Theodemir (Ostrogothic king)

Theodemir was King of the Ostrogoths and a member of the Amal Dynasty, and was the father of Theoderic the Great.[1] He had two brothers-in-law named Valamir and Videmir.[2] Theodemir was an Arian, while his wife Erelieva was a Catholic and took the Roman Christian name Eusebia upon her baptism.[3] In the beginning of Theodemir's reign, he ruled together with his brothers-in-law as vassals under Attila the Hun. Most likely settling for this arrangement after his older brother had only managed a rule lasting four years. He eventually consolidated the three Gothic regions in Pannonia under his rule after the death of Vidimir, and later inheriting the lands of the childless Valamir as well. He was married to Erelieva, with whom he had two children: Theoderic (454–526) and Amalafrida. In 461, after a demand for a hostage of noble Gothic blood was made by eastern Emperor Leo I, Theodemir submitted & sent his 7 year old son Theodoric to Constantinople so he could receive a Roman styled education. In 469, a Roman imperial army was defeated & chased away from Pannonia & as a result, the emperor sent Theodemir’s son back to secure a new peace. In 471, Theodoric was declared co-King alongside his father for the next 4 years. Theodemir died in 475,[4] Theoderic fully succeeded him as king over a combined Ostrogothic Kingdom.

References

  1. ^ John N. Deely (7 July 2001). Four ages of understanding: the first postmodern survey of philosophy from ancient times to the turn of the twenty-first century. University of Toronto Press. pp. 181–. ISBN 978-0-8020-4735-9. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
  2. ^ Charles William Previté-Orton (24 July 1975). Cambridge Medieval History, Shorter: Volume 1, The Later Roman Empire to the Twelfth Century. CUP Archive. pp. 109–. ISBN 978-0-521-09976-9. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
  3. ^ Noel Harold Kaylor; Philip Edward Phillips (3 May 2012), A Companion to Boethius in the Middle Ages, BRILL, pp. 10–, ISBN 978-90-04-18354-4, retrieved 19 January 2013
  4. ^ Joseph Thomas (2010). The Universal Dictionary of Biography and Mythology, Vol. IV (in Four Volumes): Pro - Zyp. Cosimo, Inc. pp. 2114–. ISBN 978-1-61640-075-0. Retrieved 9 October 2010.