Bread and Circuses

Arminius vs Siegfried

History Magazin has a review of a new book called Arminius vs Siegfried – Die Entwicklung des germanischen Helden in der deutschen Literatur by Daniela Sechtig:

Grundlage der Untersuchungen ist zum einen der Hermannmythos und seine Quellen, die Germania und die Annalen des Tacitus und zum anderen der Nibelungenstoff in den nordischen Heldenliedern. In zwei aufeinanderfolgenden Abschnitten werden die beiden literarischen Quellen und ihre Entwicklungen bis ins 19. Jahrhundert beschrieben. Dabei zeigt Sechtig, dass beispielsweise bereits das mittelhochdeutsche Nibelungenlied aus dem 13. Jahrhundert, einen Versuch darstellt, den germanischen Helden Siegfried, den ursprünglichen Nachfahren Odins, in einen höfischen Ritter umzuwandeln. Ziel des Epos war es offensichtlich, so die Autorin, die Gültigkeit der christlichen Morallehre und der Regeln der damaligen Ständegesellschaft zu beweisen.

As usual with German academic studies of Arminius and the national myth, the focus is on history up to the 19th century. The 20th century is avoided. Nonetheless, looks good. Full review here.

The tomb of St Remigius

As a final to last week's series on St Remigius (it started here), I thought that I would finish with a picture of the man's tomb from the Abbey of Saint-Remi in Reims:

Update on the Roman battlefield at Kalefeld

I have been blogging about the Roman/Germanic battlefield at Kalefeld since it was discovered in December 2008. It is becoming clear that the third century site is much, much more important - and larger - than originally thought. I have been tweeting the more significant articles, but the two best ones over the past few days have been in Tagesspiegel and Welt. Inevitably there has been nothing on this on the English press. If memory serves, there has only been one, in the Spiegel at the end of 2008. For a Friday, I thought you might like the rather good video report from Stern.de:

Roman socks and sandals

Oh dear. A piece in the Telegraph today breaks the news that the Romans wore socks with sandals:

New evidence from an archaeological dig has found that legionnaires wore socks with sandals.

Rust on a nail from a Roman sandal found in newly discovered ruins in North Yorkshire appears to contain fibres which could suggest that a sock-type garment was being worn.

Now scientists are examining the remains in the laboratory to see if it is true.

The story is also at the Guardian. Of course they did. Tablet 346 from Vindolanda on Hadrian's Wall shows what was really important to the Roman soldier when it became cold.

... I have sent (?) you ... pairs of socks from Sattua, two pairs of sandals and two pairs of pants, two pairs of sandals ... Greet ...ndes, Elpis, Iu..., ...enus, Tetricus and all your messmates with whom I pray that you live in the greatest good fortune.

But they were not just used in northern Britain. The accounts of an auxiliary soldier Gaius Valerius Germanus who was stationed in Egypt in the second half of the first century (Brian Campbell's The Roman Army, 31 BC – AD 337, (London, 1994)) had them as part of his formal kit:

Gaius Valerius Germanus from Tyre received the first salary instalment of the third year of the emperor, 247½ drachmas out of which

Deduction for hay                10 drachmas
For food                              80 drachmas
Boots, socks                        12 drachmas
Saturnalia of the camp         20 drachmas
For clothes                          100 drachmas
    Expenditure                     222 drachmas
Balance deposited into his account    25½ drachmas
Already had                              21 drachmas
Makes a complete total of         46½ drachmas

You can tell that it is August can't you?

Update. Better piece at the Independent that mentions the Vindolanda tablet

Recent books on late antiquity

Here is the round up of the latest books on late antiquity - all of them reviewed at BMCR. First up is Sofia Kotzabassi's Das hagiographische Dossier der heiligen Theodosia von Konstantinopel reviewed by Stavroula Constantinou at the University of Cypru:

According to the Synaxarion of Constantinople (10th century), Theodosia, a saint of questionable historicity, was an iconophile nun martyred under the iconoclast emperor Leo III (717-741) for causing together with other women the death of a spatharios ("sword-bearer": member of the imperial guard) while he was trying to destroy an icon of Christ placed above the main entrance to the palace. The fact that the Synaxarion is the earliest text referring to Theodosia suggests that her cult was established in the tenth century. It was, however, not earlier than the late Byzantine period under the imperial dynasty of the Palaiologoi (1259-1453) that Theodosia's cult became most popular, as attested by a considerable number of texts produced during this time: three encomia, akolouthies, canons, megalynaria and epigrams venerating Theodosia, and historical works as well as memoirs of Russian travelers mentioning the saint, the veneration of her relics, and her miraculous cures.

