Ostrogothic Cities 103
involved in the management of city affairs, the honorati were nonetheless
influential. Needless to say, there was considerable overlap between honorati,
curiales, and possessores. More importantly, the Ostrogothic state followed
previous imperial administrative behaviours by governing not only through
these three classes, but also through other actors capable of reinforcing per-
sonal ties between the central government and local community.14 Bishops
had played this role during the later empire and clearly continued to do so
under Ostrogothic rule, but this administrative picture of Italian cities would
be incomplete without mention of two other offices, one of which originated
in the late empire, the other an innovation of Theoderic himself. The first, the
defensor civitatis, was chosen by the consensus of the curiales, possessores, and
honorati, although this appointment also required the approval of the praeto-
rian prefect. The functions of the defensor were primarily judicial, but he was
also involved in the crucial supervision of the gesta municipalia, the register
where all business concerning rights over landed properties were recorded,
thus where the tax rolls and lists of taxpayers were maintained. Second,
the comes civitatis was a Gothic officer appointed directly by the king who
held the military command over the city, and when a Gothic population was
present, acted as a judge in legal cases involving Goths.15 In southern Italy
(especially Sicily), which lacked settlements of Ostrogoths, the comes had
responsibility over the military command of the entire province.16 The roles of
both the defensor and the comes reflect the tendency towards a closer control
of local communities by central power.
This quick overview illustrates the fact that the arrival of the Ostrogoths did
not produce dramatic changes in the criteria that had generated the culture
of town administration in the late empire. Quite the opposite; the peaceful
conditions that Italy enjoyed during the decades of Theoderic’s rule helped
to consolidate the system. The only real innovation was the appointment in
some cities of a Gothic military commander, although even this has a potential
parallel in the late imperial military administration of frontier provinces. On
the other hand, it has been demonstrated recently and conclusively that the
accommodation of the Ostrogoths on Italian territory consisted of the transfer
of actual land (and not simply of tax revenues) whose portions were drawn
from the properties of Roman owners (or confiscated from former supporters
of Odovacer) where Goths settled within the territorial boundaries of urban
14 Laniado, Recherches sur les notables municipaux, pp. 181–5; Cecconi, La città e l’impero.
15 Porena, L’insediamento degli Ostrogoti, pp. 39–57; Tabata, Città dell’Italia, pp. 71–95.
16 Porena, L’insediamento degli Ostrogoti, pp. 107–111.