536 Glossary of Select Sources
and his affiliation with the rebel eastern general Vitalian and the Theopaschite
monks. He is often called a ‘Scythian’, although this is likely a reference to his prov-
ince of origin. Exquisitely educated in both Greek and Latin, Dionysius attracted
the friendships of learned men in the orbit of the church at Rome, including
Boethius and Eugippius. Cassiodorus studied with him for a period and the latter’s
Institutiones celebrates Dionysius’ learning, written works, and ascetic discipline.
At Rome he worked with the patronage of Popes Gelasius, John I, and Hormisdas to
translate religious materials from Greek into Latin. He translated a range of hagio-
graphical materials (a vita of Pachomius, the writing of Proclus of Constantinople
to the Armenians, and the De opificio hominis of Gregory of Nyssa), but his Collectio
Dionysiana, a compilation of sources for canon law, became his greatest work, com-
bining eastern conciliar materials, ecclesiastical decretals, and imperial letters.
Finally, his liturgical calendar later became the basis for dating according to the anno
domini.Edictum Theoderici Also known as the so-called Edictum Theoderici, this legal
source consists of a prologue, epilogue, and 154 statutes derived from earlier Roman
legal compilations and commentaries, which were emended, updated, and gener-
ally simplified for its intended users, referred to as ‘Romans’ and ‘Barbarians’ in the
text. Internal evidence demonstrates that the Edictum was compiled no earlier than
461 and a reference to the city of Rome in its 111th chapter is often taken to indicate
an Italian provenance. Nevertheless, the origin of this text remains controversial. If
genuinely originating in the court of Theoderic the Great, it is an invaluable source
for the legal and social history of the Ostrogothic kingdom. However, strong cases
have been made for other originators, including Odovacer and Theoderic II of the
Visigoths. The debate is rendered all the more difficult by the history of the edict’s
manuscripts, which were lost by their sole editor in the 16th century, leaving only
an editio princeps. The relationship between these lost manuscripts and the mod-
ern edition is thus uncertain and has even caused some to claim that the work is
a forgery. Others, while accepting the edict as genuine, have suggested that certain
portions may be interpolations or additions made by the editor, not least the edict’s
solitary reference to a “King Theoderic”, which is found in its explicit. That Goths are
never specifically mentioned in the text has also troubled some scholars, although
others have simply argued that they should be counted among the ‘Barbarians’ ref-
erenced neutrally throughout the text.
Ennodius (ca. 473/4–521) From a Gallo-Roman family but raised and classically
educated in Italy, Magnus Felix Ennodius served as a deacon for the churches of
Pavia and Milan and was later Bishop of Pavia and a papal envoy to Constantinople.
Notorious for his complex Latin style, his works were composed primarily during
his deaconate (ca. 503–13) and constitute a very large corpus that has been divided