Cambridge Ancient Hi.. - Index of

the structures of government 173
these enjoyed frequent access to him, presenting legal appeals and transmitting
his responses. Cyprian, who served as referendary to the Ostrogoth
Theoderic and rose to high office, presented appeals to the king when they
were out riding for relaxation; he was able to challenge the magister Boethius
in the presentation of a treason case and bring about his downfall. 33 Petrus,
a magister of the sacra scrinia (magister epistularum) under Majorian, commanded
armies and conducted diplomatic negotiations; politically, he probably
outweighed the magister officiorum, his nominal superior. 34
Another top palatine minister was the quaestor of the sacred palace. 35 He
was the emperor’s mouthpiece, drafting letters, proclamations, responses,
rescripts and laws, and transmitting petitions to the emperor; consequently,
he was often a legal expert. He headed no department, administered
nothing, and borrowed his staff from the chancellery scrinia. 36 His duties,
those of the chancellery heads and those of the referendary overlapped
each other; in Merovingian Gaul, the royal referendary seems to have been
the principal law officer and secretary; in Ostrogothic Italy, the quaestor
probably took over the role of the magistri scriniorum, who became honorary
officials, while the quaestor, ‘the mother of all honours’, ‘the gate of royal
favours’, issued letters of appointment to major offices. 37 Since suggestions
for reforms in the system of government came from the relevant ministers
and departments, the quaestor had little power over the system; he merely
put into legal shape what others had originated. However, his influence
over non-administrative legislation was great, and he presumably had constant
access to the emperor. His chancellery role probably meant that he
had to work closely with the magister, and was presumably another counterbalance
to his power (and vice versa): Boethius, as magister, was temporarily
able to block the appointment of an objectionable quaestor; Tribonian
alternated between the two offices, and even combined them in 535, while
under Justin II Anastasius also held these concurrently. 38 In the east, the
quaestor gradually developed a role as judge of appeal, in which he outlasted
the praetorian prefect (another example of administrative balancing).
From 440, he sat with the prefect to hear appeals from spectabiles iudices, and
under Justinian he heard appeals from Sicily and the provinces of the quaestura
exercitus. This reflected his close association with the emperor: ‘For we
think it not improper that the quaestor should take under his jurisdiction
Sicily, which is established as, so to speak, our personal estate.’ 39
33 Bury (1910); Cass. Variae v.41.3; Anon. Valesianus 85. 34 See PLRE ii s.v. Petrus 10.
35 Guilland (1971); Tribonian: Honoré (1978) 8–9; Harries (1988).
36 However, the preface to Justinian, Nov. 35 may indicate that he came to control the scrinia memoriae
et epistularum; cf. also Cass. Variae viii.18.3.
37 Cass. Variae vi.5.5; viii.13.5–7; Justinian, Nov. 17 (CJC iii.117, 33) indicates that the quaestor is
issuing codicils to new provincial governors, an extension of his involvement in appointments.
38 Cons. Phil. 3, prose 4; cf. Cass. Variae v.3–4.
39 CJ vii.62.32; Nov. 20, 41; 104; quotation from 104.3
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