TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICANP HILOSOPSHOCIIECTYA L HELD AT PHILADELPHIA FOR PROMOTING USEFUL KNOWLEDGE NEW SERIES-VOLUME 61, PART 1 1971 FLAVIUS MEROBAUDES A Translationa nd Historical Commentary FRANK M. CLOVER Assistant Professor of History and Classics, University of Wisconsin THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY INDEPENDENCE SQUARE PHILADELPHIA JANUARY, 1971 TO THE CLOVERSA ND THE WAGNERS Copyright ? 1971 by The American Philosophical Society Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 75-143266 PREFACE In his masterful commentary on the panegyrics of The preparation of my translation and commentary Sidonius Apollinaris, Andre Loyen has occasion to falls into two stages. I began my investigation in 1962 remark on the historical value of the fragments of as a Master of Arts project at the University of Flavius Merobaudes, another late Roman panegyrist. Chicago. Upon completion of my Ph.D. I resumed To Loyen, Merobaudes' poetic panegyric (Panegyric work at the University of Wisconsin in early 1967. In II) contains some useful historical information, but the first stage Professors Richard T. Bruere and the work is "extremely difficult" to interpret.' My Edward L. Bassett of the University of Chicago own attempt to grapple with Merobaudes as a histori- advised me in the preparation of the translation. At cal source bears out the accuracy of Loyen's statement the second stage Professor John P. Heironimus of the not only for Panegyric II but also for the rest of University of Wisconsin and an anonymous reader for Merobaudes' secular works. Our present knowledge of the American Philosophical Society made many help- the fifth century is limited, but Merobaudes com- ful suggestions regarding the revised translation which pounds the difficulty of interpretation by making his appears in the following pages. During the second remarks immediately comprehensible to only a small phase Professors Charles F. Edson and Friedrich circle of his contemporaries. In order to elucidate the Solmsen of the University of Wisconsin and Professors evidence he conveys as effectively as possible, I have Bruere and Walter E. Kaegi, also of the University found it both necessary and desirable to render all of of Chicago, presented helpful criticisms of various his surviving works into English. To my knowledge parts of my work, notably the commentary. Mr. I present the first complete translation of Merobaudes' John R. Martindale of Jesus College, Cambridge fragments into English, and the second into a modern University, kindly sent me the evidence for Mero- language.2 In instances where more than one rendi- baudes' career available to the editors of the forth- tion of a passage is possible, I have offered the version coming Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire. I prefer in the translation, and discussed the alterna- My wife, Dorothy Helen, and her parents, Mr. and tives in the commentary. For the translation I have Mrs. Walter S. Wagner, helped proofread my work and followed the text of Vollmer, the most recent editor of offered some suggestions regarding its content. My all that survives of Merobaudes. For the reader's debt of gratitude at the second stage of preparation convenience I have included Vollmer's text without encompasses not only individuals but also foundations apparatus in an appendix. In writing the historical and organizations. The University of Wisconsin commentary I have adopted the format of Loyen Graduate School made available funds for summer rather than that, for example, selected by Walbank for 1967 which permitted me to do a significant amount of his commentary on Polybius. I found that it was research at the libraries of the British Museum, the easier to sort out a poet's jumble of information by Senate House of the University of London and the composing an interpretive essay rather than a line-by- Institute of Classical Studies. A joint grant of the line commentary. Like Sidonius, Mierobaudes is worth American Philosophical Society and the University of special historical attention. Although the collective Wisconsin Graduate School enabled me to write a observations on his works by previous students are first draft of the commentary during the summer of valuable, I believe that many important aspects of his 1968. Part of this work has already received a public compositions have gone unnoticed. A word must be hearing. I presented a portion of my commentary on said about the De Christo. Its contents are primarily of Panegyric I at the Fourth Biennial Conference on interest to the church historian. Because of the scope Medieval Studies, held at Western Michigan Univ- of my own work I have simply translated the poem ersity (Kalamazoo) on 13-15 March, 1968. The without commenting on it. In general, this piece has paper, entitled "Toward an Understanding of Mero- received excellent attention from Salvatore Gennaro.3 baudes' Panegyric I," will appear in a forthcoming volume of Historia (Wiesbaden). Finally, I wish to express special thanks to my 1 Loyen, Recherches (Paris, 1942), p. 25. teacher, Professor Stewart Irvin Oost of the University md2 nTyhoek f1ir3s t (c1o9m66p)l:e tep pt.r a1n7s2la-1ti8o8n. is Bthecaat uosfe OIl acjaons,n oAt ntrieka dT aHnuunl-- of Chicago. Professor Oost suggested an investigation garian, I have been able to note only some of the main points of of Merobaudes to me in the autumn of 1962, and he Mrs. Olajos' interpretation. I am grateful to Mr. Lajos Biro, has counseled me at both stages of preparation. His a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, for trans- expert advice, like that of the others previously men- lating the article for me. tioned, has helped me avoid numerous errors of fact De3 GChenrinsator oh, asD ab eeCnl aeuddiitaendo ma oMst erreocbeanutldye b(Cy atFa.n Biai,i ch1e9l5e9r) .a ndT hAe. and interpretation. Any mistakes which remain in Riese, Anthologia latina sive poesis latinae supplementum (2 v., the following pages are entirely my own. 2nd ed. of vol. 1, Leipzig, 1894-1926) 1, 2: pp. 327-328, no. 878. F. M. C. 3 ABBREVIATIONS Only abbreviations of late Roman and medieval sources are De mir. Germ. Migne, J. P. (ed.). Herici monachi given here. Standard abbreviations of classical sources are antissiodorensis De miraculis S. omitted. Square brackets in some of the footnotes enclose the Germani.P L 124 (1852): pp.1207- pagination of certain sources which can only be found in cumber- 1270. some collections such as the Patrologia latina. Evagr. Bidez, J., and Parmentier, L. (eds.). The Ecclesiastical History of Evagrius Adnot. ad cyclos dionys. Mommsen, Th. (ed.). Adnotationes with the Scholia (London, 1898). antiquiores ad cyclos dionysianos. Fredegar. Krusch, B. (ed.). Chronicarum quae Chron. min. 1 (1892): pp. 751-756. dicuntur Fredegarii Scholastici libri Agnellus Testi-Rasponi, A. (ed.). Agnelli Liber IV. MGH:SRM2 (1888): pp. 1-193. pontificalis. Codex pontificalis ec- Greg. Tur. HF Buchner, R. (ed.). Gregorii episcopi clesiae Ravennatis. Rerum italicarum turonensis Historiarum libri decem. (2 scriptores (Bologna, 1924) (2, part v. Berlin, 1956). 3, fasc. 1-3.) Hydat. Mommsen, Th. (ed.). Hydatii lemici Aug. De civ. Dei Sancti Aurelii Augustini De civitate Continuatio chronicorum hierony- Dei libri XXII. Corpus christi- mianorum ad a. CCCCLX VIII. anorum: Series latina 47-48 (1955). Chron. min. 2 (1894): pp. 1-36. Aug. Ep. Goldacher, A. (ed.). S. Aureli August- ini hipponiensis episcopi epistulae. Isid. Hist. Goth. Mommsen, Th. (ed.). Isidori iunioris Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum episcopi hispalensis Historia Gotho- latinorum 57 (1911). (Part of a rum Wandalorum Sueborum ad a. multi-volume edition.) DCXXI V. Chron. min. 2 (1894): Auson. Grat. act. Schenkl, C. (ed.). D. Magni Ausonii pp. 241-303. Gratiarum actio dicta Domino Grati- Joh. Ant. Exc. de ins. Boor, C. de (ed.). Excerpta historica ano Augusto. MGH:AA 5, 2 (1883): iussu Imp. Constantini Porphyro- pp. 19-30. geniti confecta 3: Excerpta de insidiis Boethius Migne, J. P. (ed.). Manlii Severini (Berlin, 1905), pp. 58-150 (Johannes Boetii opera omnia. PL 63 (1847): Antiochenus). pp. 537-1364, and 64 (1847). Jord. Get. Mommsen, Th. (ed.). Jordanis De Cassiod. Chron. MoSmenmatsoerni,s CThhr.o nic(ae da.)d. a.C aDssXioIdXo.r i origine actibusque Getarum. MGH: Chron. min. 2 (1894): pp. 109-161. AA 5, 1 (1882): pp. 53-138. Cassiod. Var. Mommsen, Th. (ed.). Cassiodori Jord. Rom. Mommsen, Th. (ed.). Jordanis De Senatoris Variae. MGH:AA 12 summa temporum vel origine acti- (1894): pp. 1-385. busque Romanorum. MGH:AA 5, 1 Cedrenus Bekker, I. (ed.). Georgii Cedreni His- (1882): pp. 1-52. toriarum compendium. CSHB 34-35 Laterc. reg. Wand. Mommsen, Th. (ed.). Laterculus regum Wandalorum et Alanorum. Chron. (1838-1839). Chron. Gall. Miommsen, Th. (ed.). Chronica gallica. min. 3 (1898): pp. 456-460. Chron. min. 1 (1892): pp. 615-666. Lib. hist. Franc. Krusch, B. (ed.). Liber historiae Chron. min. 1, 2 and 3 Mommsen, Th. (ed.). Chronica minora Francorum. MGH:SRM 2 (1888): saec. IV, V, VI, VII. 3 v. MGH:AA pp. 215-328. 9 (1892), 11 (1894), 13 (1898). L. Burg. De Salis, L. (ed.). Leges Burgundionum. Chron. Pasch. Dindorf, L. (ed.). Chronicon paschale. Monumenta Germaniae historica, CSHB 16-17 (1832). legum sectio 1: Leges nationum ger- Claud. Birt, Th. (ed.). Claudii Claudiani manicarum 2, 1 (1892): pp. 29-116. carmina. MGH:AA 10 (1892). Malal. Dindorf, L. (ed.). Johannis Malalae Cod. Just. Krtiger, P. (ed.). Corpus iuris civilis 2: Chronographia. CSHB 15 (1831). Codex justinianus (Berlin, 1959; Marcell. Corn. Mommsen, Th. (ed.). Marcellini v.c. reprint). comitis Chronicon. Chron. min. 2 Cod. Theod. Mommsen, Th., and Meyer, P. (eds.). (1894): pp. 37-108. Theodosiani libri XVI cum con- Marc.diac. V. Porphyrii Gregoire, H., and Kugener, M. A. stitutionibus sirmondianis et leges (eds.). Marc le Diacre: Vie de novellae ad Theodosianum pertinentes Porphyre, eveque de Gaza (Paris, (2 v. Berlin, 1905). 