second visit to the old capital—in 500, when she was a little child, Theoderic had sojourned in Rome for almost six months, and apparently his sister Amalafrida was also there.95
Cassiodorus saw that the Romans were expecting with great enthusiasm the arrival of Prince Eutharic for the celebrations of his consulship.96 On 1 January 519, donations of different kinds and concessions of honors followed, together with games in a magnificent style:
In this year Rome saw many marvels in individual exhibitions, even Symmachus, the legate from the East, was amazed at the riches granted to Goths and Romans. He [Eutharic] gave honours to the Senate. In shows in the amphitheatres he displayed wild beasts of various sorts which the present age marveled at for their novelty. And for his spectacles, Africa in its devotion sent over the choicest of delights as well. And so, everywhere was filled with his high praise, and he was so firmly fixed in such a great love of the Roman citizens that when he returned to the sight of his glorious father at Ravenna, they still desired his presence. And there, with the exhibitions repeated, he showered such great gifts on Goths and Romans that he alone was able to surpass the consulship which he had celebrated at Rome.97
The Eastern legate Symmachus was not the only envoy of Justin who attended the ceremony. For another legate, Gratus, had arrived in Rome on 20 December 518, carrying to the pope some letters in the name of the emperor about the unity of the churches.98 All these events together must have given the impression that Theoderic’s golden rule over Italy had been renewed. The exotic animals, which astonished the Romans, and the delights sent from Africa were likely the presents of Theoderic’s sister Amalafrida and her husband Thrasamund to honor this event. These gifts also had a political significance for both kingdoms, considering that the relationship between Gothic Italy and Vandal Africa had recently undergone a period of turbulence (discussed in the next section). The processus consularis, in its customary form as a triumphal parade, was part of the celebrations, which included donations by the new consul entering the office: all this was exceptionally repeated in Ravenna in the presence of Theoderic.99
The whole series of auspicious events, first and foremost the addition to the Amal family of two children, including a male heir, must have signified happy days not only for Theoderic and Amalasuintha but for the whole kingdom. Her Roman education combined with her long experience at the palace at her father’s side had made of Amalasuintha a well-trained future queen of Italy. The learned Amal princess was now supporting her Spanish husband with advice, as her royal position required.100
From the evidence it is clear that Theoderic, through far-sighted, attentive diplomacy, was working to have Eutharic granted those privileges that many years earlier he himself had received in Constantinople, on the basis of which he had claimed his legitimacy to rule Italy. Eutharic was the only Goth in Italy who ever obtained the consulship; he was following in the footsteps of his father-in-law. These honors strengthened his position juridically, and he was the named heir.101 If Theoderic died before his grandson reached majority, he wanted his son-in-law to be equipped with the same claims that he himself had used to assert power over Italy: as ruler of the Gothic army and as a patrician with an imperial mandate. The legitimation of Eutharic was nearly complete, and Cassiodorus in his panegyric may have addressed the new prince as a sort of coregent of Theoderic, recommending that he follow his father-in-law’s advice.102 He also addressed him as dominus noster and vir gloriosus, perhaps signifying that he, like many other senators, became vir illustris and patrician soon after receiving his consulship.103 But whether he had obtained patrician rank is uncertain. Theoderic’s plan was likely that his son-in-law would take care of the kingdom of Italy for the young Athalaric, acting as the representative of the emperor as vice patrician in the West.
Eutharic’s noble origins and his military qualities (he may have played a role in an expedition in Gaul)104 mirrored the ambitions of Theoderic and made him acceptable to the Ostrogothic aristocracy. Roman titles and Theoderic’s support were not enough, however, to transform this Spanish Goth into the ruler the kingdom needed. Italy was by far the most complex portion of the former Western Empire, and ruling over it involved far more than simply guaranteeing justice between Romans and Goths, and peace between Catholics and Arians. Italy was a country of cities, most of which were still populated, and it was of particular importance to the emperor. Italy also meant Rome, the old capital that hosted a thousand-year-old Senate and the church, both of which were products of a history of power struggle and internal conflict, and these were anything but peripheral in the kingdom. Since his arrival in Italy, Theoderic himself had had to face a host of issues that were particularly Roman and Italian; the Laurentian schism in 498–500 was just one of many.
The lack of experience Eutharic had in ruling over such a complex world was clear from the beginning. His representation as a man embodying wisdom, his expensive games and the triumphal ceremonies for his entrance in the consulship, his granting of honours to Roman senators: all these were strategic moves devised by Theoderic to endear him to the Romans, and Cassiodorus had praised them accordingly. But this was not enough to allow Eutharic to conquer the hearts of the Romans. His image would soon be compromised in that same year, 519, or early in 520,105 when he was involved in ending a riot in Ravenna. Our only account of this episode comes from a later anonymous author, who, describing the events of the 520s, expresses a hostile view of Theoderic, representing him as a tyrant and a persecutor of the Catholics.106 The Catholics of the capital had attacked the Jewish community, accusing them of disrespecting Catholic rituals, and had burned the synagogues.107 Situations like these were not unusual in Italy, but they required a degree of experience and refined political skill.108 On this particular occasion, the angry Roman Catholics of Ravenna did not show any respect for the king, or Eutharic, or Peter, the bishop of the capital.109 Theoderic was in Verona at the time, dealing with threats of an external attack, probably by the Franks.110 A group of Jews came to him as a delegation to report the events in Ravenna. They met Triwila, Theoderic’s “provost of the sacred bedchamber” (praepositus sacri cubiculi), who soon brought word of the Jews’ plight to the king’s attention.111 Theoderic ordered Eutharic to intervene, proclaiming “the whole Roman population should furnish money for the rebuilding of the synagogues of Ravenna which had been burned; and that those who did not have anything to give should be whipped through the streets of the city while a herald made a proclamation of their offence.”112 Theoderic’s order was followed, and the punishments prescribed by his Edict concerning arson were duly applied.113
Though Eutharic’s actions were ordered by Theoderic, the events in Ravenna were enough to compromise his image as prince and heir to the throne in the eyes of the Romans and the clergy. Although he had been at the palace for only a brief time, Eutharic was already labelled as “an excessively rough man, and an enemy to the Catholic faith.”114 We may wonder whether a few years later, when Cassiodorus introduced Athalaric as king, his words recalled the previous misunderstandings between the Romans and his father, who was intended to be a “foreign heir”: “If a foreign heir of the kingdom had overtaken you, you could perhaps doubt whether the follower out of jealousy would not love those people whom the previous [king] had loved.”115 Of course, this statement may also apply to the other potential heirs among Theoderic’s grandchildren, such as Amalaric.
The effect of these events on the image of the Amal house may have had their legacy in the representation of Amalasuintha by Gregory of Tours. His fabricated account can hardly be considered historical evidence: Amalasuintha did not disobey Theoderic when he (rather than Audefleda) arranged her marriage with a person “of equal rank with herself from a royal family.”116 It is interesting, however, that Gregory describes the daughter of Theoderic as an Arian heretic who escaped to another town with her lover, a servus named Traguila. This person should likely be identified with the above-mentioned Triwila, the king’s provost of the sacred bedchamber, who followed him to Verona; his position allowed him an intimacy with the royal family that could have prompted Gregory’s accusation of an affair with the king’s daughter.117
