Theoderic and the Roman Imperial Restoration

This book provides a new interpretation of the fall of the Roman Empire and the 'barbarian' kingdom known conventionally as Ostrogothic Italy. Relying primarily on Italian textual and material evidence, and in particular the works of Cassiodorus and Ennodius, Jonathan J. Arnold argues that contemporary Italo-Romans viewed the Ostrogothic kingdom as the Western Roman Empire and its 'barbarian' king, Theoderic (r.489/93?526), as its emperor. Investigating conceptions of Romanness, Arnold explains how the Roman past, both immediate and distant, allowed Theoderic and his Goths to find acceptance in Italy as Romans, with roles essential to the Empire's perceived recovery. Theoderic and the Roman Imperial Restoration demonstrates how Theoderic's careful attention to imperial traditions, good governance, and reconquest followed by the re-Romanization of lost imperial territories contributed to contemporary sentiments of imperial resurgence and a golden age. There was no need for Justinian to restore the Western Empire: Theoderic had already done so.

Introduction; Part I. An Empire Turned Upside-Down: 1. Ennodius the Ligurian; 2. Cassiodorus the Calabrian; Part II. Emperor Theoderic: 3. Princeps romanus; 4. The Imperial image; Part III. Italo-Romans and Roman Goths: 5. Men of Mars; 6. Rex genitus, vir inlustris; Part IV. Italia Felix: 7. Italy revived; 8. Rome rejuvenated; Part V. Renovatio Imperii: 9. Becoming post-Roman; 10. Gallia felix; Epilogue.

Jonathan J. Arnold is Assistant Professor of Ancient and Medieval History at the University of Tulsa. His research and publications focus on issues of culture and identity, travel and communication, and the legacy of Rome in the late antique and early medieval West, particularly in Gaul and Italy. He has written entries for a number of encyclopedic works, including the Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages and the Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity, and his articles appear in the Journal of Late Antiquity and The Battle of Vouillé, 507 CE: Where France Began.