political, and religious histories of the post-Roman successor states. 3 Acknowledgements The completion of this thesis would have been impossible without the generous support of a number of individuals and institutions. First, I am grateful to the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), which funded my four years of research and writing. I am also grateful to the Learned Societies Fund, the Classical Association, and the Department of History at the University of Sheffield, which provided me with bursaries to attend several conferences over the course of my studies. I owe a considerable debt of thanks to my supervisors, Julia Hillner and Simon Loseby. Throughout my time as a PhD student, they were always on hand to offer their advice and support, as well as timely and incisive comments on my work. I could not have asked for better mentors. I am grateful to Jörg Ulrich who helped make my time in Halle such a rewarding experience, both personally and intellectually. I would also like to thank a number of other scholars who offered feedback on my work over the course of my studies, namely Bob Moore, Anthony Milton, Charles West, Máirín MacCarron, Dirk Rohmann, Jakob Engberg and all the members of the Late Antique Reading Group at Sheffield. As it was nearing completion, my thesis benefitted immeasurably from the critical eye of John Drinkwater and I thank him for his time, support, and considered feedback. Stephanie Wright, Gareth Roddy, Alex Taylor, and Máirín MacCarron proofread chapters that were in their final stages, for which I am very grateful. Any remaining errors are, of course, my own. Finally, I am grateful to all of my teachers at The Mosslands School in Wallasey, and especially to Jason Potts and Norman Lovely who greatly encouraged my passion for learning. Beyond academia, I would like to thank my friends and family for reminding me that there is more to life than exile in the post-Roman west. A very special thanks to Steph without whose companionship, humour, and kindness I would have struggled to finish this project. It is difficult to express the sense of gratitude I feel towards my parents, Myra Brown and Tom Mawdsley, and my grandmother, Eileen Brown OBE. Thank you for all your support and love. I dedicate this thesis to you. 4 Contents Page Abbreviations p.7 Introduction p.9 Definitions and boundaries p.11 The state of play p.16 Aims and approach p.21 Establishing a pattern: Exile in the Roman Empire p.24 Structure and argument p.39 Chapter One: The Penalty of Exile in Theory p.42 1.1 The crimes punished by exile p.45 1.2 The forms of exile p.61 1.3 The victims of exile p.84 Conclusion p.96 Chapter Two: The Penalty of Exile in Practice p.100 2.1 The crimes punished by exile p.103 2.2 The forms of exile p.112 2.3 The victims of exile p.124 2.4 The places of exile p.133 Conclusion p.144 Chapter Three: The Politics of Exile p.147 3.1 Accession to the throne p.151 3.2 Conquest and the consolidation of royal authority p.159 5 3.3 The pursuit of religious unity p.177 Conclusion p.208 Chapter Four: The Experience of Exile p.211 4.1 The journey into exile p.213 4.2 The experiences of offenders in exile p.221 4.3 The experiences of Nicene Christians in Vandal Africa p.238 4.4 The end of exile p.257 Conclusion p.269 Epilogue p.272 Appendix 1: The penalty of exile in prescriptive legislation, 484-654 p.283 Appendix 2: Cases of exile, 439-650 p.316 Bibliography p.366 6 Abbreviations Brev. = Breviarium Alarici Cass., Var. = Cassiodorus, Variae CCSL = Corpus Christianorum Series Latina Chron. Fred. = Chronicarum quae dicuntur Fredegarii libri quatuor CSEL = Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum CTh = Codex Theodosianus Dig. = Digesta Edict. Theod. = Edictum Theodorici Regis Ep. Wisi. = Epistolae Wisigoticae Fulg., Ep. = Fulgentius, Epistulae Greg. Tur., Hist. = Gregorius Turonensis, Libri historiarum X Greg. Tur., Glor. Mart. = Gregorius