Variae (epistulae)

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Variae (epistulae) are a collection of documents that were created in the chancellery of the Ostrogoth Empire in Latin . These are letters from the Ostrogoths rulers (mainly Theodoric ) to neighboring rulers and people and groups of people in Italy, edicts and sample forms. It was collected, edited and at least partially written by Flavius ​​Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator, who belonged to the Roman senate nobility and held several important positions in the administration of the Ostrogoth Empire.

Cassiodorus explains the title ( Latin varius , 'manifold, shimmering' ) with the variety of the linguistic style, which is adapted to the addressee.

Structure and timing

The Variae are a collection of 470 documents, 2 prefaces, 369 letters, 9 edicts, 18 letters of promotion and 72 sample forms, divided into 12 books. They were created while Cassiodorus was in a high position for the Ostrogothic kings: 507-511 as quaestor , 523-527 as Magister officiorum and 533-537 as Praefectus praetorio . The documents are arranged chronologically, although this principle is also interrupted. The beginning and end of each book are emphasized with a letter that stands out for the writer and recipient, but also for the topic. Book I begins with a letter from King Theodoric to the Eastern Roman Emperor Anastasios I ; Book X ends with the letters in which VVitigis establishes his rule.

Basic attitude and language

Cassiodorus sketched the picture of a coexistence of Goths and Romans in the peaceful prosperity of Italy, which perhaps did not correspond to reality. The style was described by historians as "pompous obscurity" and "pompous phrases", but corresponded to the courtly culture of the epoch. Cassiodorus adorned his text with numerous scientific descriptions and used it several times, the Naturalis Historia of Pliny the Elder . He used citations from literature sparingly. Of the poets who belong to the Roman educational catalog, only Cicero , Tacitus and Virgil are mentioned a few times. The language is late Latin . Grammatical inaccuracies have crept in and there are also numerous new words.

Only two Gothic loan words are mentioned, the carp = carpa and the saio . This designates special representatives of the king. They are exclusively Goths who have been charged with collecting taxes, tracking down treasures, digging sailors and much more. A total of 19 saiones are named, and the term is also used.

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Letters to foreign potentates

The letters of the Ostrogothic rulers to other rulers, mainly Eastern Roman emperors, but also Germanic kings, received special attention. There are 30 letters from the year 508 (Theodoric to Anastasios I, I, 1) to the year 536 (Vitigis to Justinian I, X, 32). The 18 letters to Eastern Roman emperors are mainly expressions of allegiance and requests for peaceful relations. But information is also transmitted, for example Amalasvntha reports the death of her son and the accession to the throne of Theodahadv (534, X, 1). In 11 letters to the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora , Theodahad and his wife Gudeliva seek to improve their relationship with Ostrom. The statement in Letter X.20 from Theodahad to Theodora is interesting and puzzling:

Nam de illa persona, de quas ad nos aliquid uerbo titillante peruenit, hoc ordinatum esse cognoscite, quod uestris credidimus animis conuenire
"... in relation to the person through whom something had reached him through a tempting word, an order was made that seemed to correspond to their wishes"

This could indicate an agreement between Theodora and Theodahad regarding the murder of Amalasvntha.

Cassiodorus took up another topic with the 11 letters of Theodoric to Germanic elites. The letters are addressed to the Franconian Clovis I (507, III, 1), the Visigoth Alaric II (507, III, 1), the Vandal Thrasamund (511, V, 43f) and leaders of smaller Germanic empires. The topics are the preservation of peace, family ties through marriage and acceptance as a son of arms and the exchange of gifts. This takes place in both directions. The accompanying letter to the Burgundian king for two horologia , a sundial and a water clock , is written just as enthusiastically as the thanks to the Thuringian king for the horses that he sent as a bridal gift for Theodoric's niece.

