Chapter XXXVIII: Book XII (2)

[Footnote 871: Here follows this sentence: 'Haec loca garismatia plura nutriunt.' Garum seems to have been a sauce something like our anchovy-sauce. Garismatium is evidently a garum-supplying place.]

[Footnote 872: We have a special allusion in Martial (iv. 25) to the villas of Altinum, and he too compares them to those of Baiae.]

'To guard against any misunderstanding of our orders, we send Laurentius, a man of great experience, whose instructions are contained in the annexed letter.

'We will publish a tariff of moderate prices when we next address you, and when we have ascertained what is the yield of the present crops; for we should be deciding quite at random before we have received that information.'

23. SENATOR, PRAETORIAN PRAEFECT, TO LAURENTIUS, VIR EXPERIENTISSIMUS[873].

[Footnote 873: Evidently 'the annexed letter' referred to in No. 22.]

[Sidenote: The same subject.]

'Anyone can discharge the duties of the Commissariat in a time of abundance. It is a mark of our high appreciation of your experience and efficiency, that we select you for this service in a time of scarcity. We therefore direct you to repair to the Province of Istria, there to collect stores of wine, oil, and corn, equivalent to ... solidi, due from the Province for land-tax[874], and with ... solidi which you have received from our Treasurer to buy these products either from the merchants or from the peasants directly, according to the information prepared for you by the Cashiers[875]. Raise your spirits for this duty, and discharge it in a manner worthy of your past reputation. Make to us a faithful report of the yield of the coming harvest, under these three heads[876], that we may fix a tariff of prices which shall be neither burdensome to the Provincials nor injurious to the public service.'

[Footnote 874: 'Ut in tot solidos vini, olei, vel tritici species de tributario solido debeas procurare.']

[Footnote 875: 'Sicut te a Numerariis instruxit porrecta Notitia.' Note this use of the word 'Notitia,' as illustrating the title of the celebrated document bearing that name.]

[Footnote 876: Corn, wine, and oil.]

24. SENATOR, PRAETORIAN PRAEFECT, TO THE TRIBUNES OF THE MARITIME POPULATION[877].

[Footnote 877: Written shortly after Sept. 1, 537. This is the celebrated letter to which Venetian historians point as evidence of the existence of their city (or at least of the group of settlements out of which their city sprang) in the Sixth Century. We may set side by side with it the words of the Anonymous Geographer of Ravenna (in the Seventh Century), 'In patria vero Venetiae sunt aliquantae insulae, quae hominibus habitantur.'

The address, _Tribunis Maritimorum_, looks as if there were something like a municipal government established in these islands. Tribunus was at this time generally, but not exclusively, a military title. Compare the Tribunus Fori Suarii and Tribunus Rerum Nitentium of the Notitia (Occidens iv. 10 and iv. 17). But there can be no doubt, from the tone of this letter, that the islanders were subjects of the Ostrogothic King.]

[Sidenote: First historical notice of Venice.]

'We have previously given orders that Istria should send wine and oil, of which there are abundant crops this year, to the Royal residence at Ravenna. Do you, who possess numerous ships on the borders of the Province, show the same devotion in forwarding the stores which they do in supplying them.

'Be therefore active in fulfilling this commission in your own neighbourhood, you who often cross boundless distances. It may be said that [in visiting Ravenna] you are going through your own guest-chambers, you who in your voyages traverse your own home[878]. This is also added to your other advantages, that to you another route is open, marked by perpetual safety and tranquillity. For when by raging winds the sea is closed, a way is opened to you through the most charming river scenery[879]. Your keels fear no rough blasts; they touch the earth with the greatest pleasure, and cannot perish however frequently they may come in contact with it. Beholders from a distance, not seeing the channel of the stream, might fancy them moving through the meadows. Cables have been used to keep them at rest: now drawn by ropes they move, and by a changed order of things men help their ships with their feet. They draw their drawers without labour, and instead of the capricious favour of sails they use the more satisfactory steps of the sailor.

[Footnote 878: An obscure sentence: 'Per hospitia quodammodo vestra discurritis qui per patriam navigatis.' The idea seems to be: 'You have to sail about from one room to another of your own house, and therefore Ravenna will seem like a neighbouring inn.']

[Footnote 879: The next four sentences describe the movement of the ships when towed along the channels of the streams (Brenta, Piave, Tagliamento, &c.) the deposits from which have made the lagunes.]

'It is a pleasure to recall the situation of your dwellings as I myself have seen them. Venetia the praiseworthy[880], formerly full of the dwellings of the nobility, touches on the south Ravenna and the Po, while on the east it enjoys the delightsomeness of the Ionian shore, where the alternating tide now discovers and now conceals the face of the fields by the ebb and flow of its inundation. Here after the manner of water-fowl have you fixed your home. He who was just now on the mainland finds himself on an island, so that you might fancy yourself in the Cyclades[881], from the sudden alterations in the appearance of the shore.

[Footnote 880: 'Venetiae praedicabiles.' An allusion, no doubt, as other commentators have suggested, to the reputed derivation of Venetia from [Greek: Ainetoi], 'the laudable.']

[Footnote 881: Alluding probably to the story of the floating island of Delos.]

'Like them[882] there are seen amid the wide expanse of the waters your scattered homes, not the product of Nature, but cemented by the care of man into a firm foundation[883]. For by a twisted and knotted osier-work the earth there collected is turned into a solid mass, and you oppose without fear to the waves of the sea so fragile a bulwark, since forsooth the mass of waters is unable to sweep away the shallow shore, the deficiency in depth depriving the waves of the necessary power.

[Footnote 882: 'Earum similitudine.' Does Cassiodorus mean 'like the water-fowl,' or 'like the Cyclades?']

[Footnote 883: The reading of Nivellius (followed by Migne), 'Domicilia videntur sparsa, quae Natura non protulit sed hominum cura fundavit,' seems to give a better sense than that of Garet, who omits the 'non.']

'The inhabitants have one notion of plenty, that of gorging themselves with fish. Poverty therefore may associate itself with wealth on equal terms. One kind of food refreshes all; the same sort of dwelling shelters all; no one can envy his neighbour's home; and living in this moderate style they escape that vice [of envy] to which all the rest of the world is liable.

'Your whole attention is concentrated on your salt-works. Instead of driving the plough or wielding the sickle, you roll your cylinders. Thence arises your whole crop, when you find in them that product which you have not manufactured[884]. There it may be said is your subsistence-money coined[885]. Of this art of yours every wave is a bondservant. In the quest for gold a man may be lukewarm: but salt every one desires to find; and deservedly so, since to it every kind of meat owes its savour.

[Footnote 884: 'Inde vobis fructus omnis enascitur, quando in ipsis, et quae non facitis possidetis.']

[Footnote 885: 'Moneta illic quodammodo percutitur victualis.' Some have supposed that these words point to a currency in salt; but I think they are only a Cassiodorian way of saying 'By this craft ye have your wealth.']

'Therefore let your ships, which you have tethered, like so many beasts of burden, to your walls, be repaired with diligent care: so that when the most experienced Laurentius attempts to bring you his instructions, you may hasten forth to greet him. Do not by any hindrance on your part delay the necessary purchases which he has to make; since you, on account of the character of your winds, are able to choose the shortest sea-track[886].'

[Footnote 886: This is the only translation I can suggest of 'quatenus expensas necessarias nulla difficultate tardetis, qui pro qualitate aeris compendium vobis eligere potestis itineris.']

