Chapter 1

THE HOLY SEE AND THE WANDERING OF THE NATIONS.

PAGE

Introduction. Connection with Volume V. St. Leo's action, 1

Denial of the Primacy as acknowledged at Chalcedon suicidal on the part of those who believe in the Church, 3

Subject of this volume as compared with the fifth, 5

The second wonder in human history, 6

The acknowledgment of the Primacy and the political powerlessness of the city of Rome coeval, 6

The three hundred years from Genseric to Astolphus, 9

St. Leo in Rome after Genseric, 10

Political condition of Rome. Avitus emperor, 455-6, 13

Majorian emperor, 457-461, 14

Death of Pope Leo; changes seen by him in his life, 15

Hilarus Pope and Libius Severus emperor, 461-465, 16

The over-lordship of Byzantium admitted in the choice of the Greek Anthemius as emperor, 467, 18

Sidonius Apollinaris an eye-witness of Rome's splendour, subjection to Byzantium, and unchanged habits in 467, 19

Anthemius murdered and Rome plundered by Ricimer, 472, 20

Olybrius emperor, 472; Ricimer and Olybrius die of the plague, 20

Glycerius emperor, 473; Nepos, 474; Romulus Augustulus, 475, 21

The senate declares to the eastern emperor that an emperor of the West is needless, 22

The twenty-one years' death-agony of imperial Rome, 23

State of the western provinces since the death of Theodosius I., 24

The first and the second victory of the Church, 25

The effect produced by the wandering of the nations, 26

The Visigoth and Ostrogoth migrations, 27

Gaul overrun by Teuton invaders, 28

Arianism propagated by the Goths among the other tribes, 29

Burgundian kingdom of Lyons. Spain overrun, 30

The Vandals in North Africa and their persecution of Catholics, 31

The Hunnish inroads, 33

All the western provinces under Teuton governments, 35

Odoacer and Theodorick, 36

Odoacer succeeded by Theodorick after the capture of Ravenna, 38

The character of Theodorick's reign, 39

His fairness towards the Roman Church and Pontiff, 40

The contrast between Theodorick and Clovis, 42

The dictum of Ataulph on the Roman empire, 43

Ataulph and Theodorick represent the better judgments of the invaders, 44

The outlook of Pope Simplicius at Rome over the western provinces, 45

And over the eastern empire, 46

Basiliscus and Zeno the first theologising emperors, 47

How the races descending on the empire had become Arian, 49

The point of time when the Church was in danger of losing all which she had gained, 50

How the division of the empire called out the Primacy, 51

How the extinction of the western empire does so yet more, 53

How the Pope was the sole fixed point in a transitional world, 54

Guizot's testimony, 55

What St. Jerome, St. Augustine, and St. Leo did not foresee, which we behold, 57