1930). Cons. Constant. Mommsen, Th. (ed.). Consularia con- Merob. Vollmer, F. (ed.). Fl. Merobaudis stantinopolitana. Chron. min. 1 reliquiae. MGH:AA 14 (1905): pp. (1892): pp. 197-247. 1-20. Cons. Ital. Mommsen, Th. (ed.). Consularia MGH:AA Monumenta Germaniae historica: Auc- italica. Chron. min. 1 (1892): pp. tores antiquissimi (15 v., Berlin, 249-339. 1877-1919). CIL Corpus inscriptionum latinarum (16 v., MGH:Scriptores Monumenta Germaniae historica: Scrip- Berlin, 1863-1959). tores (32 v., Hannover, 1826-1934). CSHB Niebuhr, B. G., et al. (eds.). Corpus MGH:SRM Monumenta Germaniae historica: Scrip- scriptorum historiae byzantinae (50 tores rerum merovingicarum. (7 v., v. Bonn, 1828-1897). Hannover, 1885-1919). 5 6 CLOVER: FLAVIUS MEROBAUDES [TRANS. AMER. PHIL. SOC. Niceph. Migne, J. P. (ed.). Nicephori Callisti Rutil. Namat. Castorina, E. (ed.). Claudio Rutilio Historia ecclesiastica. PG 145 (1865): Namaziano: De reditu (Florence, pp. 557-1332; 146 (1865): pp. 1967). 9-1274; 147: pp. 9-448. Salv. De gub. Dei Pauly, F. (ed.). Salviani de guber- Nov. Leon. Noailles, P., and Dain, A. (eds.). Les natione Dei libri VIII. Corpus script- novelles de Leon VI le Sage (Paris, orum ecclesiasticorum latinorum 8 1944). (1883), pp. 1-200. Nov. Val. Meyer, P., and Mommsen, Th. (eds.). Salv. Ep. Pauly (ed.). Salviani Epistolae. Ibid., Leges novellae Divi Valentiniani pp. 201-223. Augusti. Cod. Theod. 2 (1905): pp. Sidon. Carm. Loyen, A. (ed.). Sidoine Apollinaire: 69-154. Poemes. 1 (Paris, 1960). Oros. Zangemeister, C. (ed.). Pauli Orosii Sidon. Ep. Anderson, W. B. (ed.). Sidonius Apol- Historiarum adversum paganos libri linaris: Poems and Letters 2 (Cam- VII. Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasti- bridge, Mass., 1965); and Loyen corum latinorum 5 (1882): pp. 1-600. (ed.). Sidoine Apollinaire: Lettres 2 Pan. lat. Mynors, Sir R. (ed.). XII panegyrici and 3 (Paris, announced in 1969). latini (Oxford, 1964). Sigebertus gemblacensis Bethmann, L. (ed.). Sigeberti gem- PG Migne, J. P. (ed.). Patrologiae cursus blacensis Chronographia. MGH: completus: Series graeca (162 v., Scriptores 6 (1844): pp. 268-374. Paris, 1857-1912). Socrat. Migne, J. P. (ed.). Socratis scholastici PL Migne, J. P. (ed.). Patrologiae cursus Historia ecclesiastica. PG 67 (1864): completus: Series latina (221 v., pp. 29-842. Paris, 1844-1864). Suda Adler, A. (ed.). Suidae Lexikon (5 v., Paul. Diac. Hist. Rom. Crivellucci, A. (ed.). Pauli Diaconi Leipzig, 1928-1938). Historia romana (Rome, 1914). Symmachus Seeck, O. (ed.). Q. Aurelii Symmachi Polemius Silvius Mommsen, Th. (ed.). Polemii Silvii quae supersunt. MGH:AA 6, 1 Laterculus. Chron. min. 1 (1892): pp. (1883). 511-551. Theophan. Boor, C. de (ed.). Theophanis Chrono- Prisc. Exc. de leg. Rom. Boor, C. de (ed.). Excerpta historica graphia (2 v., Leipzig, 1883-1885). iussu Imp. Constantini Porphyro- Vict. Vit. Petschenig, M. (ed.). Victoris episcopi geniti confecta 1, 1: Excerpta de vitensis Historia persecutionis afri- legationibus Romanorum ad gentes canae provinciae. Corpus scriptorum (Berlin, 1903), pp. 121-155 ecclessiaticorum latinorum 7 (1881): (Priscus). pp. 1-107. Prisc. Exc. de leg. gent. Boor, C. de (ed.). Ibid. 1, 2: Excerpta Vit. Germ. Borius, R. (ed.). Constance de Lyon: de legationibus gentium ad Romanos Vie de Saint Germain d'Auxerre. (Berlin, 1903), pp. 575-591 Sources chretiennes 112 (Paris, (Priscus). 1965). Procop. Bell. Vand. Haury, J., and Wirth, G. (eds.). Vit. met. Germ. Migne, J. P. (ed.). Herici monachi antis- Procopii caesariensis opera omnia 1: siodorensis Vita S. Germani de prosa De bello vandalico (Leipzig, 1963), in metrum transfusa. PL 124 (1852): pp. 305-552. pp. 1131-1208. Prosp. Mommsen, Th. (ed.). Prosperi Tironis Vit. Mel. (graec.) Gorce, D. (ed.). Vie de Sainte Melanie. Epitoma chronicon. Chron. min. 1 Sources chretiennes 90 (Paris, 1962). (1892): pp. 341-499. Vit. Mel. (lat.) Smet, C. de, et al. (eds.). "Vita Sanctae Pseudo-Dexter Migne, J. P. (ed.). Flavii Lucii Dextri Melaniae Iunioris auctore coaevo et barcinonensis Chronicon omnimodae sanctae familiari," Analecta boll- historiae. PL 31 (1846): pp. 9-635. andiana 8 (1889): pp. 16-63. Querolus Ermich, W. (ed.). Griesgram oder die Zonaras Pinder, M., and Btittner-Wobst, T. Geschichte vom Topf: Querolus sive (eds.). Johannis Zonarae Epitome Aulularia (Berlin, 1965). historiarum. CSHB 44-46 (1841- RE Pauly, A. von, Wissowa, G., et al. 1897). (eds.). Real-Encyclopddie der classi- Zosim. Mendelssohn, L. (ed.). Zosimi comitis schen Altertumswissenschaft (Stutt- et exadvocatifisci Historia nova (Leip- gart, 1893-). zig, 1887). FLAVIUS MEROBAUDES A Translation and Historical Commentary FRANK M. CLOVER CONTENTS partly because of our limited knowledge of the fifth PAGE century, and partly because of the rhetorician's P reface .............................................. 3 attempts to make his remarks immediately under- standable to a limited audience. To add to the A bbreviations......................................... 5 difficulty of historical interpretation, most of the Introduction .......................................... 