Flavius Constantius and affairs in Gaul between 411 and 417
Dunn, Geoffrey David
Dunn, Geoffrey David
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Abstract
In the second decade of the fifth century Flavius Constantius was the leading figure in the western Roman empire. After besieging Arles in 411 and defeating the usurper Constantine III, in 417 he married Galla Placidia, the half-sister to Honorius, emperor in the West from 395 to 423. This paper is interested in the years between those two events. David Frye has argued that Constantius maintained a strong interest in political and ecclesiastical appointments there during these years. The argument advanced here is that although Constantius was responsible for installing Patroclus as bishop of Arles, this was not on his own initiative. Further, Constantius was not in Gaul continuously and that when he was there he was too engaged in dealing with the Goths in Narbonne, who held Galla Placidia hostage, to take much interest in the creation of an episcopate in Gaul more sympathetic to him and the imperial regime than there had been under Constantine III. Although he had the opportunity to replace church leaders as he did with civic leaders, he did not do so.
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Date
2014
Type
Journal article
Journal
Australian Early Medieval Association Journal
Book
Volume
10
Issue
2014
Page Range
1-21