Turonensis, Liber in Gloria martyrum Handley = Handley, M., Dying on foreign shores: travel and mobility in the late antique West, Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplementary Series 86 (Portsmouth RI, 2011) IFHA = Revue de l'Institut Français d'Histoire en Allemagne Ioa. Mal., Chron. = Ioannes Malalas, Chronographia Ioh. Bicl., Chron. = Iohannes Biclarensis, Chronicon Iord., Get. = Iordanes, Getica Isid., Hist. = Isidorus Hispalensis, Historia Just., Nov. = Justinianus, Novellae Lat. Reg. Vand. et Alan. (Aug.) = Laterculus Regum Vandalorum et Alanorum (Augiensis) Lex Vis. = Lex Visigothorum LHF = Liber Historiae Francorum Lib. Pont. = Liber Pontificalis LRB = Leges Romana Burgundionum Marc. com., Chron. = Marcellinus comes, Chronicon MGH = Monumenta Germaniae Historica 7 - Auct. Ant. = Auctores antiquissimi - Capit. = Capitularia regum Francorum - Epp. = Epistolae (in Quart) - Gesta pont. Rom. = Gesta pontificum Romanorum - LL = Leges - LL nat. Germ. = Leges nationum Germanicarum - SS rer. Lang. = Scriptores rerum Langobardicarum et Italicarum - SS rer. Merov. = Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum N.Just. = Novellae Justiniani Paul. Sent. = Pauli Sententiarum PCBE = Prosopographie chrétienne du Bas-Empire PL = Patrologia latina PLRE = Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire PLS = Pactus Legis Salicae Proc., De Bell. = Procopius, De Bellis Prosp., Chron. = Prosper Tiro, Chronicon SC = Sources Chrétiennes Sid. Apoll., Ep. = Sidonius Apollinaris, Epistulae Sise., Vita Des. = Sisebutus, Vita Desiderii episcopi Viennensis Theod. Ep. = Theodoret, Epistulae Theod. II, Nov. = Theodosianus II, Novellae Val. III, Nov. = Valentinianus III, Novellae Vic. Tun., Chron. = Victoris Tonnennensis, Chronicon Vic. Vit., HP = Victor Vitensis, Historia persecutionis Africanae provinciae sub Geiserico et Hunrico regibus Wandalorum Vita Apoll. = Vita Apollinaris episcopi Valentinensis Vitae Caes. = Vitae Caesarii episcopi Arelatensis libri duo Vita Fulg. = Vita Fulgentii VPE = Vitas Patrum Emeritensium 8 Introduction Sometime in 585/6, a rather heated exchange was said to have occurred between Bishop Praetextatus of Rouen and the recently-widowed Queen Fredegund. Their mutual hatred had begun in the previous decade, when Praetextatus had been convicted of conspiring against Fredegund’s husband, King Chilperic I (r. 561-584).1 For that crime, Praetextatus had been deposed from his see and exiled to an island near the city of Coutances, probably Jersey. Seven years later, Praetextatus, who had whiled away the days composing prayers of dubious quality,2 took advantage of the chaos that followed in the wake of Chilperic’s assassination to escape his island confines.3 After securing his formal restoration to his bishopric from Chilperic’s brother Guntram (r. 561-592), Praetextatus returned to Rouen and resumed his episcopal duties. In an ironic twist, his bête noire Fredegund had also been sent to the civitas of Rouen by Guntram to languish in the political wilderness after her husband’s death.4 Doubtless resenting this reversal of fortunes, Fredegund threatened the bishop that someday he would have to return to his place of exile. Praetextatus was unmoved and retorted: ‘In exile and out of exile I have always been a bishop, but you will not always enjoy royal power. With God’s help I myself have come back from exile and have returned to my diocese; but when you give up your role as queen you will be plunged into the abyss’.5 1 Gregorius Turonensis, Libri historiarum X 5.18, MGH SS rer. Merov 1.1, pp.216-23. 2 Ibid. 8.20, p.387. 3 Ibid. 7.16, pp.337-8. 4 Ibid. 7.19, pp.338-9. 5 Ibid. 8.31, p.397: Ego semper et in exilio et extra exilium episcopus fui, sum et ero; nam tu non semper regalem potentiam perfrueres [sic]. Nos ab exilio provehimur, tribuente Deo, in regnum; tu vero ab hoc regno demergeris in abyssum.
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