Abstract:
This thesis explores the responses of seven Latin Christian writers to the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century. Despite having a shared religious faith and Latin literary heritage, their responses were both varied and complex. The reasons for this will be analysed by investigating each writer and comparing their responses. In spite of their differences, common themes are interwoven throughout their writings such as their idea of Rome and its place in history, the role of the barbarians, the judgment of God, and end-time events. The writers are considered in chronological order, which allows for observations on how the responses of each writer changed as circumstances become more desperate in the West. The writers also represent different geographic regions, which include Gaul, Spain, and North Africa, and their works collectively cover a variety of literary genres such as letters, poems, sermons, treatises and chronicles. The first three writers, Jerome, Augustine and Orosius, respond to events at the beginning of the fifth century such as the sack of Rome in 410. These make an interesting group to compare, and are a good example of how varied the views of the writers could be, even among those that knew each other and lived through the same events. The final four writers, Salvian, Hydatius, Sidonius Apollinaris, and Victor of Vita, lived to see the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and their responses, extending from around the middle of the fifth century to after the fall of Rome in 476 reflect a growing sense of despair and disappointment as the Empire weakened and finally collapsed.