Marina Severa
Encyclopedia
Marina Severa was the Empress of Rome and first wife of Emperor Valentinian I
. She was the mother of later Emperor Gratian
.
, the Chronicon Paschale
and John of Nikiû
name her "Marina".
in Pannonia
. Valentinian was chosen emperor in 364. He divorced his wife around 370 to marry Justina, widow of usurper Magnentius
.
According to Socrates of Constantinople: "Justina being thus bereft of her father, still continued a virgin. Some time after she became known to Severa, wife of the emperor Valentinian, and had frequent intercourse with the empress, until their intimacy at length grew to such an extent that they were accustomed to bathe together. When Severa saw Justina in the bath she was greatly struck with the beauty of the virgin, and spoke of her to the emperor; saying that the daughter of Justus was so lovely a creature, and possessed of such symmetry of form, that she herself, though a woman, was altogether charmed with her. The emperor, treasuring this description by his wife in his own mind, considered with himself how he could espouse Justina, without repudiating Severa, as she had borne him Gratian
, whom he had created Augustus
a little while before. He accordingly framed a law, and caused it to be published throughout all the cities, by which any man was permitted to have two lawful wives."
This account was dismissed by later historians whose interpretation of it was an unlikely legalization of bigamy. However Timothy Barnes
and others consider this decision to only allow various Romans to divorce and then remarry. The controversy being that Christianity
had yet to accept the concept of a divorce. Barnes considers that Valentinian was willing to go forth with the legal reformation in pursuit of dynastic legitimacy that would secure his presence on the throne.
John Malalas
, the Chronicon Paschale
and John of Nikiû
report Severa to have been banished because of involvement in an illegal transaction. Barnes considers this story to be an attempt to justify the divorce of Valentinian I without blaming the emperor. According to the account of John of Nikiû: "For this just and equitable emperor hated oppression and judged with the voice of justice and practised equity. This great emperor did not spare (even) his wife, the empress Marina. Now she had bought a garden from a nursery woman (lit. a female planter of plants) and had not paid her the price which it was equitably worth, because the valuers had valued (it) out of regard to the empress and so had inclined to do her a favour. And when the pious Valentinian was apprised of what his wife had done, he sent Godfearing men to value that garden and he bound them by a solemn oath to value it justly and equitably. And when the valuers came to that garden, they found that she had been guilty of a grave injustice and had given the woman but a small portion of the price. And when the emperor heard, he was wroth with the empress (and) removed her from his presence and drove her from the palace and took to wife a woman named Justina, with whom he lived all the rest of his days. As for his first wife, he drove and exiled her from the city, and gave back the garden to the woman who had sold it."
When Valentinian died in 375, he was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles
in Constantinople
, next to his first wife.
Valentinian I
Valentinian I , also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces while Valentinian retained the west....
. She was the mother of later Emperor Gratian
Gratian
Gratian was Roman Emperor from 375 to 383.The eldest son of Valentinian I, during his youth Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers. Upon the death of Valentinian in 375, Gratian's brother Valentinian II was declared emperor by his father's soldiers...
.
Name
Her full name is not actually known. Marina Severa is a combination of the two names given in primary sources. Socrates of Constantinople calls her "Severa" while John MalalasJohn Malalas
John Malalas or Ioannes Malalas was a Greek chronicler from Antioch. Malalas is probably a Syriac word for "rhetor", "orator"; it is first applied to him by John of Damascus .-Life:Malalas was educated in Antioch, and probably was a jurist there, but moved to...
, the Chronicon Paschale
Chronicon Paschale
Chronicon Paschale is the conventional name of a 7th-century Greek Christian chronicle of the world...
and John of Nikiû
John of Nikiû
John of Nikiû was an Egyptian Coptic bishop of Nikiû/Pashati in the Nile Delta and appointed general administrator of the monasteries of Upper Egypt in 696...
name her "Marina".
