Theoderic the Great Archives - Medievalists.net

Making a difference in tenth-century politics: King Athelstan’s sisters and Frankish queenship

May 10, 2014 By Medievalists.net

In the early years of the tenth century several Anglo-Saxon royal women, all daughters of King Edward the Elder of Wessex (899-924) and sisters (or half-sisters) of his son King Athelstan (924-39), were despatched across the Channel as brides for Frankish and Saxon rulers and aristocrats. This article addresses the fate of some of these women through an analysis of their political identities.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Alaric I King of the Visigoths, Anglo-Saxon, Athelstan, Carolingians, Cassiodorus (Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator), Charles III 'The Simple' of France, Clovis, Early Middle Ages, Europe, Family, Fifth Century, Franks, Gender, Goths, King Edward the Elder of Wessex, Marriage, Medieval Women, Monarchy, Ostrogoths, Queenship, Roman Empire, Sixth Century, Theoderic the Great, Visigoths

Theoderic the Great vs. Boethius: Tensions in Italy in the Late 5th and Early 6th Centuries

December 28, 2013 By Medievalists.net

In 524AD the Roman senator Boethius was executed for committing treason against Theoderic the Great, the ruling gothic king in Italy. Boethius was never given a trial, and the charge of treason may have been an exaggeration of what actually happened.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Barbarians, Boethius, Christianity, Consolation of Philosophy, Early Middle Ages, Fifth Century, Italy, Roman Empire, Rome, Sixth Century, Theoderic the Great

Projecting Power in Sixth-Century Rome: The church of Santi Cosma e Damiano in the late antique Forum Romanum

December 4, 2013 By Medievalists.net

In the year 526 CE, the bishop of Rome, Pope Felix IV, petitioned the Ostrogoth king Theoderic for permission to convert a small complex in the Forum Romanum into a place of worship dedicated to the Saints Cosmas and Damian…This paper critiques traditional interpretations of this church—its physical location and its apse mosaic—in light of new research that nuances our understanding of the historical context in which it was commissioned.