Theodorīcus
or
Theoderīcus.
1.
King of the Visigoths from A.D. 418 to 451. He was the successor of Wallia, but appears to
have been the son of the great Alaric. He fell fighting on the side of Aëtius and
the Romans at the great battle of Châlons, in which Attila was defeated, 451.
2.
A king of the Visigoths A.D. 452-466, second son of Theodoric I. He succeeded to the throne
by the murder of his brother Thorismond. He ruled over the greater part of Gaul and Spain. He
was assassinated in 466 by his brother Euric, who succeeded him on the throne. Theodoric II.
was a patron of letters and learned men. The poet Sidonius Apollinaris resided for some time
at his court.
3.
Surnamed The Great, king of the Ostrogoths, succeeding his father
Theodemir in 475. He was at first an ally of Zeno, the emperor of Constantinople, but was
afterwards involved in hostilities with the emperor. In order to get rid of Theodoric, Zeno
gave him permission to invade Italy, and expel the usurper Odoacer from the country.
Theodoric entered Italy in 489, and, after defeating Odoacer in three great battles, laid
siege to Ravenna, in which Odoacer took refuge. After a siege of three years Odoacer
capitulated on condition that he and Theodoric should rule jointly over Italy; but Odoacer
was soon afterwards murdered by his more fortunate rival (493 A.D.). Theodoric thus became
master of Italy, which he ruled for thirty-three years, till his death in 526. His long reign
was prosperous and beneficent, and under his sway Italy recovered from the ravages to which
it had been exposed for so many years. Theodoric was also a patron of literature: and among
his ministers were Cassiodorus and Boëthius, the two last writers who can claim a
place in the literature of ancient Rome. But prosperous as had been the reign of Theodoric,
his last days were darkened by disputes with the Catholics, and by the condemnation and
execution of Boëthius and Symmachus, whom he accused of a conspiracy to overthrow
the Gothic dominion in Italy. His death is said to have been hastened by remorse. It his
related that one evening, when a large fish was served on the table, he fancied that he
beheld the head of Symmachus, and was so terrified that he took to his bed, and died three
days afterwards. Theodoric was buried at Ravenna, and a monument was erected to his memory by
his daughter Amalasuntha. His ashes were deposited in a porphyry vase, which is still to be
seen at Ravenna. See
Hodgkin, Theodoric the Goth (1891).