25. SENATOR, PRAETORIAN PRAEFECT, TO HIS DEPUTY[887] AMBROSIUS, AN ILLUSTRIS.

[Footnote 887: 'Agenti vices.' See note on xi. 4.]

[This letter appears to have been written in the early autumn of 538, about a year after the three last letters, and also after Letters 27 and 28, which precede it in order of date, though they follow it in this collection. For an account of the terrible famine in Italy, the beginning of which is here described, see Procopius, De Bello Gotthico ii. 20.]

[Sidenote: Famine in Italy.]

'Since the world is not governed by chance, but by a Divine Ruler who does not change His purposes at random, men are alarmed, and naturally alarmed, at the extraordinary signs in the heavens, and ask with anxious hearts what events these may portend. The Sun, first of stars, seems to have lost his wonted light, and appears of a bluish colour. We marvel to see no shadows of our bodies at noon, to feel the mighty vigour of his heat wasted into feebleness, and the phenomena which accompany a transitory eclipse prolonged through a whole year.

'The Moon too, even when her orb is full, is empty of her natural splendour. Strange has been the course of the year thus far. We have had a winter without storms, a spring without mildness, and a summer without heat. Whence can we look for harvest, since the months which should have been maturing the corn have been chilled by Boreas? How can the blade open if rain, the mother of all fertility, is denied to it? These two influences, prolonged frost and unseasonable drought, must be adverse to all things that grow. The seasons seem to be all jumbled up together, and the fruits, which were wont to be formed by gentle showers, cannot be looked for from the parched earth. But as last year was one that boasted of an exceptionally abundant harvest, you are to collect all of its fruits that you can, and store them up for the coming months of scarcity, for which it is well able to provide. And that you may not be too much distressed by the signs in the heavens of which I have spoken, return to the consideration of Nature, and apprehend the reason of that which makes the vulgar gape with wonder.

'The middle air is thickened by the rigour of snow and rarefied by the beams of the Sun. This is the great Inane, roaming between the heavens and the earth. When it happens to be pure and lighted up by the rays of the sun it opens out its true aspect[888]; but when alien elements are blended with it, it is stretched like a hide across the sky, and suffers neither the true colours of the heavenly bodies to appear nor their proper warmth to penetrate. This often happens in cloudy weather for a time; it is only its extraordinary prolongation which has produced these disastrous effects, causing the reaper to fear a new frost in harvest, making the apples to harden when they should grow ripe, souring the old age of the grape-cluster.

[Footnote 888: 'Vestros (?) veraciter pandit aspectus.']

'All this, however, though it would be wrong to construe it as an omen of Divine wrath, cannot but have an injurious effect on the fruits of the earth. Let it be your care to see that the scarcity of this one year does not bring ruin on us all. Even thus was it ordained by the first occupant of our present dignity[889], that the preceding plenty should avail to mitigate the present penury.'

[Footnote 889: Joseph, Praetorian Praefect of Egypt under Pharaoh.]

26. SENATOR, PRAETORIAN PRAEFECT, TO PAULUS, VIR STRENUUS[890].

[Footnote 890: Paulas was probably a Sajo.]

[Sidenote: Remission of taxes for Province of Venetia in consequence of the famine.]

'We are glad when we can reconcile the claims of the public service with the suggestions of pity. The Venerable Augustin, a man illustrious by his life and name, has brought under our notice the lamentable petition of the Venetians, to the effect that there have been in their Province no crops of wine, wheat, or millet, and that they must be ruined unless the Royal pity succours them.

'In these circumstances it would be cruel to exact the customary supplies from them, and we therefore remit the contributions of wine and wheat for the use of the army which we had ordered from the cities of Concordia, Aquileia, and Forojulii[891], exacting only the meat, as shown by the accompanying letter[892].

[Footnote 891: Now Cividale in Friuli. Notice the terminations of these names: 'ex Concordiense, Aquileiense, et Forojuliense civitatibus' ('e,' not 'i').]

[Footnote 892: The letter here alluded to does not appear to be preserved.]

'We shall send from hence a sufficient supply of wheat when the time comes; and as we are told that there is a plentiful crop of wine in Istria, you can buy there the wine that would have been furnished by the three cities. Be sure that you ask for no fee in this matter. This remission of taxes is absolutely gratuitous on our part.'

27. SENATOR, PRAETORIAN PRAEFECT, TO DATIUS[893], BISHOP OF MILAN.

[Footnote 893: Cassiodorus, like Procopius, spells this name with a 't.' Some of the ecclesiastical writers spell it with a 'c.']

[Sidenote: Relief of famine-stricken citizens of Ticinum and Dertona.]

'It is most fitting that good and holy men should be made the stewards of the Royal bounty. We therefore request your Holiness, in accordance with the King's commands, to open the granaries at Ticinum[894], and Dertona[895], and sell millet thereat to the starving people at the rate of 20 modii per solidum[896]. We are anxious that you should do this, lest the work should fall into venal hands which would sell the King's bounty to those who are able to provide for themselves. It is the poor, not the rich, that we wish to help: we would pour our bounty into empty vessels. Let not then your Holiness think this work of compassion, unworthy of your sacred office. In order to assist you we have sent A and B, who will simply obey the orders of your Holiness, doing nothing of their own motion.

[Footnote 894: Pavia.]

[Footnote 895: Tortona.]

[Footnote 896: Twelve shillings for twenty pecks, or about nineteen shillings and twopence a quarter; not a very low price, one would think, for such a grain as millet.

Datius is ordered to sell _tertiam portionem_ of this millet. Probably this expression has the same meaning as the 'tertia illatio' of xi. 37.

In the similar letter, x. 27, 'tertia portio' (whether of wheat or millet is not stated) is to be sold at 25 modii per solidum.]

'Send us an account of the solidi received in payment for the said millet, that they may be stored up with our Treasurer[897], in order to replace the before-mentioned grain, and thus provide a reserve for future times of scarcity; like a garment taken to pieces that it may be made up again as good as new.'

[Footnote 897: 'Arcarius.']

[It is not very easy to assign a date to this letter. The mention of the famine would incline us to assign it to 538, as that seems to have been the year when the full force of the famine was felt in Italy (see Procopius, De Bello Gotthico ii. 20, where 538 and 539 seem to be marked as the two great famine years). But very early in 538 the Bishop of Milan, the same Datius to whom this letter is addressed, visited Rome to entreat Belisarius to send a small garrison to occupy Milan, which had already revolted, or was on the verge of revolting, from the Gothic King. As soon as the siege of Rome was raised Belisarius complied with this request, and sent 1,000 men, under Mundilas, to escort Datius back to Milan. This expedition set forth probably in April 538, and as soon as it arrived at Milan that city openly proclaimed its defection from Witigis and its allegiance to the Emperor. It was soon besieged by Uraias, nephew of Witigis, by whom in the following year (539) it was taken. The city, we are informed, was rased to the ground, and Bishop Datius escaped to Constantinople. Evidently we have here a continuous chain of events, which makes it impossible for us to date this letter in 538 or any subsequent year.

We ought probably therefore to assign it to the autumn of 537, and to look upon it as an attempt (unsuccessful, as it proved) to retain Datius and the citizens of Milan on the side of the Goths. We know from the Twenty-second Letter of this book that signs of scarcity had already shown themselves in Italy by the 1st September, 537; and in an interesting passage of the 'Historia Miscella' (Book xvi.), famine in Liguria, the year 537, and the name of Datius are all combined. 'Praeter belli instantiam angebatur insuper Roma famis penuriâ: tanta siquidem per universum mundum eo anno [the year of the siege of Rome], _maxime apud Liguriam_ fames excreverat, ut _sicut vir sanctissimus Datius Mediolanensis antistes retulit_, pleraeque matres infelicium natorum membra comederent.' I owe this reference to Baronius.]

