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Roman Aristocrats in Barbarian Gaul RALPH WHITNEY MATHISEN GAUL STRATEGIES ' FOR SURVIVAL IN AN AGE OF TRANSITION RALPH WHITNEY MATHISEN ROMAN ARISTOCRATS IN BARBARIAN GAUL STRATEGIES FOR SURVIVAL IN AN AGE OF TRANSITION (v) UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS PRESS AUSTIN Copyright © 1993 by the University of Texas Press All rights reserved First edition, 1993 Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to: Permissions University of Texas Press Box 7819 Austin, TX 78713-7819. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Mathisen, Ralph W., date. Roman aristocrats in barbarian Gaul : strategies for survival in an age of transition / Ralph Whitney Mathisen. — 1st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-292-77051-0 1. Gaul—History—SB B.C.—511 AD. 2. Rome—History—Germanic invasions, 3rd—6th centuries. 3. Romans—France—Cultural assimilation. 4. Nobility—Rome. I. Title. DC62.M385 1993 936.4'02—dc20 92—22725 ISBN 978-0-292-75806-3 (library e-book) ISBN 978-0-292-75807-0 (individual e-book) DOI 10.7560/770515 TO MY OWN TWO LITTLE BARBARIANS: KATHERINE WHITNEY AND DAVID ARTHUR CONTENTS PREFACE INTRODUCTION. The Barbarians in Gaul: In Search of an Identity PART ONE. Setting the Stage: Romans and Barbarians in Conflict CHAPTER ONE. The Aristocratic Background of Late Roman Gaul CHAPTER TWO. Gaul, Italy, and Isolationism in the Fifth Century CHAPTER THREE. The Barbarian Settlement: Impressions of Harassment, Interference, and Oppression PART TWO. Immediate Responses: The Disruption of Old Institutions CHAPTER FOUR. The Intellectual Response: Conflicting Perceptions of the Barbarians CHAPTER FIVE. Gallic Traditionalists and the Continued Pursuit of the Roman Ideal CHAPTER SIX. Flight and Dislocation, Emigrants and Exiles CHAPTER SEVEN. Between Romania and Barbaria: The Barbarian Alternative CHAPTER EIGHT. Conflicting Loyalties: Collaborators, Traitors, and the Betrayal of Territory PART THREE. Coming to Terms with the Barbarians: The Restructuring of the Gallo-Roman Aristocracy CHAPTER NINE. The Acquisition of Church Office and the Rise of an Ecclesiastical Aristocracy CHAPTER TEN. The Pursuit of Literary Studies: A Unifying Element CHAPTER ELEVEN. Coming to Terms with the Barbarians CHAPTER TWELVE. The Final Resolution: Aristocratic Options in Post-Roman Gaul EPILOGUE APPENDIX A. Roman Emperors APPENDIX B. Barbarian Rulers GLOSSARY ABBREVIATIONS NOTES PRIMARY BIBLIOGRAPHY SECONDARY BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX MAPS 1. GAUL: Provinces in the Fifth Century 2. GAUL: Selected Cities 3. SELECTED CITIES: Provence and the Rh6ne Valley PREFACE expugnatoris tui ferrum quale producitur ad pugnam, tale reconditur in vaginam, qualis est ante bellum, talis est post triumphum . itaque inter stupenda circa te beneficia dei tui gratias tibi referat celeberrimus triumphator, ut apud arma victricia quieti maneant victi, et illaesa libertas. (FAUSTUS OF RIEZ, SERM. “IN LITANIIS”)1 As of the year AD. 400 several accepted options were open to Gallo-Roman aristocrats? They could pursue a traditional civil or military career in the Roman state. Even if they were of limited means, they still could seek advancement via the Roman educational system. Or they could choose to lead a life of leisure (otium) in the isolated splendor of their estates. The fifth century, however, brought great changes to Roman Gaul. One of the most crucial was the settlement of the barbarians who, in the early years of the century, began to arrive in Gaul to stay in ever greater numbers.3 There has been much debate on just what the significance of the barbarian settlement in Gaul and elsewhere was.4 Some have seen the barbarians as the primary agent of the decline of the western empire; others have played down their impact. One social group that was particularly affected by, and concerned with, the barbarian presence was the resident Roman elite classes.5 As might be expected, their perquisites in particular were threatened by the arrival and settlement of a new privileged group. In some areas of the west, such as Britain, Africa, and even Italy, the resident aristocrats faced some great difficulties in coping with the barbarian advent.6 But in Gaul, elements of the privileged classes of the Roman population were remarkably adept at retaining their rank and status and were particularly noteworthy for their tenacity and durability? Any study of the late Roman aristocracy of Gaul, therefore, must explain its persistent survival. In recent years, one means of doing so has been to minimize the effect the arrival of the barbarians had upon the resident Gallo Roman aristocracy.8 The talk has been either of out-and-out lack of impact, or of accommodation and integration, and of an essentially peaceful settlement. The barbarians often are portrayed as having little effect, and the resident Roman aristocrats as continuing a prosperous existence on their estates, if not actually welcoming the barbarian presence.9 One modern writer has contended, for example, that “Gaul seems to be relatively quiet and peaceful; the roads are open, and travel is not difficult, and . landlords enjoy a leisured ease in their country villas amid the vineyards and olive groves.”10 And another supposes that “the property of even rich natives was normally respected,” and suggests that there is “no compelling reason to speak of a ‘barbarian west.’ ”11 Certainly, few nowadays would contest the view that much of the barbarian occupation of the west was accomplished peacefully and that there was a large degree of continuity. But the following study will suggest that the smoothness of the transition from Roman to barbarian rule and the lack of barbarian impact upon the Gallo Roman aristocracy have been exaggerated. There also is a significant amount of evidence to contest the assertion that the Gallo-Roman aristocracy survived the barbarian settlement essentially intact and undisturbed. Gallo-Roman aristocrats faced a very different world in the fifth century, and many of the changes resulted, directly or indirectly, from the barbarian presence. Opportunities to pursue traditional options were reduced. The gradual withdrawal of the Roman imperial administration, for example, meant the disappearance of most of the traditional secular offices. Even if a Gaul sought service with the barbarians, the rudimentary barbarian administrations offered few office-holding opportunities, and even these not until the end of the century.12 The Germans also appropriated much of the land and social influence. At the same time, the overall level of violence in Gallic society increased dramatically. The world of the Gallo-Roman aristocrats began to shrink. Contact with their aristocratic brethren in Italy and other foreign parts diminished. Even intra-Gallic relationships became more difficult to maintain. Eventually, even the most influential Roman aristocrats were affected by the barbarians.13 This study, therefore, will pay great attention to the arrival and settlement of the barbarians in Gaul. It needs to be stressed, however, that it does not purport to be a history of the barbarians (individually or collectively) or of the barbarian invasions per se. The focus will be, rather, on the overall effect that the barbarian presence had upon the resident Roman population. The social and cultural interactions between Romans and barbarians, and the changes which resulted from them, will be investigated not, as usually is done, from the point of view of the barbarians, but from that of the Romans.14 Some of these changes, as will be seen, resulted only indirectly from the barbarian presence. The fundamental question that this study will ask is, “What kinds of conscious and positive responses did the resident Romans make to the changes in their world?” The changes which occurred in the fifth century will not be interpreted, moreover, in terms of “Roman decline versus barbarian triumph,” or “continuity versus change,” but from the perspective of “response.”15 And response will not be interpreted adversarially, as being equivalent to “opposition.” There will be no insinuation that the Roman response was somehow inadequate because the barbarians “won” (and the Romans, presumably, “lost”). Nor will there be any presumption that the barbarians were the sole cause of the social changes of the fifth century. Some of these changes in fact already were under way before the barbarians arrived. But the barbarians certainly did help the process along, and seem to have imparted a greater focus and sense of urgency to the Gallo-Romans as the latter attempted to redefine their own positions. Indeed the barbarians often served as a catalyst. They wrought extensive changes in the functioning of the Gallo-Roman aristocracy and in the aristocratic mentality without necessarily taking a direct part in them. Sometimes the mere fact of their presence was enough to engender a response. Previous studies of the late western Roman aristocracy have tended either to concentrate on the fourth-century aristocracy, and to treat the barbarian role only peripherally,16 or to focus on the subordinate role of Romans in a sixth-century Europe already dominated by the barbarians.17 Little effort has been made to bridge the gap between the late-fourth-century aristocracy, hostile to the barbarians, and the sixth-century aristocracy, closely affiliated with the barbarians.18 This investigation will help to do so. There will be a detailed discussion of how Gallo-Roman aristocrats perceived their own situation. In order to get as close to them as possible, their attitudes often will be cited using their own words. It will be seen that Gallo-Roman aristocrats were very much in touch with their times. They deliberately reevaluated their circumstances. Just how were they to respond to the newcomers? Different individuals adopted different strategies based upon their personal needs.19 Eventually all Gauls, in one way or another, even the most wealthy and influential, had to make their peace with the barbarians. Some did so sooner, or more effectively, than others. Even, therefore, if one cannot speak realistically of the barbarians collectively, as if there existed some collective barbarian identity, one can identify collective Roman responses to them.
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