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@PHDTHESIS{London:962413,
author = {London, Christoph},
othercontributors = {Freitag, Klaus and Scherberich, Klaus},
title = {{D}en {K}aiser erziehen : {B}ildungskonzepte, -praktiken
und ihre {R}ezeption zur {Z}eit der
{V}alentinianisch-{T}heodosianischen {K}inderkaiser
(367-455)},
school = {Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen},
type = {Dissertation},
address = {Aachen},
publisher = {RWTH Aachen University},
reportid = {RWTH-2023-07380},
pages = {1 Online-Ressource : Illustrationen, Diagramme},
year = {2023},
note = {Veröffentlicht auf dem Publikationsserver der RWTH Aachen
University; Dissertation, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische
Hochschule Aachen, 2023},
abstract = {During the Late Roman Empire, during the 4th and 5th
century, a total of six so-called “Child Emperors” were
raised to power, all of them belonging to the
Valentinian-Theodosian Dynasty: Gratian (367), Valentinian
II (375), Arcadius (383), Honorius (392), Theodosius II
(402), and Valentinian III (425). These emperors ascended to
power at ages ranging from nine months to eight years and
were unable to fulfil the traditional expectations placed on
a Roman ruler in fields such as the military,
administration, and jurisdiction. Due to the necessity of
educating and preparing already reigning emperors for their
duties, sources increasingly discuss aspects of imperial
education. This study primarily focuses on historiographical
and panegyrical accounts and investigates the educational
practices described for each emperor, as well as how the
topic of imperial education is conceptualised and
represented in different contexts and discourses. As child
emperor rule and related phenomena formed part of the
political reality of the Roman Empire for almost 90 years,
the development of concepts and ideas can be traced
diachronically. The political decentralisation of the late
Roman Empire, with two, often competing imperial courts in
the Latin West and Greek East, also provides an opportunity
for synchronous observations. Already during the early
Principate, authors such as Suetonius and Tacitus had
expressed great interest in the education and intellectual
achievements of individual emperors. As Roman rulers were
recruited less frequently from the educated senatorial elite
from the 3rd century onwards and mostly had a military
background, education became a criterion to evaluate the
suitability and legitimacy of an emperor. Historians of Late
Antiquity such as Aurelius Victor, Eutropius, or Ammianus
Marcellinus demanded an adequate education of the emperors
they portrayed. Education also became an important aspect of
imperial praise in panegyric speeches of Late Antiquity.
This study shows that the era of the Valentinian-Theodosian
Child Emperors can be divided into three periods,
representing three distinct strategies in handling aspects
of imperial education. The first phase which can be
understood as "Formative Period" (367–384/392) commenced
with the elevation of Gratian as the first Child Emperor. In
the absence of genuine accomplishments in the customary
fields of representation, the imperial court propagated the
virtues of a ruler who received an education befitting his
status and who was, at the same time, in the process of
being prepared for an active military rule. References to
imperial education also served as a compensatory strategy in
the designation of Valentinian Galates and the elevation of
Arcadius in the Eastern part of the Empire. Influential
figures, who formed part of provincial and urban elites,
were able to exert considerable influence as teachers and
educators of the Child Emperors. However, conceptual
differences between the Western and the Eastern part of the
Empire can be identified. During the "Latent Period"
(392-402), the significance of educational discourses
diminished. A familiarity with the phenomenon of Child
Emperors' rule had set in, which made the frequent need for
legitimisation obsolete. Additionally, early attempts of
Child Emperors to exert an active rule after reaching
adulthood had failed, leading to the establishment of
long-term regency arrangements and the portrayal of Child
Emperors in an increasingly passive role. Simultaneously,
genuinely Christian criteria gained increasing importance in
expressing imperial virtues due to the advancing
Christianisation of the imperial office. This development
reached its culmination in the "Adaptive Period" (402-455),
during which the education of emperors was primarily
conceptualised as preparation for religious and ceremonial
contexts. Furthermore, education remained a crucial
criterion for justifying the influence of imperial women.
Conversely, the increasingly passive conduct of the emperors
was attributed to a lack of education and intelligence.},
cin = {741110},
ddc = {900},
cid = {$I:(DE-82)741110_20140620$},
typ = {PUB:(DE-HGF)11},
doi = {10.18154/RWTH-2023-07380},
url = {https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/record/962413},
}
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