28. AN EDICT [ADDRESSED TO THE LIGURIANS].

[Sidenote: Relief of inhabitants of Liguria.]

'Divine Providence uses adversity as a means of testing our characters. Famine has afflicted the Provinces, but the result of it has been that they have proved more fully than before the bounty of their King. Rejoice herein, oh ye Ligurians! For when, as you will remember, on a previous occasion the savage temper of your neighbours was aroused, and Aemilia and your Liguria were shaken by an incursion of the Burgundians, who waged a sneaking campaign by reason of their nearness to your territory, suddenly the renown of the insulted Empire[898] arose like the sun in his strength. The enemy mourned the ruin which was caused by his own presumption, when he learned that that man was Ruler of the Gothic race whose rare valour he had experienced when he was still a private soldier[899]. How often did the Burgundian wish that he had never left his own frontiers to be compelled to fight with such an adversary as our Sovereign; for though he found with relief that he escaped his actual presence in the field, none the less did his rashness bring him in contact with the good fortune of his arms. For when with redoubled fortitude[900] the Goths turned to the prosecution of the war, with such successfully combined operations did they strike the bands of the rebels, that you would have thought those were all armed men, these were all defenceless[901]. Such was the just judgment of God, that the robber should perish in those very plains which he had presumed to desolate. Exult now, oh Province, adorned with the carcases of thine adversaries! rejoice, oh Liguria, at the heap of dead bodies! If the harvest of corn is denied thee, the harvest of dead enemies shall not be wanting. Tribute thou mayest not be able to offer to thy King, but the triumphs which are won in thy land thou canst offer with pride.

[Footnote 898: Literally, 'of the present Empire:' 'subito praesentis Imperii tanquam solis ortus fama radiavit.' I avoid the word 'present,' because of its ambiguity. Observe the use of 'Imperii' applied to the Gothic Kingdom.]

[Footnote 899: 'Quando illum cognovit nominatae (?) gentis esse Rectorem, quem sub militis nomine probaverat esse singularem.' This evident allusion to Witigis obliges us to place the date of this Burgundian invasion not much earlier than the summer of 536, when Witigis was raised to the throne. Apparently the Burgundians were already in Italy when they heard the news of that event.]

[Footnote 900: 'Ut Gothi ad belli studium geminâ se fortitudine contulerunt.' These words perhaps allude to the necessity of fighting two enemies at once, Belisarius and the Burgundians; or perhaps to the existence of two Gothic armies, whose combined operations are indicated by the following words, 'prospera concertatione.']

[Footnote 901: 'Quasi inde nudos hinc stare contigisset armatos.' 'Hinc' and 'inde' refer to geographical position, not to the order of the words in the sentence.]

'[902]To these triumphs must be added the lately foiled plunder-raid of the Alamanni, so checked in its very first attempts that their entrance and exit were almost one event, like a wound well and opportunely cauterised. Thus were the excesses of the presumptuous invader punished, and the subjects of our King were saved from absolute ruin. I might indeed enumerate to you what crowds of the enemy fell in other places, but I turn rather--such is human nature--to more joyful themes, and revert to the point with which I at first commenced, namely that the Sovereign who has saved you from the hostile sword is determined now to avert from your Province the perils of famine.

[Footnote 902: See von Schubert's 'Unterwerfung der Alamannen,' pp. 57-59, for a careful analysis of the following paragraph.]

'In this new war the citadels are well-stored granaries; Starvation is the dreaded foe: if they are closed she enters; by opening them wide she is put to flight. I know not what the world in general may think of the relative merit of these two campaigns of our King. For my part, though I recognise it as the mark of a brave man to have fought a winning battle, I think it is something above mere human valour to have conquered penury.

'In addition to these benefits the King has remitted one-half of the taxes of the Province, that he might not sadden with the one hand those whom he was gladdening with the other. Herein he compares favourably with Joseph, who sold corn to the Egyptians, but on such terms that they lost their personal freedom. Doubtless that holy man was placed in a dilemma between the necessity of satisfying a covetous King on the one hand, and that of rescuing a starving people on the other. Still I must think that the Egyptian, whose life was preserved, groaned over the loss of his liberty; and if I may say so, with all respect to so great a patriarch[903], far nobler is it to sell corn to freemen who remain freemen, and to lighten their taxes on account of poverty. This is really a gratuitous distribution, when both the money with which to buy is handed over to you [by the abatement of tribute], and a price is fixed on purpose to please you.

[Footnote 903: 'Pace tanti patris dixerim.']

'The generosity of the State therefore will sell 25 modii, when the peasant has lost his crops, at the price at which 10 are usually sold[904]. Humanity has altered the usual course of affairs, and by a strange kind of chaffering, but one which truly becomes a King, just when the famished peasant is willing to offer us an enhanced price for food, we are directed to offer it to him for a smaller one.

[Footnote 904: Probably one solidus: making the largesse price 15s. 4d. a quarter (about four shillings less than the price named in the preceding letter for millet); while the market price was 38s. 4d. a quarter. I read these sentences thus: 'Vendit itaque largitas publica vicenos quinque modios, dum possessor invenire non possit, ad denos. Ordinem rerum saeculi mutavit humanitas.' The construction is harsh and elliptical, but this makes sense, which the ordinary punctuation, throwing 'ad denos' into the following sentence, does not.]

'The King himself had seen your calamity, and thereupon bestowed on you previously one favour. Now, on hearing of its continuance, he adds to it a second. Happy calamity, which forced itself on the notice of such an eye-witness!

'Now, oh Ligurian, rejoice in the good fortune which has come to thee. Compare thy lot with the Egyptian's and be happy. He was fed, but lost his freedom; thou art fed, and at the same time defended from thy enemies. Joseph gave back the purchase-money to his brethren in their sacks, showing a greater kindness to his kindred than to his subjects. Our King shows no such partiality, but bestows on all the taxpayers larger benefits than he did on his brethren. Happy age! in which Kings may be likened, not to Kings, but to Prophets, and yet bear away the palm.

'But that we may not longer detain you from the desired enjoyment of the Royal benefits, know that our commands have been given to those whose business it is to attend to this affair, that, according to the tenour of this edict, the generosity of the Sovereign may penetrate into your homes.'

[The same considerations which were applied to the date of the preceding letter seem to require that this also be dated in 537. After the raising of the siege of Rome (March, 538), by the despatch of Imperial troops into Liguria, and the enthusiastic adherence of that Province to the Imperial cause, a new state of things was established, and one to which the language of this letter would have been utterly inapplicable.

There are two events of which we have no other knowledge than that furnished by this letter: the invasion of the Burgundians, and the ravages of the Alamanni in the Province of Liguria.

(1) The invasion of the Burgundians seems, as stated in a previous note, to have occurred in the spring or early summer of 536; so that Cassiodorus could represent the invaders as surprised and disheartened by learning of the elevation of Witigis. It no doubt formed part of those hostile operations of the Frankish Kings described by Procopius (De Bello Gotthico i. 13), the termination of which was purchased by Witigis by the cession of Provence and the payment of a subsidy. It is interesting to observe, however, that the Burgundians, notwithstanding their subjugation in 534, and their incorporation in the Frankish monarchy, are still spoken of as conducting an invasion on their own account. This is just like the invasion of Italy in 553 by the Alamannic brethren, and is quite in keeping with the loosely compacted character of the Merovingian monarchy, in which it was copied by the Anglian and Saxon Kingdoms.

