Accession Oaths and the Dynamics of Power: The Parallel Cases of Anastasius and Athalaric
Thursday 16 February 2023, 5-6pm, Minerva Building MB0302 (Cargill Lecture Theatre)
Speaker: Dr. Michael Wuk (Lincoln)
At the time of an emperor’s accession, it was customary for imperial subjects to swear allegiance to the new ruler and thereby emphasise the relative balance of power. By making their followers promise to serve only them, these sovereigns highlighted their positions of authority over the oath-takers. Inverting this traditional dynamic, the emperor Anastasius and the Roman-styled Gothic rex Athalaric were compelled to offer oaths concerning their future conduct and beliefs shortly before their accession ceremonies, in 491 and 516 respectively. In both cases, these pacts were sworn to groups whose support required consolidation; Athalaric, a child ruler, sought to gain acceptance amongst the Italian aristocracy, while Anastasius, whose religious ‘orthodoxy’ had been questioned, needed the backing of the palace officials and the archbishop of Constantinople. Importantly, these pledges were a condition of the swearers’ elevations, which only proceeded once the aforementioned powerbrokers had received the requested oaths.
Through a comparative analysis of these pacts, their significations in the contexts of the rulers’ prior lives and acclamations, and other analogous pledges and ceremonies, this paper will examine how the parallel accession oaths of Anastasius and Athalaric were connected to a wider discourse of imperial power. Although late-antique rulers were technically autocrats, there was always a need to answer the concerns of influential figures. These pledges were one response to such anxieties. Through these oaths, which publicly demonstrated the relative potencies of the parties involved, these sovereigns asserted that their authority had been established via the consensus of their subjects.
Bio: Michael Wuk is the Senior Classical Languages Tutor for the Classical Studies programme at Lincoln. In previous years, he has taught at the University of Liverpool and the University of Nottingham, and has undertaken research at the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae, Munich, and the Università degli Studi di Cagliari. He is also currently a Research Associate at the Institute of Classical Studies, London, will undertake a funded projecs at the Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen for a month in June 2023, and will hold a Marie Curie Fellowship at the Freie Universität Berlin for two years from September 2023. His work largely concerns the cultural, institutional, and religious history of the late-antique Mediterranean and Near East (third-seventh centuries CE), especially concepts of obligation and interactions between rulers, subjects, and other sources of authority.
Story submitted by Renée Ward
rward@lincoln.ac.uk