Book I – IV - quaestor - 507 to 511

The largest coherent complex is formed by books I – IV, in which Cassiodorus collected 191 letters from his time as a quaestor . They offer a comprehensive picture of government activity in the years 507-511, in which Theodoric the Great ruled over the Goths and Romans relatively securely and peacefully. A major part are the letters of appointment, often as a couple to the appointee and the Senate of the city of Rome . Some of the appointees are high-ranking members of the Senate who own land, but there are also Comites civitatum who come from the leading Gothic circles. The other letters deal with issues of grain trade, land occupation, supplying soldiers passing through, and much more, often in connection with legal disputes. The range extends from a call to all Goths to hurry to arms and also to bring the young people with them ( producite iuuenes uestros in Martiam disciplinam ) (I, 24) to the praise of Patricius ' Quintus Aurelius Memmius Symmachus for his renovation of ancient buildings (IV , 51).

Book VI, VII

Between Book V (523-526) and the immediately following Book VIII, Cassiodorus inserted the two Books VI and VII, which contain 72 draft letters ( formulas ), mainly appointments - as consul, Patricius, head of an arms factory, etc. They cannot be classified with certainty in terms of time, even if Theodor Mommsen dates some to the year 511. These letters, too, bear the adornment of ancient knowledge, such as a description of the Seven Wonders of the World (VII, 15) and give an insight into social life. Form VII, 40, for example, answers an apparently more frequent request regarding “the woman who brought you together with a pleasant hug ... who was proven not to be on an equal footing with the status quo, to become the lawful wife and the sons ... the legal status of heirs gain".

Book V, VIII, IX (1–14) - magister officiorum - 523 to 527

The consul and late antique scientist Boethius was appointed magister officiorum in 522. As early as 523 he lost his office and Cassiodorus became his successor. Book V contains 42 documents from Cassiodorus' second term in office from 523 to Theodoric's death (526). Cassiodorus has been reproached for not addressing the trial of Boethius and his condemnation, which fall within this time interval. However, the documents of the Variae make reference to current events, as a comparison with the work The Consolation of the Philosophy of Boethius shows. The Roman officials Decoratus, Cyprianus and Opilio , whom Boethius disparages ( The Consolation of Philosophy, Book I, 4.p. and Book III, 4.p.), are honored with letters of praise (V, 3,4,40,41 ; VIII, 16.17).

The letter V.42 , in which Theodorus (Cassiodorus) vehemently opposes the animal baiting ( ludi crudeles ) that still take place in Rome in the circo , could also be directed against Boethius. He is stylized, because of the consulate of his young sons, sitting triumphantly in the circo (Book II, 3.p.)

After Theodoric's death, Cassiodorus drafts 8 communications of the succession to the throne for the still child Athalaric to the emperor Julianus, the senate of the city of Rome, to the Goths and the Romans. This is where Book VIII begins. The letters emphasize its legitimacy through its descent from Theodoric and express a striving for peace and benevolence. In the middle of Book IX there is a leap in time. Cassiodorus had lost his office in 527. There is no comment on this, but letters 1–14, which are from the years 526/527, are followed by letter 15 from the year 533.

Book IX (15-20), X - praefectus praetorio - 533 to 540

On September 1, 533 Cassiodorus was appointed praefectus praetorio and possibly held this office until the surrender of King Witichis in 540. He wrote his own letter of appointment (X, 24), in which he not only boasted himself but also his former employer, king Theodorich, the "philosopher in purple with whom he discussed the course of the stars".

Cassiodorus wrote the 35 letters of Book X after the death of Athalaric. These are largely “foreign policy” letters, 15 to the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora alone (see Section 3.1). The last letters from King Witichis are touching. In Letter 31 ( Vniversis Gothis VVitigis rex , King Witichis to all Goths ) he refers to an ancient Gothic heritage:

... parentes nostros Gothos inter procinctuales gladios more maiorum scuto subposito regalem nobis contulisse praestante domino dignitatem
"... that our Gothic relatives with the clang of swords in the field, in the manner of the forefathers, have given us the royal dignity by raising shields with the consent of the Lord"

Book XI, XII - praefectus praetorio - 533 to 537

Cassiodorus also wrote the 69 letters of these two books as praefectus praetorio , but in his own name. In the praefatio in book XI he writes that after having spoken for 10 books with the king's mouth, he does not want to be considered unknown in person . In fact, the letters hardly differ from the previous ones in terms of subject matter, they also contain appointments, tax issues, instructions, etc. However, Cassiodorus also worked some letters with particular care in terms of writing, such as the description of the landscape and products of the landscape (XI, 14 die Schönheit Liguria / XII, 12 the famous wine of his native Grossium ). Scientific observations (XI, 36 orbital times of stars, especially planets / XII, 25 weather anomalies, probably due to a volcanic eruption, which lead to famine) particularly adorn his texts.

