In Spain things were not going well either. Theoderic’s other grandson, Amalaric, was still under the guardianship of Theudis, who over the years had increased his level of power to the point that he was practically ruling himself, against Theoderic’s will.133 The dream of a reunification of the two Gothic peoples was now over, and Theoderic was progressively losing control over the Visigothic kingdom.
While the situation in external politics was becoming more and more bleak, things in Italy took an even more complicated turn shortly after Eutharic’s death. Radical changes in the Mediterranean and European political landscape, together with the death of the presumptive heir to the kingdom, may have given Justin a pretext to reconsider his approval of Theoderic’s succession; supporting a new heir may have not been in Justin’s plans. We know that in 524–525 two men from two of the most illustrious families of Rome, Boethius and his father-in-law, Symmachus, were executed. These men had reached the peak of their prestige in 522, when the two sons of Boethius became consuls.134 As was traditional, the event was celebrated with circus games and triumphal parades, organized in grand style by Boethius himself, who also thanked Theoderic in the Senate House with a panegyric.135 A few months later Boethius was appointed master of the offices for the following year. Once in Ravenna, however, he found himself entangled in accusations of conspiracy against Theoderic. Members of the king’s entourage had accused Albinus of corresponding with Emperor Justin to conspire against the king, acting, they alleged, on behalf of the Senate. Barnish has intriguingly speculated that “the letter of Albinus to the east concerned the possible regency or succession of Theodahad, and the libertas Romana allegedly hoped for by Boethius involved a senatorial share in the choice of Rome’s ruler.”136 It is certain that Boethius defended Albinus and the Roman Senate, and eventually the accusation fell upon him too. Theoderic trusted the accusers, strongly relying on his entourage. Boethius was first imprisoned and then, in the following year, executed.137
While it remains unclear how much truth there was in the allegations against Albinus, this story took place at a time when waves of tragic news from the other kings were reaching Italy. The Roman senators employed at the palace were informed of the changes in the international scenario, and as the master of the offices, it was Boethius who introduced the king to the legates bearing all this news.138 The international role of the Gothic kingdom was weakening, and it is possible that some senators thought to take advantage of the situation, looking to the empire as the alternative. The affair of Albinus had put the whole Senate at risk of an accusation en masse; shortly before his death, Boethius claimed that the king desired “the common ruin” of the senators.139
At first, Theoderic did not regret his decision to have Boethius killed; a short time later he also ordered the execution of Symmachus, who was the head of the Senate.140 Then Theoderic compelled Pope John I to accompany some senators to Constantinople. According to the Anonymus Valesianus, the pope was sent to ask Justin to allow the Arians to profess their religion, while in the Book of the Popes we read that the king wanted the confiscated churches, including those in the East, to be restored to the Arians. When the emperor issued the law that deprived the mostly Gothic Arians of their religious freedom, he may have been motivated in part by a desire for retaliation for the affair of Albinus and Boethius. There were still many Gothic Arians who were living in the East, and Theoderic was concerned for their rights. The pope’s mission failed on this particular issue, however, and as soon as he returned, he and the other members of the embassy were put in prison. John I died a short time later.141 This series of events largely compromised the strong relationship that had stood between Theoderic, the Roman Senate, and the church for thirty years.
Cassiodorus had replaced Boethius as the master of the offices, and some of the letters of the Variae that he wrote during the years of his appointment, 523–526, shed a little light on these critical period at the palace of Ravenna. Prestigious appointments that were traditionally held by members of the Roman Senate were now granted instead to Boethius’s enemies; these were the people Theoderic kept closer in those years. Among the men whose careers especially benefited were two pairs of brothers, Opilio and Cyprianus, and Decoratus and Honoratus. They were appointed to key offices, such as quaestor of the palace and count of the Sacred Largesses, and Theoderic praised them for their merits and honored their friendship, which he held very dear.142 When promoting Honoratus to quaestor in late 524, Theoderic, addressing the Roman senators, memorialized Decoratus, the candidate’s brother who had preceded him in the office but had recently died. Among the deeds Theoderic recalled was Decoratus’s participation in a famous trial where he defended a patrician whose name is purposely not specified: was this perhaps Albinus or Boethius?143
Great eulogies were also made for the promotion of Cyprianus to the office of count of the Sacred Largesses that same year.144 On this occasion the king referenced the great trust he had in this collaborator, with whom he used to ride horses and share private conversations.145 In addition, Cyprianus had participated in several military operations, was able to speak Gothic, and had provided his sons with a military education and knowledge of the Gothic language.146 Courtiers like these molded themselves to the expectations of their rulers. An enormous social and cultural gap separated them from the members of the senatorial elite, such as Albinus, Boethius, and Symmachus. In fact, Cyprianus and his friends are the exact same courtiers whom Boethius blamed in the apologia of the Consolatio as improbi and flagitiosi, while accusing the king of having them rewarded for their crimes rather than punishing them.147 The growing relationships of Theoderic with these courtiers during the years 523–526 show that the king’s trust in the Roman Senate had reached its lowest point, and that only a few Roman families were now close to the court.
Theoderic’s distrust of the Senate and the Roman Church created immense internal problems inside the Gothic kingdom at the same time as the king’s external political relationships were crumbling and tensions with the empire increasing. Adding to this chaos were the extremely limited possibilities of finding an Amal adult male who could rule over the Goths in Italy. Theoderic did not consider handing his throne to Amalaric, his grandson who was the heir apparent to the Visigothic throne, and who by now was of age to rule. It had been Eutharic who, through his son Athalaric, was meant to reunify the Gothic people. Theoderic also had never even considered his adult nephew, the greedy Theodahad, as a potential tutor for Athalaric, much less as an heir and successor.
During these difficult, turbulent years, Amalasuintha was living in the palace at Ravenna. She was at the palace when embassy after embassy arrived, bringing bad news and a growing sense of isolation from the other kingdoms; she was a witness to Theoderic’s break with the senatorial class and the Roman clergy, and to the executions the king ordered. She must have experienced all the stress these situations provoked, and she must have been closely watching her father’s politics of succession.
Protecting the Heir
On his deathbed, Theoderic designated as heir to his throne his grandson Athalaric, who was at that time barely ten years old, if not even younger.148 In a way he was repeating the procedure followed in 474 by his own father, Theudimer, who, when his death was imminent, had called together his Goths to announce the succession of his son.149 At this time the Ostrogoths seem to have followed the