Life
Marina Severa married Valentinian before he ascended to the throne. Their son, Gratian was born in 359 at SirmiumSirmium
Sirmium was a city in ancient Roman Pannonia. Firstly mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by the Illyrians and Celts, it was conquered by the Romans in the 1st century BC and subsequently became the capital of the Roman province of Lower Pannonia. In 294 AD, Sirmium was...
in Pannonia
Pannonia
Pannonia was an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
. Valentinian was chosen emperor in 364. He divorced his wife around 370 to marry Justina, widow of usurper Magnentius
Magnentius
Flavius Magnus Magnentius was a usurper of the Roman Empire .-Early life and career:...
.
According to Socrates of Constantinople: "Justina being thus bereft of her father, still continued a virgin. Some time after she became known to Severa, wife of the emperor Valentinian, and had frequent intercourse with the empress, until their intimacy at length grew to such an extent that they were accustomed to bathe together. When Severa saw Justina in the bath she was greatly struck with the beauty of the virgin, and spoke of her to the emperor; saying that the daughter of Justus was so lovely a creature, and possessed of such symmetry of form, that she herself, though a woman, was altogether charmed with her. The emperor, treasuring this description by his wife in his own mind, considered with himself how he could espouse Justina, without repudiating Severa, as she had borne him Gratian
Gratian
Gratian was Roman Emperor from 375 to 383.The eldest son of Valentinian I, during his youth Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers. Upon the death of Valentinian in 375, Gratian's brother Valentinian II was declared emperor by his father's soldiers...
, whom he had created Augustus
Augustus (honorific)
Augustus , Latin for "majestic," "the increaser," or "venerable", was an Ancient Roman title, which was first held by Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus , and subsequently came to be considered one of the titles of what are now known as the Roman Emperors...
a little while before. He accordingly framed a law, and caused it to be published throughout all the cities, by which any man was permitted to have two lawful wives."
This account was dismissed by later historians whose interpretation of it was an unlikely legalization of bigamy. However Timothy Barnes
Timothy Barnes
Timothy David Barnes is a British classicist.Timothy David Barnes was born in Yorkshire in 1942. He was educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield until 1960, going up to Balliol College, Oxford, where he read Literae Humaniores, taking his BA in 1964 and MA in 1967...
and others consider this decision to only allow various Romans to divorce and then remarry. The controversy being that Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
had yet to accept the concept of a divorce. Barnes considers that Valentinian was willing to go forth with the legal reformation in pursuit of dynastic legitimacy that would secure his presence on the throne.
John Malalas
John Malalas
John Malalas or Ioannes Malalas was a Greek chronicler from Antioch. Malalas is probably a Syriac word for "rhetor", "orator"; it is first applied to him by John of Damascus .-Life:Malalas was educated in Antioch, and probably was a jurist there, but moved to...
, the Chronicon Paschale
Chronicon Paschale
Chronicon Paschale is the conventional name of a 7th-century Greek Christian chronicle of the world...
and John of Nikiû
John of Nikiû
John of Nikiû was an Egyptian Coptic bishop of Nikiû/Pashati in the Nile Delta and appointed general administrator of the monasteries of Upper Egypt in 696...
report Severa to have been banished because of involvement in an illegal transaction. Barnes considers this story to be an attempt to justify the divorce of Valentinian I without blaming the emperor. According to the account of John of Nikiû: "For this just and equitable emperor hated oppression and judged with the voice of justice and practised equity. This great emperor did not spare (even) his wife, the empress Marina. Now she had bought a garden from a nursery woman (lit. a female planter of plants) and had not paid her the price which it was equitably worth, because the valuers had valued (it) out of regard to the empress and so had inclined to do her a favour. And when the pious Valentinian was apprised of what his wife had done, he sent Godfearing men to value that garden and he bound them by a solemn oath to value it justly and equitably. And when the valuers came to that garden, they found that she had been guilty of a grave injustice and had given the woman but a small portion of the price. And when the emperor heard, he was wroth with the empress (and) removed her from his presence and drove her from the palace and took to wife a woman named Justina, with whom he lived all the rest of his days. As for his first wife, he drove and exiled her from the city, and gave back the garden to the woman who had sold it."
When Valentinian died in 375, he was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles
Church of the Holy Apostles
The Church of the Holy Apostles , also known as the Imperial Polyandreion, was a Christian church built in Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, in 550. It was second only to the Church of the Holy Wisdom among the great churches of the capital...
in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, next to his first wife.