Theodoric the Goth

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To form such a confederacy and to league together all the older Arian
monarchies against this one aspiring Catholic state, which threatened to
absorb them all, was now the main purpose of Theodoric. He seems,
however, to have remained meanwhile on terms of courtesy and apparent
harmony with his powerful brother-in-law.

He congratulated him on a second victorious campaign against the
Alamanni (about 503 or 504), and he took some trouble to comply with a
request, which Clovis had made to him, to find out a skilful harper who
might be sent to his court. The letter[96] which relates to this
transaction is a curious specimen of Cassiodorus' style. It is addressed
to the young philosopher Boethius, a man whose varied accomplishments
adorned the middle period of the reign of Theodoric, and whose tragical
death was to bring sadness over its close. To this man, whose knowledge
of the musical art was pre-eminent in his generation, Cassiodorus
addresses one of the longest letters in his collection (it would occupy
about six pages of an ordinary octavo), only one or two sentences of
which relate to the business in hand. The letter begins: "Since the king
of the Franks, attracted by the fame of our banquets, has with earnest
prayers besought us to send him a harper (_citharoedus_), our only hope
of executing his commission lies in you, whom we know to be accomplished
in musical learning. For it will be easy for you to choose a
well-skilled man, having yourself been able to attain to that high and
abstruse study". Then follow a string of reflections on the soothing
power of music, a description of the five "modes" [97] (Dorian,
Phrygian, Aeolian, Ionian, and Lydian) and of the diapason; instances of
the power of music drawn from the Scriptures and from heathen mythology,
a discussion on the harmony of the spheres, and a doubt whether the
enjoyment of this "astral music" be rightly placed among the delights of
heaven. At length the marvellous state-paper draws to a close, "But
since we have made this pleasing digression[98] (because it is always
agreeable to talk about learning with learned men) let your Wisdom
choose out for us the best harper of the day, for the purpose that we
have mentioned. Herein will you accomplish a task somewhat like that of
Orpheus, when he with sweet sounds tamed the fierce hearts of savage
creatures. The thanks which we owe you will be expressed by liberal
compensation, for you obey our rule, and to the utmost of your power
render it illustrious by your attainments".

[Footnote 96: Var., ii., 40.]

[Footnote 97: Toni]

[Footnote 98: "Voluptuosa digressio".]

Evidently the court of Theodoric was regarded as a centre of light and
civilisation by his Teutonic neighbours, the lords of the new kingdoms
to the north of him. King Gundobad desired to become the possessor of a
_clepsydra_ or water-clock, such as had long been used in Athens and
Rome, to regulate the time allotted to the orators in public debates. He
also wished to obtain an accurately graduated sun-dial. For both he made
request to Theodoric, and again[99] the universal genius Boethius was
applied to, Cassiodorus writes him, in his master's name, a letter which
gives us some interesting information as to the past career of Boethius,
and then proceeds to give a specification of the required machines, in
language so magnificent as to be, at any rate to modern mechanicians,
hopelessly unintelligible. Then a shorter letter, to accompany the clock
and dial, is written to King Gundobad. This letter, which is written in
a slightly condescending tone, says that the tie of affinity between the
two kings makes it right that Gundobad should receive benefits from
Theodoric: "Let Burgundy under your sway learn to examine the most
curious objects, and to praise the inventions of the ancients. Through
you she is laying aside her old barbarian tastes, and while she admires
the prudence of her King she rightly desires the works of wise men of
old. Let her mark out the different intervals of the day by her actions:
let her in the most fitting manner assign the occupation of each hour.
This is to lead the true human life, as distinguished from that of the
brutes, who know the flight of time only by the cravings of their
appetites".

[Footnote 99: Strictly speaking not "again" but "previously", for the
letter about the water-clock precedes the letter about the harper.]

A time, however, was approaching when this pleasant interchange of
courtesies between the three sovereigns, Ostrogothic, Frankish, and
Burgundian, was to be succeeded by the din of wan Alaric the Visigoth,
alarmed at the victorious progress of the Frankish king, sent a message
to this effect: "If my brother is willing, let him consider my proposal
that, by the favour of God, we should have an interview with one
another". Clovis accepted the offer, and the two kings met on an island
in the Loire near Amboise.[100] But either no alliance could be formed,
owing to religious differences, or the treaty so made was too weak for
the strain which it had to bear, and it became manifest before long that
war would soon break out between "Francia" and "Gothia".