Next up Thomas Sizgorich's Violence and Belief in Late Antiquity: Militant Devotion in Christianity and Islam. Divinations: Rereading Late Ancient Religion reviewed by Daniel King at Cardiff University:

The present work is an exercise in mapping social scientific theories of inter-communal boundary construction and policing onto the late Roman and early Islamic worlds and thereby goes some way towards explaining the particularly (according to the author) intolerant forms of religious activity that took shape in late antiquity and the violence that frequently ensued. Unsurprisingly, given such a broad and difficult remit, not all aspects will satisfy all readers but the final outcome is certainly a positive one and the work fully deserves to be used as a basis for further thinking on the subject. Its particular contribution lies in submitting both Christian and Islamic forms of late antique religion to the same set of interpretive canons, a task still in its infancy.

And finally, Frederick McLeod's Theodore of Mopsuestia reviewed by Mark DelCogliano at the University of St. Thomas:

The volumes published in Routledge's The Early Church Fathers series introduce seminal figures of early Christianity. Each volume is divided between an overview of the life, writings, and thought of a particular church father (Part I) and an ample selection of translations from extant works, often from those hitherto unavailable in English (Part II). One would be hard pressed to think of a scholar more qualified than Frederick McLeod to produce a volume for this series on Theodore of Mopsuestia (ca. 350–428). Not only does he possess the requisite linguistic skills to translate a corpus which survives in Greek as well as in Latin and Syriac, but he has also been one of premier scholars working on Theodore in the last few decades. In this book McLeod gives an excellent introduction to the thought of Theodore, particularly those aspects of it which scholars continue to debate, and has judiciously chosen to translate texts that help illuminate these issues.

Round up of classical websites

Here are several classical websites that have recently caught my eye. First up is Late Antique and Early Medieval Inscriptions run by Mark Handley. The aim is to "provide a full collection of links to on-line databases, books, Phds, and articles on late antique and early medieval inscriptions, covering the period from A.D. 300 to 900. So far there are over 470 such links". Worth keeping an eye on. The link to online databases is good.

Next up is The History of the British School at Athens run by David Gill. It is "a discussion of the people, excavations, research and events associated with the British School at Athens" and incredibly addictive.

Finally one have mentioned before, the Downloebables website run by Ed Donnelly. When it first started, many Loebs were not available in Europe via Google and the Archive.org selection was not great. That now seems to have been fixed. Worth bookmarking.

Letters of St Remigius, part four

The final letter from Remigius is a rather stroppy note to Falco, bishop of Tongres aka Falco of Maastricht to do with a boundary dispute of the dioscese. Falco had claimed some jurisdiction over Mouzon in Ardennes, holding an ordination there:

DOMINO VERE SANCTO ET IN CHRISTO BEATISSIMO FRATRI, FALCONI EPISCOPO, REMEGIUS EPISCOPUS.
Quantum conperui, rebus gestis probavi. Prius curae beatitudine tuae fuit, ut mihi inferres iniuriam, quam salutationem deferres. O adveniens principium, quod dedisti, ut laederes episcopos ante me, quam episcopum te viderem! Nimium cito pinnis tenerolis evolasti levitate animi, non maturitatis consilio. In ipso siquidem tui episcopatus exordio ius ingredi temptas alienum, qui adhuc tuum verecunde debueras introire. Fas ergo fuit, ut inlicitis ordinationibus tuis a te credideris occupandam loci Mosomagensis ecclesiam, quam metropolitani urbis Remorum sub ope Christi sua semper ordinatione rexerunt. Adhuc, arbitror, tua nescis et iam aliena pervadis. In quam igitur cum levitas feceris, presbiteros consecraris, archidiaconos institueris, primicerium scole dares militiaeque lectorum, non quaeror, quod me consilio inter ista non videris. Utinam te vidisses. Si enim canones tua sanctitas ignorabat, satis praeproperum fuit, ut transgrederes, antequam disceres. At vero ecclesiarum statuta si noveras, tanto gravius tantumque periculosius incipientia tua priscorum magnificorumque pontificum decreta calcavit. Cave, qui aliena praesumis, ne, quod habere videris, amittas. Cum facte ordinationis iura non constent, quo potissimum consilio sacerdotalis officii tyrocinia defensabis, si temerariae transgressionis admissum pertinacia vel inpotentia vis tueri? Maioris discrimis erit, antequam sanctionem fuisse violatam, quam laus sit, loco stare contra canonem, quos creasti. Sed quid de eorum loquar ordinibus, quos a beatitudine tua non licuit promoveri? Plus illud est, quod, si iuxta maiorum statuta severitatemque discutimur, non minus, quam status illorum, vester veniet episcopatus in dubium. Dominus in evangelio dicit ad Petrum: 'Simon Iohannis, diligis me? Et Petrus: Etiam Domine, tu scis; quia amo te'. Cui bis terque a Domino sub hac responsione praecipitur: 'Pasce oves meas'. Ego, quia oves Christi pascere omnimodis inperitus, alimonia caelestis ubertate non possum; tu, qui es sacris eruditionibus eruditus, eas, quae mihi, Domino iubente, traditę sunt, ut pascas, admoneo , ut invadas, inhibeo. Age semper, ut te digna comitentur ecclesiae, quam divina dispensatione meruisti praesidendum; deserui et pro salutem gregis dominici sollicitus pastor invigila. Utinam mediocritati meae ista subpeterent, quae in nomine Domini habere vos cupio. Sed quia desunt meae vel credite, mihi sunt obsequia salvatoris: salvari mercennario non requiro. Iohannis in Apocalypsis septem quippe angelis suis conpraehendit et unicuique scribit ecclesiis. Facta igitur merita, quae praepositis qua probata, corrigenda castigat. Cum ergo sub vocabulo angeli tradatur actionis forma pontificii, doleo super tuae praesumptionis audacia, ut iura permutes vetera novus, cauta temerarius, divina terrenus. Audiant nos, audiant, quos elegeris sacerdotes, sacerdotes tui ipsi nos audiant. Creatoris, confido, sententiam non pro te, sed in te a iudicantibus proferendam. Quis enim pro sensus sui probitate non inprobet , eum contra ecclesiae regulam prorupisse, qui debuerat ecclesiae regulam custodire? Mandas, ut audio, colonorum tibi tributa portari, et praecipitis, ut reditus deferantur agrorum. Datur intellegi, quod ecclesiae rem, non ecclesiam concupisti, quando sollicitus exquisiter exposcis, quae ego, ad quem iure veniebant, remisi potius quam quaesivi. Nolo, te lateat, levitas atque presbiteros, contra ordinem quos fecisti, ab ordine iam remotos. Perpendi enim, quos a me non decebat admitti, quos a te non licuerat ordinari. Heu a quantum me cultus tui propositus reppulisti, dum mavis perperam gerere, quam foedera fraterna servare! Obtaveram namque, ut clarus permansisses, quia factus fueras ut sacerdos. Sed si mentem tuam cura ista non tangit, ego tamen pro sinceritate profiteor, quod animum non minus angit, a te inexcusabiliter erratum, quam me fuisse contemptum. Explicit.
 

