66 Bjornlie
An explanation for the only incidental reliance upon provincial governors
may be found in the more consistent use of other personnel with a broad
range of authority. The saiones of the Gothic court probably best exemplify
this policy.93 Like Gothic comites, the saiones possessed both military and
administrative authority. The letters of the Variae attesting to this range
of administrative function indicate that in each case the saio received his
appointment directly from the Gothic ruler. In contrast, however, rather than
having ‘standing’ institutional authority in military and administrative mat-
ters after the fashion of a comes provinciae, saiones were assigned with specific
authority to supervise a given task. They represent the retinue of noble Goths
who attended the Gothic ruler’s comitatus and who satisfied the roles of other
magistrates when occasion required. In fact the Variae do not contain a for-
mula for the saio, but rather a formula by which civilians might petition for
the assistance of a saio in a particular (unspecified) situation. The fact that
the formula stipulates that the petitioner must promise property as a bond
for the services of the saio underscores the importance of the personality of
proximity to the royal court.94 It was through the personal attachment of the
saiones to the Gothic court, as opposed to the constitutionality of office, that
the saiones were capable of operating in such an impressive array of capacities.
The Variae describe the saiones mobilizing military personnel for campaign or
for the annual receipt of the donative, providing legal and physical protection
for tax collectors, arresting delinquent taxpayers and individuals accused of
various crimes, collecting ships for the transport of grain, investigating titles
to property and transferring property to private citizens, superintending the
fortification of new settlements, collecting taxes, supervising the remission of
taxes, investigating reports of buried treasure, managing the cursus publicus,
managing the personnel and resources of the fleet, protecting litigants in civil
cases, investigating the various complaints of provincials, and censuring and
arresting other public officials.95
Whereas the award of the title of saio was limited to Goths in the ser-
vice of the royal court, this does not necessarily mean that the same range
of administrative function was limited to Goths or saiones. Other agents sent
from the Gothic court to investigate specific matters in the provinces such as
comitiaci and apparitores appear to have a similar range of authority, albeit not
93 For previous literature on the saiones: Morosi, “I saiones”, p. 150–65; Bjornlie, “Law,
Ethnicity and Taxes”.
94 Variae 7.42.2, ed. Mommsen.
95 Variae 1.24, 2.4, 2.13, 2.20, 3.20, 3.48, 4.14, 4.27, 4.28, 4.32, 4.34, 4.47, 5.5, 5.10, 5.19, 5.23, 5.27,
8.24, 8.27, 9.2, 9.10, 9.14, 9.18, 12.3, ed. Mommsen.