7 orator's works survive in one mutilated manuscript- Translation: the Codex sangallensis 908, a palimpsest of the fifth or Carmen I .......................................... 11 sixth century.2 But once Merobaudes' works have Ca rm en II ......................................... 11 received proper attention, they provide a rare view of Carmen III .............................. .......... 11 the period in which the orator lived. They enable one C arm en IV ......................................... 11 to look rather closely, for example, at the lives of the Panegyric I......................................... 12 Western Emperor Valentinian III, his immediate Panegyric II ....................................... 13 family and such high-ranking officials as his general- Commentary: issimo Flavius Aitius. In many cases one cannot Carmen I .......................................... 16 find Merobaudes' perspectives in other contemporary Carmen I I ......................................... 27 evidence, such as the short, pithy chronicles. Little is known about the life and career of Mero- Carmen III ........................................ 28 baudes. His name indicates that he was a Frank in Carmen IV ................... .. . ............ .. 29 Panegyric I ................ ....................... 32 origin.3 The sources speak of his noble ancestry, Panegyric II....................................... 41 thereby suggesting that he descended from a Frankish nobleman or a Romanized Frank who attained high Appendix: Vollmer's text of Merobaudes ................. 60 office in the Roman state. Perhaps Merobaudes was Bibliography of secondary works ........................ 70 related in some way to a Frankish officer of the same Index ................................................ 75 name who flourished during the reigns of the Emperors Valentinian I and Gratian, and who attained the INTRODUCTION consulate in 377 and 383.4 Another indication of the poet-orator's Frankish background comes from Nicolas In attempting to reconstruct the events of a parti- Camuzat, an ecclesiastical writer of the late sixteenth cular era, the historian generally prefers contemporary and early seventeenth centuries. In one of his com- to non-contemporary evidence. The latter, whether positions Camuzat mentions a donation of property it be a historical narrative or not, may present a more to the monastery of Mantaniacum (Mantenay-sur- coherent picture of past happenings, but it often colors Seine, near Troyes) by a patrician Merobaudes. This such occurrences with the values of the period in which Merobaudes is probably the poet, and his possession it is recorded. The former, on the other hand, is of property in northern Gaul suggests that he was a usually harder to interpret. Such contemporary Romanized Frank.5 testimony as a grave stone, a business record, or even a history, may contain allusions and references not 2 Cf. Zangemeister and Wattenbach, Exempta codicum lati- immediately comprehensible to the later student. norum (Heidelberg, 1879), p. 5 and table LI; F. Vollmer, But once it is properly interpreted, contemporary MGH:AA 14 (1905): pp. i-iv; and Lowe, Codicesl atini anti- quiores (11 v. to date, Oxford, 1934-1966) 7: no. 962. evidence yields a truer picture of its own period. 3 Cf. M. Schonfeld, Worterbuch(H eidelberg, 1911), s.v. "Mero- It is the purpose of this work to investigate one baudes," p. 167. such genre of contemporary documentation-court 4For the consular Merobaudes, cf. W. Ensslin, s.v. "Mero- literature; in particular, to examine the historical baudes" (1), RE 15, 1 (1931): pp. 1038-1039. For the rheto- value of the court poetry and oratory of Flavius rniocbiailnit'sa tnios"b;l eH pyadraetn. ta1g2e8, c[Mf. GCHIL:A 6A: n1o1. = 1C7h2r4o: n".i nm vinir. o2 :a npt.i q2u4a]:e Merobaudes, a mediocre rhetorician who lived in the "natu nobilis"; Lot, Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire 17 last century of the Western Roman Empire.' The (1938): p. 910; and Sundwall, WestromischeS tudien (Berlin, allusions in Merobaudes' compositions are obscure, 1915), no. 314, p. 106. Sirago, Galla Placidia (Louvain, 1961), p. 355, n. 6, sees in Hydatius' testimony a referencet o Merobaudes' ' For the life and works of Merobaudes in general, see Schanz, descent from a noble Spanish family. It is true that Merobaudes Hosius and Kriiger, Geschichte der romischen Litteratur (Munich, had Spanish connections (see below), but his name itself does not 1920) 4, 2: pp. 41-43; Lenz, s.v. "Merobaudes" (3), RE 15, 1 suggest ultimate Spanish origins. (1931): pp. 1039-1047; and Stroheker, Germanentum (Zurich, 6 Cf. Lot, Revueb elge de philologiee t d'histoire 17 (1938): pp. 1965), pp. 74-75. 906-911; and Prinz, FriihesM onchtum( Munich, 1965), pp. 70-71. 