Theodoric the Great

Theodoric the Great was king of the Ostrogoths and ruler of Italy after defeating Odoacer. From Ravenna he preserved much of the Roman administration, worked with the senatorial elite and maintained a complex kingdom joining Gothic military power with late Roman institutions.

Theodoric the Great also held the offices or ranks of Rex, monarch of Italy, patrician, and magister militum. Theodoric the Great belonged to the Amali dynasty and operated within Ostrogothic Kingdom; Western Roman Empire. Theodoric the Great was born in Carnuntum and died in Ravenna.

Gary Jennings’ Raptor draws its wandering protagonist into Theodoric’s service as the Ostrogothic leader moves from the Balkans into Italy, defeats Odoacer and establishes a new regime at Ravenna. Ross Laidlaw’s Theoderic makes the king himself the centre of the narrative, following his years as a hostage at Constantinople, his uneasy position as both Gothic war leader and Roman officer, and Emperor Zeno’s decision to send him west against Odoacer.