[Footnote 100: We have no date given us for this meeting, and the whole
sequence of events between the Burgundian and Visigothic wars of Clovis
(500-507) can only be stated conjecturally.]

Theodoric exerted himself strenuously to prevent the impending struggle,
which, as he too surely foresaw, would bring only disaster to his
Visigothic allies. He caused his eloquent secretary to write letters to
Clovis, to Alaric, to Gundobad, to the neighbours of the Franks on their
eastern border, the kings of the Heruli, the Warni, and the Thuringians.
To Clovis he dilated on the horrors which war brings upon the
inhabitants of the warring lands, who have a right to expect that the
kinship of their lords will keep them at peace. A few paltry words were
no sufficient cause of war between two such monarchs, and it was the act
of a passionate and hot-headed man to be mobilising his troops while he
was sending his first embassy. To Alaric he sent an earnest warning
against engaging in war with Clovis: "You are surrounded by an
innumerable multitude of subjects, and you are proud of the remembrance
of the defeat of Attila, but war is a terribly dangerous game, and you
know not how the long peace may have softened the warlike fibre of your
people". He besought Gundobad to join with him in preserving peace
between the combatants, to each of whom he had offered his arbitration.
"It behoves us old, men to moderate the wrath of the royal youths, who
should reverence our age, though they are still in the flower of their
hot youth".[101] The kings of the barbarians were reminded of the
friendship which Alaric's father, Euric, had shown them in old days, and
invited to join in a "League of Peace", in order to check the lawless
aggressions of Clovis, which threatened danger to all.

[Footnote 101: There is some difficulty in understanding this remark
about the relative ages of the sovereigns If we put the date of the
letters at 506 (and a later date is hardly possible, nor one more than
two or three years earlier), though Gundobad might well be over sixty,
Theodoric himself could be only fifty-two, while on the other hand the
"regii juvenes", Clovis and Alaric, were about forty. But _senex_ and
_juvenis_ are expressions often used with no great exactness; and I
conjecture that the cares and struggles of Theodoric's early manhood had
made him an old man before his time.]

The diplomatic action of Theodoric was powerless to avert the war;
possibly even it may have stimulated Clovis to strike rapidly before a
hostile coalition could be formed against him.

At an assembly of his nation (perhaps the "Camp of March") in the early
part of 507, he impetuously declared: "I take it grievously amiss that
these Arians should hold so large a part of Gaul. Let us go and overcome
them with God's help, and bring the land into subjection to us". The
saying pleased the whole multitude, and the collected army inarched
southward to the Loire. On their way they passed through the territory
owned by the monastery of St. Martin of Tours, the greatest saint of
Gaul. Here the king commanded them to abstain religiously from all
depredations, taking only grass for their horses, and water from the
streams. One of the soldiers, finding a quantity of hay in the
possession of a peasant, took it from him, arguing that hay was grass,
and so came within the permitted exception. He was, however, at once cut
down with a sword, the king exclaiming. "What hope shall we have of
victory if we offend the blessed Martin?" Having first prayed for a
sign, Clovis sent his messengers with gifts to the great basilica of
Tours, and behold! when these messengers set foot in the sacred
building, the choristers were singing an antiphon, taken from the 18th
Psalm: "Thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle, thou hast
subdued under me those that rose up against me".

Meanwhile, Alaric, taken at unawares, short of men and short of money,
was endeavouring to remedy the latter deficiency by a depreciation of
the currency. To swell his slender battalions he evidently looked to his
father-in-law, Theodoric, whose peace-making letter had ended with these
words: "We look upon your enemy as the common enemy of all. Whoever
strives against you will rightly have to deal with me, as a foe". Yet
notwithstanding this assurance, no Ostrogothic troops came at this time
to the help of the Visigoths. In the great dearth of historical
material, our account of these transactions has to be made up from
scattered and fragmentary notices, which do not enable us to explain
this strange inaction of so true-hearted an ally. It is not imputed to
him as a fault by any contemporary authority, and it seems reasonable to
suppose that not the will, but the power, to help his menaced son-in-law
was wanting. One alarming change in the situation had revealed itself
since Theodoric ordered his secretary to write the letters recommending
an anti-Frankish confederacy of kings. Gundobad the Burgundian was now
the declared ally of Clovis, and promised himself a share of the spoil.
So powerful an enemy on the flank, threatening the communications of the
two Gothic states, may very probably have been the reason why no timely
succour was sent from Ravenna to Toulouse.

