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 566 APPENDIX existing laws in subordinate points, whether in the direction of mildness or of severity, or in definition, but could not originate a new principle or institution. Now the ordinances of Theodoric, collected in his Code known as the Edidum Theoderici, conform to this rule. They introduce nothing new, they alter no established principle. Through his official mouthpiece Cassiodorus, the king repeatedly dwells on this feature of his regime : nescimus a legibus discrepare ; sufficiens laus conscientiae est veterum decreta servare. Thus in legislation the king is neither nominally nor really co- ordinate with the Emperor. His powers are those of a great official like a praetorian prefect, and though, from the circumstances of the case, he employed those powers more largely than any such official could have done, his edicts are qualitatively on the same footing and qualitatively distinct from Imperial laws. 8. DIETEICH OF BERN— (P. 205, n. 81) C. Cipolla, in the Archivio Stor. It. (Florence), 1890, vi., 457 sqq., discusses the legendary connexion of Theodoric with Verona, where in the Middle Ages the con- struction of the great Roman theatre was ascribed to him. Now Theodoric did build at Verona : Anon. Val., 71, " item Verona thermas et palatium fecit et a porta usque ad palatium porticum reddidit aquaeductum — renouauit muros alios nouos oircumit ciuitatem ". He also sometimes stayed at Verona, ib. 81-2, and Ennodius, Paneg. Theod., 271, ed. Hartel, speaks of Veronam tuam. But the Veronese legend was certainly influenced by the Teutonic legend of Dietrich of Bern, and the Teutonic legend cannot be accounted for by the fact that Theodoric erected some buildings at Verona, or occasionally stayed there. The problem arises why the figure of the legend was Dietrich of Verona, and not Dietrich of Ravenna, which was the permanent residence of Theodoric during his reign. It may be observed too thatithere is perhaps none of the great kings of the period of the Wandering of the Peoples whose reign offers so little motive for legendary treatment as that of Theodoric. It was, I think, not as the ruler of Italy, but as the conqueror of Odovacar that Theodoric's name made its way into the cycle of Teutonic legend ; it was the battle of Verona which was commemorated in his description as Dietrich of Bern. In proof of this I would urge that the impression produced by such a battle offered the kind of motive which legend is wont to adopt, and more particularly that the introduction of Dietrich into the Nibelungenlied is explained. The origin of those parts of the Nibelungen which have historical motives are Burgundian. Now we know that the Burgundians were deeply interested in the struggle between Odovacar and the Ostrogoths. They were alarmed by the prospect that if Theodoric were victorious they would have Goths on their right hand in Italy as well as Goths on their left hand in Gaul ; flanked by two Gothic kingdoms their own independence might seem imperilled. Accordingly their king Gundobad descended into Liguria to assist Odovacar. Our records of this invasion are meagre ; we only know that Gundobad made captives and that Theodoric made a treaty with him and induced him to retire (Ennodius, Opera, ed. Hartel, 276, 375 ; Historia Miscella, xv. 15). This situation gives us, I believe, the true explanation of the Burgundian legend of Theodoric. 9. AN INSCRIPTION OF THEODORIC— (P. 206) The inscription on the draining of the Pomptine marshes by Theodoric, pre- served at Mesa, is as follows : D(ominus) n(oster) glrsmus [ = gloriosissimus] adq(ue) inclyt(us) rex Theoderi- cus vict(or) ac triumf(ator), semper Aug(ustus), bono r(ei) p(ublicae) natus, custos libertatis et propagator Rom(am) nom(inis), domitor gtium [ = gentium] Decen- novii 1 viae Appiae id (est) a Trip(ontio) usq(ue) Tarric(inam) iter et loca quae oonfluentib(us) ab utraq(ue) parte palud(ibus) per omn(es) retro princip(es) inun- daverant 2 usui pub(li)co et securitate [leg. — ati, Mommsen] viantium admiranda 1 This name seems to have been then applied to the whole marsh from Tripontium to Tarracina (Mommsen). 2 = Sub aqua fuerunt (Mommsen).