Last Quarter of the Fifth Century Events in the Light of Auctarium Hauniense

Abstract

This research reveals the signs of ideological, political, and, partially, social orientation of the anonymous compilations from Italy (most likely dated shortly after 523 AD), known as Auctarium Hauniense (which are a part of the document entitled Continuatio Prosperi Hauniensis), and presenting a mix of a chronicle and a duplicate of excerpts from a number of consular lists of the Roman Empire from 455–523. The attention is focused on the composition of the part of Auctarium which describes the events related to the disappearance of the position of emperors of the Western Roman Empire. It has been revealed that the content of the document shows clear signs of reworking and incomplete editing of sections devoted to the proclamation of Julius Nepos as emperor, the insurrection of Orestes, the elevation of Romulus Augustulus to the throne, and the stay of Nepos in Dalmatia. These reports emphasize the legitimacy of Nepos’ power and the illegitimacy of Augustulus’ reign. This is the reason why Auctarium Hauniense focused on the fate of Nepos and ignored the dethroning of Augustulus by the military commander Odoacer. The author hints that the stability of Italy no longer depended on the empire, but rather on the barbarian rulers, who for the most part were pragmatic warriors and politicians. In contrast to a number of seventh- and eighth-­century chroniclers and historians, the compiler did not share the views of the tradition of Cassiodorus, which exalted the power of Theodoric and emphasized the positivity of the barbarians’ control of the provinces of the Empire.