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About Ereleuva, concubine of Theodimir
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erelieva
Ereleuva (before 440 - ca. 500?), concubine of Theodemir and mother of Theodoric the Great.
Ben M. Angel notes: The name for this person is spelled in various ways:
Ereliva: From the "Anonymus Valesianus," published by Henri Valois ("Valesianus") in the 17th century, based on two documents: "The Lineage of Emperor Constantine" from 390, and "Ex libris Chronicorum inter cetera" on the life of Theodoric the Great, supposedly written by Bishop Maximianus of Ravenna.
Erelieva: From Jordanes in his work Getica
Ereleuva: From correspondence between this person and Pope Gelasius I.
Eusebia: Her baptismal name (when she became Catholic - she later supposedly converted to Arianism, in accordance with her husband's faith).
The following variation I've yet to find a source for other than various online family tree profiles, indicating to me it's probably a mistaken spelling passed along repeated by people copying and pasting on the internet:
Erelicia
The accepted form for her name among modern historians is Ereleuva, and for that reason, she is named here as such.
From the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy page on Italy Kings:
http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ITALY,%20Kings%20to%20962.htm#Theod...
THEODEMIR [Thiudimir], son of VANDALARIUS (-Kyrrhos 474).
Iordanes names "Thiudemer et Valamir et Vidimir" as the sons of Vandilarius[231].
King of the Ostrogoths in Pannonia, under his brother Valamir, he ruled over the western part of their domain which covered the county of Somogy and northeastern Croatia. He succeeded his brother in [468/49] as King of all the Pannonian Ostrogoths.
When the Ostrogoths left Pannonia in [473], Theodemir and his contingent went towards Constantinople. They were settled in Macedonia, based in the city of Kyrrhos[232].
m ---. The name of Theodemir's wife is not known.
---
Concubine: ERELEUVA [Erelieva].
She was baptised a Catholic as EUSEBIA[233]. Iordanes names "Erelieva concubina" as mother of Theodoric[234]. She went with her son to Italy.
---
Theodemir & his wife had one child:
1. AMALAFRIDA (-murdered [523/25]).
Iordanes names "Amalfridam germanam suam [Theoderici]" as the mother of "Theodehadi" and wife of "Africa regi Vandalorum…Thrasamundo"[235].
Emperor Zeno used her as ambassador to her half-brother in 487 to thwart his attack on Constantinople[236].
Her second marriage was arranged by her half-brother, Theodoric King of Italy, as part of his efforts to foster the support of the Vandals. Amalafrida's dowry was Lilybæum in western Sicily[237].
After the death of her husband, she unsuccessfully protested his successor's withdrawal of support from her brother, but she was outmanœuvred and killed[238].
m firstly [HUGO ---] (-before 500). The Widukindi Res Gestæ Saxonicæ names "Huga rex Francorum…unicam filiam Amalbergam" who married "Irminfredo regi Thuringorum"[239], but there is no indication to whom "Huga rex Francorum" could refer.
m secondly ([500]%29 THRASAMUND, King of the Vandals, son of [GENTO the Vandal or GELIMER the Vandal] (before 460-523).
Amalafrida & her first husband had two children.
Theodemir had three illegitimate children by his concubine (Ereleuva):
2. THEODORIC ([451][258]-30 Aug 526).
Iordanes names "Theodericum" as son of Theodemir, in a later passage naming his mother "Erelieva concubina"[259].
He was proclaimed THEODORIC "the Great" King of Italy in Mar 493 after defeating King Odovacar.
3. THEODIMUND. The primary source which names him has not yet been identified.
He marched westwards to Durazzo with his brother in 479, leading one of the three marching columns[260].
4. daughter (-[479]). The primary source which records her existence has not yet been identified.
She died about the time her half-brother marched westwards to Durazzo[261].
References:
[231] Iordanes Getarum, MGH Auct. ant. V.1, p. 77.
[232] Wolfram, H. (1998) History Of The Goths (Berkeley, California), pp. 267 and 269.
[233] Wolfram (1998), p. 261.
[234] Iordanes Getarum, MGH Auct. ant. V.1, p. 128.
[235] Iordanes Getarum, MGH Auct. ant. V.1, p. 132.
[236] Wolfram (1998), p. 278.
[237] Wolfram (1998), p. 308.
[238] Wolfram (1998), p. 308.
[259] Iordanes Getarum, MGH Auct. ant. V.1, pp. 77 and 128.
[260] Wolfram (1998), p. 274.
[261] Wolfram (1998), p. 274.
