Law and Administration in the Collectio Avellana

Abstract

The Collectio Avellana is a collection of mainly letters, sent by the pope and the emperor and date from 367 till 533. The imperial letters have scholarly value inasmuch as they are ordinances, directed to the urban prefect or the vicar, of which on this level we do not have much examples. The texts 1–40 deal with the conflicts between Damasus and Ursinus and between Bonifatius and Eulalius, on who was the rightfully elected bishop of Rome. Due to the role the people had in these elections (they had to acclaim candidates), popular riots arose which required the intervention of the emperor. The various ordinances occasioned by these events are examined. They give information about the interaction in the administration and may point to legislation, not elsewhere transmitted.