Aelia Flaccilla

Aelia Flavia Flaccilla (died 386) was a Roman empress and first wife of the Roman Emperor Theodosius I. She was of Hispanian Roman descent. During her marriage to Theodosius, she gave birth to two sons – future Emperors Arcadius and Honorius – and a daughter, Aelia Pulcheria.

Family

According to Laus Serenae ("In Praise of Serena"), a poem by Claudian, both Serena and Flaccilla were from Hispania.^[1]

Through her unnamed sister, Flaccilla had a nephew called Nebridius,^[2] who was raised together with her own children.^[3]

Marriage

In 376, Flaccilla married Theodosius I, the son of Count Theodosius, a high ranking general under Valentinian I.^[4] At the time Theodosius had withdrawn to civilian life in Cauca, Gallaecia after the mysterious execution of his father.^[5]

Their first son Arcadius, as well as their daughter Pulcheria, were born prior to the elevation of Theodosius as emperor.^[6] Their second son Honorius was born on 9 September 384.

Empress

The Eastern Roman emperor Valens was killed at the Battle of Adrianople on 9 August 378. His nephew and co-emperor Gratian appointed Theodosius, magister militum per Illyricum, to succeed Valens on 19 January 379. At this point Flaccilla became Roman empress and was given the title Augusta.^[7]

She was a fervent supporter of the Nicene Creed. In one instance, she prevented a conference between Theodosius and Eunomius of Cyzicus who served as figurehead of Anomoeanism, the most radical sect of Arians, in an attempt to prevent him from betraying the Nicene faith.^[8] Ambrose and Gregory of Nyssa praise her Christian virtue and comment on her role as "a leader of justice" and "pillar of the Church".^[4]

Theodoret reports on her works of charity, personally tending to the disabled. He quotes her saying that "To distribute money belongs to the imperial dignity, but I offer up for the imperial dignity itself personal service to the Giver." ^[4][9] According to the Chronicon Paschale, the Palatium Flaccillianum of Constantinople was named in her honor.^[2]

She died in the year 386,^[2] shortly after her daughter.^[10] Gregory of Nyssa went on to deliver a funeral oration for her.^[11]

Sainthood

She is commemorated as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church, her feast day being 14 September.^[4][12]

References

Sources

• Holum, Kenneth G. (1982). Theodosian Empresses: Women and Imperial Dominion in Late Antiquity. Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-04162-2.
• Jones, A.H.M.; J.R. Martindale & J. Morris (1971). Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-07233-6.
• Williams, Stephen; Friell, Gerard (1994). Theodosius: The Empire at Bay. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-07447-5.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aelia Flaccilla.

• Aelia Flaccilla – Catholic Encyclopedia article
• Her profile in the Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire
• Her entry in the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
• Coins of Aelia Flaccilla and Numismatic information.