----------------------------
From the Wikipedia page on Ereleuva:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erelieva
Ereleuva (born before AD 440, died ca. 500?[1]%29 was the mother of the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great. She is often referred to as the concubine of Theodoric's father, Theodemir, although historian Thomas Hodgkin notes "this word of reproach hardly does justice to her position. In many of the Teutonic nations, as among the Norsemen of a later century, there seems to have been a certain laxity as to the marriage rite..."[2] That Gelasius refers to her as regina ("queen") suggests that she had a prominent social position despite the informality of her union with Theodemir.[1]
Ereleuva was Catholic, and was baptised with the name Eusebia.[1] She had probably converted from Arianism as an adult, but the details are unclear in the historical record. Ereleuva is regarded as having taken to Catholicism quite seriously, as indicated by her correspondence with Pope Gelasius and mention of her in Ennodius's Panegyric of Theodoric.[3]
Her name was variously spelled by historians in antiquity as Ereriliva (by the fragmentary chronicle of Anonymus Valesianus, ca. 527[4]%29 and Erelieva (by Jordanes), and is now largely known to modern historians as Ereleuva, as she was addressed most frequently by Pope Gelasius I.[1]
References
1.^ Amory, Patrick (1997). People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489-554. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 450. ISBN 0521571510. http://books.google.com/books?id=7ndeDi_fwq0C&pg=PA450&vq=eusebia&d....
2.^ Hodgkin, Thomas (1897). Theodoric the Goth: Barbarian Champion of Civilisation. London: G.P. Putnam's Sons. pp. 34. http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/20063.
3.^ Amory, Patrick (1997). People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489-554. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 268–269. ISBN 0521571510. http://books.google.com/books?id=7ndeDi_fwq0C&pg=PA268&vq=eusebia&d....
4.^ See Anonymus Valesianus Pars Posterior: Chronica Theodericiana. The Latin Library.
(No longer a functional link):
http://familytrees.genopro.com/318186/jarleslekt/default.htm?page=t...
From "People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489-554, Prosopographical Appendix (pg. 450):
http://books.google.com/books?id=7ndeDi_fwq0C&pg=PA450&vq=eusebia&d...
Ereleuva dicta Eusebia regina (= PLRE2 Erelieva quae et Eusebia)
The mother of Theodericus and concubine of Theodemer. The spelling of Gelasius, her contemporary, is preferred to those of AV ("Ereriliva") and Jordanes ("Erelieva"); Gelasius once calls her "Hereleuva," but his other usage, "Ereleuva," with the weight of the other sources, should favor a smooth breathing at the start of the name. Gelasius uses the title "regina," and calls her "sublimitas tue."
She was a Catholic, and took the name "Eusebia" in baptism: "Ereriliva dicta Gothica, catholica quidem erat, qui [sc. quae] in baptismo Eusebia dicta," AV 59. (Note that Catholicism may explain the similar pattern of the name of her granddaughter Ostrogotho Ariagni, q.v.) Probably for this reason, Ennodius referred to her "sancta mater" (Pan. 42, with PLRE2: 400). She also received letters from Pope Gelasius I seeking her influence over the king in issues of ecclesiastical and secular jurisdiction (though cf. Teia comes, an Arian correspondent of the pope). On these letters, see above, chs. 2 and 6. On their authenticity, contra Ullmann, see ch. 3. She is depicted as the addressee of a speech from Theodoric, by Ennodius, Pan. 42-4, at the time of the war for Italy in 489-493. Ennodius' references does not necessarily indicate that she was alive at the time of the Panegyricus (c.506), but it is interesting that he does not use any term such as "beatae recordationis" in mentioning her.
Gelasius, JK683 = ep. "Qui pro victu" (Thiel, frag. 36, p.502 = ETV 4) (492/496, not 495 as PLRE2: 400 states); JK 721 = ep. "Felicem et Petrum" (Ewald, coll. Brit. Gel. ep. 46, pp. 521-2 = ETV5) (496); Ennodius, Pan. 42; AV 59; Jordanes, Get. 269.
Eusebia = Ereleuva.
From "Theodoric the Goth: The Barbarian Champion of Civilisation" by Thomas Hodgkin:
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20063/20063-h/20063-h.htm#p7
Walamir at once sent tidings of the victory to his brother Theudemir. The messenger arrived at an opportune moment, for on that very day Erelieva, the unwedded wife of Theudemir, had given birth to a man-child. This infant, born on such an auspicious day and looked upon as a pledge of happy fortunes for the Ostrogothic nation, was named Thiuda-reiks (the people-ruler), a name which Latin historians, influenced perhaps by the analogy of Theodosius, changed into Theodoricus, and which will here be spoken of under the well-known form THEODORIC. [15]
It will be observed that I have spoken of Erelieva as the unwedded wife of Theudemir. The Gothic historian calls her his concubine, [16] but this word of Page 34 reproach hardly does justice to her position. In many of the Teutonic nations, as among the Norsemen of a later century, there seems to have been a certain laxity as to the marriage rite, which was nevertheless coincident with a high and pure morality. It has been suggested that the severe conditions imposed by the Church on divorces may have had something to do with the peculiar marital usages of the Teutonic and Norse chieftains. Reasons of state might require Theudemir the Ostrogoth, or William Longsword the Norman, to ally himself some day with a powerful king's daughter, and therefore he would not go through the marriage rite with the woman, really and truly his wife, but generally his inferior in social position, who meanwhile governed his house and bore him children. If the separation never came, and the powerful king's daughter never had to be wooed, she who was wife in all but name, retained her position unquestioned till her death, and her children succeeded without dispute to the inheritance of their father.
