Asepcts of Political and Cultural Assimilation in the Fifth Century AD
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Durham E-Theses Romans and Goths in late antique Gaul: asepcts of political and cultural assimilation in the Fifth Century AD RUCKERT, JULIA,MARGARETA,MARIA How to cite: RUCKERT, JULIA,MARGARETA,MARIA (2011) Romans and Goths in late antique Gaul: asepcts of political and cultural assimilation in the Fifth Century AD, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/708/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 ROMANS AND GOTHS IN LATE ANTIQUE GAUL: 7 ASPECTS OF POLITICAL AND CULTURAL 8 ASSIMILATION IN THE FIFTH CENTURY AD 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Julia Margareta Maria Rückert 18 University College, Durham 19 20 21 Submitted for the degree of MLitt 22 Department of Classics and Ancient History 23 University of Durham 24 2011 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 “The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be 50 published without the prior written consent of the author and information derived 51 from it should be acknowledged. i 52 TABLE OF CONTENTS 53 54 55 Abstract iv 56 Acknowledgements v 57 List of illustrations vi 58 Abbreviations vii 59 Illustrations viii 60 61 62 Introduction 1 63 64 Part I. The Question of Gothic identity 8 65 1. Ethnicity and ethnogenesis 9 66 2. The Romans and their views of the Goths 20 67 3. The Goths and the concept of ethnogenesis 38 68 a) The Traditionskern 40 69 b) The Heerkönig 43 70 c) The Traditionsträger 47 71 d) The concept of ethnic self-definition 55 72 73 Part II. Goths and Romans 62 74 1. Questions of leadership among the Goths 65 75 a) Athanaric 68 76 b) Fritigern 74 77 c) Eriulf and Fravittas 80 ii 78 79 2. Alaric 83 80 a) Alaric and the relationship with the Eastern court 88 81 b) Alaric and the West 96 82 c) The sack of Rome 98 83 3. Athaulf 105 84 85 Part III. The Gallo-Romans and the Goths 119 86 1. Athaulf’s succession 120 87 a) Wallia and the question of settlement 120 88 b) The question of hospitalitas 126 89 2. The Gallo-Romans 132 90 a) Paulinus of Pella 135 91 b) Rutilius Namatianus 146 92 c) Prosper of Aquitaine 154 93 94 Part IV. Gaul and Rome 162 95 1. The concept of political loyalty 169 96 a) Aspects of political instability in Gaul 170 97 b) The civitas 179 98 2. Assimilation with the Gothic court 188 99 a) Arvandus 191 100 b) Seronatus 197 101 c) Sidonius and other Gallic nobles 201 iii 102 103 3. The role of literacy 211 104 a) The Roman devotion to classical literature 211 105 b) The barbarian pursuit of literature 220 106 4. Roman-barbarian intermarriage as an aspect of assimilation 227 107 108 Part V. The impact of the Christian Church 240 109 1. The Gallic aristocracy and the episcopate 240 110 2. The Goths, the Franks and the question of Arianism 256 111 112 Conclusion 275 113 114 Bibliography 287 115 iv 116 ABSTRACT: 117 118 The thesis focuses on the socio-cultural interaction between Gallo-Romans and 119 barbarians in fifth century Gaul. Its aim is to investigate how both Romans and 120 barbarians, particularly the Gothic people, shared a common living space within 121 imperial territory, how this space was created, and to which extent both sides 122 assimilated with each other in terms of their cultural and political understanding. By 123 moving away from the argument of brutal warfare as the main means of contact, I am 124 trying instead to look more at the changes of their cultural understanding which 125 eventually would lead to the world of the Middle Ages. The slow emergence of 126 barbarian powerbases created a political world that was different from the Roman 127 empire. The Gallo-Romans had to accept a new political order in which they not only 128 faced the gradual loss of their former positions of political/military superiority but 129 which also challenged their previously undisputed concept of cultural understanding; 130 violent occupation of Roman territory was only one part of this process as there was 131 simultaneously a continuation of Roman literature and culture in general possible. 