What’s the matter? Ambrose and the synagogue in Callinicum

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

If this reading is valid, it will revise a stereotyped image of the overbearing Ambrose and bring some important aspects of the later Roman administration. First, Ambrose petition testifies that those around the imperial court more or less took part in a discussion of the imperial legislation. As we have seen, a suggestio sent by an imperial administrator in a certain locality could be a basis for the imperial constitution with empire‐wide validity. This delicate balance between locality and generality in legislation was controlled not only by the imperial court but also by the local men of influence around the court. This process shows the tension and the difficulty with which the imperial government tried to keep the legal uniformity in the empire.
The emperor and his staff were under the critical eyes of local people. During the church service Theodosius indeed faced the unexpected challenge of Ambrose, who desperately tried to let the case of the monks drop. On the other hand, some supporters of Jews or heretics also might have played an active part around the orthodox court. The imperial government, which came into Italy as a new comer, must have been especially liable to local pressure. because it had to make a new alliance in the area where the defeated party had established its own power structure.
Secondly, Ambrose intervention will have another significance, if this interpretation is valid. Far from being a busybody of an arrogant character, Ambrose might have been just a passive representant of the Italian clerics in this case. A letter, which takes a form of a correspondence to his sister in Rome at first glance (Ep. extra coll. 1), might have been intended not only for his sister, but also for the interested parties. If so, his role is not so dependent on his eccentric character, and could be fulfilled by other bishops or sophists with an access to the imperial court. Indeed, some seemingly arrogant appeals or claims on the part of sophists or philosophers are found in sources, and especially well‐attested are those of bishops. If this observation is correct, it is necessary to reevaluate the political decision making process and public ceremony through the imperial age, such as the role of holy men, theatrical performances, and religious services. It is not the personal character, but the editorial manipulation of his own literary works that has made Ambrose such a remarkable person in the history of the later Roman empire.

참고문헌 (Reference)

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2 Matthews, "Western Aristocracies" 203-211,

3 Matthews, "Western Aristocracies" 173-182,

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6 "The Theodosian Code"

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14 N. McLynn, "Ambrose of Milan: Church and Court in a Christian Capital" 301-, 1994

15 McLynn, "Ambrose" 291-298,

16 Contra McLynn, "Ambrose" 299-300,

17 F. Millar, "A Greek Roman Empire: Power and Belief under Theodosius II (408-450)" 21-22, 2006

18 Millar, "A Greek Roman Empire" 207-214,