7 8 CLOVER: FLAVIUS MEROBAUDES [TRANS. AMER. PHIL. SOC. But if the rhetorician Merobaudes was Frankish by did not preserve all the traditions of its counterpart of descent, he was certainly a resident of Spain. Sidonius the Principate; it was, for instance, heavily Chris- Apollinaris refers to a man of letters who is probably tianized. The surviving works of Merobaudes show Merobaudes, and whose homeland is the Baetis River that he adopted many of the attitudes of this hybrid in Spain.6 The sixteenth-century classicist Georg nobility. His outlook was generally that of a senator, Fabricius attributes a poem on the Christ to a "Mero- and he was a devout Christian.10 baudes hispanus scholasticus." There is general But Merobaudes did not conform entirely to the agreement that the attribution is correct, and that this general behavior pattern of the Spanish upper class. Merobaudes is the Frankish rhetorician.7 Mero- Since the beginning of the fifth century the aristocracy baudes' father-in-law Asturius was possibly a resident had experienced many difficulties from barbarian of Hispania Tarraconensis.8 Finally, the fact that the invasions and peasant disturbances, and thus did not imperial government gave NMerobaudes himself a regularly take an active part in public life.1" Mero- military command in Spain suggests that the orator- baudes, on the other hand, conceived a strong interest poet had some previous acquaintance with the in public affairs. Sometime before 435 he left his peninsula.9 residence in Spain and journeyed to Ravenna.12 The documentation under consideration here per- There-and in Rome-he began to employ his literary mits only a tentative reconstruction of MAerobaudes' talents primarily for the glory of the Emperor Val- early career. The rhetorician was a Romanized Frank entinian III, the imperial family and the West's chief of high birth, perhaps originally from Gaul. Early in general, Flavius Aetius. He also embarked on a public his life he apparently moved to Spain and settled along career at this time. the Baetis River. There he seems to have married It will be useful to consider the range of MAerobaudes' into the old senatorial aristocracy of Spain. This was literary activity during his entire career, for the per- not unusual, for in Merobaudes' time the aristocracy, spective one obtains from his surviving works may be which controlled large estates in the Iberian Peninsula, misleading. The compositions preserved in the Codex was finding it necessary to take in distinguished new sangallensis 908 and the independently transmitted elements in order to maintain its old way of life. poem on the Christ show clearly that \Ierobaudes was Naturally the Spanish upper class of late antiquity a fairly competent man of letters. He could write a reasonably good hexameter, elegaic couplet, or a line Prinz tentatively dates Merobaudes' donation to ca. 445, and in the Phalaecean meter. Furthermore, he could com- souf gTgreostyse st. hatT thhee trehsteitmoroincyia no fw Casa ma uczlaots e wfrilile nredc eoifv eL ufuplulesr, dBiisschuosp- pose a tolerable prose oration.13 The substance of his sion below, pp. 35-36. surviving works shows that his primary goal was to 6 Sidon. Carm. IX 296-301. Sirmond, Sidonii opera (Paris, praise. His poem on the Christ, for example, is a 1614), "Notae ad Sidonium," pp. 235-236, was the first to identify eulogy.14 In this context one might think of him Merobaudes as the poet referred to in this passage. primarily as a court poet and orator. Indeed, 7Fabricius, Opera christiana (Basel, 1564), p. 87, ad pp. 763-766: "Merobaudis Hispani Scholastici carmen de Christo Merobaudes' contemporaries seem to have emphasized transscripsimus e libro antiquo, quem ad nos Oporinus misit." this aspect of his career.15 But there is evidence In an earlier edition Camers, Claudiani opera (1510), quat. C fol. indicating that he did not restrict his literary efforts to II and fol. F III, attributes the same poem to Claudian. Most court compositions. An inscription honoring him in eJdeeitpo,r sR ahsesiingins chthees wMourkse utom t hfiei rr hPehtoilroilcoigaine , Mseerr.o b2a, u2d8e s.( 187S3e)e: epspp.. 435 makes repeated allusions to his general learning 299-304; and Gennaro, Da Claudiano a Merobaude (Catania, and his excellent talents as a rhetorician. Fabricius 1959), pp. 24-55, et passim. 8Hydat. 125, 128 [Chron. min. 2: p. 24]. Sirago, Galla 10 Cf. Merob. passim. For the Spanish aristocracy of late Placidia (Louvain, 1961), p. 384, maintains that Asturius was a antiquity and Merobaudes' place in it, cf. Balil, Latomus 24 large landowner of Hispania Tarraconensis. This identification is (1965): pp. 886-904, esp. pp. 889-890; and Stroheker, Germanen- not certain. Stroheker, Germanentum (Zurich, 1965), p. 75, tur (Zurich, 1965), pp. 54-87, esp. pp. 74-75. For Merobaudes' observes that there is no explicit evidence for the ultimate Christian leanings, cf. Gennaro, Da Claudiano a Merobaude Spanish origins of any high-ranking officials of the middle fifth (C1at ania, 1959), passim. century. In support of Sirago, however, one may note that the Cf. Stroheker, Germanentum (Zurich, 1965), pp. 75 and 77. name Asturius recalls Asturia, a district in northwestern Hispania 12 Cf. Sidon. Carm. IX 297-298. Tarraconensis. Cf. E. Hiibner, s.v. "Asturia," RE 2, 2 (1896): 13P anegyric II and the De Christo are written in hexameters. pp. 1863-1864. Carmina I, II and III are composed in elegaic couplets. Mero- 9 Hydat. 