The nearest approach to an illustration which the social usages of modern Europe afford, is probably furnished by the "morganatic marriages" of modern German royalties and serenities: and we might say that Theodoric was the offspring of such an union. Notwithstanding the want of strict legitimacy in his position, I do not remember any occasion on which the taunt of bastard birth was thrown in his teeth, even by the bitterest of his foes.
Footnotes
15: (return) Jordanes wavers between Theodericus and Theodoricus. The Greek historians generally use the form θευδερίχος. German scholars seem to prefer Theoderich. As it is useless now to try to revert to the philologically correct Thiuda-reiks, I use that form of the name with which I suppose English readers to be most familiar--namely, Theodoric.
16: (return) "Ipso siquidem die Theodoricus ejus filius quamvis de Erelieva concubina, bonæ tamen spei natus est" (Jordanes: Getica, 52).
For what it meant to be a concubine under Rome (likely customs that were still enforced in Ereleuva's time), a portion of the sample for "A History of Women in the West: From Ancient Goddesses to Christian Saints" provides a picture:
http://books.google.gr/books?id=V_Mx1wyMsbsC&pg=PA316&lpg=PA316&dq=...
Rome elaborated a code of concubinage that imposed duties on concubines not unlike those required of wives. The minimum age for an official concubinage was the same as for an official marriage: 12 years. The concubine was required to be faithful to her master.[112] Only a freed woman concubine could initiate separation, a slave obviously could not. Concubines dressed as wives did: by covering their heads and bodies, they showed that they belonged to a citizen.
These women thus bore the risks of childbearing that official wives were protected against.[113] Yet men did not like to have large numbers of bastards by slaves and concubines. In Greek areas, a bleak portrait was painted of the lives of these unwanted children in order to dissuade men from having them.[114] (Ben notes: remember that Theodimir and his concubine Ereleuva were in Kyrros at the end of his life.)
Freed slaves who served as concubines bore the burden of multiple pregnancies. As their bodies aged prematurely, they might be abandoned by the master and turned over to a freed man or slave. If the master did not wish to see them pregnant, they had to submit to abortion. Some chose abortion of their own accord.
The physicians who wrote down various formulas for potions believed to prevent or abort pregnancy do not tell us much about the women to whom such potions were administered. They say only that the mixtures are not to be used to conceal adultery or to preserve a woman's looks. An ancient proverb gives us an idea of just how unpleasant some of these abortive potions were, particularly those involving the herb rue: "Your agony is nothing yet; you've still not come to parsley and rue."[115]
---
Upper-class women in Rome had no problem with their husbands' having sexual relations with slaves and concubines. Some women even chose their husbands' partners. The wife of Scipio Africanus knew her husband's concubine. After his death, she set the woman free and arranged a marriage with a freed slave.[117] Livia found virgins for her devoted husband Augustus to deflower.[118]
In Roman Africa, where some married women became devotees of a terrifying goddess, the African Ceres, they abstained from sexual relations and provided their husbands with concubines.[119] For pagan women, chastity consisted in "not desiring to be desired."[120] The rules for admission to Christianity confirm that concubines aborted pregnancies and abandoned children: "If a concubine was once a man's slave, if she raised his children and was devoted to him alone, she shall hear [the Word]; if not, she shall be sent away. A man who keeps a concubine shall cease to do so and take a wife according to the law; if he refuses, he shall be sent away."[121] (This perhaps relates to Catholicism... unsure if it relates to Arian-based cultures within the Empire - this question is essential when considering that Ereleuva was Catholic, and her master Theodimir was Arian.)
Concubinage was so widespread that freed men commonly ordered funerary inscriptions for themselves and two or three women described indiscriminately as wives or companions. Some scholars believe that these inscriptions refer to a succession of wives, but in my view the women mentioned shared the man's life simultaneously, one as lawful wife, the other(s) as concubines.[122] From the Talmud, we know that polygamous Jews had children by a first wife and ordered the second, the woman kept for pleasure, to "take the potion."
---
Christianity and sexual taboos:
Christianity defined its own rules for admission to or exclusion from the City of God. Paradoxically, while prohibitions proliferated under Christianity, the church as early as the second century agreed to renunciations impermissible under Roman law. Persons whom Roman law classified as infamous for life and for all posterity could join the Christian community, provided that they ceased their dishonorable activities.