(2) For the ravages of the Alamanni consult, as before stated, von Schubert's monograph. This passage quite confirms his view of the events connected with the overthrow of the Alamannic Kingdom by Clovis. A remnant of the people, settled as refugees in Raetia under Theodoric's protection, now, in the decline of the Ostrogothic monarchy throw off their allegiance to his successors, and press forward over the Alps to share the spoil of Italy. Witigis, however, notwithstanding his struggle with Belisarius, is still able promptly to repel this incursion; but it co-operates with the Burgundian invasion and the inclement spring and summer of 537 to bring about the famine in Liguria in the autumn of that year.]

THE END.

INDEX OF PERSONS

TO WHOM THE LETTERS ARE ADDRESSED.

A.

Abundantius, Praetorian Praefect, v. 16, 17, 23, 34; ix. 4.

Acretius, _see_ Eutropius.

Adeodatus, iii. 46.

Adila, Vir Spectabilis, Comes, ii. 29.

Aemilianus, Vir Venerabilis, Bishop, iv. 31.

Aestunae, Possessores, Defensores, and Curiales dwelling at, iii. 9.

Agapitus, Praefectus Urbis,
Vir Illustris atque Patricius, i. 6, 23, 32, 33, 41; ii. 6.

Alaric (II), King of the Visigoths (484-507), iii. 1.

Albienus, Vir Illustris atque Patricius, i. 20;
Praefectus Praetorio, viii. 20.

Albinus and Albienus, Viri Illustres atque Patricii, i. 20.

Albinus, Vir Illustris, Patricius, iv. 30.

Albinus, Actores of, iv. 35.

Aloisius, Architect, ii. 39.

Amabilis, Exsecutor, i. 8;
Vir Devotus (? Sajo) and Comes, iv. 5.

Ambrosius, Quaestor, viii. 13;
Vir Illustris Agens Vices (Praefecti Praetorio), xi. 4, 5; xii. 25.

Ampelius, Despotius, and Theodulus, Viri Spectabiles, ii. 23.

Ampelius, Count Luvirit and, v. 35.

Ampelius and Liveria, v. 39.

Anastasius, Emperor (491-518), i. 1; ii. 1.

Anastasius, Consularis, v. 8.

Anastasius, Cancellarius of Lucania and Bruttii, xii. 12, 14.

Anat(h)olius, Cancellarius of Province of Samnium, xi. 36.

Andreas, Primiscrinius, xi. 21.

Andreas, _see_ Maximian.

Annas, Vir Spectabilis and Comes, iv. 18.

Antianus, Vir Spectabilis, ex-Cornicularius, xi. 18, 34.

Antonius, Vir Venerabilis, Bishop of Pola, iv. 44.

Apronianus, Vir Illustris, Comes Privatarum, iii. 53.

Arator, Vir Illustris, Comes Domesticorum, viii. 12.

Arelate (_Arles_), Possessores of, iii. 44.

Argolicus, Vir Illustris,
Praefectas Urbis, iii. 11, 29, 30, 33; iv. 22, 25, 29, 42.

Arigern, Vir Illustris, Comes, iii. 36, 45; iv. 23.

Artemidorus, Vir Illustris atque Patricius,
Praefectus Urbis, i. 42; ii. 34; iii. 22.

Assuin (Assius, or Assum), Vir Illustris, Comes, i. 40.

Aurigenes, Vir Venerabilis, Bishop, iii. 14.

Avilf, Sajo, v. 20.

B.

Baion (Coion, or Goinon), Vir Spectabilis, i. 38.

Beatus, Vir Clarissimus and Cancellarius, xi. 10;
Primicerius Augustalium, xi. 30.

Benenatus, Vir Spectabilis, iv. 15.

Bergantinus, Vir Illustris and Patrician,
Comes Patrimonii, viii. 23; ix. 3.

Boetius, Vir Illustris atque Patricius, i. 10, 45; ii. 40.

Brandila, v. 32.

C.

Cancellarii diversi Provinciarum Singularum, xii. 1, 10.

Canonicarius Venetiarum, xii. 4, 7.

Capuanus, Vir Spectabilis, v. 21.

Carinus, Vir Illustris, v. 28.

Cart(h)erius, Regerendarius, xi. 29.

Cassiodorus, Vir Illustris atque Patricius
(father of Cassiodorus Senator), i. 3; iii. 28.

Catana, City of,
Honorati Possessores, Defensores, and Curiales of, iii. 49.

Catellus, Scriniarius Actorum, xi. 22.

Cheliodorus, Commentariensis, xi. 28.

Clovis, _see_ Luduin.

Coelianus and Agapitus, Viri Illustres et Patricii, i. 23.

Colossaeus, Vir Illustris, Comes, Governor of Pannonia, iii. 23.

Comes Siliquatariorum et Portus Curas Agens, ii. 12.

Constantian, Vir Experientissimus, xii. 18.

Constantinian, Cura Epistolarum Canonicarum, xi. 23.

Consularis, Vir Illustris, iii. 52.

Consularis Liguriae, xii. 8.

Crispianus, i. 37.

Cunigast, Vir Illustris, viii. 28.

Cyprian, Comes Sacrarum Largitionum and Patrician, v. 40; viii. 21.

D.

Dalmatia and S(u)avia, all the Goths and Romans in, ix. 9.

Daniel, iii. 19.

Datius, Bishop of Milan, xii. 27.

Decius, Vir Illustris, Patricius, ii. 33.

Decoratus, Vir Devotus, v. 31.

Dertona (_Tortona_), all Goths and
Romans abiding (consistentes) at, i. 17.

Despotius, _see_ Ampelius.

Densdedit, Scriba Ravennas, xii. 21.

Domitianus and Willias, i. 18.

Dromonarii, the, ii. 31.

Duda, Vir Spectabilis and Comes, iv. 28;
Sajo, iv. 32, 34.

Dumerit, Sajo, viii. 27.

E.

Ecdicius (or Benedictus), Vir Honestus, ii. 4.

Elpidius (or Hespidius), Deacon, iv. 24.

Epiphanius, Vir Spectabilis, Consularis of Dalmatia, v. 24.

Episcopi et Honorati (?), ix. 5.

Episcopi sui, x. 34;
diversi, xi. 3.

Eugenius (Eugenites, or Eugenes), Vir Illustris,
Magister Officiorum, i. 12.

Eusebius, Vir Illustris, iv. 48.

Eustorgius, Vir Venerabilis, Bishop of Milan, i. 9.

Eutropius and Acretius, v. 13.

F.

Faustus, Praefectus Praetorio
(in the edition of Nivellius his title is
given as Praepositus), i. 14, 26, 34, 35; ii. 5, 9, 26, 30, 37, 38;
Vir Illustris, iii. 21;
Praefectus Praetorio, iii. 47, 51; iv. 36, 38, 50.

Felix, Vir Clarissimus, i. 7;
Vir Illustris, Consul (511), ii. 2; iii. 39.

Felix, Quaestor, viii. 18.

Feltria (_Feltre_), Possessors of, v. 9.

Ferrocinctus, _see_ Grimoda.