128 [Chron. min. 2: p. 24]. It is interesting to note baudes used the Phalacean meter for Carmen IV. Panegyric I is that the chronicle of the Pseudo-Dexter also indicates Mero- a prose oration. baudes' Spanish connections. The Pseudo-Dexter s.a. 423 [PL 14F or the panegyrical nature of the De Christo, cf. Jeep, 31: pp. 555-5561 notes that a poet "Marabaudes" flourished in Rheinisches Museum fiir Philologie ser. 2, 28 (1873): p. 301. Barcelona. Unfortunately this testimony is worthless, for the 16H ydat. 128 [Chron. min. 2: p. 24]: "maxime in poematis entire chronicle is a forgery of Hieronymus Roman de la Higuera, studio;" Sidon. Carm. IX 296-301; CIL 6: no. 1724: "Aliorum a Jesuit from Toledo who died in 1611. Cf. Antonio, Bibliotheca facta laudare praecipuo," "remunerantes in viro . . . carmen"; hispana (Rome, 1696) 1: pp. 191-192, 239-240; Potthast, Biblio- CIL 6: no. 31983, frg. a: "[car]mina," frg. b: "orator." Even the theca historica medii aevi (Berlin, 1896) 1: pp. 375-376, s.v. spurious testimony of the Pseudo-Dexter, s.a. 423 [PL 31: pp. "Dexter"; and Jiilicher, s.v. "Dexter" (11), RE 5, 1 (1903): 555-556], fits the general picture of Merobaudes' poetic ability: p. 297. Merobaudes is a "blind [sic] lyric poet." INTRODUCTION 9 VOL. 61, PT. 1, 1971] refers to him as "scholasticus"-possibly one engaged that he held a military command.21 Then he ad- in the study of rhetoric. Finally, in his Commentary vanced to the second senatorial rank, that of vir spec- on the Topics of Cicero Boethius discusses some highly tabilis. Perhaps simultaneously the Emperor Valen- technical points of rhetoric and philosophy, and cites tinian III made him Count of the Consistory, the as one of his authorities a "Merobaudes rhetor"-quite imperial advisory council. M\embership in the Con- possibly the lMerobaudes currently under considera- sistory presumably afforded him the additional title tion.16 In view of the above testimony it seems likely of comes primi ordinis. Mlerobaudes' ability as a that Merobaudes was not only a court poet and orator, rhetorician may have gained him admission to this but also a scholar and rhetorician.17 council. It was partially a high court of law, and The earliest compositions of Merobaudes have not emperors sometimes selected rhetoricians to serve as survived, but it is conceivable that he delivered a law officers. But given the military direction of the panegyric, perhaps in verse, celebrating the first, orator's official career, the fact that he was at once vir stormy consulate of Aetius in 432.18 In addition to spectabilis and Count of the Consistory may indicate displaying his literary talents to the elite, he gave proof that he had previously held the military command of of his prowess as a soldier. Sometime before July, comes rei militaris or dux.22 Finally, on 30 July, 435, 435, he fought a campaign in the Alps, perhaps against the City of Rome and the Emperor Valentinian III the Bacaudae, a conglomerate of dissidents operating honored Merobaudes by having a bronze statue of partly on the western slope of this massif.19 him erected in the Forum of Trajan.23 As a result of his military and literary endeavors, After receiving this honor MIerobaudes seems to Merobaudes received many offices and honors prior to have devoted the next seven or eight years of his life to 30 July, 435. He gained co-optation into the Senate, literary activity. It is possible that he delivered a where at first he presumably held the rank of vir panegyric honoring Aetius' second consulate in 437.24 clarissimus, the lowest order for a senator.20 He It is also possible that he composed an ode in 437 earned the name "Flavius," which probably indicates honoring the wedding of Valentinian III and Theodosius II's daughter Eudoxia. In the following 16 CIL 6: no. 1724: "Docto viro," "eloquentiae cura," "in- genium . . . doctrinae natum," "scholari . . . otio"; Fabricius, year the poet may have produced some verses celebrat- Opera christiana (Basel, 1564), p. 87, ad pp. 763-766; cf. Hydat. ing the birth of Eudocia, the imperial couple's first 128 [Chron. min. 2: p. 24]: "eloquentiae merito." Jeep, Rhein- child.25 Many of Merobaudes' surviving works date isches Museum fur Philologie, ser. 2, 28 (1873): p. 301, maintains from this period as well. Around winter 441/2 the that Fabricius' "scholasticus" is to be taken in the ancient sense as meaning "rhetorician"; he cites the phrase "otium scholare" poet wrote a genethliakon in honor of the first birthday in the inscription cited above to support his interpretation. But of Aetius' younger son Gaudentius. In the early 440's Fabricius is not an ancient authority, and he could use the word he dedicated a piece to his friend Anicius Acilius "scholasticus" to