Clovis and his Frankish host, hungering for the spoil, pressed forwards,
and succeeded, apparently without opposition, in crossing the broad
river Loire. Alaric had taken up a strong position at the Campus
Vogladensis (_Vouille: dep. Vienne_), about ten miles from Poitiers.
Here he wished to remain on the defensive till the expected succours
from Theodoric could arrive, but his soldiers, confident in their power
to beat the Franks unassisted, began to revile their king's over-caution
and his father-in-law's delay, and forced Alaric to fight.[102] The
Goths began hurling their missile weapons, but the daring Franks rushed
in upon them and commenced a hand-to-hand encounter, in which they were
completely victorious. The Goths turned to flee, and Clovis, riding up
to where Alaric was fighting, slew him with his own hand. He himself had
immediately afterwards a narrow escape from two of the enemy, who,
coming suddenly upon him, thrust their long spears at him, one on each
side. The strength of his coat of mail, however, and the speed of his
horse saved him from a disaster which might possibly even then have
turned the tide of victory.

[Footnote 102: This statement as to the battle being forced on, contrary
to the wishes of Alaric, rests only on the authority of Procopius, not a
contemporary author, and not very well informed as to the events of this
campaign.]

The result of this battle was the complete overthrow of the Visigothic
kingdom of Toulouse. In a certain sense it survived, and for two
centuries played a great part in Europe as the Spanish kingdom of
Toledo, but, as competitors for dominion in Gaul, the Visigoths
henceforward disappear from history. There seems to have been a certain
want of toughness in the Visigothic fibre, a tendency to rashness
combined with a tendency to panic, which made it possible for their
enemies to achieve a complete triumph over them in a single battle.
(376) Athanaric staked his all on one battle with the Huns, and lost, by
the rivers of Bessarabia. (507) Alaric II., as we have seen, staked his
all on one battle with the Franks, and lost, on the Campus Vogladensis.
(701) Two centuries later Roderic staked his all upon one battle with
the Moors, and lost, at Xeres de la Frontera.

All through the year 507 the allied forces of Franks and Burgundians
seem to have poured over the south-west and south of Gaul, annexing
Angouleme, Saintonge, Auvergne, and Gascony to the dominions of Clovis,
and Provence to the dominions of Gundobad. Only the strong city of
Aries, and perhaps the fortress of Carcassonne (that most interesting
relic of the early Middle Ages, which still shows the handiwork of
Visigothic kings in its walls), still held out for the son of Alaric.

In 508 the long delayed forces of Theodoric appeared upon the scene
under his brave general, Tulum, and dealt some severe blows at the
allied Frankish and Burgundian armies. In 509 another army, under Duke
Mammo, crossed the Cottian Alps near Briancon, laid waste part of
Dauphine, and probably compelled a large detachment of the Burgundian
army to return for the defence of their homes. And lastly, in 510,
Theodoric's general, Ibbas, inflicted a crushing defeat on the allied
armies, leaving, it is said, thirty thousand Franks dead upon the field.
The number is probably much exaggerated (as these historical bulletins
are apt to be), but there can be no doubt that a great and important
victory was won by the troops of Theodoric. The immediate result of this
victory was the raising of the siege of Aries, whose valiant defenders
had held out against storm and blockade, famine and treachery within,
Franks and Burgundians without, for the space of two years and a half.
Ultimately, and perhaps before many months had passed, the victory of
Ibbas led to a cessation of hostilities, if not to a formal treaty of
peace, between the three powers which disputed the possession of Gaul.
The terms practically arranged were these. Clovis remained in possession
of far the largest part of Alaric's dominions, Aquitaine nearly up to
the roots of the Pyrenees, and so much of Languedoc (including Toulouse,
the late capital of the Visigoths) as lay west of the mountains of the
Cevennes. Theodoric obtained the rest of Languedoc and Provence, the
first province being deemed to be a part of the Visigothic, the second
of the Ostrogothic, dominions, Gundobad obtained nothing, but lost some
towns on his southern frontier--a fitting reward for his tortuous and
shifty policy.

