The Panegyric of Theodoric

This is a work composed by Ennodius, the bishop of Pavia, around the year 507 AD, who sought to congratulate Theodoric for his military victories and political achievements in general. The document itself entertains the royal prestige of its namesake, whom is portrayed as a an agent of continuity for the idea of eternal Rome.This is portrayed as a potential re-birth of the Roman authority and Imperial distinction, at least over the tatter remnants of the Western Empire. The golden age that was predicted under Theodoric was not to be, but this manuscript serves as a reminder of the political aspiration for the age right after the Western Empire's collapse.