Among these were careers in the theater and entertainment. The keeper of a brothel could become a Christian, but a prostitute (male or female) could not.[166] An adulterous woman could return to her husband, and an adulterous man (under the new definition) could return to his wife.[167]
Christianity set great store by female purity and accepted Roman marriage law. Concubines were accepted as long as they had been the concubine of one man only, and had kept all their children. Men were required to dismiss their concubines and marry according to law.
Thus the social arrangement that had protected wives was undermined. Eventually, the law of the Empire sanctioned the idea that concubinage was dishonorable and prejudicial to a wife's rights over her husband. Exclusive love scored a victory - but upper-class women, who lost their protection, suffered a defeat.
(Ben M. Angel notes: Uncertain how this development, apparently from the time of Constantine, affected Theodimir and Ereleuva and Theodimir's unknown wife. Again, this may have been more a Catholic/Nicene thing than an Arian thing - though concubinage has nothing to do with the difference in the two beliefs, perhaps Arianism being an "outsider" religion in the Empire accorded its followers a looser adherence to other "Christian" customs that were earlier introduced to the Empire. And it is possible that Ereleuva was married later in life, perhaps after Theodimir's wife died, although this event, rather a major one, is unrecorded.)
The End of Concubinage:
In the Christian era, the law permitted children born to a concubine to be legitimized, provided that the father was not married to another woman, because from the time of Constantine (306-337) married men had been forbidden to keep concubines. Constantine prohibited bequests to a concubine's child without authorization, which previously had been granted by imperial writ. He also prohibited gifts to concubines and their children.[168] As a result, husbands either entered into brief relationships (not concubinage) with other women or had more frequent relations with their wives.
The means by which concubines disposed of unwanted children were strictly regulated. Both Christians and Jews prohibited infanticide and exposure of children (apparently, turning them over naked into the wilds to die of exposure). Infanticide had been illegal under Roman law since the first century, but undoubtedly it was still practiced. Constantine included it in the law against murder.[169] Most important of all, in the fourth century, exposure was regarded as infanticide by indirect means; as such it was punishable by law. After 374, a father who ordered a child exposed risked capital punishment.[170]
From the English Wikipedia page on Erelieva:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erelieva
Ereleuva, who was born before AD 440, was the mother of the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great. She is often referred to as the concubine of Theodoric's father, Theodemir, although historian Thomas Hodgkin notes "this word of reproach hardly does justice to her position. In many of the Teutonic nations, as among the Norsemen of a later century, there seems to have been a certain laxity as to the marriage rite..." That Gelasius refers to her as regina ("queen") suggests that she had a prominent social position despite the informality of her union with Theodemir.
Ereleuva was Catholic, and was baptized with the name Eusebia. She had probably converted from Arianism as an adult, but the details are unclear in the historical record. Ereleuva is regarded as having taken to Catholicism quite seriously, as indicated by her correspondence with Pope Gelasius and mention of her in Ennodius's Panegyric of Theodoric.
Her name was variously spelled by historians in antiquity as Ereriliva (by Anonymus Valesianus) and Erelieva (by Jordanes), and is now largely known to modern historians as Ereleuva, as she was addressed most frequently by Pope Gelasius I.
http://gw.geneanet.org/nobily?lang=fr;pz=elisabeth+therese+marie+he...
http://gw.geneanet.org/nobily?lang=fr;pz=elisabeth+therese+marie+he...
Ereleuva (before 440 - ca. 500?), concubine of Theodemir and mother of Theodoric the Great.
Ben M. Angel notes: The name for this person is spelled in various ways:
Ereliva: From the "Anonymus Valesianus," published by Henri Valois ("Valesianus") in the 17th century, based on two documents: "The Lineage of Emperor Constantine" from 390, and "Ex libris Chronicorum inter cetera" on the life of Theodoric the Great, supposedly written by Bishop Maximianus of Ravenna.
Erelieva: From Jordanes in his work Getica
Ereleuva: From correspondence between this person and Pope Gelasius I.
Eusebia: Her baptismal name (when she became Catholic - she later supposedly converted to Arianism, in accordance with her husband's faith).
The following variation I've yet to find a source for other than various online family tree profiles, indicating to me it's probably a mistaken spelling passed along repeated by people copying and pasting on the internet:
Erelicia
The accepted form for her name among modern historians is Ereleuva, and for that reason, she is named here as such.
From the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy page on Italy Kings:
http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ITALY,%20Kings%20to%20962.htm#Theod...
THEODEMIR [Thiudimir], son of VANDALARIUS (-Kyrrhos 474).
Iordanes names "Thiudemer et Valamir et Vidimir" as the sons of Vandilarius[231].
King of the Ostrogoths in Pannonia, under his brother Valamir, he ruled over the western part of their domain which covered the county of Somogy and northeastern Croatia. He succeeded his brother in [468/49] as King of all the Pannonian Ostrogoths.