Festus, Vir Illustris atque Patricius, i. 15, 39; ii. 22; iii. 10.

Florentinus (or Florentianus), Vir Devotus, Comitiacus, viii. 27.

Florianus, Vir Spectabilis, i. 5.

Forum Livii (_Forli_), Honorati Possessores, and Curiales of, iv. 8.

Fruinarith, Sajo, ii. 13.

G.

Gaudiosus, Cancellarius of Province of Liguria, xi. 14.

Gaul, all the Provincials of, iii. 17, 42; viii. 7.

Geberich, Vir Spectabilis, iv. 20.

Gemellus, Vir Spectabilis,
Governor of Gaul, iii. 16, 18, 32; iv. 12, 19, 21.

Genesius, Vir Spectabilis, viii. 30.

Gepidae, ad Gallias destinati, v. 11.

Gesila, Sajo, iv. 14.

Gildias, Vir Spectabilis, Count of Syracuse, ix. 11, 14.

Goths, all the, i. 24; x. 31;
settled in Italy, viii. 5.

Goths, all the, and Romans, i. 28.

Goths, all the, and Romans,
and those who hold the harbours and mountain-passes, ii. 19.

Grimoda, Sajo, and Ferrocinctus, Apparitor, iii. 20.

Gudila, Bishop, ii. 18.

Gudinand, Sajo, v. 19.

Gudisal, Sajo, iv. 47.

Guduim, Sajo, v. 27;
Vir Sublimis and Dux, v. 30.

Gundibad, King of the Burgundians (473-516), i. 46; iii. 2.

H.

Haesti, the, v. 2.

Herminafrid, King of the Thuringians, iv. 1.

Heruli, King of the, iv. 2.

Heruli, Warni, and Thoringi, Kings of the, iii. 3.

Hilderic, King of the Vandals (523-531), ix. 1.

Honoratus, Vir Illustris, Quaestor, v. 3.

Honorius, Praefectus Urbis, x. 30.

I.

Ida (perhaps Ibbas), Vir Sublimis and Dux, iv. 17.

Importunus, Vir Illustris, Patricius, iii. 5.

Istria, Provincials of, xii. 22.

J.

Januarius, Vir Venerabilis, Bishop of Salona, iii. 7.

Jews, all the, residing in Genoa, ii. 27; iv. 33.

Joannes, Vir Spectabilis, Consularis Campaniae, iii. 27; iv. 10.

Joannes, Vir Spectabilis, Referendarius, viii. 25.

Joannes, Vir Clarissimus, Arcarius, v. 7.

Joannes, Canonicarius of Thuscia, xi. 38.

Joannes, Cancellarius, xi. 6;
Praerogativarius, xi. 27.

Joannes, Siliquatarius of Ravenna, xii. 17.

Joannes, Apparitor, ii. 21;
Arch-Physician, iv. 41.

John II, Pope (533-535), ix. 15; xi. 2.

Judges, all the, of the Provinces, ix. 20; xi. 7, 9; xii. 2.

Julianus, Comes Patrimonii, i. 16.

Justin, Emperor (518-527), viii. 1.

Justinian, Emperor (527-566),
x. 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 19, 22, 24, 25, 26, 32; xi. 13.

Justus, Sextus Scholaris, xi. 26.

L.

Laurentius, Vir Experientissimus, xii. 23.

Liberius, Praetorian Praefect of the Gauls, viii. 6.

Ligurians, the, xi. 15, 16; xii. 28.

Liveria, _see_ Ampelius.

Lucillus, Scriniarius Curae Militaris, xi. 24.

Lucinus, Vir Clarissimus, Cancellarius of Campania, xi. 37.

Lucristani (Lustriani?), the,
settled (constituti) on the river Sontius (_Isonzo_), i. 29.

Luduin (Clovis), King of the Franks (481-511), ii. 41; iii. 4.

Luvirit, Count, and Ampelius, v. 35.

M.

Magister Officiorum (at Constantinople), x. 33.

Mannila, Sajo, v. 5.

Marabad, Vir Illustris and Comes, iv. 12, 46.

Marcellus, Vir Spectabilis, Advocatus Fisci, i. 22.

Massilia (_Marseilles_), citizens of, iii. 34; iv. 26.

Maximian, Vir Illustris, and Andreas, Vir Spectabilis, i. 21.

Maximus, Vir lllustris, Consul, v. 42;
Vir Illustris and Domesticus, x. 11.

Maximus, Vir Clarissimus,
Cancellarius of Lucania and Bruttii, xii. 15.

Maximus, Vicarius Urbis Romae, xii. 19.

Milan, the Jews of, v. 37.

N.

Neudes, Vir Illustris, v. 29.

Noricum, Provincials of, iii. 50.

Nursia, _see_ Reate.

O.

Opilio, Comes Sacrarum Largitionum, viii. 16.

Osun (Osuin, or Osum), Vir Illustris, Comes, iii. 26; iv. 9; ix. 8.

P.

Pannonia, all the Barbarians and Romans settled in, iii. 24.

Parma, Honorati Possessores, and Curiales of, viii. 29.

Paschasius, Praefectus Annonae, xii. 9.

Patricius, Vir Illustris and Quaestor, x. 6.

Patricius, Primicerius Exceptorum, xi. 25.

Paulinas, Vir Clarissimus and Consul, ix. 22.

Paulus, Vir Strenuus, xii. 26.

Peter, Bishop, iii. 37.

Peter, Vir Clarissimus, Erogator Obsoniorum, xii. 11;
Arcarius, xii. 20.

Picenum and Samnium, all the Goths settled in, v. 26.

Pierius, Primicerius Singulariorum, xi. 32.

Possessores, universi, v. 38.

Provinus (Probinus), Vir Illustris, Patricius, ii. 11;
Actores of, iv. 40.

R.

Reate and Nursia, all the inhabitants of, viii. 26.

Reparatus, Praefectus Urbis, ix. 7.

Roman Church, Clergy of, viii. 24.

Romans, all the, i. 28;
in Italy and the Dalmatias, viii. 4.

Roman people, the, i. 31; viii. 3; x. 14, 17.

Rome, people of the City of, i. 44.

Romulus (? ex-Emperor), iii. 35.

S.

Sabinianus, Vir Spectabilis, i. 25.

Sajones, universi, qui sunt Cancellariis deputati, xii. 3.

Salvantius, Vir Illustris, Praefectus Urbis, ix. 16, 17.

Samnium, _see_ Picenum.

Saturninus and Verbusius, Viri Illustres, Senatores, i. 19.

Senarius, Vir Illustris, Comes Patrimonii, iv. 3;
Comes Privatarum, iv. 7, 11, 13.

Senate of the City of Rome,
i. 4, 13, 30, 43; ii. 3, 16, 24, 32; iii. 6, 12, 31;
iv. 4, 16, 43; v. 4, 22, 41; viii. 2, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 19, 22;
ix. 19, 21, 23, 25; x. 3, 4, 7, 12, 13, 16, 18; xi. 1.

SENATOR (MAGNUS AURELIUS CASSIODORUS),
Praetorian Praefect, ix. 24; x. 27, 28.

Servatus, Dux Raetiarum, i. 11.

Severianus (or Severinus), Vir Illustris, v. 14.

Severus, Vir Venerabilis, Bishop, ii. 8.

Severus, Vir Spectabilis, viii. 31, 32, 33.

Simeon, Vir Illustris, Comes, iii. 25.