Letters of St Remigius, part three

By far the most interesting of Remigius' letters, it is written to Heraclius of Paris, Leo of Sens and Theodosius of Auxerre about a priest called Claudius. The priest had been ordained on the wishes of Clovis, but after the death of the king - the letter was written around AD 512/3 - he had borrowed money from a certain Celsus and not paid it back. Remigius is defending his leniency and explaining why he had not been thrown out of the priesthood:

DOMINIS VERE SANCTIS ET MERITIS, BEATISSIMIS IN CHRISTO FRATRIBUS HERACLIO, LEONI ET THEODOSIO REMEGIUS EPISCOPUS.

Paulus apostolus in epistula sua loquitur: 'Caritas numquam excedit'. Quae, ut tales ad me litteras mitteretis, in vestris sensibus non resedit. Nam pro Claudio fudi simplicem precem, quem vos non presbyterum scribitis, ut in me indignationem vestri pectoris proderitis. Illum non abnego graviter deliquisse; sed vos aetati meae, etsi non meritis, decuerat detulisse, quod, propitia divinitate, sit dietum: Quinquaginta et tribus annis episeopali sede praesedeo, et me appellavit tam procaciter nemo. Dicitis: 'Melius vos fuisse non natos'. Hoc mihi fuerat oportunum, ne audissem transgressoris obproprium. Ego Claudium presbyterum feci, non corruptus praemio, sed praecellentissimi regis testimonium, qui erat non solum praedicator fidei catholicae, sed defensor. Scribitis: 'Canonicum non fuisse, quod iussit; summo fungamini sacerdotio '. Regionum praesul, custus patriae, gentium triumphator iniunxit. Tanto in me prorupistis felle commoti, ut nec episcopatus vestri detuleritis auctori. Rogavi, ut Claudius, sacrilegii perpetrator, paenitentiae servaretur. Legimus namque, legimus, quod excidium caelesti denuntiatione praedictum evaserint per paenitentiam Ninivitae, quam Iohannis, praecursor Domini, in evangelio praedicavit, ut, regnum adpropinquante caelorum, ea populi agerent, ne perirent. In Apocalypsin angelis ecclesiarum scribitur ex praecepto domini salvatoris, ut, quae digne minus egerant, paenitentiae satisfactione corrigerent. De iracunda dictione sanctitatis vestrae intellego, quod lapsum non miseramini post ruinam; sed magis velle vos video, ne convertatur et vivat, cum Dominus dixerit: 'Nolo mortem morientis, sed ut convertatur et vivat'. Hoc nos expedit sequi, hanc Domini voluntatem non praetermittere, sed tenere, quia nos posuit non ad iracundiam, sed ad hominum curam et servire pietati potius, quam furori. Ponitis in epistula vestra, quod Celsus quidam, qui Claudio credidit, quod abductus, et utrum vivat aut sit mortuus ignoratis, atque huius inquisitorem me esse praecipitis et nescitis, si in saeculo aut si ad inferos sit quaerendus, et res suas a me vultis restitui, quas sublatas fuisse non novi: inpossibilia praecipitis, ut impia peragatis. Annorum numerum me esse scribitis iubeleum, inridentes potius, quam pro dilectione gaudentes, cui, vinculo caritatis inrupto insinceriter, a vobis nec parcitur nec defertur. Explicit.