When the Ostrogoths left Pannonia in [473], Theodemir and his contingent went towards Constantinople. They were settled in Macedonia, based in the city of Kyrrhos[232].
m ---. The name of Theodemir's wife is not known.
---
Concubine: ERELEUVA [Erelieva].
She was baptised a Catholic as EUSEBIA[233]. Iordanes names "Erelieva concubina" as mother of Theodoric[234]. She went with her son to Italy.
---
Theodemir & his wife had one child:
1. AMALAFRIDA (-murdered [523/25]).
Iordanes names "Amalfridam germanam suam [Theoderici]" as the mother of "Theodehadi" and wife of "Africa regi Vandalorum…Thrasamundo"[235].
Emperor Zeno used her as ambassador to her half-brother in 487 to thwart his attack on Constantinople[236].
Her second marriage was arranged by her half-brother, Theodoric King of Italy, as part of his efforts to foster the support of the Vandals. Amalafrida's dowry was Lilybæum in western Sicily[237].
After the death of her husband, she unsuccessfully protested his successor's withdrawal of support from her brother, but she was outmanœuvred and killed[238].
m firstly [HUGO ---] (-before 500). The Widukindi Res Gestæ Saxonicæ names "Huga rex Francorum…unicam filiam Amalbergam" who married "Irminfredo regi Thuringorum"[239], but there is no indication to whom "Huga rex Francorum" could refer.
m secondly ([500]%29 THRASAMUND, King of the Vandals, son of [GENTO the Vandal or GELIMER the Vandal] (before 460-523).
Amalafrida & her first husband had two children.
Theodemir had three illegitimate children by his concubine (Ereleuva):
2. THEODORIC ([451][258]-30 Aug 526).
Iordanes names "Theodericum" as son of Theodemir, in a later passage naming his mother "Erelieva concubina"[259].
He was proclaimed THEODORIC "the Great" King of Italy in Mar 493 after defeating King Odovacar.
3. THEODIMUND. The primary source which names him has not yet been identified.
He marched westwards to Durazzo with his brother in 479, leading one of the three marching columns[260].
4. daughter (-[479]). The primary source which records her existence has not yet been identified. She died about the time her half-brother marched westwards to Durazzo[261].
References:
[231] Iordanes Getarum, MGH Auct. ant. V.1, p. 77. [232] Wolfram, H. (1998) History Of The Goths (Berkeley, California), pp. 267 and 269. [233] Wolfram (1998), p. 261. [234] Iordanes Getarum, MGH Auct. ant. V.1, p. 128. [235] Iordanes Getarum, MGH Auct. ant. V.1, p. 132. [236] Wolfram (1998), p. 278. [237] Wolfram (1998), p. 308. [238] Wolfram (1998), p. 308. [259] Iordanes Getarum, MGH Auct. ant. V.1, pp. 77 and 128. [260] Wolfram (1998), p. 274. [261] Wolfram (1998), p. 274.
----------------------------
From the Wikipedia page on Ereleuva:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erelieva
Ereleuva (born before AD 440, died ca. 500?[1]%29 was the mother of the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great. She is often referred to as the concubine of Theodoric's father, Theodemir, although historian Thomas Hodgkin notes "this word of reproach hardly does justice to her position. In many of the Teutonic nations, as among the Norsemen of a later century, there seems to have been a certain laxity as to the marriage rite..."[2] That Gelasius refers to her as regina ("queen") suggests that she had a prominent social position despite the informality of her union with Theodemir.[1]
Ereleuva was Catholic, and was baptised with the name Eusebia.[1] She had probably converted from Arianism as an adult, but the details are unclear in the historical record. Ereleuva is regarded as having taken to Catholicism quite seriously, as indicated by her correspondence with Pope Gelasius and mention of her in Ennodius's Panegyric of Theodoric.[3]
Her name was variously spelled by historians in antiquity as Ereriliva (by the fragmentary chronicle of Anonymus Valesianus, ca. 527[4]%29 and Erelieva (by Jordanes), and is now largely known to modern historians as Ereleuva, as she was addressed most frequently by Pope Gelasius I.[1]
References
[1] Amory, Patrick (1997). People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489-554. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 450. ISBN 0521571510. http://books.google.com/books?id=7ndeDi_fwq0C&pg=PA450&vq=eusebia&d.... [2] Hodgkin, Thomas (1897). Theodoric the Goth: Barbarian Champion of Civilisation. London: G.P. Putnam's Sons. pp. 34. http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/20063. [3] Amory, Patrick (1997). People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489-554. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 268–269. ISBN 0521571510. http://books.google.com/books?id=7ndeDi_fwq0C&pg=PA268&vq=eusebia&d.... [4] See Anonymus Valesianus Pars Posterior: Chronica Theodericiana. The Latin Library.
(No longer a functional link):
http://familytrees.genopro.com/318186/jarleslekt/default.htm?page=t...
