Arcadius Placidus Magnus Felix
[Alan Cameron, "Basilius and his diptych again: career titles, seats in the Colosseum, and issues of stylistic dating", ''Journal of Roman Archaeology'', 25 (2012), p. 517] (''floruit'' 511) was a Roman politician who was appointed
consul
Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...
during the reign of
Theodoric 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 Italy b ...
.
He belonged to an ancient and noble family from Gaul; he lost his father in his youth, inheriting his wealth.
Theodoric bestowed on him at least one noteworthy office, as in 511 he was already ''
vir illustris
The title ''vir illustris'' ('illustrious man') is used as a formal indication of standing in late antiquity to describe the highest ranks within the senates of Rome and Constantinople. All senators had the title ''vir clarissimus'' ('very famous ...
''. That same year he was appointed consul in the West, while
Secundinus
Secundinus (fl. 5th century), or Sechnall ( Modern Irish: ''Seachnall'') as he was known in Irish, was founder and patron saint of Domhnach Sechnaill, Co. Meath, who went down in medieval tradition as a disciple of St Patrick and one of the firs ...
was appointed consul by the Eastern court; the formal announcement was preserved by
Cassiodorus
Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 585), commonly known as Cassiodorus (), was a Roman statesman, renowned scholar of antiquity, and writer serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ''Senator'' w ...
(''Variae'', 2.1). Another letter to him from Theodoric has survived, which is assumed to have been written in the same year, asking him not to pay some debts claimed by the charioteers of the
Hippodrome of Milan (''Variae'', 3.39).
Notes
References
* "Secundinus 5", ''
Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire
''Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'' (abbreviated as ''PLRE'') is a work of Roman prosopography published in a set of three volumes collectively describing many of the people attested to have lived in the Roman Empire from AD 260, the date ...
'', Volume 2, Cambridge University Press, 1992, , p. 986.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Placidus Magnus, Arcadius
5th-century Gallo-Roman people
6th-century Gallo-Roman people
6th-century Roman consuls
Imperial Roman consuls
People of the Ostrogothic Kingdom
Year of death unknown
Date of death unknown