Speciosus, i. 27; Vir Devotus, Comitiacus, ii. 10.

Stabularius, Comitiacus, v. 6.

Starcedius, Vir Sublimis, v. 36.

Stephanus, Vir Spectabilis,
Comes Primi Ordinis et ex-Princeps nostri Ordinis, ii. 28.

S(u)avia, all the Provincials and Capillati, Defensores and Curiales,
residing in, iv. 49;
all the Possessores in, v. 15;
all the Goths and Romans in, ix. 9.

Sunhivad, Vir Spectabilis, iii. 13.

Sura (or Suna), Vir Illustris, Comes, ii. 7.

Symmachus, Vir Illustris and Patricius, ii. 14; iv. 6, 51.

Syracuse, all the Provincials of the City of, ix. 10.

T.

Tancila, Vir Spectabilis, ii. 35.

Tezutzat, Sajo, iv. 27.

Theodagunda, Illustris Femina, iv. 37.

Theodahad, Vir Spectabilis, iii. 15;
Vir Illustris, iv. 39; v. 12.

Theodora, Augusta, x. 10, 20, 21, 23.

Theodosius, Homo Theodahadi (?), x. 5.

Theodulus, _see_ Ampelius.

Theon (or Theonius), Vir Sublimis, i. 2.

Theriolus, Vir Spectabilis, i. 36.

Thessalonica, Praefect of, x. 35.

Thomas, Vir Clarissimus, Arcarius, xii. 20.

Thoringi (Thuringians). _see_ Heruli.

Ticinum (_Pavia_), Comites, Defensores, and Curiales of, iv. 45.

Transmund (or Thrasamund), King of the Vandals, v. 43, 44.

Tribuni Maritimorum, xii. 24.

Tridentinae Civitatis,
Honorati Possessores, Defensores, et Curiales, ii. 17.

Tulum, Patrician, viii. 9.

U.

Unigis, Spatarius, iii. 43.

Uniligis (or Wiligis), Sajo, ii. 20.

Urbicus, ex-Primicerius Singulariorum, xi. 31.

Ursus, Primicerius Deputatorum, xi. 30.

V.

Valerian, Vir Sublimis, xii. 5.

Vandals, King of the, v. 1, 43, 44; ix. 1.

Venantius, Vir Illustris, ii. 15;
Spectabilis, Corrector of Lucania and Bruttii, iii. 8.

Veranus, Sajo, v. 10.

Verbusius, _see_ Saturninus.

Verruca, fort of, all Goths and Romans living near, iii. 48.

Victor, Vir Spectabilis, Censitor of Sicily, ix. 12.

Victorinus, Vir Venerabilis, Bishop, viii. 8.

Vitalian, Vir Clarissimus,
Cancellarius of Lucania and Bruttii, xi. 39.

W.

Wandil (Vuandil), iii. 38.

Warni (Guarni), _see_ Heruli.

Wilitanch, Duke, v. 33.

Willias, i. 18; v. 18;
Vir Illustris, Comes Patrimonii, ix. 13.

Winusiad, Count, x. 29.

Witigisclus (or Wigisicla), Vir Spectabilis,
Censitor of Sicily, ix. 12.

GENERAL INDEX.

[NOTE.--_The references to the Introduction and to the Notes are by the page (thus, 106-108); references to the 'Variae' are by the numbers of the Book and Letter (thus, v. 16, 17). The FORMULAE are printed in small capitals._]

A.

Ab Actis (Registrar), officer in Court of Praetorian Praefect, 106-108;
origin of the name, 107;
compared to Referendarius, 312.

Abundantius, Praetorian Praefect,
instructions to, as to forming a navy, v. 16, 17;
to provide ships, and rations for young recruits, v. 23;
instructions to, in the case of Frontosus, v. 34;
to allow a family of Curials to degrade into Possessores, ix. 4.

Acinaticium, red wine of Verona, praises of, and account of its manufacture, xii. 4.

Actores (Representatives, Attorneys), of Albinus, iv. 35;
of the holy Apostle Peter, xii. 20;
of Probinus, iv. 40;
of Spes, ii. 21;
of Theodahad, viii. 23.

Addua, River (_Adda_), derivation of the name, xi. 14.

Adeodatus,
forced by torture to confess himself guilty of rape, iii. 46;
the sentence against him partially cancelled, iii. 46.

Adjutores, general word for assistants, 97, 102-104;
is Adjutor equivalent to Primiscrinius? 103;
a lower class of Exceptores seem to have been called Adjutores, 111;
of Magister Officiorum, vi. 6.

Admissionales, Ushers of the Praefectoral Court, 112.

Adriana, petition of Curiales of, as to taxation, i. 19.

Adulterer slain by the injured husband, case of, i. 37.

Adultery, punishment of (Edictum Athalarici), ix. 18.

Aemilia, Province of, invaded by Burgundians, xii. 28.

Aemilianus, Bishop, ordered to finish the aqueduct which he has begun, iv. 31.

Aestii, _see_ Haesti.

Aestunae (?), inhabitants of, ordered to send marbles to Ravenna, iii. 9.

AETATIS VENIA, FORMULA GRANTING, vii. 41;
letter relating to, i. 38.

Aetheria, a widow, re-married, accused of wasting her children's property, iv. 12.

African. Singular custom by which an African was allowed to claim estate of a fellow-countryman dying without heirs, xii. 9.

Agapetus, Pope (June 3, 535--April 21, 536),
Cassiodorus seeks to persuade him to found a School of Theology at
Rome, 56;
ordered by Theodahad and Gudelina to give his answer to Justinian's
ambassador promptly, x. 19, 20, 25;
mortgaged the Church plate to defray expenses of his journey to
Constantinople, xii. 20.

Agapita (or Agapeta), Foemina Spectabilis,
wife of Basilius, and a person of feeble intellect ii. 11;
affair of her abduction, ii. 10, 11;
further light on this affair, iv. 40.

Agapitus, with Coelianus, seems to have had special jurisdiction in cases affecting Patricians, i. 23, 27.

Agathias on Theodoric's protection of the Alamanni, 195.

Agenantia, widow of Campanianus, ix. 4.

_Agens Vices_ (Deputy), functions of, 460 _n_; xii. 25.

Agentes in Rebus, Schola of, emissaries of the Magister Officiorum, 36;
Princeps of, xi. 35.

Agnellus, Patrician, chooses Festus to defend his interests in his absence, i. 15.

Agnellus, fidei-jussor of Crispianus, i. 37.

Agnellus, house of, in Castrum Lucullanum given to Joannes, viii. 25.

Agrimensor, a Roman, description of, iii. 52.

Alamanni, date of Clovis' victory over, 23, 24, 195;
Theodoric congratulates Clovis on his victory over, ii. 41;
directed to exchange their cattle with Noricans, iii. 50;
plundering incursion of, into Liguria, xii. 28; 527.

Alaric I, clemency of, at siege of Rome, 28; xii. 20.

Alaric II,
letters intended to avert war between Alaric and Clovis, iii. 1-4;
possessions granted by, to Church of Narbonne, iv. 17;
taxation in the time of, v. 39;
reception of his son Gesalic by Thrasamund, v. 43, 44.

Albienus, Vir Illustris and Patrician,
deputed to select a Pantomimist, i. 20, 33;
appointed Praetorian Praefect (527), viii. 20.

Albinus, Vir Illustris and Patrician,
deputed to select a Pantomimist, i. 20, 33;
allowed to erect 'fabricae' overlooking the Forum, iv. 30;
accused by Cyprian of treason, 289, 291.

