Cambridge Ancient Hi.. - Index of

510 18. the north-western provinces
of the later sixth century may have been completely invisible a century
earlier.
Mixed in with this picture of collapse, however, is a picture of remarkable
continuity. Writers in the south of Gaul presented the early fifth
century as a period of calamity, but their successors in the second half of
the century chose to emphasize the continuance of Roman tradition. 84
Archaeology supports the written word in suggesting continuity in such
southern cities as Vienne, Arles and Marseilles. At the same time, despite
the crises in the Loire valley in the 460s, Sidonius continued to number
northern bishops and aristocrats among his correspondents. Among the
bishops were Agroecius of Sens, 85 Euphronius of Autun, 86 Lupus of
Troyes, 87 Nunechius of Nantes, 88 Perpetuus of Tours, 89 Principius of
Soissons, 90 Prosper of Orleans 91 and Remigius of Rheims. 92 Agroecius and
Euphronius he consulted over the election of Simplicius to the see of
Bourges, while he informed Perpetuus of the result. Along with Paulinus
of Périgueux, he supplied Perpetuus with verses for the newly rebuilt
church of St Martin. 93 This church was being built during precisely the
years that Aegidius, Childeric, Paul, the Saxon Odoacer and the Visigoths
were fighting in the Loire valley – it was truly a capsule of eternity in a very
unstable world. 94 Aegidius himself may have been a benefactor of St
Martin’s, but of him Sidonius says not a word. 95 Sidonius did nevertheless
correspond with Principius, the bishop of Soissons, which seems to have
been Aegidius’ power base. Perhaps even more remarkable, Sidonius’
friend Volusianus set off for his estate in the Bayeux region in the late
460s. 96
Among Sidonius’ northern correspondents, Remigius provides a valuable
thread through the chaos of the late fifth century. Unfortunately many
of the sources for Remigius are late, not least the Vita rewritten by
Hincmar in the ninth century. Nevertheless, he appears as a correspondent
of Sidonius in 471 or thereabouts. 97 In the ensuing years the civitas of
Rheims must have fallen into the hands of the Frankish king Childeric,
since Remigius wrote to the king’s son, Clovis, when he took over the province
of Belgica Secunda in succession to his father. 98 The letter presupposes
a good deal of organizational continuity in the province. Remigius
was later to baptize Clovis, 99 and to play some role in church appointments
in the last years of his reign. 100 The bishop’s will, preserved like that of his
84 Wood (1992) 9–10. 85 Sid. Ap. Ep. 7.5. 86 Sid. Ap. Epp. 7.8; 9.2.
87 Sid. Ap. Epp. 6.1; 6.11. 88 Sid. Ap. Ep. 8.13. 89 Sid. Ap. Ep. 7.9.
90 Sid. Ap. Epp. 8.14; 9.10. 91 Sid. Ap. Ep. 8.15. 92 Sid. Ap. Ep. 9.7.
93 Sid. Ap. Ep. 4.18.4–5; Greg.Tur.Hist. ii.14; Harries (1994) 116; Van Dam (1993) 18, 314–16.
94 Van Dam, Leadership and Community 230–55: Brown (1996) 64. 95 Harries (1994) 98–9, 247–8.
96 Sid. Ap. Ep. 4.18.2. 97 Sid. Ap. Ep. 9.7.
98 Epist. Austras. 2, ed. W. Gundlach, MGH, Epistolae 3 (Berlin 1892). 99 Greg. Tur. Hist. ii.31.
100 Epist. Austras. 3.
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