Late Roman Studies

In these lively essays, the author discusses the position during the late Roman Empire of the senatorial class, composed of great landowners and of the wealthier among the curiales, lesser landowners much oppressed by taxation. As the Church increasingly became a social force, bishops were more often drawn from these highly educated groups. Although both classes eventually succumbed to barbarism, substantial elements of classical civilization were preserved by those individuals who carried their culture and administrative talents with them into the episcopacy. The discussion is centered on Boethius, Synesius, Paulinus of Nola, Rutilius Namatianus, and the iudicium quinquevirale.