Page 124 - Envoys and Political Communication in the Late Antique West 411 - 533

Envoys and Political Communication,411–533

his military career; the first episode acts as a prelude. The episodes can
be grouped as three pairs, followed by a longer climax:

1 (Prelude) Early embassy to Constantius (lines 207–14)
2 (Goths i) First journey to Toulouse (lines 214–29)
3 (Military i) Military career under Aetius (lines 230–40)
4 (Military ii) Incident of 437 (lines 241–94)
5 (Goths ii) Peace settlement with Goths in 439 (lines 295–315)
6 (Goths iii) Embassy to Goths in 451: Attila (lines 316–56)
7 (Goths iv) Embassy to Goths in 455: elevation (lines 357–584)

The two military episodes provide an intermission to the main plot,
Avitus’ growing influence over the court of Toulouse. 59
The distinction of military and Gothic episodes reflects Sidonius’ care-
ful approach to his subject. When in contact with the Goths, Avitus is
never portrayed as a military figure, though this involves an element of
prevarication. Instead, relations between Avitus and the Goths are always
portrayed in the context of official embassies. Sidonius makes a subtle
change to one of the conventions of panegyric to facilitate this portrayal.
Rhetorical handbooks and influential models of panegyric commonly di-
vided the account of the public life of the subject into deeds ‘of war and
of peace’. Sidonius instead introduces the narrative of Avitus’ mature life
as a record of pugnae et foedera regum, ‘of wars and compacts with kings’.
Sidonius quietly adapts the traditional dichotomy in order to assimilate
Avitus’ Gothic dealings with actions ‘of peace’, and so catalogue them as
civilian, not military, achievements. 60
The first episode serves as a prelude. Avitus, on behalf of the
Auvernians, undertakes a mission to the magister utriusque militiae and
patricius Constantius, at some time before the latter’s elevation as emperor
in February 421. Though a youth, Avitus successfully seeks the remis-
61
sion of an onerous tax levied on his homeland. The passage dwells on
59 For a somewhatdifferentstructural analysis: Harrison, ‘Verse Panegyrics of Sidonius’, 126–45,
225–6. Though valuable, Harrison’s analysis is misleading in seeing lines 214–315 (butnotlines
207–14)asAvitus’ gesta in war and peace, with the remainder of the poem ‘outside the limits of
a Menandrian panegyric’; 137–8. Sidonius is more free with panegyrical structure than Harrison
maintains. Sidonius does not structure his account of Avitus’ deeds into ‘war’ and ‘peace’ (lines
214–29, the first mission to Toulouse, cannot be described as military), but presents a chronological
narrative; the ‘civil’ episodes (nos. 1–2, 5–7 above) are interrupted by the two military ones (nos.
3–4 above). The gesta begin with line 207, the embassy to Constantius (seen by Harrison as part
of the account of Avitus’ education), introducing the unifying theme of Avitus as envoy.
60 Sid. Ap., Carm. vii, 214–15. On ‘deeds of war and of peace’: MacCormack, ‘Latin Prose Pan-
egyrics’, 145; Menander Rhetor, Treatise ii, 1–2, 12, 13 (Russell and Wilson, 85–93, 179–80, 181).
Avitus’Gothicdealingsareacceptedas‘civilvirtuesanddeeds’byMause,Darstellungdes Kaisers, 107.
61
For the circumstances: Loyen, Recherches, 36–9, associating the mission with the establishment of
the council of Seven Provinces in 418. Agricola, a relative of Avitus, was then praetorian prefect
of Gaul.
98