Page 190 - Envoys and Political Communication in the Late Antique West 411 - 533

Envoys and Political Communication,411–533

in the Vita; and the only intrusion of Ennodius himself into his narrative,
as a witness of events. 208 Moreover, the redemption of the captives is the
only incidentrecalled atthe end of the Vita: atEpiphanius’ funeral, ‘every
mother went there and cried that her son had been freed by him; every
wife, her husband; every sister, her brother; he who was a single man,
himself’. 209 The local focus of the Vita is underscored by this concluding
pathos.
Because Epiphanius is portrayed as acting against a grand canvas, be-
cause the speeches he is made to deliver address political issues, and be-
cause Ennodius was clearly well informed about certain issues important
to the court of Ravenna, Vita Epiphani has been interpreted as having
an essentially political purpose, a sort of narrative ‘mirror for princes’
rising from a rough abutment between Christianity, Roman culture, and
barbarian rule in Ostrogothic Italy. 210 To be sure, Ennodius shows him-
self aware of major political issues of the day, and the speeches contain
sentiments of good rule, some specifically Christian in origin or im-
agery, others more general statements of governance. 211 Butthis is notthe
same as a sustained political message. The sentiments of the speeches are
conventional. 212 There is no clear division between Roman and barbarian
rulers; oratory, seen by some as the badge of distinction between Romans
and barbarians, is a characteristic of both Theoderic and Gundobad. 213
Ennodius’ presentation of rulers is not simple or consistent; though all the

208 Length: forty-one sections out of 199 in Vogel’s edition; the missions to Anthemius and Euric
occupy twenty-four and fourteen, the three missions to Theoderic occupy two, thirteen, and
seven sections. Names: bishops Victor of Turin, Rusticianus of Lyons, and Avitus of Vienne;
the religious woman Syagria; Gundobad’s brother Godigisclus; Laconius, probably Gundobad’s
consiliarius. Witness: Ennodius, Vita Epiphani, 171.
209 Ennodius, Vita Epiphani, 197: quaecumque ibi mater venit,liberatum clamavit ab illo filium; quaecumquae
uxor,maritum; quaecumque soror,fratrem; qui caelebs,se ipsum. That the Burgundian captivity is
meant, not the taking of captives during Odoacer’s siege of Orestes in Pavia, is indicated by the
exclusively male prisoners whose freedom is celebrated; during Odoacer’s siege, female citizens
were captured for ransom; Vita Epiphani, 97, 99 (Honorata and Luminosa; matres familias).
210 E.g. Reydellet, La Royaut´ e, 141–82; Cesa, Introduction to Vita del Epifanio, 23; cf. Teillet, Des
Goths, 276–80.
211
Currentissues: e.g. Theoderic’s concerns regarding succession: Ennodius, Vita Epiphani, 186;
his marriage alliance with Gundobad: 163. The mission to Gundobad is seen as negotiating this
alliance by e.g. Courcelle, Histoire litt´ eraire, 181; Schwarcz, ‘Die Liguria’, 1112; Danuta Shanzer,
‘Two Clocks and a Wedding: Theodoric’s Diplomatic Relations with the Burgundians’, Romano-
barbarica 14 (1998), 227–32, 255 (only Shanzer seeks to adduce evidence from the text, though
describing the putative negotiations as ‘virtually dissimulated’ by Ennodius). As a negotiation
tactic, the combination of ransom offering and alliance proposal seems unlikely, and the text
gives no support. Certainly the marriage alliance is a precondition for the success of Epiphanius’
mission: Vita Epiphani, 163, 167. Other, unattested embassies will have negotiated the marriage
of Theoderic’s and Gundobad’s children.
212
Teillet, Des Goths, 278.
213
Gundobad: Ennodius, Vita Epiphani, 164 (erat fando locuples et ex eloquentia dives opibus et facundus
adsertor); Theoderic: dramatised in his speeches: 110, 131–4, 136–41, 188–9.
164