the kingdom of Naples is labored by Giannone (tom. i. p. 172, 178) with
patriotic diligence.]
[Footnote 5511: Manso enumerates and develops at some length the
following sources of the royal revenue of Theodoric: 1. A domain, either
by succession to that of Odoacer, or a part of the third of the lands
was reserved for the royal patrimony. 1. Regalia, including mines,
unclaimed estates, treasure-trove, and confiscations. 3. Land tax. 4.
Aurarium, like the Chrysargyrum, a tax on certain branches of trade.
5. Grant of Monopolies. 6. Siliquaticum, a small tax on the sale of all
kinds of commodities. 7. Portoria, customs Manso, 96, 111. Savigny (i.
285) supposes that in many cases the property remained in the original
owner, who paid his tertia, a third of the produce to the crown, vol. i.
p. 285.--M.]
[Footnote 56: See the Gothic history of Procopius, (l. i. c. 1, l. ii.
c. 6,) the Epistles of Cassiodorus, passim, but especially the vth and
vith books, which contain the formulae, or patents of offices,) and
the Civil History of Giannone, (tom. i. l. ii. iii.) The Gothic counts,
which he places in every Italian city, are annihilated, however, by
Maffei, (Verona Illustrata, P. i. l. viii. p. 227; for those of Syracuse
and Naples (Var vi. 22, 23) were special and temporary commissions.]
[Footnote 57: Two Italians of the name of Cassiodorus, the father (Var.
i. 24, 40) and the son, (ix. 24, 25,) were successively employed in
the administration of Theodoric. The son was born in the year 479: his
various epistles as quaestor, master of the offices, and Praetorian
praefect, extend from 509 to 539, and he lived as a monk about thirty
years, (Tiraboschi Storia della Letteratura Italiana, tom. iii. p.
7--24. Fabricius, Bibliot. Lat. Med. Aevi, tom. i. p. 357, 358, edit.
Mansi.)]
[Footnote 5711: Cassiodorus was of an ancient and honorable family; his
grandfather had distinguished himself in the defence of Sicily against
the ravages of Genseric; his father held a high rank at the court of
Valentinian III., enjoyed the friendship of Aetius, and was one of the
ambassadors sent to arrest the progress of Attila. Cassiodorus
himself was first the treasurer of the private expenditure to Odoacer,
afterwards "count of the sacred largesses." Yielding with the rest of
the Romans to the dominion of Theodoric, he was instrumental in the
peaceable submission of Sicily; was successively governor of his
native provinces of Bruttium and Lucani
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