In the meantime something like civil war had been waged on the other
side of the Pyrenees for the Spanish portion of the Visigothic
inheritance. Alaric, slain on the field of Vouille, had left two sons,
one Amalaric, his legitimate heir and the grandson of Theodoric, but
still a child, the other a young man, but of illegitimate birth, named
Gesalic. This latter was, on the death of his father, proclaimed king by
some fraction of the Visigothic people. Had Gesalic shown courage and
skill in winning back the lost inheritance of his father, Theodoric,
whose own descent was not legitimate according to strict church law,
would not, perhaps, have interfered with his claim to the succession.
But the young man was as weak and cowardly as his birth was base, and
the strenuous efforts of Theodoric, seconded probably by many of the
Visigoths who had first acclaimed him as king, were directed to getting
rid of this futile pretender. Gesalic, defeated by Gundobad at Narbonne
(which, for a time, became the possession of the Burgundians), fled over
the Pyrenees to Barcelona, and from thence across the sea to Carthage.
Thrasamund, king of the Vandals, aided him with money and promised him
support, being probably deceived by the glozing tongue of Gesalic, and
looking upon him simply as a brave young Visigoth battling for his
rightful inheritance with the Franks. A correspondence followed between
Ravenna and Carthage, in which Theodoric bitterly complained of the
protection given by his brother-in-law to an intriguer and a rebel; and,
on the receipt of Theodoric's letter, Thrasamund at once disclaimed all
further intention of helping the pretender and sent rich presents to his
offended kinsman, which Theodoric graciously returned. Gesalic again
appeared in Barcelona, still doubtless wearing the insignia of kingship,
but was defeated by the same Duke Ibbas who had raised the siege of
Aries, and, fleeing into Gaul, probably in order to claim the protection
of the enemy of his house, King Gundobad, he was overtaken by the
soldiers of Theodoric near the river Durance, and was put to death by
his captors. Thus there remained but one undisputed heir to what was
left of the great Visigothic kingdom, the little child Amalaric,
Theodoric's grandson. He was brought up in Spain, but, apparently with
the full consent of the Visigothic people, his grandsire assumed the
reins of government, ruling in his own name but with a tacit
understanding that Amalaric and no other should succeed him.

(510-525) There was thus for fifteen years a combination of states which
Europe has not witnessed before or since, though Charles V. and some of
his descendants were not far from achieving it. All of Italy and all of
Spain (except the north-west corner, which was held by the Suevi) obeyed
the rule of Theodoric, and the fair regions of Provence and
Languedoc,[103] acknowledging the same master, were the ligament that
united them. Of the character of the government of Theodoric in Spain,
history tells us scarcely anything; but there is reason to think that it
was as wise and beneficent as his government of Italy, its chief fault
being probably the undue share of power which was grasped by the
Ostrogothic minister Theudis, whom Theodoric had appointed as guardian
to his grandson, and who, having married a wealthy Spanish lady, assumed
a semi-royal state, and became at last so mighty that Theodoric himself
did not dare to insist upon the recall which he had veiled under the
courteous semblance of an invitation to his palace at Ravenna.

[Footnote 103: East of the Cevennes.]

Thus then the policy of Theodoric towards his kinsmen and
co-religionists in Gaul had failed, but it had not been a hopeless
failure. He had missed, probably through no fault of his own, through
the rashness of Alaric and the treachery of Gundobad, the right moment
for saving the kingdom of Toulouse from shipwreck, but he had vindicated
in adversity the honour of the Gothic name, and he had succeeded in
saving a considerable part of the cargo which the stately vessel had
carried.

[Illustration: COIN OF THE GOTHIC KINGDOM IN ITALY.]

[Illustration: Graphic]

CHAPTER XI.

ANASTASIUS.

Anastasius, the Eastern Emperor--His character--His disputes with his
subjects--Theodoric and the king of the Gepidse--War of Sinnium and its
consequences--Raid on the coast of Italy--Reconciliation between the
courts of Ravenna and Constantinople--Anastasius confers on Clovis the
title of Consul--Clovis removes many of his rivals--Death of
Clovis--Death of Anastasius.

In order to complete our survey of the foreign policy of the great
Ostrogoth, we must now consider the relations which existed between him
and the majestic personage who, though he had probably never set foot in
Italy, was yet always known in the common speech of men as "The Roman
Emperor". It has been already said that Zeno, the sovereign who bore
this title when Theodoric started for Italy, died before his final
victory, and that it was his successor, Anastasius, with whom the
tedious negotiations were conducted which ended (497) in a recognition,
perhaps a somewhat grudging recognition, by the Emperor of the right of
the Ostrogothic king to rule in Italy.

