REGENCY OF AMALASUNTHA—HER GENIUS—ENCOURAGEMENT OF LEARNING—HER CONCILIATORY GOVERNMENT—GROWING IMPORTANCE OF THE BISHOP OF ROME—FELIX IV. BUILDS THE CHURCH OF SS. COSMA AND DAMIANO—ITS MOSAICS—ORIGIN OF THE WORSHIP OF THESE SAINTS

Athalaric King under the regency of Amalasuntha

The comparatively prosperous condition of the Romans lasted for some years after the death of Theodoric, so long, in fact, as his daughter Amalasuntha, suntha, widow of Eutharic (who had died in 522), retained the guardianship of her son Athalaric. For the Gothic nation, however, this regency was a misfortune, and one of the chief causes of its downfall, proving, as it did, that the Gothic dominion in Italy had depended entirely on the individual energy of the King who had been its founder. Procopius, as well as Cassiodorus, has awarded to Amalasuntha the praise of unusual strength of character, statesman-like prudence, and even high literary attainments. If Theodoric had been an object of ridicule in the eyes of the Romans because he was unable to do more than sign the first four letters of his name, following with the stylus the tracings already prepared for him, the abilities of a woman who spoke Greek with the Greeks, Latin with the Latins, and who held lively conversations with the learned on the philosophy and poetry of antiquity, excited their astonishment, and they were obliged to concede to the Goths the merit of upholding civilisation.

The Rescripts of Cassiodorus prove that Amalasuntha strove by every means in her power to promote the welfare of the Romans.