De anima

Cassiodorus added the treatise De anima (On the soul) to his letters . This is not a random compilation. Rather, as he writes in the foreword to Book XI, it was a concern of his, following the wish of his friends, to show his attitude to Christian / philosophical questions. The work discusses the basic questions of the soul , its type, origin, seat in the body and fate after death in the context of the interpretation of Christian teaching. It also ends with a Christian prayer.

Cassiodorus could fall back on numerous Christian authors. He quotes u. a. Tertullian ( De anima ), Lactantius ( De opifcio Dei ), Claudianus Mamertus ( De statu animae ), but especially several writings by Augustine of Hippo . However, he has free access to his sometimes controversial sources, does not quote verbatim and creates different contexts. Cassiodorus also draws on non-Christian ideas: the definition of the cardinal virtues (Chapter VII, De virtutibus eius moralibus ) is taken almost literally from Cicero ( De inventione , II 53-54).

Survival and lore

The Variae are a positive documentation of the Gothic rule in Italy, intended for a readership in Rome, Constantinople, Ravenna ... To what extent the writing reached their audience remains to be seen. No early medieval manuscripts and no citations have survived. Theodor Mommsen lists 111 manuscripts in the Prooemium of his edition of the work (only a few of them are complete), but these are all based on a codex from the end of the 10th century and themselves date from the 12th to 14th centuries.

In 1533 the Italian scholar Mariangelus Accursius published the first edition , which the humanist, then living in Germany, dedicated to Cardinal Albrecht von Brandenburg . Theodor Mommsen published his edition in 1894. The first complete translation of the Varien into a modern language was the Italian version by Andrea Giardina, published in six volumes. The first complete translation of the Varien into English was published in 2019. For a long time the most extensive was the translation by Samuel JB Barnish into English (about 1/3 of the text). This is all the more surprising since the work has been and is used in many ways as a source for historical works. The historian Ferdinand Gregorovius, for example, speaks of the “priceless collection of Theodoric's decrees” (1859). The ancient historian Wilhelm Enßlin (1885–1965) documents his work Theoderich the Great with numerous quotes from the Variae, as does Frank M.ebeüttel his book of the same name (2003).

