Gelasius and the Ostrogoths
Jurisdiction and religious community in late fifth‐century Italy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12279372 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Samuel Cohen (0000-0002-9072-1041, Sonoma State University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 20-44 |
| Publication date | 2022-01-05 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Early Medieval Europe (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0963-9462 • E-ISSN: 1468-0254 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/emed.12519 |
| OpenAlex | W4205376208 |
| Language | EN |
This essay examines the relationship between Gelasius, bishop of Rome from 492 to 496, and the Ostrogothic court, which occasioned several jurisdictional questions: the Roman church’s authority to adjudicate controversies within suburbicarian Italy, the proper venue to judge disputes involving clerics, and the appropriate involvement of the Ostrogoths in resolving these questions. Importantly, Gelasius did not identify the Ostrogoths as Arian heretics; but neither did he view their religion as equivalent to his own. This ambiguity, together with Theoderic’s stated aim of preserving traditional Roman law, provided Gelasius with rhetorical ammunition as he attempted to navigate the vexing jurisdictional landscape that characterized Ostrogothic Italy
Adjudication · Ambiguity · Art · Jurisdiction · Literature · Political science · Rhetorical question · Sociology · Byzantine Studies and History · Classical Studies and Legal History · Classics · Historical and Religious Studies of Rome · History · Law · Philosophy
| Highly cited | No |
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