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Law and order in the age of Theoderic the Great ( c .493–526)
Author(s) -
LAFFERTY SEAN
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
early medieval europe
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.1
H-Index - 24
eISSN - 1468-0254
pISSN - 0963-9462
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0254.2012.00344.x
Subject(s) - prosperity , reign , ruler , order (exchange) , government (linguistics) , economic justice , law , language change , peninsula , empire , political science , settlement (finance) , history , law and economics , sociology , economics , politics , philosophy , archaeology , linguistics , physics , finance , quantum mechanics , payment
Theoderic the Great has long been considered a supremely able ruler whose reign ushered in a period of unprecedented peace and prosperity to the Italian peninsula. A common explanation for this was his ability to provide justice swiftly and equitably by means of a highly Romanized judiciary. But as in the later empire, corruption and venality posed serious challenges, as did problems associated with the limitations of a pre‐modern government. While Theoderic attempted to remedy these structural weaknesses through the creation of new offices, the available evidence challenges long‐held assumptions as to just how successful he was in this regard.