Anastasius, who was Theodoric's contemporary during twenty-five years of
his reign, was already past sixty when the widowed Empress Ariadne chose
him for her husband and her Emperor, and he had attained the age of
eighty-eight when his harassed life came to a close. A man of tall
stature and noble presence, a wise administrator of the finances of the
Empire, and therefore one who both lightened taxation and accumulated
treasure, a sovereign who chose his servants well and brought his only
considerable war, that with Persia, to a successful issue, Anastasius
would seem to be an Emperor of whom both his own subjects and posterity
should speak favourably. Unfortunately, however, for his fame he became
entangled in that most wearisome of theological debates, which is known
as the Monophysite controversy. In this controversy he took an unpopular
side; he became embroiled with the Roman Pontiff, and estranged from his
own Patriarch of Constantinople. Opposition and the weariness of age
soured a naturally sweet temper, and he was guilty of some harsh
proceedings towards his ecclesiastical opponents. Even worse than his
harshness (which did not, even on the representations of his enemies,
amount to cruelty) was a certain want of absolute truthfulness, which
made it difficult for a beaten foe to trust his promises of forgiveness,
and thus caused the fire of civil discord, once kindled, to smoulder on
almost interminably. The religious party to which he belonged had
probably the majority of the aristocracy of Constantinople on its side,
but the mob and the monks were generally against Anastasius, and some
scenes very humiliating to the Imperial dignity were the consequence of
this antagonism.

(511) Once, when he had resolved on the deposition of the orthodox
Patriarch of Constantinople, Macedonius, so great a tempest of popular
and theological fury raged through the city, that he ordered the great
gates of his palace to be barred and the ships to be made ready at what
is now called Seraglio Point, intending to seek safety in flight. A
humiliating reconciliation with the Patriarch, the order for whose
banishment he rescinded, saved him from this necessity. The citizens and
the soldiers poured through the streets shouting triumphantly: "Our
father is yet with us!" and the storm for the time abated. But the
Emperor had only appeared to yield, and some months later he stealthily
but successfully carried into effect his design for the banishment of
Macedonius. Again, the next year, a religious faction-fight disgraced
the capital of the Empire.

(511) The addition of the words "Who wast crucified for us" to the
chorus of the Te Deum, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty", goaded the
orthodox but fanatical mob to madness. For three days such scenes as
London saw during Lord George Gordon's "No Popery" riots were enacted in
the streets of Constantinople. The palaces of the heterodox ministers
were burned, their deaths were eagerly demanded, the head of a monk,
who was supposed to be responsible for the heretical addition to the
hymn, was carried round the city on a pole, while the murderers shouted:
"Behold the head of an enemy to the Trinity!" Then the statues of the
Emperor were thrown down, an act of insurrection which corresponded to
the building of barricades in the revolutions of Paris, and loud voices
began to call for the proclamation of a popular general as Augustus.
Anastasius this time dreamed not of flight, but took his seat in the
_podium_[104] at the Hippodrome, the great place of public meeting for
the citizens of Constantinople. Thither, too, streamed the excited mob,
fresh from their work of murder and pillage, shouting with hoarse voices
the line of the Te Deum in its orthodox form. A suppliant, without his
diadem, without his purple robe, the white-haired Anastasius, eighty-two
years of age, sat meekly on his throne, and bade the criers declare that
he was ready to lay down the burden of the Empire if the citizens would
decide who should assume it in his stead. The humiliation was accepted,
the clamorous mob were not really of one mind as to the election of a
successor, and Anastasius was permitted still to reign and to reassume
the diadem, which has not often encircled a wearier or more uneasy head.

[Footnote 104: The Imperial box.]

Such an Emperor as this, at war with a large part of his subjects, and
suspected of heresy by the great body of the Catholic clergy, was a much
less formidable opponent for Theodoric than the young and warlike
Clovis, with his rude energy, and his unquestioning if somewhat
truculent orthodoxy. Moreover, at this time, independently of these
special causes of strife, there was a chronic schism between the see of
Rome and the see of Constantinople (precursor of that great schism
which, three centuries later, finally divided the Eastern and Western
Churches), and this schism, though it did not as yet lead to the actual
excommunication of Anastasius,[105] caused him to be looked upon with
coldness and suspicion by the successive Popes of Rome, and made the
rule of Theodoric, avowed Arian as he was, but anxious to hold the
balance evenly between rival churches, far more acceptable at the
Lateran than that of the schismatic partisan Anastasius.

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