Ereleuva (born before AD 440, died c. 500?) was the mother of the

Ostrogothic The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the large Gothic populations who ...

king

Theoderic the Great Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal ( got, , *Þiudareiks; Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ), was king of the Ostrogoths (471–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Ita ...

. She is often referred to as the concubine of Theoderic's father, Theodemir, although that Gelasius refers to her as ''regina'' ("queen") suggests that she had a prominent social position despite the informality of her union with Theodemir. Ereleuva was

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

, and was baptised with the name Eusebia. She had probably converted from

Arianism Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...

as an adult, but the details are unclear in the historical record. Ereleuva is regarded as having taken to Christianity quite seriously, as indicated by her correspondence with

Pope Gelasius I Pope Gelasius I was the bishop of Rome from 1 March 492 to his death on 19 November 496. Gelasius was a prolific author whose style placed him on the cusp between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages.The title of his biography by Walter Ullma ...

and mention of her in Ennodius's ''Panegyric of Theoderic''. Her name was variously spelled by historians in antiquity as Ereriliva (by the fragmentary chronicle of

Anonymus Valesianus ''Anonymus Valesianus'' (or ''Excerpta Valesiana'') is the conventional title of a compilation of two fragmentary vulgar Latin chronicles, named for its modern editor, Henricus Valesius, who published the texts for the first time in 1636, together ...

, c. 527See
Anonymus Valesianus Pars Posterior: Chronica Theodericiana
'. The Latin Library.) and Erelieva (by

Jordanes Jordanes (), also written as Jordanis or Jornandes, was a 6th-century Eastern Roman bureaucrat widely believed to be of Gothic descent who became a historian later in life. Late in life he wrote two works, one on Roman history ('' Romana'') an ...

), and is now largely known to modern historians as Ereleuva, as she was addressed most frequently by

References

{{Reflist 5th-century births 6th-century deaths Converts to Catholicism from Arianism Ostrogothic queens consort 5th-century Christians 5th-century Ostrogothic people Year of birth uncertain 5th-century women