From "People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489-554, Prosopographical Appendix (pg. 450):
http://books.google.com/books?id=7ndeDi_fwq0C&pg=PA450&vq=eusebia&d...
Ereleuva dicta Eusebia regina (= PLRE2 Erelieva quae et Eusebia)
The mother of Theodericus and concubine of Theodemer. The spelling of Gelasius, her contemporary, is preferred to those of AV ("Ereriliva") and Jordanes ("Erelieva"); Gelasius once calls her "Hereleuva," but his other usage, "Ereleuva," with the weight of the other sources, should favor a smooth breathing at the start of the name. Gelasius uses the title "regina," and calls her "sublimitas tue."
She was a Catholic, and took the name "Eusebia" in baptism: "Ereriliva dicta Gothica, catholica quidem erat, qui [sc. quae] in baptismo Eusebia dicta," AV 59. (Note that Catholicism may explain the similar pattern of the name of her granddaughter Ostrogotho Ariagni, q.v.) Probably for this reason, Ennodius referred to her "sancta mater" (Pan. 42, with PLRE2: 400). She also received letters from Pope Gelasius I seeking her influence over the king in issues of ecclesiastical and secular jurisdiction (though cf. Teia comes, an Arian correspondent of the pope). On these letters, see above, chs. 2 and 6. On their authenticity, contra Ullmann, see ch. 3. She is depicted as the addressee of a speech from Theodoric, by Ennodius, Pan. 42-4, at the time of the war for Italy in 489-493. Ennodius' references does not necessarily indicate that she was alive at the time of the Panegyricus (c.506), but it is interesting that he does not use any term such as "beatae recordationis" in mentioning her.
Gelasius, JK683 = ep. "Qui pro victu" (Thiel, frag. 36, p.502 = ETV 4) (492/496, not 495 as PLRE2: 400 states); JK 721 = ep. "Felicem et Petrum" (Ewald, coll. Brit. Gel. ep. 46, pp. 521-2 = ETV5) (496); Ennodius, Pan. 42; AV 59; Jordanes, Get. 269.
Eusebia = Ereleuva.
From "Theodoric the Goth: The Barbarian Champion of Civilisation" by Thomas Hodgkin:
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20063/20063-h/20063-h.htm#p7
Walamir at once sent tidings of the victory to his brother Theudemir. The messenger arrived at an opportune moment, for on that very day Erelieva, the unwedded wife of Theudemir, had given birth to a man-child. This infant, born on such an auspicious day and looked upon as a pledge of happy fortunes for the Ostrogothic nation, was named Thiuda-reiks (the people-ruler), a name which Latin historians, influenced perhaps by the analogy of Theodosius, changed into Theodoricus, and which will here be spoken of under the well-known form THEODORIC. [15]
It will be observed that I have spoken of Erelieva as the unwedded wife of Theudemir. The Gothic historian calls her his concubine, [16] but this word of Page 34 reproach hardly does justice to her position. In many of the Teutonic nations, as among the Norsemen of a later century, there seems to have been a certain laxity as to the marriage rite, which was nevertheless coincident with a high and pure morality. It has been suggested that the severe conditions imposed by the Church on divorces may have had something to do with the peculiar marital usages of the Teutonic and Norse chieftains. Reasons of state might require Theudemir the Ostrogoth, or William Longsword the Norman, to ally himself some day with a powerful king's daughter, and therefore he would not go through the marriage rite with the woman, really and truly his wife, but generally his inferior in social position, who meanwhile governed his house and bore him children. If the separation never came, and the powerful king's daughter never had to be wooed, she who was wife in all but name, retained her position unquestioned till her death, and her children succeeded without dispute to the inheritance of their father.
The nearest approach to an illustration which the social usages of modern Europe afford, is probably furnished by the "morganatic marriages" of modern German royalties and serenities: and we might say that Theodoric was the offspring of such an union. Notwithstanding the want of strict legitimacy in his position, I do not remember any occasion on which the taunt of bastard birth was thrown in his teeth, even by the bitterest of his foes.
Footnotes
15: (return) Jordanes wavers between Theodericus and Theodoricus. The Greek historians generally use the form θευδερίχος. German scholars seem to prefer Theoderich. As it is useless now to try to revert to the philologically correct Thiuda-reiks, I use that form of the name with which I suppose English readers to be most familiar--namely, Theodoric. 16: (return) "Ipso siquidem die Theodoricus ejus filius quamvis de Erelieva concubina, bonæ tamen spei natus est" (Jordanes: Getica, 52).
For what it meant to be a concubine under Rome (likely customs that were still enforced in Ereleuva's time), a portion of the sample for "A History of Women in the West: From Ancient Goddesses to Christian Saints" provides a picture:
http://books.google.gr/books?id=V_Mx1wyMsbsC&pg=PA316&lpg=PA316&dq=...
