The Ostrogothic Kingdom 23
Catholic Church. The acts of a Roman synod held in 499 show the assembled
Catholic bishops extending acclamations to Theoderic as if to an emperor.27
A famous inscription set up by a distinguished Roman senator celebrated
Theoderic as “illustrious king” and “perpetual Augustus”, showing that even if
he did not openly style himself an emperor, his subjects certainly could imag-
ine him in this role.28 Theoderic and his courtiers in Ravenna used both the
language of kingship and the language of empire to articulate the legitimacy
of the Ostrogothic government. In Cassiodorus’ Variae the terms regnum and
imperium are used interchangeably for both the Italian realm and the east-
ern Empire, sometimes differentiating “our realm” from the “eastern realm”,
but never with an ‘ethnic’ qualification such as ‘kingdom of the Ostrogoths’.
Continuity with the Roman Empire is also conveyed by the frequent use of
res publica, a term which could express both claims to distinctiveness vis-à-vis
other barbarian kingdoms and claims to shared traditions and equality vis-à-vis
the eastern Empire.29 The works of Ennodius likewise display a sense of impe-
rial self-assurance on the part of the senatorial and clerical elite.30
Eastern emperors clearly acknowledged Theoderic as a ruler with legiti-
mate authority over the Italian realm. In his correspondence with the Senate
in Rome Anastasius referred to Theoderic as the “exalted king (excelsus rex)”,
who is entrusted with the “power and solicitude of governing you”.31 Similarly,
Justin I referred to him as “preeminent king”.32 Eastern observers were also well
aware of the ambivalence of Theoderic’s status. The Latin historian Jordanes,
who composed a Gothic History and a brief Roman History in Constantinople
in the early 550s, carefully weighed the language of barbarian kingship against
that of the Roman imperial tradition when he characterized the beginning of
Theoderic’s rule in Italy.33 His writings also alert to the contrast between the
imperial legitimation of Theoderic’s takeover and the idea, which he borrowed
from the chronicler Marcellinus Comes, that the western empire had ended
27 Acta synhodorum, Synod of 499, ed. Mommsen, p. 405; Moorhead, Theoderic, p. 54. See
Sessa in this volume.
28 Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (hereafter CIL) X, 6850–52; Moorhead, Theoderic,
pp. 47–48; Giardina, Cassiodoro, pp. 73–99, who suggests a connection with Cassiodorus
and the court.
29 Suerbaum, Staatsbegriff, pp. 247–67; Giardina, Cassiodoro, pp. 124–31; Prostko-Postkynski,
Utraeque res publicae, pp. 75–101.
30 Ennodius, Theoderich-Panegyricus, ed. Rohr; Näf, “Zeitbewusstsein”; Amory, People,
pp. 112–20.
31 Collectio Avellana 113, ed. Günther, p. 507.
32 Collectio Avellana 199, ed. Günther, p. 658; Wolfram, Intitulatio, pp. 54 n. 103.
33 Jordanes, Romana 348–49; Jordanes, Getica 289–95, ed. Mommsen.