In July 455adthe Roman general Eparchius Avitus was proclaimed Emperor by his soldiers in Arles. Avitus’ son-in-law, Sidonius Apollinaris, delivered a panegyric to mark the new emperor’s first consulship. In this poem Avitus controls hisirato repel the barbarians and counter their fear inducing behaviour. Avitus’ manipulation of the barbarians relies onauctoritasrather than eloquence. Sidonius styles Avitus as an impressive military and political leader, ideally suited to confronting the Vandals and restoring a broken Roma to her former glory.

No abstract

No abstract

In late c.e. 467 Sidonius Apollinaris journeyed from Lyon to Rome. An account of his journey appears in Epist. 1.5. Sidonius made his way to the city by boat and imperial post horses, arriving during the nuptial celebrations of the Emperor Anthemius’ daughter Alypia and the barbarian potentate Ricimer. The wedding linked Ricimer, who had held significant political power in the interregnum after the death of Libius Severus (461–465), to the new emperor in the West, Anthemius, whom the eastern Roman emperor, Leo I, had just appointed.

No abstract