Albinus, an extravagant minor, case of, iv. 35.

Allecticii, Symmachus' oration on behalf of, 74;
probable explanation of the term, 78.

Alpes Cottiae, Provincials of, to be relieved from taxation, iv. 36.

Alsuanum (?), transport of timber to, iv. 8.

Altinum, villas of, 514 _n_.

Amal race, glorified by Cassiodorus in his Gothic History, 29, 30, 33;
'Amali sanguinis purpurea dignitas,' ix. 1.

Amal race, glory of, viii. 2, 5;
'consuetudinis est lex, cum imperio [Romano] amicitiam Amalos semper
habuisse,' x. 11.

Amalus (according to Jordanes, Amala), ancestor of Theodoric, 'felicitate enituit,' xi. 1.

Amalabirga, niece of Theodoric, married to Herminafrid, King of the Thuringians, iv. 1.

Amalafrida, Queen of the Vandals, sister of Theodoric, wife of King Thrasamund, put to death by his successor Hilderic, ix. 1.

Amalasuentha, daughter of Theodoric, mother of Athalaric,
her regency, 38, 42-43;
associates Theodahad in the kingship on the death of her son,
44; x. 1-4;
dethroned and put to death by Theodahad, 45;
praises of her character, x. 4; xi. 1;
sends present of marbles to Justinian, x. 8;
writes warmly to Theodora, x. 10;
a doubtful allusion to her death, x. 20 (_see_ note on p. 433).

Amandianus, Clarissimus, heirs of, defrauded by Theodahad, v. 12.

AMBASSADORS, FORMULA RESPECTING, vii. 33.

Amber, nature of, described, v. 2.

Ambrosius, son of Faustinus,
addressed by Ennodius in 'Paraenesis Didascalica,' 358;
Count of the Sacred Largesses, viii. 13;
appointed Quaestor, viii. 13, 14.

Ambrosius, Illustris (probably the same as preceding),
appointed 'Vices Agens' to Cassiodorus as Praetorian Praefect, xi. 4;
instructions to, xii. 25.

Amphitheatre, sports of, described and condemned, v. 42.

Anastasius, Emperor, date of letter to, in the 'Variae,' 23;
his wrath against Apion and Macedonius, 105;
relations between him and Theodoric, i. 1 _n_;
informed of elevation of Felix to Consulship, ii. 1;
as to introduction of Heruli into Italy, 258 _n_.

Anchorago, a fish caught in the Rhine, xii. 4.

Andreas, intestacy of widow of, v. 24.

Andreas, defaulting taxpayer in Apulia, v. 31.

'Anecdoton Holderi,' MS. containing information as to Cassiodorus and his friends, 73-84.

Anicii, dignity of the family of, x. 11.

Annonae, of soldiers stationed in passes near Aosta, ii. 5;
of garrisons on the Durance, iii. 41, 43;
is _praebendae_ equivalent to? 219;
to be regularly supplied, v. 13 (_see_ Praefectus Annonae).

Anonymus Valesii (an unknown chronicler of the Sixth Century, whose fragments are generally edited along with the history of Ammianus Marcellinus), quoted, 291, 363, 369.

Anthimus, Patriarch of Constantinople (535-536), deposition of, by Pope Agapetus, 436 _n_.

Antianus, ex-Cornicularius, made a Spectabilis, xi. 18;
evasive reply to, xi. 19.

Antiochus, apparently a tax-collector, ii. 4.

Antiquarius, transcriber of manuscripts, Cassiodorus on the functions of, 60.

Apion, anger of Anastasius against, 105.

Apocha, a voucher for payment of taxes, xii. 7, 8.

Aponus (_Abano_, six miles from Padua), marvellous qualities of hot-springs at, ii. 39.

Apparitores, attendants on the great Ministers of War, 114;
Joannes, Apparitor, ii. 21;
Ferrocinctus, Apparitor, iii. 20.

Applicitarii, officers of arrest, 114;
under orders of Commentariensis, 104.

Apulia, Conductores of, despoiled by hostile invaders, i. 16;
merchants similarly despoiled, ii. 38;
crops from, not forwarded expeditiously, i. 35;
corn-merchants of, ii. 26;
farms of Thomas in, transferred to his son-in-law Joannes, v. 6, 7;
arrears of Siliquaticum in, v. 31.

'Apuli idonei,' viii. 33.

Aqua Claudia, Roman aqueduct, description of, vii. 6.

Aqua Virgo, Roman aqueduct, description of, vii. 6.

Aqueducts of Rome, abuses connected with, iii. 31;
glory of, vii. 6.

Aqueduct begun by Bishop Aemilianus must be finished by him, iv. 31.

Aqueduct of Ravenna protected, v. 38.

Aqueduct constructed by Theodoric for City of Parma, viii. 30.

Aquileia, contributions of wine and wheat from, remitted, xii. 26.

Arator, Vir Illustris,
sent by Provincials of Dalmatia to Theodoric, viii. 12;
made Comes Domesticorum, viii. 12.

Arcadius, Emperor (395-408), change effected by him in relation of Praetorian Praefect to Master of the Offices, 99.

Arcarius, Treasurer or Steward, v. 7; x. 28 (_see_ p. 440); xii. 8, 11, 27.

Archery, practice in, for young soldiers, v. 23.

Archiatrus, Arch-Physician, iv. 41 (_see_ Comes Archiatrorum).

Architect, duties of, vii. 5.

ARCHITECT, PUBLIC, FORMULA FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF, vii. 15.

Archotamia, 'Illustris Femina,' accuses her grandson's widow of wasting her children's property, iv. 12.

Arelate (_Arles_), remission of taxation to inhabitants of, iii. 32;
'glorious defence of,' iii. 32;
its walls to be repaired and its citizens fed, iii. 44;
fight for possession of covered bridge at, viii. 10.

Arethusa, Fountain of, site of, near Squillace, 72;
qualities of, described, viii. 32.

Argolicus, Vir Illustris,
made Praefect of the City of Rome, iii. 11, 12;
his ancestry and character, ii. 11, 12;
ordered to repair Cloacae of Rome, iii. 30;
other references to, iii. 29, 30; iv. 22, 25; iv. 42;
his tardiness rebuked, iv. 29;
heirs of, defrauded by Theodahad, v. 12.

Arigern, Vir Illustris and Comes,
Governor of the new Gaulish Provinces, iv. 16;
appointed Comes Urbis Romae (?), iv. 16;
instructions to, iii. 45; iv. 23;
report by, iv. 43.

Armentarius, Clarissimus, appointed Referendus Curiae, iii. 33;
informs against Argolicus, Praefect of the City, iv. 29.

Armourers (ARMORUM FACTORES), Formulae of, vii. 18, 19.

Arsenals of Italy, under the Magister Officiorum, 37.

Artemidorus, Illustris and Patrician,
a relation of Emperor Zeno, and friend of Theodoric, i. 43;
Tribunus Voluptatum (?), i. 43;
Praefectus Urbis, i. 42, 44;
detects embezzlement by persons employed for repair of walls of Rome,
ii. 34;
invited to Theodoric's Court, iii. 22.

Assertor Libertatis (of the Theodosian Code, iv. 8), a possible allusion to, iii. 43.

Astensis Civitas (_Asti_), to be especially helped in relief of necessities of Liguria, xi. 15.

Astronomy, reasons derived from, for pensioning off civil servants, xi. 36.

