Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 7.djvu/521

 HONORIUS

461

HONORIUS

As a consequence the division of the Roman Empire now led to positive hostility between its parts. Stil- icho endeavoured to eradicate abuses in the adminis- tration, remained on good terras with the Senate and, in order to keep the young emperor under his influ- ence, married him to his daughter Maria. When Honorius was menaced by Alaric in Milan early in 402, Stilicho hastened to his assistance from Rhxtia with legions summoned for that purpose from Britain and Germany; he rescued the emperor from his pre- carious situation and repulsed the Goths with great loss at PoUentia (-i April, 402) and Verona (40.3). Honorius marched with Stilicho under a triumphal arch erected in Rome in honour of the victories, and held brilliant festivals after the ancient Roman custom.

Meanwhile German tribes under the leadership of the Ostrogoth Radagais invaded Italy (405). Hon- orius and the court took refuge within the fastnesses of Ravenna, imprcgnaljle in its marshy surroundings, which now became the capital of the Emperor of Western Rome, and later of the Ostrogoth kings and the viceroys of Eastern Rome. Stilicho conquered the invaders in the mountains of FaJsulK (Fiesole) near Florence, 12,000 Goths being impressed into the service of Rome. As the empire had no Roman legions to oppose them, the Vandals, Alani, and Suevi now poured over the Rhine into the interior of Gaul, followed by Franks, Burgundians, antl Alemanni, who settled permanently on the left bank of the Rhine. Stilicho entered into negotiations with Alaric, holding out promises of Eastern lUyria to secin'e his aid. Thereupon the Roman general Constantine, who had crossed over from Britain, appeared in Gaul, and proclaimed himself emperor. The negotiations with Alaric failed and, when .\laric demanded an indemnity of 4000 pounds in gold, Stilicho who had twice saved Italy, was suspected by the court of entertaining treasonable plans. The weak emperor listened to the insinuations of the chancellor Olympius and had Stilicho put to death. Alaric now marched unopposed on Italy in 40S, whilst the emperor tried to fortify himself in Ravenna. The Romans concluded a treaty and bought peace. The Senate also recom- mended that Honorius accept Alaric's terms. Upon his refusal Alaric made the senate declare him deposed and had Attalus, prefect of Rome, proclaimed em- peror for the time being. As Honorius repeated his rejection of the demand for pay and quarters for the Goths, Alaric took the city of Rome by storm on 24 August, 410, leaving it to be sacked by his warriors for three days, but sparing the lives of the inhabitants and treating the churches with respect. Then he marched down into southern Italy in order to cross over to Africa, to found a Visigoth empire there and terrorize the emperor by cutting off the grain sup- plies. While carrying out this plan the warrior hero died at the age of thirty-four on the Busento, being buried in the bed of that river. His brother-hi-law Ataulph was elected in his stead and, after negotia- tions with Honorius, led the Goths into Gaul. At the same time the Vandals, Suevi, and Alani crossed the Pyrenees into Spain and overran the peninsula.

During these campaigns Honorius had recognized Constantine as imperator, but the latter was besieged at Arelatum by his ambitious heutenant, Gerontius. Honorius dispatched the valiant Illyrian Constantius, who defeated the usurper and drove him to suicide. Constantine was now forced to capitulate, but Hon- orius refused to accept this submission and had his rival put to death. Ataulph who had occupied Aqui- tania, subdued Jovinus, the third rival imperator in Gaul, who relied on the Germans on the Rhine for support. Ataulph then married Honorius's step- sister, Galla Placidia, at Narbonne in 414; she had been taken captive by Alaric. Thereby he aroused the bitter enmity of Honorius, in whose behalf Con-

stantius waged war against Ataulph, the latter being assassinated on accoimt of a private feud at Barcelona. His successor, Wallia, surrendered Placidia to Hon- orius. Constantius, who had effected the outward reclamation of the Roman provinces that were occu- pied by Germans, was appointed co-ruler with the emperor in 420 and received the hand of Placidia. Their son, Flavius Placidus Valentinian III, whose energetic mother wielded the sceptre for him, was invested with the purple after a brief interregnum of the usurper John, following the death of Honorius on 26 August, 423.

Dahn, Konige der Germanen.V(,Wiirzhurg, 1870); Wieters- heim-Dahn, Geschichle der Volkerwanderung, II (Leipzig, 1881); Dahn, Urgeschichte der germanischen und Tomanischen VulkeVt II (Berlin, 1881); Eicken, Kampf der Westgolen u. der Romer unler Alarich (Leipzig, 1876).

K.UtL HOEBER.

Honorius of Autun (Honorius Augustodunen- 8is), a theologian, philosopher, and encyclopedic writer who lived in the first half of the twelfth century. Honorius has been correctly describetl as one of the most mysterious personages in all the medieval period. All that can be stated with certainty is that he flour- ished between the years 1106 and 113.5, that he spent the greater part of that time in Southern Germany, and that he wrote a very large number of works, most of which have come down to us. He is generally said to have been a native of Autun in Burgundy, and in one of his works (De Luminaribus Ecclesia>) he styles himself " priest and head of the school (scholasticus) of Autun". On the other hand, his references to con- temporary events in Germany, the frequency of German glosses in his writings, and the possibility of reading " Augustodunensis" to mean "a native of Augst" (near Basle) or " of Augsburg" (in Swabia), have induced some historians to conclude that he was a German. In recent times it has been suggested that he was a monk of St. Augustine's at Canterbury, in which case " Augstodunensis" should be read " Augus- tinensis". Again, it is generally supposed that he was a Benedictine monk, and yet some of the oldest MSS. describe him as solitarius. This, of course, could mean "monk"; by some, however, it is taken literally to mean a hermit or inclusns, and one at least of the recent writers on the subject (Endres, " Honorius Augustodunensis", Munich, 1906) does not hesitate to associate Honorius with the Irish inclusi who were in the neighbourhood of Ratisbon in the twelfth century. It is interesting to find that Honorius is well acquainted with John the Scot (see Eridgena, John Scotu.s), imitates his style, borrows his defini- tion of philosophy, writes a compendium of one of his books, and generally betrays the influence of a writer who was not considered worthy of study by the major- ity of Honorius's contemporaries. Curiously enough, he calls John the Scot " Joannes Scotus vel Chrysos- tomus", the latter name being probably a personal tribute to the eloquence of the great Irish philosopher.

The list of Honorius's writings is a very long one. In Fez's "Thesaurus" ("Diss, isagog. ", in vol. II, p. 4) we find as many as thirty-eight titles. Of these the most important are the following: — I. Philosoph- ical works: "Imago Mundi, de Dispositione Orbis", a treatise on cosmography, astronomy, meteorology, and chronology; "De Philosophia mundi", which treats of God, the world, heaven and earth, the soul, education; "Clavis Physicae, de Naturis Rerum ", which, as the incipit of the MS. indicates, is a com- pilation "excerptus ab Honorio solitario de quinque libris cuiusdam Chrisotomii", that is from John the Scot; "De libero arbitrio" (two distinct works), and several short treatises on the soul. 11. Theological works: "Elucidarium", a summary of all Christian theology in the form of a dialogue, which was trans- lated into French in the thirteenth century by the Dominican Jeffrey of Waterford, and into German