Maximus and Priscillian: (Post-) Tetrarchic Imperial Ideology and Deviance

Abstract

Historiographically treated as a religiously intolerant usurper and an arch-heretic, Maximus and Priscillian have largely been confined to discussions of their respective roles in the Priscillianist controversy. This thesis, however, argues that the verdicts against the Priscillianists were predictable based on developments in imperial ideology and its treatment of deviancy, and the tendency to use trials as demonstrations of imperial authority and to search for disloyalty and dissent. Periods of acute crisis, such as the start of a new reign or the fall of an emperor, consistently led to large-scale purges and trial series, such as the trials under Constantius II and the infamous magic trials. This study is the first to suggest that the Priscillianist trials were also one of these mass trials. This study proposes and uses the term (post-) tetrarchic imperial ideology to describe a system of overlapping patterns of imperial behaviour and conceptualisations of imperial authority and duties that began with the First Tetrarchy. Among these duties was the enforcement of traditional Roman values, the mediation of the cosmos, and the enforcement of uniformity and harmony. The most targeted crimes, for ideological and practical reasons, were treason, sexual immorality, and sorcery; the latter two were most certainly among the charges against Priscillian. These forms of deviancy were considered particularly threatening to the good order the emperor represented and, therefore, the legitimacy of that emperor. An emperor who could not enforce law and order, or who failed to sufficiently display and enforce traditional values risked being considered weak or illegitimate. Maximus’ verdicts were responses to these challenges, as well as practical problems like disunity, public violence, and social disruption. The lasting confusion about the Priscillianists verdicts stems from a complex ecclesiastical tradition, and the sheer number of problems Maximus tried to solve using the Priscillianists.