132 Gradual attempts at assimilation can be seen for example in the continuation of 133 Gallo-Roman aristocratic involvement in the political establishment of the Gothic 134 court, and the increasing role of the Gallo-Roman nobility in the church in general 135 and in the Episcopate in particular. Equally the Gothic side had to adapt their 136 political and cultural understanding to a new concept which was compatible with the 137 Roman administration if they wanted to survive as ethnic communities within the 138 empire; such political/military assimilation not only with the Roman empire but 139 especially with the Gallo-Roman aristocracy was even more important when it came 140 to the establishment of an independent Gothic settlement and eventually a Gothic 141 kingdom in Gaul. v 142 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: 143 144 This thesis would not have been possible without the help and encouragement from 145 various people for which I am immensely grateful: The Classics Department of 146 Durham University and all its staff, Dr Peter Heather, Prof Benjamin Arnold, Dr 147 Roberto Ciapiniello, The Rev Canon Dr David Kennedy, The Rev Dr Stephen 148 Hampton, Prof Martyn Chamberlain, and all my friends and collegues both in 149 Durham and elsewhere. I want to thank especially Dr David Hunt for all his 150 continuous patience, support and guidance throughout all these years. I also want to 151 thank Prof Peter Rhodes for all his sterling support and time, invaluable comments 152 and suggestions. My most heartfelt thanks and a gratitude deeper than words can 153 express I owe to my parents and my grandmother – without their love, 154 encouragement and unfailing support I could never have written this work. vi 155 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS: 156 157 Map 1: Campaigns of Alaric and Athaulf, in Heather, P., 1996, The Goths 158 (Oxford), 140. 159 Map 2: Gaul in the fifth century, in Drinkwater, J. & Elton, H. (eds.), 1992, 160 Fifth century Gaul: a crisis of identity? (Cambridge), xxi. vii 161 ABBREVIATIONS: 162 163 A.M. Ammianus Marcellinus 164 Pan.Lat. Panegyrici Latini 165 PLRE Prosopography of the later Roman empire, Jones, A.H.M., Martindale, 166 J.R., Morris, J. (eds.), 1971-92 (Cambridge). 167 Sid.Ap. Sidonius Apollinaris viii 168 ILLUSTRATIONS: 169 170 Map 1: Campaigns of Alaric and Athaulf 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 Map 2: Gaul in the fifth century AD 185 186 187 188 189 190 1 1 2 INTRODUCTION 3 4 From the fifth century AD onwards, the history of the Roman empire is often 5 associated with the so-called ‘barbarian invasions’. It is an image of wild hordes of 6 savage brutes fighting against the world of ancient civilisation, conquering and 7 destroying it simultaneously. It is an image of the Roman empire being weakened in 8 its defences and therefore lying itself open to be subsequently swamped with 9 countless barbarians, all eager to get a share of the riches of the empire.1 It is an 10 image of Roman cultural superiority desperately fighting against the culturally 11 inferior but military stronger barbarians. Yet such an approach to the history of the 12 later Roman empire poses problems. 13 Firstly it continues many of the prejudices of the ancient world on the nature of 14 foreign, that is to say non-Roman peoples from outside the empire; indeed the very 15 term ‘barbarian’ is a prime example for such xenophobia. Secondly, it bears the 16 danger of regarding the increasingly frequent appearance of non-Roman peoples 17 within imperial borders as a threat to the continuity of the empire as a whole, thus 18 perpetuating a notion that peoples from outside posed in general a threat to the 19 stability of the empire. Furthermore, it implies that the subsequent settlement of such 20 peoples on imperial soil presented a danger to the Roman state by undermining its 21 political and cultural existence. In fact, by asking about the extent of socio-cultural 22 interaction between Rome and peoples from outside the empire, one assumes a 23 concept of juxtaposition between the two sides. Traditionally this has implied a 24 superior status of the Roman side into which the inferior non-Roman side had to be 25 integrated. Following this argument, the slow emergence of the political power of 26 these peoples could then be nothing else than a prelude to an inevitable clash of the 1 See for example Drinkwater (1996), 20-21.