Letters of St Remigius, part two

Here is the second letter from St Remigius. Like yesterday's post, it is addressed to Clovis and urges him to be merciful in war:

DOMINO INSIGNI ET MERITIS MAGNIFICO, CHLODOVECO REGI, REMEGIUS EPISCOPUS.

Rumor ad nos magnum pervenit, administrationem vos Secundum Belgice suscepisse. Non est novum, ut coeperis esse, sicut parentes tui semper fuerunt: hoc inprimis agendum, ut Domini iudicium a te non vacillet, ubi tui meriti, qui per industriam humilitatis tuae ad summum culminisque pervenitd, quia, quod vulgus dicitur, [ex fine] actus hominis probatur. Consiliarios tibi adhibere debes, qui famam tuam possent ornare. Et beneficium tuum castum et honestum esse debet, et sacerdotibus tuis debebis deferre et ad eorum consilia semper recurre; quodsi tibi bene cum illis convenerit, provincia tua melius potest constare. Civos tuos erige, adflictos releva, viduas fove, orfanos nutre, si potius est, quam erudies, ut omnes te ament et timeant. Iustitia ex ore vestro procedat, nihil sit sperandum de pauperes vel peregrinis, ne magis dona aut aliquid accipere vellis; praetorium tuum omnibus pateatur, ut nullus exinde tristis abscedat. Paternas quascunque opes possides, captivos exinde liberabis et a iugo servitutis absolvas: si quis in conspectu vestro venerit, peregrinum se esse non sentiat. Cum iuvenibus ioca, cum senibus tracta, si vis regnare nobilis iudicare.

Letters of St Remigius, part one

Many of the writings ascribed to St Remigius are apocryphal, indeed there are only four confirmed letters, all of them in MGH, Epist., iii. 112-116. Here is the first one to Clovis. Albochledis aka Albofledis was Clovis' sister. She was baptised at the same time as Clovis, dedicated herself to virginity and died soon afterwards. She is also mentioned by Gregor of Tours (2.31):

DOMINO INLUSTRO MERITIS, CHLODOVRO REGI, REMEGIUS EPISCOPUS

Angit me et satis me angit vestrae causae tristitia, quod gloriosae memoriae germana  vestra transiit Albochledis; sed consolari possumus, qui talis de hac luce discessit, ut recordatione magis suscipi debeat, quam lugeri. Illius enim vitae fuit, quod adsumpta credatur a Domino, quae a Deo electa migravit ad caelos. Vivit vestrae fidei, et, si est conspectus, desiderio receptae Christus implevit, ut benedictionem  virginitatis acciperet, quam sacrata non est lugenda. quae flagrat in conspectu Domini  flore virgineo, quo scilicet et corona tecta, quam pro virginitate suscepit. Absit, ut a fidelibus lugeatur, quae bonus Christi odor esse promeruit, ut per eum, cui placet,  auxilium posse conferre poscentibus. Dominus meus, repelle de tuo corde tristitiam;  animo rite conposito, regnum sagacius gubernare, ereetiora sumentes studio serenitatis  consilia. Laetum cor membra conforta; meroris torpore diseusso, acrius invigilabitis  ad salutem: manet vobis regnum administrandi et, Deo auspice, properandi. Populorum caput estis et regimen sustinetis: acerbitatem ne te videant in luctu  affici, qui per te felicia videre consueverunt. Esto ipse tuae animae consolator; vigorem rem illius providentiae continens ingenita, ne tristitia candorem tuae menti subducat. De eius praesentem transitum, quae choris est iuneta virgineis, ut credendo,  rex gaudet in caelo.  Salutans gloriam vestram, et commendo familiarem meum presbyterum Maccolum, quem direxi.  Quaeso, ut tantis habeatis ignoscere, qui, quod occursum debui, exhortatoria  distinare verba praesumpsi. Tamen per harum baiolum si iubetis, ut vadam, contempta  hiemis asperitate, rigore neglecto, itineris labore calcato, ad vos, auxiliante Domino,  pervenire contendam.