denote something other than "rhetorician." Glabrio Faustus. And in ca. 443 he composed two Even if he used the word in accordance with its meaning in poems partially to celebrate the baptism of Placidia, later Latin, he might have signified that Merobaudes was an advocate rather than a master of rhetoric. Cf. Souter, Glossary the younger daughter of Valentinian and Eudoxia.26 (Oxford, 1949), s.v. "scholasticus." Nevertheless, Jeep is sub- It was perhaps his literary works honoring the stantially correct, for the phrase "otium scholare" in the inscrip- imperial family that caused Merobaudes to reach the tion occurs in such a context that it connotes the scholarly leisure peak of his military career. In 443 Valentinian III oinf aT rohpeictoar Ciciicaenr. onisF obrk st.h 4e atensdt im5 o[PnyL o6f4 :B popet. h1iu1s0,9 cafn. dC 1o1m4m7]e, nwtairthia apparently made him magister utriusque militiae. observations by A. Galland in PL 61: pp. 971-972. By virtue of this office the soldier-orator assumed the 17 This is essentially the perspective of Sirago, Galla Placidia (Louvain, 1961), p. 355. Admittedly much of the praise of 21 CIL 6: no. 1724. By Merobaudes' time the name or title Merobaudes' scholarly and rhetorical talents in CIL 6: no. 1724 "Flavius" probably designated all military officers and members may be an echo of literary topoi. Many poets, especially Catul- of the central bureaucracy. Cf. M6csy, Akte des IV. interna- lus, were regarded as docti. Cf. Tib. III 6, 41; Ov. Am. III 9, tionalen Kongresses fur griechische und lateinische Epigraphik 62; and Mart. I 61, 1. But the inscription honoring Merobaudes (Vienna, 1964), pp. 257-263. Since the inscription cited above develops the point so much as to suggest that the poet was shows that Merobaudes' early official career centered on the actually engaged in the study of rhetoric. The testimony of military, it seems likely that his acquired name indicates his Boethius sharpens the possibility that Merobaudes was indeed a tenure of some military post. The possible title of such a rhetorician. command will be discussed below. 18 CIL 6: no. 1724. See below, p. 39. 22 CIL 6: no. 1724. For the implications of the rank of vir 19 CIL 6: no. 1724. For the possible identity of the enemy, cf. spectabilis and the office of Count of the Consistory, see below, Thompson, Jour. Roman Studies 46 (1956): p. 73, n. 46; and S. p. 40. Szadeczky-Kardoss, s.v. "Bagaudae," RE Supp. 11 (1968): pp. 23 CIL 6: no. 1724 =H. Dessau, Inscriptiones (Berlin, 1892) 1: 346-354, at p. 349. It has been suggested that Merobaudes no. 2950; and Merob. Paneg. I frg. IIA 2-3. See below, pp. also campaigned against the Bacaudae in Armorica, a district in 39-40. northern Gaul. Cf. Lot, Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire 17 24B ut Panegyric I is probably not this composition. See (1938): p. 910, n. 1; Czuth, Die Quellen (Szeged, 1965), p. 37; below, pp. 32-41. and Olajos, Antik Tanulmanyok 13 (1966): p. 173, n. 13. This 26 Cf. Bury, History of the Later Roman Empire (London, 1923) is possible but there is no evidence indicating such a campaign. 1: p. 251. See also the discussion below, pp. 36-37. Cf. Szadeczky-Kardoss, RE Supp. 11 (1968): p. 352. 26 For these surviving works and their dates, see below, pp. 20 Merob. Paneg. I frg. IIA 1. See below, p. 39. 16-32. 10 CLOVER: FLAVIUS MEROBAUDES [TRANS. AMER. PHIL. SOC. regional command in Spain immediately subordinate honor granted to him for life.33 Furthermore, the to Aitius.27 Perhaps at the same time Theodosius II patriciate or his brief command as Master of Soldiers acted on a suggestion of Aitius and awarded Mero- probably entitled him to the highest senatorial rank, baudes a title of high distinction-evidently that of that of vir inlustris.34 The influence of Aetius helped patricius.28 The soldier-rhetorician succeeded his restore him to his former position. Between 443 and father-in-law Asturius, who had been campaigning in 446 the rhetorician apparently delivered an oration the province of Hispania Tarraconensis since 441.29 in the Senate at Rome. The oration was in the tradi- The task of both Asturius and Merobaudes was to tion of the gratiarum actio, a panegyric of thanks- suppress an uprising of the Bacaudae, a group of ruined giving. Merobaudes praised Aetius and gratefully peasants and other dissidents operating in that credited him with the attainment of his highest title, province. It is significant that the power of the apparently that of patrician.35 Later, on 1 January, Spanish aristocracy to which Merobaudes belonged was 446, the orator again celebrated the merits and deeds of partially the cause of this rebellion. As the aristoc- Aetius, this time when the latter assumed his third racy increased its landed wealth, more small farmers consulate.36 were ruined, and thus became raw material for a After the delivery of this last panegyric, one hears peasant uprising. Another reason for the Bacaudic nothing more about Merobaudes' literary or official disturbances in