Caecina Decius Faustus Albinus ( 490–525) was a Roman politician 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 ...

. He held the

consulship A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...

with

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Chris ...

in 493. Albinus is best known for being identified with the senator whom

Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480 – 524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, ''magister officiorum'', historian, and philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central figure in the tr ...

defended from accusations of treasonous correspondence with the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

by the '' referandarius''

Cyprianus ''Cyprianus'' is a name given in Scandinavian traditions of folk magic to the "black book" ("''Svarteboken"''): a grimoire or manuscript collection of spell (magic), spells; and by extension to the magical tradition that these spells form a part o ...

-- only to have Cyprianus then accuse Boethius of the same crime. Albinus was son of Caecina Decius Maximus Basilius (consul in 480), and brother of Avienus (consul in 501), Theodorus (consul in 505) and Inportunus. John Moorhead argues that the brothers were on different sides of the

Laurentian schism Laurentius (possibly Caelius) was the Archpriest of Santa Prassede and later antipope of the See of Rome. Elected in 498 at the Basilica Saint Mariae (presumably Saint Maria Maggiore) with the support of a dissenting faction with Byzantine sympat ...

, with Albinus and Avienus supporting Symmachus and Theodorus and Inportunus supporting

Laurentius Laurentius is a Latin given name and surname that means "''From Laurentum''" (a city near Rome). It is possible that the place name ''Laurentum'' is derived from the Latin ''laurus'' ("laurel"). People with the name include: In Early Christian ...

. The '' Liber Pontificalis'' reports that Albinus and his wife Glaphyra, during the pontificate of Symmachus, built a basilica dedicated to

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

on the Via Trebana at the 27th milepost, on the farm of Pacinianus. In 523 or 524, the ''referandarius'' Cyprianus accused Albinus of treasonous correspondence before king Theodoric in his court at Verona. Boethius, who later explained himself as having "countless times interposed my authority to protect wretched men from danger when they were hounded by the endless false accusations of the barbarians in their continuous and unpunished lust for wealth", stepped up to shield Albinus. Cyprianus then accused Boethius of the same crime; Boethius was imprisoned, and eventually executed. In the words of

Thomas Hodgkin Thomas Hodgkin RMS (17 August 1798 – 5 April 1866) was a British physician, considered one of the most prominent pathologists of his time and a pioneer in preventive medicine. He is now best known for the first account of Hodgkin's disease, ...

, "Albinus disappears from the narrative, but was probably condemned along with Boethius".Hodgkin, ''Italy and her Invaders'' (Oxford, 1896), vol. 3 p. 496

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albinus, Caecina Decius Faustus 5th-century Romans 5th-century Roman consuls Caecinae Decii Imperial Roman consuls Patricii Praetorian prefects of Italy