Text editing and translation

literature

  • Frank M.äbüttel : The administration of the cities and provinces in late antique Italy. Lang, Frankfurt am Main 1988, ISBN 3-8204-1141-0 .
  • Beat Meyer-Flügel: The image of the Eastern Gothic-Roman society in Cassiodorus. Lang, Bern 1992, ISBN 3-261-04593-0 .
  • Christina Kakridi: Cassiodors Variae, Literature and Politics in Ostrogothic Italy , Munich / Leipzig 2005.
  • Stefan Krautschick: Cassiodorus and the politics of his time. Habelt, Bonn 1983, ISBN 3-7749-2044-3 .
  • James J. O'Donnell: Cassiodorus. University of California Press, Berkley-Los Angeles-London 1979, ISBN 0-520-03646-8 .
  • Christoph Schäfer : The Western Roman Senate as the bearer of ancient continuity under the Ostrogoth kings. Scripta-Mercaturae-Verlag, St. Katharinen 1991, ISBN 3-922661-89-0
  • Herwig Wolfram : History of the Goths. Draft of a historical ethnography. CH Beck, Munich 1979, 2nd edition 1990, under the title: Die Goten. From the beginning to the middle of the sixth century. Draft of a historical ethnography.
  • Odo John Zimmermann: The Late Latin Vocabulary of the Variae of Cassiodorus: With Special Advertence to the Technical Terminology of Administration. Catholic University of America Press, Washington 1944.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Beat Meyer-Flügel: The image of the Ostrogothic-Roman society with Cassiodor, p. 42.
  2. ↑ Stefan Krautschick: Cassiodor and the politics of his time, p. 8.
  3. ↑ Peter Dinzelbacher: Letters from the Ostrogoth king Theodoric the Great and his successors. From the "Variae" of Cassiodorus, p. 30.
  4. ↑ Peter Dinzelbacher: Letters from the Ostrogoth king Theodoric the Great and his successors. From the "Variae" of Cassiodorus, p. 31f.
  5. ^ Åke Josefsson Fridh: Magni Avrelii Cassiodori Senatoris Variarvm libri dvodecim, Index auctorum.
  6. ^ Theodor Mommsen: Cassiodoris Senatoris Variae, Index.
  7. ↑ James J. O'Donnell: Cassiodorus, pp. 94f.
  8. ↑ Odo John Zimmermann: The late latin vocabulary of the Variae of Cassiodorus, pp. 1-69.
  9. ^ Odo John Zimmermann: The late latin vocabulary of the Variae of Cassiodorus, p. 85.
  10. ^ Beat Meyer-Flügel: The image of the Ostrogothic-Roman society with Cassiodor, p. 466f.
  11. ^ Theodor Mommsen: Cassiodoris Senatoris Variae, Index.
  12. ↑ Beat Meyer-Flügel: The image of the Ostrogothic-Roman society with Cassiodor, p. 174 translation and explanation.
  13. ↑ Christoph Schäfer: The Western Roman Senate as the bearer of ancient continuity under the Ostrogoth kings.
  14. ↑ Frank M. Ausbüttel: The administration of the cities and provinces in late antique Italy, p. 204ff.
  15. ↑ James J. O'Donnell: Cassiodorus, pp. 81ff.
  16. ↑ Stefan Krautschick: Cassiodor and the politics of his time, p. 85.
  17. ^ Translation: Peter Dinzelbacher: Letters of the Ostrogoth king Theodoric the Great and his successors. From the "Variae" of Cassiodorus, p. 132.
  18. ↑ Christoph Schäfer: The Western Roman Senate as the bearer of ancient continuity under the Ostrogoth kings, p. 240.
  19. ↑ Stefan Krautschick: Cassiodor and the politics of his time, p. 108.
  20. ↑ Stefan Krautschick: Cassiodor and the politics of his time, p. 8.
  21. ^ Beat Meyer-Flügel: The picture of the Ostrogothisch-Roman society with Cassiodor, p. 39f.
  22. ↑ Peter Dinzelbacher: Letters from the Ostrogoth king Theodoric the Great and his successors. From the "Variae" of Cassiodorus, p. 71.
  23. ^ Beat Meyer-Flügel: The image of the Ostrogothic-Roman society with Cassiodor. , Translation p. 43
  24. ↑ JW Halporn: Magni Avrelii Cassiodori Senatoris De anima , comments
  25. ↑ JW Halporn: Magni Avrelii Cassiodori Senatoris De anima , Introduction p 508
  26. ↑ James J. O'Donnell: Cassiodorus, p. 68.
  27. ↑ James J. O'Donnell: Cassiodorus, pp. XXXIV.
  28. ↑ Sabina Walter: Review of: Bjornlie, Michael Shane: Cassiodorus, The Variae. The Complete Translation. Oakland 2019. ISBN 978-0-520-29736-4 , In: H-Soz-Kult, April 20, 2020, <www.hsozkult.de/publicationreview/id/reb-29206>.
  29. ↑ Sabina Walter: Review of: Bjornlie, Michael Shane: Cassiodorus, The Variae. The Complete Translation. Oakland 2019. ISBN 978-0-520-29736-4 , In: H-Soz-Kult, April 20, 2020, <www.hsozkult.de/publicationreview/id/reb-29206>.