Spain in the 440's-and even into the career. He died at an uncertain date-apparently 450's-was the general unrest which had seized the before the 460's-37 and was buried in Rome. His peninsula since the barbarian invasions that began in epitaph has survived in fragments. It apparently 409.30 Merobaudes gained some success in carrying celebrates his literary prowess, and it may indicate that out his assignment. In a short time he broke the re- his wife, probably the daughter of Asturius, did not sistance of the Bacaudae based at Araceli, a town in survive him.38 the upper Ebro Valley.31 But his achievement made him the object of jealousy back in Italy. Certain rVaanlgenedti nfioarn 'Ms edroisbtaasutdee sf' orr ebcarlul;t ale vreenp rPeosspieo nL eoof rI,e bweallrioyn ofa nrdec eanrt- influential persons, possibly political rivals of the disturbances by Manicheans in Spain-disturbances closely soldier-orator and his superior Aetius, persuaded linked with those of the Bacaudae-may have helped persuade Valentinian III to issue an imperial rescript recalling Valentinian to ease the pressure on the dissidents. Sirago's analysis of the politics behind Merobaudes' recall is rather con- him.32 vincing. Olajos, Antik Tanulmdnyok 13 (1966): p. 173, n. 13, Despite this show of imperial disfavor, Merobaudes accepts it. For a similar assessment, with some evidence to managed to maintain himself in the upper echelons of support it, cf. Oost, Galla Placidia (Chicago, 1968), pp. 278-279. the Senate. He retained the title of patrician, an But Sirago's suggestion that Valentinian was reticent about sup- pressing rebellion in Spain seems far-fetched. In 446 Valen- 27 Hydat. 128 [Chron. min 2: p. 24]. For the nature of tinian once again sent to Spain a magister utriusque militiae, a Merobaudes' command, cf. Jones, Later Roman Empire (Oxford, certain Vitus, to deal with unrest in Baetica and Carthaginiensis. 1964) 1: p. 192, and 3: p. 36, n. 44. For further discussion, see Vitus dealt with the trouble brutally but ineffectively. Cf. below, p. 37. Hydat. 134 [Chron. min. 2: p. 24]. 28 Merob. Paneg. I frg. IIA 3-5. See below, pp. 35-38. 33F or lifelong tenure of the patriciate, cf. Picotti, Archivio 29 Hydat. 125, 128 [Chron. min. 2: p. 24]. Asturius' title and storico italiano ser. 7, 9 (1928): pp. 16-20; and Heil, Der konstant- the dates of his command are confirmed by his consular diptych inische Patriziat (Basel, 1966), p. 21, et passim. of 449, on which he is designated as "ex mag. utriusq. mil." Cf. 34 For patricians being awarded the rank of inlustris, cf. Dessau, Inscriptiones (Berlin, 1892) 1: no. 1300=Delbriick, Die Picotti, Archivio storico italiano, ser. 7, 9 (1928): pp. 14-15. For Consulardiptychen (Berlin, 1929), pp. 95-99; and Jones, Later the attainment of the same rank by former Masters of Soldiers, Roman Empire (Oxford, 1964) 3: p. 36, n. 44. cf. Jones, Later Roman Empire (Oxford, 1964) 2: p. 528. 30 Hydat. 125, 128 [Chron. min. 2: p. 24]; cf. Salvian. De gub. 35 Merob. Paneg. I passim. See below, pp. 32-41. Oost, Galla Dei V 23. For the general nature and causes of the Bacaudic Placidia (Chicago, 1968), p. 280, n. 107, raises the question disturbances in Spain, cf. Thompson, Past and Present 2 (1952): whether Merobaudes also composed a panegyric for the Vicen- pp. 11-23, esp. p. 16; Balil, Latomus 24 (1965): pp. 891-893; nalia and sixth consulship of Valentinian in 445. Stroheker, Germanentum (Zurich, 1965), pp. 74-75; Czuth and 36M erob. Paneg. II passim. See below, pp. 41-59. Szadeczky-Kardoss, Bibliotheca classica orientalis 3 (1958): p. 37O lajos, Antik Tanulmdnyok 13 (1966): p. 173, points out 140; Korsunski, ibid. 6 (1961): pp. 87-88; and Szadeczky- that Sidon. Carm. IX 277-280, 296-301 implies that Merobaudes Kardoss, RE Supp. 11 (1968): p. 352. was dead by the time the poem was written. This poem, one of 31H ydat. 128 EChron. min. 2: p. 24]. Cf. E. Hiibner, s.v. Sidonius' nugae, dates from ca. 461-467. Cf. Loyen, Sidoine "Araceli," RE 2, 1 (1896): p. 366. Apollinaire: Poemes (Paris, 1960), p. xvii. 32 Hydat. 128 [Chron. min. 2: p. 24]. For the meaning of 38 CIL 6: no. 31983=Diehl, Inscriptiones christianae veteres "sacra praeceptio," cf. Souter, Glossary (Oxford, 1949), s.v. (Berlin, 1961) 1: no. 105 a-b. If one accepts the restoration of "praeceptio." Jealousy of Merobaudes was not limited to the frg. b, Merobaudes' wife died before her husband. Unless year 443. One can detect a note of envy in Sidonius' praise of Merobaudes' first wife died and the poet remarried, the spouse him. Cf. Sidon. Carm. IX 296-301; Vollmer, MGH:AA14: p. i; mentioned in this epitaph is the daughter of Asturius. Another and Teuffel, Geschichte (Berlin, 1913) 3: p. 428. According to inscription, found in Rome but of uncertain origin, may refer to Sirago, Galla Placidia (Louvain, 1961), pp. 342, 384-388, political the soldier-rhetorician Merobaudes. Cf. CIL 15: no. 1702; and rivals of Merobaudes-and by implication Aetius-played on Diehl, Inscriptiones (Berlin, 1961) 1: ad no. 105 b.