Rome elaborated a code of concubinage that imposed duties on concubines not unlike those required of wives. The minimum age for an official concubinage was the same as for an official marriage: 12 years. The concubine was required to be faithful to her master.[112] Only a freed woman concubine could initiate separation, a slave obviously could not. Concubines dressed as wives did: by covering their heads and bodies, they showed that they belonged to a citizen.
These women thus bore the risks of childbearing that official wives were protected against.[113] Yet men did not like to have large numbers of bastards by slaves and concubines. In Greek areas, a bleak portrait was painted of the lives of these unwanted children in order to dissuade men from having them.[114] (Ben notes: remember that Theodimir and his concubine Ereleuva were in Kyrros at the end of his life.)
Freed slaves who served as concubines bore the burden of multiple pregnancies. As their bodies aged prematurely, they might be abandoned by the master and turned over to a freed man or slave. If the master did not wish to see them pregnant, they had to submit to abortion. Some chose abortion of their own accord.
The physicians who wrote down various formulas for potions believed to prevent or abort pregnancy do not tell us much about the women to whom such potions were administered. They say only that the mixtures are not to be used to conceal adultery or to preserve a woman's looks. An ancient proverb gives us an idea of just how unpleasant some of these abortive potions were, particularly those involving the herb rue: "Your agony is nothing yet; you've still not come to parsley and rue."[115]
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Upper-class women in Rome had no problem with their husbands' having sexual relations with slaves and concubines. Some women even chose their husbands' partners. The wife of Scipio Africanus knew her husband's concubine. After his death, she set the woman free and arranged a marriage with a freed slave.[117] Livia found virgins for her devoted husband Augustus to deflower.[118]
In Roman Africa, where some married women became devotees of a terrifying goddess, the African Ceres, they abstained from sexual relations and provided their husbands with concubines.[119] For pagan women, chastity consisted in "not desiring to be desired."[120] The rules for admission to Christianity confirm that concubines aborted pregnancies and abandoned children: "If a concubine was once a man's slave, if she raised his children and was devoted to him alone, she shall hear [the Word]; if not, she shall be sent away. A man who keeps a concubine shall cease to do so and take a wife according to the law; if he refuses, he shall be sent away."[121] (This perhaps relates to Catholicism... unsure if it relates to Arian-based cultures within the Empire - this question is essential when considering that Ereleuva was Catholic, and her master Theodimir was Arian.)
Concubinage was so widespread that freed men commonly ordered funerary inscriptions for themselves and two or three women described indiscriminately as wives or companions. Some scholars believe that these inscriptions refer to a succession of wives, but in my view the women mentioned shared the man's life simultaneously, one as lawful wife, the other(s) as concubines.[122] From the Talmud, we know that polygamous Jews had children by a first wife and ordered the second, the woman kept for pleasure, to "take the potion."
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Christianity and sexual taboos:
Christianity defined its own rules for admission to or exclusion from the City of God. Paradoxically, while prohibitions proliferated under Christianity, the church as early as the second century agreed to renunciations impermissible under Roman law. Persons whom Roman law classified as infamous for life and for all posterity could join the Christian community, provided that they ceased their dishonorable activities.
Among these were careers in the theater and entertainment. The keeper of a brothel could become a Christian, but a prostitute (male or female) could not.[166] An adulterous woman could return to her husband, and an adulterous man (under the new definition) could return to his wife.[167]
Christianity set great store by female purity and accepted Roman marriage law. Concubines were accepted as long as they had been the concubine of one man only, and had kept all their children. Men were required to dismiss their concubines and marry according to law.
Thus the social arrangement that had protected wives was undermined. Eventually, the law of the Empire sanctioned the idea that concubinage was dishonorable and prejudicial to a wife's rights over her husband. Exclusive love scored a victory - but upper-class women, who lost their protection, suffered a defeat.
(Ben M. Angel notes: Uncertain how this development, apparently from the time of Constantine, affected Theodimir and Ereleuva and Theodimir's unknown wife. Again, this may have been more a Catholic/Nicene thing than an Arian thing - though concubinage has nothing to do with the difference in the two beliefs, perhaps Arianism being an "outsider" religion in the Empire accorded its followers a looser adherence to other "Christian" customs that were earlier introduced to the Empire. And it is possible that Ereleuva was married later in life, perhaps after Theodimir's wife died, although this event, rather a major one, is unrecorded.)
The End of Concubinage:
In the Christian era, the law permitted children born to a concubine to be legitimized, provided that the father was not married to another woman, because from the time of Constantine (306-337) married men had been forbidden to keep concubines. Constantine prohibited bequests to a concubine's child without authorization, which previously had been granted by imperial writ. He also prohibited gifts to concubines and their children.[168] As a result, husbands either entered into brief relationships (not concubinage) with other women or had more frequent relations with their wives.
