The Mystery of Theoderic’s Tomb Solved!
The sixth-century A.D. Roman-gothic king built it to last
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Footnotes
See Dennis Groh, “The Arian Controversy: How it Divided Early Christianity,” BR 10:01.
Endnotes
According to Peter Llewellyn (Rome in the Dark Ages [New York: Praeger, 1971], p. 25), Theoderic “acquired a respect for learning and the ways of settled government” while living in Constantinople. Nevertheless, he may have remained illiterate.
The only contemporary source to mention the tomb’s roof, the Anonymous Valesii, does not enlighten us on the need for this monstrous construction.
Richard Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, Pelican History of Art (New York: Penguin, 1965), p. 192.
Some have argued that the upper story was never finished, but this claim seems unwarranted given the lavish and careful labors expended on the entirety.