Athala, ancestor of Theodoric, 'mansuetudine enituit,' xi. 1.

Athalaric, grandson of Theodoric, date of birth of, 29 _n_;
accession of (Aug. 30, 526), 37;
manner of his education, 42;
his death (Oct. 2, 534), 43;
letters announcing his accession, viii. 1-7;
edict of, ix. 2;
his death announced to Justinian, x. 1;
praises of, by Cassiodorus, xi. 1.

Athens (_Adige_), flows past fort of Verruca, iii. 48.

Attila, defeat of, in Catalaunian plains, 28; iii. 1;
embassy of Cassiodorus (grandfather of Senator) to, i. 4.

Augiensis, Codex, of 'Anecdoton Holderi,' 73.

Augmentum, super-assessment,
remitted by Athalaric for Dalmatia and Suavia, ix. 9;
for Syracuse, ix. 10.

Augusta (_Turin_, or _Aosta_), Bishop of,
falsely accused of treason, i. 9;
fastnesses (clusurae) of, soldiers stationed at, ii. 5.

Augustales, highest class of Exceptores (shorthand writers), 104 _n_, 110; xi. 30.

Augustin, Vir Venerabilis (probably a bishop), brings the scarcity in Venetia under the notice of the King, xii. 26.

Augustus, builder of the Circus Maximus, iii. 51;
his survey of the 'Orbis Romanus,' iii. 52.

Aurarii, persons liable to payment of 'lustralis auri collatio,' ii. 26.

Auraria Pensio = probably 'lustralis auri collatio,' ii. 30.

Avenio (_Avignon_), Gothic troops not to molest citizens of, iii. 38.

B.

Bacauda, Vir Sublimis, Tribunes Voluptatum, v. 25.

Bacaudae, insurgent peasantry of Gaul, v. 25.

Baiae, baths of, praises of, ix. 6; xii. 22.

Balthae, royal house of the Visigoths, was Athalaric descended from? viii. 5.

Balzani, Ugo, on Cassiodorus, 121.

Barbarians, checked by fear, not honour, ii. 5.

Barbaria, probably the name of the mother of Romulus Augustulus, 216.

Barbarian Kings, intellects of, subdued by diplomacy, iv. 3;
do not use the grammatical art, ix. 21.

Baronius, Cardinal, author of 'Annales Ecclesiae,' quoted, 500 _n_, 511 _n_.

Basilius (No. 1), Vir Spectabilis, claims restoration of his wife's property from Probinus, ii. 10, 11; iv. 40.

Basilius (No. 2), accused of magical practices, iv. 22, 23 (_see_ note on p. 246).

Basilius (No. 3, possibly same as No. 2),
Opilio connected with him by marriage, viii. 17;
concerned in accusation of Boethius (?), 364 _n_.

Baths, gratuitous admission to, at Spoletium, ii. 37;
of Turasius, at Spoletium, iv. 24;
at Baiae, ix. 6.

Baudi de Vesme, fragments of oration of Cassiodorus (?), published by, 117.

Beatus, Vir Clarissimus and Cancellarius,
ordered to supply rations to invalided officer, xi. 10;
made Primicerius Augustalium, xi. 30.

Belisarius, Imperial general, his capture of Neapolis, 48;
his campaign in Southern Italy, 492;
his recovery and loss of Milan, 522;
his entry into Ravenna, 51.

Bellum (war), derived from King Belus, i. 30.

Benedict, St., not alluded to by Cassiodorus, 55;
relation of his rule to that of Cassiodorus, 57, 59.

Benedictus, a civil officer of some kind in the City of Pedon, guardianship of his children assigned to Theriolus, i. 36.

Bethmann Hollweig, his 'Gerichtsverfassung des sinkenden römischen Reichs,' 41, 95, 109 _n._

Bigamy, punishment of, according to Edictum Athalarici, ix. 18.

Bina, a kind of tax, iii. 8.

BINA ET TERNA, FORMULAE FOR THE COLLECTION OF, vii. 20, 21, 22.

Birds, habits of, i. 21;
the hawk's way of teaching her young to fly, i. 24;
the eagle and her young, i. 38;
filial piety of the stork, ii. 14;
instinct of young partridges towards their mother, ii. 14;
the vulture protects little birds from attacks of the hawk, ii. 19;
gulls fly inland when they foresee a storm, iii. 48;
cranes when about to cross the sea clasp pebbles with their claws,
iv. 47;
the turtle-dove once widowed never takes another mate, v. 33;
flight of cranes suggested to Mercury shapes of letters, viii. 12;
thrushes, storks, and doves gregarious, the greedy hawk loves
solitude, viii. 31;
orderly evolutions of cranes, ix. 2.

Bishops, King Witigis' exhortations to, x. 34;
Cassiodorus' exhortations to, xi. 4.

Blue party in the Circus, rivalry of, with the Greens, iii. 51.

Bodily signs by which character may be discerned, vi. 9 (_compare_ also Cassiodorus, 'De Animâ,' capp. 10 and 11, referred to p. 53).

Boethius (or Boetius), Illustris and Patrician,
receives orders to choose a harper to be sent to Clovis, 23, 24;
ii. 40;
information as to his life in the 'Anecdoton Holderi,' 74, 79-84;
really author of the theological treatises which have passed current
with his name, 74, 80-83;
and of a 'Bucolic Poem,' 74, 83;
difficulty caused by the non-Christian character of his 'Consolations
of Philosophy,' 81, 83;
consulted as to depreciation of currency, i. 10;
ordered to prepare water-clock and sundial for King of Burgundians,
i. 45.

Boethius, as to character of Basilius, 246 _n_;
as to character of Decoratus, 267 _n_;
character of his accuser Cyprian, v. 40, 41; viii. 21, 22;
character of Opilio, viii. 17.

Boethus, Bishop of Byzacene Province in Africa, author, according to M. Jourdain, of the theological treatises attributed to Boethius, 82.

Bormiae Aquae (_Baths of Bormio_), Count Winusiad recommended to visit, x. 29.

Brandila, husband of Procula, story of his intrigue with Regina, wife of Patzenes, v. 32, 33.

Breones, a Raetian freebooting tribe living near the Brenner pass, i. 11.

Bribery repressed, xii. 2, 6, 21, 26.

Bridge of boats ordered to be built across the Tiber, xii. 19.

Brosse, Pierre, notes of, on Cassiodorus, 117.

Bruttii and Lucania, Venantius Corrector of, iii. 8, 46, 47;
his misgovernment of, 221;
the praises of, viii. 31; xii. 15;
'opulenti Bruttii,' viii. 33;
gold-mining to be commenced in, ix. 3;
abundance of cattle in, ii. 39;
measures for relief of, during presence of Gothic army, xii. 5;
praise of the wine of, xii. 12;
Canonicarii of, rebuked for despoiling the churches, xii. 13.

Buat, Count, on the life and ancestry of Cassiodorus, 118;
as to Theodora's share in the murder of Amalasuentha, 433 _n_.

Burgundians, King of (_see_ Gundibad);
cease to be 'Gentiles' under Gundibad, i. 46;
boundary of, with Ostrogothic kingdom, iii. 41;
dispute with Franks, viii. 10;
league with Amalasuentha, xi. 1 (_see_ 456 _n_);
invasion of Liguria and Aemilia, xii. 28; 527.

Butilianus, Presbyter, land allotment given by Theodoric to, in neighbourhood of Trient, ii. 17.

C.