The means by which concubines disposed of unwanted children were strictly regulated. Both Christians and Jews prohibited infanticide and exposure of children (apparently, turning them over naked into the wilds to die of exposure). Infanticide had been illegal under Roman law since the first century, but undoubtedly it was still practiced. Constantine included it in the law against murder.[169] Most important of all, in the fourth century, exposure was regarded as infanticide by indirect means; as such it was punishable by law. After 374, a father who ordered a child exposed risked capital punishment.[170]
From the English Wikipedia page on Erelieva:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erelieva
Ereleuva, who was born before AD 440, was the mother of the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great. She is often referred to as the concubine of Theodoric's father, Theodemir, although historian Thomas Hodgkin notes "this word of reproach hardly does justice to her position. In many of the Teutonic nations, as among the Norsemen of a later century, there seems to have been a certain laxity as to the marriage rite..." That Gelasius refers to her as regina ("queen") suggests that she had a prominent social position despite the informality of her union with Theodemir.
Ereleuva was Catholic, and was baptized with the name Eusebia. She had probably converted from Arianism as an adult, but the details are unclear in the historical record. Ereleuva is regarded as having taken to Catholicism quite seriously, as indicated by her correspondence with Pope Gelasius and mention of her in Ennodius's Panegyric of Theodoric.
Her name was variously spelled by historians in antiquity as Ereriliva (by Anonymus Valesianus) and Erelieva (by Jordanes), and is now largely known to modern historians as Ereleuva, as she was addressed most frequently by Pope Gelasius I. Related to the Erilaz from which the Heruli were tied with the Ostrogoths even after they returned to Scandinavia.
-------------------- http://gw.geneanet.org/nobily?lang=fr;pz=elisabeth+therese+marie+he... -------------------- http://gw.geneanet.org/nobily?lang=fr;pz=elisabeth+therese+marie+he...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Verona
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostrogothic_Kingdom
birth locations: Verona, Ostrogothic Kingdom [Verona, Veneto, Italy] death location: Ostrogoth Kingdom [Northern Italy]
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Ereleuva (born before AD 440, died c. 500?) was the mother of the Ostrogothic king Theoderic the Great. She is often referred to as the concubine of Theoderic's father, Theodemir, although historian Thomas Hodgkin notes "this word of reproach hardly does justice to her position. In many of the Teutonic nations, as among the Norsemen of a later century, there seems to have been a certain laxity as to the marriage rite..." That Gelasius refers to her as regina ("queen") suggests that she had a prominent social position despite the informality of her union with Theodemir.[1]
Ereleuva was Catholic, and was baptised with the name Eusebia.[1] She had probably converted from Arianism as an adult, but the details are unclear in the historical record. Ereleuva is regarded as having taken to Catholicism quite seriously, as indicated by her correspondence with Pope Gelasius and mention of her in Ennodius's Panegyric of Theoderic.
Her name was variously spelled by historians in antiquity as Ereriliva (by the fragmentary chronicle of Anonymus Valesianus, c. 527) and Erelieva (by Jordanes), and is now largely known to modern historians as Ereleuva, as she was addressed most frequently by Pope Gelasius I. Related to the Erilaz from which the Heruli were tied with the Ostrogoths even after they returned to Scandinavia.[1]
Erelieva Der Ostrogothen (born van Tongeren van Keulen)
- MyHeritage Family Trees
- Stamboom Fam Doedes - 2014-11-07 09-44-58 in Jan Doedes Voorouders - 2012-12-21 15-08-12 Web Site, managed by Jan Doedes
- Birth: 440
- Death: 500
- Parents: Pharamond Der Franken, Argotta Der Oost Franken
- Siblings: Chlodio (Koning-hertog-generaal Van De Salische Franken 428-447 (Met Lange Haren) Der Franken, Clodion Ii (Merovech I,de Ruiter), Koning Chlodius Langharige" Clodius Der Franken, Clodion Heer Der Franken, Sigernerus I Van Auvergne Der Franken
- Husband: Theodemir Balthes
- Children: Amalafrida Der Ostrogothen, Argote Van Keulen (geboren Balthes)
Eréliéva van Tongeren
- MyHeritage Family Trees
- Stam FRERIKS-2up in Aarts Web Site, managed by Eef Aarts
- Birth: Circa 435
- Parents: Pharamond Van Keulen, Arcote Van Keulen (geboren Der Cimbren)
- Husband: Thiudimer Balthes
- Children: Theoderic (De Grote) Balthes, Argote Balthens Van Keulen (geboren Der Ostroghoten)
view all
Ereleuva, concubine of Theodimir's Timeline
| 430 |
430
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Verona, Verona, Veneto, Italy
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| 454 |
454
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Lake Nieusedl, Pannonia (Present Hungary), Hun Empire
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|
| 455 |
455
|
Pannonia (Present Hungary), Kingdom of the Ostrogoths
|
|
| 500 |
500
Age 70
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Italia Annonaria, Roman Empire
|
|
| ???? |